Chapter 10 - A Fabricated Truth

Sitting listlessly on the bed in his room a while later, Ryan took a sip from a cup of some kind of ‘otherworld tea’ and roughly clanked it down on the bedside drawer’s coaster.

He then snorted a sardonic laugh.

“―Hah. Why’s everyone such a pussy these days?”

Letting loose complaints about the fact that everyone he approached almost immediately declined his party invitation offer, he could only blame the classmates in question.

Seriously. We’re stuck in this goddamned snake garden and they still can’t grow some balls?

However, the more he thought about it, the more he realised.

...No, is it the other way around? Are they rejecting me ‘cause they’re not scared anymore...?

Using a mix of pressure, intimidation and minor blackmail in an attempt to coerce some ‘worthy’ B and A-ranked classmates to join his party, he only wound up in the exact same position in which he started.

Did they not want to be in a party with me to such an extent...?

“...Kait,” He called.

“Yes?”

“My methods ain’t that bad, right?”

Perhaps by his own standards, the fact he did not use physical violence was alone him being considerate enough, but for everyone he tried to recruit, it most definitely was not.

Although, the fact that nobody stood by his side as a new party member even an hour and a half later indicated the root of the problem lay in his own methodology.

“Maybe... I think you could have been a little kinder?”

Even Kaitlyn, who had stood quietly by his side the entire time to observe, did not agree with his methods, and even she felt uncomfortable calling him out on it.

When did things get so shit that even pressure and coercion stopped working?

“...Huh. What, ya think anyone of ‘em is dense enough to believe I’m authentic if they see me acting like big ol’ Mr Hero? Even some of the guys we went after today said he’s already got some half-dozen sons of bitches linin’ up to lick his boots all night long if it gets them the chance to join his party; can’t that bastard spare a fellow S-rank even a pittance?”

“I... Ahem-- Am not quite sure if that’s an accurate way to put it, but... Let’s just say, I think the way you went about it was... Never going to be productive from the beginning.”

“Pft. Nevermind. Nico, tell me ya found somethin’ useful?”

Turning his attention to the sole other party member, Nicolas, Ryan awaited a silver lining of good news.

“Right. So, I actually found out where some of the kingdom’s different department offices are located. So far, I think it’s just the Departments of Finance and Defence & Justice? Oh, as well as the Legal Office, but there’s still a lot more I haven’t had a chance to explore yet. Anyway, I don’t know if any of those are actually gonna contain anything useful, but I’m sure they’ll have a bunch of stored documents and stuff in there, so when I have the time I’ll go check them out some more.”

Nicolas Baum―B-rank student. His Unique Skill, Presence Erasure, allowed him to sneak completely undetected even into the most guarded areas of the Seronian Royal Palace.

“Ah, I also wanted to explore the Royal Quarters, but... Hmm, I don’t know exactly what it was, but I think there must be some kind of magic barrier or something? I can’t infiltrate that part at the moment anyway, and it kinda feels dangerous to even try.”

“‘Kay. What else?”

Ryan gave a curt response and nodded, suggesting for Nicolas to continue.

“Other than that, I heard the Crown Prince is currently abroad. The First Princess was also apparently married off to some other country a few years ago, so that’s why Eleanor has been the one to lead all the events with us recently as the sole remaining child of the current king within the palace. By the way, she said she’s going to make an announcement in the banquet hall at dinner time, so I’ll just give you the notes I made here to read later if you want.”

Saying that, Nicolas reached into a leather satchel bag he had obtained after simply asking the attendants for one and pulled out a sheet of half-folded parchment. Handing it to Ryan, the latter silently accepted it and scanned it briefly before placing it to the side.

Huh... What a bastard; this guy’s been more useful than I expected. Was he just pretendin’ to be a lazy dog? Anyway, that snake is all alone? It’s a shame there’s a barrier, but doesn’t that mean things’ll get even fucking worse when the prince returns?

If he was anything like his younger sister, that was, then Ryan could really see things heading in a disastrous direction.

“Hm... Continue investigating whenever you can. Go to the hall now and wait for the announcement.”

“Yezzir,” Nicolas lazily replied as he brought a flat hand to his now absentminded head in a sarcastic salute.

Click.

The sound of the door closing seemed to precipitate silence as Nicolas left the room. Ryan waited for a brief few moments before activating his Unique Skill.

Great Sage's Records.

Immediately, a display full of various notes and information appeared in a similar form to that of the status window in front of him.

A special skill linked to Disciple of the Great Sage.

Once opened, Ryan entered all the new information he was just informed about via the use of a transparent computer keyboard that had appeared alongside it.

“...”

Kaitlyn watched him work in soundless wonder. Although unable to see what he was looking at, she noticed the profound contemplation on his face; something she had never imagined someone like Ryan could ever show or express, especially in front of another person.

Finishing with that in a matter of minutes, he made a few additional notes and closed the window, after which the two left the room. Arriving as some of the last people to turn up at the hall where the announcement was said to take place, the first thing their gaze gravitated towards was Eleanor.

It was just before dinner was about to begin, so it couldn't take that long, but after everything that had occurred since they arrived here, the class had no idea what they were in for this time.

”Everyone...”

Before long, the princess began when all the Summoned Heroes―barring one in particular―were confirmed to have arrived at the hall.

“...It pains me greatly to bring you this awful news, however... It is only right for you all to know. As Heroes soon to represent our great country to the wider world, you shan’t be left in the dark forever.”

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

She looked around slowly as a dark expression overcame her face.

”For such subjects... It’s not something that can be obscured in good conscience.”

Surprising poignance infused her voice as the students grew immediately curious about the matter.

“...It is a matter related to your teacher, Mr Greene, who, earlier today, was officially confirmed to have been corrupted by the Demons’ hostile influence on the summoning ceremony.”

Their expressions turned from anticipation to grievance as they couldn’t help but recall the grisly incident, and then finally to perplexity as they belatedly realised what Eleanor had just said.

...Demons...? Are you fuckin’ serious...?

Upon hearing such a preposterous claim, Ryan decided it would be best to hear what she had to say before making a scene. After all, he had to know what the hell this girl was talking about.

Pausing briefly as if to allow them a much-needed double-take of what she said, she then continued.

”Yes; I know you must all be confused, but I promise everything will be explained in further depth later on... For now, please listen until the end of what I’m about to say, difficult though it may be, as the main topic I am here to discuss this evening.”

Taking a deep breath as she clutched her two small hands by her chest, the image of the princess in front of everyone now seemed much less grandiose all of a sudden.

”Your fellow classmate―I believe his name was ‘Jae Kang’...?”

Everyone paid even closer attention after these words; a sense of foreboding beginning to gently itch the tips of their spines. Ryan, in particular, peeled his ears wide open. He thought he could get some good information, even if it came from the person whose words he couldn’t trust the most.

”When the corrupted Mr Greene was discovered and executed before anyone could be hurt, the aforementioned individual was discovered attempting to flee the palace.”

“““...!!”””

The students’ theory of the flow of events was being confirmed by the princess in front of them, and something about her compelled them to nod their heads intently as they listened without causing a ruckus as they ordinarily might.

“By feigning ill health, he was escorted by one of our benevolent knights who took him to the palace’s medical quarters. There, after knocking the knight unconscious, he wounded the physician and apprentice healer on duty before swiftly making his escape.”

She paused for a moment, glancing at each of the students’ faces; more than simply stunned or appalled, they appeared utterly speechless.

Unable to react sensibly to her words―perhaps because the reality of the situation simply hadn’t had time to settle in yet―all they could do was listen wordlessly to the rest of the announcement.

“Thankfully, our excellent royal knights were able to capture him without trouble, ending the incident with only three minor injuries and no casualties. Originally, we might have thought that the student simply fled out of panic and confusion, however...”

The princess narrowed her eyes, bowed her head and put on a dark expression.

“...In spite of that, the power the boy showed―capable of defeating even a knight of the royal palace in a single hit―was far too anomalous for an ordinary Hero who had yet to even undergo training."

It was a vile twisting of the truth, but for the good of the kingdom, no one should know.

“This brings me to the final explanation.”

Eleanor-- no, the people had no need for a cowardly, lowly runaway boy to save them when two Special-rank Heroes had already been confirmed to have appeared.

She had him disposed of so he would not return so as to manipulate the truth to the kingdom’s advantage.

It didn’t matter that they couldn’t determine his potential.

If he couldn’t even endure one man being slain in front of him before attempting to escape...

If he couldn’t handle that much, then he wasn’t needed.

“You must be wondering just how he gained such power in such a short amount of time, or why he would even decide to do such a thing as flee, leaving everyone else behind in consequence, when he had attained such strength.”

Sacrificing the honour of one frightened boy to unite a platoon of Heroes―It was the easiest case of a ‘trolley problem’ one could ever face.

"The truth is...”

Even if, by some twisted and hellish desire, he did return... In that case, she would simply trample on and ruin his name and reputation so thoroughly he would then face the threat of not only the Heroes who were once his people but also the entirety of humanity against him.

It would also help to build a foundation.

“―Your classmate, Jae Kang, was a Demon.”

A foundation to develop the existence of a common enemy; the kingdom’s eternally detested evil.

“Either that, or he too was corrupted; tempted by the power of the Demons and swayed to the side of evil.”

The result was an uproar of questioning.

“What...?”

“There’s no way...”

“Demon, the hell...?”

Those who had interacted with him in the past few days were even more flabbergasted. Take, for example, Ashley, whose thoughts grew ever-complicated.

Jae, manipulated by Demons...? What is that sheer nonsense?! Yes, I thought he was acting a little strange recently, and I do recall the weird feeling he gave off yesterday, but that’s... Well, what she’s claiming is plainly ridiculous, isn’t it? After all, who wouldn’t act strange in a situation like this? Why should I just take her words at face value when the accusation is as serious as this? ...Where is Jae right now? I want to talk to him. Don’t we need to hear his side of the story before making a stable judgement?

Her thoughts were matched by some of the other, more sensible ones in the class. Needless to say, however, there were a variety of opinions on the matter than just that.

Some, like Ryan, had reactions that were immediately more sceptical of the princess and her claims than of Jae’s true identity; those who had held suspicions of the kingdom ever since they arrived in this world, as well as those who simply could not believe the claim that one of their own classmates was on the side of something so incomprehensibly malicious like ‘Demons’, whatever they were.

And then, on the contrary to those people were a couple others, such as Chris, who were of course foolish enough to simply take the princess’ absurd claims as they were and think little more of it; but, whether that was more to do with the Charm spell or something like a simple lack of critical thinking, naturally couldn’t be known...

Whatever the case, the result was the same―they viewed the princess as someone who either couldn’t or wouldn’t lie to them. The truth of how that happened couldn’t be definitively defined, but realistically, both factors were likely to have played a role in the founding of their belief.

No matter which side people belonged to, though, the fact remained that they had still not even been told that Demons were a confirmed existence in this world, so the princess’ words were always going to be a tough sell.

She reassured them, saying it would all be explained later, sure, but would it really be enough to sway their minds on the matter? Of course not; even for those who were convinced she wouldn’t lie to them, they would still require a minimum level of proof or evidence for her claims to see the light of day in their minds.

"It is probable that Demon spies had somehow infiltrated the palace, thus learning of our plans to summon you, Heroes. When the opportunity came, they used their foul silver tongues to convert him to the side of evil..."

Naturally, none of what she was saying was true in the slightest, but there was no way for the students to know that. Eleanor regained her previously lost confidence and noble posture, proceeding to raise her voice in a tone containing slight projected desperation.

“Heroes! I implore you. If the evil ones ever return to besmirch our great and holy country and our happiness once more, then, please... Please, at that time, help us; to lend us your gracious aid; to exhibit your benevolent glory, I plead. There is no need to show mercy towards the wicked ones; to all evil that wishes only to exterminate our harmony; to the unholy who wish for nothing more than to devastate the land and people of our wonderful country―nay, the whole of humanity!”

The princess concluded her grand speech with glistening eyes as if on the verge of tears and ragged breath as if the whole inspiring act had depleted her stamina. Even those who were sceptical of her were taken aback by her seemingly over-authentic image.

Ending it with a forced smile that couldn’t appear more genuine, it all came together in a cruelly effective manner to give the impression that this was her truest, most honest self; at least, when combined with her Charm and Charisma skills.

“...Tsk.”

Except for those who didn’t buy any of it from the very start, of course.

What a manipulative bitch. Demons? Like I’d buy that shit.

In the first place, those skills were still low-level; they weren’t going to be able to do something absurd like mind control or complete persuasion, but they undoubtedly had a massive effect in perfecting her performance.

Trying to sell such a notion that their own teacher and classmate were corrupted by Demons; the second princess was the worst and most detestable snake oil salesman Ryan had ever laid eyes upon.

She was, and yet, there was still a good portion of the class who weren’t entirely sure what to think about the whole situation.

...Seriously, fuck this place. Fuck these idiots and fuck that snake; you’re all fuckin’ useless dogs. Go to hell, all of you.

Glaring from the back of the “audience” at Eleanor’s face, he made an adjustment to one of his notes written in the Great Sage’s Records.

Long-term Objectives: Ruin Seronia

Even if he wasn’t the one to do it, Ryan would ensure it.

One day, you’ll all get what’s comin’; and that’s a fuckin’ S-rank guarantee.

―That this country’s royal bloodline would cease alongside its current generation.