SWNOVELXO Chapter 188 - Divine Cat Mii-chan Attempts to Persuade the Heroes
188 Divine Cat Mii-chan Attempts to Persuade the Heroes
The tent was enveloped in silence. Even the Yankee guy didn’t say a word.
Mii-chan broke the quiet with a suggestion, “There is a way to avoid falling into darkness…”
“Is that true?!” came the hopeful reply.
“All you need to do is live a normal life. Just stop being a pawn of Rotaringia. Do you even know what kind of country Rotaringia is?”
“Mii?”
“Quit being a hero?” someone questioned, bewildered.
“Then what are we supposed to do?” another voice demanded.
“The people of the Kingdom of Rotaringia are kind. They treat everyone well,” another hero responded.
“Hmm… You mean they haven’t told you much, right? You’re just going along with whatever they’ve fed you,” I thought. “With everything going on, you probably didn’t have the time or chance to figure things out for yourselves. Maybe that’s why you’re already falling prey to temptation…”
I was stunned by how oblivious they seemed. I wanted to shout, “Can’t you see you’re being used?!” But maybe they were already too comfortable in their situation to realize it.
“Rotaringia broke this world’s unspoken rules this time, losing the trust of neighboring nations. Haven’t you stopped to think why you’re attacking the Kingdom of Lumière? Doesn’t it seem strange?”
“The Kingdom of Lumière is going to attack Rotaringia,” they replied. “We’ve been ordered to strike before they do, with the help of local traitors.”
“Then why disguise yourselves as a mercenary group? Wouldn’t it be simpler to openly act as soldiers of Rotaringia?”
“I’ve been told Rotaringia isn’t interfering with this country. They’re just lending us a hand,” one of them insisted.
“Do you really believe that?” I asked.
“Mii?”
A heavy silence followed, and I could tell they were starting to doubt their own beliefs. That was a relief; blind faith can be dangerous.
It seemed like a good time to give them some context about the current political landscape. I explained how the Demon Lord Orc King had appeared in Rotaringia, while the Goblin King had emerged in the Kingdom of Lumière. Normally, nations inform each other and cooperate when a Demon Lord appears, but Rotaringia hadn’t made the Orc King’s presence public.
“We’ve heard about the Orc King,” one said. “That’s why we were summoned.”
“The king instructed us not to speak a word of it to anyone,” another added.
“He said it would only cause unnecessary fear among the populace. As long as we can defeat the Orc King ourselves, there’s no need to alarm anyone.”
“But we’ve heard nothing about the Goblin King in Lumière,” a third person noted.
“Do you really think the Kingdom of Lumière has the resources to attack Rotaringia while dealing with a Demon Lord? And do you realize the troops gathered here are led by nobles dissatisfied with the current government?” I challenged.
“Rotaringia’s manipulation…” one muttered.
“So from the start, their plan was to target this country?”
“Then why are we even here?” someone asked, confusion creeping in.
“…”
Finally, the reality started to dawn on them. Maybe they didn’t have the mental bandwidth before to figure it all out, but it was clear now.
“Shall I explain the reason?” I offered.
“Do you know?” one of the heroes asked.
“They need to bolster your power. Right now, you’re barely stronger than an average soldier. If you fought the Demon Lord now, you’d be crushed. They want you to gain combat experience, to awaken your true potential. This is war; you can kill without consequences, and they want you to grow strong enough to defeat the Demon Lord. They’re using you for their own ends.”
“Using us…?”
“Once you’ve gained enough power and defeated Rotaringia’s Demon Lord, they’ll announce you as heroes to all the nations. After destabilizing this country, they’ll have you defeat the Goblin King in Lumière, making this kingdom a vassal state or even absorbing it outright. No country would dare defy a nation with heroes, and if they do, Rotaringia will use it as an excuse to attack under the guise of righteous cause.”
“So we’re just pawns…?”
“If you become too much trouble or too powerful before you fall into darkness, they’ll deal with you. Rotaringia knows you’re fake heroes. Once they’ve used you, they’ll eliminate you.”
“They’ll discard us if we’re no longer useful?”
Not discarded — eliminated, I thought. It was time to push them a bit more.
“While I can’t say for certain, there have been similar cases in the past, so it’s highly likely. As I said earlier, the way to avoid falling into darkness is to give up the title of ‘hero.’ There are those from other worlds who have done so and gone on to live happy lives.”
“But I’m engaged to the princess! How can I believe that?” one of them protested.
“!?”
“What…?”
“No way…”
Whoa! I didn’t see that coming. The handsome, clean-cut guy just dropped a bombshell! The others looked completely blindsided.
“And what about you?” they turned to me.
“Me?” I replied.
“Do you have a divine blessing, Nero-san?”
I can’t exactly say that I have Mii-chan, who’s a divine cat, now, can I? That’s a secret I must protect at all costs. Hmm, how should I respond?
“I don’t have one.”
“So, were you summoned here, or did you end up here by accident?”
“I performed a good deed in Japan, and as a result, when I died, the god of Earth sent me to this world. My body was already gone, so the god created a new one for me, resembling a local person. That’s why I look half-human.”
“And yet you don’t have a divine blessing?”
“Didn’t you listen? It was the god of Earth who brought me here, not a god from this world.”
“Then are you a fake hero too, Nero-san?”
“Not at all. The god of Earth didn’t give me the power to interfere with this world. I came here as an ordinary person.”
“Ha! What a loser.”
“Then why did you come here?” another asked.
“It’s not like I wanted to come. The god of Earth asked me to try and convince you not to fall into darkness, and there’s another person from our world who asked me to do the same.”
“Someone else is here?!”
“Yes, but they don’t have much time left. That person has a skill called Divine Oracle, and the gods of this world told them to convince you before you fall into darkness. I also run a successful business, so how about working for me? If you have other dreams, I’ll support them. What do you think?”
Looking at Mii-chan for approval, I asked, “What do you think, boss?”
“Mii,” she agreed.