Published at 25th of January 2023 9:04 pm

Chapter 241 – Human life is not particularly precious, it’s just rare

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***Rena’s POV***

“Hush, little baby, don’t say a word~”

I grabbed the Chief of the Holy Knights by the collar, who was still breathing even after losing her four limbs and both eyes, and dragged him along as I walked.

She was screaming things like “Mom! Dad! Help me!”, which for some reason reminded me of my own mother.

“Mama’s gonna buy you a mockingbird~”

Perhaps because of that, I found myself humming the lullabies that my mother used to sing to me when I was little.

It could hardly be said that I was fully aware that I was singing. In fact, I was merely moving my mouth, and although my voice came out very subtly, it felt as if it could still be heard because it echoed in the aisle.

“And if that mockingbird don’t sing~”

My mother always sang this lullaby with a unique and strange accent, a habit I ended up picking up myself, so I can’t sing this song with its usual melody. …But this strangeness felt good.

There’s nothing wrong with the way she used to sing. Still, I normally can’t feel my mother through my own singing, which makes me feel a bit sad.

But only through this lullaby she used to sing to me, I could feel safe to sing it even a bit badly, and still I would feel like my mother was singing right next to me.

“Mama’s gonna buy you a diamond ring~”

The Chief of the Holy Knights seemed to be about to die from blood loss… Which was only natural since neither her torn limbs nor her hollowed-out eyeballs had been treated at all.

But I was starting to get tired of this lump of meat’s incessant cries for mom and dad, so I figured I’d go feed Tarou right in front of this door that had just appeared before my eyes.

Having decided that, I opened the door.

“…That’s a nice song.”

“Oh? I didn’t know you’d be in a place like this”

To my surprise, it was Old Man Ron who was waiting at the other end of the open door.

It didn’t look like he had explored much of this dungeon, so he must have tampered with the internal structure of this place to some extent, deliberately making it so that only I can see he had done that in order to get here.

I threw away the remains of the Chief of the Holy Knights and wiped out the blood from Hanako and Takeo’s faces before fixing my gaze on Old Man Ron.

“It would be more correct to say that I was called here… I see you were able to get rid of those two people who had gotten in your way quite splendidly, I must say.”

“Two people who have gotten in my way… Oh, are you talking about Maria and Blossom?”

“Correct. You are my ultimate goal… I don’t want you to continue to use human life as a plaything anymore.”

Old Man Ron spoke while staring at the corpse of the Holy Knight Chief with an expression as if he were looking at something painful.

He then tilted his head to the side, seemingly displeased, before continuing his speech.

I think that, while it can be troublesome, it seems that people can’t put out their best unless they get rid of their inner worries when fighting.

“This will be the last time anyway, so if you have any concerns, go ahead.”

As I offered him a proverbial glass of water before sending him to the gallows, Old Man Ron stared straight at me after a few seconds of hesitation before opening his mouth once again.

“I only want to know one thing. Why are you toying with precious human lives?”

I could only tilt my head to the side in response to that question.

It doesn’t matter if it’s the life of someone like me, or that of an ant… It doesn’t change anything for me.

I’ve been asked before things like “Then why do you actively target people even though there’s no difference? Why not just kill ants?”, as if to try to point out that this proves that I do actually regard human life as something special, but that is also not the case.

The truth is, I just want to play with what’s in front of me.

I would casually tap on top of a desk with my fingers, pour water into an ant’s nest, fiddle with the buttons on my clothes… There’s no deep meaning to it. Just like an elementary school student who kicks pebbles on the way home from school, I simply want to have fun.

Ah, that’s it. All I want is to kick pebbles on my way home from school.

But it feels really sad when supposed friends end up trying to take away the pebbles you’ve kicked.

I am terribly saddened by the fact that society is robbed of its own pebbles by ethics and common sense.

Even in the real world, playing with the lives of small animals such as dogs and cats does not attract much attention. If you throw them away in a back alley, they will be disposed of basically on their own.

But it’s not the same for human lives don’t go that way… Unlike dogs and cats, human corpses stand out, and once they’re found by someone, they’ll definitely be investigated by the authorities.

That’s right, it’s not like I’m actively aiming for people’s lives… It’s just that they’re rare, so I’m just actively playing the game.

“…That’s all there is to it.”

After asking Old Man Ron if he was satisfied with my answer, I could see that the softness had disappeared from his eyes, as well as his hesitation.

It seemed that my answer had been good enough to at least remove his hesitation, so I was thankful for that.

“…That’s enough… I fully understand your nature… That’s the kind of mindset you had when you took Ronowe’s life as well…”

“…? …Ah, Ronowe, yes, I remember having a lot of fun ‘playing’ with him.”

“…”

For some reason, Old Man Ron was looking at me with an astonished look on his face… I don’t remember ever seeing him with that kind of expression.

It was always like this whenever I had a conversation with another person. The other person would suddenly get angry or start to cry without an explanation as to why.

At the very least, I would like to know what’s wrong with them, and if I was the cause of whatever’s making them suffer.

…But whenever I ask them that, they get even angrier.

“I see, I see… You really are… beyond saving… Even for someone like me…”

“You want to save me? …But I don’t think I am in any kind of trouble.”

I remember being in a bit of a pickle back when I didn’t know the location of the undersea dungeon, but Maria’s explosion summoned me and guided me, so I’ve already solved that problem..

Besides, the only thing that bothers me is that I don’t understand why Old Man Ron is getting so upset.

Well, even if I were to ask him, I don’t think he’ll tell me.

“No, enough talking. Killing you here and now is the only thing I can do now!”

Old Man Ron took a karate-like stance with his left fist forward and his right arm folded right next to his waist. There was an intense bloodlust in his eyes.

So it had to come to this. It was fine by me, honestly. I didn’t really understand what that was all about, but so long as he didn’t hesitate to “play” with me, I wouldn’t have any complaints.

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Quest No. “Extra”

World Quest: Old Priest’s Rebellion

Client: Old Man Ron

Quest details: Defeat Old Man Ron and his companions, who can now fight without any worries as warriors who protect order.

→ Defeat Old Man Ron, who has thrown away all softness and hesitation.

One of the descendants of the Seven-colored Gods, the supreme priest who worships the True Sea God Krebskulm, wields part of his authority in the Holy Land, so you are defeated, your account data will be erased and you will literally die in this world.

Rewards: Enough experience points for gaining 10 levels, including skills + 50,000,000 G + ? ? ?

Note: World quests are quests that are deeply involved in the in-game scenario and its future. After accepting this quest, whether you succeed or fail it, you will not be able to attempt it again.

Would you like to accept this quest? Yes / No

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…Of course, there was no other way for me than to say “Yes”.

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