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SSS-Class Suicide Hunter (Web Novel) - Chapter 266: Family Interview (3)
Chapter 266: Family Interview (3)
This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml
Translator/Editor: Ryuu
“I'm sorry.”
Slowly.
The Heretic Inquisitor knelt.
“I was wrong, everyone.”
The Mountain Calamity Tribe, watching the Heretic Inquisitor from a distance, gasped. 'Huh,' 'Hup!' 'Hoo!' Even though the truth had been revealed, the Heretic Inquisitor was a god they had worshipped for thousands of years. A transcendent being who had bestowed care since the beginning of time and a father who had shown them both the glory and downfall of their tribe.
This divine being knelt before them.
“I am aware that I am by no means normal. I think I am normal, but others… especially the King of Death said otherwise, so, hmm. Probably not. Then, as you said, the term [psycho] might suit me too!”
-Why.
Seimslam, representing the entire Mountain Calamity Tribe, spoke up.
-Why did you become a psycho…?
“It’s not such a rare story. I was kidnapped by the mafia around the age of three. Whether it was because my parents couldn’t pay or because they chose a useful kid from the orphanage, I can’t say. Those who could have told me are all dead now.”
-.......
“I was trained in ways to kill people, to keep them alive without killing, to cut strong people into hundreds of pieces of scrap metal and then make them my subordinates, and techniques to enchant people. Overheard from others, I learned how organizations collapse internally and externally. I am a person who knows nothing but this. It can’t be helped..."
The Heretic Inquisitor sighed.
Then, brightening his expression, he looked at Seimslam.
“I thought I should not teach you [these things]!”
-Why is that?
“Well. They are what I do best and excel at. But even so, I wished you wouldn’t live a life like mine. If people like me increased in the tower, it would be troublesome! One of me is enough.”
The Heretic Inquisitor smiled brightly.
“Of course... I couldn’t just teach you nothing. Mountain Calamity Tribe, this world... this world is not an easy place. It’s truly terrifying. If you just sit still, eventually you’ll be attacked, maybe even kidnapped like me.”
-.......
“I had to make you strong.”
The Heretic Inquisitor.
He mobilized all her knowledge to advance the civilization of the Mountain Calamity Tribe.
“There is no one you can fully trust in this world. If there is, it’s just one person. A once-in-a-lifetime miracle, purely dependent on the luck of your life. So ignore it. Ignore it and control others before they betray you.”
He enslaved all the other tribes.
He confined them in caves so they couldn't betray him, divided the cave into hundreds of sections for isolation, and always had watchtowers observing the slaves.
“Then, you won’t have to fear this world.”
-.......
“I'm sorry for being a psycho. For being a psycho father.”
A dark silence filled the jungle.
Seimslam slowly raised her head and looked up at the Heretic Inquisitor.
-Father KyKna.
“Yes."
-You might be a psycho. But you tried to teach us only the most moderate, the most sensible, the most valuable things in your mind.
“That’s correct.”
-Even if it’s a house made of planks with a hammock for a roof, prone to light collapse and ruin, but still, you tried to build us the best house possible. Right?
“That was the case.”
-Then, it’s settled.
Seimslam released his tentacles.
She grabbed the hilt of a greatsword embedded in the ground.
-You tried to teach us your best. You hid your worst from us, never asking for understanding. You just…
『Wished.』
『Hoped we would at least be better people than you.』
-You truly did your best to care for us.
-I don’t want to curse you, Father, for giving birth to us and raising us, despite your many shortcomings.
Chuk.
Seimslam pulled the greatsword out of the ground and slung it over her shoulder, on her shell.
-I’m glad you’re my father.
"......."
-Maybe.
Seimslam smiled.
Always expressionless, only scoffing when smiling, the Mountain Calamity Tribe, who had reigned as the Chairman of the Fire River Council for decades, lifted their lips in a bright smile for the first time.
-Perhaps, just at this moment, I might feel a bit happy.
"......."
-Thank you for saying you’re sorry to us. To me.
And then.
-Thank you, really. Father.
[Quest Progress.]
[Mountain Calamity Tribe voting begins.]
[Option 1. I am glad to have been guided by you.]
[Option 2. I disliked being guided by you.]
Swish.
Fireflies began to rise from the jungle.
Or so it seemed at first glance. It wasn’t fireflies.
Mountain Calamity Tribe members crouched at the base of palm trees, stuck to tree trunks, sprawled on tree branches, hiding in the dark recesses of the jungle, all had been listening to the conversation between Seimslam and the Heretic Inquisitor.
[Vote counting in progress.]
Blue lights emitted from the bodies of the Mountain Calamity Tribe, detached, and floated towards the sky. From afar, they resembled fireflies.
Hundreds. Thousands. Tens of thousands. Hundreds of thousands of fireflies rose, twirling around palm trees and the jungle, ascending to the dark night sky. The countless twinkling lights gave the illusion that the jungle was floating in the Milky Way.
[Vote counting complete.]
A voice echoed through the forest of the Milky Way.
Like a small bell.
[Option 2 votes: 22.5%]
[Option 1 votes: 77.5%]
[Majority for Option 1 confirmed.]
"......."
The Heretic Inquisitor looked up at the night sky, bewildered.
In the dark sky, the Milky Way swirled in blue and green.
Mesmerized by the stunning dance of fireflies and falling starlight, the Heretic Inquisitor was captivated.
『I’m glad you’re my father.』
Perhaps it was Seimslam's last words that had stolen everything from him.
But….
As long as I live with the Heretic Inquisitor, I will come to know it someday.
[Stage Clear.]
[The 40th floor has been cleared!]
-Right. Money is the best.
A member of the Fairy Tribe shrugged her shoulders.
Apart from her, numerous other Fairy Tribe members passionately agreed, saying, “That's true,” “Life without money is horrible,” “We may lack pride, but do we lack money?” Before my return, the elves were fanatic followers of the Flame Emperor, but on this continent, the elves were apostles and preachers of a materialistic worldview.
Hmm.
I'm seriously doubting the nature of the elf race...
-Mother's words are so profound, they’re indisputable. Honestly, we were just curious. Wondering if you raised us Fairy Tribe as misers, who know nothing but money.
“I'm relieved to have fully satisfied your curiosity.”
The Countess chuckled.
“If you knew how much it costs to talk to me, you’d naturally develop filial piety. After all, every minute and second is precious for a merchant like me. Well, since I watched over you like a parent, consider this a parental discount service.”
-A discount service is great. We gratefully accept.
The Fairy Tribe gracefully bowed her head.
-Then, taking advantage of the service, may I ask one more thing?
“You’re thrifty, I see. Go ahead, ask away.”
-Why are you still so desperate to earn money?
“Hmm.”
The Countess blinked her eyes.
The Fairy Tribe members also blinked in unison.
“What do you mean?”
-Didn’t you say that money makes many things easy? It allows you to learn music if you want to. Do other things if you desire. Even comfortably contemplate your own life. We completely agree.
“And then?”
-How long will you keep earning?
The Fairy Tribe tilted her head.
-Mother, you seem to have enormous wealth. Can’t you already do whatever you want, choose any life you wish, without needing to earn more money?
"......."
-Why earn more?
The Fairy Tribe spoke up.
-What do you plan to do?
-What do you want to do?
-What are you contemplating?
-Why?
The jungle was dark.
Thus, the murmurs of the Fairy Tribe sounded like whispers flowing simultaneously from the forest, branches, and leaves.
-What are you doing?
-Is there really something you want to do?
-Are you contemplating something?
-Now?
"......."
The Countess gripped her fan.
Squeeze.
As the fan closed, the Countess’s expression was revealed. The 5th ranked hunter, with an expressionless face, looked ahead quietly, with a fury that was too old and chewed over too often, leaving nothing but dregs.
“Trash…”
The remnants of her anger first emitted a foul smell, then,
“I'll change the world.”
The sentence was refined after being filtered through the air.
“There’s too much garbage in the world.”
-.......
Even after refinement, the Countess's voice was too sinister for the Fairy Tribe to handle. Aura rippled over her shoulder. Even the Countess, who initially struggled to skillfully handle aura, had become somewhat accustomed to it after passing through the previous stages.
With this accustomed aura, the Countess was revealing the color of her heart.
“Listen. I realized one thing after being born on a garbage heap, growing up in a garbage village, and moving to a garbage city. The only real epiphany, which makes me regard being born from a trash can as some kind of luck.”
-...What is it?
“Garbage washed up from the sea, garbage fallen from the sky, garbage buried underground, garbage discarded anywhere... All of them are less filthy than [humans].”
The Countess laughed strangely.
It was a mocking laugh.
“Yet there’s no specialist in cleaning only humans. So I thought, if the market is such a blue ocean, shouldn’t I be the first to seize it?”
-.......
“Humans like garbage, I will clean up with money.”
The Countess laughed with her arms crossed.
“Of course, I don’t think all humans are garbage. Not at all! Quite the opposite. I believe many people shine brighter than stars. The distance between stars is so vast, making it that hard for beautiful people to meet... but it’s only hard. If you look from afar, so many stars embroider the night sky.”
Perhaps she was recalling someone.
The Countess tilted the corner of her lips in a pleasant manner.
“They need a cleaner like me.”
-How do you plan to do that?
A Fairy Tribe member asked.
-Do you save the shining ones with money?
-Do you drive away the bad ones with money?
-How?
To the Fairy Tribe's questions, the Countess burst into laughter.
“Is there a need for that!”
Her laughter was hearty.
“No need to play the hero. No need to flap around in bat wings, barely flying between legal and illegal, saving poor victims from webs between crimes, holding a giant shield to protect them.”
The Countess’s voice was firm.
“Just spend money!”
And simple.
"Just make them earn money!"
Establishing a proper economy.
“Good companies and bad companies. Good organizations and bad organizations. Good businesses and bad businesses. Good humans and bad humans… Yes. Many struggle to distinguish them, wondering when and how to see [human nature]. Most of them who harbor such curiosity create artificial environments for ‘extreme situations’, but it’s nonsense. Listen well.”
And a celebration of uncorrupted circulation.
“Human nature is such a thing.”
Creating good money out of bad.
“Not [when you have nothing], but [when you have everything], you can truly see it.”
Perhaps.
Believing in people more than anyone.
“I scatter money, the good ones reveal their good nature, but the trash start to stink. Still, my job doesn’t change! I give money. I make them earn! I fatten them up, nurture their meat to become fragrant. Until they rot on their own, until they commit crimes on their own, I will invest my money in them.”
Perhaps it’s this woman smiling on a rock in the middle of the jungle.
“Then, if any human or company turns out to be rotten trash... well.”
Suddenly, such a thought crossed my mind.
“My generously sponsored heroes will take care of it.”
“For that, I keep earning money relentlessly, as you all say, desperately. Sometimes, well, unavoidable things happen in life. A little illegal activity, that is.”
The Countess of Sang-Ryun, grinned slightly.
“This is why I make money.”
Before long.
The Fairy Tribe was gazing up at the Countess blankly.
Their gaze was a bit more dazed than when they worshiped the Countess as a god. Originally, the Fairy Tribe wasn’t very devout. They were loyal to the command of the god of money, not the god itself. Among all races, the Fairy Tribe was the most relaxed about faith.
“And.”
But.
“This is also why I raised you.”
Today was different.
In the eyes of the Fairy Tribe looking up at the Countess, there was definitely something akin to faith.
Admiration for those above them. Respect for those who walked before them. Reverence for those pointing to distant places.
“You all are far more capable than most merchants working in my tower. Naturally. They just live life and make money, but you live life while making money. Understand that you were born merchants.”
-.......
“I have been eagerly, sincerely, eagerly waiting for people like you to come to my tower.”
The Countess stood up.
The Fairy Tribe flinched.
Unconcerned, the Countess descended from her place and walked towards the Fairy Tribe surrounding her.
“Those who know how to make money.”
One by one.
“Those who see the flow of funds and materials.”
One by one.
As the Countess strolled in front of the Fairy Tribe, she raised her fan, gently supporting the chin of each elf with the tip. She made eye contact with each fairy before her. The Fairy Tribe, mesmerized by her gaze, could not escape her eyes.
“Those who find joy in making money but also seek other pleasures. Those who contemplate what this money is for. Those who find joy in such contemplation. In short..."
The Countess did this to each one, lifting the chins of dozens, gazing into the eyes of hundreds, and speaking to the ears of thousands.
“People like me.”
The jungle was dark.
So the Countess's whisper sounded like it was simultaneously flowing from the forest, branches, and leaves.
“My children.”
The Countess said.
“Follow me.”
The breath of the Fairy Tribe slowed down.
“This continent is small. It’s just a corner in the universe. Even if you monopolize the logistics and goods of this corner, what meaning does it have? Follow me. Climb the tower, seize all the money streams flowing in the myriad things, trample and rip apart the wealth piled up in the universe, make everything flow smoothly, from a coin wandering the world to a piece of wire thrown in a trash can.”
“You are needed.”
Already, the eyes of the Fairy Tribe were hazy.
“You will come to love it.”
Their breath was warmer than their body temperature.
“I am the lord of all merchants, the master of Sang-Ryun. You will become my children and join me in flushing the world’s toilet.”
The Fairy Tribe looked dazedly at the woman who once was their god.
And now, had become their mother.
“Will you follow me?”
It didn’t take long for the Fairy Tribe's lips to part.
-Yes....
In the dark jungle.
The palm trees, branches, and wide leaves all murmured simultaneously.
-Yes. Mother.
[Quest Progress.]
[Fairy Tribe voting begins.]
[Vote counting complete.]
The Countess smiled like a moonlit night.
[Option 2 votes: 11.60%]
[Option 1 votes: 88.40%]
[Majority for Option 1 confirmed.]
Swish.
As she opened her fan to cover her lower face, the smile embedded with the moon split in half.
“Thank you all.”
The Countess held the half-moon at the corner of her lips.
“Let’s flush the world's toilet together."
And then.
[Stage Clear.]
[The 41st floor has been cleared!]
