SCT-Novel Chapter 159 : Ugliness - 4
Chapter 159 : Ugliness - 4
I tilted my head.“Hm? You have something to say?”
“Hmm, no. I’ll come find you later. Let’s talk then.”
“…Ah, alright.”
“The game is over now. Where should I send you?”
I was about to answer Deut Territory, but paused.
Then I looked at Armelia and spoke.
“Your Highness. Would you… perhaps attach your transmitter to the Emperor?”
“What?”
“Well, officially speaking, he is your father. Even if the truth is unclear.”
“……”
“If we attach it to the Emperor now without him noticing, we’ll be able to track all his actions and conversations afterward.”
Armelia fell into thought for a moment.
But soon, she shook her head.
“No. It’s not necessary.”
“But—”
“We don’t know where or how our listening devices will be used in the future. There may come a time when we suffer because we lack even a single one.”
“……”
“Using it now for my personal curiosity would be wasteful. However…”
She smiled gently and looked at me.
“Thank you for asking that for my sake.”
“Ah… well…”
“What is it?”
“…Sorry, but could you still attach it? To the Emperor.”
Armelia’s smile stiffened.
I scratched my head awkwardly.
“I think attaching a listening device to the ruler of the Empire will be useful somehow in the future.”
“……”
“O-of course, I asked primarily thinking of you, Your Highness. My own intentions were only about 1 percent.”
“No, it’s fine, Mason.”
Armelia nodded solemnly.
Then she looked straight into my eyes and said,
“You’re right. If we can overhear everything around the Emperor from now on, it will undoubtedly help our future actions.”
“……”
“That was an excellent point. I’ll attach it immediately.”
Armelia took the Invisibility Cloak from me.
As soon as she put it on, she disappeared.
After a short while, she reappeared.
“It’s done.”
“Th-thank you.”
“Hehe. It felt a bit like playing a prank. To think I’d play a trick on His Majesty the Emperor, someone I once only feared… It’s all thanks to you.”
Aina cut in.
“She’d probably say it’s a good idea even if Mason told her to eat poop instead of breakfast.”
Of course, none of us responded.
I pretended not to hear it, and Armelia acted as if she hadn’t heard it at all.
Feeling a bit embarrassed, I said,
“Thank you for saying that. It was nothing special.”
“It wasn’t nothing. Thank you again, truly.”
“Ah… well…”
“Your face is red, Mason.”
“Yours too, Your Highness.”
Thud.
Aina stomped the ground.
“Why am I always the one who has to stop this? Doesn’t this make anyone else cringe?”
“Shall I explain why, Miss Aina?”
“No, don’t.”
“It’s because you’ve never been in love.”
“Why did I even ask?”
Anyway, with that, everything was over.
We decided to leave the Emperor alone, despite having used him as a chess piece in this game.
According to Magireta, the Emperor’s memory of this game would be erased and he would be returned safely.
The Empire would not fall into chaos.
Magireta looked around at us and spoke.
“Lastly, about the Gold coins that were temporarily confiscated before this quest began.”
“Yes.”
“I’ll return them to you, including the coins of the participants who forfeited. Congratulations—you’re about to become rich.”
“I was already rich. And receiving the coins of the victims doesn’t make me happy.”
“So you won’t take them?”
“I’ll take them if you give them.”
Magireta chuckled and snapped her fingers.
Gold coins poured out of the air.
Normally, since we had already taken the first-place reward, there would have been no additional Gold coins.
In other words—
those coins belonged to the participants who had been sacrificed.
I felt a bitter sensation.
“Then go back.”
My vision blurred.
At that moment, the voice of the Diary Book rang out.
[You have successfully cleared the Ninth Quest “Intermediary Trade.”]
[The records during the Ninth Quest “Intermediary Trade” have changed.]
[Parts of the Future Diary have been modified due to the updated records.]
[The Diary Book’s ‘Observer Perspective’ function has been upgraded.]
[Hidden Quest: Armelia’s survival achieved. Reward: 100 Points.]
[Hidden Quest: Aina’s survival achieved. Reward: 100 Points.]
[Hidden Quest: Berseum’s survival achieved. Reward: 100 Points.]
[Hidden Quest: Sienne’s survival achieved. Reward: 100 Points.]
[Hidden Quest: Benjamin’s survival achieved. Reward: 100 Points.]
[Hidden Quest: Karin’s survival achieved. Reward: 100 Points.]
[Failed to save the ordinary participants.]
[Current Points: 2,855]
After the Ninth Quest ended, Magireta handled the aftermath.
First, she sent Mason’s group back to Deut Territory.
She also returned the Emperor to the Empire, not forgetting to erase his memory.
She cleared away the table, tidied everything up, and even erased the faint scent of blood lingering nearby.
Then, Magireta disappeared as well.
At this point, one thing becomes clear—
there was something she did not clean up.
“Haah… haah… Lady Magireta.”
That’s right.
Magireta did not deal with Odline.
She felt disgusted even touching him—
no, even looking in his direction.
As a result, Odline rolled around inside the now-dark palace for a full five hours.
Creeeak.
At that moment, the heavy doors opened, and someone walked in.
The footsteps gradually quickened.
And then—
“Beat. What do you think you’re doing?”
“Haah… haah…”
“Beat… no. The body is my daughter’s, but something strange is inside.”
“Huff… huff…”
“That’s why I told you to be careful about what you eat.”
The man let out a small sigh.
Then he lightly patted the back of Odline—no, his daughter—who was rolling around on the hood.
And then—
“Ugh… bleegh!”
Suddenly, B began to vomit.
At first, it was just a bit of bile…
But then—
Gulp.
—Huh? What?
She vomited out the maggot.
The maggot rolled around in the vomit outside her body.
—Which bastard dares vomit on Lady Magireta’s hood?!
“And what are you? Why are you inside my daughter’s body?”
—And who might you be?
Veins bulged on the man’s forehead.
“I asked first.”
—So I have to answer first just because you asked first? How childish.
At that moment—
“Cough. Cough… huh? D-Dad!”
“Beat.”
Thud.
B—no, Beat—threw herself into the man’s arms.
Crying pitifully, she said,
“Waaah… Dad, it’s so unfair. I’m so angry.”
“What exactly happened? Weren’t you there to cooperate in Lady Magireta’s quest?”
“Yes. But that guy named Mason…”
“Who is Mason? Tell me everything slowly.”
“Sniff…”
“Calm down. Your father is here.”
Beat gradually regained her composure in his arms.
Then, after stopping her tears, she told him everything.
As the man listened silently, his face twisted.
“So that Mason forced you to eat this maggot.”
“Yes! And Lady Magireta was on Mason’s side too. Please say something to her, Dad.”
“Alright.”
“…Really?”
“Of course. No matter who she is, I can’t overlook someone who caused my daughter pain.”
A hint of worry appeared on Beat’s face.
She had asked for it, but now she felt afraid.
‘Magireta is on a completely different level…’
She spoke carefully.
“Dad… just forget it.”
“Why?”
“What if Lady Magireta gets angry at you…”
The man chuckled and shook his head.
“I’ll speak carefully so she doesn’t get angry. Don’t worry.”
“……”
“You don’t need to make that face. Your father is someone Lady Magireta trusts.”
“…Okay…”
“Anyway, setting Lady Magireta aside, that Mason is the real problem.”
His eyes deepened.
“I will make him pay. As much as you suffered—no, hundreds of times more.”
“Yes, yes! Please do that. Thank you.”
“Thank me? It’s only natural.”
“Eek! As expected of you, Dad.”
“Shall we go now? You must be tired. Let’s go home and rest.”
At that moment—
Odline, who had been rolling on the hood, spoke.
—Ahh. I see. I think I know who you are.
“……”
—Unlike Helena, there isn’t much information about the Second MVP. Since you rarely leave your home. Rumor has it you devote yourself to raising your daughter.
“……”
—You must be the Second MVP, Drod Kuhalim.
The man—no, the Second MVP, Drod—turned his body.
“Come to think of it, I forgot to crush a maggot.”
—Hey. What about this hood, huh?
“Die.”
—Wait! Killing me is fine, but send this hood properly to my domain. Seriously. If you don’t, it’s war.
“And who are you to speak of war against me?”
Beat spoke up.
“He says he’s the Third MVP.”
“What? Ah… I’ve heard of that. A maggot MVP.”
“Compared to you, Dad, all MVPs are just maggots.”
“Well, this one is literally a maggot… but thank you for saying that.”
Drod patted Beat’s head.
She smiled brightly and clung to his arm.
Then Odline spoke again.
—I’m not joking. Send the hood to my domain. Of course, not for free. I’ll pay properly.
“And what could you possibly offer me?”
—You said earlier you’d kill Mason. I also have a grudge against him.
“……”
—Let’s work together. Hmm?
Drod remained silent for a moment.
Soon, what came out of his mouth was nothing but a sneer.
“Heh. What a ridiculous joke.”
—What do you mean?
“I understand that Mason made you eat the maggot. But the root cause of my daughter’s suffering is that maggot itself.”
—……
“That means you are just as unforgivable to me as Mason. And you want to join hands?”
Slowly—
he raised his foot.
And then—
Crunch.
He crushed the maggot with ease.
Afterward, Drod looked at Magireta’s hood, now stained with filth.
—Fwoosh.
And burned it.
If Odline had known, he would have wept tears of blood.
Beat tilted her head and asked,
“Dad, is that okay? He was still the Third MVP… Aren’t MVPs not supposed to fight each other? And you even burned the hood he wanted.”
“That’s just an unspoken rule. There’s no such clause in Lady Magireta’s Hidden Rule.”
“Hmm… I’m still worried. That maggot seemed kind of insane.”
“It’s fine. Your father is invincible.”
Drod flexed his muscles proudly.
Beat giggled and clung to his arm.
“That’s right. Dad is the strongest.”
“Heh.”
“Can you carry me?”
“Of course. Let’s head back.”
Drod carried Beat on his back.
Soon, the father and daughter left the palace.
Only then—
was this place truly cleared.