I Became a Foreign Worker Loved by Transcendents

Chapter 140: Fanatical Obsession

The war that erupted over the excavation ended in humanity’s victory, but it came at a great cost with many sacrifices.

I knew this, so I never considered the victory solely mine. I only accepted the recognition for driving the final nail into the victory and the opportunity to move forward on my own afterward…

“I heard you’re a foreign worker. Is that true?”

But what could it be?

Why was there such a deep-seated hatred in the eyes of the man looking down at me now?

“Kuhuhu, yes. A guy who was stuck mining coal in a mine, suddenly awakens incredible power overnight and leads the war to victory? And in a war that involved two of the Four Knights?”

“That’s…”

-Clang!

The moment I tried to explain, a swung bottle collided with my head.

On the battlefield, experienced through the memories of my other persona, far more fierce and merciless attacks had come my way countless times.

“A foreign worker dealing with the Four Knights? Make some sense! Who do you take us for, huh?”

However, the one in front of me showed no awareness that I was capable of such a thing.

As if they believed their status and influence guaranteed them absolute immunity against me.

“From what I’ve heard, you must’ve colluded with the soldiers there to make a convincing report, but such things will eventually come to light after an investigation.”

And to some extent, that was true.

I was aware that making a scene here would be suicidal.

Killing the man in front of me would mean facing the surrounding nobles, soldiers, and heroes, and even if I survived that, I’d be making the entire empire my enemy.

“…Come to light? I’m not sure what you mean by that.”

Yes, my current patience stemmed from such distant worries. It was not out of submission to the man in front of me, but to protect myself.

“Kuhuhu, keep pretending you don’t know. Unless you’re a complete fool, I pretty much have a grasp on your obvious intentions~”

But whatever the case, it was clear that I couldn’t stand up to this damned pig.

The Lord of Elmat, judging that he had nothing more to lose, began to continue his verbal abuse towards me without restraint.

“You must have been uneasy following a dying, incompetent old commander with your legion, almost getting wiped out. Anyway, to somewhat mitigate that responsibility, having at least one hero who turned the tide of battle to emerge victorious would suffice for saving face, wouldn’t it?”

That’s absurd.

The soldiers who sacrificed themselves there were all noble and honorable.

They believed in me and threw themselves into the fray because even the corpse of their leading officer fought to protect humanity.

“And they say the dragon’s bones were too shattered to retrieve? We lost a lot, and now they’re touting an outsider as the hero who wrapped up the victory? What a waste of money.”

But Lord Elmat, as if disregarding such sacrifices, instead wanted to vent his frustration, turning things around on me.

Afterward, as he tapped my cheek with his palm, his voice carried a firm belief that his thoughts were not wrong.

“From the start, you foreign workers should be grateful just for being able to breathe, considering how much resources we’ve invested in summoning you, and all you can do in return is the work of a single person~”

From the beginning, they evaluate the abilities of those summoned, wanting to have absolute faith in such assessments.

If that evaluation were to be overturned later, it would mean their judgment was flawed.

In such a situation, where they must confront their own incompetence, it’s unlikely that the high self-esteem of the nobles would allow them to accept such a reality as it is.

Even if one were to prove their strength and flashy abilities right before their eyes, being branded from the start, they would try to find fault within their means.

“Moreover, do you know who else went with you? Jeong Seo-yul, that’s who! The strongest hero who has completed the most quests among all existing heroes! But she died, and a foreign worker led the war to victory?! That’s absurd. Unless you’ve conspired with the soldiers to backstab and monopolize the glory!”

“Yes! Exactly as Lord Elmat says!”

“Do you think we’ll believe anything just because we weren’t there?!”

The nobles around him, rallied by Elmat’s incitement, began to stand up one by one, jeering.

The sneers on their lips and the excitement in their eyes told me that their aim was not just to rebuke a fraud at this moment.

“Why not just be honest here instead of dragging this out? Otherwise, you might end up facing trial in front of the Imperial Family and could even become a condemned criminal?”

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Yes, the truth didn’t matter to them.

They just wanted to bring me down. The mere thought of someone they deemed inferior rising to their level was revolting to them.

“No, execution alone isn’t enough! He must be made to cough up everything he’s earned!”

“How much did I support the hero who went there, only for you to treacherously take all the credit and render it all for naught?!”

“Throw him in prison right now and make him a slave for life!!”

Isn’t it ironic?

Heroes were supposed to be humanity’s hope and saviors, yet they saw them as expendable and easily killed if they displeased them.

The title of a hero was so light because, even if one was removed, they could summon another with their vast resources—a mere ‘mass-produced’ existence.

‘Dad.’

What if a real hero, not a mass-produced one, saw this situation?

A hero who fought life-and-death battles in the most brutal times, not someone who awakened immense power overnight.

‘I would have killed them all.’

Tacchia Pheloi.

The voice of the last hero this world produced, Tacchia Pheloi, faintly reached my ears.

Whether she really awoke again to convey this message to me, or it was just the product of my imagination thinking she would say such things if she existed, I couldn’t tell.

But one thing was certain.

Part of the anger I felt now was from her, and giving in to that anger to kill as many of these people as possible was one of my choices.

“…Don’t worry. I won’t rampage.”

Having read the worry implied within, I decided to quell my murderous intent.

Though it felt like my rationality might snap at any moment, the images of those who followed me emphasized the need for patience.

‘It’s okay to rampage. I’m on your side till the end.’

“But we have people we need to protect.”

‘……’

“…You know that if I rampage here, Tashian would also get caught up in it, right?”

Not just Tashian.

Airi, Merilyn… and everyone else involved with me was at risk of being played by the arrogant and corrupt power-holders who bear grudges against me.

So, I must endure now.

At least until I meet someone in this one safe place who could guide me, and through them, continue to grow and reach higher places.

“Ah, now that I think about it, there’s something bothering me. Since we’ve met like this, let me ask you something.”

In front of me, as I continued to endure, Lord Elmat soon began to spew his mocking voice with hiccups.

“I’ve heard rumors that an actual living dragon appeared and then disappeared there. Do you know anything about that?”

“Wh-what…?”

“Dragon, I said. A dragon that appeared and wiped out the undead legion there… Kuhuhu, well, if dragons really exist, transforming into a human would be well within possibility.”

-Thump, thump.

I could feel my heart beating fiercely.

Just as I tensed, fearing that reaction might show to the person in front of me, Lord Elmat, holding a new bottle to his lips, began to press me with a swaggering tone.

“Ah, and I’ve had people look into it, you know. I’ve heard you’ve been living with several women lately? And I heard there’s one woman who joined you recently…”

-Ziiiing.

I felt a sword forming in my grip.

It wasn’t something I did consciously.

It was an impulse.

The phenomenon, where the thoughts of me and the child hidden within me aligned, turning into murderous intent ready to be directed at the one in front of me.

-Swish!

As the blade began to reveal itself in front of the crowd, a shadow darted towards it.

My body, not realizing what had happened so suddenly, was pushed by the pressure and fell to the ground.

-Thud!

Ugh, an ambush?!

Could it be that someone, sensing my intentions beforehand, threw themselves at me to stop me?

No matter what, I had to get away.

As I tried to push the other’s body away, I felt something soft caught in my hand.

-Squish.

Too large and heavy to grasp with one hand…

Yet, it strangely stirred a tickling desire in the corner of my heart.

“Ugh, hehehehe~”

Amid my confusion about why it was in my hand, a faint laughter could be heard.

“I’ve found you. Finally, I’ve found you…!”

I knew who the owner of that voice was.

Though I hadn’t heard it for nearly half a year, it was a voice I had repeated countless times since that day.

“Vi…”

The name of the woman, prompting such a sense of déjà vu, soon escaped my lips.

“Vivian?”

“Ehehe, you, you remember me~”

Vivian Platonis.

A mage of the Magic Tower to whom I had once been indebted before becoming an adventurer.

And an absurd being who defined herself as a ‘witch,’ capable of wiping out a vile criminal organization with just her fingers.

“Oh, it’s been a long time, Mr. Housekeeper. H-have you been… well?”

Such a woman appeared suddenly in front of me, wearing only a nightgown, and now she was tightly embracing me.

Her uniquely voluptuous body fully pressed against mine…

But I couldn’t feel any excitement.

More than that, I wondered why she was in the Imperial Palace and why she was embracing me so affectionately.

“Wait, just a moment, Ms. Vivian. Right now, given the situation, if you could just step back…”

“Eek! Just when it was getting good, this bitch shows up to ruin everything?”

Regardless, the situation wasn’t good.

Until just now, I was dealing with an authority of this empire, second only to the Imperial Family.

It was impossible to take lightly the situation that had been cooled down by someone who would not even consider the Emperor or the Crown Prince as significant.

“This won’t do. Lord Elmat! The person over there is…”

“Shut up! How dare you block my way?!”

Cheska was the only one who tried to block Elmat like that, but it was impossible for a royal bastard to block his way.

It seemed to provoke him further, and the attempt to strike Vivian was filled with even more intense force.

“You, woman over there! Won’t you scram right now? Do you know whose presence you’re obstructing…?!”

No sooner had those words filled with anger been uttered than a loud ‘snap!’ resonated.

It didn’t take long to realize that the sound had come from Vivian’s fingers.

Yes, just like before, she had snapped her fingers at the being that had annoyed her.

-Splurt!!

That even someone with authority second only to the Imperial Family was not exempt from this.

Only after seeing the fountain of blood shooting up in place of his head did I realize this fact.

“Kyaaaaaaaaaah!”

Starting with the scream of a female noble, the scene turned into chaos.

As if they never thought a bloodbath could occur right before their eyes.

And they never thought that such a tragedy would target the noble they looked up to.

“Cr-crazy bitch! Where do you think you are right now?!”

“More importantly, Lord Elmat…!”

“Soldiers! What are you doing?! Kill that crazy bitch!”

Yes, she committed an act that no one present could have imagined, as if it were nothing.

Even I would have to prepare myself greatly and exhibit a loss of reason to do such a thing.

Just like that, for no reason other than being irritated.

“…It’s noisy.”

Yet, Vivian didn’t seem to care.

Rather, she directed the intent to kill she had displayed at this moment towards those around her.

“Should I just kill everyone here?”

She wanted to reach out without hesitation, targeting the leaders of this empire.

Even though such an action might bring responsibility that could choke her.

And even though it might lead to irreversible actions.

“V-Vivian. Wait…”

“If I kill all the kids here.”

As if to show me that I was the beginning of all this.

Her face, mixed with blood, gradually started to turn towards me.

“If that happens, the two of us… won’t have to worry about being disturbed anymore, right?”

The chill felt from the thinly spread smile.

Just facing it made the thought that I should stop her gradually disappear from my mind, becoming distant.

No matter how strong one was or the experiences of wandering the brink of death one has had.

Just like at the beginning, the thought that it would be impossible to oppose the phenomenon she had caused came to mind first.

“…Everyone, be silent.”

In the midst of watching helplessly, a dry voice was heard before long.

From the moment that voice was heard, the commotion around suddenly subsided, and their breaths were all halted.

“Be silent.”

To anyone looking, this was an alien phenomenon.

Even though it was just a voice filled with solemnity, the fact that it could quell the chaos stemming from the death of the empire’s highest-ranking authority was astonishing.

“Hi…”

However, if this place was the Imperial Palace, there was exactly one person capable of such a thing.

Someone whom even the leaders of this empire could only look up to with reverence.

“His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince…!”

If the one who would soon inherit this empire had set foot in this place…