Chapter 7: I Wanna Be…
“Why—”
“Do you want to know how I figured it out?”
I was in a state of utter confusion after Anon had seen through my true identity.
“That question itself is a dead giveaway, Row. You’ve completely admitted it now.”
He was right. I had no retort; it was an undeniable slip-up. In short, a total blunder.
“Well, it’s fine. Since Row has given the okay, let’s have a little chat.”
Anon led me to his room. Walking behind him felt like I was a suspect being taken in for questioning. Donadona.
“To put it simply,”
Anon sat down on his bed.
“There is no such person as the wealthy, powerful figure known as ‘Yanmar D. Low’ with black hair.”
“Huh?”
I was too slow to grasp the meaning behind his words.
“I mean it literally. Do I need to explain each point?”
“Well, fine,” he crossed his legs. “If someone were truly powerful or wealthy, they would naturally be known to a certain extent. I have a good grasp of most celebrities not only in this kingdom but also in neighboring countries. Including those worth mentioning.”
Whoa, is he some kind of database? But even a database shouldn’t have all the answers; that’s just how the world works. I was deep in denial.
“From the way you shop, it seems you have quite a bit of money.”
“I won’t deny having money. But wait a minute. No one knows my true abilities, right? I haven’t fought in front of anyone since I came to Bordaf.”
“You have fought. When you prevented the kidnapping of that noble lady, remember? The bandits you dealt with were no mere weaklings.”
Until now, I had only seen them as dirty, villainous mob characters.
“They were working with the spoiled son of a certain high-ranking noble, engaging in quite the nefarious activities. But we can skip the details on that.”
“But even so, that doesn’t pinpoint my identity—”
“It does. Because you introduced yourself as ‘Yanmar D. Low.'”
Oh no (eyes rolling).
“You twisted it from Yamada Ichiro, didn’t you?”
That’s not good.
“After the Holy Knight disappeared from the Hero Party, some time passed. Around that time, a person using a name derived from the now-avoided Yamada Ichiro, who is wealthy and powerful, has been gathering information on the Hero Party and the Holy Knight.”
It dawned on me for the first time: if such a suspicious character existed, it was no wonder I was being suspected. Anon had completely figured me out, and if things went south, I might not even be able to step foot in the town again.
But there was something else that bothered me.
“Anon, I give up, I give up. I don’t mind; as you said, I am the Holy Knight Yamada Ichiro. But the part you mentioned about being ‘powerful and wealthy’ is completely different from the rumors about me in this country, right?”
In the rumors, I was portrayed as a wasteful spendthrift who couldn’t manage assets, a lazy, overweight person with no skills.
“I want to believe in what I see with my own eyes. That is my policy, you could say.”
“Policy…”
“Yes, policy.”
I felt as if I had touched something warm within his seemingly carefree demeanor.
“In anything, those without the will to make their own judgments can easily be manipulated by others. Similarly, those who lack the will to scrutinize information will ultimately be swayed by whatever information suits others’ needs.”
He likely harbored something much more passionate within him.
“The moment you left, the Hero Party failed their first exploration of the Labyrinth. They even brought along two S-Rank Parties as per Hero-kun’s instructions.”
“Is that really true?”
Even without counting Ryuguin as a force, those three should have been able to return from any Labyrinth in a single layer.
“I’ve already heard about the members who accompanied the Hero Party from Atlas. Completely. The so-called savior of the nation has turned into a laughingstock.”
I felt a sense of familiarity with the name “Atlas” that he mentioned in relation to that Clan.
“Well, if the claims of the party leader, Eliza, are true, then Hero-kun seems to be quite reckless and lacking in thought. Of course, it’s also possible that she, being part of Atlas, shifted the blame onto Hero-kun to cover her own mistakes.”
But then he continued.
“I have a decent relationship with her, and I know she’s not the type to tell such lies.”
His eyes, hidden beneath the hood, pierced through me.
“Then we have a problem. Between ‘you,’ whom most people in the kingdom disdain as incompetent, and ‘Hero-kun,’ whom my acquaintance labeled as ‘thoughtless,’ who do you think I should believe?”
“Don’t ask me that.”
“Sorry. It’s a given. The answer is ‘you.’ If I had to choose between you and Hero-kun, I would trust you without hesitation.”
His words choked me up.
“After all, I trust my own ‘eyes.'”
I couldn’t put my feelings into words. My cheeks flushed, and I felt like I might cry if I let my guard down.
“This is a personal story, but can you listen for a moment?”
It was Anon who broke the silence between us. I nodded, “Sure.”
“I once wanted to be a hero. A hero who protects all people from all calamities.”
Anon began to speak slowly.
“It all started with a picture book. A certain picture book I read as a child. I admired the hero in that book. That hero was a savior of all.”
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