Chapter 75

(Harold’s POV)

『Brave Hearts』was an authentic Oudou* RPG. The protagonist, Liner, grew up witnessing the strength of his parents, skilled adventurers from their past. From childhood, Liner trained relentlessly, eager to surpass his mother and father, and before he knew it, he dreamt of leading the saint knight order.

Anyone would acknowledge the knight order’s leader as a mighty hero; it was no exaggeration to say most children aspired to be like him.

On his 17th birthday, Liner was to inherit a certain sword his parents had obtained during their adventuring days and journey to the royal capital to join the knight order.

However, the evening before his 17th birthday, thieves broke into Liner’s house and stole the sword. Thus, shaking off his parents’ restraint, Liner, accompanied by his childhood friend, Colette, ventured out of the village to retrieve the sword from the thieves.

That was the game’s introduction, and this was the trigger that drew Liner into a nefarious plot that would shake the world, compelling him to oppose it.

Incidentally, dispatching the thieves and battling them was part of the game’s combat tutorial. At that point, the player could experience a true battle, with magic woven in. It was an unavoidable event in the game.

Well, in this world, there was a high chance of experiencing such a battle later, but this event was the first major turning point in the story’s development. A turning point that would have been impossible without the thieves stealing the sword.

And Harold was convinced that the entire operation had been orchestrated by Harrison’s men, the Minister of Defense’s underlings. These individuals had no names in the game, and even their dialogue was poorly prepared. They had no particular background to investigate or anything of the sort. They were plot devices, simply playing their assigned parts.

However, that was just in the game’s story.

From Harold’s deductive reasoning, based on his conversation with Justus, the young man and woman were almost certainly meant to trespass Liner’s residence and steal his sword. The problem was that Harold was ordered to join them and manage them, and in the game, the thieves were actually… a trio.

Having finished listening to Justus’ lecture, Harold questioned him to clarify his doubts.

【”I understand who they are. However, why must I accompany them? Couldn’t you have prepared some other puppets?”】

【”I considered it, but to reach this stage of the research, I had to expend more bodies from the Stellar Tribe than anticipated. I’d rather keep some spares.”】

Those Stellar Tribe members had been captured by Justus amidst the chaos of the battle between the knight order, the imperial army, and the Stellar Tribe; and he had simply declared them “spares.” For him, they were not even human beings.

That realization was frightening, but this situation was also a result of Harold’s intervention in that battle, obstructing Justus’ plans. If Justus had captured the Stellar Tribe members as in the original story, this issue wouldn’t have arisen. And if Harold hadn’t intervened in the battle, he wouldn’t have become Justus’ subordinate.

In short, this was merely the result of the seed Harold had sown himself.

Harold would be working on two fronts: as Harold Stokes and as the ringleader responsible for the theft.

While he could somehow manage the former role, the latter would make him a complete antagonist. Discovering his true identity on the job would likely be problematic.

Justus, unconcerned by Harold’s dilemma, smoothly continued the conversation.

【”From now on, the three of you will be under the command of a man named Harrison. Are you acquainted with him?”】

【”No. If I’m not mistaken, he’s the Minister of Defense, right?”】

【”Precisely. It wasn’t easy to get someone as inflexible and stubborn as him to cooperate, but I finally managed to place him where he could be useful to me.”】

【”You’ve been keeping an eye on him for quite some time, haven’t you?”】

In the game’s story, Harrison was a foolish man, too proud, and ultimately pathetically killed by a subordinate supposed to be under his control… thinking of that, Harold realized that the role of killing Harrison had fallen upon him.

Harrison treated the automaton dolls like tools. He forced impossible demands on them, mercilessly slaying them with his sword when they failed, and in his final moments, his life would be taken by one of those emotionless dolls. That was the fate awaiting him.

【”His thoughts are biased and narrow-minded, but no one is as easy to manipulate as he is. At least, he’ll make a fine expendable pawn.”】

【”Your hobbies are as bad as ever.”】

【”That sarcastic mouth of yours won’t do. I’ve explained to Harrison that the dolls lack language capabilities, so be careful not to speak to him. And while you’re at it, cover your face with a robe so he can’t see you.”】

Harold’s face and name were well-known, making these precautions essential.

Honestly, he wasn’t eager for this mission, but the rewards would match the risks. Having received an order, Harold had no right to refuse. Refusal would likely lead to being culled or becoming a test subject. Either way, his chances of survival would be low.

Therefore, it was more practical to focus on fulfilling his duty while trying to avoid making things worse. Due to his experiences thus far, Harold had resigned himself to the fact that troublesome matters would appear out of nowhere.

He told himself that was just the nature of this body and decided to accept it.

【”As for you two, you are forbidden from acting without my or Harold’s permission.”】

At Justus’ words, the young man and woman nodded. It seemed they would follow the command perfectly, but there was a part of the command Harold couldn’t ignore.

【”Hold on. Can I also give them orders?”】

【”Of course. There will undoubtedly be many situations requiring on-the-spot judgment. They are officially Harrison’s henchmen, but if they only obeyed his orders without exception, there would be no end to it.”】

Justus had a point. If Harold could influence them to some degree, he would have more options in critical situations. That was reassuring.

【”What is the order of priority for command rights?”】

【”It’s me, then you, and then Harrison. But even though you can choose whether to follow Harrison’s instructions or not, you should remain as loyal to him as possible.”】

【”That will depend on him.”】

【”Hmm, well, that will be fine.”】

Though it wasn’t clear how Justus arrived at that conclusion, it seemed he had given Harold a passing grade.

Actually, to follow the original story’s flow, Harold had no intention of confronting Harrison head-on. His primary concern was that his sharp tongue would stand out in conversation, but with Justus covering him, he would probably manage somehow.

That left Harold with the question of whether to kill Harrison or not.

There was no fight against Harrison in the game. His main fight was against the black-robed individuals under his control, now to be played by Harold in disguise. Despite the tediousness, the experience value and reward items for the three-way fight were comparatively lacking, but Harold set that aside.

As explained before, in the game’s story, Harrison was killed by an automaton doll under his command. From the scene, it seemed the black-robed person, previously obedient, rebelled when their companion was killed. But judging from Justus’ earlier explanation, it appeared that scene was actually a result of him ordering the doll to kill Harrison; or perhaps the doll’s suppressed emotions simply overflowed when its companion was killed.

Either way, Harrison died. But his death was irrelevant to the game’s story. He was merely a tool used by Justus, unaware of it, and bid farewell to the world while attempting to assist a fabricated plan.

Then, what would happen if he survived? Nothing special. Logically, if not killed, given the gravity of his crimes, he would surely be arrested for treason.

Undoubtedly, if Harrison’s offenses were revealed, he would be tried in the tribunal, and Justus, intending to discard him from the start, wouldn’t go out of his way to cover for him.

If so, Harrison would definitely be sentenced to death. That was the extent of it.

He was also involved in the battle five years prior between the knight order, the Sarian Empire, and the Stellar Tribe; and since he participated in guiding the imperial forces, he could find no excuses.

Many people had died because Harrison had pursued his selfish desires.

While he considered Harrison a dead man anyway, Harold couldn’t shake off the feeling of wanting to avoid killing a person. Though he had nearly killed Ritzert in the previous battle, he was not in his right mind, unable to control his Switch.

But with his own hands and free will, he wouldn’t kill in self-defense without sufficient reason. Could he truly “murder” someone? However, Harold realized that such thoughts were unreasonable at this point.

Well, it didn’t matter; no harm would be done even if he didn’t personally kill Harrison.

【”Then, I’ll be handing you over to Harrison this evening. Do your best to avoid trouble.”】

Having heard those final words, Harold returned to his room. While he had more to consider, if he had to conclude, this development wasn’t bad.

Justus’s statement that he would hand Harold over to Harrison meant that Harold would be free from Justus’ control for a while. With the original story beginning, this turn of events was exactly what Harold hoped for, allowing him to move more freely. It would be easier for him to contact Elu.

And even though he worried about being exposed by Liner and others, as long as he was careful about one thing, there would still be great benefits.

As Harold pondered, the day transitioned into evening. Harold and the others, dressed in black robes suitable for the night, were led to a quiet bar tucked away in a popular alley, far from the city center.

The bar was very dark; not a single light was on. One couldn’t even see their feet clearly inside. No one would be enjoying alcohol in such a situation; or rather, there was no sign of a shopkeeper, let alone customers.

Yet, why was the door unlocked? Without explanation, the man serving as Justus’ envoy went inside. Deep within the shop, a door led to a stone stairway descending underground.

Led by the man, the group of four steadily descended the stairs. A stone-walled room awaited them. The ceiling wasn’t high, stone pillars were scattered, and the space was roughly the size of a tennis court, if not larger.

【”Oh, I’ve been waiting for you.”】

Such a voice echoed within the room, as dark as the shop’s interior. The owner of the voice was Harrison, seated at a round table. Just as in the game, he had a rather prominent belly. If Harold spoke, he’d probably insult him with something like, “It’s not every day you see cattle chatting like that. Is this some kind of show?”

Not having to speak was a helpful circumstance.

【”Are those the dolls the doctor was talking about?”】

【”Yes. Please look forward to their flawless service as your servants.”】

【”Sounds promising. What are their names?”】

【”They don’t have any. You are welcome to name them as you please, Harrison-sama.”】

【”Then, I suppose I’ll just call them ‘dolls’. I heard the doctor call them that.”】

Harrison and Justus’ envoy began conversing before Harold’s eyes. They discussed how Harold and the others lacked names, and the envoy explained that their language capabilities were lost due to brain-tempering during development, but despite their lack of response, the dolls would obey orders perfectly.

However, the crucial point was that Harrison was well aware of Justus’ existence. If so, then when a critical moment arrived, even if Harold didn’t personally deal with Harrison, Justus would likely keep his mouth shut.

Harrison had some excellent death flags. He could be considered Harold’s comrade in a way.

While pondering such trivialities for a few minutes, Harold silently observed the scene. Soon, the delivery was complete, and the envoy departed.

Having confirmed this, Harrison turned towards Harold and the others, a light yet eerie smile spreading across his face.

【”Now then, my faithful dolls. Let’s put you to work immediately for my noble self’s salvation.”】

Translator’s note: * An Oudou Rpg is a sort of classical RPG, with the hero going on a journey and the like, like Dragon