Evade The Hero and Flee!

Chapter 268

30. It’s best to start by drawing bigger picture (1) 

When I was working at the Imperial Palace, I would often visit the Imperial Library during my breaks. There was a book there that described execution grounds.  

It had content like this:

<Being an executioner is one of the things humans cannot do. No matter how heinous the crimes those criminals committed, watching their deaths before your eyes can be mentally devastating. Just looking at executioners who have become desensitized to others’ deaths after working at the execution grounds for a long time…>

The reason that content suddenly came to mind is because,

“It’s done.”

Shuttle’s expressionless face as he confirmed the hero’s perfect collapse reminded me of the descriptions of executioners who worked at the grounds for over 10 years in that book.

“Is that so?”

But so what? He would have to follow me anyway until the Demon King is defeated. 

“It doesn’t seem okay at all though?”

“It’ll be fine until you get hit.”

“I see….”

The metal bat, who came up beside me, was feeling the lingering thrill of pounding the hero after a long time.

“Let me see….”

I got up from my seat and went next to the hero’s corpse-like collapsed body.

“Is he dead?”

That’s unlikely, but he looked similar to a dead body.

His body was limply sprawled out, unmoving. His handsome face was distorted in pain, now an ugly face. And between his red lips that would drive women crazy, his tongue lolled out.  

To sum up that sight in one word.

“Ugly.”

No idea whose disciple he is, but truly ugly.

I chose my disciple based on their looks too, so why did a guy like this end up as my disciple?

“Are you in any place to call your disciple ugly?”

“Oh my! I’m not ugly.”

There was a time I thought, am I at least decently good looking? But that got shattered after entering the palace.

The palace was heaven above heaven of the mortal world.  

And Rain, who’s one level above that heavenly heaven in the celestial realm, was so stunning it even shocked me!

Was it the importance of grooming? Were the nobles’ genes superior?

Or was it simply because they resided in the palace and looked at their faces often?

Since I was a special case, maybe they didn’t look at my face when choosing me.

Anyway, aside from the soldiers, everyone in the palace had a certain look about them. After serving there, I neatly threw away any confidence I had in my looks.

But I never once heard I was ugly there!

This is my last shred of self-esteem!

“If you look at the facts, isn’t Master no match for the hero?”  

“Because he’s my disciple.”

Like I said earlier, I chose disciples based on their looks too.

Its’ only natural good looks would aid survival.

Even if their face isn’t recognized infiltrating a city or escaping, it’s easier to pass through if you’re handsome.

Unlike other organization punks with scars on their faces, muscular, bald, and bald, it’s more likely they’ll get caught at checkpoints if they’re bald.  

“Master? Didn’t you repeat the same word?”

“It’s my mood.”

It feels like baldness is emphasized more, but it’s my mood. Probably.

“Just with their looks…you didn’t have any other motives when choosing disciples, right?”

“Oh my! If I dreamt of romance with my disciples, would I have taught them so harshly?”

The training was so brutal I was anxious about when and where my disciples would pull out their knives.  

To be honest, if I received training from myself I would have gone and stabbed them in the stomach at night.  

“Check my disciples’ survival rate. It definitely helps, I’m telling you.”

1 out of the 1st group is missing. 1 is the Demon King.

The 2nd group all became executives of Darkness, but they started their own organization and got integrated by Sia before living well.

I heard some from the 3rd group entered under the Imperial Princess while some are missing, but I’m sure they’re surviving well enough since I saw their faces recently. The last disciples are also living well as I’ve seen them recently.

“And this one?”

The metal bat pokes the hero with her foot.  

Seeing him make a guek sound despite his tongue sticking out, he seems alive too.

“He’s alive too.”

“I see.”  

Rather than him being dead, it just means he can’t be found.

Then my disciples’ survival rate is a whopping 100 percent!

Look at this miraculous number!

“Master? Isn’t one disciple the Demon King while another disciple has to fight that Demon King, and the rest got captured by ladies trying to catch the Master so they live like that, but is that still your mood’s fault?”

“It’s my mood, my mood.”  

The metal bat’s words all seem right, but that’s just malicious distortion.  

Looking at it positively, they got jobs at the continental strongest conglomerate, I mean the Karan Empire, holding their strongest line.

The ones who lined up with Sia also got jobs at the continental top dark corporation, so my disciples are currently all employed by conglomerates!

Ah! 100 percent survival rate and 100 percent employment rate at conglomerates. It was a miraculous number worthy of making it their academy slogan.

“The Demon King and the hero aren’t though, right?”

“The apostle of the Evil god and Nature’s Divine Temple are plenty enough conglomerates.”

Both have strong influence over the continent so they were conglomerates.

“I think Master is the first and last to call the apostle of the Evil god a conglomerate….”

The smack to the back of the metal bat’s head when she said ‘Hot! Then am I the president?’ afterward is an open secret.  

Afterward, I asked the high elf to bring the hero over here.

“Is that the hero or the Demon King?”

“I don’t know.”  

“Great job, Your Highness!”

The way he looks at me expectantly, as if awaiting praise, still isn’t normal.

“Yes, uh….”

But since I could become the hero, I could only quietly nod my head.

– As expected, women the master knows aren’t sane.

– I won’t deny that.

With shackles containing magic stones on his wrists and ankles, his whole body tied in silver chains, magic stones embedded in the blindfold over his eyes, and a familiar round object in his mouth he’s biting down on, if I didn’t know that was the hero over there, I might have believed it if told he was the Demon King!

Even I felt the hero was pitiful from the perfect sealing, no, restraint.  

“Speaking of those shackles, I heard they were specially made sealing tools made in the past after us elves and dwarves combined our powers to seal the Demon King. It was impossible with the Demon King, but I heard they can somehow restrain dragonkin in human form!”

While listing the tools used to seal, no, restrain the hero in a cheerful voice, they are each said to be able to capture anything from an ogre at minimum to a dragon at maximum.

“I see. A perfect seal, no, restraint.”  

“Yes!”

I couldn’t dare ask why he had brought such dreadful tools with him.

-You didn’t bring it to show master, did you?

-Don’t say it because I don’t want to think about it!

Sweat trickled down my spine with a full set that easily surpassed even the princess’ necklace.  

“Shall we go then, Prince?”

“Shall we?”

His smiling gesture and reaching out his hand somehow felt scary.  

With one word, all the elves around could turn into enemies and cling on, and after that, I would be neatly sealed like a hero.

“By any chance, do you have… more stuff used to catch heroes?”

“Hohoho! What do you think?”

“Well…”

Answering a question with a question. It’s the worst answer, but I have nothing to say about the reality.

– Metal bat, let’s turn into armor mode if anything happens.

– Huh? Master recently said something about sending everything to lava, but shall I do it?

– Metal bat…?

I was trying to prepare an escape when the most important object came out uncooperative.  

– We are a goddess and apostles connected by one mind and body, aren’t we?

– Who told me to listen well if I don’t want to go to lava?

– If I get caught, it won’t end well for you either?

– Ha! I will resurrect someday, but master will suffer forever!

– Ugh!

It was an unexpected counterattack from the metal bat.

– How long have I been with a master that I wouldn’t remember the patterns? Saying I’ll shred you first when it gets safe!

– Oh, no…

– Master has already lost trust!

I guess so.

Metal bat was with me longer than anyone else and knew my nature well.  

If I were the metal bat, I wouldn’t do something stupid like trusting me either.

– Just a little longer, a very little longer, then a way will open…

– What way is that?

Relying on feelings is an undesirable attitude as a villain.  

As a villain, robbery is the first virtue in dealing, fraud and extortion the second virtue.

If that doesn’t work, I have to persuade as the last resort.

I told the metal bat about the seed I secretly planted.

– As expected, master is crazy! I can’t miss something so fun!

As I expected, I was able to persuade the metal bat.

#1 Their situation: The situation of those waiting for something.

None. None. None. None!

“Chief, how long do we have to stay here?”

“The Alliance of Heroes who went up north retreated, pushed by the newly emerged Demon King and kept getting pushed.”

“After Swin, the leader, hero of Nature, lured the Demon King alone and went missing, the movements of heroes has slowed down.”

“The headquarters of the Alliance of Heroes was also attacked by the original Demon King so it’s out of control.”  

“All the kingdoms are waiting for our move!”

It’s noisy around.  

I couldn’t understand the subordinates busily talking about the danger of the Demon King.

Since when have we aimed to subdue the Demon Kings?

Everything was for one purpose, to catch the Instructor.

“Captain!”  

A pretty member with red bobbed hair opened the door and came in.

“What’s the matter, Captain Aris?”

“Are… are you angry?”

“No way.”

It’s only been two months.  

It’s time that something could have happened, so it’s waitable.

As the members say, the Demon King is wandering around right now, right?

Since No. 1 seems to have suffered, the Instructor must be running around busily. 

It’s a contract breach, but still I could wait.  

Because the dishes from the recipes the Instructor taught were so tasty.

“Um… that…”

“Speak properly, Captain Aris.”  

“Yes, yes!”

Captain Aris’s report with all sorts of explanations was simple in content.

“Why make it so complicated? Two Demon Kings appeared. So three kingdoms have already fallen because of that.”  

“Well… it can be said like that, but…”

“No need to make it complicated, right?”

“Yes, you’re right!”

Captain Aris, standing upright in tension, used magic on people nearby shaking all over.

– Captain, why are you like that? Did someone accidentally spill lunch or something?

– Would there be a suicidal person who would do that?

– Right. There wouldn’t be such a crazy guy.

– Rather than disturbing the Captain’s meal, they would shoot magic at their own body and fly away if anything.  

– Aris was away for reconnaissance so she wouldn’t know, but he’s been like that for quite a while.

– Ugh… wanna go home…

It’s easy to eavesdrop by reading the flow of magic, but the members didn’t seem to know this method.  

So I’m hearing everything they say through magic.

They were still lacking to be called the Instructor’s disciples.  

Well, no need to teach them, though.

“Captain!”

“Now what?”

“The command from His Majesty is to either confront the evil god forces or capture Sir Ast!”

“His Majesty’s?”

“Yes.”  

I have stayed here for too long after all.  

If it were as originally planned, the recipe would have been left here.

If not, we were going to leave traces on the Demon King’s path.

“Let’s move.”

“Understood!”

For now, I endured. The situation was changing rapidly.  

So endure a little. 

Bear it again and again and again, about five months after the Instructor’s information disappeared,  

“The one who breached the promise first is the Instructor.”  

I sincerely determined to catch the Instructor.