Chapter 132

“Wh… who are you? Th… that Dae Sang-hyuk person?”

“…Y… you don’t… don’t know? Really?”

Dae Sang-hyuk.

The one dubbed the greatest professional gamer of all time, a legendary figure whose name is known to anyone who plays games.

Even hearing a name that has transcended mere popularity to reach the realm of worship, Duke Ocleang only displayed a confused expression.

And then…

Three possibilities crossed my mind.

One was that despite looking so ragged, he might still be clinging to an unyielding spirit.

He seemed to tremble in fear, but it could all just be an act.

In truth, he might be purposely pretending not to know to hide the truth.

“It’s a plausible possibility… No matter what, he’s thorough enough to pull off something like this. Plus, as a former person, he might find a way to turn this situation around if he just gets through this crisis.”

Even in the depths of a river, the human heart is a mystery.

A person who seems weak on the surface might possess depths beyond what’s visible, so I couldn’t dismiss this possibility.

And following that first possibility, there came a second.

It was simply that he might genuinely be a profoundly ignorant individual lacking common sense, truly not knowing who Dae Sang-hyuk was.

No matter how great a celebrity might be, it’s still possible for someone not to know them.

In that regard, I asked another question just to check.

“Then… do you know about the country called South Korea?”

“Wh… what?… Is… is there a country like that?”

“…”

Even so, it didn’t make sense for someone not to know this, so I could conclude that he wasn’t just lacking common sense.

“Does this mean his will is so strong that he’s pretending not to know… a highly likely possibility? Or is it that…”

Duke Ocleang’s face still bore an expression full of doubt and fear.

Seeing him like this made me consider the possibility that both my prior assumptions were wrong.

If that turned out to be the case, the last option would be…

Honestly, it was something I truly didn’t want to think about.

That was—

Despite all my speculations and efforts, the fact that he might just be an ordinary noble fool who knows nothing at all.

“Ah… no… there’s no way that’s true… If that’s the case, then what about all those signs that I saw?”

He showed an excessive obsession with Ambasha and tried to kill Magellan for absurd reasons.

He even mobilized a massive army to attack me.

All acts that were extreme enough to be hard to comprehend if one didn’t know the original work, so I thought for sure that he must also be a former person like me.

However, facing the situation head-on, his appearance was shaking the very foundations of that assumption.

Then…

“U-Um… ummm, I can’t understand the questions you’re asking… p-please don’t misunderstand! I… I really don’t know. I can answer anything else if you ask me something different.”

“…”

He spoke with a sense of urgency.

As I watched him, I couldn’t help but ask him, filled with curiosity.

“Then let me ask… why were you obsessively targeting that girl… Ambasha? What’s the reason for touching the Pirate King just to get your hands on a mere slave?”

“Th… that’s…”

“Didn’t you say you’d answer anything? Don’t test my patience, Dae Sang-hyuk!”

“Ah… I’ll tell you! Th… the reason is… A-Ambasha is… my type. Other girls aren’t bad either, but I wanted to hold someone with that kind of beauty at any cost…”

“…What?”

I found myself momentarily stunned by a story even weirder than I had anticipated.

“Really… is that the only reason? Not because of Ambasha’s power or talents?”

“I… I didn’t know anything about that! How could I have known she’d become that strong! I… I just wanted to eat her soft body…”

“…Ugh…”

Every word was twisting my insides with discomfort.

I already knew through Franklin that he had severe loli-con tendencies, but hearing that our Ambasha was one of his targets made me feel grimmer by the second.

If I had shown patience regarding the slightest possibility that remained, I would’ve already sent him flying a long time ago.

Feeling my stomach turn with irritation, I continued with the interrogation.

“Then, what about Magellan and Elkana? Why did you go out of your way to kill them?”

“W… well, it’s because some mere bounty hunter dared to fail my commission…”

“Does that make sense? Even if they’re commoners, is this how you treat them?”

“You wouldn’t understand! How could those lowly creatures know what it’s like to be a noble… Cough!”

“…I’ve been listening patiently since earlier, but your words are short? Speak slowly and respectfully.”

“Ugh… a… alright… Ugh! Yes, I understand…”

After a little education, he had become much more compliant.

Thus, I released the magical pressure I had been exerting on him.

“Wha… what this is, is related to noble dignity… The fact that my commission failed means I failed… I was furious that a mere commoner caused me to fail… so…”

“…So your feelings got hurt and you decided to kill the people who commissioned you… is that it?”

“Y-Yes, that’s… correct. Simply put…”

“…”

I knew he wasn’t normal since I learned he was a loli-con, but the more I dug, the more he reminded me of pure trash.

Bearing the filthy conversation, I thought there was no point in asking any more final questions, but still, I decided to confirm a few details with him.

“Then why did you mobilize your weak naval strength to go hunting the Pirate King?”

“W… well, I thought if this went well, I could retrieve Ambasha and obtain vast treasures as well… In the end, it all failed, but…”

“…Sigh…”

His answer wasn’t unexpected.

As I watched all my hypotheses get comfortably refuted, I was momentarily at a loss for words.

“This guy is… really just an idiot? And I got tangled in this troublesome situation all because of this idiot?”

His actions were so bizarre, but fundamentally, it was my own misstep in misreading the situation.

“Crap…”

As I felt annoyed at how I had overstated the situation, I tried my best to calm my tumultuous emotions.

At that moment…

“Ca… Captain!”

“…?”

Amidst the swirling feelings, I suddenly heard a frantic voice.

There stood Auriel, rushing into the cave.

“W… what’s going on?”

“Y-You need to come out right away.”

“What’s happening out there…?”

With a sense of foreboding and curiosity combined, I headed outside, leaving Duke Ocleang behind.

*

“Di… did he survive…?”

Leaving him behind, the man who disappeared outside of the cave.

Seeing the captain—the one referred to as such—vanish, Duke Ocleang let out a sigh of relief.

As promised, he had hastily spared him from injury.

Though he stammered through his answers and suffered some pain along the way, ultimately, as a result of telling the truth, he managed to keep his life.

Of course, he couldn’t completely relax yet, but at least he felt relieved to have gotten through one ordeal.

But then…

“! Wh… what?! Why are you… you guys here…?”

The two individuals appearing before him.

Magellan and Elkana.

Duke Ocleang felt a momentary shock at their cold expressions, but…

He quickly recalled what the captain had said and spoke rapidly.

“Y-You aren’t planning on torturing me again, are you? Didn’t your captain promise to stop the torture beyond this point?”

“…Indeed.”

“Surely… he said as much.”

The two didn’t outright deny it.

Upon hearing this, Duke Ocleang spoke with a slightly bolstered tone.

“Surely you don’t intend to break your captain’s orders? If you understand, then quickly vanish from my sight…”

—Smack!!!

The next moment, a sudden chill swept through him.

Simultaneously, Duke Ocleang’s gaze shifted down toward his chest.

Stuck there was…

A sword with a black blade.

Seeing it pierce his heart exactly, he was overcome with questions and a burning pain.

And then…

“Guh…”

He felt every ounce of strength leave his body as he collapsed to the ground.

Watching him fall…

Magellan and Elkana spoke in cold tones.

“By your words… we can no longer continue the torture.”

“And now it’s the turn of those in the afterlife. Well then, farewell.”