Chapter 26: The Chosen Ones (2)

“...You want to talk?” the Sword Star repeated. His voice dripped with disbelief.

“Yes—I am truly perplexed.”

I stood in the center of the audience chamber, the twelfth-floor stage inspired by a certain empire’s palace. My voice was low, but it rang out clearly.

“I don’t understand why you would attack me. I’m sure it’s your first time seeing me, although I’ve been a fervent admirer of your sophisticated sword arts. I’m at a loss. Why would you want to kill me all of a sudden?”

The Sword Star’s face darkened, although I was only speaking the truth.

Yeah, of course he’s angry.

I understood why his expression was so tense. The night I had first met the Sword Star, though he wouldn’t remember it anymore, he had roared at me as soon as he had seen me.

“I know you’re one of the Black Dragon Guild’s elite assassins.”

“I don’t know if the Black Witch sent you or someone else, but I will not hold back anything!”

He had and was suspecting me of being an assassin—an assassin whose hands were drenched in blood after killing countless people under the Black Dragon Guild’s command. Actually, his doubts may have gone even further.

Perhaps he thinks I’m a super secret assassin trained by all the Five Guilds.

—Well, you do look really weird to other people.

The Guardian nodded.

That is true.

I had shown up and become a new hero when no one had expected me. Despite being a Class E Hunter, I had cleared a stage when no one could. I was now in a treaty with the Five Guilds and was promised equal standing with the leaders...

I’m too suspicious.

—Exactly. In Gramps Marcus’ eyes, you haven’t made it on your own. You’re a fake hero, created by the Five Guilds from beginning to end. Tsk, tsk. Zombie, you said your kill count is around 4090, yes?

It’ll probably show up as 4093 now.

—Yeah. In Gramps’s eyes, 4093 isn’t just the number of people you killed. He believes you don’t work alone, you were raised to be the Five Guilds’ minion. To sum it up...

He thinks that’s the number of people that the Five Guilds assassinated using me.

All “evidence” pointed to the major guilds, the de facto rulers of the Tower, all being in it together. Although it was just the Sword Star’s misunderstanding...he would be disgusted by the sight in front of him.

Four thousand and ninety three

victims.

If the Sword Star had been just a little less committed to justice, he would have stood down. However, he didn’t know how to compromise—though even if he had known, he still would have refused.

“Ha. Babylon is no better than the outside world. Every day since I entered the Tower, all of you tried to seduce me into joining your guilds, but I always said no. Do you know why?” The Sword Star tightened the grip on his sword. His hands were old and creaky, but the power in his wiry muscles hadn’t aged in the slightest. A lion’s mane may thin over age, but his fangs remained sharp. “Blood ties, nationalities... People in the outside world are so bound by them that it reeks.

“I want to show Babylon that, unlike the outside world, one can stand at the zenith with only their sword, their abilities, and their effort.” The Sword Star glared at the crowd, his sapphire eyes gleaming like the finely honed edge of a sword. “That is the hope I want to bring, which is why I didn’t join any of your gangs. This, though?”

The Sword Star pointed his sword at the five guild leaders.

“You are rotten to the core.”

He was basically declaring war on the guilds. The guild leaders reacted in their own ways. The Inquisitor continued to smile as if it meant nothing to him—however, most of the guild leaders’ faces were stained with anger, humiliation, or ire.

“Sword Star, out of all the people in the world, you can’t...”

“Ha! You must have gone senile already, old man! Did you already forget that you’re the only one who sat out while we cleared the fifth floor?!”

“He has a point, Mr. Carlenbery. If you used your outside connections to help us, our food shortages would be less severe, and my MA...”

The guild leaders clamored to air their grievances. The Hunters here had known each other since the beginning of the Tower, so perhaps they had many unresolved grudges. Their emotional outbursts quickly muddled the situation, making them forget why they were in the audience chamber.

“If you’re the Rank 1 Hunter, you should have acted like it, but you act all high and mighty. That’s why you survived. Do you know how many Hunters we could have saved if it weren’t for your ego?” the Black Witch spat.

“No, it isn’t just the fifth floor. If we had your help on the seventh and ninth floors, old man, we could have reduced our casualties by half!” The Viper of the OJP Sect palpably radiated bloodlust.

“Since you used to be part of a prestigious noble family in the outside world, you could have secured order in the Tower, unlike what it is now.” The Countess from the MA gave the Sword Star a menacing glare. “You think we’re rotten? Fine. Then you’re just an irresponsible child.”

It was a disaster. Even after facing the guild leaders’ unfiltered spite and bloodlust, the Sword Star just frowned.

“Be quiet,” he demanded. “All of you are adults but you talk on and on... Do you think I’m your grandfather or something? Drop it. If you have a problem with me, fight me.”

His remark was like pouring oil into an already roaring fire. The air in the audience chamber became irreversibly hostile. Only the Guardian was impressed. He didn’t know how to read the room.

—Man! That’s my Gramps Marcus. He’s my only student, alright. There’s nothing more disgusting than Hunters yapping about social connections and politics. If they have time to care about that, they should practice their sword some more!

He had a point, but...the sight rather made me sad.

“We fight, even when there’s only ten of us.”

The Hunters paused just as they were about to cross the point of no return, and looked at me.

I sighed. “Even the NPCs on the eleventh floor came together to protect their empire. But look. We, Hunters, are screaming and blaming each other. Isn’t it a bit embarrassing to be worse than NPCs?”

“...Mr. Kim,” the Black Witch said, “this matter has nothing to do with you, and it’s much more serious than you th—”

“Yeah, I know. I know, but we’re Hunters. And we have a job to do.” I looked around the audience chamber. “Let’s focus on clearing the twelfth floor. It’s good to give hope to people. I think it’s also cool that you guys try to minimize casualties while clearing the Tower, but please focus on clearing the floor we’re on right now first.”

I looked pointedly at the Sword Star.

“Yes, they’re just NPCs...but their empire is in danger. And they’re asking for our help—the heroes—but we’re too busy fighting among ourselves to care about their safety in the slightest. How embarrassing is that?”

“You...”

I meant what I said. Besides, the Sword Star couldn’t keep threatening me here due to the clear difference in power. Therefore, my priority now was clearing the twelfth floor. That was it. I didn’t really care about the complicated emotional or political conflicts between the Hunters.

“A hero isn’t anything special. It’s just a person who solves a problem that others can’t. We already cleared the eleventh floor, so let’s take care of the other stages too.”

Fortunately, the Paladin, the Watchmen League’s assistant leader, stepped up and took my side. “Mr. Kim is right. We got too worked up. I still don’t understand why the Sword Star attacked Mr. Kim, but it’s clear that this isn’t the time to fight among ourselves. “

Although the Paladin tried to mediate, no one let their guard down. The Sword Star, Viper, Countess, and Inquisitor were all ready to attack at the slightest provocation. Words...weren’t enough to persuade them because of the distrust that had accumulated over the years.

“

Phew

.” The Paladin sighed. It looked like she’d reached the same conclusion I had. “Fine. I guess there’s no other choice. I’ll make a bit of a sacrifice here.”

That caught all of the Hunters’ attention.

The Paladin quietly said, “Open my Skill Card.”

Faint light floated up from the Paladin’s hand, revealing a silver card. Other people could not see a Hunter’s Skill Card without their permission.

“...Paladin.” The Black Witch sounded worried.

A Skill was a Hunter’s secret weapon, so showing their Skill Card to other people like handing them a loaded gun. That was why High Rankers were reluctant to reveal their Skill Cards. However, the Paladin did it without hesitation.

“It’s fine. It doesn’t matter. Everyone, look.”

Lie Detector

Class: A-

Effects: You can tell if the target is lying or not. It works not only on humans but also on NPCs and monsters! However, what the target considers to be truth may actually be a lie objectively. It ultimately depends on you to trust the other party.

※However, there is no guarantee people will trust you.

Lie Detector!

My eyes widened.

That was the Skill that the Fire Emperor had falsely claimed to have. It turns out that the Paladin had it all along.

That Skill suits the assistant leader of the Watchmen League really well!

The Watchmen League was a guild that maintained order in the Tower. Naturally, the Tower had many criminals. Even the Fire Emperor and the Sword Star—the former and current Rank 1 Hunters—had murdered me when no one was around. This was the kind of world Hunters lived in, so a lie detector

would be incredibly useful for identifying criminals.

“As you can see, I have the ability to tell if a person is lying, Sword Star.” She waved the card. “It’s no exaggeration to say this is the Skill that made me the assistant leader of the Watchmen League.”

“...What are you trying to say?”

“If you choose to believe me, you can ask any question to Mr. Kim here. I’ll tell you if he’s lying or not.” The Paladin calmly looked back and forth between the Sword Star and me. “It’s the same for you, Mr. Kim. I can vouch for your answers if you trust me. Doubt is an insidious poison, and truth is its strongest antidote. It isn’t going to be enough to recover all the trust we’ve lost, but we’ll be able to cooperate on the twelfth floor.”

“Hmmm...” The Sword Star stroked his beard contemplatively.

Woah, this couldn’t have gone better if I tried,

I thought.

A golden opportunity had practically fallen out of the sky. It really was the perfect answer. The reason why the Sword Star had begun to suspect me was his Skill,

Detective Eyes.

It was only natural to use a Skill to resolve the suspicions created by another Skill!

“I like the idea,” I immediately answered.

It was better to accept this kind of offer as soon as possible.

“...Miss Paladin, you’re the only person here who hasn’t killed any humans,” the Sword Star mused. “Okay, I’ll trust you on this, too.”

The Paladin nodded. “I’ll take that as a yes from both of you. Then, Sword Star, you can begin asking questions to Mr. Kim. I swear on my honor and that of the Watchmen League’s to keep this questioning fair and unbiased.”

The Sword Star glared at me grimly, as if the moment he had been waiting for had finally arrived. He looked certain of his victory. He was probably already thinking that he was about to show the world how insidious a person I was.

—No... No.... Gramps Marcus... You geezer, this is why I always tell you and Zombie not to rely on your Skills too much. Those who rely on their Skills will be betrayed by them! No... No...

the Guardian lamented.

Unfortunately, the Guardian’s voice didn’t reach the Sword Star because he was my ghost.

Be quiet.

“Hunter Kim Gong-Ja.”

“Yes,” I replied.

“You murdered over four thousand people, didn’t you?” The Sword Star pointed at me with his free hand. It somehow felt like a scene from a movie where the hero listed the villain’s wrongdoings.

I smiled. “I did.”

“See?! You wretched people, I will use any means and find out what you’ve been using this assassin for. When I do that, I shall reveal it to the wo—”

“He’s lying,” the Paladin said.

“What!?”

“He’s lying,” the Paladin calmly repeated. “Mr. Kim answered your question with yes. He lied. In other words, Mr. Kim did not kill over four thousand people. Do you have any more questions?”

The Sword Star was silent. Meanwhile, the Paladin tilted her head thoughtfully.

“That’s a strange question, though. Can one person kill over four thousand people? It’s impossible, to my knowledge.”

“I-it’s because you trained this young man to be an elite assassin...”

I beamed. “Yes, I’m an elite assassin.”

“He’s lying,” the Paladin said again.

The Sword Star’s jaw dropped to the ground. “M-Miss Paladin, I must have misjudged your character! I thought you’d mediate this session truthfully.”

“It depends on you and the others to trust me,” the Paladin answered, unfazed. “Do what you want. Believe me or not. This is why I asked both of you in the beginning if you would trust me.”

“If you’re going back on your words right now, that’s a bit—no, that’s downright craven, Sword Star. It isn’t like you.”

“H-hold up!” The Sword Star quickly turned to look at me. “There is no way you didn’t kill a single human!”

“Ah, yeah, that’s right. I did off someone once.”

The Paladin nodded. “It’s true.”

“See?!”

“But I only killed one person,” I added.

“...What?”

The Paladin nodded again. “It’s true.”

“The number doesn’t change the fact that I’m a murderer, of course. But, sir, my hands might not be spotless, but I can tell you this. The guy deserved to die. He tried to kill me first.”

“It’s true.”

“I wouldn’t say this if he tried to kill just me: he’s a butcherer. I also happened to witness him committing a murder, and whoa... God, that fucker didn’t even blink as he burned a person to death!”

“It’s true.”

“I can’t tell for sure, but he must have killed dozens, hundreds of people. It’s more than possible with him. That’s the kind of man I killed. You can call me a murderer if you want, but you know what? I’d kill him again if I went back in time. It’d be the first thing I do. Seriously, no one could ever be as evil as he was.”

The Paladin slowly nodded. “It’s all true.”

The Sword Star looked around in confusion, hoping to get some idea of what was going on. All of the guild leaders were watching him, silently wondering what in the world he was doing.

“Hahahaha! Hahahaa!” The Inquisitor burst into laughter, his eyes teary. “Mr. Kim Gong-Ja is the Five Guilds’ elite assassin? That’s an interesting idea. It would have been great if it was true, but unfortunately, yesterday was the first time we met him, Sword Star!”

“That is also true, by the way.” The Paladin gestured at the Inquisitor.

The Sword Star’s silence stretched.

The Guardian just clicked his tongue.

—Tsk, tsk, tsk. He who lives by the Skill, dies by the Skill.

“Well, I guess you’re done with your questions.” I gave him a bright smile. Everything Confucius said was right.[1] “It looks like both of us were having a grave misunderstanding. I’m glad they’re just misunderstandings, Sword Star. But, sir, it led you to attack me. Without the guild leaders’ protection, I would have most likely died a very unjust death. I believe I deserve an apology now. What do you think?”

The Paladin nodded. “That is perfectly a valid conclusion. Apologize to Mr. Kim, Sword Star.”

The senior gentleman turned pale.

1. This is part of the joke from the last chapter. It’s said that Confucius often talked about the value of talking. ☜