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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Finding Hope
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'I really have no idea.'
Rimon knew one thing.
The one-eyed old woman clinging to Kang Jeongsu and the other shadows—they were all avatars of constellations.
He also knew they were nothing more than faint remnants of starlight, utterly insignificant compared to the constellations' true bodies.
Even if he'd cut them down, the damage to the constellations themselves would be like losing a fingernail or a finger at most.
Before his regression.
Compared to the heavy feedback he'd felt when the constellations screamed in agony, the sword's sensation had been far too light this time, telling him as much.
What Rimon couldn't figure out was something entirely different.
The blatant mockery and killing intent in the constellations' eyes.
'Is it because Jeongsu and the others tried to kill me, so they harbored malice too...?'
It wasn't strange.
By this era's common sense, constellations were beings that bestowed blessings upon players.
So it stood to reason that constellations contracted to players hostile toward Rimon would be hostile to him as well.
But was that really all there was to it?
There were plenty of owners who doted on their pets, but few who got angry, happy, or fought in their place.
Let alone constellations, beings who had transcended humanity—would they waste emotions on mere contractors like that?
And hundreds of them, all feeling the exact same way?
Rimon couldn't buy it.
That's why, instead, he harbored a single suspicion in reverse.
'...Or maybe the constellations want me dead and are using those kids to do it.'
It was baseless delusion.
Nonsense that anyone else would call him crazy for spouting.
In fact, even after deliberately targeting constellations first while killing over 200 players, nothing had really changed.
Still, Rimon couldn't shake the nagging doubt.
The moment Yuna Kyung died.
The snake that had mocked her death.
Excluding the two archdukes who'd fled late, the players who'd charged at him like they were possessed until the very end.
All of it left unresolved questions lingering in his mind.
What if that suspicion was true?
Maybe he just hadn't seen it before.
Even in his previous life, when he'd fallen into a trap, hadn't the constellations been mocking him then too?
And perhaps the trap itself...
'Whatever. It doesn't matter either way.'
In this place covered in gruesome corpses, he gazed down for a moment at Yuna Kyung's face—the one peaceful expression amid the carnage.
Rimon shook his head slightly as he draped his coat over her body.
'Nothing changes regardless.'
Whether it was their true will.
Or just the result of being used.
Or the country deciding it no longer needed him, backing Kang Jeongsu's betrayal and driving Yuna Kyung to her death.
The fact that the constellations had lent them their power remained unchanged.
"Alright, then. Time for cleanup?"
This man once hailed as a hero.
Now discarded by a changing era.
And branded a traitor to boot.
Humanity's Last Sword Master, now utterly unbound, wore a chilling smile.
The world would soon learn.
That he'd stepped down from the absolute throne not for lack of power, but only to yield to the flow of the times.
He hadn't bothered before because it wasn't necessary.
But if it was, they'd see what he was truly capable of.
What kind of existence he could become.
And the first to learn would be the one who'd manipulated Kang Jeongsu to "liberate" him.
Sarrruk.
It was right then.
The coat he'd draped over Yuna Kyung.
A softly glowing orb rose above it.
The orb of light that the snake had extracted at her moment of death, which Rimon had snatched back and returned.
The instant it shone brightly, something extraordinary happened.
The shadows melting away around them.
Over 200 fragments of starlight began seeping into the orb.
The more remnants it absorbed, the brighter the faint glow became, and the orb thinned gradually, taking the shape of a feather.
Once all the starlight had been absorbed.
And the glowing orb's transformation completed.
It became a white feather like an angel's wing, soared into the night sky like a firework, and vanished in a burst of radiant light.
Rimon stared blankly at the utterly unexpected sight for a long while.
Then he let out a hollow chuckle.
"That girl, rowdy to the very end."
Rimon didn't know.
What the orb of light was.
Why it had turned into a white feather.
Or what had just happened.
He was a Sword Master, not a shaman or mage, after all.
But he could vaguely sense it.
Just as the eyes that let him see constellations were something he'd gained by slaying them and absorbing their fragments before his regression, that feather was something similar.
And the power that constellation had promised to give him back then was probably...
'...I'd better get moving.'
He gazed at Yuna Kyung under the coat for a moment longer.
Shaking his head to dispel his thoughts, Rimon turned and left.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"Hic, sob."
Honestly speaking, Sia thought Hanbit Orphanage wasn't anything special.
The facilities were rundown, and donations or sponsorships were rare.
But it wasn't a bad place either.
The spinster director was a tightwad and a nag, but she never mistreated the kids and always made sure they were fed and clothed properly.
Plus, a few years back, sponsorship from a famous guild started coming in, along with various gifts, and things gradually improved.
They got a washing machine, making laundry easier.
Pretty clothes instead of hand-me-downs.
More side dishes at meals.
Plenty of school supplies.
Things that might seem commonplace or obvious to some.
But to Sia, who'd lived her whole life since infancy in the harsh conditions of Hanbit Orphanage, even these small changes were pure bliss.
But what Sia loved most wasn't the gifts themselves—it was the sister who brought them.
"Shh, don't cry."
Sia admired that sister.
Not just because she was the most successful Hanbit alumna.
She came every weekend for volunteer work.
At Christmas, she'd show up in a Santa outfit via space movement, showering gifts until the director scolded her.
She'd boast about cooking a fancy feast, burn the rice to a crisp, then bring heaps of burgers.
On the kids' birthdays, no matter how busy, she'd always buy a cake and throw a party.
Her mere presence filled Sia with joy so dazzling it hurt to look at.
That's why Sia had made up her mind.
When she grew up, she'd become a PAB agent.
And shine just like that sister.
"But sis... The director, the director's..."
"The director will be fine."
"Really...?"
"Yeah, really. So just hang in there a little longer."
That's why the kids clung to Sia, sniffling.
There were older kids at the orphanage, but in this situation, only Sia managed a gentle smile.
'Lies.'
But the children didn't know.
That Sia, the only one smiling, had the dullest eyes of all.
'The director's already gone.'
Sia knew.
After the bad adults came to Hanbit Orphanage.
That the strict director had resisted to protect them until the end and been murdered.
That all the other adults who'd tried to flee or hide were dead too.
That they were the only ones left alive.
'We'll end up the same.'
Even when the director was killed and the kids were kidnapped, Sia had held onto hope.
They hadn't killed them.
That meant there was a reason to keep them alive.
Whatever it was, as long as they lived, it'd be okay.
She believed her PAB agent sister would save them somehow.
Unaware how futile that faith was.
'...Sister Nakyung is dead too.'
Maybe because they were doomed anyway.
Thanks to the bad adults blabbing without a care, Sia learned everything.
They were hostages.
Bait to manipulate Yuna Kyung.
And the sister who'd tried to save them ended up dying after doing as the bad adults ordered.
That's when it started.
When Sia gave up hope.
Wearing a hollow smile like a husk, she asked herself.
'Why is this happening to us?'
What had they done wrong?
Why did good people like the director or Sister Nakyung have to die because of bad adults?
She asked, thought, asked, thought, asked, thought.
And realized.
'...Ah, right.'
'There was never any reason needed.'
Of course. The world had always been like this.
Do parents need a reason to abandon their kids?
Do children need a reason to lose their parents?
Karma from past lives?
Just fate?
Those weren't reasons.
Sia, who'd seen and experienced countless kids abandoned just for being born, or losing parents due to bad luck, knew this well.
That there isn't always a cause.
That the world being fair is an illusion, and reality is irrational and unfair without reason.
That's why the world is cruel.
She'd just forgotten because of Sister Nakyung.
Recalling that truth anew, Sia waited for her impending death with dead eyes.
Thud!
The building shook out of nowhere.
"H-How are you here...!?"
"How? You bastard! You slapped tracking devices all over Nakyung's wiretap—thought I wouldn't reverse-trace it?"
"No way! That's supposed to be untraceable!"
"Untraceable is your damn name."
"Argh!"
Incredulous shock and unfiltered curses gave way to screams echoing one after another.
"Eek!"
"Waaah!"
The children, startled by the noises from outside, clung to her wailing—until then.
Sia, who'd been still, opened her eyes the moment the heavy iron door creaked open.
Bang!
"Ha, these rat-bastard shits. What's this, a dungeon? They've crammed every damn trap into this sewer."
A single kick.
That alone crumpled the iron door like cardboard as the perpetrator strode in.
The children shrieked at the white-haired man who looked scarier than the bad adults, with his scarred eye and blood-soaked appearance.
They were done for.
The bad adults had sold them to this terrifying guy, they wailed.
But he paid no mind.
As if such reactions were routine.
He calmly scanned the children.
"Let's see, twenty-three all accounted for, no deaths. Any injuries...? Hmm?"
Counting them like a human trafficker inspecting goods, the man's expression turned peculiar.
He strode toward Sia, the only one sitting quietly amid the trembling kids, and peered into her eyes.
"Kid, why do you have eyes like rotten mackerel?"
"...Is that a problem?"
"I come to save you for once, and those eyes make me uneasy."
"You came to save us?"
"Yeah."
Words that should have brought joy.
But Sia didn't smile.
She just met his gaze with her corpse-like eyes and asked softly.
"Why?"
Why come to save strangers he didn't even know?
Not accusing, not curious, certainly not grateful.
Just as if it were strange.
The man didn't find her quiet question odd.
He stated the reason plainly.
"Because it was Nakyung's dying wish."
"Sister Nakyung's..."
That was the moment.
Sia's eyes flickered faintly.
But it was only for an instant.
Like a pond rippling from a pebble, her pupils quickly dulled again.
The man wasn't disappointed.
Instead, he placed his bloodied hand on her head.
"Right. So don't give up anymore."
Stroking the head of the girl who'd despaired over and over.
The child who'd abandoned everything to avoid more despair—as Rimon continued softly.
"As long as you're with me, no one can harm you."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"Harm us? Bullshit."
Maybe because the tension had eased.
Or because he hadn't eaten a decent meal.
Right after wolfing down food, Rimon sighed deeply at the sight of the kids huddled together, fast asleep oblivious to the world.
Of course, he'd meant every word.
Whether clueless government idiots or that oblivious monarch.
No matter what schemes anyone pulled, he was confident he could protect these children.
The problem was that all he could do was protect them—nothing more.
'Can't even afford to feed the kids, digging through corpses, yet I talk big.'
Had they already frozen his accounts?
Recalling the card that flashed red at the ATM the moment he tried withdrawing, Rimon clicked his tongue.
His account had been nearly empty from pay cuts, but losing even that little stung.
He'd had to loot the kidnappers' drop items (wallets) just to buy lunch boxes.
'First things first, need a place for them to sleep...'
Housing made it even bleaker.
He was using a nearby pension as a stopgap, but they couldn't stay forever.
Hanbit Orphanage?
It was already all over TV.
They were calling it a horrific incident; by tomorrow, murder and human trafficking would be added to his charges, plain as day.
His own home was out of the question, obviously.
No place to crash now that he was a marked traitor.
And he couldn't just dump the kids at a police station.
No reason those bastards who'd used them as hostages once wouldn't do it twice.
'Not that I ever planned to shirk responsibility like that.'
For Yuna Kyung's sake.
Or for the girl with dead eyes.
He'd always intended to take responsibility for these kids.
The problem was the situation was trickier than expected.