WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Dionysus
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ I Picked Up the Protagonist’s Heroine ◈
Chapter 15: I Suppose I'm the Villain in This Play
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“Pff.”
Marquess Fred covered their mouth, trying to hold back a laugh.
“Pfft, hahaha!”
In the end, they couldn’t contain it.
“Do you even know what you’re saying? You’re telling the lord of this territory that you’ll become the head of its pleasure district! What a ridiculous play!”
They roared with laughter, smacking the sofa’s armrest.
Where had their noble dignity gone?
“That filthy name has been passed down for four generations for a reason. Karma is the idol and beacon of the District 6 rabble. Karma is the one they truly acknowledge. It isn’t simply some brute as strong as a beast who becomes Karma...”
“What a ridiculous play.”
“Hmm?”
“As you said, what I intend to do is a play.”
I lightly clapped my hands to draw the marquess’s attention.
“This is the ideal time for you to strike the pleasure district. If you mobilize all your forces, the odds of Karma’s guild, Houndry, winning will be close to zero.”
“Hmm...”
“When they are driven into a corner, I’ll stand on Houndry’s side and bring the situation to an end. Yes, it will be a play that proceeds according to a prepared script.”
That was right.
A play.
In this life, I had decided to take a major role.
“...You’ll become a false savior and inherit the name Karma?”
“Exactly.”
Snap!
I snapped my fingers and added,
“You don’t wish to exterminate them all, either. Let us say we kill the hopeless addicts and the vicious criminals beyond reform. But the able-bodied ones can still be put to use.”
“You mean... you’ll manage them.”
“If possible, yes. Even if I become Karma, I have no intention of making money through dirty work. It isn’t especially fun, and I’m the sort of person who finds more satisfaction in peace than pleasure. Well... I’ll leave behind a bar or two for when I feel like getting drunk.”
As I finished, I slowly leaned back against the sofa.
“What do you think? If I become the fifth Karma, you’ll both clean up District 6 and gain a manager you can reason with.”
“Ahem...”
Marquess Fred nodded.
They did not seem displeased.
“Good. You’ll manage the shadows of my territory... and what will you gain?”
With their arms folded, the marquess asked as if tossing out the question.
“You gain nothing. Why would you go out of your way to join hands with me in an uncomfortable coexistence?”
“Something happened during the Subjugation Festival. Karma targeted my family. After looking into it, I found that a necromancer’s follower seemed to have instigated Houndry.”
The marquess was startled as soon as I brought it up.
“I intend to trace how they became involved with Houndry. That is information I could only access as Karma.”
“Revenge... It does not suit the impression you give.”
“Revenge isn’t all there is to it.”
“If money or power were your goal, I could understand. But... a necromancer?”
The marquess folded their arms more tightly.
“The Death God Cult may be an enemy of the Goddess Church, but bringing up people who vanished a hundred years ago... It is wholly unrealistic. How am I supposed to believe that?”
“You are mistaken.”
“What?”
I slowly raised my head and looked around the marquess’s room.
Above the door stood a statue of the Goddess with her arms spread wide, and a custom-made shrine had been placed in a sunny spot.
Marquess Fred was no ordinary devout believer.
“This is not a matter of who believes whom.”
“What are you...”
Hummm.
Before the marquess could finish, a halo appeared behind my head and slowly spread out.
“Do we not already believe in the same One?”
I finished speaking with Marquess Fred and immediately went to find Laward.
The Academy training ground.
Even during break, he practically lived there, training diligently.
I told him about my conversation with the marquess and the decisions that had been made.
“My discussion with the marquess is over. When I make my move on Houndry’s side, you’ll strike Houndry alongside the marquess’s soldiers.”
Laward looked at me with wavering eyes.
“I... I see. But, Master, I can’t do something like that.”
Laward had never once defied my words until now, but this time, he was firm.
“I’m sorry.”
I could understand his refusal.
What Laward would have to do from now on was beyond an Academy student’s level.
He would have to take lives and trample others.
No matter how much of a protagonist he was, he was still a student.
It was only natural for him to hesitate.
“E-Even if it is only a play, how could I oppose you, Master? I... I can’t do that. Meeting you as an enemy... no. I’m truly sorry.”
...That was his reason?
I had been wrong to think, even for a moment, that I understood him.
“If I approach this halfheartedly, it will surely show. But if I face you with all my strength, it feels as though that alone would be an unforgivable sin...”
“You’ll only face me briefly. Your task is to deal with Houndry’s rabble.”
With a sigh, I continued.
“So let’s settle this now. Laward, does this task feel too burdensome for you?”
“No... it doesn’t. I promised you that I would surpass the Academy’s level. To be honest... I’m happy that an opportunity to prove it seems to have come.”
“That is a good attitude. Steel yourself. Even without Karma, Houndry won’t be an easy opponent.”
“I’m not afraid.”
“Are you not reluctant to kill? Once you do it, you can’t take it back.”
“No, Master. It isn’t murder.”
Laward thought for a moment, then, after about two seconds...
“...It should be called purification.”
He said it with a face as bright as sunlight.
“It is making the world the Goddess created even cleaner,” he added.
This bastard...
He was becoming an increasingly dangerous fanatic...
“I’m only glad to be granted the honor of purging evil!”
“...Is that so.”
Unaware of my troubled feelings, Laward smiled.
“Your role in this matter is important. We are borrowing the marquess’s soldiers for now, but we must show that I, too, have power behind me. You must show them.”
“Please trust me. I’ll do it.”
Laward seemed to have already made up his mind firmly enough to say it over and over.
“May I ask one thing?”
“Of course. Ah, do you have more questions about the operation...?”
“Is Ester going too?”
“Hmm?”
“Is Ester going with us too?”
“...They aren’t.”
“I see!”
The corners of Laward’s mouth shot up.
“So Ester will be alone and lonely in some corner of the dormitory!”
“No, that isn’t...”
“Clearly, I’ll be more useful. Play or not, I’ll do better.”
“No. Ester offered to help too, but I refused. The reason is simple. There is no one to save this time.”
There were only people to kill.
“Good!”
Laward clenched a fist, showing his determination.
It did not matter to Laward that an Academy student was being sent into an operation to wipe out a criminal organization during break. Whether Ester would participate mattered more than anything.
“Laward, you must become the protagonist.”
Everything began with this matter.
Tomorrow.
Starting tomorrow, Laward would show the world that he was the protagonist of this world.
“In this play, I’ll be the villain. You, who will stand on the opposite side, must unquestionably become the protagonist.”
“T-That is absurd. The only person who can be the protagonist on any stage is you, Master.”
“Don’t let the marquess’s soldiers outdo you. You’ll distinguish yourself on the front line.”
When I put force into my voice, Laward reluctantly nodded.
“...I’ll remember.”
If this went well, Laward would gain fame and a reputation.
The Paladin Order, naturally, and people throughout the country would set their sights on Laward.
Then I, Laward’s sponsor, would naturally receive attention as well.
“So, Laward, give it everything you have.”
Laward becomes the light.
I remain in the shadows.
While Laward built great achievements, I would inherit a name steeped in evil.
The sunlit side and the shadowed side.
I would extend my influence everywhere, preparing to respond no matter who came or when.
That was the script.
* * *
The day of the operation to wipe out Houndry.
At eight in the morning, while the pleasure district lay in deep sleep, Marquess Fred and their soldiers entered District 6 in formation.
‘I came in the morning on purpose, but...’
At the center of the formation, Marquess Fred, mounted on a sturdy horse, looked over the pleasure district.
‘I would prefer not to see blood if possible. Wasting soldiers on a battle whose outcome is already decided would be... a shame.’
They had brought most of their forces to create an intimidating display.
The shops had not opened, and the homes were bolted shut with their curtains carefully drawn.
With the empty streets filled by the marquess’s forces, the marquess already considered the victory theirs.
‘Karma is dead, and the disparity in our forces is clear. Rationally, they should surrender early.’
Then they heard movement.
When the marquess turned their head, Houndry members sprang out from all over the place.
They shouted their heads off, waking the other members.
‘Yes, if there was one concern...’
They were people who lived only for today.
Contrary to the marquess’s wishes, the gang members hurriedly came out carrying weapons.
Perhaps they could not unite behind a single opinion without their leader. Or perhaps they simply knew no fear.
They showed no intention of quietly withdrawing.
‘So this is how it ends up.’
The marquess looked around at their soldiers.
The soldiers who followed them were also standing firm, weapons tightly gripped.
Their faces showed that they anticipated a clash.
Among them, one man stood out.
He was the man Daywin had sent along, saying he would be helpful.
‘...I thought he would be someone from the knightly order.’
Marquess Fred’s gaze settled on Laward.
His short black hair and sun-darkened skin gave him an inexplicably sharp impression, but...
‘He’s just... a kid.’
After looking over Laward’s youthful face, the marquess shook their head.
‘Does Daywin Hasgard take Houndry so lightly? What in the world are they thinking...’
Just as they were about to stop thinking about it because their head hurt,
“I wondered why you had all come rushing in while everyone was asleep. So, what is it? Planning a massacre?”
A man with a sword at his hip stepped forward.
At some point, Houndry members had filled the alleyways.
“Karma is gone, so you saw an opportunity?”
He was a familiar face.
When the marquess searched their memory, he was likely something like the second-in-command who had stayed by Karma’s side.
“You idiots. Do you think anything will change if we disappear? If Houndry vanishes, another Houndry will claim this street. There are already a few candidates, aren’t there?”
Nodding toward the marquess, he asked the question.
He was referring to Houndry’s rival organizations, asking whether the marquess did not know them.
“District 6 has long been a resource of the marquess’s territory. Every rich young master with money to burn comes here.”
He gave a short laugh and continued.
“I thought the marquess’s house acknowledged that. Looks like I was mistaken. You turned a blind eye all this time, so I assumed that was the case. After all, you took the money we gave you readily enough... Now you act as if we suddenly offend your eyes. It’s a little strange, isn’t it?”
With a shrug, he met the marquess’s gaze.
“Is it because of the Academy and the Church? Pretending to be a clean territory now won’t help. District 6 is filth made by none other than you.”
“Be quiet.”
With that short command, the marquess gave their soldiers a hand signal.
The soldiers moved forward as one, closing the distance with Houndry.
“Go ahead, then. But if you’re going to kill us, you must kill every last one. If even one survives, tomorrow morning you’ll find your wives and children with their heads cut off.”
The soldiers flinched at those words.
Their faces stiffened at the madness in his eyes.
‘I had hoped they would withdraw... but there is no helping it. We must clash before the soldiers’ morale breaks. There is no turning back now.’
The moment the marquess thought that,
“The Goddess declares.”
Laward clasped his hands and walked forward.
Marquess Fred’s soldiers and Houndry’s guild members.
Walking alone between them, he murmured,
“Ask not for mercy. The scales of judgment have already tipped. Burn the irreverent flesh until only ashes prove its sin.”
Laward had already made his way into the center.
The enemies, as well as the allies, stared around in bewilderment.
“What is that?”
“Where did this little brat come from...?”
Laward, however, continued walking without concern.
“Cut away the rotten branches and pull up the diseased roots. Grant no peace to the unjust, for what I hold in my hand is not forgiveness, but the iron club of punishment.”
Slash!
In an instant, he drew his sword.
Laward split the enemy at the front in one stroke.
“What fills my eyes is not compassion, but the flames of purification.”
The blood-soaked blade spat out drops of blood.
At the same time.
Blink, blink.
Above his head, a faint halo flickered like a warning light.
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