Mistaken for a Masked Monster - Chapter 123

WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

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Chapter 123: Don Quixote’s Reverie (7)

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There was a faded memory.

Around the time I had just entered middle school, my teacher would sit me beside them and speak to me.

"Muro."

I remembered the warmth of my teacher's touch as they stroked a sulky child.

They held me close in a light embrace so I couldn't run away.

I secretly liked that relaxed atmosphere.

Though I'd furrow my brow and pout for no reason.

"Are you very angry?"

My teacher always asked.

They were the only person in an orphan's world who was truly kind.

"Your teacher knows. Of course I do."

"I know how cruelly the world has treated our Muro, and how much it has hurt him..."

I was starting to go through puberty then.

Most of my days were filled with resentment.

I resented everything in the world.

The parents who abandoned me, the school where I struggled to fit in, the people who mocked and pitied me. Even the world that had forced me into such a fate...

Thinking back, perhaps I'd realized early on that my life was like discarded junk and wanted to settle into my anger.

"Still, Muro."

"You can't let it all go."

Whenever my childish steps faltered, there was a hand that calmly steadied me.

My teacher accepted me without ever showing irritation.

"Teacher... wants Muro to forgive people."

"I want you to believe things can get better."

"In the end, everyone can change."

"Whether it's a world you hate or people who seem like they'll never change..."

It sounded like something an old fogey would say.

If another adult had said it, I would've dismissed it that way. But I couldn't do that to my teacher.

Because I knew of their devotion.

My teacher bought snacks with their own money and worked without taking days off.

When the orphanage children fell ill, they would even carry them to the hospital themselves.

Because it was you, I listened obediently.

"It may still be difficult for Muro... but I think people should always believe in people."

"I'm sure Muro can change too."

"Because your teacher believes in our Muro."

A child rejected by the world learned about the world in the arms of someone other than his parents.

My teacher held out their pinky.

"So, your teacher promises."

"Until the day our Muro becomes a wonderful adult, I'll always stay by your side and watch over you."

Faith.

The words that change required faith.

"Good boy, our Muro."

I could no longer deny those words.

After all, what you said had eventually changed me.

Even though you passed away before I became an adult.

'Teacher.'

Maybe always. Or maybe only sometimes.

Perhaps I'd wanted to become like you.

* * *

"......"

At some point, the courtroom had become pitch-black.

Ominous shadows surged over the ice as though ink had been poured across it.

At the center of that darkness, a handful of warped haze sat atop the bench.

'That...'

What was that?

I stared blankly at it.

The dignified Chief Justice from moments ago was gone. Only something with a ferocious presence remained there.

Only the fragments of a robe, barely holding together, revealed the outline of the Chief Justice.

Ding!

[Name: ■■ ■■■ ■■■(E̷̡͕̲͔͉̘̥̞͒́̏́͌̓̀̎͞r̵̢͖̬̘͎̉̎̈͞r҉̡͕̰͍̭̳̪̭҇̽̒̅̆̌̏̂o̶̧̠͉͈̿̓͝r̵̡̥͍̯͎̫̜̦̾̾̐̕)]

-Race: ???

-Category: ?҈̢̲̤͍̜̈́̎̚͞?̷̡̛͓̩̤̮̪̍̀͊̍͂̾́́?̶̨̝͙̿̎̏́̔̿͆͡

-Description: ???̶͖͕͎̋́͑̑̂̕͢ͅ

The status window had been completely corrupted by blackness.

Cold sweat ran down my back.

'Fuck.'

What the hell was I facing?

What had swallowed the Chief Justice?

What was that ominous presence?

No, before any of those questions...

'It knows who I am.'

Kim Muro.

It had called out my full name.

On top of that, it had briefly recited events from my previous life.

'That's impossible.'

Maybe because it'd struck somewhere I never expected, I was left dazed for a moment.

'There's no way it could know that in this world...'

Only a brief moment passed.

Countless thoughts flashed through my mind.

Its oppressive presence weighed on my shoulders, making me stagger now and then.

"Ugh..."

Ranne was the same.

The blonde girl stood there, her face drained of color.

She seemed to want to do something, but she couldn't rashly step in because of the rule, [Maintain silence in the courtroom.]

It was the right call.

There was nothing to gain from provoking that thing.

Ranne clenched her fists and suppressed her tension.

"Kim Muro... orphanage, burned down?"

Had she caught every word the Chief Justice said even amid all this?

Ranne muttered as if turning those few words over in her mind.

The Chief Justice had suddenly transformed and begun spewing bizarre words without warning.

The girl looked as though she wanted an explanation, but unfortunately, small talk was impossible during a trial.

'What is this? What the hell has possessed it...?'

Besides, I didn't know anything about the current situation either.

The questions sank deeper and deeper.

An ominous feeling of unknown origin slowly gnawed at my heart.

Regardless, it continued questioning me.

<Defendant, answer.>

Even the Chief Justice's manner of speaking had changed.

I didn't answer rashly.

'Judging by how it keeps asking questions... has the form of the trial not yet been broken?'

The black haze stayed where it was, doing nothing but asking questions.

The Chief Justice's [Rules] must still have been in effect.

It couldn't harm a defendant who had not been judged.

In other words, it couldn't touch me while I wasn't yet a criminal.

'That doesn't mean I can keep delaying my answer.'

Refusing to respond meant I wasn't properly participating in the trial.

There was a high chance I'd receive an unfavorable verdict.

'The best option... is to answer suitably and buy time to prepare.'

I subtly rummaged through my robe.

At the same time, I gave Ranne a simple hand signal with my other hand.

'Stay alert. A clash could happen at any moment.'

It was at an angle the Chief Justice couldn't see.

Ranne's gaze hardened when she saw the signal.

Then I answered the questions that had piled up.

"No. I don't."

<Hooh?>

The question was whether I truly believed in humans.

I shook my head without hesitation.

I knew lies were useless.

Once placed on the scales, the side built on pretense would eventually rise.

"I will make my defense."

A long time had passed since my teacher passed away, but I still didn't believe in people.

Contrary to what you had wished for.

Well, that didn't matter.

This wasn't what was important anyway.

"The issue in this trial was, [Is there a value you consider more important than your own life?] Nowhere did it say I had to act on that value. What matters is what lies in the heart. I haven't acted on my belief in people, but I clearly consider it important. Important enough to place above my own life. Isn't that why the scales tipped?"

<......>

"As you said, Your Honor, I don't believe in humans. But that has nothing to do with this trial. Please don't forget the subject of the current trial."

<......>

The Chief Justice listened in silence.

Then, after that silence, it surprisingly gave an affirmative answer.

The black haze rippled.

It seemed to accept my defense.

But the judge's words did not end with that acknowledgment.

<But.>

Damn it.

So it was going to turn out like this after all.

'Its standards for judgment have changed from those of the original Chief Justice.'

That meant the one delivering the verdict was not the Chief Justice, but the thing possessing it.

The black haze raised the gavel.

Then came the judgment delivered upon the defendant.

<Defendant, Kim Muro.>

Bang, bang, bang.

The gavel struck its block three times.

Then the Chief Justice's body, which had been fixed to the bench, was released.

"Miss Ranne!"

I moved at once.

Grabbing the blonde girl, I threw us aside.

Kwang!

A bursting roar left my ears ringing.

The heavy shockwave shoved us through the air.

"Urgh..."

The gavel had fallen where we had been standing moments ago.

The haze stood motionless before it.

Though it had been a casual strike, the courtroom had been shattered.

Its firepower was overwhelming.

If I converted it into Javerts, it was around 0.7 Javerts.

The original Chief Justice wasn't this strong. That thing possessing it seemed to be affecting it.

'I can't win in a direct fight!'

Kwang!

The gavel slammed into the floor again.

The courtroom shook violently, as though an iceberg had split apart.

I rummaged through my robe.

Ding!

[Broken Crown]

-Category: Accessory

-Rank: A

-Status: Destroyed

-Description: A crown worn by the 'Black Queen,' ruler of nightmares. It has now been destroyed, and only her remnants remain. It can be worn for up to 15 minutes per day. When worn, the skill 'Nightmare Transformation' can be used.

I placed the crown upon my head.

The next moment, I barely blocked the gavel falling toward my head.

Thoom!

The crown granted me fifteen minutes of invincibility.

I roughly knocked away the incoming gavel and drove a middle kick into the Chief Justice's abdomen.

Thud!

The haze was sent flying with a dull burst.

It moved so fast that I felt as though I might lose sight of it if I blinked.

"Miss Ranne! I'll keep it occupied! Use your full power while you can...!"

Clang, thud!

The gavel and scythe collided.

Dozens of calculations had already run through my head.

As I tried to deduce who stood behind the judge, a three-syllable name suddenly came to mind.

'If it is powerful enough to directly possess the lingering thought left behind by a sage, gives off such an ominous presence, and holds a rank high enough to see through my very existence...'

There was only one possibility.

Swinging my scythe, I glared at the black haze.

"Is it you!"

■■■.

The owner of the mask hidden in my robe.

"Delkirn...!"

The name of the Evil God.

The moment I called it out.

The black haze laughed hard enough to tear my ears apart.

Footnotes:

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