Chapter 33: It Never Disappears (4)

“.. So, you’re saying the Hero is needed to suppress the dragon’s blood?”

“.. Yes, if things continue like this, Laura will lose her sanity.”

It was a time when even the busiest people were taking a break.

Walking along the path with the Hero, I couldn’t hide my confused expression.

When he had suddenly dragged me away, insisting he needed to explain the situation, I was genuinely worried about what might happen.

Thankfully, it seemed the Hero wasn’t entirely confident in his powers of hypnotic persuasion.

Currently, the Hero and I were on our way to the mansion where Laura and Natalia were staying.

Apparently, the Hero had already explained everything to them, but I couldn’t help but wonder how Natalia reacted to the story.

While Laura would inevitably have the first claim to the Hero, Natalia might have resigned herself to her position.

Or maybe she was satisfied with the possibility of sharing him—it was hard to tell.

Although it had little to do with me, I personally thought Natalia was too depraved and corrupted to care about something like this.

“Marriage…”

“It’s not what you think… It couldn’t be helped.”

Was there ever a marriage event with heroines in the game?

As I pondered the question, the Hero, almost as if he were making excuses, avoided looking me directly in the eyes.

Why was he seeking my opinion or gauging my reaction?

If he wanted to marry, he should just do it.

This had nothing to do with me.

If this marriage proposal was anything like the subjugation events I knew of, it could be dangerous for Laura.

The dragon’s blood likely made her even more susceptible to the Hero’s hypnotic influence.

A mindless, submissive s*ave who only remembered her devotion to the Hero—that seemed like the endgame.

Perhaps everything was part of some grand plan to corrupt the heroines completely.

“This is to suppress the dragon’s blood. You don’t need to worry, Sarah.”

“I don’t need to worry?”

“Well, it’s still a marriage… I thought you might misunderstand.”

What misunderstanding?

What was he even talking about?

I couldn’t decipher his meaning, but as he said, this was, on the surface, for Laura.

Logically speaking, there was no reason for concern.

“And Laura? Does she say she’s okay with it?”

“Yes, she agreed to the marriage contract… but she seems troubled recently.”

That damned little dragon girl.

She probably welcomed this opportunity, oblivious to the fact that it was all because of the Hero’s hypnosis.

She had no idea she was falling into slavery, digging her own grave.

What an idiot.

She’ll be fine.

Her only worry is likely about how she’ll enjoy herself with the Hero this time.

There’s no need to feel sorry for her.

Or maybe Laura’s libido is so overwhelming that even the supposedly tireless Hero is struggling to keep up.

“By the way, Hero, aren’t you hiding something from me?”

“H-Hiding? Why would I hide anything?”

“.. Is that so? Lately, I find myself thinking about you more often.”

“Thinking about me? In what way? Can you explain in detail?”

“No, it’s just… It’s hard to describe.

It feels like I’m forgetting something important.”

Laura’s situation no longer mattered to me.

If both the Hero and Laura were agreeing to marry, who was I to oppose it?

For now, I had no choice but to accompany the Hero to the land of dragons.

What mattered most now was deceiving the Hero completely.

The letter sent to the Holy Kingdom had safely arrived, and I received word that they were gathering information on the corrupted Hero.

At this rate, pushing the Hero toward a bad ending was only a matter of time.

So, I had to pretend to fall for his hypnosis, pretend to be embarrassed, and act like I harbored feelings for him.

If I showed any sign of resisting his hypnosis again, he’d only try harder to impose stronger suggestions.

The whispers I heard every night were already driving me mad; I couldn’t handle anything worse.

But I had to be careful not to overdo the act of being hypnotized.

If I crossed a certain line, the Hero would assume I was entirely under his spell, and he’d unsheathe his “sacred sword” without hesitation.

If that cheat of a character decided to overwhelm me, I had no means of resisting.

“R-Really? Is that how it is?”

“N-No! It must just be my imagination!

There have been so many incidents lately—I’m probably just tired!”

Seeing the Hero hesitate in thought, I hastily made excuses.

This crazy bastard.

If I’d gone along with his hypnosis act, I would’ve already been dragged into an alley, crying in submission.

The Hero was truly an unpredictable piece of garbage.

The next morning, I understood the purpose of this expedition and agreed to accompany him, but a lingering unease remained in my heart.

In the capital, on the Kaputa Plateau—everywhere we went, the Hero had betrayed me.

No matter how I thought about it, I couldn’t believe this adventure had no ulterior motive.

The Hero’s ultimate goal was to corrupt me completely, ensuring a bad ending could be avoided.

With that in mind, marrying Laura offered him no advantage.

Laura, Natalia, and countless other heroines—ultimately, they were all just side characters in this game.

Even if the heroines are corrupted, all it does is unlock erotic scenes and open a hidden route to obtain demonic crystals.

In this game, the fate of the Hero is ultimately decided by the Saint.

It was reasonable to think that this journey included some plan to manipulate me.

“.. Will everything really be okay?”

I sat down in a chair and began searching for ink and a pen.

My mind was too scattered to think clearly.

At times like this, the best thing to do was to write things down and organize the situation on paper.

1. Laura cannot return to normal.

The largest writing on the page concerned Laura.

While I wanted to protect the heroines from falling into corruption as much as possible, there was no way to help Laura.

Even from the beginning, her head was always filled with obscene thoughts.

On top of that, she was losing her sanity due to Ancestral Regression.

No matter how much I thought about it, there didn’t seem to be any way for her to resist or escape the Hero’s hypnosis.

2. Natalia still has a chance.

For me, Natalia was little more than a knight reduced to a mere tool.

However, fortunately, she hadn’t shown any signs of forming a relationship with the Hero recently.

It wasn’t as though the Hero’s hypnosis had weakened.

Perhaps, as a knight, she had developed some resistance to it?

While Laura was losing her reason, Natalia likely possessed high mental fortitude, so it wasn’t impossible.

3. The Hero doesn’t want me dead, but that makes it even more dangerous.

If killing me were his goal, he’s had countless opportunities.

We’ve been on plenty of adventures and explored many dungeons.

What could a Saint like me, whose only weapon is divine flames, possibly do?

Yet, the Hero has never threatened me.

Instead, he’s been steadily planning to enhance his mesmerizing gaze, watching as I resist hypnosis.

If avoiding the bad ending was his only goal, he could simply kill me and eliminate the Saint.

Why hasn’t he?

If my theory is correct, the Hero’s goal is to clear the game.

To do so, he would need to turn the weakened Demon King into his s*ave.

And for that, the corrupted Saint is essential.

So, while the Hero won’t let me die, he’ll use any means necessary to corrupt me.

In another sense, this was the most dangerous situation.

4. My mind isn’t the same as it used to be.

Although I swallowed a demonic crystal, the divine energy in my body remained intact.

That wasn’t the problem.

The issue was the constant whispers echoing in my head.

The Hero had strengthened his mesmerizing gaze, and it was enough to push even me toward the brink of hypnosis.

For now, I was resisting, but who knows when I might succumb, both body and mind, to the Hero?

I needed a way to stabilize my increasingly fragile psyche.

5. Are there demons in the land of dragons?

By this point, it seemed the only reason for the Hero to marry Laura, which offered no apparent benefit, was to reach the land of dragons.

The Hero’s primary goal was to corrupt me.

It was hard to believe he would waste time simply to save Laura.

Come to think of it, this was always the case.

Who was the one negotiating with Succubus Lilith in the capital under the guise of mutual benefit?

It was none other than the Hero.

If I hadn’t stopped him, the deal would have gone through, and the Hero would have obtained a new demonic crystal.

Even on the Kaputa Plateau, he seemed to be doing something good for a moment, but in the end, he knocked out Laura and Natalia and tried to secretly acquire a demonic crystal.

On the surface, everything appeared to have a different purpose, but in the end, it was all part of the Hero’s ominous schemes.

It was only logical to assume that demons were secretly active in the land of dragons and that the Hero was collaborating with them to obtain demonic crystals.

“Damn bastard… Not this time.”

I gripped the pen tightly, pressing it hard against the paper.

The ink began to smear, the black waves reflecting the turmoil of my fate.

Once again, my task was clear: uncover the Hero’s plans and seize the demonic crystals.

While the investigation into the Hero’s dark side by the five nations, including the Holy Kingdom, was helpful, it wouldn’t matter if the Hero perfected his mesmerizing gaze.

I couldn’t let him strengthen the hypnosis any further.