Chapter 75 (2/2)

【”That will depend on him.”]

【”Hmm, well, that will be fine.”]

Though it wasn’t clear how Justus came to that conclusion, it seemed like he had given Harold a passing mark.

Actually, so as to follow the flow of the original story, Harold had no intention to face Harrison head-on. So his primary concern was that his bad mouth would stand out in a conversation, but with Justus covering him, he would probably manage somehow.

That left Harold with the question of whether to kill Harrison or not.

There was no fight against Harrison in the game. His main fight was the one against the black-robed people under his control, whose role was now going to be played by Harold in disguise. Despite it being pretty tiresome, the three-way fight’s experience value and reward items were comparatively lacking, but Harold left that aside.

As explained before, in the game’s story, Harrison was killed by an automaton doll that was supposed to be under his command. From the scene, it looked like the black robed person, who had been completely obedient before, rebelled when his/her companion was killed, but judging from Justus’ earlier exposition, it appeared like that scene was actually a result of him ordering the doll to kill Harrison;

or perhaps the doll’s suppressed emotions simply overflowed when its companion was killed.

Either way, Harrison died. But really, his death was completely irrelevant to the game’s story. He was just a man who was used by Justus, moreover, he wasn’t even aware of it at all, and he ended up bidding his last farewell to the world while attempting to assist some fake plan that Justus told him about.

Then, what would happen if he survived? Well, nothing special. Thinking about it normally, if he wasn’t killed, based on the proportions of the matters he was guilty of, he would surely be arrested for treason.

There was no doubt that if the offenses committed by Harrison were to come to light, he would be tried in the tribunal, and Justus, who intended to discard him from the get go, would not go out of his way to cover up for him or help him.

If so, then Harrison would definitely be sentenced to death. That was as far as he would get.

He was also involved in the battle five years prior between the knight order, the Sarian Empire and the stellar tribe; and since he participated in guiding the imperial forces, he would not be able to find any excuses for himself.

Many people had died because Harrison had tried to satisfy his selfish desires.

While he thought that Harrison was a dead man anyway, Harold could not wipe off his feeling of wanting to avoid killing a person. Though he had almost killed Ritzert in the battle five years prior, he was not in a normal state of mind at the time as he was unable to handle having his Switch turned on.

But with his own hands and out of his own will, he would not even be able to kill in self-defense if he didn’t have a good enough reason for it, so could he really straight up “murder” someone? However, Harold realized that thinking of such things at this point in time was pretty unreasonable.

Well, it didn’t matter since there would be no harm done even if he didn’t kill Harrison personally.

【”Then, I’ll be handing you over to Harrison this evening. Do your best not to cause any trouble.”]

Having heard those concluding words, Harold returned to his room. Though he had many more things to think about now, if he had to give a conclusion, it would be that this whole development was not bad.

Justus said that he would be handing Harold over to Harrison, which meant that Harold would be able to get away from Justus’ control for quite a while. With the original story starting, this turn of events was exactly what Harold was hoping for, as he wished to be able to move more freely. It was going to be somewhat easier for him to come in contact with Elu.

And even though he was worried about being exposed by Liner and the others, as long as he was careful about that one thing, there would still be great benefits.

While Harold thought of that, the day made way for the evening. Harold and the others, who were dressed in black robes that could slip within the dark of the night, were led to a quiet bar in the back of a popular little alley, far away from the city’s center and main streets.

In the bar, which was very dark, not a single light was turned on. One could not even see his own feet clearly inside. Nobody would be enjoying alcohol in such a situation; or rather, to say nothing of clients, there was not even any sign of a shopkeeper.

Yet, why was the door’s lock opened? Without giving any explanation about the mysterious, uninhabited store, the man who served as Justus’ envoy directly went forward inside. Far in the back of the shop, there was a door.

Though Harold thought it was connected to the shop’s interior, what appeared behind it was actually a stairway made of stone that was extended underground.

With that man in the lead, the group of four steadily descended the stairs. What was waiting ahead of them was a room made of the same kind of stones that composed the stairs. The ceiling wasn’t very high, there were stone pillars installed here and there, and in terms of space, the room was pretty much as big as a tennis court, if not bigger.

【”Oh, I’ve been waiting for you.”]

Such a voice echoed within the room that was no less dark than the shop’s interior. The owner of that voice was Harrison, who was sitting at a round table. Just like in the game, he had quite the protuberant belly. If Harold opened his mouth, he would probably insult him saying【”It’s not everyday that you get to see cattle chatting like that. Is this some sort of show?”]or something like that.

He not having to talk was one really helpful setting.

【”Are those the dolls the doctor was talking about?”]

【”Yes. Please look forward to their flawless work as your servants.”]

【”Sounds promising. What are their names?”]

【”They don’t have any. You’re welcome to name them as you like, Harrison-sama.”]

【”Then, I guess I’ll just name them “dolls”. I heard the doctor call them that.”]

Harrison and Justus’ envoy started conversing before Harold’s eyes. Within that conversation, they talked about how Harold and the others did not have names, and the envoy explained that they had lost their language capabilities because their brains were tempered with while still in the development stage, but despite their lack of response, the dolls would obey orders perfectly well.

However, the important part was that Harrison was well aware of Justus’ existence. If so, then when a critical moment came, even if Harold did not take care of Harrison personally, it was highly likely that Justus would seal his mouth anyway.

Harrison had some splendid death flags going for him. He could be said to be Harold’s comrade in a sense.

While thinking of such trivial things for a few minutes, Harold silently observed the scene before his eyes. Before long, the delivery was finished and the envoy went away.

Having confirmed that, Harrison turned towards Harold and the others’ direction, and a light yet eerie smile stretched itself on his face.

【”Now then, my faithful dolls. Let’s have you work immediately for my noble self’s salvation.”]

Translator’s note: * An Oudou Rpg is a sort of classical RPG, with the hero going on a journey and the like, like Dragon