I Start with 13 Hidden Traits Chapter-56

Ch-56

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“Maxim of the Eight Heroes. Ah… well, I suppose it makes sense that you wouldn’t know, since you’ve been asleep all this time.”

Then the Marquess Weiser realized that Serengeti *had* indeed been asleep ever since, and corrected himself.

Serengeti had been asleep continuously since the Great Expedition into the Demon Realm.

She had woken only briefly once, and even then she had learned nothing of the circumstances that unfolded afterward.

Sensing something off, she asked,

“Don’t tell me this ‘Eight Heroes’ nonsense is something that came about *after* the expedition ended?”

“That’s right.”

“So you’re saying there isn’t just the one ‘Sole Hero Wilhelm,’ but there are eight heroes now?”

“…Among the Eight Heroes, one of them is the Knight King Wilhelm. Maxim included.”

“What? That’s absurd. Maxim ran away right after the expedition. He abandoned every last mercenary who followed him just to save his own skin—he’s garbage.”

“…Hold on. Is that true?”

The Marquess Weiser’s eyes widened.

Maxim—one of the so-called Eight Heroes—was actually a deserter?

He recalled hearing something along those lines before, but he’d never been fully convinced it was true.

But Serengeti was his daughter.

And there was no one he knew who hated lies more than Serengeti.

So it had to be true.

Serengeti shot him a sideways glare, then continued,

“Only Lord Wilhelm reached the very end of the Demon Realm and confronted the Demon King. Maxim is a coward who ran the moment we reached the entrance.”

“And the other so-called Eight Heroes?”

“…Who even *are* these people? Eight heroes, what nonsense.”

The Marquess swallowed, then recited the remaining names.

And the moment he finished, Serengeti’s entire body began trembling in rage.

“Shameless scoundrels with no sense of honor…! Two of them didn’t even set foot in the expedition. How dare they—!”

“Who didn’t participate?”

“Gracia, and Master. Those two never even joined. And the others named are all people who don’t deserve to be called heroes in the slightest.”

“If that is all true, then this is… quite serious.”

The Marquess finally grasped the severity of the issue.

Aside from Wilhelm and Maxim, the remaining so-called Eight Heroes were all fakes.

Fakes—and yet acting as if they were real.

The entire continent believed them to be heroes.

And all who could reveal the truth were dead.

All except one.

Except Serengeti.

“This must be corrected.”

“No one will believe you.”

“…My lord successor.”

“And you still haven’t completely shaken off the curse.”

“Are you not outraged?”

Outraged?

I shrugged.

“And what do you think will happen from here?”

“…Ah.”

Only then did Serengeti take a moment to breathe deeply.

Then she let out a small laugh.

“…What idiots they are.”

They were idiots indeed.

Because they had turned into enemies the one person they should *never* turn into an enemy.

Serengeti knew Wilhelm better than anyone.

The most honorable man in the world, Wilhelm was someone who *always* obtained what he desired.

Someone who eliminated anyone who stood in his way—one way or another.

Terrifyingly strong, terrifyingly relentless, and absolutely merciless toward those who became his enemies.

Thinking about it, there really was nothing to worry about.

“Try standing.”

“H-how…”

Serengeti reached down and peered under the blanket in a hurry.

Her previously ruined legs—perfectly whole—came into view.

“H…how is this possible?”

“Hudson healed you using a top-grade elixir.”

I was the one who gave the elixir, but Hudson did the healing, so the statement wasn’t wrong.

Hudson looked at me with an expression full of heartfelt emotion.

He’s going to bore a hole through my face at this rate.

“Hudson. You… you did this for me…?”

“The elixir is something the successor obtained. All I did was apply it drop by drop.”

“Even so, you must’ve barely slept…”

“I did it for you. If you’re safe, I don’t care if I die.”

“Ahh, Hudson!”

“Serengeti!”

The two embraced as hard as they could.

…The Marquess Weiser, still watching, could only stare in bewilderment.

“I understand it’s a moving reunion, but Serengeti. There is something I need you to do for me.”

Thud!

At that instant, Serengeti’s posture snapped straight.

Just like in her days as a knight—perfectly aligned.

She rose from the bed, raised her right hand, clenched it into a fist, and placed it over her left breast.

“Give me any order, and I will accomplish it.”

“For my next trial, I need you.”

Main Quest 6.

For its execution, Serengeti was necessary.

Her power—
the transcendent authority granted by the ‘Star.’

Light flickered in her eyes.

“You… require me?”

“…Yes.”

“Understood. When do we depart?”

“For now, simply be aware. I’ll tell you the schedule later.”

Seeing her stamina and motivation overflowing, it seemed her recovery was complete.

And this was also an emotional reunion.

I had no intention of interrupting it.

But Serengeti seemed to think differently.

“There’s no reason to delay. If it’s crushing those bastards, I’ll lead the charge. We should beheading those ridiculous betrayers and fools, throwing their heads into the abyss so they stay cursed for eternity, restoring honor and letting the world know who the *true* hero is. There’s no need to hesitate even one second in executing those loud-mouthed liars—”

Everything came rushing back.

Whenever I tried talking to Serengeti in the past, I found myself pressing Enter endlessly.

She spoke *too much* on her own.

At first, I thought her endless dialogue would hide some clue for a secret quest.
There wasn’t a damn thing.

Wilhelm must’ve gone through the same ordeal.

‘…I’m getting PTSD.’

Memories rising thanks to the Star.

Serengeti talked a lot when she got excited.

Perhaps because she had practiced mute meditation since childhood and only swung her sword.

Once her mouth opened, no one could stop her.

And this was the *corrected* version.

“Hm…”

The Marquess blinked, looking between me and Serengeti.

He had never known Serengeti to be such a chatterbox, and the way I reacted to her didn’t look like two people meeting for the first time.

To avoid suspicion, I casually shrugged.

“The Knight King’s memoirs mention it. If you don’t stop her at the right time, she’ll talk for an hour straight.”

“…My daughter?”

“Did you perhaps make her undergo mute meditation as a child?”

Silent meditation meant refraining from unnecessary speech, but *mute* meditation meant being forbidden to speak at all.

The Marquess lowered his eyes with a complicated expression and nodded.

“…It is all my fault.”

“It doesn’t seem she’s like this with just anyone, so don’t worry.”

He acted as if becoming talkative was some kind of illness.

Well, for a knight family, having a daughter who talks too much *could* be considered a fatal flaw.

But Serengeti had only ever become talkative in front of two people in her life.

Hudson.

And Wilhelm.

Perhaps that was why.

Hudson was looking at me awkwardly.

As if he had never imagined Serengeti would show this side of herself to anyone but him.

“…Ahem. My apologies. I misspoke.”

Serengeti bowed her head slightly, having realized her error.

She had misunderstood my request for help in my trial as meaning, ‘Your sword is needed to execute the betrayers.’

Not entirely wrong, but right now, Main Quest 6 was more important.

And besides, those so-called Eight Heroes—aside from me—were like a row of dominoes built on sand.

‘They believe they have complete control over every player.’

Their behavior made it clear.

Watching them stammer excuses in the real world, it was obvious the time was near.

Those who remained hidden—people I once thought were named NPCs.

If they were truly players, they were not ones to be controlled by the Eight Heroes.

They acted from the shadows simply because they didn’t want to be seen.

‘Once the threshold is crossed, they’ll act too.’

The moment the threshold breaks, they’ll stand against the Eight Heroes.

Very soon, Earth will become a battleground of chaos.

And in that chaos, perhaps it will even be revealed that the so-called Dimension Warriors are nothing more than “gaming addicts.”

If their prestige cracked, would the world still trust them blindly?

Once doubt sprouted, it only continued to grow.

There were many ways to topple them.

It was simply a matter of which method was most efficient.

“Go on and talk among yourselves.”

Before unnecessary suspicion took root, I excused myself.

And conveniently, I had somewhere to be.

*

*

Outside, Isaac was waiting for me, looking slightly uneasy.

“You look like you have a lot to say.”

“To be honest… I’m anxious.”

“Because someone might come after you?”

Isaac nodded.

He had stayed hidden in Cramdel for so long for one reason only:

To avoid the pursuit of someone he had crossed.

“Don’t worry. No one will pay attention to you for a while.”

They *couldn’t* even if they wanted to.

Not for a while.

The continent would be too busy uproariously buzzing about Maxim and Duke Cyan.

On top of that, most of the people Isaac had crossed were named NPCs.

In other words—players.

Most of them were tied to the Eight Heroes, and the Eight Heroes were far too busy with matters on Earth.

With the Maxim situation on top of that, there was simply no one who would care enough to look for Isaac.

“If you keep your promise, I’ll keep mine.”

My promise to obtain a top-grade appearance-alteration potion for him after a year of service.

To let him be reborn anew—
that was no empty promise.

“…I believe you.”

Isaac took a deep breath.

Star-bearer. Fifth pillar. Successor of the Knight King.

He didn’t know how many faces star-bearer possessed, but one thing was sure:

‘His words carry authority.’

Strangely enough, he believed them.

That statement—that no one would bother him for a while—brought him an inexplicable sense of relief.

His anxiety vanished as if it had never existed.

Even the promise felt strangely trustworthy.

Why?

Wasn’t I someone who deceived others by wearing different faces?

And yet there was weight in star-bearer words.

In my presence.

Everyone who followed me did so sincerely.

Isaac had seen countless people in his life, but never someone who invoked trust and mystery like the man before him.

He had even met those known as the Eight Heroes.

‘Compared to them…’

This man seemed far more like a hero.

Judging by his deeds, the word “hero” came naturally.

In Cramdel, he sealed the Demon Realm’s gatekeeper Ahram, and in the Garden of Knights he executed Maxim, who tormented the city’s residents.

Though the methods weren’t clean, they were perfect examples of using evil against evil.

He had never imagined Maxim would be turned into an undead to kill Duke Cyan.

In terms of results, he *was* a hero.

What on earth was he?

The more Isaac learned, the more it felt like peeling an endless onion.

Then—

“But your karma level concerns me.”

“My karma level, my lord?”

“Mm.”

He nodded.

Indeed.

While it didn’t matter in Cramdel, in human cities—especially around priests—Isaac’s karma level would be discovered immediately.

His karma was on par with that of an infamous villain.

A high-ranking enforcer of a massive criminal syndicate.

Enough to give ordinary citizens a sense of intimidation.

Traveling with him could become problematic.

“Good timing. Let’s go get rid of it.”

“…Excuse me?”

What did that mean?

Isaac blinked.

Surely he didn’t mean—
to get rid of his karma level?

“Follow me.”

*

*

Isaac stared blankly at Priest Andrew.

And Priest Andrew, in return, looked utterly dumbfounded.

“A-a indulgence…?”

Andrew had already used all three of his indulgences.

All three had been given to one person.

Yet—

A *fourth* indulgence appeared before him.

When Andrew’s hands were washed in the Holy Grail, he immediately realized he could now issue *one more indulgence*.

But only for the man standing before him.

‘So that’s why only priests can open Platinum Boxes…’

I let out a small smile.

It all made sense now.

The Platinum Box I obtained after sealing Ahram—

It could only be opened by a high-rank priest capable of reciting the Prayer of Praise.

This was why.

‘To think indulgences could be replicated.’

That was why I had used the last one without hesitation.

Priest Andrew spoke with lingering disbelief.

“It seems I can invoke the privilege of indulgence once more, but how… how could such a thing…”

“Your sins are forgiven, Isaac.”

“W-wait! You can’t just use it like—!!”

Fwoooosh!

As I placed my hand on Isaac’s head and invoked the indulgence, a radiant light burst forth—

and his karma was cleansed completely.

 

 

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