Chapter 279 |
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[Translator – Night]
[Proofreader – Gun]
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[So, you’re saying you’ll visit the people you had connections with during your time as a double?]
Euphemia gazed at the hero intently, as if trying to understand his true intentions.
[Didn’t you decide it wouldn’t be good for either of you and chose not to?]
“The situation has changed a bit. Now there’s a need to update the copied essence.”
[Are you planning to reveal your identity and meet them?]
“No way. I have to make use of the doppelgänger’s specialties.”
He briefly explained to Euphemia why the original doppelgänger’s polymorph was so powerful.
The last missing piece of the puzzle that his polymorph lacked: human memories and emotions.
He also shared without hesitation the proposal from ???, who offered to help him break the limits of his polymorph if he wished.
If it had been early in their relationship, he would have been concerned about Euphemia’s reaction and would have stopped at a reasonable point.
However, the past four years of working together towards a single goal had forged their relationship into something beyond mere colleagues—a bond of deep trust and strong friendship.
They were the most reliable allies to each other.
[Human memories and emotions… So, have you now acquired a perfect polymorph?]
“Not yet. ??? told me to let them know when I’m ready. They said they would unlock the parts Zero restricted.”
Euphemia blinked, suddenly realizing something.
[Wait, hold on a second…?]
Her eyes wavered and her fingertips trembled.
She tried to maintain a composed expression, but she couldn’t stop her face from turning red with embarrassment.
[Does that mean you can copy and read my memories and emotions if you wanted to?]
“Hmm….”
The hero deliberately stretched his words.
The moment waiting for his answer must have felt like an eternity.
The emperor’s eyebrows twisted in frustration, noticing his playful spirit.
[It’s not a difficult question to answer, is it?]
“Calm down. I haven’t copied you yet. I don’t plan to either. Increasing my understanding of you wouldn’t help in battle anyway.”
[…The original’s polymorph could copy just by seeing, right?]
“My polymorph won’t be that strong. After all, I’m just a homunculus activated with a part of the essence.”
Euphemia finally showed signs of relief.
[If you try later, I’ll execute you under imperial authority.]
“Noted. But what kind of memories are you so afraid of revealing? Was it those thrilling school days with Ted?”
Euphemia put her hand to her forehead.
[Goodness, it feels like just yesterday you couldn’t even look me in the eye, and now here we are.]
The hero laughed lightly.
Even the emperor chuckled, seemingly unable to resist.
‘…Thank you.’
The hero wasn’t oblivious to Euphemia’s attempt to lighten the mood.
A being that could copy even memories and emotions.
Naturally, Euphemia, being human, found it unsettling and frightening.
Who wouldn’t?
But the hero had overlooked one thing….
[May I offer some advice, not as an emperor, but as an individual?]
…Euphemia cared for him more than he had anticipated.
The hero stared at the emperor’s face for a moment before slowly replying.
“Of course.”
[As you know, this… The opening of this ability is something you need to think about carefully.]
Her golden eyes sank deep.
[It’s a path that truly leads into the realm of the inhuman.]
“I’m already inhuman. What do you mean?”
[You know. If you can copy memories and emotions, things will never be the same again.]
Euphemia continued in a clear voice.
[No one in this world will welcome you. You won’t have anyone to welcome in this world either.]
The hero didn’t deny it.
Even just by copying appearance and abilities, doppelgängers were already shunned by others.
No one understood better than him what it meant to read memories and emotions as well.
“But it’s something that needs to be done.”
[You’re really…]
“It’s fine. I’ve made up my mind.”
The emperor clenched her fists tightly and lowered her head slightly.
The hero waited in silence until the expression she was trying to hide disappeared.
After several deep breaths, the emperor raised her head with the same cool and dignified expression as always.
[So, have you decided on the order? By strength or who you want to see first?]
At her question, the hero was silent for a moment before speaking.
“Better to take the blow early….”
The hero’s gaze turned distant.
“I should start with the one who hates me the most.”
* * *
Yussi Glendor’s past four years were tumultuous.
First, she resigned from the position of principal and returned straight to her home in Glendor.
She spent six months quietly confined to her room, mourning the dead commander and organizing her future plans.
When Yussi finally emerged, she was a completely different person.
The succession battle with her half-sister Merian began.
It was called a battle, but it was more of a one-sided expulsion.
Even in her retired state, missing limbs, Yussi had continued to compete on equal footing with Merian.
Having regained her full strength and honor, Merian was no match for her.
Furthermore, Yussi no longer behaved as meekly and gently as before.
She had suppressed her cruel and severe nature solely to avoid upsetting Ted Redymer.
Now that she knew he was gone from this world, she had no more reservations.
Amidst conspiracies, intrigues, and stratagems, Merian eventually faced a miserable defeat… and soon after, death.
“Father, there is no alternative, is there?”
In the process, she even managed to poison her father, Dewes Glendor, making him a puppet she could control, thus making Glendor entirely hers.
However, Yussi’s takeover of Glendor was not some compensation for her abusive childhood.
“It was all preliminary.”
She began mobilizing all of Glendor’s resources to search for the “fake hero” while gathering records about the mysterious existence known as the “doppelgänger.”
She scoured the western continent and even ventured into the depths of dangerous demonic territories herself, such was her determination.
There were results. Glendor’s search capabilities unearthed even the previously hidden eighth blessing of Zero.
Despite Zero and Izaro’s efforts to conceal related data, Yussi managed to obtain some information about the doppelgänger.
She even found a few records about an anomaly that might have been the “fake hero.”
But upon learning the truth, Yussi fell into even deeper despair.
“…There’s no way I can find such a being.”
She had Glendor under her feet.
Her own power had also grown much stronger, thanks to ancient alchemy she encountered while traversing demonic realms.
Her alchemy had become so powerful that she could easily rejoin the Dawn Knights.
Yet, the search for the “fake hero” grew increasingly remote.
Tracking, investigating, lurking, setting traps… none of it worked.
She began scrutinizing every visible person’s face, comparing them to the being in her memory.
Finally, Yussi had to accept an undeniable fact she didn’t want to admit: if he didn’t come to her first, she could never find him.
Exhausted.
Yussi lost all her vitality and went into seclusion.
She even entrusted the management of Glendor to the butler, Simon, and left.
It was only at Euphemia’s request that she stayed in a village adjacent to one of the five seals.
Yussi’s daily routine involved getting drunk in the local tavern until she was bloated with liquor, then returning to her villa to sleep as if dead.
Clink—
In a corner of the bustling tavern, Yussi, with her hair tied back, now grown to her waist, drank her glass dry as it touched the table.
Rather than wrestling with her noisy mind in a quiet place, this openly noisy location was better.
“Hah, I’m getting drunk today.”
Normally resistant to drugs, she needed several times the amount of alcohol an average person would require to get drunk.
But perhaps because she had been drinking so much lately, she felt tipsy after just a few drinks.
And so she kept drinking.
Although a beautiful woman getting drunk alone might attract flies, people around her avoided her after witnessing what happened to a group of thugs who had been overly persistent.
Thud—
She put her glass down just as the tavern owner, checking the day’s earnings, smiled brightly.
Her deep blue eyes stared out the window into the distance.
However, her pupils had no focus.
Her mind wandered through past memories, blurred by intoxication.
“…What are you doing now? Are you thinking of me?”
Do you feel guilty about me?
Was it necessary to pretend to be a hero so meticulously?
You could have stopped at some point.
Yussi was smart.
The year she spent living with the “fake” in Rosenstark remained vividly and clearly in her mind, as if preserved.
Therefore, her feelings towards him were difficult to define.
The closest term might be love-hate?
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[Translator – Night]
[Proofreader – Gun]
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But even that term seemed absurd when you think about it.
How can there be love-hate between completely separate beings?
Normally, she should feel love for one and hatred for the other.
However, Yussi found it surprisingly difficult to separate the two in her thoughts.
Not because the acting was perfect.
No, it was because the way both of them treated her was exactly the same.
When she felt like she was thrown into the pit of life.
The person who made her realize she wasn’t thrown but planted.
The one who made her realize she could sprout even herself.
“Thank you for always being there for me, Yussi. It would have been really hard without your unwavering support and encouragement.”
“I’m so reassured to have you as a colleague. I look forward to your continued support.”
Whose voice was this, really?
“…I miss you.”
Clink—
Yussi picked up her glass again to erase the absurd feelings she had just recalled.
She had been drunk for a while.
The once noisy tavern had now become quiet.
The owner seemed eager to close up, but there was still one more customer besides her.
It was then that a gleam appeared in Yussi’s eyes.
.
.
.
[That drunkard is your companion?]
‘…She’s not usually like this.’
[Hmm… You said she’s the top alchemist on the continent. She certainly looks capable.]
Since partially restoring ???’s consciousness, ??? would occasionally speak to me in my mind.
Thankfully, rather than trying to take over my body, it seemed more intent on lecturing me about the ‘evilness’ of humans.
After seeing such childish behavior a few times, ??? had ceased to be an object of fear and had become more of a slightly annoying presence.
‘Anyway, she has changed a lot.’
If I were to describe my image of Yussi in one word, it would be ‘meticulous.’
She always wore neatly pressed suits and silver-rimmed glasses.
Her perfectly straight, shoulder-length hair and piercing eyes made people think, ‘What did I do wrong?’ just by looking at her.
But now, there was hardly any trace of her former self in the Yussi who was sitting alone in a corner of the bar, drinking.
She had grown her hair out over the past four years, and her dark blue hair now fell carelessly to her waist, almost hiding her small face.
Her clothes were wrinkled, and her eyes were dull.
It was a glimpse into the suffering she had endured.
Seeing her like this, a natural thought occurred to me.
[Soon it will be entirely your torment to bear.]
…The thought that I wanted to atone.
[No, it will be twice as bad. You’ll experience the extraordinary feeling of both hating and being the object of that hatred.]
‘It doesn’t matter, just start.’
[Heh, pretending to be brave.]
Thud—!
Suddenly, a huge impact hit my body.
For a moment, time seemed to slow down.
It felt like my heart was being struck by a giant hammer, leaving me breathless and my whole body tingling.
‘……!’
My ears rang.
My vision wavered.
If I hadn’t been leaning against the bar table, I would have collapsed.
Feeling as if the ground beneath me had disappeared and I was floating in midair, I gripped the edge of the table until my knuckles turned white.
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Error occurred
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Safety device partially deactivated.
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Current state may pose a severe risk to the user, immediate action required.
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???’s essence is partially reactivated.
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Limited synchronization with ??? initiated.
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User’s unique ability: Polymorph Evolution’s nature has changed.
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…Replicating Yussi Glendor.
.
.
.
Comprehension increasing rapidly.
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Countless comments arose but I couldn’t see them.
I remained frozen, gasping for breath.
[How do you feel?]
‘…….’
How do I feel?
Like I had lived Yussi Glendor’s entire life in an instant.
Childhood frustrations.
The tender feelings she had for Ted in her youth.
The madness that enveloped her on the battlefield.
The current despair and suffering that came crashing down all at once.
[You haven’t even fully processed it yet and you’re whining. It’s just a fraction.]
??? said that my ability was still immature and that I had only experienced a small portion of the iceberg that was Yussi as a person.
The real suffering would come when I gradually digested the core of her memories.
Even so, the sheer volume of information was impossible for the human mind to process.
Of course, that was irrelevant to me… but the sharp emotions floating in the flood of memories were overwhelming and painful.
Especially the last four years of Yussi’s life, which had been an utter mess.
‘…Because of me.’
In the midst of the confusion, I looked at Yussi.
Then, I froze.
‘…What?’
Yussi had stood up and was walking towards me.
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[Translator – Night]
[Proofreader – Gun]
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