Explaining in detail, I told the Subjugation Squad lies about the Demon stampede and how I stopped it. I also praised them for their valiant struggles so far, encouraging the weak-minded.
I had expected a little bit of suspicion or disbelief from the audience since a huge portion of it was unbelievable and bizarre— surprisingly they all ate it up pretty easily.
‘I don’t even need to use <Rule> on these guys… must be because of their low intelligence…’
“A-ah, I see…” Daniel muttered, noticing my small frame for the first time.
The others also took a better look at me and indeed noticed that I was shorter than an average teenager. It was embarrassing… especially since I was supposed to be a valiant adult.
“I’m so sorry!” Daniel blurted out in all honesty.
The boy went to his knees and bowed before me.
‘Whoah, what the fvck!’ My mind rang..
The Camp members, not knowing what else to do, followed their leader’s actions and also knelt in what I assumed to be gratitude.
“We’re so sorry to have made you use your Skill so much that it turned you into a dwarf!” He cried.
… Ouch.
The others also profusely apologized for the sacrifice I made for them, all emphasizing my really small height. They did this out of sincerity, I knew that much. Still…
‘That actually hurts, you know?’ I nearly cried underneath my mask.
Lara stifled a chuckle. The moment my face tilted to her side, she quickly stiffened up and resumed her stoic expression.
My sudden movement caused everyone to once again notice Lara, and Daniel had to raise the issue.
“U-um, sir Masked Hero… how do you know that woman beside you. Actually, erm…” Daniel looked for the words to say concerning the presence of a deserter.
From the glares of everyone, Lara wasn’t going to be welcomed so easily. She did abandon everyone else and was concerned with her survival, after all. Still, I expected this much.
“I found her being attacked by a horde of Demons. She had companions with her, unfortunately, they all died. She’s the only one who survived.” I explained.
This way, I was able to create alibis for the others whom I kidnapped and linked us both together.
“Ah, I see…” Daniel muttered.
The Camp members all had conflicted looks on their faces. They felt horrible that the very people they used to know so well a few days ago had been devoured by Demons. However, this feeling of pain and guilt merely covered an inner emotion or satisfaction that the betrayers who couldn’t fight were all killed.
‘That’s what they get for turning their backs on us!’ Must be what they are thinking right now.
It was human nature, after all. People often don’t like the idea of others doing better than them. They also take solace in the fact that others have it worse than them.
In essence, the Subjugation Squad members were secretly happy that they had chosen the right option and the others who betrayed them all suffered horrible fates.
“I saved her from the attack and took her under my wing…”
The Subjugation Team members all quietly listened as I narrated the tale of the masked hero and his new protege— how they now journeyed through the Apocalypse to help others.
Naturally, of course, their suspicion and negative emotions toward Lara were reduced. During my speech, I caught some of their eyes darting to Lara— most likely to get a look at her Status Information.
It was funny how their faces paled upon realizing that she was crazy strong. The most powerful among them was Daniel, a Level 45. Compared to him, the others were laughing behind the later stages of Level 20, with a few in the early 30s.
They had all Leveled Up considerably during the raid, but it wasn’t nearly enough. The moment they saw how much she had grown, the people were more adept at accepting her. It also helped that I was the one who sponsored her— and they owed their lives to me.
“A-alright, I understand…” Daniel muttered, fully grasping everything I explained.
For some reason, he still stuttered in my presence. I had initially thought it was because of my superior presence. However, after observing him more closely, I discovered the cause.
‘He’s feeling guilty about my supposed death, uh?’
Of course, for them, it hadn’t been long since I kicked the bucket. The chill of watching someone die, especially an innocent— helpless Jeremy, was something anyone would take some time recovering from. But, what made this worse was the fact that the Masked Hero was someone who was closely tied to Jeremy.
After all, ‘I’ as Jeremy was saved by ‘me’, the Masked Hero. It would make anyone feel awkward knowing that they were the leader of the team which caused the death of someone close to their savior.
“You just be feeling very guilty about the death of Jeremy… I understand…”
I had to address this before it got out of hand.
The moment I said this, everyone jerked to life and looked at me with guilt and reverence. The only reason they had brought ‘Jeremy’ along with them to subjugate the Horde was because of his connection to the Masked Hero.
According to the plan I made with Charles, I had a special mark imprinted on me by the Masked Hero. He would immediately appear if I was in any danger, and as a result, I would be used as a last resort in case they couldn’t handle the monsters alone.
But, none of them could have actually imagined that it would be my death as Jeremy that would cause me to emerge as the Masked Hero. In a way, it seemed like they sacrificed a 16 Year Old so that everyone could be saved.
That was one heavy guilt to bear.
It wasn’t my initial intention to make such a narrative, but once the Stampede started I had no choice but to alter my plans a little and resort to that. It solved the problem temporarily, but now what I had before me was a problem.
A guilt-consumed group, uh? How pathetic.
I needed to raise the morale of these people… one way or the other!
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