My Desertion Would Be Faster Than Heros' Obsession-Chapter 21Vol 2.

“...What do you mean by that?”

Winter, who had been silently working until now, suddenly spoke up in surprise. But I ignored him and explained seriously.

“We’re going to scam Victim. We’ll make him believe that cooperating with us is far more beneficial than refusing.”

“...Is that even possible?”

“Yes! I learned how to scam people once. I can absolutely do this!”

“...Where the hell did you learn that? You sure have talents in the strangest places.”

Ignoring Winter’s attempt at calling me ‘talented,’ I clenched my fists with determination.

Victim, you bastard. You're going to fall for my masterful persuasion.

"Well, well. Have you finished all the tasks I assigned you? Ohoho!"

The moment Victim stepped into the house, smiling like some wicked stepmother, I immediately dashed up to him and shouted,

“Victim, I will now present a compelling case for why you must accept our offer!”

“W-What?!”

“Come, take a seat right here. The presentation is about to begin!”

I grabbed him and sat him down on the freshly cleaned sofa before flashing him the brightest, most corporate-looking smile.

“If you partner with us, you will receive the following benefits! First, you will be granted a core position in a newly established nation. A hetero sapien-led government will offer substantial advantages to you, Victim.”

“Hm, interesting.”

“Second, the status of black magicians will completely change. No longer will black magicians be persecuted! A world where black magic is recognized as true magic is now within your grasp.”

“Oh? That’s quite tempting.”

Ah, I really do sound like a politician giving a campaign speech.

“And finally, third! You will receive financial support as a magician. Our new nation will provide a dedicated fund for the well-being of magic users.”

“Hoooh, money is nice.”

‘It’s working...!’

Back when we dealt with the so-called ‘Three Great Black Magicians of the North,’ I had encountered a scam artist and picked up a few tricks. To think it would come in handy now.

I was basking in my own brilliance when Victim suddenly sprang to his feet. With a dramatic fwoosh, he produced a folding fan from nowhere and waved it elegantly.

“Ohoho! But that’s not enough to satisfy me! If you want to meet my standards, you’ll have to try harder!”

‘Shit. I got played.’

I had completely forgotten that he was also a black magician. Of course, a black magician wouldn’t fall for simple persuasion. Victim was well-versed in his own brand of trickery.

“Well then, since you seem to have free time, I shall grant you the second trial! Your next task is... to bring me a fig.”

“A fig? Figs don’t even grow in the Adolph Empire!”

“Yes, that’s right. Figure it out~ Hohoho!”

...To hell with gaining his voluntary assistance.

There was only one solution left.

“Fear and violence, you bastard!”

“AAAHHH—!”

I tackled him with an elbow strike, sending him crashing to the ground. His stupid folding fan flew out of his hand as he collapsed in a heap.

And then, I proceeded to violently demonstrate exactly why violence and fear were the ultimate means of persuasion.

Moments later, he weakly raised both hands in surrender.

“W-Wait! Please! M-Master—!”

‘...Master?’

“S-Sanchez! Please, I beg you, stop!”

“...What? Sanchez?”

Why was that name coming up now?

It seemed like Victim was too dazed by my excessive force to think clearly. He was probably spewing whatever was left in his subconscious.

Wait.

...Could it be?!

His earlier words flashed through my mind.

“I’ve never committed any crimes! I never kidnapped hetero sapiens or orphans, never harvested human organs, never—ah, well, I did try to imprison someone once, but I failed, so I think that makes me innocent!”

“Wait, listen! That person tormented me first! I just wanted to trap them briefly! But I failed, and after that, they bullied me even worse!”

...So the person he tried to imprison... was Sanchez?!

That made perfect sense!

I suddenly recalled something Sanchez had said in the past, back when we had been trapped in a black magic subspace.

“Ah, yeah, some black magician tried to trap me in a subspace once. But I just snapped his arm and flipped him over.”

So the black magician Sanchez had repeatedly mentioned...

The one he personally knew...

Was Victim?!

‘Hah. No wonder he looks so pitiful...’

Just how much had he suffered under Sanchez if the first thing he blurted out in distress was Sanchez’s name?

And he even called him Master?!

Strangely, I felt less annoyed about all the trouble he had caused me.

I decided to let him sit there and recover for a bit—because clearly, he was still trapped in some Sanchez-induced nightmare.

Sure enough, once he came to his senses, he immediately dropped to his knees before me.

“I-I’m sorry, Master!”

“...I’m not Sanchez.”

“I know! You are definitely not my master—ah, I mean, Sanchez!”

...So Sanchez had actually let a black magician call him ‘Master’?

Jesus. That guy was insane.

“But that doesn’t matter! I... I have now decided to serve you as my new master!”

“...What?”

That sounded very wrong.

When I frowned and asked him to clarify, the response I got was even more absurd.

“I can feel the presence of Master Sanchez within you...!”

“...Excuse me?”

“Therefore, you are my Master....”

...And here I thought he had come to his senses.

No.

Victim was still very much not okay.

Even after all these years, he was still haunted by Sanchez. Now, he was even projecting Sanchez onto me.

But you know what?

This actually works in my favor.

I had no idea what Sanchez had done to him, and I didn’t want to know. But one thing was clear—if Victim saw me as someone similar to Sanchez, then ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) not only would he obey Sanchez...

He would also obey me.

All this time, I had been racking my brain, trying to win him over.

Yet, in the end...

It was fear and violence that did the job.

Once again, violence and fear had saved us all.

I looked down at Victim, who was trembling on the floor. Slowly, I crossed my legs and leaned back arrogantly.

The moment I did, he trembled even harder.

‘Hmph. So this is how he reacts to authority.’

The stepmother-like attitude he had just days ago was now completely gone.

All that remained...

Was one very pitiful man.

I decided to run a little experiment.

“Excuse me, could you use some black magic for me?”

The moment I politely made my request, Victim’s expression completely changed.

“Hmph, why should I—”

“Use your black magic right now, you bastard.”

“Gasp! Master, please wait just a moment!”

...And just like that, we fully understood exactly how to handle Victim.

Feeling slightly awkward, I turned to Winter.

“Winter, what do you think about leaving Victim in the care of Brave and Leon? Their personalities seem well suited to managing him.”

“No. You should handle him yourself.”

“...What?”

“You are the most qualified for this role.”

“...Excuse me?”

“Yes, Salvia. You can do it.”

“That’s right! Salvia, you can definitely do it!”

Even Aquila and Karon chimed in with their enthusiastic support.

I scowled. No, I am not like Sanchez!

Regardless, that was how we ended up securing a black magician as an ally.

***

The first thing I did after securing Victim was to ask him about the current state of black magicians.

Previously, I had seen that the so-called "Three Great Black Magicians of the North" had some kind of network. That meant there was a possibility that other black magicians had a similar underground communication system.

“You know any other black magicians?”

“I-I did, but... they were all captured. So now... I have no friends....”

“...I see.”

For some reason, the more I looked at him, the pity just kept growing.

“Alright, what about the Second Prince’s army? You know anything about them?”

One of the things that had been bothering me a lot was the status of the Second Prince’s forces.

They had definitely marched toward the capital. We had even suffered through hell trying to stop them. And yet, there had been no news of them actually fighting the imperial army in the capital.

So where the hell did they go?

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I gave Victim a thoughtful look before repeating my question.

“Seriously, do you know anything?”

I needed to squeeze whatever useful information I could out of him.

“Do I know anything...? Hm. What do I even know...? What was I born for...?”

I shut my eyes and exhaled slowly.

Sanchez... what the hell did you do to this poor bastard?

I tried to think of anything else I could ask him.

Then I remembered the other black magician who had been working with the Second Prince’s forces.

‘Right, I captured one of them.’

But the rest of the Second Prince’s forces were still scattered and obsessed with their ridiculous quest for the Black Dragon’s Heart.

Instead of wasting time on that, they should be storming the imperial palace and causing actual chaos.

“Victim, do you know any of the black magicians who sided with the Second Prince’s army?”

“The Second Prince’s army? You mean the rebels?”

“Yeah, sure, let’s call them that.”

His eyes lit up.

“Oh! Yes! I do know someone from that group! I have finally proven my worth!”

“...Your worth isn’t determined by something like that.”

“What do you want to know?! I will tell you everything!”

I tapped my chin, considering my next question.

“Are all the black magicians in that group criminals? Or are there... idiots like you who are harmless?”

Depending on whether or not they had committed actual crimes, I could decide how to deal with them.

“Oh no, it’s a mix! Some of them are just black magicians who were tired of being oppressed by the empire. But there are also some... truly infamous ones among them.”

“I see.”

I leaned back and crossed my legs.

That meant there were people among them I could potentially use.

“I’ve made my decision.”

Even though I had thrown one of their black magicians into prison, I hadn’t actually captured the entire Second Prince’s faction.

That meant their hatred toward me probably wasn’t too extreme yet.

So, I’d meet with them.

If there was someone worth working with, I’d offer an alliance.

Right now, we were severely lacking in numbers.

One extra black magician wasn’t going to change anything.

‘The problem is... how do I contact them?’

That was my next dilemma.

Did I have to scour the mountains searching for them? Was there a Second Prince faction member with direct communication access?

“...Ah.”

Suddenly, I realized something.

I did know someone from the Second Prince’s forces.

Someone whose location I was very certain of.

The black magician I had personally thrown into prison.

Of course, he was a criminal, which made him... unpleasant to deal with.

But still, he could help me get in touch with the rest of them.

‘Wait a second....’

If I needed to contact him...

That meant...

I had to break into a prison.

“Dammit. Is there anywhere I won’t have to go?”

I had done a lot of things.

But now...

I was actually going to have to raid a goddamn prison.

What the hell was my life?!