Chapter 39

Due to the large size of the text, I will provide the translation in parts:

---

Because of the great response, I have added to it.

The overall flow has not been changed. (2014/09/01)

"Phew, there's still so much. At this rate, when will it ever end?"

In the office of the royal palace of Clermont, Rozeline was busy signing documents one after another.

Although they had managed to reclaim Clermont from the vampires, the scars left behind were deep. Almost all of the nobles in Clermont had been turned into vampires, leaving the palace chronically short of personnel. The shortage of civil servants responsible for internal affairs placed a heavy burden on Rozeline, the princess. She wanted to complain, but seeing the civil servants working even more frantically, she had no choice but to endure it.

Moreover, Rozeline found some solace in this busyness.

The death of her uncle, Raul, had given Rozeline deep sorrow. But she had no time to wallow in grief. As a princess, Rozeline had the duty to prioritize the reconstruction of the country. While she was busy with her duties, she had fewer opportunities to dwell on painful memories.

Humans killed by monsters could potentially turn into undead, so they were generally cremated as a form of mourning. Even the Duke Raul was no exception. His funeral was simple, but his body had already been mourned. She intended to hold a state funeral for him as a duke and the key figure in the liberation of Clermont, but the current situation made it impossible.

Another issue that troubled Rozeline was the emotions of the people of Clermont.

Among the remaining nobles in Clermont, there were those who had not turned into vampires. However, the fact that they had unknowingly aided the monsters was a heavy burden. The city's functions had been paralyzed for nearly a month.

The people did not remain silent. Sporadic riots broke out and were all suppressed by force, resulting in significant casualties.

Moreover, the fear that vampires might still be hiding in Clermont had not been dispelled. This fear was not limited to her nobles; the residents were also suspicious of each other, driven by distrust.

Nonetheless, the fact that Rozeline had reclaimed Clermont from the vampires kept the residents from losing control. While the soldiers of Clermont were not trustworthy, Rozeline and the soldiers of Charente were. Thanks to this, the situation was somehow maintained.

However, it was impossible to keep the soldiers of Charente in Clermont indefinitely. They were still staying to maintain order, but once the soldiers of Clermont were reorganized, they would return to their territory. The territory of Charente was governed by Raul's son, Rozeline's cousin. How should she apologize to him for what happened to his father? This was another headache for Rozeline.

The last thing that troubled Rozeline was Chaos.

"I never thought he would lose it like that."

Rozeline muttered to herself. She had never expected that Chaos would lose his composure when her uncle died right in front of him. Seeing his ugly behavior, she was able to regain her composure.

"Thinking calmly, maybe he was just averse to fighting."

No matter how excellent a mage he was, it didn't mean he had to be warlike. They had first met in a nearby forest of Clermont. He had fled from Clermont to avoid trouble.

However, his power had clouded Rozeline's judgment. His bravery in fighting the vampires and his proficiency in teleportation magic were impressive.

She didn't know what he was thinking when he joined the fight. It was strange that a foreigner would help reclaim Clermont, but he must have had a reason he couldn't compromise on.

However, Rozeline regretted bringing him to the palace.

As a result, Chaos was exhausted. His reaction to her uncle's death might have been even more severe than hers. Reflecting on it, Raul had always been concerned about Chaos and had met with him privately. They must have deepened their friendship without her knowing, Rozeline thought.

She wanted to cheer up the dejected Chaos, but she had no time to spend with him. Even if she tried to make time to talk, she couldn't abandon her duties as a princess. This frustration continued to the present.

In an attempt to lift his spirits, she gave him some money as a token of gratitude for his efforts in liberating Clermont. She suggested he tour the city through her attendants, but would he be able to recover from his uncle's death?

"Princess Rozeline! Urgent news!"

Rozeline switched her focus to the civil servant carrying the urgent report. She had no idea that the report would bring a unprecedented and threatening event to Clermont.

---

This world is not a virtual world of a game. It is a real, alternate world.

Even knowing this, I was still in this world. Or rather, maybe I was still doubting it in the back of my mind. Could this world be a game, and I was just deluding myself?

Normally, it would be unimaginable that playing a game could connect you to an alternate world. This common sense made it hard for me to accept the reality.

But no matter how much I investigated in the real world, there was no bug that prevented players from respawning. Even if the item was limited to those who had paid, other players should have had it. The official service had been running for a long time. If there was a bug, players would have complained, and the developers would have fixed it. It was almost certain that I was in a completely different situation from other players.

However, I didn't want to accept this and was in this world to prove that it wasn't an alternate world. I didn't know how to prove it.

I couldn't consult anyone. Who would believe such an unrealistic story? I was still half-skeptical. If I explained it to someone in the real world and couldn't prove it, they would think I was crazy. If I explained it to someone in this alternate world, they wouldn't understand that I had come here through a game, as they lived in a medieval fantasy world.

I couldn't go out of the city to investigate. If I went out, I would likely be attacked by monsters. I wasn't in the mood to fight. If this was a real alternate world, even if they were monsters, I would have taken many lives. Among them were humanoid monsters like vampires. Thinking about this made me feel like I was going crazy. The hands of the characters that had seemed normal to me before now seemed covered in blood. I felt like a hypocrite, standing in front of the dead bodies of monsters, feeling almost indifferent.

In this world, monsters are treated as complete pests, so no one would blame me for killing them, no matter how many. It was a matter of life and death for the people living here.

I understood that. But reason and emotion are different. Even if they were pests, they hadn't really harmed me. I could say I was harmed because they attacked me, but I had invaded their territory, so it was partly my own fault.

I could defeat them because I thought it was a game. If I had known they were real living beings, I would have hesitated.

For example, imagine a shooting attraction in an amusement park where you have to defeat zombies. If you found out they were all real, could you fight without hesitation and accept it?

In any case, what was lost could not be regained. It might be meaningless to dwell on such sentiments, but at least for now, I couldn't cut it off cleanly.

So, I wandered the streets of Clermont. To confirm whether this world was a real alternate world.

Clermont was full of vitality. Still, the scars of the battle were evident. People were busy repairing the damage.

The residents of the city showed various expressions, but they were all moving forward. I envied them. I had no idea what I should do now.

For the time being, I focused on my own safety. I bought as many potions and other medicines as I could with the money Rozeline gave me. Combat could break out in the city, as it had in Brandenburg and this city. There was no absolute safe zone. I could never be sure when my HP would drop to zero. I needed to be fully prepared.

However, it was frustrating that only intermediate potions were available in the stores. Were there no higher-level potions in this world?

"Hey, isn't that Chaos?"

I had just finished shopping and was leaving the store when I heard my name. I looked around for the source of the voice.

"Riam!"

"Hey, it's been a while. How have you been?"

Riam. We had formed a party together in Meridia, the kingdom of Castal. The others were with him too. I recognized the faces around him.

Cornelia, the elf archer. Emilia, the healer. And Havoc. The people I met during the closed beta test were still acting together.

It felt nostalgic. I had left the city after mistakenly thinking they were PKs, and I hadn't seen them since.

"I never thought I'd run into Chaos here. I was honestly surprised."

I nodded at Cornelia's words. In this world where I had few close friends, meeting them again was almost a miracle.

"Why are you in Clermont?"

Maybe they were players who had just started in Clermont and hadn't yet realized the abnormality of this world. I entertained this selfish and convenient imagination.

"Well, a bit of business brought me here. I just arrived a little while ago."

"This country is Nell's homeland. One of her friends is getting married, and she received an invitation to attend. We thought we might as well all go together."

"She's still hesitant about going. She should just make up her mind already."

"Hey, cut it out. I'm conflicted too! But if it's her heartfelt wish, I can't refuse."

"Well, I can sympathize with that, but..."

So, this was Cornelia's homeland. Did that mean they weren't players?

"Hey, Riam, are you guys players?"

"Players? What do you mean?"

"Never mind."

I had hoped, but Riam seemed confused and didn't understand the meaning of the word. My selfish imagination came to a halt.

I had met them during the closed beta test, which meant I had been in this alternate world since the beginning of the game. It was unimaginable that they wouldn't have noticed it was an alternate world by the time the official service started.

Still, what was this alternate world? Skills and quest information were mostly recorded in the wiki. I could log out, and almost everything that could be done in a game was possible. That's why it took me so long to realize. It didn't seem completely unrelated to a game.

Could this world have been the basis for "Another World"? If so, were the developers involved?

Considering that the event started as soon as I arrived in Clermont, it was possible that the developers had timed it to my login.

No, there was too little information.

"By the way, Mr. Chaos, is that rumor true?"

"Rumor?"

I was puzzled by Emilia's words.

"I wanted to hear it too. They say you defeated the servant of the evil god in the northern forest."

"Oh, you mean the Elder Treetent."

I had fought the Elder Treetent, the boss in the northern forest of the Kingdom of Castal. That's what Havoc and the others were asking about.

I was about to refute it when I saw the sparkling looks in Riam and the others' eyes and hesitated.

"Really! I believed it was true!"

"No, Riam, that was—"

"It was a big rumor even in Meridia. A mysterious mage who defeated the servant of the evil god. There were even requests to find Chaos at the adventurer's guild for a while. The whole country treats Chaos like a hero."

"Indeed, there were even people pretending to be Chaos for the money. Some even dyed their hair black to hide their identity. That's why the search was called off."

"Wh-what?"

I let out a surprised exclamation. Why did such a misunderstanding arise?

The Elder Treetent was a strong boss, but among bosses, it was one of the weaker ones. Defeating it didn't warrant hero treatment.

Moreover, it wasn't entirely accurate to say I defeated it. There was a group fighting the Elder Treetent, and in the end, they were the ones who defeated it. I just dealt the final blow, but I only assisted them.

No, wait. I was thinking too much like a player. For them, it was real. Maybe our perceptions were different.

Even if the Elder Treetent was a minor boss in the game, it might be seen as a powerful boss in this world. After all, it was called a servant of the evil god. That's quite a big deal. Does this world even have gods?

In my understanding, the player who dealt the most damage was considered the most active in the battle and had the right to claim the boss's drop items.

But in their understanding, the person who dealt the final blow might be seen as the most active. Just as in the Sengoku period, people would bring back the heads of their enemies to claim credit, the person who dealt the final blow might be seen as the most active.

Maybe, without realizing it, I had done something terrible.

Even if I thought I hadn't done much because it was a game, in this world, I might have done something significant.

What have I done in this world? I need to remember.

Closed beta test. The ghost girl Elizabeth in the haunted house of the Kingdom of Castal.

I shattered the orb to free her from the haunted house. Even though she asked me to, wasn't I the one who caused her to disappear from this world?

Moreover, I only thought of it as a sad event scenario. I didn't understand how she felt when she asked me for help.

Open beta test. Princess Alexia and Irene in the Vaiscel Empire.

I took the innocent young girl Alexia and the woman Irene to a dangerous area filled with monsters. I was just excited about forming my first fixed party without realizing the danger. It involved not only risking their lives but also taking the lives of monsters.

When Alexia was hit by a rhinoceros in Brandenburg, she almost lost her life. If I hadn't brought her to Brandenburg, she wouldn't have been in that situation.

Official service. Rozeline in the Commune Federation.

If what the vampire said was true, I had fought the beings who had taken the bodies of her real parents.

What did Rozeline think when she saw the king, who had lost his real parents, trying to commit suicide from the balcony?

And Raul.

Rozeline needs your support. What was Raul thinking when he told me that? I don't know, but he probably didn't want someone with half-hearted resolve to be involved in supporting a princess. Still, I accepted his request without the necessary resolve.

The words Raul entrusted to me on his deathbed.

They were Raul's final words to me. He entrusted his precious niece to me in place of himself. Did I fully understand the weight of those words?

I was shocked. I hadn't realized it. I had already messed up. A heavy pressure settled on my shoulders, and everything went dark.

"Hey, hey! Chaos! Are you okay?"

Havoc, looking worried, caught me as I was about to fall. I silently pushed him away.

"He's the one who saved us from the vampires!"

Apparently, the crowd had gathered around me. A child's voice rang out from the crowd. I looked up and saw a child. I recognized the child. It was the one I had saved during the battle with the vampires.

"Thank you for saving me back then!"

The child's mother bowed deeply. The child's innocent eyes, shining with gratitude, were blinding. I wanted to look away.

The crowd around us gasped in admiration.

"Who is he?"

"Those guys just called him Chaos."

"Chaos with black hair. Isn't that the mage who defeated the false vampire king?"

"The mage who saved Princess Rozeline!"

"He's the one who saved this country!"

Why do they know my name!? And the misunderstanding about me is spreading.

I wanted to deny it, but I repeated their words in my head.

Maybe, from a different perspective, what they were saying was true? I didn't defeat the vampire king, but I did help corner him. As for Rozeline, I only sent her to Charente, but I could say I was guarding the princess.

"Wow, Chaos. You're famous even in the Commune."

"Well, he did defeat the servant of the evil god in Castal. It's not surprising he's known here too."

"Brother, you're amazing. You're like a hero from a story."

"N-no, that's not—"

But I'm not a noble hero. I'm just a player who can use game skills. I only took these actions because I thought it was a game. In reality, I would never have done such things.

Despite my thoughts, the people who heard Riam and the others' stories praised me without reservation.

No, they're not praising the real me. It feels like they're seeing something else through me, something unknown.

A false image of a hero that doesn't exist has grown, overshadowing the real me.

It's terrifying. I can tell they have no ill intentions. They just don't know the truth. Still, I couldn't suppress the rising fear.

"It's okay, you don't have to be afraid of vampires anymore. Because you're here."

The boy smiled.

I was scared.

I was scared of the child's straightforward belief.

I was scared of the heavy expectations from the people around me.

So, I ran away from the scene.

Havoc and the others' voices faded into the distance. I couldn't even turn back.

How long did I run? When I realized, I was on my knees, out of breath. Even though my body didn't tire physically, my heart was pounding, and I felt incredibly exhausted. It felt like I was really in this world.

What would happen if I died in this body? Would I die like Raul? The thought made me tremble with fear.

Until just a few days