HPV 38

“I’ve always hated how you kept pretending to be kind and pure, smiling like an idiot.

So what if you were top of the class? Even when facing a criminal who absolutely deserves to die, you’d hesitate and mess everything up in the worst possible way.”

As Paronai parried Sisen’s relentless strikes, memories from the past flashed before his eyes.

It was from two years ago.

On the way to a subjugation training with his classmates, they were attacked by bandits.

Standing back-to-back with his peers, he had helped capture them all.

Those bandits were murderers.

Yet when cornered, they cried and begged for their lives.

Paronai couldn’t bring himself to kill them.

Not because he was fooled by their pleas — but because he was weak.

“Let’s hand them over to the guards. We shouldn’t be the ones to execute them.”

Maybe it had started then.

Maybe that was when Sisen began thinking he was pathetic.

Graduates of the Swordsmanship Academy typically became knights.

As the top student, Paronai was already guaranteed a future as Deputy Commander of the Royal Order.

He knew what it meant to be a knight.

A knight was not just a slayer of monsters — but also an enforcer of the kingdom’s will, one who executed traitors, enemy spies, and political threats.

“You ran away because you didn’t want to kill. Coward. Someone like you doesn’t deserve to be called a genius.”

Sisen’s venomous words stabbed straight into Paronai’s heart.

He wanted to squeeze his eyes shut — but he knew that if he closed them now, he would die.

In the grip of despair, he struck back at his friend’s blade.

Paronai’s only lie.

He hadn’t simply postponed his graduation for a year — he had dropped out entirely.

He hadn’t told any of his classmates.

If he had, they would have raised a commotion, demanded to know why, and called him a fool for throwing away his top honors.

He had run away.

And even so, he ended up called a “Hero,” and met comrades who would help him slay the Black Dragon.

They were all strangers at first, each with wildly different personalities — but that didn’t matter.

Because Paronai could see the color of their souls.

Every single one of them shone with pure, clear light.

“They may be a monster hybrid, but they’re kinder than most humans. They’ve never killed anyone.”

“They claim to have a nasty personality, but their soul is gentle and bright.”

“The High Priest’s soul shines so brilliantly that I don’t even know if I deserve to befriend him — but I want to.”

“The Tower’s biggest troublemaker? A genius who should never have existed? Someone who’s been jailed several times?Even so, I can see it — they’ve never killed anyone.”

“This kid may hate people, but he’s never actually hurt anyone. Still, I should watch over him so he doesn’t accidentally shoot someone with an arrow.”

Two years ago, on that day, it was his classmate who killed the murderers instead of Paronai.

If they had been turned over to the guards, the bandits might have caused chaos in prison, injuring or killing the guards as well.

Sisen’s soul had been stained pitch-black — but by killing, he might have saved others.

It was as if Sissent’s eyes were asking him:

“So tell me — who’s the coward, and who’s the villain?”

Sisen’s sword came at him again, now imbued with a venomous persistence.

Paronai fought back with everything he had.

As the alcohol burned off, his swordsmanship — which had been evenly matched — began to surpass Sisen’s.

Sisen’s arms, legs, and torso were soon stained with blood.

And yet, it was Paronai who was gasping harder, driving Sisen back with sheer force.

Avoid the vital points.

Don’t maim him either.

Just subdue him—!

Finally, Sissent fell to his knees before Paronai. His sword clattered to the ground behind him.

“Kill me.”

Sisen spat out the words, one by one, as though cursing him.

“If you don’t kill me now, I’ll kill myself. You know what they say — souls that take their own lives can never find peace, and they wander the earth. When that happens, I’ll cling to your precious sword like a curse.”

His classmate wasn’t in his right mind.

Maybe the rumors were true — that he’d been disowned from his family, that he’d botched his graduation with some scandal, that he had lost everything he planned for and might do anything out of desperation.

Paronai’s face turned deathly pale.

Sisen, too, knew he wouldn’t be able to kill him.

And if he couldn’t kill him, what would hurt Paronai the most?

Sisen’s gaze — blood still leaking from his wounds — drifted somewhere else.

To a sword wrapped carefully in cloth — a magnificent-looking greatsword.

“If that sword is precious to you…Maybe I should cling to it instead. Is that a new blade? Looks valuable enough.”

Paronai froze, as if standing on the edge of a cliff.

It was exactly the reaction Sisen wanted.

There was a grinding sound as Paronai clenched his teeth.

He didn’t lift his head, his chest heaving with rough breaths.

Finally, he raised his sword high overhead.

A twisted smile crept over Sisen’s bloody lips.

Wham!

The world fell silent.

Paronai slowly opened his eyes.

That sickening sound had been an illusion.

In reality, his sword hadn’t even swung down.

A shimmering green wave — almost liquid — had caught the blade in midair.

Held it back.

Stopped him from killing anyone with his own hand.

Paronai recognized the feeling immediately.

The forest — until now indifferent — had turned to listen, and reached out only for him.

Following the gaze of the forest…

“Is he your type? Hmph, well, with a face like that—even if he’s a guy, I’d—”

Riarun didn’t even glance at the man spewing filth.

Instead, he kept his eyes fixed firmly on Paronai.

“Kill him. But only if you can truly accept it.”

His clear voice rang out.

Paronai stood there blankly for a moment before suddenly yelling, almost forgetting who he was shouting at.

“I really meant it this time! I have accepted it!”

“No, you haven’t.”

Because there was no way you could truly want to kill someone who was once your friend.

Even if it meant dying yourself instead.

At that moment, screams rang out from several directions.

Sisen whipped his head around in panic.

Among his soldiers, there had been a mage.

The mage had set up a fairly decent barrier around the area — but unfortunately, he had run into another mage who was not only more skilled, but far more ruthless.

As a result, his magic had backfired disastrously, and he collapsed to the ground, foaming at the mouth like trash discarded in one blow.

It was Penzey who had subdued all the soldiers with magic and was now approaching in a heavy, deliberate stride — heading straight toward the kneeling Sisen.

“If you want to die that badly, I’ll grant your wish.”

Penzey pulled a dagger from his coat.

His face said it clearly: he wouldn’t think twice about putting down a few people who begged to die.

As Penzey raised the dagger to strike, a cry split the air.

“Don’t!”

Paronai rushed to stop him with all his might — and in that instant, he realized.

‘Because of my foolishness, Penzey’ssoul almost became tainted just now.’

Everyone in their group had pure souls. But it was frighteningly easy to stain them. Wanting to judge people based on the purity of their souls…

That had been wrong.

From now on, he would close the eye that saw the colors of souls. He would no longer judge good and evil by whether someone had taken a life.

“…We’ll bind his hands and feet so he can’t kill himself, and hand him over to the nearest guards.”

His voice sounded frail.

But the next moment, the young man lifted his head and stared hard at Sisen.

“I deserve blame. But today, you crossed the line. You looked down on me, hated that someone who smiled like an idiot was better than you, and tried to brainwash me into thinking that my reluctance to harm others made me defective. Don’t even think about asking for forgiveness.”

As Paronai spoke in a low, steady voice, Penzey’s lips curved into a faint smile.

No one interrupted him.

Paronai tried to drag Sisen all the way to the village by himself — but the sheriff arrived first, summoned ahead of time by Penzey.

Paronai explained everything that had happened and asked the sheriff to hand Sisen over to the city’s public security office.

Then, he turned back toward us.

“What Sisen said is all true. When I received the Oracle calling me a Hero, the thing that made me happiest was that I could save people—without having to kill anyone.”

I stood there, staring blankly at his green eyes, now completely devoid of life.

“I’m a coward and a weakling. I was never worthy of being chosen as a Hero.”

After Paronai finished speaking, silence fell.

At last, Penzey, who had been barely holding himself back, scoffed loudly.

“You’re just an ordinary good guy. Don’t make it sound like a tragedy.”

Paronai looked a little shocked.

Penzey, completely unfazed, brushed off his clothes and muttered on.

“Just because there are crazies all over the world, does that mean a sane guy should start digging himself a grave thinking, ‘Why am I not crazy too’?”

Paronai let out a small chuckle.

Then I spoke.

“Go say that same thing to Yurichen too. I’m sure the High Priest will have something to say about your worries.”

And with that, the main story more or less caught up.