Trash of the Count's Family Vol 2. Chapter 422: Facing and Protecting (9)

Yesterday.

That was when Cale had regained consciousness and was belatedly gathering all sorts of information.

D-dammit...!

Cale’s two hands trembled as he watched the video.

Something had gone very, very wrong.

“Human, what’s wrong? Your face looks seriously bad!”

Tremble, tremble.

Cale could not hear Raon’s voice.

Hours-long battle footage, recorded in ultra-high definition with incredible sound quality, capturing everything in full.

“Hah.”

Cale let out a sigh as he looked up at the ceiling.

—Cale. We’re completely amazing, aren’t we?

The now perfectly fine dominating aura chirped in its deep voice.

—The forest is pretty.

The gluttonous priestess, sounding like she was chewing something, gave her short impression of the gray forest in clumsy pronunciation.

And as he looked up at the ceiling, Cale asked Eruhaben,

“...Eruhaben-nim, what’s the reaction to the video?”

Hmm.

The ancient dragon let out a low sound.

Then Raon said brightly,

“Human, Rosalyn said the view count is rising way faster than even the video of Eruhaben Miru’s Birth Ceremony! She said this is the first time a solo streamer’s video has ever risen this fast!”

Ah.

Cale let out a sigh.

“Eruhaben-nim, can I meet the person involved?”

But the moment Cale lowered his gaze from the ceiling and looked at the ancient dragon Eruhaben—

Eruhaben flinched.

“Human, what kind of scam are you about to pull with a smile like that?”

Hearing Raon’s interjection, Eruhaben hurriedly opened the door.

“I’ll bring them. They should be resting separately.”

*****

A little while later, Cale heard commotion outside the door.

“......”

After staring at Alberu, who was sleeping for a moment, Cale shifted his gaze to the door.

Creak.

The door slowly opened.

As Cale watched it open, he thought,

He’s insane.

Mad Attention Whore, who would be walking in here any moment now?

That bastard was exactly Clopeh’s kind.

Cale had clearly heard the conversation between him and his friend while watching the video.

“A c-cute baby dragon...! And a good dragon too! A dragon on our side! Huff, huff.”

“Ooooooh! One look from a god and it feels like my heart’s going to shatter and I’ll log out! Huff, huff, I can’t, can’t breathe. This is insane......!”

“Kuhhh. To stand against a god! Kuhhh!”

...This bastard was no ordinary piece of work.

Cale tensed.

Clopeh Sekka.

You had to be careful when dealing with people from that type.

“Hmm.”

And the moment Mad Attention Whore and his friend stepped inside, Cale let out a short hum.

—Human, Human!

Raon cried out urgently.

—That guy’s eyes are weird!

Mad Attention Whore walked in very carefully.

He was not smiling, and seemed a little tense. Even so, he bowed politely to Cale.

—Seriously, weird!

But those eyes of his were really something else.

Sniff, sniff.

It was not angry huffing like Raon’s.

His flaring nostrils and flushed cheeks already looked suspicious enough, but the light in Mad Attention Whore’s eyes was shining far too brightly.

His shoulders trembled slightly. His hands were neatly clasped together, but they kept twitching.

“......”

More than anything, the friend walking beside him with a deeply uncomfortable and troubled expression was what made it awkward.

That friend kept glancing at Mad Attention Whore and slowly shook his head.

And behind those two—

—Heh. This is amusing.

The Heavenly Demon was there.

At the sound transmission he sent, Cale looked toward him.

—As expected, it’ll be hard for you to become a god.

What nonsense is he talking about?

Cale lightly ignored the Heavenly Demon’s nonsense.

But the Heavenly Demon was being quite sincere.

People worship gods, but they also fear them.

In the Demonic Cult, they showed the Heavenly Demon every form of reverence, but they could never approach him with this kind of anticipation.

But heroes are different.

Or perhaps the object of admiration was something people approached with excitement rather than fear.

Of course, that’s only because people still don’t know he’s also a terrifying existence like a god.

That power Cale had displayed while facing the God of Chaos had truly already gone beyond the human.

...Maybe it’s a good thing he’s sick.

The Heavenly Demon knew that coughing up blood and collapsing would naturally be bad for Cale’s body.

But at the same time, he thought it might be good for him in another sense.

At least he still looked human.

The Heavenly Demon could not show pain even when he was in pain.

Because he was the god of the Demonic Cult.

But Cale could say he was hurting if he was hurting, could show irritation, could naturally express all kinds of emotions.

He’s human.

That was why he could remain beside his companions as a human being.

Having had nothing else to do and thus been quietly observing the users, the Heavenly Demon stepped silently into the room, stood beside Eruhaben, and watched to see what Cale would do.

“......”

And Cale silently looked at Mad Attention Whore and his friend.

Gulp.

The friend swallowed.

He’s different from the game NPCs.

That was the conclusion he had reached while having all the recording orbs confiscated and being kept under watch.

There really is something going on.

He had only followed his friend over because that idiot had said he was about to do something insane in the Demon Realm, and now he had gotten tangled up in something far bigger than he had expected.

Thump. Thump.

And yet his heart was pounding.

Why?

Damn. This is huge.

Because he too was a game user who had fallen deep into New World.

And on top of that, were there not already countless conspiracy theories linking New World with real life on Earth outside the game?

Glance.

Still, what worried him right now was Mad Attention Whore. He had no idea what this bastard might do.

At that moment, Cale spoke.

“What are your names?”

Ah.

He opened his mouth.

But Mad Attention Whore was faster.

“I am... Mad Attention Whore, th-that is...”

Mad Attention Whore—this guy Gwanggwan’s voice was trembling.

From excitement.

“Ahem.”

His friend nearly choked, but soon answered calmly.

“I’m Strawberry Cream Bread.”

Raon’s eyes sparkled.

“I like that bread!”

“Kuhk.”

Gwanggwan clutched his heart and staggered.

But Cale looked at Gwanggwan and Strawberry Cream Bread with cold eyes.

They’re both strange.

He had not noticed because Mad Attention Whore had been making such a fuss, but the moment he looked at the calm eyes of Strawberry Cream Bread, he realized it.

Those eyes have gone off the rails.

They resembled the eyes Clopeh had worn when he revealed that anticipation while talking about Eruhaben Miru’s Birth Ceremony.

Good.

Cale closed his eyes.

This is better.

He opened them again.

“I am Cale Henituse.”

Let’s pull these two in.

After this video, Mad Attention Whore would be able to enter the mainstream on the solo-streaming side.

Because this would pull an unprecedented number of views.

The Third District.

There, he had obtained allies with wealth and power.

At the same time, he had planted spies among the enemy.

What remains is public opinion.

In any case, Transparent Co. held the advantage in broadcasting and newspapers.

We’ll go with individual-led streaming and video platforms.

The Birth of a Hero.

If he was going to promote that main quest, he needed a proper channel for it.

“...Ah.”

“......”

Mad Attention Whore nodded after hearing Cale’s name, while Strawberry Cream Bread said nothing.

Looking at the two of them, Cale said calmly,

“You probably have some idea already.”

The quest they had received had already been made public through the video.

The quest asking them to save this game.

The system had probably forced itself to appear because it feared what would happen if the God of Chaos truly descended.

“This game is in danger right now.”

“Hmm.”

Mad Attention Whore let out a low sound.

On the other hand, Strawberry Cream Bread—she asked a question.

“So are the theories people are talking about in the community right now... at least somewhat true?”

She did not ask just one thing.

“And are you an operator?”

Oh?

Cale was a little impressed.

Strawberry Cream Bread. This person thought quickly.

He spoke.

“Do you think I’m an operator who is intervening in this world’s gameplay in order to protect the game?”

Strawberry Cream Bread hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

“Yes.”

“No.”

But Cale shook his head.

Then Mad Attention Whore spoke.

“Then... are you perhaps part of a force opposing the God of Chaos?”

Oh?

Cale was impressed by this question too.

Flexible thinker.

If Strawberry Cream Bread was searching for the most plausible possibilities from within her own reality, Mad Attention Whore imposed no limits even on an idea that might seem to come out of nowhere.

“That is correct.”

Sniff, sniff.

Mad Attention Whore’s breathing grew louder.

Cale pretended not to notice.

—Human, is that user okay?

He deliberately ignored Raon’s worried voice.

Instead, Cale silently stared at the two of them.

“......”

He used no power.

He only looked at them.

Skin dyed gray.

Pale lips and complexion.

His frame had been good to begin with, but his rather thin body looked frail enough to collapse at any moment.

Yet Cale sat upright and met their eyes directly.

Gulp.

For some reason, both users swallowed.

Cale himself did not fully realize it, but after living through Kim Rok Soo’s life, surviving countless battlefields, overcoming countless hardships, and leading countless people, he had now reached a point where a simple gaze from him carried an unusual force.

Cale opened his mouth.

“I’ll tell the two of you the truth, and only you.”

He held out a hand to the two users.

“Would you like to become con artists who deceive the world?”

As the two of them stared at that hand, Cale’s voice reached their ears.

Con artists?

What does that mean?

Both users were filled with bewilderment and looked up at Cale in surprise.

Mad Attention Whore urgently, Strawberry Cream Bread calmly.

But at the next words, they had no choice but to show the same reaction.

“This world is turning from a game into reality.”

“!”

“......!”

Both users’ pupils shook.

“And this world may soon become hell.”

Hell.

That word lodged in their ears.

Recalling what he had seen in their video, Cale made the most solemn expression he had worn in a long while—one very similar to the face Alberu Crossman used when speaking to his vassals.

“Everyone.”

His calm voice passed through their ears and sank into their minds.

“The game clearly said it.”

The system had clearly recognized reality now and had conveyed its will to the two users.

“It asked you to save this world.”

Ah.

Strawberry Cream Bread let out a breath.

At last, the words they had encountered when they received the Night and Light quest came back to her.

[Can you help save this world, this reality, this game?]

The words written before game.

Reality. World.

Something about them passed through her mind and struck her heart.

“People of Earth.”

Earth.

For a New World user to hear that word inside this game, it felt deeply alien.

“Let me introduce myself again.”

Cale held out his hand to the two of them once more.

“I am Cale Henituse of the Roan Kingdom, from another dimension.”

He spoke only the truth.

“I came here at a god’s request, to save this world.”

That much should be enough for them to believe him, right?

That was what Cale thought, but upon hearing those words, Mad Attention Whore thought:

A god... a god asked him?

Not ordered him, but asked him to save this world.

Cale Henituse.

The light in Mad Attention Whore’s eyes sharpened as he looked at him.

Sniff, sniff.

And his breathing turned rougher.

Unlike Raon’s, it was an unpleasant sort of breathing, so Cale quietly began pulling his hand back.

Grab!

But someone caught his hand before he could withdraw it.

Strawberry Cream Bread, in that calm voice of hers.

She smiled as she slowly shook Cale’s hand up and down.

“I actually dreamed of becoming a film director.”

“What?”

“Even though I ended up moving into advertising, I never let go of film. It seems you chose us as a channel for shaping public opinion. I’ll make footage so incredible it’ll outdo any movie.”

Cale froze.

That was not quite the answer he had expected.

At that moment, Mad Attention Whore said to Strawberry Cream Bread with obvious disbelief,

“But you’re terrible at deceiving people! You hate con artists more than anything!”

He still remembered Cale’s question about becoming con artists.

At that, Raon reacted.

“But our human is really good at tricking people!”

“What?”

As Mad Attention Whore turned to Raon in confusion, Raon shrugged and looked at Cale.

“Human, isn’t that right?”

At that question, Cale merely copied the Crown Prince Alberu’s Crown Prince mode smile.

“Mm. I’ll be quiet!”

And Raon had gotten much better at reading the room.

Faced with Mad Attention Whore, who still did not understand what was going on, and Strawberry Cream Bread’s gaze, which had gone about two hundred and seventy degrees off course while still holding his hand, Cale tried to carefully pull his hand free.

Then—

Bang!

The closed door flew open in a rush.

Huff, huff.

Someone was breathing hard.

It was the saintess.

“Saintess!”

And Sir Voltien, holy knight of the Order of the Sun God, hurried in behind her and supported her.

“Ah.”

The moment the saintess’s eyes met Cale’s, she let out a small exclamation and bowed her head.

Then she spoke.

“I’m sorry for barging in so suddenly and without proper manners.”

After doing her best to show courtesy, she looked at Cale, then at the unconscious Alberu, and spoke.

“The Sun God is calling for the two of you.”

At that moment, the quest notification window rose before Cale’s eyes.

[Sub Quest: Obtain the skill ‘Purification of Chaos’!]

[Go to a sacred place untouched by the gaze of the God of Chaos and tear up the scripture of ‘Purification of Chaos’!]

[Sub Quest: Change the divine relic’s attribute to ‘nothingness’!]

[Go to a sacred place and subdue the ‘Knife of Chaos’!]

A sacred place.

The saintess’s voice continued.

“We would like to escort you to the Papal Palace.”

The center of the Order of the Sun God.

The Papal Palace.

“Oh.”

Cale gave a short sound of admiration and nodded.

“Let’s do that.”

Because if he wanted to wake the sleeping prince Alberu Crossman, it seemed he would have to go to the Papal Palace.

*****

“And then now.”

Hearing Cale’s laugh, Alberu Crossman twitched once more.

“Oooooh— O Sun— grant me even one particle of that radiant and glorious light—!”

Even amid all that, the Pope’s cries could still be heard.

“Oh?”

Pretending to be surprised, Cale spoke.

“Your Holiness, Your Holiness! I think the Hero is about to regain consciousness!”

“Ahhh, at last—!”

Irritation surged through Alberu.

Cale Henituse, that bastard was definitely doing this on purpose right now.

“Hero, Hero!”

Cale called to the sleeping Alberu in a desperate voice and gave him a slight shake.

Feeling the faint trace of laughter hidden in that voice, Alberu simply squeezed his eyes shut more tightly.

This is insane.

Then a quest window appeared before his closed eyes.

It was an unsteady quest window, clearly not an ordinary one, as if it had been sent by the Sun God.

Of course, it was clearer than before.

[Emergency Sub Quest: Show the dignity of a Hero!]

You’ve got to be kidding me.