Chapter 47

That day, I remembered the 18 heroes I'd seen in the mausoleum.

But in addition to the heroes I've raised over the course of the 19 Heroic Age series-aside from the ones I've raised with my own hands-it was in the 20th, which I hadn't even seen the inside of, that I opened my eyes to Rain Gray.

In other words, there is another hero in this world that has yet to be revealed. One I didn't raise or even know.

The real protagonist of the story, who was supposed to progress 'normally' with the Holy Maiden but ever since I started intervening as Rain Gray, the real hero has been eerily silent.

At this point, even if it's too late, they should have been recognized in some form or another, and their deeds should be heard.

Maybe the Black Snake has killed him without me even realizing it?

Does there really exist a protagonist in the first place? Assuming there is, what is the identity of that protagonist?

Is he a puppet controlled by "someone like me" in the other world, like the ones I saw in the mausoleum, or is he a possessed person like me?

It wasn't a question that could end in an unknown. I had to find out. By any means necessary.

And just as you need to go into the tiger's den to catch a tiger. In the same way, to find a hero, I needed to bring in the chaos.

To understand the true nature of heroism, this is born of human desire when the world is in crisis.

~A room in a luxury hotel in Germania, the capital of the Duchy of Germania~

"As per Lord Rain orders, Ergo has safely taken over the 'role' of Führer."

"Well done ...."

"Colonel Six-Necked Hawk reports that a 'death army' has already been prepared for deployment near the border."

I nodded meekly as the report continued. Nevertheless, the man with the golden ornamentation on his black uniform, the third in the organization's hierarchy, Robert the Golden Lord, asked.

"By the way, was it necessary to do that?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, if you crack open the skull, the rearmament of the western frontier was already underway, and the triggering of Order 66 was well underway in secret."

And that was why the man who was said to be the real head of this country, the Duchy of Germania, was dead.

─No offense to Führer Gustav Wheatley, but he was needed.

And what would have been accomplished without taking the Führer's seat was hastened by taking his body.

It would have been an unjust death for a real Führer.

"Why was it necessary to hasten things so much?"

"Do you want to hear the answer?"

"Oh, I doubt it."

After speaking, the Golden Lord laughed meaningfully.

"Surely, there must be some reason beyond my ignorance."

The monocle shone, its gold most contrasting in the face of black.

...The man could not have been more suspicious and inscrutable.

In a sense, he was virtually unique in The Black Snake. Still, it made no difference.

He exists and lives for the snake.

That's why I'm still keeping the Golden Lord alive, apart from his usefulness.

"Ergo, at Lord Rain's behest, is clearly fulfilling the role of Führer. He could even live the rest of his life as the real Gustav Wheatley if he so chose."

"...."

It's not just an impersonation. The outrageous technology literally goes so far as to peek into the brain and mimic the memories and personality inside.

It even seems to be a secret ritual that can only be replicated by the Golden Lord in this world.

"By the way, I think we should start thinking of a name for it."

That was it. I echoed the Golden Lord words, which were uncharacteristically cautious, somewhat nonchalantly.

"A name for what?"

"The child. Oh, and the new kids, too."

"...."

I didn't answer. In this situation, I was uninformed about how the real Rain Gray would behave. His most characteristic behavior was, as always, silence.

"With your permission, I would like to tell you a name I have in mind for the child."

"Let's hear it."

"Finesse."

Robert the Golden replied.

"Ergo of Finesse."

Tinnitus doesn't get any better than that.

No, by the way, tinnitus is not something that should be announced and defined in an internal meeting like this.

I was dumbfounded and silent at the backstory of the villainous group. By the way, that would mean that the other two need to be given such a grandiose name.

Should I call the other two up and ask them to each come up with a nickname that sounds fitting or cool…?

I thought about it, and then absentmindedly rattled off the names of the members of the troupe.

Black Sword, Golden Lord, Snake Eyes, Dark Moon, Jinzo, Laughing Man, Widow, Witch, Woodcarver, Chulang, Gluttony.

Plus the newest addition, Ergo, and two others yet to be named.

But they already had another name.

Holy Maiden and Swordswoman.

Perhaps they didn't need to be given new names.

At the same time, I thought of the only man in The Black Snake whose name was unknown, the only one in the game with no information, no content, only a name and a title.

It was me, Rain Gray.

"It's just a name I came up with in a moment."

Unknown, or nothing at all.

Or is the name 'Chief' a substitute for his real name?

I could only guess.

"Our name," he said, "is only a story of when you call us that."

Until the Golden Lord interrupted, addressing me as Master, as usual.

"My dear Lord Rain of Original Sin."

"─"

Rain of Original Sin.

"Ah, this. Please forgive me for the impoliteness of speaking of your tinnitus."

I didn't reply to Golden Lord smirk.

Instead, I recalled the name of the magic I had unconsciously uttered during my fight with Sir Roland.

A name etched like Braille in the depths of my consciousness.

<The Garden of Original Sin>

As I recited it, a pitch-black darkness descended upon me, and I did not know what happened to Roland in that darkness.

I soon realized that something had happened in that darkness; I just didn't see it.

For the name, Original Sin, was the name of no one, but of Rain Gray.

*

~That night~

"Both children, not bad."

Selena, one of the members of the Black Snake, said.

"As for Swordswoman, with Freya's touch, she seems ready for immediate action as a <Death Knight>. I had the chance to see her in life, and it's rude to even compare her to that."

"...Have you ever seen her in life?"

"The Knights of the Order have a reputation of their own."

Selena mocked, revealing the dark elf's pointed ears hidden beneath her hood.

"It's a shame your skills don't even come close to matching that reputation and sense of justice."

She was right, and the result of that righteousness and uprightness is the blackness I see now. I couldn't help but mock at such a shallow result.

"By the way," I thought to myself, "here we go again with children who can't relate to heroes."

Just then, Selena, the dark-haired woman, spoke up with a hint of bitterness.

"Romeo was right."

"...."

"As expected, did the leader take his words to heart?"

I fell silent again.

At the same time as I was silent, an inexplicable gut feeling consumed me that I needed to know those words.

Romeo's words. The words that the woman in front of me, the one I presumed Rain Gray would hold in her heart.

"I've heard...too much."

So I made it up as I went along. Desperately recalling the last thing I'd heard from Silan about the two of them, and Romeo's words as I moved my 'hero' through the game.

"I can hardly keep them all in my mind, much less recall them."

Playwright Romeo, Juliet of Tragedy.

One of the couples who aimed to turn their story into a comedy, and ended up with a tragedy.

"I don't know, I think I remember it too well for pretending not to."

Unaware that I was stumbling over my words, trying to sound like a casual acquaintance, Selena shrugged and laughed out loud.

She sounded like she was having a casual conversation with an old friend.

"Even playwrights don't remember the content of their plays...."

After laughing, she continued.

"Even a theater director will eventually forget what we exist for-"

A line that Rain Gray has taken to heart, a line that his trusty subordinate assumes.

"That's silly. There's no way you'll forget."

"...."

"Of course you wouldn't forget what we, the snakes, exist for-"

Selena's voice could not have been more certain as she said it.

That Rain Gray would never forget.

─But just as a playwright forgets the content of his play, so will the director.

Even what we, the Black Snake, existed for.

Selena laughed, her voice full of absurdity, but I didn't laugh.

Because that was a pretty accurate description of the current Chief, who couldn't remember a single thing about Rain Gray, let alone the Black Snake.

*

Shortly thereafter, the Death Army began to move into the demilitarized zone of the Western Rhineland, bordering the Holy Kingdom.

The Holy Kingdom, unable to tolerate the presence of Duchy troops in the area as per their agreement, immediately attempted to respond militarily.

This was the trigger for the conflict.