A heavy silence weighed on the room. All eyes were on the young girl who had just made her entrance. She was a strangely cute girl, visibly young, wearing a pink dress and a pair of red glasses. she stood proudly straight, menacing.
"It took you long enough."
"Can you blame me? I have to clean up your mess and do all the paperwork."
The swordsman was sweating more and more.
"Who... Who are you? What is happening here?!"
The girl elegantly shook her pigtails and looked at the swordsman.
"Long white hair, black armor and a broadsword... I guess you're our target."
"For the last time I'm not an MC!!! Why do you keep talking about it?? You can't even pro.."
"Prove it? don't worry that's why I'm here."
As she said, she lifted the documents she was holding and started a speech.
"You said you weren't an MC, right? Your argument was that you didn't have the "look" of an MC, which is indeed a good point. BUT everyone, look at these pictures."
"... How did you know about the part you weren't there?"
The girl took out several photos and presented them to the assembly. Confused growls were heard.
"Eh? what is this?"
"Is this evidence? How does that prove anything?"
"It's... It's awful.."
The images showed a puny boy with a bowl cut, some images showed him being pointed at by other children, others sadly sitting apart eating dry bread. The girl turned to the door and continued.
"Let me tell you a story. Long ago, a young boy was cursed with life. He couldn't eat his fill, wear quality clothes and was bullyied by his comrades for being too weak. One day he and his friends were transported to another world and he suddenly found himself endowed with exceptional powers. Suddenly a genius was born. Unrivaled swordsmanship, mastery of all magic, oh and of course he had a really good glow-up."
She then turned toward the swordsman who should have gathered liters of sweat in his armor by the time.
"It was you right? No need to lie we have checked your background."
The swordsman hearing those words didn't tried to refute, he looked at the detective then turned against the audience with pleading eyes.
"Al-alright, let's say that it's me... Why should I be bad? Why am I treated like a monster? Did I ever do something to any of you? Did I ever caused any misfortune? You all are blaming me when all I did was wake up one morning and find myself like this, how am I at fault? Instead it's you, the people who just learned that I was bullied but blame me who should be out in shame! Aren't you ashamed? Where were you when a child was getting bullied? How dare you play the victims now that he looks like a menace? You are the true criminals here!"
The crowd went into a hubbub, most started to agree with the swordsman's point of view, it was true that as threatening as he looked he did absolutely nothing, why was he even threatening? This time, the detective holds the dialogue.
"You did nothing? Are you sure about that?"
"Find me the one, the piece of a person that I hurt. Ok I've killed monsters here and there, but I'm a swordsman! it's the same as a hunter killing an animal!"
"Or a DJ killing a jam, that makes sense." Those were the words of an old fisherman sitting further away.
The detective turned back to the swordsman.
"You didn't do anything, that's what you're saying, right?"
"May the sky fall on my head if I'm lying!"
"He is right! Let lightning strike his house if he lies!"
"Let lightning strike his house and cause a fire!"
"Yeah and the fire kills everyone in the house and turns it into a graveyard."
"The hell is wrong with y'all?"
As the swordsman tried to contain the excitement of the crowd, the girl pulled out a new document and read aloud.
"David Anny, Thibaut Normy, James Rando, Léon Komon."
The crowd fell silent again, curious about the meaning of the girl's speech, only one person turned pale as if his soul had just left his body. The detective was ready to finish him off.
"Before becoming albino, do you recognize these names?"
The swordsman remained silent, staring off into space.
"These people were the ones that bullied you, you haven't forgotten about them, have you? You said you never hurt anyone but let's make it known here and now."
He then struck the most dramatic pose possible and pointed a burning finger at the swordsman.
"These people were sent to the same world as you, but since they weren't obsessed with living through video games and therefore technically very capable of surviving in this universe, they died!"
The crowd is completely out of breath.
"They died and you lived, they died... For your character development!"
"No... It's impossible... It's unfair... I didn't do anything!"
"Maybe you didn't... But the curse of the MC in you killed them! And as long as you remain, everyone is in danger! It's time to end this."
"No...NOOOO!!! Please anyone, I swear I'm not..."
"Mister Swordsman..."
"NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!"
"You are... An MC!"
When these words came out of the detective's mouth, an MC mark appeared on the swordsman's forehead. The crowd frowned.
"This... This is... French Script MT!!!!!!"
"No, take a closer look, it's... MaintenanCe!"
"No you morons, that's the mark of the MC."