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Ruler Vol 3 Chapter 40

 

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Author: Anit666

Editor: Weasalopes

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【Sam’s POV】

 

After I successfully protected my chastity and listened to Chloe’s heartfelt confession, to which I haven’t given my answer yet solely because she doesn’t want one right now, Chloe sent a message to Phiria to come pick us up.

“Hmm? Why can you directly contact her?”

“Because she allowed me to.”

Well….. that makes sense, I guess.

After a short while, a teleportation portal opened in front of us and Phiria’s head popped out.

“Are you two done with your tal- Hoooohhh…..”

Her eyes narrowed in mischief somehow seemed ominous.

“What?”

“Nothing. Let’s go now, shall we? I have some other matters to attend to as well.”

“Alright alright.”

With that, we followed after her through the portal, only to come out at the place where we had killed Azell. Everyone, including Reishu, was present there. All of their gazes landed upon us, and in the next moment their brows furrowed. Even after exiting, Chloe was still blushing slightly which, combined with our dishevelled state due to her assault, raised the other’s suspicions.

Susan quickly walked out from them and approached Chloe. With a serious expression on her face, she asked.

“Did you do it?”

Yo what the fuck do you mean by that, Susan?

Chloe sighed sounding disappointed and shook her head.

“I see……..”

Susan glared at me and lightly kicked my leg, then turned around and led Chloe with her.

What the fuck is wrong with these women?

“So, what did you do with her?”

Jack came close to me and whispered.

“Are you really asking me that, Jack? I did nothing, except protecting myself. And before that, I believe we need to have a serious talk.”

This man is the source of a lot of my troubles.

“Heh, so you are still a virgin? How pitiful.”

He scoffed with a smug smile.

“Being a virgin isn’t pitiful. What’s pitiful is the mindset that a virgin is pitiful. Not to mention that I definitely don’t want to lose it in a cave.”

Like, there are so many things wrong with it. I’m not even into outdoor play.

“The ramblings of a loser.”

“You speak as if you yourself aren’t a virgin.”

“Oh, so you are that interested in my sex-life? Then-”

“No, I’m not. Go narrate your stories to Liera. I’m sure she would enjoy them.”

“Hmm? Where did she come from?”

“Ah, just you wait.”

I informed him and then walked towards the group of people waiting for me. Phiria spoke up.

“Well then, although I’m late it’s time for the formal announcement.” She lightly coughed. “Chloe Evans, Jack Hargreave and Samuel Hayden, the 3 Heroes who were summoned to this world to bring peace back to it. Despite the dangers to your own life, you fearlessly jumped into the fray and brought down your enemies, thus ending the war. Not only that, you also managed to clear the ideal scenario of an S rank world by bringing the world back into the state it originally should have been: where both mankind and demonkind coexist. For that, the God’s Realm is grateful to you.”

She finished grandly with a sweet benevolent smile on her face.

“Coexist?”

Reishu, the only one out of the loop as he didn’t know anything about Susan, murmured in confusion. Phiria, who caught his whisper, came close to him.

“Yes. When I created this world, I wished for all the species of this world to coexist and live together peacefully. That was my ideal, which was broken due to the selfish actions of a Monster and a human. But the Heroes fought against all odds and brought my ideal to fruition.”

“Y-Yes…….”

Reishu stuttered, perhaps in awe of Phiria’s majesty. Phiria then turned back to us, and while gently spreading her arms- which, by the way no longer held her weapons- asked us.

“For your exceptional service, I wish to reward you. Say, what do you want?”

I see, it’s time for the totally useless yet necessary formalities, huh.

The moment Reishu heard the term ‘reward’ his eyes became bloodshot and desperation became apparent on his face, which was immediately replaced by despair. I guess he thought that since Phiria didn’t ask him, his efforts in the war weren’t recognised so Simone won’t be revived.

Well, don’t worry, Reishu. But before that, let’s answer Phiria first, shall we?

“What are my available options and limitations?”

“Well, you can ask for anything which is reasonable.”

And how the heck would I know what’s reasonable and what isn’t, huh?

“Hmm, before that, what would happen after we take our rewards?”

Yes, this is the moment of truth, the moment for which I have fought till now. And if what I know is correct-

“After you are rewarded, you will have two options: either return to your world with your powers sealed- the seal can broken under certain circumstances, of course. Or, you can join the Hero programme of God’s Realm.”

“What!?”

Regina exclaimed in confusion and disbelief.

“Can your further elaborate on this so-called Hero’s programme?”

“Sure. The God’s Realm has a special programme for Heroes who have succeeded in bringing peace to the world they were summoned in by completing the ideal scenario. Under that, they can join the God’s Realm as a contract Hero: in other words, you’ll work for us in return for benefits. We’ll dispatch you to other worlds where there is a need for Heroes, and you will bring peace there. Of course, this offer extends to the party members of the Hero party as well. So, in this case, Liera, Shiggurath, Cornellia and Regina can also join this program. Needless to say, whenever you are dispatched to a world, we would assist you without breaking any rules, so you can expect to clear a world more easily that you did this one.”

………………………………………………………

SPLENDID!

This! This is what I’ve been waiting for! The moment when I’m unanimously chosen by the God’s Realm as someone worthy to participate in the Hero Programme!

Ah, finally! Finally, I have moved one step closer to my goal!

Whoa, calm down, Samuel. This isn’t the time to be so excited: you still have a world to burn.

Somehow managing to calm myself, I answered.

“I assume this also includes Jack and Chloe.”

“Of course, they are also Heroes after all. In fact, Susan can also join this programme as she had succeeded in uniting demonkind and mankind against a single enemy.”

“M-me?!”

Susan asked in bewilderment, to which Phiria silently nodded.

Now then. Jack would of course join this program along with me, and I’ll have Regina join as well. I wanted Chloe to stay out of this and go back to her world, but after all that’s happened, I don’t think that’s possible now, so I guess she’ll also be joining. That leaves Susan, Cornellia and Shiggurath. I don’t really need them, so I guess they can stay back. Susan will have to be dropped back to Earth though.

Oh, and Liera is definitely coming.

“Alright, I have made my decision. I’ll be joining that program, and Jack would be coming with me. And….” I looked towards Chloe for the final confirmation and she nodded with determination. “Chloe would be coming as well. What about you, Regina?”

“Me?! W-Well…….. I think I’ll pass……”

She murmured.

“Hmm?”

I narrowed my eyes, glared at her and asked with a cold voice, causing her trauma from before to kick in.

Yes, just because she was able to act cheerfully in front of Susan doesn’t mean she has forgotten what she had gone through. A simple glare from me was enough to remind her of her state when I had initiated the alpha protocol. Therefore,

“I-I’ll be coming along….”

Regina replied in tears.

Yosh! With that-

“Hey, what about us!?”

““Yeah!””

Shiggurath suddenly interjected, and Cornellia and Susan agreed with her.

“You guys? Are you sure you want to join this programme? And what about your sister, Cornellia?”

“Of course! I have reconciled with you and Chloe after such a long time, and there are still tons of questions I want to ask you. So hell yeah, I’m coming with you!

Susan shouted.

“Yeah! And I’ll keep contacting Alice using magic!”

Cornellia replied, though I could see traces of sadness lurking in her eyes due to leaving her sister behind.

“But-”

But before I could refuse, Shiggurath spoke up.

“By the way, Phiria, the decision of joining this program is up to us, right?”

“Of course.”

Phiria sweetly replied. Wait a minute!

“Then we three also want to join this program.”

“Accepted.”

Phiria readily accepted them into the programme. Damnit Phiria.

And so, the only one left was Liera. She had been silent this whole time.

“And what about you, Liera?”

I approached and asked her.

“About what?”

“You are one of the candidates who can join this programme, and I’m confident that you should join it.”

“Haa? What are you talking about? I still have many things to do here, like handling the aftermaths of this war. And I can’t really leave this world alone, now can I? I have lived here for my entire life.”

“I’m sure that Olivia and Reygus can handle all of that, right?”

I turned to them and asked.

“Of course we can!”

And Reygus replied positively.

“Yeah! Liera, you must take his chance and join them! I’m sure you would enjoy your life with them much more than you will with us.”

While Olivia supported him.

“Not to mention in this troupe of Monsters, Susan would need someone reliable by her side, right? You should definitely go!”

“But….”

Liera once again tried to make excuses.

“No buts! Just go!”

“Come one Liera, would you not join me?”

While we were persuading her, Susan joined us and asked while extending her hand towards Liera. Liera stared at her hand for a while, and-

“Haaahh…… All right. I’ll be coming along. I dunno what you guys will do without me.”

With a large sigh, she accepted the Hero’s programme.

“Yayy~”

Susan squealed delightfully and attacked Liera with an embrace. I left them and went to Jack.

“Well then, Liera will be under your care.”

“Hmm? Why so?”

His brows furrowed in confusion.

“Because you are the one who knows her best amongst us.”

“Yeah, but why is Liera the only one under me? If I’m to train then I should train everyone present here, no? Not to mention that Liera doesn’t need any special training now: she’ll follow every command that you give her, no matter what it is.”

He grinned mischievously while speaking the last part.

“Whatever I order her to do, you say? How is that possible? As far as I can remember, you politely brought her over to our side, right?”

The grin on his face immediately vanished and he averted his eyes for a brief moment. He quickly recovered though.

“Of course I did. You can confirm it with Walter, if you want.”

“Yeah yeah. I clearly know just how polite you were. For now, you are going to personally train Liera to turn her into a force useful for us.”

“And what about the rest?”

“The rest will be trained by our special trainers, while I’ll personally oversee the training of Chloe.”

Phiria joined our conversation and supported me. Jack’s eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“I don’t like how you two are in cahoots, but fine, I guess. I’ll train her and make her at least strong enough to lead a battalion by herself.”

“Heeeh…… pretty big words. I’ll be counting on you then.”

I could hear someone sneeze behind me.

“Well then, Sam. Shall we proceed to the next stage?”

Phiria asked me.

“Wait a minute before that.”

I looked around to find the only person who looked gloomy despite the joy permeating the air, and my eyes finally met with Reishu. He looked really sad as his efforts hadn’t been recognised by Phiria. I beckoned him to come to me.

With heavy steps, he made his way towards us.

“What?”

He asked in an irritated tone. I guess he’s the only one who most dissatisfied by the current situation. Not only has failed to revive his daughter, he also cannot kill the supposed murderer of her daughter, the Demon King.

Well, I guess I should relieve him of his pain.

So, I turned to Phiria and lightly whispered to her.

“Phiria, I would like to make use of my reward right now. I want you to revive Simone.”

“Hmm?”

“Eh?”

⟦Eh?⟧

Reishu exclaimed, looking confused.

“Don’t worry, Reishu. You’ll get to meet your daughter soon.”

Reishu looked at me in confusion for a moment, but he finally understood the meaning of my words, he couldn’t control himself.

“A-ahh……. Uuuuuuuuu……”

⟦Wa-waaah! Please don’t cry father!⟧

“Whoa, don’t start crying now. Smile and put on a happy face, you are about to meet your daughter after all. Oh, and by the way, the one who killed Simone was actually Azell.”

“Huh? It was not a demon?”

“Nope, it was a human. Azell orchestrated the whole thing in order to make you lose yourself in rage and die by the hands of the Demon King. I guess it was good that we stopped you, right?”

⟦Huh, what a liar.⟧

“Ha ha ha ha ha, yeah….”

“Anyway, I guess it’s time for you reunite with your beloved daughter.”

⟦Yes! And by the way, why do I feel like I’m being ignored?⟧

“Well then, Phiria.”

“Sure, just release her soul.”

Finally, I can get rid of this bitch in my head.

⟦B-Bitch?! Why are you suddenly abusing me!?⟧

⟦Why are you acting so surprised now? A few moments before you were laughing merrily when I had been assaulted, no?⟧

⟦Haaa? Are you seriously bitter about that?⟧

⟦Of course not. It’s simply a case of how you and your bitchy personality would be totally useless in the upcoming journey. So, I’m simply getting rid of you while I still can.⟧

⟦W-wha-?!⟧

Before she could complete her sentence, I forcefully cut the connection and ejected her soul. The soul, which normally would have returned to the cycle of life and death, obeyed Phiria’s will and came to her.

Let’s see how she would revive her.

Or that’s what was supposed to happen. The soul, which was normally not visible to the naked eye, suddenly turned into a small orb made of golden light and settled in Phiria’s hands. She brought the orb close to her ears.

“Hmmm……. Ah, I see.”

What? The fuck are you doing, Phiria?

Just then, Phiria brought her hand in front of her. The next moment, the orb glowed furiously and then enlarged.

It enlarged and donned the shape of a female elf.

｢Father.｣

The figure spoke up in a familiar voice.

“S-Simone?!”

｢Yes, it’s me.｣

“Ah, Simone! I can finally see you again! Sam here used his reward to-”

｢I want to talk about that father. I……. won’t be reviving right now.｣

The figure replied with a voice full of determination.

“WHAT?!”

WHAT?! Has this woman gone senile?!

⟦No, I haven’t.⟧

Simone?! You should have been kicked out! Then who is that?!

⟦That’s an illusion conjured by the Goddess. Apparently, she wants me to remain with you for a bit longer.⟧

⟦Excuse me, what?⟧

Meanwhile, the illusion continued.

｢Yes. After dying, I have come to understand the real meaning of what it means to live, and that’s why I want to go on a journey. I’m sorry, but this is the most I can reveal right now. But I promise I’ll come back to you soon enough. Until then.｣

“W-Wait! Simone!”

But despite Reishu’s wails, the illusion vanished into thin air, leaving just us.

“Well, as you can see, Reishu. Simone doesn’t want to return right now, so I won’t be able to revive her. Rest assured, I’m sure that she’s in a really good place right now.”

Phiria patted Reishu’s shoulder and consoled, all the while looking at me.

Damn it! My ‘The Fallen’ cannot win against the Goddess of Life, so I can’t forcibly eject Simone now! Fuck! What does she even want with her now?!

⟦Well then, Simone. Seems like we’ll be together for a bit longer.⟧

⟦Yeah…….⟧

She muttered ruefully. Goddamnit.

⟦And as usual, Maxwell would be the one in charge of you.⟧

⟦Can’t even complain right now. Alright.⟧

Maxwell readily agreed, and we ended the discussion with that.

After calming myself, I walked over to Reishu to console him.

“Well, Reishu, seems like you’ll have to wait a bit longer before you can reconcile with Simone.”

Reishu weakly smiled at my attempt to life his spirits.

“Thanks for that, Samuel.” He then looked up to the sky, and with a sigh, continued. “I guess Simone has finally found something to live for, huh. From now on, she’ll create her own path and walk on it, and all I can do is wait for her here with open arms.”

⟦Father….⟧

And then, he turned towards me and smiled.

“I guess that works for me. It was about time for the chick to leave her nest and scale the sky with her own wings. It’s my duty as her parent to let her fly as much as she wants, and be there to protect her when she cannot.”

He smiled sadly.

⟦Hey Samuel, can you pass a message from me?⟧

Simone spoke up, also with a sad voice.

⟦Alright.⟧

⟦Tell him that-⟧

“You are one fine father, Reishu. Though I’m sure that if Simone were to hear you right now, she would vehemently argue that no matter what, she would always remain your daughter.”

His eyes widened in surprise for a moment, but then his cheeks slackened into a smile, a happy smile.

“Haha, I guess you are right. Huh. Yeah, no matter what, we’ll always remain father and daughter……….. Thank you, Samuel.”

“Mention it not.”

It was kind of my fault that this pair was separated. Though nothing can be done about it now.

Well then.

Enough with this.

“Shall we go now, Phiria?”

I asked, my voice louder than usual to inform everyone that it was finally time for departure. They looked over to us and nodded, confirming that it was indeed time to leave.

Everyone had bidden their farewells, while promising to meet each other the next chance they get. Their faces and eyes were filled with determination.

Everyone was going to start the next chapter of their lives. It didn’t matter whether they were leaving this world or staying here, they had resolved themselves to bravely face the changes that were about to come and conquer them.

People like Reishu who would stay here, would be forced to create a new world where both demonkind and mankind would live together as friends.

People like Cornellia, who were going to leave their families behind and start a new journey where they would fight for other worlds and bring peace to them.

“Yes.”

Phiria replied and opened a large teleportation portal in front of us, beckoning us to take a step through it and reach the new world.

“Let’s go, everyone.”

And then there was me, a man who had simply completed the first stage of his game.

It was time to proceed to the next stage of Rododactylus. It was now Meteron’s turn. That sick wretch who had begun it all would be the first one to face my wrath.

Just thinking about everything that I was about to do, and everything that I would gain from doing it was filling me with rapture.

 

Well then, let the game begin.

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