I Mistook The Genre And Became A Tyrant

✦  Chapter 10 –  Pride of the North (3) ✦

「Translator – Creator」

Due to every inn being fully booked, Del and I had to share a room.

As soon as we entered the room, Del seemed tense and kept looking at me with a wary expression.

“Del, I told you I like women. Relax.”

“…No. It’s not that.”

“Or could it be that you prefer men?”

I didn’t want to be prejudiced, but among some delicate-looking men, there were those who worshipped masculinity and favored men. While I wasn’t like that at all, what if Del was? At my blunt question about his sexuality, Del was greatly flustered.

“No!”

“Then what’s the problem? I like women, and you like women.”

“…It’s just that I’ve never shared a bed with anyone before.”

“I see. Even if you’ve lost your succession rights, you’re still quite the young master, aren’t you?”

“Daniel, you said you really like women. I’m curious about something. Have you ever been with women? As for me, I’ve received quite a few confessions from women.”

“Oh?”

“Some women prefer smooth, beardless faces. In that sense, I thought you might have been quite popular with such women. How many have you been with so far?”

“I haven’t really counted. Should I say countless? I’m not particularly interested.”

How could I count experiences I’ve never had? Hearing my response, Del nodded as if understanding.

“I see, innumerable. That’s impressive.”

Del seemed to have quite a romanticized view of women. I had thought him to be as cold as ice, but it seemed he harbored the heart of an innocent boy. Anyway, we ended up sharing the bed.

However, Del’s behavior remained strange.

“Del, aren’t you going to sleep? Why are you just sitting on the bed?”

“I don’t need much sleep. I sleep at most an hour a week. I suffer from severe insomnia. Besides, someone might attack our lodgings. I’ll keep watch.”

Now that I looked closely, he had dark circles under his eyes. Was he really suffering from insomnia? Sleeping only an hour a week? If he had survived like this until now, he could be called superhuman in a sense.

“I… don’t need to sleep…”

But Del’s eyes kept blinking, as if unable to resist the weight of his eyelids.

“I… sleep… very little… usually…”

Nod, Nod—

His head started bobbing back and forth unsteadily, and before long, Del collapsed onto the bed, snoring loudly.

I found the situation somewhat amusing.

“Didn’t you say you only sleep an hour a week?”

Despite claiming to suffer from insomnia, he slept soundly until the next morning. Because of this, I had to keep watch and fend off intruders twice during the night.

The next morning, Del woke up and made a big fuss.

“I slept from last night until this morning? This has never happened before. I can’t remember the last time I slept this much. Why? What’s the reason?”

“I don’t know. You slept really well.”

“My body feels so light! It’s been so long since I felt this way. I’m overflowing with confidence now. I feel like I could even defeat the legendary Hel if I met one!”

Del’s condition indeed seemed much improved compared to yesterday. However, he couldn’t simply be happy about it.

“Daniel, I’ve unintentionally lied to you. I promised to keep watch, but I fell asleep instead. I’m ashamed. How can I make it up to you?”

Bow—

Seeing him bow his head deeply, I thought that Northern people were quite strict with themselves. For me, who had gone without sleep for nearly a month during the war two years ago, keeping watch for one night was an easy task.

“It’s no big deal. Let’s just forget about it.”

“No, Daniel. I’m frustrated that I couldn’t keep my own word. Please let me make it up to you. How can someone who can’t keep even a small promise hope to rule House Paimon and the North?”

“Del, it’s funny how you’re already talking as if you’re Paimon’s son-in-law. Alright. If you insist on making it up to me, there is something. Can you tell me about the Hels living in this Northern region?”

Obtaining the Sunflower and the Moonlight Stone to create the 「Hel Ball」, then capturing my first Hel – that was my tutorial quest.

While creating the 「Hel Ball」 was important for this quest, the core task was encountering and capturing a Hel. Oddly enough, meeting these  「Hels」 proved to be challenging.

Are Hels typically this difficult to encounter? The squirrel I saw yesterday was the first Hel I’d spotted, and even that one got away.

‘I know too little about Hels.’

I thought Del, who was well-versed in the politics of this North, would be able to tell me a lot about Hels.

“Hels? Is that really enough?”

“It’s sufficient.”

“Alright. I can certainly tell you about that. Let’s see…”

Del fell silent, deep in thought.

Perhaps due to his dark circles fading after a good night’s sleep, he looked every bit the melancholic young noble. I could now understand why someone might think he’d make a good companion for a widow.

“Daniel, you know that long ago, gods and demons coexisted in this world, right? Beings capable of various miracles. There were even spirits that could conjure storms and breathe fire.”

“That’s interesting.”

“Interesting? This is a scary story. Why? Because humans don’t have sharp claws or soft skin. That’s why this world was like hell for humans.”

So that’s why this continent was named Pandemonium, meaning Hel. It was exciting, almost like listening to a game’s lore.

“Humans were the weakest beings in this world. Then one day, humans who could use mana by contracting with gods or demons appeared. They crowned themselves Kings and conquered the world. Eventually, they even subjugated the Gods and Demons. These became the ancestors of the 70 royal families.”

The 70 Kings who had conquered the world, finding no more worthy opponents, eventually began fighting among themselves. This marked the beginning of the 「War of Kings」 that had been going on for centuries.

“Hels are the fallen forms of gods, demons, and spirits. That’s why they’re different from ordinary animals and are called magical beasts, spirit beasts, or divine beasts. It is natural that they’re rarely seen.”

So it was normal for Hels to be hard to find.

No wonder I hadn’t heard much about Hels until now.

Suddenly, I became curious.

“Then, is this legendary Hel we’re after also an incredibly powerful ancient being?”

“That, I don’t know either.”

This is how I learned about the origins of Hels.

However, I still hadn’t received an answer to my fundamental question.

“So, how do we go about finding and capturing these Hels?”

“Well, that’s…”

“Hehehe, it sounds like you want to become a Hel hunter?”

It was then that someone interjected into our conversation.

Due to the open layout of the tavern on the first floor, it seemed people had been listening to our talk; the intruder was a short human with a bushy beard and a protruding belly.

A dwarf? The word “dwarf” suited him perfectly.

“Want to catch Hels? Then try using this bait. It’s a ‘Hel Dumpling’ made by combining flowers and foods that Hels love. There’s nothing better for luring Hels!”

The man held out two dumplings the size of billiard balls to us; the lack of any suspicious signs or sense of trickery made it all the more suspicious.

“Aren’t you the Hel hunter Fireman? Wouldn’t giving us this just increase your competition in the hunting competition? What’s your angle?”

“My name’s not Fireman, it’s Findman. And for me, this hunting competition isn’t a means, but an end in itself!”

“An end?”

“Haha! If young people learn the joy of hunting Hels, that’s reward enough! If you have any questions about Hel hunting, feel free to ask me, Findman!”

With that, the Hel hunter returned to his seat.

He was quite an eccentric character.

⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆

In the afternoon, after receiving two “Hel Dumplings,”

While we were preparing for the hunting competition, a commotion erupted in the direction of the square.

“What’s going on? A fight?”

I rather enjoyed fights.

I liked watching them and jumping in as well.

So I hurried to the square, where indeed, something extraordinary was unfolding.

“It seems the dogs of the North don’t understand words. Every place in Pandemonium is the territory of His Imperial Majesty. You need to show respect to His Majesty the Emperor.”

“Argh! It’s breaking! My arm is breaking!”

Crack, crack-crack-crack-

A man in crimson armor was pinning down a man who appeared to be a Northerner, twisting his arm against the ground. People were clicking their tongues at the sight, while those who seemed to be the pinned man’s companions were frantically pacing about.

“What are you doing?! Our fellow Northerner is being beaten by the Emperor’s lackey!”

“We need to help him!”

I didn’t know what was going on, but I could feel that the regional sentiment was running deep. While I was calmly observing the situation, Del clicked his tongue.

“That crimson armor. It’s the Ascension Knights. Why are they here in the North? I heard the Ascension Knights, being the Emperor’s personal guard, never leave the Imperial Capital.”

“That’s strange.”

“This is dangerous. If this keeps up, that man’s arm will be broken! I don’t know what’s going on, but I think we should help that Northerner!”

Del was about to get involved in the fight when I grabbed him by the shoulder.

“Del, from what I know, the Ascension Knights are all madmen. It would be better to avoid getting involved in a fight and jumping into a pit of fire, wouldn’t it? The competition is just around the corner.”

“We can’t just stand by and watch the Emperor’s tyranny go unchecked! The fact that the Ascension Knights are here means that the emperor has decided to interfere with the hunting competition!”

I hadn’t thought of it that way.

I was curious myself as to why those guys were here. I wondered if maybe my secretary Dimensia had come up with some kind of scheme.

‘I don’t know what’s going on, but if those guys interfere with my hunting competition, it’s going to be a problem in more ways than one.’

There was no helping it. Since it was related to the Emperor, I’ll have to handle this myself.

“Del, you just take care of yourself. I’ll take care of this.”

“You?”

I picked up a suitable-looking stone from the ground.

Then I shouted at the Ascension Knight—

“Hey, you in the ridiculous armor, strutting around. Do you enjoy bullying those weaker than you? Why not pick an opponent more your match? Then again, your master, the Emperor, is known for bullying the weak.”

“……………..”

Swoosh—

The knight who had been breaking the Northerner’s arm released it, nearly tossing the Northerner aside, and stood up. As he faced me, I could see his face was so severely scarred that it would be more appropriate to call it a mug or a muzzle rather than a face.

“Say that again. What did you say about His Majesty?”

“It’s true, isn’t it? The Emperor is a coward who only picks on those weaker than himself.”

At my words, people laughed as if they’d heard a joke. However, I wasn’t joking or speaking idly; I was stating a serious truth; to me, everyone was weak. For me to fight someone would be nothing short of one-sidedly bullying the weak.

Whether he understood this meaning or not, the knight became visibly angry.

“A girly-looking fellow like you dares to insult His Majesty, the manliest of men. I cannot tolerate this treason! I am Galakrod, the 75th successor! I declare a blood duel against you!”

— End of Chapter —

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Translator’s Notes :-

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