Because They Are Human, They Can Be So Evil (1)

Humans can be more virtuous than anyone because they are human, and only because they are human, they can be unimaginably evil.

―Academy Dean Na Dae-gi.

From the moment they arrived, Kyuri’s son and grandson were carried in on a magical stretcher. A flying saucer spell that levitates about 1 meter above the ground.

The two people carried on the stretcher, used by mages to transport luggage or delicate items, were already in such a serious condition that their skin color had changed.

Kyuri and her party barged in during a heated discussion, leaving the two bewildered, but upon confirming the patients, they hurriedly guided them to the second floor.

Among the many rooms on the second floor, the two were laid in the room closest to the stairs. Kyuri and her daughter-in-law were checking their condition.

“Let me check their condition. Step aside.”

“Yes.”

‘Verify.’

“Hmm…”

“Is it really difficult?”

“Yes. In this state, it can’t be treated. Please take your daughter-in-law to the reception room downstairs for a moment. I’ll go down with Kyuri soon.”

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

Even as Arun and Lee Hyo-ju left the room with the speechless daughter-in-law whose face had hardened, Kyuri couldn’t lift her head and her shoulders were trembling.

“Stop crying. It can be treated.”

“Really?! Is that true?!”

Kyuri’s head shot up at a speed befitting the word ‘snap.’ Her makeup was smudged from crying so much, giving her a strange appearance.

“But there’s something you need to know first. Did your son and grandson live with you?”

“No…? Why is that…? No, it’s nothing. My daughter-in-law, son, and grandson lived separately. Moreover, I’m an old woman—no, an old hag. So rather than living together and tiring my daughter-in-law, I lived buried in work as the head of the Construction Guild.”

“Alright. Then did they use a separate maid or cook for meals at your son’s house?”

“What?! That can’t be. I’m the head of the Construction Guild and a baron, but just a minor noble. I’m only slightly better off than a commoner. Naturally, my son and his wife, who are also minor nobles, cooked their own meals. Of course, my son was very capable and lived comfortably with the wealth I passed down to him. But suddenly, why did…?”

“I see. One last question. What does your daughter-in-law gain if your son and grandson die?”

“…What?”

Caught off guard by the unexpected question, Kyuri’s hands, which had been clasped tightly in front of her chest in desperation, fell limply.

And soon, as if realizing the intent behind my question, Kyuri’s body began to tremble violently.

Was it out of fear? No.

Fundamentally, the national law of this place, ‘The Battlefield of the Gods,’ is far more unjust than on Earth.

The reason Kyuri is trembling now is because she’s angry. If I hadn’t sent the daughter-in-law away, she might have strangled her without even hearing the reason.

“Answer me.”

When I demanded an answer, she lifted her head with a trembling body and glared at me as if she wanted to kill me.

As if to say, does that even matter in this situation? What about my current rage? She glared at me with eyes filled with murderous intent, as if I were that daughter-in-law.

However, the gaze of an old woman, who is almost like a commoner and not even a knight, wasn’t important.

The night was already approaching, and time was passing.

Once the crime is revealed, she can be torn apart by horses or made a slave.

So, I need to know the reason.

Some things feel even more chilling due to the indifference.

As reason gradually reclaimed the position that had been given over to anger, Kyuri bowed her head. At the same time, she fell into deep thought, pondering if there was anything she might have missed.

Then, as if she had finished all her thinking, she responded to my question with a voice that sounded like a beast growling.

“First of all… ugh! I have a small amount of wealth. Well, it’s just a little. Even if I sell and settle everything, it would be around 5,000 gold. That includes all the assets I gave in advance as an inheritance. And if I die, about 10,000 gold in inheritance will go to my daughter-in-law. That’s all.”

In Korean currency, that’s about 1.5 billion won. It’s a situation where murder wouldn’t be surprising. However, it feels like there’s more to it than just that reason.

“For now, your daughter-in-law will stay here. If I let her meet you, it might mess things up. There’s an information guild here, right? Do you have any connections?”

“Yes…”

“Look into your daughter-in-law. It’s not recent. It’s been planned for at least over a year. A long-term plan. Trying to kill even her own child isn’t an ordinary matter, so go to a reliable place within the information guild. Not just personal connections.”

“Such things…!”

“That’s enough. You can be angry later. After you know all the facts. You can mete out punishment then. And remember, death is the most comfortable punishment.”

“Understood…”

After telling Kyuri, who reluctantly answered, to wait a moment, I took out the ‘Advanced Status Healing Potion (hereafter referred to as ASHP)’ from the inventory.

A potion glowing yellow. It’s a potion that removes various poisons and DOT (Damage Over Time) magic effects, which ‘One Man Only’ had.

After administering the healing potion to the father and son, about five minutes passed, and Kyuri’s son, Tess, opened his eyes first.

“Tess!”

“Uh, Mother?”

“Tess!! Sob… Tess!”

“What on earth…? What happened to me?”

As soon as Tess opened his eyes, I explained his condition and the fact that I had treated him in place of Kyuri, who began to cry.

To aid understanding, I revealed myself as a representative commonly used like a panacea in the ‘Battlefield of the Gods,’ and it took over 10 minutes to explain the current situation, during which her grandson Miku also woke up.

“In summary, my son and I were poisoned, the suspect is my wife, and the Delegate has treated us, is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“And the Delegate of gods is looking after a butler?”

“That’s right.”

“…Mother.”

At Tess’s call, Kyuri, who had been exhausted from crying and sprawled on the floor, raised her head.

“Could you go to the ‘Shadow of Dawn’ and bring back the information I requested?”

“Shadow of… Dawn? Did you know something?”

The Shadow of Dawn. It’s one of the famous information guilds in the ‘Battlefield of the Gods.’

The reason the Shadow of Dawn is famous is not because they have many people or a lot of information.

They are known for investigating the moment they receive a request and bringing back the most accurate information.

There’s an unbelievable rumor that they are an information guild composed of mages and spiritists.

“…Please, as soon as possible.”

“Understood. Wait. Delegate, I will be back shortly. Until then, please take care of my son and grandson.”

The way Kyuri left the room suggested that she was not someone who just pushed pens at a desk like the heads of construction companies on Earth.

I was watching Kyuri’s retreating figure through the window as she exited the main gate with swift and controlled movements when I heard Tess’s voice in my ear.

“Late greetings, sir. Thank you for the treatment. My name is Tess.”

“Thank you. I’m Miku.”

“Alright. Please wait a moment.”

After briefly making Tess and Miku wait, I informed Lee Hyo-ju and Arun through communication devices to bring the daughter-in-law here.

“Yes, whether or not you become a butler is a matter for later. You’ve just been treated for poisoning, so you’ll need to recuperate for a while. Of course, you could be healed with a potion, but a slow recovery is better for you.”

“Thank you once again. And though I may be lacking, if entrusted, I will do my best to assist.”

“That’s for later. Let’s talk after you’ve recovered.”

As I mentioned before, while I am confident I wouldn’t bat an eye if all the representatives died, I felt uneasy about the deaths of the continent’s inhabitants, who would be equivalent to NPCs in a game.

Especially the fourth clause of the contract I received when first making a pact with the god weighed on my mind.

I initially didn’t think much of the third clause, but after entering the ‘Battlefield of the Gods’ and spending nearly five years in Exorsus, I became dissatisfied with the gods’ disregard for life.

They were merely entities that created conditions allowing the representatives of gods to easily kill other representatives.

The beings who live to eat, defecate, sleep, and satisfy their desires are the sentient creatures of this ‘Battlefield of the Gods.’

Some representatives say that they are entities that they can do as they please with like livestock.

But he needs to understand: to those creatures called gods, whether it’s me, or him, or these people—we’re all the same. Just livestock.

Therefore, if I can save the lives of those like Kyuri or Tess who are simply trying to live, I want to do so.

Of course, I have no intention of risking my life to save them, but I can certainly make a small concession like this.

Meanwhile, Arun and Lee Hyo-ju entered the room accompanied by Kyuri’s daughter-in-law, who is Tess’s wife, and were greatly surprised to see the two, father and son, struggling to sit up on the bed.

“Kim Han, didn’t you say it was impossible to treat them?”

“No. I said they couldn’t be treated in this state.”

Arun, tilting his head and pondering for a moment, asked with a puzzled expression.

“What’s different?”

“It’s different. Because a few words in front were omitted. Anyway, let’s wait a moment.”

“What? Oh, okay.”

Leaving the dumbfounded Arun behind, I discreetly observed the woman known as Tess’s wife.

On the surface, she appeared completely unaffected. Truly unaffected. She didn’t even flinch at my words or seem surprised by the situation.

Does she not realize that’s strange?

I stopped my discreet observation and stared directly at Tess’s wife.

The first to notice my gaze were Lee Hyo-ju and Arun, who were focused on me.

The two of them also stared intently at the daughter-in-law, creating a peculiar situation where everyone’s attention in the room was focused on Tess’s wife.

“Ah!”

The first person to notice the oddity, aside from me, was Lee Hyo-ju. At her exclamation, I asked her.

“Isn’t it strange?”

“Yes, it’s strange.”

“Yeah, really strange, right?”

“Yes, really strange.”

Arun, watching the conversation between Lee Hyo-ju and me with a dumbfounded expression, jumped up in frustration.

“What the hell are you talking about?!”

“What, you brat?!”

“No, I mean, what kind of Zen dialogue are you two having?”

“…Aren’t you finding it strange?”

“What is?”

“That woman.”

“What?”

When I directly pointed at her and asked if she wasn’t strange, Tess’s wife flinched and took a step back.

Arun, seemingly unable to understand, clutched his head.

“How do you use magic with that brain? Can you even calculate spells?”

“That has nothing to do with my brain!”

“Think about it. In a typical couple, if the husband were terminally ill and miraculously survived like Tess here, what would a normal wife and mother do when they see their revived husband and son?”

“Well, they’d be surprised, right? And happy… I guess? So happy they might cry.”

Only then, as if realizing something was off, Arun looked at Tess’s wife and took a step away from her.

However, unlike Arun, Lee Hyo-ju blocked the entrance.

Indeed, her insight into the situation is exceptional. And she learns quickly. She’s entirely different from Arun, who increasingly shows a tendency to be scatterbrained.

“That’s right. But you don’t seem particularly happy that your husband and son are alive. It’s as if you’re trying to act like nothing happened, trembling and swallowing nervously. Why are you trying so hard to pretend everything’s fine?”

“Oh, no. It’s just that I’m s-so surprised!”

“Hmm?”

Perhaps intimidated by my piercing gaze, or maybe because she thought I, known as the delegate of the gods, knew something, Tess’s wife’s head slowly drooped toward the floor as her voice rose.

“They’re coming.”

“Huh?”

Arun, who made a dumbfounded sound, watched Lee Hyo-ju, who had been blocking the door, step aside, and remembered someone not present in the room, uttering another ‘Ah~’ in a foolish exclamation.

Separate from that, the sound of the door breaking was heard, and Kyuri, exuding a thick murderous intent, burst into the room.