Adopting the Male Protagonist Changed the Genre - Chapter 232

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 232

“Luca, you see. Ah, Luca is the name of the demonic beast I raised, a good child who listens to me very well. But demonic beasts are creatures that simply don’t know satiation.”

Ophelia spoke leisurely as she casually knocked over an ink bottle placed on one side of the table.

Black ink began flowing out from the fallen bottle, starting to stain the map pitch black.

“You can’t ask a child who must constantly kill and eat other things to survive to endure hunger, can you? No matter how good a child it is, it wouldn’t grant such a request.”

Just before the spreading ink reached the Kingdom of Jenos marked on the map, Ophelia’s index finger quickly pressed down on the Kingdom of Jenos.

“However, I can at least extract a promise. Don’t eat what’s in this place.”

When Ophelia lifted her hand, only the part her fingertip had touched remained safe from the ink.

My gaze lingered on the ink-stained map for a while before slowly rising upward.

“This is my plan. Of course, I can also promise to guarantee the lives of you, Belinda, and the people you hold dear. So withdraw your forces and let us ‘pass through’ the Kingdom of Jenos.”

A faint smile appeared on Ophelia’s lips as she rested her chin on her hand and gazed at me intently.

That expression was no different from when she chatted trivially with me…

“You’re joking right now, aren’t you?”

A corner of my chest felt eerie.

At my words, Ophelia blinked and tilted her head slightly.

Just as I couldn’t understand her words, she seemed unable to understand mine either.

“Knowing that tens of millions of lives will disappear, you want me to just stand by and watch? Do you seriously think I would agree to this negotiation?”

Unless I was insane, there was no way I would accept her proposal. Yet Ophelia continued speaking as if trying to persuade me.

“The value of human lives is not equal, and humans are selfish beings. If you had to choose between a thousand strangers and the Hero’s Star’s life, you would naturally choose the latter, wouldn’t you?”

I couldn’t hold back and slammed both hands on the table as I stood up.

“It’s true that Leo is more precious to me than a thousand people whose faces I don’t know, but that doesn’t mean other people’s lives are worthless. So this negotiation is over.”

“That conclusion won’t be too late to make after you receive my gift.”

With a face that hadn’t lost its composure, Ophelia placed a small box in the center of the table.

I recognized what it was at a glance.

It was a hexagonal crystal fragment that looked exactly like the memory fragment said to be the First King’s original work, except for its dark red color.

“Our alchemist is quite a genius too, but the First King must have been truly remarkable. In the end, he could only make it as a one-time use item.”

Though she didn’t add detailed explanations, I instinctively sensed that Ophelia’s memories were contained within it.

“I’ll give you a week. After one week, we will leave the forest and head to the continent. If you change your mind, gather all your forces inside the castle. As long as they stay out of sight, we’ll pass through without killing anyone.”

Leaving those words behind, Ophelia turned her back first.

Neither she nor Giuseppe looked back even once until they entered the forest.

* * *

The value of human lives is not equal, and humans are more selfish beings than one might think.

It didn’t take long to understand the true meaning of those words.

Among those who heard about Ophelia’s negotiation terms, people began appearing one by one who were tempted by her proposal.

A battle against demonic beasts that boasted numerical superiority.

There was still no news from the Royal Capital, and an enemy of unknown identity called the Demon King had appeared.

Several marquesses, consumed by fear and anxiety, began worrying about their own safety, and such ominous atmosphere spread through the castle like a plague.

The marquesses were summoned daily, and meeting times only grew meaninglessly longer.

Around that time, I realized that the week Ophelia had given was part of psychological warfare aimed at dismantling the northern forces.

On the night three days had passed since the negotiation.

After tossing and turning in bed for a while, I finally took out the memory fragment Ophelia had given me.

“Fine, let’s take a look at this thing.”

I lay properly on the bed, gripped the crystal, and whispered ‘acquire.’

The crystal in my hand cracked with a snap, and I lost consciousness as if falling into deep sleep.

* * *

Welcome to 【Heart-Pounding Hero Maker】.

Ophelia stared blankly up at the pink system window that appeared before her eyes.

‘What kind of situation is this?’

Just moments ago, she had been lying on her bed in her room, downloading and fiddling with a newly released game.

Then her dropped phone hit her face directly, and after writhing in pain, when she opened her eyes, this was now.

An unfamiliar place and people.

Before she could even grasp the situation, her mouth moved on its own.

“Children are beings who should be protected by their very nature. Yet to treat one so carelessly.”

A beautiful voice that tickled her ears.

She wanted to cover her mouth, but her entire body wouldn’t budge as if hardened with wax.

At the words that came out on their own, the red-haired foreigner standing across from her showed a menacing expression.

The woman said something, and Ophelia once again spoke words that weren’t her own will.

“Then I’ll protect the child. I’ll become a place where that child can belong!”

As soon as the words ended, fanfare sounded from somewhere and the system window’s contents changed.

Congratulations. You have become the official guardian of the ‘Hero’s Star.’

Beginning the first update.

When she realized all of this was the same as the game’s introduction she had seen while rolling around on her bed.

“What is this thing?”

The situation had already ended.

From then on, it was a series of survival. To adapt to the unfamiliar world and Ophelia’s body, she was simply desperate.

Whenever she was about to collapse from despair, what lifted her up was the Hero’s Star’s presence.

“Lady Ophelia, are you alright?”

The sense of kinship that this child, like her, had been left alone in the world.

The responsibility that the child wouldn’t survive without her, and the vague hope that she could return home after seeing the ending.

“I’m fine, Luca.”

Embracing the warm body temperature of the child she named Luca, Ophelia barely endured each day.

The Hero’s Star grew magnificently under Ophelia’s devotion and affection, becoming a genius of the sword.

Then came the eighteenth birthday.

(new) First ending achieved!

The ‘Hero’s Star’ has become the Royal Knight Commander, the kingdom’s sword who swore eternal loyalty to the royal family.

The blue uniform of the Royal Knight Order that the grown child wore suited him perfectly, and she cried a little.

“Now I can go home.”

On that day when she felt relieved, Ophelia died.

* * *

It was a demonic beast invasion.

The North Wall’s barrier collapsed and demonic beasts poured out, and the kingdom fell without any chance to resist.

Not knowing whether the child was alive or dead, she fled desperately and died futilely, pierced by a demonic beast’s claw.

Welcome to 【Heart-Pounding Hero Maker】.

Beginning the second update.

When she opened her eyes again, the system window she had seen 8 years ago was greeting her.

After repeating several deaths, Ophelia finally understood.

It’s okay to fail. As long as there is hope, there are countless opportunities.

As long as she didn’t complete the Main Quest, she would never be able to escape from this cycle.

To return home, she needed the reward from the Main Quest that promised to grant any wish.

Once she found a way back, her heart felt lighter instead.

“I will definitely return to my family’s side.”

Making a vow to herself, Ophelia began to move strategically.

Beginning the eighth update.

She raised the Hero’s Star as a great scholar and proved that the First King’s prophecy secretly passed down within the Royal Palace was true.

However, the suspicious and petty King, wary of northern rebellion, kept his forces guarding only the Royal Palace until the very day the nation perished.

Beginning the eleventh update.

She learned everything about magic from the Master of the Gray Tower. She tried to persuade the Magister to work together to prevent the destruction, but the Magister refused her request.

He then headed straight to the Mage Republic and committed the crime of brutally murdering high-ranking mages.

She realized too late. The reason the Magister had shown favor to the Hero’s Star was because he was seeing someone else through the Child.

And on the day before the world’s destruction, the Magister chose revenge for the past rather than the future.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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