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[Translator - Tangrine ]
[Proofreader - Seeker ]
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Chapter - 24: The Sword That Defies Fate
Justice is a sword.
If it does not pierce through, it cannot be called justice.
If it is unopposed, it is merely morality; if it is only carried in the heart, it is merely conscience.
Justice is a sword that wounds someone.
Thus, one who chooses to be the hero of justice must decide what they will wield.
That must be enforced on everyone, even if it means silencing others’ voices by force.
However, the first stroke of that sword must be turned toward oneself.
If one is endlessly lenient only with oneself, it cannot be called justice.
The first enemy that obstructs justice is always oneself.
[I will not harm myself.]
This vow is the first sword, turned inward.
So blunt that it cannot wound anything.
But because of that, it fulfills its purpose.
Just as a blacksmith heats iron in a flame and strikes it.
So Zara’s first vow was forged in the furnace of Justice.
Scarlet flames seeped into Zara’s soul.
Unlike before, when no pain could be felt.
This time, she truly felt the searing pain, as though burned by fire.
[“I am a shameful person. The person I was yesterday is more shameful than the person I am today.”]
She hates the world.
And she is hated by the world.
She hates herself, too.
She could not help but hate herself twice as much as she hated the world.
The furnace blazed.
The God of Justice struck Zara’s soul, tempered in fire, with a hammer.
As the heat that had soaked into her soul condensed, a new authority took root within her.
What she needed was the strength not to lose herself.
Zara became the dullest sword.
A sword that could not wound anyone but would become a staff to lean on through the harshest journeys.
.
.
.
Zara continued to build her vows.
She set the standards by which justice must be enforced and affirmed her solitary righteousness.
She declared that in this world, only she was right.
[I will not kill.]
Zara’s righteousness was not sharp.
It was not cruel enough to kill another.
It was not severe enough to cut someone's neck.
Instead, it was absurdly merciful.
This was an easy vow to keep, so the power Zara received was nothing remarkable.
In fact, Zara did not truly need the power of a hero.
The power to kill others to enforce justice, she had possessed it from the moment she was born.
[I will not persecute the weak.]
What Zara needed was not a harsh vow that would grant her overwhelming power.
What she truly wished for was a vow that could dull the horrifically sharp sword she was born clutching in her hand.
[I will not wield power with the intent to harm others.]
That was why Zara’s vows were unordered.
Isn’t it natural for vows to oneself to be so?
[I will not suppress others’ opinions by force.]
Zara continued to blunt the sword that existed within her soul.
After swearing her final vow, Zara completed the burning ritual and stepped out from the hearth.
The priestess and Dandelion greeted her.
“Thank you for your efforts. Your soul must be very weary, please rest deeply in the temple’s sleeping chamber.”
“Yes!”
“...And, I think you are unsuited to be a hero.”
“Huh?”
“The gods said you have the makings of a hero… but if you are a hero who does not swing a sword, then there is no meaning to it. Justice is a sword. Justice that does not pierce through is meaningless.”
The priestess glanced briefly at the sky, as if looking beyond the ceiling toward something
Unseen and frowned.
A priestess of justice is not necessarily a servant of the gods.
Even if it is a divine matter, if it is unjust, she cannot endorse it.
Zara had used most of her vows solely to bind herself.
That was unheroic.
But Zara smiled brightly at the priestess.
“Swords are for the weak to wield!”
“Huh?”
“If you have enough power, wouldn’t you be able to enforce your will without swinging a sword? Hehe.”
“…….”
Only then did the priestess realize that the power emanating from Zara was strange.
Typically, the kind of justice that ‘binds oneself’ is weaker than the justice that ‘condemns others.’
Justice grows sharper the more self-righteous it is, and heavier the harsher it becomes.
Justice is a sword.
Those who seek to enforce their justice need great power to trample on the justice of others.
But to trample oneself, one should not require such immense power.
“…….”
Yet from Zara… it felt as though a dreadful power capable of killing the entire world radiated forth.
Would this be what it feels like if the God of Justice descended in person?
“What is this power…?”
The priestess did not know, but… Zara was the scapegoat, burdened with all the misfortunes of this world.
Hated by all the world, and hating the whole world in return.
Neither the innate malice she was born with nor the resentment toward the world could be compared to anyone else’s.
“Heheh.”
“……”
And that very same Zara had sworn, ‘I will not wield power with the intent to harm others.’
She had dulled the razor-sharp sword that could have destroyed the world.
Surely, the price of such a vow must be a power capable of facing the entire world.
“Lady Dandelion, I’ll head back to the city now!”
“……At the very least, won’t you call me ‘big sister’ in the end?”
“Ugh, suddenly it feels like my stomach got cut by a sword or something……”
“You’ve become quite shameless……”
“Heheh.”
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“It’s proceeding just as the Duke planned. The content of her vows is also close to what the Duke expected.”
“I also share the concern about Zara’s malice.”
Zara had denied her malice all her life.
Now, she embraces even that malice within herself.
Zara no longer follows the path of simple justice, rewarding virtue and punishing evil.
She has fallen far enough to freely curse those who torment her.
It’s still cute at this stage, but corruption is a slippery slope with no speed bumps.
“It wouldn’t be so bad if Zara rampaged, saying she’d destroy the world… but what if she accidentally presses the trigger of destruction? We need at least one safety mechanism.”
Zara must constantly struggle against the world.
Only then will the world be safe.
The power Zara holds is too violent.
‘The Celestial Star of Killing,’ ‘The Demon King’s bloodline’—these are forces directly linked to her malice.
If she continues to accept her malice little by little as she does now, it will inevitably lead to corruption.
If that’s the case, it’s enough to exchange that power for a better one as collateral.
“It’s better to preemptively make her a hero than let her awaken as a Demon King.”
In truth, the vows Zara swore were closer to a declaration of war against her own fate.
Her malice was something she was born with.
The enemy blocking justice is the world that torments her. The fate that makes her miserable.
And the God of Justice grants the power to stand firm against injustice.
The power to fight fate and win is somewhat abstract, but then again, the concept of a god is just as abstract.
“Justice has little flexibility… but it’s far kinder than the fate Zara was born with. And it’s the strongest.”
“Didn’t you say gods are useless?”
“Gods are useless, but their power is useful.”
“How shameless.”
“You did send a lot of offerings to the temple.”
“Now that I think about it, maybe you should be even more shameless.”
Kanaria grimaced as if regretting the donations she sent to the temple.
What should I say? I like it because she is a gold-believer.
Brings back memories of capitalist society from my previous life.
“So then, can Zara’s destruction be stopped with this?”
“Well?”
“Huh?”
“I don’t know how the God of Justice’s power works. This is just a minimal safety net.”
In the end, the problem remains the same.
The moment Zara loves the world, her malice will be unleashed upon the entire world.
That’s why we made Zara accept her malice. We told her it’s okay to resent the world, it’s okay to fight the world.
But saying it’s okay to resent the world doesn’t mean she must resent it.
“Zara endlessly resents the world. This is not a matter of power, but one of motive.”
“……”
Zara’s constant misfortune is also the world’s desperate struggle to survive.
I hate this sunfish-like world… but at least I do not wish for its destruction.
We’re all on the same ship.
“In the end, this world is designed to torment Zara.”
“……”
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[Translator - Tangrine ]
[Proofreader - Seeker ]
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