TIRS 24

CHAPTER 24: Proof of a Hero

I stood off in a corner with Anselot, snacking on finger food as we watched the procession of guests coming up to greet and congratulate my mother.

It wouldn’t be proper to leave before the Emperor, so I planned to wait until the congratulatory procession ended and Mother left the hall. Only then would I return as well.

Eventually, it was the delegation from the Kingdom of Taal’s turn.

The envoys approached my mother, each carrying lavish gifts brought from their homeland.

‘Huh? That woman…’

At the very front stood a woman with blue hair and violet eyes.

I immediately recognized her.

She was the woman who had been with Hezen on the day I realized I was in a game—and that I had possessed one of Hezen’s capture targets.

‘The Saintess of Taal, Clara, right?’

The memory wasn’t a pleasant one, and I stared at her warily.

Just then, Clara suddenly stopped walking.

Then, without warning, she raised both arms into the air.

The abruptness of her strange behavior caused murmurs of surprise to ripple through the crowd.

“Saintess, what are you…?”

Even the other envoys from Taal looked unsettled and began to murmur.

“The Emperor of Azester, Christine Joanna Azester, is to receive the holy decree of the divine!”

Her voice thundered across the ballroom.

But that voice—it was a deep, sonorous tone completely different from the one I had heard from her before.

And her expression… was eerie, as though she was possessed.

“The Lord speaks! The bloodline of Azester shall fulfill the Proof of a Hero and spread the holy and sacred name of Luz across this land!”

I froze in place at those words.

‘Proof of a Hero?’

How could I not recognize it?

The reason the protagonists of Light’s Covenant had to slay the Light Dragon.

That very quest was known as the Proof of a Hero.

In the original work Light’s Covenant, long ago, the God of Light, Luz, sealed away the Chaos Dragon Helheim and became the true master of this world.

Since then, people of the continent had worshipped Luz as their supreme deity—but over time, a problem arose.

The ancient seal began to crack, and Helheim began to awaken.

Sensing the impending chaos, Luz issued a divine prophecy tied to the Proof of a Hero.

The prophecy was simple:

“The heir to the power of light shall claim the heart of the Chaos Dragon.
The one who claims the dragon’s heart shall spread my sacred name across the land.”

In the original story, Hezen vowed to the Emperor that he would fulfill this Proof of a Hero by defeating the Chaos Dragon.

The Emperor was pleased and named him the Empire’s Champion.

He also bestowed upon him a sacred sword—the Azester Greatsword.

Yes, the sword I had just received from my mother.

From there, Hezen met other heroes who had inherited the power of light and joined them on the quest.

They were: Klaus, the Shield of Light; Elay, the Sage of Light; Maria, the Saintess of Light; Targoda, the Hunter of Light.

And with Hezen as the Warrior of Light, the five heroes defeated Helheim and fulfilled the Proof of a Hero, returning victorious.

The story of their journey, growth, friendship, and love made up the main plot of the original Light’s Covenant.

In this trash game based on the original, the Proof of a Hero was clearly meant for the player.

So why was it suddenly being declared that a blood relative of Azester must fulfill it?

“That makes no sense!”

I stepped forward, indignantly toward Clara.

‘This wasn’t in the original story! Hezen, the main character, wasn’t even of Azester blood…!’

Had Anselot not grabbed my shoulder, I would’ve marched through the crowd right then.

“Your Highness. Look at her eyes.”

Following Anselot’s finger, I saw Clara’s eyes had turned a murky, grayish hue.

“Huh…?”

I had seen those eyes before.

“Eliminating the bug.”

Loana—the woman who attacked us that day—had those exact eyes. So did the others with her.

“She’s a Cleaner. One of the system’s minions,” Anselot said.

“What?”

I blinked in shock.

Wasn’t that woman one of Hezen’s romance targets? How had she suddenly become a Cleaner?

“Aren’t Cleaners supposed to eliminate bugs?”

[Aaaugh!!! I think the system administrator finally stepped in! σ(ｏдｏlll)]

The system window shivered in alarm.

“System administrator?”

I tilted my head, and Anselot explained.

“The strongest of the system’s minions.”

[Minion?! Don’t say it like that! (`Д´)ゞ
The system administrator is a crucial entity that protects the order of the system and eradicates malicious bugs! ★o(･д´･+)９]

Angered by Anselot’s disrespectful tone, the system window flared and began suspiciously eyeing him.

[Wait a minute—how does he know about the inventory and the system? Player, this guy is suspicious! Be careful! ヾ( •́д•̀ ;)ﾉ]

We ignored it.

“Maintaining world order is their job?”

“They make sure the story progresses as scripted.”

“You know, Your Highness, a system administrator can turn certain people into Cleaners—under specific conditions.”

“…!”

I turned sharply toward Anselot.

“What kind of conditions?”

“Faith.”

“…”

“Those whose faith reaches a certain threshold can be turned into Cleaners and made to follow the administrator’s will.”

“So the Saintess of Taal right now isn’t acting on her own, but under orders?”

“Exactly.”

Anselot nodded, eyes locked on Clara.

Thinking back, Loana had also been completely unlike her usual self that day.

‘Like she was under hypnosis. Loana that day, and now the Saintess shouting divine decrees…’

As I quietly reviewed what I’d learned, my anger flared.

If all this was the system administrator’s doing…

‘Then this is a threat, isn’t it? Forcing me to continue the scenario.’

There’s no way anyone who’s not a player can defeat the Chaos Dragon.

Even with special buffs, it was a high-difficulty quest meant for players.

Sending anyone from the Azester bloodline would mean a brutal journey—maybe even death.

But ignoring the prophecy wasn’t an option either… The influence of the god Luz over the continent was immense.

It would damage both my mother and the Empire.

‘Ugh, seriously…’

[SYSTEM] You are now in an Angry state.

‘I am pissed off.’

I remembered how helpless and violated I’d felt when my body and emotions didn’t obey my will every time Hezen tried to romance me.

Now, to think the administrator was brainwashing innocent people in the name of “order”…

“Usually the administrator only sends Cleaners to kill bugs. But this level of precise manipulation…”

Anselot murmured softly.

“It means the head minion is here too.”

I scanned the now-chaotic ballroom.

If the system administrator was really among us, my skin prickled with heat.

‘Who is it? Who the hell is it?’

Then I recalled something Anselot had casually said earlier.

“Maybe it was one of the system’s minions who gave Hezen the warhorn—to help awaken the player.”

Cleaners act only on orders. So the only one capable of doing that would be…

“Then the one who gave Hezen the warhorn… was likely the same guy controlling the Saintess right now?”

“Most likely.”

“….”

I clenched my fist.

‘I have to stop the system administrator from running wild.’

I couldn’t stand by and watch people get manipulated like this.

Eventually, Mother’s birthday ball came to an uneasy end.

The next day, she summoned her children to the dining hall under the pretense of lunch.

But we all knew why we were really there: to discuss the divine prophecy delivered by the Saintess of Taal.

“I want to hear your thoughts,” she said.

The prophecy’s mention of “Azester’s blood” obviously pointed to one of the Emperor’s children.

Elisabeth, who had never so much as held a sword, was out of the question.

Gloria could wield one, but barely—she was no better than the average knight.

Naturally, my mother’s gaze shifted to me and Orent.

As her eyes landed on him, Orent visibly paled.

[SYSTEM] is now in Fear status.

‘His mood really flips on a dime.’

Apparently, Orent was far more mentally fragile than he appeared.

Orent Azester – Second Prince of Azester Empire
§ Fear State §
Affection: -273

I calmly stared at the glowing blue system window hovering above his head.

[Second prince of Azester. Revered for driving out monsters from the borderlands. (Support Level: 8)]

Ever since I awakened, a new stat—[Support Level]—had started appearing in the info windows of people around me.

As a character from the very first scenario, Orent’s level wasn’t particularly high.

‘Come to think of it, Orent lost to Hezen in a duel.’

That version of Hezen hadn’t even been past level 10—the tutorial stage.

Orent wasn’t that strong to begin with.

‘So how did he “drive out monsters” at the border?’

The monsters there weren’t particularly powerful—just regular ones a typical knight could handle.

The problem was that even weak monsters were disasters to normal people—and they just kept coming, wave after wave.

But apparently, ever since Orent led a campaign, the monsters had stopped appearing altogether—out of fear of him.

That’s why the people at the border praised him.

‘For monsters to feel fear, there needs to be a level difference of at least 20.’

I recalled the bald Kraken, who had gone into Fear state when I used a special S-class potion that temporarily boosted my level.

[SYSTEM] The level difference between you and <Lv.49 Bald Kraken> is 20 or more.
[SYSTEM] <Lv.49 Bald Kraken> senses overwhelming power and enters Fear state.

Based on that, it seemed monsters only entered Fear when the level gap exceeded 20.

‘I don’t know the exact level of the monsters at the border… but them being afraid of Orent is kind of suspicious.’