-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: Greed, Grid (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
My plan was incredibly simple.
Luring Duke Astrea here and dealing with him.
Then, using his belongings to summon Grid, one of the Seven Deadly Sins, and sending her beyond the rainbow bridge.
It was a simple plan that could be summarized in two sentences, but in reality, it was quite difficult.
Because there was a variable: the Duke, having realized I was a vessel of sin by directly encountering me, might not come here but instead slip away elsewhere.
'Sage was a big help.'
That's why I asked Sage for help.
To create a situation where Duke Astrea would have no choice but to come here.
'He probably already considered Sage a nuisance anyway.'
In the original story, the Duke had tried to offer Sage, the magical doll, to Grid using Jane and Phase, sometimes succeeding, sometimes failing.
In the world I lived in, it was naturally the latter.
The Duke had significantly moved up that timeline compared to the original, but due to my existence, he suffered a catastrophic failure.
The Duke couldn't offer Sage to Grid.
He couldn't make a hasty move due to Jane's report that the academy situation was unfavorable.
So, he must have been in a difficult position.
Even besides the situation where he had to be cautious because he couldn't offer the doll to Grid, Sage was openly enjoying herself at the academy, using the family's name.
To the Duke's eyes, Sage must have been an eyesore.
Yet, the Duke couldn't give up on offering Sage to Grid.
The Duke must have been disgruntled but constantly looking for an opportunity.
But in such a situation…
What if Sage, the nuisance, provoked him and tried to tear down the golden tower he had built throughout his life?
What if this place was somewhere no one would notice, no matter how much chaos was caused?
'He wouldn't be able to stand it.'
For the Duke, who was already frustrated by the lack of opportunity, he would have no choice but to come.
'Thankfully, that is.'
Sure enough, as I waited nearby, I saw the Duke's carriage approaching this place.
The Duke entrusted his escort knights with guarding the perimeter, then headed straight for the clearing.
The remaining escort knights, true to their vile nature, tried to pass the time by discussing who they would ruin, but they couldn't.
Because their necks were severed by my sword as they continued their filthy conversation.
It was the act of taking human lives, but there was no hesitation.
This was natural.
About raping someone,
about kidnapping a student.
They were the kind of idiotic bastards who would seriously discuss such things.
"Why are you here?"
Duke Astrea, seeing the faces of the rolling idiots, asked back with an expression as if he couldn't understand the situation.
"Guess why I came all the way here instead of Sage."
"…"
"Strange. Why can't you answer? Does this jog your memory?"
I shook the magic mask I took from my pocket, putting on a mischievous expression.
At that, the Duke's face crumpled, and he threw a question at me.
"Where is Sage?"
"I sent her to the dormitory. To leave evidence."
"Evidence?"
"Yes. Evidence to prove that Sage has nothing to do with your death."
"What do you mean by that…?"
"I plan to hand over your entire family to Sage. I told her to do so because a clean image would be better than a disgusting one like yours if she's to inherit the headship."
"What? Ha, haha!"
As I answered, Duke Astrea began to laugh heartily, clutching his stomach.
Strange. I said it to anger him, not to make him laugh.
"Is this funny?"
"How could it not be funny? A man who's about to die by *their* hand, what? Hand over his family to a doll? Hahaha!"
"I was serious, though."
"Alright, try it if you can. I was just going to report you to *them*, but I can't possibly let that stand. I'll personally enlighten you, who knows nothing of the world."
"Enlighten me about what?"
"Just how insignificant you are, a vessel that holds nothing."
Was it because he trusted the barrier spread nearby?
Saying that, the Duke instantly brought forth the destructive demonic energy he held within.
Black haze shimmered from the Duke's body.
Black sludge suddenly appeared, taking the form of a sword before the Duke.
"I'll show you what your mistake was."
The Duke sneered at me, who was deceiving the scales and overlaying my body with acceleration and enhancement magic.
"It was that you provoked the Apostle of Greed. You, a mere empty vessel without proper standing."
Having spouted that, the Duke kicked off the ground. *Crack*, fissures appeared on the floor where the Duke had stood.
-*Swish!*
As he swung his sword at me, a black line was drawn in the air.
*Drip, drip.*
Black sludge dripped from the drawn line.
"Hmm."
After ducking to avoid the Duke's sword and retreating, I had to suppress a sigh.
'He's much weaker than I thought?'
Is it because it's the early game, so to speak?
The Duke's martial prowess was far below the level I had seen in the game.
'How annoying…'
I thought I had calculated it quite well.
This guy was much weaker than expected, and I ended up deceiving the scales more than necessary.
"K-hahaha! Why are you just dodging? Are you so scared you want to run away?"
The Duke, seemingly unaware of my feelings, laughed as he swung his sword at me in a frenzy.
"What did you say earlier?"
Without even drawing my sword, I, who had been deftly dodging the black lines, grabbed the Duke's face.
-*CRASH!*
And immediately slammed it into the ground. With a loud crash, fragments of the floor scattered everywhere.
"Did you say I should work hard and diligently?"
I asked the Duke, whose face was buried ankle-deep in the ground.
"What? An empty vessel, you say?"
-*CRUNCH!*
I lifted his buried face and slammed it back into the ground.
"Where do you get off spewing such bullshit?"
"C-cough…"
"Hey, old man, you know something?"
As I lifted the face of the guy slammed into the ground and asked, the Duke, who was profusely bleeding black blood, avoided my gaze.
"Who told me you were the Apostle of Greed?"
As I grinned, the Duke's gaze returned to me.
-*CRUNCH!*
"Aargh!"
That sight was so repulsive that I reflexively slammed the Duke's face back into the ground.
"Your most cherished daughter told me. Saying she couldn't follow an incompetent family head like you."
"Th-that can't be…"
"What do you mean, 'that can't be'? Did you expect to be treated like a good father when you even cursed your own daughter?"
-*CRUNCH!*
"I'll tell you what your mistake was too."
-*CRUNCH!*
"Actually, that was a lie. My voice is too precious to waste on a bastard like you."
-*CRUNCH!*
"So, just go. I'll send your beloved master to join you soon."
Having said that, I threw the Duke, who was now a bloody pulp, onto the ground, then drew my sword and aimed it at his heart.
"P-please spare me… if you just… change your mind a little…"
At that, the fallen Duke began to make an ugly sound, covering his face with both arms.
"The people you killed probably said the same thing, didn't they?"
Recalling the atrocities this man had committed, I shuddered and raised my sword, aiming to pierce the fragment visible with my Heavenly Insight.
"A-aren't I different from them!"
Seeing that, the Duke spouted nonsense with a desperate expression.
It wasn't entirely wrong.
Because the people this bastard killed were innocent, and he was a man who had committed great sins.
"Yes, quite different."
I had only thought it, and was about to swing my sword without answering.
But the answer to the Duke's nonsense came from an unexpected place.
-*Shimmer!*
Along with a wave made of black sludge.
-*Swish!*
I, who had cut through that wave with a star-filled sword, raised my head and looked forward.
"He's quite useful to me, so… would you mind not killing him?"
What I saw was a woman with black hair, just like mine.
"Hello?"
The beautiful woman was smiling brightly and waving her hand at me.
"By the way, now that you've taken off your mask, you look even more desirable. Hmmm."
She began to approach me, making a flirtatious sound.
-*Slurp!*
-*Slurp!*
-*Slurp!*
With each step she took, massive tentacles and black sludge surged from the ground.
"Do you know? You're the first for me."
As she smiled sweetly, the black sludge overflowing from the ground began to take the form of a dragon above her.
"What is?"
"A human who dared to tempt me, a Seven Deadly Sin. And a human whom I couldn't resist and sought out. You're the first."
As I asked back, Grid replied with a bright smile.
*Thump, thump*, fragments of the floor around Grid floated into the air, creating a threatening atmosphere.
"So that's why you came in that form?"
"Yes, do you like it?"
As I asked, Grid replied, suggestively lifting her skirt.
I, who was drawing another sword from its scabbard and taking a stance, reflexively nodded.
It wasn't that I liked *her*, a Seven Deadly Sin. It was just that I liked the fact that no hair or underwear was visible.
"So please, don't disappoint me. If you die too easily, I think I'll be very sad."
Grid made a poignant expression and stretched out her hand towards me.
"You talk too much."
*You're about to die, you bitch.*
I, having deceived the scales to their utmost, added that silent remark and kicked off the ground.