Trash stood blankly, shirtless, and recalled.
How did it come to this?
It all began when he received the devastating news that his son had gone missing after completing a rift raid.
His son, Diggers, had grown up with exceptional talent and without any shortcomings. That child was undoubtedly destined to become an excellent man to succeed him.
But then, that son disappeared overnight.
The academy called it a disappearance, but he didn’t believe it.
Not missing inside the rift, but outside after emerging? An unbelievable story.
Something had definitely happened in the rift. They were simply making excuses because they didn’t want to admit it.
He could be certain because he had once done something similar himself.
That’s why, instead of searching, he had merely sharpened his sword, waiting for the day of vengeance… What? Now they say he’s dead? And not just dead, but killed because he returned as a demon?
‘Not only did you kill my son and try to cover it up, but now you’re trying to destroy the honor of my family as well.’
Rage surged within him. He had never had a good relationship with the academy, but he hadn’t expected them to be so blatant.
So the moment he heard the news, he headed to the academy.
At first, he simply wanted to confirm whether they were lying.
But… the first people he encountered upon arrival were three students from the student council, and that gave him an idea.
‘Things could have gotten complicated, but I got lucky.’
On the spot, he pretended to question them about the incident, waiting for a chance to bring up the commoner in front of them.
That gave him the opening he needed, and he acted immediately.
“I can’t trust that commoner! Detain and interrogate him at once!”
No matter how much of a commoner he was, he was still officially enrolled at the academy. By leveraging that fact, he could surely deal a blow to the academy.
Besides, it was obvious how they would treat a mere commoner. As long as he handled the aftermath carefully, the academy wouldn’t be able to complain too much.
It was a sudden and impulsive move, but he was confident he could handle it.
After all, he had an artifact that allowed him to read people’s minds.
At this moment, the most important thing was what the two women beside the commoner were thinking…
[They are shocked by your actions.]
[They have no intention of stopping you.]
Even this was in his favor.
The duke’s daughter seemed slightly startled, but Her Highness, the princess, simply observed the situation without any reaction.
‘As expected. The rumors were all lies.’
Yes, of course. There’s no way the princess would care about a mere commoner.
At most, she might have been keeping an eye on him to recruit him in the future.
After false rumors about him being homosexual had spread at the academy, he had vowed never to believe gossip again.
He had only checked due to the faint worry that she might appeal emotionally and forget her status. But he had anticipated this outcome from the start.
With his concerns cleared, he secured the commoner without hesitation.
Oddly enough, the boy didn’t resist much, but there was no need to read his mind.
He must have known—someone like him, a mere commoner, could do nothing.
‘…At this point, he might even serve well as a test subject for that experiment I’ve been working on.’
After all, he’s just a commoner. If he disappears, he’ll be forgotten soon enough. Might as well make full use of him while he’s here.
That’s what he thought.
[Rudion]
[Strength: 17]
[Endurance: 8]
[Agility: 26]
[Magic Power: 11]
[Traits: Good for the body and delicious]
[He is stealing all your belongings and attempting to hide it.]
It wasn’t until he noticed something strange and checked the boy’s stats that he realized something was wrong.
The numbers were ordinary—almost disappointingly weak. He was about to feel relieved when he spotted an odd trait that didn’t match the rest.
‘What is this…?’
After seeing something he couldn’t comprehend, it didn’t take long for him to end up in his current state.
He blankly stared at his wrist.
It was gone.
The invaluable artifact he had relied on for so long was now in the hands of a commoner.
It was a mistake.
He had underestimated him, thinking he was just a commoner, just a first-year student.
There was no connection between them to suggest the boy would know anything.
No—no, that didn’t matter now. Right now…
“Catch him. Immediately.”
Recovering the artifact that brat had taken was the top priority. Whether he tore him apart or burned him alive would come later.
Having relied on the artifact to navigate countless situations, he couldn’t live without it anymore.
Escaping outside wasn’t all that difficult. Most of the key forces were following Trash.
Although he was discovered a few times while moving around the count’s estate, it didn’t matter now that Trash was hunting him with bloodshot eyes.
So instead of hiding or creating distractions, he chose to move directly toward the archive library.
It was so easy to move around that he wondered if the guards were just careless. But with an ability like ‘Evasion,’ guards were meaningless anyway.
Without ‘Evasion,’ he wouldn’t have made it this far.
Finally, he arrived in front of the archive library.
It was a massive wooden building where the environment was magically controlled to preserve the building and its ancient texts.
Perhaps because of that, the air felt refreshingly pleasant as he approached.
“There he is!!”
・…This isn’t the time to be just standing around breathing air. I moved into the building to avoid the gradually approaching voice of Trash.
The interior of the building had an atmosphere like a sacred cathedral. Rows of antique bookshelves were packed with countless ancient tomes, and the distinctive scent of old books filled the air.
At a glance, it looked like an archive for ancient texts.
However, if you open a hidden attic door and descend underground, you’ll find a space filled with forbidden books.
Seriously, why is everything hidden always underground? Why do they love basements so much?
Thinking such thoughts, I found the place where the hidden attic door was located.
“Here it is.”
In a secluded corner of the building, boxes filled with random books were stacked high.
It seemed poorly maintained, as the dust was thick enough to be visible even from a distance.
It looked like a place no one would approach or bother with, which made it even more suspicious.
Yes, if I moved these boxes, the hidden attic door would reveal itself.
The boxes were incredibly heavy because they were filled with books, but I have a strength stat of 17.
It might not stand out much among the main characters, but 17 is pretty strong. It’s not like I’m fighting monsters right now; this much is nothing.
As I diligently moved the boxes, the outside became noisier until, eventually, the door to the archive burst open.
Trash entered, leading even more knights than before.
At some point, he had even changed into new clothes, though it seemed he had dressed in such haste that one button was misaligned.
As I watched him, curious about what he might say, Trash quietly asked,
“…How much do you know?”
At this point, it seemed like he had caught on to something.
Well, it would be stranger if he hadn’t noticed—after all, I raided the secret vault, took the bracelet he was wearing, and came straight here to uncover the attic door.
I discreetly checked what Trash was thinking.
[He wants to persuade you.]
–Oh? I thought he’d just want to kill me right away.
The text flickered, and additional information appeared.
[He wants to persuade you, take the item, and then kill you.]
There it is.
I raised the bracelet and held it up where he could see it clearly.
Realizing the meaning behind my gesture, Trash spoke with an anxious voice, trying to negotiate with me.
“…Wait, there must be a reason you’re doing all this. I’ll grant you anything. Just hand that over.”
His tone had suddenly become remarkably kind. I checked his thoughts again, and this time, he seemed quite sincere.
But knowing him, the moment he achieves his goal, he’ll switch gears immediately. That’s just the kind of person he is.
‘A reason for doing all this…’
I thought briefly about the things the Jibchack family had done in the original story.
When the war dragged on and supplies became scarce, they exploited their sprawling business empire to line their own pockets.
While lounging in safety and drinking wine, they suddenly diverted military support to their personal guards, then justified it by spreading false information across noble houses, cutting off support lines.
In the worst-case scenario, they even made a pact with demons when the demon army attacked, all to ensure their own survival…
Now that I think about it, Diggers becoming a demon was a family trait. That was a huge foreshadowing.
Even with just those points in mind, it was enough.
No matter how selfish humans are, this level of greed is just plain repulsive.
And right now, I was about to stop something similar.
Trash was researching forbidden texts containing mind control spells, which he would later use to kidnap and brainwash key individuals.
During critical battles, a few key figures would suddenly abandon their posts to protect the Jibchack family, causing immense damage.
“Answer me!! What will you do?!”
For someone who’s done such heinous things, I can’t understand how he’s still shouting so indignantly.
It wasn’t worth answering. I casually raised one hand… and flipped him off.
As for his reaction…
“…It seems you think little of me. Kill him. Take the item from his corpse if necessary.”
When anger reaches its peak, people often go cold rather than hot—and that was exactly how he sounded.
At his icy command, the knights began advancing toward me slowly.
Trash, too, started preparing a spell from behind them.
Does he not care about the books packed on these shelves?
Forget the books—he’s already seen my strange abilities with his own eyes. Shouldn’t he be more cautious?
I wondered what he was thinking and checked again…
[He is recalling your stats and mocking you.]
Well, that’s a pretty convincing reason.
No matter how good the software is, if the hardware is lacking, it’s like putting pearls on a pig.
Sure, my stats might be a little low. I’ll admit that!
But I’ve managed to handle everything with these stats so far, and I’ll keep doing it.
‘This is my first battle since unlocking my inventory.’
At the very least, it’ll be better than fighting without it.
Now then… care for a taste of Quick Swap?