บท 216: Chapter 41. This World Needs Hope
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To avoid getting his head smashed like a watermelon, the adventurer gripped a pen in his mouth and wrote his name on sheets of white paper. Several people tried to deceive Cyd, but they were caught and promptly stomped into the ground by her. After that, everyone became much more compliant.
"With the signatures done, what should I do next? What kind of contract should I draft?" Cyd licked his lips and revealed a mischievous smile. "What kind of storm should I stir up in this decaying 18th floor? Are you looking forward to it?"
"Yes, yes," the adventurers buried in the ground nodded tearfully.
"Welf? Lili? Why are you covering my eyes? Why are you covering my ears?" Bell asked, waving his hands in confusion.
"Nothing... nothing. Cyd-sama just... played a little prank," Lili, who was covering Bell's eyes, awkwardly smiled.
"Ahem, Bell, I think you should take a good rest," Welf released his hold, placed his hands on Bell's shoulders, and said seriously, "If you're too tired, you might start hallucinating!"
"What will your lives become because of me? Look forward to it!" Cyd held the blank contracts with the adventurers' signatures in one hand and covered his forehead with the other.
A storm is coming...
The most famous thing about the 18th floor is that it's a safe zone, but it's also a haven for unscrupulous merchants.
Those who settle here are mostly adventurers who can no longer explore the dungeon. They set up stalls, buying adventurers' loot at low prices and selling essential but cheap supplies at high prices.
At first, they only raised the prices a little, but gradually, the adventurers who stayed here realized that no matter how high they priced their goods, the adventurers who needed supplies would grit their teeth and sell their loot because their lives were more valuable.
Watching these adventurers grumble but still pay, dark feelings began to grow in their hearts.
Look at them, exploring farther than us, yet still at our mercy.
It wasn't that no one tried to buy adventurers' loot at fair prices, but anyone who did was soon ostracized, even sabotaged, until they couldn't do business.
They greedily wanted to make a big profit but didn't want to earn small amounts, and they wouldn't let others do it either.
They were scum...
Although scum made up the majority on the 18th floor, it didn't matter!
With the blank contracts in hand, Cyd's lips curled slightly as he began to write the contract terms with flair.
"I will bring change here."
"Hey! Are you out of your mind? This isn't what we agreed on!" A one-eyed adventurer grabbed the collar of a tall adventurer, shaking him violently. "Have you gone mad?"
"Unfortunately, we've already signed the contract," the tall adventurer brushed off the wrinkled hand from his collar. "Starting today, we'll lower the prices of our goods. Though not to the original price, they'll only be marked up by one or two levels. We'll also buy loot at two levels below market price."
"Are you stupid?"
"The fool... isn't just me." The tall adventurer shrugged, his heart heavy, but he kept a serious exterior to hide the embarrassment of being buried alive.
The adventurers behind him wore the same expression, a sickeningly self-righteous look of purity. The one-eyed adventurer knew very well what kind of people these guys really were, what kind of scum they were.
To keep the black market on the 18th floor intact, they hadn't hesitated to ostracize and sabotage others.
And now... they're purified?
Like I'd believe that!
"In any case... while we weren't good people before, we want to be now," the tall adventurer brushed past the one-eyed adventurer and walked onto the street.
If they violate the contract, they have to pay the Hestia Familia 10 billion!
Did Cyd write the contract like this?
Normally, they would've torn up the contract and gotten rough, but unfortunately, they couldn't stand up to Cyd, who could bury them alive. Moreover, the Loki Familia arrived later and witnessed the entire process, with Sword Princess Ais memorizing all their faces.
"If you spoke up, those adventurers would hand over a fortune to save their lives," Ryuu, following behind Cyd, said offhandedly. "Aren't you still in debt by 5 billion?"
"That's a different matter," Cyd shrugged. "Maybe those people are the worst kind of scum, but that doesn't give us the right to extort them."
"But they did such awful things to Bell. As his teacher, you should have that right," Ryuu said, puzzled. "You were really angry then; I know that expression well."
Because that's how she used to be. But unlike her, Cyd wasn't consumed by rage and didn't make the same mistake.
"Yes, I wanted to stomp them all to death right there, but I couldn't. Bell was watching," Cyd scratched his head. "A teacher who preaches against taking lives but then mercilessly ends others... It just wouldn't work. I can't tarnish the image of a hero in his eyes."
"That child isn't suited to be a leader," Ryuu said softly. "He's too gentle, but he's a good person."
"For him, seeing people change is more important than getting compensation. He's not unfit to lead, but this world is too harsh. So many people choose to fall, so many accept it numbly. People need a hero. He doesn't need harsh methods or brutal rule. Maybe at first, people will think he's foolish, strange, but one day they'll be drawn to him, willingly following in his footsteps," Cyd reached out to the sky, as if trying to touch something.
"On that day... he'll become hope."
"I don't know why, but even though it sounds unbelievable, when it comes from you, it feels like a certainty," Ryuu touched her face.
"A certainty...?" Cyd chuckled softly and lowered his hand. "As a teacher, if I don't have some skill and confidence, how can I teach?"
"Then Bell will surely become the hope that changes this dungeon," Ryuu said with certainty, as if she had already witnessed it.
"Hey, hey, Bell is still super worrying," Cyd spread his hands with a helpless expression. "Don't jump to conclusions."
"Because his teacher... is you."
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