SCT-Novel Chapter 176 : Popularity Poll - 1
Chapter 176 : Popularity Poll - 1
A foggy trail.It was probably about time Kaid changed the scenery, but the Dream Demon lacked creativity.
“Ah, seriously! Who knocked me out this time? Huh?”
And he was also a narrow-minded Dream Demon who got angry over the smallest things.
“You're cursing me in your head right now, aren't you?”
“Yeah.”
“You're supposed to deny it, damn it.”
“More importantly, where's your friend?”
“Haa... He's not my friend... There he is.”
Step. Step.
Footsteps echoed from the opposite end of the trail.
The monster who appeared looked like an ordinary man.
Unlike Kaid, who was completely covered in armored scales, he looked no different from a human.
The man spoke in a low voice.
“What brings you here, Kaid Bell?”
“Orcus.”
“I heard you rebelled against Master. You're already a legend in our territory. A true legend.”
“Heh. So you've finally realized my greatness.”
“A legend for pulling one of the stupidest stunts in history.”
Kaid's shoulders drooped.
I let out a chuckle and cut in.
“That's a little harsh. Kaid earned his freedom through that act of rebellion. Well, half his freedom, anyway.”
“And who might you be?”
“Mason Giad.”
“Mason...”
The man called Orcus looked at me with newfound caution.
“You're even more famous than Kaid. This time, for a good reason.”
“Why?”
“Not long ago, something historic happened in our territory. The war between Drod, the Second MVP, and Master. Then Lady Magireta intervened.”
“……”
“And finally, Master received severe sanctions from Lady Magireta. Rumor has it that you were behind everything.”
I scratched my ear.
“You High-Ranking Monsters are surprisingly interested in what's happening in the world.”
“Is it true? Did you really do all that?”
“In part.”
In truth, not in part—I'd done all of it.
A hint of admiration appeared in Orcus's eyes.
I decided to get straight to the point.
“Speaking of Odline, what's that guy been up to lately?”
“...Why do you ask?”
“You probably know Odline has teamed up with a guy named Edgar. Edgar and I have quite the history.”
“……”
“The Tenth Quest has begun in our world. And according to the rules, the choices made by the High-Ranking Monsters are the key to this game.”
Then...
I wet my lips before continuing.
“My intuition tells me... Odline must have given you High-Ranking Monsters some sort of order.”
Exactly.
This was the trick I had expected Edgar to pull.
Edgar had no idea who had been selected as voters.
So he must have thought this.
-Then I'll just recruit every High-Ranking Monster.
That was why I'd instructed Kaid to summon a High-Ranking Monster into a dream.
“One of Odline's Authorities allows him to enslave monsters.”
“……”
“Even without planting maggots inside them, he can use monsters like his own hands and feet. Kaid here is a prime example.”
“……”
“Didn't Odline give all of you an order? An order to vote for Edgar in the Tenth Quest, ‘Popularity Poll.’”
Instead of answering, Orcus glanced around.
I blinked, wondering what he was doing, when Kaid interrupted.
“It's fine. No matter who it is, even Master can't eavesdrop on conversations inside this dream.”
“Ahem. That's not why I was looking around.”
“Hey. Try fooling someone else. I've been a slave thousands of years longer than you.”
“We've both spent hundreds of thousands of years as slaves, and you're still acting like my senior? We're both growing old together...”
“What? Honestly. What's happening to Hell these days? Back in the old days, you wouldn't even have dared look me in the eye!”
I let out a deep sigh and interrupted.
“Kaid.”
“Mr. Mason, did you hear what this bastard just said?”
“Shut up.”
“Yes, sir. Sorry.”
“You're Orcus, right? Just as Kaid confidently said, Odline can't hear this conversation. So tell me honestly.”
He hesitated for a moment.
Then, after clearing his throat several times, he spoke.
“You're more or less right. Master contacted us not long ago.”
“He contacted you? How?”
“You should know. He opened one of his black holes.”
That black hole.
Come to think of it, when Odline had tried to drag Kaid away before, his voice had come through one of those black holes.
I nodded and urged him to continue.
“What did he say?”
“Exactly what you guessed. He ordered us to vote for Edgar in the Tenth Quest.”
“As expected.”
I let out a groan before probing further.
“Do you really have to obey an order like that? You still have free will.”
“Have you ever seen a slave with free will?”
“Kaid is Odline's slave too. But he rebelled of his own will and escaped.”
“……”
“I'd understand if maggots were still implanted inside your bodies. Those physically control you. But Lady Magireta killed every maggot inside the monsters last time.”
That meant none of the High-Ranking Monsters living in the Third Territory still had maggots inside them.
They no longer had to worry about becoming cocoons someday and dying in the world... no, in Hell.
So there was no reason to faithfully obey Odline's orders anymore.
In fact, now that every one of Odline's maggots except one had been destroyed, wasn't this the perfect chance for them to reclaim their freedom?
That was what I asked.
Orcus and Kaid smiled at the same time.
“Why are you smiling?”
“Mr. Mason, your understanding of Master's ‘Authority to Enslave Monsters’ is lacking.”
“It is. That's why I'm asking you to explain.”
“When you become Master's slave, your soul becomes bound to him. I told you that before, remember?”
That reminded me of something.
During the Intermediary Trade Quest, Edgar had controlled the Participants' souls and forced them to stand atop the table.
In a way, that too had made the Participants into slaves.
Was Odline's Authority similar?
An instinctive submission that couldn't be physically resisted.
'Edgar and Odline... They really were birds of a feather.'
Swallowing that thought, I continued.
“But Kaid here actually disobeyed Odline's orders. Instead of killing me as instructed, he joined forces with me.”
“……”
“And you, Orcus, are freely spilling all kinds of information. I'm sure Odline told you to keep your mouths shut.”
“You're probably comparing it to Edgar's Talent, but it feels a little different.”
Kaid arrogantly wagged his index finger.
“Edgar turns his targets into puppets.”
“But our Master instills fear.”
“Fear?”
“The overwhelming terror that tells you, ‘If you defy this being, you're finished. You'll die.’ That kind of psychological fear.”
“……”
“You wouldn't understand unless you've experienced it.”
Kaid's expression looked unusually bitter.
Orcus continued.
“Kaid simply grew numb after enduring that fear for hundreds of thousands of years. That's why he eventually managed to summon the courage to rebel against Master.”
“And you?”
“I've lived about as long as Kaid, so I've grown somewhat accustomed to it too. I can't openly defy Master, but secretly leaking information inside a dream like this is still possible. Master won't hear this conversation.”
He carefully continued.
“But if I vote for someone other than Edgar... Master will notice.”
Apparently, he too had been selected as a voter for the Popularity Poll.
I asked quietly,
“So that's where you draw the line?”
“Of course. The other High-Ranking Monsters are the same.”
I let out a deep sigh.
'Just as I thought. The monsters of the Third Territory have already fallen under Edgar's control.'
There was no way to know exactly how many High-Ranking Monsters from the Third Territory had been selected as voters.
Magireta had chosen them randomly.
But under normal circumstances, Hell was divided into four territories.
That meant roughly twenty-five percent.
'Twenty-five percent.'
The moment voter turnout exceeded thirty percent, if first place had at least twice as many votes as second place, the game would end immediately.
I had to hurry.
Even if I couldn't overtake him, I at least had to reduce the gap to less than double.
Just as I was thinking that, I heard a bombshell.
“And while I'm exposing everything anyway... I'll tell you one more thing.”
“Hm?”
“Master ordered us to meet the High-Ranking Monsters in Helena's Territory.”
My body froze.
I'd expected him to lay the groundwork among the High-Ranking Monsters in his own territory.
But he'd even reached into Helena's Territory?
Orcus continued.
“That territory doesn't have an MVP anymore, does it? I heard you're largely responsible for that too.”
“...More or less.”
“What kind of monster are you, anyway?”
“I'm human.”
“Ah, right. Habit.”
Orcus continued.
“He scattered all the High-Ranking Monsters from our territory throughout Helena's Territory and is using us as leverage to enslave the monsters there. Master's been busy lately.”
“That's possible?”
“Master doesn't need any complicated procedure to enslave monsters. They only have to come within fifty meters of him.”
He counted on his fingers as he explained.
“We encounter a High-Ranking Monster from Helena's Territory.”
“We contact Master.”
“Master opens a black hole and appears for a moment.”
“……”
“Master enslaves the High-Ranking Monster.”
“And that's the end of it.”
“……”
“He's been doing this for two weeks. By now, every High-Ranking Monster in Helena's Territory has probably become Master's slave.”
My heart trembled violently.
I'd already thought it was disastrous enough that the High-Ranking Monsters of Hell's Third Territory had sided with Edgar.
But now...
Even the High-Ranking Monsters of Helena's Territory had fallen under Odline's control.
'Then what does that mean?'
According to my earlier calculations...
Had Edgar secured the allegiance of fifty percent of the voters?
Had he already fulfilled the conditions of Rule Six?
Suppressing my trembling body, I muttered,
“Did Magireta really just stand by and watch all of that happen?”
I hadn't expected an answer.
But as though she'd been waiting for that question, Magireta's voice replied.
“What else was I supposed to do?”
“Gah!”
Kaid screamed in shock.
Then, incredibly enough, he pointed at Magireta and shouted,
“Why are you here?!”
“Say that again.”
“Uh... H-how did you get in here? This is my dream.”
“You think I can't infiltrate something like this? This isn't even the first time.”
Magireta shrugged before turning to me.
“Now that you've figured it out, I can tell you. Just as you heard, Odline has already recruited every High-Ranking Monster in Helena's Territory. All I could do was watch.”
“Why?”
“After my deal with Little Brother last time, I became capable of killing him. But that doesn't change the fact that Odline is still an MVP.”
That was true.
Odline was still an MVP.
He had merely become an MVP who could be killed.
His fundamental nature hadn't changed.
“According to the Hidden Rules, it's impossible for me to interfere with what an MVP is trying to do.”
“……”
“Besides, Odline refuses to come out of Edgar's stomach. And thanks to what the Broken Magireta did before, I can no longer pull him out.”
“……”
“My hands are tied. Can you understand how your big sister feels, forced to watch those two cheat right in front of her?”
“I can't.”
Magireta slowly shook her head.
“You've become so cold, Little Brother.”
“Once again, Odline is ruining the game. Why not revise the Hidden Rules one more time? Add a rule saying, ‘An MVP who ruins the game may be killed.’”
“No matter how I rewrite the rules, I can't kill him as long as he's hiding inside Edgar's stomach.”
“Right. I'd forgotten.”
After thinking for a moment, I asked,
“How many High-Ranking Monsters live in Odline's Territory and Helena's Territory?”
“……”
“No... More precisely, how many High-Ranking Monsters were selected as voters in this Popularity Poll? What percentage of the total voters do they make up?”
“As if I'd answer that.”
“Please help me. Odline and Edgar are playing dirty. Surely you can at least help us this much.”
Magireta shook her head.
“What they're doing is underhanded, but it doesn't violate the rules.”
“……Very well. Then let me ask you something else.”
“Go ahead.”
I swallowed hard before speaking.
“Please tell me the name of the MVP who rules the First Territory of Hell.”