I Was Called Incompetent ch.12

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Yeah, there is something weird with the world.

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Translator: Raizu
Editor: Shirayuki

Chapter 12: The World

[Really, what’s going on with this world…?]

How was a concept like incompetent even created?
And in addition to that, the seemingly deep-seated hatred between regular people and the incompetents…
I used to think that the townspeople were close to each other.
In short, I believed that humans shouldn’t be able to hate something completely.

Before I met Levi and Crown-san. I felt that everyone seemed to hate me. No matter what I did, everyone would just consider me as trash.

To be honest, I had considered retaliating, or committing suicide several times before I finally went with it. The weight of the world’s hatred was too heavy for me.

It was Asna who kept me barely hanging on the edge.
Without her, I would’ve probably died much earlier, either by suicide or through the punishment from retaliation.
Back then, I lived on because I didn’t want to make Asna sad.
Clinging to her as my crutch, I hung on to live, adding further complications to my miserable life…

I didn’t even know if there was brainwashing in the first place. It’s like…. I was treated as a scapegoat.
“Work harder if you don’t want to be like him” and so on….was that what makes you human?

[But who… 1000 years ago… Well, not that I know when it exactly happened, but was it human…or is it demon or dragon…? No…no way. What’s the point in all the hatred if that’s the only reason…?]

Could it be…to drive all the incompetents to death?
I would’ve died a long time ago if it wasn’t for Asna.
Either I died by suicide, or from the punishment for retaliating. Regardless, I would’ve died.
If an incompetent hurt someone else, the punishment would be much more severe.
No excuses would be accepted.

But why?
Why push an incompetent to death….?
I don’t know… But I do know what I should do now.
I need to talk with Levi.
Finally waking up from my reverie, I got out from the bathtub.

=====

[Levi, I’m done.]

[Ah, alright. Then I am coming in.]

I could hear Levi’s footsteps coming from the living room.
Her tone of speed sounded cold.
D-don’t tell me that she’s mad….
Right then, Levi emerged from the door leading to the living room.

[Ah, it is not like I am angry or anything. Just a little bit tired. Well then.]

Levi said so as she’s heading to the bathroom.
She’s really mad, isn’t she…?
Maybe I’ll talk to her later.

[Then…]

I took out the black notebook and flipped through its pages.
There were really 5 who are willing to help me as of now.

The first was of course Excalibur.
The second one was a shield called Aegis.
The third was the spear Brionac.
The fourth was a greatsword named Balmung.
And lastly the fifth, Caduceus, was a staff.

[Each one of them looks amazing. Ah, I forgot to ask Excalibur about their gender… There is no way I could tell just from their name. Well, I’ll find out if I use Materialization magic on them.]

I had spent most of my magic power today, so let’s do that tomorrow.
With my current magic reserve, I can only use Materialization magic five times a day if it’s for something on similar caliber to Excalibur.
I could use my magic a lot more times on a regular sword, but despite having a similar dimension, using Materialization on Excalibur simply drained a much bigger amount.
Probably because Excalibur itself held such a great power.

[Haa.]

Oh shi! I almost forgot!
I quickly ran back to the entrance, finding the iron sword that I materialized was still outside, making a sobbing gesture.

[S-sorry!]

Hearing my voice, the iron sword immediately ran up to me.
Somehow I had a bad feeling about this…
True to my intuition, the iron sword jumped up from the ground, trying to give me a hug.

[Uoooo!?]

I managed to evade the flying sword, causing it to end up stuck on the wall.
It flailed its limbs around unable to free itself.

[My, my bad. Okay, here…]

I undid my magic, reverting it back into a normal iron sword.
Pulling out the sword from the wall, I felt bad if I just threw it away so I neatly placed it right next to the front door.

[Geez…I completely forgot about it]

[Oh, Rhode-sama? What is wrong?]

I heard Levi calling from behind me.
Why did she get out of the bath this soon?

[Ah, I forgot about the iron sword I… ehh!?]

When I turned around, what I saw next was not something I expected.
It was Levi, who was in her white undergarments, and nothing else. I immediately looked away.
She’s in her underwear… But the white fabric really didn’t cover much.

[Mu, is there anything wrong?]

You’re one to talk!
What are you intending to do with that getup? What!?

[W-why are you only in your underwear!?]

At least wear something on top of it…

[Ah, this? Do not mind it.]

I mind!

[I can’t see you like this…. Please cover up.]

[Ah…is that so…? My apology…. It seems that my appearance has made you feel uncomfortable.]

[No, no, that’s not what I mean! Levi, you… I mean… you’re too attractive… so I ask of you. Come to the living room after you’ve properly clothed yourself.]

[Mu…U-understood.]

After hearing Levi’s footsteps as she walked away, I headed back to the living room.
Hang in there, my self control!
By the way… those were big, weren’t they?
Ha!? Nononono…

=====

[Thank you for waiting.]

Thank goodness. She’s now wearing a black gown.
She gave off a different impression compared to her usual maid appearance now.
Not to mention she looked good in it.

[Sorry if you’re tired. But I have something to ask.]

[No, it is fine. So, what is it?]

[Why a demon like you, Levi, served under Crown-san… I believe I haven’t heard anything regarding this matter before.]

I believed that Levi would side with me no matter what.
However, it’s commonly known that demons tend to be hostile to humans.
Aside from how Levi ended up serving Crown-san, I also wanted to know about the demons in general.

[Ah… I have not told Rhode-sama about that, have I? I did not know that you would be interested in it.]

[It doesn’t bother me or anything, just that what we’re about to talk about might mention the demons. I just want to be careful so as to not offend you…]

[I see… then allow me to explain. I was born in a high ranking demon clan on the land of demons. Now, the strongest of my clan members is eligible to become ruler of the demons, simply put, the Demon King. I was among the strongest of my clan so I have been the target of many assassination attempts… all because of the so-called succession battle. Everyone around me seemed like an enemy to me, and I hated that. So I ran away. I somehow managed to cross the sea, and finally ended up in this place.]

So that’s what happened…
If I remember it correctly, Crown-san mentioned that Levi was already 100 years old when he first met her, but back then she still looked like a little girl.
I guess she’s been through a different kind of hell than me.

[But then, I almost died from hunger, unable to procure any food for many days… that was when Crown-sama found and saved me. He knew that I am a demon, yet still treated me like his own daughter. Crown-sama also brought me to the temple, which is why I have human’s magic in addition to my demon’s magecraft. At that time he told me, “This is the proof that you are not evil. You might be a demon, but your heart is no different from that of a human. So live on with pride, o’ daughter.”]

That sounded like Crown-san alright….
Being reminded of that made me tear up a bit.
Levi was also the same.

[Crown-sama’s skill was mind reading… it allowed him to read other people’s minds. Since my features easily give off the fact that I am not a human, I had been trying to conceal it. Imagine how I felt when he saw through me right from the beginning. But when he said that sentence to me, Ahh…I should follow this man. I immediately made that decision.]

[I see now…that’s…so very like Crown-san. He was already a cool man even back then.]

[Indeed… that was why I sided with humans despite being a demon. While staying on Crown-sama’s side, I also got to meet many other wonderful people. But I still wonder, whether it is true that I possess the kindness that demons do not have.]

[If you ask me, Levi, you are as human as you can be. Even from way back.]

[Fufu…thank you]

That smiling face of yours was enough proof.
Yosh, that means I don’t need to hesitate.

[Now, let’s get to the main subject. There is something I’d like to do… No… I guess that makes it a lot of things.]

[A lot of things?]

[Un… when I think about it again, there must be a lot of people being considered as incompetent like I used to. I was lucky that Crown-san and Levi saved me. So, if it’s possible, I’d like to… help those people.]

There were more than 10 billion humans populating this continent.
It’s said that there is only one incompetent for about a million people, which makes that about 200 in the entire continent. Perhaps even less.
And they’re undoubtedly oppressed by the masses no matter where they are.
I wanted to help them if it’s possible.

[Such an honorable wish… of course I will also cooperate.]

[Thank you. That’s why I need Levi’s power. Who knows if those incompetents are also misunderstood like I was? Couldn’t Levi’s magic help them?]

[True… but, what if they are actually weak?]

[Then they can still rely on skills. They should be able to make do if we teach them about skills. If that doesn’t work as well, they’ll still have their own hands.]

[Mu, any other problem then?]

[There is, probably… Some of them might live away from the village, hiding themselves desperately, or seeking to die…just like I did. So the chance to find them might be very low. However, if I become known as a hero…..finding them might be a bit more manageable.]

[Becoming a Hero…? How will that help us in the endeavour?]

[Heroes have always been the beacon of hope. Nestled between the land of dragons and the land of demons, the continent is hanging barely on balance. And it’s all thanks to God’s blessing…which is magic. But that doesn’t prevent the dragons nor the demons from attacking and devastating the countryside. They’re still eyeing for the continent’s wealth and riches.]

To the southwest and southeast of this continent where humans live, there were two smaller islands.
The island on the southwest was Dragonia, where the dragons lived. While on the southeast was where the demons lived, Inhelm.

The environment of both islands was equally bad with Dragonia being covered by endlessly active volcanoes. There’s no vegetation, only deserts and rocky mountains.
Meanwhile Inhelm was covered in snow due to an eternal snowstorm. The cold temperature was frigid enough to freeze any weaker organism to death.

About ten thousand years ago, humans, dragons and demons lived together on this continent.
However, dragons and demons, owing to their prideful nature as powerful and warlike races, often fell into conflict.
As the weakest of the three, humans were treated like slaves to the point that humanity was pushed to the brink of extinction.
God took pity on humanity, and thus blessed them with magic.

Eventually, a three-way war between dragons, demons and humans erupted, with humans emerging as the victor.
The defeated dragons and demons were driven out to the two smaller islands.

But even now, those two races still sought to deprive humans of the riches in the main continent.
Even if they’ll have to make God an enemy once more.
That was the widely known history.

[Actually it doesn’t matter what happened. The fact is that heroes are needed. And their existence gives hope to humankind. As long as there is a hero, then things should be just fine. That’s why a hero’s authority can rival, if not outweigh, that of a king’s.]

[I see… After successfully becoming a Hero, Rhode-sama wants to say this? 『I used to be an incompetent』, is that it…?]

[Yeah, that’s the plan. People then will have to reconsider their view on what is called ‘incompetent’. Hopefully that’ll get rid of this weird belief. Of course the change won’t be instant… but at least it should act as a catalyst. As long as there are people who are willing to talk this through like the boss, then they should understand.]

[Certainly… But, in order to do that…]

[Yeah…I’ll have to do my very best. The current hero is already a strong magic user. It would be strange if I could surpass him in such a short period… Therefore, I can only take it one step at a time.]

Moreover, if it becomes known that I was an incompetent once I rise to power….

[That person who caused the world to change…they might see me as a hindrance. I’m almost sure that they’ll do something.]

It still boils down to that.
But in the end, I’ll get rid of the incompetent concept from this world.
No more people should suffer like I did.