When we entered the throne room, it was surprisingly spacious. Big—though still not as big as the university's gathering hall.
Even so, it impressed me a little. Considering the technology I saw in the hallway, it shouldn't be possible to build something like this.
Oh… right. They have magic. They must have used it to construct this place. I never thought they'd apply it in such a practical way. My evaluation of them increased by a very small amount.
Now I need to know what they want us to do. If these royals try to put a collar on me, I need to be careful. Someone who does that cannot be trusted. And if that happens, then I will need a plan to eliminate all of them.
If this world follows the same patterns as Earth, then slavery must exist here too. Even on Earth, slavery was only abolished about a hundred years ago—and even then, it was because the global community would have crushed any nation caught practicing it.
Though most people don't know, slavery still exists in the modern world because humans are still kidnapped and sold across borders.
The people involved in such things are usually the highest-ranking officials. They use their authority to erase any reports before they reach the public.
These operations often involve backdoor deals between governments and pirates at sea. With that alliance, officials profit, divert public attention, and do whatever they want—including blackmailing, threatening, and indulging in their daily debauchery with the girls they force into those hidden rooms built inside their homes. No one suspects a thing because of the perfect public image they maintain.
For me, people in that kind of authority shouldn't have privacy. They use it to do everything that goes against morals and human decency. With their authority, they create scapegoats out of innocent people and push all evidence toward them.
The public never knows, because the authorities block information and fabricate stories to divert attention.
I never believe anything those people say. All of it was nonsense to me. Ordinary people work themselves to the bone, and these authority figures still force them to work more. From their perspective, we're nothing but cattle in the farm they call a country.
Even I didn't know any of this until I accidentally stumbled upon one of those incidents. A high-ranking official threatening a family to hand over their daughter, just because he took a liking to her.
I could only hide and shut my mouth, crouching inside a cardboard box beside the house. It happened when I went on a walk and saw the black car—the type only people in high authority ride.
After thinking about it, I felt something was off. I hid inside the empty box, flipped it upside down, and settled beside the wall. Good thing the box was on cement, so it didn't leave footprints or drag marks. That's when I heard their conversation.
Even now, remembering it makes me feel sick. That was the moment I began to deeply hate and distrust authority. It woke me up completely, and from then on, I paid close attention to the behavior of people with power.
I realized that 80% of people in authority cannot be trusted because they don't take their jobs seriously. Slacking off is fine—we're human—but taking bribes is something else entirely.
When trash criminals commit crimes, the authorities are never there. But when a good person accidentally commits a mistake, they show up at the scene in minutes. All I could say was, "What the heck."
Honestly, I hope one day humans are removed from authority entirely. Let robots handle it. Robots can't take bribes. If you want to delete one, you'd have to go to a controlled facility—something that would raise suspicion if someone visited it too often.
Back to the present situation—if that kind of corruption exists on modern Earth, then what about this world? With its medieval-like culture, it's even more likely to be rotten.
........
This throne room looks straight out of the medieval era. A king sits on his elevated throne, and beside him sits the queen—or at least, that's who I assume she is.
A red carpet stretches from the entrance door all the way to the throne. On both sides of the carpet stand two rows of nobles. For some reason, just looking at them makes me want to punch something. Maybe it's their round bellies, showing just how comfortably they live.
Hah… this world really is unfair. Most people can't enjoy luxury, because those with ability are usually exploited.
Princess Alice, Akihiko, Erika, and I walked toward the throne. We stopped at the bottom of the stairs.
I wondered—are we supposed to kneel or something? To respect this damned king? If he tries to force me to kneel, he's going to pay for it. A kidnapper demanding respect from the kidnapped… that would show how big his ego is. Someone like that would definitely plot something behind our backs.
People who think that way will never treat us as equal to the citizens. They'll treat us like slaves—or worse. I need to make sure I'm not used or discarded by this king like trash. I must be the one to eliminate them before they can use me as a scapegoat for their crimes.
Princess Alice stepped forward, bent her body slightly, and lifted the sides of her skirt. A courtesy, apparently.
It really shocked me. I didn't expect them to use British-style courtesy. I remember seeing that in a movie about King Arthur. Speaking of Arthur… Arthuria comes to mind.
Not the time for that. I need to focus on the situation.
While Alice showed courtesy, the rest of us stood stiffly behind her. We had no idea what to do. Well, for me, I simply didn't want to kneel because he's not my king. To hide my feelings, I put on a bewildered expression. Hopefully it works.
Then a guard at the stairs spoke when he saw us not kneeling.
"Hey! What are you doing? You are in front of the king right now—kneel!"
When he started moving toward us, the king spoke from his throne:
"No need. The Heroes are here to save us, so they are equal to the king."
And the only thing I could think was, Oh damn, I've met a hypocrite. You're dead, trash. I forced my expression to stay neutral.
The nobles whispered among themselves. From what I heard, they said we were rude and that we should kneel before the king. Hearing that, I thought to myself that I'd give them capital punishment for such arrogance.
Even though the king said we were equal, the air around him told a different story. He didn't feel anything wrong with the situation.
Then I thought—if this is how things are, then I must become a hero. A hero delivers justice. And all of you here… I must make sure every one of you faces the hammer of justice.