Chapter 139: Restoring the Truth

Joen remained silent for a long while.

The river wind brushed against his cheeks like the silent beat of a drum or waves crashing against a reef.

A certain thought churned in his mind a hundred times over until, finally, he found Liya and voiced his idea.

“What?”

Liya asked in surprise.

“You want the Princess to come out and dispel the rumors by telling the truth about her ‘going missing’?”

“Yes,” Joen said with a serious nod.

“But… why? What is the point of that?”

Liya found it impossible to understand.

“I want everyone to know that they worked together to do something righteous, and not… just a business deal,” Joen said, his voice gradually growing low.

“But they won’t think justice is a good thing. They will only feel that we lied to them. ‘Stay out of it if it doesn’t concern you’ — that is the natural state of the human heart. Friend — you cannot expect a group of uneducated people to understand the nuances of good, evil, right, and wrong,” Liya could not help but try to persuade him.

However, Joen was unexpectedly stubborn.

This was the first time he had truly argued with Liya.

“If we keep deceiving them, fooling and utilizing the Commoners like we are manipulating animals, then what is the difference between us and the Church? If we do this, we are just another group of ambitious schemers. The only difference is that our ambition is brighter and more selfless.”

“But, Lili…”

Joen gently squeezed Liya’s small hand, showing an expression she had never seen before.

She did not know how to describe it.

The world never lacked grand, magnificent ambitions.

What the world lacked were people who truly loved all the Commoners.

“Lili, education doesn’t have to wait for books. Let it start here, with this event.”

“I haven’t read that many books, and I don’t understand that many grand theories. I only know one thing… people educated through lies will surely be full of hypocrisy and lies themselves.”

Joen summoned his courage.

Usually poor with words, he had said a great deal all at once.

Liya was speechless.

She suddenly realized that she could find no way to refute him.

This was because Joen was right — it just did not align with his own interests.

After a long silence, Liya tapped her small head and said in distress, “This is going to cause trouble for you…”

Before she had even finished speaking, she relaxed again and teased, “Then the humans should be even more grateful to Pupu — Pupu is the one who put in the most effort, after all!”

“That’s true.”

Joen lifted Liya to his lips and gave her a deep kiss on the forehead.

He lowered his eyes, gazing at her tenderly, and said earnestly, “Lili, you are my hero. A great hero.”

Liya’s pink eyes lost focus for a split second.

It took her a while to react, murmuring with a bit of shy annoyance, “What are you doing… saying something like that so suddenly… You’re making Lili feel really embarrassed…”

Joen said nothing, only chuckling as he tickled Liya’s armpits, attempting to ease the awkwardness.

But a Pupu clearly did not have such a thing.

In the end, as Liya and Joen stared at each other, the atmosphere became even more awkward.

“Um, do you want me to cooperate and laugh a little?”

Liya asked intentionally, crossing her arms and tilting her tiny head up.

“No thanks.”

Joen scratched behind his ear, looking a bit sheepish.

“I got it wrong again…”

He realized that he was increasingly treating Lili like a human being rather than a Pupu.

Was that a good thing or a bad thing?

Joen did not know.

He only knew that he quite enjoyed their current state.

It was a clear autumn day with perfect sunlight — neither too cold nor too hot, neither too dry nor too humid.

Fortunately, Lili was by his side, allowing him to see the bright smile of life whenever he turned his head.

—

By evening.

Following the Hero’s request, Liya spread the truth about the entire “missing Princess” incident.

Margaret, dressed in a fiery red gown, reappeared and nearly caused the local officials’ jaws to drop — but she was only the second most popular topic!

The first topic was the grand resurrection of “Demon King Lia” and her capture of the Princess.

This matter rapidly became the biggest topic of discussion within the noble circles of the Dry River Territory.

Thanks to “Demon King Lia,” the waves caused by the “Princess was never missing” revelation were far smaller than expected among the nobility, allowing for a relatively smooth landing.

While the noble circles were distracted by the “top trending” news, within the circles of the Commoners, this matter was no less impactful than a nuclear bomb.

The crowd exploded instantly.

Some were angry, some were regretful, some were mocking, and even more were skeptical.

A portion of the people felt they had risked their lives entering the water to save the Princess, soaking in the Jiang River for two or three days for the sake of a single chance to change their fate.

And now — you are telling me this was a complete and total deception?

Unacceptable.

Of course, the angry ones were a minority.

More people were inclined to believe the Hero was lying.

Spending so much effort and paying out so many Gold Kurons just to trick them into going into the water to save someone?

Was that logical?

Did that fit the usual style of the nobility?

Clearly not.

When things are abnormal, there must be a hidden motive.

Thus, a certain conspiracy theory began to run rampant: The Princess had indeed been lost and had already secretly pledged her life to a lucky Commoner, but the Hero wanted to protect the reputation of the Royal Family, so he resorted to this tactic…

On one hand was admitting that you were fooled like a fool.

On the other was believing that you had seen through the truth like a wise man.

On one hand was admitting that your previous emotions were meaningless.

On the other was convincing yourself that your previous tension, excitement, and agitation were not ridiculous.

The choice was obvious.

Few people cared about the subsequent phrase, “this was a temporary measure to save lives.”

After all, to the Commoners, “saving people” was a concept very distant from their own lives.

They did not believe anyone would come to save them, nor did they dare believe they actually had the ability to save others.

Amidst such clamor and chaos, Pupu Town played dead for half a day before launching the “Super Scratch-and-Spin Wheel,” which boasted “ten times the drop rate,” “guaranteed prizes,” and “free daily spins.”

In front of the wheels in various locations, the sounds of “Ohhh!” and “Sigh…” rose and fell one after another, quickly drowning out all arguments.

Entertainment until death, a life of dissipation.

Liya was better at this than anyone.

As night approached, the clouds glowed with ten thousand rays of light.

Liya stood atop a high city tower, looking coldly into the distance at the Doom Victims gathered around the spin wheels, either cheering or dejected.

She took a bite of a Demon Crystal, making a *crunching* sound as if she were eating a small cracker.

After listening to Jonathan’s stumbling report, she tossed the Demon Crystal aside and shook her head with a laugh.

“Hm… as expected. People would rather believe a Princess really fell into the river than believe Joen truly wanted to save everyone.”

“But then again… it’s understandable. It’s human nature. If I were them, I wouldn’t believe it either.”

“I should go find Joen.”

She put on a pair of semi-transparent silk stockings.

As her toes touched the ground, the sensation through the thin material felt a bit strange.

She wiggled her little feet and whispered, “I hope my friend isn’t too heartbroken.”

—

Twilight.

The setting sun was like blood, dyeing the waters of Pupu Town a tragic, beautiful red.

Joen sat alone on a tall reef, holding a bottle of cheap, strong liquor.

He had taken off his heavy armor and wore only thin summer clothes, letting the evening breeze ruffle his blonde hair.

A mouthful of liquor went down, spicy and stinging, with a mellow aftertaste that felt both bitter and sweet, much like his life since leaving the village.

“Friend — “

A soft, sweet voice broke the silence.

Joen turned his head and saw Liya struggling to climb up the reef.

Her tiny body was delicate and beautiful, wearing her slightly dirty little white dress while clutching two wild fruits she had found somewhere.

“Friend — eat sweet fruit! It’s very, very sweet!”

She held up the wild fruit and tried to stuff it into Joen’s mouth.

Joen obediently opened his mouth and ate them all in one go.

Liya then reached out her small hand and gently wiped away a smudge of dirt from Joen’s cheek.

“Lili…”

Joen looked at her and rubbed his nose, feeling a bit touched.

“I caused trouble for you as well…”

“No, you didn’t!”

Liya puffed out her cheeks and cupped Joen’s face with both hands, forcing him to look at her.

Under the setting sun, her pink eyes shone brightly, reflecting Joen’s slightly reddened face.

“Lili won’t blame Joen! Even though the people Joen loves in his heart are many — an entire world’s worth — the number of people Lili loves is very small. There is only Joen.”

Liya’s voice was soft but firm, like a warm current slowly flowing into Joen’s somewhat withered heart.

“Lili…”

Joen was moved.

“Are you still sad, friend?”

Liya changed the subject and continued asking.

Joen shook his head.

“I wasn’t really sad.”

He looked out at the river again.

“I was just thinking… what exactly must be done to make the people of this world cherish and save one another? How can everyone become a hero to themselves and those around them?”

Liya stuck out her tongue, feeling that this idea was far too fantastical and naive — it was impossible.

Getting humans to love other humans was the most difficult thing in the world.

“Lili…”

Joen turned back, looking at Liya as if he wanted to say something more.

Finally, he gave Liya a gentle flick on the forehead.

“Stop reading those books written by succubi all the time.”

“I didn’t!” Liya retorted grumpily.

‘Damn it! Why does Joen always say I’m like a succubus? Clearly, it’s the succubi who are like me! They are like me!’

She complained unhappily in her heart.

Lili was the most adorable girl in the world.

The wind was just right, and the sunset was brilliant.

The falling sun turned half of Liya’s profile red.

Just then, the sound of messy footsteps came from beneath the reef.

Puck arrived with seven or eight men covered in mud.

They carried various strange gifts: liquor, brightly colored Pupus, and fish caught from the river.

“Teacher Io said that you were the one who saved everyone, so we have come to thank you on everyone’s behalf.”

Puck raised the pink Pupu in his hand.

He had gone to great lengths to find out that this was the Hero’s favorite thing and had specifically chosen the roundest one.

“Thank you…”

Joen didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

After a moment, Joen asked curiously, “Did Io not come?”

“Uh…”

Puck looked a bit embarrassed.

“She’s a bit busy.”

After saying that, he sighed in his heart.

In truth, Io did not want to become too close personally with the Hero, lest it be awkward when they met on the battlefield in the future.

Io had revealed her thoughts to a few of her confidants in private: the autumn harvest had been flooded, and the local Lords were all of that same wretched disposition.

This winter was going to be very difficult.

When the time came, if life became truly unbearable, she would lead everyone to attack the manors built outside the cities by the various Nobles, looting the granaries to help everyone get something to eat.

That kind of thing was, after all, no different from rebellion.

So they had agreed beforehand: if the matter was ever exposed, they would push all the responsibility onto her alone and let her take the blame for everything.

“Let’s not talk about that. Lord Hero, what are your plans next?”

Puck asked curiously.

“Me?”

Joen pointed to himself.

He thought for a moment and said thoughtfully, “In nine days, I plan to return to the Empire Capital to explain the plight of the Dry River Territory to the Grand Tutor and His Majesty, and apply for disaster relief for you all.”

“They’ll be very reluctant to give up anything. What if the imperial court doesn’t agree?”

“Indeed.”

Joen nodded and took another swig of the strong liquor.

“Indeed.”

However, he was no longer the simple youth he once was.

Having gone through trial after trial, he had grown much and was now full of resolve.

“Then I will force the imperial court to agree.”

Joen set down the wine flask, his gaze firm as he spoke without a hint of hesitation.