285 Clearly the heroine
Yamada-kun and the others fled to the hideout prepared by the Third Prince.
Well, "hideout" is a stretch—this place is completely exposed, so there's no real concealment.
An assault on this hideout is planned for shortly.
The commander of the attacking unit is Oshima-kun.
What would Yamada-kun do when Oshima-kun—someone who has supported him since the previous life—was brainwashed and turned traitor?
I concocted this rather distasteful setup not out of personal spite toward Yamada-kun.
Natsume-kun might genuinely act this way, but I am certainly not that far gone.
Not at all.
The purpose of pitting Yamada-kun against Oshima-kun is to test the actual effect of Yamada-kun's vague ability—Heaven's Blessing.
Heaven's Blessing.
This is Yamada-kun's unique skill, extracted from the brainwashed Oshima-kun and from Nagabe-san.
Yamada-kun spoke openly about his unique skill to another reincarnated individual, without concealment.
The existence of the skill was confirmed without effort.
The effect appears to be: increasing the likelihood of achieving any desired outcome, regardless of circumstance.
Unique skills granted as reincarnation bonuses are common, but this one stands out among them.
On surface, the effect seems like an overpowered ability.
In essence, it functions as a deus ex machina—whatever Yamada-kun desires, it manifests, purely by wishing.
Still, the skill does not guarantee the desired outcome, only increases its likelihood.
If it guaranteed results, it would surpass even the legendary dragon pearl said to grant wishes upon collecting seven.
That would be cheating on a level beyond cheating.
Correction required.
Update urgently.
Yamada-kun, bearer of such a deus ex machina skill.
And Yamada-kun possesses yet another contrivance-like ability.
It is the Title of the Hero.
The Title of the Hero is equipped with several contrivance-based hidden abilities, designed to maintain balanced conflict between humans and demons.
When the current Demon King becomes excessively powerful, disrupting the balance, the protagonist-like figure gains a power boost—just as if cornered.
"This cannot end here! Uoooooo!"
"Idiotic! Where would you gain such strength!?"
"This is the Hero's power, meant to save the world!"
Such a clichéd scenario could actually occur.
The Demon King is typically chosen from among demons, who live longer and possess higher base stats than humans, making them naturally stronger than heroes.
This is a compensatory measure to maintain balance.
A Demon King subjected to this mechanism would be in dire straits.
The current Demon King is too strong—this case would inevitably trigger the mechanism.
If the Demon King confronts Yamada-kun, Yamada-kun’s overpowered state will definitely activate.
Skill-based convenience. Title-based convenience.
Yamada-kun possesses the two catalysts for such convenience.
His inherent ability is negligible.
Yet he remains an unpredictable variable.
Thus, it is necessary to test the extent of Yamada-kun’s convenience mechanism here.
If Oshima-kun—someone deeply connected to him, in either past or present life—stands in his way, Yamada-kun would likely wish to break Oshima-kun’s indoctrination.
The outcome of that wish.
That will determine how far Yamada-kun’s convenience mechanism extends.
Whether it can overcome the indoctrination caused by the Seven Sins series, a skill designed to shatter minds.
If that is possible, Yamada-kun’s skill becomes more problematic than the Seven Sins series.
And under my observation, Yamada-kun collided with Oshima-kun.
In short: Reiyō exploded.
You may not understand what I’m saying, but that is my unvarnished opinion!
“What was that? Just explode already.”
Beside me, the Vampire Child mutters the same thought.
Yeah. You can’t help but think that.
The result exceeded expectations.
Who could have predicted this?
Oshima-kun, against all odds, broke free from Natsume-kun’s brainwashing on his own.
He could not fully remove the brainwashing’s influence, so he stopped himself by self-destructing.
What heroic resolve!
To harm oneself without hesitation for the sake of a hero, and to detonate with full force!
And that wasn’t all.
Yamada-kun healed Oshima-kun after the self-destruction.
The detonation affected Oshima-kun, severing his complete mental conditioning by Natsume-kun and restoring him to full awareness.
Yamada-kun carried Oshima-kun—princess carry style—while retreating with striking precision.
Princess carry!
Princess carry!
Oshima-kun’s face just before unconsciousness—heart-stopping.
Fell for it. Definitely fell for it.
No question. She’s the heroine. Thank you very much.
Conclusion.
Romantic comedy.
Ah, no, no.
Wrong, wrong.
Conclusion.
Yamada-kun’s skill is quite problematic.
Oshima-kun breaking free from conditioning may have involved his own willpower, but such a drastic shift was unlikely without external influence.
Some effect from Yamada-kun’s skill must have been involved.
Considering this, Yamada-kun’s skill is more troublesome than the Seven Sins series.
Yet the Third Prince, having taken position to prevent Yamada-kun’s escape, secured the capture without issue.
If Yamada-kun’s skill were perfectly effective, the Third Prince should not have escaped.
Thus, Yamada-kun’s skill does have limits.
The effect does not manifest without proximity.
Hmm.
The influence of the effect itself is difficult to perceive. It is impossible to discern how much of this outcome stems from Yamada-kun’s skill.
Caution is warranted, but countermeasures may prove difficult.
Still, the dominion skill Yamada-kun possesses—this is absurd.
The healing Yamada-kun administered to Oshima-kun was not merely healing.
For a brief moment, Oshima-kun was dead.
No ordinary healing magic can revive the dead.
That capability is granted by Yamada-kun’s dominion skill, Compassion.
Its effect: resurrection of the deceased.
Using that power, Yamada-kun revived Oshima-kun, who had died in a self-explosion.
Honestly, when Oshima-kun detonated, I panicked.
It was clearly a fatal wound.
My prediction proved accurate—Oshima-kun died.
Had Yamada-kun been even a second slower in reviving him, I would have transferred and arrived on the scene.
I instinctively stood up the moment Oshima-kun exploded.
I knew Yamada-kun possessed Compassion, yet panic still set in.
However, this might be an opportunity.
The cost of the Compassion skill is an upgrade to Taboo.
Compassion, which enables resurrection of the dead—a violation of the world's system.
Yet beyond resurrection lies Taboo, which reveals the system's truth.
When that truth is known, one cannot fail to understand what resurrection truly means.
Still, D's actions are disgustingly effective.
Coming here to break the spirit.
But that's exactly what we'll exploit.
Lure Yamada-kun here, force him to create a corpse before his eyes.
He'll certainly perform corpse resurrection.
And raise the level of Taboo.
Once Taboo reaches its maximum, Yamada-kun will learn the truth behind this world.
At that point, he'll face a choice.
To oppose us.
Or, if not, to join our side.
Pretending not to see it—also a valid option.
The fate of the world is heavy. No ordinary person could bear it.
If he chooses opposition, we'll crush him without mercy.
But I don't think Yamada-kun can do that.
He's just a commoner.
Even if he's become a hero, he was originally just an ordinary boy from anywhere.
So he'll surely never carry the burden of the world's fate.
Inform him of the truth while there is still time—urge him to withdraw.
K2 Male's final remnant of pride