Chapter 85: Back to the Past

Suppressing the urge to drop my grimoires and wrap my hands around her throat to strangle her to death, I plastered on a fake smile.

"No, I think you need help in the field, Dad. You can't plough all alone. Besides, I can't exactly help with the groceries when I'm carrying all of these books right now."

The plan was to put the books down on our porch before ploughing the field, and then return to reading them during breaks. We had just only returned from the bookstore and the blacksmith, Dad needing to buy a new hoe after the last one broke. The grimoires were procured on the way back from the blacksmith, them being second in priority. After all, while I studied magic, my family needed to tend to the field and make a living somehow.

"Irene, if you don't mind waiting for a while, I'll have Klein bring his books home and then come and help you." Dad seemed insistent for some reason. Irene smiled and held up both her hands.

"No, I can't trouble you like this."

"Come on! It's no trouble at all!" Dad nudged me. "And Klein, be a gentleman, all right? Don't let a lady carry bags of groceries on her own."

"I'm sorry, but I honestly don't think I can help her…"

"You're a man, aren't you? Quit complaining! Now hurry up! Don't keep her waiting!"

I dragged my feet reluctantly, not sure why I harbored such great hatred against Irene. Unfortunately, I couldn't tell my dad that I didn't want to help her because I hated her. That would get me a scolding. And being a filial son, I wasn't going to rudely argue with him over such a trivial matter. So I grudgingly put my hatred aside and did as he told me to.

While we stepped back home, Dad leaned over to hiss to me.

"What's the matter, Klein? Irene is a lovely girl. The most beautiful in the village! You should be happy that you're lucky enough to draw her attention! She'll make for a great wife! Speaking of which, you're going to be an adult soon, so you'll have to think about marriage. Don't you think Irene is the best candidate for that?"

"What are you talking about, Dad?" I frowned. "Irene doesn't like me. She's going to be the future wife of the Hero."

Dad stared at me as if I had gone mad.

"Irene? The future wife of the Hero? What are you talking about?"

"The future…" I stopped. Huh? What was I talking about? For some reason, I had the impression that Irene was married to a Hero…but I couldn't remember who.

No, the Heroes hadn't been selected yet, right? And even if they had been chosen by the gods, why would they come to this village? Why would one of the seven holy Heroes come to this village and take Irene away as his wife?

I clutched at my head, trying to come to terms with these confusing thoughts. Something was missing. My memories were a mess, chaotic and confused. Things that hadn't happened – that never happened – threatened to boil to the surface of my mind, throwing me into greater confusion.

"Stop wasting time, Klein. Don't keep Irene waiting." Dad shoved me gently after I had set the books down on a table. "A man should grab whatever chance he has!"

"I'm sorry, but I don't like Irene." I narrowed my eyes. "You just have no idea what her true nature is."

"True nature? What true nature? Irene is such a sweet and beautiful girl."

"Uh, I don't know about that." For some reason, I knew she was the kind of girl who slept around with other guys just to gain any benefits. I shook my head, trying to distinguish the fake memories from the real ones. The memories regarding the Heroes had to be fake, and they were too vague for me to make out any detail anyway. But I was pretty sure that one figment of my memory was real enough. "Didn't you hear? She's currently in a relationship with Chad, the son of the village chief."

"What?" Dad looked dismayed. "She is?"

"Yeah." For some reason, I had the feeling I wasn't supposed to know about this at this time, and remained blissfully ignorant, but I couldn't ignore the hatred and rage in my heart. "I wouldn't be surprised if they get married."

Irene had been aiming for Chad in order to secure her future in the village. Being the wife of the future village chief would firmly establish her status here.

"Then why is she waiting outside for you?" Dad sounded skeptical.

I glanced out of the window and realized that he was right. Irene was still waiting patiently outside our house. That sneaky bitch must be planning something.

"Maybe you're right, maybe you're wrong, but for now just go and help her, okay?" Dad pushed me again. He winked. "Maybe you'll find out that you're mistaken."

There was little point in arguing with him. I sighed in resignation and obeyed. Exiting the house, I approached Irene, who flashed me a dazzling smile.

"Thanks for helping me."

"Dad's orders," I replied coldly. "Otherwise I wouldn't have bothered."

Irene was taken aback by my icy tone. But she refused to give up, continuing to maintain her cheerful façade. As we walked toward the market, she continued to chat away.

"Klein, you're going to be a mage, right?"

"Maybe. It's not as if I'll be able to succeed, though. Magic is extremely difficult. Few people are able to master it."

"Don't worry! If it's Klein, then you'll definitely be able to succeed! You're pretty smart, after all."

"Not really." I sighed and shook my head. Then I suddenly realized why Irene was approaching me now instead of Chad. A future village chief might be great and all, but a mage was far more impressive that a mere village chief. Being the wife of a mage would bring her greater prestige and wealth than being the wife of a simple village chief.

This bitch was really scheming. She would open her legs for anyone as long as she could benefit from it.

I tried not to retort or snap at her, though. Controlling myself, I remained as silent as best as I could, giving one-word answers to her attempts at making conversation. We reached the market after a few minutes.

"Irene! What are you doing?"

As I expected, Chad appeared in the market, looking enraged when he saw his supposed beloved accompanying me. Irene deliberately hid herself behind me, but I shook her off and tried to distance myself from the scheming bitch.

"What does it look like?" Irene snapped. "I'm conducting grocery shopping for my mom."

"That's not what I mean!" Chad bellowed, stomping over. He jabbed a finger at me. "Why are you with him?"

I raised my hand. "I'm just here to help her carry stuff. That's all."

"Shut up, you beta male!" he yelled at me, flexing his muscles to show off his so-called alpha masculinity. "I wasn't asking you!"

"Don't you think you're being rude, Chad?" Irene asked, her tone chilly.

Chad shrugged. "There is no reason for me to be polite to a nerdy, loser beta male."

"What's with this beta male nonsense?" I was rolling my eyes. Chad turned to swagger toward me.

"Because you're a guy who refuses to sleep with beautiful girls even though they are literally throwing themselves at you!" he stuck out his crotch proudly. "I've fucked more than a dozen girls in this village alone, yet you insist on preserving your virginity for no reason other than because you're a spineless beta male! Also, you never make your own decisions and are always manipulated into doing what other people want!"

"I made the decision to become a mage on my own," I pointed out. Also, I had the feeling that I decided to take revenge in the far future, determined to inflict suffering on those bastards who betrayed me. And if I ever became a Demonic Emperor, I was going to do it on my own terms. While I was aware there would be those who wanted to manipulate me from behind the scenes like some puppet, I would make most of my decisions on my own, choose my own allies and carry out my own schemes. But hey, people would still call me a loser beta male and claim that I had the weak personality of a loser all because I didn't sleep with every girl who tried to seduce me.

And good thing I didn't too. Look at Irene. Imagine if I had actually decided to sleep with her – I shuddered at the mere thought of that. The gods knew what sort of venereal diseases I would contract from her, especially since she went around spreading her legs for so many different men. If Chad and all these so-called alpha males wanted to exert their dominance over others by boasting about the number of women they fucked, they were more than welcome to. I couldn't help but feel sorry for them and wonder what sort of sexually transmitted diseases they had inevitably caught.

Also, I was the wrong person to be angry at.

"I hate to point this out, but you shouldn't be yelling at me." I sighed and shook my head. "Irene was with Rocky the other day. You know, Knight Roan's son. Oh, and didn't she visit Fredric in the church? The priest's son? They had quite the quickie in the confession room."

"How…how do you know about that?!" Irene blurted out, her face red. Chad's jaw dropped and he gaped at me in disbelief before turning to Irene.

"Irene, you…you said that you love me!"

"No, no. you heard wrong. Our relationship is over. I told you that this morning."

"But…but you told me…" Chad was covering his face and trembling.

"…in bed, right?" I added nonchalantly, inadvertently twisting the knife in his gut. "Sorry, pal, but Irene here is not as innocent as she looks. Did you not wonder why she isn't a virgin?"

Chad blanched at that.

"Shut up!" he roared at me. Irene too looked as if she was going to slap me, but she had fallen to her knees, stunned that I knew her secrets.

"Who told you that?" she demanded, her hand flying to her mouth and tears leaking from her eyes. "Rocky? Fredric? No…Benjamin?"

"Huh? You slept with Benjamin too?" I scratched my head. I genuinely didn't know about that one. Wasn't he the young, handsome merchant who came to our village from time to time?

Chad looked as if he had been slapped. Earlier, he was crowing about how he was an alpha male because he didn't hesitate to sleep with beautiful women, but now he realized that one of them had been just as sexually active as he was.

Then again, he had no right to condemn Irene. I mean, it made no sense, right? Why could Chad go around sleeping with multiple women, but Irene wasn't allowed to sleep with multiple men? Because she was female? Wasn't this double standards? How was that fair?

"Y…you bitch!" he snarled, turning his wrath on Irene. She glared at him.

"What about you?" she retorted. "You claim that you love me, but I know you've been sleeping around with other women too! Like Melida! And Wendy!"

"Those…those…" Chad spluttered. "It's perfectly normal for a healthy young alpha male like me to have a harem!"

"So men can have relationships with multiple women but women must be loyal only to one man?" Irene spat. "What kind of logic is that?"

"That's the way it is!" Chad thundered. "It's how it has always been!"

"Says who? The gods? They never decreed such a thing!"

"It…it just is!"

While the two of them squabbled, I snuck away. I hadn't gotten very far when someone coughed and cleared his throat to stop them in the middle of their argument.

Fredric, the priest's son, had arrived. Irene and Chad turned toward him, with the blond girl turning pale at the sight of the lanky, freckled priest-to-be.

"Sorry, Irene, but you have a guest." Fredric looked nervously at Chad. I was aware that the only reason Irene slept with the red-haired future priest was to gain connections to the priesthood. By seducing him, she convinced him to put in a good word for her when the priests from the capital, Royales, dropped by.

As expected, a middle-aged man in white, gold and blue robes strode forward. He smiled as he swept his gaze over Irene.

"Ah, you must be the one."

"You…you are…?" Irene stammered, trying to recover her dignity. The middle-aged priest inclined his head humbly.

"I am Father Faraday," he replied. "My lady Irene, I am here to recruit you to the church…so that you can undergo training to become a priestess."