Raising Legends in Roger’s Shadow

Chapter 346 346: “You Know What You Are”

As the final echoes of the dance faded away, the exhausted crowd slowly pulled each other up from the ground. They looked at one another's tear-streaked faces and the lingering sorrow in their eyes, then at the mountain of food that had been completely devoured. Finally, their gaze all turned in unison toward the enormous rubber giant who had collapsed on the ground, still panting heavily but wearing that radiant, carefree smile.

After a brief silence, someone, no one knew who, was the first to kneel. Then, like a rising tide, more and more people lowered their heads before Joy Boy. Their eyes were filled with gratitude, awe, and almost blind trust.

"Benefactor! Mighty benefactor!"

"Thank you for saving us!"

"Please stay!"

"Please become our new king! Lead us into a new beginning!"

The pleas rose one after another, filled with the dependency of survivors after disaster. They had lost their backbone and desperately needed a stronger presence to guide them. The power Joy Boy had displayed, along with the "miracle" of purification he had performed, made him without a doubt the most fitting candidate.

This was exactly what Ritter had expected. Things would inevitably turn out this way. People instinctively gathered around heroes. He was curious how Joy Boy would respond.

Ritter had once saved a country before. He had killed their king, emptied their treasury, and wiped out their entire army. They had been powerless to stop him, unable to stand in his way. Yet even so, he had left them a chance to rebuild.

Things might improve, or they might worsen. But once the opportunity existed, it would always be taken in the most irresponsible way possible. Ritter was genuinely interested in how "Joy Boy" would respond.

Joy Boy stood there, stunned by the sudden turn of events. His face was full of confusion.

He scratched his head and waved his hands quickly.

"Eh? King? I don't want to be a king! I want to be the Pirate King! A pirate! You get it? The kind who sails freely and explores the sea!"

Hearing this, disappointment and confusion spread across the crowd. Some even became agitated. An elderly man who seemed to hold some standing gathered his courage and raised his voice.

"Benefactor! You don't understand! Our country… our country was not like this before!"

He pointed at the ruined land.

"This used to be a peaceful and harmonious nation! We were not rich, but everyone could live by working hard, with enough food and clothing!"

"It was that damn Minister Fang who did this!" another person spat through gritted teeth. "He somehow obtained that poison! At first it was only used in small amounts. They said it could relieve pain and calm people…"

"It was the king!" a woman suddenly screamed, her voice full of hatred. "The king was the first to discover how dangerous it was! He knew everything! But he did nothing to stop it! He even allowed it! He found it made it easier to control those who resisted him, and helped him gather more wealth!"

The old man nodded heavily, tears streaming down his face.

"Later, Minister Fang's influence grew. He used that thing to control more and more people, even threatening the king's authority. The king became afraid, so he expelled him from the country under some excuse. But what was the point? The roots of the poison had already spread. The whole nation was already rotten!"

"The king is no better!"

"He only cared about his power!"

"Benefactor! Only someone as strong and kind as you is worthy of being our king!"

The crowd's voices overlapped in chaotic waves, all of them placing their hopes on Joy Boy.

After hearing the complicated truth, Joy Boy's smile completely faded. His brows furrowed deeply. He had not expected such a hidden story behind everything. He hated Minister Fang, and he also hated the king who allowed the disaster to grow for the sake of power.

But looking at the people kneeling before him, treating him as their only salvation, he still firmly shook his head.

Suddenly, Ritter appeared on the rooftop.

Joy Boy was startled by the sudden presence.

"No, no!" Joy Boy shook his huge head like a rattling drum. "Being a king is too troublesome! I already said it, I want to be the Pirate King!"

A voice came from above, laced with unmistakable sarcasm.

"So you understand everything, do you?"

Ritter's gaze swept across the faces that had just been crying and shouting, now frozen in unease.

"Then why didn't you stop it?" his voice sharpened. "After Minister Fang was expelled, no one held a knife to your throat forcing you to keep buying it, forcing you to keep using it, right?"

"Are all the faults only theirs? Do you bear no responsibility at all? All of you?"

"When you indulged in pleasure, did you forget to struggle? When you sold everything you owned, even your own flesh and blood, for the next moment of happiness, was that also someone else forcing you?"

"Don't paint yourselves as completely innocent victims. You know exactly what you are."

The words cut through them like a blade.

The crowd that had been shouting moments ago now fell silent, heads lowered in shame.

Ritter's words stripped away their final layer of self-deception.

Yes… they knew. At first, perhaps they were deceived. But later on? How many had willingly surrendered to temptation? How many had embraced illusion to escape reality? How many had traded everything for fleeting pleasure?

Crying rose again, but this time it was not grievance. It was shame and regret too heavy to bear. Many no longer dared to look up.

Joy Boy watched the scene with a complicated expression.

He understood Ritter's meaning. These people were not entirely innocent. But his optimistic nature made him feel that it was too harsh to condemn them so completely after everything they had suffered.

He looked around, scratched his chin, then suddenly broke into his signature bright, infectious smile.

"But! Since I know about it now, I can't just ignore it!"

He thumped his chest and shouted.

"I'll help you find a reliable new king! Or I'll help you find a way to live without one! Either way, leave it to me! Hahaha!"

The crowd was confused by his strange confidence, but somehow, seeing that brilliant smile and remembering what he had done before, a new hope began to quietly grow within them.

Maybe… they could trust this strange giant after all.

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