Surviving as a Con Artist at the Academy

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272. The Final Wrap Up

At last, the curse that had tormented me has been lifted.

“Oh, oh, the curse of Liar.”

“Huh? You can speak properly now?”

“Mom! Dad! It’s finally been lifted!”

Our family, confirming the release of the curse, cheered loudly like independent fighters reclaiming their country.

It was a good thing for them too, as the threat to their lives from the curse had disappeared.

And the reason they were cursed was none other than Makia.

If that guy hadn’t dumped the curse on the family while excluding himself, this wouldn’t have happened.

Of course, thanks to that curse, I could gradually become stronger starting with my illusion sword technique, but that’s separate from the guy’s guilt.

“Please save me!”

“Don’t do this! We still don’t want to die!”

Finally, they have shown their true colors.

Makia and Harkel were just sobbing, clueless about what they had done wrong.

“Well, you’re not going to die, you’re becoming immortal.”

Did they not understand my words?

Honestly, it was a threat, but I never said I would kill them.

It seemed they instinctively felt their safety was at risk and shrank back.

“Imm, immortal?”

“Yeah, you don’t know what an immortal is? That’s how my friend Lyman has lived for 300 years.”

I pointed at the swirling sphere of the curse in the air.

It contained not only our Liar’s curse but also Lyman’s immortality curse.

If I tie them all together in one place, they would receive the curses we had all at once.

“Don’t you envy that immortal body?”

“That’s….”

“I mean, it is enviable, but… you still have to take on all the other curses too!”

It seemed they understood what I said earlier.

They were quick on the uptake in this way.

Well, that’s about it.

“It’s okay. As long as you don’t die, it’s not a defeat. You can start over anytime. Right?”

“R-really?”

“Of course, I don’t know when that will be.”

You won’t die because of the curse, but you will constantly taste pain due to it.

In a sealed dimension, you can’t ask anyone for help.

They will just experience hell for life in their little space.

If that takes decades or even hundreds of years, they might just stop thinking altogether.

“Wouldn’t it be better to just let me die? Huh? I don’t mind torture. I’d be okay with being humiliated in front of everyone….”

Makia, crying and begging me, wanted to die however possible.

Saying he wouldn’t mind dying painfully indicates he wanted to avoid becoming immortal.

I understood what that intent was.

“Well, wanting to die makes sense. You can come back to life after you die.”

“Wha…?”

“Did you think I wouldn’t know?”

He has the perk of being able to possess another body after dying.

He got resurrected in the living world once in the Emperor’s body like that.

The condition for possession was a body of the same bloodline, which pointed to our Crawler family.

I couldn’t allow him to have our bodies.

“So, I will eliminate that spirit-walking perk of yours.”

“H-how….”

“Oh right, I forgot to mention it? The moment our curse is lifted, your perk will also be taken away.”

“Wha? Oh no!!”

The moment doubt crossed Makia’s mind, something shot out from his body.

It was a gray sphere, just like the curse, and it represented the perk Makia had.

“No! My chance to reincarnate!!”

Makia tried to grab back the perk that had escaped from his body.

He struggled to reach it, but….

Crack!

Lyman sliced the perk in half with a peculiar hand chop infused with strange power.

“Oh, no…!!”

The formless perk then completely vanished into the space of the Archive.

As it disintegrated into dust, Makia screamed in horror.

“You bastard!!”

“….”

“You son of a bitch, you son of a dog!!”

Makia, losing his reason, lunged at Lyman.

Without caring for his monstrous appearance, Lyman dodged his punch and stabbed a finger into his chest.

Grrrfl!

It was no ordinary finger; it wasn’t even a finger of a common kind.

It was a needle technique that completely paralyzed the blood vessels, wiping out the opponent’s mana entirely.

With that, not only would he never be able to use mana again, but the moment he tried to move even slightly….

“Uwaaaah!!”

As seen, he would spit out blood and writhe in pain.

This was why turning Lyman into an enemy would result in suffering worse than death.

“And you’re the same.”

Stab!

“Uwaaaaah!!”

Next, Harkel received the same treatment to make him unable to move as well.

Now the two were left in a state where they couldn’t move for life, save for speaking.

Since they were accomplices, there was no sympathy for them.

“You bastards…!”

“Seeing you like this, it’s kind of pitiful, huh?”

Honestly, I felt it was a bit excessive.

So, I jokingly asked, “Don’t you have any desire to apologize right now?”

“What?”

“Why should we have to do that?!”

Their tempers were as predictable as ever.

I had prepared something in advance just for this scenario.

As I took out a certain crystal ball, they recognized what it was.

“That is…!”

“A magical communication device?”

“This crystal is connected to the entire Empire. That means your current appearances are broadcasting throughout the Empire.”

All citizens were watching Harkel and Makia’s flailing images.

Naturally, their reactions were predictable.

As the prime culprits of the Demon Beast War, there wouldn’t be a shred of sympathy felt.

“If you sincerely apologize, I might consider lifting the curse.”

“Is that true…?”

“And sincerely apologize to these friends as well.”

The targets of that apology weren’t just the citizens.

It also included Lyman and Mirona, who had suffered immensely due to them.

Caught in their thoughts, Harkel and Makia pondered.

Why should we apologize to those scum?

They are the bad ones, after all.

But….

“Alright. I’ll apologize.”

For the time being, they had no choice but to comply.

After apologizing, they would wait for their opportunity.

Both of them smirked wickedly in their minds as they bowed deeply.

“I’m truly sorry! I’ve committed a great sin against your mother!”

“I’m really sorry too! Because of my selfishness, I caused the Demon Beast War!”

They understood well what misdeeds they had committed.

Knowing they were wrong yet feigning ignorance was closer to being a sociopath.

Typically, such people’s apologies are shallow.

As proof….

[X]

“Huh?”

“What’s this?”

Suddenly, an X appeared before their eyes.

And something was stuck to their palms.

What could this possibly be? When did it pop up? They wondered as I spoke.

“Have you heard of True Mail?”

“True Mail?”

“It’s a lie detector. In short, it’s been revealed that your recent apologies are false.”

I had used it once before.

Was it when I first tried out that fishing rod?

Looking back, it was quite sweet.

“This, when did this—…”

“You can’t underestimate this friend’s reflexes. Right?”

Lyman, the strongest being in this world, moved in a way that no one could keep up with.

Just like when he saved me and the divine beasts from an explosion last time, he attached the True Mail to them in an instant.

No one could notice that movement.

As their lies were exposed, I laughed and said, “So that last apology was just a load of crap, huh?”

“Wait! I’ve never heard of such a thing!”

“I’ll do it again! Please…!”

It was already too late.

The apology, along with the X sign, had been broadcast to the whole nation.

Their heartfelt apologies were all lies.

It was obvious what sort of reactions the citizens would have.

As expected, trash is trash, especially non-recyclable trash.

To such people, I said, “No, I have no intention of changing my mind. Just give up.”

In the end, they ended up lying through to their defeat.

They looked up at me in a daze.

Until now, they had only relied on their power to oppress the innocent.

They couldn’t empathize with the victims, yet scream when they faced the same treatment.

Did they really not see this coming?

“Open your mouth. It’s going in frequently.”

“Uwaaaaaaaaah!!”

“Heeeek!!”

The curse that had once escaped from us was absorbed back into their bodies.

Amid that ominous energy, they shrieked hideously and thrashed around.

The curse settled equally onto them. It was absorbed fairly, so they now shared the same curse.

“Cough…, save me….”

“Save me…!”

The first curse to manifest had already appeared.

The death curse that afflicted Mirona.

The target will inevitably die.

“Release this ■ curse….”

“What… lies…. I must tell….”

This time, it was the Liar’s curse that struck me and my family.

All it did was return the curse that Makia was supposed to receive back to him.

“Kill me….”

“That’s impossible. You’re already an immortal.”

Now it was Lyman’s immortality curse, and all preparations were set.

“Now, then, dear customers, it’s time for a hellish journey.”

Using telekinesis, Lyman lifted both of them and pushed them through the rip in the dimension.

Like balloons blown away by the wind, they flew into the dimension without any resistance.

As they went, tears began to appear in their eyes.

It seemed they were regretting it now, but….

“Have a good trip. Who knows when your next life will come?”

Hell had already begun.

They couldn’t move or die.

They were destined to feel pain for eternity.

As they reminisced about the past, they would be filled with regrets.

That is the essence of ‘hell.’

And the hell’s gate was finally closed.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

When Lyman asked Mirona, she replied nonchalantly.

Though he was trash, Makia was still her father.

However, she showed no sadness about parting ways with him.

“How could I be born from such a person’s belly? Twice even.”

“….”

That thought was indeed curious.

But she had no longer needed to care about bloodlines.

She was now set to live with someone genuinely precious.

Thus, I could also live a normal life moving forward.

“Radon.”

My father, Rotas, called me.

With a face mixed with various emotions, I smiled back at him and said, “I don’t need to lie anymore.”

“You have finally been freed from the curse.”

He suddenly pulled me into a hug.

Finally freed from the curse that had tormented the Crawler family for years, I couldn’t help but feel overjoyed.

For the first time, I felt something incredible while being embraced by him.

It was something I had never felt as an orphan in my life.

That was the feeling of paternal love.

“Thank you so much, Radon.”

“Oniichan, you’re the best!”

Next, my mother Skilla and my younger sister Amy clung to me.

Some families cut ties due to behavior that disturbs their peace.

Mirona, in reality, was one such victim.

But true family means those who connect heart-to-heart.

Just like the people standing before me now.

-As the final ceremony concluded, the doors of the Archive space opened.

Outside were all the people I had met in this world until now.

Jenny and Luska, Mary and Nebia welcomed me joyfully.

Professor Radian and Professor Stella were also welcoming us.

Angela and Gerard smiled at us.

“You’ve handled it well.”

I stepped out into the Archive space and greeted them with a pleasant expression.

It was a golden scene created by human beings.

At last, a new beginning to a peaceful academy life awaited.

Surviving as an Academy Scammer.