Chapter 21
Mornings are terrible.
Why on earth did I make an appointment on a Saturday morning? A belated regret washed over me.
Leaving Lucian’s empty bed, who had gone out for training early, behind, I dressed up and left the dorm, heading for the village below the Academy.
“Wow…!”
As befitting its name, Riedenfeld, which meant ‘field of knowledge’, the village was vibrant and had a feeling of scholars gathered together.
An exclamation burst out at the vividness that couldn’t be felt in the illustrations.
《It’s magnificent.》
Albedo, who had come along, also muttered in admiration.
Seeing the peaceful scenery, I felt strange.
In the finale preview video for Part 3 of the main story, which would conclude with the 10th anniversary, Riedenfeld is completely destroyed.
However, the tragedy of Riedenfeld will happen before that. Because Lerwon, who became the final boss of Part 1, swallows half of it.
Perhaps by the time Part 3 ends, this village itself might become one giant cemetery.
Seeing the village, half of which had disappeared in Part 1, the illustration and text of a wailing Lucian were truly… it was a story that came out 8 years ago, but the shock of that time was vivid.
It wasn't Lucian’s fault that the village was razed, and it was infuriating that he had to roll in that responsibility.
Hmm, I’ve gotten needlessly gloomy.
“You just hide yourself well so you don’t get caught.”
I took out my frustration on Albedo and pressed its head. Tsk, Albedo, who had clicked its tongue, went down my body and settled in my pants pocket.
“Theo.”
Just then, a neatly dressed Lerwon appeared from a distance.
“Senior.”
“…I didn’t think you’d actually show up.”
“I’m the one who called you out, so what.”
I had no intention of turning tail and running away in fear from the start.
The goal is a Korean-style meal, but anyway, Lerwon and the master of Golden are important figures who are bound to get involved.
Though Lerwon remained silent, as if my answer was somehow not to his liking.
I thought for a moment that his mask had slipped, but he soon smiled.
“Follow me. I’ll guide you to the house.”
As Lerwon took the lead, I followed behind him.
Occasionally, some of the passing merchants would recognize Lerwon and offer him the food they were selling. When Lerwon earnestly refused, they would even go so far as to offer it to me.
“What’s this?”
“The importance of reputation.”
I stared blankly at the warm chicken skewer I had just received and then took a bite.
The taste of the chicken skewer, grilled with a moderate amount of salt, was excellent. I should buy some on my way back to the dorm later.
Lerwon asked, looking at me following behind while munching on the chicken skewer.
“Do you have a sense of crisis?”
“Zephyros asked me that too.”
“…Hah.”
Lerwon let out a sigh as if annoyed.
Every village has its back alleys.
After walking for a while, the place we arrived at was a back alley shrouded in darkness.
“Go straight and you’ll find a house with a golden nameplate. Go into that house.”
“What about you, Senior?”
“I have other plans.”
Leaving the leisurely departing Lerwon behind, I went straight forward as he said. I could sometimes feel the gazes of people inside the buildings as if they were checking on me, but no one approached.
How long had I walked? When I thought I had come all the way in, I saw the house with the golden nameplate.
It was a building I had seen a few times in the game. It was currently where the master of Golden had coiled, a residence personally prepared for his heir and adopted son.
Albedo, who had peeked its head out of my pocket, muttered.
《To make this place a home, the person called the master of Golden has truly bad taste.》
“In what way?”
《It is a place where a vicious curse dwells.》
A curse? That was new information.
Albedo continued to explain, unconcerned.
《Many people are buried here. Among them, there were unjust deaths. Grudges and malevolent energy are caked on, a normal human would sicken and die.》
No matter how much Golden was positioned somewhere between a merchant guild and a criminal organization, isn't this a bit much? It's not like they're trying to torment people on purpose.
Grumbling to myself, I burst open the door and entered, and a woman dressed as a maid greeted me.
“…Who are you?”
“This is Lerwon Senior’s house, right?”
“You must be the guest the young master mentioned. I’ll guide you inside.”
Seeing her smiling brightly, contrasted with Albedo’s explanation just now, made me feel strangely complicated.
Unlike Albedo’s description that it was cursed, the house was quite plausible.
If there was a problem, it would be that no sunlight came in, so even with the magic lights, it was quite dark. The faint light rather intensified the gloom of the house.
How can she smile so well in a place like this.
When the maid opened the door she had guided me to, a spiral staircase leading down appeared.
I once saw on Yo*Tube that spiral staircases are good for psychologically intimidating people because you can’t gauge the height.
I tapped my pocket, nudging Albedo.
“How far down does this go?”
“I don’t know that either.”
《I will check how far down you have gone from the ground.》
He’s quick on the uptake.
With a satisfied smile, I followed the maid endlessly downwards.
When the stairs finally ended and we reached the bottom, Albedo informed me as if it had been waiting.
《You have come down about 40m from the ground.》
We’ve come down a lot. What on earth was the person who built this house thinking when they made this basement?
One thing is for sure, they definitely didn’t build this place for legal matters.
After coming down the stairs and walking a little further down the corridor, when I opened the door of a certain room, a voice was heard as if it had been waiting.
“Are you the junior of Lerwon who can grant my long-cherished wish?”
The man, draped in gold from head to toe, raised the corners of his mouth lightly. A sense of leisureliness oozed from his soft smile.
“Nice to meet you. My name is Theo ‘Lisitoel’.”
“I know you are the young master of the Lisitoel Count Family. You look just like the Count.”
If so, that’s a relief. I leisurely approach my opponent.
When I reached the middle of the room, thud, I heard the sound of the door locking.
“…I have a friend who is the young master of Nevera. If I don’t return to the Academy by today, the Academy will come looking for me here.”
“Half a day is enough to brainwash one person.”
Wow, Zephyros. You should set up a fortune-telling mat.
“Do you think I haven’t prepared for that?”
At my question, he smiled so wide his mouth could have torn. I glanced back, but the door was still firmly closed, and the maid stood guard firmly in front of it.
“I’d be disappointed if the person called the master of Golden couldn’t even predict that much.”
The master must mistake me for one of his own kind.
This was a very difficult task. But, seeing the quest that popped up before I left the dorm in the morning, I couldn’t give up easily.
+++
<Sudden Quest>
You will meet the master of Golden.
To achieve what you want, you need the consent of Golden and its master.
Make a deal.
-Time Limit: 72 hours
-Reward: EXP 2000
-Failure Penalty: Debuff, Vulnerable to status effects (permanent)
+++
The vulnerable to status effects debuff was the worst debuff.
The game company would say, let's make this boss battle a bit difficult, and then they would put a vulnerable to status effects debuff as an entrance debuff, and slap all sorts of status effects on the attacks.
If you got the vulnerable to status effects debuff, the probability of getting hit by all debuffs doubled, and the duration increased by 1.5 times.
But if I fail, I have to live with that permanently? In this world where the difficulty is already extreme? Are you crazy, system??
This was as terrible as a game reset.
“Could it be that I overestimated the master of Golden, judging him by his reputation?”
I slightly raised the corners of my mouth and provoked the master of Golden. The man in front of me flinched, but soon regained his composure and answered nonchalantly.
“If you can’t even figure that much out, you’re not even worth making a deal with.”
It was truly an arrogant answer.
But, I’d only have the heart to play along if he played around in moderation.
Haa…, I let out a big sigh on purpose. It was to draw attention to myself.
He soon whipped his head around. There’s only one place his gaze could be directed.
The ‘maid’ guarding the door.
“Isn’t this farce boring? Or, do you have a hobby of enjoying such things?”
My question was not directed at the man who called himself the master of Golden.
The maid, as if flustered by the question, gave an awkward smile and asked me back.
“Why are you asking me that?”
“Because I didn’t come all this way to waste time with a powerless stand-in.”
“…I really don’t know what you’re talking about, junior.”
So you’re going to play dumb like this.
I slowly walked towards the master of Golden, who was disguised as a maid.
Perhaps thinking of continuing this boring play, the woman trembled greatly and fell away from the door.
“If you’re going to test the waters with a stand-in, you must not be that desperate. In that case, I have no intention of making a deal either.”
Please, please hold me back. I don’t want to carry around a vulnerable to status effects debuff for the rest of my life!
Reveal your identity…!!
My heart beats wildly. I could feel sweat trickling down the back of my neck.
But, the arrogant smile that was spread across my lips remained as it was.
The moment I grabbed the doorknob and was about to turn it, what caught my hand was a hand that felt the deep indentation of a scar.
“Stop.”
The woman, who had taken off her mask, raised the corners of her mouth.
“Can’t I even play a little joke?”
In an instant, the atmosphere is reversed.
“Kids these days are so impatient.”
The woman who had removed my hand from the doorknob took off the wig on her head and tore off the leather on her face.
The woman who had even a hint of innocence was gone, and a woman oozing with experience smiled sensuously.
“Really, kids these days are so interesting?”
Haha, I look at the master of Golden, holding back the laughter that’s about to burst out.
A sense of euphoria whitened my mind. What I felt along with it was the strong throb of my heart, so painful it was.