Chapter 148
Chapter 148
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 148
Chapter Title: EP.148 43-2. Is Conviction Stronger Than Will?
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We arrived at the inn and unpacked our things.
Kainel and I took one room, while Pine and Ariel shared another. Pine looked disappointed, but there was nothing to be done about it.
If we'd shared a room, she definitely would've come chasing after me. That's just the kind of person she is. But that couldn't happen.
I had to meet this guy alone and get back.
There are NPCs in the game that are notoriously hard to find. Drake, the job change NPC who doesn't even show up in datamining, was one of them.
Among them are some who only appear on specific days of the week, at set times.
They show up in one of four locations. Merchants who only appear in the territories of old nations, excluding the Empire.
'The guy commonly called the Loner. Since Cruña's here, the odds of him being around are high.'
Right after I possessed the game, I couldn't trade with him. The conditions weren't met yet.
I left the inn and slipped into a narrow alleyway.
Foul smoke billowed out, accompanied by bubbling sounds and shelves lined with vials of colorful potions.
A dark spot so thick with shadows it felt like something sinister might leap out at any moment.
"Hey, mister! Watch where you're going?!"
As I ventured deeper, my shoulder bumped into someone else's. A soft, furry sensation.
"Ah, sorry about that."
I bowed my head in apology to the lycanthrope guarding the entrance.
She's like the guard who shoos away players who haven't met the conditions. A werewolf with a wolf's head from the neck up.
"Ugh... Never mind. Why do you smell so strong? Go wash up before you come around!"
"Pardon? I just bathed..."
"Get in there! You're good to go."
She clicked her tongue at me once, then let me pass inside. Looked like I'd satisfied one of the conditions.
You have to subjugate at least one Demon King in [Black Heart]. Pretty straightforward, really.
Community rules of thumb like 'Newbies, clear the Harmless Demon King first, then hit up the Loner' were all over the place.
Enough that clueless newbies would die to poison traps without even realizing it.
One post asking [How do I clear this??? My character keeps dying ㅠㅠㅠㅠ] would draw veterans like bees to honey.
I'd even commented 'Go for the Saintess route' a few times myself.
But this is the prequel. No Harmless Demon King—not even the Hero Cult's Demon Kings exist here.
At the end of the alley stood a massive black tent, like an enormous traffic cone. I parted the curtain that served as its entrance.
"Shopkeep? You around?"
As soon as I finished speaking, all the candles inside the tent snuffed out at once. Pitch darkness.
"You've come alone, have you."
A deep, aged voice echoed from the shadows. Gentlemanly, much like Headmaster Laplace.
"Yes. A lone traveler."
The second condition. The reason I couldn't bring Pine along.
This merchant only makes contact if your party has no one else in it.
Player or NPC— you have to come completely alone. If you have two or more party members, the shop vanishes like a mirage.
"State the passphrase, traveler in the Black Knight helm."
Passphrase? There wasn't one originally. This didn't match what I knew, leaving me flustered.
What to do? I need to combine the item I bought for Pine here.
"..."
I racked my brain, combing through everything I'd heard lately for passphrase-like words. Hero of Conviction? Pantos? Tardun... No, not gods' names.
"Let there be light. Arcturus."
The words from Pine, the Nameless Saintess.
Too vivid for a dream. Pine from the other route, symbolized by the black rose, had interfered with the library and future prophecies.
Maybe it was Pine, as the Saintess, who helped me survive near-death.
"...On first acquaintance, no less. You somehow know our shop's passphrase."
"My wife's got a knack for that sort of thing."
"Very well. Come in."
With the correct answer spoken, the area lit up like daylight. Now I could see the shop's interior. A goblin in gentlemanly attire and glasses greeted me politely.
"Welcome to the most 'gentlemanly' black market. Traveler."
The peculiar alone-visit condition had earned the shopkeep his nickname: Loner.
A merchant with a wrinkled face, white beard suggesting age, and striking green skin.
True to his self-proclaimed gentleman goblin persona, the wares he sold were...
"Traveler, do you seek the wisdom of this shabby old man?"
"Yes. Do you know about the Demon Sword Horizon?"
Not items, but hidden knowledge. Things even Akasha's library couldn't reveal might be found here.
"Never heard of it. No Demon Sword forged by the God of Darkness bears that name."
"...I see."
The goblin shook his head. He didn't know.
The library had nearly made my eyes pop out from the sheer volume of books.
Not just a few—endless shelves, making it impossible to pick out the info I wanted. I'd asked Grim Reaper for advice.
'It was like someone had deliberately hidden it...'
Pine from the Black Rose route, who deflected the Sage's future sight, was the prime suspect. What the hell did I do in that route to turn our cute wolf into that?
"I want to enhance this ring. Any way to boost its defense?"
I pulled out the ring I'd secretly bought earlier. The one I'd gifted Pine as the Nameless Saintess. A silver wolf circling to form a band.
If Pine had spotted it, she'd have interrogated me and snatched it away. That's why I'd bolted from the shop in a guilty panic.
"Hmm. Epic-grade armor, eh... Pushing it further might cap at Masterpiece."
"Not enough."
Masterpiece was nowhere near sufficient. No amount of defensive spells or Licht could stop Pine's forced death event.
I'd have to fight Magic Hat again to free Empress Bellin. Needed to prepare.
"What level of defense are you after?"
"The kind that defies fate."
"...Prepayment accepted, traveler."
I handed the goblin a single platinum coin. Almost forgot—he trades in information.
"This enough?"
"Plat—platinum? How...?"
The shopkeep gawked at the gleaming coin in his palm. Never imagined he'd get paid this much.
Worth a hundred gold, so no surprise there.
But Pine means more to me than any money. Cash I can earn later—love, not so much.
"It's pretty important. I need a surefire combination method."
She had nothing as the Nameless Saintess, yet fell that hard in love. Says it all.
I came here hoping it might be a hidden piece, like the rings for the hero couple.
Iron Wolf Village sells a steel wolf ring?
Skipped it during playthroughs, but now it feels loaded with meaning.
No one but me stubbornly pushed the Saintess route, so no one bought it from the earth village.
Not an attack ring, but defense. I wrapped Pine in items because I hated seeing her hurt.
[A useless Saintess like me... always getting injured. Sorry, knight...]
Her self-deprecating lines after defeat and rest were heartbreaking. Everyone's got weaknesses.
So what if the Saintess can't use holy power? Her warm heart matters more.
Rings symbolize marriage to humans, so I matched them like couple rings to console the Saintess with no lover events.
"Use this as a mold and add two wolves. That should do it."
"Two wolves...? What do you mean?"
The goblin peered at the ring through a loupe like Lupé's, then sighed deeply, as if he'd spotted something odd.
"Day and night. That's the most hint I can give."
"Wolves symbolizing day and night...?"
"To defy fate, you'll need resolve that deep."
Even this info merchant couldn't sell more. Something tied to the gods? Wolves of day and night—Emperor Locke?
"You've paid beyond what's due, so shall I settle the remainder? Traveler."
"No, do you know anything about my helmet? It's called the 'Helmet of Conviction'."
No way, but I couldn't back out now. Needed intel on my special perk, the Helmet of Conviction. Ignorance could spell disaster.
I pointed to the Black Knight helm. The goblin stroked his beard, lost in thought, looking like even he hadn't seen one before.
"The helmet? Truly no idea. The one thing I gleaned..."
"...What is it?"
"It carries a faint rose scent. Traveler."
The goblin tilted his head quizzically. Didn't seem unpleasant—his long nose kept sniffing.
Rose scent. Did it rub off when Pine touched the helmet? Faint rose scent—odd. As I pondered...
[Licht. Where are you...?]
A slightly high, cute voice echoed in my head. Telepathy from Pine.
[Why can I sense you outside the inn...?]
Damn, busted. Ever since the Dragon Heart transplant, we could roughly pinpoint each other's locations.
"...Guess I should head out. Thanks for the good deal."
"Heh heh, you're well under the thumb. Knew it from the strong lycanthrope scent clinging to you."
The Loner shopkeep handed back a pile of gold change, his lips curving in a gentle smile.
He even pointed out the back door, nudging me toward it.
Gentleman goblin through and through. With his help, I slipped out of the alley fast.
I didn't want the yandere route, so I sprinted, slicing through the wind. Had to make it back to the inn before Pine reached my room.