Chapter 39
Chapter 39
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: 5. You've Got the Wrong Person
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He scooped up a large spoonful of stew with his ladle and shoved it into his mouth. Seeing that, Sung-hoon let out an inward cheer. Now all that was left was to time it perfectly. If he picked a moment when she wouldn't notice the poisoning and challenged her to a spar, then at the decisive instant, the poison he'd slipped in would do its work.
However, lost in his glee, Sung-hoon failed to notice Mirinae's reaction.
Nom nom.
Mirinae dismissed the message windows in front of her eyes and calmly continued eating her stew as if nothing had happened.
She had already completed her first awakening and obtained the Sword Lord class. Along with that, her class skill Heart and Qi as One, plus Immunity to a Hundred Poisons from a box labeled as a gift from the God of War that came with her ranking reward, gave her ample resistance to poison. Even so, it was advanced-grade poison. If she'd consumed a whole vial, it wouldn't have been neutralized so easily—but a mere trace mixed in vanished in the blink of an eye without any effect.
Having cleanly finished the poisoned stew, Mirinae wiped her mouth and glanced back and forth between Chae-rin and Sung-hoon before approaching Sung-hoon.
"Is something wrong, Mirinae? Would you like more stew?"
"No. Lend me your ear for a moment."
Sung-hoon swallowed dryly, tense for some reason, as Mirinae drew near and subtly scanned the surroundings before speaking.
"The food was poisoned."
"Pardon?"
"I know you're surprised, but stay calm."
Of course, Sung-hoon's surprise was for entirely different reasons, but Mirinae pressed on regardless, saying what she needed to say quickly.
"It seems like the goblin pack must have snuck it in. I'm not used to chatting with others, so... could you inform everyone around and have them stay vigilant? I'll scout the area briefly."
"...Understood."
Sung-hoon clutched his head and let out a long sigh as he watched Mirinae head into the forest with light steps, as if she were just going for a stroll.
'How did she notice? At least she doesn't suspect me... damn it!'
Poison accounted for a good thirty percent of Sung-hoon's combat power, and now it was completely blocked. He couldn't use traps anymore either, so they were out of the equation. At this rate, he'd be facing the monster Mirinae with swordsmanship alone. Deciding he couldn't just sit idly by, Sung-hoon seemed to think of something and started walking off somewhere.
Meanwhile, Ellie—who had watched the whole scene from start to finish—fiddled with her shoulder-length hair, lost in thought. It hadn't been long since she'd met Sung-hoon and started traveling with him, but this was the first time she'd seen him so rattled. In Ellie's assessment, Sung-hoon was someone who could hide himself thoroughly.
Even she, who prided herself on her acting skills, might have taken a long time to uncover his true nature if she hadn't witnessed his conversation with Il-woo. But ever since meeting Mirinae, he'd sold off all his confidence somewhere and was acting shrunken, doing things so suspicious even she could spot them instantly.
'Looks like it'll come down to a fight after all. Maybe I should lend a little help.'
Right now, she was playing the role of a somewhat airheaded little sister who had a crush on Sung-hoon. And from that position, she decided to give him a slight boost.
She knew the name Demon Sword Mirinae well. Sung-hoon wasn't weak, but even if half the rumors were true, his chances of winning were slim to none. She had to help indirectly.
And there was a perfect spell for the situation.
Weakness.
The one 4th-circle spell she'd mastered, a curse-type magic. Targets hit by it suffered up to 20% stat reduction depending on their magic resistance. And the scariest part? Unlike spells that directly affected the body, the target wouldn't even realize they'd been cursed.
This was possible thanks to her Apprentice Witch class skill, 'Unknown to All.'
Having silently chanted the incantation and completed the reinforcement, Ellie approached Mirinae as she emerged from the forest.
"Mirinae sis! What are you doing out so late at night?"
As she approached spinning her arms excitedly, Ellie could see Mirinae's expression stiffen slightly. A normal person might think, 'She doesn't like talking,' but after persistently sticking to her for chats over the past few days, Ellie knew it was just shyness.
"I-I've told you several times, Ellie, we're the same age. You don't need to call me—"
"But I want to call you sis, is that not okay? It's not a huge ask, just calling you sis."
As Mirinae clamped her mouth shut, Ellie lowered her head and brought her arm to her eyes.
"D-Do you hate it? I'm sorry. You just look so much like my real big sis, I got carried away with joy... I-I'll just keep quiet from now on."
By the time she finished, Ellie was sniffling slightly, and Mirinae fidgeted anxiously.
"N-No, you can call me sis. Call me sis."
There was zero chance that Ellie's real sister—who had blonde hair and blue eyes—resembled Mirinae without some soap-opera family tree, but faced with Ellie's doll-like, teary-eyed expression, Mirinae didn't think that far and hurriedly backpedaled.
"Thanks, sis! And since you're my sis, talk casually to me. Hehe."
"Th-That's not something I can change easily."
"Sniff... I guess a loser like me asked for too much."
"No! I-I mean... yeah. I'll... talk casually."
'Hng. Finally hooked her.'
After investigating, Ellie had learned that the fragile, affection-starved girl archetype was Mirinae's kryptonite, so by oiling up to her excessively in that role, she'd barely gotten her to drop formal speech and become sisters. It was a hassle, but building a connection with Demon Sword Mirinae made it worthwhile.
"Then let's head inside and rest, sis. Sleep with me tonight and we can talk."
"I-I sleep alone."
"Come on, don't be like that. Let's go."
As she naturally pulled her arm, Mirinae yielded without resistance. Linking arms, Ellie subtly brought her palm to Mirinae's side.
'Weakness.'
Worried about detection, she'd even used the expensive advanced skill Will Manifestation. Activating a 4th-circle spell that way halved her mana instantly, but the curse struck Mirinae true.
Now she'd have to fight Sung-hoon weakened without even knowing why... or so Ellie thought.
"Ellie, go tell Sung-hoon."
"Huh? Tell him what?"
"A curse just hit me. There was poison in the food I ate earlier, and now a curse on top of that—it means someone's clearly targeting us."
"P-Pardon? A c-curse?"
She'd pierced right through a curse cast with 'Unknown to All'?
Understanding Ellie's shock somehow, Mirinae patted her shoulder lightly.
"Don't worry, little... sis. As long as I'm here, I won't let anyone get hurt."
'The earlier scout turned up nothing. Are they watching from farther away?'
Ellie staggered back as she watched Mirinae move off, steeling her resolve to eliminate the threat to her comrades. She couldn't hide the poison and curse anymore, so in the end, she and Sung-hoon awkwardly confessed to Chae-rin. Unexpectedly, they ended up setting six people on night watch.
As they assigned watches, the two avoided Chae-rin's gaze when she muttered, "There've never been monsters here that use poison or curses." With heavy hearts, they turned in for the night.
Of course, they'd insisted they couldn't spar with monsters around, delaying it by a day—but knowing the poison wouldn't work plunged Sung-hoon into even deeper despair.