Chapter 2

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 2

Chapter Title: Gatekeeper (2)

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"Not bad."

Wearing the uniform, it fit pretty damn well.

After washing up and donning the uniform, no one would mistake me for a slave anymore—I looked every bit the soldier.

The reason for the uniform was simple.

To avoid being looked down on.

Slaves had merit in body searches thanks to their abilities, but paradoxically, their ragged appearance made them easy to underestimate.

That made it hard to even reach the body search stage.

No one in the world would want to be interrogated by a shabby-looking slave.

But what if I wore a uniform and sat there looking respectable?

It could erase the discomfort of being questioned by a slave and prevent being underestimated.

In other words, killing two birds with one stone...

- Rattle... Rattle...

Lost in thought, I heard the sound of a carriage approaching.

Peeking out the window, I saw it was loaded with quite a lot of cargo.

- Knock knock.

Right on cue, a knock came at the door.

Kyle wouldn't have bothered knocking, so it had to be a new arrival.

I sat in the wooden chair and cleared my throat.

"Ahem... You may enter."

Is this how it's done?

Being my first time, my voice came out a bit awkward.

- Creak.

The door slowly opened, and a girl's face with pointed elven ears peeked in.

"Coming through~"

I could tell just from her voice. It was Selena.

- Tap.

Selena tried to leave the hut with light steps but stopped when she saw my clothes.

"...Huh? Who...?"

Selena's ears began to twitch.

Twitching elven ears were a sign of fluster.

The reason was obvious: a proper soldier sat in the spot where a ragged slave should have been.

"I'm Anderson, newly assigned as gatekeeper."

"Hmm~"

I gave the name I used in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the game.

Selena's ears stilled as she walked over and sat in the chair opposite.

"Wasn't there a slave here before?"

"I just arrived today, so I'm not sure about the previous one."

"Ah..."

Her speech was incredibly smooth and silky.

With age came dignity and slyness.

From that perspective, Selena was a sly elf indeed.

She wasn't a normal elf to begin with.

A heavyweight who'd dominated the underworlds of various empires for decades.

Selena Evangelin, Queen of the Black Market.

This tutorial village was just one of the stops on her route.

In the game, she appeared in the very early stages, in the first event.

Unless it was a replay run, no one would even know about her.

The reason you needed to be a slave to meet Selena was simple: only slaves were stationed at the gates she passed through.

They cut out cumbersome procedures and fixed the pass criteria to one thing.

Her face.

Basically, a high-pass lane just for Selena.

And I had to successfully inspect her.

While making her perceive me as a soldier.

"Soldier boy, you're super handsome~"

"I'd appreciate it if you refrained from chit-chat before the inspection begins."

I opened the desk drawer and pulled out a form.

"So, soldier boy... where are you from?"

"You're not in a position to ask questions."

"Just curious~"

Look at her rolling her eyes...

Her mouth spouted nonsense, but her brain was probably spinning at full speed right now.

I couldn't give this woman time to think.

"Beginning the questioning."

"Sure~"

I lowered my voice as much as possible and started the questions.

Selena wasn't an easy mark. If she were, she wouldn't have survived so long in the cutthroat underworld rife with schemes.

"Name."

"Selena Evangelin."

"Gender."

"Wait, soldier boy... Do I look like a man to you?"

Selena balked at the question like it was ridiculous, but that was just her probing.

Soldiers had to know the standard sequence: basic info, purpose of visit, number of prior visits, etc., to be assigned as gatekeepers.

Slaves received no such training. It was the same in the game; slaves started without any explanations even in the tutorial village.

Selena was testing if I might be a slave.

"Gender."

"...Female."

I asked again. If a gatekeeper repeated the same question three times or more, entry was automatically denied. Selena knew this well, so she answered reluctantly.

"Age."

"Don't know... It's been ages since I stopped counting."

"I'll put down over 100."

"Hmm..."

Selena's eyebrow twitched at "over 100"—it must have hit a nerve.

She'd lived over 200 years, so why fuss?

- Creak.

Suddenly, Selena started rocking the wooden chair. It creaked in response.

Rocking the body was usually an unconscious reaction to relieve stress or anxiety.

That last question must have gotten under her skin.

"Next, purpose of visit."

"Selling goods."

"Merchant guild or individual?"

"Individual."

"Number of prior visits?"

"Don't know."

"Ms. Selena."

"...?"

Selena seemed to hesitate.

"Sorry? I really don't remember..."

Selena looked a bit deflated, like she genuinely couldn't recall.

Good. She seemed sufficiently cowed now.

Luckily, her suspicions should be eased at this point.

So, maybe I could ramp up the pressure a bit more.

"Continuing. Type of goods."

"Potions."

"Answer precisely."

"Hmm... What do you mean?"

Selena's ears twitched. A sign of fluster. Even a seasoned elf couldn't fully control her ears.

"Only potions, correct?"

"Soldier boy... You don't trust me?"

"Ms. Selena."

"Hmm~"

- Creak.

Selena started rocking the chair again. It squeaked like it was begging her to stop, but she rocked even harder, her anxiety apparently worse than before.

- Creak creak creak.

"Ms. Selena, calm down..."

Did stress usually make someone rock that hard?

- Thud!

In the end, Selena toppled backward off the chair.

I stood and extended a hand to the fallen Selena.

"Ah... Sorry, soldier boy."

Selena took my hand and stood. First time holding an elf's hand—it was softer than expected, with a strange texture different from a human's.

"Soldier boy, are you really a soldier? Why are you so nice?"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"...I am a soldier. Could you let go of my hand now?"

"Ah... Sorry."

Selena's words left it unclear if she was suspicious or complimenting me.

I righted her chair and sat back down.

"Phew..."

"Soldier boy, was I too heavy?"

"...I'm fine. Resuming questions. Only potions, correct?"

"Yes."

This slave body still lacked stamina.

Fortunately, Selena seemed calmer after the fall.

"Transportation method."

"Carriage. If you're still suspicious, check it later."

"Understood."

I'd planned to anyway, and there was no reason to refuse.

"Final question: length of stay."

"Um... About three days?"

I recorded every one of Selena's answers on the form without missing a beat.

"Now proceeding to body search."

"What...? You do body searches too?"

"Due to suspicious elements. Do you currently possess any weapons?"

"No."

Weapons check before body search was mandatory. In the game, players often died to hidden weapons during searches.

Selena wore a loose dress with a short skirt exposing her legs, made of slightly sheer see-through material—not ideal for hiding weapons.

"Hands on your body, face the wall."

I stood for the body search, and Selena reluctantly followed.

"Turn around, get comfortable. Starting from the lower body."

Selena stood still, hands in her pockets, clearly unhappy about the search.

I vaguely remembered how to do a body search.

I began running the back of my hand—not my palm—over her body.

"Soldier boy, looks like you've done searches before. I was wondering what you'd do if you used your palm."

"Face forward now."

"Hmm~ Not answering?"

I ran the back of my hand along her hip line and asked her to face forward.

No foreign objects detected.

"Spread your legs a bit."

"How much?"

"Shoulder-width. And take your hands out of your pockets now."

I ran the back of my hand along the front of her thighs.

No foreign objects.

"Now clasp your hands and raise your arms."

"Ugh..."

Finally, I checked her entire upper body with the back of my hand. No foreign objects.

"Body search complete. Now let's check the carriage."

"Just let me fix my clothes first."

I grabbed the papers and opened the door before Selena.

Better to exit first so she couldn't tamper with the carriage.

Huh?

- Thud.

Something fell and rolled with a clatter.

My vision flipped with the rolling sound.

Dizzy.

The world faded to black.

Before my eyes closed, the elf was smiling.

...

A familiar something appeared before my darkened vision.

Life... Point...

A resource I'd seen before.

The basic resource provided in the game.

Used for save and load...

The save/load window popped up just as I thought that.

What the...?

And below it were words that seemed to log Selena's thoughts.

She thought all this...?

I'd thought I'd handled it perfectly, but that was just my delusion.

Selena had analyzed me completely to the end.

What the hell is this...?

A quest I'd never seen before.

This game had hidden quests?