Resigning as an Adventurer (3)
A short while later, in the Dungeon City of Rumeln.
“Hmm-hmm~♪”
Was it simply because it had been so long since I last set foot outside? A buoyant spring lifted my steps as I strolled along the clean, paved promenade. Naturally, to keep anyone from recognizing me, I had pulled a perception-altering hood deep over my brow.
Still, it feels amazing to finally be out and about.
After a few blocks, something struck me: Rumeln was an exceptionally prosperous city, and perhaps because of that, every single person sharing the street with me wore a bright, cheerful expression. It was the polar opposite of a certain Adventurer Guild I knew, where everyone scowled and swaggered about looking like they were ready to commit a violent felony at a moment's notice.
Birds chirped from the eaves, roadside trees rustled and swayed to the rhythm of the breeze, and the pleasant sound of distant laughter drifted through the bustling crowd. Compared to the dungeon, where steel clashed, flesh was torn to shreds, and people screamed as they met gruesome ends, this was heaven versus hell—an entirely different world.
I wandered through this peaceful slice of life, popping into a restaurant to enjoy a delicious meal, browsing an oddities shop, and stopping to watch street performers.
Right. It’s high time I left barbaric adventuring behind and indulged in the fruits of civilization. I should have done this ages ago.
I was resting beside a public fountain, basking in deep, serene satisfaction, when a voice broke through my thoughts.
“Hey there, miss. All by yourself? I’ve got something nice here—want to take a look?”
“What did you say?! Miss?!”
Startled by the voice behind me, I whipped around and glared daggers at whoever had dared speak to me.
“Eep?!”
Standing before me was a man who looked utterly horrified, his face screaming: What kind of little girl glares like a bloodthirsty warlord?!
Ah, crap...
Old habits from my adventuring days had reared their ugly heads. Catching myself immediately, I smoothed my face back into a harmless, ordinary expression and asked, “...Yes, I'm by myself. What of it?”
The man blinked in dazed bewilderment, then scratched his head as if convincing himself he had merely imagined the murderous aura.
“Ah, well, I came over to show a young lady like you something nice. Have you ever heard of ‘ice cream’?”
“Ice cream?”
I tilted my head at the familiar word.
The man flashed a practiced salesman’s grin, unzipped the satchel slung across his shoulder, and pulled something out. It was a blue bar of frozen confection that looked like it would taste of soda.
“It’s a newly released frozen treat, and rumor has it the taste is out of this world. Here, take one.”
“Take it? For free?”
“Of course! A pretty young lady like you deserves a treat. In return, if you like it, just be sure to tell your friends and family about it, alright?”
...So basically, I look like a sheltered daughter from a wealthy house, and he’s trying to use me for word-of-mouth marketing.
Piecing the situation together, I put on the polished customer-service smile I had honed over years of dealing with pompous nobles as an adventurer.
“Thank you. I'll enjoy it, then.”
Accepting the bar, I took a bite.
Now that’s a familiar flavor from Earth.
Strictly speaking, the quality fell far short of what I remembered, but that nostalgic taste brought memories of my past life as Baek Yu-seong creeping back to the surface—like stopping by the stationery store after school as a kid, buying a cheap popsicle, and mashing buttons on the arcade cabinet out front.
A faint, unbidden smile spread across my lips as the fond memories washed over me.
“Mister. Can I buy a few more?”
“Huh? Why, of course! How many would you like? They’re eight copper coins each.”
At the vendor's question, I reached into my coat, pulled out a gleaming disc, and flicked it with my thumb. The coin traced a graceful arc through the air before dropping squarely into the man's trembling palm.
“Th-This is...! A g-gold coin?!”
“Give me everything you have left. Keep the change.”
“Aigoo! Thank you! Thank you so much, young lady!!”
Leaving the vendor behind as he bowed repeatedly at ninety-degree angles, I slipped the armful of ice cream into my subspace pocket and continued on my way.
Call it a generous tip for the walk down memory lane. Consider it my little flex.
To put things in modern terms, a single gold coin was roughly equivalent to half a year’s salary for an average office worker. And I was now a young, financially liberated individual who could drop that kind of money without batting an eye.
Yeah. This is how it should be. Otherwise, what was the point of all that blood, sweat, and suffering?
Popsicle stick tucked between my teeth, I strolled through the city under the deepening amber twilight.
“Hm?”
A sudden murmur of excited voices reached my ears. Curious, I turned toward the commotion. A dense crowd had gathered around a large public notice board mounted in the plaza.
Did something happen?
I slipped through the throng toward the front of the board—
“...!?”
There, pinned right in the center of the bulletin board, hung a missing person poster bearing a strikingly familiar portrait.
Name: Teresia
Age: 18
Distinguishing Feature: Former Platinum Adventurer
Reward: 100 Gold Coins
“……”
I stood frozen in place, staring dumbfoundedly at the parchment.
Slap-bang in the middle was a woman's likeness I knew all too well: long crimson hair flowing to her waist, flawless jade-white skin, a dignified yet breathtakingly beautiful face, and brilliant, jewel-like amber eyes.
...An all too familiar face.
W-Wait, isn’t that me?! And when the hell was that portrait even drawn?!
Pasted on that board was my face from my active duty days. Up until now, the appearance of the Platinum Adventurer Teresia had been known only to a select few guild executives—yet here it was, laid bare for the entire continent to gawk at.
I had maintained a strict mystique for years, deliberately avoiding showing my face to the public. Now, every single ounce of that painstaking effort had gone right down the drain.
Worse still, that wasn’t even the biggest problem.
Are you shitting me?! I staged my death flawlessly, didn't I?!
Had someone actually seen through my theatrical demise? Or had they simply refused to accept my death and filed a missing persons report instead?
No, that’s not the point. What matters is that people are actively looking for me!
If people doubted my death, they would start digging. And in the process, I could get caught in some unforeseen, completely ridiculous manner.
...I need a contingency plan. Fast.
The moment I decided to slip away, snatches of conversation from the surrounding men reached my ears.
“Man, who would’ve guessed the youngest Platinum Adventurer was such a total stunner?”
“No wonder she was always wrapped head-to-toe in full armor whenever she showed up in public. What kind of guy wouldn’t lose his mind seeing a face like that?”
“Damn straight. If I knew her personally, I wouldn’t have left her alone for a second. I would’ve done whatever it took to woo her into bed, even just for one night.”
“...You think she’s a virgin?”
“Are you an idiot?! Of course she is! Look at that glare—can’t you tell she’s the type who’d never let anyone touch her?”
“Bullshit! She’s actually my wife, and she already gave herself to me!”
These motherfuckers... are they for real?
Listening to the men ogling the poster with filthy, sticky stares, my fists clenched tight.
This is exactly why I kept my face hidden in the first place!
I had even written in my will, begging them to hold a quiet, discreet funeral... and for what? Five years of sweating in heavy armor and a stifling helmet to protect my secret identity, undone in a single heartbeat. A wave of profound emptiness washed over me.
Claude, you son of a bitch...
Looking up at the sky, I silently cursed the name of the man undoubtedly responsible for this disaster. Against the canvas of the setting sun, I could almost hallucinate the face of that bearded, brown-haired middle-aged bastard, beaming proudly with a cheerful thumbs-up.
Next time I see you, I’m ripping that beard off your face hair by hair!
I had just finished swearing this solemn vow to the heavens when someone nearby spoke up.
“Hey... doesn’t the person standing right in front of us look kinda like the poster?”
“Huh? Now that you mention it... It’s hard to tell under that hood, but looks like red hair, too...”
“Ah.”
Feeling the sudden prickle of dozens of eyes shifting toward me, I froze. I was in deep shit. Absolute, catastrophic shit.
If I got grabbed and interrogated right here, my identity would be blown wide open. Cold sweat poured down my spine as panic began to mount.
“Excuse me, miss. There’s something we’d like to ask—”
One of the men reached out to speak to me, but before he could finish—
Dash!
Without glancing back, I bolted like an arrow toward my villa.
I sprinted through the streets and, within moments—
Slam!
I barged into my house, kicking the heavy door shut behind me.
Bad, bad, bad! This is bad!
Clutching my head, I paced back and forth, my mind racing in overdrive.
How could they have seen through my disguise?! Where on earth did I slip up?!
Running all the way here, one thing had become glaringly obvious: they knew I wasn’t dead. After all, nobody would bother plastering wanted posters with massive bounties all over major cities just because they ‘couldn’t believe’ someone died in a dungeon. Which meant people might already be hot on my trail.
My next move was crystal clear: I had to erase every trace of my stay in this city and relocate somewhere new. Silently. Stealthily.
First, I need to pack up my funds and—wait.
The instant I took a step deeper into the house, I froze.
“……”
My senses flared. Something was wrong. Tracing the disturbance in the air, I muttered under my breath.
“What is this...?”
Reaching out with my sensory perception, I detected a faint trace of magic permeating the space. From experience, this was without a doubt some kind of bounded barrier.
Come to think of it, the streets had been unnaturally devoid of people as I ran back. In fact, it had been dead quiet—not a single sign of human presence. The conclusion was simple: someone had erected a barrier of this scale specifically to target me.
“……”
An ominous sense of mortal danger prickled every hair on my body, making time itself seem to grind to a crawl. It had been an eternity since I last felt this primal surge of adrenaline. Sharpening every nerve to a razor’s edge, I scanned my surroundings to identify the threat.
And then—
“...What business brings you here? I know you're in there, so come out.”
My voice dropped low, laden with cold, lethal authority.
Right in the center of the living room, the fabric of space warped, and a figure materialized into view.
“You noticed? As expected of a Platinum Adventurer. Most people never realize until the ambush has already struck.”
He knows who I am?
A pristine white suit, a matching fedora, and a white mask fixed in a smiling expression. My brow furrowed in blatant disgust.
“So? This is my private residence. What makes a burglar who broke in without permission so brazen that he doesn’t even bother to run?”
“I have come to deliver the will of Heaven.”
The man, who had been lounging on the sofa, rose slowly to his feet with an easy stretch. His bizarre words made my brow furrow even deeper.
The will of Heaven? What garbage is he spewing? He doesn’t seem like a bounty hunter who came after the poster...
I radiated undisguised hostility as I glared at him.
“I’m not interested in joining a cult. Get the fuck out before I report you.”
“Now, now, no need to be so prickly. Shall we introduce ourselves first?”
“I don’t give a damn about your name or who you are. Get out right now before my patience runs dry. This is your second warning. There won’t be a third.”
“How cold.”
The man merely shrugged.
“Then I suppose I shall get straight to the point. Platinum Adventurer, Teresia. 『You have ripened sufficiently; the time of harvest is upon us. Through your sacrifice, we shall welcome the new hero.』”
“...Third strike. I warned you.”
Ignoring his cryptic rambling, I drew a pure white sword from my subspace pocket and slashed forward in the same breath.
A godspeed strike backed by overwhelming physical might, carving a blinding white arc through the air. It was a blow no ordinary adventurer—and certainly no ordinary dungeon monster—could ever hope to parry or even follow with their eyes.
“Guh—?!”
Naturally, the strike cleaved clean through the man, bisecting him at the waist. His body collapsed to the floor like a marionette with its strings severed.
I stared down at the carnage with frigid eyes. And then—
“Good grief.”
The man’s voice echoed from right behind me.
I whirled around instantly. There stood the masked man, casually adjusting his fedora with an air of effortless composure.
...What happened? I know I cut him down!
I glanced back at the spot where I had just bisected him. The corpse was gone. Not a single drop of blood remained.
Some kind of special ability?
A sharp prickle of alarm flared at my temples.
Unfazed by the baffling spectacle, the man continued speaking as if nothing had happened.
“Far bolder than I anticipated. Drawing steel on a stranger without hesitation is one thing, but striking in the middle of a sentence? Quite unexpected.”
“……”
The inexplicable phenomenon sent cold tension coiling tightly in my gut.
Paying my wariness no mind, the man picked up right where he left off.
“To continue: 『Therefore, uphold the will of Heaven and fulfill the covenant. That covenant demands that you make of your flesh a cradle, serving as the fertile soil for the new master of this world.』”
With that, the man looked down at me, his gaze chillingly absolute.
“『Teresia. Obey the Mandate of Heaven, and conceive the new master within your womb.』”