Chapter 1
Chapter 1
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Prologue
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The moment the sun began to set.
The chilly autumn air settled in.
-Rustle.
I fixed my gaze on the deer slowly making its way across the fallen autumn leaves.
I have to cut off its breath in one shot.
The moment the deer lowered its nose to sniff among the leaves.
I aimed my crossbow at it as it nibbled on the grass.
Just one shot.
If I missed, that deer would bolt away in an instant.
I can't mess this up. If I do, I'll get chewed out big time.
Feeling the silent pressure at my back, I swallowed hard.
-Click.
I pulled the trigger, and the bolt sliced through the air, embedding into the deer's shoulder. It kicked off the ground and started to flee.
-Baaah!
The deer's cry echoed through the forest.
"Damn it! Aiden!"
A massive spear hurtled toward the deer amid the scolding voice.
The spear tip struck true, piercing the deer's belly.
-Thud.
Seeing it tumble to the ground, Jeff and I rushed over.
The deer lay there, spilling red blood and filth onto the dirt, staring up at us with pitiful eyes.
We'd come out hunting because I was craving meat for dinner, but the foul stench wafting from its gut made it clear that was off the menu.
"Shit, its guts are spilled. No way we can eat this."
"Yeah, but hey, Jeff, at least your spear hit clean."
"You could've blown its head off with that crossbow and saved me the throw."
We bickered like that.
Night was slowly creeping in.
"Whatever. Let's head back. If we're much later, they'll think we deserted."
I yanked the crossbow bolt from the deer's foreleg...
-Pluck!
To keep it from thrashing, I slit its throat, then dragged the carcass back to camp, thinking to myself.
Shouldn't have gotten my hopes up for meat. Looks like bread for dinner tonight.
As that thought crossed my mind, our flag came into view.
A guard in chainmail and holding a long spear greeted us.
"Hey? Good hunt?"
"Nah. Aiden botched the crossbow shot, and its guts burst open."
The guard grimaced at Jeff's words.
"Ugh... Do the butchering outside camp."
"That's the plan. Can't have Her Highness the Grand Duchess complaining about the smell."
I dumped the deer in a nearby clearing and started skinning it.
"Ugh... the stench."
The muck and slime oozing between the hide and muscle made me want to puke, but I held it in.
Hides fetch a decent price.
"Hey, you still at it? This is total trash work. Like this."
Jeff separated the hide from the muscle with expert ease.
"It's not normal to expect me to skin as fast as a former hunter."
That's right. My fellow guard trainee, Jeff, used to be a hunter.
Expecting me to keep up with him was ridiculous from the start.
He laughed at my dumbfounded expression.
"Heh, what a scrub."
A cold gust blew, making me shiver uncontrollably.
"Brr! Freezing... Wanna get back inside."
"Tell me about it. Why are we rookies stuck hunting monsters?"
Yeah, really.
How did I end up here?
All I did was leave a bad comment on a webnovel before bed.
Some forgettable romance fantasy.
It was a short story about a northern grand duchess fending off internal and external enemies.
So short it wrapped up before episode 100, when she turned twenty.
But I trashed it for a simple reason.
It was tagged as romance fantasy, but there was zero romance.
People joked she was marrying the nation itself.
Suitors like the crown prince and nobles showed up, but she shot them all down coldly.
I didn't get why at first, but her line in the final civil war battle clued me in that the author was a fraud.
-I married the nation! I am the Heyron Grand Duchy!
Charging the enemy with that line, and an open ending? Romance fantasy my ass.
Tagged romance fantasy—no romance.
Romance fantasy is short for romantic fantasy. What nonsense was this?
I ranted in the comments about the scam tags, went to sleep, and woke up here.
Not even possession—my actual body dropped right into this world.
The capital of the Heyron Grand Duchy, Vain.
Vain's streets were dazzling at first, full of grand architecture just like the novel described.
A massive city buzzing with life.
With nothing to my name, I scraped by day to day until landing this sweet guard gig.
A bit low-paying, but decent enough.
If you ignored the cold.
"The smell's awful. Do it farther out!"
A spear-wielding buddy nearby griped, and I shot back.
"Almost done! Hold your horses."
With the hide fully off, the deer's pink muscles and bones looked downright horrifying.
White skull, patches of pale and red flesh, huge eyes glaring at me—it could've been a demon from hell.
Would've believed it if someone called it a demon king risen from the abyss.
"Phew! This should fetch a nice haul, right?"
Scary as hell in the dark, though.
While I shuddered at the carcass, Jeff beamed.
Deer hide wasn't top dollar, but enough to eat well for a while.
As Jeff and I went to dump the body in the woods.
-Whiiiish!
A knight in white armor rode up on a white steed.
-Snort.
The knight reined in the horse's hot breath—surprisingly, a woman.
Icy eyes, crimson pupils, long black hair tied back, radiating allure.
"Any trouble?"
Even her voice was beautiful. Luna Valmore, the novel's protagonist.
Ruler of the Heyron Grand Duchy.
About to turn twenty-one soon—the point where the novel ended.
Thought the open ending meant she died, but here she was, alive.
The soldier who'd griped about the smell earlier snapped to attention.
"No, Your Highness the Grand Duchess! The scouts returned—no monsters in sight, even if you search with a fine-tooth comb."
"Good. Let's go!"
After Luna rode into camp, Jeff spat on the ground and grumbled.
"Pah! Should've just stayed in Vain..."
Guards from Vain should guard Vain. Hated dragging rookies out to slaughter monsters in the woods for "training."
Low pay for rookies, worked like dogs. Once I saved up real money, no more guard life.
Three months in this world.
Not much cash yet—crashing in a rundown shack outside Vain, scraping by.
"Aiden, it's cold. Let's head in."
Jeff grabbed his long spear and headed to camp first. I followed to our tent.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
We scarfed down hard bread and tomato soup for dinner, then crashed in the tent.
"Jeff, no night watch for us tonight?"
Small rookie unit of about sixty—night watch was frequent.
Jeff, sharpening his spear blade, replied.
"Nah, off tonight. Probably starts tomorrow."
"Good."
Recent events here were nightmares I never wanted to repeat, so I asked Jeff, who knew the ropes better.
"No more of this crap once we head back?"
"Probably? Guards deal with people, not monsters."
"Then why the hell are we out here?"
"Rookie tradition—clearing monsters near the city."
"Why even have that tradition?"
Guards kept the peace—a stable job.
Unlike modern Korean cops, few messed with guards here.
Disobey? Arrested. Resist? Dead. Even back-alley bosses steered clear.
"Jealous? Go be a lord yourse—"
-Boom!
An explosion cut Jeff off.
"Jeff? What the—?!"
The blast like a grenade made me jump.
-Whiiii!
Whistles blared from all sides.
"What the hell?!"
-Enemies! Enemies spotted!
"Fuck, what monster casts magic? That sounded like an explosion spell!"
Jeff cursed, scrambling into his armor. I grabbed mine, spear, and sword.
-Grahhh!
-Knights! Knights incoming!
Several knights in black armor appeared.
Blue aura shimmered at their sword tips.
Aura, like the rumors.
-Argh!
Arms and blood flew into the air.
-Thud.
Comrades dropping one by one.
"C-crazy knights here?!"
Jeff's face went sheet-white.
"I-I don't know!"
The slaughter froze me solid.
I'd done all sorts here, but never seen anyone die.
Blood pooling on the dirt.
The swordmaster's side was safest, I thought. I urged Jeff.
"To the Grand Duchess! Hurry!"
But a black-armored knight blocked us.
Black eyes gleamed indifferently from the helmet slit.
"Fuck, Aiden! Run!"
Jeff gripped his spear, standing firm, but...
-Slash!
"Urk!"
His spear snapped in half with him.
"Argh!"
Run! But where?
As death's terror gripped me, metal clashed.
-Clang! Clang!
I turned at the sound.
A woman with long black hair tied back.
Luna Valmore.
Lightly dressed, she'd been right there. I forced my body to move.
Terrifying, but I couldn't stay put.
Sit here, and it's over!
"Urgh!"
I poured strength into my legs and dashed to her side.
"Who are you?! Who ordered this?!"
-Screech!
She clashed swords with the black knight and demanded.
"If you won't answer..."
-Stab!
"Argh!"
Luna thrust into the knight's heart.
From her blade burst not blue aura, but brilliant azure light.