Chapter 391: Human World [R-18] (45)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 391: Human World [R-18] (45)
After restocking our supplies and taking a short break, we started moving again. This time, we were crossing the sea by ship, heading for Northern Ireland.
I stretched lightly and leaned against the ship's railing. The sea breeze brushed through my hair.
“Was I worried for nothing? It’s been smooth sailing, no attacks,” Im Hye-rin said calmly as she looked around.
“It seems so. Those guys over there are lying low as well.”
I glanced over at the Black Robe group standing far off. Ashir and his companions were standing quietly in a corner of the deck, suppressing their presence as if they were shadows.
Im Hye-rin followed my gaze and nodded silently.
“Even if they're behaving now… they could turn on us at the last moment.”
Im Hye-rin’s low voice was carried away by the sea breeze.
“That might be true… but I’d still prefer it if they just stayed quiet.”
I nodded and muttered. There was no need to go looking for trouble. I just wanted to get paid and go back to Korea without any hassle.
The quiet voyage continued, and slowly, the silhouette of land began to emerge across the sea.
“We’re here.”
Through the distant fog, a gray breakwater and rusted iron gates came into view. A decommissioned port in Northern Ireland. The facility had long been out of official use.
“You said it was a closed port, right?”
“Yeah. It’s probably one of the places they use in secret.”
The ship gradually slowed as it approached the breakwater, and the rough sound of chains being pulled up from below deck echoed out.
The moment we docked, a palpable tension spread across the deck.
A group of people had already arrived at the port. The man standing at their forefront was particularly noticeable. He had neat blond hair and was dressed in a sharp, impeccable suit. A faint smile played on his lips as he watched us.
What an annoyingly handsome bastard.
William walked forward.
“…Your Highness. What brings you here?”
At his words, the blond man smiled slowly. He tilted his head slightly, a gesture of feigned surprise.
“William. Have I come somewhere I shouldn’t have?”
‘Your Highness…?’
I muttered inadvertently. An unexpected figure. I never thought a member of the royal family would show up in person.
Beside me, Im Hye-rin whispered in a low voice.
“He’s from the British royal family. Second in line to the throne. The word within the royal court is that he’s considered the most likely to be the next king.”
Hearing her words, I looked straight ahead at the man they called a prince.
The aura radiating from his body was anything but ordinary. It was a refreshing energy, like flowing water. He was definitely a water-attribute ability user.
I muttered quietly.
“Looks like we’ve attracted a big fly.”
“Shh. He’ll hear you.”
Im Hye-rin warned me in a low voice, but it might have already been too late. The handsome man, who stood with his golden hair swept back, slowly tilted his head.
Our eyes met. A subtle, mischievous look was dawning on his lips.
“Are those the external mercenaries?” he asked, turning to William. His tone was light, but an undercurrent of authority was palpable.
William immediately interjected.
“Your Highness. This operation is an internal secret. Further intervention would be problematic.”
“Problematic, you say…”
He trailed off, then slowly cast his gaze upon William.
“How arrogant of you, William.”
The atmosphere instantly froze.
William suppressed his emotions with visible effort and replied.
“Your Highness… this operation was ordered directly by Her Majesty the Queen. Therefore… I must ask you to stand down.”
“And if I refuse to stand down?”
He took a step forward. It was a light movement, as if he were walking on water, but the air around him subtly rippled.
The seawater near the dock began to swirl. The current was moving according to his will.
“Are you saying you would fight me?”
At his words, William let out a deep sigh and quietly raised his hand.
Click—
The Templar Knights all drew their weapons in unison.
The other guilds, who had been on standby, also began to stir. Hands went to their weapons as they prepared for a fight.
The members of the Nagitsune Guild already had their hands on the hilts of their swords, and Evan Carter was examining the ground at his feet, ready to manipulate it at any moment.
I spoke quietly.
“Should we get involved?”
Standing next to me, Im Hye-rin frowned and answered.
“We’re hired, after all. Everyone, prepare for battle.”
The members of the Hwayangyeonhwa Guild also put their hands on their weapons, their faces tense.
The tension was at its peak.
However, the prince burst out laughing.
“Hahaha! I suppose my joke went a bit too far.”
He stopped laughing and reached into his coat, pulling something out. A silver crest. It was a document with the royal seal, enclosed in a luxurious case.
He handed it to William, who took it and unfolded it. As William read the document, his expression grew increasingly stiff.
A moment later, William closed his eyes and knelt on one knee.
“My apologies, Your Highness.”
“It’s quite all right. It was just a foolish prank on my part.”
His words slowly eased the tension. The Templar Knights sheathed their weapons in unison. The bewildered gazes of the guild members turned to the man.
He smiled and took another step forward.
“A pleasure to meet you all. I am Leopold Alexander Windsor.”
He nodded and added, “Her Majesty has given me a direct order. To complete this mission alongside all of you. So there’s no need to be so tense.”
I muttered to myself.
This is the most annoying type.
He seems gentlemanly and cheerful on the outside, but you can’t tell what he’s really thinking. Plus, his status as royalty meant we couldn’t treat him carelessly.
Leopold’s gaze swept over each guild in turn, finally stopping on Im Hye-rin.
“Ooh, to think I’d meet the famous Witch of Dreadfire here.”
He approached her with a welcoming expression, as if meeting an old friend, and tried to take her hand. But Im Hye-rin pulled her hand back without hesitation, avoiding his touch. For a moment, his hand hovered awkwardly in the air.
“Pardon me, Your Highness. I’m not accustomed to that form of greeting.”
Im Hye-rin’s voice was polite but cold.
Leopold showed no sign of embarrassment as he withdrew his hand and smiled.
“Ah, is that so? It must be different from Eastern etiquette. My apologies if I was rude.”
But his eyes were scanning Im Hye-rin up and down. It was a gaze that seemed to be appraising her worth.
I felt a primal surge of irritation.
I can’t kill him since he’s a prince… but if I get the chance, I’ll turn him into a eunuch.
Im Hye-rin seemed to have sensed his gaze as well, as she frowned slightly. She then quietly took a half-step closer to me.
“Your Highness, we will proceed with the mission,” William said, stepping forward to take control of the situation. Leopold’s lips curled up slightly as he nodded.
“Very well.”
And so, the group began to move again. The vehicles that had been waiting at the port started to depart one by one, and we boarded our assigned vehicle.
Our destination was Belfast, the largest city in Northern Ireland.
The vehicle drove through the city center and stopped in front of an old, Gothic-style cathedral. Its exterior was ancient but still majestic, and Templar Knights who had arrived earlier were already in formation before it.
Behind the Belfast Cathedral was another, smaller, quieter building. We carefully unloaded the items we were to move into it, escorting them inside.
As the heavy wooden doors opened beneath a massive stained-glass window, the cool air from within brushed against our lungs.
“Thank you all for your hard work,” William announced.
“We are scheduled to return to London in four days. Until then, you will rest and be on standby here.”
The leaders of each guild nodded silently and dispersed with their members.
We found a spot in a side corridor and sat down.
“The thought of having to take that thing all the way back to London… I’m already bored.”
“Still, isn’t this a pretty easy request?”
“It is. We got plenty of hazard pay, and it’s been a fight-free trip.”
“Considering our fees, a job like this is a cakewalk.”
The Hwayangyeonhwa guild members gathered in small groups, starting to relax as they exchanged lighthearted jokes.
*
A day had passed since we started staying in the lodgings behind the cathedral. I quietly opened a window and looked down below. Through the glass reflecting the sunlight, I saw female clerics in black robes gathered in small groups, chatting.
“Hmm… they’re wearing robes, not habits. How improper.”
It wasn’t like I was expecting the sexy nun outfits you see in porn, but still, baggy robes… This was an insult to all the nun fetishists out there.
I was watching the clerics for a while when it happened.
—RUUUUMBLE!!
The ground shook violently. The window frame creaked and rattled, and the female clerics below screamed.
“Kyaaah…!”
A few of them lost their balance and were about to fall, so I immediately vaulted over the windowsill. Landing lightly, I supported two of the women who had lost their footing at the same time.
“Are you all right?”
I spoke in a feigned gentle tone, softly wrapping my arms around their waists and shoulders.
And I didn’t miss the opportunity. Pretending to be oblivious, I naturally moved my hands to grope their breasts. The moment their ample chests met my palms, I laughed inwardly.
“Thank you… B-but, your hand…”
“Ah, excuse me. I didn’t even realize.”
I smiled, shamelessly retracting my hands.
But my fingertips had already committed their texture to memory.
The female clerics looked flustered and lowered their heads, hastily pulling their robes tighter. They were quite cute, blushing and glancing around self-consciously.
—RUUUUMBLE!
The ground shook once more. A deep, heavy vibration like an earthquake struck the entire city, and the atmosphere changed.
“Kyaaah…!”
Screams came from the distance, and people began to stumble around in confusion, having lost their balance.
“The… the sky…”
A woman pointed to the sky with a panicked face. I raised my head and followed her gaze. A black curtain was covering the sky. Like a thick membrane descending from above, it was completely sealing off the entire area.
“A barrier?”
At that moment, a massive explosion erupted from the direction of the cathedral.
—KABOOOOM!!!
An enormous fireball engulfed the cathedral’s spire and shot upwards, followed by thick black smoke that spread into the sky.
I immediately ran toward the cathedral. The item we had escorted was inside.
When I arrived, Im Hye-rin and the other guild masters were already at the scene. I went to Im Hye-rin’s side.
“What happened?”
“Someone attacked. The item… it was already stolen before we arrived.”
“Hey, Witch. Do you have any idea what’s going on?” Evan Carter cut in with an irritated tone.
“We don’t know either.”
“Tsk. I knew things were going too smoothly…”
Just then, Nogi Kazuo of the Nagitsune Guild spoke coldly.
“Speaking of which, where are those barrier mages?”
Evan looked around and added, “Those Templar bastards are nowhere to be seen either…”
William and his knights had also vanished.
Meanwhile, members from each guild began to arrive at the scene one by one.
“Master!”
Jung Ji-hun was the first to run up, reporting urgently.
“It’s not just the cathedral, sir. The entire city… is enveloped in a barrier.”
At his words, everyone’s gaze turned to the collapsed ceiling of the cathedral.
“Can we get outside the barrier?” Evan asked.
“We tried… but it’s impossible. The barrier is too strong,” Jung Ji-hun said, shaking his head.
I looked at the barrier. The same energy I had felt from Ashir was spread throughout it.
So it’s his doing.
Just then, the sound of footsteps came from inside the cathedral. Everyone tensed and stared at the entrance.
Leopold emerged. But his face was grim, a stark contrast to his usual relaxed expression.
“Prince, the Templar Knights have vanished. Do you know anything?” Evan asked as he approached.
“I don’t know either…” Leopold shook his head and let out a short sigh.
“More importantly, what about the item?”
“Someone already made off with it.”
“This is bad.”
He pressed a hand to his forehead, lost in thought for a moment.
“What was inside it?”
Leopold’s lips tightened into a firm line. After a few seconds of silence, he answered curtly.
“…I cannot tell you.”
Evan Carter’s face contorted at Leopold’s reply. Clenching his teeth, he balled his fists and was about to stride toward the prince.
“You’re still going to hide things, even in this situation?!”
—RUUUUMBLE!
Suddenly, the black sky twisted. Something began to fall from within it. They were corpses, hanging limp like dolls.
At first, they just looked like dead bodies. But once they hit the ground, they began to move with cracking and snapping sounds. Broken limbs bent into place, and a dim light flowed from their eyeless sockets.
“They’re coming! Prepare for battle!”
Someone’s shout marked the beginning of a sudden battle.