Chapter 67
Chapter 67
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: An Unexpected Reunion
-----------------------------------------------------------------
It was a sudden thought.
And it wasn't impossible.
After all, there are no eternal secrets in this world. And since Arthur had already figured it out, it wouldn't be strange for someone else to do the same.
Of course, if this guess was correct, it would mean that unlike Arthur, who had recognized him in person, this person had figured it out just by watching edited videos…
In any case, it meant the odds weren't astronomically low.
‘…….’
If they were a die-hard fan with a twisted sense of goodwill like Arthur, it didn't matter.
He was confident he could easily control them with a bit of coaxing and training.
But if that wasn't the case, things had the potential to get complicated.
‘…….’
Lee Shin sank deep into thought.
But his deliberation was brief.
There was nothing he could learn by dwelling on it, and besides, the premise itself could be wrong in the first place.
There was no need to waste so much mental energy on someone who had made a single donation.
‘I'll know if I just watch.’
Whether it was a donation to test him, or from someone who had become a genuinely pure fan.
For now, Lee Shin decided to put that judgment aside.
* * *
Lost in one thought after another, he arrived at the count's territory without a moment of boredom.
[You have arrived at the territory of Count Narik.]
[This is your first time entering this area.]
[For one day, Health and Mana recovery speed will increase by 100%.]
“You, follow me. I'll introduce you to the lord right away.”
“…Yes.”
“Hmm? Are you tired?”
“No.”
‘…Hah.’
Lee Shin recalled the conversation they had before leaving.
The conversation he had with Wik when he brought him Arthur's corpse (avatar) disguised as Cedric.
‘I'll introduce you to Count Narik. What do you say?’
It was a remark born from a certain degree of goodwill. After all, a connection with a noble was something everyone desired.
Of course, for Lee Shin, who had his own personal baggage, it was like a bolt from the blue.
So he had asked for a different reward, but…
‘Can't you just give me money?’
‘That won't do.’
‘Can't we work something out…’
‘No.’
‘…….’
It was a firm no. So Lee Shin simply refused the reward.
Whether his name was Narik or Narak, he figured there was nothing to be gained from meeting him now.
‘Then it's fine.’
Most players were desperate to get on a first-name basis with a noble, no matter what it took.
Just by skillfully accepting the rewards they casually tossed out, one's growth would be astronomical.
Gaining an absurd number of levels, or obtaining gear that was hard to get even after countless raids with a single word of flattery.
If you were lucky, you could jump several ranks at once.
But despite all that, Lee Shin was indifferent.
This was due to the kingdom's notoriety.
The stinginess of the Eteun Kingdom's nobles was already widely known; to put it bluntly, they could just praise you with words and leave it at that.
‘It's fine.’
He figured it was better to just go hunting than to waste his time like that.
However.
‘Haha! No need to refuse.’
‘Pardon?’
‘Though you may be but a lowly adventurer, with my introduction, the Count will deign to meet you!’
‘…….’
Perhaps thinking Lee Shin was just being modest, Wik laughed heartily and clapped him on the shoulder.
‘I'm really fine, though.’
‘The Count will be pleased.’
‘I'm fine…’
‘Let's go!’
‘…….’
And so, here he was.
Leaving Cedric behind, Lee Shin followed Wik, and before long, they arrived at the lord's castle.
[You have entered the Lord's Castle.]
[Fame has slightly increased.]
A butler came out to greet them.
“Welcome.”
“Where is the Count?”
“He is in his office. Please wait a moment.”
After the butler left, Wik looked around. Royal guards were stationed throughout the corridors, with knights scattered here and there.
Wik tilted his head and muttered.
“The personnel have changed a bit. Is that right?”
Someone nearby answered.
“Yes.”
“Did something happen?”
“Not exactly, but there was the attack before.”
“Because of that?”
“Yes.”
“That was a long time ago. And now that the culprit has been caught, he should be safe, no?”
“That's a relief, but it's still a fact that his guard was breached once, isn't it?”
Wik nodded.
“……That's true.”
Wik had also heard that Count Narik had barely survived.
Had the opponent cast just one more spell, he might have actually died.
He survived by luck, but luck aside, the fact that such a situation occurred was clear proof of a problem with his security.
“He must have been greatly distressed.”
“Probably, yes. That's why he hired more skilled knights.”
“I see. Is that why the personnel deployment has changed?”
“That's right. Ah, he's coming now.”
Wik stepped forward and said.
“Follow me.”
“Yes.”
Lee Shin also turned his head and saw a man with a fine physique approaching in the distance.
He could also see several knights following closely behind him.
‘More than ten knights.’
It was an excessive number for a single person's escort, but it was common for high-ranking nobles like counts to move around with this many retainers.
The problem was the knight at the very front.
“Hmm?”
Lee Shin narrowed his eyes.
The tall, handsome knight walking confidently at the forefront.
The distance was too great to see his face clearly, but…
‘Somehow, he looks familiar.’
A sense of familiarity.
He felt an inexplicable chill.
‘What is it?’
For a brief moment, Lee Shin hesitated.
Because his instinctive judgments like this were rarely wrong.
But the event unfolded faster than Lee Shin could ponder and make a decision.
*Tiring.*
“?”
[You have come within a certain distance of your vassal, Haipen Gillaim.]
“!?!??!”
Lee Shin's eyes widened.
Haipen Gillaim. The knight Lee Shin had abandoned long ago. A person he had never imagined he would encounter in a place like this.
Because there he was, right before his eyes.
‘Should I run?’
That was his first thought. But he quickly concluded it was impossible.
He was already involved with a noble.
Any rash action could lead to unnecessary misunderstandings.
While Lee Shin stood frozen in place, Haipen Gillaim, who had drawn near, made eye contact with him.
“Hmm?”
“…….”
His steps came to an abrupt halt.
A brief silence followed.
Lee Shin had hoped Gillaim might not recognize him, but it was a futile hope.
“……Hah!”
Gillaim's eyes went wide and his jaw dropped, completely shattering Lee Shin's hopes.
And it didn't even end there.
*Thud!!*
He suddenly dropped to his knees before Lee Shin, tears welling in his eyes as he cried out thunderously.
“My lord! *Sob*, I'm so glad you're alive!!!”
“……?”
“……?”
“……!”
…It was a single phrase that sent a chill through the surroundings.
* * *
A cold sweat trickled down Lee Shin's back.
‘This crazy bastard.’
A count's knight, kneeling before a mere adventurer?
It was an act that couldn't be explained unless he intended for them both to die.
“*Sob sob*, I'm so glad…!!”
“…….”
“*Waaah…*!”
Confused and questioning gazes darted back and forth, weighing down the atmosphere.
Yet even in this situation, Gillaim was so overcome with emotion at Lee Shin's survival that he clung to his trouser leg, weeping and sniffling.
“…Ahem!”
[Affinity with Count Narik has greatly decreased.]
[The Count is suspicious of you.]
[If you fail to provide a convincing explanation, you may be sentenced to death.]
‘…….’
For a moment, Lee Shin felt the urge to kill Gillaim.
His head was already throbbing, and instead of fixing the situation, he was driving it into the worst possible outcome.
[Gillaim's mental state is stabilizing.]
In contrast to Lee Shin's inner turmoil, Gillaim was gradually calming down, his trembling subsiding.
“…Hah.”
Belatedly coming to his senses, Gillaim awkwardly got to his feet. The Count, who had been watching, spoke.
“My lord?”
“Yes?”
“My knight just called you 'my lord'.”
“I didn't hear anything. Perhaps you misheard, Count?”
Lee Shin's response was brazen.
A bald-faced lie!
“…Pfft!”
Jeong Yu-ra, who had been listening blankly from behind, let out a small snort.
But it didn't work very well.
[Using Skill: <Deceive>.]
[Target's level is too high.]
“No, I heard it clearly.”
[Deception has failed.]
‘As expected, it's no use.’
Lee Shin was quick to back down.
“On second thought, I think I heard it too.”
“Is that so? Then explain. If the reason is not something I can accept, you had best be prepared.”
“…….”
Lee Shin shot a look at Gillaim, a clear signal for him to get their stories straight.
“Perhaps the knight was mistaken about something. Isn't that right?”
“…Uh, yes?”
“Isn't that right? Sir Knight.”
“…Ah! Th-that's right! My lord… I mean, I thought he was dead, that's roughly what I meant!”
The Count turned his head.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Well, he looks so much like a comrade I used to work with… so I was momentarily confused. I apologize, my lord.”
“……Ah, is that what it was?”
At Gillaim's explanation, the Count's expression soon relaxed. He knew a bit about Gillaim's circumstances, after all.
“You said you used to live on the battlefield.”
“Yes.”
According to his own introduction, Gillaim was a knight from a fallen noble family, and the Count was well aware of how such knights usually ended up.
With no proper place to take them in, they usually become mercenaries.
Thanks to this, he judged the explanation to be plausible enough.
“I understand.”
[Count Narik retracts his suspicion.]
Having cleared his doubts, the Count turned his gaze to Wik, who had been waiting for some time.
“My apologies for the late greeting.”
“Not at all.”
“What brings you here again, Sir Knight? I heard you were pursuing a wanted criminal.”
“It is precisely because of that wanted criminal.”
“…!”
Count Narik flinched in surprise.
His gaze sharpened as he asked.
“Did you catch him?”
“Yes.”
“Then we'll begin the torture at once…!”
“Ah, he wasn't captured alive.”
“Ah……”
The Count's expression soured slightly.
But he still nodded with a satisfied look.
Capturing him alive would have been better, of course, but having witnessed the opponent's skills firsthand, he understood the situation.
“Catching him is what matters. You've done well.”
“Haha, not at all. The hard work was done not by me, but by this adventurer here.”
“Hmm?”
Lee Shin gave a slight bow.
“This one?”
“Yes.”
“So that's why you brought him. No wonder……”
“…….”
The Count didn't finish his sentence, but Lee Shin could guess the rest.
Just from his expression, it was clear he was thinking something like, 'I was wondering how a beggar like this got in here...'
But Lee Shin didn't take any particular offense.
‘They're all like that.’
Nobles were generally like this. He'd dealt with them to the point of exhaustion in the past, so it was nothing new.
The important thing was the reward!
As long as he got what he was owed, he didn't care how he was treated.
The Count glanced at Lee Shin and muttered under his breath.
“Hmm. A reward….”
In any case, the Count had his reputation to consider; he couldn't send him away empty-handed.
Nobles live and die by their honor!
A noble of his station had to give something to save face.
Lee Shin took advantage of this noble psychology.
“Well then, a sack of gold should suffice….”
“Gasp…! Thank you!!”
“……?”
Lee Shin cut off the Count and bowed deeply!
The commotion drew everyone's attention.
The Count asked.
“What are you thanking me for?”
“As expected of you, Count! To think you would give me a chest of gold as a reward!”
“…What?!”
A clever switch of words!
Only one word was changed, but the reward had been inflated dozens of times over.
“No, not a chest of gold, a sack of gold….”
Count Narik was flustered, but Lee Shin praised him with a genuinely moved expression, as if he'd heard 'chest' from the very beginning.
“Truly, a noble among nobles!”
“No, I…!”
“Your system of rewards and punishments is so clear, even for a mere adventurer! Your magnanimity is so great that a humble adventurer like myself cannot even begin to fathom it!”
A torrent of flattery unleashed in an instant!
The Count stammered.
“Th…”
“Hooray!”
But Lee Shin immediately launched into more flattery, intending to shut him up.
“……Ugh, ahem!”
The Count cleared his throat.
His flustered state was plain to see!
Because Lee Shin had caused such a scene, the onlookers' perceptions had already shifted before the Count could do anything.
They were all looking at the Count with expressions that seemed to say, 'Oh, so that's how it is?'
“Ah, indeed….”
“To treat a mere adventurer so well….”
“…….”
*Murmur, murmur.*
The corner of the Count's eye twitched.
Weighing his honor against his money!
In the end, the Count chose his honor.
“O-of course I'll give it to you!”
“…!”
* * *
“Wait a moment in the reception room. I have some business to finish, I'll be there shortly….”
“Yes! Thank you!”
“……Hah.”
The Count left, letting out a sigh while trying to act casual. Wik followed him.
“I shall guide you to the reception room. ……My lord.”
“Mm.”
Gillaim took charge of guiding Lee Shin's party.
Lee Shin moved closer and asked.
The question he was most curious about.
‘…No, wait.’
…Before that, he decided to secure his loyalty again, just in case.
“You. Why on earth were you in a place like this?”
“Pardon?”
“Do you have any idea how long I've been searching for you?”
“……!!!!!”
