Chapter 261: The Meeting (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 261: The Meeting (2)
As far as Alon remembered, the face of Nangwon, the leader of the Cursed Ones he had seen in Psychedelia, was nothing short of disastrous.
To give some perspective:
The community’s consensus on Nangwon was that he had "a face that invites malice."
Alon had agreed with that assessment.
It was such a repulsive visual that he had wondered if the developers were trying to show off just how far they could go with character design.
That was why Alon now stared at the man before him with a look of utter incomprehension.
Nangwon... is this guy?
He had recognized the identity because the voice was nearly identical.
But even now, having correctly guessed it was Nangwon, Alon found the fact difficult to accept.
The gap between Nangwon’s face in Psychedelia and the face before him was impossibly wide.
However, realizing it would be rude to keep staring blankly, Alon snapped out of it.
"It’s been a long time. Have you been well?"
"Yes, Brother... Thanks to you, I’ve managed to keep living...!"
"And she is—"
"It’s Nangyeon, Lord Alon."
"...You’ve grown a lot."
"Of course. So much time has passed, after all. I’m just glad you’re doing well, Marquis."
Nangwon leaned in with a somewhat overwhelming intensity, while Nangyeon had clearly become much more mature than in the past.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries with the siblings, Alon voiced a question that had been nagging at him.
"By the way, your eyes... what happened to them?"
Nangwon’s eyes should have been inverted.
Yet, right now, Nangwon had the eyes of an ordinary human.
"Ah, I’ve hidden my appearance for a moment. We are a bit... unusual, after all."
Nangwon smiled and, along with his sister, removed a ring from his finger.
With that, Nangwon’s face began to change.
Alon nodded, realizing that Nangwon had been using an artifact to maintain the appearance of a normal young man.
But that realization was short-lived.
Alon’s eyes widened even further.
Once the ring was off and Nangwon returned to his original form, his face didn't actually change much—aside from his eyes turning black.
In fact, far from being "not much different"—
...He had become even more handsome.
Is this even the same person? It looks like his DNA went through a total revolution.
Alon stared blankly, wondering if the Nangwon he saw in Psychedelia had actually been a different character entirely.
"That’s just cheating, seriously..."
Evan, who was also staring at Nangwon, muttered the very thought that had crossed Alon’s mind.
"...Brother?"
Snapped back to reality by the call, Alon cleared his throat and spoke.
"I was just thinking that you’ve grown up well."
"Is that so?"
Nangwon scratched his head, looking a bit bashful.
No matter how he looked at it, the difference was too great.
Though flustered by the mismatch between his memory and reality, Alon sent them to the drawing room first so they could talk more.
"Let’s go as well."
After finishing a minor task, Alon was about to follow them to the drawing room with Evan when—
"...Marquis."
"What is it?"
Evan called out to Alon in an unusually serious voice.
And then.
"By any chance, are you close with the person who just visited?"
Unlike his usual self, he asked with a look of extreme embarrassment.
Though puzzled, Alon nodded.
"Yes, they are one of the connections from the past I mentioned before."
"Then, well... could you perhaps ask one thing for me?"
"What?"
"Um, if... if she has a lover—ahem—you know what I mean, right?"
Evan’s face turned red for no reason.
What on earth was this guy talking ab—
"Ah."
Understanding Evan’s meaning, Alon placed a hand firmly on Evan’s shoulder.
"Evan..."
"Yes."
"Was that your preference?"
"...Huh?"
"Nangwon is a man."
Evan’s expression went blank for a moment.
Then, he let out a hollow laugh as if the situation was absurd.
"Marquis, you didn't think I was talking about him, did you?"
"Weren't you?"
"No! I wasn't talking about the man, I meant the woman behind him!"
"...If you mean the woman, you mean Nangyeon?"
"Yes!"
Alon nodded at Evan’s indignant expression.
"...Well, I’ll ask."
"Thank you."
He patted the uncharacteristically excited Evan on the back and headed to the drawing room together.
* * *
The conversation with Nangwon lasted a long time.
He learned how Nangwon had lived over the past 700 years and discovered the racial origins of the Cursed Ones, something he hadn't encountered in Psychedelia.
"So, most of the Cursed Ones are half-demons who survived back then?"
"That’s right, Brother. There are others, of course, but the majority are half-demons."
Alon nodded.
In Psychedelia, most of the Cursed Ones were either wrapped tightly in bandages or depicted as black mist, so he hadn't known they were mostly half-demons.
"You’ve worked hard all this time."
"No, it would have been impossible for me alone. It’s all thanks to you, Brother."
"...Thanks to me?"
"Yes, because you showed me the path."
Seeing the admiration in Nangwon’s eyes, Alon recalled the last words he had said to him.
Live righteously... was that it?
Knowing that Nangwon would later become the Curse King—one of the Four Major Factions and a man of questionable character—Alon had left those words just in case.
"If it weren't for you, Brother... I don't know how I would be living right now."
Nangwon gave all the credit to Alon.
"I only suggested it. In the end, it was your achievement to gather the half-demons and find a way to survive."
Alon spoke modestly, feeling a bit embarrassed.
"No, it really is thanks to you."
"I think so too," Nangyeon added firmly.
"You might not think much of it, Lord Alon. But to us, who had nothing, those words were truly precious."
Nangyeon spoke with a smile.
Alon scratched his head.
A sense of warmth blossomed in a corner of his heart, accompanied by a strange feeling of pride.
In the end, Nangwon had indeed created the group known as the Cursed Ones.
But he wasn't the hideous wreck Alon had feared, nor was he consumed by a madness for power.
Looking at it this way, these Cursed Ones are quite different from the ones in the original story.
While Alon was lost in these positive thoughts, Nangwon spoke up.
"Ah, and there are two more things I need to tell you."
"...What are they?"
Nangwon brought up two new topics.
One was about the person selling Abyss Bodies on the black market.
And the other...
"...Blue eyes?"
"Yes."
It was the story of a man with blue eyes.
"Actually, I’ve known you were in this era for about 300 years, Marquis."
"...300 years?"
"Yes. But the reason I didn't come to see you was because of that blue-eyed man."
Nangwon frowned slightly as if recalling the memory.
"He warned me. He said I shouldn't seek you out yet."
"Shouldn't seek me out?"
"Yes, that’s exactly what he said."
"The reason?"
"He didn't tell me. He only said that our bond might vanish, and then he disappeared."
"So that’s why you didn't come?"
As Nangwon nodded, Nangyeon, who was beside him, continued.
"We both wanted to see you, but 'that' which the blue-eyed man showed us made us hesitate."
"...What did he show you?"
At that question, Nangyeon looked at her brother.
Nangwon offered his deduction.
"I believe... it was a memory."
"A memory?"
"Yes. A memory of... the world being destroyed."
Alon’s curiosity about the blue-eyed entity was now reaching its peak.
Just what is that guy?
He began to piece together the information.
The one who took the ring Alon was wearing.
The one who handed it to Magrina.
An existence that had lived for over 700 years.
...The more I gather, the less I understand.
Alon asked just in case, but the answer he got from Nangwon was the same as the one from Magrina.
What was his true identity?
"It seems you don't know about the blue-eyed man either, Brother."
"I don't. Though it is getting a bit annoying."
"...I’ve been looking for information as much as possible since then, but I’ll put even more effort into searching now."
"I’d appreciate that."
As Alon nodded, Nangyeon spoke up this time.
"Oh, and even though we couldn't visit, we’ve been helping you all along, Lord Alon."
"...Helping me?"
"Yes, with this."
Nangyeon pulled a document from her robe.
It was a document with a black background.
Alon didn't understand at first, but he soon realized it was a document distributed by the information guild.
When he looked at Nangyeon with a questioning gaze, she gave a soft smile.
"That’s right, Lord Alon."
She then revealed the truth.
"I am the leader of the information guild—no, of 'Darkness at the End of Night'."
"I’ve always done my best to find whatever you were curious about and help you."
"...I did think the information was coming in fast—"
"Right? Plus, I’ve been gathering and delivering all the rumors around you."
"All for free," Nangyeon whispered.
Alon was impressed by her calm smile.
As far as he knew, the identity of the leader of "Night's End" had never been revealed in the original story.
Wait, in the original, the leader of Night's End must have been someone else. Nangwon turned evil in the original because his sister died.
Then, Alon tilted his head at a certain word.
"Nangyeon."
"Yes?"
"I’m asking just in case, but did you say 'for free'?"
"Yes, it’s free."
Nangyeon confirmed it once more.
This raised a new question for Alon.
Every time he had used the information guild, he had consistently handed money over to Evan.
Wondering what was going on, Alon turned his gaze to the side.
"..."
He saw Evan, whose neck was twisted at an unnatural angle as he looked away.
"...Evan."
"...Yes."
"...Is it true?"
He didn't need to ask a long question.
Evan glanced at him nervously.
"No, Marquis, it’s not like that—I was just saving it all up carefully. You didn't think I’d just pocket it all, did you?"
He immediately began to make excuses with all his might, but—
[Ho-ho. So that’s where the money came from when you were throwing it around and drinking like a madman near the fief last time.]
"You damn snake bastard—!"
At Basiliora’s sudden testimony, Evan let out a scream.
"...We’ll talk about this later."
"...I’m sorry."
Evan cleanly confessed to his crime.
Once the embezzlement matter was temporarily settled—
"Ah, come to think of it, I had a gift for you, but I haven't been able to give it to you yet."
"...A gift?"
"Yes! Nangwon brought all sorts of things to give to you."
Nangwon’s gift time began.
* * *
Somewhere in the eastern part of the Ashtalon Kingdom.
Immediately after clearing a Strange Gate that had opened near their territory.
As night fell, Elivan’s party set up camp in the forest.
Yan, the mage in the party, spotted Elivan.
"Elivan?"
"Yeah?"
"What are you doing here?"
She found Elivan building a small fire in a corner of the campsite.
"Ah, just taking care of something."
Elivan answered lightly.
When Yan turned her gaze, she saw something like a black cloth being consumed by the flames.
"What is that?"
"Something I used to use."
"...You’re burning it even though you used it?"
At that question, Elivan gave an unreadable smile.
He stood up, looked at Yan, and replied cheerfully.
"Yeah. Because it’s useless now."
"Well then, let’s head back to the camp."
"Ah, okay."
Elivan walked back to the campsite with Yan.
Then, he suddenly turned around and looked at the black cloth burning fiercely.
...With eyes that were more piercingly blue than ever before.