Chapter 116
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 116
Chapter Title: Contact
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The Pirate Lord was a key figure in the Dokwilyeon.
Only those among the mid-ranking nobles who possessed sufficient troops and influence could hold such a powerful position.
As such, their subordinates were treated well, but what truly brought them joy was the identity of being pirates itself.
Most bandit groups would have to flee at the mere sight of a few soldiers.
But they could occupy entire territories and plunder their people as they pleased.
“I don’t care if you’re a fortune-teller or whatever! Just hand over the money, you lizard bastard!”
*Thwack!*
“Oof!”
That was why the pirates were kicking the lizard-headed giant without hesitation.
The Pirate Lord’s only order was not to kill the populace indiscriminately.
To maintain the pirates' morale, this level of violence and plunder was permitted.
So, thinking it was a good way to kill their boredom, the pirates beat the lizard-headed giant relentlessly.
…all while oblivious to the shadow approaching from behind.
And then…
*Thud! Thud! Thud!*
“Guh?”
“Ack!”
“…Huh?”
With a great clatter, the pirates collapsed in unison.
Appearing before him as if she had sprung from the ground was the dark elf maid.
The giant, who had been cowering under the blows, blinked at her before his face lit up with recognition.
“I can’t see your face because of the mask… but aren’t you the unfortunate lass whose fortune I told back in Yeosu Fortress?”
“I don’t know who this ‘unfortunate lass’ is you speak of, but it’s true we met in Yeosu Fortress.”
“Still spouting nonsense while claiming to sell information, I see.”
“Oh, and an interesting guest as well.”
“…How do you recognize people so easily when we’re wearing masks?”
“Well, perhaps because I’m a fortune-teller?”
“Keheheh! A fortune-teller who forgets his clients is no… hmmm?”
First Parsha, then Naru.
The giant, who had been gleefully greeting the two, froze when he saw Dion appear with the Vault Keeper.
He looked at the boy’s mask, more distinct than the others, with a peculiar expression.
“Are you the young master from back then?”
“What, you don’t remember because you didn’t read my fortune?”
“How could that be? I was merely surprised, is all.”
The giant shook his head.
Even if his memory weren't exceptional, this boy was unique in so many ways that he would have been hard to forget.
Whether it was his fate, which even he couldn't see, or his status.
“To think that young master was the White-Masked Young Master, the divine presence of the Deformed City. I feel nothing but shame for not recognizing a star right before my eyes while claiming to see fortune and misfortune.”
“No need to be ashamed. I was the one hiding my identity, after all.”
Dion smiled warmly.
Just as the giant had found him special, Dion also remembered him well.
Whether for his talents and abilities, his identity as a storyteller, or the fact that he hadn't seen him in his second life.
The giant was an object of interest.
And most importantly, at this very moment, his talents were desperately needed.
“By the way, Mister Storyteller.”
“Pray, speak.”
“Foolish wisdom loses its home, and corrupt faith is shrouded in darkness.”
“...?”
“I guess you weren’t the carrier after all. In that case, how about you pay me back for the fortune-telling fee I gave you in advance? Could you do it now?”
“Hmm…?”
***
In a corner of the Sanghyeongjang.
Inside a plundered, empty warehouse they had chosen as a temporary hideout to avoid the pirates’ eyes, Dion casually asked the giant, who was lost in deep thought.
“Are you alright?”
“Hm? What do you mean?”
“Your body. You took quite a beating from the pirates.”
“Keheheh, if it is that you mean, do not worry. I may not look it, but I’m quite sturdy.”
“That’s impressive.”
He had been beaten enough to break a few bones in anyone who wasn't an Awakened One.
Yet not only was his body fine, but there wasn't even a tear in his clothes.
The sight of the lizard-headed giant was strange, even miraculous, to behold, but…
Dion didn't point it out, and the giant calmly continued the conversation.
“In any case, I was wondering why the young master would appear in a place like this. It seems you have something you’re looking for.”
“Yes.”
“And you want me to use my fortune-telling to find out where it is.”
“That’s right.”
“Hmm. Fortune-telling is meant to foresee fortune and misfortune, not to find just anything…”
The giant licked his lips with his long tongue, a troubled expression on his face.
Divination was inherently vague.
Not just a `Fortune-Teller`☆.
Even a `Soothsayer`☆☆.
Or a `Diviner`☆☆☆.
Even high-level Awakened Ones who used such abilities could only reduce the ambiguity, not find a definitive answer.
However…
“So?”
“...”
“You can’t do it?”
Can you or can you not?
Cut the chatter and tell me.
After meeting the boy’s steady gaze from his red eyes, the giant finally let out a hearty laugh.
“Heh heh, how could I possibly refuse the young master’s request? Even if I can’t, I must make it so.”
“Thank you for agreeing to such an unreasonable request.”
“I have already received my fee, so your thanks are not needed. However…”
“However?”
As if pondering until the very last moment whether this was the right decision, he rolled the dice he had been fiddling with. Seeing the numbers [1][6][1], he finally made his decision and spoke.
“When the young master leaves this territory, would it be possible for you to take me and my companion with you?”
***
The lizard-headed giant.
He introduced himself as Laja.
A wanderer of Odobaekryeong, helping foolish souls lost in idle dreams to accumulate virtue… or so was the pretense.
In reality, he sold stories, occasionally told fortunes, and mostly ran scams, a wandering storyteller, fortune-teller, and con artist all in one.
He was on his way to the Deformed City, which he heard was in chaos lately, to make a quick buck… no, to offer his help.
The problem was that the war had made using the gate in the Deformed City difficult.
So, hearing there was a territory heading toward Nakrang Fortress, he had boarded the Sanghyeongjang for a leisurely trip, only to be captured by pirates.
He had hidden his companion and was looking for a way to escape when…
“To meet the young master, renowned as the divine presence of the Demonic Path, at a time like this… is this not fate itself?”
“And that’s why you made such a request out of the blue?”
“It is so.”
“Wasn’t that too reckless? What if I had refused or didn’t keep my promise?”
“In the end, the young master granted my request, did you not?”
Spreading a mat adorned with the sixty-four hexagrams, the lizard-headed giant rolled his dice.
Laja smiled meaningfully and continued.
“Above all, in my eyes, the young master seems to be a most trustworthy person.”
“Hmm, you really have a good eye, Mister Storyteller.”
“…Trustworthy? My master?”
“An eye for talent befitting an unlicensed information broker who deals in rumors, I see…”
“You’re a blind fool who gets along perfectly with the young master, who is as shameless as an ironclad whale.”
Unaware of how this smiling boy could so casually deceive others and backstab them with an innocent face, his vassals muttered behind him.
Dion asked Laja to perform the divination.
The problem was that Laja’s reading, which he had so readily accepted, was not very insightful.
“Hmmmm.”
“Still can’t figure it out, Mister Storyteller?”
“It seems the information about the item you’re looking for is insufficient. The divination is not coming out as clearly as I’d hoped.”
“Hmm, that’s a problem. We don’t know much about the ‘valuable item’ either.”
Perhaps wary of information leaking through a spy, Urk hadn’t told Dion much, despite being the one to ask for help first.
All he said was that there was a ‘valuable item’ needed for the war.
He asked Dion to retrieve it from the Sanghyeongjang, providing only the code for their rendezvous and minimal information about the carrier.
“It seems I must change the conditions.”
“Conditions?”
“I believe it would be better to divine the whereabouts of this carrier rather than the valuable item itself.”
“I don’t know anything about them either. Just that they’re on the small side and wear a peculiar mask.”
“With conditions that specific, a reading should be possible.”
Saying that divination was about divining what you don't know, Laja smiled leisurely and rolled the dice again.
And the numbers that came up…
[6][1][2]. He stroked his chin as he examined them.
“Six is the brightness of a high lamp, one is a dark place, and two means it is both easy and difficult to find, depending on how one thinks.”
“The darkest place is under the lamp…”
“…I see, now I understand.”
As if he had finally realized something, Laja raised a hand and pointed in one direction.
“The person the young master seeks will be there.”
At that moment, the group blinked.
The direction Laja pointed to was that unexpected.
It was the neighboring territory, connected to the Sanghyeongjang by a drawbridge, where pirates were coming and going.
“The carrier with the valuable item is in the pirates’ territory?”
“Indeed.”
“How is that possible?”
“At least, that is what my divination reveals.”
At his irresponsible words, Naru showed open disbelief, and the Vault Keeper also wore a dubious expression.
The dark elf maid spoke with a blank face.
“It is certainly possible that the carrier has already been captured by the pirates.”
“Would a carrier chosen by the Lord of Nakrang Fortress be captured so easily…?”
“Well, perhaps it’s the opposite.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“It means that the best place to hide from the pirates is inside the pirates’ own den.”
“Ah…”
Naru and the Vault Keeper finally looked convinced.
With the pirates busy turning the Sanghyeongjang upside down, their own base would likely be less guarded.
If the carrier was incompetent, they could have already been captured.
If they were competent, they might have slipped past the pirates and hidden in their territory instead.
Either way, it was a more plausible scenario than them remaining on the chaotic Sanghyeongjang.
The problem was that no matter how lax the security, a thorough search of the pirate territory would carry a high risk of being discovered…
“According to the divination, it will be in a place that is either high and dark, or low and bright.”
“Hmm, then it must be the higher one.”
“Why do you think so?”
“Whether they’re hiding or captured, they wouldn't be in a bright place.”
“Keheheh, the young master has the makings of a fortune-teller.”
“Divination or not, it all just sounds like empty words without any clear information…”
Before leaving to fetch his companion, Laja had narrowed down the search area with his divination.
Naru grumbled until the end, but it was clear that the pirate territory needed to be investigated.
Moreover, once Dion made a decision, the others had no choice but to follow.
The party moved stealthily towards the six towers that rose up in six directions, surrounding the pirate territory of Yuksseonwon.
“At first glance, I thought they were watchtowers… but seeing as they’re sealed without any windows, they must be warehouses.”
“Why would they build warehouses in towers?”
“Because if the warehouses were underground, it would be easy for their subordinates to pilfer things.”
“…Even for demons, how can you trust your subordinates if you have so little faith in them?”
“I don’t.”
“You’d be a fool to trust them…?”
“If a master is weaker than their subordinate, they will be overthrown. If they trust unconditionally, they will be betrayed. That is the way of things.”
“I’m starting to miss the human race, even with their rotten personalities…”
This was the result of her humble goal of exterminating humanity being achieved.
Lamenting the new average standard of soullessness in the demon world, she hid the group within a shadow she cast.
They were discreetly inspecting the towers one by one when Parsha suddenly stopped.
“Over there, do you see it?”
“…The roof looks a bit strange.”
“Hmm, it looks like a trace of the roof being torn off and put back on, doesn't it?”
It was the tower on the opposite side of the Sanghyeongjang.
It wasn't easily visible from below, but they had spotted the mark on the roof from their high vantage point. Dion exchanged glances with his companions.
The Vault Keeper then cast a barrier of shadows around the tower.
Through the hole created by the removed roof, a silenced Parsha leaped down quietly.
“Wh-who’s there!!!!!”
“Kyaah!?”
*RUMBLE!*
A terrified, yet thunderous voice shook the entire tower to its foundations.