Chapter 117
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 117
Chapter Title: Rendezvous
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—An ambush.
It wasn’t unreasonable for Parsha to have reached that conclusion in an instant.
The booming shout that had suddenly erupted was a sonic attack powerful enough to rupture eardrums in an enclosed space.
And that was before they had even entered the tower.
The Vault Keeper, who had been on the roof, had nearly lost her balance and fallen from the deafening roar.
As Naru moved to steady the Vault Keeper, Parsha sprang into action.
She gripped her steel gauntlets.
Drew upon her aura.
And accelerated her chakra.
The moment she was about to kick off the ground with her steel-plated boots and launch herself like a lightning bolt toward the enemy—
*Grip.*
“Parsha, wait.”
A small hand had appeared beside her, grasping her gauntlet.
A compelling voice that made the brand on her skin burn hot.
Halted by the irresistible command, Parsha fell silent, her expression impassive.
The shout came again.
“I asked who you are!”
“Could you lower your voice? If not for the barrier we put up, that sound alone would have drawn every pirate here.”
“Oh, my. Apologies. I was startled…”
At Dion’s words, the other party flinched for a moment.
Regaining his composure, he asked again in a hushed voice.
“Ah, well, anyway! First, tell me who you are.”
He was exceptionally wary.
The voice continued to demand their identities, its owner hidden behind a pile of goods stacked high in the warehouse.
If he were a pirate, this could be a ploy to uncover their identities while preparing an ambush…
But Dion pushed Parsha back as she tried to step forward to protect him.
He then spoke.
“Foolish wisdom loses its home, and a twisted faith is shrouded in darkness.”
“……!”
That was the moment.
After a distinct, startled reaction, a faint hint of anticipation mixed into the voice that had been filled with caution and tension.
“……A broken hand can create nothing, and even when the noblest ghost sleeps.”
“The dragon of calamity and the knight will fight together until the very end, right?”
“Were you sent by the Lord of Nangrang Castle?”
“We wouldn't know the password otherwise, would we?”
Confirming that they were the ones the man was looking for, Dion smiled faintly.
But the man, though his voice was now more relaxed, still asked with lingering suspicion.
“No, I can’t trust you on the password alone.”
“...What kind of bullshit is that?”
“There’s no guarantee you aren’t spies who stole the password. Show me other proof.”
“How about this for proof? It’s a handwritten letter from the orc.”
“You could have stolen that too!”
“……”
“Has that man gone mad with fear…?”
“Mmm.”
Naru grunted in agreement with the Vault Keeper, who was still clutching her ringing ears in disbelief.
He seemed a little crazy.
The password existed for the very purpose of making contact.
If he was going to doubt everything like this, he wouldn't be able to trust anyone unless Urk himself showed up.
But Dion spoke nonchalantly, without much thought.
“Hmm, then I suppose we have no choice.”
“If you understand, then hurry up and show me the proof…”
“We’ll just go back.”
“Huh?”
“Eh…?”
Naru’s eyes widened.
The voice on the other side was just as bewildered.
“Go back?? Without me???”
“Yep. We don’t have any proof you’d believe.”
“But—but the item I’m transporting could change the outcome of this war! You’re just going to leave it?”
“We can’t exactly take it from you by force, can we?”
“No, that’s, but, still…”
Perhaps he hadn't expected them to give up the ‘precious item’ so readily.
After stammering like a broken toy, the man finally steeled himself and spoke.
“Fine. I’m still a bit suspicious, but I’ll make a special exception and trust you this one time.”
‘Aha…’
‘Indeed, a tactic of pulling back when pushing fails. A strategy befitting the king's successor.’
Naru and the Vault Keeper, who had been worried that Dion might actually leave empty-handed, were now filled with admiration.
They had finally understood his intent.
However…
“Hmm, that sounds a bit suspicious.”
“What?”
“You said you couldn’t trust us a moment ago, but now you’re changing your tune. Are you trying to lure us into a trap?”
“…???”
“This won’t work. Let’s just go back, everyone.”
“Hey, wait! Just a moment!”
*Crash!!!*
Perhaps out of fear that they might really leave him behind.
The owner of the voice finally burst out, sending a pile of cargo tumbling down as he scrambled forward.
The tower fell silent.
The man who had rushed out.
And the tense group.
Both sides froze as they saw each other.
“That mask… D-don’t tell me you’re the White-Masked Young Master?”
The man was surprised because he was only now seeing Dion, who had been hidden in the shadows until this point.
And because Dion was wearing the mask that had become famous in the Deformed City.
The group, on the other hand, was surprised for a reason so unexpected it was absurd—the very same reason.
“...Why are you wearing that mask?”
A massive frame, large enough to be mistaken for a giant, even larger than most burly men.
A luxurious cloak that seemed to hide that massive frame.
And crucially…
The white mask.
Seeing the man whose eyes were covered by a half-mask identical to the one Dion wore.
Naru, still on the roof, couldn't help but ask with a wry expression.
***
It had been famous for some time.
And with the slave soldiers also wearing them, the white mask had become something of a trademark for Dion.
Because of this, many had forgotten that Dion hadn’t originally created it.
It was a gift sent to the Baekdaesega by the White Mask, who had transcended the wall as an assassin, to commemorate his ascension to Comedy Sovereign.
In other words, a hundred identical masks existed in Odobaekryeong.
Their use was so limited that they were considered something of a dilemma, most of them either locked away in the vaults of various families or lost entirely.
“In short, you’re saying you happened to acquire one of those lost masks?”
“That’s right. It’s a useful item for concealing one’s identity.”
“...Before you talk about concealing your identity, doesn’t wearing a mask like that usually make you stand out more?”
“That’s true.”
Dion let out a small chuckle.
The Vault Keeper's point was precisely why the white mask was such a dilemma.
It could hide one’s identity, but it came with the risk of looking like a suspicious, masked eccentric.
Hearing this, however, the masked man looked even more bewildered.
“That’s not something you, the White-Masked Young Master, should be saying, is it?”
“My case is a little different.”
“……”
There was a difference between himself, famous as the mysterious nobleman from Pandora’s bridegroom contest, and this anonymous eccentric who simply wore a mask.
Wasn’t that obvious?
Dion smiled faintly at the masked man, who looked unconvinced.
‘Just as I thought.’
Even if the white mask was a treasure left by the Comedy Sovereign, it was ultimately a rare-grade item.
It couldn’t block the status window, which could see through even Transcendent Awakened Ones.
The moment he saw the masked man, Dion was certain.
He knew what the ‘precious item’ he was transporting was.
And he knew why Urk had kept so much information hidden even from his own clan to proceed with this task in secret.
In the first place…
‘I never thought I’d be able to interfere with a plan that was originally destined to fail.’
…He had readily accepted Urk’s request precisely because he already knew about this plan.
That was why Dion was intrigued.
The knowledge from his first life.
The memories from his second.
Nowhere in them was there any story of the ‘precious item’ arriving safely.
Even Dion, who didn’t know the detailed history of this war, knew about the ‘precious item’ because the failure of this plan had been that memorable.
It had not only shaken the anti-pirate coalition but had also influenced the future of the Deformed City.
However, the plan had been conducted in such secrecy that he hadn't known how to get involved, which had been a shame.
And now, an opportunity had rolled right into his lap.
It was a truly unexpected stroke of luck.
‘Hmm, could this be the result of my earlier intervention?’
Luring Lar Arga into a trap to help forge the anti-pirate coalition more quickly, and hunting down pirate nobles and their territories to intimidate the Pirate Noble Alliance.
Those two actions alone had had a massive impact on this war.
He couldn't be certain.
But perhaps this was the result.
He might have just saved the masked man who, in the original timeline, either didn't have time to send a distress signal or was discovered before help could arrive.
How would this fact change the future, and how could he use it to his advantage?
And what should he do with the masked man?
As Dion mulled over his various schemes, the masked man, as if only just realizing, looked around with suspicious eyes.
“By the way, why are we heading toward the shipyard? Wouldn’t it be faster to escape in the opposite direction?”
“There’s someone we need to pick up on the way.”
“Hmm, you have other subordinates, I see.”
“Not a subordinate, just an acquaintance I happened to run into.”
“……What?”
He blinked.
As if he didn’t understand the meaning of the words.
After a moment, the masked man asked, his voice laced with bewilderment.
“No, wait a minute. Are you telling me you’re detouring just to pick up some acquaintance you happened to meet?”
“That’s about right.”
“That’s absurd! What if they’re a traitor bought off by the pirates!”
“Well, I doubt that will happen.”
“On what grounds do you…!”
“Be quiet. Do you think we’re on a picnic?”
“Ah, um, my apologies.”
Stung by Parsha’s blunt remark, the masked man glanced around nervously.
But it seemed his paranoia had already taken hold, as he continued to scan his surroundings with anxious eyes.
As Naru frowned at the sight, the Vault Keeper tilted her head, and only Dion chuckled in amusement, the group pressed on secretly through the shipyard teeming with pirates.
A short while later, they arrived at an empty warehouse.
The same place they had stopped by before setting out to find the masked man, and…
“Oh, you’ve finally returned.”
“Why? Did you think we weren’t coming back?”
“Kahahaha, of course not.”
…the rendezvous point where the lizard-headed giant had been waiting for them.
Raja laughed, feigning nonchalance, but his relief was palpable.
Dion looked around.
He didn't see the reason why Raja had separated from them and was only now rejoining the group.
“So, where’s your companion?”
“Ah, the child is over here.”
*Tap, tap.*
Perhaps he had hidden her separately to avoid being discovered by the bandits.
As Raja gestured toward the back of the warehouse, a quiet footstep accompanied the presence he had sensed.
It was an incredibly soft sound.
Yet strangely distinct.
With those footsteps, a figure finally emerged. Raja, a grin on his face, introduced Dion.
“Pay your respects. This young master is the new star of the demonic arts, the White-Masked Young Master, who has agreed to help us.”
“This old… hm.”
Was it due to nervousness?
She immediately closed her mouth.
Then, she spoke again in a lovely voice.
“This young one has a true name, but for now, I am using a childhood name. You may call me Little Fox. I look forward to working with you.”
Wooden clogs on her feet.
Exotic silk clothes.
A veiled conical hat worn at an angle.
Slender eyes that barely showed her pupils.
And most of all, brilliantly shining golden hair, with plush fox ears and a tail to match.
Everything about her was striking, but her strangely archaic way of speaking was her most distinctive feature.
The moment he saw the fox girl, who was surprisingly beautiful for her age.
“……!”
—Dion’s pupils contracted.