Chapter 447
Chapter 447
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 447
>Chapter Title: The 31st Horse Overturns the Game Board
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As the sun set, accompanied by the presence of people who had no business being there.
The moment Kang Seol's group was spotted in Gurujant, they would undoubtedly be attacked.
“……Right.”
“……Run!”
Sounds coming from afar.
Kang Seol closed his eyes and focused on the tone of their voices.
‘…Keshii.’
The Keshii tribe they had encountered from a distance at the start of the expedition. He remembered them as extremely belligerent and savage.
‘If we're spotted, we'll be turned into beehives.’
In a normal encounter, there would be identification of the other party and a decision on how to respond, but the Keshii skipped all that and went straight to attacking.
‘If we clash, we'll end up killing Keshii too. We have to avoid that.’
A group following Jin.
However, there was no evidence anywhere that they had joined the forces of evil. On the contrary, the council might even face interference from them.
They would make great allies, but above all, they had to avoid becoming enemies.
‘We’ll get dragged into a fight without even a chance to talk….’
Letting them pass by like this seemed like the best option.
‘The problem is the group on the other side….’
Still, since there was no commotion, it looked like Karuna and Karen had handled things discreetly on their own.
“Fall back!”
“Oh!”
Thud thud thud…
As the distance grew, the sound of horse hooves suggested they had left their horses on the outskirts, and they scattered.
“Phew… looks like they’re gone.”
“We almost died just now, right?”
“With this guy here, one side would’ve died for sure. The Keshii would’ve charged in to kill us.”
“Avoiding the clash was truly wise. We almost….”
The visitors to the dim abandoned mine turned out to be Keshii. Kang Seol looked at Jian with eyes full of questions.
“With Gurujant collapsed, it’s natural the nearby Keshii would expand their patrol range. I didn’t consider it. Sorry.”
“They don’t seem to be targeting Gurujant itself….”
“It’s land invaded by magi. Unless they purify it on a large scale, they wouldn’t want to stay there.”
Jian scratched his ear and continued.
“Besides, land holds even greater meaning for them. They wouldn’t want to hold onto dirtied land like this.”
After the commotion, the group’s energy had completely drained.
“Everyone okay?”
Karen appeared, holding Tansia’s hand as she toddled along.
“Yeah, you guys?”
“No signals, so we stayed hidden. They had some suspicious power.”
“Jin’s power. Like Jinryeo’s before.”
“Ah! Her power. It does feel similar.”
Karuna looked around as he spoke.
“The sun’s about to set. Let’s find a place to stay.”
“Spread out and search.”
“Yes.”
The group split up to investigate the surroundings. Relying on Jian, who had memories of living in Gurujant, wasn’t feasible since his time there was far too long ago.
After quite a long search, they found a building suitable for everyone to stay in together.
“There’s some dust piled up, but with magic, it’ll be clean in no time.”
“Convenient.”
“Practical life magic, I suppose… anyway.”
Grrrrumble…
A loud roar echoed from Sindio’s stomach.
“Ah….”
“Looks like you’re hungry.”
“I guess… so? We haven’t eaten yet.”
“I’ll check if the kitchen’s intact. Let’s whip up something decent.”
“Great!”
Sindio excitedly hugged Tansia.
“Eek!”
“Soft and squishy… soft and squishy… huh?”
Sindio tilted her head and asked.
“Where’d Jian go? I haven’t seen him since earlier….”
“…….”
Kang Seol’s gaze turned toward the slums of Gurujant.
* * *
“…Long time no see, I suppose?”
Jian entered a house not just covered in dust but with bug droppings visible here and there.
A rundown home.
Truly rundown, a place that immediately conveyed how they had lived.
But it wasn’t unwelcome.
Jian didn’t hate this place.
“Final stop… or settling ground….”
This was where it had all happened. The place where Jian was reborn and overlaid with evil.
His old home.
As the home he had shared with his poor prostitute mother, it contained only the bare essentials.
Returning after over a decade, the place had gone completely cold.
“The furniture’s all still here….”
The wood had rotted, and the fabrics were polluted, ready to crumble at any moment.
The house hadn’t passed to anyone else. Likely due to the rumors of a murder having occurred here and the killer having lived here.
And soon after, monster attacks led to the mining village shutting down. Meaning no one but Jian had set foot in this house.
It was a modest miracle.
Just one that had been cursed.
“Yeah, it was here. Everything started here.”
Step…
Step…
Jian opened the wardrobe door.
Rustle…
Bugs startled by changes absent for over a decade scattered.
Jian calmly entered the wardrobe without flinching. He drew his legs together and hugged it with his arms.
The same as before he was born.
Creak…
Jian pulled the wardrobe door shut.
The space that had felt spacious as a child now seemed quite small. Still, the gap between the doors remained consistent.
Then, and now.
- Jian, you’re back.
“…Mom?”
It had to be an illusion.
Clearly an illusion, yet he couldn’t help but respond.
Jian had never defied his mother.
- My baby, did you come to see Mom?
“No, I….”
His mother’s illusion wouldn’t fade.
However, he could tell its form was badly distorted.
The face swollen from beatings strangely wouldn’t come into focus. It lingered as a blurry afterimage.
- Still making Mom worry, huh, Jian.
“Sorry… sorry….”
- Why didn’t you save me?
Now his mother was questioning past events.
“…What?”
- Why, why! Why did you leave me to that demon!
“No, I… I tried to save you….”
- Liar! Now lying too! Jian, how bad do you plan to get!
“Ugh… ughhh… scary….”
Childhood memories were shackles to him.
The hiding wardrobe was an abyss to him.
The moment he had turned away was eternity to him.
- Die! Jian! Bad kids need punishment!
“Ugh… ughhh… I need to die, someone like me….”
Then, suddenly, a discordant noise intruded.
“Jiaaaan!”
Boom-!
The sound of the door shattering.
But the scene didn’t change.
Slice…
‘…Huh?’
A sensation of his neck floating away.
Had his neck been cut?
With a feeling of something snapping, blood rushed to his head.
Whoosh…
His purpled face flushed red again.
Thud-!
“Gah… keh… keh….”
His hands and feet wouldn’t obey.
Twisting every which way like some mollusk.
Yes, a seizure.
Crawling pitifully across the floor, Jian bumped into someone’s shoe.
“…Huh?”
“…Jian.”
A quite familiar shoe.
Still not fully discerning, Jian realized it belonged to someone he’d been traveling with recently.
“Ah… ahh….”
It was Kang Seol.
Smooth…
Kang Seol straightened his body.
Snap…
Then, he cut the rope looped around his neck. The rope had tightly constricted it, leaving an ugly bruise.
Only then did he understand why he couldn’t breathe.
“…Trying to die? Is this your end?”
Jian clutched his neck, breathing raggedly.
Huff… huff…
Hooo…
Jian’s eyes changed.
Returning to a fairly calm gaze, he grinned.
“Thanks.”
Whether mask or true nature, he said to Kang Seol.
“Friend.”
Kang Seol scowled and said.
“Don’t die.”
“…I won’t.”
* * *
After Jian returned to the lodging where Sindio and the others waited, he first had to face Sindio’s fists.
Thwack…
Punch!
“Die! You should die!”
“Weird! Wasn’t the illusion over?”
“You should die! Why try to die!”
“Hahaha! That hurts! If I really die, it’s murder!”
Sindio gnashed her teeth.
“You… youuu… dinner’s late because of you!”
“That’s why?”
“Of course! What else!”
Jian chuckled at Sindio’s reaction and bowed his head.
“Sorry, dinner’s late because of me. Had to stop by somewhere.”
“…It’s over?”
“Yeah… it’s done now. No more business there.”
Drag…
Kang Seol pulled a chair and sat Jian down.
“Stay put. Food’s coming soon.”
Jian received a warm meal for the first time in ages.
Not the temperature of the food.
Just a warm meal.
“…Delicious.”
Kang Seol silently stared at the mark on his neck but held his tongue.
After eating, thanks to Sindio’s efforts, they prepared to sleep in the cleaned-up living room.
Snoooore…
Snoooore…
“This kid… snoring? Ugh….”
Mmmnya…
Bittern groaned in the black dragon’s embrace. The pitch-black dragon holding Bittern asleep by the fireplace was anything but ordinary yet looked perfectly normal.
Even depravity couldn’t stay by their side. A peaceful night, as if the world’s respite had arrived.
Crackle…
Pop…
By the fireplace, Jian asked Sindio.
“…Didn’t you wish I’d die?”
“I said I wanted you punished, not dead.”
“Same difference….”
“It’s not!”
“…You’re kind.”
“…It’s different.”
Sindio hesitated, then shared her own story.
“Jian, you’re suffering because of past memories, right? …I lost my memories.”
“…First I’m hearing that.”
“No memories before becoming a mage. Not even how I became one.”
“How’s that possible?”
“Strange, right? Actually… there’s one more secret.”
“You can tell me?”
“Seeing that scar on your neck, yeah.”
“…Don’t pity me.”
“What’re you….”
Sindio pulled out a half-eaten walnut.
“Watch.”
Crack…
She easily crushed the walnut.
With just thumb and index finger.
“…….”
“Strange, huh?”
“Impressive… that’s no ordinary grip strength….”
“Not just grip. I’m stronger than most. Like, a lot?”
“Then why become a mage? You could’ve made a fortune as a mercenary.”
“That’s the mystery. Why did I become a mage? What was I before losing my memories….”
“Probably a huge idiot. Choosing to be a mage with that body.”
“Hoho! Same as what I think.”
Sindio gazed at Jian, then took his hand.
“…….”
“Don’t die carelessly.”
“Feelings?”
“Gotta be. While I’m on this mission, you… can’t die.”
“Got it. No choice.”
Then, Kang Seol spoke from behind.
“Sorry to interrupt, but now’s not the time.”
“Eek! Not asleep?”
“Keuk… kekeke… you were watching us all lewdly.”
Kang Seol looked at them expressionlessly.
“…….”
- …What’s with these bastards?
- Dad’s not sleeping! Don’t try any tricks!
- Everyone seems really pissed for some reason….
Kang Seol stood abruptly.
“Collision. A trap?”
“…What?”
“What noise?”
“You don’t hear? They’re back.”
At that, Jian and Sindio startled and looked at each other.
“Really?”
“Yeah, we lit the fireplace so casually, they’re probably targeting this place.”
“…We fight?”
“Not yet, one more trick left.”
Step…
Step…
Kang Seol headed upstairs, recalling an old event.
- Heading north? Then you’ll need this!
- …What’s this?
- Jinryeo special, Najiron coin!
- …Najiron coin?
- Use it if you meet Keshii. Only once, so carefully!
- Don’t think we’ll meet Keshii.
- You never know! Even if never, keep it as a lucky charm!
Sigh……
Kang Seol reached the second floor, coin in hand.
Creak…
The moment he flung open the window.
Whoosh-!
“Ugh….”
A massive spear flew right at him. Aimed for his heart, but Shin-yu grabbed the shaft and stopped it.
Tremble…
The shaft vibrated.
The enemy’s malice was vividly transmitted.
“The bastard showed himself!”
“Shoot arrows!”
Keshii positioned around the premises.
“I’ll trust you, Jinryeo.”
Ting-!
He flicked the coin.
[Using Jinryeo’s Najiron coin.]
[Jin’s power contained in the coin is released.]
Boom-!
Fwoosh-!
The coin exploded, forming a small cloud in the air. The cloud took one shape.
A cloud in the form of Jinryeo, thumb up!
Now, the Keshii’s reaction.
“Th-that’s….”
“It’s her! The cat who stole Kunna!”
“Jinryeo! The woman who stole fair Kunna!”
“Capture her alive!”
Kang Seol gritted his teeth.
“…Knew it.”