Chapter 36
Translator: uly
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: The Black-Haired Storyteller's Crisis - 5
This damn martial arts dating sim features a variety of female characters.
They might as well have just had two heroines and focused on fleshing out the romance. What's the point of having so many useless ones?
Of course, it's not that those female characters aren't beautiful. I have no intention of denying that, in terms of looks, the Princess and Murong Sang-ah are the top two. But everyone has their own tastes, right?
In other games or comics, characters of that caliber would be the main heroines. In this game, they're just minor supporting characters. So, it's only natural to feel dissatisfied while playing.
And after filtering out all those female characters, the heroines I have to choose an ending with are a nuisance heroine and a villainess heroine? You can't help but see it as the developer's malice.
The malice didn't end there. To be told to find the "true heroine" in this martial arts dating sim world...
It's enough to drive you crazy and make you jump up and down. If they'd just had two heroines, I could at least try to pick one. But to be told to find the true heroine among a diverse cast of female characters? The true heroine could be any female character I saw while clearing the game, or it could be one of the two original heroines. So, what am I supposed to do?
Usually, in situations like this, it's good to use the process of elimination.
Characters who are definitely not heroines in the story. Characters who had illustrations drawn but have no romantic connection with the protagonist in the story, like the blonde older sister of a pink-haired heroine. If I had to pick one from among those female characters, who would it be?
The Heavenly Killing Star, Cheon So-hee
It couldn't be that bitch, could it?
[Crazy, you say? Me? Kyahyahyahya! You got that right!]
A clear-cut villain in the story. A walking slaughter chariot. Just a murder-crazy bitch. She keeps killing people non-stop until she's subdued by the protagonist.
But this character.
Uniquely, she's a Joseon character.
Black short hair. Sharp eyes. Red eyes, probably due to her setting as the "Heavenly Killing Star." If she'd just keep her mouth shut, she's a definite beauty. No, maybe people who like crazy bitches would like her even with her mouth open.
[Hehehe. Coming to your senses right before you die, huh.]
[Since you killed me, will you remember my name? My name isn't Assassin No. 5 or Heavenly Killing Star, it's Cheon So-hee.]
At the moment of her death, the character's name changes from Cheon Sal-seong to Cheon So-hee. Cheon So-hee, the real name of the Heavenly Killing Star, known only to the protagonist who killed her.
[Mom... I probably can't go where you are, can I?]
Only at the very end is it revealed that she wasn't in her right mind, having been consumed by a killing intent due to being the Heavenly Killing Star. So this bitch was actually a good person all along... What does that matter when you're casting your skill?
Were the people that crazy bitch killed evil, so they deserved it?
Anyway, there's no way a bitch like that is the true heroine. She's not a character capable of emotional exchange with the protagonist in the first place, right?
But that bitch is right in front of me now.
"You. Who are you? How do you know my name?"
Her appearance was a little different, but there's only one person in this world with red eyes and black hair.
Idiot. You idiot! You stayed quiet even when the in-crowd said the ninja protagonist used a rubber-rubber punch as his finishing move, or that the rubber human turns into a nine-tailed fox as his finishing move! And yet you make a mistake like this!
The alcohol in my system flew away in an instant.
"I asked who you are. How do you know my name?"
Cheon So-hee's blade tip pricked the surface of my skin. A drop of blood began to flow down the blade.
If this continues, I'll die.
What should I say? Find a way to survive. Mobilize all the knowledge I have. I saw the character settings! Heavenly Killing Star setting! Name: Cheon So-hee. Joseon. Parents dead. What's a way to survive? Even improvisation is fine!
Good. That method.
"Could it be... Are you really So-hee?"
I deliberately put on an expression of shock.
"I asked who you are."
Cheon So-hee applied pressure to the blade tip. Still at the threat stage. One wrong word and my neck will be sliced off and I'll die.
"Do you really not remember me?"
I slowly raised my hands above my head, making sure not to be a threat to Cheon So-hee. Then, I took off the bamboo hat I was wearing and let my hair down.
"Black hair? A Joseon person?"
Yes. I'm a Joseon person like you. It's hard to see a Joseon person here, right?
"So-hee. Why on earth are you here..."
I kept up the expression of someone seeing a person they never thought they'd see again.
A person who seems to know her. A person who even mentioned the name only she, the Heavenly Killing Star, knows.
She must be confused.
She won't be able to kill me, right?
"Who..."
"There she is!! Get her!!"
The voices of martial artists who had been pursuing the Heavenly Killing Star nearby could be heard.
"I'll see you next time."
Cheon So-hee sprayed a strange liquid on me from a vial and immediately vanished into the darkness.
Why 'next time'?
Just don't see me!
Numerous martial artists passed by me, chasing the assassin.
"Storyteller! What just happened?"
One of the martial artists who had come in pursuit approached me and spoke.
"A suspicious person made their presence known, and now you're coming towards me! What's the meaning of this!"
"It definitely looked like you were in a standoff..."
The martial artist threw a suspicious glance my way.
"No. Look at this neck. If you hadn't shouted over there just now, my neck would have been sliced and I'd be dead!"
I lifted my head to show the wounded neck. I deliberately smeared the blood from the wound on my hand and held it out in front of the warrior.
"Huh. That was close. The Merchant Leader just went after the assassin who disappeared."
Fortunately, the martial artist seemed to withdraw his suspicion.
"What! The Merchant Leader who just turned sixty today?"
"He had been drinking heavily and went to his bedroom with two beautiful gisaeng, but in that bedroom, he just..."
Old man, you had quite the stamina for your age.
Taking two at once.
At that point, couldn't you just think he died from overexertion? What a happy death.
"No! Who would dare do this to a man of such high repute in Chilgok-hyeon, who never held a grudge against anyone!!"
I don't know if he had any grudges, but I acted angry on his behalf.
"That's what I'm saying. Anyway, you seem injured, so go over there and get treatment, then return to your quarters."
The warrior pointed to a place where I could receive treatment.
"Yes. Thank you. I truly owe you ten years of my life, warrior."
I deliberately held my neck and bowed at a 90-degree angle.
"Not at all. Who would have thought an assassin would be mixed in with the acrobatic troupe. I couldn't have imagined it. I must go interrogate the acrobatic troupe, so you go on inside."
"Yes. Then I'll go get treatment first."
I headed towards the place for treatment with quick, short steps.
-------
"There. Luckily the wound isn't deep. I applied Golden Sore Ointment, so a scab will form in a few days."
The physician spoke as if it were nothing.
No. I bled. And you say it's nothing!
"I almost lost my neck, the business asset of a storyteller. Please take a good look."
"Are you looking for medicine to take over a little cut on the skin's surface?"
The physician frowned as he spoke.
Not that far. But it would be nice if you had some. Like water boiled with a hundred-year-old wild ginseng.
"I'd appreciate it if you could pack some Golden Sore Ointment for me to apply regularly."
Rolling around as a barbarian means getting wounded a lot.
"One application of Golden Sore Ointment is enough for a scratch like that. Tsk. Fine, since the guest is injured, I'll pack that much."
The physician showed a slightly displeased expression but gave me a small jar of Golden Sore Ointment.
This is it! The martial world's red ointment! Stops bleeding instantly. New flesh grows smoothly. Compound Golden Sore Ointment!
"Thank you. I'll be going in now."
"Ah! And one more thing."
Just as I was about to leave after saying my thanks, the physician stopped me.
"Yes?"
"The Merchant Leader has passed, so we must hold a funeral. It's a shame the banquet house has turned into a mourning house, but the Merchant Leader's son has asked all the guests who attended to participate in the funeral before leaving. You should also stay a few more days before going."
"For a banquet house to become a mourning house overnight... I too am someone who received the Merchant Leader's kindness. I will stay a few more days to pray for his peaceful rest."
"Good. A misfortune has occurred, so the martial artists are on high alert. Something like this won't happen again. Stay comfortably and then go."
"Yes. Understood."
I gave my regards and stepped outside.
I returned to my quarters and sank into thought.
I'll see you next time.
"Couldn't she just think she met someone who knows her while passing by and leave it at that?"
Worried about the great calamity that had befallen me, I rubbed my eyelids with the palms of my hands. I succeeded in improvising and saved my life, but she clearly said she'd come again.
Would she come looking for me tonight?
No. She can't come looking.
A first-rate assassin is supposed to kill their target without anyone knowing and disappear. There shouldn't be incidents like today where they kill and are immediately discovered. But she was discovered.
'She might be a pro as a murderer, but as an assassin, she's still an amateur?'
They said the assassin was a new member of the acrobatic troupe. It was probably a cover identity. She assassinated the Merchant Leader and tried to return to the acrobatic troupe and slip away secretly, but somewhere along the line, things went wrong and she was discovered.
Professional assassins in martial arts novels don't go through such complicated processes; they just infiltrate, slice, and disappear. Perhaps she's weak at stealth or infiltration skills, so she made that choice.
In the original work, she also wore assassin-like clothing resembling a ninja, but strictly speaking, she wasn't an assassin. It wasn't assassination where you kill the target and disappear; it was assassination where you kill all the witnesses too.
They said the martial artists are on high alert. That means I'll be safe for the time being while I'm here.
'Running away, even if I borrowed a horse, is probably impossible.'
Cheon So-hee sprayed a strange liquid on my body before fleeing.
Given the circumstances, it's probably something like Thousand-League Tracking Scent.
The nonsensical GPS tracker of martial arts novels. Once sprayed on the body, even if you wash, it absolutely doesn't disappear for a while. She'll definitely come looking, following that scent.
'It's certain she'll appear before me in the near future.'
The weakness of Thousand-League Tracking Scent in martial arts novels is time. No matter how much I wash, the pursuer can track the scent, but once time passes and the scent component disappears from my body, they can't. The probability is high she'll come as soon as I leave the Gap-su Merchant Group.
"I have to find a way to survive again."
What kind of bolt from the blue is this, after a whole year?
Cheon So-hee is a bitch who has no qualms about killing. Like killing a mosquito found in a room, she kills anyone who bothers her without hesitation.
The reason such a bitch didn't kill me is probably because I mentioned her real name, which only she knows. What would happen if she finds out I'm just a Joseon person who happened to know her name?
Assassins don't leave civilians who discover their identity alone. And the opponent isn't just an ordinary assassin, but the Heavenly Killing Star assassin. What will happen if the truth is revealed is as clear as day.
I have to find a way to survive.
I still have some time. I must find a way before leaving the Gap-su Merchant Group.
'I saw the character setting sheets.'
When I cleared the Princess route, I could check the detailed settings of the supporting characters that appeared in the extras section.
I had to give feedback, and the character illustrations were so pretty that I checked them meticulously. Of course, among them was the villain, the Heavenly Killing Star.
Let me trace my memory. Is there a setting I can use to survive?
"There is... a way to survive?"
Yes. If I use that method, I can survive.
I hurriedly left my quarters, grabbed a passing servant, and spoke.
"Excuse me."
"What can I do for you? The situation is suspicious, so you shouldn't wander around at night."
"I happen to need writing materials. Could I possibly get some?"
"Writing materials? What do you intend to use them for?"
To save my life.
"I came here having been invited by the Merchant Leader, but my circumstances are difficult, and I couldn't even contribute a condolence offering. It was so sad I couldn't sleep. Then it suddenly occurred to me that writing a letter of condolence would be the proper thing to do, so I'm asking like this."
A letter of condolence is a letter expressing sorrow and comfort to a bereaved family.
"Such a deep sentiment. I understand. I'll go fetch some."
"I'm good at storytelling, but I have no talent for writing, so I'll need to use a lot of paper. Please, bring a generous amount."
"Understood."
The servant nodded and disappeared to get the writing materials.
After a short while, the servant handed me the writing materials and went off to attend to his own business. I took the materials and entered my room.
"In the end, it's writing."
In my previous life, I made a living with writing. Here, I write to survive.
I'd be less resentful if I could at least make a living with writing. The writing I do just fails spectacularly.
I have to set a trap for Cheon So-hee with writing.
To think I have to use my own life as a chip in this plan. Usually, you'd get cursed at and that would be the end if you used someone else's life in your own plan without risking your own. But I have to risk my own life.
"A writer has to live by writing, what can you do."
After a brief lament, I started writing.
Let's survive!
Once was hard enough.
Can't I survive twice!