Chapter 29
Chapter 29
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: Second Hero (3)
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Merrillda—no, the wolf—spoke in a voice brimming with irritation.
"What the hell are you babbling about right now?"
"Exactly what I said. I'd like my Execution Sword back."
In stark contrast, the Absolute Ruler of Darkness—no, the half-demon—stared straight into her eyes with an endlessly gloomy expression and continued.
"From the start, the Execution Sword you received was something you whined to the Master about, demanding it before I could get mine, wasn't it?"
"..."
The wolf glared at the half-demon with eyes now boiling with anger at her words, but she didn't open her mouth right away.
Grind—!
Because her words were true, after all.
The wolf had felt jealous seeing the half-demon receive something expensive from the Master, and because of that, she'd poured out her jealousy and complaints to him.
Even though she knew full well the Execution Sword was a weapon she couldn't even use, she'd done something so stupid, and in the end, the Master had handed her the sword before giving it to the half-demon.
...And like an idiot, the wolf from back then had been absolutely thrilled about it.
Crunch—!
As memories from ten years ago replayed in her mind—of herself, whom she now wanted to tear apart—her mood plummeted to rock bottom.
It felt like a reminder of just how impossible what Merrillda wanted now truly was.
"No way."
That's why Merrillda decided to run away from the suffocating memory of herself, the mere thought of which made it hard to breathe.
And conveniently, there was someone right here who could help her escape.
"It's mine."
"You just threw a tantrum to the Master and took it from him, didn't you?"
"Shut up...!"
The wolf growled.
The half-demon stared at her blankly for a moment before scattering darkness from behind her back.
Thud—clatter clatter clatter—thud!
From the darkness poured countless weapons.
From spears and swords to bizarre armaments that no one would mistake for ordinary gear, they scattered across the ground and embedded themselves in the dirt.
"Whether you like it or not, I'm taking it back."
The moment the half-demon's lips parted.
The wolf was already slashing her claws right in front of her.
BOOM!
A massive explosion.
Yet the half-demon, who clearly had nothing in her hands moments ago, was now blocking the attack with a sword.
"If you can, then try."
As Merrillda muttered with her red eyes gleaming.
KABOOM!
The cliff shattered.
───Rumble—!
"?"
Kim Hyunwoo, who had been walking toward the tavern, suddenly turned his head at the distant sound of something collapsing, tilting his head in confusion.
'Lately, I've been hearing those kinds of noises a bit more often.'
Recalling that such sounds had been more frequent recently, he shrugged and stepped inside the tavern.
Creeeak—
The tavern's interior looked noticeably different from when it was Level 1.
The previous version he remembered had felt incredibly cramped, but now, even though it had only leveled up once, the whole place seemed much more spacious overall.
'There she is.'
After looking around the changed tavern for a bit, Kim Hyunwoo quickly scanned the heroes scattered about before spotting a girl sitting in one corner.
She wore a robe, perhaps not wanting to draw attention, but the pink strands of hair peeking out gave away her presence unmistakably, so he walked over without hesitation.
At the sound of his footsteps, the girl turned her head slightly.
"I'd like to recruit you. Is that possible?"
"...Pardon?"
She froze for a moment at Kim Hyunwoo's blunt words, then responded in a flustered tone.
"P-Pardon? M-Me?"
Her voice clearly betrayed her shock.
Seeing Rani like that, Kim Hyunwoo felt a twinge of doubt, but he soon realized what the issue was.
"Come to think of it, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Kim Hyunwoo, lord of Lartania."
"The l-lord... yourself?"
"Yes. As lord, I'm making you a recruitment offer."
At Kim Hyunwoo's words.
Rani blanked out for a second before showing the same flustered expression as before, but soon a faint smile crept in, as if she quite liked receiving the offer.
"...Thank you for the offer, but I don't think that's possible."
However, as if suddenly remembering something, clouds passed over her smile, and her face turned gloomy. She promptly expressed her refusal to Kim Hyunwoo.
"..."
Kim Hyunwoo stared blankly at the notification window that popped up at just the right moment.
To Kim Hyunwoo, a hero with cooking skills like Rani was a valuable asset right now.
Cooking heroes could buff soldiers and other heroes alike, minimizing troop losses and hero injuries.
'Hmm.'
Yet the reason Kim Hyunwoo paused after so boldly offering recruitment was partly due to the penalties, but more fundamentally, the questions popping up in his mind.
'Do even 1-star heroes come with baggage like this?'
Even when he'd played Arteil, pulling heroes from gacha or refreshing the list would sometimes yield ones with low relations due to their backstory.
But he'd never seen a mere 1-star with relations this trashed, so with a puzzled expression, he debated whether to persuade Rani or give up.
'...Antalia Territory at –47, Mala at –25. They don't ring a bell, so probably not major players.'
Right after entering Arteil, Kim Hyunwoo had mapped out territories to watch out for, memorizing their names.
But Antalia and Mala weren't among them, at least not in his memory.
In other words, by his judgment, they weren't significant threats or were far from Lartania.
'Still, the relations dip bothers me.'
As far as he recalled, anything below –70 was basically primed for war.
So Rani's penalties wouldn't make enemies across the continent like with Merrillda.
Still, he hesitated because Lartania had no need to make enemies right now.
And above all, the reward was just a 1-star hero for that risk.
'...It's iffy.'
If she were 2- or 3-star, he'd tank the relations hit and keep trying, but as a 1-star...
'She has high growth potential, sure.'
Even factoring that in, a long-term investment like a 1-star with relations penalties felt too meh.
'And she's being hunted, so she'd need immediate protection too.'
More importantly, he'd spotted a special event-like status on her that he'd never seen in Arteil.
'Maybe just let it go.'
As he leaned toward not persuading her and opened his mouth.
Thud—!
"Tch, this is so damn annoying! What the hell are you doing hiding out in a backwater dump like this?"
The tavern door burst open roughly as someone stormed in.
"H-How...!"
Rani, who had been glancing at the door, reacted with shock, and Kim Hyunwoo turned to look as well.
"How? You thought you could run and I wouldn't find you, you dumb bitch?"
There, he saw a blond man hurling curses at Rani.
His face wasn't one you'd call pleasant, twisted in a sneer full of mockery.
'Isn't this tracking event triggering way too fast? I haven't even done anything.'
Kim Hyunwoo gaped in disbelief, but the man ignored him completely, striding over and grabbing Rani's wrist.
"Eek—!"
Rani snapped to her senses late and struggled to break free.
However.
Slap—!
"Guh!"
The man backhanded her cheek in an instant.
Violence wielded with horrifying familiarity.
Drip—!
"Just shut up and let yourself get sold instead of running off?"
He spat those words at Rani, now hanging her head with blood trickling from her mouth, then turned to Kim Hyunwoo, who stared dumbfounded at the sudden events.
"Who the hell are you?"
"...I'm the lord of this Lartania."
He'd guessed from the guy's looks, but facing this haughty stranger, Kim Hyunwoo responded with incredulity. The man smirked.
"Oh, you're the village chief of this shit-hole?"
"...Village chief?"
"Yeah, yeah, got it. I can tell from your size. You sniffing around to get a piece of her too? Bet you're all riled up. Sorry to disappoint, but this bitch already has an owner."
Snicker.
"Too bad, but she's gotta be sold as merchandise, so I can't hand her over. Unless... the village chief here shows me a little goodwill."
Kim Hyunwoo's jaw dropped at the man's brazen words, his mind reeling.
'What the fuck is this guy's deal?'
The guy was such a textbook thug that Kim Hyunwoo was at a loss for words.
He even second-guessed whether to engage this moron at all.
Oblivious to Kim Hyunwoo's thoughts.
"Tch, figures a failing dump like this can't offer any goodwill. Shouldn't expect much from an incompetent village head like you."
He mocked him outright.
And at that moment.
Atop the territory's hill.
The hill behind, now flattened into a barren plateau after several clashes—invisible from the territory as they muffled noises to avoid notice—where the two heroes were already brawling ugly, with one even grabbing the other's hair.
""Huh?""
Without a word, they both turned toward the territory.
...With chilling glares.