Chapter 10
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Relizan
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Time passed uneventfully.
During his stay in Deer Village, Luon focused on equipment maintenance and recovery. That might sound grand, but it wasn't. He simply ordered armor from the blacksmith and rested until his scorched skin returned to its natural color.
Thanks to his high stamina, it didn't take long for Luon to recover fully. Just then, the blacksmith sent word that his armor was complete.
True to the blacksmith's boast that his tanning skills were second to none, the quality of the leather armor was superb. Luon showed his gratitude with a few extra silver coins and immediately prepared to leave the village. The villagers, led by Ransel, came out to see him off.
Luon scanned the bustling crowd and spoke.
"You didn't have to come out."
"But you're leaving, Sir Luon. We had to say our goodbyes."
"That 'sir' this and 'sir' that. I'm sick of hearing it."
Despite Luon's disgruntled expression, Ransel nodded steadfastly.
"It's only natural you be called that. You are Tivela's Champion, Sir Luon."
Luon chuckled and extended his hand. Ransel quickly took it.
Luon said.
"Live well."
"Farewell. Please be careful."
Letting go of Ransel's wrinkled hand, Luon turned away. As he walked out of the village, someone shouted from behind him. It was Eville.
"We will never remember the man who defeated a demon and asked for no reward as an ordinary mercenary! You are our hero!"
As Eville shouted, veins bulging in his neck, the villagers clapped and cheered.
"Thank you."
"We can finally rest easy because of you."
"Come again! Next time, your stay at the inn is on me!"
The faithless warrior, now hailed as a hero, walked steadily onward with their cheers at his back. The voices gradually faded. Soon, a wide plain of silvergrass stretched out before him. As he brushed his fingertips against the grass bowing in the wind, Luon gazed into the distance.
"Where to next?"
For now, anywhere would do. This vast world was still full of countless places he had yet to see, and just as many stories awaited him.
***
"Shit!"
The shout was so loud that it startled a flock of birds into flight. The man who had cursed, Billy, kicked irritably at the air. It wasn't as if that would free the wheel buried in the mud, but Billy, dripping with sweat, couldn't stop kicking. If he didn't, he felt like he'd die of frustration.
"Shouldn't have been so greedy."
Dripping with sweat, Billy collapsed to the ground.
The trouble started when he'd tried to save a little time by taking a path near the river instead of the main road. The waterlogged ground had swallowed his wheel as if it had been waiting, and Billy had been stuck with his cart ever since. That was quite a while ago.
Just then, as Billy was catching his breath, someone came into view.
Billy shouted.
"Hey, over there! Hello!"
A man walking down the path in the distance turned his head. He looked their way for a moment, then strode over. Billy, who had been smiling in anticipation of help, unknowingly swallowed dryly as the man drew closer.
Clad in armor and carrying weapons, the man looked anything but ordinary.
The man, now standing before him, asked.
"What's the matter?"
Billy looked up at the man, who seemed at least a hand's breadth taller than him, and stammered.
"Th-the, uh, the wheel is stuck in the mud..."
The man stared at the cart for a moment, then walked past Billy. Avoiding the soft ground, he approached the cart, bent his knees, and gripped its underside. Surprised, Billy hurried over.
"Let's do it together. There's no way you can do it alone... huh?"
The wheel, buried so deep its spokes were hidden, came out completely. Struck speechless by the incredible display of strength, Billy asked.
"Are you descended from giants or something?"
Billy was serious, but the man chuckled as if he'd heard a funny joke.
"That wasn't an option during character creation."
"Character? What's that?"
The man, Luon, spoke to Billy, who was tilting his head at the unfamiliar word.
"It's just a thing. Anyway, why'd you leave a perfectly good road to take a path like this? What would you do if you ran into monsters?"
At that, Billy let out a deep sigh.
"I was trying to save time. Got too greedy."
"Why the hurry?"
When Luon tilted his head, Billy lowered his voice as if someone might overhear and whispered cautiously.
"I'm only telling you this because you're my savior... but there are rumors a war is about to break out. They say the king is planning a northern expedition."
*Just as Median said.* Luon nodded, recalling the events in Grungrad. That had been a month ago, so it wasn't strange for the rumor to have spread so widely.
Billy continued.
"So, it was obvious the price of iron was going to skyrocket, right? I may just be a peddler pushing a handcart, but I'm still a merchant by trade. I couldn't miss this opportunity, so I went around a few villages and bought up every scrap of iron I could find. But then, shit, a royal decree came down out of nowhere. Something about severely punishing merchants who try to profit from the price difference and freezing the price of iron. The iron I paid a premium for was about to become worthless, so I was rushing to sell it off and... well, I got myself into this mess. That's the long and short of it."
"I see."
Luon nodded. If even a peddler like this knew the rumor, then war really must be on the horizon. But just as it had been a month ago, Luon had little interest in the war. He had no desire to shed blood on the front lines to satisfy a king's lust for conquest. If he were to head north, it would be for his own journey, not because of a war.
Luon asked.
"Any other rumors?"
"Other rumors?"
"Anything will do."
Billy scratched his chin, thinking, then said.
"I don't know what kind of rumors you're looking for, but... the only ones I've heard lately are about some married woman who's taken a liking to a younger man and has been sneaking over the wall every night to see him. Want me to tell you who it is?"
"...Never mind."
Luon shook his head. Billy, looking embarrassed, scratched his head and asked.
"Where are you headed, friend?"
"Haven't decided yet."
"Then how about coming with me to Relizan? We just have to go up this way to the main road and follow it down. It's a pretty big city, so you might be able to hear the rumors you're looking for. Whatever they are."
Luon nodded at Billy's words.
"Alright, let's do that."
***
Relizan was a city with a completely different atmosphere from Grungrad. If Grungrad had the feel of a quaint, ancient castle, Relizan was more like a decadent city of pleasure. As if to prove it, the men on the streets were all covered from head to toe in tattoos, and the women would stick out their tongues and beckon with their fingers whenever they made eye contact.
After arriving in Relizan and parting ways with Billy, Luon spent his time completing trivial requests from the notice board. Compared to his work at the monastery, these jobs were all mundane and insignificant, but he knew that was how most work was, so he didn't feel particularly rushed.
As time went on, Luon's name began to spread, regardless of his intentions. The rumors, which had started to circulate by word of mouth after he thoroughly beat up six thugs who tried to rob him, exploded when Victor, supposedly the best bare-knuckle fighter in Relizan, picked a fight with Luon and had his jaw broken with a single punch.
Though Luon had become a celebrity overnight, his daily routine didn't change much. As always, he killed monsters and entered the city drenched in their blood. At some point, people had started calling him the Slaughterer.
Normally, Luon would have left the city before attracting this much attention, but this time, he didn't bother. The reason was that the lord of Relizan showed no interest in him whatsoever. The lord was famous for living a life of hedonism, ignoring the trivial rumors of his subjects and doing nothing but drink. Luon, who had never even seen his face, found him quite agreeable.
Still, he couldn't stay here forever. Over the past few weeks, he had resolved various incidents both inside and outside the city, but all he had gained was a mere 20% in experience points. The rumors were all baseless as well. He'd hear of a demon sighting only to find a cluster of goblins—that kind of nonsense.
He'd even acquired a precious sword, but he was tired of facing such pathetic monsters. Luon thought to himself.
*...I should leave tomorrow.*
Having made up his mind, he downed his beer in one go. The watery brew barely felt like he was drinking at all, but since one silver coin could buy twenty glasses, he could force enough down to feel like he was drinking. The problem was getting full before he got drunk.
It was then.
"Fuck! Get out of the way!"
Luon turned his head at the coarse curse from below. Downstairs, a man was surrounded by several others in the tavern.
"Who the hell are you to block my way, you bastards."
Even surrounded by burly men, the man shouted fearlessly. It looked like a fight was brewing. In Relizan, this was a sight as common as breathing, so Luon quickly lost interest and turned away. Or rather, he tried to.
"I'm here to see the Slaughterer, so why are you blocking my path!"
"I'm telling you, he's not someone the likes of you can meet!"
*What the?* Luon frowned as his cringeworthy moniker came from the man's mouth. Now that he looked closer, all the men blocking the man's path were the same ones who always followed him around. They'd appointed themselves as his unsolicited bodyguards and seemed to have found an excuse to act like it.
In the next moment, the man threw a punch at those blocking him, and a brawl erupted below. The pub instantly descended into chaos, and the crowd roared with excitement.
"Kill him!"
"Beat the shit out of him!"
*This is a pain.* Since it involved him one way or another, Luon stood up to deal with the situation. But what he saw was an unexpected sight.
The shouting man had knocked out all the others and was spitting on the floor. He looked up, and his eyes met Luon's.
Watching the man stride up the stairs, Luon let out a small sigh.
*So it's another one of those challengers.*
Ever since he'd broken that guy Victor's jaw, challengers had been showing up every so often to pick a fight. Every last one of them was an idiot who seemed to think Luon was some back-alley kingpin.
Luon, who never refused a fight, silently clenched his fists.
"Please, help me!"
The man reached the top of the stairs and dropped to his knees.