An awkward silence followed after I jumped out of bed and cursed.
It didn’t last long.
“Did you just say ‘fuck’ to ?”
Alia asked, as if to confirm, and I hurriedly tried to smooth things over.
Of course, I didn’t apologize mindlessly.
This was important to .
“Ahem, my na is Lee Hansu. Not Lee Hans.”
“So?”
“I would appreciate it if you could be careful with the pronunciation. You know, it’s a sensitive topic for …”
I was worried that my favorability might decrease, but Alia was surprisingly understanding.
“…Alright. I’ll be careful.”
She seed to realize that she had crossed a line, although she didn’t understand why I was so sensitive about the pronunciation.
Okay, then that’s settled.
I took the opportunity to ask her sothing I was curious about.
“Um, Alia.”
“Speak.”
“What did you an earlier? About how the royal family might have known I was an evil spirit and turned a blind eye.”
It was a question I couldn’t ask before revealing my identity.
“It’s just a possibility for now.”
Alia said cautiously, and then she shared her guess.
“If the royal family had ‘investigated’ you, they would have already discovered your identity.”
Hmm, that’s true.
Even I wouldn’t be able to hide it if they used a Numbered Item like the one we saw today.
But…
“I understand that, but how does that connect to them turning a blind eye? Wouldn’t it be more natural for them to just trust completely?”
“Maybe. But you were the most famous hero in the city back then. I thought they might not have been able to touch you.”
Uh, I still don’t understand.
No matter how famous I was, I was just a small fry to the royal family.
“Explain in more detail.”
“Hmm, you have no sense for politics.”
Hey, can you please stop analyzing Lee Hansu?
Alia chuckled and continued when I just stared at her.
“Think about it. A hero who risked his life to save his companions in the labyrinth, who fought a bloody battle against evil and returned alive with thousands of explorers. But that hero is an evil spirit? What kind of problem do you think that would cause?”
“Uh… chaos?”
“Right, chaos. After all, the royal family, along with the three churches, had been portraying evil spirits as evil beings that should be eradicated.”
Ah…
Now I understand.
Why she thought the royal family might have turned a blind eye even though they knew my identity.
“So evil spirits have to always be evil…”
“Fortunately, you’re quick to understand.”
I’m different from other evil spirits.
I helped my tribesn to strengthen the weak barbarian tribe, and I even fought at the forefront of the Noark War.
So the royal family had to be careful.
If they executed for being an evil spirit, the citizens would think…
He saved thousands of people?
And you’re killing him just because he’s an evil spirit?
“Of course, there wouldn’t be a riot even if they revealed your identity and executed you. It would be noisy for a while, and then it would die down. But…”
“The royal family wouldn’t want to set a precedent. That there might be evil spirits who could be beneficial to this world.”
“I’ll say it again, it’s just a guess.”
Although Alia ended her explanation, I still felt uneasy.
It wasn’t just a baseless guess.
There was evidence. And the problem was that the evidence sounded plausible even to .
‘Damn it, what if it’s true? Should I change my identity and go into hiding as soon as I return?’
That’s when, as my mind was racing with various thoughts…
“…Alia, are you asleep?”
“I’m not. And call Emily when we’re alone. I’ll also call you by your alias.”
“Uh, suddenly?”
“You might make another mistake in front of other people.”
She was talking about the ti I beat up Bek’s gang.
“So it’s better to get used to it. We’ll be contacting the Lord’s faction soon, according to our plan.”
I dismissed my thoughts at her words.
Right, I wouldn’t be able to find a proper answer about the royal family in this ti period anyway.
Let’s just focus on this.
_____________________
The next morning.
Knock, knock.
We had a visitor.
“My na is Rick Omanus. Are you Emily and Bjorn, son of Thor?”
He was… surprisingly, a knight.
Not an explorer who used a sword and wore plate armor, but a real knight under the Lord’s command.
‘So there’s a knight order here too.’
Well, that’s probably why Alia could use Aura.
It would have been difficult for her to reach that level of sword mastery at her age to naturally awaken it.
She must have learned it from soone.
“What’s your business?”
“The Lord has recognized your abilities and decided to support you.”
It was an arrogant choice of words, like the high-ranking officials in Lafdonia.
They didn’t even think we would refuse?
Well, we weren’t going to, but…
“What kind of support are you talking about?”
Rick Omanus just handed us a piece of paper instead of answering Alia’s question.
“The details are all written there, so please read it and give us your answer.”
It was a contract that listed the support we would receive if we accepted the offer, and what we had to give up in return.
The conditions weren’t bad.
We would receive support for our team mbers, the right to go up to Lafdonia if we made enough contributions, and various benefits from being under the Lord’s protection.
In return, we had to follow the Lord’s orders in ergencies.
“So it’s not support, but recruitnt.”
“I told you, the Lord has recognized your abilities.”
“We need so ti to think.”
“I’ll wait here. Please don’t take too long.”
Although we had been waiting for this, we took our ti, knowing that agreeing too easily might raise suspicion.
And when we opened the door again…
“…You were standing there the whole ti?”
“I’m on duty.”
I didn’t expect him to be waiting for over two hours.
“Here.”
We then handed him the signed contract. He said he had already inford his superiors and told us to visit them whenever we were ready.
He really didn’t think we would refuse.
“But does signing even matter?”
“It’s just a formality. You can’t live a normal life in this city if you go against his will.”
What the hell, he’s showing off in front of newbies.
We could just move to the eastern district and join Orculus.
“Then I’ll see you later.”
The knight left without looking back after finishing his business.
So it was ti for us to start our day.
“Emily, what are we going to do now? We attracted his attention, but it doesn’t seem like he wants to et us personally.”
“It’s fine. We can just keep attracting his attention.”
“Well, that’s true.”
I was confident in attracting attention.
After all, I kept getting caught up in incidents with this barbarian body, even when I was trying to lay low.
“Let’s go.”
We put on our equipnt and headed towards the Lord’s Castle. We had only taken care of so administrative work in the outer castle before, but we could now enter the inner castle, which required permission.
“You’re Emily and Iron Mask, right? Sir Omanus told about you. My na is l. I’m in charge of assisting you with your work when you visit the inner castle.”
l, the administrative official who greeted us with a bright smile, welcod us and briefly explained the structure of the inner castle.
I didn’t have to listen carefully.
I had already heard it all from Alia.
“Since it’s your first day, I think you should register first. Ah, what are your plans? Most people join their original teams—”
“We’re not planning to join a regular team.”
“I see. Then I’ll guide you to create a team under your nas.”
We followed the official to the Labyrinth Managent Office in the inner castle, which was only accessible to explorers affiliated with the Lord.
And we registered as a two-person team.
Ah, for reference, our team na was ‘Iron Mask’.
A nickna like this was much more morable than ‘Emily’ or ‘Bjorn’.
“What about the other three mbers? If you tell the roles you’re looking for—”
“We’ll decide later.”
“Yes?”
“We’re going to move as a two-person team until we find suitable mbers. So block all mbership applications.”
“Yes, I’ll take care of it.”
Alia, who was skilled at navigating the local system, then asked the staff mber for so information.
“How many ‘runners’ are available?”
Runners were those who entered the labyrinth at a young age and did all the dangerous work, like Zencia.
“There are currently thirteen.”
“Including those who are already in teams?”
“173.”
“I want to see them all.”
Alia carefully read through the list the staff mber gave her.
And she found the na she was looking for.
“I want to take these two.”
“The Rainwales sisters are already in a team, so that’s impossible…”
“You can at least contact their team. Tell them we’ll compensate them generously if they hand them over.”
“…Yes.”
That was the end of today’s business.
But Alia took to another place in the inner castle before we left.
It was a bar.
“A bar? There’s a place like this inside the castle?”
“It’s one of the benefits for those with access to the inner castle.”
“But why here…?”
I didn’t understand her intention since I had never seen her drink alcohol.
Not until I saw the bar’s sign.
[Rainwales]
It couldn’t be a coincidence that her last na and the bar’s na were the sa.
“Aren’t you going in?”
“Ah, ah, uh…”
The interior was clean, and there weren’t many people since it was dayti. We took a table in the corner and ordered drinks and snacks.
And…
“…….”
“…….”
…we sat there in silence.
Hey, why did you bring here if we’re not going to talk?
It seed like a place with a story—
“Are you curious?”
I hesitated for a mont and then nodded.
“It’s not a very pleasant story.”
“You can’t just experience pleasant things in life.”
She said so and downed her drink.
Damn, that’s strong. And it tastes terrible.
Is this what a manly city like Noark is like?
“…Strange.”
“Huh?”
“I didn’t say anything.”
Alia muttered and drank her alcohol.
Wow, what’s gotten into her? She even downed it in one gulp.
Was it a story that was difficult to tell when she was sober?
That’s when, as Alia placed her empty glass on the table…
Kwaaang!
…I was startled.
I quickly turned my head towards the sound.
A man’s voice was coming from the kitchen.
“You ungrateful bitches!!”
His voice was filled with anger, and I soon heard sothing breaking.
A woman’s scream was mixed in with the sound.
Thwack! Thwack!
It was clear that violence was taking place in the kitchen.
But the few custors just looked on with indifferent expressions.
“The owner is beating up his daughter again.”
“Keke, those girls are pitiful. To have a father like that.”
What, owner? Daughter?
Then the one being beaten up is…
Whoosh.
I quickly looked at Alia.
Her hand, which was holding her glass, was trembling.
It was too pitiful of a sight to just be old anger.
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