episode_0026
by fnovelpiaDuke of the tavern soiree in the city of Nokhtar.
The exterior of this place was quite different from the taverns found anywhere. It was a sophisticated bar, and it was a place where only nobles and wealthy merchants were allowed to enter.
It was a space for socializing among those with knowledge, and also a space for sharing information that was not floating around outside.
Like now.
Men wearing expensive clothes and luxurious accessories were sitting on the barrier, drinking and chatting.
“So, have you heard that rumor?”
“What rumor?”
“Rumor that the Reaper has appeared! It is said that the messenger who appeared in Praxu and Agartha killed people and took their souls!”
“Huh.”
took my soul
It is on a different level from ordinary death. Let alone reincarnation, you may still be screaming somewhere.
“But what’s even creepier is that all of the dead people were deeply involved in eradicating witches.”
“So does this mean it was the work of a witch?”
“It’s obvious even if you don’t look at it. I was cursed for touching a witch.”
“You just invaded the beehive. I heard there aren’t many witches these days anyway? Is there any need to touch it? As long as you don’t cause any harm, you can just live on your own. Actually, wizards do it more these days.”
The man moved his head vertically and agreed.
There are records of witches running rampant across the continent and slaughtering innocent people, but that was in the distant past. It was a time when only witches knew how to use magic.
Now that hundreds of years have passed, the miracle called magic has been relegated to a somewhat unusual feat. It was foolish to distinguish between wizards and witches.
“Besides, they say all witches are pretty?”
“What are you talking about? As far as I know, they’re all old ladies with wrinkles.”
“So fucking cute.”
An unfamiliar voice suddenly entered the conversation. The men’s heads turned to where the sound came from.
It was a handsome man with black hair who sat two seats away.
He was sitting upright, savoring a glass of delicate ivory-colored wine.
“What did you just say?”
“I talked to myself a bit. This drinking glass is quite cute.”
“It’s just an ordinary drinking glass?”
“Wow, I can’t believe you don’t know the difference. It’s a shame that I can’t share my impressions.”
A man with a foolish laugh.
The men made eye contact and made gestures. He shrugged his shoulders as if he was a strange guy and turned off his attention.
“How much did we talk about?”
“I don’t know. I forgot because of that guy. Oh, did you hear that? They say they succeeded in hunting the elf at the top of the Desert Rose!”
“What? Is that really true? That guy, Loferman, succeeded in the end.”
Loferman, who runs the Desert Rose Merchants, is a famous collector and has a maniacal obsession with collecting rare items.
That includes elves.
The appearance of elves is so beautiful that it is difficult to approach them, but it is difficult to even encounter them because they live in hiding in the great forests.
Even if you are lucky enough to meet one, Ilsin’s inaction is outstanding and capturing it is a dream in the sky. Because of this, elves are quite rare. Sometimes, when it appears on the market, nobles rush in without any hesitation, and the minimum winning bid is the price of the castle.
I can’t believe you succeeded in hunting such an elf.
There is no such thing as a jackpot.
“I’m jealous.”
“I heard it’s being transported right now, so let’s take a look when it comes.”
“I’m looking forward to it. I’m looking forward to it.”
It was another voice.
The man’s head turned.
“Are you eavesdropping on our conversation?”
“Yes?”
“Aren’t you interrupting the conversation just like before and even now!”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I couldn’t stand the man acting like a fool and jumped up.
Information is sometimes something you can’t buy with money, so you just listen to it with your bare mouth. Of course, since it is a public place, it is somewhat taken into account, but it is still unpleasant to show it off like that.
“You’re going to pretend not to notice? Then what does it mean to be excited just now? Now you won’t deny that you never said something like that, right?”
“It is expected that bubbles will rise. Because it is carbonated, it produces more than usual. Look at this.”
The man gasps when he touches his wine. Bubbles boiling over. Then, looking at the men.
“Ta-da.”
He spreads his hands to the left and right and strikes a pose as if he were performing a great magic trick.
I burst out laughing at that shamelessness.
“Are you asking me to believe that now?”
“Whoosh, whoosh.”
Why is “ suddenly smiling!”
“I have a disease where I laugh when I see bubbles. Sorry… Sigh.”
Bubbling.
Sigh.
The man repeated a series of actions and laughed to himself.
“Look, just go. I feel like I’m missing something, but there’s nothing good about being associated with a guy like that.”
I didn’t like it, but he was a hundred times right.
Everyone who can participate in the soiree’s operations is a person who exerts influence. So, I can tell who someone is just by looking at their face, but this is my first time seeing this man.
If you escalate matters without knowing the other person well, there is no way to turn back.
Even now, the man was rubbing the top of the glass with his finger, with loving eyes, as if he was lusting after his lover’s skin.
Those guys are a particularly dangerous group.
“Tsk.”
The man clicked his tongue hard as if to listen and left.
The black-haired man rubbed his glass even after the men left. Without erasing the faint smile from my face.
“Free information.”
Karami drinks with satisfaction. The old bartender who was cleaning his glass looked down at him pitifully.
“You have a lot of money, so why do you keep eavesdropping on other people’s stories?”
“If you sit here and valuable information pours out, why spend money? Gather the dust and become a mountain.”
“Why are you doing that in my store?”
“Master, are you being so mean? I also saved my granddaughter’s life.”
“That’s why they can’t kick you out.”
Karami sits at the bar all day and spends her days like a loner, but there is a world of difference between her exterior and her inner self.
This is also the reason why there can be a mere slave trader here who is neither a noble nor a merchant.
Master Victor of the Soiree Duke recalled his first meeting with Karami.
***
It was a rainy night.
On a night when the moist buildings softly reflected the moonlight, Victor was closing the store as usual.
Snap.
The sound of footsteps hitting the water screen floating on the ground.
Without even giving Victor a glance, he knew it belonged to a man. The sound of footsteps stopped next to the store.
“Business is over today.”
“Is that so? It’s a shame. I heard the alcohol here is so delicious.”
Light voice.
It was my first time hearing it.
“I’m sorry, but our store is only accepting customers. Even if you come again tomorrow, I don’t know if you’ll be able to come in.”
“It works well anywhere. If you emphasize luxury, rich people will come and give money because they like it. Give me a little sense of superiority and inferiority.”
“If you don’t like it, you don’t have to come. It’s a bar. There are other places besides ours.”
There were people who started fights often, so it wasn’t something to get upset about. Victor silently closed the wooden door. Every time the chain I held in my hand touched my fingertips, a dull sound passed through my ears and mixed with the sound of rain.
Snap.
Since Victor wasn’t paying any attention, the man seemed to have lost interest and walked away again.
Soon, as I passed by Victor.
“Twilight falls, and the peacock stops dancing.”
Quang!
Victor’s new form was drawn in the rain. He grabbed the man and pushed him against the wall. With his arm pressing down on his neck, a dagger came out of nowhere with the speed of a beam of light and was aimed at the man.
“Who are you? How do you know that slogan?”
Only then did Victor see the man’s appearance for the first time.
Unique features such as black hair and black eyes, and a considerable beauty. It might have been painful to have his neck pressed down, but he looked down at Victor with a funny look in his eyes.
“Hmm, that’s strange. That’s not the password I know. I think I mistook a person.”
“No, it’s probably the person you’re thinking of. Don’t divert and answer only the questions asked.”
“Even if you say it that way, I can’t confirm it… .”
“… … .”
Victor paused for a moment.
“… But the shadows keep dancing.”
“Where does the peacock head on a rainy night~?”
“To a place where there is darkness, a place where there is no moonlight.”
The corners of the man’s eyes were twisted sinisterly.
He smiles and says it’s good.
“ Wow, it’s definitely someone I know. I wanted to hear your voice in person, and thanks to you, my wish came true.”
“So answer the question directly. Who are you? How do you know this?”
That’s because this password was used by the assassin guild.
Victor was the guildmaster of the assassination guild.
However, on the day that his colleagues were eliminated due to trickery, the guild was disbanded and Victor is now running a bar in Nokhtar.
There is no one left in the world who knows of his existence. The same goes for the password. It must have been buried beyond memory along with the departed colleagues.
That’s what the man I met for the first time recited.
“Former slave trader Karami. In the world, he is also called a slave envoy. If you ask me how I know Mr. Victor’s identity… Because I am a huge fan of Mr. Victor.”
“A fan? Are you asking me to believe that now?”
“Haha, I’m serious. I can’t show you my true feelings.”
“Don’t worry. Because you will know if it is sincere or not when you open it.”
Victor moves his hand.
Cock.
The dagger stabs Karami in the neck. A drop of blood flows down the dagger.
“Hmm, if you kill me, you’ll be the one in trouble, Victor.”
“Well, wouldn’t it be more difficult for someone who knows my identity to be alive?”
Karami grinned at him.
Say one more thing.
“If I die, there will be no one to treat my granddaughter’s illness. Are you sure you don’t mind?”
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