Ch.2322. Historical Distortion (4)

# 22. Historical Distortion (4)

“One month?”

“Yes, I’ll join in a month. Is that okay?”

“Hmm… alright.”

She readily accepted my proposal.

“But why one month?”

However, Riel seemed curious about the reason.

Since I couldn’t tell her about it, I gave a vague answer.

“You’ll understand everything after a month passes.”

“You mean it won’t be fun if you tell me now, something like that?”

“It’s more than that—it’s something you shouldn’t know in advance.”

Besides, telling her would be pointless.

There’s no particular need for her to know anyway.

The people who need to be there will be there regardless of whether I tell them or not.

She fell into thought for a moment.

“Miss, what are you thinking about so deeply?”

“It’s nothing…”

She was probably thinking about the event that would happen a month later.

April 3rd is also her birthday…

‘Now that I think about it, it’s quite sad.’

To have your birthday be the same day as your mother’s death anniversary…

It’s truly pitiful.

Every time her birthday came around, she would pretend to be happy for her people’s sake, but behind closed doors, she would think about her deceased mother.

She always regretted, ‘If only I had come a little sooner…’

I felt so sorry for her.

But this time, things are different.

They say there are no “ifs” in history, but we’re still before that history is written.

It’s still a time when even a little kid like me can intervene.

***

For a month, we trained like madmen.

As soon as the academy ended, we would always rush to the training grounds and tackle dungeons.

Without a single day of rest, we burned through each day.

We hadn’t worked this hard even when preparing for the entrance exam.

Both Elin and I were so exhausted that we wanted to quit, but we endured.

No matter how tired and drained we were, we got back up.

Especially Elin’s perseverance was far more impressive than I had expected.

As a result, we achieved tremendous growth in just one month.

And now, I’m at the weapon shop with Elin.

“This is what effort looks like.”

She said with a frown beside me.

“You really like effort, don’t you?”

“The results are good, aren’t they?”

“We don’t know yet. We’ll find out tomorrow. But why did we come here?”

Her tone suggested she was somewhat expectant.

She was indeed staring at the displayed staffs as if entranced, and she also had plenty of money from clearing so many dungeons recently.

“Buy your staff with your own money. You’ve got plenty.”

“That’s disappointing…”

“I’m going somewhere else for a bit, so wait here.”

“Okay.”

She turned her attention back to the staffs.

I left her at the staff section and headed toward the accessories corner.

They sell various items here such as earrings, necklaces, cloaks, and more.

Most items are from dungeons, but occasionally there are artifacts too.

There were many items, but I already had something specific in mind.

‘Found it.’

Shabby cloaks were tucked away in a corner.

I pulled out two of the least dusty ones from among them and shook them once.

-Flutter!-

The cloaks released black dust.

I quickly turned my head to avoid the dust.

“Achoo!”

Despite turning away, some dust entered my nose, causing me to sneeze naturally.

I put the two cloaks in my basket and looked for other items.

After searching for a while, I found what I wanted in the consumables section.

‘Why is everything hidden in corners…’

I quickly put the desired items in my basket and returned to where I was before.

‘Huh?’

Elin and Leo were staring intently at each other at the spot where I had left her.

‘What are they doing?’

The two kept staring at each other.

They didn’t even notice I had returned.

Since they couldn’t stay like this forever, I spoke first.

“What are you two doing here?”

They seemed to realize I was there only after I spoke.

Elin was startled and said:

“Wh…when did you get here?”

“Just now.”

“Did you find everything you wanted to buy?”

“Yeah.”

I lifted the basket I was holding to show her.

Looking at the basket, she said:

“What on earth did you buy? What are these antiques?”

“They all have their uses.”

“Well… if you say so…”

“But why were you standing like that?”

Leo had been alternately looking at us since earlier.

After hearing my words, he disappeared into another section.

I asked Elin about what had happened earlier.

“Why were you two staring at each other?”

“He stared at me first.”

“So you stared back because he stared at you?”

“Yeah.”

I chuckled at her ridiculous explanation and headed to the checkout counter.

After finishing payment and leaving, I spotted Riel in the distance.

Normally I would have greeted her, but today I decided to just go.

‘She must be choosing a birthday gift.’

Since tomorrow was her birthday, Riel was preparing a birthday gift in her own way.

‘A weapon as a birthday gift though…’

Although she is a hunter, it still seemed a bit off.

If I gave Elin a weapon as a birthday gift, she would probably be thrilled, but the Empress doesn’t seem like that type.

Still, she would appreciate the thought.

“Hey, how would you feel if someone gave you a dagger or something as a birthday gift?”

“It wouldn’t be bad. Why, are you buying me a dagger?”

“No, just asking.”

“Tch.”

She clicked her tongue and looked at her phone, then said to me a moment later:

“Tomorrow is the Princess’s birthday.”

“So?”

She seems to have just found out about this.

I was about to scold her for only now learning about such an important event, but before I could, her eyes widened as if she had realized something.

“So the Princess’s mother died on her birthday?”

“That’s right.”

“That’s sad…”

“But it hasn’t happened here yet, right?”

“If we do well tomorrow?”

I nodded at her words.

She looked a bit anxious.

“Can we do it?”

“Tomorrow isn’t really about us doing anything.”

“Then what?”

“Well…”

Tomorrow’s protagonist is neither me nor Elin.

Tomorrow’s protagonist will change fate through their own power, with just a little help.

“We just need to do our part properly.”

After that, our protagonist will take care of the rest.

“But when tomorrow?”

“Evening, in the evening.”

That guy will invade the palace around 9 o’clock.

I don’t know which way he’ll enter, but I do know that he assassinates the Empress who was in front of the study around 9 o’clock.

“How are we going to get in? Tell me in advance.”

She seemed curious about how we would get past the palace’s tight security.

“Not here. I’ll tell you later.”

It’s unlikely, but it would be a disaster if that assassin were nearby.

It might seem overly cautious, but this is how it has to be.

We must always be mindful of the worst-case scenario.

No one knows what lurks in the pitch-black night sky.

“The sky is beautiful tonight.”

She was thoughtlessly praising this unpleasant night sky.

I followed her gaze and looked up at the night sky.

‘It is indeed beautiful.’

The sight of countless stars surrounding the moon was truly beautiful.

It was so captivating that I couldn’t take my eyes off it, but that beautiful scene was momentarily blocked by something.

Something even darker than the night sky.

Elin seemed to have seen it too, just like me.

“Did you see that? Don’t tell me that was…?”

Whatever it was, it probably matched what Elin was thinking.

***

Late at night, a man wrapped in a black cloak was drinking soju alone in a tavern.

The man was dressed similarly to the hunters who frequently visited the tavern, but there was something slightly different about him.

Both his aura and appearance were somewhat different from ordinary hunters.

The tavern owner asked him:

“You’re a hunter, right?”

“…”

He didn’t say anything.

The owner, thinking perhaps the man hadn’t heard him, spoke again:

“Excuse me?”

“…”

He still said nothing.

But his black eyes were fixed on the owner.

The owner, assuming the man had a speech impediment, stopped trying to talk to him.

The tavern fell into a moment of silence.

In the extremely quiet atmosphere, the man finally spoke:

“Mister, do you know where people go when they die?”

Taken aback by the man’s sudden question, the owner was too stunned to respond.

“Are you ignoring me because I ignored you earlier? That’s amusing.”

“No… that’s not it at all…”

The owner was visibly flustered.

He had spoken with many hunters before, but never had he felt so tongue-tied as he did now.

It was as if he was being crushed by the man’s aura.

“I’ll ask again. Do you know where people go when they die?”

“Um… they say everyone goes to the netherworld…”

The owner finally managed to speak.

Despite knowing the man was younger than him, he couldn’t help but use formal speech.

The man grinned and said:

“Is that really so?”

“What do you think?”

“Well… I don’t know either. I haven’t died yet.”

It was an obvious statement, but it sounded somewhat frightening to the owner.

And then, an inexplicable ominous feeling began to creep in.

“But why are you asking me…”

“How about you try dying once? Then you can tell me afterward. Right?”

“What?”

The owner felt tremendous fear at the man’s absurd suggestion.

“What do you say? I’ll bring you back to life.”

“…..”

The man pulled out a short dagger from his cloak.

Then he slowly approached the owner.

“Goodbye, mister. See you later.”