Ch.329EP.69 – The Knight Cheers for the Youth(9)

Ihan’s reason for debuting Pierre in high society was to catch the frauds parasitizing among the nobles.

Fortunately, things were going smoothly.

Well…

“Are you popular?”

“……”

“Lighten up, man. With that stiff expression, nobody will approach you. You’re supposed to be the flower of high society.”

“I have no intention of becoming such a thing.”

“Such a thing? Do you know how hard our rookies work to debut in high society, and you call it ‘such a thing’? Should I tear your mouth apart?”

“I-I’m sorry about that.”

While he was smoothly gaining cooperation and entering high society, after less than four days, Ihan realized there was a problem.

“They’re deliberately hiding, these bastards…”

No matter how hard he looked, they were nowhere to be found.

One might say, ‘Isn’t it too early to make such a judgment after just four days?’ But for Ihan, things were different.

He possessed the ability to detect everything within a 500-meter radius just by walking around.

If he wanted, he could extend it beyond 3km, but rather than forcibly expanding his detection range, narrowing it allowed him to perceive presences more meticulously.

Therefore, even though it had only been four days, Ihan could accomplish the observation and search of a hundred people at once, and thus he was certain.

…These guys had already disappeared.

“And they used quite a special method.”

Not only had they hidden their presence, but they had also erased their scent and energy completely, leaving no trace.

They probably had magical or mystical help, and it was annoyingly thorough.

But…

“It doesn’t seem to be just magic and mystical arts?”

Despite how thoroughly they had hidden, the fact that absolutely nothing could be detected gave Ihan a strange feeling, and he wondered if perhaps they…

“…Are they using [Holy Law] too?”

It was just a sudden hypothesis, but Ihan thought it might be correct.

Holy Law. The mystery of priests, different from both magic and mystical arts.

If they had obtained help from such power, along with magic and mystical arts, it wouldn’t be difficult to hide so thoroughly.

But it was strange.

The temple that managed Holy Law, or rather, the disrespectful ones who had cooperated with the frauds, had long since become kindling.

He had witnessed them burning brightly with his own eyes, which meant the temple was no longer in a cooperative relationship with those wicked people.

But how did they obtain help from Holy Law?

Ihan tried hard to think with his limited brain, and suddenly something clicked.

It wasn’t because he was smart that it clicked, but…

“Come to think of it, weren’t there people who used Holy Law despite not being priests?”

Holy Knights, or more precisely, he remembered there was one great noble family that was in complete unity with the temple.

The name was definitely…

“Was it Lohengrin?”

The sacred family Lohengrin.

Ihan recalled the only family that hadn’t become kindling in the previous incident, and somehow…

“Well, look at that…?”

The moment he uttered that name, his intuition seemed to speak to him.

As if that direction was correct.

“From then on, I made that guy use the surname Lohengrin. If he goes around using the surname freely, there will be a reaction.”

“…Hmm.”

After hearing the whole story, Roen nodded, thinking it was a reasonable conjecture.

It was certainly a plausible story, but…

“…There are many flaws.”

Roen expressed a negative opinion.

“Impersonating nobility is a serious crime. And if your intuition is wrong, it could become an even greater offense. No matter how much their pillars are crumbling, the great nobles are still powerful. Their pillars cannot be eliminated by knocking down just one or two.”

He could also be harmed.

After expressing such a concerned opinion, he…

“It’s not me who’ll go to prison, but that guy. It doesn’t matter. Even if things go wrong, he’ll take all the blame.”

“……”

“What?”

“…Nothing.”

He confidently stated his solution, and Roen was left speechless.

‘How did that evil woman…’

As far as Roen knew, the most cunning woman had become bait that could be discarded at any time, which was enough to give him an ironic feeling.

It was an undeniably complex emotion that was hard to define, and Roen, who had been hostile toward Pierre from the beginning, finally gave her a sympathetic look.

Because her situation was so pitiful that it made him forget even his resentment.

*

*

*

“I will also investigate Lohengrin, so please don’t overexert yourself alone.”

Hah…

“That dark-skinned guy, unlike his appearance, has quite a sense of loyalty.”

Despite his cold impression, once he gives his affection, he tries to help until the end.

Isn’t it touching when you discover that a seemingly aloof cat is actually a dog-like cat?

That’s the feeling Ihan was experiencing now.

“Will this accelerate the rumors?”

Since the dark-skinned guy had deliberately decided to help, the Lohengrin impersonation would quickly spread throughout the royal city.

Probably in less than a few days, wouldn’t everyone know about it?

When that happens.

‘There will be a bite.’

Ihan felt like he was fishing.

What was the reason for this not-so-funny transformation, or rather, disguise as [Santa Rihan]?

It was to fish without revealing himself as much as possible.

As his fame had risen and he had started to stand out, he was killing his presence and gently dangling bait in this way.

If you’ve ever gone fishing, you’d know that catching what are called big fish requires time, passion, caution, and a competitive spirit.

In that sense, Ihan intended to pour these four elements into catching the big fish known as a great noble.

…Hmm? What if there’s no connection at all, and his prediction is wrong?

‘Will Red go to prison or to the guillotine?’

Don’t worry, there’s a scarecrow prepared to take the blame.

Ihan nodded contentedly, and even as he saw Pierre trembling like she was having a seizure while once again becoming the center of the party, he calmly left the place.

…No, he was about to leave, but.

“Excuse me, might I know your name?”

“…?”

“H-here! I-if it’s okay, please come later. I’ll be waiting…”

“??”

Ihan blinked as he watched a woman leave a note for him out of nowhere.

‘…What is this?’

After checking the contents of the note, he found the name of a high-class inn in the upper-class district and a room number, and seeing this, a small twitch occurred at the corner of his eye.

“T-this, it means that, right?”

Ihan wasn’t a clueless idiot, and he knew what this note meant, unable to hide his discomfort.

It was the first time he had received something like this from a woman, and it was an undeniably fresh experience.

But…

“E-excuse me…”

“Yes?”

“W-what’s your name?”

“???”

The same situation unfolded about five more times afterward, and Ihan newly realized.

‘…Appearance is plausibility.’

* * *

In conclusion, the number of notes Ihan received was 15, and he quickly burned them all as if they were kindling.

It wasn’t that he burned them because he felt uncomfortable, but simply…

“I shouldn’t toy with young people’s hearts.”

This appearance itself was a lie, so what good would it do to deceive women’s hearts?

Ihan had no intention of finding fault with them for giving him such things based solely on his appearance.

He couldn’t criticize the impulses of youth, as anyone might make mistakes when young, and if Ihan had been without his peculiarities, he might have succumbed to such temptations.

“Hehe, isn’t it a shame? With the help of ambrosia, it would be possible to fulfill that desire even for just one day.”

“Hey, get out of my head, get out.”

Ihan waved his hand at the lewd demon that seemed to whisper in his ear.

It was none other than the sweet whisper of a demon in the form of the princess sister, but Ihan had no intention of playing with fire with women he had never met before, and thanks to the influence of the curse, his desires were rather faint.

Well, if the curse were completely lifted, it might be a different story, but otherwise, well…

‘Sigh, the curse.’

What came to mind was the curse placed on his body.

The curse of impotence engraved in his cells based on mystical arts.

Unless it was a perfectly made [Ambrosia], this curse would continue to torment him like a punishment from heaven, but Ihan was currently waiting and trusting Isis.

That she would make the perfect ambrosia for him.

‘She’s not the type to break promises.’

…Well, while she might not break promises, there was a possibility that she would continue to make unreasonable demands of him.

“I feel like I might be able to break it on my own.”

Overcoming the curse. Ihan, who had shown rapid growth over the past year, felt that the curse was weakening somehow with each step of his growth.

In other words, if his body gained strength that could overwhelm even the curse that was like a brand, then perhaps…

‘Who knows.’

It might be possible to overcome it without relying on medicine.

It might seem like mental gymnastics with positive thinking, but having a possibility is better than having none.

Ihan looked forward to the future.

And for such a positive future…

Tik!

“They had less patience than I thought. I expected it to take a few more days.”

Shouldn’t he thoroughly exterminate these guys!

Ihan saw a silver thread-like thing wrap around his neck only to break, and as he caught the thread that was being withdrawn after failing its purpose.

Kwaduk!

─He applied strong force.

“!!!?”

“What…!!”

“They say it’s a three-hundred-year-old Arachne spider web! He caught it with his bare hands!?”

The next moment, a group that came along with the thread screamed with astonished expressions, but Ihan snorted and clicked his tongue.

“If it’s been aged for three hundred years, it’s already past its expiration date, you know.”

He simply mocked these ignorant guys who didn’t know basic common sense.

…As he lightly threw a hand axe.

Hwook!