Chapter 168

‘ …Why is Regina Ernbert here?’

Natasha instantly recognized the person riding a white horse, next to the carriage, as Regina.

She had seen her from afar once, back when she was at the north.

And she was one of the individuals the organization considered dangerous.

There was no way she could mistake her.

“ Who are you? What are you doing, blocking the road like this?!”

Godwin snapped.

Most people would have flinched at the sight of his massive build, but Gulshan and Natasha, of course, were not intimidated.

Gulshan, in particular, looked ready to jump out and take Godwin’s head.

But…

Natasha didn’t release her grip on Gulshan’s shoulder.

The situation had changed.

When a predator takes down a lamb, it’s a simple matter.

A completely different story when facing another predator, however.

They would also inevitably be injured.

That’s why she was cautious.

“What is going on here?”

Ignoring Gulshan’s frustrated question, Natasha asked,

“We are mercenaries, hired for a bandit extermination quest, heading to the castle. Have you perhaps come from that direction? ”

She tried to gather information, concealing her true purpose.

Assessing the situation.

Whether it was time to draw their swords.

“Just the two of you? Have you lost your minds?”

Godwin chuckled incredulously.

“ I don’t feel the need to be spoken to like that by a complete stranger.”

“ Humph, I don’t care. We’ve already wiped out all the bandits.”

Natasha’s eyes narrowed upon hearing Godwin’s proud declaration.

A dark gleam appeared in her eyes.

‘We can’t let them go.’

She wasn’t certain whether these people had come into contact with *that object* inside the castle.

But the moment it was confirmed that they had set foot in the castle, the possibility could no longer be zero.

As soon as Natasha made up her mind, and released her grip on Gulshan’s shoulder…

The carriage door opened.

“ Hold on. Talk to me. I’m the leader.”

Max stepped out of the carriage.

“Hmm? And you are?”

Gulshan blinked.

“ Huh? What? You?”

Max also looked surprised.

The atmosphere became strange.

“How do you know him?”

Natasha narrowed her eyes, asking Gulshan.

“That annoying bastard who was tagging along with the elf bitch who interfered with my business! To think we’d meet again here. Hehe, I can’t help but laugh.”

It was obvious.

That Max was an enemy.

No problem.

Natasha placed her hand on the staff that was strapped next to her camel.

Just then…

“ Hold on, hold on. Don’t do anything reckless. I won’t be responsible for what happens.”

Max said, his expression meaningful.

“ Hahaha, what are you going to do? I’ll tear your tongue out right now.”

Gulshan chuckled menacingly.

It’s a bluff.

That’s what Natasha thought as well.

The only person worth watching out for was Regina.

There was no threat from the other humans.

Natasha nodded.

“Hahahaha! ”

With a burst of maniacal laughter, Gulshan vanished from the top of his camel.

* * *

Shadow magic.

It’s a scary, troublesome technique.

Especially since, as long as multiple shadows exist, you can’t pinpoint location.

So I set a trap.

Stepping out of the carriage was part of the trap.

Gulshan was shot by an arrow from me, someone he had seen as insignificant, like an ant, during our previous encounter.

He definitely hasn’t forgotten that humiliation.

It was obvious that he’d target me the moment I appeared.

It meant I could narrow down his range to just me.

But I needed one more thing.

Someone with the skill to deal a significant blow within that limited range.

Of course, I had taken care of that.

As soon as I stepped out of the carriage, I mouthed to Regina…

– Watch my shadow.

She was quick-witted, she would definitely understand.

I trusted her.

Even at this moment…

Whizz!

The sound of the air splitting apart.

Swoosh!

A chilling sound, like something being slashed.

“Ugh! ”

Gulshan’s groan.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye.

Near where my only shadow stretched out behind me.

There was no need to turn around and confirm.

Gulshan appeared from the camel’s shadow, a look of rage contorting his face.

His chest was slashed horizontally, deep enough to show bone, and blood was pouring down, soaking the sand crimson.

A serious injury, obvious to anyone.

“ You…you son of a bitch! God damn it! ”

Gulshan sputtered in rage.

I saw surprise flash across Natasha’s face.

She probably didn’t expect Shadow to be dealt with so cleanly, so quickly.

We were also surprised.

“Wh-What just happened… ?”

Dolph mumbled, completely bewildered.

“I-I didn’t see anything…”

Allen, who was sitting next to the coachman’s seat, blinked in bewilderment.

It was only natural.

It all happened too fast to even register, unless they were watching my shadow intently.

“ It was the shadow! The shadow! The lady did something, I’m sure! ”

Godwin seemed to grasp the situation to some extent.

His senses are sharp.

“…”

Regina silently recalled the Hanbing Sword she had launched using her telekinetic sword technique.

Blood dripped from the blade.

Gulshan, at the sight of it, gritted his teeth, his rage boiling even further.

“ You useless eunuch! Is hiding behind women and getting protection all you can do, you ball-less bastard? If you’re a man, get out here and face me! ”

Oh, come on.

What an outdated statement.

Men and women are equal.

If a woman can get protection from a man, a man can also get protection from a woman. It’s only right.

In fact, it’s great.

This is a skill, you know.

I grinned, a mocking smile on my face.

“Gee, there’s no need for such praise. Since you’re so kind, I’ll offer some advice. Don’t scream. You’ll rip your wounds open.”

“I’ll tear you apart, you bastard! ”

Gulshan lunged at me in a fit of rage.

But he stopped abruptly.

He seemed hesitant, worried that he might get hit with another attack.

Just then…

Natasha raised her staff and pointed it at me.

I knew it wasn’t an ordinary staff.

It’s a staff-sword.

But not just any staff-sword.

It’s a staff-sword with an invisible blade.

The Formless Sword.

A legendary sword passed down through the Dark Elves’ guardian families.

And its current owner was Natasha.

The sole surviving Dark Elf.

“Whoa, hold on, hold on.”

I raised my hand, stopping Natasha.

We managed to get in a good hit on Gulshan, but the situation was far from good.

Even Regina, protecting all seven of us while fighting them?

Not an easy task.

We have to avoid a fight here.

And I knew a way.

“What do you want? ”

Natasha asked.

“Avoiding unnecessary conflict would be beneficial to both parties, no?”

“I doubt it.”

A cold response.

It doesn’t matter.

I’m going to show her through actions, not words.

I pulled something out of my pocket.

“You’re looking for this, aren’t you? ”

Thump, thump…

The heart throbbed in my hand.

The heart we obtained from the hidden dungeon in the castle.

Natasha’s eyes widened.

“ So you have…”

Gulshan also had a bewildered look.

“You… you thieving bastard! Give it back!”

I chuckled, instead of replying.

I understood why they were reacting this way.

I had seen the name of the heart.

(‘ ??’s heart )

– ?????

– ?????

– ?????

A mysterious item, its name, and description, full of question marks.

It was clearly no ordinary item.

I’ve never seen this heart before.

But I knew one thing.

That Red Rain was collecting items marked with ‘??’.

Even while knowing this, given the timing back then, I couldn’t even consider interfering.

It was impossible for a weak first-year protagonist like Camian, to even touch, the fringes of an organization as dangerous as Red Rain.

‘But…’

This time, that impossible feat was achieved.

A chain of coincidences.

No, it was a chain of events that I had set in motion. Maybe it was inevitable after all.

I had a feeling.

That this unexpected accomplishment might have an unimaginable impact on the course of this game.

“Give it back? What are you talking about? Don’t you know that finders keepers? ”

“You bastard! ”

As Gulshan was about to charge at me, my other hand moved.

“Don’t scare me. I might tear this poor heart apart if I get scared, you know? ”

A dagger suddenly appeared in my other hand.

Its sharp blade was pointed right at the still beating heart.

“What?”

Gulshan stopped in his tracks.

Natasha’s expression hardened.

She first calmed Gulshan down.

“ Don’t act rashly, Shadow. ”

“Damn it.”

Gulshan grumbled but seemed to have abandoned recklessly attacking me again.

“ What do you want?”

Natasha asked.

“I told you, unnecessary conflict isn’t good for anyone. Let’s just go our separate ways. ”

“…”

Natasha paused for a moment, considering.

But her choices were limited.

She eventually sighed, and said,

“ Fine. Go.”

“Then open the way, would you?”

“…”

Natasha gestured with her eyes at Gulshan.

“Tsk, what a mess.”

Gulshan grunted and pulled his camel aside.

I grinned.

“Don’t follow us. I might stab the heart if I get spooked by you guys.”

“…Human. You have no idea how dangerous this is.”

Natasha gave me a chilling warning.

“No, I think I have a pretty good idea. That’s why you better not mess with me. I’m going to keep this heart with me, always.”

I had avoided getting involved with Red Rain because of their fearsome reputation, but it was different now.

Because I have an item that I can’t give up, no matter what.

I couldn’t tell what it was exactly, but one thing was for sure.

That it was a precious item to Red Rain,

And as long as I had it, they wouldn’t dare harm me.

It would be like holding a hostage.

“Humph, that’s what I’d hope you’d do. It’s your best shot at surviving.”

“Thank you.”

I deliberately took her sarcastic warning as a compliment and got back on the carriage.

“ Let’s go, Dolph.”

“Ye-Yes, Master”

Neigh!

The carriage started moving again.

* * *

We successfully completed all the planned extermination missions.

Although there were several unexpected events during the last mission, we managed to resolve them.

To celebrate the successful conclusion…

…we were having a grand feast.

In Vaea, a commercial city at the northern end of the central continent.

“You seemed to know those guys?”

Godwin asked, guzzling a large glass of strong alcohol.

“ I encountered the tattoo guy during a monster hunt.”

I answered, taking a sip of cold beer.

“Just who are they? I’ve never heard of techniques like that.”

“How should I know? They’re dangerous though, that’s for sure.”

I subtly avoided answering further.

because it’s information that only I should know for now.

“Right. If it weren’t for the lady, we would have been in a lot of trouble.”

Godwin nodded in agreement.

He must have sensed, just from seeing the Shadow Magic once, that Gulshan was more than capable of taking him down.

“Hmm, well, that aside. When did you get such a beautiful and capable wife?”

“ Pfft! ”

I spat out the beer I was drinking.

The beer splashed on Godwin’s face, but he casually wiped it off with his shirt.

He’s an extremely tough guy, as always.

“…She’s not my wife. She’s my fiancee, my fiancee!”

I corrected him urgently.

“Wife, fiancee… what’s the difference? ”

“Everyone else except you thinks it’s different!”

“Geez, you’re so petty.”

“…”

I want to know just how “not petty” this guy is…

“Anyway, have a drink, lady. We’re indebted to you.”

Godwin lifted his bottle.

It was the same strong alcohol he was drinking.

But Regina calmly raised her glass.

“I’ll gladly accept.”

“Hahaha! You’re straightforward. It seems like you got yourself a great wife.”

Again with the “wife” thing…

I was too tired to correct him again, so I just let it slide.

Fortunately, Regina seemed accepting.

“ Hahaha! May you have a blissful marriage.”

…Just how far ahead is he thinking?

“ Thank you. I wish you the best.”

I saw it then.

A faint smile gracing Regina’s lips, as if amused.