episode_0031

[Eugene: 0.87%]

[Known to a few people. Presence is small. Someone is harboring strong emotions.]

“This is insane······.”

It was alarming.

Eugene, who had been playing around in the two decimal places, was already about to hit 1 percent.

Moreover, with the addition in the description, ‘someone is harboring strong emotions,’ it is certain.

Jill has remembered the me from the previous chapter.

‘Which chapter was it? She shouldn’t remember all the chapters.’

My head spins.

It is clear what Jill, the reputation meter, is referring to as ‘strong emotions.’

Obsession, anger, and hatred, most likely.

If Jill has regained her memories, she probably noticed that I used and deceived her emotions.

How will she catch me and what will she do?

Jill is probably searching for me, pondering happily about how to catch me.

‘She’s scarier than the final boss······.’

Would it be worse to be caught by her than by the final boss?

But I can’t even imagine what would happen if I were caught by Jill.

Jill, who graduated from college at a young age and obtained multiple degrees, has a pride that soars to the sky.

Since I played with that Jill, I wouldn’t be surprised no matter what form her revenge takes.

– Pillars of the shattered cathedral. Mana bombs are suspected to have been used.

I vaguely understand the reason why the cathedral was destroyed in such a drastic manner.

It’s a message sent to me.

To come out when called in a nice way.

‘It’s still safe.’

And that statement is also like saying that Jill hasn’t found me at all.

With the power of a saint, she could probably slap both cheeks of most archbishops.

And even with that power, she couldn’t find me.

That’s inevitable.

I’ve been thoroughly hiding my real name in this chapter, so even if the ‘few’ who know my real name, like Blin, me, and Mijung, were to investigate, it wouldn’t matter.

Since I don’t even have an ID card.

Unless I directly confront Jill, there shouldn’t be any chance of being exposed.

With a little caution, I can easily avoid any harm.

There’s no point in worrying, so I decided to relax and think about something else now.

“Do you like it?”

“······Yes.”

Turning to the side, Mijung, who looks like she has no thoughts, comes into view.

She’s constantly caressing the ring on her right index finger.

A ring with a red gemstone embedded in it.

The same ring is on my left index finger.

“That guy, his skills are too good, it’s a problem.”

The gemstone emits a beautiful light that is too bright to be exposed like this.

So in the end, I had to apply a transparent coating on the gemstone to reduce the light.

Thanks to that, it looks like an ordinary ring with a ruby gemstone.

“Do you really like it?”

“······Yes. It sparkles. It’s pretty.”

She’s been showing a lot of interest in gemstones since before.

I made her a ring and she’s been petting it all day long.

I’ve long given up on stopping her.

She likes it, so what can I do.

“That’s more precious than your life. Take good care of it.”

“······Yes. I’ll treasure it, handle it carefully.”

“If you feel like you’re going to die, make sure to save the ring before you die.”

“······Yes.”

Not sure if she’s listening or not.

She’s too busy touching the ring to give a coherent response.

I let out a deep sigh and look out the window.

“We’re almost there.”

The scenery outside the car window has completely changed without me realizing it.

The lush fields have disappeared, replaced by vast wheat fields.

Just looking at it makes me feel like I can smell a refreshing scent.

“······Wow.”

Even Mijung, who was only focused on the ring, looks out the window and exclaims in admiration.

It’s a slightly unfamiliar expression.

Until a few days ago, Mijung wouldn’t be surprised by any sight.

But at some point, it seems like a part of her emotions has been revived.

‘Not bad at all.’

Treating it like an object may be difficult, but it feels okay to think of it as a companion.

It’s been like carrying around a robot all this time, so having a companion doesn’t seem too bad.

Just like this is fine.

I hope unnecessary emotions or memories don’t resurface.

“Sigh.”

Well, nothing ever goes my way anyway.

What’s different about the last chapter?

Always expecting the worst and moving forward, there’s almost no room for disappointment.

The train is gradually slowing down, I can feel it.

Must have arrived.

Passing through the tall city walls visible from the window, the surroundings are now filled with brick buildings.

“The next stop is the capital of the Holy Kingdom, Cologne.”

The current capital of the Holy Kingdom. Cologne.

Once development in Hameln is complete, this city will lose its function as the capital.

Just by looking at it, you can tell that Cologne is quite an old city.

With a deep history and traditions, it’s perfect as a capital.

But as the Holy Kingdom began to expand, Cologne quickly reached its limits.

The population continues to grow, but since it’s a city located inside city walls, expansion is impossible.

As a result, the population density keeps increasing, and problems are starting to arise everywhere.

That vast field we passed by earlier is all to sustain one city, that’s the gist of it.

“Let’s go. We’re really busy right now.”

“······Okay.”

As soon as we got off the train, I grabbed Mijung’s hand and hurried our steps.

Our rings clinked together.

The reason we came here is nothing else.

A dungeon appeared in the heart of Cologne, and it was designated as the Black Star Dungeon.

So all the so-called mercenaries withdrew and ran away.

The startled mayor of Cologne belatedly offered a reward and recruited people to defeat the dungeon.

The reward offered by the mayor is none other than a pearl necklace.

The dungeon is extremely dangerous, but the reward looks like this, so no one dares to challenge it.

‘But it’s a hidden item that must be obtained.’

That pearl necklace is absolutely necessary.

To be more precise, one of the pearls in the pearl necklace is a hidden item.

It’s a storage device containing information on the weaknesses of all monsters.

That setting is not important to me, but what’s important is that obtaining the hidden item grants the ‘Weak Point’ attribute.

It’s an attribute that allows you to see the weaknesses of all monsters.

For someone like me who has memorized the weaknesses of most small fry monsters, it was a useless attribute until now.

But if I’m going to challenge the final boss, I need this essential attribute to know the weaknesses of the final boss whose face I don’t even know.

‘Just in case, let’s get it a little earlier.’

In previous chapters, this place usually appeared much later, but this time, I came about two months early.

I know it’s a dungeon that no one can break into for a long time, but I’m afraid that the reward might change due to the butterfly effect.

Since it’s such an important attribute, I came in a hurry to obtain it.

“Ugh. There’s no separate chicken coop here.”

Walking around the city, my brows furrow constantly.

The buildings packed together like chicken coops give a more desolate feeling than modern apartments.

And it seems to emit a strangely unpleasant smell.

It’s an area where nobles gather, not a slum, but it looks like this.

“Don’t even make a clicking sound. Just stick close to me.”

“······Okay.”

After a while, we reached the city hall.

It’s not only large but also grand with ivy-covered walls that testify to its history.

“I’m here on a request.”

“Follow me.”

Seems urgent.

Without any further procedures, we were guided inside immediately.

“The mayor. The guests who came for the request are here.”

“Let them in.”

“Yes.”

Clunk.

The door opens, revealing the sight of a suffocating office filled with thick piles of documents on a large desk.

And seated in the middle, a bespectacled man.

He raises his head to look at me, his face flushed.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Lawrence Briem.”

“Pleasure to meet you, my lord.”

“Lord? No need for that. Mayor… no, that’s too formal. Just call me Lawrence.”

Lawrence says, waving his hand as if annoyed.

He still dislikes formalities.

Despite being a viscount, he’s an eccentric noble who stubbornly insists on wearing plain shirts instead of flashy attire.

“Very well, Lawrence. Do you mind if I don’t reveal my name?”

“Not at all. I’m not interested anyway. Hahaha.”

Lawrence laughs heartily, revealing his candid nature.

Thanks to him, the city of Kueren (at least outwardly) runs smoothly.

Since taking office as mayor, he has dismantled unnecessary administrative procedures and established a system focused solely on efficiency.

He recruits commoners based on their abilities, disregards noble etiquette, and pushes through with his work.

His bulldozer-like personality may have made him enemies, but his solid support base makes it irrelevant.

With the entire city of Kueren under his influence, there’s nothing to fear.

“You must have come a long way, you should rest first.”

“No, it’s fine. You seem urgent, so let’s start with the dungeon information.”

“Direct to the point. Good.”

He likes straightforwardness.

When two like-minded individuals come together, work progresses quickly.

“The dungeon appeared in the Kueren sewer two months ago. Many mercenary groups gathered in Kueren. Although the city did not promise any rewards, the honor of rescuing the largest city in the empire led to active attempts at conquest.”

Lawrence takes out a stack of documents from the cabinet and spreads them in front of me.

Each mercenary group’s challenge to the dungeon is detailed.

From mapping the dungeon’s structure to the types of monsters and their spawn points.

It’s excessively detailed.

Only Lawrence could produce such systematic dungeon records.

Despite his cold and gruff appearance, he’s not entirely like that.

Lawrence is also known for being a hopeless romantic.

“He said he wrote hundreds of letters to his deceased wife.”

Lawrence has a heartbreaking backstory.

He had a wife who died of illness, and he deeply regrets not treating her well.

To forget that pain, he throws himself into work.

“All the records are there, so take a look and decide.”

“What do you mean?”

“Whether to challenge the dungeon or not.”

“…”

Lawrence, now wearing his glasses again, resumes his work as if he has no expectations of me.

Perhaps he thought I would give up and leave soon.

– Encounter with 3 orcs. 2 dead, 1 injured.

– 6 lizardmen ambush in the water. 3 dead.

– Explosion trap. 1 dead, 1 injured.

The records were filled with grim stories.

Few return alive from these challenges.

In the past, I might have been terrified by this.

“I’ve roughly understood. Please guide me to the dungeon entrance.”

“Excuse me?”

But I have already cleared this dungeon.

It may be challenging, but compared to top-tier dungeons, it’s relatively easy.

My level of magic control has suddenly risen, and now that I have reached level 4, it should be a piece of cake.

“You know how to read, right?”

“You’re asking a rude question.”

“I’m sorry. It seems like the only person who dared to challenge the dungeon after seeing that was illiterate. I will guide you to the dungeon myself.”

Lawrence stood up abruptly and started to lead the way for me.

As expected, it feels refreshing and nice.

“We were planning to increase the rewards if no challengers showed up. This worked out perfectly.”

“Haha. I am satisfied with the necklace as a reward.”

“What? A necklace, what is that…”

Just as Lawrence was about to make a puzzled expression and shake his head.

“Oh.”

“Oops.”

Turning the corner, I bumped into a woman right in front of me.

Is she Lawrence’s secretary?

But her clothes are quite fancy for that.

“Cornelia. What’s going on?”

“Oh. Darling…”

The woman hesitated, then looked at Lawrence and immediately lowered her gaze to the ground.

Cornelia. Darling.

The two words combined in my head, causing confusion.

Surely Lawrence’s wife was supposed to be dead…?

“Oh right. I came two months early.”

It finally dawned on me.

Cornelia Brium, who had been dead every time I came to Cologne in previous chapters.

Lawrence’s deceased wife was alive at this point in time.

It feels strange to see someone who was dead suddenly alive.

“Please greet her. This person is going to challenge the dungeon this time.”

“T-Thank you…”

“Thank you. But we came here for the rewards.”

Cornelia bowed her head in thanks.

At that moment, Mijung suddenly scolded Cornelia.

Surprised, I grabbed Mijung’s hand to stop her.

“Twinkle twinkle.”

“This little one is being rude to the Countess.”

“It’s okay. Did you say that because you saw this?”

Cornelia seemed momentarily flustered, but then smiled and showed a necklace from around her neck.

It was a necklace filled with pearls.

As soon as I saw it, everything stopped.

“Twinkle twinkle. It’s beautiful.”

“Thank you. Little miss.”

It’s unmistakable.

That pearl necklace is indeed the one that gives the special attribute ‘Weak Point.’

But this makes the story much stranger.

‘Giving away the necklace of his deceased wife as a reward…?’

A man who couldn’t forget his deceased wife and wrote hundreds of letters of love, giving his wife’s belongings to someone else?

It doesn’t add up.

A sudden chill fills the air, and Lawrence’s smile, which had seemed refreshing, now starts to look somewhat sinister.