Chapter 182 – Hyehoon’s Lucid Dream (1)
We recovered the examiner’s mementos and evidence that the ogre had exterminated its offspring in its hiding place.
The keepsakes were leather armor and a dagger, but it seemed like it could prove his identity because it was an item with his name engraved on it. I couldn’t find the adventurer’s plate, though.
“I will tell the village chief.”
After returning to the village, Tyrsi worked hard.
Tirsi said that this was the party leader’s job, and presented the ogre’s chipped teeth and evidence of extermination to the villagers. I felt sorry for leaving all the troublesome tasks and playing alone, so I took on the job of explaining to the trollers.
No, it feels like 0.5 servings, so let’s cancel the word troller.
“You killed that monster? I must have misunderstood your skills.”
Vegan was still passing out—but it was comfortable for me too, since he would have been tired if he had been awake and hit the fire drip—Arthas said.
“We won without getting hurt. But won’t you share the loot?”
“Do whatever you like. It’s fine if you come back alive and well.”
“Yes. Congratulations on your silver class promotion.”
“You are. I can close my eyes now.”
Arthas fell asleep, apparently not knowing when the ogre would reappear. The healing priest said that he would regain his strength to return on horseback tomorrow, so there seemed to be no setbacks to his return.
After cleaning Shimai like that, I told Veronica.
“If you don’t have a place to stay, why don’t you sleep secretly at an inn? You left your cat in my room too.”
【Is that okay?】
“Uh. But don’t get up on the bed?”
【There is that level of courtesy.】
“You go first. He said he was tired. I’ll come to meet Tyrsi.”
【Okay. But, I have a favor to ask of you. Will you listen?]
It’s something I’m begging you to do. I nodded and Veronica said.
【Either early this morning or anytime is fine. Please visit the Holy Land with me. It would be better for you to choose the rune stone to give to you yourself.]
“I also? There is no confirmation that I will be able to use that magic circle.”
【No, it will be possible. If the rune’s mana contained in the seal is combined with the rune’s mana you have, you will be qualified. Knowledge of runes is no problem. I’ll be the one to activate the magic circle.]
“Then it doesn’t matter… If you go there, they won’t let you go back until the curse is lifted, right?”
When I gave him a slightly suspicious look, Veronica said it seemed likely.
【Don’t swear. It is an oath according to the rune of ᚷ (Gebō).]
“Pledge?”
【Look at it.】
Veronica gave a short answer and then she activated the rune. A rune floated between the horns resembling sheep’s horns.
The rune of ᚷ (Gebō) turned into a string of mana, connecting me and Veronica. I touched it inadvertently, but my hand passed through it because it was not a physical phenomenon.
To that, Veronica said as if praying.
【I, Veronica Eclipsis, swear by the precepts governed by the gods. Until the day the promise is fulfilled, I will never betray Nord, my lifesaver, and I will prove it with the honor and life of Æsir.]
After the words of the oath were finished, Veronica’s shadow spread out in all directions like a ᚷ.
It raised mana and returned to its original shadow, and in the process I could see that some kind of magic was applied only to Veronica.
“What did you do?”
I didn’t know what kind of rune magic it was, so I asked.
In the book I read, the rune of ᚷ (Gebō) was a rune used for fusion in the magic of people from another world. If you put water and oil in a flask engraved with the rune of ᚷ (Gebō), they will mix.
Veronica answered my question.
【It is the oath of ᚷ (Gebō). Normally, it is a magic that requires a price to be used, but I already owe you my life. I have sworn to atone for death or something more if you do not return safely.]
“Det?”
Die?
‘No, why the fuck did they bet on such a dangerous thing without mutual consent?’
If I accidentally go back and forth to the Holy Land and die, isn’t this saying that I will have to follow him as well! I thought so and tried to figure out why I was risking my life on someone else’s shoulders, but I showed patience after receiving Veronica’s serious eyes.
What can you say when you are being so serious? Even if I die, I can’t even argue because it’s the atmosphere that I’m responsible for. I said with a sigh.
“… Can you apply that rune to others as well?”
【Impossible. ᚷ (Gebō) is used for oaths, but in essence it is a rune of exchange. You can think of it as a gift. It’s impossible to force someone to do something they don’t like because it’s a promise through favor. Simply put, it is a rune that can only be cast on yourself.]
“I never wished for your life?”
【Didn’t you hope for a safe return from the Holy Land? All I received from you was the grace of lifesaving, so I also staked the same weight on each other.]
Veronica said with confidence that she couldn’t believe it after writing a different world version of the body renunciation memorandum.
【Anyway, I don’t have to worry about my betrayal anymore. If I threaten or betray you, I will pay with my life and the lives of my clan.]
“I’m going, I’m going. Sval, this is threatening you with your life.”
【Whoops. I won’t die if I refuse the invitation. It is up to you to reject it.]
“I’m going, it’s a cub. Hurry up and go to sleep.”
─Hwihwi. I shook her hand, drove Veronica away, and waited for Tyrsi to return.
Tyrsi showed up shortly after Veronica hid her body with runes and entered her inn. She walked up looking at the sky, saw me, and bowed.
“Did you wait? I am cold too.”
“Heh. Isn’t that the same for Tyrsi?”
“I don’t tolerate the cold very well. My constitutionally aptitude is concentrated in ice and wind.”
“It will be a big deal in the summer.”
“The wizard guild has temperature-controlling magic tools, so I can barely stand it. Whoops. Still, it looks like you’ll get a lot of heat during the quest, so please keep that in mind when organizing your party.”
“Yes. I will.”
I took out a notebook and tried to write it down, but I put it off because I thought it wasn’t something I would do during a conversation. I said as I opened the inn door.
“Anyway, you worked hard. Wasn’t it difficult to explain to the villagers?”
“What is my job? I brought some flour and potatoes. You said you were going to give me a bag. If anyone wants it, they say you can take more on the way back.”
“A potato? It’s good. I’m going to accept it. It’s modest compared to the request fee that saved my life.”
As far as I know, potatoes have been a long-lived crop that has been spread to other worlds as well. It is said that it goes directly to people’s tables without going through livestock feed.
Potatoes aren’t bad either. As I was thinking about that, Tyrsi came along and said.
“Yes. There are few adventurers who help out for free like this one. To prevent this from happening next time, I can only hope that the villagers will also come up with a means to protect themselves.”
“It’s a means of self-defense. Would it be possible to have resident troops in each village like in Romania?”
“When I grew up, the military resident system had already become obsolete and had been around for a long time. It will be like that after the Senate becomes a hotbed of corruption.”
Tirshi’s words were plain, so there was a great sense of incongruity.
It’s my subjective experience, but there were fewer people talking about politics as nonchalantly as Kulchin. Isn’t it about politics that, with the exception of some of the faggots, everyone’s stance is determined by their own interests or beliefs?
Maybe that’s why it felt like Tirsi, who was from a fallen aristocracy – apparently – was hiding her feelings when she talked casually about Romania’s corruption.
“Is that so?”
I answered. I, as a human being, have not paid much attention to other people’s private affairs unless they stimulated my trauma.
If it’s a sensitive topic, twice as much.
It was because when personal affairs were mixed with business relationships, it only made things awkward between them.
So, to be honest, I tried to get over it with that mindset this time too. Perhaps if Tyrsi was not a member of my party and was just a wizard Mr. A I knew, he would have done so.
“Do you want to go back to being a noble?”
However, it seems that the time has come for me to feel like a close friend to Tirsi.
Wouldn’t it be possible to talk about your future hopes with a female friend you know?
If it can affect my life depending on my future hopes because we are working together, wouldn’t other people besides me be curious?
If Tyrsi is trying to go back to being a noble, where is that ‘Wow! She has become a noble!”
Even if it’s not a 100-year-old ruse like the ogre I fought this time.
For at least 10 years, it would be possible to repeat the calculated steps that Tirsi said.
“Returning is a misnomer. My surname, Armasunas, will never be listed again on the Romanian nobility list.”
─Click. Tirshi answered without panic and opened the door.
We were already in front of our room.
“Recently, no matter how much Romania is selling noble titles, there is no way for a fallen noble’s daughter to become the beginning of a noble family again. It is absolutely impossible because of the ‘interest issue’.”
“Excuse me. I must have been mistaken.”
“No, Nord. You got the answer right. If I want to become a noble, I will have to change Romania’s laws or change my last name.”
Change last name
To understand that, I spent about 10 seconds. Some might think it’s fast, but it’s said that I was blanked out for nearly 10 seconds during a conversation, so it’s true that this was an idiot.
I hope you will understand though.
This is because my mother, Kim Seon-hee, is married, and she did not change her name to Kang Seon-hee.
After I didn’t respond for 10 seconds, Tirshi stood next to the door and only showed his face.
Then he asked in a tone that didn’t sound like a joke at all.
“If not… Are the Nords also interested in the Romanian aristocracy?”
Fuck?
I understood this question in one second. But I didn’t know what to fucking answer, so I gave up again.
This shit. I was also confident in my mouth-watering skills, but suddenly my confidence plummeted.
I feel like I realized it too late, but I was a pseudo-ada who had never been able to deftly pass this kind of appeal to a woman.
‘Well, my wives didn’t say things like this as a joke when they were female friends.’
It was a time when I was only moving my lips to spit out the words that were lingering in my mouth without being awkward. Tyrsi suddenly chuckled. She had a classy smile.
“It’s a joke, a joke. Sorry for teasing you?”
After saying that, Tirshi bowed to me.
“Thank you for hitting the promotion request together. I’ll come to your house with a present next time. Good night, Nord.”
“Yes. Good night.”
Swallow. There are even jokes that fall apart. Tirshi laughed, closed her door, and went back to her room. I went into the room, pulling her by the collar.
I thought a cute fucking colt would soothe my heart, but what was there was a horned, busty beauty in a Romanian dress.
I was astonished to see Veronica sitting cross-legged on her floor.
“It’s a surprise. No, what are you doing transforming?”
[After the curse was lifted, mana was consumed just by transforming into a horse. Shouldn’t I also adapt to the curse?]
“Are you breaking out in a cold sweat right now?”
Veronica’s complexion was as pale as her corpse’s, and her sweat was strangely pouring. She looks like someone who has a disease to die for.
─Glance. Muttered Veronica, with only her one eye open.
【… Don’t be honest It seems that the heart has become a centipede’s nest.]
“Why are you foolishly enduring it? Write this.”
─Poof! I threw the ogre’s seal at Veronica. Veronica, who was doing her zazen, her eyes widened.
【… Hmm. How easy is it to buy trust? You should have sworn sooner.]
Veronica had a mischievous smile on her face. In her dream, everything was unrealistic, so I didn’t even think about it, but looking at it like this, this guy was also incredibly beautiful.
I took off my shoes, lay down on the bed, and slapped my hands.
“Don’t talk bullshit, transform into the mana that’s there and grow up. If I go to your holy ground this morning, I will not be able to sleep even if I go to bed now.”
【Don’t write thank you. I’ll wake you up so you can sleep comfortably.]
“Yeah. Thank you more.”
I replied roughly and closed my eyes.
‘Fuck. I’m afraid that Tyrsi will appear in my dreams too.’
Haven’t you been having a lot of strangely vivid dreams lately? Veronica had cut off the runes connecting her consciousness, but for some reason it was a scary night to fall asleep because there was talk of the seal.
But surprisingly.
The one who appeared in my dream was an opponent I could never have imagined.
