Chapter 168 – 168. The Real Mastermind (3)
“I stabbed someone… There was no hesitation…”
On the way to her house, Erin stared at her hands as she walked absentmindedly.
As she trained, she began to hold her sword and repeatedly saw the skin on her hands torn and calloused.
She had the experience of cutting down devils and beasts, and she had the experience of hunting animals, but she had never had the experience of piercing human flesh.
Eun-hyeon said that she would experience hurting people someday, and she had said that she might be in for a big shock about that first experience, and that she should be prepared.
The opportunity for that experience came so unexpectedly and suddenly.
But despite her bloody action, which was done without any mental preparation, Erin didn’t react like she was shocked or anything.
What bothered her even more was the fact that she stabbed her without hesitation, as if she had been accustomed to this behavior of harming people from the beginning.
“The cause is probably… Is it because of him?”
Erin recalled the existence of her divine beast, said to be dormant within her own body.
Despite her doubts, the nine-tailed fox did not answer Erin’s questions.
The existence of Miho, who has only a part of her soul left due to the remaining will of Shinsoo, occasionally gives Erin advice on the nine-tailed fox’s magic, and other than that, she does not interfere in any way with Erin and just sleeps quietly.
“Ha…”
Erin let out a short sigh at her slightly frustrated heart, and then moved on with her steps again.
“I have to hurry up and prepare dinner for Illyana.”
Since Eun-hyeon was away for a few days, Erin had to take care of her housework.
She was going to simply satisfy her hunger with chicken skewers and go home to prepare dinner, but when she realized that she was a little late due to unexpected circumstances, Erin started running late.
When she finally arrived at the front door of the house, Erin noticed a man standing in front of the front door of Illyana’s house and tilted her head.
“Huh… ?”
“Hmm? Do you live in this house?”
A man snooping in front of the gate spotted her Erin and spoke to her.
“Uh… By the way… ?”
Erin put on a curious expression as she examined the man who had spoken to her.
Judging by her appearance alone, she didn’t really like to belittle or look down on others, but the man’s demeanor didn’t look like he had business at Illyana’s house.
His shabby clothes were all worn out and his skin was exposed, so he hadn’t washed his hair for several days.
“What… Are you at work?”
It is not unreasonable for Erin to naturally take the posture of her guard.
Even though she was staring at her suspiciously with her eyes narrowed, the man didn’t care at all and took something out of his bosom.
“…”
Erin’s reaction to distance herself from the man by backing away from her was the result of training the instinctive alertness instilled by her grace.
“I’m here to tell you this.”
“… Letter?”
“Yes. It is a letter.”
Erin looked at her envelope, which she politely held out to herself as it was held in the man’s hands, and she asked again.
“Who are you sending it to?”
“I do not know.”
“Who is sending it?”
“I do not know.”
“… Do you think that makes sense?”
She couldn’t understand that it was a letter that neither the sender nor the addressee knew, so she couldn’t let go of the idea that it was suspicious.
“Hehe, we don’t ask or argue anything like this, we just deliver secret letters as we are told. It’s because they live on receiving a lot of silver coins in return.”
“…”
“This was the errand we received. ‘Deliver this letter to the person living in this house.’ That’s all. So I waited all the time until someone came in or left this house.”
“Such a suspicious letter… Do you think I will get it?”
“It doesn’t matter if you accept it or not, but… I successfully delivered the letter to you anyway, so it doesn’t matter.”
When Erin didn’t even think of receiving a letter from the man, the shabby-clad man nodded his head as if he was used to it, inserted it between the gates, and left.
“Then I definitely delivered.”
After saying that, Erin put on a dazed expression as she looked at the man’s back as he left her seat.
“What is that person really…”
Erin went to the front door and pulled out the letter stuck between her door and opened the envelope.
She slowly read the contents of the unaddressed letter.
– He came to me personally. In the end, your ominous predictions were correct. She thinks that she may also be connected to the demon who is the mastermind behind the last Pernin raid. Please come and share the details.
“… What?”
Erin read it two or three times to make sure she hadn’t read it wrong.
“The demon of the Pernin Raid…”
Her memories of that time were still vivid in Erin’s mind.
From the incident where she was kidnapped by Ashton and almost raped by students at the same school, she awakened the power of the divine beast, eventually caught the devil, and regained the title of Baron Hersha under the declaration of Queen Diane. This is what happened
The succubus, who was the ringleader of the incident, was even killed by her Erin herself.
But who the hell is the ‘him’ who is being suggested to have some connection with the succubus?
Since it was the succubus that turned her own brother, Elvin, into her warlock, Erin couldn’t help but be concerned about the contents of the letter.
“This… Maybe a letter from Hyuni… ?”
Illyana knew very well that she wasn’t the type to be concerned about the country’s situation by seeking out information or giving information.
This way of moving secretly and secretly behind the scenes is Eunhyun’s way.
She immediately moved her body and hurried into the house.
“I’m home!”
“Come on. Are you late?”
At Erin’s greeting, Illyana, who was sitting on her couch reading her magic book, turned her head and looked at her front door.
“Yes. It’s a bit of work… How was your meal?”
“Yet.”
“I’ll do it right away!”
“Make it together.”
Illyana, who closed the magic book she was reading and raised her body, entered the kitchen with Erin.
Recently, she was ignored by Rio de and Anies for not knowing how to cook, and she was encouraged by her, and she was learning to cook little by little from Erin. More and more
Erin smiled and happily accepted her decision.
“Yes!”
During dinner, Illyana looked at Erin’s hesitant attitude and opened her mouth.
“Do you have anything to say?”
“Yes? Oh, that’s…”
“Don’t worry because her face is all over. What is it?”
“Some strange person at the door brought this…”
“Letter?”
Illyana, who received the letter Erin gave her, read the contents and frowned at her.
“It’s annoying again.”
“How… Are you going to do it?”
“I’m going to sleep, I’m not going to do anything.”
“Yes?”
Hearing her unexpected answer, Erin opened her eyes wide and asked again.
“Is it that surprising? Since you know my personality and ways, I thought you would have expected it.”
“That is… Even if you don’t want to come out, I thought you would come again this time, since you helped in the last Pernin raid and various other cases…”
“That’s it. Either Hyun-yi was involved, or I was half-forced to participate because of him.”
“Ah…”
Erin gave a small sigh as if she understood.
“And don’t get me wrong. It’s not that I’m not helping because it’s annoying. It’s just that I’m not good at collecting information like this, and making appropriate judgments according to the country’s situation and situation. That kind of judgment was mostly taken care of by Riod externally and by Hyuni internally.”
“Mmm, that word…”
“Then shall I ask the baby? What do you want to ask of me, baby?”
“Yes?”
At Illyana’s sudden question, Erin widened her eyes.
“Really, as the letter speculates, if we assume that there could be another dark side related to the succubus Aga killed then, then what can Agha do with just that clue?”
“What can I do…”
Quietly chewing on Illyana’s words, Erin was lost in her thoughts.
Even so, she continues to listen to her.
“In the state of not knowing the exact identity of the darkness, whether it is alone or in large numbers, where it is located, and what its characteristics are. Are you asking me for help? You don’t even know what to do specifically to help?”
“Eww…”
Erin blushed and averted her witch’s gaze, as if embarrassed by her point piercing her own breast.
However, the witch’s remarks were closer to kind advice than her sharpness or harsh rebuke.
“What do you want to do, baby?”
“I want to meet the person who sent this letter and hear more about it.”
She wanted information about the man who might have ties to the succubus that led her to make Elvin her warlock.
“Hmm, good. Do whatever you want.”
“Uh… Really?”
Erin was very surprised by Illyana’s permission, so she asked again after confirming.
“Huh. However, I won’t help. I hate having to step in and put my head into something like this from the start. But that doesn’t mean I can’t let her act alone in a potentially dangerous situation.”
Illyana pondered for a moment before opening her mouth.
“Emilia.”
“Yes.”
With a short command, the doll, which had been sitting in the corner of her living room and was standing still, raised her body and walked in front of Illyana with a regular gait, waiting for her commands to follow.
“From now on, follow Erin and escort her. From now on, I will hand over the authority to give you orders to Erin.”
“I accept your order.”
Emilia stared at her Erin once and opened her mouth.
“From now on, this entity recognizes ‘Erin Hersha’ as a submaster, indicating that the command authority has been successfully transferred.”
“Uh…”
Erin reacted bewildered, unable to follow her words.
“And hold on.”
Illyana put down the spoon and got up and went into her room.
It wasn’t the bedroom where Eunhyeon and Illyana usually sleep, but the studio where her magic books and artifacts were located.
After coming out of the studio, Illyana put the black marble she took from her room into Erin’s hand.
“This… Something?”
“Huh, it’s a gift for my baby. In case of danger, this will protect the baby.”
“… This one?”
Erin gave her questioning look as her Illyana stared at her jet-black orb clutched in her own hand.
◆ ◆ ◆
“Come on, Emilia-sama.”
“There is no need for a title of honor for this object.”
Certainly, the scene of him respectfully respecting a girl who looks younger than himself, putting aside his inner appearance, is a very comical situation for those who do not know the circumstances.
“That… Emil… Leah?”
At Jierin’s hesitant words, which were still awkward, Emilia, who escorted her and guided her, responded with a small nod.
“Yes.”
“Can I touch you just once?”
“… ?”
Emilia, who had been leading the way in response to Erin’s question asking for her permission, stopped her steps and looked up at her with her questioning gaze.
Seeing the expression of the girl looking down at her with her sparkling curious gaze, her Emilia’s body trembled slightly.
Previously, she recalled Cecilia’s curiosity to dissect every nook and cranny of her body structure and dig into everything from one to ten, but she soon realized that her curiosity was subtly different from that gaze.
Even though she used her artificially created facial muscles to make a grim expression, Emilia didn’t express her vehement refusal like she did with Clarisse before.
“Command… Second… I accept…”
It wasn’t that Erin had given her orders, but was it really because she couldn’t refuse her orders as a ‘submaster’, or was it because she was trying to be considerate of her curious mind?
Emilia herself was confused as she could not give a definition.
As soon as she gave her permission, Erin touched the delicate doll girl’s forearm.
“And… It’s very soft like a real human arm…”
At the same time, the hard but fine cracks felt on the joints of the shoulders connecting her arms and torso make it clear that the girl’s body is not a human but a doll.
Wearing her goth loli dress, Emilia’s appearance was that of a daughter of an aristocratic family who grew up in a greenhouse.
Erin couldn’t bring herself to her senses as she enjoyed the delicate feel of the doll in her hands, such as grabbing Emilia’s cheek and pulling her, or touching her arm.
“… I propose to the Submaster to move to her destination soon.”
“Ah Okay.”
Emilia touches her own body and awakens Erin’s mind, which feeds her insane curiosity.
After dinner, Erin continued to move her steps, following her Emilia’s guidance through the dark yet winding narrow alleyways.
As the sun went down, my vision became so dark that I couldn’t see properly, and many people were conscious of the glances that were glancing at them in line with the atmosphere of darkness.
“Here is…”
She realizes that it is a place called ‘the slum’ that she has only heard about from Eun-hyeon once, but she has never actually been there.
Erin gradually felt somehow uncomfortable that she was being glanced at by people who looked like the man who had delivered her mysterious letter to her in the first place.
“Hey Emilia, is this really the right place? Where she delivered the letter.”
“You’re right.”
Just nodding her head and replying like that, Emilia didn’t say anything else.
Erin tried to ignore the stares of many people who were glancing at her and her Emilia, and she followed Emilia.
She reached the front of a shabby building made of wooden planks glued together, and the gangster who looked like a gatekeeper guarding the entrance of the building frowned at Erin’s face.
“What. You?”
“Ah, I think that…”
She didn’t know how to introduce herself, and seeing Erin’s hesitant demeanor, her gatekeeper scoundrel clicked her tongue.
“Tsk, a kid like you is coming here… Ok?”
In the dark street, the moonlight that had been hidden by clouds suddenly began to shine brightly, and right next to Erin, a short goth loli girl caught the eye of the gatekeeper.
Soon, Emilia’s uniquely beautiful face and her appearance in luxurious clothes reminded him of the strange feeling that he was familiar somewhere, and at the same time, the rogue’s complexion began to harden.
“Ahhh…”
“Hey, why are you like that…”
“Ah, the devil!”
“… Devil?”
“Hee, hee hee!”
The knave suddenly sat down on the floor, and when she saw Emilia’s face, she put on a terrified expression.
She then opened the door to the building she was guarding and she shouted as she hurriedly entered the building.
“The devil… The devil is back!”
“Ok… ?”
Erin looked at Emilia with a bewildered expression at her sudden gangster behavior and sent her eyes asking for an explanation, but the doll girl who caught Erin’s gaze put on a calm expression as if nothing had happened.
Soon, the voice of the gangster who ran into the building is heard in Erin’s ears.
“The ‘Devil Girl from Breaking the Marbles’ is back!”
