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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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“Do you like it?” I asked, watching Elsie fiddle with the figurine.
She smiled brightly. “Of course! It’s practically the first gift I’ve ever received.”
I was suddenly glad her first gift wasn’t a single copper coin. It was worth spending ten copper coins per figurine.
“I’m glad you like it.” I checked the bundle: potatoes, corn, and other vegetables. Enough for several meals.
“Elsie, I’ll leave this to you.” I handed her the bundle.
“What?”
“It’s about to begin.”
I had signed the contract to enter Lodreim Kingdom, but I had no intention of playing by their rules. Elsie seemed to understand and took the bundle.
“Did you already find him?”
I nodded. “That guy at the tavern.”
“That bastard?”
Yes, that bastard. The one who Lodreimed the King was dead.
“I’m not thrilled about it, but…”
I had to rescue him for the sake of the plan.
“You remember the plan, right?”
I was referring to our prearranged strategy. Elsie would return to the inn first, while I had something else to do. Elsie would then sneak out through the window, transform into me, and return to the inn.
“Of course.”
“Then…”
I’d asked to confirm, but I trusted Elsie. And she trusted me. There was no need to waste any more time.
“I’ll be back.”
I had to hurry before I lost him. I started walking, recalling what I’d learned from Libero back in Sack.
First… how to make a cool landing.
‘The streets seem brighter than usual.’
The man stumbled on his way back from the tavern, clearly intoxicated. The constant daylight of the Lodreim Kingdom made him self-conscious, but he had to hurry.
‘Night will be here soon.’
Night in a kingdom of perpetual daylight? Six hours out of every 24 were designated as ‘night’ by Lodreim Kingdom law. And unlike Sack, which didn’t interfere with its citizens, Lodreim Kingdom restricted movement during those six hours.
‘Thanks to that, public order is better than in Sack.’
Of course, that was what he’d heard before the isolation decree. There was no news about Sack recently. Talking about it could get you arrested by the knights.
‘Idiots.’
Several of his acquaintances had been arrested by the knights for discussing matters deemed harmful to national security.
‘They should have watched their mouths.’
But he couldn’t afford to worry about them now. He had to hurry before nightfall and be arrested himself. People were already disappearing from the streets.
‘About 20 minutes left?’
He checked the clock tower in the distance. Twenty minutes was enough time to reach home if he hurried. The streets were bright as day, yet deserted as he walked briskly. Then he saw them.
‘Those are…’
Knights.
Green-clad soldiers of the Green Knights. But there was something strange about their gazes.
‘No way…’
He’d done nothing wrong. It wasn’t nighttime yet, and he’d never spoken ill of the royal family. Yet the knights were staring directly at him. One of them slowly opened his mouth.
“Seize him!”
The soldier pointed directly at him.
‘Why?’
Broad daylight. Soldiers closing in. He froze, his legs giving way. He tried to call for help, but his voice failed him.
“Help… Someone help…”
He didn’t know what he’d done wrong, but he knew he’d share the same fate as his arrested acquaintances. At least, until someone appeared.
Thud.
Landing gracefully, seemingly out of nowhere, the figure drew a sword. The blade gleamed under the bright sunlight. The sharp clang of metal on metal echoed through the air.
“Gah!”
The figure’s strength was extraordinary. The charging knight was thrown back, his sword clattering to the ground.
“Wh-Who are you?!” the other knights shouted, startled by the sudden appearance.
But the figure didn’t answer. Cloaked in black rags, their face hidden by a deep hood.
“He’s alone! Don’t be scared!” The knights charged simultaneously. But the figure remained calm, effortlessly deflecting their attacks.
“What kind of monster…!”
Their swordsmanship was impeccable, yet they didn’t kill any of the knights, simply disarming them one by one with overwhelming skill.
“I’ll hold them off! Get reinforcements!”
The knights finally realized they were outmatched. A few brave ones remained to hold the mysterious figure, while the others fled to call for backup.
At that moment, the figure spoke.
“Hold them off? Don’t make me laugh.”
The sword flashed again, and the remaining knights collapsed unconscious, somehow incapacitated without being killed.
“Phew…”
Only the mysterious figure and the man huddled on the ground remained on the bright, empty street. The figure finally turned around. The man finally saw their face.
‘A mask?’
The masked figure approached him, sword in hand.
“Um… well…”
Despite being rescued, the man couldn’t help but feel intimidated.
“Thank you for your help, but…”
“You’re not going to ask who I am?” the figure interrupted.
“Should… should I?”
“Yes,” came the firm reply. He couldn’t refuse. Not that he wanted to.
“Who are you?”
“Call me the Masked Hero.”
With that, the figure turned and disappeared down an alley. The man, having recovered his senses, scrambled to his feet.
He had to get home. He was completely sober now, but his legs still trembled as he hurried home, vowing to be more careful with his words.
The next day, stories of the Masked Hero began to spread throughout Lodreim Kingdom.
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“Mr. Masked Hero.”
Elsie, sitting on the bed and biting into a potato, called out to me as I entered the room through the window.
“Elsie, I told you not to talk with your mouth full.”
I didn’t understand why she kept doing that, despite having the Court Etiquette skill.
Yousera, eating steamed corn, asked, “Isn’t ‘Masked Hero’ a bit childish?”
I couldn’t argue with that.
“What are you talking about? It’s a hero from a time-honored Lodreim Kingdom fairytale!” Elsie said.
She was right. The Masked Hero was from a children’s story. It was bound to be childish.
“A time-honored fairytale?” Yousera seemed intrigued.
“What’s the story about?”
“Well… I heard it when I was very young, so I don’t remember it clearly. Perhaps Mr. Seo Yoo-rang will tell you. He’s the mastermind behind this operation, after all.”
“Elsie?”
I tried to deflect, but Yousera was already looking at me with interest. Elsie had successfully passed the buck.
‘Oh well.’
Telling a story wasn’t that difficult. And we couldn’t leave the room at night anyway.
“But you have to go to sleep after this. We have things to do tomorrow.”
It felt like I was actually telling a bedtime story to children. I started recounting the Masked Hero fairytale as Libero had told it.
And as the story progressed, Elsie’s expression darkened.
“Mr. Seo Yoo-rang?”
She interrupted me during the episode where the Masked Hero slaughtered a human trafficking ring.
“Something’s off.”
“What is?”
“This is… different from the Masked Hero fairytale I know.” She looked pale.
“Different how?”
“The fairytale I heard was more righteous, filled with dreams, hope, and peace…”
“Righteousness, dreams, hope, and peace are different things.” Especially righteousness and peace.
“I know, but this is a bedtime story for children. While this might be the original version, it’s definitely different from the one I heard. The details are unnecessarily graphic, too.”
The impromptu storytelling had gone on longer than I intended. Even Yousera, who had requested the story, was fast asleep.
“Is that so? Anyway, we should get to sleep.”
“You’re right.”
I climbed onto the makeshift bed by the window. I closed the thick curtains, plunging the room into darkness. Just as I was about to drift off…
“Hey…”
The makeshift bed was for one person. One person.
“Elsie? Even if Yousera’s next to us…”
I wasn’t opposed to it, but it was risky with Yousera sleeping right there. It would certainly add to the thrill, but it was still wrong.
“It’s okay. Yousera seems quite tired from the journey.”
“Aren’t you tired?”
“I have a different kind of stamina.”
Perhaps it was inevitable. If I were honest, I was also thinking one round wouldn’t hurt. I turned and pinned Elsie down.
“Let’s make a promise.”
“What promise?”
“Just one round.” And that’s when it happened.
“Just one round of what?” Yousera, half-awake, looked down at us from her bed.
“This is… well…”
“It’s a time-honored Lodreim Kingdom wrestling technique,” Elsie said smoothly.
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😒
Rabbits…rabbits i say