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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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In the eastern region of Basil, a small village stood isolated from the rest.
It consisted of a handful of houses for the residents and a coach station for horses and coachmen.
Calling it a village was a stretch, honestly.
Its primary function wasn’t to be a village, but rather a coach station connecting Basil to Sak.
The only way to reach Sak was by taking a coach from here.
The reason for this was the “Gate.”
A path connecting one barrier to another, the Gate.
Despite its grandiose name, it was essentially a road constructed by placing barrier fragments at regular intervals.
However, it was the only way for ordinary people without relics to travel between barriers.
‘Even for heroes, it’s the same.’
If the barriers were close together, like those surrounding the Lodraim Kingdom and the Holy City of Hailen, it wouldn’t be a problem.
But for barriers separated by vast distances, like those of Sak and Basil, even heroes would struggle to travel on foot.
This made using coaches a necessity, and consequently, using the Gate.
But using coaches wasn’t exactly a disadvantage for heroes.
Even though the Gate was essentially a long, elongated barrier, the barrier fragments that made it up had a limited lifespan.
This meant that sometimes, the Gate would be broken or weakened, allowing Chaos Beasts to slip through.
To minimize this risk, coachmen actually paid heroes a certain amount of money to ride along as escorts.
Generally, the stronger the hero, the higher the payment.
A strong hero attracted more passengers, allowing coachmen to charge higher fares.
And eventually…some heroes even started specializing in escorting coaches.
“Honestly, what better gig is there than this?”
“Exactly. We earn just as much as those idiots risking their lives fighting Chaos Beasts out in the wild.”
Two men who looked like heroes were sitting in a corner of the station, drinking and chuckling.
‘I need to avoid coaches with those kinds of escorts.’
It didn’t matter how skilled they were originally.
Escorting coaches rarely involved encountering Chaos Beasts.
Which meant their combat skills would inevitably deteriorate.
‘If they run into a strong Chaos Beast, they’re as good as dead.’
The chances of encountering a Chaos Beast on the Gate might have been low, but I wasn’t willing to gamble my life on statistics.
Riding a coach with those kinds of escorts to save a few coins was like trying to cross the Pacific Ocean on a raft.
The Chaos Realm was a dangerous place where even a massive ship like the Titanic could sink.
‘I have enough money, so I need to find a coach with a reliable hero escort.’
I started scanning the coaches, looking for a proper hero. Ideally, someone I recognized.
Finally, I spotted one.
‘That’s…’
A hero clad in a black cloak and a wide-brimmed hat sat quietly in a coach.
He wasn’t a playable character, but I knew him.
He was a hero who occasionally made it onto the high-ranking hero list.
‘I can trust his skills.’
With that in mind, I approached the coachman.
“How much for this coach?”
The coachman glanced at the hero in the back, then replied,
“Well, the hero is quite high-ranking, but I’ve decided to offer a reasonable price of one silver coin.”
One silver coin…
That was enough to cover a month’s worth of living expenses at an inn.
But considering the strength of the hero escort, it wasn’t a bad price.
“Here you go.”
I handed the coachman the silver coin.
He took it and deposited it into a chest at his feet.
“Then, hop on in. We’re scheduled to leave by noon if we don’t get enough passengers, so it seems like you’re in a hurry.”
I climbed into the coach as instructed.
I settled into a seat diagonally across from the hero, the atmosphere thick with awkward silence.
Fortunately, the reasonable price seemed to be working. We managed to fill the coach with passengers before noon.
“Alright, we’re off.”
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A few hours later…
“Do you know what’s trending in Sak these days? So there’s…”
The middle-aged man sitting next to me never seemed to tire of talking.
I did my best to tune him out.
At first, I listened out of boredom, but his repetitive stories were starting to give me a headache.
‘Speaking of which…’
The hero was leaning against the window, chin resting on his hand, staring out at the passing scenery.
His stoic demeanor was reassuring, but I had no idea what he was thinking.
‘Not that it matters.’
Our paths would diverge once we reached Sak.
Unless I decided to challenge the high-ranking hero system, our paths wouldn’t cross again.
“Hey, young master. Young master!”
I turned my head at the sound of the middle-aged man’s voice.
He was looking at me.
“Me?”
“Well, who else would I be talking to, young master?”
Young master…
That was a new one.
From my hometown to Basilium, I had always been dressed in travel-worn clothes, looking more like a vagrant than anything else.
But now, I was wearing new clothes I bought in Basilium.
“That blonde hair, that air about you…you don’t seem like you’re from the countryside. Are you perhaps a noble from the Lodraim Kingdom?”
I was taken aback, then it hit me.
It was because of the [Authority of the Lodraim Royal Family] Trait.
It wasn’t as pronounced as Elsie’s, but I guess it still gave off a certain aura.
‘Maybe I should have asked Elsie for advice on how to conceal it.’
She must have learned a few tricks during her escape.
She hardly ever revealed her true nature on the streets.
But I was still new to this whole “royal aura” thing.
“It’s alright, you don’t have to hide it. I’ve met my fair share of nobles while doing business in the Lodraim Kingdom.”
He let out a hearty laugh.
It was too late to deny it now, so I just laughed along.
“So, what brings you to the Lodraim Kingdom?”
I didn’t feel the need to go into detail.
“I’m going to meet someone.”
It wasn’t technically a lie.
A one-sided acquaintance still counted as an acquaintance.
“I see. And what about you, young lady?”
He turned to the woman sitting across from me.
She, like the hero, seemed disinterested in the conversation, staring out the window on the opposite side.
“Well, I guess she doesn’t want to talk.”
Yeah, that was the smart approach.
I, who had entertained his endless chatter, was the fool.
And I continued to pay the price for my foolishness.
Then, it happened.
Suddenly, the horses whinnied.
The coach slowly came to a halt.
‘We’re still far from Sak.’
Something was wrong.
The hero straightened up, his gaze alert, scanning our surroundings.
‘What’s going on?’
It didn’t seem like we were under attack by Chaos Beasts. Everything was quiet.
Just as I was starting to relax, the coachman opened the side door and announced,
“We have a Sak inspector who wants to search the coach. Please bear with us.”
A Sak inspector?
I had never encountered an event like this while traveling through the Gate in the game.
I quickly went over my belongings, making sure I wasn’t carrying anything suspicious.
Thankfully, all my relics were safely stored in my inventory.
“Excuse me.”
A man walked up to the coach.
“We’ve been having some trouble in Sak recently, so we’re conducting inspections. Sorry for the inconvenience.”
He effortlessly climbed onto the coach.
And then, I froze.
Because the man…
‘Why is the Demon King here?’
It was the 54th Demon King, Raus.
He was one of the weaker Demon Kings.
But that didn’t mean I could defeat him.
Neither could the hero across from me.
‘We’d need at least a high-ranking hero to stand a chance.’
And even then, most high-ranking heroes wouldn’t be able to handle a Demon King alone.
It was a relief that the hero hadn’t recognized him.
‘But what is a Demon King doing here…?’
I wracked my brain, trying to recall any relevant information from the game.
But nothing came to mind.
‘The Demon Kings should be busy with other matters right now.’
They wouldn’t have the time or resources to spare a Demon King for something like this.
As I struggled to make sense of the situation, he continued to search the coach meticulously.
“Hmm, it seems like…”
His eyes met mine.
I cursed under my breath. It was too late to look away.
‘Stay calm.’
Trait [Absolute Obedience] has been activated.
My trembling hand stilled.
He held my gaze for a moment, then looked away.
“There’s nothing here.”
He stepped off the coach.
“You’re free to go.”
As soon as we got the all-clear, the coachman urged the horses forward.
The coach started moving, and the Demon King’s figure gradually disappeared from view.
I finally let out a sigh of relief.
‘But what was a Demon King doing here?’
And then…
The coach stopped again.
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“Hey, Violet.”
(Raus? What’s up?)
Raus, the Demon King who had been pretending to be a Sak inspector, spoke to the Demon King Violet, his voice laced with irritation.
“How long are you going to keep me stuck here? They’re starting to recognize me in Sak.”
(It’s not my fault. Complaining to me won’t do any good.)
“Then tell that to Big Sis. Ask her when I can finally join the operation.”
(Fine, fine! Now leave me alone!)
The connection to Violet was cut.
Raus gritted his teeth.
They were the ones who hid the 71st Demon King, and now that he was dead, they were leaving him to clean up the mess.
‘I would have left already if I could.’
He was looking for a powerful hero, one strong enough to have killed the 71st Demon King.
Even though the 71st Demon King was weak, his regenerative abilities as a Demon King couldn’t be underestimated.
To have killed him, to have shattered his body beyond the point of regeneration, meant the hero was at least high-ranking.
‘Come to think of it, that man in the coach earlier…’
He remembered the man who had been sitting in the coach.
He had sensed a strong hero’s aura from him.
Though not quite high-ranking…
‘I need to get some results, even if I’m stuck in this backwater.’
He couldn’t reveal his true identity as a Demon King.
That would do more harm than good.
Unlike the 71st Demon King, he couldn’t change his appearance.
‘This should be enough.’
He detected a powerful Chaos Beast nearby.
And then, he gave the order.
“Kill them.”
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