Chapter 176: Puzzle Pieces (2)
MuurVbBanquets were exclusive to nobles.Nv9u
I6pSimply put, it was one of the few places where nobles, in the midst of their decline, were able to show off and save face.lGiieW
ts0Feudal lords were no longer as powerful as they were in the past, and being an official of the central government became the primary objective of everyone, which was why the royal family often held these banquets to appease their desire to meet others and show themselves off.tB4
lgvXRE『From where? Ah, that peasant district, huh?』3l2pf
zTlbG05『From the East. Tch…!』M6Atr
nktt『Go look for my men by tomorrow. The road management team seems to have caught sight of a demonic beast.』jpklD
lAihZJIt was commonplace in games, was it not?W6m
9bW2pfDo this, do that, grab some herbs from the nearby hill, kill 100 demonic beasts…Worts3a
9iYopuWhy the hell did these stupid NPCs treat national heroes like subcontractors?2j6JKRP
Vyc6Park Sihu and I understood the reasoning behind this only after experiencing these nobles first-hand in the last iteration.Oncrf
mBsOgkzWhether it be superhuman knights, mages, or national heroes, peasants were peasants and the player was considered a barbarian from an unknown territory.TjQ5Y
NAXAlthough the peerage system in this world was in decline, it wasn’t gone just yet and no one looked at us favorably.zSBmURm
zKSIThey treated us like upstart peasants in the last iteration but…sX6B
rfF“Lord Lork. I am Baron Belver, a Grade 3 administrative officer of the royal court. If you do not mind, I would love to invite you to the Baron Club—”V2rn8to
dayQ“Count Poitie here. What a perfect pair you two make!”45t
Eg2DD“Justice of the Peace, was it? That’s a magnificent post. If you happen to visit the Lopital region, please do come for a visit.”FlbJ7
t5TCwWDSeriously…DrG
kGaIt seemed that having the peerage of a baron was incredibly different from being without one.nIz
0QXActually, even this probably wasn’t much in their eyes because it wasn’t a hereditary title. The real reason they were being so amicable was probably…bnEvw
zaqZVr“Ah, hello. Lopital? I think I’ve been there with my family once.mUiQwt
ivnG“Wow, Baron Club? My youngest brother is going to be inheriting the peerage of a baron very soon, so I will definitely send him there.”qbXXN
uGzHThere were a lot – a bunch of flies going after Marie, the oldest daughter of the Dunareff Dukedom. They probably found it difficult to talk directly to a young lady as male nobles, and their desire to create a connection with Marie through me was incredibly apparent.su8g6pg
N5HvXmhI wasn’t very experienced in this field, so Marie stepped up and took care of all of them with ease.hvbweC
G9V“Fuu…”2RN6SM
sJTt“Here’s some water.”fznX54P
iIrsb“Nn? Thanks.”NbYQ8
3TnShe was busy dealing with the flood of nobles so I handed her a glass of water.gkv23b
OrH“You know, most people bring wine when they do that.”HA1lw
Rnto“Must be a shrewd little guy. Be careful of those people.”Lx6
K7jj“Of course. I would have taken it anytime if it was from you though, Korin.”LmA2H
E4eB7Marie said with a suggestive tone and smile.lHI
m7jXPlease don’t provoke this Oppa too much. Be careful otherwise…CEMbgK
C8ZM“It’s not very different from the time when I was at your house, Senior. Actually, it might be even worse.”MG72z
httANC“Nn. It’s rare for our family to come up to the royal capital so that’s why. I’ve also only been here once for my debutante.”TJnnB4
ESksJust like the banquet back in the South, she was at the center of everyone’s attention. I didn’t see this in the last iteration because the Dunareff stayed inside their territory, but this proved just how influential they were.WY2CPC
q6Nixy“More importantly, Korin, don’t you have somewhere to go?”7lqK
3cVrL“…How did you know?”JS1zT
2Tx6“You’ve been throwing glances a few times already. There’s someone you need to meet, right?”Wbpe
QmFmShe appeared to have seen me stealing glances at Renya Claire and Ednar. I felt sorry for being a bad partner but it couldn’t be helped…VAMBwf
Q1aL974“Quick. You can’t keep that beautiful lady waiting.”CGGloPf
DbqE35D“…”JHln
WkPGjrThis was definitely a sign that I shouldn’t go there right? Seeing my feet come to a stop, Marie immediately loosened the tension on her face.raV
g6tM“Hehe, I’m joking. That’s the person from the Intelligence Guild that you introduced to us last time, right? Don’t worry about me.”tZa
mvxLk“I’ll make it quick.”XbUR
OJr“Okayyy~.”qJA
Ik5fl3dShe smiled while taking a sip from the glass of water that I gave her. For some reason, she seemed to be in a good mood today.056nunh
fQeNvThere was a meeting place that Renya and I had decided on beforehand – it was the resting room, Room 2103 on the second floor of the banquet hall.qCt9C1U
2CUjFkL『By the way, when you go into an odd-numbered resting room on the 2nd floor of the banquet hall, a red light comes up, and it is a common rule to not interfere with the room.』OPs05X
rEAVKuhum… It was a coincidence. I haven’t used this place before… Well, maybe a few times, but I was here for the secret discussion with Ednar, and nothing fishy.y3S
I2i6-Knock knock!Q7zB
vN9sdhThe moment I knocked on the door of Room 2103, I was met with the beautiful voice of my acquaintance.hELl
hKpvK-Drift?[mfn]TL Note: *Drift: In Korean novels, it tends to refer to ‘plot drifts’ or sudden changes in genre. Ie. from romance to NTR, or sudden BL drift (Speaking of BL, BL is Boys Love, and hence the following countersign, ‘Boys Not Love’)[/mfn]4l7d
ZYFvtgt“Go to hell.”h687nZ4
PQRKHdc-Boys–?aAq
utg“Not ‘Love’.”Z5mA
IhD-Click!1ZFP5uK
L8NfhRThe door clicked open from the inside after a set of countersigns.zkK
pClaF“Welcome, Boss.”jnwU
YKxzR5AThe executive of the Intelligence Guild who was now one of the top members of the guild, Renya Claire, welcomed me in her dress.ROi
YXSS“Looks good. How about you dress up like that all the time?”p28
wg7ynv“Attracts too many bugs so that would be troublesome.”m30
2XcaazcRenya was a tall beauty and looked beautiful when she dressed herself up, but was still a normal commoner. She was invited to the banquet for being a member of the Korin Guardians guild but was probably being looked down on for being a commoner, just like me from the last iteration.VQiMAZ
u6lR9W“Are you… the guild master of Korin Guardians?”wRfmQmr
yIOtGrade 4 Officer Ednar. She was a young lady with red hair wearing large glasses, who appeared just like an average government official. She started shivering before me and… looked completely like a normal person.WtF
AgioH“W, why would an esteemed guild master such as yourself look for someone like me…”8aso0
4Ci“Let’s cut to the chase without wasting our time. There’s nothing in it for either of us to stay here for too long.”ygbaF8
8ogT2vA“W, what do you mean…”eq63
ud9She still wasn’t showing her true self. Her acting skills were astonishing, to say the least, but I knew of her true nature.L87
dJ5iZw“Ednar the ‘Leopardess’, was it?”7Xbp
mzfLvHer face turned stiff for a split second, but she quickly regained her mask before long. She probably wasn’t sure about what I was trying to get.sqo
eRd7ZWWas I referring to Ednar the Leopardess of the SM world? Or… was I hinting at something bigger?KOeX4J
71rEdnar. She was a normal low-end officer of the Kingdom… but that was her disguise. Her identity was that of the Queen of Night, infamous for what she did at night but…RyPor
iv2qBEven that was a disguise.ITnH
fpM“Ednar Illusan. The Queen of Cats. How is it? Is this enough for us to reveal our hands now?”RPN
S7YtQ8“H, how did you find out?”bMQ3Oz
9xcgStill stuttering, huh?pG2yVB
1KAjDShe had yet to fully remove her mask.z79
3oOA5W“Last autumn, the secret sexual preferences of you and the higher-ranked officials were almost exposed, and there was someone from the Intelligence Guild that warned you beforehand, right?”pFz
TVV“…Miss Renya Claire.”oCG2
jMahmVUEdnar muttered while turning her eyes to the black-haired beauty next to her, who returned a wave with a faint smile.AM1iVwF
1q8IYryOne of the important pieces of information I told Renya last year to increase her contribution included the story of Ednar.CZuXjy
icUjblAn SM Queen in control of countless higher-ranked government officials.ctxchv
MM8o4QIf that were to be exposed to the public, it would have resulted in a massive scandal and a great impact on the social power balance of the Kingdom. The reason for that was obvious. Who would be happy to find out that their superior had a special sexual orientation where they loved being whipped and squealing like a pig?ZFr3CM
fHgVlZPMore important than the gazes of ridicule and disgust that they would have to overcome, it was difficult to imagine that they would be able to keep their post after that.O53sDy
142mf2In fact, after obtaining the information from Renya, the Intelligence Guild had tried to work on Ednar.zQ5DFe
bMCFHowever… it resulted in a counter-attack and a massacre.XJCPG
FzCf“A quick oppression of the executives and blaming them for the illegal obtainment of information to send them over to the prison island. Aiya~, that was pretty good…”OqR
ByzyMarquis Matona,tK9eS
f0SyC6Chief of Public Order, Gorgel,WgEI
RdWAnd Michelle, the deputy head maid of the 2nd Palace.qrSLlC
7p0dWThose were some of her esteemed customers. Thinking how these bigshots were masochists in a chicken race, trying to do their best in order to get ‘rewarded’ by the ‘queen’ was… a bit revolting.wscL
VEH“We do have a slightly special preference, but that’s just something we reveal at night. Trying to mess with that… made the customers very upset.”la5WmZa
S80V9“It wasn’t just with your customers’ help though, was it?”k4bwy3N
n8S3G1“W, what do you mean…?”KPVE
j2jlp“Anyway, putting that aside, it was thanks to the Intelligence Guild being half-crushed that Renya here was able to grab a position. What’s your position right now?”t0LEw
VET“District Leader of the Intelligence Guild. Right below the Guild Master, Boss.”VRlyGk
KSvHZRight, and that was more than enough. The high executives of her level had access to ‘that event’, which was what I had been after all along.PyuYXte
cUAEIWL“Ku Shee. Ku Shee the Werewolf. That’s the name you were after, Boss.”3klfHBq
UiQL3p“…!”f4DV
5ka5Ednar gave a deep scowl. There was no way that she wouldn’t be aware of the value that name had in the Kingdom, and how dangerous it was at the same time.1RyaaM8
NrJ5It might not mean anything to most people, but if that name were to reach the ears of someone specific… it would most certainly result in an unimaginably enormous bloodbath.GIGWOM
PW4KQHThat wouldn’t be something that Ednar Illusan could handle, as a ‘beastman’ who already lost dozens of her comrades to a brutal massacre.fYszn
fgBTya“I see. Ku Shee, that motherfucker, huh?”bdE41R
HdLkThat was the name of a beastman who would later die in the game in the middle of the bloodbath. Unless I had filtered the information by specifying the time and range, the Intelligence Guild wouldn’t have been able to find out that name either.dmMM
5S71ZDThis answered one of my questions from the last iteration.A2r
qxKpE“W, what are you guys talking about…?”F7U
PhstepT“I wonder, will you still pretend to be clueless even if I were to tell you that I knew of the location of the village of ‘Mound’, the demi-human union?”2clCeLd
61hxem8“…”uL4
lwnCMound, the demi-human union formed by several demi-human villages. If she continued pretending to be a fool even after hearing that name, I would congratulate her for being so thick-skinned.oxTo
B60yj1“Tch.”U8TZ
Hu6Ednar collapsed on the sofa along with a large click of her tongue. She took off her large glasses and crushed it with her hand.7ZjgW
DhpacCo“Stop showing off, young man.”GLsI5SA
aMe4Now that she took off her glasses and crossed her legs, she gave off a totally different atmosphere. The clueless Grade 4 official was long gone, and replacing that was the Queen of Night, who was using just her voice and eyes to add weight to the atmosphere around her.gbE
pREEdnar Illusan – a high-ranked executive of Mound, the demi-human union formed to protect themselves from persecution. They were one of the core parties of the 6th Arc, and a part of the swirling storm around Princess Miruam.7zw5
l6jz“Korin Lork. A young knight in the 2nd year of the academy, but with skills rivaling that of the Sword Master.”UbD
XEZ2pi“Have you looked into me already?”j1tXU6K
2dIXFH“Of course. I certainly did look into the player of the century, who has hit on more than 50 girls in that short time frame.”FLpFmwY
R2UhVKq“…That must be someone else.”gX0bjk
uXHNM68Even the intelligence of Mound had shortcomings, it seemed. I could understand up to 4, but 50? That was slightly less than all my female acquaintances combined.oVnyItP
4Zbk“So, what are you going to do?” she asked. “Send me off to Princess Elizabeth? That lunatic would love to see me.”dPn
HQBy0cZ“I would have done that already if that was the plan. You might have guessed already, but I want information about Ku Shee. I want his details.”vlP2X
8L66“Impossible. That’s a severe act of treason against the Union. I would rather die by myself.”Z8UUIv
sx54I knew it. I had never looked down on their bond.WjdG
1yDkP4Considering the connection the persecuted demi-humans had forged together to survive, and considering the price that would be paid by betraying that, it was obvious for her to refrain from betrayal.CqpD
jGizzO“That’s not how it is, though.”FLajg
FzaibRr“What do you mean?”7WFJh
Vj6———O88XZ
tJXBbOz———KFe
Jpn———8I3IM
OFtajI1“Crazy. You… You are the craziest human I have ever met. How in the world are you going to take responsibility for that?”HgKHLG
lAbyjKI gave her a reason and gave her faith. In a form that she would be able to see later in the future.G4lh
kH1y“Why would you go to such lengths? No matter how I see it, there’s not enough in it for you.”honPm
wel9“There is only one thing I am after…”w31tUQq
p3u…A happy ending.iwql3
I0dXHThat was the only goal I had in mind until now.X1j
xyCx“…Hah, interesting.”0Cb7Rs
tEn4UAfter hearing everything, she had a different look in her eyes – she was looking at me with a smirk. Hmm… Didn’t she look at me with this same gaze in the last iteration as well?92X
zXlkJ“I have a condition though,” she said.BSKY5OR
gbh“…What is it?”VLkm
j2GnE“Look for me at night. If you let me eat you up for a night… and if you can withstand it without changing your mind, I will gladly lend you a hand.”l6DF
BnW“Damn…”EpEm
btb6ANot again!TbbqDr
m21jfFor some reason, this woman was so eager to eat me up.lxUl
N4DKDA2“…Fine.”PgftW
iKOyxDWell, it worked out in the last iteration so… it should work out the same.sCS5l
5MzWy“Fufu. I will treat you to a special course. You young little piggy wearing the skin of a wolf.”DRHqp
iMihK…It’ll work out, right?JwU
ZycN1YuAnyway, I managed to obtain two of the three puzzle pieces that I wanted to get. There was only one remaining, and my goal was to acquire that during today’s banquet.UPWE5Y
jKz***dfV
ICgAfter the secret meeting with Ednar Illusan, I returned to the banquet hall and enjoyed the night.C4J5Gm
eUIxMq“His Majesty! And Her Majesty are now entering the hall…!”qQWxY
LuzfThe introduction of the King and the Queen was very simple, unlike the long and fancy introductions of the nobles. It was proof of how the King of the El Rath Kingdom was fond of functional and practical approaches instead of formalities.HVPJbi
Famwn8-Creaakk…!979
eE6MOdwThe door opened as a middle-aged man and a lady wearing a pink dress stepped onto the red carpet.pMY93Vv
HlbY6bOKing David Joseph El Rath of the El Rath Kingdom, and the mother of Estelle the 1st Princess, Queen Asher. Following the two of them from behind were the two princesses of the Kingdom.w3v6
xD6UJThe pink-haired saintess was wearing a white dress, which differed from her usual sacred outfit, and the red-haired princess was wearing her usual dark yet vibrant reddish-black dress.LIkgR
8x1TpBoth of them gave a smile when our eyes met. The King and the Queen sat down on the highest throne, and the two princesses sat down on the seats that were located a staircase below them.tNejshM
je3Vu8zWhether it be a noble or a commoner, everyone present got on their knees and quietly listened to the words of the King.OsczyU
8Dqzw“Today,”FXKssTq
rjqvA powerful voice, as expected of the King of the dominant Kingdom, echoed through the hall. His shoulders were broad and he was muscular, making him look more like a warrior than a King.0qCZT
1gkfv“We are here to commemorate the safe return of my beloved daughter and the Saintess selected by the Lord from the evil hands of mages.hIw
0oPK“Although this was evidently thanks to the graceful mercy of the Lord, it is likewise thanks to the devout assistance of various guardians.”FZjwq
1BQa6CrHe gave a simple praise to the Lord and continued with a few flowery words. After that, he summoned the ones worthy of a prize, so we kneeled before the stairs leading up to the throne.LjIEf
Sf7gHWPMarie, Hua Ran, Alicia, Lunia, Master, Lady Josephine, and me. Aside from us, there were also the Warsky Mercenaries and the half-giants that stopped the mages from escaping. All in all, it was everyone in Korin Guardians who monopolized the glory of this battle.gua4Z
HRkIuyo“First off, Baron Korin Lork. There are many words of gratitude that I must convey to you. I have heard great stories of your actions from my daughter.”ZcC
gR7“It is my honor.”OGbW
rvXhBThe 1st contribution award. Park Sihu and I had received that same compliment in the last iteration, and we were the ones who chose the reward and not the King.xX9yI
FWBxw“Baron Lork, o great knight. If you so wish, I will grant you anything you desire.”yWc4
AC9zgThere was a limit to the options that could be chosen in the game, but now that this was the real world, we were able to ask anything of the King.ZHs
i0QThe King’s rewards were endless and vast.0Psu
kZFZWe could ask for precious treasures, elixirs of incredible effects, peerages, or even a piece of land, and Park Sihu had asked for things he did not have back then.kaJW7je
BwyTjAs for me? Well, I took Princess Miruam.W2X
OyTTo be exact, it was an official proposal I had to make because she was already pregnant back then.IIj5
Ap9However, this time it was different because I was able to keep myself sane from her seduction.mlgYk
1BcYTherefore, I was able to ask for the last puzzle piece that would finish the puzzle.84c
SNIKxQ1 year.xK3z5VZ
QFhnMXrIt took 1 year.cbzbq
KHTxilCFor 1 whole year, I had to make Renya Claire a high executive of the Intelligence Guild and used the information from the last iteration to persuade Ednar.7bf
WY5And through this inevitable reward which I knew I would receive, I would be able to at last complete the puzzle that I had been longing to prepare.T4nFx
uos“Your Majesty. There is only one reward I would like to ask for.”v9DUQP
WLHCi“Hoh? Is there something you have thought of already?”TVW4e
DJczKing David looked at me with intrigue as the Queen and the princesses all focused their eyes on me. While feeling the countless gazes of the nobles and servants of the banquet hall… I uttered the sentence that I had been holding onto the whole time.2PYEzJj
rg3xnUD“Legal Immunity. For one single occasion. I would like to ask for a single Immunity from Persecution – a promise that you would pardon any crime that I may commit in the future.”WJxJqU
XVuKFather-in-law?foUo3X
VCzVG2QIt will just be a little ‘treason’, okay?VdO8w
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