Chapter 90

‘Open the gate.’

The office was empty. I read the message, written in blood, aloud.

“Open the gate.”

A sudden impulse to crumple it up flashed through my mind, but I folded it neatly and tucked it into a drawer instead.

‘Open the gate,’ huh? What a strange declaration of war. They surely know that reopening the gates puts them at a disadvantage. Where do they get the nerve?

I suspected it was an obvious trap. However, there was no reason not to respond. Through my donations in the lower district, I had gained a measure of support from the bottom. Many in the upper district wanted the gates open as well. There was no reason to mess things up out of concern for my own safety like last time.

‘For security, I can just mobilize Adele and the guards. Even if we tighten inspections, the atmosphere will be understanding given the recent riot.’

And so, I made my decision.

“In three days, we will reopen the gates.”

It was a decision I couldn’t have made if I were just the ordinary citizen Lee Jungwoo. But right now, I am essentially the government. A government doesn’t fight its enemies with petty tricks; it engages in a head-on battle using capital and administrative power.

However… there was one thing making me uneasy.

“I thought I’d finally get some rest. This is a nightmare.”

Izack turned away from me in disgust, as if he were sick of the sight of me.

“Did you really want to make me work so badly that you had to turn me into an infected person?”

“Hey now, I’m not that heartless. Medical leave doesn’t eat into your paid vacation. You can rest for quite a while and still get your salary, you know.”

“Hmph.”

Izack seemed to have recovered significantly, though he still appeared a bit dazed, likely from the blood loss.

“…I’m sorry for turning you into an infected person without your consent. But I didn’t see any other way.”

“Forget it,” he said, still facing away. “Living in this godforsaken fief for this long without catching a single crystal was what didn’t make sense.”

“Still…”

“I saved your life, and you saved mine. The debt is settled. That’s all. Don’t go on about it; it’s a chore just to talk.”

“Thank you.” I bowed my head deeply.

“Get to the point. You didn’t come all this way just to pay me a bedside visit.”

‘This tsundere middle-aged man… his intuition is top-tier.’

Since he was giving me the opening, I decided to bring up the real topic without hesitation.

“I want to ask you about something that happened at the White Basin.”

“The Orchard Dungeon.”

“Yes. It’s about when you saved me there.”

I removed the glove from my right hand as I spoke.

“Wasn’t there something attached to my right hand then? There was definitely a bizarre-looking sword.”

“You mean that artifact written in the language of the fairies?”

Aha! He did remember! I leaned my upper body forward toward him.

“Yes! That’s the one! Where is it now?!”

“That’s… ugh…”

Izack suddenly cut off his answer. His wound seemed to be causing him pain.

“You don’t have to answer right away. If it hurts…”

“I’m fine. Stop making a fuss.” He turned back to face me. “Wait… I have to trace my memories. After I pulled you out of the well in that dungeon, I brought you to Denabi Castle. It was still attached to your hand even when I laid you down in the sickroom.”

“Yes! And then?”

“Afterward, I pried it off your hand and… hmm, right. I probably put it in the castle armory. All funerary objects excavated from dungeons go there.”

“The armory!”

‘What! It was much closer than I thought?!’

I jumped to my feet.

“Thank you! Mr. Izack! Thank you!”

I grabbed Izack’s hand and bowed repeatedly. He couldn’t even shake me off because of his pain, and he shuddered in annoyance.

“Dammit…! Let go! You brat!”

“I was planning to!”

I gently laid Izack’s hand back on the bed and turned around.

“Wait.”

Izack’s voice caught me just as I was about to leave the room.

“What exactly is that sword that makes you act like this?”

“Ah, that’s…”

How should I explain this?

‘To tell the story properly, I’d have to explain everything about the Emperor’s Hunters and the Sword of Four Seasons…’

After some deep thought, I turned back toward Izack.

“I haven’t told you yet why the Emperor’s Hunters came all the way to Denabi, have I? Or why I sent Ronari and my father on an expedition.”

I continued.

“I’ll tell you now.”

“Heh. You used your head a bit.”

Izack let out a chuckle.

“Hiding the information about the Sword of Four Seasons, misleading them to the dungeon, and dumping the subjugation on them.”

“That’s right. But I’ve been busy until now, and since Adele was stuck to me, I couldn’t exactly approach the Sword of Four Seasons recklessly.”

“I see. Speaking of which, you certainly managed to charm her.”

“Pardon? Charm?” I flinched.

“That Hunter said so herself. That she likes you.”

“Wha-wha-wha-what…?”

“You rascal. You were just flirting with my daughter not too long ago. Are you going around seducing women like this?”

I lost my words and froze on the spot.

“What are you so surprised for?”

“Se-seducing…? It’s nothing like that. Wh-who would even say such a thing? Haha… this is absurd…” I muttered in a small, fading voice.

Izack chuckled, clearly mocking me.

“It’s a joke. Alejandro used to have women following him around in his younger days, too. The son is just like the father.”

That was not a joke at all!

Adele was waiting for me outside the door.

‘I knew it. I knew you’d be eavesdropping.’

She popped her head out in front of me and spoke.

“Hi there. You playboy brother.”

“Who’s a playboy? Good grief…”

“It seems I really did have a rival. Was that Mr. Izack’s daughter?”

“It’s nothing like that. And what rival? I’ve never encouraged any such competition.”

“Pfft. Fine.” She generously changed the subject. “I guess you’re finally going to find it. The Sword of Four Seasons. I was curious too—where you had hidden it. But it turns out you didn’t know either?”

“To fool your enemy, you must first fool your allies. And fooling yourself as a bonus is even better.”

“Hmm, and here I thought you said it was because of me?” she said, pointing to herself.

“Well, not anymore.”

“But I haven’t submitted my resignation yet. I’m still an Emperor’s Hunter.”

“So, do you really intend to carry out His Majesty’s orders as Adele Simoni, Third-Class Knight of the Mausoleum Subjugation Department of the Imperial Guard Bureau?”

“It’s not like I couldn’t.”

“No, you can’t.”

I put on a bit of an act, wearing a triumphant, smug smile.

“Do you really think you’d be capable of betraying me?”

It was the same line I had used on the archer.

“…….”

“I’m kidding. You could if you wanted to. I simply trust you.”

To be precise, I trusted the status window’s prompt that stated [Talents never betray you].

I began walking, taking the lead. We headed toward the armory.

“Let’s just get moving. Shall we hear what exactly that thing is on the way? Directly from an Emperor’s Hunter.”

“…….”

“Why are you so quiet?”

After a meaningful silence, she spoke.

“…If I tell you, do I get a wish?”

I slapped my forehead.

“Absolutely not.”

Even after getting away from Adele, I was being hounded by difficult questions.

“How is it that you know the fairy language so well?”

The owner of that question was Lucille.

“Uh… well…”

‘It’s a perk I received after being possessed into this world.’

As I imagined myself answering like that, I felt a sense of déjà vu. It was a chronic ailment of mine that had flared up several times already. The so-called ‘…I can’t exactly answer with that’ syndrome.

Thanks to the original story I already knew and the perks from the status window… I had come to know too much preliminary information for which I couldn’t explain the source. I couldn’t exactly not use this knowledge… but whenever I did, people would ask where I learned it.

In those moments, I had no choice but to answer like this:

“As I spent my childhood rummaging through my mother’s library, I just became familiar with it…”

I was just making up lies. However, there are always people for whom such lies don’t work.

“Fairy language isn’t something you can just master as a child simply by being ‘familiar’ with it.”

“…….”

I continued my pathetic excuses.

“Well, what can I do about the fact that I already know it? Is it not possible that your disciple is an unprecedented genius?”

“Suspicious.”

Lucille leaned forward abruptly, peering into my face.

“Ugh……”

She stared intensely at me for a long time. It was only after a significant while that she finally withdrew her gaze.

“…….”

“Phew…”

I let out the breath I had been holding.

“Well, fine. Regardless, it’s true that teaching you has become much easier.”

“I’m glad to hear that, but…”

I asked her.

“Just how much easier has it become?”

“We would have had to spend at least three years on the fairy language alone.”

“Three years?!”

“Why so surprised? That’s a short estimate. Did you think magic was easy?”

“I didn’t think that, but…”

Then again, if it were easy, there wouldn’t be so few mages in this world.

“Of course, it’s not hard to make a talented person draw out a basic magical reaction. But to reach the point where you can use magic to do things an ordinary person cannot requires terrifying effort. No matter how outstanding the talent, most would be better off just training their bodies. Usually, at least.”

‘A sufficiently trained body is indistinguishable from magic’ (a reference to Clarke’s Third Law)… was that the idea? I thought it wasn’t without merit. At least in this world.

‘Just looking at the way Izack, Vittorio, or Adele fight…’

They were certainly stronger than people from the world I lived in.

“Still, I have an overwhelming advantage when it comes to magic. I know my mother’s formulas and I can use the fairy language freely. Doesn’t that make me worth teaching?”

At that, Lucille flicked my forehead.

“Ouch.”

“Arrogance. The thing you must avoid most in magic training is arrogance.”

I rubbed my forehead and replied, “I’ll take that to heart.”

“You’d better. Now, open your book. You did review everything last night, right?”

“Do you have any idea how much work I have as the head of the Denabi government? Reviewing, you say…”

Flick.

“Ouch.”

“So? Did you or did you not?”

“Of course I did! Who do you take me for?”

I am Lee Jungwoo, the incarnation of overtime, night shifts, and extra duty! Keep that in mind!