Chapter 29
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nEarly morning.
nHaren Almus was performing her patrol duty in Hyacinth Hall.
nThe hall got its name after the hyacinth flowers that grow here.
nParticularly, the white hyacinth flowers that symbolizes loveliness.
nHaren Almus, who has never felt happy and also hated the color white, hated this place.
nShe even asked her father to change the flowers to yellow hyacinths, but Duke Almus only smiled and refused the request.
n“Uh…Miss?”
n“What.”
nIt was the same as usual.
nNormal…
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nThe day before.
nLast night, she killed her sister with her own hands.
nReally normal.
nThose kinds of days.
nHow can she be okay after killing her sister?
nOnly when a fearless knight asked Haren that question did she realize it.
n“Miss, are you all right?”
n“I’m okay.”
n“…!”
n“So stop asking me questions.”
n“F-forgive me!”
nShe’s really okay.
nIn fact, when she thought of how Ella loved her, she felt uneasy.
nElla Almus.
nHalf-sister born from a concubine after her mother died…
nOriginally, she disliked her a lot, but recently they’ve bonded.
nHaren didn’t quite understand it herself.
nUnknowingly, Haren had come to love her sister, Ella, as if the world was playing a cruel prank.
nThen, when her beloved sister died, she was not heartbroken, but rather felt at peace.
nIt’s as if it should have been this way all along.
nShe didn’t feel strange at all.
nWhy she, who hated Ella, opened up her heart to her.
nPeople around her haven’t said anything, but they felt the same way.
nElla’s former self was hateful and never did anything right.
nThen, all of a sudden her behavior changed into something that everyone liked?
nAs a protagonist, it’s one of the clichés and effects of possession called ‘image correction’ and ‘past redemption,’ but the people of the mansion have no way of knowing that.
n‘But…who is this man?’
nHaren was investigating the man named Yoo Seodam.
nOne day, he suddenly appeared in the mansion as if it was natural.
nAnd, he became Ella’s sword instructor.
nAlmus family.
nIf you are a teacher who teaches children from such a prestigious family, naturally you should come to use ‘Almus Swordsmanship.’
nThat has always been common sense.
nHowever, no one felt anything was out of place when a stranger became the family’s sword instructor.
n“I have to go somewhere for a while.”
n“Is something wrong?”
n“Yes.”
nHaren, with a stiff expression, nodded.
n“I’m going to the church.”
nSeodam sat in a corner of the church, bathing in the sunlight with a blank expression.
nYou’ve successfully hunted a Level 70 protagonist.
nYour Level has risen by 4 1.
n700 days of lifespan will be rewarded.
nRemaining Lifespan: 2728 Days, 9 Hours, 19 Minutes.
nI had killed a level 70 protagonist before, but my level didn’t increase as much as it did this time.
nThe higher my level is, the harder it’ll be to level up.
nHowever, as a result of completing the Client’s recommendation, my level rose by 5.
nI’ve also absorbed a useful skill.
nElla’s skill White Witch’s Library (F) has been absorbed.
nF-Rank skill.
nHowever, it’s a very useful skill to me.
nI can access the library of the white witch where she kept her magic books.
nA bookcase will appear after I activate the skill, and from here, I can take out any of her magic books.
nThe magic used by the white witch was almost at the same level as Vivienda Magic Empire, and even more outstanding in some respects.
nIt’s no wonder magic created by a magic species is better than the magic created by humans.
nMy level has risen rapidly recently, and it’s almost safe to say I’m D-Rank in terms of level.
nSince I hardly work out, my attributes are lower than my actual level, but luckily, my mana has reached its limit thanks to Araceli’s Mana Circling.
nJust looking at my stats, anyone would think that I’m a mage and not a fighter.
nI reached out my hand and grabbed a transparent book.
nI was holding a book as thick as an arm that’s not visible to anyone else but me.
nThe moment I turned to the first page, I immediately closed it.
n‘Crazy, this is **ing confusing.’
nEven though it’s just the most basic magic book, I thought my head was going to explode.
nNonetheless, I can now study magic leisurely, unlike when I was at Vivienda.
nIt’s a good skill.
n< Do you wish to return to your world? >
n‘I should…’
nI’ve finished everything I wanted to do, so I have no reason to stay.
nWhen I was about to get up, someone kicked the church door open and walked in.
nEven though I don’t believe in God, that’s not something I would do.
n“Haren?”
n“Yeah. You’re just calling me so casually now.”
n“No, well…I can.”
n“No, you can’t.”
nSaid Haren playfully.
nSeodam tilted his head and asked.
n“Did you come to see me?”
n“Yes…Your presence has been quite questionable.”
n“I’m not going to tell you.”
n“I didn’t expect you to give me an answer in the first place.”
nHaren fiddled with something at her waist.
nA sword bestowed by her father.
nUnsheathing it and pointing it at the man’s neck, will she get the answer she was hoping for?
nNo, why did she come here in the first place?
nWhat answer does she want from him?
nCouldn’t he just be a normal swordsman?
n“I don’t know.”
n“Is that all you wanted to say after coming here? You don’t know?”
n“I don’t know what you are. Who the hell are you?”
nSeodam, who was about to answer ‘sword instructor,’ changed his mind.
n“I’m a hunter.”
n“…Hunter?”
n“To hunt beings like princess Ella.”
n“Witch hunter?”
n“It doesn’t have to be a witch.”
nI didn’t say any more after that.
nThe Client had asked me not to reveal my purpose of hunting protagonists.
nHaren, agonizing over her thoughts, soon spoke.
n“Then…you must have already known who Ella was.”
n“Yes.”
n“Do you think I would believe you? No one, not even my father, the Duke of Almus knew. So how did you?”
nI didn’t answer her, so the only thing she could do was stare at me.
n“…If I pull out my sword and point it at your neck. Will you tell me?”
n“That’s a pretty serious threat. You won’t be able to hear it.”
nLooking at him, Haren calmly nodded.
n“I see.”
nThat was all.
nShe has no intentions of prying further.
nThere was just one thing.
n“Was it right for me…I mean us…to kill Ella?”
nShe was hoping.
nComing here, this question has been plaguing her mind.
nI also thought about it a lot, and the answer is yes.
nShe was a dangerous being that will eventually shake the foundation of the world before it could be discovered.
nSo I replied.
n“Don’t ask a question you already know the answer to.”
nWhen she heard his answer.
n“…Huh?”
nThe man had already disappeared.
nAs if possessed by a ghost, Haren absentmindedly stared at the spot where Seodam was sitting.
nHaren, who has risen to the level of professional swordsman, a level only below master swordsman, couldn’t even sense when he disappeared.
n‘What the hell is that man…?’
nHaren, who was still staring at where Seodam had been sitting, soon smiled.
n“Is that so.”
nIt was as he said.
nShe already knew.
nShe just wanted to ask someone.
nHaren turned around and kicked the church door.
nSomehow, her heart felt relieved, as if a huge weight had been lifted.
nTime has returned to normal.
nI spent nearly four weeks in the other world, but only a week has passed on Earth.
nAfter coming back, I checked to see if Taylor had messaged me while I was gone.
nThere were several text messages on my phone.
nTaylor Nine: *Picture*
nTaylor Nine: Haha, look at this. Shit is hilarious haha.
nTaylor Nine: *Picture*
nTaylor Nine: *Picture*
nTaylor Nine: Hey, I’m on TV.
nTaylor Nine: *Picture*
nMost of them were badmouthing Lost Day.
nTaylor Nine has been going on a wild spree doing all sorts of things to keep public reaction on Lost Day from dying down.
nIn the past she never got the chance to do so because I was part of Lost Day.
nWhen I checked one of the photos, a full body shot of Taylor was plastered on a magazine site called ‘Today’s Fashion.’
nShe shows as much interest in fashion as her beautiful face, but the clothes she wore this time was more excessive than usual.
nIf there’s one problem, it’s that most of the time she wore summer clothes.
nThanks to the fashion trends of notable celebrities, Korea’s fashion has become ridiculous, resulting in crazy fashion not suited for the colder climate.
nTaylor Nine: Oh right, the payment for the aether crystals from the deformed dungeon has been settled.
n‘Oh?’
nThe countless aether crystals that we obtained from the deformed dungeon weren’t settled when I left.
nIt was supposed to take quite a while to handle everything because it was just the two of us who ate it all up, but it was settled in a week.
nI checked Taylor’s text messages one by one, then sent her a reply.
nSeodam: I’m back.
nA reply came back almost instantly.
nTaylor Nine: Hey, what the ** have you been doing?
nReading it, I decided not to reply.
nIt was because I was too lazy to answer.
nNext, I checked Celeste’s text messages.
nA call from last week.
nThat was all, until.
nCeleste: I’ve just arrived in Korea.
nIt turns out that I came back just at the right time.
n‘Can I really be a sword instructor…”
nI was able to watch a SS-Rank swordsmanship for almost a month.
nA swordsmanship from a prestigious family, and one far superior to White Swordsmanship (S).
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nIn the end, I learned quite a lot from watching Ella and Haren train, and even had many enlightenment.
nMy new skill?
nOf course I wanted to learn magic right away and was itching to do so, but there was a mountain of work to be done.
nI have to meet up with Taylor Nine so she can fill me in on everything that’s been happening with Lost Day, and of course settle the matter regarding the aether crystals.
nBut right now, I wanted to wield a sword even more.
nI don’t know what lies ahead or what it is I’m looking for, but I think…if I was to take another step forward, a new world I’ve never seen before will unfold before me.
nIt was really not an easy month.
nI had suppressed my urge to wield a sword, so now it’s time to release everything and check my progress.
nYoo Seodam: Head straight to the gym.
nCeleste: Yes!!
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