Episode 61
“Hmm… Seop Baek, why don’t you go look around the market for a bit?”
After taking stock of the situation, the first thing I did was set Seop Baek down.
Seop Baek widened her eyes in surprise at the sudden suggestion. “Huh? Alone… you mean?”
“Yeah. I’ve got something I need to take care of briefly.”
“Something… something you can’t tell me about?”
A hint of suspicion flickered in Seop Baek’s gaze. I followed her eyes to where they were staring—toward Demon King Ruci.
I have a rough idea what she’s thinking. I immediately waved my hands in dismissal.
“Whatever you’re thinking, it’s not that, so don’t misunderstand.”
“Eh? Ah! N, no! I wasn’t—!”
Seop Baek stumbled over her words, clearly flustered. Her face turning red, she hastily averted her gaze.
I chuckled wryly and nodded. “Anyway, I’ll be back after taking care of something. Look at some jewelry while you wait.”
“Jewelry…?”
I gestured toward the area behind her.
There, merchants with colorful stands displayed various pieces of jewelry. Their designs leaned more toward martial arts fantasy than traditional fantasy.
Upon closer inspection, I noticed hairpins. They’d suit Seop Baek perfectly.
“Wow…”
She was immediately captivated. It was clear I was no longer on her mind.
Satisfied, I nodded.
“Women who dislike jewelry are rare, right?”
It’s amusing to finally apply the knowledge I learned from books. You never know when it’ll come in handy.
Addressing Seop Baek, who was entranced by the jewelry, I said, “If you see anything you like later, let me know. If the price is reasonable, I might buy you one.”
“Wha? R, really?!”
She spun around to face me with surprising speed, her eyes shining so brightly they could almost emit beams of light.
Startled by her enthusiasm, I took a small step back.
“Sure. You need to think carefully; I’ll only buy you one.”
“One…! But everything looks so beautiful!”
Of course, bait like this needs to be good if it’s going to take some time.
I still have plenty of travel funds left from Halsenberg, so buying some jewelry should be fine. There’s no way they’re selling priceless treasures in a backwater village like this.
“Once you’ve decided what you want, wait for me at the market entrance. I’ll come find you once I’m done.”
“Understood! Please take your time!”
The shift in attitude from someone who seemed upset earlier is stark. Indeed, capitalism is wonderful.
Leaving behind Seop Baek, now fully immersed in shopping, I headed toward the inner part of the marketplace with Demon King Ruci.
“Follow me for a moment, Ruci.”
“Huh? Alright.”
I grabbed Ruci’s wrist without ceremony and guided her further into the market alleys. The bustling sounds of the market gradually faded.
When we reached a secluded, dark, and sunless spot, I finally released Ruci’s wrist.
Looking around, aside from a few vagrants wrapped in straw mats, no one else was in sight.
I stared quietly into the pitch-black darkness and then spoke.
“Quit hiding and come out already. I know you’re there.”
With a flick, I unsheathed the black and white sword at my waist and pointed it toward the dark void.
Startled by my move, Ruci let out a panicked exclamation.
“Eh? What? Really? Were we followed?”
Ruci looked back and forth between me and the darkness with an expression as if she’d been hit on the back of the head. Then, with a tense demeanor, she hid behind me.
It was eerily quiet. No one appeared, even after a long wait.
“…”
“…”
After waiting for dozens of seconds, then a minute, and then three minutes… still nothing.
I awkwardly smacked my lips.
“He’s not coming out. I thought he’d show up thinking, ‘How did he notice?’.”
I awkwardly sheathed my sword, turned around, and started walking away.
Ruci, who had been watching me silently, finally asked in disbelief.
“Wait… you were just bluffing?”
“Not really. At the center of the market, our respawn point was updated. What kind of danger could suddenly appear in such a situation? It’s a rule of thumb.”
“What kind of universal law is that…?”
Trying to save face has only added to my embarrassing history. Demon King Ruci’s look of disdain cut deep.
Annoyed, I muttered under my breath and started walking back to where Seop Baek was. After staring at my back for a while with disdain, Demon King Ruci finally followed me.
There. This is the moment.
I suddenly turned around and cast the skill “Seven Sword Pierce.” With an agile motion, I swung Vestark in an electrifying slash.
An unexpected timing—even our ally Demon King Ruci couldn’t help but be surprised.
“Ugh… Huh?”
Seven beams of magical energy shot out like arrows, delivering a concentrated assault on a single point.
The target of my surprise attack was one of the vagrants casually sprawled in the alley.
“What… how…!”
The vagrant, now riddled with holes, gasped for breath. His attempts to escape had failed miserably, his back shredded.
Blood poured from the holes in his straw mat.
‘That’s right.’
The fake-out to lower his guard paid off; all my seven strikes hit perfectly.
Grinning, I approached the vagrant.
“You can’t fool my eyes. Your alias is Jermy Valkin.”
Did mentioning his true name shock him?
The vagrant beneath the straw mat widened his eyes significantly, his trembling gaze seemingly asking, “How do you know?”
‘How did I know? Thanks to the almighty wiki.’
This is why information is crucial.
Do you know what the first thing I did upon entering the alley was? Checking the statuses of the vagrants.
And there, I saw a name that made me raise my eyebrows.
[Name: Jermy Valkin]
[Alias: The 151668943rd Hero, Apostle of Cassas, Expert]
The ordinary man who had casually passed us in the bustling streets earlier.
The moment he entered the alley, he transformed into a vagrant wrapped in a straw mat.
Something about that just seemed off.
“You… bastard… really as Cassas said… under the witch’s spell…!”
In his dying breath, the vagrant, or rather Jermy Valkin, spouted fragmented sentences.
Honestly, I have no interest in what he’s saying. As I approached him, I struck the back of his neck with force.
“Ugh…!”
The vagrant’s body began to convulse violently. Jermy Valkin, clutching his neck with bloodshot eyes, scowled at me hatefully.
I was taken aback. This wasn’t the scene I had anticipated.
‘In fantasy novels, they usually pass out when you hit them like this.’
It seems even after reincarnating into this world, becoming a hero, and gaining immense power, reality isn’t so forgiving.
What’s life, after all? I resolved to keep hitting the back of his neck until he passed out.
“Ugh! Ack! P, please stop! Just kill me!! Gaaaah!”
It took over ten strikes before Jermy finally lost consciousness.
Rather than from the blows, it seemed he had fainted from the shock of immense pain.
I tied his wrists with a scrap of cloth I found lying around. I never thought I’d use the binding techniques I learned in the military for this kind of situation.
“I have many questions for you. Let’s have a sit-down in the Chamber of Truth.”
“Hyeek!”
The mention of “Chamber of Truth” caused Demon King Ruci, watching from the side, to nearly jump out of her skin. Suppressing a laugh, I picked up the unconscious Jermy.
Then I calmly disappeared from the scene.
*
“I don’t… know anything… just kill me…!”
The marketplace of the small town Kern. Another dark alley, different from before.
I’m currently interrogating the mysterious stalker, Jermy. After 30 minutes of interrogation, all that remained was Jermy, battered and bleeding, hanging against the alley wall.
And his parrot-like repetition of those same words.
“Hmm. Is that so? What will you do, Hero?”
Demon King Ruci looked at me after mumbling thoughtfully.
What to do? If he doesn’t know, then we need to take care of him physically and mentally to help him remember.
I gave Demon King Ruci a subtle nod.
“Open his mouth.”
“Got it.”
Demon King Ruci nodded and approached Jermy with practiced movements, beginning to force his tightly sealed lips apart.
Jermy, already suffering from what he endured, turned pale and resisted desperately.
“Graaah…!”
“I beg you…?”
Jermy, with his teeth clenched, tried to twist his head away. Without magical power, Demon King Ruci was no stronger than an average woman, unable to forcibly pry open Jermy’s mouth.
I gave Demon King Ruci another signal.
“Plan B.”
“Got it.”
As my order echoed, Demon King Ruci moved swiftly.
Smack! Her strong kick shot precisely toward Jermy’s groin.
“Impact feels good!”
With clenched fists, Demon King Ruci’s face lit up in ecstasy. She must have hit the mark.
By the way, the ‘B’ in Plan B stands for ‘Bull all’.
“Ugh, AAAAAAAAAAAA!!”
He let out a world-ending scream.
Even with his arms tied, Jermy writhed violently. Honestly, it’s my order, but I feel kind of bad about it.
Anyway, to scream like that, you need to open your mouth first.
Without missing my cue, I shoved the ether bottle into his mouth.
“Patient, please open wide. Ether coming in.”
“Ugh, kuh…!”
Ssssss. Jermy’s body turned an eerie blue. His wounds from severe torture gradually healed, and his pain-riddled face relaxed.
Though, when he finally realized his situation again, his face turned blue yet again.
“Shall we enjoy Park Jeong-yong’s Special nonstop from the beginning?”
I approached Jermy as I cracked my knuckles.
On the side, Demon King Ruci grinned and chimed in.
“Hahaha! Good! What should we do first, Hero?”
“B Course.”
“Understood! I’ll prepare immediately!”
The most cooperative Demon King Ruci since birth. She and I, both wearing sinister grins, approached him slowly.
“Hehehehe…”
“Kyokokokoko…”
Our evil grins grew larger and larger in Jermy’s terrified eyes.
“UUUUUH! UUUUUH!!”
The pitiful screams emanating from Jermy’s mouth, forcibly blocked by Demon King Ruci, echoed endlessly from the corner of the marketplace.
