〈 Chapter 144 〉 Hostage Drama (1）

*

“More… potatoes? Why?”

Seeing Yusera’s disappointment hurt my heart.

I wanted to bring back something tastier just for today.

But then…

“Seems like the curfews have become stricter because of that Masked Hero.”

Apparently, the curfew hours had been extended today.

As a result, by the time we got out, it looked like the cafeterias were also winding down for the day, and we had no choice but to hurry back with another batch of boiled potatoes.

I felt bad for Yusera, who must have been waiting for a delicious dinner after surviving on potatoes and corn for breakfast and lunch, but there was nothing to be done.

“It’s… it’s fine. After all, this won’t last for many days anyway.”

She seemed to have accepted the reality.

I watched her bite into the potato and said, “At least this isn’t last year’s batch but freshly harvested.”

“Fresh or last year’s, it’s still just a potato…”

Sigh.

“Fresh potatoes do taste better, though.”

Seeing her munching on the potatoes without complaint eased my worries as Elsie and I also began to eat our late dinner.

In fact, I had eaten quite well during lunch with Elsie, so I didn’t have much room left but couldn’t let that show.

“So, I heard the operation regarding the Masked Hero is going smoothly?”

I nodded in agreement.

“It seems like the royal castle has officially started to take notice now.”

The Masked Hero was no longer just a rumor.

Now, it was officially a matter of concern for the royal castle.

So it could be said that we had achieved our objective without delay.

“Well then, next…”

Yusera’s gaze shifted to Elsie.

“I’m the one, yes,” Elsie said while chewing on a potato.

Until now, I had mainly taken on the role of the Masked Hero during the operation, but now it was Elsie’s turn to step up.

“I’m full enough for now, but it’s risky to go out right now, right?”

I nodded in agreement.

Right now was the time when security was tightest.

No matter how much Elsie could use optical modulation to turn invisible, it was still dangerous.

“Let’s wait a little longer before heading out.”

“So what do we do until then?”

“Um…”

In terms of the Masked Hero story, Elsie had relayed everything to Yusera in the fairy tale edition rather than my bloody version.

There had also been stories about the Nameless King, and I was pondering whether to tell the story of the last knight of the Leim Kingdom this time.

“I’m curious about what the Leim Kingdom’s ancient wrestling is?”

Cough.

Elsie started coughing as if a potato had gotten stuck in her throat.

“Um, that’s…”

“Why? Isn’t it a martial art that helps with operational ability?”

Of course not.

I had only stumbled over my words from surprise, but I couldn’t easily deny it now.

“Of course! Wrestling is all about strength, technique, and stamina.”

I wasn’t wrong, per se.

“But teaching it today would be tough. Elsie knows it well, and she’s about to head out, you know.”

“Well… since it’s said to be ancient in the Leim Kingdom. That makes sense.”

Fortunately, Yusera seemed to accept that excuse.

In the end, to kill time, I decided to tell her about the last hero of the Leim Kingdom.

Time passed, and seeing Yusera start to doze off, Elsie said, “She’s not a kid, yet she falls asleep at this hour.”

Sometimes it does seem like she is a kid.

Her brain is so pure after all.

But that might not be such a bad thing.

“Well, I’ll be going now.”

I said to Elsie, who was getting ready to leave.

“Be careful.”

“Of course.”

In an instant, Elsie’s body turned transparent.

In the always-bright Leim Kingdom, where the sun never sets, she couldn’t use Night’s Shadow, so stealthily moving around was entirely her role.

Especially during times when security was heightened like now.

Creeeak.

The window opened and closed on its own.

Watching that, I drew the curtains.

I didn’t particularly plan on thinking much until Elsie returned, but at the very least, pretending to sleep shouldn’t cause any trouble.

*

Tap…

‘Huh?’

I must have dozed off a bit.

As I opened my eyes, I could faintly see the bed across through the gap in the curtains.

“Yusera?”

Yusera was sitting on the bed, looking at me.

Startled, I widened my eyes, and Yusera also jumped in surprise.

“You scared me!”

I asked her, “No, what are you doing up in the middle of the night?”

“Well…”

She twirled her long hair around with one hand and replied, “I briefly closed my eyes and ended up dozing off, but I woke up again shortly. I was worried about Elsie, and I couldn’t sleep again.”

“That can happen. But why are you staring at me like that?”

“Because… you look strange?”

Strange? That sounded a bit insulting.

But I knew Yusera didn’t mean it that way.

“Strange? What’s strange about me?”

“Well, you are a man, after all. You just look different from me.”

“If that’s the case, then you and Elsie look different too.”

“That’s true.”

I couldn’t understand her thought process at all.

In Elsie’s case, her peculiar tastes added an extra layer of confusion, while Yusera sometimes seemed smart yet completely empty-headed when it came to certain things, making it bewildering.

Neither were big issues, though.

“By the way, how long has it been since Elsie left?”

“Hm, well, it feels like about 30 minutes since I woke up?”

That likely meant at least 30 minutes had passed.

It was about that time for Elsie to return.

But there was no sign of her anywhere.

‘Could she have been caught?’

Of course, I trusted Elsie quite a bit.

But trust aside, I couldn’t help but worry.

Until I heard some voices outside.

“That Masked Hero guy, there are so many of them out here…”

“But is what’s written really true?”

“Of course, it must be a lie. No matter how much of a Masked Hero he is.”

The voices of the conversation came from the alley outside the window.

It seemed that Elsie was carrying out her operation well.

However, the following conversation they had was concerning.

“This must be the place, right? The dormitory where the recently arrived heroes are staying.”

“If they’re not here, then it’s certain.”

Indeed, they were suspicious of us.

Considering that the appearance of the Masked Hero coincided almost perfectly with our arrival, it made sense.

No matter how much I changed my hair color, it likely wouldn’t completely deflect suspicion.

‘Not much time left…’

Just a bit more, and the identity of the Masked Hero would hold out.

To get through this crisis, I needed to figure out a way.

“Yusera.”

“Yeah?”

“Let me tell you about the ancient wrestling from the Leim Kingdom.”

“But you need Elsie for that…”

“I know some of it too.”

With that, I climbed up onto the bed where she was sitting.

“Se-Sung Yoo-rang?”

Suddenly, Yusera looked surprised by my bold move, but there was no time to hesitate.

I could already hear them coming up the stairs.

‘What techniques do I know?’

I wasn’t well-versed in wrestling techniques.

However, at least a few famous wrestling moves were part of Sung Yoo-rang’s knowledge.

First, I grabbed her arm and placed my legs over her upper body.

“This is an armbar.”

“Eek!”

Success! I managed to make Yusera scream as intended.

Though that scream sounded a bit odd.

“Whoa.”

Could you not make such strange noises?

Or maybe it was good?

I tightened my grip on her arm.

“Ah…!”

In a moment, my instincts detected danger.

Her arm was between my legs now.

Reacting here would spell trouble.

“This… feels surprisingly nice.”

Ignoring Yusera’s strange preferences, I let go of the armbar.

“Huh? Is that it?”

“Let’s change positions.”

I shifted my position and tucked her slender neck under my left arm.

I didn’t know if I’d use this on my sanity, but it couldn’t be helped.

Since my knowledge of techniques was limited.

“This is a guillotine choke.”

“Ugh! Hgh!”

Yusera began making another strange sound.

Then I heard whispers outside the door.

“At this point, she’s practically dying, right?”

“What kind of techniques are an armbar and a guillotine choke?”

Well, they weren’t particularly strange techniques.

The weird one was Yusera, to be honest.

What was she even enjoying about this?

‘Now that I think about it, this girl is definitely stronger than me.’

Yet Yusera was letting me squeeze her carotid without resistance.

“Heh!”

Oh, this girl is drooling now.

I started to feel it was dangerous and loosened the guillotine choke, causing her body to slump onto the bed.

“Haah…”

After a moment, she sat up and said,

“So you’ve been secretly enjoying this kind of thing?”

“Uh, yeah…”

“It wouldn’t be fair for me to feel good alone, so it’s my turn now?”

In that instant, I felt a threat to my life.

But the presence outside the door didn’t fade away.

For now, it seemed best to let Yusera do what she wanted.

“Is this how it’s done?”

An armbar.

Of course, Yusera didn’t know how to control her strength and was engulfed in pain as if she were about to lose consciousness.

“Yes, yes! But try to ease up a bit more.”

“Like this?”

“Good, just like that.”

Just when I thought I could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

“Hmm, this really isn’t enough for me.”

Pain radiated as though my arm was about to come out of its socket.

I grit my teeth and said through the pain,

“That’s enough! Let’s change positions!”

But soon after, I regretted that statement.

Outside, hearing the sounds I was making after changing positions, one said,

“Seems like the girl isn’t easy to deal with either, huh?”

“I think this kind of play is a bit…”

“Either way, it’s clear a man’s in there, so let’s head back.”

It looked like it worked out for them.

However, the guillotine choke hadn’t been released yet.

I smacked the bed three times and shouted,

“I surrender! I surrender!”

Clunk.

In that moment, the window opened.

Naturally, the one who appeared was Elsie.

“What are you two doing right now?”

The guillotine choke, positioned as such, looked like I was pinning Yusera down while she was wrapping her arms around my neck.

Yusera, with a bright smile, put her spin on it to Elsie.

“Interesting ancient wrestling from the Leim Kingdom.”

*