〈 Chapter 38 〉 The Gate (1)
*
Eastern Basilium region.
There was a village located far from other towns.
It consisted of a few houses where residents lived and a wagon station where horses and coachmen stayed.
In reality, the scale was so ambiguous that it was questionable whether to call it a village.
This place served more as a wagon station connecting Sakh and the Basilium region rather than a proper village.
The only way to get to Sakh was to take a wagon from here.
The reason was the ‘Gate.’
A path connecting the barriers, the Gate.
It sounded plausible, but in reality, it was merely a path made by embedding pieces of the barrier at regular intervals.
Still, the reality was that ordinary people without relics had no choice but to use the Gate to move between barriers.
‘The same goes for heroes.’
Unless it was a situation like the Leim Kingdom and Saint City Hailen, which were adjacent.
If the barriers were quite far apart, like Sakh and Basilium, even a hero would find it exhausting to walk.
Because of this, they were partially forced to use wagons, making them reliant on the Gate.
However, it wasn’t a disadvantage for the heroes to use wagons either.
Even if the Gate was a long-form barrier, the pieces of the barrier that comprised the Gate had a lifespan.
Therefore, sometimes the Gate could be interrupted, or chaos beasts could invade through weak points in the barrier.
To minimize such risks, coachmen would pay a certain amount to heroes utilizing their wagons.
Generally, the stronger a hero was, the more they would be paid.
The stronger the hero, the more fare they could charge from other passengers.
Eventually… heroes who solely provided wagon escort services appeared.
“Honestly, isn’t this the best gig ever?”
“Exactly. It’s almost the same pay as those fools risking their lives fighting chaos beasts.”
In one corner of the wagon station, two men who appeared to be such heroes were drinking and giggling.
‘I should avoid wagons guarded by those guys.’
No matter their original skill, it didn’t matter.
Encounters with chaos beasts while providing wagon escort weren’t that common.
So naturally, their practical combat sense would degrade over time.
‘If they run into a strong chaos beast, they’ll likely die.’
Even though the odds of encountering chaos beasts at the Gate were low, I didn’t want to gamble my life on numbers.
Riding with those guys just to save a bit of money was like trying to cross the Pacific on a raft.
Even a gigantic ship like the Titanic could run aground. That’s how dangerous the Chaos Realm was.
‘Since I have enough money, I need to ride with the most competent hero I can find.’
With that thought, I started scanning the wagons.
I was hoping to find a decent hero who I at least somewhat recognized.
Then, I finally spotted one.
‘That guy…’
A hero cloaked in a black cloak, wearing a hat, was quietly seated in a wagon.
He wasn’t a playable character, but I knew him to some extent.
He sometimes made it onto the list of high-ranking heroes while playing.
‘I can trust his skill.’
With that judgment, I spoke to the coachman.
“How much is this wagon?”
The coachman glanced at the hero seated behind him and replied.
“Well, the hero has quite a high ranking, but we agreed on a fair price of one silver coin.”
A fair price of one silver coin.
That much could cover living expenses for a month at an inn.
But considering that a relatively strong hero was accompanying us, it wasn’t a bad cost.
“Here you go.”
I handed the coachman a silver coin.
He accepted it and placed it in a box at his feet.
“Well then, hop on quickly. It seems you’re in a hurry. We’ll leave if we don’t gather any more passengers by noon.”
I followed his words and climbed into the wagon.
I sat diagonally across from the hero in an awkward atmosphere.
Fortunately, it seemed the reasonable price worked out because all passengers gathered before noon.
“Well, we’ll be setting off now.”
*
A few hours after departure.
“Do you know what the hottest topic in Sakh is these days? So…”
The chatterbox sitting next to me seemed tireless, and I was trying my best to tune out his words.
At first, I pretended to listen since I was bored, but now repeating the same words nearly made me nauseous.
‘By the way…’
The hero, resting his chin on his hand and looking out the window, caught my attention.
He had a quiet demeanor that inspired trust, but it was impossible to guess what he was thinking.
‘Not that it matters much.’
After all, our relationship was merely a companion until we reached Sakh.
Unless I didn’t encounter my own high-ranking hero challenge afterward, I wouldn’t have any dealings with him after that.
“Hey there, young sir. You there, young sir.”
At the voice of the chatterbox calling someone, I turned my head.
The chatterbox was staring at me.
“Me?”
“Yeah, who else could it be, young sir!”
No, young sir?
That was the first time anyone had ever called me that.
Well, considering my travel-worn look since my hometown to Basilium, it made sense I hadn’t heard it before.
But I was wearing new clothes I bought from Basilium now.
“With that blonde hair and the atmosphere you give off, you don’t seem like a country bumpkin. Are you perhaps a noble from the Leim Kingdom?”
It was surprising, but soon I realized.
It was all because of the trait I possessed, [Authority of the Leim Royal Family].
It seemed I exuded a somewhat noble aura, though it might be less than Elsie’s.
‘Maybe I should have asked Elsie how to hide it.’
Elsie might have had some tricks she learned while escaping.
Thanks to that, she managed to hide such an aura in the streets.
But I still didn’t have such tricks.
“Don’t worry, you don’t have to hide it. I’ve met many nobles while doing business in the Leim Kingdom.”
The chatterbox laughed heartily.
Given the current situation, it was awkward to deny it, so I just laughed along.
“By the way, what are you heading to the Leim Kingdom for?”
There was no need to reveal too much.
“I’m going to meet an acquaintance.”
I wasn’t lying.
An acquaintance I knew unilaterally was indeed an acquaintance.
“I see. And what about the young lady?”
The chatterbox asked the girl sitting opposite me.
She too seemed uninterested in the chatterbox and stared out the window opposite the hero.
“Well, if you’d rather not say, that’s fine.”
Indeed, that was a smart response.
I was foolish for responding to the chatterbox’s questions.
I kept facing my punishment.
Then, out of nowhere, the sound of horses whinnying echoed.
And the wagon slowly came to a stop.
‘It’s still too early to arrive, right?’
Something must have happened.
The hero also detached his chin from his hand and began to look around.
‘What could it be?’
From the silence, it didn’t seem like chaos beasts showed up.
I was still tensed when the coachman at the front opened a small door and spoke.
“It seems the inspectors from Sakh will be searching the wagon. Please bear with us.”
Inspectors from Sakh?
There had never been such an event in the game while going back and forth through the Gate.
I reflected on whether I had anything troubling among my belongings.
Fortunately, all relics were stored in my inventory.
“Pardon the intrusion.”
At that moment, a man walked up to the side of the wagon.
“Recently, there have been disturbances in Sakh, so I apologize, but we have to conduct a search.”
The man naturally climbed onto the wagon.
When I saw him, I could only freeze.
He was…
‘Why is the Demon King here?’
The 54th Demon King, Laus.
He was on the weaker side among the Demon Kings.
But that didn’t mean I could win against him.
The hero across from me was the same.
‘I need at least a high-ranking hero.’
Just to contend against a high-ranking hero would be a challenge on its own.
It was fortunate that the hero hadn’t recognized the Demon King sitting across from him.
‘But why is the Demon King here in a place like this…?’
I tried to recall events that could occur around this time based on my gaming knowledge.
But I couldn’t think of anything plausible.
‘Perhaps the Demon Kings are busy with something else right now.’
There was no room to be keeping a Demon King loafing around in a place like this.
While I pondered, the man was thoroughly inspecting the wagon.
“Hmm, seems like…”
Then his eyes met mine.
Oh no, but it was already too late to turn my head away.
‘Stay calm.’
My trembling hand came to a halt.
While he was staring into my eyes, luckily, he soon turned away.
“Seems like nothing’s here.”
He stepped off the wagon.
“You may go.”
With the signal of approval, the coachman began to drive again.
The wagon started moving, and the image of the Demon King gradually disappeared.
Only then could I finally take a breath.
‘But why was the Demon King here?’
Just then, the wagon suddenly came to a halt.
*
“Hey, Violet.”
(Laus? What’s wrong?)
The Demon King, Laus, who had been acting as the inspector from Sakh, spoke irritably to Demon King Violet.
“How long are you going to keep me stuck here? It seems they’ve recognized me on the Sakh side.”
(I didn’t give that order! Getting mad at me means nothing!)
“Then tell your sister! When can I join your side’s operation?”
(Alright, I got it, I got it! Now, shoo!)
There was no further signal from Violet.
Laus clenched his teeth.
They had to keep the 71st Demon King hidden and only after dying did they reveal the truth, yet he was just being used for the cleanup.
‘He could have slipped away to another place if he wanted to.’
What he was looking for was a powerful hero that could have killed the 71st Demon King.
Even if the 71st was on the weaker side, his regeneration as a Demon King couldn’t be ignored.
To have dismantled him into pieces and killed him suggested that at least a high-ranking hero was involved.
‘Speaking of that wagon from earlier…’
He recalled the man who had been in the wagon.
He felt a significant aura of a hero coming from that man.
Not quite at high-ranking level, but still strong.
‘Even if stuck in a place like this, I must achieve some accomplishments.’
He couldn’t reveal his identity as a Demon King.
Doing so would mean losing far more than gaining.
Unlike the 71st, he couldn’t change his appearance.
‘This should be sufficient.’
He detected a strong chaos beast nearby.
And then issued the command.
“Kill it.”
*
