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Author: CleiZz Editor: Aker and Jada
***
“I’m back! I’m back!”
Noah shouted sorrowfully next to Ruel.
While waiting for him to wake up, he thought he would die waiting patiently.
“Quiet. My head is ringing.”
After inhaling Breath, Ruel took the medicine Cassion handed him.
He was so hungry because slept through the meal times.
Before Ruel could reach out, Cassion handed over the meat pie.
Crunch.
“…so what?”
Ruel asked, with his heavy lids half open.
“Are you sending me away to have a picnic in that underworld when there’s nothing to eat?”
“What is there to fall for?”
Crunch.
“I’m not in the right mind to talk long, so keep it short.”
He was unsure if it was lack of sleep or if Cassion snuck him sleeping pills, but drowsiness came over him again.
Taktak.
Leo patted his tail dissatisfied as he looked at Noah.
—This is the body that waited for Ruel to open his eyes! He’s supposed to talk to this body right now, but that human took it away!
As Ruel stroked Leo’s head, Leo rubbed his face against his hand several times as if he missed that touch.
—This body prefers Ruel to be awake.
“Ruel-nim is not in a state to listen to your whining, so simply tell me the information you obtained.”
Enraged by Cassion’s words, Noah intended to roll up his sleeves and showed his scars proudly.
“It’s not whining! Don’t talk about my first adventure that way. See this! This was a small tussle in the underworld…”
“Cough!”
Cassion hurriedly covered Ruel’s mouth with a handkerchief.
Luckily it was black blood.
“…!”
Noah’s eyes widened.
Ruel vomited blood again.
“Just keep it short.”
At Cassion’s fierce eyes, Noah gently lowered his hand and took out the data with a dissatisfied face.
“Someone in the underworld was using my poison, so I asked with a crossbow to his head, and … I went somewhere, anyway, they introduced me to the place, and I repeated the crossbow trick, and he mentioned another store. I have no idea how many times I had to hold the crossbow to their heads, but anyway, I got out of the underworld.”
When there was no response, Noah’s expression crumpled.
He was even more annoyed because he couldn’t even tell how much he had been running in circles and suffered because of it.
“After that, I hesitated because I didn’t know if the crossbow trick would be effective, as it wasn’t the underworld…so I just killed them all and did it to the remaining survivor. Then he began begging for mercy. What did he say, Lu… Mino?”
“Lumina.”
Ruel spoke briefly.
“You’re right. He gave me the name and said that the Lumina family was their main customer. I’m ignorant, so I don’t know what that means.”
Cassion politely took the data Noah handed over to Ruel.
Ruel shuffled through the data handed over by Cassion and raised the corners of his mouth.
He got them.
Among the merchants run by the Lumina family, the merchant named Kelpe was directly related to the Red Ash.
Perhaps the merchant of Lumina, who handed over the attack plan to Count Iria, was also Kelpe.
“How about the clean up afterwards?”
“Well, you wouldn’t know I did it. Do you think a hunter should be the one hunted? I disposed of all the people who were escaping, and cleaned all traces.”
The shadows would have done it if Noah hadn’t cleaned up the traces properly.
“Cassion.”
Thud.
A money bag fell before Noah.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“Th-thank you!”
It’s best to let them think that they’d get paid if they did a good job.
“You will follow me to the royal treasury tomorrow.”
Noah’s eyes opened wide as if to pop out.
“I’m taking you because you asked for something good.”
“Of course! I’ll work harder! I’ll be prepared to bury my bones!”
The dissatisfaction that was deeply engraved on his face was cleanly washed away.
A royal treasure trove!
He was excited just by hearing the words.
***
“It’s a nice day.”
Ruel got out of the carriage, supported by Cassion, wearing a white cloak made by Aris.
After three days of sleeping, the sun felt warm.
—Go see the treasure, treasure! This body has been excited since yesterday!
Leo raised the corners of his mouth, staring at the necklace around his neck.
The royal butler, who had been waiting for them in advance, bowed and introduced himself.
In front of the treasure, the only ones who openly showed their liking were Noah and Leo.
Cassion and Aris didn’t show it, but they were still excited.
The same was true of himself.
The head butler cleared his throat before opening the treasure house and opened his mouth.
“His Majesty said that he allowed Lord Setiria to take any number of items in the treasure house because of the great gift he received from the lord.”
Then he glanced at Cassion and Noah and continued speaking.
“Originally, only one person could enter this treasure house, but His Majesty generously allowed everyone here… ”
“That’s enough.”
He talked too much.
He was the one who got permission from Huswen to see how many people could enter.
It was understandable how much he cared about his king, but Ruel didn’t like the idea of being spoken to by someone who didn’t know the subject.
The butler looked at himself with slight bewilderment.
“You,” Ruel’s eyes sank coldly.
“I don’t know how you got to the position of head butler, but am I in such a position to be instructed by you?”
“I apologize, my lord. I have made a mistake.”
Not liking the fact that the royal treasure house is open to outsiders, he forgot the fact that the boy in front of him was not only a boy, but a nobleman.
The butler immediately bowed his head.
His neck could be blown away easily.
“Be glad that I’m generous.”
“I’ll keep your continued generosity in mind!”
The butler replied with a bow.
Contrary to how sickly the lord looked, he couldn’t bear to raise his head at the tremendous momentum emanating from him.
“I’ll be out in a minute, so wait patiently.”
“Understood.”
Ruel went into the treasure house without looking at the butler.
Squeak.
The door of the warehouse closed, and Leo screamed.
—Wow! They’re all shining!
Ruel immediately grabbed Leo by the tail.
It was necessary to be careful.
—Hick!
“Cough, cough.”
With a cough, Ruel looked at the carefully organized treasure trove.
It felt like a museum.
‘It’s true that everything sparkles.’
Instead of a glass case, a thin film was placed on each item.
It seemed to be a barrier.
The tools needed to take out the items have already been obtained from Huswen.
Ruel looked around, inhaling Breath.
“Each one is different, and it is a complex barrier. It’s the first time I’ve seen a magic formula like this.”
Aris carefully looked around the warehouse and took a notebook out of his arms and wrote something down.
Noah had fainted from shock still, standing upright, while Cassion was nowhere to be seen. Looking, Ruel found a place where the swords were gathered along with carefully labeled name tags.
As expected.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Cassion was spotted there, looking closely as if he were appreciating a work of art.
—Ruel, everyone is looking at the glittery things, but this body doesn’t see. This body wants to see it too. This body likes to see shiny things.
Leo beeped and cried and looked eagerly at Ruel.
Ruel moved away from Noah and whispered quietly to Leo.
“All right, but don’t touch it recklessly before my permission is given.”
—This body promises! This body keeps its promise!
The tail waved up and down.
Ruel stroked Leo’s head and moved on slowly.
Ttak.
The sound of a cane rang out loudly.
‘What should I bring?’
—Woa
Don’t take too many.
It was neat and nice to bring only a few of the most practical things.
—Ooooh!
Because of the barrier, the shimmering glares seemed to overlap, making it difficult to ascertain what was good.
—How wonderful! Everything is great! Everything sparkles!
Leo’s head turned incessantly.
At the same time, his mouth was not still.
He left Leo alone because it wasn’t bad for him to comment on the objects.
Looking around, he saw Aris standing in front of earrings.
He wasn’t writing anything in the notebook he was holding, Aris was just staring blankly at the object in front of his eyes, so Ruel used a tool to break the barrier.
“…!”
Aris looked at Ruel in surprise.
“Take it, it’s yours.”
When Ruel released the barrier, it made an intense shimmering sound.
He pointed with his finger as if he would vomit blood at any moment if he caught it.
“T-That’s all right! I’m already getting too much!”
“Didn’t you want it?”
“It bothers me… but I did. Well, how to say, only this one had a very beautiful color.”
Aris looked at the earring with a calm smile, as if he had never been flustered.
Originally, there was only one piece, seemingly without a matching pair.
Ruel didn’t know what it’s function was, but it would definitely help Aris.
“Take it.”
Ruel grinned and walked toward Cassion.
“Thank…you.”
A mixture of gratitude and apology was heard quietly.
—Aris is always cautious. He did it even when playing with this body.
“What do you want to have? Decide.”
—Are you giving this body too? Really?
“Yes.”
Leo rubbed his face at Ruel in a warm voice.
—Hehehe. This body is so happy! Perhaps the happiest spirit in the world!
Everyone seemed happy with the gift, regardless of whether it was a person or a spirit.
“Did you pick one?”
Ruel approached Cassion and asked.
“Not yet. I was in great trouble because there were many good swords. I didn’t know the ‘Black Star’ I was trying to locate was here.”
“Then you can choose that.”
“But the ‘Root of Sapling’ next to it is also one of the swords I wanted to have.”
The conversation seemed to be prolonged.
Ruel coughed and held on to his bitter stomach.
Although the part that burst was stitched again, he was nervous.
After taking a reeling step, his vision suddenly spun.
At the same time, the sound of a staff rolling on the ground was heard.
“Are you okay?”
He felt Cassion’s hand supporting his back.
“Oh, I just felt dizzy for a moment.”
Since she, who’s name was unknown, took the mark from him, his physical condition became much better, but little by little, the black things filled up again.
Recently, the frequency of dizziness seemed to go back to the normal amount.
Cassion seated Ruel in a chair placed in the warehouse.
“You can rest for a while. I’m still choosing. You too, Leo.”
—This body wants to choose with Ruel.
Cassion looked at Ruel with an uncomfortable face and walked back to the sword display.
—What does Ruel want to have?
“I can’t use anymore.”
Since the body was like glass, it was only a burden to have anything more.
It was better to split and focus the power to protect himself than to have several that he couldn’t use.
—This body will pick for you. Just trust this body!
“Pick your own.”
Slap.
He heard a ferocious sound from somewhere.
When he turned his head he was relieved to see Aris, who hit Noah, had relieved the congestion in his brain. Noah appeared to be happy to be woken up by the slap.
“R-Ruel-nim!”
Noah ran right away and knelt in front of Ruel.
“I just confirmed that it’s not a dream. Can I really, really pick one?”
“The condition is that it will not be sold.”
“No matter how big my courage is, I don’t sell royal treasures!”
“Like you sold the poison?”
“It’s not worth a royal treasure, is it?”
“Choose, tell me after you have chosen.”
“Yes!”
With a loud scream of excitement, Noah ran toward the displayed treasures.
Ruel inhaled Breath and propped his cane back up.
—This body decided it as soon as this body saw it!
When Ruel’s gaze met Leo’s, he moved his tail and smiled.
—It is calling for this body. There’s someone who wants to be friends with this body.
‘A spirit stone, something like that?’
He walked to where Leo was pointing.
There was an ore that repeatedly lit up and extinguished its light.
It was the size of two fingers combined.
‘…?’
Ruel rubbed his eyes for a moment.
There was something about the size of a thumb hanging from the ore.