STM 50

Knock, knock.

“Lord Lu, there’s a request to move the carriage. Shall we go somewhere else?”

The servant on the driver’s seat finally lost patience and knocked as he asked. Instead of answering, I looked up again at the sky that was turning dark.

It was already late, so I could just show my face inside and come right back out, right?

The perverts were a problem, but the real issue was the clothes I was wearing. They looked terrible, and I didn’t want to show myself in front of people for even a minute longer.

Never mind that the shirt fluttered too much, there had been a serious problem from the start when I first put it on. Several buttons were missing.

‘Solongo, why are you suddenly so obsessed with my clothes? And what’s with this outfit?’

‘It’s the trend.’

‘…Buttons starting from the belly button?’

‘Yes. Didn’t you see Ma Hoiga’s outfit before? You’re from the Adeye family, you can’t fall behind in fashion.’

What a dog of a trend. I had no intention of following it, but this time Solongo had been unusually insistent about my appearance.

She pressured me so much, enough to make me suspect she was using fashion as an excuse to undress me, that after a long fight, I managed to wear a shirt with all its buttons properly attached.

But guess what? During the carriage ride, every button came off.

This was a conspiracy, Solongo’s conspiracy.

So I spent a long time in the carriage sewing the buttons back on. I used that as an excuse to stall for quite a while, but I couldn’t wait any longer now.

Let’s just get this over with and leave quickly.

Feeling like I was going to fight monsters, I finally got out of the carriage to face the perverts. But I didn’t get far before I met an obstacle. A guard stopped me.

“Are you Lord Adeye Lu?”

“That’s right.”

“Please come this way.”

“Why? Isn’t the main entrance this way?”

“The manager said there are a few agreements you need to sign before entering the club.”

“What kind of agreements?”

“You need to sign a pledge not to inflict physical attacks on club members.”

…Fuck, just because Lu grabbed a few crotches.

I felt irritation rising, but I didn’t want to cause a scene, so I followed the guard. But no matter what, instead of leading me to the club entrance, he kept taking me farther away from the building.

That’s when I started feeling something was wrong , and Mo noticed something definite.

[We’ve passed the path leading to the last building of the club.]

I didn’t stop walking, but I slowed my pace and turned my head slightly.

‘Are there people hiding somewhere?’

I asked Mo while trying to take in everything around me with my eyes. Mo’s strength was that as long as something entered my field of vision, it could detect anything I missed.

“Is there a problem?”

The guard guiding me noticed my slower pace and asked.

[At three o’clock, shadows detected, likely hidden individuals.]

Yeah, this was a trap. But why? Who?

I didn’t show suspicion. Instead, I stopped walking.

“Maybe it’s because I’m nervous, but my stomach hurts.”

“We’re almost there. Please hold on a little longer.”

“I said my stomach hurts. Should I just go right here?”

I deliberately acted like a pain-in-the-neck, complaining as I turned around. But I only took a few steps before I heard movement behind me, and someone’s mocking voice.

“Pathetic.”

It was an unfamiliar voice, but I didn’t look back. I just ran.

Footsteps followed right behind me.

Honestly, I was a bit confident. Ever since falling into Tubain, all I’d done was train this weak body to be at least somewhat human again.

At the very least, I thought no one could beat me at running. But apparently, my opponent wasn’t just anyone. Suddenly, someone jumped over my head and landed with a heavy thud.

What the hell?!

A tall woman drew her sword and blocked my path.

“I heard you’re an idiot who only knows how to roll around with men.”

I never judged people by their looks.

But her eyes were a different matter.

The moment I met those eyes, empty as if she had no soul, every ounce of my experience screamed at me.

People with eyes like that always caused nasty problems. Damn it.

Without hesitation, I changed direction. I already knew she was skilled, but there was no knowing until I got caught.

But the tall swordswoman was more ruthless than I expected. Instead of chasing me, she swung her sword straight at me.

Shit, I can’t dodge this…

Bang!

A huge sound rang, and an invisible barrier suddenly surrounded me, blocking the sword. The impact was so strong that not only the swordswoman but also everyone chasing me was blown back.

What the hell just… huh? The brooch?

I looked down without thinking and noticed that the brooch pinned to my chest had split in half. The large gem that had filled the center was shattered and scattered on the ground.

Ah, so it was a defensive artifact.

It was worth as much as three mansions, but now wasn’t the time to worry about price.

I used the opening to ran away. But since the tall swordswoman blocked the path I’d come from, I had no choice but to run the other way.

However, my escape didn’t last long.

[Enemy ahead!]

Mo’s warning appeared at the same time a human hand suddenly came out from behind a tree in front of me.

Shit, who…?!

I ducked very quickly to avoid the hand, but unfortunately, the end of my shirt got caught.

I went down and someone stepped on my chest with their foot so I couldn’t get up. A young man with purple bobbed hair.

“Adeye Lu, you’re really hard to meet.”

“Who are you?”

I asked, and he answered with a question instead.

“Did you encounter a monster at the resort in Ornod?”

I froze and stared at him. Maybe he took my silence as confirmation, because he smiled. No matter how obnoxious Tairok’s smile was, it never gave me chills like this man’s did.

“I asked who you are.”

I tried to push his foot away, but I hesitated at his movement. He was taking something out of his pocket.

It looked like a vial.

Before I could even figure out what it was, he opened the cap and sprayed it at me.

I covered my face with my arm too late, and a foul smell washed over me. I felt dizzy and my vision went black.

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“What? Tairok really visited the Club of the 13th Month?!”

Doctor Kim was, as usual, taking her medications every hour and burying herself in work. She had fainted so often that she had to use every waking second to work.

And a comrade who had passed through the Eye of Hell had come into this world. With someone to fight alongside, her early passion was rekindled.

What a precious comrade!

She wanted to keep him at home, but she couldn’t stop his will to find the traitor. But worrying like a parent giving a child up for adoption, she was nervous.

So she took reports every hour, and finally the news they’d been waiting for arrived.

“Yes, the club informant just reported through the communication device.”

The communication device was such a precious magical tool that they only used it in emergencies, but this time they made an exception. They were too curious.

“On the surface he came to meet a close friend, but a friend is someone you can just greet on the street, right? The matriarch Adeye family’s letter clearly had an effect.”

“So that means Tairok is really interested in Lu……”

Doctor Kim pressed her fingertips together and wore a lecherous smile.

“This could work as Plan X. Tairok has pride, so he won’t abandon Lu if Lu has his child. Then he can’t marry the traitor.”

In Doctor Kim’s head, Lu was already seducing Tairok and bearing three children.

“That’s right. No matter how proud Tairok is, he couldn’t violate a perfect noble bride candidate omega youth and then ascend to the emperor’s seat.”

Solongo fed the fantasy beside her, and twisted facts.

“Oh, Lu would be perfect. Lu’s reputation isn’t great, but he’s never been married, right? That makes him seem modest enough.”

Doctor Kim was daydreaming about things going smoothly and then suddenly remembered to ask.

“So, did they meet at the club?”

“Unfortunately, it seems not yet. The informant says they haven’t seen Lord Lu.”

“He’s been gone a while. Could he be hiding somewhere……”

Her words were cut off by a strange sound that echoed through the room.

‘Clink.’

Doctor Kim and Solongo both turned their eyes to the desk at the same time. A small heart-shaped crystal had split in half.

Their expressions hardened together at the sight. That crystal was a magical device linked to the brooch pinned to Lu’s chest. It was enchanted to break if his safety was threatened, similar to an alarm.