STM 184

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁣⁣⁣⁠⁣⁣⁠⁠⁣⁠⁠⁠⁠⁣⁣⁣⁣⁠⁠⁣⁠⁣⁣Tairok couldn’t help but laugh at my shameless request. The corners of his mouth turned up, and his eyes sparkled with delight. As if that wasn’t enough, he took my hand and kissed it again.

“Gladly. I’ll treat you like royalty.”

“No.”

I shook my head immediately and quickly pulled my hand away. His flirtatious antics were one thing, but this confession was a fatal blow to me. As you know, I’m not the type to tolerate such sentimentality.

“Let’s just focus on survival. Leave out the weird embellishments.”

I drew a line partly because there were onlookers. I glanced sideways at the informant. The moment our eyes met, he quickly bowed his head and pretended not to see me.

It might have been because Tairok had made the atmosphere tense, but he’d been like that ever since I helped the neighbor. He must have figured out who I was. Since I hadn’t revealed my identity, he forced himself to act as if he didn’t know.

“I’ll do my best as well. Salva…ahem, I’ll give my life to ensure neither of you gets a single hair out of place.”

“We don’t need your life.”

It was as if a switch had been flipped; the sweetness vanished in an instant. Tairok’s dry retort was devoid of any emotion, making even me who was listening from the side feel awkward.

The informant responded impassively, but the problem was the starfish. It was trembling and hide behind the informant’s back. The poor thing was terrified.

“You don’t have to be so harsh.”

I scolded Tairok and softened the tone a bit.

“You barely escaped death yourself; it would be a waste to die for someone else.”

“It wouldn’t be a waste if it were for Lord Salvation.”

“……”

“Hmm, well, of course you aren’t Salvation, but you know what I mean. I think this is also something you’re doing for him.”

If that’s how it’s going to be, just ask me outright. Frustrated, I threw up my hands first.

“Yes, I know. Because I’m Adeye Lu.”

At that moment, the informant’s eyes sparkled with overwhelming emotion. It reminded me of Haas, but the pressure was even greater. And it didn’t end there, he suddenly prostrated on the floor.

“Lord Salvation! Thank you for saving my life…”

“Pretending not to know is a hundred times better than sacrificing your life.”

Tairok interrupted him coldly once again, but the informant apologized as if all his defiance had completely drained away.

“I’m sorry. I’ll be extra careful when guiding you into the castle.”

“You’re going to guide us yourself?”

He nodded, “Of course.”

“I know the way, but since the gates were suddenly sealed off this morning, we need to be even more careful.”

Come to think of it, I had been in a bind because the pass suddenly stopped working.

“Why was the lockdown ordered?”

“I don’t know. I heard that access is restricted not only to the inner castle but also to the outer castle, so no one can come or go.”

What if Grand Duke Montaine had the gates locked because she could no longer use the power of the divine beast? I had to check on the divine beast’s situation quickly.

“Is there a way to get inside the castle?”

“Yes,” the informant nodded.

“It’s possible at dawn two days from now. Once a week, the interrogation unit checks the guards’ obedience bracelets. I’ll be out on inspection then, so I can detain the guards stationed at the prison.”

“But to infiltrate the inner castle, we’ll have to pass through multiple checkpoints.”

When Tairok raised this question, the informant gave a surprising answer.

“You two can use a secret passage I know.”

He knows a secret passage? I wasn’t the only one puzzled. Tairok looked interested for the first time.

“You… what’s your name?”

“Here, I’m called Nuchir.”

He paused briefly before adding.

“My real name is Agan Hanar.”

Upon hearing the name, Tairok’s eyebrows twitched.

“That Agan, famous for healing magic?”

“That’s correct.”

“I heard that everyone in the Agan family was executed over a decade ago for treason against Montaine.”

Nuchir answered in a heavy voice with his gaze lowered.

“I barely managed to survive thanks to the help of an unknown benefactor. It was someone I’d never met before, but simply because a child was asking for help, they willingly reached out… and lost their life.”

Pain flickered in his eyes. Just in case, I asked him.

“Are the people next door related to that benefactor?”

“No. I met them here for the first time.”

Just as I was confused by this unexpected answer, he explained why.

“They were simply people in need, and since they were right in front of me, I couldn’t just walk by. After all, I was saved in the same way.”

But not everyone remembers that help or returns the favor. Especially when it comes to risking their own lives. Beside him, the starfish patted his body. Only then did I begin to understand. Ah, maybe that’s why it stays by his side all the time. Because he’s a good person.

“But you said you were on the run. Why are you working in Montaine?”

“Montaine is famous for hunting down anyone who betrays them, no matter how long it takes, and taking their life.”

Tairok explained on his behalf, then smirked.

“For him, this might actually be the safest place.”

No matter how dark it is under the lamp, this was something only someone with immense courage could do. Tairok seemed to like this about him and spared him a bit more interest.

“Did you use that secret passage when you escaped a long time ago?”

“Yes. It’s a passage known only to direct descendants of the Montaine family, but my grandfather once entered it when he was secretly treating a member of the Montaine family. He moved with his eyes covered, but just in case, he wrote down the number of steps and the direction of travel to mark his location. I didn’t know I’d be using it myself just a week later.”

He recounted the horrific memory as calmly as if it were a routine part of his past. If it weren’t for the starfish hugging him from behind, I might have mistakenly thought he had already overcome it. By the way, does he even realize the starfish is right beside him?

“By the way, I didn’t know the Agan family was a family of spirit masters?”

“Yes, we are spirit masters… Huh?!”

Nuchir looked up in shock.

“That’s right. But even though we’re spirit masters, the spirit connected to our family is a low-grade stone spirit with little power. We’ve never once demonstrated spirit magic to anyone outside our family.”

Ah, stone. Now that I think about it, I did sense something stone-like. It’s a stone with a unique shape.

“But how did you know that?”

Instead of answering, Tairok glanced at me. I had no choice but to explain what I saw. How much it cherished and worried about him too. By the time I finished explaining, Nuchir’s jaw had dropped so low it almost touched the floor. Just as I began to wonder if he was even breathing, he stammered.

“Um, you mean the spirit is really right here beside me? Grandfather was right after all….”

“What did your grandfather say?”

“He said the spirit that accompanies our family may not have any talents to show off to others, but it’s a good friend who will always be by our side.”

That’s right. A good friend. I almost felt sorry for comparing it to the bear divine beast because of the “speak with your body” ability.

“But I believed I lacked the ability to communicate with spirits. There were times when I saw something strange, but I never imagined it could be a spirit…”

Overcome with emotion, his voice trailed off.

“What do you see?”

“Sometimes I see something transparent, about this big, as small as a speck of dust, floating in midair.”

No, that’s just floaters. I barely managed to stop myself from saying it.

“My home is humble, but please rest here until dawn. I’ll make sure to guide you safely to your destination.”

He stood up and bowed. As I was about to leave, accompanied by his farewell, my gaze briefly fell on the starfish beside Nuchir. A thought suddenly occurred to me, and I asked.

“What is the spirit’s name?”

“Hmm, I’ve heard it has no name. Just that it’s a spirit of a low-grade stone.”

“Is that so?” I said, turning to leave, but he hesitated and added.

“But my ancestors always said that there may come a moment when even a single small stone becomes the most important thing.”

As Nuchir spoke, the starfish stood proudly beside him, arms spread wide in a pose of pride. I fully agreed with his words. Yeah, a stone shaped like that would be perfect as a club to smash an enemy’s skull at a crucial moment.

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What constitutes successful revenge? It might be pouring out boundless rage, but it could also be the opposite. It is when you see an enemy crumble pathetically and feel no longer the same hostility as before. That might be the moment you confirm the success of your revenge.

Squeak.

I opened the iron door with the key I’d taken from the unconscious guard, and saw two people trapped inside. One was sprawled on the floor, seemingly dead, while the other was curled up in a corner.

The dark interior reeked of rot, but the smell was familiar to me. Just yesterday, the same odor had emanated from the body of the man who had been harboring worms.

A corpse and the stench.

That alone was enough for me to guess what had happened in this prison. And why Hoiga was sitting there. But no matter how terrified he was, I knew how to catch his attention.

“Hoiga.”

As soon as he heard my voice, he flinched as I’d expected, then slowly raised his head. Even in this moment, his eyes revealed a sense of revulsion mixed with shame, along with shock.

I must have been quite a terrible sight to show up at his worst moment. In the past, even when he suffered, it felt infinitely insufficient and made me angrier, but it wasn’t like that now. That said, I didn’t feel a sense of gratification either.

“Uh, why… why are you here?”

Hoiga’s faint voice suddenly grew stronger.

“Did you come all this way just to mock me?”

“That’s impossible. You’re nothing now.”

I replied, then deliberately looked around the room slowly.

“Finally, you’re staying somewhere that suits you.”

Hoiga’s jaw trembled. As was my habit, I imprinted his anger in my eyes and asked.

“Do you want to leave?”

Startled, his body shook.

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‎ TN: 1-week hiatus starting April 1st