NOVPUBEntering the village wasn’t particularly difficult.
Although the people guarding the entrance had a harsh demeanor, they let us in right away when we said we were travelers.
It didn’t seem to be a place particularly hostile to outsiders.
“It’s quiet here.”
“Yes.”
The village is peaceful and quiet, just as it appeared from the outside.
People walked at a leisurely pace, and there were hardly any armed individuals in sight.
Children could be seen playing innocently here and there.
“Compared to Kiton, it’s like heaven on earth.”
“Most small villages in remote areas have this kind of atmosphere. Either a noble appointed by the lord manages the village or a chief elected from within the village.”
“Which means there are fewer people at the top to suck their blood.”
“That’s right…”
It was a bitter reality.
As you go into cities, buildings get taller and people’s living standards seem to improve, but that’s not the whole picture.
The stronger the light, the darker the shadow.
The larger the city, the more squalid its dark places become.
However, in small villages like this, there weren’t really any dark places to speak of.
Everyone was practically neighbors, which allowed for a relatively peaceful atmosphere.
“Excuse me, but is there an inn where we could stay for a day?”
“Ah, you must be outsiders.”
“Yes.”
“If you follow this road straight ahead, you’ll find an inn. It’s the only inn in the village, so you’ll find it quickly.”
“Thank you.”
The group was able to reach the inn after asking for directions from a passing resident.
“Welcome!”
When they opened the door and entered, the innkeeper greeted them with a hearty laugh.
“I see you’re travelers from outside.”
“Yes.”
“Haha. Coming all the way to this rural place. You must have quite the wanderlust.”
Choi Hyun-seok smiled at the innkeeper’s good-natured joke.
“How much for one night?”
“Three copper per night. One copper for basic meals. If you want a hot water bath, that’s an additional copper.”
Choi Hyun-seok took out his money pouch from his backpack.
‘Hmm… Copper coins are bronze coins. Fifty bronze coins make one silver coin…’
Currently, Choi Hyun-seok has most of his money in gold coins.
Though it varies by kingdom, the basic currency system is as follows:
1 Gold = 20 Silver
1 Silver = 50 Copper
1 Gold = 1,000 Copper
In other words, one gold coin can be exchanged for a thousand copper coins.
‘Change… Need change…’
Fortunately, he found a few silver coins in the corner of his pouch.
Choi Hyun-seok took out one silver coin and held it out.
“Here you go.”
“How many rooms would you like? One? Or two?”
Choi Hyun-seok glanced at Abelson.
“…”
Her expressionless face and eyes seemed to say: What on earth are you hesitating about?
“T-two rooms, please. Haha!”
***
That night.
Even at this late hour, Abelson couldn’t go to bed.
Despite having a hot shower after a long time and eating a hearty dinner, somehow she wasn’t feeling good.
Her chest felt too tight.
‘Is this really okay?’
Actually, she had a worry.
A worry she couldn’t tell others about.
‘I promised to follow God’s will and carry out justice…’
At first, she thought like this.
She didn’t enjoy swinging the mace.
She only enjoyed the fact that she was carrying out justice with her own hands.
Though she made such excuses, deep down she knew.
‘I need to be honest. I should admit it.’
The beginning of solving any problem is recognizing and accepting that there is a problem.
‘I enjoy swinging the mace.’
She enjoys swinging the mace.
More precisely, smashing things with the mace gave her an exhilarating thrill.
Among those things, crushing skulls was the best.
‘Can I say I’m following justice while exercising such ruthless violence? Was I evil all along…’
Her worries continued late into the night.
Her chest felt tighter and tighter.
Finally, Abelson got up from the bed.
Creak…
Carefully opening the door, she went down the stairs and stepped outside the inn.
“Haah…”
The cool night air made her mind feel a bit clearer.
“Should I give up the mace…”
She looked at the mace in her hand.
Following Choi Hyun-seok’s advice, she cleaned off the dried blood and flesh completely.
Yet the essence of this object remains unchanged.
A tool for destruction.
An object meant solely for cruel destruction.
“Sigh…”
Her sighs grow deeper.
She didn’t want to be hypocritical at this point.
But she also didn’t want to give up everything she had lived for.
Helping people and implementing justice was the path Abelson had pursued until now.
Is it okay to use such tools on this noble path, even if one’s ugly desires are involved?
Her chest felt heavy again.
‘Hmm…?’
For a moment, Abelson’s expression was slightly distorted.
‘Why does my chest feel so tight?’
It felt like something was completely blocked.
Though she thought it was just due to her worries, it was more serious than expected.
‘Come to think of it… Something felt off since entering the village.’
A strangely unpleasant feeling.
Despite it being a peaceful village, Abelson couldn’t shake off the uncomfortable feeling in her chest.
‘Why is this…’
At that moment, she sensed faint demonic energy not far away.
‘Who is it!?’
It’s not Choi Hyun-seok or Bobo.
Their demonic energy control is excellent, so even Abelson couldn’t sense it unless she deliberately looked for it.
Besides, the direction it was coming from was different.
After briefly considering whether to wake Choi Hyun-seok, Abelson shook her head.
‘If it’s demonic energy, I can handle it.’
Abelson’s foundation is holy power.
Against enemies using demonic energy, she could fully utilize her specialty.
She quickly ran toward the direction where she sensed the demonic energy.
‘It’s there.’
Finally arriving at an alley.
Just around the corner was where she sensed the demonic energy.
Abelson entered the alley without hesitation.
‘A demon…?’
What she saw was a well-built man.
The demonic energy was flowing from him.
At the demon’s feet, a woman lay bleeding.
Whoosh!
Upon seeing Abelson, the demon quickly began to flee.
Abelson urgently tried to chase after him, but the speed difference was too extreme.
His movements were almost as agile as Choi Hyun-seok’s.
“Huff…”
Abelson had no choice but to give up the pursuit.
She approached the woman lying on the ground.
“…”
No pulse could be felt.
The woman’s heart had already stopped.
‘Why would a demon be here…’
Just as Abelson was pondering this.
“Stop right there!”
Villagers appeared and surrounded her.
“He-Hera is dead!”
“Hera!”
The name of the woman lying on the ground is Hera.
The people, who seemed to be part of a vigilante group, confronted Abelson in an extremely agitated state.
“Who are you!?”
“Never seen this woman before.”
“She’s an outsider who came today.”
“Did the outsider kill Hera!?”
The way they were whispering among themselves, she was about to be branded as the culprit.
Abelson raised her hands.
“Don’t misunderstand. I only discovered this by chance while taking a walk.”
“A walk? Don’t lie! Then what’s that in your hand!”
Abelson looked at her hand.
“This is…”
In her hand was a grotesque mace.
“You killed Hera!”
“Arrest her! Let’s take her in for questioning!”
***
The next day.
When Choi Hyun-seok woke up, he realized Abelson was gone.
“Rachel! Abelson is gone! Do you know where she went!?”
“How would I know…”
Rachel said while rubbing her sleepy eyes, still not fully awake.
“I’m saying Abelson is missing! She’s not the type to leave without saying anything…”
“Maybe she got tired of you, hero.”
“Shut up!”
Choi Hyun-seok grabbed Rachel by the scruff of her neck and quickly went downstairs.
The innkeeper, who happened to be in the hall, greeted him.
“Oh! You’re awake.”
“Have you seen my companion!?”
Choi Hyun-seok asked in an urgent voice.
“Companion? If you mean that beautiful lady, I haven’t seen her…”
“Damn it!”
“Why don’t you wait while you have breakfast? She might have just gone for a walk.”
“This isn’t the time for…”
“We specially prepared lamb soup for breakfast today.”
“Hmm…”
A contemplative look crossed Choi Hyun-seok’s face.
Rachel, who was beside him, made an exasperated expression.
“How can you be like this, hero?”
“Wh-what are you saying! I wasn’t considering it at all!”
“The thief’s feet are burning…”
Just then, the inn’s door opened and a group of people burst in.
“Ravi! Is there someone here named Ravi Bahet!?”
Ravi Bahet was the alias Choi Hyun-seok used.
“Ah! I’m Ravi!”
“Come with us immediately.”
“What?”
“That person is looking for you.”
***
The place they arrived at following the villagers was the hall located in the center of the village.
There, Abelson was enjoying a luxurious breakfast.
“Ah… Lady Alien? What’s going on here?”
“Lord Ravi, please eat first. You haven’t had breakfast yet, have you?”
“Alright.”
He was feeling hungry anyway.
Choi Hyun-seok sat at the table and started eating.
It was an excellent breakfast worth giving up the lamb soup for.
“I met a demon last night.”
“A demon?”
Choi Hyun-seok asked in surprise.
“Yes. After that…”
Abelson explained everything that had happened during the previous night.
“So, you showed your holy power and proved that you are a false…”
Choi Hyun-seok was about to say ‘false’, but changed his words upon seeing Abelson’s cold gaze.
“You proved to them that you’re a true priest.”
“Yes.”
Last night.
Upon seeing Abelson’s holy power, people immediately prostrated themselves.
“Fi-Finally, you’ve come!”
“God has sent an emissary to save us!”
Since then, Abelson had been receiving treatment fit for nobility and enjoying luxurious rest.
“So what happened to that demon?”
“The village chief will explain about that.”
Just as the meal ended.
After the table was cleared, an old man came in with tea.
“Hello. I am Preston, who serves as the village chief.”
Choi Hyun-seok nodded slightly.
Chief Preston carefully began his story.
“It first happened half a year ago.”
Half a year ago.
A murder occurred in the village.
It was a brutal case where a man was found decapitated by the river.
Unlike the expectation that they would quickly find the culprit in such a small village, people couldn’t even find a single clue.
Just as the case was becoming a mystery,
A second murder occurs.
The second victim was a child, whose body parts appeared to be violently severed as if they had been torn away.
Only then did people realize this wasn’t just a simple murder case.
“At first, we requested help from the Lord. However…”
The Lord sent a group of ten soldiers after an entire month had passed.
Two more victims appeared during that time, but the villagers were relieved.
Things would be fine now.
The Lord’s soldiers would catch the culprit.
And the next day.
All ten soldiers who had been searching the village until late were found as cold corpses.
“After that, the Lord’s knight visited the village, but…”
One didn’t need to hear the rest of the story to know what happened.
“The knight died too, didn’t he?”
“Yes… After that, the Lord stopped sending anyone.”
Choi Hyun-seok sighed at the village chief’s words.
‘He gave up.’
Knights were valuable resources.
The Lord probably didn’t want to waste such resources on a rural village like this.
“The Lord suggested we settle somewhere else, but we didn’t want to leave our hometown.”
“So things have remained like this ever since?”
“Yes… We pooled the villagers’ money and even requested help from the mercenary guild…”
All attempts failed.
“They’re asking for more money. They say we need at least an upper Gold-rank or Mithril-rank mercenary to solve this problem.”
“Is it that expensive?”
“We’ve already spent ten gold coins on requests. But to meet the guild’s requirements, we need at least twenty more gold coins.”
“…”
“Where would we find that much gold in this mountain village… We can barely manage to pay our taxes to the Lord.”
The village chief looked at Abelson with an agitated expression.
“That’s when you came here, Priest! Surely you must have sensed our village’s danger…!”
Choi Hyun-seok interrupted the village chief.
“I understand the situation, but I haven’t confirmed whether I’ll accept the request yet.”
“Pardon…?”
The village chief’s eyes widened.
Abelson also gave him a look that seemed to ask what he meant.
“Ahem, while Priest Alien here is an excellent person, many seek her help. We cannot waste time carelessly.”
Choi Hyun-seok delayed accepting the request.
‘It should be about time for it to appear…’
There was a reason he was stalling for time.
Ding!
A familiar alarm sounded, and
A Hero Quest appeared before Choi Hyun-seok.
★☆★☆ Hero Quest! ★☆★☆
Helping those in need is the true virtue of a hero!
Even a materialistic person like you is now a proper official hero.
Accept the village chief’s request and solve the mysterious murder case in the village!
Upon seeing the quest, Choi Hyun-seok rejoiced.
“That’s right!”
Abelson stared at Choi Hyun-seok intently.
An expression wondering what on earth he was doing.
“Ahem, hem! Excuse my brief interruption.”
Choi Hyun-seok put on a serious expression and spoke.
“The divine being just spoke to me. They tell me to help you all.”
“…?”
Abelson’s expression became even more distorted.
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