Chapter – 27
I wondered if this was what it felt like to be sucked into a black hole in space.
Guided by the red ribbon-like thing that Rizein had manifested, I was swimming through the black space, tearing through it as I shot forward.
That moment didn’t last very long.
It was so brief that it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it an instant.
The next moment, the world rapidly took shape.
The place where the black background, shattered and engulfed by crimson magic, gave way was dyed with the blue contained in the sound of waves rushing in with a whoosh.
Under my feet was fine sand.
The sand, glittering like glass powder, crunched with friction and crumbled softly.
I plopped down right where I was and caught my breath.
Given that my head was throbbing as if it would split, it seemed likely that I had teleported quite a distance from the Magic Tower, wherever I was.
After taking a brief rest like that, what came into view was a scene of ships, large and small, moored to a wooden structure.
A pier, perhaps?
Just then, the largest ship was departing, sounding a horn to signal its departure.
Where is this?
I got up from the sandy beach and headed towards the harbor.
It’s not a bad situation.
Just the fact that I didn’t fall right in the middle of a horde of monsters, as I had feared, is such a relief.
Thinking back now, I was so focused on stopping the immortality experiment that I had no backup plan.
If Rizein hadn’t used her wits to isolate Calam Castruña, and if a full-scale battle had ensued, it would have been hard to tell whether we’d survive or not.
There’s no other way to describe it than to say we were lucky.
Still, since we resolved it safely, I felt much more at ease.
Following that train of thought, I soon arrived at what looked like a harbor.
A few men who appeared to be sailors were groaning as they moved heavy cargo under the scorching sun,
while others were busily filling what looked like ledger parchments with pens.
Groups of people swarmed the cargo unloaded from the docked ships as if they had been waiting,
and some of the disembarked crew, their faces sunburned red, were proudly showing off items they held, claiming they were rare treasures.
The occasional sight of mercenaries.
I lifted my head and looked beyond the pier.
There was a city connected by a wooden road, where white marble was elegantly stacked or paved into pathways, giving off a quite prosperous and refined atmosphere.
There was no way I couldn’t recall such a distinctive location.
The massive arch-like bridge structure cutting through the city center added certainty to my guess.
This was Vachenia, known as the port city or the free city.
I’ve come far. Too far.
I quickly racked my brain.
Who are the important figures in Vachenia at this point in time?
How can I contact them?
How can I use them?
But before that…
My body was too exhausted.
I led my weary body into the city center.
Vachenia was a noisy city.
Wherever you went in the city, people buying and selling goods overflowed.
The clatter of carriages coming and going and the voices of merchants filled the city with vitality.
The streets, packed so tightly there was no room to step, were an added bonus.
There were so many people that I had to push through the crowd to make my way.
And then.
“……”
Not long after reaching the city entrance, I got lost.
I had intended to find an inn to stay at,
but it seems I’m not very skilled at finding my way, just like in Kaindea.
I ended up half-being swept along by the crowd, wandering here and there.
This is getting me nowhere.
Pushed by the encroaching fatigue, I forced my way through the crowd.
After walking for a while, parting the sea of people, what came into view was a low wall and an alleyway connected to it.
For some reason, there were hardly any people around here.
People don’t avoid a place for no reason.
I wouldn’t go so far as to call it ominous, but a feeling that something troublesome was about to happen enveloped me.
I’d rather not get involved in unnecessary trouble.
I turned around to head back and push through the crowd again.
If only a man who suddenly rushed out from inside the alley hadn’t grabbed the hem of my trousers.
“S-sir! Please save me!”
Following him, three men walked out whose appearance screamed that they were thugs and ruffians.
The brats, holding iron-tipped clubs, glared at me.
A quick glance was enough to understand the situation.
Was he being harassed or something?
The brown-haired man clinging to my leg as if he’d collapsed seemed like the victim.
However, you can’t judge who intended to do wrong based solely on what you see.
I hate acting like some champion of justice.
If the brown-haired man had truly done something wrong to them and was surrounded, it would be awkward for me to intervene.
While I was organizing my thoughts on what to do, I made direct eye contact with the brown-haired man.
His irises were also light brown.
I scrutinized him, wondering if, just maybe, he was a character from the Istalanian Chronicles.
Suddenly, the necklace he was wearing caught my eye.
An unfinished piece of jewelry with one red and one orange gem embedded, and six empty slots visible.
…This might sound out of the blue, but I’m generally not someone who believes in all that talk about fate or destiny that people go on about.
Because on days when all those people who talk about fate’s existence have a falling out with me,
I’ve seen countless instances of them giving up, saying ‘I guess this is our fate,’ or ‘I guess this is as far as our fate goes,’ without putting in even a speck of effort to mend the relationship.
“Please, save me, sir!”
But, looking at the man clutching my trouser leg, almost crawling and scraping the ground, I couldn’t help but mutter with a sigh.
It seems something like fate does exist after all.
To be frank, this man was a character from the novel.
A merchant of Vachenia, a key figure responsible for supplying the suicide squad.
He’s in trouble, so there’s no reason not to save him.
I just didn’t expect to run into him like this.
Dealing with the three thugs in front of me wasn’t a difficult task for me.
The three of them, distorting their already vicious faces, cracked their knuckles thuk-thuk-thud.
Pathetic.
There was no reason I couldn’t handle these three, who clearly hadn’t received proper training.
I drew the scabbard hanging at my waist and struck the backs of their heads with it.
Thwack- Thwack-
The thugs fell one by one with the sound of cracking skulls.
The man behind me exclaimed in great surprise.
“That’s amazing, sir!”
Sir, my foot.
I twisted my lips.
“Weren’t you planning to use me as bait and run away?”
That’s right. The man had been preparing to run away while I dealt with them, if things went south.
I don’t have eyes on the back of my head, but it was easy to figure out his actions.
He feigned innocence and waved his hands dismissively.
“Oh my, what are you talking about? It’s a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding! Anyway, thank you so much. I happened to enter this alley, and those bastards started harassing me, so I was in a real bind. If it weren’t for you, sir, I would have… Ah, rather than doing this here, it feels insufficient as repayment for your help, but would it be alright if I treated you to a meal?”
Having rapidly finished his spiel in an instant like a machine gun, he straightened his previously bent back and looked at me.
Of course, his frivolous gestures remained.
I gave a nod of affirmation at his appearance.
The man smiled, seeming pleased.
“If you go straight down this road, there’s a restaurant I know well. Would it be alright to go there?”
“Sure.”
I obediently followed him.
The fatigue in my body and the throbbing headache had long since vanished due to this new encounter.
Now, then.
It was time to find out why this man had approached me.
The place the man led me to was a genuinely decent-looking restaurant.
I liked the sleek white building and the clean interior of the shop.
Added to that were the window seats on this floor overlooking the surroundings and the menu full of seafood.
“Sir, I didn’t know what you might like, so I brought you to this place, but by any chance, can you not eat fish or something?”
I stared intently into the man’s eyes as he said that.
It’s a lie.
This man is proficient at feigning innocence.
So much so that even I might have been fooled if I weren’t careful.
I was willing to bet my entire fortune that he knew I would really like this place.
It didn’t mean he had information about my preferences.
He had his own unique ability that others lacked.
It’s not something grand like reading others’ thoughts.
When I replied that I generally like seafood,
he patted his chest as if relieved and said.
“That’s lucky. I was actually worried you might not like it. Haha.”
Yes. Just as he said.
He is lucky.
No, his luck is so great that it absolutely cannot be described by the mere phrase ‘lucky.’
He is tremendously,
immensely,
stupendously,
frighteningly,
so lucky that such descriptions feel crude.
That’s how I met the luckiest man on this continent.
“But, sir, you don’t seem particularly interested in trade, so what brings you to this free city?”
For someone as perceptive as him, figuring out that I wasn’t a merchant or a mercenary couldn’t have been too difficult.
I answered nonchalantly.
“I’m looking for someone.”
From the Magic Tower to the Free City.
Although it was a sudden turn of events, now that I was here in Vachenia, there was indeed someone I needed to meet.
His face brightened.
“Oh. I’m a native here; shall I help you?”
“No, that won’t be necessary.”
Help me?
It really isn’t necessary.
Because,
he’s already right in front of me.
When I swallowed the rest of my words, his brown eyes looked somewhat embarrassed.
I didn’t feel rushed.
Although he was acting foolish and lowering himself, he was by no means an easy person to deal with.
Dealing with people whose inner thoughts and actions differ is difficult.
Especially when facing someone like him, who can perfectly hide his own schemes.
“Ah, come to think of it, we haven’t introduced ourselves properly yet. I’m Rama Ren. Please call me Ren. As you can see, I’m a merchant. And you, sir, are…….”
“I’m Lee Woo-hyun.”
Just then, a server approached and began placing our ordered dishes on the table, one by two.
The spread was almost reminiscent of a banquet.
“Please enjoy your meal.”
They politely withdrew.
As the food interrupted the middle of our halted conversation, we stopped talking and began our meal.
About halfway through the meal, I was lost in thought, feeling his gaze continuously examining me.
What should I do? How should I approach him?
How can I use him as a factor in resolving the impending destruction?
