Chapter 299
Chapter 299
Balus was an upstart adventurer.
However, like most adventurers, he did not become an adventurer because he had a hard time making a living or fantasized about being a hero. Just from birth, he had a strong body, was strong enough to be able to gather all the strongmen from nearby villages, and realized that he had the talent to learn how to use his body well and apply it. It was close to choosing. Even the lord’s castle kept an eye on him and expressed his intention to hire him as a private, so it was a confident conclusion.
He thought it was a job that even an adventurer could do if he learned the right skills and didn’t become excessively greedy.
All jobs go through that process, but they are just more dangerous than other jobs in the town, so it’s a job that has a chance to touch more money. Even though he thought so, he did not blindly believe that he would win the opportunity to touch that much money, so the idea can be said to be truly constructive.
Balus, who left the village in search of an opportunity to touch money that he could never touch if he lived as a lord’s mill keeper following his father, is not a mill keeper who lives by stealing grain, but somewhere between grandeur and simplicity to have his own mill. With his dream planted, he accepted even requests that others avoided and saved up money in his spare time to go to the capital.
And even that, not because of any fantasy about the capital, but for good reason: it is the land of the most stable experience for a newcomer like himself. The fact that he deliberately came up in a hurry before winter approached was also an action based on the idea that the capital would be better for a quest that would be difficult in winter. In fact, compared to the precarious and noisy region, which was said to be a recent outbreak of monsters and demons, the capital was certainly safe, and Balus was relieved that his judgment was not wrong.
However, there was one fact that he overlooked. It is not that he is not interested in heroic stories, but that he simply did not live properly hearing that they are realistic heroic stories.
The stories of heroism that I often heard from a young age were all full of bravado. A wizard who can split the sky with just a swing of his sword and split an ogre’s head in one blow just by chanting a swordsman spell, a knight who alone faces hundreds of soldiers, and so on.
To Balus, who belonged to the quick-witted side, all such stories were nothing more than absurd fiction, and he did not know how to be obsessed with fiction. For him, the heroic stories heard in the capital city are not fiction, but reality, and the footsteps of heroes living and breathing right next to him.
Balus, who realized that it was a heart-throbbing heroic story only at the age of 18, was excited without knowing it, so he made a big mistake.
Eldmia Ega, the protagonist of the most famous heroic tale in the capital recently, believed the words of a man who was himself.
“Everything, you’re the famous Levien’s Dan…!”
“Uh huh, I’m not talking that loud. You have to have class.”
Indeed, even if you can’t believe all rumors, there is a law that contains the truth. The man who was said to have slashed the traitor’s neck with a single stroke and even won a sparring battle with an empire’s warriors had terrifying scars on his face and a sharp-looking hound.
Rumors spread in all directions that he was a huge muscular man, but even though he was muscular in his own right, he wasn’t huge. Rather, it was slightly smaller than itself.
“This wound was caused when I entered the mansion of the traitor Enbelde.
Even the experience of a seasoned warrior could be felt in the way he touched the scars across his face, as if feeling nostalgic. I was mistaken that I felt no.
It wasn’t until the next morning that Balus, who had met in a bar and had a chat and listened to bluffs in the form of advice, tipped his glass, came to his senses.
“You fucking bastard!”
Not only the money for alcohol, but also the pockets were robbed, after all the funds that were not there were robbed. In fact, he couldn’t come to his senses even after asking the store owner, and Balus was able to face the reality.
“Oh my God, I was wondering what he was so excited about in the corner. That bastard is an old adventurer. Did he bring a dog from somewhere recently and was making a joke like that?”
In a feeling that the tears he had been barely holding back would burst out at the warmth of the host, who took pity on Balus and gave him a free bowl of stew while clicking his tongue, Balus quickly ate the stew and went to earn money for a night’s lodging right away. Headed to the Adventurer’s Guild.
The swindler raised the sales, so the resentment that Balus felt right away was too intense to grasp the owner’s intentions.
“Such a fucking bastard. All the townsfolk say they can’t tell anything but lies!”
One of the reasons was that she was full of thoughts that she would definitely show her hot taste if she met someone who pretended to be Eldmia.
Like a joke of fate, another guy who does the same thing appears in front of him and pushes people away, so he has no choice but to roll his eyes. It wasn’t the bastard who ate him, but in the eyes of Balus, who was already angry, he was that guy.
I swung my fist like that, and I was talking about something, and my memory was blown away.
The upper body of Balus, who had risen to that point, was about to bounce up like a spring, but he couldn’t get up because someone strongly suppressed him and stopped him.
“My friend, stay still. If you suddenly move right now, you may vomit and lose your senses. Calm down first.”
It wasn’t just one person who pressed his shoulder with a strong hand. Balus, who even felt a sense of fear at the sight of five or six men sitting around and looking down at him after he collapsed, asked urgently.
“What, what? Wait. Where is this place?”
However, unlike his desperate reaction, there was only a relaxed atmosphere with ferocious laughter around him.
“Hey, this flew right. Yes, how much do you remember?”
“Obviously… he said he was different… and laughed at it…”
“This guy is a thing. Even after putting it right, the word ‘him’ still sticks in his mouth?”
“Isn’t it rather proof that you’re still awake? Hey, do you remember who you punched?”
“S-Isn’t it an impersonator? Pretending to be Eldmia Ega…”
Not even a ferocious hound, but a rather naive and cute-looking shepherd dog in his arms. He’s tall and he’s big… but…
“Poop! Oh, this guy must have been scratched by a swindler somewhere. Hasn’t it been a while since you came to the capital?”
“What, newbie? Winter newborn, are you going to be big or go fast?”
“Isn’t he the one who’s going to be big because he missed the chance to hook up? Giggling.”
No matter how hectic Balus was, he could see the reactions around him and understand. At the same time, goosebumps spread throughout the body.
It was the real Eldmia Ega.
Even though he was briefly hired after winning a sparring battle with a hero, he was not only acquitted for committing a massacre in the detention center for the honor of the Marquis of Levien, but also an adventurer who single-handedly invaded the mansion of the traitor Envelde, razed it to the ground, and beheaded him.
At the same time, he is a person who leads to the guillotine because he does not let go of the person who put his teeth on him.
“Uh, uh, uh, how… how…”
“Ah, don’t be so scared young friend. It’s over with one hit. Then it’s over. Just be careful from now on.”
“How…yeah? What’s that…”
Balus, who belatedly understood that the clumsy hands touching his face, checking his eyes, and turning them around were trying to check if there were any other signs of abnormality. The men’s explanation continued.
“If he was going to kill me, then he would have died immediately. Do you remember our conversation earlier? What did you say would be different if you had a grudge?”
“…yes. I remember.”
“Eldmia hyung said it. It’s changed a lot. This is the result of the change.”
I’m fine, but my chin will hurt a little, but I’ve got it covered well, so don’t worry.
It was only after hearing the words of the man who laughed and patted his back that Balus vaguely understood the situation.
Because there was no resentment, it was beaten and ended. If it was a grudge relationship…
“Among the adventurers, the only ones who were killed by Mr. Eldmia were the ones involved with that idiot. Most of them… Hunge talk? It ends with a warning like that.”
“You ignorant bastard in terms of discipline. Since the crime is light, they say that they will discipline you and release you.”
“Sir, that’s why I don’t use words I don’t know.”
It would have been funny to see them point out and curse at each other while giggling, but it didn’t matter to Balus, whose head had turned white. It was because he saw Eldmia walking down from the second floor far away.
As soon as he saw him descending with the shepherd dog in his arms as before, Balus jumped up this time and hurriedly ran to Eldmia, who was glaring at him, and bowed his head and shouted.
“Sorry! I thought you were an impersonator!”
With that alone, a light silence began to flow through the guild. The guys who looked at me from behind said, ‘Oh, you must be a friend who will grow up?’ He said the same thing, but it didn’t even reach Balus’ ears.
“…Impersonate? Me?”
It was a feeling of real intimidation in his voice and appearance, which he hadn’t been able to pick up until just now. Thanks to this, a cold sweat ran down his back, but Balus closed his eyes tightly and continued.
“I met a swindler who pretended to be Eldmia yesterday and robbed me of all my property, so I went blind for a moment! I’m really sorry!”
My hands and feet were shaking, but I had to apologize. I couldn’t allow myself to avoid doing something wrong and pretending not to know that I was hit the same way.
“…what did he look like?”
“Tall, he’s a little shorter than me, uh, he’s got a big scar on his face, and he’s got a hound dog or something!”
“Fuck, it’s so varied. Did you get hit by that again?”
“…yes.”
A small laugh came overhead, but Balus noticed that it wasn’t from hilarity or ridicule.
that’s anger However, the snarky anger subsided like a lie with a short laugh.
“Well, then it could be. How much did you get robbed?”
“Ugh, outline of ten silver coins.”
“I never thought I’d be impersonated by an idiot who steals the money I buried under my nose.”
Eldmia, who sighed and searched for something for a while, grabbed Balus by the shoulder with her left hand and forced her to stand up. I was surprised, but I followed that hand and straightened my back, and Eldmia made eye contact for a moment and put something in her hand.
“Think of finding it in advance and collecting the damage compensation. I’ll kill that bastard once I find it, so don’t worry about it.”
‘Tell me if you find out where the bastard is. I’ll pay for your trouble.’ Eldmia, who said it lightly as if it was not a big deal and tapped her on the shoulder a couple of times, left the guild.
Balus, who alternately looked at the 15 silver coins in his hand and Eldmia walking away without a word, was so moved that he couldn’t even say a proper thank you. The fact that the impostor would surely die if he met the real Eldmia did not inspire anything. A man who puts pressure on the reputation of such a wonderful hero is cheap even if he dies.
I want to be like that person. Balus sincerely thought that as he watched Eldmia walk away with the herding dog.
“Eldy! No matter how much you search for an accident, the period is too short this time!”
“It’s been a while since you were told to stay still. Move again!! No! I can’t go! If you’re going, take me too!!”
“It’s really hard to be calm after committing such a thing. Did you leave my family for that?”
As soon as he returned home and talked about the request, the person whom Balus had targeted began to shrivel as he knelt down to powder with two more women than expected, but there was no way he knew that.