I Give Up on Conquering the Heroines chapter 71

71 – Across the Continental Train (1)

From Noble mtl dot com

He had obtained a special magic stone from Tei (Whether it was fully ripe or what, the effect didn’t show up immediately).

The addresses to contact Cornelia and Mia, and Alicia had been set.

Finally, he could set off toward Clock City.

“It smells like the sea. The strait must be close.”

The train crossing the continent.

There was a salty smell in the gentle wind coming in when he opened the window.

For the first time in a long while, he was sitting in first class of the continental train.

“Is it tasty?”

“······Meow.”

Once again today, Mijeong is burying her face in my neck as usual.

She’s so frantic and absentmindedly gnawing at my neck without even waiting for a response.

Just by the way she vigorously gnaws, it feels like she’s about to tear into my flesh.

But without her fangs, it doesn’t create the terrifying scene one would expect. Instead, it’s just a gentle nibbling, with a slight draw of blood.

This has become a part of my daily life.

I decide to let her suck as she pleases and turn my gaze back out the window.

“How long has it been since we headed north?”

Being located in the northern continent, Taeyeop City only allows for travel by transcontinental trains.

It’s been about 5 months since I last made a trip up north.

It’s been quite a while.

Considering the cultural differences, the north feels a bit more endearing to me.

But at the same time, a sense of unease grips my entire body.

Is it because of my involvement with Aerina?

Every person I pass seems to be a surveillance agent of Parana, making me feel unexpectedly cornered today. So, I booked a private first-class seat to avoid all the stares.

It’s as if I’ve developed a persecution complex.

“Of course, Aerina is innocent. It’s my fault for persistently pursuing her, even though I knew she was a legitimate lady.”

It’s just my self-induced persecution complex.

If you know it’s a minefield, you should avoid it, but I kept stepping on it repeatedly, torturing myself.

“······Churp.”

Mijeong finally detaches her mouth from my neck, wiping her mouth as if she’s finished eating.

She even takes out a bandage and sticks it on my neck.

She’s been trained well.

By the way, it’s a bit chilly after opening the window.

Even after closing it, the lingering cold still clings to my body.

“It’s cold. Heater.”

“······Yeah.”

Scarily fast, Mijeong wraps her arm around my waist and falls into me.

And then she begins to shiver, causing my chest to start heating up.

The second class magic.

It’s heating magic.

This magic is mainly used when slow-cooking meat at low temperatures.

If I accidentally drift asleep in this state, I too might become like sous-vide cooked meat.

But as long as I’m careful, it’s the perfect substitute for a heater.

“Oh, it’s warm. The performance of this massage chair is the best.”

I’m not sure how lucky it is that Mijeong learned this magic.

In the winter, it’s used as a heater.

In the summer, it’s used as a cold stone.

This is a completely versatile appliance.

“Have you finished drawing my blood?”

“······Yeah, I’m full.”

“Then keep my seat for a while. I’ll go eat.”

“······Yeah, go ahead.”

Leaving Mijeong with shining red eyes staring at me.

I slip out of the first-class seat and head to the dining car.

Since Mijeong is satisfied, I should eat too.

When I reach the dining car, passing through the corridor.

I hear people chatting accompanied by the soft music played by a band.

The dining car is massive, fitting for a train that takes nearly a month from end to end.

“One omelette rice. With a beer.”

“Yes.”

I find a good spot and finish ordering.

The menu is always quick to come out and easy to eat.

These train dining cars are expensive and serve lavish food, but the quality is often poor.

Instead, it’s much better to eat at a decent restaurant after getting off at Spring City.

“That bastard is getting drunk. Kick him out.”

“Ah, vice-captain. He hasn’t drunk much.”

“Shut up and return to your cabin. We absolutely cannot tolerate disturbances on this train. Understood?”

“Yes, vice-captain!”

A group of burly men huddled in a corner.

At a glance, they seemed to be mercenaries.

Lead by the vice-captain, there appeared to be around eight of them.

Considering I couldn’t recognize anyone, even upon seeing the face of their vice-captain, they must be either an unknown band of mercenaries or newcomers.

‘Their military discipline seems tight enough. They probably won’t cause anyproblem.’

They seemed to have some semblance of control too.

There doesn’t seem to be a need for worry.

Deciding to not care, my meal and drinks were brought out and I was able to start eating.

“What’s the main thing to be mindful of when going north?”

“Vice-Captain! It must be not to tarnish the honor of our mercenary group, right?”

“Correct. As long as you remember that. As we have no option but to head to the North due to scarcity of dungeons in the South, there could be conflicts with the local powers. Try to avoid any violent confrontations. Understood?”

“Yes Sir.”

Automatically, I perk up my ear towards the mercenaries’ conversation.

Scarcity of dungeons in the South?

What in the world does that mean?

There’s still over a hundred dungeons spread throughout the South.

“Everyone seems too excited. Calm down. We’re going to challenge the Black Star Dungeon after all.”

“Ah, don’t worry too much. There are people conquering all the Black Star Dungeons in the South on their own. Our elite squad is more than enough.”

“Are these lunatics eager to die!”

I wondered what they were up to.

Turns out, they were aiming for the Black Star Dungeon.

I had heard that recently people aiming for the Black Star Dungeons had increased.

It seems seeing me go around conquering Black Star Dungeons gave the perception that they weren’t particularly dangerous.

From the point of view of those who entered and were completely defeated, it must be frustrating, but there’s nothing to be done.

Most were undoubtedly people who never dared to step foot in, scared off by the general belief that conquering was impossible.

But then one day, suddenly a nobody starts going around conquering all the Black Star Dungeons that come their way?

Even I would have my doubts.

I wonder if these mercenaries of the council are just deceiving the difficulty for their own benefit.

“You would only know if you’ve experienced it firsthand.”

There’s no point in stopping these guys.

They won’t recover unless they get hit in the head once.

However, the resurgence of dungeon hunting–which had been slightly dampened–is good news for me.

It would take a while for me to completely clear the Black Star Dungeon on my own.

The value of the highest-grade magic stones from the Black Star Dungeon has long plummeted.

Now, my main magic stones are not the ones from dungeons but the ones made up of the magic of the Four Heavenly Kings.

Considering the basic performance and additional effects, black magic stones greatly surpass ordinary top-grade magic stones.

If I were to replace Magic Stones in the future, I would change it with the Magic Stone from another Heavenly Kings, not one from a dungeon.

Furthermore, if the speed of dungeon capture increases, the day to confront the final boss will also be brought forward.

This is the key point.

Time is a very precious resource, especially from my viewpoint as I’m on a time attack while being chased by the Main Heroine Trio.

“But do you know about that? About the madman who tirelessly destroys the Black Star Dungeon.”

“The one called the Black Star Slayer?”

“Yes, that guy.”

Black Star Slayer.

That’s my nickname for constantly destroying dungeons abandoned under the name ‘Black Star’.

I wish I had a cool English nickname like ‘Black-Slayer’.

I was contemplating infiltrating the mercenary council and changing my nickname to ‘Black-Slayer’, but I gave up.

There’s no time to waste on things like that.

It’s kind of, well, actually quite disappointing.

The moment my amazing sense of naming was acknowledged.

I could have seen those mercenaries marvel and applaud.

“There’s a rumor that he’s being added to the ‘Three Great Swordsmen’, making it the ‘Four Great Swordsmen’.”

“Who said such nonsense…”

“The chief said so.”

“Upon reconsideration, it does make sense.”

Three Great Swordsmen.

It referred to a call for the three strongest swordsmen in the world.

However, as you could guess just by hearing the name, it’s merely an unofficial list created by armchair experts.

Unlike, the Swordmaster hierarchy where strict evaluations and witnesses existed, the top three swordsmen were purely speculation.

Of course, among those not Swordmasters there were surely individuals of Swordmaster caliber.

For instance, Yerina, for example,

Or Tran Silbia, the blood demon.

Yerina, a northerner, had no interest in being part of the southern Swordmaster hierarchy.

Tran Silbia, having regained his humanity as a blood demon, could not be treated as a person and thus couldn’t fulfill the prerequisites of being a Swordmaster.

Considering these, one could argue that the top three swordsmen also had some level of objectivity.

However, since none of them had ever engaged in a fight, nobody truly knew how strong they were.

It was no different from entertaining gossip, like a ‘Fun Look at the Top 3 Sword Skills Rankings!’.

There was no gain or elevation in honor for me being included in such a list…

However, I simply liked the idea.

That was all there was to it.

The desire to be promoted to the fourth ranked swordsman using my secret connection with Cornelia Miya wriggled within me.

“How could we include the Black Star Slayer, whose identity is unknown, in the top three swordsmen? We don’t even know if they really use a sword.”

“Well, we have evidence. Every monster corpse found in the dungeons he swept through were all cut by sword.”

“So that means he is a swordsman?”

“Yes.”

While I was unaware of it, a thorough analysis of me was ongoing.

At least they seemed to have figured out that much, that I am a swordsman.

Seems like they have yet to go beyond that.

Fortunately.

Although I was careful to erase any traces of my identity, I was always nervous that I might have inadvertently left some evidence.

It seems like it wasn’t the case.

During the last 12 episodes, hiding my trail to avoid Yerina’s suspicion became a useful training.

Thank you, Yerina!

“Please take the dish away.”

“Understood.”

This should be enough eavesdropping for gathering information.

After finishing his meal, he stands up.

Soon, the train will cross the straits and enter the northern continent.

The city of springs is just around the corner.

They are due to arrive this evening, so he should catch some sleep.

“Vice captain! There’s big trouble!”

“What? What’s going on?”

The moment he tries to leave the dining car.

Before he can even touch the door handle, the door swings open and a mercenary brushes past him.

Panting heavily, his face pale, he looks terrified.

“The youngest, the youngest passed out!”

“How much did he drink to end up like that?”

“It’s not because of alcohol. He had a fever and then he suddenly fainted and now he can’t regain consciousness.”

“What’s that… Ugh.”

He grimaces in annoyance, the vice captain now staggering.

The confused look on his face spreads.

And I soon realize it too.

‘Huh? Why does my head hurt so much?’

The fact that my physical condition is strangely off right now.

My head throbs and I feel nauseous.

The previously bustling dining cart is now eerily quiet.

A few people are already slumped over, lifeless.

‘Poison?’

At first, I glared at the head chef, wondering if he had poisoned my food.

But the head chef is also dazed and unable to gather his senses.

It’s safe to say the chef didn’t put poison in the food.

So what the hell is this?

‘Don’t tell me…’

I have a hunch.

Something capable of being so silent and sinister, and having such a broad effect.

As far as I know, there’s only one thing that fits the description.

He quickly kneels and places his hand on the train floor.

The moment special inquiries are invoked.

From Noble mtl dot com

[Transcontinental Train]

[State: Cursed]

[It is a large passenger train operating from Galleria in the Southern Continent to Pallanca in the Northern Continent. *It is cursed. Abnormal state debuffs are applied to all passengers.]

Of course.

The one who unleashed this bizarre phenomenon must be a Shaman.

Unlike magic that consumes magical power, shamanism uses mana, a specialty.

In the aspect of using mana, it may be considered in the same category as necromancers who use necromancy.

‘Someone quite skilled, indeed.’

Though keen in sensing the move of magical power, I am not very sensitive to the move of mana.

Yet, it is not that I can’t sense mana at all.

I could sense Belphegor and Cali spewing out huge amounts of mana from a distance.

Given the curse levied on this entire train, the shaman must have used quite a lot of mana.

Yet, I didn’t sense it in the slightest.

Clearly, a very skilled shaman is involved.

‘Damn, it seems to be growing stronger.’

The only ones who are still sane in the dining car are me and the mercenaries.

Presumably, because we have larger bodies and more muscle mass, the curse is taking longer to take effect.

However, even the mercenaries are falling one by one, unable to withstand it any longer.

I feel like I am about to give in as well.

“Damn it…”

There’s only one way to stop this.

The shaman must be found and cornered.

In case totems are installed, even if the shaman is caught, the totems will have to be destroyed…

If I capture and interrogate the shaman, I can find out the location of the totems.

“Ah, damn it.”

However, not long after leaving the dining car, my legs give out from weakness.

It feels as though I’ve downed about eight bottles of whiskey.

My sense of reality slips away, and the world starts spinning.

“It’s impossible to penetrate the Divine Aegis.”

As Ik Sun considered invoking the Divine Aegis, he decided against it.

The curse encompassed the entire train.

While the Divine Aegis could repel physical forces, it couldn’t prevent the curse; it was useless.

This… isn’t it like being gagged in the Northern slave market upon awakening?

Or waking up to find myself in an operating room, being gutted as someone casts ‘Your bro here is laughing’.

Such horrifying thoughts cross my mind.

From the end of the corridor, a blurry figure approaches with a heavy gait.

As it gets closer, it comes into focus, its contours revealed.

“…Why. Are you lying, down?”

Mi Jeong’s perplexed expression comes into view.

Mi Jeong crouches in front of me, tilting her head to the side.

That darn skirt. I can see her panties.

“You…”

You should run.

I was just about to say that.

“…This. Keeps, moving.”

Mi Jeong pushes a wooden box towards me.

Inside is Cali’s soul gem.

And it’s shaking like mad.

Giving off an unusual aura.