10. Dulljae and Genius (7)
– Less, less.
The wagon rolling down the quiet night road is noisy.
The road to Superbia.
Penny sat down and pondered blankly.
The secretary sitting in front of her was already asleep, but she couldn’t sleep.
It looked like this from a few days ago.
It seems that I have insomnia.
‘… Ian.’
Penny calmly reviewed what she had organized in the Badenberg office.
Ian is Phillip.
Assume that this statement is true.
What is the basis
The most accurate is the testimony of the 4 members of the 1st Hero Party.
If it was the Phillip Ian knew, it would be easy to intentionally hide his identity.
He must be a person with enough ability.
Penny, what are you going to check?
That connection point, Felix.
Felix, Vivian and Ian.
The part that connects each character.
If Ian is Phillip.
If Felix touched Vivian or Philip.
If Philip had not held back and showed his power.
It also makes sense that Felix, who has been doing well, is taken away by the military police.
If you think about it, it is strange that the military police did not kill and spared petty criminals.
Such post-processing is Ian’s method.
And to be able to directly intervene in the way the military police dealt with, it was possible only at the level of Philip.
Penny saw Ian’s cruel treatment as a display of his ego.
The power of the 1st party and the shadow of Philip backed them.
But if he’s Philip… It will also have a deep meaning.
Are these enough probable that Ian is Philip?
I do not know.
I can’t think of any other way.
More at noblemtl com
Just be sure in your heart.
Ian is Philip, and Felix is the connecting point.
‘Ian… .’
Who are you?
Is it really Philip?
‘If you were Philip, what would I do? I… .’
In the village where they stopped for a while, one more news was delivered from the manager guild.
It was news from the managers who participated in the McDerlin public trial.
Nothing special.
It’s just that Helena, who hadn’t been noticed at number 30, suddenly rose to number one, and that she couldn’t find useful talent.
‘The Seonghwa also do useless things.’
Penny quickly lost interest.
I only had Ian in my head.
*
The 1st warrior party was on their way to the Class A dungeon.
Inside the luxurious carriage, there was a subtle and pleasant scent of herbs.
Coincidentally, it was Sylvia’s favorite scent, and it was also the scent that Ian often cared for.
I didn’t mean to, I just stocked up with the best quality herbs as air fresheners.
Sylvia fell in love with Ian while intoxicated by the scent.
“… … .”
Uncomfortable silence flowed in the carriage with the four of them.
It wasn’t originally an intimate giggling relationship, but it wasn’t this awkward either.
For a few days right after Ian left, the four of them were quite close.
At the time, I only thought it was because I was really happy, but now the four know the basis for that exaggerated intimacy.
because it’s awkward
I didn’t want to feel the vacancy Ian left, so I just struggled.
However, only Beatrice was a little different.
“It’s worth seeing the expressions.”
she said nervously and snorted.
“What are we going to do? Why are you doing this?”
“… Shut up.”
Kylie spat out, but Beatrice did not back down.
“Is the girl who pricked the general public because she wanted to see Ian talk so well?”
“Oh shit… .”
In a fit of fuss, Kylie tried to grab me by the collar, but just sat down.
“why? what? no more?”
“under… . Say whatever you want.”
“If only your mouth is unnecessarily rough. Sylvia, that’s right… I didn’t expect anything.”
Sylvia, leaning her head against the carriage window, was staring blankly outside.
When I started, I wrote something down, and from sometime it looks like that.
It is doubtful what the unfocused eyes were looking at.
“aria. What happened? no progress Did Ian really not say a word?”
“yes. He said it was no longer his business.”
“her… . Is this really gone now? I really want How difficult is it to say that? Or did you get angry because we kicked you out?”
“no… .”
Sylvia muttered.
“I thought you were out of your mind, but you weren’t?”
“Ian didn’t do anything wrong… .”
“It’s starting again.”
“We, we were the problem… .”
“Ugh.”
“Ian, I’m sorry… . Ian… .”
Sylvia, who was muttering, hugged her knees and began to cry.
“There are so many different kinds of shit, really.”
Beatrice was also annoyed and leaned back on the couch-like carriage seat.
Arya was the only one who could communicate, but Aria is also insane these days.
‘But if we’re leaving here, then there’s no point in kicking Ian out. Should I rather create my own forces… .’
The carriage slowed down slowly.
It was not yet time to arrive.
In place of the bewildered Sylvia and the indifferent Kylie, Beatrice and Aria looked outside.
“What is it?”
One of the scouts ahead of us hurriedly ran.
“They say an acute dungeon has appeared nearby!”
There are times when previously unreported dungeons suddenly appear.
This is called an acute dungeon, and it grows faster than other dungeons.
In other words, the time until the monsters come out is short.
“… C grade? whatever?”
Those were Beatrice’s words.
“Yes… ?”
“You don’t know who we are?”
“ah… .”
“Are you asking us to deal with the C grade? If it’s a C-class, isn’t it a level that Badenberg can handle on its own?”
The stage that separates temporary and regular warriors is the C-class dungeon.
The gap between D and C is much larger than the gap between C and B.
You could control the approach with the Standing Army of Badenberg and wait for the other warriors to join, but at the cost of a huge loss of manpower.
“Well, there are some farmhouses nearby… .”
“It’s ridiculous.”
Beatrice spat out as if there was nothing more to hear.
“Take care of it yourself.”
Arya wasn’t interested either.
Beatrice’s argument wasn’t entirely wrong.
It was rude to compare a C grade to an A grade dungeon, no matter how acute it was.
Sending even the first party’s worth of manpower to a C-class dungeon is a waste.
The scout guard lowered his head with a disappointed face.
Apart from being discouraged, he was a little puzzled.
I know that the 1st warrior party is very honorable, but isn’t this image far from honor?
‘Could the rumors be true… . No, let’s not think like this… .’
The skirmishers soon gave up.
No matter how honorable it is, there must be a class.
How dare you say a C-class dungeon to the first party… .
at that time.
“I’ll go.”
Sylvia stood up.
Although she was immersed in memories with Ian, the word ‘acute dungeon’ brought her to reality.
Ian has never turned this down.
At first, the 1st party also followed meekly, but after growing to a certain level, it showed signs of being annoying.
Even though I never refused.
The first party has cleared several acute dungeons that are not even at the level.
Ian’s goal was honor.
From his point of view, knowing the second round of the first party, they were time bombs that could explode at any moment.
Anyway, it was piled up in case they had an accident later.
If there is an honorable figure that has been shown so far, the aftermath will be less.
In fact, the purpose of this was to make people sincerely respect and yearn for them.
If they show that they can be the people they deserve.
I thought that the malice within them might disappear.
Even though they were terribly wicked, they were people with minimum convictions.
The many strong men who reigned at that time were all wicked, and among those four, there was even room for rebirth.
At least among the strong who didn’t play with murder, there was no one like those four.
Malice did not disappear, instead it was suppressed.
The malice that was suppressed and twisted eventually led to the reality of banishing Ian.
“Sylvia, you… .”
“Sylvia… .”
Even when Beatrice and Aria called, Sylvia didn’t care.
Kylie, who had been paying attention from earlier, pretended not to, and continued to close her eyes and maintain a steadfast posture.
“Sylvia, you don’t have a stake in this A-rank magic stone?”
Beatrice informed.
Even Kylie, who had been silent, reacted to those words.
“It’s been a while since you said the right thing.”
Sylvia hesitated for a moment, then replied coldly.
“I do whatever I want.”
Beatrice closed the carriage door without answering.
It’s not like you can’t clear an A-rank dungeon just because you’re missing one Sylvia.
When Ian was there, there was a time when each person was in charge of handling A-rank dungeons one by one.
But right now, because of the problem of poor performance, I’m just being careful.
“Let’s go.”
The carriage went away on its original way.
Sylvia was honestly envious of Beatrice.
How can I be so cold-hearted?
He wouldn’t be able to do that in his entire life.
Then, I was not envious again.
Because Beatrice didn’t have that deep of a relationship with Ian.
The reason why he was so difficult was because he had a deep relationship with Ian.
“Go, thank you… . Are you really okay?”
The scouting crew looked at Sylvia’s complexion.
It’s not like it’s not, these days, there are ugly rumors around the 1st party.
There are several, but one of them is about Sylvia.
Compared to the others, this rather trivial yet interesting rumor is that Sylvia confessed to someone and was dumped.
There was a counterargument about who would dare to kick Sylvia.
Also, there were counterarguments about who it made sense for Sylvia to confess to.
Sylvia’s recent behavior was that of a woman who had lost heart, no matter who saw it.
Tousled hair, always swollen eyes and red whites from crying every night.
The impression of being a bit haggard, as if he couldn’t sleep, and his widened eyes gave off a decadent look.
Sylvia directed with a cold gaze.
“Guide me.”
“Yes, yes… ! Thank you very much… !”
The scouting crew did not rest their mouths the entire time they were ahead.
“I was really nervous. Actually, I’m from the village around there. haha… . I know that the first party members are busy, but I apologize for making you uncomfortable by asking for something.”
He tried to cheer up Sylvia by showing his gratitude and apology as much as possible, but Sylvia was uncomfortable with that.
At some point he said
“From here on, we’re going straight.”
“Straight? Then I’ll go alone. Please follow the first party.”
“Yes? ha, but… .”
Sylvia didn’t listen to the answer.
When the cane of a thousand-year-old tree hit the floor, an ice road appeared straight ahead.
Sylvia climbed on it, and glided forward on the ice.
It was so fast that the scouts couldn’t catch it.
Sylvia pressed down on her flying hat and rode on the icy road.
‘Ian… .’
I remember the first time I intervened in an acute dungeon.
At that time, she was tired after clearing the dungeon once and wanted to rest, but she couldn’t help it because Ian was urging her so much.
At the time, it was an E-class acute dungeon that Sylvia could clear even with her eyes closed.
When Sylvia came out with the magic stone of the acute dungeon, all the villagers near the dungeon gathered and thanked her with cheers.
Since it was not yet famous, such hospitality was the first time.
Sylvia, who was young and was not yet obsessed with Ian, was idly watching the scene when Ian patted him on the back.
‘Was it good to do that?’
What did you say then… .
I think I just answered bluntly because I was embarrassed.
‘… It’s worth it.’
‘Well done. Thank you for listening.’
‘… Yes, what.’
The cheers of those who experienced it for the first time.
I still vividly remember the scenery of that day and Ian’s touch.
‘Ian, I’m on my way to rescue people just like back then… . So, please call me Sylvie again and praise me… .’
*
After fainting and resting for a day, all of Helena’s skills rose dramatically.
Healing and scorching were above average, and protection exceeded Ian’s expectations.
In other words, Ian’s prediction that he had a mental problem was correct.
“Wow! Ian Niyim-!”
Overjoyed at her growth, Helena threw herself at Ian with all her might.
“Why are you running all of a sudden… . Suck!”
Ian held his breath for a moment and accepted the charge.
It seemed that Helena would fly far away if she avoided it.
-thud!
“I did it-!”
“… There is no need to be afraid in the future. Well done.”
“you’re right! Thanks to Ian! thank you!”
Whether Vivian and Carty saw it or not, Helena was so excited that she hugged Ian and ran around.
Ian, who received Helena’s rush with his whole body, was convinced.
That I’m much stronger than before
‘Now, Helena can safely be put into the next dungeon.’
Even though I was taken aback by the sudden crash, I didn’t hold back my praise because it was a good job.