The Damn Family Is Back Again

254. The Hwangryong Martial Arts Tournament (2)

“Just in time, Miss! What happened—”

Swish.

Despite Mina’s greeting, Harni immediately shut herself in her room as soon as she returned.

In truth, there was much to do.

After finishing the first day, I needed to consult with Mina and prepare for tomorrow.

Comparing the schedule of the first day with that of the next, they were worlds apart.

Unlike today, where my fiancée could participate in several events, starting tomorrow, Karsein would be competing mostly on his own.

Thus, this moment was truly, truly important.

I had to prepare something special, different from the women who eyed Karsein.

I needed to firmly impress upon those noble ladies who looked at another’s man as if he were water.

But such thoughts didn’t even cross my mind right now.

No. It was impossible for me to think that way.

“The first meeting was a contract for our mutual goals, but I want to remain in a good relationship with you until the end.”

With that one line.

Harni flinched, “Ugh…” and trembled.

Her face felt like it would burst.

Her heart raced like mad.

The heat coursing through her body was akin to a furnace.

Until the end, she said.

That meant… with me…

“Ahhh…!”

—Thud, thud!

Lost in a happy reverie, Harni pounded her innocent pillow with wild abandon.

‘Oh my.’

Seeing her unusual reaction, I rushed in right away.

—

—

I never thought I’d get to hear something so wonderful.

Mina, with her ear pressed against the bedroom door, let out a sly laugh.

What on earth happened today?

For Mina, who had been absent for a while to prepare for the next day, curiosity was bound to swell.

‘One thing’s for sure: it went well, right?’

There’s no way such a reaction would occur otherwise.

Mina nodded to herself.

Then her task here was to accelerate the romance between the two.

“Miss. Are you that happy?”

“M-Mina?!”

“You’re so defenseless. Lost in happy thoughts without even locking the door. What did you hear from the young master to make you act like this? Did you receive a confession or something?”

“N-No, it’s not like that…! I, I…!”

Oh. How beautiful this scene is.

Harnie, startled and sitting up, clutched her pillow and began to babble incoherently.

Mina wore a mischievous smile, silently pressing for a straight answer.

Then, with a face ready to burst, Harnie started to push Mina out of the room.

“Okay, okay! I-I just want to be alone for a bit… Please go out. Quickly!”

“Eh? No. Miss, you could at least tell me a little.”

“Minaaa…!”

-Click.

Harnie whined as she chased Mina away.

This time, she locked the door tightly to prevent anyone from coming in.

-Our first meeting was a contract for our respective purposes, but I want to remain on good terms with you until the end.

“Ugh… What do I do…”

His voice replayed endlessly.

From the room, muffled screams occasionally escaped from the pillow, which had been crumpled and was now all shriveled up by the next day.

That day, Harnie.

Tossed and turned in her sleep multiple times.

***

Before long, night had fallen.

—

As I wrap up the first day of the tournament, it’s time for me to conclude my day as well.

But I remained awake, unable to sleep.

I returned to my lodging only at midnight, and if Harnié knew this, she would probably start nagging me right away.

Still, it was something I had to do.

I needed to find a way to gain clues from Harnié without disrupting our relationship. I had to look into various things.

‘It’s clear that my experience points were definitely influenced by Harnié. Even when I intentionally stepped on traps to catch the spawned monsters, the experience didn’t increase much.’

Just in case, I even ventured far to catch other monsters that weren’t trap mobs. But it was the same.

There was no way to gain that much experience all at once.

Even for side episodes, it was the same. There simply wasn’t enough experience to level up by 7 levels in one go.

This must confirm it.

Harnié is the one responsible for raising my level to increase my ??? stats.

But there’s still so much I don’t know.

Even knowing this, I have no idea how to plan my next steps.

I’m not sure how to obtain clues either.

I still haven’t figured out what this mysterious stat means.

It would be unwise to poke the beehive recklessly.

“Is it time to head back?”

Given that this is a field with risks, it’s better to be cautious.

“Does this mean that this side episode was nothing special after all?”

This location was somewhat distant from the arena, a place where a small number of mobs continuously spawned in the game.

Because of that, I thought there might be some kind of side episode related to it when I stepped in…

▶ Side Episode. Subjugation of the Demonic Beasts in the Outskirts IV is in progress. ◀

[ Demonic Beasts Subjugated: 30 ]

Aside from being told to catch the demonic beasts, there was nothing more to it.

The goal didn’t specify how many I needed to catch, and there was no mention of when it would be completed, so no rewards appeared.

Just as I was about to turn back.

– Thud.

“Whoa!”

Damn. I almost fell.

What on earth did I step on…

“Hmm?”

Something was caught on my shoe.

The monster’s corpse was not left here. If it were a trophy, it wouldn’t be strange, but there are no such trophies from the mobs that spawn in this field.

But the fact that something is caught…

-Ding!

▶Sub Episode. Reward for Monster Extermination IV has been issued.◀

…Well, of course.

“I told you, I don’t like this game. What kind of reward is given like this? Ugh.”

With a voice laced with irritation, I crouched down and picked up the object caught on my shoe.

Well… I half-expected it. There was no information provided at all.

I sighed and turned my steps around.

“Hmm. Is the confirmation done?”

“…! Talpon.”

“I’ll say this in advance, but I’m not following you. I hope you don’t misunderstand.”

“Misunderstand? No way that’s happening.”

How fortunate it is that there are no other characters in this situation, especially those who would be alarmed to know I’m here.

“More importantly, Talpon, what about you? Why are you here?”

“Um…”

Talpon glanced around for a moment, confirming through scent that no one was around, and then handed me something.

“It’s a letter from Lindel.”

“Wait, Lindel…”

“Right. It’s one of the western tribes that survived back then, just like us. I had no choice but to come find you since I needed to discuss this matter. They have information about the outsiders.”

“…!”

It was a story worth hearing.

I immediately took out the letter and began to read.

The first sentence started with a greeting from the chief of the Lindel tribe.

This symposium had widely spread the story among the westerners, and he expressed gratitude, stating that my judgment had significantly improved their perception of the westerners.

Then he got to the main point.

It included a mention that Talpon and Polux had vaguely heard about my connection to the Kingdom of Wederos, and it seemed they decided to share that information considering the circumstances.

And.

—

A mention of the prophet I had longed for came up.

『That prophet who suddenly disappeared, you mean? It was about half a year ago, I think, that he appeared in Lindel.

However… he didn’t seem quite normal.

Unlike when he was active as a prophet, his appearance was unrecognizable.

It was so severe that I almost mistook him for a beggar.

His body was emaciated, with not a shred of flesh left, and his gaunt bones were almost visible.

He was injured all over, leaving me to wonder what on earth he had been through.

Then, when his wounds healed and he awoke, he had even stopped eating and drinking.

Above all, his eyes were lifeless.

As if all vitality had been drained away.』

‘This is… quite serious, isn’t it?’

Usually, when someone’s body is ruined, that’s all one would understand, but this seemed to be something else entirely.

From what I gathered, it must have been a significant event.

One that had inflicted an immense psychological blow.

Continuing on, I read the lines.

『Our Lindel had a debt of gratitude to this man and wanted to help him, but after sleeping for several days, he suddenly vanished again.

I couldn’t even ask where he was going.

But I do remember the last sight of that prophet.』

The foreigner who had come from somewhere other than here kept repeating those words, showing his ravaged appearance.

“I… failed, did I?”

***

…Failed, you say.

What exactly did he fail at?

I pondered this as I made my way back to the lodging, but I couldn’t grasp it at all.

As I scratched my head in confusion, Talphon broke the silence.

“It seems it wasn’t very helpful information.”

“…I don’t know. Whether this is helpful or not.”

The conclusion was so elusive that I couldn’t even distinguish that.

“Forgive me for bringing this up in the midst of all this confusion, but, Karsein. I have one question I’d like to ask.”

“What is it?”

“Is there anything suspicious you noticed in the arena?”

“Suspicious, you say?”

“I’m asking if you saw anything with those eyes of yours. I’d appreciate it if you could share whatever it is.”

Referring to my eyes…

It means the power of the Kingdom of Wederos. He’s asking if I saw something with that.

“I didn’t really see anything. Why?”

“…Hmm. Is that so?”

Talpon, who had briefly rested his chin on his hand, lowered it and said he thought he might have been mistaken.

“I should head back now. Just in case, it’s best if you never mention that you’re a descendant of the Kingdom of Wederos.”

“Why not?”

“While your presence has improved perceptions, the Empire’s rejection of Westerners isn’t solely based on barbarism.”

He continued, tapping near his eyes with his finger.

“It’s because of power. They don’t know.”

“…”

It was a short, concise statement, but it was easy to understand.

For the Empire, the power of the West is an unknown territory.

With the strength to take down beasts, it must be frightening.

Among them, Wederos would be seen as even more dangerous.

“Well, you’re a smart one, so I don’t think you could have missed that, but still, be careful. If this gets out…”

“I know. It would be extremely dangerous from the Empire’s perspective.”

The rest is all too predictable.

After confirming the contents of the letter I had read, Talpon burned the letter as if to put his words into action and then left.

“Oh. I almost forgot.”

– Swish.

“I should have asked this.”

Perhaps because thoughts of the Kingdom of Wederos and the prophet filled my mind, I recalled this too late.

Well… it’s fine.

After all, I can’t chase after Talpon now.

– Ding!

▶ One of your family members is randomly visiting! ◀

▶Finish the conversation with the family member who has randomly come to visit.◀

It was precisely because of this instruction.

On the first day of the Hwangryong Martial Arts Tournament, it is predetermined that one family member will come to visit.

The moment this is disrupted, someone in the family will notice that Karsein has disappeared, and the intimacy will decrease in proportion to the time that has passed.

As the core thread of Chapter 3, the Another Plan is always in effect, so such an occurrence must not happen.

As I moved toward the accommodation, Inyoung appeared.

…For something that was randomly selected, this doesn’t feel very random at all.

▶The target you must meet has been determined!◀

▶The person you will meet is Duchess Isabella of Vagrand!◀

The luxurious envelope in my hand felt more bothersome than ever.

It reminded me of that day during the sports tournament when she had tried to give me pocket money.