The Status Window Disappeared

Black Flag Pursuit (1)

After leaving Rosehook, I went on a leisurely trip for a while.

But that’s for a while.

Chris is soon greeted with strong rain and wind.

The heavy rain that shook the trees mercilessly did not weaken after a while, but instead intensified.

Chris veered off the road for a while and headed to the nearest city.

Even though it harbors enormous magical powers within its body, it is nothing compared to the immense power of nature.

As Chris managed to get inside the walls, the wind carried a dog away.

Now it has become so difficult for people to stand still.

Continuing the trip in this situation is tantamount to committing suicide.

Like it or not, we’ll have to stay here until the storm is over.

Chris scanned the inns along the street, looking for an empty room.

Fortunately, since this was the middle of the continent, there were a lot of travelers, so the inn business was thriving.

Entering the inn that was about to be full, Chris thought with a sigh.

‘I have to stay in my room for a few days.’

It was good to have avoided the storm, but the destination of all was the kingdom of Milta.

I was really unlucky.

This was the place where a player like him had taken the throne, so it was a place to avoid most these days.

Moreover, Chris even had a small friendship with the king of this place.

That friendship wasn’t very pleasant, but… … .

Either way, it’s a good environment for trouble.

However, Chris’s promise was broken within an hour.

By the time I finished my meal and put my tired body on the bed.

The howling of a horse came from the stable.

Chris recognized the sound and left the inn in a huff.

Of course, the main character of the voice was a ghost horse, so there was no big concern.

Still, it is impossible to sit still.

Indeed, by the time Chris arrived at the stable, things were already over.

Black men are strewn across the door of the smashed stable.

Judging by the hoods covering their faces, they appear to be thieves trying to steal horses in the storm.

Chris wondered what to do with these meager opportunists.

But before his troubles were over, the city’s guards rushed in.

They laid siege to the stable, struggling to hold their weight because of the strong wind.

Chris, feeling that things were going strangely, hurriedly stepped out.

“Wait. I’m not like this, horse thieves… … .”

“Stay still! What the hell are you guys doing here?”

“No, you can tell by pretending.”

Chris protested, glaring at the spears at him.

The captain of the guard unmasked the horse thieves whether he did it or not.

Witnessing the identity of the thief, his back twitched, and he shouted at Chris again.

“You bastard! You look like a traveler, but how dare you harm the people of our kingdom?”

“… what?”

Chris let out a dumbfounded voice as he was taken aback by the guard’s actions.

Travelers don’t pay taxes, so it’s normal to not be treated as a person, but it wasn’t to this extent.

Even though the circumstances of the case are very clear, there is definitely something to see when they threaten this side.

Chris wondered and asked the captain of the guard.

“You know that thief bastard, right? Are you relatives?”

It was right after confirming the identity of the thief that the guard captain showed strange behavior.

He drew his longsword in a fiery rage, as if he had been stabbed to the point by Chris’ question.

“gibberish! Taking advantage of a storm to hurt people is not enough, even insulting the city guards. You are subject to summary execution!”

“Damn, boss. Anyway, that’s a bit… … .”

The lower lieutenant said something, but the guard captain hit him in the face and urged the members staggering in the wind and rain.

In fact, most of the travelers were less likely to get hurt even if they were killed in this way.

It was also because it was easy to cover up the incident, especially now because of the storm.

But unfortunately for them, Chris wasn’t one of the travelers.

Full of energy, Chris drew his sword and thrust his mercenary cards.

A band of mercenaries from the middle of the continent as well as from the south and east proved that he was a considerable veteran.

“Jeong then you come to cut your own throat! Because this kid wants to see you.”

“Yo, mercenary!”

“Captain, let’s stop!”

The adjutant, who was bleeding from his nose, ran desperately to settle the case.

Even for city guards, killing a veteran mercenary is not an easy task.

Even if they had a numerical advantage, at least one or two would have to be prepared to die.

The city’s guards seemed unwilling to risk their lives for their superior’s personal circumstances.

The captain of the guard also knew that he was a mercenary and was silent for a while, then took a step back.

“… Be lucky today, mercenary! Keep your mouth shut and get crushed inside the inn.”

Chris briefly conflicted after hearing the guard’s words.

Human pride is such a futile thing, but now I felt like giving myself over to that futile impulse.

There is no guarantee that the chief of the guard will stay calm anyway.

It is a very uneasy situation for Chris, who has to stay in the city for a few days.

He decided to pluck out the buds of anxiety in advance.

Chris’s sword slashed the guard’s chest several times as he tried to withdraw with a grieved face.

Raising his mana, he instantly turned the opponent’s body into a rag.

The guards did not even dare to step out into the horrifying sight.

Perhaps they realized early on that they were no match for Chris.

After confirming and killing the horse thieves, Chris left the frozen guards and went back to the inn.

Anyway, as long as you have the ghost horse and the mirror ring, escaping from this city is no task.

It won’t be easy to withstand the storm, but you can live in a cave in the hills somewhere.

Chris, who tried to think positively, regretted it not long after.

But just before that, I couldn’t help it.

If people could live only with reason, the world would be very boring.

It’s fortunate that my heart is at least a little relieved.

Chris, who was quietly waiting for the guards, swallowed his saliva at the late work.

No matter how unfair it was, I couldn’t go over it gracefully because I killed the chief of a city’s guards… … .

Could it be that it’s too late to gather the best guards?

The people who came to Chris arrived at the inn around the time the sun went down.

People inside the inn widen their eyes at the unexpected visitor.

It was not a very common sight to see the messenger of the palace appearing in the harsh rain and wind.

“Mercenary Chris. His Majesty the King has invited you to the palace. Please accept the invitation and honor the occasion.”

The messenger bowed politely and handed over the invitation to Chris.

Chris accepts it with a slight surprise.

‘How did you find out I was here?’

There’s no way the guards knew his identity.

It is enough to use magic tools to deceive their eyes, and there is no way that their report went up to the palace.

Still, it’s better than being visited by a dozen guards.

Chris gladly got up and got into the messenger’s wagon.

The carriage carrying him slowly moved toward the palace.

Although it shook here and there because of the wind and rain, it did not manage to fall over because the body was heavy.

The castle seen from afar was simple and practical in appearance, probably because it was a country that frequently waged war.

Since he is not a native and the player is the king, you can get a sense of how chaotic the surroundings are.

The player who occupied the throne of the kingdom of Milta.

Harnox looked down at Chris with a welcome expression.

“My friend! How have you been? I was very worried because I had not heard from you for quite some time.”

Harnox welcomed Chris with open arms.

Even though he is a player, his tone is cringing because he hangs out with the nobles of this world.

Chris responded with an example.

“Thank you for your undeserved hospitality. Thanks to His Majesty’s concern, I got along without any problems.”

“hahahaha, is that so? Come to think of it, when I first met you… … .”

As expected, when the disgusting story came out, Chris barely resisted the urge to cover his ears.

Harnox had offered him a little help long ago.

Even though Chris didn’t ask for it himself, he was grateful for it.

But Harnox talked about it over and over again whenever he met Chris.

As if he saved Chris’ life, he continues to talk about it.

In a word, he is a human who does not know ‘moderately’.

At this point, Chris couldn’t help but be annoyed.

He let out a boring story in one ear, worried about what Harnox would say about it.

The story of Harnox, as meaningless and heinous as the reserve army’s mental training, ended just before Chris fell asleep.

Only then did the player king bring the main issue to Chris.

“Anyway, since I heard your story, it seems that the Rosehook side was having a hard time, but maybe there are guys hiding on our side who are doing that black flag or something?”

“… yes?”

Chris answered in a slightly dazed voice.

It was because the king’s question was very surprising to him.

Of course, the reaction Harnox showed now was what he had hoped for.

Why did he unpack information about the black flag at Rosehook?

It was all done to raise awareness among countries.

It is also natural that the king asks Chris for help.

Chris is the best expert on black flag issues right now.

However, as for other kingdoms, this is where the player is the king.

Chris carefully chose his words and swallowed the bitterness.

“your majesty. No one else, but His Majesty, the player, is sitting on the throne, so how could they dare to use their magic?”

If Harnox had done its politics right, the black flag couldn’t have had a hand here.

Because here in the kingdom of Milta, the status of players is the highest on the continent.

As long as the player is the king, the treatment of other players is also good.

Besides, people changed overnight, and it’s hard to imagine that the king wouldn’t recognize them.

However, the king asked Chris again to see if his worries did not go away.

“Haven’t you witnessed their abilities firsthand? The kingdom of Benicia wasn’t too easy, but it was robbed without anyone knowing. You won’t have anywhere else to go during a storm anyway, so please do me a favor.”

“… How exactly can I help you?”

When a country’s king comes this far, it’s hard to keep rejecting it.

Chris asks as if giving up with the feeling that he is paying for the lodging.

As if the king had thought of something in advance, he immediately answered him.

“The players in the Kingdom of Benicia were supposed to be replaced with natives, right? I’ll arrange a place for you to interrogate the players in our realm. If there is someone whose behavior is strange, tell me.”

Milta Kingdom also had a number of players besides the king, as it was a country that was fighting territorial battles with other countries.

The King asked Chris to investigate them.

In the first place, if the king openly did something like this, the relationship with the players would fall apart… … .

Since Chris is an outsider, he must have decided that it was okay to buy a personal grudge in the process.

He sighed inwardly and nodded.

It’s unlikely that the Black Flag has infiltrated this place anyway.

“All right. Let me weed them out.”

“Thank you.”

“By the way, I killed the captain of His Majesty’s guards, did you know?”

You can sneak it over like this, but it’s better than talking about it later.

Having judged that, Chris brought up the story, and the king nodded his head with an expression that was not too surprised.

“Nothing to worry about. Corrupt officials in my kingdom are subject to the death penalty.”

“… … .”

Chris was momentarily speechless at his answer.

The captain of the guard was a killer for Chris, and he doesn’t regret killing him either.

But can the ruler of a country be like that?

I understand that the king himself is not such an honest person… … .

Well, as a king, it would be more important to deal with an unprecedented crisis that threatens his throne than the head of an unknown guard.

Chris was given a place to stay until the storm stopped, and he immediately began preparing for the interrogation.