Treasure Hunter (3)
The Blaine Desert, located in the heart of the southeastern part of the continent, was a problem area for many countries located nearby.
The Blaine Desert was infested with monsters and humans could not travel there, and hunters were especially reluctant to go there because there were so many undead.
There was no real profit to be made from hunting the undead.
Normally, neighboring countries would subdue monsters and collect money from their corpses, but in the Blaine Desert, despite being bordered by five countries, no one tried to deal with the undead.
So, the Blaine Desert has been abandoned for hundreds of years. No one has visited the desert due to the huge barrier surrounding it, but recently, there have been people who have been visiting this place often.
Treasure Hunter.
These so-called treasure hunters have only recently been able to uncover the surprising identity of the Blaine Desert.
There is a legend that hundreds of years ago, an ancient empire was completely crushed and turned to dust, which is now the Blaine Desert!
Of course, it is hard to believe that a country as large as the Blaine Desert would suddenly be pulverized, but since this happened in ancient times, there has been a surge of people trying to dig up the truth.
What was discovered was an ancient ruin where it was believed that the ‘Hero’s Sacred Relic’ was hidden.
“Oh, I never knew there was a city in the Blaine Desert.”
Taniya looked around the desert city made entirely of white bricks with sparkling eyes.
-Sigh, how pathetic. Why don’t you stop being so country? Do you know that it’s a total nuisance to Harang too?
“What did you say?”
-Look around you. There are a lot of people who are just playing around. Judging by the redness in their eyes, there are criminals too.
“… … !”
-This city is believed to have been built as a base for treasure hunters to explore the desert, but it seems that quite a bit of time has passed and there are also impure people mixed in who are not treasure hunters.
The city wasn’t that big, but it had everything you could want: restaurants, taverns, tool shops, merchants, etc.
However, most of the shop owners were muscular and covered in scars, so it was assumed that they had all rolled in from somewhere.
-Don’t just wander around blankly, because there are guys here who come here with the intention of robbing treasure hunters.
“Ahem, you know even if I don’t say anything, right?”
-Huh. If you knew, would you go around showing off your stupid face? Why don’t you cover it up a bit? In this city that’s no different from the wild, a pretty face is nothing more than a commodity or a spoil.
“omg!”
Taniya hurriedly turned her robe over, but it was too late. Her face was already completely exposed.
But no one could easily approach her. Harang also did not advise Taniya to cover her face.
“Don’t scare me too much, Celine, because I won’t dare attack you.”
-Tch. What if I say that? I was having so much fun teasing you.
“Oh, is it safe?”
Harang nodded.
“The city I visited before was full of thugs, third-rate people who would attack anyone who looked pretty or had a woman in mind… … But this place is different. This is where the real ones gather.”
– In the city of martial artists, beware of children and women. Don’t you know that saying? The more gorgeous and pretty your face, the more careful you have to be. You look more threatening than a warrior covered in scars~ That’s it!
Taniya’s skin doesn’t tan easily and she doesn’t have any scars because she traveled under the protection of ghosts.
Her skin was as clear as a sheet of white paper, without a single blemish, and her lips were bright red, creating a mysterious atmosphere that did not fit in with the desert at all.
Harang goes without saying. With his handsome appearance and old sword, without a single scar, he was a true master in the eyes of high-level warriors.
Moreover, the fact that they came to the Blaine Desert alone, without any other escorts, is unusual. They must have encountered countless monsters while crossing this desert, but they don’t seem tired at all, do they?
‘He’s an expert.’
‘You can’t touch those guys.’
‘If I make a mistake, I’ll be out of luck.’
In fact, warriors with rough and vicious looks glance at Harang and Taniya, and if their eyes meet, they quickly run away.
It’s not that their appearance is ugly. Rather, it’s because they kill their instincts in order to survive for a long time, so they should be praised as great.
-That’s right. You’re just a compass that doesn’t know how to do anything, but if you stand still, others will think you’re an expert. Ahaha! That’s really funny.
“Oh, that’s not funny… … .”
Anyway, Taniya was relieved that she wouldn’t be targeted by anyone, but Harang gave her something like a bracelet.
“This is… … .”
“Keep it on your body, and when you’re in danger, press the button to shoot out a bolt of lightning. It’s only a 5-star spell, but it should be able to stun an enemy once.”
“Five-star magic? Is there such an artifact?”
As Harang shrugged his shoulders, Taniya realized that his family was Kaladan. It was said that his magical skills had improved by leaps and bounds recently as he studied the dragon language.
“But, why are you giving me this? You said it wasn’t dangerous… … .”
Harang looked up at the sky.
“The sun is slowly setting. Those guys were too scared to attack during the day, but that doesn’t mean they’ll do the same at night. It never hurts to be prepared for any eventuality.”
Taniya hurriedly put on the bracelet.
Before night fell, Harang found a place to stay. Thinking that even the place to stay was not safe, he checked it out briefly and then set up a barrier.
“I can draw a barrier too!”
She placed her own magical barrier over the barrier Harang had placed.
Although it has no physical defenses, it is said to have a mystical power that prevents intruders from entering.
Of course, since it is only temporary, it will be ineffective if someone as strong as Harang forcibly tears it apart.
“Are you resting here today?”
There was only one bed in the room, so Harang shook her head as Taniya crossed her fingers.
“No. You should go to the tavern and get information until late at night. Thanks to the barrier, it’s safe here now, so just wait.”
“… … I want to go too.”
Taniya followed behind Harang. When Harang sat down in a corner, the eyes of the people nearby were focused for a moment and then dispersed.
Harang didn’t miss that gaze.
“You don’t look like you’re welcoming us.”
Taniya’s barrier is quite useful, allowing her to hear other people’s conversations while also blocking out their own. The others will hear the conversations at this table as mumbling.
“Hmm… … I think so. It’s burdensome to even glance at it. Ugh, why is this so expensive?”
Taniya frowned after checking the menu. The beer was ten times the price of the market price, and the side dishes were more than twenty times the price, with only simple bread and meat. It wasn’t even a proper meal.
“We should be thankful that we can drink beer in such a rough area.”
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“Well, that’s true, but… … .”
“If you want a proper meal, I’ll go back to your accommodations a little later and prepare it for you.”
Taniya’s expression brightened as she realized during the past few days of traveling with Harang that she carries around various cooking utensils in her space and that her cooking skills are much more advanced than she thought, but she quickly shook her head.
‘No. If I come to a place like this and start complaining about food, you’ll think I’m pathetic. I’m an adult after all.’
She made a firm decision.
“No! I can’t be a food whiner. Just like Master Ha-won, bread is enough for me.”
“… … .”
Harang chewed the bread.
‘I was going to go back and cook some food.’
While I was whispering with Taniya and listening intently to the conversations around me, suddenly someone stood up and slammed the table!
“Damn it. You’re selling this crap food and you’re charging 300 gold? This is ridiculous! Who’s the chef? Tell him to come out now!”
If we were to convert this into 21st century modern terms, it would be like paying 300,000 won for a roughly cooked chunk of meat with a generous sprinkle of salt and a slice of bread on top.
‘Why didn’t anyone order anything other than beer…?’
When Taniya looked at Harang with a tense expression, he put his index finger to his lips. It was a gesture telling him to be quiet.
“Hey, nobleman. This is the kind of place it is. You want steak and red wine? Why don’t you go back home and order from your personal chef?”
“Ha, my goodness. Rumors about the hero’s holy relic have spread and the young masters have gathered here, but this is not a place for well-raised nobles like you to come and play. You’d better go back.”
“These guys… … .”
As a young man in his thirties, presumed to be a nobleman, gnashed his teeth, the knights escorting him reached for their swords.
“Hey, you’d better think again and draw your sword. The moment you draw it, everyone here will kill you.”
“Do you know who I am… … .”
“I don’t know. So if you die here, no one will know. If you die in the middle of the Blaine Desert, what will the family do?”
“Did you think you could act however you wanted here by showing off your status? Don’t be mistaken. This is not your nobles’ playground.”
Even the nobles felt that the situation was becoming serious, so they did not order the men to draw their swords while sweating profusely.
“Damn, let’s go back. I’d rather chew on dirt than eat this garbage.”
“Hahaha! That’s a good idea. We actually tried chewing dirt. It wasn’t such a good idea.”
“Go back and knock on the bed, you reckless noble young master.”
As the nobleman left the stage, being teased by the mercenaries, Taniya lowered her head slightly.
“I think you have a grudge against the nobles… … .”
“That’s why we don’t look at it favorably either. At first glance, it looks like a nobleman.”
Although his identity was hidden, he was actually a nobleman.
Harang could be said to be the world’s greatest noble, and Taniya was no different from other nobles, having grown up in a huge mansion with hundreds of servants.
But unlike the nobles over there, no one scolded Harang. Unlike the reckless noble men, they ate their food quietly without complaining.
Attitude. The most important thing was the attitude with which you entered this desert.
There have been more than one or two cases where nobles came to find treasure or to establish a reputation for their family, only to end up dying after getting in the way of things they didn’t know how to do.
“Still… … I learned a lot thanks to that nobleman’s commotion just now.”
“yes?”
Taniya’s expression became quizzical. What did she know? She didn’t notice anything.
‘I just don’t know that the nobles are causing trouble, the mercenaries are causing trouble, and the nobles are looked down on because of that… … .’
Harang was quietly drinking his beer, but then he suddenly threw his glass hard on the floor.
Clang!!
“Hic!”
The barrier blocking the voice was naturally lifted, and all the mercenaries’ eyes were focused on Harang.
Harang, who had caught everyone’s attention, glanced around the room and then said with an unexpectedly playful smile.
“The beer here tastes amazing. Can I have another one please?”
Then the mercenaries burst into laughter.
“Hahaha! The young master over there is so cheerful. I guess he knows a lot about our emotions.”
“You must be from the northern Röntgen region! There, breaking a beer mug is considered the highest compliment.”
“Hey, come get me a drink.”
“Huh, huh? Huh, huh?”
Until just a moment ago, they were mercenaries who had been hostile to the nobles. I thought that Harang’s actions just now were not much different from those of the nobles just now.
But what is this?
Don’t mercenaries and treasure hunters rather like Harang’s actions?
‘What’s the difference?!’
Taniya couldn’t understand at all, but Harang had already joined them and was happily toasting them.
“Did I look like I was from a noble family? Half right, half wrong. I was treated so badly at home that I threw myself out and ran away.”
“That’s so cool!”
“I’ve never seen a noble survive long among those who became mercenaries. We also die often on the battlefield!”
“Am I like you? I am of noble birth?”
When he opened his mouth so cheerfully that it made you wonder if it was really the taciturn Prince Harang, the mercenaries laughed and accepted it, wondering what was so good about it.
Even though it seemed rude at first, the mercenaries laughed and laughed, which Taniya could not understand at all.
‘Hey, you’re not really drunk, are you?’
Taniya suddenly felt scared, thinking that Harang might really be drunk, since she had been drinking a few glasses of beer since a while ago. If she was, there would be no one to protect her!
However, he seemed to still be of sound mind, as he smiled gently whenever he glanced at himself while hanging out with the mercenaries.
In other words, it was all Harang’s plan. Taniya didn’t know his intentions well, but she couldn’t do nothing when the young master of Kaladan was making efforts.
“I, I can drink beer too!”
“Oh, I thought you were just a girl, but you’re a brave warrior! You know the taste of Red Desert Beer!”
Taniya wanted to do her best to help Harang.
