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I went back to my room and reviewed Gabriel’s story.
‘Gabriel failed in his duty and lost his first family.’
Because of that, Gabriel did not return to Akbaran and instead wandered around Border City. It seemed like he had lost contact with Gilda.
‘I guess you didn’t have the shame to go back to work.’
Whatever the circumstances, Gabriel was absent at a crucial moment.
‘Gabriel was a more capable bodyguard than I expected.’
Even after becoming a wreck, a different side of him suddenly appeared. This was thanks to the training, education, and experience he gained.
‘There’s been a rift between Gilda and Giselle. It means that their relationship is not what it used to be. They may even be hostile.’
If Gilda has changed a lot since then, it would be extremely dangerous to approach her. If she tells the upper echelons of the empire about my whereabouts, it would be difficult for me to move freely.
‘Giselle… … .’
I tried not to keep in my head any words or phrases beyond that name.
I feel uneasy. Gabriel’s appearance is not like someone else’s. What if Giselle is not good? What if she is not of this world? What will become of me? Right now, I feel like I will break and destroy everything I see. I will break the world until I am broken.
I know it’s childish, but that’s just how emotions are.
Beep.
Jafar’s name appeared on the retina display. After all, there is no one else who can contact me except Jafar.
-Do you remember our promise last time?
I promised Jafar that I would do some chores for him since I had spent a lot of money chasing Ernest. Honestly, considering how much money I had spent, I felt better about getting this sorted out.
“Just tell me. Who do you want me to kill secretly?”
-If I were going to kill someone, I wouldn’t use you. Assassins are like bullets. For assassination, you use people who can be thrown away.
“That’s a pretty scary thing to say.”
-Oh, oh, oh, oh. I misspoke.
Don’t be afraid to make a slip of the tongue.
“Let’s get to the point.”
-There’s an inside tour of the Border City with Angus Regina. You’ll be my security guard during this time, and I’ll forgive you for all the hard-earned money you’ve spent.
I frowned.
“Me? Protect that woman? You want me to put more bullet holes in her knees?”
-If you want to test my patience, feel free to do so. I know how to get angry, and my punishment will be fierce.
“Well, fine. I’m the one who said I’d do the work. But why do you insist on using me when you have so many Equsians?”
-Anguis Regina has assigned you as her close protection. And Angus’s mental state is unstable right now. She has never strayed from her main job, but there is no guarantee that she will in the future. Please help me in that regard as well.
“Surveillance and security.”
-Don’t shoot yourself in the knee. I’m not kidding, I’m serious. Whether it’s your knee, your arm, or anywhere else.
I don’t intend to go against Japha’s wishes this time either. I’m really feeling that Japha’s patience is reaching its limit these days.
“Okay. I’ll organize the detailed schedule and send it to you.”
-And did you have to beat Boyan like that? If it weren’t for the crawler, he would have died.
“The opponent was Ergen Walter. I couldn’t buy him off with money, and I couldn’t beat him up. There was no other way. If you have a better way, tell me. It was a situation where everyone from teachers to students to guardians were trying to expel one crawler.”
– Are you still being so arrogant when you know that Boyan is a student I support?
“He laughed, saying that there are more than a few students sponsored by your foundation. He said that you wouldn’t even care.”
-I wouldn’t normally care, Hoyat. Anyway, I understand. I think I’ve been acting uncharacteristically lately. It’s amazing that this happens even after I put my name out there.
It seemed like I could feel Jafar’s cool smile beyond the voice.
* * *
I saw a black coat hanging in the closet.
The housekeeping android visits periodically to clean my room and wash my clothes. If the clothes are badly damaged, it replaces them with new ones. Of course, they are the same design and color.
‘It looks like you have no intention of preparing any other clothes.’
I didn’t really want to ask for it. I’m not the type to care about my clothes or appearance.
I put on a coat that smelled like a strong medicine. It had been quite some time since I had stayed in Border City. My hair, which was already long, was even more unruly. Now, even when I tied it up, it would stick out and fall out.
‘In the guard… … .’
Come to think of it, there was a machine that would trim your hair appropriately. You just had to stand there for five minutes and it would be done. It was a surprisingly convenient machine, but there was nothing like that in Border City.
I didn’t want to spend money and time visiting the barber shop, but I thought it would be something to consider if my hair grew out better.
‘Okay, you’re still a bit of a dull person today, Luca.’
I checked my equipment by looking at myself in the mirror. The fire-light sword, the auto-tracking pistol, the dagger. This is more than enough for me.
‘Anguis Regina’s Border City Tour Performance.’
I recalled the schedule.
Angus Regina performs throughout the city for two nights and three days. Rather than having a fixed concert venue, she tours Japa’s businesses to promote her work.
During the tour, Japa’s sales more than doubled, and it was an important event for Japa as well.
Creak.
I wore a combat mask, unlike usual. It had a similar shape to the combat helmet and faceplate worn by Equsian mercenaries belonging to Jaffa Corps, but it was adjusted to human size.
The battle mask had a secondary function of supporting independent line communication and shared vision with Equusian mercenaries.
The Equsians were in charge of security for the entire performance area, and I was Anguis Regina’s close bodyguard.
‘This woman creates that much economic value?’
As someone from the Empire, it didn’t feel real to me. There were entertainment jobs like this in the Empire, but they weren’t jobs that created high added value.
I waited for her at Anguise Regina’s villa. Soon she got out of the elevator and glanced at me.
“You’re wearing a mask.”
“It’s a security uniform.”
“It’s better than bare face. It looks less fierce.”
Anguise Regina, with her heavily made-up face, smiled brightly. Her pupils sparkled in a peculiar way, as if they contained starlight.
‘puppetry.’
I couldn’t help but laugh. I saw the darkness of Anguis Regina. The idol’s appearance was all fake.
——————
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Anguish Regina acted overly brightly to hide her true self. She would have been a great actress as well.
‘The darkness of Angus is related to Kinuan.’
I too have done some research on Anguis Regina. I could not find much information about her past within the information available to me.
“I have a proposition for you. If you take me with you and help me defeat the Equusians, I will give you the information I know about Kinuan. And the relationship between Jafar and Kinuan.”
Anguish Regina said, walking forward without looking back.
“Well, that’s an appealing offer.”
I also muttered on the side.
“We will never be able to figure out on our own what kind of connection we have with Kinuan.”
“I guess so. But what are you?”
“yes?”
“You are just a byproduct of my deal with Jafar. You have no influence on your own. You can’t build my body, and you can’t support me. You just dance and sing. Don’t act like you can do an equal deal with me when you can’t do anything on your own and aren’t productive. You are incompetent beyond comparison to Jafar.”
Anguise Regina stopped walking. She turned her head back to glare at me.
“It’s your narrow imperial mindset that says I’m incompetent.”
“If you are active enough to change my mind, I will change my mind. I am more flexible than you think.”
Anguise Regina and I left the villa. The cheering was so loud that it changed the pressure of the air. The windows of the building shook.
“Waaaaaaaaaaaaah-!!”
“Anguiseuuuuu! Reginaaaaaaa!! I love you-!!”
“Praise the Queen of Serpents!”
The Equusian guards were forming a safety line to block the crowd. There was even a rough fight that seemed to suggest violence. Some people were beaten by Equusians and had their heads cracked and bled profusely, while others were knocked unconscious and trampled. There were definitely deaths.
There were more than a few people who poured out their desire for Anguish Regina even after being covered in blood.
‘This is also madness.’
I never understood what the attraction was to Anguish Regina. Not only humans, but even other alien races cried out for Anguish Regina’s name.
‘… … Certainly, to this extent, it could be seen as having influence.’
As much as I hate to admit it, Angus Regina had power. The ability to sway the public and public opinion is a powerful force.
Even the imperial family of the empire tried to win the favor of the public. The foundation of a nation is, after all, the people. Without their cooperation and labor, the nation cannot be run smoothly.
Crack, crack.
Anguis Regina stood in the center of the circle of Equusians. She extended her hand in a carefully calculated gesture and clasped it gently.
“everyone…….”
Anguis Regina spoke faintly. It was a voice of a certain frequency that touched compassion, and her electronic choker had a loudspeaker function, so the voice resonated ticklishly. The sound overlapped and spread widely enough to pierce even the noise of the crowd.
“… … I love you! I want to hug everyone, but please forgive me for not being able to. If you buy the Anguish set from Jaffa Burger and the Regina set from Jaffa Pizza, you will get a hug raffle ticket. Please meet me with that.”
It was such an obvious commercial statement. I couldn’t believe that there were people who responded to and were moved by such words. Does living in Border City lower your IQ?
“I’ll buy it no matter what! I bought 10 sets today too!”
“10 sets? You’re kidding me. I bought 100 sets! I’m going to freeze them and eat them for a year!”
“I’ll eat until I win, whether it’s 100 sets or 1000 sets! I’ll definitely meet you! Anguish Regina!”
There was no distinction between gender, age, or race. Everyone was crazy about Anguise Regina.
I guarded Anguise Regina from a distance of about five steps. It was a good decision to cover my face. There would be those who would dig up my personal information and try to kill me just by getting close to Anguise Regina.
‘Do you still think I’m incompetent?’
Anguish Regina tilted her head slightly and opened her mouth towards me.
I knew why Jafar was so obsessed with Anguise Regina. It wasn’t just that he cared for her emotionally. Anguise Regina was a talented person who had that much utility.
‘I know people like Anguis Regina.’
The Crimson Crown Prince, Francesque Kratzia, was of the same class as Anguis Regina. Each and every one of his thoroughly calculated words and actions was used to win the favor of others.
Being born talented alone doesn’t fully explain her popularity and charisma.
‘Anguise Regina would have undergone a targeted education similar to Francesque, someone who had thoroughly corrected and reshaped herself to take on a specific role.’
As if I were a human made for battle… … .
