073. Salt crystal (4)
Bright lights and loud noises.
Seongjin hesitated for a moment as it wasn’t a good situation to sneak in and borrow something, but Seongjin’s worries didn’t last long.
‘But I can’t go out like this.’
Seongjin approached the accommodation and spoke to the demon king.
‘Hey, make sure there’s no Sir Maria or Sir Kurt over there.’
If there were even just one high-ranking knight, the clumsy Auror concealment might be seen right away.
Fortunately, the Demon King, who disappeared from my mind for a moment, soon came back and spoke.
[Both are not in the dorm at all.]
‘good!’
Seongjin used Auror concealment and quickly hid inside the dorm.
On the first floor of the driver’s quarters, there was a large space used as a lounge, where four drivers were sitting together and drinking. Seongjin clicked his tongue when he saw not only empty liquor bottles, but also a large oak barrel rolling on the floor.
Well, since most of the resident drivers volunteered to pay for the drinks, it might be natural for something like this to happen on an off-duty day.
I didn’t know how far I should look, but fortunately, there was a pile of old cloaks that looked like supplies near the entrance to the break room.
Seongjin quietly reached into the lounge, grabbed one of the clean-looking cloaks, and quickly retreated.
All I had to do was just sneak away.
Unless someone came running down the hallway and threw open the break room door.
bang!
“Is Lord Calmen here yet? Where are you now?”
Unfortunately, Seongjin, whose escape route was blocked, quickly hid in the opposite hallway.
What a difference. Immovable heart, immovable heart.
“Oh, Lord Claudia. Would you like a drink too?”
“That’s Okay. By the way, Lord Calmen, why aren’t you coming in? “Your shift will change with me tomorrow.”
“He was off duty today. I guess you haven’t received notice of the change in work schedule yet. “If you’re busy, should I step in for you?”
“Just sober up and say something like that, senior.”
Sir Claudia seemed to be grumbling for a moment, but then joined the drinking party.
“Ah, do I have to do the work tomorrow? “Just give me a drink.”
“okay. Just drink it all the way through. “I worry about tomorrow’s events tomorrow.”
After seeing that the drinking party was getting noisy again, Seongjin put on his cape and tried to move carefully.
But suddenly there is a sound of a chair being dragged, and this time a driver who has been drinking comes out of the lounge.
He walked hurriedly to the only entrance to the dormitory, leaned against the outer wall, and started shuffling his pants.
Holy shit. If you’re going to urinate in the open, go far away and do it!
“Please take good care of your junior. “Your senior is from the same 4th Knights as Lord Calmen, right?”
“Hey, do you think it’s because I don’t want to take care of it? “As you know, he’s been acting a bit off these days.”
“Are you turning around?”
“huh. “He used to be awkward with the 2nd Knights, but these days, he gets along with other guys as well.”
“… is it so? “Why?”
In response to Sir Claudia’s question, the knight called senior spoke in a low voice.
“Oh, you didn’t know? “It’s all because of the 3rd prince.”
“What happened to my Majesty?”
“omg. This is also our lowly Taryeong. “Why are they really like this these days?”
Meanwhile, the driver who had gone out came back and entered the lounge.
However, Seongjin did not leave his seat, but instead leaned in the hallway and quietly listened to their conversation.
“That is the right thing to say. Honestly, isn’t the dispatch atmosphere so strange these days? It seems like only yesterday that everyone was chewing that little pig as a snack while drinking, but since when are you the genius prince and me? uh?”
“That’s right.”
“Because of what happened in the past, that guy Calmen still can’t raise his head in the 2nd Knights, but even the guys in the 2nd Knights can’t come to their senses and are talking about him as a genius and a genius, so… … .”
“Lord Kurt is the problem. “That nobleman is also from the 2nd Knights and secretly takes care of the prince.”
“What happened to everyone’s hair? “I knew when that son of a bitch would start acting evil again.”
Then Sir Claudia became angry and shouted.
“Don’t say things like that so carelessly. “I don’t even know what kind of person you are!”
“Then what do you know so well? Do you know what happened between the 2nd Knights and the 3rd Prince in the past?”
“that… … .”
“If you don’t know, don’t say anything. “It is said that the atmosphere changed a lot after Sir Martha became the commander of the knights, but there was a time when the people of the 2nd knights did not even urinate in the direction of Jinju Palace.”
“that’s right. “When I heard it, there were more than one amazing anecdote.”
“… … .”
Sir Claudia made a noise and then started gulping down something.
Judging from the exclamation that comes from next to Yeonsin, it looks like he’s drinking a lot because he’s upset.
Percussion!
She shouted in a raised voice, as if her emotions were heightened, along with the sound of the glass being set down violently.
“yes. Of course, I’m a newbie, and I don’t know much about old jobs. But I do know one thing. “People have to see it from the side and judge it for themselves!”
“Well, it’s not wrong.”
“Aren’t the seniors also swearing because they heard rumors and are not the parties involved? “The people of the 2nd Knights don’t really have anything to say right now, right?”
“Hey, you know that, right? Not long ago, how bad that pig bastard was when he ate… … .”
“Not now. It’s not a pig! “It’s not like you’re a bitch!”
“Uh oh. “I think this guy is already drunk?”
“I want you to look at me properly. “My Majesty is secretly deep and mature!”
“Okay, okay, okay. Okay, stop drinking.”
The knights seemed to be soothing Sir Claudia for a while, but after a while the topic changed.
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Various small talk and some dirty talk were exchanged, and the awkward atmosphere heated up again.
It was some time later that Seongjin left that place.
When the limited amount of auras showed signs of being depleted, Seongjin hurriedly left the knight’s quarters and deactivated his auror cloaking.
“Whoa… … .”
Taking a moment to catch his breath, Seongjin organized the information he had just heard in his head.
A long time ago, there was a big incident between Mores and the 2nd Knights, and a knight named Calmen was involved in it. He still has a strained relationship with the 2nd Knights because of that.
Considering his past reputation, it’s probably mostly that guy Mores’ fault.
That may be the reason why Calmen was so openly disrespectful to Seongjin until recently.
[Do you care?]
‘… any.’
I’d be lying if I said it didn’t bother me.
Once Seongjin is in Mores’ body, he will never be free from Mores’ past actions.
Although people are willing to move on with the excuse that they have no memories, there are probably some people who still have deep-seated feelings that cannot be resolved with that alone.
Rather, the people who have surrounded Seongjin so far have been overly kind.
‘… Amelia was truly an angel.’
[Oh my, you bastard.]
Suddenly, I remembered what Kalmen had said back.
-why? If I tell you, do you remember?
I don’t know what happened in the past, but the fact that he is currently dispatched to Jinju Palace means that he has put his mind in order to some extent.
The Holy Emperor forbids anyone who could pose even the slightest problem to Mores from entering the Jinju Palace, leaving them alone.
Perhaps it was just that it was difficult for Calmen to see the prince forgetting all his mistakes and walking around leisurely.
[So, what do we do now?]
‘What can I do?’
At this point, I had no intention of covering up and correcting all of Mores’ past mistakes.
There’s no need to bring up things that are mostly covered up, and Seongjin has no intention of doing so.
Well, considering the circumstances, I’m willing to tolerate that guy Kalmen being a bit c*cky in the future.
Feeling that his depleted aura was quickly filling up, Seongjin began to walk slowly.
At that time, I heard Sir Claudia’s drunken voice screaming loudly from afar.
“Hey! No matter what others say, I will continue to live forever! “I will follow you!”
A smile appeared on Seongjin’s lips without me knowing.
Sir Claudia, did you have such a brilliant idea?
good. If there is a personnel evaluation, I will actively reflect it.
[You hate that guy named Haven like that?]
Uh, not that guy.
* * *
Seongjin’s income from the knight’s quarters was not limited to cloaks to cover his body.
While listening to this and that useless chatter, I learned of the existence of a hole used by the knights.
Well, that doesn’t mean it’s really a passageway that allows you to sneak in and out of the imperial palace.
At least it was a route with fewer checks and less stringent procedures. Even drunk knights can come in and out without much glare.
[Aren’t you going to cover up as an Auror and sneak out anyway?]
‘Still, I can’t ignore the small number of security guards I encounter.’
So Seongjin walked towards the [Second East Gate] next to the greenhouse garden that the knights had mentioned.
The walls surrounding the inner walls of the Delcross Imperial Palace were high walls made of shiny white stone.
It was a height that seemed a bit burdensome for people to climb on, but that was it.
‘I think it would just collapse if the giant monster hits it even once… … .’
Seongjin thought that it had an old-fashioned appearance, as if the invasion of foreign enemies or the situation of a siege had not been taken into consideration. Are you confident that no one will dare attack you?
The second alumnus was also the same.
It is a thin and ornate forged gate made of a single layer of iron bars, and the only guards are two imperial knights standing on either side of the gate.
‘They say it’s a hole, but the boundaries are really lax.’
Occasionally, guards carrying lanterns and knights of the Royal Guard would pass by, but the frequency was not very high.
Seongjin, who had just seen that the two security teams had crossed and were moving away in opposite directions, took a few steps back while maintaining Auror concealment. Rather than going through the door where the two imperial knights were, I was thinking of just climbing over the wall.
Taaat.
Seongjin kicked the ground several times and accelerated, jumping up the smooth wall more easily than expected. He didn’t even need to use aurors that much.
For a moment, I crouched down on the fence and looked at the other side.
[uh? What is that?]
The Demon King suddenly made a dumb sound.
[Something just passed by us?]
‘… … ?’
Seongjin held his breath and tried to expand his energy, but he could not feel any sign of it.
‘There’s nothing?’
[weird? Clearly something passed by… … .]
Suddenly, a shiver ran down my spine.
Is it really like a ghost? Is that it?
[…] Are you still afraid of that even after you die?]
No, it’s not scary. Really.
It’s just annoying because you can’t hit a ghost with your fist.
[Not available now. What was it?]
At that moment, a security team outside the fence passed right under Seongjin. After waiting with bated breath until they were far enough away, Seongjin turned around, clung to the fence, and jumped down.
This is going more smoothly than I thought.
How much longer did you walk outside? Now that he was able to easily pass through the outer wall of the imperial palace like that, Seongjin started to get a little worried.
‘Is it okay because the boundaries of the imperial palace are like this? Anyone could just come in.’
Of course, there were two things he didn’t know.
One is that even while he was so worried, Seongjin’s [Auror Concealment] skills were improving by the minute.
It’s already a world away from when he first showed off his Auror concealment in front of Dasha. Perhaps if she had seen her true colors now, she would never have complained about her lack of faith.
Another one.
The point is that the security of the imperial palace was not simply comprised of physical manpower.
[…] Seongjin Lee. There’s something. It seems like they’ve been following us since earlier.]
When the Demon King warned again, Seongjin, who had been blindly moving in the direction away from the imperial palace, stopped.
However, no matter how carefully you look, there is absolutely nothing that catches his sense.
[It’s spiritual, so you probably won’t feel it. But what? It looks like a soul, but it is not in its complete form.]
Are you really a ghost?
[It’s circling around us. Oh, one more guy showed up. It’s not a hostile atmosphere, but what on earth do you want to do?]
‘… … .’
[Oh, one more thing.]
Because the Demon King’s emotional state was always felt directly, Seongjin knew that everything he said was true even though he could not see it.
Things that I have never seen since falling into this world suddenly appeared as soon as I left the imperial palace alone?
‘… Can you communicate?’
Then the Demon King grunted and struggled for a moment and then sighed.
[I don’t think it will work? I can’t read their thoughts very well.]
‘Then, try talking from your side.’
Then the devil suddenly lowered his voice and shouted majestically.
[Yes, you guys! Instead of twirling arrogantly, why don’t you kneel in front of this body! Welcome this great Demon King of Gehenna, the master of eternal abyss, with a reverent attitude!]
‘… … .’
[You don’t understand me at all? I guess it’s because it’s not a proper soul, but a fragmented half.]
Are those guys with knees to kneel on?
Anyway, according to the Demon King’s explanation, a total of three small soul fragments are currently circling around them as if on guard.
They were like small beads, no bigger than a child’s fist, but they were too insignificant to be considered as having their own consciousness.
[But it moves as if it has proper will. Without even pretending to listen to what I said. What are all these things?]
‘hmm… … .’
While the Demon King was confused, Seongjin took a moment to gather his thoughts.
The opponents are not even proper ghosts, but small soul fragments.
If they are invisible and untouchable, I believe that the influence they can have will be extremely small.
In terms of the insignificance of that existence, I guess it’s similar to the demon lord living in my head.
‘Nothing much.’
Moreover, this place is near the imperial palace where the representative of God resides. They probably aren’t very dangerous.
After concluding that, Seongjin started walking again at a slightly leisurely pace.
The road starting from the second east gate led to a long residential area to the east of Hwangdo. As I walk slowly, the dense houses clustered close together come into view.
Because it was late, there were no people on the road, and only the sound of a dog barking in the distance echoed in the quiet air.
And not long after entering the residential area.
[Oh, it disappeared.]
The souls that had been steadily following them suddenly disappeared.
‘Good. I guess I gave up.’
No matter how insignificant they were, I felt a bit uneasy because I couldn’t tell their identity.
However, before Seongjin could walk a few more steps, the Demon King shouted in surprise.
[uh? This time another guy showed up. A little more powerful… huh? How can this guy communicate?]
Then, he was quiet as if he was concentrating on something, but then he suddenly got angry.
[What? Why do you dare call me red? This body is the great Demon King of Gehenna… … !]
[what? Who’s the kid? hey! Man, are you really going to try it?!]
‘Noisy. ‘Don’t fight over useless things, just talk.’
The Demon King, who had been silenced by Seongjin’s slap, muttered to himself for a moment and then made a groaning sound.
[Okay, first of all, that guy wants you to follow him for a while? What should I do? Do you want to go?]
‘… … .’
[I don’t know how much you can believe, but this guy says you should probably go there?]
Aside from being trustworthy, I was a little curious.
So, after walking for a while, following the Demon King’s guidance, Seongjin met an unexpected person.
Sir Calmen, battered and tattered, was lying on the floor.
“Why is the guy that Sir Claudia was looking for so desperately getting beaten up in a place like this at night?”
fantasy,
