Episode 46
Kang Jin-hyeok approached Yoon Song-ho and searched through his outer clothes.
It was a very unsettling feeling to touch a dead person, but now was not the time to worry about such things.
“Found it.”
Kang Jin-hyeok, who found Yun Song-ho’s inventory, put all the scrolls he had brought inside.
Yun Song-ho’s inventory, filled with explosive scrolls, seemed to say that he was the mastermind behind all the explosions that occurred in this building.
So-called false accusation.
However, Kang Jin-hyeok had no hesitation in framing Yoon Song-ho.
He is not an innocent person, but someone who tried to take his own life.
So I thought that being used was like reaping what you sowed.
“Huh? What is this?”
Kang Jin-hyeok, who was shoving the scroll in, discovered a suspicious item in his inventory.
When I took it out, I saw that it was a notebook with a completely black cover and a lock to prevent it from being opened.
“It looks suspicious at first glance.”
Kang Jin-hyeok placed the notebook on the floor and smashed the lock with a baseball bat.
And then, when I picked up the notebook again to check inside, I heard a ‘click’ sound of something moving inside the notebook.
“Huh?”
The notebook suddenly burst into flames before I could even open it.
Kang Jin-hyeok was so surprised that he took a step back and dropped his notebook.
The notebook that had left my hand quickly burned on the floor and turned to ash.
“Are you planning on keeping it confidential?”
Kang Jin-hyeok suddenly came to his senses and searched through his inventory, taking out numerous potions.
Since I didn’t have any water right away, I was planning on spraying this to put out the fire.
Even though the price of the potion was a pity, there was no time to hesitate if the information was being hidden to that extent.
“I could save half of them now.”
Profit.
After pouring in a large amount of potion, the fire was put out in an instant.
Instead, he created a large amount of smoke and poked Kang Jin-hyeok’s windpipe.
“Cough! Cough!”
Kang Jin-hyeok waved his hand to disperse the smoke.
The notebook had a slightly reddish tint to it, as it was soaked in the potion.
As I unfolded the pages before the papers stuck together, unexpected content caught my eye.
“This is… … .”
Each page of the notebook contained a picture of a person and their personal information.
Where do you live, what are your family relationships like?
Even the places they frequently visited and their average return home time were recorded in detail.
“Why did you write it down in such detail? Were you planning to target me next?”
Kang Jin-hyeok, who was flipping through the notebook, stopped when he noticed an X-mark on the photo.
Beneath the photo with the X mark, there was something written separately in red ink.
It was a bit blurry because of the potion, but it was still readable.
“punishment.”
Kang Jin-hyeok was thinking about the meaning of the word, and something suddenly occurred to him.
“Come to think of it, this guy! He’s the guy that was in the internet article last time!”
Kang Jin-hyeok recalled an article he had recently read about a hunter who had been attacked by a serial killer.
‘Kang Jae-hyuk’, a B-class hunter belonging to Altron.
I remembered him because he was a person with a similar name to me.
There were also some other characters in the notebook who were marked with an X.
If this assassin lying here is the one who killed the people written in this notebook.
I could understand why my karma level was unusually high.
“I didn’t know that crazy murderer was this author.”
Kang Jin-hyeok took out a piece of paper from his inventory and began writing down the names of all the people listed in the notebook.
Since my smartphone is broken now, I was planning to search for it later when I get home.
* * *
“Why aren’t you here yet?”
Kang Jin-hyeok looked anxious when Jeong Dae-yoon did not come to see him even though he had finished all the work he had to do.
Although I had made a solid plan, it was useless if I tried to do it on my own.
If Jeong Dae-yoon didn’t cooperate, the plan and everything else would have to be overturned.
“You didn’t give the impression that you were going to hit me in the back of the head. Can I trust you?”
His karma level was also low enough that he could be considered a good person.
As Kang Jin-hyeok was trying to shake off his anxiety, he felt a presence at the entrance of the building.
When I turned around with half anticipation and half worry, Lucia and Jung Dae-yoon were walking towards me.
Jung Dae-yoon, who was walking towards them waving his hand as if he was happy to see them, flinched and shook his shoulders when he discovered the body lying at Kang Jin-hyeok’s feet.
“Who is this person?”
“That’s the guy who was following me.”
“Ah, that’s the kid who was hiding and chasing after me.”
Lucia wasn’t surprised because she knew from the beginning that there was someone following her.
“If you were going to catch him eventually, why didn’t you deal with him from the beginning and instead made him chase you all the way here?”
“That’s because they are all useful.”
——————
faqwiki.us
Join our Discord for new chapter updates!
https://discord.com/invite/xr7SxG5T6V
——————
“What use is it? You can just rob a corpse and eat it?”
Kang Jin-hyeok realized that Lucia was paying attention to the inventory he was holding.
“No, that’s not what I was trying to steal.”
Kang Jin-hyeok quickly waved his hands as if he had been caught stealing.
“They’re trying to blame everything that happened here on this guy.”
“It sounds more malicious than an excuse.”
In the end, it seemed worse to blame the dead for one’s sins than to loot their corpses.
Kang Jin-hyeok tried to justify himself by ignoring that fact.
“He’s the guy who came after me to kill me. No matter how you write it, it’s my heart.”
“Well, that’s true, but it’s a bit unsettling.”
Lucia could understand, but she felt that it was not something she could go out and talk about openly.
It seems like it’s enough to pay the price for taking a life, so is it really necessary to frame him?
Kang Jin-hyeok brought up the answer to the question that Lucia had not yet said out loud.
“This is the best way to avoid seeing a war break out here.”
“War? … Between guilds?”
Guilds also existed in Lucia’s world.
But the guild she knows is not one that has come together for their own benefit.
It was an organization created to control adventurers who wandered around.
So Lucia couldn’t understand why guilds were fighting each other.
“Isn’t it your job as hunters to catch monsters? Why are you fighting among yourselves?”
“That’s right. I’m curious too.”
If they had gathered together for the sole reason of hunting monsters, they would not have controlled the hunting grounds.
Hunters from large guilds are the ones who prevent other hunters from growing because they don’t want to lose their jobs.
As the saying goes, the bigger the group, the more territoriality there was.
If such authors suffer such severe damage as today.
I will never sit still.
“Anyway, we can’t let the Titans and Tyrants fight each other.”
“That’s right. If something like that happens, I don’t know how many people will be affected.”
Jung Dae-yoon was able to speak decisively because he had seen right next to him what Tyrant did for their own benefit.
“No matter what happens, we must stop the Tyrant from running wild.”
“Yeah. That’s why I’m going to use this guy.”
“how?”
“I told you. I’m framing everything here as if it were his doing.”
“aha.”
Only then did Lucia understand Kang Jin-hyeok’s actions.
He planned to prevent Tyrant’s revenge by blaming everything on Yun Song-ho, who was dead here.
You’ll be furious at losing someone to vent your anger on, but you’ll have nowhere to vent your anger since you’ve blatantly committed an illegal act.
If everything had gone according to plan, it would have been possible to conclude the incident without any damage.
“No, but wait a minute.”
Lucia suddenly remembered a flaw in this plan.
“What if this human is a hunter from another guild?”
“… … .”
“Even if he’s already dead, since he did something like this, they’ll definitely investigate his identity.”
“I guess so.”
“Then they’ll find out that you’re a hunter belonging to a different guild. The result won’t change.”
“Only the target of the war has changed.”
After hearing Lucia’s words, Jeong Dae-yoon also fell into agony with a serious expression on his face.
“Don’t worry. That won’t happen.”
“How can you be sure of that?”
“That’s because there’s a corner I trust. Just look at this guy’s shoulder.”
There was a bandage wrapped around Yoon Song-ho’s shoulder that Kang Jin-hyeok was pointing at.
“Why is this?”
“Don’t you remember? You’re the guy who shot an arrow in front of my house before you came here.”
“So what?”
Lucia knew from the beginning that the human and the one lying here now were the same person.
It didn’t seem like a particularly important fact, and I just thought it was a reason to chase after someone with a grudge, so I didn’t say anything about it.
But Kang Jin-hyeok noticed the very thing that Lucia had taken for granted.
“Think about it logically. What group in the world would send back a guy who failed to assassinate someone, and who came back injured, the same day?”
“I guess there was no one to send it to.”
“Or someone who moves as an individual.”
As soon as he said that, Kang Jin-hyeok handed the notebook he had been keeping to Jeong Dae-yoon.
“What is this?”
“The death list that assassin was holding.”
“Huh?”
Jeong Dae-yoon was surprised and quickly opened the notebook he had been handed.
He quickly turned each page while examining it closely, but as time passed, his face became paler.
“This can’t be happening… … Among the people listed here, there are some who have died but have not yet been officially announced.”
“Then there’s nothing more to see.”
A mad serial killer who only killed hunters from large guilds. That was the assassin’s true identity.
“If Tyrant investigates, he will realize that this man is a murderer. Then there will be no war.”
You can’t wage war against a murderer who is already dead.
So Kang Jin-hyeok had no hesitation in placing the blame on Yoon Song-ho.
“I don’t really know what you’re talking about. Anyway, it’s okay, right?”
“Of course, things are going better than expected. But we can’t let our guard down yet.”
The plan was put together in a plausible manner thanks to the pumpkins that came in on vines.
Now, the last thing that remained was Jeong Dae-yoon’s cooperation.
“Is everything done outside?”
“Yes, we did as you said.”
“Phew. That’s a relief.”
Seeing Kang Jin-hyeok relieve his stress, Jeong Dae-yoon spoke with concern.
“We can’t let our guard down yet. We have to leave before the Tyrant Hunters arrive.”
Lucia looked surprised.
“Huh? That wasn’t a lie?”
“It’s easier to deceive if you mix in some truth rather than 100% lies.”
“So how much did you mix?”
“Half.”
“You put in a lot of it.”
It was true that Tyrant’s hunters were coming this way to provide support.
Their imminent arrival was a blatant lie.
All the people discovered by the Titan guild members during their reconnaissance were illusions created by Jeong Dae-yoon.
“I was nervous because it was a guild with a certain reputation. But I was really fooled by a few welcomes.”
Tyrant’s hunters have just left headquarters.
Even for the most skilled hunters, it would take at least two hours to get here.
That was enough time to completely dust off the Tyrant branch without having to make a hasty withdrawal.
If Han Yeong-seok finds out about this, he’ll probably foam at the mouth and collapse.
“It’ll take more than an hour no matter how fast you go. But it’d be better to hurry.”
“Don’t worry so much, everything is ready.”
“Then the rest is up to me.”
Kang Jin-hyeok met Jeong Dae-yoon’s gaze.
His eyes looked very serious, as if he had made up his mind.
“You don’t have to do it. If you think it’ll be too much, you don’t have to do it.”
Kang Jin-hyeok felt uneasy.
The work I’m about to entrust to Jeong Dae-yoon may end up causing him great harm.
If you get caught or things don’t work out as planned, you can’t even guarantee your life.
My conscience pricked at the thought of leaving such a dangerous task to someone else.
“How many people would give up after hearing something like that?”
Jeong Dae-yoon smiled faintly.
It was unclear whether he was reading Kang Jin-hyeok’s mind or trying to ease his own tension.
“Please trust me and leave it to me. I also want to hit the authors who do this kind of thing.”
“I’m not saying this because I don’t trust you.”
“I know.”
Jeong Dae-yoon showed the notebook that Kang Jin-hyeok had given him.
“If you say that you caught a famous murderer instead of the guild leader, they’ll probably give you some leniency.”
This kind of damage was inevitable because the murderer even stole the welcome mat.
That was the most reasonable excuse Jeong Dae-yoon could come up with.
“There’s one last thing I want to ask you.”
“What is it?”
“Have you received the completed Alaune’s welcome?”
Kang Jin-hyeok did not answer Jeong Dae-yoon’s question and only made a meaningful expression.
Even though the other party exercised their right to remain silent, Jeong Dae-yoon nodded as if he understood.
“Whoever took it, it’s better than what the Tyrant Hunters use.”
Jung Dae-yoon didn’t care at all how much the welcome money went towards.
I didn’t think I would be able to sleep well if I made money by selling items made by manure.
Kang Jin-hyeok had similar feelings to Jeong Dae-yoon, but because he had lived in obscurity for a long time, he came to a different conclusion.
‘But I can’t just throw away this precious thing.’
Whether you use it yourself or sell it, it’s an item that will turn your life around.
It would be foolish to throw this away just because it feels uncomfortable.
If it’s for the sake of the dead, wouldn’t it be better to use this to destroy the Tyrant?
That was the conclusion that Kang Jin-hyeok reached.
