Chapter 28
A question mark appeared on Sharmang’s face.
Monster?
“If it’s pointless chatter, drop it.”
Aheel cut Kenez off before he had even gotten to the point.
“What is it?”
Sharmang asked, her curiosity piqued.
Aheel, looking troubled, stepped slightly aside.
“Sharmang Noel Kenders — that demon. Ever since he went missing, the countries surrounding Ryntvel have been holding a festival, so to speak. Even the Kingdom of Kaidor, which had been debating whether or not to be absorbed into Ryntvel, has gone quiet.”
“Ah…”
Sharmang’s gaze instantly dropped to the floor.
“From the way those three who used to follow him around like dogs on a leash are now silent as mice, it seems the situation’s quite serious. Makes me wonder if there were no other capable people in Ryntvel besides that monster.”
Kenez continued speaking with a refreshed expression, sounding almost gleeful.
All of it was anger and scorn aimed at Ryntvel — and Sharmang Noel Kenders.
“No need to call him a monster. He just moved according to orders. Sardinar, you know better than anyone what it means to follow your lord’s command.”
Sharmang couldn’t believe her ears.
Aheel’s words almost sounded like he was defending Sharmang Noel Kenders.
Judging by Kenez’s frown, he seemed to have caught the same nuance.
“Are you serious? Ryntvel is basically a den of lawless criminals. Things that shouldn’t even exist in this world. You had your fair share of trouble with that monster yourself, didn’t you?”
“…”
Sharmang remained frozen.
“So the rumors about a conquest war were all nonsense after all. Honestly, I wouldn’t mind if things stayed this way forever. Though the gods were truly careless, creating something like that and letting it loose in the world.”
Aheel sighed, and Kenez cleared his throat, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Well, it’s not exactly pleasant talk. Anyway, after all that stirring things up, I suppose we can relax a bit now.”
“…”
“Still, he shouldn’t be allowed to die too easily, don’t you think?”
Even with Kenez’s half-smiling remark, Sharmang’s face only grew paler.
Suddenly, a large figure stepped between them, blocking her view.
“Forget boring talk. Seems like we missed each other earlier. I went down that hallway because I heard you’d gone to see His Highness.”
Sharmang lifted her head.
Aheel was now looking straight at her.
“Ah, the conversation ended earlier than expected, so we agreed to continue another time.”
Blinking as she regained her focus, Sharmang said,
“I see. I wondered why I couldn’t find you anywhere.”
“I hurried a bit on the way back. Guess we crossed paths without realizing.”
As her surroundings came back into view, she also noticed Aheel’s clothing — slightly disheveled for some reason.
“No problems, I hope?”
“Not really… thankfully, nothing that would cause trouble for my memory.”
Even if there had been, it wasn’t something related to him, so there was no need to mention it.
It was something only she had to deal with.
“Your memory? Why? Pepe, did something happen?”
Kenez suddenly butted into Aheel and Sharmang’s conversation again.
“You don’t need to know.”
“I was asking the Marquess of Pepe, not you.”
The two started growling at each other again.
But Sharmang just wanted to get away from here as soon as possible.
If she happened to run into Prince Khalif, the next king, she felt like her soul would abandon ship entirely.
Reading the mood, Sharmang opened her mouth.
“Sorry, but I think I’ll just—”
“His Highness Prince Khalif Hera Ellium is entering!”
Pooo—
With the sound announcing his arrival, the little master of the banquet appeared.
Ah…
Sharmang wished she could just vanish into dust right there.
“Marquess Sharmang Pepe, it’s been a while.”
“Haha, indeed.”
Sharmang answered soullessly, focusing on at least staying upright. Her gaze stayed firmly lowered, determined not to meet his eyes.
“It would be nice if you showed yourself like this more often.”
“As you know, I’m busy running my shop…”
“Not like you have any customers anyway.”
His remark stung her pride as a shop owner.
“I get about three customers a day. Five on a good day…”
Beside her, Kenez was clearly struggling to hold back laughter.
Sharmang, irritated, pouted.
“Kenez, I can see you laughing.”
“I’m not. This is a sympathetic expression because you’re working hard… ahem, sorry.”
On her right was Aheel Derf, the master of the Magic Tower.
On her left was Kenez Sardinar, the commander-in-chief.
And directly in front of her was Khalif Hera Ellium, the crown prince and future king.
They surrounded her as they chatted.
And that wasn’t all.
Earlier, she had just thought a few people were staring, but now everyone in the banquet hall had their eyes fixed on them.
It was only natural — people who rarely attended banquets had all gathered in one spot on the same day.
I just want to finish quietly and get out of here.
She could barely muster the will to respond anymore, raising her champagne glass to her lips instead.
She was just waiting for the right moment to slip away.
Only after spending more than three hours at the banquet did Sharmang finally return to her shop.
Her vision blurred, and she saw a dark silhouette.
She had lost so much blood that the ground beneath her was soaked.
The figure came closer.
They seemed to be saying something, but she couldn’t make out the words.
What are they saying…
It was irritating enough that she couldn’t move a finger, but now even her ears weren’t working properly.
Feeling her body grow colder and more numb, Sharmang finally couldn’t hold on and lost consciousness.
After she passed out, two men with expressionless faces stood over her for a long time.
Ryntvel’s crown prince, Rakan, had come out on a rare monster hunt.
This was a place where monsters were so numerous that people almost never came — yet strangely, the area was littered with monster corpses and blood.
Curious, he had investigated, and in front of him appeared a woman so thin she looked emaciated.
She even looked young — seventeen or eighteen at most, perhaps twenty.
The bad mood from his ruined hunt turned into interest.
“Is she dead?”
At his question, Ingello knelt down to check.
He brought his hand to the tip of her nose, then pulled back.
“She’s still breathing.”
“So she’s not dead.”
It had only just stopped raining, so everything was damp.
Especially around the fallen woman — the ground was dyed crimson with blood, making the scene even more eerie.
The pouch at her left side was heavy.
When Enzo opened it, it was stuffed with monster cores, glowing deep blue.
“This must be the one who slaughtered all the monsters here alone.”
Rakan let out a dry laugh.
“In that body?”
Her body was so thin it was practically skeletal.
This place was crawling with high-grade monsters — so much so that ordinary people called it the Forest of Hell and never approached.
Sometimes overconfident mercenaries would come to try their luck, but most died.
Those who made it out were usually missing something — a limb, an eye.
And this year, for some reason, the monsters had doubled in number.
No sane person would enter here willingly.
Unless… they were stronger than the monsters and confident they could win.
Or both.
“Shall we take her?”
“…Pardon?”
“What’s with that look? It’d be a waste to just let her rot. Put her in the carriage.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Ugh…”
Sharmang opened her eyes.
She was in too much pain to even move a finger.
Well, if she could feel pain, she must still be alive. She had thought she’d end up as monster food, but somehow she had survived.
I should’ve just taken the 10 gold and walked away.
It had been a commission: 2 gold upfront, 8 upon completion, for a total of 10 gold.
The job was to enter the Keragon Forest — known as the Forest of Hell — and collect monster cores.
It was a dangerous job, but the reward was good.
Easy jobs usually paid between 10 copper and 5 silver.
Harder jobs could go up to 10 gold.
Jobs worth over 5 gold were only taken by veteran mercenaries with war experience or by teams.
And there was more — there were three commissions in the Keragon Forest. If you completed all three at once, you’d get 50 gold.
The moment she heard that, Sharmang’s eyes lit up, and she dove straight into the forest.
With that money, she wouldn’t need to take on any jobs for the rest of winter.
Fifty gold was enough to live idly for over a year if she didn’t waste it.
I was insane… almost ended my life just now.
Frowning at the strong smell of herbs in the air, Sharmang closed her eyes again.
Where even is this place…
After catching her breath, she remembered the monster cores she had risked her life to collect.
She had to secure them now that she was alive.
She struggled to move her hand toward the pouch tied at her waist — or tried to.
But she couldn’t move at all. Only a strained groan escaped her lips.
“If you’re awake, open your eyes.”
A deep voice struck her ears like a thunderclap.
So there was someone nearby — she must have been too badly injured to notice.
Biting her lip, Sharmang opened her eyes again.
“Who…”
“Looking for this?”
She could barely move her head, but she saw the man lounging casually in a chair, swinging a pouch — her pouch of monster cores — like a pendulum.
And then—
Summoning all her remaining strength, Sharmang shot up.
In the blink of an eye, she stepped onto his thigh, grabbed his collar with one hand, and pressed a blade — formed from condensed mana and aura — to his throat.
Like a black cat leaping, she was light yet fiercer than any predator.
Her wild, unrefined sharpness was palpable.
“…Give it.”
But despite her ferocity, her voice was slurred.
Cold sweat dripped from her chin, but her eyes still burned with murderous intent.
“You’re awfully rude to the man who saved you.”
Rakan swept his long red hair back with a grin, utterly unshaken — as if he had known she would do this.
Even as blood from the cut at his neck trickled down, he leaned back in his chair.
“…”
Her condensed power aiming at his throat was quickly dispelled.
Her strength was truly gone now.
“My apologies, my lord.”
Ingello, late to react, grabbed her by the scruff and pulled her off, still wide-eyed.
He had never imagined she would be able to stand, let alone move so quickly to attack the crown prince.
Especially after being drugged with something to dull pain and paralyze her senses.
