392 - Hero Party 2
392 - Hero Party 2
TL/Editor: raei
Status: 5/Week Mon-fri
Illustrations: Posted in discord.
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Lukius Cornelius's story was more interesting than expected. There's undeniable fun in hearing someone's embarrassing past from their acquaintance, and the bonus 'Lucky One' episodes that slipped out were quite juicy.
At six, he accidentally won his first practice duel with knights by stumbling and flailing his wooden sword—
At eight, the necklace he bought at the market as a gift for his mother turned out to be an incredibly valuable magical artifact that had mistakenly ended up there—
At ten, while leading a merchant caravan as part of his heir training, his competitors conveniently fell ill, bringing profit to his territory—
"Is that even possible? No, if that's the case, he should've been with us in the kingdom from the start. By now we'd have cleared the 80th floor... is what I almost said! Almost, people! I love my current companions too much, so don't twist this with your devilish editing!"
-Too late, isn't it? You can already hear the moms typing away, eyes rolled back in their heads as they edit, right? Doesn't the sound of keyboards being smashed send chills down your spine?
-The rich get richer, they say, but here's an 18-year-old whining about missing one 5★. Fucking hell.
-You think that "I almost said" shit's gonna save you? You need a good beating.
-LOL But with that kind of luck, couldn't he take down bosses too?
-Maybe not take them down, but he'd probably survive no matter what, right? Always finding a lucky way out?
If the person in question had spouted these stories, they'd be dismissed as the drunken ramblings of a mercenary. Mercenaries and adventurers lived by their reputation, so those lacking in skill tended to inflate their achievements to the point where believing them made you the fool.
But when the storyteller was a knight with his family's crest on his chest, it was a different story. Plus, the 'Lucky One' title was clearly visible to players.
"Jake, how long do you plan on prattling about my past?"
"Oh, my apologies, young master. I got carried away meeting the hero I've only heard stories about."
Duels, trade, monster slaying, political machinations, and luck in trivial daily matters. His fortune was so evident that people started saying he was favored by the Goddess. So Lukius Cornelius decided to leave home before his coming-of-age ceremony, and naturally, his 'luck' allowed him to escape his family without a hitch.
After that, it was a series of fortunate everyday occurrences. Relying on his family-taught swordsmanship and innate luck, he joined a mercenary band fighting monster waves, reached an advanced level, and then decided to head to the kingdom.
"Do you know that the social circles are abuzz with your name these days, young master? There's talk that the Empire greatly aided the kingdom's hero."
"What? Why would it spread like that?"
The story went that they finally uncovered the truth about the fake safe zone, and that rumor spread far and wide until it reached the Cornelius family.
While the kingdom and empire weren't sworn enemies and weren't at war, there was bound to be some regional rivalry. Both the imperial and royal families were chosen by the Goddess and given separate trials and missions of continental exploration and tower climbing... but humans loved to compare.
'Come to think of it, I wonder how the influx of kingdom knights to the stone dwarves' underground city is playing out politically?'
The political scene was already in turmoil with the sudden appearance of a princess.
From religious zealots who blindly believed in the Goddess to lax nobles who thought a bit of debauchery was fine as long as they protected the kingdom. The noble factions were split between supporters of the 1st Prince, 2nd Prince, and Princess, with pro-Empire and anti-Empire nobles thrown into the mix.
And that wasn't all. While I wasn't sure about the Empire's exact situation, they likely had their own noble factions divided between supporters of the Imperial Prince, Imperial Princess, pro-Kingdom, and anti-Kingdom groups.
'Hmm, this is beyond what my brain is capable of.'
I never had interest in strategy games like Civilization or those where you become a national leader and immediately nuke Japan. Even if I found them intriguing, I never actually played them.
So it was best to steer clear of what looked like a complicated political situation. Han Se-ah, being a player, would probably present something to the viewers and solve it with the power of collective intelligence.
"...Roland, where are you going?"
"Hm? Oh, just getting some fresh air."
"In an underground city?"
"...I sensed political talk coming."
However, this time I couldn't make a smooth escape. Perhaps my habit of sneaking away and leaving Han Se-ah to deal with troublesome matters had become too frequent.
From the start, I hadn't sat at the table, instead standing guard as if on alert, ready to slip out of the lodgings. But Grace immediately caught on and stopped me.
Being an ordinary lodging, only Lukius, the knight Jake who was sharing stories, Han Se-ah, Katie, and Irene were seated at the table.
I'd given up my seat in a 'ladies first' gesture, but remained standing. No wonder Grace had caught on.
"Pfft, I thought as much."
"...Want to go together?"
Han Se-ah was busy chatting with viewers, Katie was completely absorbed in the story of the mercenary request solved by luck, and Irene's eyes were sparkling, seemingly believing that Lukius's luck was truly a blessing from the Goddess.
So even if we snuck out of the room now, no one would notice right away. Conveniently, a knight bringing refreshments for his superior had just opened the door.
"Hmm? What's the matter?"
"We have some business in the market street. If by chance the hero asks, please tell her that."
As the door opened and tea and desserts were placed on the table, we slipped out quietly. A intermediate-level knight standing in the corridor asked a question but didn't stop us. The news that his young master was working with the hero's party had already spread throughout the family.
Judging by how fast the rumors spread, it seemed a Magic Tower mage might be involved, but that was actually helpful. freewebnøvel.coɱ
"Sneaking out like this feels like ditching chores to play in the mountains. I wonder if Hanna noticed?"
"She probably did. She just couldn't stop us because she was busy talking."
"Heh, Roland. You can be quite shameless at times."
I saw Han Se-ah's camera filming us as we left, but since she didn't stop us, we were free now. We'd just have a nice date and then go get Katie's sword from Old Didi.
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Raei Translations
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Our great escape ended more quickly than expected.
Time flew by as they strolled through the underground city's distinctive buildings, just the two of them.
After all, we were told to come back for the sword in 3 hours, but then we got tangled up with Lukius.
Tracking the noise, meeting Lukius, being guided to the lodgings, and hearing the situation took nearly an hour. Even though I hurriedly escaped when it seemed like the conversation was shifting from personal stories to political matters, we only had about two hours left, or rather, an hour and forty minutes at most.
"...We seemed to have an important conversation, but I can't organize any of it. So let's start by catching Roland."
-Meanwhile, it's so sweet seeing Grace holding hands with Roland as they leave LOL
-Ah LOL Leaving the headache-inducing stuff to the party's chore boy
-Tsk tsk, our teacher is enjoying a date, so the road-paving minion should handle the annoying political issues
-Honestly, I want to secretly watch their date, but I'm really curious about the special enhancement stone
-If we waste time watching the date here, the kids will cry. They'll cry LOL Hurry up and go.
Even though the soft warmth at your fingertips and that mischievous smile that gently curves at the slightest thing makes you want to spend time alone until evening turns to night...
Katie's face on the camera was a bit concerning.
As one viewer pointed out, she was looking around the market street with eyes full of expectation, saying she'd sense my presence. It felt like a terrible thing to do if I just passed by pretending not to notice.
So after quickly finishing the skewers we were sharing, we headed towards the market intersection where Katie was looking around, feigning coincidence. In the busy market street, crowded with merchants and laborers for inter-species trade and nobles seeking refuge, there was no way a dexterity-type swordsman could find us.
"Ah, Roland! Over here, over here!"
"Oh my, everyone's out already?"
Of course, Han Se-ah, who had attached her camera to us, was the first to spot us. As she naturally turned towards us, Katie reacted like a ghost. It seemed Lukius didn't come along, probably wanting to have more conversations with his family members who came looking for him.
Thanks to that, only three beauties - Katie, Irene, and Han Se-ah - were waving their hands in the middle of the market street, drawing everyone's attention.
In other words, except for the stone dwarves who weren't particularly interested in squishy faces, the eyes of people gathered in the underground city for various reasons were all focused on us.
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