Playing the Perfect Fox-Eyed Villain Chapter 71

Episode 71. The Nameless Guest Group (2)

'Black Knight… Sir?'

Why do you call me 'nim' when I've done something so great?

I felt embarrassed at the woman's sudden calmness in the tense atmosphere.

I have never shown myself to these people, or to the public.

Once on a carriage when raiding the Honseok.

Once when attacking Pintel in the blacksmith shop.

Was there… again?

Anyway! The 'Black Knight' with his face covered is unintentionally pursuing mysticism.

It was extremely disconcerting to immediately realize that I was the 'Black Knight'.

'Ah, that's it… .'

That's a legendary story that was passed down by word of mouth. If that's the case, then I can understand.

Because this is the 'real' story of the world that is not revealed in the game.

Even so, since the person playing the 'black knight' is not the original protagonist, this kind of reaction was just unfamiliar.

'Even the identity of that black knight… … .'

Do they know that the Empire's infamous 'Laughing Squad' is actually a place for them?

Well, ignorance is bliss.

“T, really……, uh, the Black Knight…… right? Why is the Black Knight here…….”

I quietly glanced at the face of the woman who was speaking to me with an embarrassed look on her face.

Appearance similar to Linne's, with emerald eyes and silver hair that don't fit in with the shabby cabin.

'I'm sure it was Meyer.'

The name 'Mayer' that the spirit had mentioned earlier came to mind.

'Solvern's illegitimate child… was here?'

Her full name is 'Meyer de Solvern Enania'.

He is the illegitimate child of the Solvern family, one of the four great families of the Adratan Empire, and has the highest authority in 'magic' in a different sense from the Donatien family.

'Seeing how you handle spirits, blood is thicker than water.'

Their family's specialty is 'spirit magic'.

While Donatien uses 'magic' that bends the laws by utilizing the mana spread throughout nature, Solvern uses natural 'magic' by utilizing the 'spirits' that exist in nature.

She is called 'the only one of the five colors' because she can control the spirits of the five attributes, and it is ironic that she, who would later become one of the pillars of the Imperial Magic Tower, is in such a slum.

It's none of my business right now.

"ah……."

Meyer, who had been looking at my face, looked at the place where Baran had fallen with a short sigh.

After that, a hint of hostility bloomed in her emerald eyes.

“By any chance, Black Knight… No! You killed my brother?”

Although he was born a nobleman, Mayer's speech was vulgar and extremely sharp, perhaps because he had not been properly educated.

“Hey, sir! I was asking you! Did you do that…….”

"……no."

I let out a sigh of relief as I heard myself speak informally instead of formally as usual, but something felt awkward.

Because it was something unfamiliar.

“When I got there, the guy had already been beaten by someone.”

“This is hilarious and ridiculous! There’s so much mana scattered around here, where are you going to use it? Hunin told me everything!”

Hunin? Oh, you're talking about spirits.

Judging from the scent of the wind, is it true that you only have a contract with the wind spirit right now?

When his name was mentioned, a faint glow of light crept into Meyer's arms, perhaps out of embarrassment.

“Hey, you fu*king XX! Speak clearly! Cut off his limbs and feed them to the demons…….”

Swish──.

He lifted up the scabbard of the Moon Sword and showed it to Meyer, who was raising his voice.

“Ask your good wind spirit. Does my sword smell like blood?”

Meyer flinched at my confident attitude.

Soon, the spirit whispered to the Hunin in her arms in a small voice, and soon a halo of light appeared.

– That guy's knife doesn't smell like blood. I don't think it's that guy.

It was small but sounded smart.

“Huh, huh? No? Then you should have told me sooner!”

Mayer, who had taken out his anger on his own spirit for no reason, continued speaking while looking at me with a hesitant look.

“Then, Black Knight… why are you here?”

“I’m telling you not to use my name. If you’re a member of the ‘Nameless Guest Group’, you might be able to guess something about it, right?”

Although 'Mayer' is a named character, it is not certain whether he is a member of the 'Nameless Group' at this point.

I know the story and setting of the main characters surrounding the swordsman, but I don't remember much about the other characters…

There are too many!

So, let's talk about leaving Meyer.

“Ugh!”

… … Is it because he’s still young and can’t hide his feelings? How did he become the ‘only one of the five colors’?

“But, looking at the situation now, it seems too late to even issue a warning.”

Meyer turned his gaze to the dead Baran at my cold words.

As tears began to well up in her eyes, she panicked and began rubbing her eyes with her hands to hide the weakness that they represented.

Within, Meyer looked at me with wide eyes and spoke confidently.

“Help me.”

What are you talking about all of a sudden? You're asking for help after cutting off everything?

“Hey! Help me! Help me catch the culprit who killed my brother!”

“……Why should I do that?”

Meyer's powerful words crumbled under my question.

"uh……?"

“I asked why.”

“That, that… you are the hero of the people! The noble martyr, the… shadow of the weak!”

What? A hero of the people?

Noble martyr?

Shadows of the weak?

I wish someone would just extend my hand.

“Ahem, that’s a nickname you guys came up with. I don’t wear this mask to help anyone. It’s purely for my own selfish desires.”

To be more precise, about 10% of it was done to replace the negligent prosecutor, and 90% was for my own safety.

Something like that.

“Just like you. Just like I sold my name for your safety.”

“That, that’s a lie…….”

Looking at Meyer, who couldn't hide his disappointment, I wanted to get out of this complicated situation quickly, but I thought I had to say what I had to say.

Since their leader, Baran, was dead, it seemed like it would be a good idea to tell Meyer, who called him his brother.

“But, there will be no second time. If you use my name again, then…….”

As I opened my mouth to say my final warning, I suddenly felt a noise around the cabin.

'One, two, three… … .'

Three men are approaching stealthily, their footsteps dead, and it is clear that they are trained assassins.

'Are you a member of the anonymous group?'

The possibility of that is more than enough, because where I am is the residence of their leader, Baran.

Maybe he came because he heard Meyer's loud voice.

'hmm?'

However, this idea was soon proven wrong.

A murderous aura that secretly digs into one's flesh.

For someone like me who has <amazing intuition>, it was easy to sense the murderous aura coming from people who weren't even Bishop-level.

and…….

'These are the people who killed Baran.'

“Okay! I’ll find the culprit by myself…….”

Crispy──!

A cold light tore through the tent at the entrance and flew towards Meyer as he spoke.

I had been feeling in danger since before, so I grabbed her hand and pulled her towards me.

It's a good thing I prepared in advance.

“Ugh…….”

Phew!

Meyer looked at me with a dumbfounded expression and a strange scream.

Soon, he saw the dagger stuck next to him and his face turned pale.

“Hey, daggers!? Where did they come from!?”

“You’re lucky. It looks like the guys you were looking for have come back.”

“What I was looking for……?”

– … … It’s the same smell! The smell of Baran’s blood is coming from outside!

What gave me confidence, I think, was the spirit in Meyer's arms.

As I spoke, cautious of the approaching them and glancing at the place where the spirit was, the halo in her arms moved slightly.

“Are you sure?”

Judging from the way the halo of light shook up and down in response to my question, it probably meant yes.

– But… … That person, can he see me?

He has a deep knowledge of 'demons', and can vaguely see their existence, but because he lacks communication, his appearance is not clearly visible.

Still, perhaps because it felt strange to be seen by someone other than his master, Hunin hid in Mayer's arms again.

“I’ll say it again. Help me.”

Meyer, who saw the dagger passing before his eyes, asked me with sharp eyes.

As before, it wasn't a vague request made with the nickname 'Black Knight' on the tip of his tongue.

“My brother Baran… is not my blood relative, but he is someone I can call family. I definitely want to get revenge on him.”

Meyer's tone was truly calm.

“Please, I’ll listen to anything… Huh?”

I passed by that Mayer and pulled out the dagger stuck in the wooden wall, then glanced at the sword.

'The Moon Sword is too conspicuous, so I guess I'll just use this for now.'

Please and all, if I want to get out of here right now, I can't avoid fighting those guys.

Perhaps she took my gesture as a sign that I was helping her, and she thanked me.

“Thank you, Black Knight. As expected! You are just as the rumors say.”

Rumors are like floating clouds, they cannot be caught, and they continue to grow in size.

It was a series of incomprehensible words.

Are you really as the rumors say?

… … Don’t I have to live too?

***

A short dagger, not the long sword you usually use.

I felt awkward, like I was wearing unfamiliar clothes, but that feeling soon went away.

<Natural Test>

Of all of Yulian's talents, this one is considered the most outstanding.

The experience of swinging various weapons at the training camp recently was shining through.

As I pulled away the tattered blind with my hands and left the hut, the men who had thrown the daggers came into view.

'The Dawn Society is… … .'

Looks like that's not the case.

The spirit and atmosphere coming from the body was far from that of the 'Yeongmyeonghoe'.

If it were them, they wouldn't have rushed at me head-on, or thrown daggers from afar.

As expected from a group that worships a demon, they rushed in simply and ignorantly.

But why did you kill Baran?

All that is known so far is that he is at the level of a back alley boss in a slum.

“What, what is it!?”

While I was dealing with Baran and not understanding why he had come back here, I noticed a man with a clearly confused look on his face.

“Is that guy the black knight I heard rumors about…?”

“Those anonymous guys, I thought you were talking nonsense, but it turns out it was true?”

'I think I've seen it somewhere.'

Although it was a familiar face, it didn't seem like a named character who played an important role in <Let's Kill the Demon King Now>.

'Where have I seen that guy?'

After thinking about it for a bit, I started to get the feeling.

‘… … You are one of Gerard’s subordinates.’

Pintel is imprisoned by the military police, and Gerard meets him when he is released.

'That's one of the private soldiers he used to bring with him. Oh! Could this also be 'Yurien's' ability?'

I was briefly impressed by my memory.

So, Baran's death was Gerard's doing?

I don't know.

I guess we can find out from now on.

***

Black Knight.

Although she knew nothing about the man of such rumours, Linne couldn't help but be curious.

Stagnant swordsmanship.

Now that his master, Geomseong, had left for the sacred country, he thought it would be best to learn from someone better than himself in order to further his studies.

– 'The moonlight lingered on the Black Knight's sword!? I wish I could see that sword dance just one more time!'

In that situation, the 'black knight' that Lupina mentioned caught Linne's interest.

'……ha.'

Originally, there was an optimal person from whom one could learn.

'Yurien… … . Ugh.'

Linne tried to learn from him while saving her pride, but Yurian, whom she met in 'Twilight Flame', disappeared like the wind.

'Even though I usually tell you not to pretend to know me, you appear like a ghost.'

Because of that, a needless feeling of resistance arose in her heart.

'I will never go there and seek teachings,' she thought, and walked towards the dirty slums.

'I heard from rumors that the Black Knight appears here often?'

The popularity of the 'Black Knight' is quite high thanks to the tales of the past and the rumors of him beating up unscrupulous nobles.

Among them, he was well-known in the 'slums' where the lower classes gathered, and it is said that the 'Black Knight' is hiding in the slums using that popularity as a shield.

'But is this okay?'

Although her heart was set on finding her way to the slums, she knew what position the 'Black Knight' held in the palace.

A lawless person who is neither a military policeman nor a member of the royal family.

If you get involved for no reason, it could be a headache.

‘… … Would I get caught? I came here to see what kind of person you are and what kind of swordsmanship you use anyway.’

That doesn't mean I was needlessly worried. If there was anything more annoying than that.

‘… … It’s messy.’

It wasn't her first time in a slum, but the filthy conditions were enough to make her frown.

'I was just getting sick of it, and now you're here again.'

When Yulian and I stopped by here, she pretended like nothing happened, but she was naturally not a very squeamish person.

The reason I pretended to be strong back then was because I thought Yurian would catch on to that and make fun of me.

'Well, I guess there's nothing I can do.'

A thirsty person will seek a well. Knowing this well, she turned away from her expression and headed inward again.

And how much time passed?

'uh?'

Suddenly, her eyes caught sight of three men standing in a hut.

They appeared to be well-trained knights, but strangely enough, there was a palpable tension among them.

'What are you doing?'

Although she did not want to draw attention to useless things, Linne hid herself without realizing it when she saw the man coming out of the cabin.

'A mask as black as pitch and the spirit of a knight.'

It looks just like Lupina said.

'That's the black knight.'

However, contrary to what Lupina had said, the appearance of the 'Black Knight' was extremely disappointing.

‘… … It looks hideous?’