Playing the Perfect Fox-Eyed Villain Chapter 58

Episode 58. The Black Knight (1)

Lupina Orlando.

She is said to be the granddaughter of 'Luger Orland', the owner of the most prestigious blacksmith shop in the system, 'Twilight Flame'. She is Luger's successor and was so popular and capable that she was mentioned as the next owner of the blacksmith shop.

Even though she was a woman, it would be safe to say that there was no employee who disliked her because she never shied away from difficult tasks and always had a smile on her face.

“Lupina, as I said earlier, I’ll leave today’s deadline up to you.”

“Yes, Grandfather. You said you were going to buy the things needed to repair the Woljanggeom?”

"okay."

Lupina smiled bashfully as she looked at Luger, who was looking at her with his hat pulled down.

“Don’t worry. I can do the finishing touches on my own now.”

“I wish that were true.”

Luger continued speaking with a blunt expression, turned around, and left the building. Lupina, who was watching him, started to move quickly to finish up the 'Twilight Flame' after all the employees had left work.

“Well, everyone organized it well.”

Although it is called a deadline, it is not something grandiose. It is simply a procedure to check whether other blacksmiths have organized their tools well, whether there are any places where fires have been left on, and other miscellaneous things.

I heard that in other blacksmith shops, the lower-ranking workers do this work, but in the 'Twilight Flame' blacksmith shop, it was a tradition that the manager had to finish the work.

“The magic lights are all off, and I have to place my orders by tomorrow! Great!”

After looking around the workshop, Lupina smiled with satisfaction.

"huh?"

Her eyes caught sight of a room lit up. It was Luger's office.

'I remember Grandpa's room being the first to be turned off?'

I wonder if he finished his work?

There was something strange about it, but I ignored it and walked towards Luger's office.

Suddenly──!

Lupina opened the door and went inside.

“Grandpa, there’s already something to do…….”

She opened her mouth to speak, then stopped, looked embarrassed, and turned her gaze inside the office.

"……who?"

There were four people in the room whose faces could not be seen because their hoods were pulled over them.

Although she had no knowledge of martial arts, she could tell that the spirit flowing from their bodies was not ordinary.

It's dark and gloomy.

“……Strange, originally the only one left at this time should be Luger.”

The man with the strongest sinister aura opened his mouth in a questionable voice.

Lupina gulped at the cool sensation that somehow passed over her skin.

“I’m sorry, I should have checked properly…….”

“No, that’s okay. By the way, is that woman Ruger’s granddaughter?”

“I think so.”

What the hell are you talking about, trespassing in someone else's workplace?

Lupina wanted to make a big fuss, but now seemed like it wasn't the time to make bold statements.

“What do you want to do?”

“Now that it’s come to this, I have no choice but to change the plan.”

I locked eyes with the man with the strongest aura.

“Catch it.”

The moment she heard those words, Lupina immediately turned around and ran away.

***

It wasn't that difficult to enter the 'Twilight Flame' building under the cover of darkness.

No, to be exact, I got used to this kind of thing after just one experience.

‘… … I never thought I’d do something like this again.’

On the one hand, I thought there was no other way. I was a little annoyed that I had to clean up after him now that the 'Black Knight' no longer existed.

'Still, it seems like it's recreating a scene from a game.'

There was also quite a bit of cat-like excitement.

Isn't secretly blocking the work of the 'Dawn Society' very similar to what the 'Black Knight' in the game 'Let's Kill the Demon King Now' did?

'calm down.'

I pushed the thrill that was slowly creeping up to one side of my chest, closed my eyes, and began to concentrate.

‘Mana Detection’, which I used the most while living here.

To use it.

'Five people?'

Through 'Mana Detection', I was able to roughly figure out how many people were currently inside the 'Twilight Flame' building.

'One is Pintel, the other is Luger.'

As it is getting late, the blacksmiths seem to have all left work, leaving Luger behind.

'But why are we apart?'

Suddenly feeling something strange, I made the aura inside my body thinner and thinner and started scattering it around the building.

By using 'Mana Detection' a little more carefully, I was able to clearly see where the people inside the building were.

'One is upstairs, and four are on the first floor where I am.'

The strange thing is that there are four people on the same floor as me. It felt like the other three were chasing one of them.

'Is Luger being chased?'

The four Aurors sensed through 'Mana Sensing' were moving in real time. And at a fairly fast speed.

Considering that Luger is an old man, it is impossible for him to run away at this speed.

‘… … Where should we go first?’

After a moment of deliberation, I decided to head towards where I could sense the presence of the four aurors.

Before I could take a step, I suddenly caught sight of myself reflected in the glass.

'Oh, looking at it again, it looks like X.'

I walked inside the building, my tongue sticking out at the sight of the mask made of 'Sombra'.

***

She ran out the back door, so fast that I didn't think I'd ever run this fast in my life.

“Gasp, ugh……!”

My breath hitched and the sound of my pounding heart lingered in my ears.

'What the…? What the heck?'

By any chance, a robber?

No, probably not. I didn't look closely, but the thieves' intention didn't seem to be theft.

“Gyaaaah!”

In the meantime, Lupina's body shook as she misstepped. She fell forward with a sharp pain and tried to quickly regain her posture, but her left leg did not have any strength.

Meanwhile, in the dark hallway where all the magic lights were turned off, I felt a sound coming closer.

'Oh, I have to run away.'

Before she knew it, the figures of the villains were close enough to be discerned with her own eyes. Ignoring the excruciating pain, Lupina barely managed to get up and run.

But something blocked her path, so she slowly raised her head.

"omg!"

What caught her eye was a man wearing a mask so hideous that it seemed like it might appear in her dreams.

A dark hallway, an ugly sight, and being chased by someone.

All of this combined caused an overwhelming fear to engulf Lupina's entire body.

“Ugh…… S, save me…….”

She forced her lips, which would not open properly, to speak.

But before she could finish speaking, the masked man passed by her indifferently as she trembled in fear.

“……Who are you?”

A voice was heard from inside the hallway.

These are the voices of the thugs who had been chasing Lupina from the office. Judging from the way they showed hostility towards the masked man, they did not seem to be comrades.

“What a annoying mask.”

This time, Lupina agreed. The sight of the man with his face hidden by a mask was far from the stereotypical image.

“……It seems like he’s not an ordinary person.”

“There’s no way a guy wearing such a trashy mask is a normal person.”

Shudder.

It's like trash.

At those words, the masked man's body shook for a moment. He also felt an inexplicable anger.

But that was only for a moment, and the masked man became quiet again. Like a calm lake,

But if you look closely, it's so deep that it almost sinks.

'… … Who the hell are you?'

At that moment, the three strange men who had been following Lupina kicked the ground and rushed at the masked man. Lupina was startled by the speed at which they were chasing her, which was much faster than the speed at which they had been chasing her.

Meanwhile, the masked man made Lupina step back with a calm gesture.

As she took a step back, a shadow flowed out from the masked man's body.

'Magic?'

Riding on the dark night air, the 'shadow' that flowed out from the man rushed at the villains.

A masked man who subdued one person by swinging 'it' like a whip, then rushed forward.

There was a reason for his confidence in jumping in despite the numerical disadvantage.

'and……!'

He drew his sword so quickly that Luffina couldn't even notice, dodging the sword swings of the villain and cutting down another one.

“Kuaaaah!”

“Hey, this kid!”

His swordsmanship was restrained, but there was a beautiful elegance to it.

A creepy mask, beautiful swordsmanship.

The contrast caught Lupina's attention like a work of art.

Finally, the last remaining man rushed forward in fear once more. However, before the sword could even touch him, a ‘shadow’ once again emerged from the man’s body, and it grabbed the villain by the neck.

“Ugh, ugh……!”

His face couldn't be seen because he was wearing a hood, but the groans that could be heard repeatedly clearly showed his situation.

Soon after, the assailant's hand was slapped away, and the shadow returned to the masked man.

‘… … Wow, that’s amazing.’

The masked man, who had sorted out the situation, stood there dumbfounded and began to examine his hands, but Lupina could not figure out why.

'ah.'

Suddenly, an idea occurred to Lupina.

'It's like watching an old story told by Grandpa Ruger.'

A very long time ago.

It is said that in imperial cities where public security was poor, there were demons who sucked the blood of the people and exploited them.

The madness of these demons reached its peak, the misery of the people was indescribable, and the incompetent dynasty was just watching the situation unfold.

A nobleman wearing a mask appeared.

The nobleman who suddenly appeared defeated the demons, and the people's trust began to turn to him as he took care of the affairs of the dynasty.

The dynasty, fearing the nobleman, placed a bounty on his head.

Yet it is said that he killed demons for the sake of his people.

Without any help from anyone, all by myself.

'I don't think so.'

Lupina preferred these absurd stories to half-assed ones like the prince charming on a white horse.

Of course, she also knows in her head that the masked man in front of her is not the main character of the story that has been passed down from generation to generation.

However, it seems like I am left alone in this world.

His lonely appearance, basking in the pouring moonlight, became the end point of a 'story' that began long ago on the tip of the tongue.

The name of that 'story' is.

“That, the black knight…?”

Lupina said with a slightly trembling voice.

Then, the masked man who had not moved at all slowly raised his head and turned his gaze towards her.

***

I was in awe of Sombra's power, and turned my head away from Lupina's absurd words.

'What are you saying?'

When I heard Lupina muttering with her pupils dilated as if she had lost her mind, I turned my gaze towards her in bewilderment.

Black knight?

Who is it that makes me suffer like this right now… … .

'hmm?'

Wait a minute! You just said Black Knight.

Does that mean that the 'Black Knight' is already active, although I don't know about it?

“I heard from my grandfather. In the past, there was a nobleman called the Black Knight…….”

The past? A noble person? I guess it's an illusion.

Well, if the 'Black Knight' really existed, he wouldn't have stood by and watched the Dawn Society secure the soul stone.

'by the way.'

I looked at Lupina's face.

It is certain that she was attacked by members of the Dawn Society a little while ago.

'Shouldn't it have been Luger instead of Luffy?'

The main character of 'Twilight Flame', Luger, has a strong personality. That's why he must be the one who stays in the blacksmith shop until this late to clean up.

Why is it that the one who remains until this time is not Luger's granddaughter, Lupina?

“Right? Yes, you are the main character of the story, the ‘Black Knight.’”

I was lost in thought, but when I heard Lupina's question, I turned my gaze back to her.

I had to deny what she said, but I couldn't open my mouth because of my character trait of "speaking politely."

⇒ Acquired a new character trait, “Black Knight”.

Then! A UI popped out of nowhere.

When I read the words written on it, I felt my pupils dilate in embarrassment.

‘… … What is this?’

Character, "Black Knight"

Why are you here?