72 – 14 – Error of Reunion – 2

The exploration of the ruins ended in a short period due to the rampage of all kinds of variables.

Although there was much to reflect on and much to think about differently regarding future plans.

Nevertheless, the party members who originally belonged to the Faction of Light somehow returned safely, and the descendants of the werewolves who yearned for freedom survived and came out into the world of light.

Of course, Laura, who was bitten by a vampire, and Gin, who was born with the bloodline of a werewolf, would have to overcome many hardships to be fully accepted into this world.

“Is that really so? Then, let’s live together for the time being.”

As Gi-jun declared without much thought, the movements of Unica, the lord’s daughter and butler who was pouring tea and handing it to Laura, and Laura, who was receiving the teacup, froze completely.

On the other hand, Gin, who was blowing on and drinking his own share of the tea, did not seem too surprised since he had already agreed to live with Gi-jun, and shouted as he clenched his fists.

“Just leave the housework to me! Despite how I look, I took charge of the cleaning and laundry at our house!”

“What about cooking?”

“I can cook too, but the food made by Jun-nim is delicious. Hehe.”

Seeing Gin, who seemed to have regained at least a bit of his initial innocence from when they first met, Gi-jun couldn’t help but chuckle.

Then, after glancing at Unica and Laura, who were still frozen, he gestured with his eyes toward In, who was sipping his tea as if nothing had happened, and asked,

“Do you know why they are acting like this?”

“I think I do. I won’t say it, though, as my life would be in danger if I did.”

“Just what ability of mine, which even I don’t know about, is putting you in danger…?”

Gi-jun let out a deep sigh and tapped the table, forcing Unica and Laura to resume their movements.

“If it is a burden, I will not strongly urge you, but my position here in Turis is quite good. If you say you live with me, you won’t get strange looks from people. If even In lives with us, it will look even more natural since it will give off the feeling of sharing lodging with party members. Do you dislike it, Laura?”

“It—It’s not that I dislike it! I definitely don’t dislike it, but I’m just so overwhelmed!”

Only then did Laura, released from her frozen state, shout in a trembling voice.

Unica, who had also begun to move, was flustered and tried to dissuade him.

“Jun-nim, weren’t you uncomfortable staying with many people? If you really want to be considerate of your party members, I will prepare rooms for them to stay in at the lord’s mansion. No one will dare to cast strange looks at them!”

“Ah—about me saying it’s uncomfortable.”

Gi-jun pondered that part for a moment.

In fact, if he ended up living with Laura, In, and Gin, he would have to give up hiding his identity from them.

However, since they were people who each harbored pain due to their own race, he was confident that even if Gi-jun’s origin was human, they would accept it without a word—so he actually had not worried about that part.

“…Jun-nim?”

The problem was Unica.

To reveal his identity to the members of a party that had just been formed, while hiding the truth only from Unica, a talented person who would assist him with all her heart in the future, was somewhat troubling to his conscience.

Meanwhile, Unica read Gi-jun’s inner conflict, realized roughly what he was thinking, and stepped back with a slightly stiffened expression.

“You must have something to discuss with your party members. Then, I shall take my leave for today. Since you said you wanted to go to the blacksmith workshop tomorrow, I will visit you by 11:00 AM—”

“No, Unica. Stay.”

“Yes.”

He had inadvertently called her by name.

However, she had probably just been waiting for him to say those words.

Seeing her return to her original position immediately, as if she had no intention of leaving in the first place, Gi-jun let out an absurd chuckle and asked Unica,

“Can you keep a secret from the lord?”

“To be honest, I’m not that close with the lord. I will maintain absolute secrecy.”

“I thought about telling the lord too, but there’s no need to go that far—well, anyway, alright.”

As Gi-jun reached for the mask covering his face with those words, the members swallowed hard in unison and focused their gaze on him.

What was this atmosphere, as if sound effects should be added?

―Drumroll…

‘No, it’s fine. That’s enough, Lucy.’

Gi-jun, finding the escalating atmosphere unnecessarily burdensome, immediately took off the mask.

His skin, which had been dyed red, returned to that of a human, and his glowing eyes naturally returned to normal as well.

His hair, which had turned red, also returned to black and settled down—standing there was Gi-jun, who outwardly looked like nothing but an ordinary human.

‘If Light Humans were a race that showed some obvious outward signs, there wouldn’t have been any need to disguise myself.’

―Fufu, I think that might be due to the Contractor’s will, though.

Gi-jun placed the mask face down on the table and smiled awkwardly at the people who were staring at him silently.

“Actually, I am human. To be precise, I am a Rare-grade Light Human, but the fact that my foundation is human remains unchanged.”

There was a widespread perception in Leta that evolving the human race was pointless.

Since it was difficult for dramatic physical, magical, or spiritual changes to occur due to their racial characteristics, there was naturally a false belief that their growth would be mediocre.

If they were to actually experience how incredible the light mana that currently comprised Gi-jun was, such thoughts would vanish without a trace.

“I heard from the merchant with whom I have an exclusive contract that if the fact that I am human were to be found out, things would get troublesome in many ways. Around that time, I happened to obtain an item that was good for disguising my race, so I began the disguise. The reason I refused to stay at the lord’s mansion was also because I was worried that my identity might be exposed.”

“Ju—Jun-nim…”

“That’s all. If you are disappointed that I am human—I am sorry.”

“Haa.”

For some reason, Laura fainted again.

In, as if he had expected it, caught her, laid her on the sofa, and nodded silently toward Gi-jun.

“I had a feeling you were not a simple Flame Human. You were loved by too great a light.”

“Ah, that’s right. While I’m at it, let me introduce her. Lucy?”

―Hello! Starting today, I’ll be eating at the same table too!

Lucy, as if she had been waiting, climbed onto the table and revealed her presence.

To the dumbfounded people, Gi-jun briefly explained Lucy’s identity and his own abilities.

“Spirit Arts… That is even more surprising than the fact that you are not a Flame Human. In that case, the child named ‘Ur,’ whom we knew as a Red Flame Beast, must also be a spirit.”

“Correct. Lucy is a Spirit of Light, and Ur is a Spirit of Fire.”

―Kiiii!

Having finished his explanation, Gi-jun looked back at the group with an awkward smile.

Laura was passed out, In merely nodded since he had already suspected it, and Gin, who did not recognize the difference between a Flame Human and a human in the first place, was clapping his hands, wondering if now was the time to clap.

In addition, Unica was pressing her hand against her forehead with an extremely tired expression.

“Unica?! I—I’m sorry, I had no intention of insulting you—”

“No, the one who did wrong is rather me. Saying such things without even knowing that Jun-nim was of human origin.”

Unica, who shut her eyes tight and opened them, politely gathered her hands in front of her abdomen and bowed deeply to Gi-jun.

“I am sorry, Jun-nim. I always believed myself to be fair, but in the end, I was a fool swayed by prejudice. Even though someone like Jun-nim clearly exists, I babbled nonsense as if I knew everything about the human race. I have no way to apologize…”

“People naturally judge based on their own experiences. I have no intention of claiming that all humans are right either. …I’ve also suffered at the hands of humans.”

“I have absolutely no intention of disparaging or looking down on you just because you are a human, so please know that…!”

“Of course I know. Thank you.”

Gi-jun comforted her with a bitter smile.

Seeing that he was truly not angry, Unica felt much more relieved, but… she still wore a troubled expression.

“Is there perhaps still some problem left?”

“No, it is fine. No matter how fast my father is, he wouldn’t be this…”

Shaking her head with a serious face, Unica muttered something in a small voice.

In fact, he heard everything she said, but since he felt that addressing it would only lead to more troublesome matters, Gi-jun decided to pretend he didn’t know.

“Alright, then I have said all I wanted to say. So, there are no objections to staying here together, right?”

“Laura will never object. However, Jun.”

In spoke in a serious voice.

“It would be best for me to leave the party. Therefore, of course, I will not stay here either.”

“What?”

Gi-jun was greatly taken aback by the completely unexpected words.

Not only had In held a good impression of Gi-jun from the start, but they had also communicated well inside the ruins.

He had even heard a bit about In’s complex family history, and having learned that In was not only good at handling a staff but could also wield Ishtar’s holy power, Gi-jun had not doubted that In would be a great help when dealing with vampires in the future…!

“In, if there was something lacking in me, please tell me. I can’t say I can fix it immediately, but I’ll try.”

“No, it is I who am lacking.”

In shook his head firmly and spoke.

“I accomplished very little in this expedition. I did not help you defeat the enemy, nor did I properly protect Laura. Rather, Laura ended up getting bitten by the enemy because of me. Honestly—I keenly felt my own weakness.”

“What…! That was because the enemy was too strong. It’s not that you were lacking. Besides, if we are tracing the cause, it is my fault for leaving the enemy alone even though I knew about them—”

“Laura now has the strength to protect herself. Moreover, her power as a priest of Ishtar remains intact.”

Gi-jun tried desperately to dissuade him with a serious face, but In seemed to have already made a firm decision.

“To put it a bit bluntly, Laura, whose position overlaps with mine, is in a superior state compared to me. It means that my taking up a spot in the party is a nuisance.”

“Positions like Ishtar’s priest can overlap as much as they want! It will be of enormous help when dealing with vampires!”

“Thank you very much for holding me in such high regard, but…”

In looked at Gi-jun and spoke with a serious expression.

“If you truly intend to infiltrate the kingdom of vampires.”

He had already heard along with the other party members that Laura had the ability to track Carmilla.

So, it was a situation where they had even talked about launching a pre-emptive strike from their side before the vampires’ raid could occur.

He had thought In would also participate in that surprise attack, but In had different thoughts.

“It would be better to take someone better than me. Since the party has a knight, a hunter, and a priest, it would be good to look for a magician.”

“No… listen.”

“If a suitable person does not appear by then, I will willingly participate. However, that probably won’t be the case. Since your reputation will grow larger and larger.”

In, who let out a small chuckle and stood up, walked over and extended one of his hands to Gi-jun.

“Would you shake my hand once to commemorate this?”

“Hah… of course, as much as you want.”

Realizing there was no way to change his mind, Gi-jun let out a low sigh and clasped hands with him.

The half-orc firmly gripped Gi-jun’s hand with his giant, lid-like hand and smiled as he shook it.

“It was an honor to be with a hero.”

“A talent like you won’t be easy to find. Don’t forget your promise to join us when the time comes.”

“Of course.”

Nodding, In whispered to him in a slightly lower voice.

“Please take good care of my precious sister.”

“Leave it to me. I will protect her without fail.”

“No, I do not think there is a need to only protect her like that. Please respect her wishes.”

“…Huh?”

“It is nothing. Farewell then.”

Leaving behind those riddling words, In departed without any lingering regrets.

After that, Laura woke up, and he assigned rooms for her and Gin, sent home Unica, who strangely did not want to go back, and it was only when it was time to go to sleep that Gi-jun realized one fact—it was that Laura was no longer a simple priest.

“Indeed, since Laura can now fight on the front lines, did he mean I should train her to develop the ability to fight directly instead of just trying to protect her!”

―Ah… yes, I think that is probably what he meant too, Contractor!

And the next day.

After finishing their meal at the same table with four people and two spirits, including Unica, who had visited strangely early, he went to the blacksmith workshop as he had discussed with Unica yesterday.

The Meister of the workshop, Glittertoss, greeted Gi-jun himself, but contrary to expectations of being guided to a private space, he invited him into an open space that anyone entering the blacksmith workshop could see.

“Glittertoss? I have some quite important items.”

“Yeah, show me those important items.”

Feeling the gazes of outsiders piercing him mercilessly, Gi-jun spoke in a flustered tone, but Glittertoss only urged him on, replying half-heartedly.

Was the dwarf race this lacking in sensitivity? Gi-jun was flustered, but Unica nodded calmly.

“Jun-nim, now is the time when showing off is needed. Please do as the Meister says.”

“Showing off…?”

“Two people died. The expedition also ended excessively fast.”

At Unica’s immediate words, Gi-jun also caught on.

He had only been focusing on the details of the expedition, so he had not yet grasped how their expedition would be evaluated…

“From the outside, they might think we failed the expedition and fled.”

“Exactly. The Meister has naturally set the stage so you can prove in public that Jun-nim’s expedition was not a failure.”

Gi-jun felt regret and admiration at the same time.

‘Dwarves… they were the ultimate kings of sensitivity?!’

However, as if he couldn’t care less about what Gi-jun was thinking, Glittertoss only urged him to show what he had obtained from the expedition quickly.

“Alright… then first, it’s the werewolf claws.”

“Werewolves? You fought strange things again. Pulling out their claws was a very good move, but…”

Checking what Gi-jun was putting out while feeling dumbfounded, Glittertoss blinked a few times, then put on a monocle, which was presumed to have a detailed item appraisal function, and inspected them carefully.

“I was skeptical, but it’s really Unique?”

Then, taking off the monocle in disbelief, he snorted as he looked at Gi-jun, who wore a calm expression.

“Of course, there’s no way you went and only beat up easy werewolves.”

“I didn’t bring out the Rare-grade and below because there were too many. Will you need them?”

“Are you seriously asking that? Bring them all out as long as they are Uncommon-grade or higher. I’ll have to empty the vault today.”

The dwarf immediately dealt a large-scale transaction open-heartedly.

By that time, the spectators stealing glances at them also began to whisper that the expedition did not seem to be a failure.

“Do you happen to need werewolf hearts too?”

“Is it Unique-grade?”

“Yes.”

“It’s the best catalyst. I will buy all of those from Rare-grade and above.”

In fact, the prey caught by companions other than Gi-jun had not been slaughtered while alive, so their quality was slightly lower, and in the case of the last werewolf they faced, Quinodon, no loot could be obtained because Gin dealt with him directly.

Nevertheless, after selling off all the loot obtained from the werewolves, even after recovering the 2,500 gold coins spent previously to purchase full plate armor here, an additional 2,000 gold coins or so accumulated.

Of course, he would have to share a certain portion with the party members, but even considering that, it was a massive amount.

“Werewolves… are expensive.”

“Do you even need to ask? If the grade is high, there are even people who search for human corpses. Let alone werewolves, what is there to say?”

Gi-jun inwardly applauded himself for not showing any reaction even after hearing those words, and also applauded Unica, who was ignoring it and pretending she hadn’t heard a thing.

“Next is…”

It was the turn of the Moon-Welcoming Stone.

Naturally, the dwarf flipped out once again.

“This is a new material! I’m going crazy, seriously!”

When the dwarf clapped his hands without a word, a waiting employee hurriedly approached.

“Bring our vault over! Right now!”

“No, calm down. I can’t sell all of this.”

“I know, but I was just expressing my desire for you to sell as much as possible!”

The Moon-Welcoming Stone was an ore containing the power of the moon.

It was also a treasure that strengthened vampires and werewolves, but that meant it was also effective for Laura and Gin, who had become permanent members of Gi-jun’s party.

Thus, if possible, Gi-jun intended to customize new equipment for them or reinforce their current gear using the Moon-Welcoming Stones.

In addition, he also wanted to keep a few as samples…

Fortunately, thanks to mining a large amount of Moon-Welcoming Stones in the mine where he went to search for silver infused with moonlight, Glittertoss was able to purchase enough Moon-Welcoming Stones to be satisfied.

With that, an additional 5,000 gold coins accumulated.

“Is it really alright?”

“Want to know what I think? Today is the day this dwarf hits the jackpot.”

To Gi-jun, who was worried that he might have received too generous a price, Glittertoss replied with a serious expression.

Indeed, Unica also wore a look that seemed to say, ‘We could have gotten a bit more,’ so it seemed he did not need to worry about Glittertoss going bankrupt.

“There’s more, right?”

Glittertoss said with a grin.

“You wouldn’t have brought only things to sell.”

“Sharp. From now on, they are not for sale. I brought things I’d like to request for crafting.”

“I’ve been waiting. In any case, as long as I get to work with them, it’s fine by me!”

At those words, as if he had been waiting, Gi-jun took out ‘Silver Moon Ore,’ the silver infused with moonlight.

It was a chunk of ore from which purely about 2 kilograms could be extracted even after removing impurities.

“……”

The dwarf was lost for words and indulged in looking at it.

“Divide it into three. I want to coat a sword with one, a gun with another, and add the last one to the shield I will make in the future.”

At his words, the ears of Laura and Gin, who had accompanied him to the blacksmith workshop, perked up.

The two stared at him with deeply touched expressions, but since he was used to it by now, he ignored them.

“Such… such a treasure…”

Glittertoss had a grotesque look on his face as he rubbed his cheek against the Silver Moon Ore, seemingly having no intention of conversing properly anymore.

Gi-jun poked him with a reluctant expression.

“Hey, there’s still more left.”

“Whatever is left, there’s no way it’s grander than this… This ‘Silver Moon Ore’ is a product of miracles that will never appear in the mortal world again… The God of Minerals has surely blessed me…!”

“Is that so? Is it grander than a divine beast?”

“Hold on.”

Glittertoss, regaining his senses in an instant, sat up straight and spoke.

“Say that again, VIP. Keep in mind that depending on your words, your customer rating could be adjusted to VVIP.”

That day, the Glitter Workshop was literally turned upside down.

The rumor that a Legendary-grade divine beast had appeared and that the Flame Human Jun had hunted it spread throughout Turis in an instant, and it diffused at a terrifying speed that exceeded Gi-jun’s expectations—soon, there was no one in all of Gratia who did not know of him.

Gi-jun became a VVIP-grade customer of the Glitter Workshop.