Chapter 261 – Encounter (2)

As far as Alon remembered, the face of Nang-won, the leader of the curse users he saw in Psychodelia, was nothing short of disastrous.

To what extent.

In the community, people evaluated Nang-won as having a ‘face that invites malice.’

Alon also agreed with that evaluation.

To the point where he wondered if it was the developer’s intention to show ‘we can go even this far.’

Because it was a visual that evoked disgust.

Therefore, Alon wore an expression of being unable to understand at all while looking at the man in front of him.

‘Nang-won… this guy?’

He recognized his identity because the voice was very similar.

But even at this moment when he guessed that he was Nang-won, Alon found it hard to easily accept that fact.

The disparity between Nang-won’s face in Psychodelia and the face in front of him was absurdly large.

However, since staring blankly continuously was also something he couldn’t do to Nang-won, Alon came to his senses.

“It’s been a long time. Have you been doing well?”

“Yes, Brother… thanks to you, I’ve been continuing to live…!!”

“And you over there—”

“It’s Nang-yeon, Lord Alon.”

“…You’ve grown a lot.”

“Of course, how much long time has passed? It’s a relief that the Marquis is also doing well.”

Nang-won, who pushed his face close(?) somewhat burdensomely.

And Nang-yeon, who had certainly become much more mature than in the past.

After Alon shared light greetings with the siblings, he threw a question that occurred to him anew.

“By the way, your eyes… what happened?”

Nang-won’s eyes should have normally been inverse eyes.

However, Nang-won currently had the eyes of an ordinary person.

“Ah, I hid my appearance for a moment. After all, we are a bit unusual now.”

Nang-won smiled and then took off the ring on his finger together with his sister.

With that, Nang-won’s face began to change.

Only then did Alon realize that Nang-won had the appearance of a young man because of the artifact, and nodded his head, but.

That was only for a moment.

Alon had no choice but to open his eyes even wider.

Nang-won’s face, which returned to its original appearance after taking off the ring.

Except for his eyes turning black, there was no particular difference.

No, beyond there being no particular difference—

…He became even more handsome.

‘Isn’t he a different person at the level where his genes were revolutionized?’

His appearance was so different that he wondered if the Nang-won he saw in Psychodelia was a different character.

While Alon was staring blankly at him.

“That’s a total cheat, really…”

Evan, who was also looking at Nang-won, mumbled the words that had also occurred to one side of Alon’s mind.

“…Brother?”

Alon, who came to his senses at the following call, cleared his throat and spoke.

“I was just thinking that you’ve grown well.”

“Is, is that so?”

Nang-won, who scratched his head as if a bit embarrassed.

No matter how he looked at it, it was too different.

He was flustered by the mismatch between memory and reality.

Alon sent them to the refreshment room first to talk a bit more.

“Let’s go too.”

After finishing one simple task.

At the moment Alon was about to go to the refreshment room with Evan following them.

“…Marquis.”

“What is it?”

Evan called Alon to a stop in a very serious voice.

And.

“By any chance, aren’t you close with that person who visited earlier?”

Unlike his usual self, he asked while being very embarrassed.

While expressing doubt, Alon nodded his head.

“Yes, she’s one of the relationships from the past I mentioned last time.”

“Th, then, could you perhaps ask just one thing for me?”

“What is it?”

“Tha, whether she happens to have a lover—ahem—you know what I mean, right?”

Evan, who turned his face red for no reason.

Exactly what is he talking about—

“Ah.”

Alon, who understood the meaning of Evan’s words, placed his hand on Evan’s shoulder.

“Evan…”

“Yes.”

“Did you have that kind of taste?”

“…Yes?”

“Nang-won is a man.”

At that, Evan wore a dazed expression for a moment.

Soon he let out a hollow laugh as if it were absurd.

“Marquis, surely you didn’t think I said that while looking at him?”

“Is it not?”

“It’s not! I wasn’t talking about the man, but the lady behind him!”

“…If it’s the lady, do you mean Nang-yeon?”

“Yes!”

At Evan’s aggrieved(?) expression, Alon nodded his head for a moment.

“…Well, I’ll ask.”

“Thank you.”

He patted Evan, who was rarely excited, and they headed toward the refreshment room together.

####

The conversation with Nang-won continued for a quite long time.

How Nang-won had lived for the past 700 years.

He could also know the race of the curse users, which he hadn’t encountered in Psychodelia.

“So most of the curse users are half-demons who survived at that time?”

“That’s right, Brother. Of course, there are some who aren’t, but most are half-demons.”

Alon nodded his head.

Basically, most of the curse users in Psychodelia were expressed as being completely wrapped up or as black fog.

So the fact that most of them were half-demons was something he didn’t know.

“You’ve worked hard all this time.”

“No, it would have been impossible if it were just me alone. It’s all thanks to you, Brother.”

“…Thanks to me?”

“Yes, because you presented the path to me, Brother.”

At Nang-won’s eyes full of admiration, Alon recalled the last words he had said to him.

‘Live rightly, was it?’

The story he had left behind just in case, knowing that Nang-won would later become the King of Curses, the leader of one of the four great powers whose personality wasn’t that good.

“If it weren’t for you, Brother… I don’t know how I would be living now.”

Nang-won, who gave all the credit to Alon.

“I just presented it, in the end, it’s your credit that you gathered all the half-demons and found a way to live.”

Alon, who felt a bit embarrassed by that, spoke politely, but.

“No, it’s correct that it’s thanks to you, Brother.”

“I think so too.”

Nang-won and Nang-yeon spoke firmly.

“You might not think so greatly of it, Lord Alon. But for us, who had nothing, those words were truly precious.”

Nang-yeon spoke with a smile.

Alon scratched his head for no reason.

Warmth bloomed in one corner of his heart, and at the same time, he even felt a strange sense of pride.

In the end, Nang-won did create the group called curse users.

But just as Alon had worried, he didn’t have a disastrous appearance, nor was he crazy for power.

‘Looking at it like this, the curse users will be very different from the curse users of the original work I knew.’

While Alon was lost in positive impressions.

“Ah, and I have something additional to tell you.”

“…What is it?”

Nang-won brought out two new topics.

One was about the person selling Abyssal Beings in the black market.

The other was.

“…Blue eyes?”

“Yes.”

It was exactly the story about the man with blue eyes.

“Actually, I’ve known that you were in this era since about 300 years ago, Marquis.”

“…300 years?”

“Yes. But even so, the reason I didn’t visit you, Marquis, was precisely because of those blue eyes.”

Nang-won frowned slightly as if recalling that time.

“He gave me a warning. That I shouldn’t visit you now, Brother.”

“You shouldn’t visit me?”

“Yes, he clearly said so.”

“The reason?”

“He didn’t tell me. However—he just disappeared after saying that the relationship might vanish.”

“So you didn’t visit?”

When Nang-won nodded, Nang-yeon, who was next to him, continued the words.

“In fact, we both tried to visit, but ‘that’ which the person with blue eyes showed us made us hesitate.”

“…What did he show you?”

When Nang-yeon looked at her younger brother at that question.

Nang-won told him his estimation.

“I think it was, memories.”

“Memories?”

“Yes, memories of the world being destroyed… that kind of memory.”

Alon’s curiosity about the blue eyes was slowly filling to the top of his head.

‘Exactly what is that guy?’

Alon gathered information about him roughly.

The one who took the ring Alon was wearing.

And handed it over to Magrina—

An existence that has been alive for over 700 years.

‘…Collecting it like this, I know even less.’

Alon, who was pondering, asked just in case, but.

The answer that came back from Nang-won was the same as during Magrina’s time.

Exactly what is his identity.

“As expected, it seems you also don’t know about those blue eyes, Brother.”

“Yes. However, it is a bit bothersome.”

“…First of all, I have also been looking for information as much as possible since then, but I will search for it more wholeheartedly.”

“I would be grateful if you did.”

When he nodded, this time Nang-yeon opened her mouth.

“Ah, and even though we couldn’t visit you, we’ve been helping you continuously, Lord Alon.”

“…Me?”

“Yes, with this.”

Nang-yeon slowly pulled out a document from her bosom.

A document with a black background.

Alon, who didn’t understand for a moment, soon realized that it was a document distributed by the Information Guild.

When he looked at Nang-yeon with questioning eyes,

“The answer is correct, Lord Alon.”

She smiled—and.

“I am the leader of the Information Guild—no, ‘Darkness at the End of the Night.’”

She revealed the truth.

“I was always finding and helping with what you were curious about as much as possible, Lord Alon.”

“…I did think the speed was fast, but—”

“Right? In addition to that, I continued to collect and deliver surrounding rumors as well.”

All for free—mumbled Nang-yeon.

Looking at her calm smile, Alon was amazed.

As far as he knew, the identity of the leader of the Information Guild ‘Darkness at the End of the Night’ had not been revealed until the end.

‘No, in the case of the original work, the leader of Darkness at the End of the Night would have been a different person. In the first place, the reason Nang-won went astray in the original work was because his sister died.’

Then Alon tilted his head anew at one word.

“Nang-yeon.”

“Yes?”

“I’m asking just in case, did you say ‘for free’?”

“Yes, it’s for free.”

Nang-yeon confirmed once again.

At that, Alon gained a new question.

Because every time he utilized the Information Guild, he had been steadily handing over money to Evan.

To see exactly what happened, Alon turned his gaze to the side.

“…”

He saw Evan, who was unnaturally twisting his neck.

“…Evan.”

“…Yes.”

“…Is it true?”

He didn’t ask at length.

At that, Evan looked around and.

“No, Marquis, it’s not like that—I was saving it all up step by step. Surely I wouldn’t have embezzled all of it?”

He immediately began to make excuses with all his might, but.

[Ho—It seems that money was the source when you were spending money recklessly while drinking and eating near the territory last time.]

“You snake-head bastard—!”

Evan screamed at the testimony(?) of Basilliora that came out not long after.

“…We’ll talk about this later.”

“…I am sorry.”

Evan cleanly confessed his crime.

First, the embezzlement case was settled.

“Ah, come to think of it, I had a gift to give you, but I haven’t been able to give it until now.”

“…A gift?”

“Yes! Nang-won brought all sorts of gifts for you, Marquis.”

Nang-won’s gift time began.

####

Somewhere in the east of the Kingdom of Ashtalon.

Immediately after dealing with the aberrant gate that was open near the territory.

Elivan’s party made a campsite in the forest as it became night.

Yan, the mage belonging to that party,

“Elivan?”

“Hmm?”

“What are you doing here?”

Discovered Elivan lighting a fire in one corner of the campsite.

“Ah, I’m just doing something for a moment.”

Elivan replied lightly.

When Yan turned her gaze at that, something like a black cloth was being engulfed in flames and burning there.

“That, what is it?”

“Something I used to use in the past.”

“…You used it, but you’re burning it?”

At that question, Elivan wore an unknown smile and.

Soon stood up and looked at Yan and—

“Yes, because it’s useless now.”

Replied cheerfully.

“Well then, let’s go back to the campsite now.”

“Ah, yes.”

Elivan moved his steps toward the campsite with Yan.

Then he suddenly turned around and looked at the black cloth that was burning vigorously.

…With eyes that were more blue than ever.