SWNOVELS Chapter 49
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“Hair… removal?”
In response to the continued question, Ian nodded his head.
“It’s dangerous outside. It’s not that being a boy makes it safe, but at least it’s less risky than being a girl. Besides, you’re too noticeable right now. So, there’s a need to mess things up a bit.”
While in 21st century South Korea, she could have lived a life shining as a facial genius.
In this world overrun by thieves, bandits, corrupt individuals, monsters, and different races, her appearance was perfect for attracting all kinds of unwanted attention, beyond what one could imagine.
Of course, as long as she was with Ian, it would probably be fine. Unexpected emergencies could happen at any time, so there was no harm in being prepared. Based on his experience so far, handling variables meant anticipating and adapting, not trying to control.
Of course, Lucia’s perspective might differ.
“…”
Just by looking at her slightly parted lips, he could tell. Ian felt a strange sense of enjoyment.
She had managed to surprise these grown-ups.
Maeve seemed to completely overlook Lucia’s inner thoughts and nodded solemnly.
“You have a keen insight. Lucia, you understand why I’m cautious with words in public?”
“…Yes.”
“Ian’s suggestion is in the same context. It would be wise to follow it.”
“…”
Lucia’s lips sealed shut once more.
Ian observed her face for a moment and eventually spoke.
“Get the scissors, Philip.”
***
Ippotranslation
***
Snip, snip.
The sound of scissors continued without hesitation. Lucia, sitting at the table, closed her eyes at some point.
It wasn’t just because of the hair that was falling onto her face. Her hands rested on her thighs, clutching at the edge of her pants tightly.
Even without shedding tears, she could appear mature, but she couldn’t completely hide her inner turmoil as she usually did.
Ian suddenly spoke.
“What’s done is done. Accept it. Think of it as being reborn as a new you. Actually, it’s not entirely untrue.”
“…!”
Lucia’s eyelids trembled for a moment. His words resonated with something within her. Philip, looking at Ian with a somewhat skeptical expression, was met with an unwavering gaze. Surprisingly, Lucia’s expression began to relax little by little.
“Enough. Open your eyes.”
As Ian said this while ruffling her hair, her clenched fist had relaxed.
Lucia looked around at the scattered hair. As she raised her hand to touch her shortened hair.
“It’s a bit disheveled, but it looks okay. My lady.”
Philip said.
Ian, observing Lucia’s reaction intently, nodded his head.
“Yeah, I see it clearly now.”
Extending his hand, he lifted Lucia’s chin slightly.
“It wasn’t the hair that was the issue. The real issue was your face.”
“…?”
Lucia looked up at Ian. Earlier, her expression was one of holding back tears, but now, a strange sense of anticipation seemed to fill her.
Philip, of course, and even Maeve nodded in agreement.
“It seems the figure is excessively beautiful.”
“Our family has also received many compliments about our appearances. The royal family as well. It’s only natural for Lucia to be exquisite.”
Ian also nodded in agreement.
It wasn’t that he disagreed. Lucia, being called a pretty boy, wasn’t an exaggeration.
Given the nature of this world, it would be overwhelming for the crazies’ eyes.
“Philip, go to the kitchen and bring some ashes.”
“Ashes…?”
“Do you want me to roll the young lady in the dirt?”
“Oh, I understand.”
Philip quickly ran out.
Lucia, seeming curious about her newly shortened hair, continued to touch it repeatedly.
Adaptation is quick, huh? Ian couldn’t help but smile inwardly.
Well, having grown up experiencing all sorts of unfortunate events, something like this was nothing.
Soon, Philip returned holding a bucket of ashes.
As Ian dipped his hands in and out of the ashes, he grabbed Lucia’s neck.
“Close your eyes and hold your breath.”
Lucia followed his instructions. Ian’s touch swept over every nook and cranny of her face. He gathered her hair, thoroughly applied ashes up to her neck and ears. It looked like some kind of religious ritual, and everyone, except Ian, felt a strange solemnity.
Ian removed his hand after a while.
“That’s enough. Open your eyes.”
“…!”
Lucia blinked and her shoulders lifted involuntarily. Ian’s reverent gaze met hers. Her face was reflected in his eyes.
Her short, tousled hair.
Her delicate face.
The surprise was momentary.
“Wow…”
Lucia couldn’t help but sigh with admiration. As she looked at herself in the mirror, a smile tugged at her lips as if she was having fun.
“I guess I should come up with a pseudonym. A name like a boy’s.”
Ian added nonchalantly. Maeve nodded.
“That’s a good idea. A pseudonym, you say…”
“Lucifer.”
Lucia suddenly blurted out. All eyes were on her, and she continued casually.
“It means morning star in an ancient language. It’s shortened to Luci, and it’s a boy’s name.”
“…”
While in my original world, it has a completely different meaning. Ian mused inwardly and shrugged it off.[ Luficer means the same thing in the normal world!]
“Sure. Might as well create a last name too.”
“Even a last name?”
“Just in case. Hmm…”
Ian’s gaze shifted to the bucket.
“How about naming it Ash?”
“Lucifer Ash….”
Lucia mumbled and nodded her head.
“I like it.”
“Then, from now on, that’s your name. Keep using it, familiarize it in your mouth and ears. So you can recognize it instantly in any situation.”
Ian’s added words shifted back to Philip after a moment.
“Prepare to leave, Philip.”
“…?”
***
Ippotranslation
***
With a disgruntled look on his face, Philip passed by the guards and approached Ian from behind. Nonchalantly, he closed the door as if to say, when did this happen? He had just played a role.
This was to provide more evidence of a problem between Ian and Maeve. However, that wasn’t his main purpose.
“You’ve wiped everything away thoroughly.”
Walking through the garden, Philip commented.
Ian didn’t respond and continued walking.
The mansion was now almost a ruin. It used to be Regis Brandt’s home. All the family members had either been executed or imprisoned, and the mansion’s assets had been seized or burned.
The guards stationed at the entrance were there to be cautious of any remaining remnants. Of course, Ian was an exception.
“But there must be a hidden sanctuary somewhere.”
“Search for it if you have time to talk about it. Or just wait quietly here.”
“It might be my last chance to help Sir. I can’t afford to miss it. To be honest, I’m curious. What’s there?”
He’s grown a lot. The guy who used to shiver at the mere mention of tainted magic. Ian surveyed the mansion. There was nothing left, so the search was surprisingly easy. As he entered a room that might have once been used as a study, he had a hunch that there was a hidden space here.
His ability to find secret spaces belonging to the Fallen had been improving.
“….Oh my.”
Philip, searching every corner of the study, suddenly turned to Ian.
“I think I’ve finally found it. My lord.”
Saying that, he pressed a brick behind a bookshelf.
Clang. The sound of a lock being released.
As the bookshelf moved aside, a narrow staircase leading downstairs was revealed.
“You finally did it.”
Amused, Ian descended the stairs.
A narrow, dim underground chamber. Illuminating the revealed stone room with a torch, Philip shrugged.
“It’s concise. Unlike what I expected.”
Regis’ secret chamber was simpler than those of other Corrupted. There were no symbols or ancient languages commonly seen on the walls or ceiling. There were no records or journals either. All that was present was an altar without any adornments and a small wooden box atop it.
“There must be a reason for it.”
Ian stood before the altar. He couldn’t guess what was inside the box. Catching his breath, he opened the box.
“….”
His eyes, peering into the box, turned as dark as night.
Observing this with bated breath, Philip approached him when nothing seemed to be happening.
“What’s the matter?”
Philip’s brow furrowed as he peered into the box, but then he suddenly stepped back.
It was a solid lump of something, seemingly dried and hardened.
Philip’s eyes began to twitch.
He did so because he heard a sound as if someone were whispering in his ear. It was accompanied by a shuddering breath and incomprehensible languages.
“….”
Philip’s pupils began to dilate absentmindedly. The scene around the lump started to blur, and the black residue around it became clearer. Just as Philip’s fingertips began to tremble—
“…Ha.”
Ian, who had turned to look at him, burst into laughter.
Seems like it’s a method to mesmerize people.
Observing Philip for a moment, as if studying him, Ian raised his fist.
Whack-!
“Ow?!”
The impact on his face made Philip scream as he fell to the ground.
Ian, gripping his jaw, shouted with a look as if he had just woken up.
“I saved you.”
“What is it?. …Oh, don’t tell me.”
Philip, who blinked his eyes belatedly, alternated between Ian and the box.
“Could it be… I was bewitched by that? What’s inside that?”
“Yeah. Don’t you remember?”
“Um, I do remember looking at it… But…”
Philip frowned, creasing his forehead. His mind was tingling, much like after a night of heavy drinking, leaving a blank space in his memory.
Faintly skimming the edge of a deep abyss… Almost being consumed by darkness.
Only now did Philip’s lower jaw begin to tremble.
His trembling fingers managed to pick up the fallen torch as he looked up at Ian.
“Is… Is Sir okay?”
“….No.”
Ian’s gaze returned to the piece inside the box.
Blurred afterimages and whispers.
“It’s trying to devour my mind too.”
It is just that Ian is mentally strong enough not to be affected by it.
Philip, who was staring blankly at Ian’s calm face, asked before long.
“What is that?”
“This is something from beyond.”
“If it’s from beyond… That means….”
“It is what you call Legacy of the Abyss or Dark Hallows. I don’t know how he got it, but the Marquis had it right.”
Philip drew in a breath.
Dark Hallow. Legacy of the Abyss. Idol of the Void…. The names are different, but the meaning is the same.
An object that should not exist in this world, on the opposite side of the sacred object.
“Then stay away from it. Unless you want to be possessed again.”
Only then did Philip, who hurriedly retreat to the basement stairs, spit out without even looking at the wooden box.
“We need to burn it right now.”
Ian snorted.
“It is not something that will disappear just by burning it. To get rid of this, you’ll have to at least throw it into the light.”
The reason he said this was because he was able to confirm the information of the Dark Hallows.
The Hunting dog’s Tail Talisman.
Perhaps it was part of the long-legged one he sent back to the void at the end.
I told Regis that he wasn’t really an old god.
It was only a relative meaning, but there was no doubt that he was also a transcendent being.
To the extent that he left a Dark Hallow containing his power in the material world.
“So… .”
Ian reached out for the talisman.
Blurry figures and whispers became louder and more chaotic.
Just looking at it was enough to initiate the first stage.
Instant death, the curse of madness, and fanaticism. This charm had restrictive conditions that made it more lethal the lower the mental strength of the user.
Of course, that wasn’t a problem for him. The illusions and hallucinations couldn’t even leave a scratch on his mind.
“No way. Oh, this is not good…!”
Philip, who belatedly sensed something unusual, turned his head. However, Ian was already gripping the talisman.
“…!”
Ian’s dilated pupils turned pitch-black. Illusions and hallucinations flooded his eyes and ears. Contaminated magic surged.
Although Philip was taken aback, Ian seemed unaffected, for he had passed through this second gate before.
In the midst of chaos, a quest acceptance window suddenly popped up in his mind
Apostle of the Red Abyss.
A smug smile appeared on the corners of Ian’s lips. They wanted him now, too.
Of course, it was an offer he didn’t need to think twice about.
‘Bring it on.’
Ian summoned his Chaos Power.
Instantly, the situation changed. Contaminated magic surged uncontrollably. Ian, however, pushed Chaos Power into the talisman. Imprinting. This was the process required to obtain the Dark Hallow.
The angry breath of the Hunting dog, the distorted echoes of the entity beyond the Abyss, blurred before his eyes. But that was it.
Ian’s Chaos Power soaked into the talisman.
Soon, the Hunting dog, which had abandoned a fragment of itself, roared and vanished beyond the Abyss.
The connection between the charm and the entity severed.
‘…Obtaining corrupted-specific items is no easy task.’
As his senses gradually returned, Ian opened his eyes. Looking at the frozen Philip, he shook the charm in his hand.
“I’ll have to take this to the Temple of Furnace myself.”
Philip inhaled sharply and realized he was unharmed. He blinked his eyes rapidly.
“Is it sealed…?”
“Well, it’s similar.”
“How so?”
“Just… trust me.”
Ian looked down at the talisman. The power contained within it now belonged solely to him. It boosted his strength, agility, and mental power. His senses became more acute, and it even provided additional resistance against fear and panic. Most importantly, it allowed him to recover Chaos Power.
The value of a Chaos Power recovery rate of 1 didn’t seem particularly high, but considering he wasn’t recovering any Chaos Power at all before, he was thankful for it.
‘…I hope I can obtain more things like this in the future.’
Holding the charm close, Ian contemplated. While obtaining other Dark Hallows might come with its own risks, it was certainly worth the gamble.
“The important thing is not the method, Philip. It’s the fact that Argellan has completely escaped the clutches of corruption. At least for the time being.”
“….I hope there won’t be many of such ominous items around.”
Philip, scratching his head in confusion, was soon taken by admiration.
“I’m a faithful believer as well, but I’ve never heard of such things. It almost makes me wonder if Sir isn’t the incarnation of Lou Sola. If not, then how could you have achieved something like this…?”
Even knowing that I could have just become an Apostle of the Abyss, can I say these things with such a straight face?
With an inscrutable expression, Ian’s lips remained emotionless like a lie.
“Don’t send such creepy looks, turn your body around. You need some rest since you’ve been through a lot.”
***
Ippotranslation
***
The next day.
The sky, tinged with indigo, heralded the approaching dusk.
Clip-clop, clip-clop.
A horse-drawn carriage emerged from the mansion, led by two horses.
Traveling leisurely down the main road, the carriage headed towards the gate.
“At this hour… what…!”
The eyes of two guards widened as they watched the carriage. They recognized the woman inside.
An Apostle of Tyr’En, a hero of the bygone era.
“Step aside.”
Phillip, the coachman, spoke.
The guards exchanged awkward glances as one of them opened his mouth.
“Forgive us for saying, but could you inform us of your destination at this hour? Due to recent incidents, His Majesty has issued orders that we must be aware of all visitors and their purposes.”
“It’s a matter of interpretation.”
A chill in his tone, Phillip stared down the guards.
“It’s just that Sir doesn’t seem to be in good spirits today. I know you have to carry out your duties. So, instead of needless chatter—”
“Don’t be angry, Phillip. They’re just doing their jobs. In fact, they deserve praise for it. I just want to take a walk and get some fresh air on the outskirts.”
Maeve’s calm voice intervened, and the expressions of the guards loosened. They exchanged glances and quickly stepped aside.contemporary romance
“Be careful, Sir. There could still be lurking demons.”
“Thanks for your concern. My people are capable of handling them.”
As the carriage passed through the gate. The next gate was easier.
Since she had come out of the inner sanctuary, she had believed that she had already completed the inspection.
The carriage pulled out of Agellan.
“It’s as Sir Ian said. If I behave meanly and Sir scolds me, no one would really suspect anything.”
“The good knight bad servant strategy. There is something to learn until the end.”
Soon the carriage stopped.
It was in front of a forked road, thick with trees and grass.
“We have arrived everyone. Come out.”
Philip turned around and said.
There was a wriggling movement under Maeve’s chair and pedestal.
“I apologize. My legs seem to have fallen asleep while sitting under the blanket.”
Starting with Miguel who crawled out from the wooly depths, Ian and Lucia leaned their heads out one by one.
Translator; ippo
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