Chapter 76: Murmuring
“Did he say the penalty points were 800?”
Shiron recalled the words Latera had casually mentioned.
Penalty points, prestige, karma. Though the names varied, their meanings eventually converged.
[As the prestige increases, the probability of encountering apostles during field movement also increases. Accordingly, players can enjoy the game in various ways by organically utilizing the affinity with scenarios and NPCs.]
Unlike the traditional way of selecting characters or game difficulty, ‘Reincarnation of the Sword Saint’ pursued a somewhat non-intuitive approach in these aspects.
At this point, having known the game’s creator, Shiron naturally found himself nodding in agreement.
“It could be considered good from the current standpoint of being possessed.”
Although it was good to intentionally accumulate penalty points to avoid apostle attacks, looking at it now, ten years after the original, it was indeed an ambiguous system.
Building connections? It was essentially the same as increasing affinity. For that reason, he couldn’t actively build connections from a young age. If affinity increased, he would meet an apostle, and with this frail body, death was inevitable.
However, a place where powerful men from the continent gathered made Shiron’s mouth water.
“Can I bear this?”
At first, he hesitated even to approach them.
He worried that the apostles hidden in the fog might awaken.
“No, how can I bear this.”
Shiron decided to make a choice and focus.
There were few adults who took the words of a 12-year-old seriously. At least, that was what Shiron thought. How many people would take a liking to a child who rudely interrupted and babbled on?
“Still, there might be a few who, if not completely fond, would at least give me a nod.”
While the young people were in the midst of fighting, the older gentlemen enjoyed a drinking session with snacks that Shiron had brought out. As Shiron had resolved himself and things were going well, a smile spread across his face.
“Back when the rebels were active in the frontier area. Oh! We were surrounded, and our troop was on the brink of annihilation. That’s what I’m talking about.”
“And then? What happened?”
“That’s when I challenged General Argon to a one-on-one duel. In other words, I exhibited my resourcefulness!”
Dexter Dras, the leader of the Red Lion Knights, spoke with an exaggerated gesture as his face turned slightly red.
“And then that bastard didn’t just retreat but held his ground. Just as I thought!”
“Indeed, Mr. Dexter!”
“But, can we talk about something else? Like, there’s been a vein of gold found in a mine somewhere…”
“Oh, of course, we must discuss that. In the northwestern province of the Empire’s Hamir territory, there’s an uncharted magical land. There, an undiscovered gold vein exists. It’s quite dangerous, but with Mr. Dexter, the demons there will be defeated easily.”
“Are you sure about the information?”
Shiron had been sent to this world and had played the game “Reincarnation of the Sword Saint” extensively, so he knew the best farming spots in each area.
“Of course. Who do you think told me this story? My uncle… Ah, I shouldn’t have said that.”
“Oh, of course!”
“Let’s change the topic. I’ll pour you another drink. Please, go on.”
Shiron, who was actively participating in the conversation, checked his empty glass and poured himself another drink. Dexter’s smile reached his ears as Shiron nonchalantly refilled his drink without any prompt.
“You see, for knights, maintaining face is important. It’s quite a loss of dignity to refuse a duel when the other person is facing death. Anyway, if Argon also had his balls split in two, would he have not appeared for the duel and chickened out?”
Dexter downed his drink in one gulp and widened his eyes. He was in a good mood, and Shiron’s timely responses added to the enjoyment. Soon, he started swinging his hand in the air.
“In the duel, whack! I cut off that bastard’s head with just five strikes…! That’s what happened.”
“Wow! You are a true man, sir! So magnificent.”
‘This old man is totally drunk.’
Shiron clapped his hands exaggeratedly and grinned.
“It’s quite common. In the Central Continent, there’s a culture of challenging opponents to a duel to overcome numerical disadvantage by putting the fate of the troop on the line.”
The Western Border Defense Force Commander, Igor Kairon, looked at the ecstatic Dexter and joined the conversation.
“But, if you keep relying on trickery rather than proper strategies, you won’t last long. You should never have put yourself in a situation where you’re cut off in the first place.”
“Indeed!”
“If you find yourself in a position of leading people, you should let the subordinates do the physical work. The leader should choose the path and… take responsibility for it.”
Igor looked at his drink with slightly unfocused eyes as he held it in his hand.
“I don’t want you to think I’m a coward who can’t appear for a duel… If I were to command over ten thousand subordinates, I would want to use such resourcefulness, but couldn’t…”
“Oh, no. There’s no misunderstanding. How could that be?”
“This old man has really lost his senses.”
Shiron threw the empty bottle behind him and pulled out a new one. This was the ninety-second bottle. If you thought about it, around 75 bottles of whiskey came from one oak barrel. You might think it was a pity that he’d already used up the contents of one oak barrel. But according to Encia’s words, there were thousands of oak barrels, including those still maturing, sleeping in the basement of Dawn Castle. It was still a long way off from running dry.
“But kid, what was your name again?”
“Ah, you really don’t need to remember. I am Shiron Prient, Mr. Dexter.”
“Mr.! Come on, just call me uncle!”
“Heok… Is that really okay?”
“Just uncle! I like you, Shiron. Don’t worry about it!”
Dexter patted Shiron’s back and laughed heartily.
“My son is just about your age. But that brat has hit puberty and doesn’t even react when his dad asks him to go hunting together.”
“Heo… Is that so?”
Dexter sighed deeply, filled with the spirit of alcohol. Shiron looked at him with compassionate eyes.
“But maybe time will solve it, right? With such a wonderful father who has won every duel, how could he not recognize you? It’s just a phase that will pass.”
“Kkahaht! Well, I might say so myself, but our son is a bit of a stubborn one, isn’t he?”
Dexter rubbed his strawberry-like nose and grinned. But opposite to him, Shiron’s face was somewhat dark.
“…Still, I envy your son.”
“Hm?”
Dexter tilted his head at the sudden change in Shiron’s expression. Reacting to this, Shiron shed tears as he was reminded of sad thoughts.
“I… don’t have parents to go hunting with.”
As he lowered his head a bit, the once lively place cooled down a bit, and everyone’s gaze concentrated on Shiron.
“…Did both your parents pass away?”
“Oh, no. That’s not it…”
“Then.”
Shiron touched his slightly stuffy nose and opened his mouth.
“My father is very busy. My mother has passed away… Kkheung. Now that I think about it, I don’t even remember my father’s face.”
“… I’m sorry to hear that.”
Shiron took out a handkerchief from his pocket and tapped his eyes. Then, as if to shake off the slightly gloomy air, he began to speak cheerfully.
“Still, I don’t feel uncomfortable or anything. Uncle Hugo took us in and raised us in place of our busy father. So, I’m not sad. It’s just that I regret not being able to go out and have experiences with my father.”
Then, suddenly, someone grabbed Shiron’s arm. Shiron lifted his head to check the person’s face.
“Kid, you can call me sister.”
“What?”
A woman with silver hair tied back elegantly. What was her name? Versailles? She didn’t appear in the game, but he recalled that she was a high-ranking noble of a prominent military family.
“Heh. How many years older are you that you want me to call you sister?”
Dexter made a flabbergasted expression with his reddened face.
“Kid, do you know how old she is? Her youngest child could be your father’s age.”
“…What does that mean? She looks like a sister in my eyes.”
“Hey, what’s with talking about age here?”
“Margaret Versailles. Have some conscience. You might accidentally end up in front of Knight Hugo.”
Igor looked at Margaret and Shiron alternately with half-closed eyes.
“Be careful, kid. If you’re not careful, you might get eaten by that monster.”
“…Igor, be quiet.”
Margaret scowled and glared at Igor. However, Igor didn’t care. Due to his drunkenness, he couldn’t differentiate between what should and shouldn’t be said, so his mouth kept moving.
“If you look at the family tree of the Versailles family, elves often appear. They might look somewhat young on the outside, but inside, they are filled with hundreds of years of danjeon energy. She’s not a sister; at best, she’s a grandmother.”
“Igor Kairon. Do you want me to start talking about the time you wet your pants during your first knight mission here?”
“Go ahead. Forgetting my age and acting childish in front of a kid is less embarrassing than that.”
“You son of a…!”
Margaret jumped up and put her hand on the sword at her waist. Igor didn’t care and pulled up the mana from his danjeon.
“No, sister. Please don’t. And you too, Igor sir.”contemporary romance
Shiron quickly stood up and held Margaret’s hand. Margaret blushed a little as she looked down at his moist eyes.
Margaret coughed and tried to change the topic as she felt a bit embarrassed.
“By the way, who knew Knight Hugo had such a side.”
“Exactly. He never goes out for drinks and always goes out to kill monsters. I thought he was a golem wearing human skin…”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
A man muttered from the corner.
“Before I knew Knight Hugo, who would have thought that a family from a hero’s story really existed?”
‘What the hell is this nonsense?’
Shiron quickly turned his head towards where the conversation was coming from.
done.co