Chapter 307
“Hohoho! Oh dear, I’m sorry. You’re such a nice person, and I doubted you for no reason.”
“Ah, it happens.”
It didn’t take long for Yu-hyun to befriend the innkeeper.
When Yu-hyun sincerely offered to help and assisted here and there, and answered politely, her previously stern face softened into a warm smile.
It seemed that her true nature was not bad; rather, her current cheerful demeanor was her original personality.
“My name is Bella. I run this inn, ‘A Piece of Spring.’”
“So you’re Madam Bella. I’m…”
“Oh, it’s fine. You don’t need to tell me your name; everyone already knows it. I’ve heard it many times before. Anyway, it’s awkward to talk while standing. Let’s sit down. Have you eaten?”
“No.”
“You can’t neglect meals, especially at times like this! Come on, sit down.”
“Oh, really, it’s fine…”
“Since it’s come to this, I’ll put in some real effort today. Just wait a moment. I’ll serve you a very delicious meal.”
Bella forcibly sat Yu-hyun at an empty table and immediately went to the kitchen to start cooking.
Even though Yu-hyun wanted to help, Bella gave him a stern look and told him to sit still, so he had no choice but to stay put.
‘More importantly, what will happen to me now?’
The situation involving the artificial body called Kaira was not simple.
There were people who hated and detested this outward appearance, even though it wasn’t Yu-hyun’s true form, and their number was surprisingly large.
At this moment, Yu-hyun was not Kang Yu-hyun, but Kaira.
And Kaira would face significant obstacles trying to accomplish anything here.
‘Should I go back and ask Ringug for more details?’
Who was this man called Hender, what was the state of this place, what exactly was the Curse of the Frozen Land, and was there a solution?
Another concern was a man named Lean.
Seeing how the people around him didn’t dare to move, it seemed he was either the leader of this city or held a position equivalent to that.
The first impression Yu-hyun had when seeing Lean was that he was looking at something incomplete.
‘Lean. That man is undoubtedly strong.’
Though he appeared as if he had lived through everything, Yu-hyun noticed he carried a sword, and the aura he exuded was far from ordinary.
Yet, there was no sense of completion. It felt like looking at an unfinished masterpiece, missing its most crucial element.
‘At times like this, I miss my ability to read books.’
But there was nothing to be done. Ever since arriving here, his unique ability to read books hadn’t activated properly.
It wasn’t lost. The fragment of his book-reading power was still within Yu-hyun.
Although he had passed other fragments to Kang Hye-rim, Kwon Jia, Seo Sumin, and Yoo Young-min, this one was solely his.
He didn’t intend to, nor could he, give it away.
However, he couldn’t use it properly in this world.
‘This power is heavily restricted.’
The system didn’t recognize the fragment. Thus, Yu-hyun’s inability to use his power wasn’t due to system oppression.
Somewhere in this world, there was something suppressing the power of his fragment.
‘It must be because of another fragment.’
There was another fragment in this world. Yu-hyun had heard this vaguely from Oelo, but actually finding it here felt daunting.
It wasn’t just any fragment; the one here seemed to be very large and powerful.
‘But where to find it?’
Upon arriving at Gard, Yu-hyun meticulously scanned his surroundings. However, nothing related to the fragment was noticeable.
‘The fragment somewhere in this world, the various issues related to my artificial body, and unfolding the poetry of this despair-filled survivor city.’
There were numerous things to worry about. There was no room for leisure.
Despite being in an artificial body, Yu-hyun’s essence was that of a Teller. Without proper points, he would disappear, just like the other Tellers who had come before him.
“Here you go! Sorry to keep you waiting. This is Bella’s special soup!”
Bella placed a steaming bowl of soup noisily in front of Yu-hyun.
Having eaten nothing on the way here, Yu-hyun began to devour the soup as if entranced.
Bella sat across from him, watching with satisfaction.
“It’s really delicious.”
Yu-hyun murmured in admiration, placing the empty bowl down.
“Haha. If you want more, just say so. There’s plenty left.”
“No, that’s enough. Eating more would be overeating. Besides, this body wouldn’t handle more.”
Even though he only had one bowl, he felt completely full. It wasn’t the soup that was special but rather the peculiarity of the artificial body itself. Despite feeling hungry, a small amount of food quickly restored his strength.
Bella’s eyes gleamed at his honest words.
“You’re definitely different from the previous ones who came here.”
“Me? How so?”
“Yes. They were vastly different from you. They always had a sour face, disliked the situation, and even acted like they were my superiors, giving orders. They even threw the dishes I served them, saying, ‘Who would eat this stuff?’”
“That’s terrible.”
“Hoho. Indeed, it was.”
Yu-hyun thought it was entirely possible for a Teller to behave that way. Most Tellers were incredibly arrogant, not even considering mingling with the people of the lower realms.
Moreover, this place was literally an exile land.
It wasn’t easy for exiled Tellers to try to escape by currying favor with people from the lower realms.
There would undoubtedly be conflicts.
“So, what happened to the one who threw the dishes?”
“What do you think happened?”
Bella flexed her arm muscles as she asked.
“…Oh, no. I don’t want to know.”
“Hoho. Don’t worry. I only discipline those who are truly disrespectful.”
“I think I understand why people reacted the way they did to me.”
“That’s unfortunate. Not everyone is the same. There are good and honest ones like you, but people don’t realize that.”
“I’m not bothered by it. It’s something unavoidable.”
“Thank you for saying that.”
Through Bella’s words, Yu-hyun could vaguely guess what had happened here in the past.
‘The other Tellers who came here must have had the same artificial body as Kaira. But what could exiled Tellers do here? Those used to being protected by blessings wouldn’t easily adapt to moving with a physical body.’
Moreover, they had to show their storytelling here, but it wasn’t clear where to start.
‘Storytelling means showing a story. But simply surviving here doesn’t qualify as a story. The system requires, and the path to escape this place demands, showing a story worthy of it.’
The first thing that came to Yu-hyun’s mind was the Curse of the Frozen Land.
‘This world turned into a frozen wasteland due to the Curse of the Frozen Land. People lived here before, but the curse and the appearance of the Frost Giants killed most of them, forcing survivors to hide together.’
So, why did the Curse of the Frozen Land happen?
What exactly were the Frost Giants that appeared with the curse?
Yu-hyun believed that the storytelling recognized by the system was related to the Curse of the Frozen Land.
‘Moreover, the system here is strangely in poor condition.’
As if something mixed with the blizzard, the connection with the system was poor. This place wasn’t called a frozen world for nothing. The blizzard here seemed to contain some force that interfered with things.
‘It’s like a widespread jamming. No wonder everyone failed when they were thrown into such a place.’
And the accumulation of those failures led the survivors in Gard to automatically distrust the sight of Kaira.
The situation was dire.
However, Yu-hyun did not despair or back down.
‘Yes. This is worth doing.’
No matter how difficult the task, he vowed to overcome it.
If he was going to collapse here, he wouldn’t have started at all.
A strong light flickered in Yu-hyun’s eyes. There were numerous tasks, but he calmly planned to tackle each one properly.
‘First, I need to know about that man called Lean.’
Given Madam Bella’s friendly demeanor, she seemed likely to answer any questions he had.
Just as Yu-hyun was about to ask, a commotion erupted outside. Bella’s expression also crumpled.
“What’s going on all of a sudden?”
“It looks like the Emperor’s gang is here.”
“The Emperor’s gang?”
“Since you’re going to know anyway, it’s better to see it for yourself. Follow me.”
Bella led Yu-hyun outside the inn. The source of the commotion wasn’t far.
Upon arrival, Yu-hyun saw two groups facing off against each other.
On one side stood the blond young man who had guided Yu-hyun to the inn, Lean, still looking exhausted.
And on the other side.
‘Big.’
No, he wasn’t actually a giant. He seemed about 190 cm tall, not particularly large compared to others Yu-hyun had seen.
But he muttered “big” instinctively because of the man’s overwhelming presence.
A silver-haired man, arms crossed, glared at Lean. His lips twisted in amusement, his unkempt silver hair growing wildly like a lion’s mane, and his rough beard.
Two factions were split around these two men.
“Ugh, those damned Emperor’s gang.”
“Emperor?”
“He’s not really an emperor anymore. When did the empire fall? And yet, they still talk about the emperor.”
Yu-hyun’s gaze naturally turned to the man called the Emperor.
At the same time,
the man, who had been watching Lean, shifted his gaze to Yu-hyun.
‘Did he see me?’
Yu-hyun felt the man’s eyes focus on him among the crowd. The man then grinned.
It was a wild smile. Far from being dignified, it felt more like a bandit leader than an emperor.
Then, the Emperor spoke.
“Hey, Lean. This is quite upsetting, you know?”
“What do you mean?”
“If another Kaira has returned, you should have informed us.”
“….”
The moment he mentioned Kaira, Lean’s expression turned icy.
“Frechen! Watch your mouth!”
Someone behind Lean shouted angrily. Frechen, the Emperor, snorted. He acted as if the person wasn’t even worth talking to.
Frechen’s eyes had been fixed on Lean from the beginning.
“Lean. No, even if you say otherwise, you must have some lingering attachment, right?”
“….”
“Otherwise, you wouldn’t have brought that lady here.”
With Frechen’s words, Lean’s gaze shifted to Yu-hyun in the crowd.
At the same time, everyone’s eyes turned to Yu-hyun.
‘Oh, great.’
Yu-hyun had just wanted to observe from a distance, but Frechen’s words had made that impossible.
People near Yu-hyun stepped back, forming a path around him.
Yu-hyun sighed and walked forward.
Lean’s gaze shifted from Yu-hyun back to Frechen.
Frechen looked at Yu-hyun and spoke loudly, as if to show off.
“Oh, Kaira. It’s been a while. The last time was three years ago, right? Or would you not understand if I said that? You’re just a stranger wearing Kaira’s mask, after all.”
At his words, the crowd’s hostility turned toward Yu-hyun. Though expected, it felt unpleasant to hear such things to his face.
More importantly.
‘Frechen. This man isn’t just provoking me. He’s using me to provoke Lean.’
Despite Frechen’s words, Lean remained still. He neither defended Yu-hyun nor agreed with Frechen. He simply maintained his calm, cold expression.
Seeing no reaction, Frechen seemed intrigued.
“Hmm? You’re quieter than I thought.”
Frechen expected that his provocation would cause Kaira to react before Lean.
Those who appeared as Kaira were always arrogant and behaved as if they were superior to the Gardians.
They couldn’t tolerate such minor insults and would typically explode in anger.
But this time, Kaira remained calm.
‘Is this his nature? No, he’s accepting the situation.’
This Kaira was distinctly different from the previous ones.
Frechen’s eyes filled with curiosity. He stepped forward and stood in front of Yu-hyun.
“Your Majesty.”
“Enough.”
Frechen dismissed his soldiers’ attempts to stop him with a word and scrutinized Yu-hyun from head to toe.
“Hmm. So you look the same.”
Yet, the personality was different. Was he a more docile one? Or was he controlling his anger?
Regardless, it was clear this Kaira was different from those before.
Frechen’s examination became more blatant. He deliberately thrust his face close to Yu-hyun’s, as if provoking him to react.
“That bastard!”
Bella was about to intervene angrily, but Yu-hyun stopped her first.
Surprised that Yu-hyun restrained her, the expressions of the onlookers subtly changed.
Yu-hyun smiled at Frechen and asked.
“So, are you done with your inspection?”
“What? Haha! Are you really asking if I’m done inspecting? Seriously?”
Frechen laughed, clutching his stomach, as if he couldn’t believe what he heard.
Different.
This guy was definitely different from the other Kairas!
“You’re amusing.”
Frechen said, grabbing Yu-hyun’s chin.
“Alright. How about you become my woman?”
The blunt suggestion caused an angry outcry from Lean’s group, but Frechen ignored them, waiting only for Yu-hyun’s response.
Yu-hyun smiled brightly.
His beautiful smile instantly changed the atmosphere, even captivating Frechen.
“I’m a man, you bastard!”
But the words that followed were the opposite.
Yu-hyun clenched his fist and punched Frechen in the jaw.