TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 74
The day after the first snow fell.
A heavy snowfall began outside the window.
The snow that fell in a day covered the streets in white, and the mountain range, which was full of vibrant autumn leaves, was turning white like ice.
“Uuuuuuuun!!”
The Young Lady opened the window and stretched out her hand to touch the snow.
The Young Lady, who was wrapped in a blanket and nagging, was trying to come into contact with the snow, ignoring the Butler’s warning that she would catch a cold.
“Ricardo, it’s snowing a lot outside.”
The Young Lady said, looking out the window with bright, shining eyes.
She glanced at me once, then poked the snow on the windowsill with her finger and put it in her mouth.
“Eww… it’s tasteless.”
The Young Lady was making a whiny complaint, saying that the gift from nature was tasteless.
“If you eat it, you’ll get sick.”
“I know.”
“But why are you eating it?”
“Because it looks delicious.”
It was a reason that made sense, and I nodded in agreement, looking at the snow falling outside.
The snow was falling in Hamel.
The first snow I saw yesterday was beautiful, but today it looked like a catastrophe. Just like when I was in training, the first snow was beautiful, but the next day it was a disaster, and the Butler was gloomy at the thought of clearing the snow.
‘When will it be cleared?’
The Butler was being lazy.
The Young Lady opened the window wide and was enjoying the winter. She touched the snow blowing in the wind with her hand and looked at the snow melting in her palm with a mischievous smile.
“Oh…”
-Whooooosh!
“Eh…”
When the cold wind blew strongly, the Young Lady’s face was hit by a snowstorm.
“Heh… it’s cold…”
The Young Lady, who was covered in cold snow, froze in place.
“Eh… brrr… it’s cold.”
The Young Lady’s favorability towards the snow was decreasing in real-time.
I closed the open window and scolded the Young Lady, saying, “I told you not to open the window because you’ll catch a cold.”
“The wind doesn’t like me.”
“It’s because you’re too pretty, that’s why.”
“Mmm…”
The Young Lady nodded, holding the blanket tightly.
It was a day when I didn’t feel like working.
I wanted to lie in bed and do nothing, but my poor wallet was pushing me to work.
I had spent a lot of money yesterday.
And the Young Lady’s birthday was approaching.
I overcame my laziness and put on the coat that was hanging on the chair.
The coat was made of black wool, and it was a gift from the Young Lady three years ago, a memorable one.
It was also the most expensive clothing I had.
When I put on the coat, the Young Lady looked at me with a question mark on her head.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to find treasure.”
“Treasure hunt? I want to join too.”
“But it’s outside.”
“…”
The Young Lady, who was excited about the treasure hunt, shivered at the thought of going outside in the cold wind.
“If I go out, I’ll freeze to death.”
The Young Lady gave up on the treasure hunt.
The Young Lady suggested staying at home and walking the path of an unemployed person together.
It was a tempting suggestion, but I had to decline because the treasure might escape if I didn’t find it.
“I have something important to do. I’ll become an enthusiastic unemployed person starting tomorrow.”
“I’m not unemployed, I’m a guardian of the house.”
The Young Lady was angry at me for ignoring her hard work as a guardian.
The Young Lady offered me Gomtangi, saying, “Take this, it’ll be warm.”
“This…”
-Gooooom?
Gomtangi, who had become a hand warmer from a pet, looked at the Young Lady with a confused expression and licked her hand.
“Eh… it’s ticklish.”
-Gooooom.
“Stay still, Ricardo needs to take it.”
-Gooooom…
Gomtangi, like the Young Lady, didn’t want to be taken outside.
“It’s okay, it’s a task that will be over soon, so it’s not needed.”
I returned Gomtangi to the Young Lady’s arms and put Tirbing at my waist.
Before leaving the room.
I looked back at the Young Lady, who was holding Gomtangi.
“Is there anything you’d like to eat?”
“Something warm…”
“Then I’ll buy some green tea.”
“That’s not for humans.”
Teasing the Young Lady was the most fun thing in the world.
The Young Lady was waving her hand, cheering me on to buy something delicious.
The empty white wrist of the Young Lady caught my eye.
I thought, ‘I must buy her a gift.’
If I didn’t buy her something, I would feel regretful.
Holding the doorknob, I thought about the fortuitous encounter mentioned in the novel.
I bowed my head to the Young Lady, who was waving at me.
“I’ll be back.”
“Okay, I’ll take care of the house.”
“Yes.”
The door closed with a creak, and soon I was walking outside in the snowstorm.
-Whooooosh!
The snow was piling up on my head.
“Hieeeeek!!! Ricardo is becoming a snowman!!”
I smiled at the Young Lady’s astonished voice and headed towards my destination.
My destination was where the Escape Mastermind was.
According to the novel, if the Escape Mastermind succeeded in escaping, he would hide in his hideout in the Hamel mountains.
I was hoping that he would succeed in escaping.
‘I wonder if he’s there.’
It was about time for him to escape.
I wanted to see the insect again after a long time.
***
Inside the dark cave.
A man, dressed in a prisoner’s uniform, was shivering with cold and hugging his knees.
The man’s name was Pascal.
He was a villain who had massacred numerous adventurers.
“Uaaa… it’s cold…”
Pascal, who looked like a primitive man, was trying to start a bonfire by hitting a rock.
The clothes that had become tattered during the prison break.
His hair, which he hadn’t been able to cut while in prison, was shiny and full of luster.
Clang…
The sound of striking the flint echoed loudly in the cave.
“If it weren’t for that Kid, I wouldn’t be suffering like this.”
The Red-Haired Swordsman, who had disturbed him while he was focused on art in the Hamel mountains.
Pascal resented him.
The Kid who had ignored his art.
And the Kid who had made it impossible for him to look in the mirror now.
Since that day, Pascal couldn’t look in the mirror.
-Mantis.
-Insect Expo.
-Wow… how can a person’s face be like that…?
Whenever he looked in the mirror, he thought of Mantis.
He, who was afraid of cockroaches, was told he resembled an insect, which was shocking, but what he feared the most was that he himself acknowledged the resemblance whenever he looked in the mirror.
As he saw his reflection in the puddle in the cave, Pascal shook his head in strong denial.
“No, I’m handsome. The ugly one is That Guy, not me.”
Pascal made a vow of revenge, striking the flint again.
He repeated the action, determined to take revenge someday.
“I’ll kill you.”
Brutally.
“I’ll take revenge.”
Pascal, who was consumed by his emotions, thought of the humiliation he had suffered because of That Guy.
As his emotions reached a boiling point, the dry branch suddenly caught fire with a ‘popping’ sound.
Feeling the warmth, Pascal began to add more firewood to the fire.
“…Look, I can do it too.”
Pascal’s mood improved.
“Hic… ”
Tears welled up in Pascal’s eyes as he tried to hold back his emotions.
“Yes… I can start again from the beginning.”
He had Dark Magic, after all.
A powerful Dark Magic that could control people.
It was so strong that the Heretics had tried to recruit him.
When they first offered him a deal, he had refused for the sake of his art, but now he was desperate.
The moment he decided to join the Heretics and take revenge.
-Thud.
He heard the sound of footsteps coming from the end of the cave.
‘Shit… is it a pursuer? I thought I had covered my tracks well.’
Pascal thought that the pursuer must be quite skilled to have followed him.
Maybe an Adventurer.
Or a Pursuer.
Probably the latter.
Maybe it’s a good thing.
An opportunity to replenish his depleted Dark Energy.
The method of replenishing Dark Energy varied from person to person.
Some people used their emotions.
Others used their memories as a sacrifice.
The famous Wizard of the Empire used his body parts as a sacrifice, which had many limitations.
But the effect was explosive.
Pascal’s method was killing.
The most common and convenient way to replenish Dark Energy.
Pascal, who saw the approaching danger as an opportunity, gazed at the bonfire with a faint smile.
‘Should I put it out…?’
Pascal didn’t want to leave the bonfire, which he had struggled to start, but he had to make a decision as the footsteps drew closer.
“Damn it!”
Pascal closed his eyes and stomped on the bonfire with his bare feet.
As the heat seared his feet, he bit back a cry of pain.
‘Endure… endure…’
Pascal gritted his teeth, using his artistic spirit to bear the pain.
-Thud… thud…
-I think he’s here…
The voice of the intruder echoed off the walls of the cave.
A young man’s voice.
Probably in his 20s.
I can take him down if I’m lucky.
I’m confident in my ambush skills.
Pascal, who had been conserving his Dark Energy, began to channel it into his dagger.
The dagger began to flicker with a black aura.
-Hmph… I think he’s here…
As the intruder’s voice drew closer, Pascal sprang into action, launching a surprise attack.
‘Done.’
Pascal had executed a perfect ambush.
He felt a thrill of excitement.
The situation had played out in his favor, and his desperation had paid off.
Pascal smiled, feeling a sense of satisfaction.
“Kihikihl… you’re unfortunate…”
Pascal slowly looked up.
He wanted to see the look of despair on the intruder’s face.
And see the fear in his eyes.
But Pascal’s face contorted in fear instead.
“What…?”
The Red-Haired Swordsman, who he had wanted to meet after his prison break, was now standing before him.
And he was holding a dagger with a calm expression, using only two fingers.
The Man checked his clothes to make sure they weren’t torn, then let out a sigh of relief.
“Hey, long time no see!”
The Man, who had sent Pascal to prison, smiled brightly and waved.
“I thought you’d be a pupa by now, but you’re still alive.”
Pascal shouted at The Man.
“No…!!!!”
“Why do you always do this to me!!!”
The Man chuckled.
“I didn’t go to the Insect Expo because it was too expensive…”
Pascal charged at The Man.
Using all his remaining Dark Energy, he tried to escape, but.
“Mantis Fist…!”
Pascal’s eyes welled up with tears as he looked at The Man’s mocking expression.
‘Damn it.’
Pascal vowed to never get involved with The Man again.