The Corruptor (1)

Kruud guided Lost’s group to Rubia and went ahead to bring them to the hunter’s guild since they were fellow hunters.

However, it’s undeniable that the process came with some peculiar developments.

“What’s all this?”

But by the time he came to his senses, he was already in the middle of the guild’s dueling arena.

It was a kind of dueling ground used when objective skill assessment was needed. And he found himself standing on it.

It was truly an artful flow of events.

As they talked about various things, someone mentioned it would be difficult to just pass by.

Though the first impression was a bit unique, the situation was what it was. Even a priest could become hostile given the circumstances.

That’s why he hadn’t been suspicious.

The gentle demeanor of the somewhat tired-looking man hadn’t seemed out of place.

It felt too natural. With his firm position as a Pantheon Temple priest, there was no room for doubt.

So when they said they would cooperate to some extent while staying in Rubia, he thought priests will be priests after all.

Before he knew it, they reached the conclusion of testing their compatibility…

“Waaaaaah!”

Though it was just meant to be testing compatibility, there was no reason for it to become like a Colosseum gladiator situation.

“Hmm.”

Before him was an orc checking his weapons, including a massive hammer.

For unknown reasons, hunters who had become spectators were shouting.

“Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!”

Even to the point of creating a frenzied atmosphere.

Though unsure who created this atmosphere, it was too late to back out now.

The crowd seemed likely to riot with jeers if he didn’t thoroughly defeat his opponent.

Kruud observed Lost’s group sitting in the waiting area with a dumbfounded expression.

With tobacco in his mouth, he looked quite bored.

Gone was the gentle atmosphere from earlier, replaced by an blatant attitude suggesting it was already over.

“Please go easy on me.”

“Hmm… alright.”

There was no way to refuse with so many people gathered.

Kruud had his pride as guild master to maintain.

He was already drawing criticism lately due to recent events.

-Nothing special about it. Just one of her kicks did this to me. Thanks to that, my dignity is in shambles.

Kruud ground his teeth as he recalled the weakness he had revealed.

It was an exquisitely played move.

The gathered audience was proof of that.

What started as a brief introduction to Rubia’s hunters had turned into this.

“You’re doing terribly cruel things as usual, Lost.”

“Well, missionary work and instigation differ by just one letter. That’s why people should always be sincere with others. I merely made heartfelt appeals.”

Without sincerity flowing from the heart, any words are mere instigation rather than missionary work.

“So this was missionary work?”

“It was instigation.”

“…Lost, don’t you feel sorry toward the gods?”

“That’s a good question, Linea.”

Lost took out the heresy inquisitor’s mask he carried and put it on.

“That’s why I carved an inverted cross on the mask – out of remorse.”

What else could he do?

Lost was originally someone who took on tasks that would make one feel sorry toward the gods.

He was the church’s specialized cleanup crew after all.

Linea sighed more with each aspect of Lost she discovered. She knew he had many secrets, but his way of driving people was extraordinary.

His personality was too nasty for a priest. Of course, she knew well that he was a heresy inquisitor she had only heard rumors about.

But…

“The rain’s getting stronger, wrap your raincoat tighter so the raindrops don’t get in.”

“Yes.”

As she watched Lost open an umbrella and hold it over Claire when the rain intensified, Linea found herself increasingly unable to understand what kind of person he was.

Though his usual actions were like that, he definitely showed aspects of being a man of the cloth.

Perhaps it was because the gap between those sides was too extreme. Therefore, Linea could only say one thing with certainty.

‘He’s not a bad person, but.’

Just that much.

She couldn’t figure out any of the things she actually wanted to know about Lost.

It was then, while Linea was pondering about Lost.

“What a fool. I asked for help and you brought me a snake.”

An ill-tempered looking old lady came between Lost’s group. Just his expensive accessories and clothing showed she was no ordinary person.

“You don’t look like a hunter.”

“Would I be wielding weapons at this age?”

“If you took good care of your health, I can’t definitively say you couldn’t.”

“So, are you trying to say I have one foot in the grave?”

“How could that be, elder? I meant you still look healthy. Would you like me to bestow a blessing?”

Lost responded smoothly to the cranky old lady’s sarcasm despite his sudden approach.

Her attitude was as if she had been expecting this, which made Linea tilt her head in confusion once again.

“You’re a merchant, correct?”

“Indeed. Did that fellow explain that too? If so, I should crack his head open right now.”

“No, I just thought that if there are hunters who side with merchants, there must be one or two merchants who side with hunters. Otherwise, things couldn’t have reached a deadlock.”

Merchants and hunters.

Setting aside force, the power difference between them was all too clear.

“You’re better than that snake. Yes, my little snake. What are you scheming?”

“Shouldn’t you introduce yourself before asking about schemes?”

“I’m Anne, master of the Rubia branch of the merchant guild. Now it’s your turn, boy. What do you do?”

“I’m Lost. Well, as you can see, I’m just a devout and benevolent priest.”

“Do priests these days smoke tobacco freely in front of their elders?”

Lost smiled at Anne’s words and put down his tobacco.

Though it was practically nitpicking, he intended to maintain basic courtesy.

“So? What’s all this about?”

“Just managing some stress for our party. We’ll properly cooperate with the work, so please don’t be too angry.”

“Cooperation, what could you possibly do against that brat?”

“Aren’t we about to confirm that now? We should first verify the objective difference in abilities. As a merchant, you understand that, right?”

“I do. I wouldn’t be a merchant if I were foolish enough to work without precise calculations.”

“That’s it. Though I’m not a merchant, I’m trying to do some calculations.”

“Do priests calculate too? Next you’ll be dividing gods by numbers?”

“Haha! That’s quite the amusing joke.”

A suffocating conversation.

Linea quietly pulled on Claire’s sleeve to create some distance.

Getting bitten after interfering in a conversation between vipers would be terrible. As a weak herbivorous fox, she was skilled at sensing such dangerous atmospheres.

“Well, let’s talk while watching. Isn’t it quite the spectacle? A duel between an orc and the hunter’s guild master. Setting aside that they’re both rare races, one handles mana like his limbs while the other can’t even sense mana – completely opposite natures.”

“You have a long tongue. Is that how you sweet-talked the others?”

“Of course I used even more tricks with the other hunters.”

“I like your honesty.”

Anne’s face wore a sneer despite his words.

Though it was clearly mockery, Lost paid it no mind.

An also continued speaking while glancing at such a Lost.

“Then boy, you better calculate properly. What level your proposed cooperation partner is at.”

“Your evaluation of Guild Master Kruud is more generous than expected.”

The duel between Titan and Guild Master Kruud began.

It didn’t take long for the reason behind that generous evaluation to be revealed.

It was because the gray aura specialized for Rubia, the city where rain falls year-round, blended into the environment.

Though Lost had anticipated this, it was harder to grasp than expected.

The finely fragmented aura particles were difficult to distinguish, like sleet dissolving into the falling rain.

One cannot avoid all the falling raindrops.

Titan quickly became bloody from Kruud’s fierce attacks.

“I’ve seen his efforts, so I can’t help but evaluate him highly… And that makes it all the more despairing.”

At such a one-sided situation, An turned away as if there was nothing more to see.

“The outcome seems decided.”

Kruud is strong.

And that monster toyed with such a Kruud.

Just a child throwing tantrums. They were defeated by such a child.

Needless to say, Kruud’s pride was torn to shreds.

“What a childish farce. Boy, don’t experience such things in a place you have no connection to and leave quickly.”

“You’re quite pessimistic, unlike Guild Master Kruud who’s trying to save the city somehow.”

“It’s fine. Actually, it’s not such a big problem. That kid never kills people after all. A bit of suffering will do. It’s not worth involving outsiders like you.”

“Your thoughts differ from mine.”

“What thoughts?”

“First, the duel isn’t over yet.”

Thud!

At that moment, Titan who had been one-sidedly pushed back began his counterattack. A strike unleashed with his unique brute force scattered stones and rocks as if gouging the arena floor.

If the aura is minute, its range of effect must also be narrow.

Even if shallow, when spread widely, nothing cannot be blocked.

Though one cannot avoid all the falling rain streams, blocking rain is relatively simple.

“Raincoats are good, but this city needs space to avoid rain.”

Lost spoke while pointing at his sleeve that was starting to get wet.

A raincoat cannot completely block the pouring rain.

And the same goes for umbrellas.

Once rain starts falling, it soaks into clothes one way or another.

That’s the current situation in this city.

“They say clothes get wet in drizzle without notice. There’s such a saying in the West. You said it’s not serious enough for others to worry about? Getting caught in drizzle won’t just wet your clothes but make you catch a cold.”

“Nothing is more fussy than building a roof to prepare for rain that will stop soon. Boy.”

“Will the rain stop?”

A child throwing tantrums. That description might not be wrong.

The tyranny in this city might quickly stop out of boredom.

That could lead to the thought of leaving the city in search of new fun.

But what if not?

What if she stays in this city for years more? What if there was a reason it had to be Rubia in the first place?

Lost knows this rain won’t stop easily.

That’s why he’s trying to prepare a roof to avoid rain, not just raincoats or umbrellas.

Without solving the fundamental problem, everything is just a temporary measure.

“Hah…! Now I see it wasn’t coincidence. It wasn’t coincidence! How much do you know about that kid?”

“Though I know her identity, I don’t know any details yet. Guild Master Kruud’s information was helpful.”

Anne clicked her tongue at Lost’s confident words. A merchant’s intuition told her. The other party didn’t come to Rubia by chance but came targeting something.

From the start, it wasn’t about helping along the way or cooperating – that was their main purpose.

It’s an absolutely detestable method.

But because of that, it’s much more trustworthy than coincidence.

“Boy. You’re indeed more suited to being a con man than a priest.”

“How could that be? Being a priest is my calling.”

“So? Tell me, devout priest. What’s the identity of that crazy kid?”

Lost quietly put on his mask as he looked at Anne’s face starting to show the characteristic gleam in a merchant’s eyes.

He glimpsed a purple-haired girl watching from far away with a crazed smile.

Though he felt his blood freeze for a moment, he didn’t show it.

“The Corruptor’s kin.”

Despite being in such a noisy place, she stands out.

One by one, the hunters’ gazes that had been focused on the duel between Titan and Kruud start turning behind.

The girl sitting casually on the roof grins at the hostile gazes directed at her.

He could tell without checking.

“Moreover, she’s a sore spot precious enough that even if something happens, it’d come to get her even if it means overturning the continent.”

Because the corruption eating deep inside his body was stirring.

Though in human form, the otherworldliness contained within cannot be hidden.

An quietly stepped back.

Lost sensed it.

The opponent wasn’t reasonable enough to understand words.

“Shrimps get crushed in a fight between whales.”

“Then let’s prepare for the whale fight. Even if crushed, we should save our lives.”

“We should.”

While Anne gathered her guards watching from afar, she quietly retreated backward.

Must not show one’s back.

It was like behavior when encountering a wild beast.

A child throwing tantrums? If only it were that cute.

What’s before us is just a beast in human form.

And that beast, suddenly, boldly. Like an unprecedented disaster encountered without any warning.

“Heeheeheehee!”

Invaded the stage in a way no one expected.