Matan’s Shooter

Chapter 90

“I’m back, Director-nim.”

The inside of the academy was still dark. It was only after Leeha opened the door that a human presence was felt.

‘Does he usually hide his presence?’

Come to think of it, he was fighting someone when I came back from Sheymoore.

There must be a reason why he had to be on guard from others.

“You’re back  already?”

“Yes. I learned some information about your request.”

“……Only four days? Didn’t I say that I have been digging for the past 20 years to get any information?”

“Although it was only three days, I went out of the border. I reached ‘Marching Plains’.”

Browless’s body stiffened when he heard the word ‘Marching Plain’.

“Okay, I will hear you. However…… You know, right?”

“Yes.”

Gulp, Leeha swallowed dry saliva. How much trouble did he encounter from traveling to the capital to entering the academy?

After wandering in front of the academy’s door, Leeha finally decided to complete the quest result report.

[Disappeared Legends]

Failure Condition: When the deadline is exceeded, when incorrect information is provided(limited to one clear chance)

Penalty for failure: [Disappeared Legends] will disappear,  [Browless’s expectations] will be canceled, 

Quest route will reset, ‘Only one chance to clear the quest…… Once an answer is submitted, it can no longer be modified. That’s it.’

If so, the answer was to collect information until the deadline?

However, it did not seem to be the case for Leeha.

In the first place, the deadline was only 20 days. It is by no means a long time in Middle Earth.

‘It did not say that I should know the perfect answer. In fact, the description was nothing like that.’

Browless wanted to know if they were dead or alive. He said he wanted to get information, not rumors. And to the current Leeha?

Wasn’t there something to prove that it was not just a rumor?

There was no need to gather multiple inaccurate information. He only needed to do it right once. All that was needed was the essence of the quest.

However, Leeha’s prediction was wrong.

“Keuk. All hidden quests will be destroyed and I will become a normal musketeer.’

Leeha took a deep breath. And he began to tell Lepanto’s story.

Inside the dark room with the blinds closed, Browless listened to Leeha’s story without lifting a finger.

Fibiel Kingdom’s strongest musketeer, what happened to the two of the Three Musketeers that were famous throughout the continent.

Where did they go after the Grand Battle of the Marching Plains?

Browless did not move, that was until it was mentioned that the two had betrayed mankind and went to the side of the Demon King and into the arms of the demon tribe.

“The rumors that they were dead, and the rumors that they escaped because of love, were all wrong. That’s the most convincing information I have heard-”

Baang!

And finally, Browless slammed the desk and stood up.

His body trembled. He was not happy to hear that his colleagues were alive.

“Betrayed humanity? Brown? Elizabeth? Where did you get that nonsensical rumor!”

“This is well-founded information! There are people who have witnessed and reported it!”

“Fool! What kind of bastard is trying to break the friendship of the Three Musketeers? That bastard is the Demon King’s spy,l no he’s definitely a spy from another country! Wasn’t that the guy from Minis? Is he trying to break the balance of power now? Motherfuckers!”

Browless was angered.

If would have been NPC-like to not stutter a word, but Leeha saw Browless’s expectations and worries.

Does this reaction warrant a quest clear? Or does this mean a failure?

Anyway, Middle Earth won’t let anyone finish a quest easily. Leeha worked hard to try and persuade Browless.

“It’s not like that, Director-nim! Why Mr. and Mrs. Brown left…… I don’t know the reason! However, wasn’t the information you were looking for accurate? That’s why I have brought it to you! Mr. Brown and Ms. Elizabeth are alive. Only…… Only, they are not on the side of humans!”

“Shut up!”

He groaned.

That moment, Leeha saw.

The appearance of Browless reloading so fast that his movements could not be seen.

In the short time that he turned around and picked the musket, once he turned back and aimed at Leeha, the reloading was already over.

‘5…… no……. 3 seconds…That speed is crazy.’

As Leeha was admiring the speed, Browless was breathing heavily.

He usually showed a feisty and somewhat cynical attitude, and he was not the type to act impulsively.

On the contrary, as Browless aimed at Leeha, Leeha felt that his head was about to explode.

‘To say that this is not a normal behavior pattern…

It means that the story is going well.

Browless would never shoot him. Leeha was certain.

“The evidence…… I have evidence.”

“Take it out.”

Still, Leeha was not in a hurry.

Even when the black musket, which was not even visible in the dark, was aimed at him, he acted slowly and carefully.

“It’s evidence provided by the one who gave the information. I don’t know what it is, but if the director…… One of the Three Musketeers, Browless, would know it for sure.”

Browless kept his posture fixed and glanced at the coin.

His expression did not change, but at least, the atmosphere had changed.

There was meaning when the NPC, who was the director of the academy, aimed the musket on his ‘student’ who was a user.

With a gloomy expression on his face, Browless pulled the musket back and picked up the coin.

The heat from the coin flashed for a moment and then disappeared.

“……Right…….Lepanto…….Skewer Lepanto is still alive.”

“ How did you know?”

“It’s a tracking coin. You will be able to know where the owner of the coin is. It’s for us who prioritize the location of allies and enemies to carry out our mission…… coins of representative knights are given.”

Because you shouldn’t shoot your own ally. And we need to know if the operation is progressing properly.

“And I know the owner of this mana……. Because he was in the 3rd army. He was the guy that ran rampant at the forefront of the assault regiment.”

Browless’s voice was quiet.

Because he was resigned and withdrew his excitement and anger.

“Did he really say that? Mr. Brown and Ms. Elizabeth……. Did they really go to the Demon King’s army?”

“Yes. He said that he witnessed it first hand and even reported it. Besides Knight Lepanto, there were other people who said that they saw it.”

“Report?”

“Yes. He reported to Lotzak and said Lotzak cast a spell to control the memory of the witnesses to cover up the fact.”

“Lotzak…… he was a magician.”

Browless also knew. In fact, he was not surprised now to learn that what Biyemi said was true. 

“Knight Lepanto said that there would be records in the Royal Archives. It’s a record of what people have seen and said besides Lepanto.”

“Then why did I……. No, I might be the reason why.”

Browless ground his teeth.

“Yes?”

“You…… Do you have time in the evening?”

“Dinner?”

A notification window appeared in front of Leeha.

[Quest content had changed.]

[Quest conditions had changed.]

[Disappeared Legends]

Description: ‘Did they really betray him……? Why the hell did they try to hide it? Was it necessary… in order to understand the demon army’s intention? You have to check the exact content in the Royal Records.’ Browless needs data from the Royal Archives. However, going directly to a place where security is tight will only raise doubts for Lotzak. Disguised as Browless’s attendant, infiltrate the Royal Palace to secure the Royal Records. Content: Securing the records’ whereabouts of Mr. Brown and Ms. Elizabeth.

Reward: ???

Failure Condition: When discovered or killed by the Royal Palace Guards.

Penalty for failure: 

[Disappeared Legends] will disappear.

[Browless’s Expectations] will be canceled.

Quest route will be reset

Intimacy with all NPCs in Fibiel Kingdom -50%

You will no longer be able to enter Fibiel Kingdom’s Royal Palace.

– Do you accept?

‘Oh? Ohh?’

What, in the middle of the quest? So that’s it! Leeha opened his eyes and read the quest description again and again.

Disguise? Infiltrate? Secure? Detect? Dead?

Just reading the descriptions was terrifying already. Besides, what are those huge penalties for failure?

‘Crazy! That’s crazy! Isn’t it the same as saying that I should no longer live as a Fibiel citizen if I get discovered?’

Not only the NPCs at the Royal Castle. But all NPCs in the kingdom.

It’s not only the loss of intimacy with all NPCs in Candle Castle but also in the capital, Aelstock. Entry to the Royal Palace will also be no longer possible.

It is similar to being on the blacklist.

‘It will be a record in some way. I am going to be a spy! Although I was a soldier, I did what agents from Nations Intelligence Service would do…….’

When Leeha was unable to hide his struggle, Browless spoke again.

“Are your words just cr*p. And if Lepanto was right.”

“Yes.”

“I want to check it out myself. Through the report collected at the Royal Archives.”

As soon as Browless opened his mouth, Leeha triggered Bargaining skill.

It can’t end like this. I need to change it!

“I-If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be better if the director went? I don’t have access yet-”

“No, don’t you see that Lotzak is trying to cover this up, and no one in the Royal family has ever told me this? I can’t go on my own. They don’t want me to know about this. It means I can’t go myself.”

[Persuasion failed.]

‘Damn it…… you didn’t trust me before.’

It seems Browless had already anticipated it to some extent.

Considering that Mr. Brown and Ms. Elizabeth’s betrayal was already confirmed.

Who and what purpose did they not tell it to Browless. Maybe there are more people other than Lotzak. His head was already complicated enough.

If one thought about it that way, Browless is definitely right.

If the person related to the situation came forward, it would definitely make things bigger and more complicated. The best way would be—.

“So I think it’s for the best if someone I can trust could get the record.”

“Right…… as soon as……

“Right. Ha Leeha, it’s you. There’s only you.”

Someone he could trust. Browless said, referring to Leeha directly.

Leeha also found that he was trusted greater than a hundred words of praise could describe.

He couldn’t even refuse it anyway, but if it was stated like that, then Leeha had no other choice.

“T-then what should I do?”

“After entering the Royal Palace with me, you should secretly go to the Royal Archives and read the records in the dark. Here, take this.”

It sounded easy. Read in the dark? Wasn’t it a complete theft?

“What is this?”

Browless gave Leeha a mirror-like object.

“It can only do it once…… but it is an object that could capture the moment you want to record. If you find the record, you only need to reflect on the contents of the record. It doesn’t need any mana, so you can use it anytime.”

Click…… Leeha was able to understand Browless’s words.

In other words, it was like a digital camera or camcorder.

Browless said to take this and go to the Royal Archives and take a copy of the original. That was stealing.

“The entry to the Royal Palace…… I know that there are restrictions on reputation and national contribution. Wouldn’t it be higher if it was on the Royal Archives?”

“Don’t worry. It will be possible to enter.”

Browless’s trembling voice made Leeha even more anxious.

Clearly, Biyemi said that he wouldn’t be allowed to enter. With only his contribution points, he said that if Leeha did not have any special connections.

‘However…… I only need to succeed once……. You can tell that he changed how he viewed me…… I don’t have a choice anymore.’

He went from being a kid to ‘Leeha-kun’.

Once he completes this quest, Leeha will be Browless’s favorite disciple.

In other words, if the quest is completed, there was a high chance that the reward would not be simple.

Above all, since it was continuously covered with ???, the ripple effect would be beyond imagination.

The fact that the penalty for failure was terrifying means that the sweetness of the reward would be enormous.

‘Smells like money…… Whether it’s money or growth, it can’t be compared to normal quests.’

That’s if it was cleared. If Leeha couldn’t clear the quest right away, the reward and everything will turn into nothing.

It was worth the challenge. It was enough.

Because a person who plays games to make money can never go down the normal path.

Leeha pressed the accept button.

“Of course, finding the record and getting out safely would be a problem.”

“Yes? Can you repeat that?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

A buzzing sound was heard as soon as he pressed the button.

Of course, Leeha was not able to hear it properly.

Would he have accepted it if he heard it?

“We don’t have much time, Leeha-kun. You need to hurry and give it to me.”

“……I understand.”

Browless grabbed Leeha’s shoulder. As his warm and heavy hand touched Leeha’s shoulder, he felt like he was assimilating without even realizing it.

He heard various information about the Royal Palace.

About two hours later, as the sun began to set in Middle Earth, Leeha and Browless headed to the Royal Palace.

Browless proudly held his musket with his hat pressed down as Leeha followed him.

While he was learning information about the Royal Palace, Leeha only had one thought.

‘This is crazy. I should have just rejected it and done something different.’

It might have been better to do the regular quests, level up through repeated hunting, and collect and sell items. Of course, as a musketeer, even that would be difficult.

Leeha gently raised his head and looked at the huge wall of the Royal Castle.

‘Passing through this inner wall would be the first gateway.’

The inner wall was over 10 meters in height.

It was a height that a wizard could jump over using Levitation.

Of course, crossing the wall without permission would be a luxurious way to commit suicide. Because the Royal Palace magicians wouldn’t just stand by and watch.

“Don’t be nervous.”

“Okay.”

Leeha nodded his head slowly. Although a thief should be light-footed, his heart was quite heavy.

Slowly, the appearance of the guards came into view.

Kachang, the guards saw the two of them and tilted their halberd to block the door.

“Tell me your affiliation and name, and touch this.”

“Brown Bess Musket Academy, Browless.”

Browless said and placed his hand on the small crystal ball beside the gate.

As the crystal ball flashed blue, and the guards lifted their halberds.

“Welcome, Rapid fire Browless. For what purpose did you come here?”

“I have a business to do with the mages.”

“Understood. Please let us know when you leave! The person behind you……?”

“My attendant.”

Is it that simple? Leeha suddenly felt his heart beating. The guards looked up and down for a long time.

“Please come in!”

“Thank you.”

As Browless took the lead, Leeha also nodded and followed behind.

“Are you nervous?”

“I’m just glad that I didn’t pee myself.”

Browless shrugged his shoulder and Leeha followed him.

He complained a little, saying they were about to steal because of Browless, but Browless did not seem to understand.

After passing through the tunnel under the thick inner wall, a beautiful garden unfolded in front of them.

“This is the heart of the Fibiel Kingdom, the Royal Palace of the Capital, Aelstock.”

“Wow! It’s a lot more beautiful than I thought.”

“Yeah, and it’s dangerous.”

The Royal Palace was not just a beautiful old castle.

It has a garden that ignores the season, with all kinds of flowers and trees in full bloom. A fountain in the center. As the beautiful scenery blended with the sunset, it was like a masterpiece.

‘Have they set up traps in a garden like this? It’s really good that one would get deceived.’

All this beauty was just for deception.

Even if an intruder passed through the wall before they could get past this garden and they would be ground to dust.

It was also proof that the Human-Demon war was over, but the continent was still engulfed in war.

“You know the geography, right?”

“I memorized what you taught me. The different concubines have separate palaces, in the east, west, and middle. After securing the items in the Eastern Palace, go to the Western Palace. Do not even get close to the Central Palace. Understood?”

“Understood. I have memorized the path you said. When going to the Western Palace from the Eastern Palace, a trap will be triggered if you accidentally go astray.”

The Central Palace, which contains the King’s Office, is impossible to enter for normal business, and you will be immediately discovered if you wander around.

Leeha followed Browless and memorized the road.

The traps could be activated even if the position of your step has only slightly shifted! How the hell do the people of the Royal Palace get around—.

‘Didn’t he say that the location and type of traps also change periodically? And once one gets caught, even if you luckily avoid the trap, you will still be seen ……

It was similar to CCTV.

Using the spirits of earth, water, and air to record the appearance and movement of people entering and leaving the palace is the main task of the Royal Palace spirits, it was not always good.

‘I have to be careful. As soon as I get discovered, my relationship with the Fibiel Kingdom will be over.’

The red sunset changed to lavender and only after darkness care, did Browless and Leeha enter the Eastern Palace.

“Be careful of being noticed.”

“Yes. I will.”

The Royal Archives was still crowded with people.

There were no places where the light was turned off like royalty, and people who had no way of knowing whether a user in fancy clothes or an NPC were rushing in and out.

Leeha did not look at them and followed Browless.

Like that, they entered the basement of the Eastern Palace.

The name [Royal Archives] was beautifully engraved on the huge and beautiful wall.

“Is anybody here?”

“I will only get one chance. I need to be mindful. I must leave the palace three hours before midnight. Until then, I need to make sure I could get to the Western Palace.”

It was currently around 6 pm. If it was 3 hours before midnight, it would be 9pm. He had to finish work within three hours and meet Browless.

As Leeha nodded and hid behind the shrub pots planted in the hallway, Browless touched the green crystal ball at the entrance.

Red light flashed, kukukung! 

One side of the wall opened with a roar.

‘Whoah…… That’s really cool.’

As the wall split left and right, he could see stairs going down.

Only one person can fit in? After waiting for a while, a man in white came up the stairs.

“Oh? Aren’t you Browless-nim!”

“Long time no see, Clark. No, I should call you chief clerk now.”

The man with round glasses and Browless shook hands.

However, after a moment of pleasantry, Clark immediately asked Browless.

“What brought you here? Ah, by the way… Even Browless-nim cannot enter this place without permission.”

The red light when he touched the crystal ball.

Was it the light that would come out when one comes without permission?

“You know, right? The reason I opened the door was that it was Browless-nim. If it was anyone else, I would have just ignored it.”

Clark looked uncomfortable.

“Nothing in particular, while I was at the Royal Palace, I just came to see an old friend’s face.”

“Oh! Is that so? However…… Isn’t this the first time Browless-nim came to see me? Haha…… Have you come to look at the records?”

“No, it’s not like that. If that was the case, I would have come with permission.”

Browless shook his head quietly, but Clark’s eyes were sharp.

“You came here without permission and looked for me…… something is a bit……”

“Is it strange?”

“Of course! If it was Browless-nim, wouldn’t it be more appropriate to see the Sacred Knights Commander or the Knight-Captain? Maybe that’s why, but I can think of many things. For example, if you brought someone with you……”

Clark smiled and looked around. There was nowhere to hide around the Royal Archives. If he had to pick one, wouldn’t it be the flowerpots in the hallway?

“Here? Should I say hello?”

“Is it! Isn’t it good to hide here!”

Clark suddenly turned his head behind the bush.

“It would have been fun if someone did come out. I guess that wasn’t it.”

There was nothing there.

“You have a lot of imagination, Chief Clark.”

“Ahaha, I guess so. By the way, it feels pretty good to be called chief.”

“It is.”

Clark raised his glasses and looked back at Browless. Browless’s gaze shifted over Clark’s shoulder for a moment. Through the cracks in the wall, and the stairs going down, he could see Leeha quickly hiding.

Leeha ran without looking back.

So far, it was still according to the plan he made with Browless.

‘Someone with whom he was at least has acquaintance will come up, and he said that I should aim for that gap and go in right away. That person was quite suspicious, so there will be gaps.’

If he hadn’t had any doubts about Browless, Leeha probably wouldn’t have a chance.

Thanks to that person’s movement, he was able to barely get in.

‘The infiltration is over, is this the beginning? Within two hours, I have to find the report and get out without anyone knowing……

That’s plenty of time.

He said Royal Archives, so it’s like a big library, right? I can quickly check the chart to find the report and record it.

After that, I need to focus on escaping.

‘But the stairs are farther than I thought.’

Leeha, who had been going down the stairs for a while, suddenly felt strange.

‘Am I walking right now? I feel a little…….’

Leeha saw light in his field of view, which made him strangely dizzy.

Had he finally arrived? Leeha carefully went down and tilted his head a little.

“Woah-!”

And he stopped the scream that was about to burst out of his mouth.

What he saw in front of him was like outer space.