Chapter 89: Shadow Killer 1

For 2-3 years after adventurers were summoned from another world, the Eeth Continent was in chaos.

The overall population had explosively increased and the demons had begun to awaken and cause disorder.

Moreover, Woohyuk had a hard time collecting information about those times before his regression, and he had to be careful about his lack of information.

‘A lot of strange events had happened back then.’

The nobles of the Izuna Kingdom hadn’t rebelled like those of the Rhine Kingdom, but the country was still in turmoil.

The problem was that the cause of the Izuna Kingdom’s turmoil was still unknown.

Woohyuk hardened his face as he entered Count Oswald’s mansion with Choi Kayoon.

‘I need to be cautious from now on.’

Dangerous situations could occur anywhere, at any moment, through any means. The culprits and conspirators generally acted behind the scenes, away from the public’s eyes.

Woohyuk scanned his surroundings to check for threats, when a deep voice resounded on top of the stairs.

“Welcome to my mansion, Lady Matilda.”

A blond man with a long mustache spoke. He was Count Oswald.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Count Oswald.”

Choi Kayoon greeted back by bowing and pinching her dress with both hands.

She was acting based on what Woohyuk had taught her before entering the mansion.

“Forgive me for our ill-suited hospitality for this unexpected visit.”

“No, I should be the one to apologize for this sudden visit.”

“But I’m quite surprised to learn that you’re travelling in a foreign country without any escort knights. May I ask what brings you to our country?”

“We were attacked by monsters on our way here from Port Delphoa. My escort knight was killed in battle. Thankfully, I received the help of the Blue Hawk Mercenaries.”

Choi Kayoon’s performance as a noble lady of the Rhine Kingdom was flawless.

Count Oswald nodded as she finished her various explanations.

“You’ve been through quite the journey, my lady. Why don’t we head inside for now? I can see that the fatigue has piled up.”

Count Oswald escorted Choi Kayoon and Woohyuk to the reception room, a room filled with priceless luxury.

While Choi Kayoon was sticking her tongue out towards Woohyuk, the Count spoke.

“So, you wish to visit the royal library?”

“Yes. There are a few things I would like to verify personally.”

“Hm… That’s a bit problematic. The library is currently inaccessible to foreign nobles due to some recent unfortunate events.”

“Unfortunate events?”

“Oh, maybe you haven’t heard of the news yet since you arrived here recently.”

Count Oswald narrated the events that had been happening in the city Neferti. A series of mysterious murders.

The victims were all nobles of high lineage and reputable families.

A notice had been sent a day before each incident, and despite all their preparations to protect the targets, the victims never escaped their fated deaths.

Therefore, the city Neferti had been strengthened and fortified overall.

According to the king’s royal decree, all of the foreign nobles’ activities had been restricted until the culprit’s arrest.

“That’s quite worrisome. To think that a serial killer is active in this city.”

Choi Kayoon glanced at Woohyuk with an anxious look, asking if they were to continue as planned.

Woohyuk nodded at her and began to think deeply.

‘The shadow killer has appeared, just as I expected.’

He had heard of this murderer before his regression while he was gathering information.

An individual that suddenly disappeared after committing dozens of assassinations in Neferti.

Nobody found out who was behind these murders nor his objectives.

‘I’d like to avoid facing him as much as possible, but…’

Capturing the shadow killer didn’t worry him a lot, but Woohyuk didn’t want to get involved in all kinds of incidents in the process of doing it.

He simply wanted to find the nameless tome and leave this city.

‘I have no choice but to quickly find a compromise.’

He desperately needed Count Oswald’s help to have access to the royal library during these tumultuous times.

After sorting out his thoughts, Woohyuk began to listen to the conversation before him.

“...You’ll need to be extremely cautious, Lady Matilda. Those wearing that watch of yours often get involved in controversial affairs. Everyone is on guard due to these events.”

“I can always prove my identity. My husband is the count of the Erutonia Province. If that doesn’t erase your suspicions, you are welcome to contact my husband yourself.”

“That won’t be necessary. I trust you, My Lady. I am simply concerned for you as other nobles may misunderstand.”

There were a lot of talks about the Rhine Kingdom amongst the nobles of the Izuna Kingdom, especially about the country’s new monarch.

Many renown nobles had rebelled, but were stopped by a foreigner wearing an adventurer watch, and he then rose to the throne. These events were quite shocking to the Izuna nobles.

Therefore, many nobles were wary against all nobles from the Rhine Kingdom.

“In any case, may we request for your aid to help us gain access to the royal library? I believe that it could be feasible with Count Oswald’s help.”

“It isn’t that there is no method, but…”

He was wondering if there was a reason to help them at the cost of putting himself in danger.

He was certain that Choi Kayoon was a noble by observing the luxurious clothes she was wearing, but that was the extent of his opinion of her.

It was unclear to him about what he could gain in exchange for his help.

As Count Oswald was laying out his options in his mind, a guard hastily ran into the room.

“Milord, a letter has been discovered in front of the mansion.”

“A letter?”

The room’s atmosphere suddenly grew nervous.

Count Oswald took the letter and began to read its contents. His face paled as he reached the end.

“This, this can’t be…”

“What is the matter?”

“Shadow killer…”

Although the sender’s name wasn’t written in the letter, Count Oswald immediately knew that it was the shadow killer as the phrase he often used to announce the death sentence was written in the letter.

- To the sinner. The time of judgement has finally arrived. Tomorrow night, you will be strangled by your own shadow and killed. However, I beg you not to run away to survive. The shadow of death is already covering your face.

“My goodness… The contents are quite gruesome.”

Choi Kayoon was surprised as she read the letter that had fallen out of Count Oswald’s hands.

Woohyuk silently moved behind her and whispered in her ear.

“Say that you’ll help him.”

“Wha, What?! Are you insane?! If we do that we’ll also die…”

“No matter what happens, I will always guarantee your safety.”

This had to be done to gain access to the royal library.

Apart from Count Oswald, there were no other nobles Woohyuk was on good terms with.

Seeing his firm attitude, Choi Kayoon sighed.

“How did it come to this…”

Their plan was slowly changing and getting more and more complicated.

However, she was already too deeply implicated and couldn’t back out anymore.

If she showed any suspicious behavior, Woohyuk would immediately overpower her and control her actions.

With complex thoughts in her mind, Choi Kayoon approached Count Oswald.

***

Count Oswald happily accepted Choi Kayoon’s offer.

He didn’t have the leeway to think about complicated matters concerning her as his life was currently on the line.

On the contrary, he said he would give them large rewards on top of the royal library pass, as long as they protected him from the shadow killer.

“Your acting is flawless.”

“My dream was to become a musical actress when I was younger.”

Choi Kayoon and Woohyuk conversed in the mansion’s guest room.

Despite her fear of men, she would spend the nights with him in the same room until this incident was deemed over, as she wished for his protection.

“But will you be alright? We’ll be sleeping in the same bed.”

“...I don’t have a choice anyways. Either way, don’t you dare lay a finger on me. If you do, I’ll scream at the top of my lungs in the middle of the night.”

Choi Kayoon lay on the bed as she complained and began to sway her legs at the edge of the bed. Woohyuk stared at her high-heels before opening his mouth.

“I’ll give you all the rewards we receive from Count Oswald.”

“You seem confident. But they say that the enemy is a devil.”

The shadow killer’s methods were quite atypical. He used the shadows of others to kill his targets. As ordinary humans were incapable of such feats, rumors said that the criminal was a devil.

“A devil, huh? The possibility definitely isn’t zero.”

“Do you have a plan? There’s only a day left until he comes.”

Choi Kayoon was well-aware that Woohyuk was an extremely skilled fighter, but she was unsure if he could win against demons.

If the situation went out of hand, even she could lose her life in the chaos.

“Don’t worry. I’ll protect you even if a demon king comes at us.”

There was a mysterious sense of reliability in his words.

Choi Kayoon stared at him for a short while before speaking again.

“Why do you care about me so much?”

“What do you mean?”

“You could just treat me like a slave, you know?”

There was no need for him to spend money on her, nor to make her pose as a noble from the Rhine Kingdom.

Woohyuk was the Rhine Kingdom’s monarch.

There would’ve been no problem to prove his identity in this city, and even if he had approached the count as a mercenary, he would’ve had bargaining rights since the leader of the Blue Hawk Mercenaries had vouched for his skills.

“Think of this as an investment.”

“...Do I have that much of a value?”

“Of course.”

Woohyuk nodded as he sat down on a chair, and gazed at Choi Kayoon with serious eyes.

“I understand that you have an extreme fear of men. You must’ve gone through a lot of difficult experiences. However, if you keep operating independently, you’ll get in trouble one day.”

“But why does it matter to you? I won’t be much of use to you by then.”

“No, that’s not true.”

Choi Kayoon could only express her true potential and skills by becoming a Monster Lord.

But that was still an impossible feat as of right now.

That’s why she had to be under his protection to grow to her full potential.

“Are you going to take me to the Rhine Kingdom?”

“That’ll be better for you as well.”

Woohyuk could do many things for Choi Kayoon.

Not only could she live peacefully in a quiet place by herself, he could also pay for her living expenses and for the funds to tame and raise monsters.

In return, Woohyuk wanted Choi Kayoon’s cooperation.

She had to contribute to the kingdom’s peacekeeping by using her monsters.

“Is that even possible? I have barely tamed 30 monsters as of yet.”

“No need to be impatient. Time isn’t a worry for us.”

It would take at most a hundred years to fill in the empty divine thrones, considering the fact that no one had reached them for 40 years.

“Alright. I accept your offer.”

“A wise choice.”

“But instead, let me keep these clothes.”

The dress Choi Kayoon was currently wearing had greatly pleased her.

Woohyuk chuckled and agreed.

“That was a gift for you. Even if you sell it for money later on, I won’t care.”

“Thank goodness. I was worried you would take it back since it was an expensive dress.”

Choi Kayoon was relieved. She got off the bed and removed her heels.

She was exhausted from all the travelling she had done as she followed Woohyuk, and wanted to go to bed early.

“As a warning, don’t you dare attack me during the night just because I’m defenseless. I’ll summon my monsters immediately.”

“Don’t worry. Those thoughts never even crossed my mind.”

He had even refused a naked girl who had entered his room in the middle of the night.

Choi Kayoon’s mind slowly faded away and her eyes closed. Woohyuk began to think to himself.

‘I fortunately managed to convince her.’

The other monarchs had failed to recruit her in the past as she had already begun her reign as a Monster Lord and no longer needed their help.

But the current Choi Kayoon was an ordinary monster tamer.

No matter how much she hated other people, she would find it hard to refuse an extremely beneficial offer.

Well, he did have to use force to bring her all the way here.

‘All that’s left to do is the shadow killer.’

Woohyuk had to find out how the culprit carried out his murders within a day.

Thankfully, with the help of Count Oswald, he had already gathered a lot of relevant information.

It was safe to say that the success of this mission depended purely on his own capabilities.

With a determined look, Woohyuk began to read the documents piled up on his desk one by one.