"What did you say?"
"If you don't like that question, then how about this one? Is your real name actually Kim Giryeo, Hunter?"
"Haa."
"There were several questions on the list Hunter Kang brought me. Honestly, most of them are just bizarre nonsense."
"That's something I've wondered about for a long time. What on earth does Kang Changho normally think about in his day-to-day life?"
"Oh my."
Seonwoo Yeon continued the conversation with a composed expression, smoothly steering it forward.
Watching her, I quietly reflected.
In all my life, I had never been cornered in such an absurd situation.
Back in my prime, I had never even imagined that I would be forced to leave my beautiful home planet and scrape by in some distant world like this.
And really, that Earthling Kang Changho's way of doing things was downright bizarre.
From the moment an Association employee suddenly showed up at my door, I had already suspected that something was wrong.
Sparkle.
'It's not as though he used money or authority to hire some thug to kill the conman.'
[Justitia].
'To think he'd simply hand over such an expensive artifact for someone else to carry around.'
I glared resentfully at the artistic-looking scales, which looked completely out of place against the cheap flooring of the one-room apartment.
Even now, the same question kept circling through my mind.
What exactly was Kang Changho trying to accomplish with this?
And just what did that Earthling know that allowed him to threaten me like this?
"Hunter Giryeo?"
Seonwoo Yeon tilted her head slightly.
"Oh, I'm sorry. The questions came so completely out of nowhere that my mind went blank for a moment."
I hurriedly continued before her suspicions could deepen.
"Actually, I had a pretty serious argument with that S-rank Hunter recently, so I think Kang Changho must have taken offense and started approaching people around me... probably because he wants to stir up trouble somehow."
"You had a fight? With Hunter Kang Changho?"
"Otherwise, why would that man suddenly pull something this bizarre?"
"Hmm."
"Anyway, I'm sorry you got dragged into such a troublesome mess."
Fortunately, I had shown off my skills as an appraiser often enough in the past.
"However, the [Justitia] you brought is probably nothing more than a convincing fake. So this entire line of questioning is meaningless from the very beginning..."
I voiced my doubts about the authenticity of the magical tool Kang Changho had supposedly handed over.
Since I had only seen it briefly, I could not make an immediate judgment, but there was every possibility that some malicious Hunter had prepared a fake set of scales merely to slander me. I therefore warned her not to trust it too readily.
That was how I subtly planted the idea in the other person's mind.
'I need to buy time!'
Originally, I had planned to use that opening to analyze the structure of [Justitia].
"Oh, I'm sorry, but this item is genuine."
However, the employee who had been touching the top of the scales immediately denied it.
"I'm currently bound by a contract with Hunter Kang Changho..."
"A contract? You don't mean something like a Knight's Oath, do you?"
"No. It's not a contract that binds both parties like that."
Seonwoo Yeon continued.
"Have you ever heard of an item called the [Fairy's Promise]?"
"...!"
"It's a Unique-rank item in which one person becomes the master and the other becomes the slave."
"So?"
"Hunter Kang Changho came to see me and used the [Fairy's Promise]... while putting it around his own neck."
When activated, a black wing-shaped tattoo appeared on the back of the slave's neck.
Seonwoo Yeon briefly explained the characteristics of the Earth-made magical item known as the [Fairy's Promise].
"From now on, if you lie to your contracted master—that is, if you tell me something false—you will immediately receive the strongest possible divine punishment."
"Divine punishment."
"With the [Fairy's Promise], the intensity of the penalty can be set when the contract is first established."
Kang Changho.
Had that S-rank Hunter really gone this far just to prove that he was telling the truth?
I briefly closed my eyes as Seonwoo Yeon continued speaking.
"But even after being given the role of master, I still had my doubts."
"..."
"I even went to the auction house and had separate appraisers verify the item's authenticity. So I'm certain these scales are genuine."
As I remained silent with my eyes closed, her tone gradually changed.
"Giryeo-ssi, I'm sorry, but why haven't you answered any of my questions so far?"
Seonwoo Yeon had noticed something.
"Now that I think about it, Hunter Kang Changho seemed completely serious when he asked me for this favor."
"..."
"A person like that... came to ask me for help. He even bowed his head while asking. He said there was something he had been deeply worried about lately and that he hoped I, as someone affiliated with the Association, would please help him."
The B-rank Hunter in casual clothes slowly rose to her feet, still holding the scales.
The tremor in her voice grew more pronounced.
Suspicion, fear, perhaps tension.
Whatever it was, her entire demeanor had changed.
"Hunter, you know that recently there have been more monsters appearing overseas that can steal a person's consciousness, not just in the [Nameless Cave], right?"
"Wait a minute."
"And what about boss monsters like [Doppelganger]? Have you encountered anything like that?"
"Calm down..."
Someone's scheme was gradually beginning to take effect.
"Please answer me. Just answer the question for now. I know this sounds ridiculous, but... is the body moving in front of me right now really Hunter Kim's body...?"
The situation had become quite complicated thanks to that S-rank Hunter's subtle maneuvering.
It reminded me of the first time I had seen Seonwoo Yeon grab a beginner killer by the neck.
Her entire body was tense now, muscles tightening in preparation.
'Every single one of these questions is both fatal and fascinating.'
I suppressed the corners of my mouth before they could curl upward.
First, I needed to figure out exactly how Kang Changho had managed to strike at my weak point.
A quick sweep with my senses confirmed that the black-haired Awakened was indeed under some kind of curse.
Most likely the [Fairy's Promise].
But that was all.
'There's no magic that shares hearing, and aside from the phone sticking out of her pocket, none of her belongings contain materials capable of conducting electrical signals.'
The human standing before me was not carrying any Earth-style surveillance equipment either.
Besides, no matter how pathetic my current physical condition was, I had been an archmage in my previous life.
There was no chance I would fail to notice an S-rank stalker sneaking all the way up to my doorstep.
'That guy hasn't even entered the alley where this studio is located, let alone Mapo District itself...'
So it came down to the Scales of Truth.
Why had Kang Changho chosen Seonwoo Yeon out of everyone he could have sent?
At least that part I could understand.
After all, the most threatening weapon possessed by this black-haired mammal was neither her low-level B-rank magic nor her meager wealth.
It was her position.
'An employee of a public institution.'
I had recently learned how to send emails using humanity's written language.
So I could make this sort of deduction as well.
'If I turned Seonwoo Yeon into a corpse right here, would a scheduled email automatically send the culprit's name to her colleagues?'
Of course, even without something like that, I could not recklessly harm Seonwoo Yeon.
'B-rank.'
If I had known things would turn out like this, I never should have taught that wind sorcerer anything.
'This is completely different from fighting monsters with low intelligence. If we fought in this tiny five-pyeong room, I'd be the one getting beaten up.'
What should I do now?
It took about two seconds for me to realize that overpowering Seonwoo Yeon by force was impossible.
At roughly 2.1 seconds, I determined that the barrier's defensive magic could subdue her, but there was a high chance the fragile B-rank would die in the process.
By around the three-second mark, I had concluded that avoiding the interrogation she had just begun would be difficult.
I spent another two seconds considering my options.
Then I reached the best decision available to me.
"Have you ever stolen Kim Giryeo's identity...?"
Considering the complicated structure of [Justitia], the combat ability inherent to a B-rank Hunter, and the personal circumstances surrounding Seonwoo Yeon...
Inventing lies merely to escape the immediate crisis was not a good choice.
Resolving this situation would clearly take a considerable amount of time.
"Yes."
It was do or die.
"Is that your answer?"
Click.
The plan had already taken shape in my mind.
The moment I gave that answer, [Justitia]'s scales tilted with a metallic sound.
To the right.
"...The truth!"
Seonwoo Yeon stared at me in shock before immediately demanding to know what I had done to the real Kim Giryeo.
I kept my voice calm.
The other person was still holding the silver scales, and what I was about to reveal was such an extraordinary confession that it would undoubtedly capture the attention of anyone listening.
Crackle.
A burst of sparks from Seonwoo Yeon's smartphone revealed the result of my earlier interference.
The damage I had caused just before putting my plan into motion had finally manifested.
"Kyaaak!"
"Don't scream. Did you forget this is a cheap studio apartment?"
Only after eliminating even the slightest possibility that our conversation could be recorded did I finally begin to speak.
As I had already considered, whether the civil servant in front of me was B-rank or S-rank, calming her down had to come first if I did not want to get beaten.
Electrocuting her, knocking her unconscious with a box, using a hydra—
Any method that involved directly confronting her would only provide a temporary solution.
If I could persuade her instead, I might actually gain a card that could put even more pressure on Kang Changho.
All right.
Since I could not lie, I might as well confront this head-on before I truly hit rock bottom.
"First of all, I didn't take over this body against Kim Giryeo's will. I merely entered a corpse that had already been abandoned."
"...?!"
"The original owner of this body died about a year and one month ago. So the blond Hunter you've known all this time—that was me from beginning to end."
Sharp metallic sounds filled the cramped one-room apartment.
"Oh, right. I suppose I should explain this part first if I want you to understand the rest."
Clank.
Clank.
Clank.
"I'm actually an alien!"
[Justitia] remained tilted firmly to the right, without the slightest movement.
"Not a monster. An alien. And I have absolutely no intention of hurting you, Seonwoo Yeon. So could you please sit down and calmly listen to what I have to say? I mean, I—there are actually quite a few things about this situation that I feel unfairly blamed for."
Thud.
The poor mammal, faced with the verdict of the scales, finally collapsed noisily from the repeated shocks.
...
...
...
...
The moon.
A pale earring adorning a beautiful planet called Earth.
In a modest solar system ruled by mammals, that celestial body looked, from the vast perspective of the universe, like a tiny pearl ornament delicately fastened in place.
But someone else's home was different.
It was a world of arrogant grandeur, boasting not one but three enormous moons, each one dwarfing Earth's own.
That was the homeland of a certain alien.
And whenever he recalled the distinctive scenery of that world, he could not help but feel a strange longing rising from somewhere deep inside him.
***
...A blue sea came into view.
Alphauri.
Hundreds of millions of years had passed since life first began to flourish on the planets orbiting this binary star system.
The story began with a certain conflict.
In fact, after Alphauri's civilization had developed beyond a certain point, the planet became embroiled in constant warfare.
Various nations competed for control of the thermocline, turning their powerful weapon—Magic Science—against one another.
That was how the wars began.
(The asymmetrical ruler from the first satellite came to invade the main planet's resources.)
(...What did you say?)
(In Earth terms, it would be like people living on the Moon suddenly appearing as the world's greatest enemy.)
(...Seriously?)
(That's why I'm asking—are you absolutely sure the whole "rabbits living on the Moon" thing is just a myth? I'm starting to feel nervous about it.)
According to the arbitrary translation system devised by a certain archmage, Alphauri had a satellite whose name could roughly be rendered as Belastar.
Surprisingly, the vast underground world within that gigantic satellite was home to intelligent beings whose civilization rivaled even Alphauri's own.
However, outer space was inherently black.
With no medium through which sound could travel, it must have seemed like an absolute void to creatures that had evolved from the sea.
Millions of kilometers.
Neither the Alphaurians nor the inhabitants of Belastar possessed the technology necessary to cross such an immense distance.
And so, for hundreds of millions of years, the two civilizations never influenced each other.
In fact, because magical science had not yet advanced far enough, the inhabitants of the main planet remained almost entirely unaware that intelligent life existed on their satellite until nearly the very end.
Plop.
But then, one day, they began descending from the distant sky.
Plop, plop, plop.
For the Alphaurians, who had spent their lives captivated by the beautiful mana generated by the planet's core and constantly looking downward toward the ground, it was an earth-shattering event.
Perhaps because they had evolved in an environment where resources were scarce, the beings of Belastar had developed transcendent methods of movement that surpassed even those of the inhabitants of the main planet.
When their homeland reached the brink of ruin due to resource depletion, they immediately turned their attention toward invasion on a cosmic scale.
Beings capable of tearing apart space itself and wielding magic appeared before them.
It was a truly terrifying sight.
'Huh.'
'What is that?'
'I don't think this is the time for us to be fighting among ourselves.'
'Can we end the war right now?'
It marked the beginning of a great battle.
And it was also the first event in Alphauri's history in which hundreds of thousands of its people died.
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter