Looking at the large white wooden gate plaque, I thought this had to be the place…
I cautiously looked around the white stone building.
“I should at least try knocking first…”
I swallowed my saliva and knocked on the gate.
‘Come in here.’
Creak.
After a moment, the door opened and a middle-aged man stepped out.
He had a bandana wrapped around his head. His hair was as white and curly as a goat’s fur, and deep wrinkles were etched into his face. His hands were hairy.
He looked like someone who worked as a hunter or a fisherman. When he saw me, he cocked his head.
“Who… are you?”
“Haha, hello. My name is William Steven from Costa Village. Is Richard out at the moment? Or is he inside?”
Back on Earth, I was Startup CEO. Startup CEO had to take on various roles until a specialist could be found.
Planner, designer, developer, marketer, accountant—you name it, I did it all.
Of all these, the first and most important role I had to handle was sales.
One of the essential sales skills is minimizing the number of questions.
If I were to ask, “Is Mr. Richard inside?” the listener would be forced to focus on whether they should introduce Richard or hide him, rather than simply answering if he’s here or out.
But if the answer comes as, “Who are you?” it probably means they really don’t know. In that case, just laugh awkwardly, say, “Sorry, I must have the wrong place,” and move on.
“If you’re talking about Sir Richard, he did come by earlier…”
Oh, so this is the right place.
“But… how did you know to come here?”
“I’m here to deliver something on behalf of an important person.”
“This isn’t a place you can just come in as you please…”
Unlike asking for Richard, it wasn’t so easy to get inside.
It seemed this place was important for some reason.
Well, I only needed to deliver the item… I didn’t really have to go inside.
“I just need to deliver the item. If it’s not too much trouble, could you please call Sir Richard?”
“Haha. You’re my guest, after all. You found the place faster than I thought.”
A voice rang out from inside, and a strikingly handsome man emerged.
He was taller and broader-shouldered than me.
His hair was silver, and it shone whenever the light hit it.
He wore a long sword at his hip. He looked to be in his early twenties.
‘Slitted-eyes character?’
And indeed, he had slitted eyes.
Characters with slitted eyes are usually strong. And you can never tell what they’re thinking. He gestured for me to come inside.
“Sir Richard, surely you’re not going to let him in? And why haven’t you brought your item… Also, you know you shouldn’t let just anyone in here.”
Sir Richard smiled gently at the middle-aged man. The man seemed to realize something and muttered quietly.
“So, he’s one of us…”
Inside was much wider than it looked from outside. From the outside, you couldn’t tell what this place was for, but upon entering, the first thing that caught my eye was the various taxidermied animals on the walls.
Boars, bears, foxes, deer, tigers…
It also looked like a workshop. The workspace was filled with tools related to leathercraft.
On the workbench lay leather, knives, cloth, nails, hammers, and the walls were lined with various pieces of leather armor.
‘Is this a leather workshop?’
Leather armor is, unlike cloth clothing, a bona fide piece of protective gear. It’s made from leather that has been processed and hardened, and because it’s light and sturdy, even high-ranking officials and knights favor it.
Leather armor may be the oldest form of protection worn by humanity.
After all, when you hunt monsters or jimsung, you get leather from them.
But if, in ancient times, armor was simply a matter of peeling leather and draping it on, proper leather armor for defense is crafted through a process called tanning.
The most common is Hard Leather, which is tanned and hardened for strength. There were several high-quality sets of armor on display, just like those I’d seen in games.
‘But why is it forbidden to come in here? From the outside, it just looks ordinary…’
“Here, have a drink while we talk.”
Thud!
With a rough sound, a wooden cup was set before me. Biden, who had introduced himself as a leatherworker, slammed down two mugs of beer and then went into the workshop’s back room.
There was a large barrel of chilled draft beer inside. I’d been wandering around in the heat, and just the thought of it made my mouth water—it looked like it would be incredibly refreshing.
But surely it’s not poisoned… It just looks too good.
Rum is nice and all, but I’m a beer person. Still, I didn’t drink any. I was on a mission.
Sir Richard, seeing my suspicion, took the first sip himself.
Gulp, gulp!
Just watching him drink made me feel cooler.
“You’re careful. I like that. So, what brings you to see me?”
He went straight to the point. As if it was only natural, he dropped the honorifics.
From just a few words, I could tell he was a person who liked to get things done efficiently.
Judging by Sir Richard’s behavior, it felt like he already knew I was coming.
“I received a secret request to deliver something to you, Sir Richard.”
“Wasn’t easy to find me, was it?”
“My client gave me a code, and I deciphered it.”
I took a wooden box out of my bag.
“Did you look inside?”
He was smiling, but the atmosphere was just as chilly as when I met Frana Bella.
“I’m just the delivery person. I don’t know what’s inside.”
In truth, I hadn’t looked inside.
“It seems true, but let’s check anyway.”
Click!
Clack!
Sir Richard undid the latch, and with a sharp snap, the box opened.
The sound was louder than I expected, and I flinched.
“So it’s true.”
“If you’d opened it before, it wouldn’t have made such a loud noise.”
Whew… Good thing I didn’t open it. Inside the box was a pair of gauntlets.
The gauntlets looked sturdy and sophisticated. In particular, there were mysterious letters engraved in the center. But they felt unfinished somehow.
The shape of the gauntlets was almost complete, but the openings for the fingers were still sealed.
“Biden, please finish this for me.”
At Sir Richard’s call, Biden came out and carefully took the gauntlets.
“Wait a moment.”
Sir Richard told me, then crossed his arms and fell silent. More than an hour passed.
***
An hour later, Biden returned with the gauntlets. The unfinished parts had been repaired, and now they truly looked like proper gauntlets.
Biden handed the gauntlets to Sir Richard, who put them on.
“These are Lycanthrope Leather Gauntlets. With these on, I’ve heard you can exert about twice your normal strength. They’re an Artifact, made from tanned Lycanthrope hide.”
“An Artifact!”
So even in this world, there are magical items imbued with power.
Artifacts usually refer to relics or items with mysterious abilities.
Could just wearing those gauntlets really make you stronger?
“To think I was entrusted to deliver such an amazing item…”
Shrrring.
Sir Richard drew his sword from his waist and swung it several times.
Swish!
“This feels incredible… My swing speed is a bit faster, and it feels less strenuous, too…”
As expected, equipment is everything in this world.
“How much do you think these gauntlets are worth?”
“Um… maybe about 2 gold?”
At his prompt, I guessed the price without adding any premium.
“They’re worth 40 gold.”
“W-what?”
All I had left was about 8 silver—roughly 800,000 won, enough for me to live idly for three months.
But 40 gold… that’s over 80 million won. That was an enormous sum for me right now.
Gulp!
I swallowed hard, involuntarily. If I could sell just this one item, I could launch my Startup in this world for real…
“I’m satisfied. Please tell the young lady I received them well.”
His sudden farewell threw me off.
I could just say “yes” and leave, but something didn’t feel right. Wait, there was still the last riddle left…
‘The third riddle… The leather of the Lycanthrope will turn into the horn of a Susa Deer…’
I silently repeated the third riddle to myself.
It was clear I was supposed to exchange that artifact gauntlet for some other item.
Surely they wouldn’t give me something worth 40 gold and just let me walk away empty-handed.
“Um… Sir Richard, could I have payment for the item?”
“Payment? The 40 gold I mentioned?”
Since I hadn’t been told to collect a specific payment, I stayed silent.
“Should I be giving you something? I’ve changed my mind. Leave the item and go. Otherwise, your head won’t remain on your shoulders. That’s a high price for your life, isn’t it?”
“Sir Richard. I do not mind giving you my head, but you must still pay me.”
I did not retreat but stared directly at Sir Richard.
“What do you want as payment?”
“Please give me a Susa Deer’s Horn.”
Sir Richard stared at me with slitted eyes. But his eyes were not smiling.
“Can you take responsibility for those words?”
Suddenly, Sir Richard’s eyes widened.
Wait—what’s this? I can’t breathe.
‘Kill Aura…’
Sir Richard’s demeanor changed abruptly as he released a murderous aura toward me.
Kill Aura is a presence one feels when someone truly intends to kill.
Those skilled with swords often use it to show off their power.
Just emitting a Kill Aura is enough to say, “This is the gap between you and me,” making you realize the difference in your strengths.
When hit by a Kill Aura, your breath shortens, your heartbeat races, and your body freezes with a chilling sensation.
In the same category are Dragon Fear and Spirit.
Kill Aura mostly works on the weak. Among masters, it doesn’t do much.
But since I’m utterly weak, I was swept up in extreme terror just from his Kill Aura.
My hands shook uncontrollably. I couldn’t muster any strength. Cold sweat ran down my back in streams, sending chills down my spine. I could barely stand.
But I couldn’t just say, “Thank you for letting me experience Kill Aura,” and leave. My mind began spinning at a speed rivaling a panicked cockroach.
I knelt to the ground.
“Sir… Sir Richard… there seems to be some misunderstanding… The Susa Deer’s Horn is what my client told me to retrieve…”
Even with my humble plea, the Kill Aura didn’t dissipate.
‘Why is he so angry?’
“Is your client really from the Ashford Baron Family?”
“Yes… That’s right. That very person sent me.”
Even continuing the conversation was hard. All I could do was stick to the facts.
You received the item, so the client expects you to hand over what was requested.
“What is the emblematic animal of the Ashford Baron Family, the one who sent you?”
Was there such a thing? I really didn’t know.
“I don’t know.”
“It’s the Susa Deer.”
“And the Susa Deer’s Horn is the symbol of the family’s prosperity. Requesting the Susa Deer’s Horn is a coded way of telling me to betray the Ashford Baron Family. I am a knight of the Ashford Baron Family. You are demanding that I betray the family in exchange for the Artifact.”
‘What the hell does all this mean…!’
I was about to get killed just by trying to solve a riddle.
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.