◈ Episode 367. Who are you, you…
[Grandfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo begins his myth quest].
The moment the message came to mind.
Who was the first person players thought of?
Hoyeol, of course.
“……, a myth, not a world?”
An unheard of myth quest!
The only person they could think of who could do it was Hoyeol. Plus, there was one word in the overly long name that sounded familiar.
“That’s got to be Claudi of Claudi’s Territory, right?”
Yes, it was Claudi. The players had just experienced the greatness of that name in Claudi, but the question remained.
The Shining.
Dmitri opened his mouth cautiously.
“……No, but is that really Lee Hoyeol?”
“What’s your problem?”
He turns to Camilla, who responds bluntly.
“Don’t you see? The name itself is the problem!”
Grandfell Claudi…….
No, what did you say?
The full name wasn’t even pleasant to say.
“Hoyeol, why do you want to be called something like that when you have a good name?”
Why would he leave his own name behind and be called something so disgusting? No matter how much he wracked his brain, it didn’t make sense from Dmitri’s perspective.
“Especially that Romeo at the end! Is there also Juliet or something? anyway……!”
After a moment of silence, Lox spoke up.
“Well, I don’t think so.”
“What is it, Lox? What, do you have a hunch?!”
“Yeah, the possibility that that Grandfell isn’t a player.”
“What?!”
In the real world, only a player could be the author of a world message, but this was the Arcana continent, and that was a variable that couldn’t be ignored.
Camilla agreed.
“That’s right, NPCs used to come and go as well.”
“Arcana can do quests, they just can’t see the system messages. It’s possible, but it’s probably not something we should be too sure about.”
“Ha. That’s frustrating.”
But of all the possibilities, the most likely is.
It’s that Grandfell Claudi.
The odds were in my favor.
Dmitri’s muscular biceps twitch.
“I’ll just go ahead and ask him, Lox!”
The world message flashed through my mind, Grandfell is that really your name, and if so, why are you called by that name, and how did you come to be called by that name……!!!
Suddenly, Dmitri shakes his head.
“No, it’s just a name that came to mind in the message, so it could be something you made up…….”
Camilla glances at him.
“Are you sure about that?”
“……Why, as long as it’s formal, it shouldn’t be a problem, right?”
“Because he’s been answering anything as long as it’s formal.”
The Shining’s executives plotting how to send chills down the spine of the person listening. But there was another group of people with a different problem: The Great Alliance.
Claudi’s mansion.
“This is going to be a long hunt for us.”
“This is no ordinary hunt.”
“It is. That’s what we’re made of.”
Nam Taemin, Hisagi, the grumbling Leonie, and Skal.
The four had already traveled to the Arcana continent once as a pioneer party. They were familiar with the buffs, so there was no reason for them to rush straight to Arcana.
Won’t they fall behind the other players?
Hisagi reminded them.
“You need to keep in mind. Levels are just numbers.”
Words spoken long ago by none other than Commander-in-Chief Lee Hoyeol.
The truth is, there were unavoidable circumstances…….
Hisagi and others were not allowed to know his inner thoughts.
As it is now, interpretations are bound to vary.
Hisagi spoke meaningfully.
“We must also not forget our mission.”
Even the four of them had a mission, unlike the others.
Once they set foot on the Arcana Continent.
They could not be overlooked.
Nam Taemin crossed his arms and nodded.
“We must stop it, Evil Dragon.”
They had fought against the Evil Dragon, Eunaxus.
They could be said to be experienced. However, the Great Alliance had no intention of defeating a dragon on their own, much less a dragon that had been corrupted into a demon.
“We wouldn’t be able to hold our own against a normal dragon cry with our mental strength, let alone a demonic one……. We have big livers, don’t we?”
How did he manage to lunge at Eunaxus?
He was almost proud of himself.
Leonie turns to Nam Taemin, who is looking pleased.
“So get your heads out of your asses. Even if you’re on the Iron Castle, if we meet, we’ll probably end up in a hand-to-hand fight, just like Eunaxus.”
Dwarves aboard the Iron Castle.
The Great Alliance and Skal, along with the forces Hoyeol had assembled on the Arcana continent, were tasked with prioritizing the hunt for the evil dragon. Of course, there was a better way.
Nam Taemin clasped his hands together and closed his eyes tightly.
“Senior Bellier, the Arcana Continent is cheering you on……!”
Senior Healing Mage Bellier had already been indebted to him once. It was for her to find a way to cleanse the evil fruit the dragon had devoured. But she couldn’t hold out much hope.
I witnessed this while receiving treatment at the Magic Tower.
Skal summarizes the situation soberly.
“It’s a futile hope for now. If anything, it will only put more pressure on Bellier to take the reins. It’s not easy to be responsible for anything.”
“That’s why we’re talking about it between us. More than that……. What exactly are you responsible for, Skal? You don’t even have a guild, yet you speak as if you know so much?”
“Didn’t you say something about my family?”
“No, we’re busy taking care of our own family, and we don’t want to hear about yours. We’re far more responsible than you, who have no guild and are operating on your own……!”
Of course, the end of the great alliance is always a bitter one.
But neither Hisagi nor Leonie interrupted them; there was no need. For even as they chatted amiably in one of the old mansions, the World Message was on their minds.
[Grandfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo begins a Myth Quest].
“……!!!”
For a moment, the four exchanged glances.
“This is Hoyeol……. No, it’s Commander, right?”
The other players’ first impressions couldn’t be more different.
Hoyeol was the first person they thought of.
But at the same time, he knew it because he hadn’t left the mansion.
Hisagi’s snake eyes widened by more than double.
“……That can’t be right, I thought he was in the study until just now.”
The sound of footsteps echoed in his ears.
No matter how much Hoyeol wanted to.
You can’t start a myth quest in the study.
Druk!
Nam Taemin jumped up from his chair.
“…… I’ll go check it out.”
“What, are you acting like a boss?”
“Just wait. I’m……!”
Of course, the other three weren’t exactly the waiting type either.
Eventually, they cautiously opened the door and made their way to Hoyeol’s study.
And there it was.
Squeak!
The door swung open.
“Well, it’s a good thing you didn’t.”
“……!”
As expected, it was Hoyeol in the study.
At that point, the four of them thought.
Grandfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo.
He might not be Hoyeol.
He might be ‘someone’ who is not Hoyeol but belongs to the Claudi family.
But they didn’t dare to ask.
‘……Wait, is it formal to ask about family history?’
To be polite, of course.
“Unfortunately, I will not be able to be with you again this time. However, I trust you. Even if I am away, you will be able to face the evil dragon.”
“That’s very kind of you to say, but……., if you don’t mind me asking, if you have any urgent business to attend to……!”
“It’s a family affair that can no longer be overlooked.”
“!”
Hoyeol’s words confirmed their suspicions.
Grandfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo, he is a member of the Claudi family, not Hoyeol. The message that he was on a myth quest, which Hoyeol had also witnessed, could no longer be ignored.
‘It’s strange that a great family doesn’t have a situation. Like my family…….’
‘I’m glad I didn’t ask.’
‘I’m sure he’ll handle it with his usual nonchalance.’
So the four did not ask.
After Hoyrol left the mansion, they went beyond not asking.
He assured the guild members of the Great Alliance.
“Never, ever, ever question the Commander in Chief about Grandfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo. I want you to pass it on to all of the players if you can, not just us…….”
“What? Why?”
“Because it sounds like he has a very complicated story.”
“Wasn’t that the Commander-in-Chief who was saying Romeo or something in the message?!”
“Of course not. The moment the message popped into my head, I realized he hadn’t left his study. We were in the next room. Anyway, I don’t know the details, but I want everyone to be polite, okay?”
At this point, Nam Taemin chimed in.
“And based on common sense, would you say the commander-in-chief came up with that ID himself?”
*
The Spacetime Social Hall is a place where the flow of time is different from the Arcana continent and reality.
It’s a place of ritual, among other things, so it’s only natural that I, who was in the study of Claudi’s mansion, should have gotten out of the study.
Squeak.
So I open the door of the study and come face to face with Nam Taemin and his group.
A million things went through my mind.
They’re not looking for me in the study for no reason.
They must have seen my full name, ……!
‘Oh no.’
The shame I was desperately trying to protect.
The pride that a member of society should have.
My dark history has been exposed for all to see.
‘Damn pride……!’
If it weren’t for his pride, I could get away with it. However, if you asked me if I was the Grandfell in the message, I had no choice but to answer yes.
‘Because I’ve embraced this family, this dark history.’
But, why?
The four didn’t ask me.
As I walked through the mansion, I thought about it…….
Perhaps you misunderstood my last words?
-“It is a family affair that can no longer be ignored.”
A family affair.
Unless you’re under the impression that I meant to imply that Grandfell and I are two separate people……. to not even ask the question. In that case, I could only be grateful.
for this daunting myth quest.
But I was not pleased that I had passed up the chance to reveal my black history to the world. There was too much gravity in the air for me to be celebrating.
I walked through the mansion alone and muttered to myself.
“Does this mean that the first button was put on incorrectly?”
Not that I was going to say that, as I unbuttoned the Dawn’s jacket and slung it over my shoulders. If the Myth Quest had taught me anything, it was that the Arcana continent was a much bigger mess than I thought.
‘There are no answers without tampering with the past.’
Interfering with the past and altering reality was what Myth Quests were all about.
Why do such quests exist?
Because the Arcana continent has a flaw that cannot be fixed without changing the past.
Thinking about it, I suddenly remembered a curse.
The curse, [Dark Understanding].
In that curse, I was able to interfere with Grandfell’s past and change the present.
‘…… Isn’t this continent also someone’s dark history?’
Just as I was about to make a dark history connection.
His snout reminds me of the point.
A family affair that can no longer be ignored.
“There will be no more mercy.”
A myth quest.
In the past, I learned the full story of an incident. This led to an unexpected resolution. Similarly, in the past, I encountered doubts in the Dark Understanding.
“On that day, I had already given my last mercy.”
The day of Claudi’s destruction.
-“I hate you, Grandfell.”
The silver-haired man who led Claudi to destruction, declaring that he hated Grandfell. How his pupils were blackened, how [Natural Enemy] was triggered in his presence.
I had learned all about it on my first Myth Quest, so it was something I could no longer ignore.
This was not only Claudi’s pride, but Akshan’s as well.
So I said, meaningfully.
“Isn’t that right?”
Claudi, nameless.
……No.
I shouldn’t call him Claudi anymore.
“Great Evil, Seven Deadly Sins of Pride.”
The Seven Deadly Sins were not involved in Claudi’s desecration for nothing.
The nameless Claudi.
The Seven Deadly Sins were in his blood.
So what I had to do now was simple enough.
“I will hunt you down by any means necessary.”
I called out.
Akshan itself.
Akshan’s guardian spirit, specialized in tracking down demons.
──────
Akshan’s Guardian Spirit: Summons Akshan’s spirit animal, the Akshan Wolf.
──────
“Chase.”
……Who else would be eavesdropping on such a strange name?
What the heck, even the full name is a message.
In frustration, I finished my sentence.
“Tempest Over the Horizon.”
Damn it, I soon hear a small commotion from downstairs in the mansion.
“Hey, that’s an Akshan wolf!”
“Is Lee Hoyeol moving too?”
“More than that, it’s clearly Tempest Over the Horizon……!!!”
If you can’t avoid it, enjoy it, Hoyeol.
I mean, if you can’t enjoy dark history at all……. you have to be even more shameless. Don’t forget, always remember. I descended the stairs with a poker face.
Ttogak─!
It suddenly hit the player.
“There is no need to eavesdrop.”
“……!!!”
“If you have a question, ask it boldly.”
……No, it’s good to be shameless.
This is shameless.
It’s so blatantly shameless, isn’t it?
“If you think you deserve it.”
Please think about me being left behind……!!!