Chapter 82

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Episode 18 - Gate of Memory [3]

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"I know, just from the whispers."

I muttered loudly enough for Charlotte to hear.

Then, I slowly turned my head, and although I could not see like everyone else, the white lines outlined her figure, just like the rest of the place.

She walked in our direction and, shortly after, sat beside me while looking at the bartender.

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a gold coin.

"Give me the best breakfast and a bottle of the finest liquor you have."

The man behind the counter took the gold coin with a smile and said,

"As you wish, I’ll bring it to you in a few minutes."

The woman said nothing. She simply remained silent before slightly lowering her head to look at her hands.

Meanwhile, Charlotte and I had stopped looking at her so we would not seem... suspicious, let’s say.

I mean, a blind man and a woman with an air of nobility; the Fallen Maiden would notice it even before entering.

And that would not be too strange, especially since this is a tavern.

Filled with drunks, obviously mysterious people with criminal backgrounds, or even villains.

In a tavern, you could find any kind of person.

’Well, this is my first time in a fantasy world tavern.’

In any case, I tried to ignore the Fallen Maiden.

I mean, Luminus.

But that does not mean I had not evaluated her when she entered.

’Right now, her strength is only at 5 Stars.’

We are still only in the prologue, so this should be the beginning of Luminus’s journey.

’I suppose we are in the Dark Era, after the first calamity.’

In this era, the villain rate should be extremely high.

So there is probably a portal covering the entire sky of the world, serving as the entrance to and exit from the Abyss.

Luminus’s story begins around one hundred years after the first calamity.

So, in theory, the second calamity should begin in a few years.

’Anyway, completing the prologue will be difficult.’

As for what exactly needs to be done in the prologue, the system itself actually explains it.

Something related to the Principles of a Purpose.

The only thing I managed to figure out was that it’s connected to Luminus’s purpose or, more or less, something along those lines.

It’s difficult to guess what exactly must be done in the prologue.

That’s why many fail during this process.

’So, should I say something or wait for the right moment?’

Honestly, I have no idea.

I said I was going to complete the story of the Fallen Maiden, but now that I was here, it was hard to know where to start.

’There are many options according to the strategies of some players, but none of them are actually related to completing the Memory Gate.’

And above all, there is no guide on how to clear the prologue because of one thing.

Every player starts in a different way.

For example, I appeared in this tavern and was lucky enough to find Luminus.

But most of the time, you either barely find her or never find her at all.

Everything in the game is random, and there is no specific guide.

’Therefore, strategies or not, none of that is useful to me here.’

Anyway, while I was thinking, I suddenly heard a voice so low that probably no one else would have heard it.

"Tsk, what a pain, it’s taking too long."

The whisper came from Luminus. I slightly turned my head in her direction.

She had barely turned her head enough for me to see her emotions; what stood out most on her face was annoyance and irritation.

’Wow, what a temper.’

But as if she had read or noticed my thoughts, Luminus looked directly at me.

Her lips parted while her cold, icy expression, devoid of emotion, whispered:

"A blind man, that’s rare and..."

She lowered her gaze and looked at my sword.

"A blind swordsman, what a strange combination."

"...."

Her gaze lingered on me longer than necessary. At that moment, Charlotte, standing beside me, murmured:

"She’s staring at you. It looks like she wants to kill you."

I turned toward Charlotte and smiled.

"That’s just her personality, don’t you remember?"

Charlotte shrugged and murmured:

"Well, anyone who saw you carrying a sword while being blind would naturally look at you with suspicion. Besides, regarding your attribute..."

’Mhm, it’s true that my attribute would normally attract attention, but we’re in the Dark Era.’

Here, people with the Dark attribute are not distinguished as villains.

At this moment, the Dark attribute is not seen as the symbol of a villain, but probably as something associated with members of House Everblack.

Because, according to my master, House Everblack existed before the Dark Era.

While I was lost in thought, Luminus’s voice rang out loudly enough for anyone near her to hear.

"You two... are nobles."

Her gaze moved from Charlotte to me. Naturally, Charlotte’s posture and mannerisms as a noblewoman, even as a reincarnator, still retained the habits of nobility, and Luminus must have noticed it.

Charlotte looked at Luminus with a smile and said:

"Yes, we are nobles, but not from this continent."

In truth, neither of us knew which continent or empire we were in.

I more or less understood Charlotte’s words.

Luminus nodded and said:

"So you’re foreigners, but what are you doing in a tavern?"

She looked at both of us with slight suspicion. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Charlotte answered her question.

"Just... wandering around out of curiosity. Besides, we’re not weak."

Shortly afterward, Luminus looked at me, more precisely at my bandages.

"Oh yes, I’ve never seen a blind swordsman before."

Her gaze remained fixed on me without looking back at Charlotte.

And before Charlotte could respond, I spoke.

"Isn’t that a bit hurtful?"

Her expression did not change, but her emotions seemed to weaken slightly.

Then she said without changing her tone of voice.

"I suppose that’s true."

She did not even apologize, but regardless, while she still had her suspicions...

Suddenly, I felt a very familiar energy. I froze for a moment before realizing it.

’Power of Chaos, a villain just entered.’

I highly doubted it was one of the infiltrated villains, but rather a villain from the story itself.

I neither turned my head nor muttered anything.

I simply used my senses, and soon the information reached my mind.

A long-haired man, approximately 1.87 meters tall, probably a little shorter, carried a greatsword on his back and had come alone.

He was, at the very least, a Class 4 or 5 villain. He calmly entered the tavern and sat down at a nearby table.

’Without the Light attribute, it’s almost impossible to detect a villain’s presence.’

That was why no one in this place, not Luminus nor Charlotte, noticed the villain.

But my Mana Sense and my own senses could obviously detect a villain with ease.

I turned toward Charlotte and murmured.

"A Class 4 or 5 villain just came in. He’s sitting about two meters to the left, at the table near the stairs to the second floor. He didn’t come with anyone, so he’s alone."

Charlotte stared at me with a frown before slightly turning her head toward where the supposed villain was sitting.

There, Charlotte stared directly at him, but she did not seem to notice anything particularly unusual.

She turned back to me and said,

"How do you know he’s a villain?"

"Through my senses. Trust me, if I put my mind to it, I can find any villain."

And shortly afterward, a third voice joined our hushed conversation.

"A villain, you say? Who would believe you? From what I can sense, that person doesn’t seem to be a villain. Sure, he looks like some gangster and all that, but..."

Her eyes narrowed.

"Slandering someone as a villain without evidence is a serious crime."

I did not react to her half-threatening, half-warning words.

Because, in any case, I already knew she would say something like that if she overheard me, and Charlotte... well, I had expected something similar from her too.

I shook my head as I replied to her words.

"Is that so? Then how about this: if I make him reveal that he’s a villain, we can form an adventurer group. Based on my analysis, you’re a 5-Star, and both my partner and I are 4-Stars. It wouldn’t be a bad idea for us to form a team while she and I are staying in this place. What do you think?"

Luminus stared at me for a second before a smile formed on her cold, emotionless face.

"Mhm, fine. But if he’s not a villain, then you’ll pay the consequences."

I shrugged at her words.

"Sure, whatever you say."

Obviously, I already had a plan before she even said anything.

To get close to her first, we couldn’t separate from her.

We needed to stay by her side throughout the entire prologue.

Otherwise, we would never be able to complete it and move on to Chapter One.

’And this should work.’

The villain was the reason that would force us into a group with Luminus.

’My original plan was risky and had very little chance of succeeding, but this villain’s appearance changes things.’

Perhaps luck was on my side. It was lucky that she came toward us, and now the villain had appeared as well.

A faint smile formed on my face.

So, without wasting any time, I stood up from my seat.

Then I turned my head toward the villain sitting at the table near the stairs leading to the second floor.

I took a few steps toward him, and soon I caught his attention. He pursed his lips and was about to say something, but I spoke first.

"Hey, you’re a villain, right?"

Shortly afterward, without any warning...

The atmosphere around me changed in less than a second.

The drunkards, the waitresses, the guy at the bar, and everyone else in the tavern froze in place.

Then, as if they were drawn by a magnet, they turned around, and soon I felt a dozen eyes on my back before they shifted toward the villain in front of me.

’Obviously, this was going to happen.’