Damned Transmigration - Chapter 79

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

◈ Damned Transmigration ◈

Chapter 79: Alderan 3

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‘Orca and Lacey know about me.’

It was not a huge surprise. Yuri had prepared himself for Orca to reach that conclusion two years ago.

There was nothing Yuri could do about it. Orca was an archmage who had served as Mage Tower Master for thirty years, ever since transmigrators first began arriving in this world.

Fortunately, just as Yuri had expected two years ago, Orca was not particularly hostile toward transmigrators. She was not only on friendly terms with Chuk-sin-doo, a famous transmigrator known throughout the world, but also kept Lacey as one of her closest confidants. That alone proved Orca's disposition.

On top of that, Yuri was Elena's benefactor.

“She really didn't tell them.”

After leaving the private room, Yuri muttered as he wandered aimlessly. The idea of looking around the magic fair had already left his mind. Instead, what Lacey had told him kept circling through his head.

Elena had kept the fact that Yuri was a transmigrator secret to the very end.

-I have no intention of going around telling people that you're a transmigrator.

Honestly, he had thought there was nothing he could do even if she did tell them. What Elena had felt back then was something Yuri deserved to bear. But after hearing Lacey's story, he learned that Elena had remained silent to the very end.

‘She read the diary... didn't she?’

Of all the things he had left behind in Rutlan, he regretted that diary the most. Along with the letters he had exchanged with Elena, it was the orphan Yuri's legacy in this world.

Yuri had read the diary several times to understand what kind of person the original Yuri had been. He had read the sticky emotions filling every page, focusing especially on the parts about Elena, his childhood friend.

A childhood friend who had gone too far away and risen too high for him to reach. Childish self-aggrandizement that seeped through their letters. Advice sent to a childhood friend who had never left their hometown, spent every day in an orphanage, picked pockets, and ran errands as the lowest-ranking member of a third-rate gang.

He did not know what it had been like at first, but as the letters continued, one thing had become certain.

Yuri had hated Elena. His intense inferiority complex had become hostility. That was why he kept his feelings out of the obligatory replies.

The diary was full of emotions he could not put into those letters. Honestly, Yuri hoped Elena had never seen it, but that was no longer something he could control.

‘If you read that diary...’

He forcibly ignored the feeling slowly spreading through him. Yuri let out a long sigh and raised his head. Following wherever his feet took him had led him outside the magic fair hall.

Maybe that was for the best. Rather than staying in that crowded place, it seemed better to get some fresh air.

‘Moonlit Reveller.’

Chuk-sin-doo was searching for the Sect of Order. Lacey said she did not know the exact reason, but she was certain that, separate from that, Chuk-sin-doo was looking for fellow transmigrators.

Whether that reason was hostility or something else, Yuri did not know. But it would be rash for him to approach Chuk-sin-doo first.

‘For all I know, that bastard might already know I'm a transmigrator.’

Besides, Chuk-sin-doo was currently involved in the Vernoc conflict. A place where several archmages and Martial Apex Venerables were entangled was far too dangerous for Yuri right now. The Vernoc conflict even involved the Sect of War's Battle Saint, and rather than dying down, it was only growing fiercer. The Sect of Chaos might have become involved as well.

‘He isn't going to die there, is he?’

Newspapers carried articles about the Vernoc conflict every day, but there had been no news of an archmage or Martial Apex Venerable dying yet. Experts at that level were not easily killed. Judging by Chuk-sin-doo's personality, he would not risk his life in the Vernoc conflict simply because he had accepted a commission from the Ascard Family.

Yuri did not know why Chuk-sin-doo was looking for the Sect of Order, but Yuri also had ties to the Sect of Order, and to Lorelia, the Calamity Star.

‘If possible, I'd like to meet him myself.’

If he met Chuk-sin-doo later, perhaps they could talk about the Sect of Order.

Even after sorting through his thoughts, Yuri did not rise from the bench. It was difficult to shove aside all those complicated emotions. So he passed the time blankly, sitting with his head hanging low.

“Hey.”

A voice suddenly called out just as he began considering a combination of Fist of the Rending Cloud, Crimson Stream Kick, and the Fist King's skill cancel. He had been attempting that combination while sparring with Estor and Haryeong throughout the journey, and it was gradually producing results.

Honestly, thinking about it now did not help. No matter how widely Yuri's martial talent was recognized, he could not have a new inspiration every day.

Much less could inspiration strike when his mind was tangled with so many thoughts and sticky emotions. He had merely been sitting there blankly, killing time.

“Hey, brat.”

Thud.

The bench shook lightly when someone kicked it. Yuri raised his head and found Haryeong glaring at him.

She looked similar to the bizarre Lacey he had seen earlier. She wore enormous glasses, had a strange necklace around her neck, and carried shopping bags with workshop names printed on them in both hands.

“You have quite some nerve, breaking a promise with this big sister. I was almost worried about what urgent and important matter could have kept you away, but here you are, sitting around shamelessly as though nothing happened. How audacious.”

Come to think of it, they had made plans. Before Yuri could answer, Haryeong skillfully raised White Fang with the hand holding a shopping bag.

“Wondering how I found you? I used this. Though even without it, I would have found you quickly since you were sitting so openly outside the hall.”

Why was she talking like that? Her blazing eyes and the angle of her brows were different from usual. Haryeong was genuinely angry.

“I'm sorry.”

He had no excuse. Yuri immediately stood and bowed deeply.

“You apologized at once rather than acting shamelessly. It appears one of your many flaws has improved a little.”

The moment he apologized, Haryeong's manner of speech returned to normal. Her brows remained sharply angled, though, so her anger had not entirely faded.

“So. You said we would meet in an hour, yet you stood me up for several dozen minutes. What exactly is the reason? Why are you sitting out here looking miserable when it is this hot?”

“I met Lacey Yuzha.”

It was not something he needed to hide. More than that, Haryeong was the only person Yuri could confide these worries in.

“What did you hear?”

Haryeong's raised brows settled into their usual position. Rather than keep standing, she dropped onto the bench beside Yuri.

After Yuri told her about his conversation with Lacey, Haryeong removed the large glasses she had been wearing and set them beside her.

“Should I kill her?”

“What?”

“Alderan is a large city with many people. Lacey Yuzha rarely goes out, but it is widely known that Heavenly Thunder Orca favors her especially within the Dersia Mage Tower.”

Haryeong was not quite frowning, but her brows had drawn closer together than usual.

“Lacey Yuzha does not have many people who could be called enemies, but Orca has quite a few due to her reputation. And this city is not within the Dersia Mage Tower's sphere of influence. So Lacey Yuzha dying in this city would not be an impossible occurrence.”

“Are you... seriously saying that?”

“To be honest, half of it is a joke and half of it is serious.”

Haryeong's pitch-black eyes turned toward Yuri.

“Even if I am a fiery assassin, I am not fiery enough to assassinate a mage favored by that Heavenly Thunder. More precisely, I am a cool-headed and rational assassin, far removed from being fiery.”

“...”

“But I am also an assassin who knows how to be fiery at times. Even if I know it is something I should not do, it would be better to remove the source of trouble for your future.”

“I think killing Lacey Yuzha would be more like pouring oil on a fire than removing a source of trouble.”

“Exactly. That is why we must not kill Lacey Yuzha.”

What the hell was she trying to say? Yuri was dumbfounded, but Haryeong's face remained serious.

“Still, it is true that that insolent woman threatened our Yuri. And despite threatening you, she had the shameless attitude of acting as though she had not threatened you at all. Killing her is a little much, so what about kidnapping and torturing her? We could shut her up, too.”

“I can't tell where the joke ends.”

“I have reconsidered it. Torture will not be enough if we want to silence her. No matter how professional our torture is, overcoming her fear of Orca would be difficult.”

“Then what are we supposed to do?”

Once Yuri played along, Haryeong nodded and answered.

“Let us use gu poison.”

“Gu poison...?”

“It is a living insect and a poison. There are many varieties, but the Dang Family's Yin-Yang Twin Gu would be perfect.”

When Yuri asked what kind of poison it was, Haryeong quickly explained. Yin-Yang Twin Gu referred to a pair of Yin Gu and Yang Gu. If the Yin Gu was placed inside someone's body, the Yang Gu could inflict horrific pain to control them.

“It is an extremely convenient poison. You cannot read someone's thoughts in detail, but you can detect emotions like hostility, killing intent, and treacherous intent.”

“So... you want to make Lacey Yuzha eat a bug?”

“Unfortunately, I do not possess Yin-Yang Twin Gu.”

“Then what are we supposed to do?”

“Let us think about it. Yin-Yang Twin Gu would be perfect, but obtaining it is impossible. Even if we went to the Dang Family and asked, they likely would not give it to us.”

“Haah.”

Yuri let out a deep sigh and shook his head.

“Let's stop talking about things we can't do.”

“Do you understand now?”

Haryeong suddenly said.

“Lacey Yuzha said she would not expose you as a transmigrator. But I already know you are a transmigrator, and if you wanted, I could seriously discuss methods of assassinating Lacey Yuzha. I am an assassin who cares for you this much.”

“...”

“The problem is Estor Orsia. He does not know you are a transmigrator. If Lacey Yuzha tries to make a petty threat, she will surely target Estor.”

“Probably.”

“I think Estor would not care much even if he found out. What do you think?”

It was not a question Yuri could answer immediately. They had met by chance at the cultist gathering in the Foul Village. They fought together, and Yuri ended up saving Estor's life. They sparred, then left Panteleon together.

They had become companions. But Yuri thought they had become friends before that.

Estor was a good guy. Even now, Estor was meeting Alderan's ruling powers for Yuri and Haryeong.

At times, Estor did things so foolish it was hard to believe he was the young master of the prestigious Orsia Family, but he was serious about the sword.

“I don't know.”

They had known each other for months now, but Yuri did not know what Estor truly felt. He might seem straightforward on the surface, but learning that Yuri was a transmigrator could make his attitude change as easily as turning over his hand.

That was why Yuri did not want to tell him. Most transmigrators were probably the same. In the end, transmigrators were alien beings in this world, aliens who had extinguished another person's soul and worn their skin.

For an alien bound to face disgust and hostility to form relationships in this world, there were only two choices. They could reveal themselves as transmigrators from the start like Chuk-sin-doo, or, like the vast majority of transmigrators, hide so they would not be discovered.

Yuri was doing what any ordinary transmigrator did.

“Yuri. This is my personal opinion.”

Haryeong suddenly spoke.

“You have a pathetic side.”

“?”

The remark came out of nowhere.

“I understand because of your circumstances. You try not to show it outwardly, but you have many worries you suffer through alone. What I find especially unbearable is your attitude toward Lady Elena.”

“What are you suddenly...”

“Let me explain why you have been sitting here looking miserable. You were threatened. At the same time, you are grateful that Lady Elena kept your secret to the end. You feel guilty for putting her in a position where she had to do that, or you do not want to repeat the past where everything fell apart after you were exposed as a transmigrator. I believe those are the reasons. Am I wrong?”

She had hit the mark. Yuri could not answer a word and only blinked.

“Before you became Yuri, before transmigrating, I think you were far more pathetic than you are now.”

“Ghk...”

At those terrible, violent words, Yuri unconsciously clutched his chest. Haryeong's tongue was sharper than any famous blade, and the words she fired were more vicious weapons than sword aura. Haryeong was brutally murdering Yuri, no, Lee Su-hyeok.

“I also suspect you had almost no experience interacting with other people.”

“Ugh...”

Yuri's shoulders trembled. Friends? He had none. To be even more honest, he had barely ever talked to women.

‘...Could I really call people I only talked to online friends?’

They were probably friends. In that case, it was fortunate that USAUSAMI was a woman. In other words, Lee Su-hyeok had had a female friend.

“Your circumstances suddenly changed, so pathetic Yuri must have struggled in many ways. Your original memories and personality mixed with the real Yuri's memories, and because you did not want anyone to discover you were a transmigrator, you acted like Yuri until your current personality formed. You still have a pathetic side, but it is probably better than your old pathetic self.”

“P-please stop...”

Yuri said it sincerely. It was a painful observation he could have gotten angry about, but his heart hurt too much to feel angry...

“What do you mean, stop? If I wanted to, I could talk about your pathetic side for another three days and nights.”

“Like what?”

“Standing me up so boldly, then sitting here alone with your head down, acting miserable. That was also an extremely pathetic side of you.”

“Guh...”

“Since you are in so much pain, I will stop here.”

When Yuri genuinely clutched his chest in agony, Haryeong clicked her tongue and showed him mercy.

“This is also my personal opinion. You may disregard it, but listen first. If you want to maintain a friendly relationship with Estor, I think it would be better for you to reveal the secret first.”

“That...”

“Is it not better for you to reveal it before someone else does? Estor is about to travel a long way with us. The longer time passes, the harder it will be to say, and the greater the backlash will become.”

She was right. Even if Yuri hoped he would never be discovered, no one knew what could happen in this world. Telling Estor now, before they boarded the airship, would be better for both of them.

“What if Estor gets angry, despises you, and spreads it to the world? What are you worried about? You can ask Estor for a ‘favor,’ can't you? Just tell him to forget it.”

The wager they had made during their spar. Estor was not the kind of person who would break such a wager.

“And let me say one more thing. I also kept your secret. Do you think I never received questions about you? When I returned from Logos, Orca immediately summoned me and asked about you. I also received letters from the Salhomun asking about you.”

Of course that had happened. Yet Yuri had never asked Haryeong about it until now.

“But I kept the secret. What do you think? I am an assassin who can keep a secret this well.”

“...”

“I know you have secrets you have not told me. Cat Panties, UrMumSpammer, things related to transmigrators. I am curious, but we both have secrets concerning our identities, so it is fine. Still, remember that I am a kind assassin always available for consultation.”

As Haryeong said that, she put her glasses back on. Yuri stared at her blankly, then asked hesitantly.

“Why are you so good to me?”

“I do not think this is the first time I have heard that question.”

“I honestly don't understand it.”

“I have told you several times that I want us to become close friends.”

“Yes.”

“I was abandoned by my family.”

Perhaps because she wore glasses, Haryeong's expression was harder to read than usual.

“The reason I first took notice of you was because you were alone, unaffiliated with anywhere. Having no affiliation means you can belong anywhere, and at the time, I judged that you had more than enough potential to become an expert.”

When had it been?

The summer two years ago, at the estate in Rutlan. When Haryeong had given Yuri advice about martial arts and acted as his sparring partner.

“Without the Dang Family's name behind me, I was only an assassin of the Salhomun. I knew my talent was exceptional, but I lived in an environment where talent alone could not make me stand out.”

She had reached the fifth tier without learning all the Dang Family's secret martial arts. If anything, that potential was what had made the Dang Family regard Haryeong as an enemy.

“As you know, my greatest weakness was my weak inner power. I had never properly taken even a single common spiritual medicine. My cultivation method was incomplete. There was a limit to the inner power I could build, and my martial arts were incomplete as well, so I believed the middle rank of the fifth tier was the limit of my ability.”

Haryeong's brows moved behind her glasses, but the frames were so thick and ridiculous that Yuri could not see their angle clearly.

“You asked why I am so good to you. This might be easier for you to understand. Of all the promising people an abandoned, ordinary assassin like me could approach, you were extraordinary enough to be called the best.”

Haryeong continued speaking while Yuri remained silent, unable to say anything.

“Lady Elena was similar. The Salhomun Master took care of this pitiful woman abandoned by her family. That was why the master entrusted me with guarding Marigold Elena Heinderga, who was close to becoming Orca's disciple at the time. Well, it was also because I most closely matched the conditions Lady Elena wanted among the Salhomun's assassins.”

The corner of Haryeong's lips lifted slightly.

“To tell you now, Lady Elena's conditions were these. A woman, not too old, someone who would not confuse guarding with surveillance, and someone who would not be bothersome.”

“Apparently, being quiet was not one of the conditions?”

“Most assassins are quiet. I am also a quiet assassin when I choose to be. If Lady Elena had made quietness a condition, I would have fulfilled it splendidly.”

Yuri had thought there must be another reason behind Haryeong approaching him, but hearing it directly felt different. It was exactly as Haryeong said.

It was easier to understand when she stated her reasons so openly.

“So you treated Elena and me well so the family that abandoned you would take notice of you?”

“I will not deny it. Back then, I thought Lady Elena might one day become the Master of the Dersia Mage Tower. So I thought if I served her with all my heart, she might become an important person someday and take care of me.”

“Hahaha.”

It was not a particularly happy sound, but Haryeong parted her lips and laughed.

“The same went for you. You had Lady Elena's support, and I thought you would surely rise to a high position somewhere someday. I wanted to get my hooks into you early. To an unremarkable assassin like me, the two of you were insurance for the future.”

“There's a contradiction in what you're saying.”

She said she treated them well for calculated reasons. It was easy enough to understand, but that made one part even harder to understand.

“You call us insurance for your future, so why did you risk your life?”

That was what Haryeong had done in Logos. She had prepared to die so Yuri and Elena could escape.

“At the time, I judged that I would have difficulty avoiding death no matter what I did. But if I did that and happened to survive, I would become the person who saved both your lives. Was it not a gamble worth taking?”

“Liar.”

“You are right. I had that intention too, but my feelings took precedence over reason back then. Just as you stepped forward because you did not want us to die, I did the same.”

Haryeong shrugged.

“Well, it is a harsh thing to say to you, but I think the result was good. That incident brought us closer.”

“...”

“I still have my original goal. What I mean is, my desire to become close friends was not a lie. And I am gradually seeing results. While serving Lady Elena, an ordinary assassin like me gained the alias Dark Blossom. After my contract with Lady Elena ended, I went to find you and luckily received a bottle of elixir to drink.”

Haryeong's greatest weakness, her weak inner power, had been resolved. Her constitution had improved as well, so even with an incomplete cultivation method, she could aim for a higher realm.

“Also, just as I thought, you will continue gaining fame. If I travel with someone like you, even the Dang Family will have to take notice of me. What do you think? Do you understand this calculating assassin's goodwill now?”

“I understand that you're too pathetic to criticize me, Haryeong.”

She said it was for her own benefit, but Yuri did not think that was all there was to it. That woman always maintained an expressionless face, yet her expressions and behavior never matched.

She had risked her life to hold back the Blood Fiend. She had also stayed by Yuri's side despite the fact that, as a transmigrator who had provoked cultists, he could face danger at any time.

“Pathetic? I am different from you. I have a clear purpose.”

“Why do you want to make your family take notice of you? Do you want revenge?”

“Rather than revenge, I want them to regret abandoning me. Hmm, now that I think about it... it is not something I would call revenge, but Yuri, I want to kill my father.”

“?”

That was another destructive answer. Yuri's eyes widened, and Haryeong smiled, a rare full curve forming at the corners of her lips.

“I want to do it with my own hands, but it probably will not be easy. But if I become close with you and help you in many ways... perhaps someday, I might receive your help in killing my father.”

“Kill your father... but you say it isn't revenge?”

“Yes. It is for a completely different reason. It is not that kind of feeling.”

“Then why kill him?”

“Because I have to.”

As Haryeong had said earlier, they both carried secrets about their identities. She did not yet want to explain that reason fully.

Still, they had shared things today that they had not even discussed yesterday. Perhaps they had been close enough to share them even before, but neither of them had opened their mouths.

“I think we got a little closer.”

Yuri let out a hollow laugh and rose from his seat.

“Coincidentally, I was thinking the same thing. Pathetic Yuri.”

Keeping her faint smile, Haryeong stood with him.

“Are you going to keep wearing those glasses? They really do not suit you.”

“They're expensive.”

“What do they do to cost that much?”

“They let me see distant things up close, vaguely see the flow of mana, and have several other functions.”

“Whose money did you use to buy them?”

“I bought them with my own money, but I plan to take money from Estor's money pouch in your possession.”

“Hah.”

What a shameless answer. Yuri shook his head and turned away.