Chapter 113
Chapter 113
>>> Please save me
Yian chuckled soundlessly at the incoming chat.
He could easily picture her expression, sitting there in front of that soup.
>>> You already ate beforehand, right? It was all a scheme!
>>> You know this is food even you couldn’t stomach, right???
He couldn’t help but retort to that.
>>> I eat it just fine
>>> No reply, so I thought you were asleep
>>> If you’re not sleeping, please rein these guys in. It’s His Holiness Health Freak Pope-nim’s advice—he says I have to eat all of this
>>> I’ll turn into a walking ginger ooooo!!!!!!!
Yian finally burst out laughing.
>>> You have to finish it all before you come back up
>>> lololol right? I told you to take care of yourself~ If it doesn’t suit you like it doesn’t me, you won’t have this problem~
>>> Selling how-to-become-support class pls
>>> Doraemit
>>> Doraemit made me realize—there’s even doraji in here
>>> Dungeon-grown doraji is correct
She knows her stuff. Yian chuckled soundlessly again.
Shin Yuri’s physical condition, as he’d seen it, was definitely not great.
But not so bad that she had to down several bowls of what she called the “soup of terror.”
Even so, the reason he’d brought out soup from his inventory at the restaurant and poured it into a wooden tub for her might have been just a touch of mischief.
>>> When the hell do you even harvest doraji???
>>> Oh, that? I buy it for him all the time at the New World Department Store Hunter section
>>> Holy shit, that guy
>>> Won’t eat it himself but procures the ingredients—look at this guy
>>> Aww poor Yuri Hunter-nim, get well~
>>> euheunghemmohem
Laughter burst out again.
Yeah, living like this isn’t so bad.
That was when he thought that.
—Knock knock, knock.
A knock rang out in the distinctive rhythm used only by temple informants.
All the way here?
“Come in.”
The Holy Knight who entered the room right after his words bowed his head.
“You need to return to the temple urgently.”
“What’s going on?”
There shouldn’t be any sudden reason for them to call for me.
Yian ran through a few possibilities in his mind before dismissing them.
But what the Holy Knight said was unexpected news.
“There’s been a rebellion in the Eastern Empire.”
“Pardon?”
What the hell?
With news this big, either So Yeri Hunter-nim with her Apocalypse prophecy or Shin Jae-heon Hunter-nim monitoring the Eastern Empire should’ve mentioned it first.
But the Hunter Chat had no mention of the Eastern Empire.
As if nothing had happened at all…
…No.
He froze.
What if it wasn’t an event scripted to happen in the RP Dungeon, but a spontaneous accident… or an incident caused by someone on the Hunter team?
The Apocalypse only mentioned the crown prince’s position weakening—no talk of an outright rebellion.
The Eastern Empire was a key player in holding back Gates, so the crown prince’s downfall should’ve been highlighted if it led there.
What if someone from ‘our side’ lit the fuse in the Eastern Empire?
Yian’s gaze landed on Shin Jae-heon’s status window, which hadn’t budged in days.
Not just the status—he’d been radio silent, as if swamped.
“…Are we looking into the internal situation in the Eastern Empire?”
Yian turned back to the Holy Knight. The knight bowed his head.
“The Eastern Empire’s nobles were already fed up with the crown prince’s incompetence, but losing Epe—the symbol of Valtan Empire’s honor—has enraged them.”
Epe was a hidden route.
After dealing with Epe, the dungeon fully shifted to the hidden route, evidenced by the overall spike in Gate difficulty.
And now, the Eastern Empire plunged into chaos on top of that?
Was this fallout from the RP Dungeon’s hidden route?
Yian slowly shook his head. His instincts said no.
“They want to enthrone a new crown prince.”
The Holy Knight said cautiously.
“Who?”
“…The current crown prince’s cousin, Kinna.”
The moment those words dropped, a system window popped up before Yian.
Info: Eastern Empire Imperial Kinna
A figure long dissatisfied with the personality of Valtan’s current crown prince, Paris.
But the Eastern Empire prioritizes bloodline over ability. Kinna, with weaker direct lineage, has been sidelined for years.
However, with Crown Prince Paris repeatedly proving incompetent lately, opportunity knocked.
Added to that, an unknown funding source has ignited the faction seeking to crown him the new prince.
Yian’s eyes bored into one part of the system window.
Unknown funding source?
He could almost see a name behind it.
Shin Jae-heon Hunter-nim.
He murmured inwardly.
The Holy Knight drove the nail home into his thoughts.
“There have long been rumors that the Carman imperial family has had Kinna under close watch.”
The imperial family.
That meant even if Shin Jae-heon Hunter-nim had moved on this, there’d be no penalty.
And that he could act more boldly.
Yian glanced at Shin Jae-heon’s unchanging status before turning to the Holy Knight.
“…Prepare to return to the temple. And,”
The one the imperial family had been watching revolted.
Naturally, they’d scrutinize the Carman imperial family now too.
“Find out what the emperor has been up to lately.”
“Understood.”
Hunter Chat could’ve sufficed for that intel, but Shin Jae-heon Hunter-nim had been eerily quiet lately.
Quiet like the calm before the storm.
After the Holy Knight left.
Yian soon heard that Shin Jae-heon had vacated his post.
[2 Weeks]
The emperor, who left only that note and vanished, was one who went out often, but this was his longest absence yet.
And moreover.
“We’ve identified the funding source.”
Thanks to prior surveillance, the Holy Knight brought intel swiftly.
Yian received it that very night.
“The emperor Ivan operated a trading company under an alias in his youth.”
It was unlikely Shin Jae-heon Hunter-nim wasn’t tied to that company and Ivan.
The moment he heard, Yian decided swiftly.
“I need to go undercover.”
Unlike someone who’d have to dodge knights and jump through hoops to slip away, he could easily convince people here.
“By Saint Cyan’s will.”
The Holy Knight bowed.
Yian paid more mind elsewhere.
“Suddenly?”
“Something came up.”
“Well, you’ve been here a while… Chat me, got it?”
Shin Yuri saw him off with a reluctant face.
Before leaving, Yian studied her face closely.
Hoping she wouldn’t sense anything off.
Even if the Eastern Empire falls, as long as we protect the continent, right?
That was Shin Jae-heon’s thought from a few days ago.
‘The situation around Kinna in the Eastern Empire is getting dicey.’
Crown Prince Paris had shown the heights of incompetence, so it made sense.
The West and East Empires were already rivals.
While the West Empire marched from victory to victory, the East’s crown prince led the blunders, so the nobles must’ve been burning inside.
The report made Shin Jae-heon realize.
This is the chance.
Quite some time had passed since the mount he rode crossed the Eastern Empire border.
He knew how the West Empire’s border security worked, and as an S-rank, sneaking across was no issue.
The problem was his face being known.
Shin Yuri’s appearance-change potion would’ve been handy, but he couldn’t loop her in on this.
Fortunately, his destination was the Eastern Empire.
Few there would’ve seen the West Empire emperor in person.
He dyed his hair blond. The dye was cheap and would fade fast, but it’d do.
A robe over his head and changed hair color fooled people easily.
‘Hiring porters…’
Posing as a commoner in ragged clothes seeking day labor was simple.
Thus, he joined Kinna’s group.
He applied as a day-labor porter, not a mercenary, for a straightforward reason.
Kinna’s rebel band wouldn’t casually arm mercenaries.
But porters were different.
They hauled crates without knowing contents and moved on.
Thus, Kinna’s group infiltrated the capital’s shadows silently.
“For the Empire…!”
Days after following those shouts.
“Big trouble, Lord Kinna!”
Shin Jae-heon’s sharp ears caught whispers from afar, especially in the quiet surroundings.
He listened while shifting loads.
“Paris caught wind of it!”
Caught wind? Shin Jae-heon tilted his head slightly.
“He and his adjutant vacated the palace in a hurry.”
Oh.
Shin Jae-heon chuckled soundlessly.
“Did intel leak?”
Kinna sounded troubled, as if already exposed.
Naturally so.
Failing to pin any charge on Crown Prince Paris meant loyalists would rally around him based on bloodline.
“Scour the palace grounds quietly first.”
Kinna commanded.
“We can’t let him slip away.”
No, he will.
But it wouldn’t be bad for Kinna.
Paris would go missing.
Having got what he came for, Shin Jae-heon slipped from Kinna’s band.
>>> Shin Jae-heon Hunter-nim, hibernating for winter???
Glancing at Hunter Chat briefly, he saw Shin Yuri’s name.
…He hadn’t contacted her long, it was true.
Seeing her name might reignite his anger. He might not hold back then.
Not anger at her, but at the guy he was hunting. And himself.
>>> Not sleeping, just busy
After replying, he realized it was nearly time to head back.
Kinna had advanced slower than expected, wasting too much time.
He might even take a penalty.
No, he definitely would.
“……”
It wouldn’t end with a week-long migraine like when he sent the maids and servants to Yuri last time.
He’d steeled himself for this outing.
Possibly rank drop or stat penalties.
But he couldn’t restrain himself anymore.
I can’t watch you get threatened again.
Killing the crown prince wouldn’t trigger a death penalty.
He wasn’t flashing his inventory declaring himself from another world to the continent—just offing one guy.
That should be fine, right?
With that, he broke from Kinna’s group and moved swiftly.
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