Player who Returned 10,000 years Later
chapter-336

“Does that mean there is a mage that knows about high elves in the tower that we passed on our way here?” Lilith asked.

Oh Kang-Woo nodded. “Yeah. Well, it’s a whole other issue whether he actually knows or not.”

“Hmm.” Lilith’s eyes shone. She seductively caressed her lips and continued, “Regardless, it does not change the fact that it is an unexpected discovery.”

They could not have hit a bigger jackpot than this. Even a blind squirrel could find a nut once in a while, but this was like finding a lifetime’s worth of nuts.

“Will we be heading there right away?” Lilith asked.

“Yeah.” Kang-Woo nodded. Since they had found information about a being who knew about high elves, there was no reason to hesitate. “I’ll count on you to take care of things here, Lilith.”

Kang-Woo turned around. The boy who had served him his food and drink, a woman who seemed to be his older sister, and the customers of the bar were staring at him while trembling. Although he could not make it so that it never happened, he could at least alter their memories a little.

“Yes, Master Kang-Woo.” Lilith nodded and walked toward them.

Although there had been a short fuss, they soon turned silent after Lilith lightly snapped her finger.

“Before we go to the tower…” Kang-Woo turned toward his party members who had gathered after receiving his call. He asked, “Have you guys found any useful information?”

“Nope. How could we have gathered anything useful after only an hour?” Cha Yeon-Joo complained.

They had been summoned back to the inn after barely having done anything, so there was no way that they had gathered any useful information.

“All that we noticed was that the people lack energy compared to the level of civilization. The streets were super gloomy. Oh, and security isn’t all that great either. A few men tried to drag Seol-Ah away while we were walking around,” Yeon-Joo mentioned.

“What?” Kang-Woo frowned in displeasure.

‘How dare they lay their hands on my darling?’

He looked behind Yeon-Joo to see Han Seol-Ah slightly trembling in shock.

“Are you okay, darling?”

“... I was so scared, Kang-Woo.”

Seol-Ah walked up to Kang-Woo and entered his embrace. Kang-Woo’s expression crumpled as he stared at Seol-Ah’s shaking shoulders.

‘Nothing probably happened considering Seol-Ah’s strength, but…’

Being physically strong and being resilient to clear impure intentions were completely different things. Taking Seol-Ah’s personality into account, she likely did not have any resistance to such blatant vice.

Kang-Woo hugged Seol-Ah even tighter and asked softly, “Where are those sons of bitches?”

“Uhh, mm. Well…” Yeon-Joo hesitated.

“You didn’t let them go, did you?”

“I mean… Uhh, we did, but…”

“You let them go? You should’ve at least broken their arms and l—”

“Their dicks were ripped off.”

“Yeah, at least their d… What?”

‘Ripped what off?’

“Seol-Ah got pissed and ripped their dicks off.”

“...”

‘I beg your pardon? Seol-Ah?’

“Ah, Y-Yeon-Joo! Y-You said you would keep that a secret!”

Seol-Ah, who had been in Kang-Woo’s embrace, sprang up while as red as a tomato. She was completely fine as if she had never been trembling in fear in the first place.

Kang-Woo reflexively closed his legs.

Seol-Ah shouted, “Y-You’ve got it wrong, Kang-Woo! I-I didn’t do anything. It was Yeon-Joo—”

“What? You’re blaming it on me? What the fuck?!” Yeon-Joo yelled. “You’re the one who ripped it all off before I even had a chance to stop y—”

“That’s enough of that.” Kang-Woo shook his pale head.

He looked at Seol-Ah.

‘Darling… I haven’t done anything bad, right? I’m all good, right?’

He stared at Seol-Ah with shaking pupils. Seol-Ah, who met his gaze, smiled.

‘Alright, I think I’m good.’

“What about you guys, Si-Hun and Balrog? Anything?”

“We have not been able to gather anything of value.” Balrog shook his head.

Kang-Woo turned toward Kim Si-Hun, who seemed to be in thought.

Si-Hun stated, “I’m not sure if this information is worth anything, but…”

“Anything is fine,” Kang-Woo replied.

“I heard that the princess of the Arnan Empire is passing through a city not far from here.”

“Princess Iris?”

“Yes, that’s right. I’m not sure why an imperial princess is all the way out in this remote region, but… She’s apparently going back to the imperial capital while taking a detour to this area.”

“Hm.” Kang-Woo nodded.

‘Princess Iris, huh?’

He had wanted to meet her at least once.

‘It would be nice if I could form an amicable relationship with her.’

Kang-Woo was aiming for her immense power; he couldn’t care less whether she was wicked, a saint, or an absolute fucking bitch. There was no one more useful than her as long as he was able to bring her to his side.

‘I’ll put it aside for now.’

Although it would be nice if he had her as an ally, it did not mean that she was a necessity. He had no need to go out of his way to bring her to his side.

“Well then, let’s move,” Kang-Woo expressed.

Lilith was on the verge of finishing up. Kang-Woo got up, packed his things and headed toward the tower that Viscount Velen had mentioned.

***

Kang-Woo’s party arrived at the run-down tower. Kang-Woo lightly knocked on the door. The door was very worn down and weeds were growing from between the bricks; it was so dreary that it was a wonder if someone actually lived here.

“Anyone home?” Kang-Woo asked.

There was no reply. Kang-Woo lightly clicked his tongue.

“I have come in hopes of asking you something.”

He had already confirmed with the Authority of the Beholder that someone was inside.

Kang-Woo continued calmly, “I would like some information regarding high elv—”

Wham! The door swung open aggressively, and out came an old mage that looked as if he would appear in a fantasy film about a ring. The mage glared at Kang-Woo temperamentally.

“... Who are you all?” the mage asked, and then sniffed them with his eyes narrowed. “Hah. You don’t seem to be from Aernor.”

The mage scanned Kang-Woo and the others in surprise. Kang-Woo was just as surprised.

‘He found out as soon as he saw us.’

And by smell, no less. Kang-Woo was highly curious about how the mage had found out.

“Yes, you’re correct,” Kang-Woo answered while nodding.

The mage’s eyes were dyed with even more suspicion.

“You want to know about high elves?”

“Yes.”

“... Why?”

“May we come in and explain ourselves slowly?”

“...”

The wary mage slowly nodded. Unlike its shabby outer appearance, the tower’s interior was rather clean. The mage took them to a study filled with books.

“My name is Douglas. It was a long time ago, but I used to work under His Imperial Majesty as a mage.”

“I am Oh Kang-Woo.”

Douglas lightly grabbed the hand that Kang-Woo had extended.

“So, why do you want to know about high elves?” Douglas stared at Kang-Woo in suspicion.

Kang-Woo remained silent for a short moment and calmly scanned Douglas while the gears in his head turned rapidly.

‘Now, what should I say to alleviate his suspicion and gain information?’

He thought up a few ideas. Number one; to tell Douglas the truth that they were looking for the high elves for their mission to eliminate the Demon God’s corpse.

‘No goddamn way he’d believe that.’

It sounded so insane that it would be a relief if Douglas did not consider them to be crazy.

‘Number two.’

Simply because of curiosity?

‘It’s too vague.’

Kang-Woo continued to think. He thought up a few other ideas, but none of them were good enough.

‘How about I just force him to talk using the Authority of Fear?’

He thought about it for a moment, but shook his head.

‘It’s too risky.’

The Authority of Fear was not omnipotent. The chances of its success fell drastically even if the target possessed even a little demonic energy resistance. Worst case scenario, Douglas’s mind would break completely and they would not be able to gain any information from him.

‘Besides, he used to be the head imperial mage, so there’s no way that he’d be weak.’

Using forceful methods was far too risky.

‘In that case, the only things I can do are to alleviate his suspicion with a believable reason, or eliminate his caution altogether.’

Either one did not seem easy.

‘No, the latteractually might be possible.’

Kang-Woo could form a bond with Douglas and lower his caution.

‘This mage has a very high interest in high elves.’

If he did not, there was no way that he would have spent decades researching them. No, his great interest in high elves was obvious from how he had run out of the tower immediately after Kang-Woo had mentioned high elves.

Kang-Woo organized his thoughts and slowly answered, “Because we are highly interested in them.”

“... You are?”

“Yes. Hm, I guess you could say that we like them.”

“Oh?” Douglas began to show interest. He coughed and then asked, “Are there records of high elves even in your world?”

“Somewhat.”

Most of them were out of imagination, but one could technically call them records.

“How interesting,” Douglas expressed in great interest. He then asked excitedly, “What kind of records? How are high elves recorded in your world? Have the differences between elves and high elves been clearly defined? How have their appearances been recorded?”

He was like an otaku talking about their favorite anime with a fellow otaku. Kang-Woo smiled widely.

‘Nice.’

Douglas had taken the bait.

“Hahaha. I’ll go through everything with you slowly,” Kang-Woo said.

He recited all the information that he knew about elves from a fantasy novel he had read long ago. “They have been recorded to possess great beauty, a long lifespan, and eternal youth.”

“Hmm. That’s more or less based on the truth.”

“Also…” Kang-Woo fervently continued, “They are depicted to have exceptional archery skills in other novels.”

“Hm, I see.”

“They have also been recorded to have great affinity with spirits and are vegetarian because they cannot eat meat.”

“... Hmm. I see.”

However, the longer Kang-Woo explained, the less interested Douglas became. Kang-Woo could instinctively tell that these were not the kind of records that Douglas had in mind. Kang-Woo frowned.

‘What the hell?’

What was he doing wrong? He had talked about the depictions of elves in fantasy novels and films, but Douglas was not interested in the slightest. It felt as if the plan drawn within Kang-Woo’s head was falling apart.

Just then, Layla interrupted, “A moment please, Kang-Woo.” She took Kang-Woo outside and whispered, “Are you trying to relieve Douglas’s suspicion by talking about high elves and forming a bond with him?”

Layla had figured out Kang-Woo’s intentions in a flash.

“Yes, but it doesn’t seem to be going very well,” Kang-Woo replied.

He had talked about the depiction of high elves in all the films, fantasy novels and anime that he had seen, but Douglas did not seem to be interested in them at all.

Layla narrowed her eyes. “Please wait. If my suspicions are correct… I believe I can resolve this.”

“You, Layla?”

“Yes. Please trust me,” Layla responded with certainty.

Kang-Woo tilted his head in wonder. “How?”

“Fufu. That’s a secret. You can only know after you figure out why Douglas is so interested in high elves.”

“Are you saying that you know why?”

“Well… You could say that I can tell from his eyes. There can be no other reason why he is so passionate over high elves.”

“...?”

“Regardless, please leave it to me,” Layla stated as she took out a laptop from her bag. It was one powered by mana, just like Kang-Woo’s. “I will go talk in private with Douglas.”

Layla asked the other party members to wait outside and walked inside by herself with her laptop in hand.

‘What is she trying to do?’

Kang-Woo stared at the tightly-shut door in confusion. Just then, Douglas’s exclamations rang out from beyond the door.

“Whoa! Whoooaaa!! B-By the heavens!”

Kang-Woo’s curiosity grew even more.

‘Authority of Transparency.’

Unable to handle the curiosity, Kang-Woo saw through the door by turning it transparent in his eyes to see what was happening inside. Layla had opened her laptop and was showing Douglas something on the screen.

‘Let’s see.’

Kang-Woo looked at the laptop screen. It was displaying a manga, with the title on the screen written The Lustful Night of an Elven Lady and an Orc ~A Night Drenched in Carnal Desire~.

“... Huh?”

‘Drenched in what?’

“Hoho, it just came out," Layla mentioned.

“Amazing! Simply amazing!”

‘Umm, excuse me? Layla?’

“This is what I was born for… Sniff. The days that I had spent researching… must have been for this moment.”

“I also felt it the moment I saw you, Douglas. That this… was fate.”

‘What the fuck are you two talking about?’

“Wh… What are these works of masterful art called in your world?”

“They are called ero manga.”

‘Excuse me… Sister-in-law.’

“Amazing… Phenomenal! How could they have portrayed such minute details…?”

“Here, there are plenty more.”

“Woooow!”

‘Why are you doing this to me?’

“Unlike that young man earlier… You sure know your stuff. Hmph, who gives a shit about nitpicky details like that?”

“It’s because Kang-Woo isn’t very well-versed in these kinds of things.”

‘Nor do I want to be.’

“Hehe. If it’s you, I don’t mind showing the results of my research. Here, take a look at these. They are books that I hired the most talented artists of the empire to draw.”

“My, Douglas. Your collection is no joke either.”

“Huhu, I dedicated my entire life to collecting them.”

‘Stop.’

“Yes… If you’re asked what goes best with elves…”

“Is there even a need to ask? What else but…”

‘Please stop.’

“Orcs!”

“Orcs!”

‘Stop, you crazy sons of bitches.’

Clap!

‘Don’t high-five.’

“Kang-Woo, what do you think Layla is talking about with Douglas?” Seol-Ah asked while tilting her head.

Kang-Woo raised his head in silence and blankly stared off into the empty space.

‘I wonder how long we can stay appropriate for all ages?’