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Translator: penny
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Gatekeeper (3)
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⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙[Auto Load...] [No save point available...] [If no save point, loading to the initial point...]
...
"Huff..."
What happened?
My last memory was opening the door... then it all went black.
Looking around, it was the same hut as before.
First, with trembling hands, I opened the status window.
The status window that appeared as the world went dark was different from the one I knew.
Sure enough, I found two unfamiliar status windows.
⚔ STATUS ⚔[SAVE/LOAD]YES / NO[LOG] Expand ▼
Save/Load and Log. These windows definitely hadn't been there before.
Cautiously, I pressed the save button.
⚔ STATUS ⚔[Do you want to save?]LIFE POINT: 1 (-1)YES/NO
'Life Point'—in the game, these were the points you could use to save/load upon death.
"But why is this..."
Slaves definitely started with '2' Life Points. Other statuses had around '5', but slaves began with '2' due to the difficulty.
But checking the number now, it had been whittled down to 1.
In short, I had died.
Without even realizing it.
"When did I die...? No, was save/load even a feature to begin with?"
When I first transmigrated here, these windows hadn't even floated up.
So I'd naturally assumed I only had one life...
But for some reason, they were here now.
"Should I call this a blessing...?"
Touching my neck with my hand, it was properly attached.
Whatever the case, it was fortunate. For now, I was alive without dying.
For the time being, I closed the save window. With only 1 Life Point left, dying here would probably be the real end.
Next, I pressed the expand button on the Log window to open it.
⚙ LOG ⚙[LOG] Close ▲ 『Why is a soldier here?』 [Suspicion increased by '50'. (50)] 『A slave wouldn't know about this manual.』 [Suspicion decreased by '20'. (30)] 『You know this too?』 [Suspicion decreased by '30'. (0)] "Should I just fall over like this?" 『The hand's texture isn't a soldier's... heartbeat's too fast too...』 [Suspicion increased by '60'. (60)] 『Allowing a hand in the pocket? A soldier? What if there's a weapon?』 [Suspicion increased by '40'. (MAX)]
[Warning: Target's 'Suspicion' level has reached the critical point.]
"You're no soldier, are you?" [Selena could not hold back her killing intent. She drew a small knife from her pocket and slit Anderson's (my) throat.]
Surprisingly, Selena's thoughts were organized in script format.
This was a feature that hadn't existed in the game.
To be precise, logs existed, but they never showed character thoughts—let alone the cause of death. No matter how I looked at it, this was an illogical function.
I was curious how it had been added systemically, but there was nothing I could figure out right now.
So for now, I set aside the 'why' and focused on what to do next.
From the log, things were fine up to the early part.
The problem started from the moment Selena fell over with the chair.
For some reason, she had intentionally fallen from the chair.
And she had grabbed my hand on purpose.
Selena had distinguished a soldier just from the feel of my hand.
Simply by holding hands, she sensed my heartbeat and even judged if I was lying?
What a monstrous bitch.
It was a situation I hadn't experienced in the game.
The game characters didn't know about heartbeats, after all.
Then I read the log from the final body search.
『Allowing a hand in the pocket? A soldier? What if there's a weapon?』
This was...
Careless on my part, but I had my excuses.
Until just moments ago, I had been an ordinary Korean guy in his mid-20s.
I didn't know letting someone put a hand in your pocket was that dangerous...
Thinking about it, she had a point.
A trained soldier wouldn't allow a suspect to put their hand in a pocket.
I might have gotten complacent from her obediently following my words.
In the end, I underestimated her too much, got exposed as a slave, and died.
A mistake no real soldier would make—letting her reach into my pocket during the search.
I recalled the silver hair flashing at the end.
Selena had been smiling.
What had she thought when she killed me?
Did she spit curses at the slave bastard for clumsily imitating a soldier and toying with her?
Or did she just casually walk out after dealing with the slippery punk?
No point dwelling on it anymore; it wasn't important now.
I needed to make a new plan. This was the game world, but this reality wasn't the game.
The first mountain I had to overcome was that monstrous girl who could read minds just by holding hands.
I couldn't afford to be careless like before.
And...
📜 NEW QUEST 📜
Hidden Quest: 'End of 236 Years of Solitude'
📍 Goal: Suspicion level (0) at end of Selena's inspection
🎁 Reward: Hand of Abstinence
I now had a new goal.
A feature that hadn't existed in the game.
Hidden Quest: 'End of 236 Years of Solitude'.
I didn't know exactly what the [Hand of Abstinence] reward was, but who cared.
[Suspicion level '0' at end of Selena's inspection] perfectly matched my current direction.
Though 236 years of solitude was a bit harsh...
I looked around. The shabby hut, one desk, two chairs, and an iron axe behind me. Everything was the same as before.
Like last round, I opened the hut's door.
After waiting a bit... as expected.
"Hey, slave! What're you doing inside?"
Like last round, Kyle approached me.
"Sir. I'm Anderson, the new slave assigned here."
Last time, I'd been too casual and got smacked once.
From what I could tell, if I just treated him like a superior as a slave, Kyle might actually be more lenient than expected.
"Uh... yeah, a slave that knows how to salute. You fixing yourself up to run away?"
"No, sir. May I ask your name?"
"Hmm... Kyle. Looks like we got a decent polite slave this time."
"I'm merely a lowly slave. Thank you."
My guess was right.
This must be the more proper attitude.
"Sir Kyle, is there any way I can be of assistance?"
"What? Cheeky slave. Do your own work."
Kyle said it like he was dumbfounded, but he seemed inwardly expectant.
"I thought there might be ways for me, as gatekeeper, to assist Sir Kyle."
"Hmm... like what? Speak."
"Any interest in a woman from the village?"
"You gonna make one for me?"
Kyle reacted to the word 'woman,' as expected.
This was no different from the previous round.
"Let's hear it."
"I'll grasp the weakness of whatever woman you desire."
"How?"
"I have a method I've used for a long time."
"Oh...? An expert, huh? You know I'm an Imperial Knight, right? Screw up and it's jail."
Look at this punk testing me.
His words were tough, but his face gave it away.
He was probably already imagining an orgy with women in his head.
"If Sir Kyle desires it, I'll comply."
You can't resist women anyway. And what Imperial Knight—an exiled guy like you.
"Hmm... fine. You know the innkeeper's daughter?"
"Yes, I saw her once through the window."
"That bitch. Start with her."
"Yes, sir."
Now came the real deal.
Last time, stating business first as a slave got me hit for being arrogant.
This time was different. The necessary and sufficient conditions were met. From Kyle's perspective, he'd do anything now for a woman.
"Sir Kyle, for the plan, may I make a few requests?"
"What? No weapons."
"No, sir. I'd like a military uniform and some water to wash with."
"Water's fine, but why the uniform? Planning to run away in it?"
Even this time, Kyle tensed up at 'military uniform.'
As a soldier, it was natural.
"No, sir. As you can see, my appearance... isn't great. Probably not the look women would approach."
"Hmm..."
"If I wash up clean and wear the uniform neatly... it'll give some authority. Easier to grasp weaknesses too."
"...Makes sense."
Kyle had eyes too.
Even in these wretched rags, my looks stood out, and Kyle could sense it.
This wasn't arrogance—it was conviction.
Kyle put on a pondering face...
But it looked more like he was pretending to think while wanting to play it cool.
"Fine. I'll give you the uniform. Satisfied now?"
"Thank you, Sir Kyle."
Good. The negotiation went much smoother than last time.
No smack this round, and my relationship with Kyle improved.
Now, back to the hut to prepare for welcoming Selena.
...
Selena's carriage came to a stop in front of the gate.
I had just finished my preparations.
Hearing the carriage, I sat down on the wooden chair.
-knock knock
It had to be Selena knocking on the door.
"Come in."
I replied in the same low voice as before.
-creeeak
The door slowly began to open, and the face of the elf-eared girl peeked in.
"Just passing through~"
Selena said the same as last time and tried to head out of the hut.
This time, I sat in the chair with my arms crossed, silently staring at her.
As if to say, what do you think you're doing?
"...Huh? Who...?"
"Anderson, newly assigned as gatekeeper."
I answered without uncrossing my arms. No bow either.
Selena's ears began twitching in confusion.
"Wasn't there... a slave here before?"
"I know nothing about the predecessor. And this isn't the place to discuss it."
"Aha... yes..."
I deliberately acted even stiffer and more authoritative.
Pretending to be a soldier. To look as perfect as possible.
"Soldier, where are you from..."
"My origin is irrelevant to the inspection."
I cut off Selena's words forcefully.
I needed to firmly establish the hierarchy inside this gate.
I was the gatekeeper, and she was the entrant.
Selena looked slightly dazed.
Naturally so—I looked every bit the soldier.
She had to be very curious what happened to the slave who'd been here.
"Before the inspection, do you have any weapons on you?"
"..."
No answer.
"Planning a simple pocket search. Refusal may result in entry denial."
"..."
Why had this occurred to me now?
As far as I knew, the soldiers here didn't need a pretext for pocket searches. I'd grown complacent from slave habits, underestimating my authority.
Selena glared at me with narrowed eyes, saying nothing.
That wasn't suspicion—it was a sign of caution.
She'd recognized me as a soldier faster than expected.
Selena's ears kept twitching nonstop.
"Asking again. Do you have any weapons on you?"
"..."
The second question... If she didn't answer the next one, I could deny her entry.
"Last time I'm aski—"
"Small knife, finger-sized, in the right pocket."
"Thank you for cooperating. Hands on the wall, please. I'll retrieve it."
Selena reluctantly revealed the weapon's location.
For now, I wouldn't die.
I pulled the knife from Selena's pocket. It was truly tiny, about the size of a finger joint.
This finger-sized knife had severed my throat to the ground earlier?
I realized once more. The one before me was an elf who'd survived over 200 years.
Whether physical prowess or magic, it would exceed my expectations by far. Taking the weapon was meaningless at this point.
If she could slit my throat with this little knife, snapping my neck barehanded would be child's play.
Even so, I had to succeed in this inspection.
I couldn't keep living as a slave.
"Thank you again for cooperating. I'll return the knife after the inspection."
"Uh... yes."
"Please sit in the chair."
I put the knife in the desk drawer, and Selena followed my words, sitting in the chair.
"Before we begin the inspection, please refrain from chit-chat questions."
Alright, now the main event restarted.
"Commencing inspection."