I really can’t believe it. That easily…?
Hmph, see? I told you. With me and the beastmen legion, it’d be a breeze.
Heh heh, I can’t believe it either. The kingdom’s so weak… So all that persecution we suffered was from these punks?
Ah, that’s not quite right. The kingdom was strong once. But internal power struggles have eaten away at it. Probably at its peak back then—
What’s that?
Now, now, enough. You two seem to pick fights at every chance.
We’re just close. So, a married couple’s quarrel?
KRAAAAH!
Oof, rough!
Hey, didn’t I say stop? Can’t you just share in the joy?
From the Secret Library of the Northern City, Atlanta, New Continent — Excerpt from the Victoria Dynasty Chronicles: The 18th Emperor (147~147), “Before the Burning Palace, the Return of the Deposed Crown Prince.”
It happened then.
A faint rustle.
Suddenly, a sound of movement caught my ear.
What was strange was that, aside from my hearing, there was no other sign of presence. The sound itself was barely audible—so faint that without heightened hearing, I wouldn’t have caught it.
Han So-young, Heo Jun-young, and I all turned our gaze toward the same spot. But by then, Im Hanna was already aiming her ‘Laura Phyllis’ bow at the dense thicket. Though no arrow was nocked, a brilliant flash of light flickered like a burning arrow.
After staring at the bushes for about three seconds, Im Hanna slowly lowered her bow.
“Missed.”
“Did you see anything?”
“I think I caught a glimpse of a shadow moving fast, but I’m not sure.”
“Which way?”
Without a word, Im Hanna pointed toward a path leading south—the direction we needed to go.
Moments later, my comrades’ eyes turned to me. I stroked my chin, deep in thought. Should we press on now, or take a day to rest and regroup? It was nearly dusk, and we were close to our destination.
After some deliberation, my mind settled on a decision.
“Let’s move out. Everyone, fall in.”
The march that followed was quiet. No one spoke much, though most seemed to sense something was off and kept silent. Of course, not everyone—some couldn’t help themselves.
Jegal Haesol.
He hummed a tune as if on a casual stroll, then suddenly complained of boredom and asked me to hand over the records he’d seen me reading before. He must have noticed I occasionally read from them.
“Ah, it’s not very interesting.”
As we continued forward, Jegal Haesol’s bored voice drifted to me, followed by a big yawn. At that, Baek Han-gyeol, who insisted on walking beside me even after we left the mist, glanced at me nervously. He seemed unsure if I was annoyed by him, which made me smile inwardly.
“Hm? Han-gyeol? Why the sudden signal to be quiet? Did I do something wrong?”
“Ah! Ah!”
Baek Han-gyeol jumped. I chuckled lightly and spoke softly.
“So, what do you think of the records?”
“Think? I don’t know. I stopped reading halfway.”
“How far did you get?”
“To the part where the three fools join forces to reclaim the throne. I expected more from a chronicle, but it feels like reading an adventure novel.”
Three fools, huh? The protagonists must be the deposed crown prince, the barbarian king, and the witch. I guess that’s how Jegal Haesol sees it.
“Why not read on? The latter half ties directly to our current expedition.”
“What’s it about?”
“The witch’s betrayal.”
“Oh, predictable. The crown prince broke his promise, right?”
“No. The crown prince actually kept his promise. Or at least tried to.”
“Hm?”
“I said it’s the witch’s betrayal. After everything’s over, the witch makes unreasonable demands disguised as a confession to the barbarian king. The king flatly refuses, and the witch, wounded in pride, then…”
“Wait. Don’t say more.”
Jegal Haesol quickly stopped me. The sound of pages flipping and murmurs followed.
“The crown prince, on the eve of his coronation, receives shocking news… The barbarian warriors, suddenly leaderless, come seeking the crown prince… ‘New ruler of the kingdom, now is the time to honor your promise.’ Promise? Yes. Since you accepted us, aren’t we now subjects of the kingdom? If so, as king, hear our plea. If you truly are the kingdom’s ruler, repay the blood we shed for you. What is it? Speak. The witch has kidnapped our leader and vanished. What? Please save our king… But all the ministers opposed the expedition… Caught between two factions, the crown prince could do nothing, until he devised a plan. He selected fourteen warriors—his original followers and beastmen—disguised as his retinue. Despite all ministers’ fierce opposition before the official coronation, the crown prince left, saying he was just going for a walk, and disappeared into the forest of mist…”
Jegal Haesol’s muttering went on for some time. I glanced down to see Baek Han-gyeol’s face, now utterly serious. In the silence of the march, his high-pitched voice echoed alone. It seemed everyone was focused on Jegal Haesol’s words.
Just then, I looked ahead and instinctively stopped.
“Hold up.”
“W-what is it?”
Jegal Haesol’s voice cut off abruptly as Baek Han-gyeol grabbed my arm in surprise. I slowly scanned the surroundings and spoke.
“The trail suddenly gets stronger from here…”
Hearing this, Im Hanna stepped forward, carefully examining the ground covered in undergrowth before looking up. The direction was still south.
“I don’t think this is the trace of that presence we sensed earlier. It looks more like the caravan that passed through before us.”
The thicket ahead was especially dense, and the trail led right into it. I shrugged and resumed marching. Jegal Haesol fell silent.
Pushing through the waist-high bushes, we suddenly emerged into a wide clearing.
This was clearly a different place from the previous clearing. Much larger, it resembled a sports field—bare earth with not a single weed in sight. Most strikingly, several massive stone pillars stood ominously in the center, each over eight meters tall and about sixty centimeters in diameter. We had finally reached our destination.
As I stepped inside, a sudden gust of wind blew from somewhere. It wasn’t natural—it carried magical energy, artificially generated from the center of the stone pillars.
“Watch out!”
Not just me—someone sensitive to magic shouted.
But nothing happened. The magical wind brushed past harmlessly.
As I took another step, my comrades cautiously followed. Soon we reached the center of the clearing, and I gently ran my hand over one of the pillars. There were fifteen in total, each covered in indecipherable metaphysical symbols.
“We’re here.”
“Here? This can’t be the end, can it?”
Seon-yul looked around nervously, muttering in a strange voice. The others reacted similarly. After all, a round clearing deep in the forest with fifteen lonely stone pillars and nothing else was certainly odd.
I silently traced the pillars with my fingers, then fixed my gaze on the center. The pillars formed a circle, and in the middle lay a stone slab less than half their height. Just then, Jeong Ha-yeon calmly pointed at it.
“There’s a slab here.”
The mages were the first to respond. Without hesitation, they gathered around and began discussing the slab.
“Anyone here who can read ancient language?”
“No success yet.”
“Huh? User Jegal Haesol? What’s this all of a sudden…?”
“Oh, I can read it. The first line says so.”
“Wait… weren’t you a rookie?”
“I’m almost a year in now. And if I couldn’t read ancient language, how do you think I read that earlier?”
Jegal Haesol waved the ‘Victoria Dynasty Chronicles’ record he’d taken earlier.
“That’s impressive. I gave up halfway because it was too hard.”
Seon-yul admired, but Jegal Haesol just gave a puzzled look.
“Really? Hard?”
“…Yeah?”
“Strange. I found it easy. After about two weeks of focus, I got the hang of it.”
“…Ah.”
I tilted my head, and Seon-yul’s expression darkened. Her eyes narrowed slowly.
“Sorry, but can I be blunt? Are you always this unlucky?”
“It’s okay. I get it. I hear that a lot.”
“…”
“Well, maybe it depends on the person. Anyway, shall I keep reading?”
Shrugging, Jegal Haesol fixed his gaze on the slab. Suddenly, a chill swept over me. Instinctively, I took a step back. Somehow, I felt it wasn’t the place to interrupt.
After a moment, Jegal Haesol’s voice broke the silence that hung over the empty clearing.
“Success was not achieved. Nor was it a failure. Yet the scales of outcome have tipped toward failure. All that can be done now is to halt the situation and gaze into eternity. Though some may call it foolish, I harbor no regrets. The trial has already begun. Those who come out of curiosity, those who cannot understand—turn back here. If not, then all will remain as it was. When the past resolve seeps into fifteen pure souls, light will rise and the path will open… before the grave of a friend who was the greatest barbarian warrior and king of the beastmen.”
Finishing his words, Jegal Haesol glanced sideways, his expression seeming to say, “What kind of nonsense is this?”
“Mercenary Road. Did you hear anything else from that boy who came by?” Han So-young suddenly asked, casting a quick look my way.
“Like how he used this pillar, for example.”
At that moment, I swallowed the words I was about to blurt out. Come to think of it, the boy only said he went inside—he never explained the details. But I do know the method. And Han So-young is sharp enough to notice that gap. I barely managed to shake my head.
She looked at me with a half-interested gaze, then sighed and turned away.
“Hmm. It’s late, but I’ll try contacting the clan.”
As Shin Jae-ryong’s voice came through, I quietly exhaled in relief.
Anyway, the inscription on the stone tablet was just a cryptic wordplay. The actual way to activate it was surprisingly simple. The only ridiculous part was meeting the conditions to open the passage.
Of course, I didn’t know the details once inside. All I knew was that we had already fulfilled the conditions. The magical breeze I felt earlier was probably a kind of test to see if we were qualified to open the path.
While Shin Jae-ryong pulled out a communication orb, the mages resumed their heated debate over the tablet’s meaning, and those who disliked the headache-inducing talk began wandering aimlessly around the stone pillar. I stepped back a pace and watched quietly. I’d wait for the outcome first, and only step in if no clear answer emerged.
And then, how much time had passed?
“Open sesame.”
An-sol timidly called out, arms spread wide, while Baek Han-gyeol pressed his nose against the pillar, peering closely. I smiled at the sight.
Suddenly, someone shouted as if screaming, raising a hand high.
Clutched in that hand was a thick volume of records.
---------------------------= Author’s Note ---------------------------=
Dear readers, listen to this—I’m genuinely frustrated. Today, I logged into a BGM site I haven’t visited in a while. It’s a site I often use because it has a lot of New Age music. I’ve even recommended some songs to you all in past notes. So naturally, I went there to listen to some favorites, and what I found left me speechless.
On the left side of the site, there’s a player for the songs, and next to it, a comment box for each track. I skimmed through the comments and found these:
“Are there any Memorize readers here who came because of Ro(licon) Yujin’s recommendation?” — by Cheongx (I’ve censored the last character out of courtesy)
“I’m a Memorize reader who came thanks to Ro(licon) Yujin’s introduction. This is a pilgrimage site.” — by Axxx
If that were all, I wouldn’t say anything. But I got embarrassed and clicked on another song, which I had also recommended before. And sure enough, there were comments like:
“Long live (E)ro Yujin!” — by Sonx
“Long live Ro(ri) Yujin!” — by Oxx
…0_o
…-_-
Readers, there are a lot of people using that site. Really, a lot. Good songs get plenty of comments. What do you think those people think when they see comments like that about me?
Person A: “Huh? Ro Yujin? Who’s that? A lolicon, erotic, and loli all in one? Hahaha!”
They’d laugh and mock me like that, wouldn’t they?
It’s fine. Of course, you can write whatever you want. I’m not complaining.
I just want to say—I’m not that (person). I’m not. Please believe me.
I beg you. It’s been bothering me so much. Please delete those comments. Ughhh. ㅜ.ㅠ