I’m Hunting My Enemy - Chapter 72

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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72. Crown Prince (1)

“What does this mean?”

“The swamp’s curse and the Crown Prince’s matter are different.”

Ohen continued speaking slowly.

“The Crown Prince appeared here in the first place because of the swamp’s curse.”

“Didn’t you say he was interested in the holy relic?”

Ryuie’s voice grew increasingly louder.

“A holy relic that would free people from utterly detestable vows?”

“This place.”

Ohen thought it was time to reveal the evil deeds that had been accumulating layer by layer for so long.

Now, with the Saintess and Ryuie before his eyes, was the moment to receive revelation.

“This place is the land of traitors.”

“Don’t speak in riddles. Say it straight.”

“…We’ve been spreading rumors about such a holy relic and luring people to rob them of what they possess.”

“What?”

Ryuie’s expression hardened.

Even after realizing Yosua’s true identity, Ryuie had firmly believed that Yosua had transformed into Glem because of the holy relic.

‘But that’s not it?’

The images of Glem and Yosua, which she thought she understood perfectly, suddenly became tangled.

Perhaps.

Just maybe.

An unknown voice whispered through some gap that was absolutely unacceptable right now.

Perhaps there might still be a way left to forgive Yosua.

Then all of Ryuie’s concentration focused on Ohen’s mouth.

And Ohen recalled the time when the Crown Prince first visited the village.

* * *

The villages around the swamp were so small they didn’t even have proper names.

They just had nicknames they called each other. The village with the temple was Temple Village. The village close to the swamp was Swamp Village. And the village where travelers mainly stayed was Traveler’s Village.

Even in Traveler’s Village, most shops were insignificant.

Therefore, the items sold at small stalls were also poor quality, but they seemed much more valuable thanks to the person choosing them.

The stall merchant glanced over.

A nose so refined that calling it handsome seemed insufficient even when covered in dust. Eyes that had become deeper and more beautiful from consuming stories. Even his lips pressed together in contemplation seemed to perfectly capture that fleeting moment of transition from boy to young man.

“Buying for a lover?”

The stall merchant asked slyly.

Hearing the joke, he smiled bashfully and stepped back, but even that gesture seemed like something from mythology.

“Even if I wanted to give it, they wouldn’t accept it.”

“Oh my, unrequited love? You don’t look like someone who’d ever do that. Who on earth is it?”

The handsome man with black hair and green eyes just asked with a smiling face.

“The accessories are remarkably high quality for their price. Does a skilled craftsman live around here?”

“Ahem. Well. There are ways to obtain everything.”

The stall merchant played dumb.

Then he examined the man with different eyes than before.

‘His face looks very noble, but what he has is nothing like that…’

Looking at his worn and faded travel clothes and the luggage he carried, he was someone accustomed to traveling alone.

“I heard rumors that there’s a holy relic here that breaks vows.”

“Oh. Ah~ That thing?”

The stall merchant, having figured out why the man came, readily told him.

“Go to the temple. The priest will take care of everything for you.”

“Thank you.”

Watching the young man leave after politely bowing to the end, the stall merchant licked his lips.

It was a shame to just let him go.

Anyway, since he came looking for the holy relic, he’d wander around the swamp a bit and get thoroughly robbed before returning.

When that happened, he could just sell the items that came out again.

The stall merchant sinisterly dusted himself off.

Meanwhile, the man entered the temple, which had a much more respectable appearance than now.

He, who hadn’t covered his face outside, pulled his robe.

Since priests must visit the capital when receiving ordination, someone might recognize him.

“Who are you?”

Ohen discovered the stranger and asked.

At this time, he wasn’t blind yet either.

The man who met Ohen’s eyes greeted him.

“Are you the priest of this place?”

“I am High Priest Ohen.”

When the man requested a handshake, Ohen was somewhat surprised by the request he hadn’t received in a long time.

Those who came here after being tormented by vows usually grabbed him by the collar.

The man was both polite and friendly.

“I have one vow I want to eliminate.”

Ohen usually told such people to enter the swamp, offer sacrifices, and pray.

That if they were lucky, the vow would sink into the swamp and could be released.

But that was all lies, fraud, and a trap.

When visitors entered the swamp, the three villages near the swamp took turns robbing them.

Most were wealthy people who had come here after carelessly making vows, so they didn’t feel much guilt.

But the traveler before his eyes now seemed to have nothing and was rarely polite, so Ohen decided to spare him once.

“It would be better to give up.”

“Pardon?”

“A vow ordained by God cannot be broken so simply.”

To Ohen’s words, the man responded gently.

“I’m prepared for trials. I came seeking hope.”

“It’s not hope but a mud pit. You’d have to pick out human bones from rotting water plants.”

“Are you saying that many people have passed through?”

“There are so many with vulgar greed who want to turn away from even the price.”

“Wishes may be evaluated, but desperation cannot be evaluated.”

The man was unexpectedly firm.

Since he couldn’t expose their crimes here, Ohen had no choice but to advise him to at least save his life.

“It’s a dangerous place to go alone, so wait your turn. When wealthy people come, you’ll be able to approach more safely.”

“I’ll do that. Thank you.”

The young man stayed at the temple waiting for other visitors. Before long, a new visitor appeared.

Ohen didn’t specifically tip off the other villagers to spare that man, but inwardly hoped he would escape safely.

Little did he know the man would come back to confront him.

“Why did you deceive me?”

Ohen looked bewildered at the man who had fled to the temple.

“Deceive? What do you mean by that?”

“There was nothing in the swamp. Except for bandits!”

“They are watchmen who came to hunt the swamp’s monsters.”

It was a trick that worked because monsters did occasionally emerge from the swamp.

It didn’t work on the man.

“I saw it when I rescued a merchant who was dragged into a swamp pit. Those were all traps targeting people, not monsters!”

“Isn’t it enough that you survived?”

“What did you say?”

“Do you know how barren this land is?”

The land was barren and the water was rotting away.

Bound to their lord with no way to flee to other places, the aged lord had neither the thought nor interest to care for this small, remote swampland.

It was also a nobleman who first came to them when they were filled with desperation.

It all started when they condemned him for casually saying he had come after reading an old fairy tale.

“You want me to listen to these noble humans whining to have their curses lifted when they’ve even broken the very oaths they swore themselves? Wouldn’t it be more straightforward to just cry out asking to be killed instead?”

“….”

The man couldn’t continue speaking. Ohen realized he had become enraged without knowing it.

Looking at the strangely neat face of the man, the words “what would you know” naturally burst out.

The man reached his hand into his chest.

“Then I should be the first to die.”

Clatter.

The Crown Prince’s ring that rolled and fell onto the desk gleamed brilliantly.

Only then realizing his opponent’s identity, Ohen knocked over his chair as he stood up.

“Crown Prince!”

“Wouldn’t it have been simpler to resent me instead?”

The ring stood out clearly between Yosua’s fingers as he gripped the desk.

Ohen was still in shock.

“You… were reported missing…”

“Why didn’t you search for me then? Why didn’t you set fire to the Imperial Palace asking why they weren’t caring for us, and put out a wanted notice for those who resented them? It’s quite a flimsy excuse to use for robbing others who aren’t me.”

Yosua sneered coldly.

A shame he had never felt before suddenly washed over Ohen.

It made him make excuses.

“This swamp is cursed.”

“Cursed?”

“Originally that place was a lake. But after generations of dumping corpses and trash, it rotted away and eventually earned Rkultu’s wrath.”

Ohen couldn’t stand that Yosua was boldly questioning him despite having fled.

Back then, he still had that kind of stubbornness left.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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