The Crown Prince Who Raises Alt Characters

#Chapter 226 Leaflet - The Case of Musician H Southern Cardian Republic. The village with the name Colbrook was not, even by empty words, a pleasant place for people to live. Just a few years ago, it was barren land with nothing but blowing winds and rough rocks. However, the high-quality coal existing in the nearby mountain range was enough to gather people, and hastily woven wood and tents to avoid rain increased one by one until it eventually transformed into something resembling a village. Since it wasn't originally a planned village, the village's appearance could hardly be called neat, even by empty words. The building bricks, carelessly coated with lime without regard for aesthetics, were drab, and even those were soon covered in coal dust and turned blackish. Since the reason for the village's creation was what it was, the industry that most residents engaged in was mining, and surprisingly, the next was the service industry. Alcohol, gambling, women. There were plenty of people who sought to compensate for the fatigue of hard labor with primal pleasures, and business catering to such people also flourished. Miner Root was also one of the customers who actively utilized such services. If you asked how actively he used them, it was to the extent that he would spend all the money he earned working all day on that very day. "Sigh... I should quit this already." Root let out a deep sigh. It had already been a year since he started working at this mine. According to his plan when he first set foot in the mine, he should already have a sufficient sum of money in his hands. However, this morning too, Root's wallet was infinitely thin. It was the result of drinking heavily at the tavern again last night. When Root first started working as a miner, he wasn't like this. No, he actually used to inwardly pity his colleagues who squandered money daily for momentary entertainment. "I shouldn't have set foot in this from the beginning." The beginning was not being able to refuse a fellow miner's suggestion to just have a light drink. The alcohol that seeped into his tired body was sweet, the gambling he lightly tried in high spirits was thrilling, and the temptation of women was fatal. Once would be fine. It would be fine if I don't do it next time. It would be fine if I control it moderately. The words he uttered to himself like excuses grew more intense day by day, and eventually he even squandered the savings he had accumulated through hardship. Days of sighing every morning at his paper-thin wallet, but repeating that night 'I worked hard so I deserve a reward' and 'I'll really quit starting tomorrow'. Saying it felt like being trapped in an inescapable swamp, Root repeated a sigh of unknown number. And that evening. Making meaningless his resolve throughout work that 'I'd really be an idiot if I blow money today too', Root was once again wandering around the entertainment district. The reason remaining in one corner of his mind was cursing at him to stop immediately, but his body and mind, exhausted from hard labor, desperately wanted immediate pleasure. When he was about to head to his regular place where he could probably go even with his eyes closed. Suddenly, a strange sound reached Root's ears. "What is it?" It wasn't the usual laughter, cursing, or shouting noise. It was a sequence of sounds with more defined regularity, not jarring to the ears. Realizing that the identity was music, which he hadn't properly heard in recent years, Root moved toward the source of the sound like someone enchanted by something. That place was the Bald Man's Tavern. There seemed to be a different official name, but the miners including Root all commemorated the owner's smooth head by calling this place the Bald Man's Tavern. Despite the funny name, it was also a shop with quite many customers and doing well. The owner's cooking skills were ordinary, but since it was a place that boasted large portions at low prices, it was particularly popular with those trying to save money. Root also used to frequent this place when he was living most earnestly. After becoming corrupt like now, though no one said anything, he felt strangely guilty and stopped coming often. Root hesitated for a moment, but unable to suppress his curiosity, he carefully opened the front door and stepped inside the tavern. Seeing the interior scene, he was surprised once again. 'Why is it so quiet?' No matter how much the Bald Man's Tavern was a place mainly used by decent and earnest people, that was only in comparison to other taverns in Colbrook. It might be different for high-class establishments frequented by pretentious gentlemen from the cities, but taverns used by rough manual laborers were always bound to be noisy. Yet now the interior of the Bald Man's Tavern was extremely quiet. Sounds of moving dishes and glasses, and customers whispering softly could be heard, but no one among them was making a big commotion or raising their voice. As if trying not to disturb this performance that was now tickling Root's ears. Root, who had been looking around the shop, eventually swallowed his breath. There was no wide stage for dancers to perform on. It was an incomparably modest stage, nothing more than pushing a few tables in the corner of the shop slightly to the sides to create an empty space. However, the woman there was someone for whom such shabbiness of the stage didn't matter at all. Under a wide-brimmed feathered hat, beautiful purple hair fluttered softly. On her upper body, she wore a white shirt and vest layered together, and her legs hidden by leather pants were slender. One eye was covered with an eyepatch, hiding part of her face, but even that felt like a strange charm rather than a flaw. '...Elf?' Root suddenly recalled the legendary beings that the elderly in his neighborhood used to talk about when he was young. A beautiful race that was once one of the dominant species representing the continent, but now their numbers had greatly decreased and could only be found far away. Like many people on the continent, Root had never actually seen an elf, but the woman's beauty was so outstanding that he thought this was probably what it would be like if he really encountered an elf. Naturally, in an environment swarming with rough men, such appearance brought more harm than good. If it had been Colbrook's usual appearance that Root knew, the performance would have already been ruined by the flirtations the men threw at the woman. However, none of the audience was behaving that way. And Root could also understand their behavior. '...It's peaceful.' The more he listened to the woman's performance, the more Root felt his heart calmly settling. Her violin sound contained sadness. But at the same time, it also contained comfort found within that sadness, and hope found within despair. Life is painful. Farewells hurt. You want to throw everything away and give up right now. But still, if you're alive, you must raise your head and move forward. Only then did Root realize his mistake. He had thought he was healing from the difficult daily labor through short and stimulating pleasures... but that wasn't healing. It was just deceiving himself with even more intense stimulation. The wounds still remained, and his body was still exhausted, so no matter how much he indulged in pleasure, the situation never improved. "Huk..." Tears suddenly overflowed from Root's eyes. It was truly an unseemly sight. Getting emotional and crying just from hearing some musical performance - among mine workers with strong macho personalities, it wouldn't be strange to become a laughingstock. However, no one was mocking Root. Among the other customers in the tavern, there were quite a few who were reddening their eyes or sniffling. The woman's performance contained the power to shake the sadness people held deep in their hearts and comfort it. Perhaps that was power born from the woman herself having experienced deeper sadness and ultimate comfort more than anyone else. That day, Root succeeded in saving his earned money for the first time in a very long while. *** "I'm sorry about this. I'd like to take better care of you if I could, but cash isn't abundant..." At the appearance of the tavern owner who had an innocent side despite his rough exterior, the wandering musician - Hystia smiled bitterly. "I received exactly what we originally contracted for, so there's no reason for you to be sorry. Besides, you protected me the whole time I stayed here, didn't you?" "That much is only natural. How much did our shop's customers increase while you were here?" And the owner said it would have been fine even if he hadn't stepped forward himself. Given Colbrook's environment, there were some who were tempted by Hystia's appearance and tried to make advances. But they never actually became a big problem, thanks to other miners who became fans after hearing her performance and took it upon themselves to act as Hystia's guardians. When dozens of mine workers showed off their arm muscles and simultaneously revealed their killing intent, even the most brazen scoundrel had no choice but to slyly read the mood and flee. "Where are you thinking of going next?" "Well. I don't have any particular place decided yet. I'm just wandering wherever my feet take me." "Tsk tsk, no matter how much a musician is like a minstrel, it would be dangerous for a young woman to wander around alone." "I'm good at running away and hiding, so don't worry too much." In fact, besides running away, she was also good at slicing people up, but she didn't bother to mention that fact. After hearing the kind words that if she came again next time, he would pay her more generously, Hystia left the shop behind. Her luggage was just one backpack and her violin. How long had she been walking with light steps? Hystia, judging that she had gotten sufficiently far from the mining village, opened her mouth. "─If you have business with me, how about coming out now?" There was no answer in return. However, when Hystia continued to stand her ground without even showing signs of embarrassment, the other party eventually seemed to give up and revealed themselves. "Even though I may not look it, I have quite some expertise in tailing, but you're impressive. Should I indeed call you 'witch Hecate' who ruled Misthaven?" It was a woman with golden twin-tails and blue eyes. In contrast to Hecate's somewhat forlorn and shadowed impression, she had a bright and youthful appearance that would suit stage spotlights. However, contrary to such an impression, what she actually wore was a thick leather coat and detective hat, presenting an odd sense of incongruity to the observer. As if that wasn't enough, she even took out a pipe, lit it, and put it in her mouth. It was an attitude as if there was no need to hide the smell anymore since she'd already been caught. "Witch Hecate... And who might you be?" "Usually in situations like this, the person who was tailing rarely reveals their name, don't they?" "There's nothing to lose by asking first." "Indeed, that's rational." After nodding as if pleased, the woman answered. "Isadora Delacroix. I'm a detective." "Good thing you're not an assassin. So, what business does the detective miss have with me? Trying to throw me in prison or something?" "That's the police's job, not mine I think." "Then did other criminals commission you to investigate my background or something? Let me tell you in advance, I left all the wealth that 'witch Hecate' possessed with the organization, so I'm penniless. If revenge is the purpose, then there's nothing I can do about it." "Neither. I just had something I wanted to ask you." "Hmm." Hystia thought for a moment, then soon nodded. If someone else tried to harm her, she would counterattack for self-defense, but if not, she didn't want to make things unnecessarily rough. "Alright, what are you curious about?" "I need information about a man named Hamel." "What?" At a completely unexpected question, Hystia's eyes widened. Isadora. The master detective of the crime city exhaled cigarette smoke with a puff, then spoke. "─That person might still be alive, you know."