The Ghost King's KeeperCh58 - Before the Night Hunt

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The room given to Ruzen was not extravagant, it was filled with old wooden furniture and a small partition wall. There was a connected archway towards the washing area and the loo was at the far corner, looking something like the squatting toilet found in some Asian countries.

It was much better facility then what he found previously, at least it wasn’t smelly and dirty like he had seen in some places.

Chrysanthemum Garden.

The beautiful tiles and the beautiful bedding, it actually felt very high polished and delicate. It was similar to the features in the white room of the King’s Castle.

Taking off his straw sandals, Ruzen walked towards the wardrobe, opening it to take a look inside. To his surprise there was a set of almost 50 outfits lined from one end to another and each one was unique and well maintained. He noticed that they were his size, which was a surprise. U1lias

The announcement did say that he had to choose a dress and a weapon for the night hunt, so he decided to do that while he was at it.

“Hm, there would be hunting… which one will be suitable?” Ruzen asked absently, as the hovering ‘being’ revolved around him taking in his minute details.

Still a little uneasy under the lens, Ruzen avoided making eye contact with it, he had to assume that he wasn’t being filmed because otherwise he would keep thinking about it.

Shuffling through the dresses, Ruzen noticed one thing. All the dresses were too fancy and even the plainest ones were sparkling with crystal beads. The aesthetics of this world really made him distressed. Anyway, they were designed well and wearing them would only feel good, so Ruzen decided upon one which was gender neutral. He liked the look of it. It was neither feminine nor masculine.

The inner set was a sleeveless dark green tunic with high collar wrapped around the neck, paired with an even darker skin tight slacks. A set of gloves stitched with pale parrot green sleeves reached till his mid arm, with a slight fiery flare at the tips like a flowering bud.

Similarly, a flared parrot green two-piece skirt was provided, which was more like a parted twin fin rather than a skirt, reaching till below his knees like a down turned wing. It was worn over his slacks, and rested at his waist, tied with a thick dark waist belt.

To finalize the touch, a set of gold kneecaps matching with lingering gold jewels were provided, and a set of detailed designer boot was given for a sturdy overall look.

The green was not to his taste, but considering they were going on a night hunt, according to previous tournament’s history, the night hunt would probably be organized in some surrounding forest. So since there was a lack of subtle colors, with only a few browns and greys, he felt the green was a good camouflage and certainly looked better design wise. Xrtm Z

If he could, he would leave out the parrot greens, it was a little flashy, but even if it was vibrant, it was still subtle compared to others.

He thought a black set of the same would have looked rather cool, but considering he couldn’t change the dress to a custom set, he had to make do with what he got.

It was not yet time to change into his selective dress, so Ruzen chose to pick out a weapon for himself in his free time.

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

The weapons were kept in another treasure chest, just by the right, and the variety were many. Ruzen wasn’t keen on weapons since he was still at the beginner stages of learning, but a small dagger or a knife would do if he could get one. He didn’t know if the competition rules would be changed, so in case he was told to avoid using his energy core, a good weapon would be his only choice of reliance. Y2dKhC

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The sword he chose was dull and grey, with a blue glowing edge at one side, then overall appearance was average but good for one-time use. He wondered if there were guns, but he had never held a gun in real life and he didn’t think this world would even know what a gun was.

So thinking carefully, he decided that if he ever got a chance, he would ask the Ghost King about guns, maybe he was aware of it from other provinces… who knows, Ruzen would try though. He really liked guns, had always wanted to hold one. 7jNhCH

Back to the present, Ruzen kept the sword aside and the dress above his bed. Looked at the omnipresent ‘being’, and sighed to himself. He was tired, probably due to fighting off the poison inside his body, he wanted to sleep a little and eat something. But the question was where could he get the food from, and was it okay to sleep with that camera still on?

Searching the room, Ruzen made a list of furniture, like a couch, table, chair, bed, side table, but couldn’t find any food storage cupboard. Thoughtfully, he opened the door and peeked out, the ‘being’ also peeking out with him.

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Turns out, the central platform, from where they started, was now decorated with red tents, and he could smell food being prepared, as a few other participants lined up next to the buffet tables picking out the dishes they loved.

Having strong senses meant he couldn’t see it wrong. rjyX3o

So Ruzen decided to take a stroll and eat something on the way, it would also be better to survey the area and other participants in-case he missed something.

When Ruzen reached the area covered by tents, he found several cauldrons boiling with freshly prepared servings. Picking up a plate, Ruzen lined up behind the participant in front, who was struggling with picking up a big piece of… something. Truly, he couldn’t tell exactly what it was, but it appeared to be some kind of vegetable.

Even after all this time, Ruzen’s knowledge about food was not complete. He knew a few dishes just because of his previous memories, but for now he wasn’t really sure what all was there to eat. So he decided to just pick up what others were picking.

He did help out at Ki’Ya’s farm and saw his master preparing dishes, but what his master prepared and what was served here… did not match at all. There was a slow insight in his head that maybe the dishes here were not really the common dishes that he usually ate, and because they weren’t common, even the participant in front was struggling. iQxSRB

While he waited for the line to move, a few others lined up behind him. He noted the way they kept a safe distance from him, almost enough for two people to adjust in between.

In his mind Ruzen laughed at their antics, but he couldn’t blame them, he really did surprise them and it must not be pleasant.

But it felt good, to finally be feared like this.

He glanced at others who occupied the center tables and to his surprise, even while eating they were looking at him, observing with vigilance. sTdSfU

Wow, this wasn’t what he expected, was his show of might truly this threatening?

While Ruzen was stuck with such thoughts, on the other side of the screen, the crowd was getting rowdy.

He’Da observed the luxury hall, taking in the surprise and shocked whispers floating towards him.

“He really used skills without drawing them out?” wdtCSY

“What is the lad’s real name, perhaps he is some dignitary from a foreign land? Did someone send him here for the King?”

“I haven’t heard of any cursed one this powerful before, what are the blue robes doing, they should keep him under wraps!”

“His choice I notices is really different than the others, I feel like he might be a foreigner.”

“…not a chance, you think he was a warrior?” x4WLg

“Then why shift to keeper division? His age was revealed to be barely 20. That is truly young.”

“I found this boy really interesting, his eyes are sharp, almost blood thirsty.”

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

“But I feel he should be kept under watch, he is almost a threat.”

“Threat? I felt he was holding back.” D7QYRe

“Did you see his forehead mark…”

“Does anyone know about that number De’Ki De’Ku? He seems powerful, more graceful than De’Ji De’Ju.”

Talks had a way of losing context, but suddenly a rather loud bunch was heard commenting.

“…a keeper isn’t a warrior, if that De’Ji De’Ju doesn’t holds back, wouldn’t he be considered too rowdy?” CvEax5

“Right. Right. I have heard a keeper isn’t supposed to be this loud, someone said it gets difficult to ‘tame’ them otherwise. Hahaha.”

“But I think if they are tied up, they would behave.”

“Shameless, you bunch, hehehe~”

He’Da found himself feeling peeved by the end of it. This was a problem even in Manjo. Certain people still managed to degrade a Keeper’s value to that of a Sexual Slave. Although majority weren’t of same mindset, the prevailing nasty attitude couldn’t be erased even after all this time. aZ6qH5

“What are these mongrels doing here?” a loud question disrupted the hall, and He’Da looked back to see a man clad in red robes fanning himself in a lazy manner. He wore a disguising mask so it was not visible how he looked originally. But his hair was a golden brown and his tan hands were thick and ruddy.

“..what?” someone whispered, sounding confused.

For them, the man spoke again, making it clear it was him who made the remark. “I said… what are these mongrels doing here?” Next to him a little young girl sweated profusely as if extremely nervous. But about what she was nervous for, He’Da couldn’t assume. Because it certainly wasn’t for that man clad in red.

The bunch of men who gossiped about Ruzen in a bad light adjusted themselves to sit facing the strange man. Their complexion didn’t look good, as if they were extremely angry. X9CFrL

One of them had the confidence to even start a spat, “You! How dare you… We are only stating the truth, aren’t all keepers the same? Their main job is to satisfy their kept, and majority do it in the form of sexual favors. Who says that is wrong, it is just the way it is, we did not mean to be judging.”

“Heh~” the man in red chuckled abruptly, “You did not judge? You all are here today to ‘judge’, even I am doing the same, but at least I have a pleasant mouth on me, unlike some who find pleasure in discussing other’s job without knowing half the details. You bunch are ugly.”

“You!”

“Oi Oi, calm down my brothers,” a smiling man with long silver hair disrupted the incoming argument, he actually sat in the same row as He’Da so He’Da could see that he was not a ‘normal’ man, his status didn’t look cheap if his rich black robes were anything to talk about, “I think nobody meant what they said, and certainly, a Keeper is a powerful being, we do not want to subject them to degrading talks, right?” fFUPE2

Surprisingly, the two parties settled after that short interlude.

And the rest of the hall also didn’t think it was appropriate to chatter that loud into enticing a spat, so they hushed down as well.

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

A soft calm silence fell over them as the crowd looked back at the screen.

Only, the silence was broken the minute it was restored. cfKil4

Someone yelled in alarm, “T-That number De’Ji De’Ju… h-he slapped a female contestant!”

Majority started to make a buzz again. Everyone was shocked, it was… Insane!

Master He’Da grimaced in his heart, he had repeatedly told Ruzen to keep in mind not to break any unsaid rules, alas, he hadn’t specified that slapping someone was also not seen in a good light. His disciple… sadly didn’t hold the common sense of the locals… He’Da felt guilty of yet another mistake.