Troublemakers are scary.
They know no shame.
They are devoted solely to their goal.
That's why they're blind and everywhere.
Today was no different.
"Whew… I did it."
The triumphant smile on Kim Jangcheol's lips!
The proud joy of having somehow achieved his goal!
But the more he smiled in satisfaction, the more embarrassed his companions became. Especially Zephyros and the Four Heavenly Kings' Baal, who served him as their Lord—they had to feel that embarrassment as thick and dark as an espresso shot.
"......"
That person is not the Lord I serve.
That Demon King—no, that person—I don't know him.
If only they could shout it out loud. Wear a signboard around their neck and scream it to the whole world with all their might.
But since they couldn't, they were just… embarrassed.
And so, they sincerely wanted to ask:
Lord, why is it that shame always falls upon us? Oh heavens, why must the sun shine so brightly today? Oh fate, why is it that… f*** it, whatever.
"Baal thinks he is going to kick his blanket off tonight."
"…Same here."
"Why is this happening?"
"Don't ask. Really, let's just… take a few steps back from the Lord."
"Baal couldn't agree more."
Zephyros and Baal sidestepped in perfect unison.
Just to get even a little further from their Lord. Maybe, just maybe, if they distanced themselves, people might mistake them for a separate party? With such a vain hope, they took those futile steps.
In truth, Reivaj and his party felt the same.
"...…"
Reivaj kept his mouth shut. Sitting on the dirt floor, he silently stared at Kim Jangcheol, who was grinning like a fool.
'That guy…'
They hadn't traveled together long.
At most, just a few days.
Still, he'd started to think the man was trustworthy. Sometimes his words and actions were bizarre, sure—but everyone has a few eccentricities, right?
But today?
'…Can I really trust that man?'
He had no idea.
He said he had a plan.
A grand scheme.
That's why he'd entered a supply contract with a crooked wholesaler and a chuno broker. He'd boasted about it so confidently, so Reivaj had wanted to believe him. He'd wanted to see how he would bring that plan to fruition.
"...…."
But really, he had no clue anymore.
Was he just a fraud and a loudmouth?
Or was he someone incredibly terrifying?
One thing, though, was clear beyond doubt.
Right now, it was extremely embarrassing to be in the same party as that man.
'Everyone in the mansion is staring at us.'
Passing servants. Merchants coming in and out on business. Even up in the estate, windows had flung open and people were peeking out. As if something entertaining had just happened, everyone was looking their way!
Even among them, the merchant Richmond could be seen!
"...…"
In the end, Reivaj limped over to Kim Jangcheol. He helped him up and supported him.
"Are you alright?"
"Ah, I'm fine."
"Well, I… I don't think we're very fine."
"Because it's embarrassing?"
"Uh, that's…"
He didn't expect to be asked so directly. Reivaj was caught off guard and fumbled his answer.
A meaningful smile appeared at the corner of Kim Jangcheol's lips.
"The more embarrassing it is, the more successful it means we were."
"…What do you mean by that?"
"There's a reason for everything."
Kim Jangcheol dusted off the dirt on his butt precisely ten times. Then he looked away—not at Reivaj, but somewhere else entirely.
Right there, the message conjured up by the Bloodshot Eyes skill was proudly floating before him.
[You have successfully observed the target for 200 seconds without blinking.]
[Bloodshot Eyes skill activated.]
[Target of observation: Secretary Ruslan]
'Whew, I nailed it.'
A wave of satisfaction washed over him!
The truth was, all that loud troublemaking was just a smokescreen. It wasn't like he enjoyed making a scene. That wasn't his taste either.
But he had to do it earlier.
The reason was simple.
'Because if I didn't cover up my intent somehow, the Bloodshot Eyes skill wouldn't work as well.'
The skill that peeks into one's psychology—Bloodshot Eyes.
When he first got it, he thought it was a broken, overpowered skill.
But as he used it more and gained experience, he also began to feel—painfully so—its subtle drawbacks.
Namely, the fact that staring intensely at someone for 200 seconds without blinking affects the result of the psychological read.
'That's the problem. Even when I glared until my eyes were bloodshot to activate Bloodshot Eyes, the mental states I read were often painfully predictable.'
Seriously, that's what happened.
He stared hard.
Endured the dry eyes.
Even burst a few blood vessels in his eyeballs.
Yet most of the time, the target's thoughts turned out to be:
'Why is the Demon King staring at me like that? Did I do something wrong?'
"...…."
Thinking about it, it's obvious.
Most people, when stared at for 200 seconds straight without a single blink, are bound to think the same thing.
That it's uncomfortable.
That it's scary.
That this f***er's picking a fight or something.
And so, the more blatantly he tried to activate Bloodshot Eyes, the more he'd end up reading obvious thoughts. It made it hard to get the results he wanted.
Today was no different.
What he really wanted to find out was the location and detailed info about the cold storage facility the secretary knew.
But if he just used the skill by blatantly staring? The secretary would probably only think:
Why's he staring at me like that?
'That wouldn't do… that wouldn't do at all.'
So, he launched a calculated outburst. While keeping his eyes wide open to activate Bloodshot Eyes, he hid it by bombarding the secretary.
Asking over and over about the cold storage.
Saying he wanted to see the cold storage.
Forcing him to think about the cold storage.
Filling his head with nothing but that.
He induced it.
Thanks to enduring the whole scene, the secretary—half unwittingly, half forcibly—ended up with his mind full of thoughts about the cold storage facility!
Just like the message floating before his eyes right now.
[Secretary Ruslan thinks your antics are tiresome and ridiculous. At the same time, he believes there's no way he'd ever show a drifter like you the cold storage facility hidden beneath the iron mine on the outskirts of the city of Daparachia.]
[Also, upon hearing your protest asking why he treats you like an outsider, Secretary Ruslan, in disbelief, mentally repeats the thought. That not just a pathetic human like you, but even the laborers transporting goods to the mine are treated as outsiders, just the same.]
[And Secretary Ruslan will come to have the following thoughts in the near future. Ah, let's hope the labor golems receiving the carts loaded with supplies at the mine entrance don't cause trouble today. Especially since Golem No. 23 has been frequently malfunctioning lately, which is worrying. When is that repair company he contacted ever going to show up? He's starting to think they should just change contractors. While part of him worries, the other part will be grumbling.]
"Hu hu… hu hu hu…"
A message filled his vision as densely as a pack of full roe! Looking at the results of the Bloodshot Eyes skill, Kim Jangcheol smiled in satisfaction.
He'd clearly caught exactly what he wanted.
And secretly, his tongue clicked in admiration.
'Wow, they're hiding the storage facility in an iron mine, of all places? These guys are seriously ruthless.'
To be fair, he had suspected early on that the storage facility might be underground.
If they were handling the logistics for most of this region's food ingredients, then the scale of the facility had to be enormous—and if it were above ground, it would've definitely drawn attention in one way or another.
But it wasn't just underground—it was inside an iron mine.
'And judging from what that secretary was thinking… it seems like even the workers transporting food supplies aren't allowed inside the mine itself.'
He'd said the labor golems receive the cargo. Which seemed to imply that only the labor golems were allowed inside the mine.
'So, that must mean only a very small number of the closest insiders, aside from the labor golems, can enter the mine.'
In other words, the golems working inside the mine doing mining and transport labor must also be in charge of security.
"......."
Golems, not even humans.
Man, they're really thorough with their security.
He could feel things were a bit more intense than he expected.
Still, he wasn't too worried. Golems? Guards? At best, they'd only be considered powerful by the standards of the peaceful human world.
'Alright then, let's go check it out.'
Kim Jangcheol dusted off the dirt from his pants as he stood up.
"Whew, I'll just go out for a little walk."
"Hmm? Where are you off to?"
"Just for a stroll."
"Why, if I may ask…?"
"Because I'm a little embarrassed."
"Ah."
Reivaj quickly nodded at the offhand reply. Kim Jangcheol added even more shamelessly,
"Ugh. I don't usually make this kind of scene. This isn't really my style. Ugh, how did it come to this, ha ha, ha."
"W-Was that so? Ha ha, ha."
"Yes, that's right. I mean, how could someone act like this every day. Ha ha, ha."
"Of course. No one could act like that every day. Ha, ha ha."
"Well, I'll be off for a bit. Ha ha, ha."
"Go ahead. Ha, ha ha."
"...…"
Well, to be honest, it did feel a bit unfair.
But he didn't really feel like explaining himself.
It wasn't like he needed to blurt out everything he'd just learned from Bloodshot Eyes right now, either.
And so, Kim Jangcheol left the group and exited the mansion. He crossed the city of Daparachia. Passed through the city walls and headed toward the outskirts. Toward the iron mine he'd just found out about.
Of course, it wasn't an easy path.
The route leading to the mine was surrounded by no fewer than five layers of magic barriers and guard posts. Each post had about ten guards stationed like part of a combo meal set.
'…Or so they thought!'
Tatat, Fwaaash!
Evading the guards' surveillance, Kim Jangcheol leapt over the magic barriers. Each wall was five meters tall—high enough to discourage most beings in the human world—but for Kim Jangcheol, who possessed the body of the Demon King Credos, it was nothing difficult.
And so, he crept forward.
At times, he boldly jumped over.
Thanks to that, he managed to infiltrate all the way to a spot where the mine tunnel's entrance was in sight.
'Phew.'
Kim Jangcheol caught his breath and peered into the tunnel. A dim mine shaft. Inside, large hulking forms moved about.
Golems.
'From here on, it's golems, not humans, I'm up against.'
They probably had far more advanced detection capabilities than human guards. That must be why they were stationed inside the mine.
'I need to avoid getting caught at all costs. If I cause a ruckus, they might revamp the entire mine's security system for accessing the storage. The goal today is just to confirm, without being seen…'
So he resolved, and stepped forward.
Or rather, he tried to step forward.
"Shall I join you, if you don't mind?"
"…!"
Suddenly, out of nowhere, from right beside him—
A voice stabbed straight into his eardrum without mercy!
'…Huh?'
His heart sank.
He flinched and whipped his head around in surprise.
And there—he locked eyes with someone.
Crouched beside him, as if it were perfectly natural, was Aged Kimchi.
[T/L: I am not getting any support from webnovel platform, so please support me and read ahead chapters on my ko-fi page "RevengerScans" : https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]