[i][Another Tale][/i]
[i][This is a different story.][/i]
[i]***[/i]
[i]Your busy feet have come to a halt.[/i]
[i]It’s so good to see you again.[/i]
[i]The ones you’ve been looking for are all gathered here.[/i]
The one chosen by the fifth Holy Sword of the Hero, Hero candidate Belen. He’s an ambitious young man.
He had no doubt that he was the protagonist of the world.
After all, having gone from an ordinary country bumpkin to being chosen by the Holy Sword and gaining the magnificent sponsor Deviran—it was only natural.
What had initially seemed awkward and uncomfortable about the nobility’s etiquette now fits him perfectly.
To the point that his former self, who knew nothing of formality, seems utterly ignorant to him now.
His overflowing confidence was his greatest weapon.
Some dismissed it as rashness or recklessness.
That was too much.
To disparage the leap of a young man striving to surpass his origins was nothing short of disgraceful.
Of course, Belen paid no attention to such criticisms!
His overflowing confidence was his greatest weapon after all!
He thoroughly ignored—and even mocked—those who doubted him.
He kept moving forward, never stopping.
And that’s how he arrived here.
Belen.
He flashes you a confident smile.
Next, his expression slowly changes as Magnus, the captain of the special unit of the Deverin Knights approaches to greet you.
A seasoned warrior that perfectly embodies the term “master.”
The wrinkles and scars earned on the front lines are not signs of decline, but proud emblems of wisdom and authority.
He taught you that mastery and magic are not the entirety of swordsmanship.
If the location of your sparring had been not a duel, but a battlefield, what might have happened?
I understand. It’s a thought too unpleasant to entertain.
In that sense, it could be considered regrettable.
But he’s here now.
Who’s next?
Ah. You feel a tremor in your body.
Your worst fears have come true.
Deverin’s special unit captain, and the proud daughter of Deverin, Towah Deverin is also here.
The captain greets you with a bright smile.
She is renowned not only as a ‘Saint’ who reached the seventh rank at a young age but also for her brusque demeanor that reveals little personal emotion.
To see her radiant smile!
Is this good luck for you? Or bad?
One thing’s certain: you know she’s not the type to wear such an expression, no matter how joyful or familiar the situation.
You finish your exchange with the special unit captain.
You know the end is drawing near.
Was the captain the last? Or—
Ah. Yes. She can’t be omitted.
As you’ve likely realized, it all started with her.
Brieann, the wandering swordsman, looks at you meaningfully with her characteristic nonchalant attitude.
“You’ve done me a great favor.”
Out of the blue, she thanks you.
You thought you already felt the worst it could get, but this was a miscalculation.
Brieann. No. The Face Thief covers her face with her hand.
When she removes it, a strikingly familiar figure appears.
It’s you.
Now you understand why the Face Thief thanked you.
And why the special unit members were so easily stripped of their faces is equally clear.
“If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have been able to take their faces so easily. I’m genuinely grateful.”
The Face Thief’s words plunge you into deep anguish.
Where did everything go wrong?
The Face Thief sowed discord between you and the special unit members by impersonating you.
You unraveled that misunderstanding and regained the special unit’s trust.
At the time, you couldn’t have imagined it would lead everyone to such a dire situation.
Like hardened ground after a rain, the trust between you and the special unit deepened as the misunderstanding was resolved.
The Face Thief eagerly exploited that.
Pretending to be you, approaching them, and rendering them defenseless was surprisingly easy.
Yes.
The gratitude the Face Thief expresses towards you stems from the deep truth of the matter.
Perhaps if you hadn’t worked to mend your relationship with the special unit, they might have survived?
Maybe.
But then, you wouldn’t be able to confront him now.
You’re given a small measure of solace.
It seems like it has no intention of fleeing from you.
It seems even someone with a similar face thinks alike.
***
The battle begins.
[Quest: Retrieve the Stolen Faces]
[Current number of surviving allies: 2]
[▶ Fate 74: Face Thief]
***
[Title: The Face Thief Quest is Surprisingly Kind]
Content: In case you didn’t get it, I’m biting down hard on this and emphasizing ‘You killed them!’
Yeah.
I killed them.
The special unit guys? I just beat them all up.
Comment:
– Yeah, the special unit folks think the same thing.
-[Author] : Shit, now I don’t want to do this.
-This quest looks like it’ll test my patience.
Isn’t there some way to save the special unit?
Can’t we stop the Face Thief’s chaos?
Reply:
– It’s not easy.
– To begin with, these assassins specialize in infiltration and chaos.
And they consumed the energy of the Faceless One? It’s not easy at all.
Writer: Seriously, though. Even if the guy lulled them into complacency by stealing faces, doesn’t this seem a bit much?
Can one person really wipe out an entire special ops unit?
Just combining the captain and commander’s levels tops 125.
-: Whoa, Level 125—first in the world to reach Rank 20.
-: Guess Level 68 Face Thief does pull his weight, huh.
-: Level 68 is late Rank 7, right?
Engaging head-on would be tough already, but with underestimation from the impersonation and then getting ambushed—it’s honestly hopeless.
-: Besides, that guy doesn’t just wreak havoc with his sword. He’s also ridiculously skilled with poison.
-: Even though he got kicked out of the Assassin Guild, his fundamentals remain. That guy… always holds his hometown dear in his heart…
-: + The Body of the Faceless One is honestly broken—this guy’s difficulty rivals top-tier bosses in the 70s level range.
Writer: Seriously, why is this random event popping up in every region?
Writer: If that’s the case, it’s absolutely impossible to stop this guy, right?
-: If the character’s specs are broken enough that even the Face Thief can’t keep up, it might be possible.
Writer: What exactly is your definition of “broken”?
-: Umm… Really broken.
-: This only happens when the Face Thief is Level 70 or lower.
If you’re below Level 70, no matter what you do, the Face Thief will steal your face. Someone posted detailed information on the community board.
That post is right; it’s basically impossible unless someone’s using cheats.
Writer: In that case, let’s share cheats.
-: [File Attached]
Writer: What the heck is this “Uninstall” file?
-: The most beneficial cheat in this game.
***
Now that the special ops unit had mistakenly cleared Rishe of all suspicion due to a misunderstanding, he found himself in deep thought.
‘Should I tell them now? Actually, I do know how to wield a sword…’
An unprecedented entity, the Face Thief, was targeting them. To preemptively prevent the Face Thief’s infiltration and prepare for the unexpected, sharing information was an absolute necessity.
‘But, wouldn’t revealing this just complicate the situation further?’
The special ops unit had already concluded, “The attacker used swordsmanship, so it couldn’t have been Rishe!” Revealing that he also knew swordsmanship would reopen old wounds.
“Rishe. We’ll withdraw for now. The Face Thief, it’s apparent now that it was targeting Magnus, which also implies it was targeting our special ops unit.”
At that moment, Captain Towah spoke. Hearing his words, Rishe asked in surprise.
“Uh? Wasn’t the special ops unit the real target? The guy was running away after all—”
“If the Thief had intended to completely erase his tracks, it would have taken us much longer to chase him. But he didn’t and instead left tracks on purpose, guiding our pursuit. Likely, he had anticipated our special ops unit’s chase even while attacking the hero hopeful. His plan starts with the hero candidate but ends with us, the special ops unit.”
“If the special ops unit deploys additional forces, he’ll just escape at that point… Basically, he’s issued a challenge to the special ops unit. And the special ops unit has responded to that challenge, playing a game of tag under the name of a pursuit.”
“Exactly.”
Towah continued while looking at Magnus.
“Magnus, didn’t the guy steal your sword?”
“Yes, it happened during the battle.”
“To steal the sword of a master during a fight… It’s an ability so unreasonable it’s nauseating no matter how you look at it.”
Towah muttered those words as if spitting them out before continuing.
“Apparently, the thief’s imitation abilities surpass our expectations.”
“Captain Towah, the guy stole my sword during that brief encounter. If he could do that, stealing my appearance must have been easy as well.”
“That’s true. Everyone should be aware, this current incident involving Magnus marks our special ops unit’s first encounter with the Thief. Although the Thief successfully stole Magnus’ face, that’s all. According to available information, the Thief’s mimicry is nearly flawless but still falls short of perfection. It’s nearly impossible to deceive people who are closely related.”
Therefore.
Towah emphasized his next words.
“If the Thief infiltrates among us, he won’t be wearing the face of one of us but someone who frequently gets close to us, an outsider.”
Drey.
Macy.
Palrag.
The first names out of Towah’s mouth.
“Currently, Lord Palrag is absent due to personal matters. According to Drey, He won’t return to the manor for at least three days. So, excluding Lord Palrag, the remaining two—… No.”
Towah shifted his gaze to Rishe who was nearby.
“We’ll keep a close eye on the remaining three.”
“Three people… Don’t tell me, I’m included in that group too?”
“You have a friendship with Drey, don’t you? You’re among the very few people currently allowed direct contact with us while you’re in the mansion.”
“Ah…”
Towah’s words carried complete trust and faith.
In the situation where a single mistake could lead to the worst consequences, the weight of Rishe’s friendship with the powerful noble Drey suddenly felt very heavy.
“If the Face Thief infiltrates by impersonating you, we would have a hard time responding. In the worst-case scenario—”
Towah said, seriously staring at Rishe.
“We might end up opposing you without being able to distinguish the real you from the fake.”
“You mean… The Face Thief could pretend to be the real Rishe and turn me into the enemy? Essentially, to steal my true identity?”
“Correct.”
“In that case, perhaps we should establish an action that can prove I’m the real me. Would a password work?”
Towah shook his head.
“The Thief was once the master of the Assassin Guild. A master of infiltration and special operations. There’s a high chance that a password wouldn’t work on him. In fact, he might even use that password to throw us into confusion.”
“Then, what if… He can’t mimic magic? What if I use magic every time I meet you?”
“It’s more limited than swordsmanship, but yes, it is certainly possible.”
“Are you serious! Does this guy have every ability under the sun!?”
Rishe exclaimed, utterly astonished.
…
…
I ignored the gazes I could feel from within the Inner World.
“So, how should we proceed? When we make contact, how do I prove that I’m the real one?”
Rishe’s expression twisted in thought.
Towah, along with the special mission team, frowned deeply as well.
And just as they were putting their heads together to come up with a rational solution,
“Towah.”
Drey’s voice came from outside the door.
“I’m with Macy. I’ll come in.”
Even a Face Thief couldn’t convincingly portray two people at the same time.
The special mission team lowered their guard and let Drey in.
“Macy told me. Did a Face Thief steal Rishe’s face? What’s the situation?”
Drey first checked on Rishe’s complexion, then asked Towah for the full story.
“A way to prove that Rishe is indeed the real Rishe?”
Drey, who had been trying hard not to laugh as he listened, finally burst out laughing after hearing the full story.
As if to say, “Why are you even worrying about something so simple?”
“…Drey, you seem to have some clever idea.”
“Of course, I do. Rishe?”
With a meaningful smile, Drey began speaking to Rishe.
“…Drey, you’re always like this, even in such situations—”
Towah listening on the side showed irritation.
He thought Drey was definitely making a joke.
…
However, Towah’s expression grew increasingly perplexed.
Their attitudes were far too serious for them to merely be jesting.
“…So, Rishe, would this work? Would it put too much strain on your body?”
The conversation eventually came to a conclusion.
Drey consulted Rishe on his decision.
…
The members of the special mission team, including Towah, looked seriously at Rishe, fearing what might come out of his mouth.
“Yes, it seems possible.”
“Wait…!”
The head of the special mission team finally lost composure.
She, rarely showing pure bewilderment, questioned and confronted Rishe and Drey.
She pointed out the unreality of their plan.
“Why is this unrealistic? Rishe?”
“Yes.”
What followed was a demonstration of sorts by Rishe and Drey.
…
The special mission team stood speechless at the sight before them.
“Alright, so now it’s time to devise a plan to lure that guy out, right?”
As Drey suggested, Rishe raised his hand.
“Ah, Rishe. Do you have a good idea?”
“The Face Thief. The reason he continues to entangle with the special mission team must be to steal the swordsmanship skills of Captain Towah. Am I correct?”
“…”
Even though Towah hadn’t fully regained her composure from the previous event, she nodded her head in agreement.
“Well then, how about this? We create a situation where he must appear before us as ‘Rishe.’ If we maintain that situation, an opportunity will surely present itself.”
Rishe explained the plan he had thought of.
“Hmm…”
Unconsciously, Towah muttered.
Rishe’s plan was too dangerous and reckless.
It was as if they were setting up the conditions for the Face Thief to steal her face.
“What’s wrong? If that guy pretends to be Rishe, we’ll quickly recognize him, won’t we?”
“No—”
“What do you mean ‘no’? Didn’t you just see? Can that guy possibly imitate Rishe well?”
“No…”
Despite this, Towah couldn’t ultimately reject their suggestions.
“Alright, then we’ll proceed like this? No objections?”
From start to finish, a loose and strange plan depending entirely on ‘Rishe’ was approved.
It was something that would have never been allowed under the original special mission team’s policy.
“Hmm…”
Towah was hesitant.
Would such a plan actually work?
***
“…Before practicing swordsmanship, you’re asking me to summon a spirit? Captain Towah, what exactly do you mean by that—while it’s common knowledge, as you’re aware, I am no spirit master. Just because I wield both sword and magic doesn’t mean I can handle spirits too.”
It worked.
“…And then you want me to reach the 7th rank? Excuse me, but isn’t that some kind of riddle?”
Five days had passed since the baseless strategy meeting.
Now.
In front of Towah stood the ‘Rishe’ who had fallen for the plan.
And soon after.
Another Rishe arrived, making a total of two Rishe.
A brief conversation ensued.
Not long after, ‘Rishe’ cried out in agitation.
“I saw it with my own two eyes!!! You definitely ate the meal I prepared!!! You should’ve been poisoned by my poison!!! How are you even here—”
“What is THAT spirit you speak of!!! There was no spirit magic in the spells you used!!!”
“M, my magical power suddenly surged…!?”
“…”
Towah, who had been watching the entire spectacle from the side, massaged her temple, showing signs of fatigue.
Why was it that, at this moment, Towah’s compassion for the Face Thief outweighed the joy of the plan’s success?
