The Player Who Stands Above All

Chapter 234

Swoosh-

Seeing Mio lower her head, Lee Shin covered both his eyes with his hands.

And when his hands were gone again, the two eyes looking at them had returned from the sharp reptilian eyes to human black pupils.

"It seems things have been sorted out to some extent, so I'll say the rest."

"You are?"

Startled by Lee Shin's sudden change, Rwen's eyes widened slightly.

"Ah, did you wake up when Irehgue entered my body?"

"Irehgue?"

"Yeah, it's short for Irehgue..."

Thwack-

As Lee Shin was speaking, Irehgue popped out and hit him on the head.

-Stop talking! If you say such a nickname, won't the dignity I have as a master crumble!

"Ah, stop hitting my head. And I have to tell them what they need to know. Since things have turned out this way, they were bound to find out eventually anyway."

At Lee Shin's words, Irehgue shouted.

-Do not tell them! Can't you just say the full name, Irehgue!

"It's long, I don't like it."

At Lee Shin's words, Irehgue started to thrash about like a child whose middle school diary had been found by their parents.

Lee Shin dodged the attacks flying towards him and grabbed Irehgue.

The fact that Irehgue could touch Lee Shin meant, conversely, that Lee Shin could also touch Irehgue.

Having settled the situation, Lee Shin looked at Mio and Rwen with a slightly tired voice and said.

"Anyway, to put it simply, the Irehgue you saw just now, Ireh, and I are different people."

"Then who are you?"

"For now, call me Crow. And as a simple introduction... you just need to know that I'm the original owner of this body."

A hint of bewilderment still showed in Rwen's eyes, but Mio, who had already seen Lee Shin and spoken with him briefly, had already adapted to the situation.

"I thought it was strange that your eyes suddenly changed. When it's you, your eyes are black, and when it's that guy... Ack!"

Mio suddenly clutched her head in pain.

As Mio looked around in confusion, Lee Shin said in a nonchalant voice.

"He's asking where a subordinate gets the nerve to call their master 'that guy'."

"...Don't tell me you can move even while you're inside like that?"

"It's possible."

For Irehgue's honor, he decided not to mention that it had only recently become possible.

At Lee Shin's words, Mio gently stroked her head and said.

"When it's you, your eyes are black, and when it's the master... nim, his eyes change to be like ours, right?"

"It's simple, but not wrong."

As Lee Shin was saying that, Irehgue had already climbed onto his head and was grumbling.

-To suddenly switch bodies, what kind of rude behavior is this. This was a scene full of dignity where I was making my first appearance before my subordinates, but because of you, it suddenly turned into a comedy.

At Irehgue's words, Lee Shin sighed inwardly.

'I was originally just planning to watch quietly, you know?'

If he had stepped in, it was obvious Irehgue would get indignant and strike his head with his tail, so Lee Shin had originally intended to just quietly watch Irehgue's conversation.

'But I just couldn't stand by and watch, so I came out like this.'

Suddenly declaring he would take them both as subordinates like a stubborn child was something he could let slide, giving a hundred concessions.

After all, the weight of words changes depending on who says them, and words imbued with the aura Irehgue emanated would naturally carry some weight.

'Also, I thought that if he failed to make them his subordinates, that in itself would be a good experience. Well... for some reason, that Rwen kid was friendly towards Irehgue, so that plan failed.'

Recalling a brief review in his head, Lee Shin spoke to Irehgue inwardly.

'And the reason I stepped in wasn't to ruin your image, but on the contrary, to protect it.'

-What?

The foundation on which Irehgue's mind was rooted was the same as Lee Shin's.

Therefore, Irehgue fundamentally had a strong mental fortitude.

'So I was a bit relieved, but I never thought his emotional control would be so clumsy. No, thinking about it again, he's never really shown any emotional control in front of me either.'

He was arrogant, but that's why he had a simple personality that was immediately pleased when praised. That was Irehgue.

And it would be troublesome if these two kids found that out.

If it were a different situation, whether his own image fell or Irehgue suffered some loss, he would have just left Irehgue alone.

Because these things weren't learned through words, but through direct experience.

However, the opponents this time were quite bad.

Although he had only watched for a moment, the two kids in front of him were not living in the back alleys by luck; they were uncharacteristically sharp and cunning for their age.

For those two to have a long conversation with Irehgue.

A clear picture was drawn of the two kids seeing Irehgue as a pushover and clinging to him.

-For my sake, what do you mean by that?

'There's something like that.'

If he explained this as it was, he didn't know how Irehgue would react, so Lee Shin decided to change the subject.

'By the way, you, what are you going to do if you just jump out like that without even properly fixing your body? Thanks to you, I've just been sitting still inside the body.'

-Ugh...

Regarding that, Irehgue had nothing to say and fell silent.

Although Irehgue had revealed his body externally, it was not a properly repaired body.

It was a body made based on his past self just to move quickly with only the core created.

'First, make your body properly and then come. We'll talk after that.'

-Tsk, understood. It won't take that long, so wait a moment.

Irehgue clicked his tongue and began the reconstruction of his body that he had temporarily stopped.

And Lee Shin immediately ignored Irehgue's words and looked at the other two, saying.

"First, I'd like to ask, what's the reason you hold a grudge against the noble families?"

"..."

Mio's answer to Lee Shin's question was silence.

As Lee Shin was thinking about how to make her open her mouth.

"That's because my sister and I were experimented on by those people called nobles."

The quiet Rwen opened her mouth.

Mio reacted as if startled, but she soon calmed down when Rwen took her hand as if to say it was okay.

'So Mio is the one who uses her body, and Rwen is in charge of using her head?'

"Hey, why would you say that?"

"It's fine. It doesn't seem like he's the type to fall for a clumsy lie anyway, so it's better to just tell him and gain his trust."

Mio also agreed with Rwen's judgment.

She hadn't met many people, but the instinct she had from birth was warning her of Lee Shin's danger.

Nevertheless, the reason Mio opened her mouth was for a different reason.

Mio whispered into Rwen's ear.

"No, that's not it, I told you to call me 'hyung' in the back alleys!"

"He already seemed to know that you and I are girls anyway, so what's the point."

At Rwen's words, Mio's eyes widened and she looked at Lee Shin.

At that, Lee Shin said with an exasperated tone.

"I touched your body and treated your sister's body in the first place, you think I wouldn't have noticed your gender?"

"Eeeek!"

"What's with the tomboyish kid?"

At Lee Shin's blatant ridicule, Mio's face, which had turned red with embarrassment, now flushed with anger.

'By the way, they were subjected to various experiments by nobles...'

Ignoring Mio, Lee Shin thought.

'Their physical characteristics are a bit different, and there were traces of what looked like abuse on their bodies. Was it because of that?'

Based on a few pieces of information, Lee Shin acknowledged that it wasn't a lie and said.

"So you were locked up in a prison, how did you get out here?"

"The nobles who had us locked up were suddenly attacked."

To summarize Rwen's words, it was like this.

While they were being experimented on in a lab, becoming a spectacle for the nobles as usual, the mansion suddenly caught fire during an attack.

Thanks to that, the nobles all burned to death or were killed by the attackers.

But ironically, thanks to that, the two were able to escape the lab and run away to this place.

"Run away, how?"

"We tore a scroll thinking it was now or never, and it turned out to be a teleport scroll."

"That was already three years ago. Since then, we've settled down and have been living in the back alleys here."

"Hmm, is that so?"

Having heard that much, Lee Shin got up from his seat.

"Then I have a rough idea of what to do next."

"What, do you have to do?"

At Rwen's words, Lee Shin said as if it were obvious.

"It's too suspicious that there's a scroll that conveniently brings you to a place like this. I don't know what it is, but it must be related to the lord of this place, so we have to go shake down the lord."

Chuckle-

"If we're lucky there, we might also get information about the target of your revenge."

'And while we're at it, get information about the forces hostile to the nobles. Killing two birds with one stone.'

He hadn't expected much, but he heard something better than he thought.

According to the two, he didn't know who it was, but there was an organization that killed even nobles.

Whether it was simply to covet the territory or for some kind of revenge, one thing was certain.

If he could get a hold of that guy and shake him, he could shake up the game here.

Hiding such thoughts, Lee Shin said to the two with a wide, smiling face.

"Alright, let's go. I'll find out the target of your revenge for you."

"Are you really thinking of attacking a noble?"

Rwen asked with a startled face, and Mio sighed and added.

"You, you look like a transmigrator who doesn't know the ways of the world, so just stay quiet, will you? Nobles are beings whose rights are recognized by the temple. If you touch them, the church will move."

"So what."

At Mio's words, Lee Shin said as if it didn't matter.

And it really didn't matter.

Because the church guys were people he had to deal with anyway.

However, the kids were looking at Lee Shin with surprised faces, as if they had interpreted his words differently.

'While I'm at it, should I try to boost Irehgue's mood a bit?'

Having decided that, Lee Shin pointed at himself and the two of them with his finger.

"You guys too, if you've become his subordinates, try to be a little more honest with your desires. That guy isn't weak enough to be ignored anywhere."

Kuuuuooo-

At the same time as those words, Irehgue appeared in the air.

Internal energy and magic power swirled around the two cores.

Irehgue, who revealed himself in that small storm, didn't look much different on the outside.

However, Lee Shin felt a presence from Irehgue that he hadn't been able to feel before.

Lee Shin had felt something similar to this before.

A spirit.

It was similar to the presence of the spirits he had felt through Arachne, Diz, and Cheon Yuhwa.

Irehgue, who had revealed himself, glared at Lee Shin.

-It seems you had a conversation with my subordinates while I was gone again.

'I was praising you.'

As Lee Shin was replying in his mind, Rwen quietly opened her mouth.

"Is that person my master?"

"Hmm?"

At those words, Lee Shin looked at Rwen and saw that her eyes were aimed exactly at Irehgue's location.

Irehgue moved around, but each time, Rwen's eyes also moved, following him.

"What?"

Looking at Mio's state, it seemed she couldn't see Irehgue.

"You can see him?"

At Lee Shin's words, Rwen nodded.

-Ooooh!

Just like when he had gained a new conversation partner named Irin, Irehgue seemed purely happy that someone who could see him had appeared, but Lee Shin felt a slight headache coming on.

'At this rate, they'll find out he's a pushover in no time...'

As Lee Shin was thinking that, he suddenly felt a slight headache.

The location of the pain was slightly different from a normal headache.

It was mainly not the side, but the back, that is, the back of his head that hurt.

Then, strangely, the worries he had until a moment ago disappeared in an instant.

'...Starting a relationship with a bitter taste probably isn't so bad.’