Return of the Frozen Player

The next day, someone knocked on Seo Jun-Ho’s door.

"Who is it… Lord Favo?"

Seo Jun-Ho looked surprised. Lord Favo was standing in front of the door with an awkward expression.

"Is something the matter?"

"Having a drink in the morning is a little… Would you give me a cup of tea?"

“Please come in first...”

There was no one behind him. Even though he was just the ruler of a small territory in the countryside, he was still a noble who suddenly came here without an attendant. When Seo Jun-Ho brought out the tea, Favo closed his eyes and savored the tea.

"Mmhm, it's delicious. You are quite knowledgeable about tea, too."

"I make it quite often."

"It seems you have a colleague who likes tea."

"Yes, well... So what is it that you came to see me for?"

Clatter

Favo put a leather bag on the desk.

"It's the 150 gold I promised to pay."

"Did you come all the way here just to give this to me?”

"There's that... I also want to grumble a bit, haha."

Favo laughed helplessly and suddenly lowered his head.

"First of all, I was out of it last night. I want to say thank you first.”

"I don't think I've done anything that deserves a thank you."

"That’s not true…"

Favo's head shook violently, strongly denying Seo Jun-Ho.

"I really didn't understand. Roland... I mean, the troll I raised was a really nice kid. He had never been a kid who would hurt people.”

Favo had believed it with all his heart, but he had clearly witnessed the scene where Roland hurt people.

"I thought the sky was falling. I couldn't even tell if it was a dream or a reality. Recently, dozens to hundreds of times a day, I wanted to go up the mountain and ask why but I held back with much difficulty."

But now, the question had been answered with no doubts. It was all thanks to the man in front of Favo. Seo Jun-Ho told Favo that Roland had changed because of the infamous fiends.

"Thank you very much for telling me the truth."

"Do you not have any discontentment towards me?"

Seo Jun-Ho had said to Favo’s face that he would report the incident to the Empire. There would probably be a trial for Lord Favo.

‘He probably feels that it’s unfair.’

Of course, it would be unfair. From his point of view, the presence of fiends and demon jades were like natural disasters that no one could know and prepare for in advance.

"I don’t think it was wrong of you to say that you will report to the Empire nor do I think it’s unfair. I've been prepared for that since I took Roland in. I had been determined to take responsibility for whatever happened."

If Favo was evil, he would be able to put everything on his knight and use the latter as a scapegoat. But he was too righteous for that.

"However, I would like to tell you this." Favo's gaze became firm. "You said this wouldn’t have happened if I had not taken Roland in, yes? But even if I went back in time a thousand times, I would still take Roland in. I have no regrets about that."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, I was happy thanks to him. I'm not married, but I learned the joy of having a child.”

At that moment, Seo Jun-Ho realized that the man in front of him had come to him this early in the morning to convey this very message.

"And here…"

Favo held out a piece of paper.

"What's this?"

"I mailed it on my way here. The destination is the Empire’s imperial court and it is a request for a trial."

“…!”

Seo Jun-Ho looked at him in surprise.

"There's a saying that some of the worst things that humans can imagine come from good intentions."

It didn’t matter whether the cause and the intention were good. If the results came out and it was either good or bad, someone had to receive the reward or punishment. This was how society worked.

"I will have to take responsibility since I am the lord of the West Sun."

The Ruben Empire did not specifically prohibit the breeding of monsters. However, if the people from the Empire were angered due to the monster, the responsibility was placed solely on the owner. This was why the mercenary guild preferred Roland to take the test. If Roland succeeded, there would have been a new star in the Guild, and if he failed, then they wouldn’t have had to take responsibility.

"Roland killed one of the locals here and more than a hundred people." Favo's eyes were filled with remorse. "It's all my fault. That day, if I hadn’t sent him alone...”

Deep regret over the past bothered Favo every minute. Seo Jun-Ho did not know that, but Favo, who used to be chubby, had lost more than 20 kilograms over the past month.

"Do not blame yourself too much. Even if you had sent someone with him, it would have been hard for them to beat the fiends."

"Is that so?"

"And I guess you haven’t heard the news yet..."

Favo looked up.

"News?"

"The number of people Roland had killed didn’t exceed a hundred."

"What? There are definitely a hundred and twenty Players and Adventurers who didn’t manage to come back…”

"40 people were rescued from the cave. Moreover, according to the rescued people’s testimony, the troll did not eat a single human. Rather, it seemed that he even took care of them so that they wouldn't die."

It was a ridiculous notion considering that the opponent had been a high-ranked monster, and was a troll known for their ferocity.

"You did a great job in teaching."

"Ha, haha...”

Favo's eyes became moist when he heard the unexpected news.

- You must never eat humans. This is a promise.

It was a precious promise he had made with Roland on their pinky fingers. Even though Roland had been deeply influenced by the demon jade to kill, he still kept his promise.

As Favo calmed down, Seo Jun-Ho said, "I still haven’t changed the way I think."

No matter how good the intentions were, it wasn’t right if the results were bad. Seo's belief in it was 'absolute.’ It was all because this was natural in the world he had been through.

"But if I were to be asked whether I think you deserve to be punished or not, then I don’t think so."

Favo gave him a strange look at the remark.

"That's unexpected. I thought Player Seo Jun-Ho hated me and wanted me to be punished."

"It's the other way around."

Seo Jun-Ho closed his eyes. It had been a long time, but the memory of the day was still clear.

"Do you know of the existence of Gates?"

"I have heard of it. It is a kind of dungeon that appeared on the planet where the Players live."

"That's a relief. Now, I will tell you a common old story."

What came out of his mouth was the same story he told the Frost Queen last night.

"That was a sad incident. A good deed that began with good intentions brought disaster…”

"Yes, but did you know? Because of the lights, the party was wiped out, but not all the party members were killed by monsters."

One person had managed to survive. Coincidentally, the person who had set the fire had left the campsite during the battle to get help.

"It was because he was the fastest. His comrades let him go. Because the Player who went out to scout at the time was the strongest, they asked him to bring that Player."

"…Oh no, so he did not make it in time.”

"That is correct…"

By the time he returned to the camp with the scout, his comrades had already turned into cold corpses.

"But then, isn't it two Players who survived?"

"The Player who started the fire couldn't overcome his guilt the next day and took his own life."

“…”

"That's when I realized that if you don't get rid of foolishness cleanly, it’s bound to become a curse that will gnaw at you."

Favo shut his mouth tight. He realized that the scout in the story was Seo Jun-Ho.

"The Player thought his death was the only way to atone for his comrades."

“Is that why you asked me to be brought to justice? So that I do not make such an extreme choice?"

In Seo Jun-Ho's eyes, he and Lord Favo overlapped. The Lord Favo Young he had seen through the memory projection resembled the weak Player in many ways.

"On the day of the trial, I will defend you myself."

"It may create a problem for your future. The results have already come out, and there is definitely something there that I'm not proud of."

"Something like that won’t be much of a shackle for me.” Seo Jun-Ho's voice was firm as he lifted the teacup. "My skills are not lacking."

***

It was the age of great peace. Numerous trials were held in one day, but not all of them could be brought to the capital. Therefore, there was a 'dispatch judge' in the imperial court.

"Hmm, it is indeed a scenic town."

"It would have been better if you came at sunset, but it is too bad."

"I will just see that on the way back. I think it's about time."

Two men entered the West Sun town in a luxurious carriage on a languid afternoon. The old man was wearing a judge’s robe, and the young man was his attendant. Looking out the window, the old man said, "Do you know how to easily distinguish between a town that wants to live and a town that doesn’t want to live?"

"You have said it more than a hundred times already. You said you would know when you see the faces of the people in the town."

"People in a town who have no concerns and worries will have smiles all over their faces like them." The old man looked satisfied. "Did you say that the tax rate here is lower than that of other towns around here?”

"Yes. It is 4% lower."

"That's a lot more of a difference than I thought...”

"Not only does the lord have no family, but he doesn't seem to indulge in luxury either."

"Hmm."

Nodding his head slowly, the old man looked at the document he was holding.

"A monster that was secretly raised by a good lord suddenly killed a resident...”

"More than a hundred people died when they went to exterminate the monster."

"That's a lot. Too much blood was spilled."

Tsk.

The old man clicked his tongue. The lord’s character didn’t matter anymore; too many people had died.

"It's going to be difficult. He’ll most likely get a prison sentence.”

"May the fair God of the Scales, Cassell-nim, be with you."

The carriage heading straight to the lord's mansion stopped. The old man looked at the yard, fixed his monocle, and asked, "I told you to head to the lord's mansion, so why did you come to the zoo?"

"That is indeed the lord's mansion. The lord apparently really likes animals."

"Well, I suppose there's no way a normal person would raise a monster."

The two people got off the carriage and headed to the study under polite guidance from a servant. A trial conducted by a dispatch judge wouldn’t proceed very grandiosely. The fact that a dispatch judge was deployed in the first place meant that the case was relatively unimportant. If it had been a major issue, the defendant would have been summoned to the capital.

"Welcome, Viscount Oliver."

The two men sitting in the study rose.

"I am Viscount Oliver, and I will be heading this trial. Are you the lord of this place?"

"Yes, my name is Favo Limisen."

"Then, what about you?"

"I am Player Seo Jun-Ho, and I will be attending the trial as a lawyer."

"Hooo, a lawyer? And a Player at that?”

Oliver fixed his monocles and looked amused. This was because despite having been in the legal profession for a long time, it wasn’t often that he encountered such cases.

"Interesting. Sit down first."

Afterward, the attendant took out a gavel and a wooden board onto the desk. Oliver spoke in a casual voice, like a customer in a café.

"Let’s begin the trial, then."