My Reflector Is Invincible

40. A Trivial Matter

And that was how the banquet ended.

Joo-Heon had to avoid people trying to talk to him.

The nobles’ determination to somehow establish a connection with him was beyond his expectations.

Of course, the nobles weren’t the only ones approaching him.

“To think that I would recover the Hero’s remains. I had not yet considered doing so.”

The Monarch of Knights’ eyes sparkled as he looked at Joo-Heon.

His gaze held more than just simple favor; it was filled with ＜affection＞.

It was natural.

‘After all, to the Monarch of Knights, the Hero is an important figure.’

It was the same for Joo-Heon.

Whenever he played the game, while all the other party members would change, the Hero was the only one who never did.

Just like the Monarch of Knights, the Hero was Joo-Heon’s precious comrade.

“Someone had to do it.”

“Thank you.”

And so, the two of them hit it off.

Only Earl Sanderson looked as though he were about to die.

‘Let’s see.’

He didn’t even need to ask to know what Sanderson was thinking.

But Joo-Heon wasn’t afraid of him.

‘I know exactly what he’s going to do now.’

There was only one night left until the next day.

One could wonder what would happen during that time.

However, after the banquet ended, he ended up having a surprisingly busy time.

Knock, knock.

A maid knocked and entered.

On her tray was a steaming cup of tea.

“Mr. Joo-Heon, the tea you ordered.”

“Oh, thank you.”

Joo-Heon took a sip of the tea.

And then, the maid collapsed on the spot.

Thud.

Her face was turning blue.

She looked as if she had been poisoned.

＜[Deadly Poison] has been reflected.＞

Joo-Heon calmly drank his tea with a familiar face.

Of course, his voice was cold.

“Take care of it.”

The knights who had been waiting for his command came out and disposed of the maid’s body.

At first, I was surprised, but now it seemed very natural.

‘This maid was also an assassin.’

‘How many is this since the banquet ended?’

‘It’s already over ten.’

And that was just the ten that the knights had taken care of.

There were more who had died or been captured.

I could tell just by the command the Lord had just given.

“What happened to the others?”

“As you commanded, my Lord, we have arrested all those who suddenly collapsed in the Duke’s Castle.”

“Their condition?”

“They are all showing symptoms of poisoning.”

They were in a state where it wouldn’t be strange if they died right away.

It wasn’t strange.

＜[Sleep Poison] reflected＞

＜[Scorpion Poison] reflected＞

＜[Paralysis Poison] reflected＞

All of them had been hit by Joo-Heon’s ＜Reflect＞.

‘The one who gave the poison. The one who received it. Even the one who spread it, they’re all targets of ＜Reflect＞.’

I knew it ever since I reflected the Fire Arrow’s ＜Burn＞.

That he could ＜Reflect＞ it onto enemies within his range.

‘The range needs to be wider, but I can cover at least the Duke’s Castle like this.’

Currently, all the vassals were gathered in the Duke’s Castle.

Gulp.

Every time Joo-Heon poured himself a new cup and ate the snacks next to him.

Someone continued to collapse somewhere in the Duke’s Castle.

Thud.

The knights who were patrolling the castle took the initiative to drag the collapsed people to prison.

They didn’t even bother to treat them.

That was because they knew very well that those who had collapsed were traitors.

Joo-Heon continued to drink tea.

‘I’m so full I could die.’

If only the feeling of fullness from eating could also be ＜Reflected＞.

Unfortunately, it didn’t work that way.

‘Well, maybe I can improve that later if I strengthen ＜Reflect＞.’

But anyway, as expected of Viscount Sanderson.

Sending assassins as soon as he realized things were going against him.

‘He must be trying to kill me somehow.’

If I don’t kill the lead tonight, the ban will be lifted.

In that case, I would have to enter a place where I might die.

For the Count, it was only natural that he would be worried.

However, as the lead, it was rather good for me.

‘Thanks to that, I guess I killed all the assassins that guy could use.’

Not only the assassins, but most of the gangsters that the wizard, Bayner, didn’t know about were also dead.

There were really a lot of them, by the way.

There was a poison that could melt your opponent in one sip, but there was also a sleeping pill that would put you to sleep forever, as if you were falling asleep.

It wasn’t just poison, either.

Gulp.

The tea ran down my throat.

Then my heart started beating irregularly.

It was a symptom that I knew well.

‘Is it some kind of stimulant that makes your blood circulate faster?’

In this world, it was used as an aphrodisiac.

It was a luxury item and a medicine that all nobles had.

However, my eyes were cold.

‘This time, it’s quite a high-ranking guy.’

That would make sense.

After all, it’s not a medicine, but not a medicine.

If a healthy person takes it, it’s a good aphrodisiac, but if someone like me, who trains every day, takes it, it’s a dangerous poison that can make your heart explode.

‘Medicine and poison are only a hair’s breadth apart. Poison can become medicine, and medicine can become poison.’

This time, it was a case of using medicine as poison.

Since the poisons didn’t work on me, it seemed like they had changed their methods.

However, I didn’t use .

‘If it’s a guy who uses medicine instead of poison… … it’s definitely not the end here.’

It wasn’t the kind of medicine that could kill me now.

Unlike , an achievement skill.

I used the achievement skill that I seemed to be using more often than these days.

强化

No matter how much my heart pounded as if it was going to burst from the effects of the stimulant, it didn’t matter.

My body was strengthened, and at the same time, my internal organs were activated.

Thump-thump.

My heart, which had become as hard as possible, perfectly absorbed the effects of the stimulant.

Far from bursting, it made it even stronger.

[Physical potential is increasing]

[Agility potential is increasing]

[Strength potential is increasing]

It was faster than receiving knowledge through training.

‘As expected, there’s no better training than a real-life battle where you risk your life.’

But it’s inconvenient to be this unscathed.

Joo-yeon grabbed her chest with her hand and staggered before collapsing.

“Ugh… Ugh…”

She pretended to be hurt and started acting.

Then the knights rushed over anxiously.

“Lady Joo-yeon! What’s wrong with you!”

“Why is a person who is immune to poison like this!”

Joo-yeon’s lips trembled blue.

“M… My chest…”

“Lady Joo-yeon is in danger! Hurry and call the priest… the healer!”

The knights rushed outside anxiously.

Soon after, the healers from the Duke’s family rushed in.

“Where is the patient!”

“What is her current condition!”

They hurriedly tried to check Joo-yeon’s consciousness.

The knights had no choice but to briefly stop their escort due to the sudden situation.

That’s when it happened.

Swish.

Assassins emerged from among the healers.

They were not here to save Joo-yeon.

“Die!”

They were assassins sent by Count Sanderson.

They came to kill her themselves in case the poison didn’t work.

It was an ambush to make sure she was dead.

But it was useless.

Thud! Thud!

The sharp daggers aimed for Joo-yeon’s vital points.

“Keu… Ugh!”

“W… Why!”

It was the assassins who ended up dying.

Precisely ＜Reflex＞.

The assassins who were bleeding from their vital points died right on the spot.

Buzz!

The stimulant that made her heart beat faster actually helped Joo-yeon.

‘The higher your cardiopulmonary fitness, the higher your stamina. You fools.’

They came looking for her when her reflexes were at their strongest.

Who would send someone like this?

She ordered the confused knights.

“Check their faces.”

“This is… human skin masks? They’re all fake!”

I wondered why the healers came so quickly.

It was as if they had been waiting.

‘And a face-changing mask? That’s a pretty expensive item.’

＜Face-Changing Mask＞

– A fake face made from human skin.

– Can make you look like a different person.

＜Usage Restrictions: Must have the ＜Disguise＞ skill in the back alley or dark profession.＞

It was definitely not something a petty assassin would have.

One of the former hero’s colleagues.

[Death]

An item that only someone like the so-called god of assassins could create.

No, only the world’s strongest assassin guild that Death belonged to could make it.

‘Could it be… did Count Sanderson join hands with the assassin guild?’

Joo-in knew Count Sanderson very well.

He was called the fox of the north, but he was actually closer to a snake.

‘That’s what makes him scary. He doesn’t care about his methods to achieve his goals.’

So he mobilized the assassin guild in that short amount of time.

Not only ordinary attendants, but also lower-ranking slaves, knights, and even nobles and vassals.

He was mobilizing everyone he could get his hands on.

Normally, it would be difficult to find them, and it would be impossible to find the real traitor…

Bang!

Joo-in’s door opened and Knight Olson entered.

“I just received a report that the finance manager collapsed. He suddenly clutched his chest and stopped breathing.”

Bingo!

He had ＜Reflection＞.

He didn’t have to go through the hassle of searching for them one by one like before.

Furthermore, the finance manager was one of the three most powerful people in the dukedom. He was currently the highest-ranking person in the dukedom.

Just then, Aiden, who was preparing to become the official duke, arrived.

“Joo-in, you must have heard? Could it be… was the finance manager also working with the count?”

“That’s why he collapsed, right?”

“So… you did something.”

Aiden’s expression hardened.

To think that the finance manager, a member of his core staff, was a traitor.

However, there were still many traitors left.

‘Many of them don’t even know they’re traitors.’

They might have just thought they were receiving money for a favor.

But that was a trap.

They would end up giving their loyalty and information without realizing it.

That was one of Count Sanderson’s tricks.

Did it mean that the Edmer family was in such a bad state to have fallen for this?

What is the King of the North doing?

Joo-yeon understood what the Edmer family had gone through.

‘The greatest family in the North. Their reputation as a prestigious family known throughout the continent must have blinded them.’

Their opponent wasn’t even a duke or a marquis, but a mere count.

No matter how much money they had, they could never have imagined that someone would dare to touch them.

Since the other side had shown goodwill and backed down, they must have misunderstood even more.

Joo-yeon said to Aiden with a stern face.

“It was a mistake once. But repeating the same mistake… is your incompetence, Aiden, and the Edmer family’s.”

“I know.”

“Then hurry up and take care of the rest of them.”

He planned to take care of everything before tomorrow morning.

So he needed something.

“Oh, right. Wasn’t there something the King of Knights told you to give me?”

“Ah! That?”

Aiden hurriedly fumbled through his pockets and took something out.

It was a small golden shield-shaped object.

It was a token that allowed entry into the Edmer family’s forbidden zone.

It was something that could only be obtained from the King of Knights and the Duke.

However, Aiden, like other nobles, seemed to not understand.

“Why are you going there at a time like this?”

“Well, the hero’s remains…”

“You don’t have to tell me. I know you’re not the kind of person who gets caught up in emotions. What’s the real reason?”

“……!”

Joo-yeon’s eyes widened at his gaze, then he soon smiled.

“The real reason…”

Honestly, there were many reasons.

‘The hero’s remains, but the fact that I can get my hands on the holy sword is huge.’

The fact that it was a place where he could send Count Sanderson to hell couldn’t be ignored.

Moreover, he could kill the demons that would come after him.

‘The biggest reason is that I can let others know.’

That Joo-yeon himself is the hero of this era.

Of course, Joo-yeon is not a hero. Originally, he would have had to find a hero or find a suitable companion.

However, he couldn’t achieve his final achievement that way. He had to take the title of hero to solve it within three years.

‘That way, I can solve things.’

As far as he knew, the hero title was the most effective.

It’s not a method that is often used, but it is the best way to clear the game.

‘And I’ll take everything a hero can get.’

He would take care of his past colleagues, destroy his enemies, and get the holy sword.

Above all, he could drive Sanderson to despair.

It was truly a strategy that kills three birds with one stone.

The corners of Juyeon’s lips slowly turned up.