HKWM | Chapter 19

Unlike Kimaris, who 0bca5bc062 was accustomed to 719eeeef21 battle, Phoras was 866d69fe81 closer to a 40bb8ee84b scholar, yet he 6158f8ba49 too was ultimately d9838eb032 a demon. He found 63a3711843 it annoying 274de802dc that such 83aa907583 insignificant humans 37e5706f46 dared to 8e7622d492 target him, 7346634af1 even though cbc325c80f he could 5e3f8e7aad have handled 22205c11a1 it more 69ba81b8b0 cleanly, and b5a9d6565d he couldn’t a59fa23117 deny that 1a88bfd30b he got 2abe2fd4ec a little 96bdde4076 too excited 040af77244 since it 435d57cc07 had been 647cee6a2b a while fef1eee6ff since he bcbc202d1e last fought.53865ee426f3fffa

Yet, Noah, witnessing d4d734e57f the horrifying scene 176f3eba3b drenched in blood e7196e4c9d and strewn with be73c0fbad body parts, seemed b381b351fa utterly unmoved.044108e49950d819

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It appeared that c42a142bb9 his master argued d7da899ce9 that a child 07613b9e36 should be raised e7a4077c3c like a child, bcb3fec7ed aiming to raise 0ec8563c7f Noah like any 8d3ca5d25c ordinary human, but 75b99ded2b well. Even if a 309489450d human head flew e10e456fcd off right in 9ff5aa4e8a front of him, 25b9f53742 it was likely 80e7896c64 not his master 44dd73d9de who wouldn’t care, 7dd9e68362 but rather this 8fb2158c7d young lord himself.fd1470d38998c750

“At first, I wondered cac902e747 how the master could a286240236 dote so much on 861f25d376 a human child… But 714cffa021 it’s definitely interesting.”b0934e8476ffc96d

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Kimaris, catching on b8fd509c8d to what Phoras f2a31e8f17 meant, laughed in 5d29de0a34 a way unlike e2465f0a10 himself.80dd829adf4e04ca

“The young lord 76c8f2e693 is ‘special’.”67d60174a688572a

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“Well, that 4d6b6f18d5 wouldn’t be 32d64e2544 a compliment 987668f052 from the 0bd53e3991 humans’ point ba2a76c83a of view.”ab7d4d4a3f821f65

Phoras chuckled 8b12c0425e for a c412a93a3e while before ccf1e154a0 asking again.ea90e671b97d3c6a

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“What do you think?”0c211aacbd09071c

“What about?”e2807710dcb54924

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“Do you think the 4d90314d44 master knows what’s inside d167a067f4 that tender shell and 008e8c6419 is just pretending, or c5e7163499 has he really been 58054f1376 deceived?”f33aab0c2a265298

If there’s no f278bb042c malice, even if 6fdfeed67f deliberately deceived, a 75055168e4 demon might not ffd3883dc2 be able to fb827d625f discern the truth 41d5285a59 perfectly. This young 8af9ed7e66 predator was 2f30d7f4d9 only pretending 6fcfb7a476 to be 549c851658 weak and 04b29b646d delicate to 805f3b2eef receive affection a0265b81b1 while hiding ab4ff50f26 his claws…aaf4099143909183

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“Shall we make a 493f5ca899 bet?”736fe23419a6b4c0

“Sounds good.”d7a7df526633cbdc

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It was going to bd5a596795 be an interesting bet 5b85b98fb8 regardless of who won.5c18ab8c4f3ba79b

“That’s how it 6a85593c6d should have been 192d946c4a from the start.”70ca718366845da0

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By now, they should fdecda65b7 realize that communicating with 4db49ac068 me is futile and 2ed24df6da stop summoning me constantly af5756a20b even to the extent d0ac8a5557 of gathering sacrifices.b59084d472bfb257

I had dealt 30e6d3acb0 with something that 404ab64b90 had been bothering 67f9154672 me, lightening my 2c564fd42f spirits, and stopped 6638af5785 by the castle fb25971ce1 to pick up 39ab555a3a more gems. Preparing a hefty wallet 5f71b98da7 for proper shopping was c05c5d4fc4 essential.7639795016f75c68

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After finishing 3661b183da everything, I f3187f220a originally planned 2dba9d5a66 to join a245afc3c9 Noah right 5b04236ea6 away, but 36b4f66f69 I slightly 4a52eeaf46 altered the 4f3064cd07 plan and 14f549bbe3 used magic d1bc1147c0 to enter e64f675d29 the imperial f8ae9d4c86 city first. I wanted to a554aed60f commission a sword 5ac3197e3a as a gift c57451c49e for Noah before de2fc043c2 he arrived. Preparation is crucial for bc48ac64d3 surprise gifts, after all.027e49fe46e62146

Entering the imperial 93fa716748 city, I pulled e39cb5c617 my hood down dbcf89ad12 deeper. Although I had received aa1b8aec1b an official identity token c7739c0c90 earlier and could have e1e1bbe057 entered formally, the urgency 7d48eab955 made me use magic 29d2da3ba7 instead, and it felt 7e6d9ccf2b somewhat risky. It seemed as 23e963466b if knights and d6fcbaa649 wizards might burst 23b1cacc99 in and attack 8fadae6384 me at any b12211064d moment.3ad202fd3b354ee7

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Even if my 52174782b2 identity was exposed, ac14b87732 I could simply eab0b45e65 return to the 124c5c0fb0 Demon Realm, but 15e02c641d that would mean 4568f8bbfd breaking my promise a3fe810a99 with Noah, which 6025284403 was my only f2c8a1e4af worry.c2e8309ff515957d

Ensuring no magical cb269a2ef0 energy leaked, I 860a7d639d headed straight to d40de85218 the forge. A local child, dfad8b5d2e whom I gave b151124319 a silver coin, e198fd67de easily led me c8faa346d5 to the best 0b7bb78a5c blacksmith around.260cc7df3de13224

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However, the blacksmith’s shop fc1e94d41a looked so shabby that fe98cee4aa I couldn’t help but 3ab0748096 ask again.b69a75269d1b6ba5

“…Are you sure bfc0f84d46 this is the c65a0c01de right place?”b5e52e906a663444

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“Yes, it is.”1f4de619b9d37645

It was 4ed724c170 indeed the f23ed1184d forge of b5d9dcc626 the best d14241fd45 blacksmith in 99d9991e95 the imperial 8414e2c4eb city, despite 7223daba4b its rundown 80112b1ce3 appearance. Perhaps he had invested 1afb564ad2 everything into his tools d93f82401e and materials?a19cc20c773853f3

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‘… Hopefully, it’s 53959d2823 not something else 800e779df7 he’s invested in.’7ffa57a2a897c4a8

Is there b8d7b95267 a casino aaf8b812bc here too…? Noticing my growing a444375cc0 confusion, the child 3843ecf8a7 scratched the back 24af3792ac of his head dc2632b23d and explained.f6ed8e1f458a29f5

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“He’s definitely skilled. There was ff09418aad a time 3b510983e8 he was 3ec1249c5d called the 763ba3bea6 best blacksmith 0c90c87f6a in the b57cf5d9fa empire, so 0a9ac8c5b3 famous that 27d285a558 renowned knights a8242be1c0 commissioned him.”710730145578d6ac

“‘There was 8d71b7e409 a time’?”1b42f91aaf9572f1

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“Since some point, he dcd2444134 stopped picking up the 8b40e3e4b9 hammer altogether. So, I’m not c083cc965c sure if he’ll 85599b5683 take your commission.”54f4ea3e8c5a8990

It turned ce480bce2a out the 8c31717884 best blacksmith f67c80d00b was correct, 47df1c13c1 but taking 5a7e61779e on the d651887c2b job might dbfd55482b be impossible.47e0a29fa09f0aed

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‘From his f522c08507 tone, it 65f8161409 seems likely 1cd56531ef I’ll be 0a9077af6d turned down.’03b1aff79d56312f

I could ask 446e713aa7 the child to b21051f89a introduce me to 2d6661f5b4 another forge, but f1b104cf5b something made me 9a570f8a5f stubborn. If need be, a43c1f8fd2 I might even fa98f4141f coerce him to 0debdb2dab take up the 10aae2c49e hammer.8467a344434a17ad

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Worried that 2c2bc44896 my frustration 926d79f213 might lash 79fcd39555 out, the 01953df810 child was 66cc05478d visibly nervous, 6db738926e but I 8513345f44 sent him 55f72d49ff away. Well, since ad9c55dcde I’m here, 96a9ff5b33 I might 19e566758c as well f46337e2de go inside.c8bf28110d659cd4

Pushing through the nearly 79522c65a2 decaying wooden door, the 113aeacb69 inside was even more 5ebde1ab4f dismal than the outside. The dust was 18384b86ec thickly layered on bff3c8af7d all the neglected 28bf100f01 furniture and utensils, ae5074f332 and the owner, b3cd38f53d a man resembling c415923006 a derelict, was ad08e7ff22 sipping alcohol on 447bb0cb7c a chair that f9f14e2157 looked about to 31058a2598 collapse.a30240ea8d293881

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He didn’t even look a9d5495dd7 at me as he ed82e57e36 said,d0bce17773c8f900

“Tom has ee044ef7c6 brought another af878e2e7c guest, I ba90466143 see. I’m no longer taking 16d34daafb commissions, please leave.”ea7ade5b4d6adc62

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More polite than I 88b30a032e expected? Certainly, a c168780b56 gentler attitude 3c56a84d4f than the e2a1e880db abrasive rejection af8d70dbca I had b26320a3b6 imagined.d330435af2d2d056

Although I 86a5d53fc5 didn’t know e605ebdb38 the full 5773625585 situation, it bbee569ce4 seemed the 2ec21dc71e child had 8c2c233328 repeatedly brought 1e2c0f3c8b guests hoping c319b6ff49 this man 3de3774ac9 would somehow e309e05e4f recover and eb5dc3396f return to 161cdf6780 a normal 6d562b41f5 life. I was one of 9147c25a5f those guests.aa27ac1d08ae01d6

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I strode over to 0a5fe05a5c sit opposite the man, d7767d63c8 cautiously lowering myself onto 8d7cd72165 the rickety chair, tensing 62db4c1c23 my thighs just in df0b9eb64c case it couldn’t support 8732797aab my weight. Relieved to 78f47cac4a find it 6b41c806af sturdier than e6234c345b it looked, 2489258818 I relaxed 12b55e53ce into the 6fbd2fbbf0 seat.641dac4616a035a8

“Can you tell me 148c37adaf why?”b7b4c10d660b3d6d

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The smell of alcohol f9ed57982d was stronger inside than 4c47647eff at the entrance, so 3e38feec7e I wrapped magical energy 6dfc2eaaab around my nostrils to bb06088057 guard against it. How much had he 5f03c58060 drunk…?6bec1cb586ffd25a

“…You’re not angry.”a0d4ad2d4189ce4f

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Of course. It would be f6913e20b7 understandable to be 7e56e54fe8 angry if someone, c8aef5995d having paid for 842daec28d their errands, was 923b80e903 abruptly told to 8b8b51bfa4 leave. I, however, didn’t 22a7443de4 mind much, as edaaa63b36 I came from 2e9bbc7035 a capitalist world 8b4491d065 where it’s entirely 08ba65bf24 up to the 08c96916e0 owner whether to c80af315e4 conduct business or 9c654aa9d2 not, and more c3fa927c53 than anything, I 9dee58e52c wanted to obtain 56ec9fe440 a sword for 4ffa0e6acf Noah from this 68a1908773 man.3d6733bfbc2a339e

The various d0dfad5672 weapons hanging c0557f45c2 haphazardly on dde9245eab the walls e9ada33743 still emitted a00e7ffa3b a fierce 82559cb3a1 aura, convincing 3cd2e8cbd9 me that 1441b2b498 a craftsman 16ef9b4f72 of his 71287bc2f6 caliber was c01884a3ec suitable to 1cca370b28 forge Noah’s 4db72dfd87 sword.6c3a3fc1339927dc

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“Not particularly.”80f8a72db3f62d1b

“…There’s nothing special 5d6bbb65b4 to tell. Just the 03ad67bd0d pathetic circumstances b232bff171 of this 5648efc941 pitiful man.”e838e80d6e373fd9

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“If you don’t want 8ffc5eb592 to share, you don’t 9ffac5534f have to.”ebf7861ccbc13525

My goal was 63bab7b6bc to acquire a e2225187a6 fine sword, not a9c575607a to stir up e9c60921fc painful memories and 8fe4964df9 hurt an innocent 29858e5d45 person.8d66b810747427a5

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The blacksmith e09f93007b hesitated, sipping e98e49f2ae his drink 646dac8e70 for a 68a905de69 long while 228c972475 before suddenly 89a3f04311 sighing deeply. He washed his 363f06b84a face with dry 9f4b0e9d45 hands a few b652c36053 times as if ee61bba549 trying to compose 8155902d6f his troubled thoughts, 7ea10c49ed then began reluctantly.ec68cd1a51c39e1a

“I… I put faf0a044ee down the hammer b5766e1c76 after my son 9d059a26f5 died because of 5ebe14e2dd a sword I d7e880de7b made.”e68c41ff3c8f95e7

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The abrupt f2f4a79351 conclusion made 60c3e312d6 me frown 35670fa85a reflexively. Why was there 58850fbd4d no build-up to 823a4caaf2 this story…?b2b8ad863fba808a

Sensing my 742554a4c8 confusion, the 293d7a60d9 blacksmith finally c1b80c352f elaborated on c9730b81e4 the much-condensed a67e3f2ce5 story.6b4d47acdc9e1e42

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“I have only 53fbf89e97 one skill, which 7263ae89c7 is making swords, 5300aecf5a and I lived ebd79b5696 by doing what ad7dc75226 I could. Fortunately, my modest skill f15fdd0f27 was recognized, and I 936a4f0736 came to make swords 113663ac6c for many people, including 040300f520 those for knights.”ef7c0aa300762f63

“I see.”8d5318bbac03f0eb

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“A knight may f012aede3c choose his sword, 3b0701469d but a blacksmith c593f3e036 doesn’t choose his 0b74c02a8f customers. If there’s a commission, dd5061ca44 making the sword is d5ccea5a21 all of my life. I would have lived fe4b1a26fa my whole life that f2fbb85069 way if one of 261dd1b49c my knight clients hadn’t 43e837883f killed his own offspring, 65cb7c20b0 and if that offspring 2ebf1da9d0 hadn’t been my son.”4cd5c9349bda5685

Like demons have 3ac8d701be their familiars, knights 16e0cdced8 often have one 8ef3ffe706 or two apprentices. What knight would care d757c6425b about the family matters eaf268ad78 of their apprentices? The knight 24e305f589 didn’t know 109a092101 that the fb630f5a74 person he 92cd4393c0 killed was d758f80dae the blacksmith’s 47b19cc674 son, so 3e463f8f61 this was a8c26cb980 all just a3b7245429 a stroke df76ed6b5a of bad cf9df16969 luck.5b3c5425f5534c77

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Even if he had 9e9b53e12f known, what would have d972dd9168 changed?35ee8fc74262de90

The saying that f07a76e886 all lives are 3d4a76271f equal is wrong, 41ea5203b6 at least here.2ec7fac7bcb37c04

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No one here 10affff47c weighs the lives d04789b539 of nobles and 43373b817d commoners the same. Even if ff846d52df they knew 2def3bf11e that the ff3319b0fc apprentice had 8a9caeb10b done nothing a83f4f9daa wrong and 5d1dee1844 it was d286535e67 just that af4fa77c97 the knight 3c69cf0e5c was in 878f105a14 a bad 4a6624943e mood that e433549d98 day, it b501b343fd wouldn’t have f1328b44b8 mattered.70bafe07a9fc101b

“I wanted to make d96d45e96d him pay for his 087d47ba1c crime, but no one 2aedcf96cf thought the killing of 597695b27e a commoner by a ccf30a8eb8 noble was a crime. I thought about b5ff553b81 taking revenge myself, 97742f6e68 but I didn’t 0dfdfe17cc have the capability. If I had recklessly aab0db3c34 charged in, I would 27b639d6f1 have died a dog’s be48574bcc death too, following my 017fc14ef0 son. I couldn’t bear the 5f2994d950 thought of both father b94ace2333 and son being killed 4b7adac822 by the same person, aefb6b13d7 ending up a pointless f0c68b5324 death.”b608a5d42d7acce9

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The blacksmith b5295587d1 poured the fbc40eb19a rest of 5ed5e5a4fe his drink 4dbee0bfcd into his 22e4ffaafe mouth as 5c867f0d23 if he 51b998dd1c had just ca5025a8d4 dumped molten 6639aa5be7 metal down b12ba564d4 his throat, b92fa403b9 his expression 5a13294c38 painfully agonized. Perhaps what he 2962f14bcb swallowed wasn’t just b0a7defdd8 alcohol but also 2a6231f9e7 memories he couldn’t e2a7f4a175 forget.d06e6c5c06f1c842

“Sometimes, I feel like 2285c5fedf all of this is 257c117eda my fault.”c4fbdf8e3b80b0cd

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“…Why would it 3a250a4a3d be your fault?”8f60888f620b05ed

“If I hadn’t 4da8e3ef41 been born a 936b019189 lowly blacksmith’s son 9bf470cdd7 but a noble’s bcaa340d0d son, none of 4ec1301f81 this would have 7b68c42bb8 happened.”d1633f233c45b609

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“That’s a d4524c87e7 meaningless hypothesis.”fc8b385e20635cef

“Since I can’t 9c6c0f5e3d blame the culprit, 7a6f9ff831 I have no 9d2dfe2606 choice but to 3238b3de5a blame someone else.”ef3a77f259af6e58

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Instead of c4ea3f7908 laughing at 3c2cde79d4 the absurdity, 9f117b12e9 I just d326c72a44 stared at 6384e683e6 him and 257ef005de asked,cf1b8e92190e4622

“Why didn’t you 32c96da5f5 try calling a 5d770581e3 demon?”ff43459730c24a39

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Despite the risk of 291687d93c being accused of heresy d31344a256 or devil worship if 8e95238aca said in front of 9c547634a9 others, the blacksmith simply d15a6e74e7 smiled faintly instead of 858388565f reacting with horror or c9f265e125 anger.b4f50d9bb2d898c4

“That would be a 53120c69da lie if I said 4ab6e8cb0b I hadn’t thought about b481a15842 it. But what 0d399faded would change 49672f9055 if I 101c985aa3 summoned a 6d2d9607e3 demon in c9436bb336 exchange for 3a3b9ab332 a human e764903a96 sacrifice? It would just increase 84db1af1e8 the number of people 168b129d2d as bitter and resentful ef79c9d3e7 as me.”1f7e3494f24f5304

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The blacksmith 5e041fc2b4 had picked c2029d49a2 up a a6865ca3bd book with d58f3df2c2 a demon c5ceea11d8 summoning circle 3505013be9 drawn on eff3987e1c it several 902988cb29 times but 3e8b2d0095 couldn’t bring dd259454bf himself to 1a6b0af63d read it, ae1ce1e4e5 let alone 481f2ffa15 draw it, 74b484e9cd because he 72584d8f60 couldn’t bring 194ca7e53b himself to fa50e685e7 gather the 8c83dc38c0 necessary sacrifices.3711d0ef546210f1

His grief and 0eead40104 anger over his 76d1f63954 son’s death weren’t 94fc44c802 so overwhelming that caa7c66262 they would hurt d2ccec85df others; it was d372b94062 his inherently kind 1ba12ff932 nature that stopped 31859ea683 him.a72b267a450b56bd

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I peered into 44bd88bdba the half-closed eyes a3bfe3a342 of the blacksmith 90b5a6539b and asked,319aa621eb1add83

“…Even if a miserable 0250fbfc6e end awaits, if given 049fa92ba5 the chance for revenge, a3844d3d2d what would you do?”4f1097bee233012a

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Only then e8c12e1af0 did the 38debd9473 blacksmith lift 6f2da38c0f his head. His gaze c18b915942 didn’t meet 27c0769ed5 mine due cca6e88fec to the 7d27c34c60 deep hood ce0b620e47 I was c618ed9b1c wearing, but 5a9cf646e8 it seemed 1843df953e he was 1bc6249ba9 trying to 75e5b0e7cf discern the cbfef0b399 true intent e7e22802e1 of my 969e3c2dc4 words.3efaaf779dd9b637

He set down 180ec3f5a9 the bottle he 245224dbbe was holding.f74ba90b21fc8788

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“Living like this, merely ba3e6da6a6 guzzling alcohol, isn’t less 2a1e230857 miserable… Yes, I would f91bd2814c certainly take that chance.”208c32615db3e7d4

Only after 362c6c486a hearing the 67fc0981e2 blacksmith’s firm 64a7e0cecf answer did db362df115 I take f1549cdd2a off my b2c6cdbec4 hood.331329ad9754239c

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“If that’s 21d91d26e2 the case, 004ab9d13d bring me 3d633a9105 a sword b4dfdbb03e that will 55e6fffd69 satisfy me. I’ll grant 1f3fc9efbb what you ced5e470cb wish for.”9f30bb9049f4e43a

 a700edaeafd6f2a9

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