Chapter: 539
After escaping the royal palace, I first stopped by the Art Guild before heading to the city with the dungeon.
To successfully conquer the Great Dungeon at lightning speed, I figured it would be wise to gather the best possible forces I could prepare. It’s much more convenient to prepare for unexpected accidents too, after all.
Thinking this way, I immediately went to the Art Guild and brought along the perverted Apostle and the Sword Saint.
Convincing the two of them wasn’t difficult at all.
Thanks to them modeling for my painting last time, the overly cheerful perverted Apostle naturally insisted on following me, and the Sword Saint, thrilled to be alongside his admired Benedict, also trailed behind me as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
To be honest, I didn’t think persuading the Sword Saint would be this easy.
Yuden, who had treated Luca as a friend even after all the hardship, seemed as if she would never leave Luca’s side until everything was concluded.
Even if that meant there was a new bait named Benedict in the picture.
‘…Being next to that guy doesn’t feel right at all.’
Curious about her thoughts, I asked her, and Yuden gave a bitter smile. You could sense all the things that had happened since she reconnected with Luca in that smile.
‘You don’t have to worry about security! This place is practically hell for the followers of the Evil God!’
Despite wanting to nitpick at the perverted Apostle’s overly confident tone, I couldn’t find a comeback for that one.
That’s because the Art Guild was packed with so much divine energy that I felt it was utterly impossible for wicked forces to intrude.
‘Well, it seems that it’s turned out this way while making the adornments drawn by Young Lady Alrn!’
Although the Art Guild appeared to be overtaken by the lord’s divinity all of a sudden, the perverted Apostle gleefully laughed without a hint of concern.
Apparently, this was allowed by the Crow Goddess, so it didn’t seem to matter much.
That perverted crow. Is she really not willing to let go of my artwork even if her territory is being invaded?
Ugh. Just imagining that sinister grin gives me chills.
Thinking about that Apostle and that Goddess as I exited the guild, I was planning on finishing the dungeon conquest within a day.
I aimed to wrap everything up before it caught the eye of others.
But my plans were completely shattered by that damned idiot chuckling smugly right in front of me.
“It is quite an honor to meet esteemed guests we could only see on the Day of National Foundation.”
The first prince of the kingdom, Rene Soladin, was there with several of his subordinates, offering extravagant greetings as we looked on.
“The kingdom’s Fang, Benedict Alrn. Apostle of the Art Guild, Prete. Sword Saint Yuden. And Alrn Young Lady, one of the kingdom’s hopes.”
The moment the first prince’s gaze landed on me as he passed through the crowd, goosebumps prickled over my skin.
His overly polite demeanor was far too creepy. What’s with this jerk? Giving me fake kindness when he harbors nothing but bad feelings?
Did he get some kind of hint from the first queen?
The last time I met the first prince was about a year ago. Back then, he showed his disdain for me clear as day.
I suspect it’s something Lucy did that stirred him up, but I still don’t know the exact reason.
Had the pope not shown up when we visited the island last time, I could have recalled all those memories. That damned crazy old man interrupted me, though.
[I guess it’s not so awkward anymore. Times have changed significantly since then.]
‘…Is that so?’
[Your presence makes a much bigger impact than you think. There may be some personal dislike, but it shouldn’t create a political issue.]
With my grandfather’s words echoing in my mind about how the first prince would never challenge me as long as the second prince stood as a competitor, I couldn’t shake off that uneasiness regarding him entirely.
From my standpoint, knowing the future he’s destined for, he’s both someone to empathize with and an adversary I cannot let my guard down against.
Fortunately, the first prince’s gaze didn’t linger on me for long.
“It brings me great joy to meet even an old hero like Great Mage Erginius. How do I express this glorious sentiment as a descendant of Soladin?”
“Haha, no need for such formalities.”
Erginius maintained the same polite tone he used when dealing with Arthur, showing respect to the Soladin bloodline…
“Simply leaving this place would suffice.”
But apparently, he wasn’t going to say that!
Unlike with Arthur, Erginius spoke with a sharp edge in his tone, blinking in surprise while the first prince remained unfazed, laughing calmly.
“Oh, please don’t be like that. I didn’t come here of my own volition, after all.”
“Then it worked out well. For everyone’s comfort, could you please take your leave?”
“Sir Erginius, but still—a royal heir of the kingdom…”
“That royal heir is the problem impeding great deeds.”
With a situation looming over us where we must face the Evil God, perhaps it irritated Erginius that we were wasting time. He was putting pressure on the first prince, radiating a faint aura.
The first prince tried hard to maintain his composure, but you could slowly see the signs of discomfort showing on his face as he battled the previous hero’s imposing presence.
“I’m not concerned about whose orders brought you here. However, if you aim to become a ruler one day, you must have your own autonomy.”
[Lucy, this is your chance.]
As Erginius continued to apply pressure on the first prince, my grandfather suddenly spoke up.
‘Huh?’
[Why didn’t you collect a favor from that guy during your last encounter? ]
Ah, that’s right! I had brushed it off as a joke regarding public sentiments and moved on!
[Settling it in this situation should roughly clear things up.]
Good. Having that hanging debt with that awkward jerk was mildly irritating anyway!
If I could settle that with this, it would be perfect!
No, if things go well, this could even serve to build up a new favor!
Thinking it through, I grinned as I stood next to Erginius and poked the shy skull with a knowing glare.
“Gah?!”
A voice that didn’t belong to the great mage burst out, utterly out of place.
“What… What are you doing?”
“Dear shy wizard. I get it, meeting someone who seems better than you is intimidating and all, but there’s a limit, you know? If you keep this up, it’ll just look pathetic.”
“I’m not jealous!”
“Wasn’t that just an outbreak of jealousy? Or were you just going hysterical? Were you just unloading your stress on someone who doesn’t know how to behave? Haha, talk about a heroic reaction. It’s so pathetic it’s practically hilarious. Keep going.”
Stepping back and feigning a comic performance, I offered him my amusement while Erginius bit his lips and silently sighed.
“Now then. What brings a gloomy prince who can’t even handle a loser like that?”
After cleaning up the situation, I turned to the first prince, but he merely stared at me wide-eyed, unable to muster a response.
Wait, no. On closer inspection, it wasn’t only the first prince who looked shocked. His attendants beside him also forgot to say anything reproachful about his rudeness, gazing at me blankly instead.
W-What’s going on? Why are they all reacting this way? I just stopped the shy skull from throwing a hissy fit!
“Even heroes must pay respect in the presence of Young Lady Alrn’s beauty.”
“Saintess, please don’t lump me with your kind.”
Hearing the perverted Apostle’s tone filled with awe finally made me grasp the situation.
While the shy, awkward skull looks completely useless in my eyes, he’s still not viewed that way by others.
To those who only remember him as the great mage Erginius who saved the world, what I just did would look as if a hero acknowledged me.
‘…Grandpa, was that your intention?’
[Who knows? ]
‘Talk to me directly!’
[Well, in any case, it allowed us to have a much more relaxed conversation. Isn’t that sufficient? ]
Ugh, this crafty old man.
Feeling overwhelmed by their astonished gazes, I took a deep breath and called out to the first prince again.
“Have you been cooped up in the palace so long that you’ve forgotten how to speak to women?”
“…Ah, I apologize.”
Finally shaking off his confusion, the first prince cleared his throat and stated the reason for his visit.
“According to Great Mage Erginius’s plan, we must extract what’s sealed within the Great Dungeon.”
“Exactly. We have to let some sunlight in for that reclusive shut-in hiding underground and whining about it.”
“According to that individual, the seal of the Evil God is the key point that maintains the dungeon. If that seal disappears, the dungeon itself will collapse, right?”
The collapse of the Great Dungeon wouldn’t just mean the dungeon vanishing.
It meant the disappearance of adventurers who relied on conquering the dungeon for their livelihood.
It signifies that those who did business with these adventurers would lose their means of survival and simultaneously indicates that the wealth circulated by those adventurers would vanish in an instant.
Although it may have initially been born from the Evil God’s despair, the Great Dungeon now carried the lives of many people on its shoulders.
“Indeed.”
In response to the first prince’s realistic concerns, Erginius replied in a nonchalant tone.
“However, these are tasks we simply must address. The place must cease to exist.”
“If that place nurtures the Evil God’s powers, then it must eventually disappear. But you should allow some time to prepare for the chaos it will create.”
“Preparing for chaos might lead to even greater disasters.”
Neither the first prince nor Erginius was willing to yield on their opinions.
Their differing values inherently placed them in opposition.
But as I listened to them, a question arose naturally in my mind.
“Isn’t it a bit too much to say a loser hiding underground will cause the dungeon to vanish?”
Won’t defeating the Evil God end the dungeon’s existence?
The difficulty might ease up, but there’s no way the dungeon would just disappear altogether.
Muttering to myself as I recalled scenes from the game, I noticed the focus on me once again.
As I met the questioning gazes of those around me, regret washed over me for having spoken. There was no way to take back those words now.
…
How should I explain this?
I’m not sure how to put into words what I barely understood!
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