Chapter: 379
Is it thanks to the fact that the number of people who learned dungeon strategy from me has increased from one to two?
The dungeon strategy for the archipelago went much smoother than yesterday. Joy, with her quick thinking, handled the big picture, and Arthur solved the silly parts she missed, so it was only natural that the speed picked up.
Of course, I foresaw this situation and set the limit for the dungeon strategy at three hours.
When I told Arthur and Joy that it didn’t make sense to cut down an hour compared to yesterday, they grumbled, but in front of my threat to finish it in two hours, they had no choice but to nod obediently.
“Don’t worry. I know how sloppy and foolish you two can be, right? I’ll give you a special chance today—two chances.”
In exchange for reducing the time limit, I gave them one more opportunity. If they succeeded in at least one of the two strategies today, they would win the bet.
I was sure that no matter how hard the two of them struggled, they wouldn’t be able to succeed within three hours, but by the time we finished the first dungeon strategy, I started to regret my arrogance from the morning.
“Damn it. If only I had been twenty minutes faster.”
“I still saw hope. This is totally doable!”
“Yeah. Let’s fix the problems before we enter the next dungeon.”
Several reasons explained why my expectations were off base.
First, Joy turned out to be much smarter than I had thought.
She picked up the dungeon strategy guide last night and, while openly showing that she didn’t want to do it, she read the book at an astonishing speed.
From my perspective, it looked like she was just skimming through the pages, but it was different from reality. Joy was memorizing everything as she speed-read.
You may be thinking, “What nonsense is that?” I had the same thought when Joy said she studied it superficially. But it turned out she memorized everything she thought was really important.
Even right after entering the dungeon, when she applied what was written in the book, I was genuinely shocked. It was true that Joy had top-level talent among wizard characters, but who knew her intelligence would be at this level?! I nearly asked for half of that intelligence in a moment of desperation!
However, Joy was still Joy, and occasionally made mistakes along the way.
But Arthur, who was right next to her, immediately corrected her, which doubled Joy’s abilities.
Today, Frey’s excessive enthusiasm was also a huge problem. Usually, she would be the one to rush off on her own, but why was she actively cooperating with Arthur and Joy today?!
Thanks to that, things progressed too rapidly, I seriously considered causing a ruckus midway! At this rate, I felt like I might actually lose the bet!
Still, I managed to successfully navigate through the crisis this time. There was still one more chance left, but that wasn’t a big problem. I could just head to a more difficult place than I had initially planned.
Having gauged the levels of those two, I thought I’d be safe by heading to a place I couldn’t clear within three hours! I could protect my pride and win the bet!
“Damn it!”
“What a bummer. If only we were a bit faster.”
I took them to a dungeon with the intention of winning our bet, but the result was quite close.
Why are these two growing so fast? Are they really the top-tier characters I can recruit at Soul Academy!?
Adding Phoebe into the mix, I genuinely thought I would have lost the bet, but I couldn’t help but chuckle.
No matter how great their abilities were, in the end, the one who won the bet was me.
Standing between the two who were reflecting on today in front of the exit of the dungeon, I smirked broadly.
“Defeated ones. It’s~ time for a fun punishment! Were you waiting? Is your heart racing?”
Upon hearing my words, Joy turned pale as she looked at Arthur, who had rabbit ears, while Arthur seemed resigned, bowing his head and letting out a voice filled with pent-up frustration.
“Lucy Allen. Just remember this. We still have many chances left.”
“Wow, you~ are so scary~! I can’t even imagine what kind of humiliating things the pitiful prince, who’s becoming more of a pervert day by day, is going to make me do.”
“No, I’m not looking to do that.”
“What should I do? Silly one? What if the pitiful prince attacks me?”
“…Oh my. Prince.”
“Prince. Oh, such a tremendous pervert?”
“Didn’t I just say I’m not thinking that at all?! I value my life! I don’t want to be killed by the Allen family!”
Arthur, who was bombarded by the three of us, panicked and raised his voice, only to let out a sigh soon after.
“Fine. Do as you please. I don’t want to become a laughingstock.”
“Great! Silly one. The prince said he’ll accept the punishment. Hahaha. Pretending to be all cool just because you’re a guy.”
“What?”
“Whaaat?!”
The moment the twinkle of expectation in Joy’s eyes met the bewildered look on Arthur’s face, I burst out laughing.
I couldn’t hold back seeing the drastic contrast between the two, who had just displayed overwhelming talent and their silly antics.
After laughing for a while, I wiped away the tears forming in my eyes and pulled my lips into a grin.
“So, silly one. Were you thinking of surviving all by yourself? How petty and mean-spirited.”
“No. I wasn’t.”
“And the pitiful prince is such a stingy person that he doesn’t want to make that level of sacrifice. I totally understand that part of him.”
“…Damn it. Did I get played again?”
After teasing the two as much as I could, I equally distributed the punishments to ensure Arthur and Joy’s relationship wouldn’t become strained.
*
After finishing the dungeon strategy and returning to the lodging, Arthur and Joy lured Frey in with snacks and started brainstorming strategies to win the bet.
The reason both of them were acting so urgently was simple. If they continued to suffer from the punishments Lucy was offering, they would surely end up in a terrible situation.
“At first, it was the rabbit headband, and then inked rabbit whiskers. Lucy Allen’s intentions are clear. She wants to dress us in rabbit accessories from head to toe.”
Joy, wearing only the rabbit headband, looked at Arthur, who spoke in a serious tone, and couldn’t manage her expression, bowing her head.
The discrepancy between Arthur’s serious tone and his face adorned with bunny ears and whiskers was just too huge.
Seemingly aware of how bizarre it was, Arthur’s cheeks flushed red as he tried to maintain his composure.
“Joy, what comes to mind when you think of rabbits?”
“Uhh. Uh. Buuh.”
“Enough. Don’t say it. I think the next thing coming will be something like a rabbit nose or tail.”
The reason Arthur thought that Joy was drawing whiskers on her face was that the next punishment would also be related to rabbits.
“The problem is it doesn’t seem like it’s going to end here.”
There were still five days left until dungeon strategy day. But compared to the expected number of punishments, there was way too little. Even if they pretended to have rabbit noses or tails and arms, there would still be days left.
At that point, Joy realized the seriousness of the situation, stopped laughing, and cautiously voiced her thoughts.
“What kind of punishments do you think the prince will devise?”
“I’ve heard somewhere there’s a costume that simulates a rabbit. Don’t you think Lucy Allen considers that the final punishment?”
Joy recalled Lucy’s outfit from six months ago during a field trip; the overly revealing clothing she wore to negotiate with the lord of the forest.
If that was the final punishment…
“Absolutely not!”
Imagining herself in that outfit, Joy flushed red and shouted.
“I can’t wear that! It’s a matter of honor for a young lady of the Partlan family!”
“It seems you have a hunch. Have you seen it?”
“…You haven’t seen it, have you?”
“I’ve only heard about it. Can you tell me what it’s like?”
“Uhh. Umm. Like…”
Joy, struggling with how to explain, ultimately couldn’t finish her sentence.
From beside them, Frey, who was munching on snacks, shrugged her shoulders at Arthur and casually threw in a comment.
“Prince. Pervert.”
“Where in that whole conversation was there any allowance for being a pervert?”
“Pervert. Pervert.”
*
After dinner, I immediately left the lodging and followed the path indicated by the map.
Once again, I was the only one able to cross the barrier.
Was it because of what happened last night? Everyone except Karl sent me off without any worries.
Karl, as always, insisted that he couldn’t let the young lady fall into danger, but without being able to pass the barrier, all that talk was meaningless.
So, I stepped into the area beyond where passage was forbidden, and what awaited me was, just like last time, a dungeon I had tried to conquer before.
Possessing a brutal level of difficulty, it was dangerous enough that a moment of negligence could cost one their life, but for me, it was just another dungeon.
At this point, it was clear that the end of the dungeon wasn’t much different from yesterday. I faced Lucy’s past memories once more.
“It’s fine, Lucy. This mother isn’t someone who’s going to die easily.”
Mira, sitting on the bed, looked more haggard compared to yesterday. The illness had taken hold of her.
Benedict, who loved his wife, reached out everywhere to try to heal Mira’s sickness, but all his attempts came to nothing.
Not a single clergyman. Not a single wizard could guess the disease that plagued Mira.
“I’ll stay by our Lucy’s side until she becomes a grandmother.”
Despite gradually worsening illness, Mira struggled to hold onto her consciousness, always wanting to be a reliable mother to Lucy. She wished to be the support for her weak and fragile daughter.
“So don’t worry, Lucy.”
However, human will ultimately cannot overcome fate. Mira slipped into eternal slumber just before Lucy turned ten, leaving Lucy alone.
Originally meant to support the crumbling Lucy, Benedict found it hard to even hold onto his torn heart.
The servants around Lucy did not show her sympathy. The private tutor who taught Lucy willingly gave up his position instead of persuading her when she said she didn’t want to attend class.
In the midst of a mansion where countless people were moving, Lucy found herself alone, shut inside her room, slowly decaying.
Why couldn’t I tell my mother I loved her until the moment she died?
Why couldn’t I even manage a word of comfort to my mother?
Why do I have to hear that I deserve this instead of tender words?
What did I do wrong?
What crime did I commit?
Why do I have to suffer like this?
Why am I the only one hated?
Why?
Why?
Why!
Two months after Mira’s death, the girl, who had been trying to be good as her mother hoped, disappeared into the shadows.
The only thing that emerged in the dark room was a poor little girl, wishing to unleash her resentment upon the world.
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