Chapter: 539
After escaping the royal palace, I first stopped by the Arts Church before heading to the city with the dungeon.
To conquer the large dungeon as quickly as possible, it’s wise to prepare the best power I can muster. It’s definitely more convenient to be ready for any unexpected accidents.
Thinking this way, I immediately went to the Arts Church and brought along the Perverted Apostle and the Sword Saint.
It wasn’t difficult to persuade the two of them.
Thanks to her having modeled for my painting last time, the Perverted Apostle was in a great mood and naturally followed me, while the Sword Saint, grinning from the thought of being with the Benedict she admired, followed behind as if it were obvious.
Honestly, I never thought it would be so easy to convince the Sword Saint.
This was the person who had gone through hardships but still considered Luca a friend. I thought she’d never leave Luca’s side until everything was settled.
Even if there was a tempting prey like Benedict on the other side.
‘I don’t know, but I’m not sure I want to be next to that guy.’
Curious about that, I asked, and Yuden gave a bitter smile. I could feel from that smile how much had happened since her reunion with Luca.
“You don’t have to worry about security! This place is like hell for the Followers of the Evil God!”
Despite wanting to nitpick at the Perverted Apostle’s confident tone, I couldn’t say anything in response to this.
And I could see why; the Arts Church was so filled with divine grace that I felt nothing wicked could intrude.
“After making the accessory of Lady Allen, it’s turned out this way!”
Suddenly, it appeared that the Arts Church had been permeated by the divine grace of the Lord Jushin, but the Perverted Apostle laughed without a care in the world.
I heard it was allowed by the Crow Goddess, so it seems she didn’t mind at all.
That perverted crow. Does she really never want to give up on my painting, even if her territory is being invaded?
Ugh. Imagining her grinning face sends chills all over my body.
After pondering about that Apostle and that Goddess, I was planning to wrap up the dungeon conquest within a day.
I aimed to finish everything before anyone noticed.
However, my plan was completely wrecked by one annoyingly chuckling jerk standing right in front of me.
“It’s an honor to meet such esteemed guests whom I can only greet during the national foundation festival.”
The First Prince of the kingdom, Rene Soladin, was with several retainers, bowing deeply at us.
“Benedict Allen of the kingdom’s fangs, Apostle Prete of the Arts Church, Sword Saint Yuden, and Lady Allen, a person destined for the future of the kingdom.”
As the First Prince’s gaze landed on me after passing several others, I felt chills run down my spine.
I felt utterly disturbed by his eyes, which pretended to be polite.
What’s up with that jerk? He has never had a good feeling towards me, suddenly pretending to be nice?
Did he get some hint from the First Queen or something?
The last time I met the First Prince was about a year ago.
Back then, he clearly showed his negative feelings towards me.
I thought maybe Lucy did something to him, but I didn’t know the exact reason.
If the Pope hadn’t come to visit last time on that island, I could have seen everything, but that crazy old man interrupted.
[Seems like you don’t have to be that reluctant anymore. The situations are quite different from then and now, right? ]
‘…Is that so?’
[Your presence is much bigger than you think. There can be personal discomfort, but there shouldn't be any political issues.]
Driven by my grandfather’s words, I understood that as long as there was a rival in the Second Prince, the First Prince wouldn’t dare to mess with me, but still, I couldn’t shake off my discomfort towards him.
Knowing his potential future, he is both a subject of sympathy and an opponent I must never let my guard down around.
The only relief was that the First Prince’s gaze didn’t linger on me for long.
“I’m especially pleased to meet the former hero, Great Wizard Erginius. How can I express this glorious feeling as a descendant of the Soladins?”
“Haha. No need to be so formal.”
Erginius spoke in a courteous tone like he did when he approached Arthur, showing respect towards the Soladin bloodline…
“Please leave this place immediately, and that will be enough.”
Surely not!
Unlike when he dealt with Arthur, Erginius spoke sharply as he pressured the First Prince.
The First Prince, trying to act calm, slowly began to show signs of discomfort under the former hero’s presence.
“Whoever sent you here is not my concern. However, if you want to become a king, you must have autonomy.”
[Lucy, it’s an opportunity.]
Just when Erginius was pressing the First Prince, my grandfather suddenly began to speak.
‘Huh?’
[Why didn’t you make him owe you something when you met him last time? ]
Oh right, I kind of brushed it aside while laughing off the public sentiment as a debt.
[In this situation, you could repay it suitably.]
Alright! I’d been slightly annoyed that I had a debt with that bothersome guy!
If I could pay it off this time, it’d be perfect!
No, if I’m careful, I could even make him owe me more, right?
Thinking I was in luck, I grinned and poked the chubby skeleton beside Erginius with a sharp look.
“Eek?!”
Suddenly, a voice that didn’t suit the imposing Great Wizard escaped.
“W-What are you doing?”
“Oh, dear Sympathy Wizard. I can tell you’re exploding with jealousy from seeing someone seemingly better than you, but you shouldn’t overdo it. If you keep it up, you’ll just look pathetic.”
“When did I ever act jealous?”
“Was it not jealousy then? Was it hysteria? Were you just unloading your stress on a person who didn’t know how to act? Hahaha. That’s a truly heroic behavior. It’s so pathetic it’s actually funny. Keep going!”
I took a step back, telling him I would be there to laugh like watching a dancing clown, and Erginius bit his lips and sighed as he shut his mouth.
“Now then, the gloomy prince who can’t even deal with this loser. What brought you here?”
After sorting things out, I faced the First Prince, but he just stared at me wide-eyed without saying a word.
Actually, looking closely, it wasn’t just the First Prince who looked shocked. The retainers who followed him also stared at me blankly, forgetting to scold him for being rude.
W-What? Why is everyone reacting like this? I just stopped a loser skeleton from breaking down!
“The beauty of Lady Allen commands even respect from heroes.”
“Apostle of the Goddess, please do not categorize me with people of your kind.”
After hearing the Perverted Apostle’s voice filled with awe, I finally understood the situation.
To me, the chubby guy was just a loser who couldn’t do anything in front of a mature woman, but to others, he wasn’t.
To those who only knew him as the Great Wizard Erginius, a hero who saved the world, what I had just done seemed like a hero acknowledging me.
‘…Grandfather, was this intentional?’
[Who knows? ]
‘Speak properly!’
[Well, either way, this has allowed us to talk more comfortably now, right? So it’s good.]
Ugh. This slippery old man.
The astonished gazes around me felt overwhelming, so I took a deep breath and called out to the First Prince again.
“Have you forgotten how to talk to women because you’ve been stuck in the palace?”
“…Oh. I’m sorry.”
Finally snapping back to reality, the First Prince coughed and explained why he was here.
“According to Lord Erginius’s plan, we need to draw out what’s sealed inside the large dungeon, right?”
“Exactly. We need to let some light into that social misfit stuck underground, crying in frustration.”
“According to that person, the seal of the Evil God is actually the key to maintaining the dungeon. If it disappears, doesn’t that mean the dungeon will collapse too?”
The collapse of the large dungeon doesn’t just mean the dungeon disappears.
It implies that the adventurers who earn a living through dungeon conquering will vanish.
It means that those who trade with these adventurers will lose their means of living.
And at the same time, it implies that the wealth circulating through the adventurers will vanish in an instant.
While the dungeon may have originally been created by the Evil God’s rampage, the current large dungeon carries the lives of many people.
“That’s for sure.”
Before the First Prince’s realistic concerns, Erginius replied in a nonchalant tone.
“Well then.”
“However, no matter what, it’s something that needs to be done. It’s also a place that must be removed.”
“If that place is where the Evil God grows stronger, then it must eventually disappear. However, you must allow time to prepare for the chaos that will arise from it.”
“Preparing for chaos might invite an even greater disaster.”
The First Prince and Erginius didn’t inquire about each other’s opinions.
Their different values led them to clash.
However, as I listened to their discussion, I naturally began to have questions.
“Just because one loser stuck underground disappears doesn’t mean the dungeon will vanish, right?”
Isn’t it true that just defeating the Evil God doesn’t make the dungeon disappear?
Sure, the difficulty might have lowered a bit, but the dungeon would still continue to function normally.
Mumbling to myself as I recalled scenes from the game, I noticed that all eyes were once again focused on me.
Seeing those eyes filled with questions made me regret speaking up, but I couldn’t take back what I had said.
…
How should I explain this?
I don’t know much, but how do I explain that it was like that?
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