Chapter: 540
“Are you saying that even if the Evil God of Darkness doesn’t exist, the dungeon won’t disappear?”
“How can you be so sure? Is there any evidence?”
The eyes of the First Prince and Lord Erginius were fixed on me. Faced with their sharp gazes, I was sweating buckets on the inside.
The reason I know the dungeon won’t disappear is simply because I saw it in the game.
After defeating all the Evil Gods sealed in the dungeon, including Agra, there were still large dungeons left untouched that remained as they were.
Why didn’t the dungeons disappear? What’s the evidence? Isn’t something supposed to change? I can’t answer any of those questions.
No. Think about it.
I saw a bird fly.
So I said birds can fly.
But if you ask how birds can fly, can I answer that?
I can only say that I saw it flying, right?
[Is it true that the dungeon doesn’t disappear?]
‘…Maybe.’
And, in the worst-case scenario, it might only be a thing in the game, and the chance that I can’t clear dungeons again in reality is real!
If such a thing were to happen after I made a claim, I would have to take responsibility for everything!
Ah, wait! I could ask Additional Commentary!
If I ask whether anything really happens when we clear the dungeons, something might come out of it!
“Additional Commentary, Additional Commentary. If I bring the Evil God of Darkness, will that dungeon remain intact?”
[Just act as you believe.]
Wow, that’s a really ambiguous answer, isn’t it?
So it’s true the dungeon won’t disappear, right?
Even if I have to take responsibility, it means I should move according to what I believe to be right, doesn’t it? Right?
Argh. Seriously. It’s like this skill is a real pain in the neck from that cranky little hikki.
“Gentlemen, could you please trust my daughter for now?”
Thinking there was no response, Benedikt stepped out from behind and bowed to the two.
“I cannot go into details, but my daughter’s words are surely correct. In case of any problems, the Allen family will bear the responsibility, so please.”
“We of the Arts Church will also share the burden. Given the recent earnings of our church, you need not worry about it being a blank check.”
After that, even the Perverted Apostle bowed, and the First Prince hurriedly stood and bowed back.
“No, there’s no need to go that far. I… sigh… I understand. Let’s proceed as Lord Erginius wishes.”
The First Prince, who usually maintains a strong demeanor, seemed to be struggling to hold on in this situation, and the other courtiers merely followed his lead in bowing without saying anything.
From the outside, it seemed everything was going well, but I couldn’t bring myself to smile.
They trust me like this, and what if the dungeon disappears?
The burden of goodwill is heavier than the burden of malice!
I’m seriously sweating bullets inside!
Ugh, if I’d known it would come to this, I should have just kept my mouth shut. Why did I have to say a word and end up like this?
[Lucy.]
‘What is it?’
[Since the situation has become like this, let’s stir things up a bit more.]
‘Stir things up? What do you mean?’
[Let’s turn the reason we are here into the prince’s tantrum.]
*
After Lucy Allen and her party left, Rene Soladin, left alone with the courtiers in the room, leaned back in his chair and blankly stared at the ceiling, ignoring the gazes around him.
What passed through his mind was the scene when he first encountered the party.
Specifically, the hostility directed at him by Lord Erginius, a hero from myth, kept replaying in Rene’s mind.
Originally, Rene had no intention of coming here. He was completely focused on his business, clueless about what Lucy Allen’s party was planning, and thus had no reason to be here.
But the reason Rene stepped into the city with the large dungeon was simply because of the First Queen’s orders.
“Go and meet Lord Erginius. The justification would be… ah, yes. Worrying about the large dungeon should be sufficient.”
The words spoken by the First Queen, his mother, were shockingly uncharacteristic of her.
When it came to matters concerning the kingdom, she usually spoke with meticulous calculation, so to hear her speak so vaguely was unusual.
Rene thought something was off, but he believed the First Queen must have had something in mind when she sent him here.
And what he faced was not a gentle welcome but outright hostility.
“What significance does this matter have?”
Rene, unprepared for this visit, lacked the power to persuade.
The only things he had were vague concerns and doubts about things that hadn’t even happened yet.
In the case of a bystander in a marketplace, talking like this might not raise any issues, but Rene was the First Prince. A potential heir to the throne.
What meaning was there in coming unprepared and trying to suppress others with sheer power?
Especially when the authorities he faced were either on par with him or even above?
“What on earth is the First Queen thinking?”
Having served under her for a long time, he still couldn’t read his mother’s thoughts.
“And what do you all think?”
“That is…”
“Could it be that it was meant for them to build connections in such a manner?”
“Maybe this is a way to participate in Lord Erginius’s great undertaking…”
Looks like they also can’t follow the First Queen’s thoughts properly.
Ha. I suppose it was only natural. How could people more foolish than me keep up with her thinking?
Forget it. Let’s not worry about things that have already passed.
And thoughts about my poor brother, who had naturally put down roots in between while being unable to even meet my gaze.
And thoughts about Lucy Allen, who had since become respected while being different from me.
“…Traitorous bitch.”
“Pardon?”
“What did the First Prince just say?”
“It’s just a soliloquy. Erase it from your mind.”
With a cold voice pressing down on the courtiers’ questions, Rene swept his hair back and stood up.
“More importantly, prepare to release someone. It looks like I’ll have to act like a ruffian.”
“Really? Are you going to follow Miss Allen’s request?”
“Is there any other option? Somehow, I’m about to earn the ire of a mythological hero, a British hero, and a revered apostle and sword saint all at once, aren’t I?”
Regardless of the circumstances, what Rene is going to do now is merely obstructing their plans.
Though he might seem understood for the time being, the eventual outcome of this matter remains uncertain. So he had to settle the current situation as per their requests.
So that when the matter is brought up later, he could claim he did everything he could, even if it cost him his reputation.
“If I’m going to act like a ruffian, I should do it properly. Let’s prepare a few scapegoats with grievances, ensuring no one dares to venture into the dungeons without the First Prince’s orders.”
*
What Grandfather asked the First Prince was to ensure that no one but us would be able to enter the dungeon.
Today, he ordered to block the entrance under the pretext of the royal blood’s inspection of the dungeon.
‘Is that really possible?’
[It’s not impossible. Ultimately, a large dungeon is an asset of the kingdom, right?]
Though I was half-doubtful of Grandfather’s words, when I brought it up, the First Prince snickered and nodded.
He said if that’s what was desired, he would gladly do it.
The surrounding courtiers pretended to be alarmed by such tyrannical behavior, but the First Prince ignored their opinions effortlessly.
And not long after we stepped outside the mansion, a great commotion erupted in the Dungeon City.
“No! There’s a commission I have to execute by today!”
“Hah! Is that more important than His Highness’s safety?”
“Are you crazy?! If I don’t get that today, there will be trouble!”
“Submit the losses and settle them with the mansion.”
“What’s the difference between that and asking for my head?!”
“Your Grace, even if it’s a command from His Highness, this is…”
“Please understand. He is essentially the next king. We cannot defy his orders.”
“True.”
The First Prince starkly demonstrated what could happen when a powerful heir in a strongly authoritative kingdom acts like a ruffian.
Using the military positioned in the territory to suppress dissenters, imprisoning those who resist on various pretexts, and stifling any backlash under the justification of ensuring the prince’s safety.
As a result, our presence in the Dungeon City was quickly pushed aside. The reality of the situation was far too massive to appreciate the rare faces we were seeing.
“Ha. Once given a justification, true nature reveals itself. What a truly disgusting bastard.”
As Erginius observed this scene, he exhibited an unusually grumpy demeanor.
I had thought since the time I first met the First Prince that he despises him too much, right?
I don’t particularly like the First Prince either, but this is a bit too much.
With this, I felt like he would end up providing justifications for his mistreatment.
“Big brother wouldn’t cause such a commotion without a reason.”
I wasn’t the only one thinking this as Arthur seemed unable to hold back and voiced his thoughts.
“Why do you think so?”
“Because I’ve watched big brother my whole life.”
“Can you say that everything you’ve seen is correct?”
…
Ah. Did this guy catch on? Seriously, standing in front of the chicken coop, he’s becoming a loser, but he’s definitely behaving like a Great Wizard otherwise.
Such a shame. If he had been this perceptive elsewhere, I wouldn’t have been living as a pity loser until now.
“What are you trying to say, Lord Erginius?”
“What am I saying ♡ It’s jealousy! Because a loser wizard who hasn’t held a woman’s hand for centuries thinks big brother will be popular with women ♡”
“I’m not like that! I… about that…”
“Yeees ♡ A loser wizard living for hundreds of years yet still has an empty head ♡ Every time you speak, it smells like a pity, so could you just shut up? ♡ It would make things much more pleasant ♡”
With his face flushed, Erginius bit his lip before swallowing his words. Afterward, we stepped into the dungeon, greeted by the courteous bow of the soldiers.
Hah. Alright. Let’s relieve all the stress of today in this dungeon.
With the capabilities we had now, better than any party in the game, we might just break the game’s record!
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