Chapter 59
Chapter 59
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: The Princess's Resolve
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* * *
"I... have to go?"
"Yes, we need Your Highness's power."
Cheon-ho didn't deceive Princess Leticia.
Instead of spinning sweet lies, he laid out the plain facts.
It might be harsh for a girl who could be only ten years old.
But even so, he didn't want to lie to her.
The reason her power was needed. The task only she could do. The dangers of the place she had to go.
He could have reassured her with lies, but that wouldn't do.
Since she had to stand on the battlefield herself, the princess needed to know everything clearly.
What would Father have said?
Would he have said it was the proper respect for one who stands on the battlefield?
He wasn't confident enough to say it so definitively. But at least he was certain his current actions were right.
Princess Leticia pursed her lips. She breathed roughly, her unfocused eyes scanning Cheon-ho and Lucille, then the others around them.
They had to return to the capital they'd barely escaped.
They had to sneak into the palace and perform the ritual.
It was frightening. Terrifying.
Not just the monsters. The very fact of facing the completely changed palace scared her.
There were no longer Father or Mother there.
No kind wet nurse, no cheerful guard knight, no maids who always smiled brightly when they saw her.
Lucille bit her lip.
Cheon-ho waited, keeping his posture low to meet Princess Leticia's eye level.
She could refuse.
She could say she was scared and didn't want to go, that she couldn't do it.
Princess Leticia clutched the hem of her dress tightly. Her body trembled as if she might burst into tears at any moment, but then she lifted her head.
"I'll go."
Her voice cracked, but her answer was clear. Her eyes welled up, but she held back the sobs.
Because it was something only she, Princess Leticia, could do.
Because she couldn't let the deaths of Sir Glenn and all the others who died protecting her be in vain.
She was young, but she was a princess.
A representative of House Floren.
"Thank you, Your Highness."
If it had been Father, he would have said something far more impressive. He would have promised to protect her no matter what.
But Cheon-ho was still inexperienced. Instead of vowing to protect her, he promised to stay by her side until the end.
"Your Highness."
Lucille's eyes reddened. Princess Leticia forced a smile through her tear-streaked face and spoke in a clearer voice than before.
"I have one request."
Princess Leticia looked past Cheon-ho's shoulder. Gazing at Prince Yug asleep in Eizel's arms, she said,
"Please take care of Yug."
She hoped only Yug wouldn't get dragged into this fight. She hoped only Yug would survive somehow.
Lucille nodded. She pulled Princess Leticia into a tight embrace and promised,
"I will. Prince Yug no matter what. Even if it means holding a grudge."
Princess Leticia hugged Lucille back. In her arms, she finally let out the sobs she'd been holding back.
Cheon-ho etched that image of Princess Leticia deep into his heart.
* * *
After a bout of tears came laughter.
Princess Leticia sat pressed close to Lucille, blooming with smiles.
It wasn't a full festival, but it was a lively evening.
Cheon-ho brought out his dedicated grill for the first time in ages and grilled rat chimera meat with unusual seriousness.
A special dish that couldn't be tasted on the lower floors, available only from the middle layers and up.
'The stronger the magic power, the tastier the meat.'
That was the conclusion he'd reached after cooking various monsters.
The giant rat meat had almost no gamey smell unlike wild rat meat, and the cockatrice skeleton bones could infuse deep flavor just from the bones themselves.
All thanks to the magic power infused into the monsters' blood, flesh, and bones.
Middle-layer monster meat was tastier than lower-layer monster meat.
Even Lucille, accustomed to monster cuisine, widened her eyes at the rat chimera meat. Princess Leticia, who had never tried monster food before, just kept laughing. It was so delicious she could only laugh.
So Cheon-ho asked for the first time in a while.
"Is it good?"
"Yes♥"
When Lucille smiled brightly and replied, Eizel beside her answered the same with a melting expression. Even the usually stiff Aurael and Raguel did likewise.
"Yes♥"
"Yes♥"
"Yes♥"
Cheon-ho was satisfied. He'd grilled the meat with all his heart, and even simmered the rat chimera bones and meat into a rich bone broth soup.
And in the midst of it, he showed his knack for not forgetting even the easily overlooked ones.
"Grow big and strong."
Kkwi-kkwi.
He fed Recaros's bow to Little Ember. It was too big for Cheon-ho to use himself, and he already had Madrof's bow.
Little Ember made cute sounds as it munched away steadily.
"You too."
He poured rat chimera meat broth into a small flowerpot. The demonic tree sprout, which had just budded, reacted.
Its sprout quivered. It felt quite pleased.
"Ah, it's too bad."
[What do you mean?]
"Only Mitra has nothing to eat."
He wanted to fill Mitra's belly too. He wanted to see hearts popping up with "delicious."
At Cheon-ho's words, Mitra gave a very Mitra-like response.
[I'm fine. Seeing everyone enjoy themselves already fills my belly.]
A gentle, kind, and warm holy sword.
Cheon-ho suddenly grinned and gently stroked Mitra's golden gem.
"Mitra."
[What is it?]
"I'm sorry."
[Huh?]
"On the 3rd floor."
[W-What... do you mean?]
Instead of answering right away, Cheon-ho glanced around. He cleared his throat a few times, then continued in a very small voice.
"We needed those things, but... I feel like I pushed Mitra too hard, more than necessary."
Thanks to Mitra, everyone had a comfortable journey.
But still, on the 3rd floor, he'd somewhat overworked her.
"Mitra's reactions were so cute... I got carried away without realizing."
Heating bathwater or acting as a washing machine was one thing, but honestly, ironing wasn't necessary.
"I'm sorry. And thank you."
At Cheon-ho's honest confession, Mitra fell silent. Then, after a dozen seconds or so, just as Cheon-ho started feeling anxious, she spoke.
[My hero, first, let me make one thing clear.]
"Yes, Mitra."
[I am not cute.]
"Pfft!"
He burst out laughing involuntarily. And at that reaction, Mitra reacted fiercely.
[Don't laugh! I said don't laugh!]
"Haha, but."
It was impossible. His laughter erupted. As Cheon-ho clutched his stomach and giggled, Mitra huffed indignantly, which only spurred him on more. It reminded him of that emoticon expression from before.
[Hmph.]
"Not even Lucille says 'hmph' like that."
[My hero, have you forgotten you were apologizing to me?]
"You're right. Sorry, Mitra."
As Cheon-ho hurriedly composed his expression seriously, Mitra let out a sigh mixed with laughter.
[Sigh, well... anyway, it's fine. It was for everyone, and you've apologized like this.]
[If I really hated it, I wouldn't have cooperated no matter how much you begged. Don't take it too much to heart.]
"Really?"
[Yes, I'm fine. If you need something in the future, just say so. I'll cooperate as much as I can.]
As expected of Mitra.
Cheon-ho smiled brightly and stood up.
"Shall we get started right away then?"
[Uh, huh? A-Already?]
"We need to heat the bathwater."
After meals came baths. Now it was practically routine.
[We're still on the journey, though.]
Inside the Great Labyrinth, no less.
[Fine, hero. Let's make an especially good bath today.]
When Mitra replied energetically, Cheon-ho drooped his shoulders slightly in disappointment.
[My hero?]
"No, I was hoping for a 'uwaaang.' Can't you do one 'uwaaang' for old times' sake?"
[My hero.]
"Uwaaang."
[My hero.]
"Uwaaang."
Mitra finally let out a long, long sigh. Then, in a very tiny voice, she said,
[U-Uwaaang?]
"Pfft!"
[My hero?!]
Ignoring her call tinged with betrayal, Cheon-ho just laughed and stroked the golden gem vigorously.
* * *
Night deepened.
After the meal and baths, the group all retired to bed.
Tomorrow's plans were already set.
They'd confirmed the ritual method and required time from the documents stored with the statue in the mage tower, and learned the secret passage location from Princess Leticia.
Not everyone could sneak into the palace.
So they split into two teams.
A small infiltration team to sneak into the palace, and a diversion team to attack the capital from outside and draw the monsters' attention.
Both sides would be risking their lives.
"Hero."
A small voice came from right beside him. It was Lucille, curled up next to Cheon-ho as usual.
It was dark, but he could see Lucille's eyes.
Blue and clear eyes.
Lucille didn't know how to lie. Her large pupils always held honest emotions.
That's why he knew.
Lucille was afraid. They'd faced many crises since entering the Great Labyrinth, but none like this.
The consequences of failure were too immense to bear.
After a brief hesitation, Cheon-ho embraced Lucille's shoulders. She flinched for a moment but soon buried her head in his chest. Cheon-ho held her close and said,
"It'll definitely work out."
Mother's habitual phrase.
The words she always used to encourage and cheer Father whenever he set out to do something.
Lucille's eyes widened. Then she smiled softly.
"Yes, Hero. It'll definitely work out."
It was just vague words, but it gave him strength. Lucille smiled brightly once more and hugged Cheon-ho tightly.
"Good night, Hero."
"Yes, Lucille."
Cheon-ho replied as calmly as he could, and Lucille nestled deeper into his arms like a spoiled child. She leaned her whole body against his firm chest.
And after just a dozen seconds or so.
Lucille fell into a deep sleep as if her anxiety moments ago had been a lie. But Cheon-ho couldn't.
[My hero, if I may offer some grandmotherly advice, you need to sleep enough for tomorrow.]
'...I'll try.'
Numbing the sensation in his left arm touching Lucille as best he could, Cheon-ho activated Sage's Time. He diligently trained the Heavenly Demon Divine Art once more.
And the next morning.
The time for the decisive battle approached.
* * *
[Quest Duration: 23 hours 41 minutes]
[Sage's Time has reached Lv3.]
[Heavenly Demon Divine Art Lv3 experience has increased.]
[Patience has reached Lv4.]
[Patience has reached Lv5.]
[Torment Force has reached Lv2.]
[Quest Duration: 15 hours 52 minutes]
The sky remained dark.
With the boundary between day and night crumbled, it was hard to tell morning apart.
But the mountain tribe lit fires everywhere in place of the sun. There were so many torches, each so bright, that at a glance the entire mountain seemed ablaze.
Naturally, this change in the mountains would be clearly visible from the capital.
Queen Lukana concentrated her forces deep in the mountains. She built a large altar and erected a statue of the healing god resembling Lucille. It was something Orlon had hastily crafted overnight.
Eizel, holding Prince Yug, knelt before the statue in a prayer pose.
The young Prince Yug was relatively well-behaved, but he kept squirming and turning his head. He was looking for his sister.
Eizel soothed him. Though young and an apprentice, she was an angel. Prince Yug soon focused on Eizel and giggled like a baby.
Queen Lukana personally placed the mountain tribe's sacred relic before the statue. It was an item bestowed upon the mountain tribe, descendants of the hero, by the healing god.
A small silver box that fit in the palm.
Just possessing it repelled evil energies and healed illnesses.
The mountain tribes gathered around the altar and statue assumed reverent prayer poses.
Queen Lukana signaled Eizel with her eyes, and Eizel took a deep breath. She softly apologized to the innocent-faced Prince Yug gazing at her, then pricked his fingertip with a needle.
"?!"
Too startled to even cry out, Prince Yug blinked. His large eyes soon filled with betrayal, and he burst into wails.
"Sorry, sorry."
Eizel apologized as she let the blood from his fingertip drip onto the relic.
Just a few drops, but it was enough.
"Begin the ritual."
Queen Lukana declared. The mountain tribe beat drums, and Eizel chanted the ritual incantation.
The relic began to glow. The statue on the altar emitted pure white light.
Prince Yug, who had been sobbing loudly, widened his eyes again, and Eizel readjusted him in her arms. She positioned him to see the statue clearly, then chanted the incantation with renewed force.
A ritual to borrow the power of the healing god.
The mountain tribe's prayers united as one. Light surged from the healing god's statue, piercing the black sky. A pillar of light formed. It dispersed the black aura slightly, reclaiming a bit of the sky's light.
Queen Lukana swallowed dryly.
Eizel prayed even more fervently.
And there were those watching this spectacle from afar.