Penguin Princess

The place looked like a military outpost, with soldiers fully prepared and on high alert. But every building and barrack standing above ground was nothing more than a fake. "Alright, this is where we split up. Your Highness will come with me. The rest of you, break into your assigned teams like we planned."

The real base was an ant-colony maze of tunnels hidden beneath these structures. We would split into three groups and enter through separate entrances to wreak havoc. After giving the order, I glanced around. Six elite infiltration operatives were checking their gear, two teams were heading toward their designated entrances, and then—

Click.

Chloe was loading magazines into two pistols, one after another, with smooth, practiced motions. Even now, every movement she made looked graceful. I still couldn't figure out how loading pistol magazines could possibly look elegant, but somehow Chloe pulled it off.

"Hmm..."

I found myself wondering what the young lady would look like if she tried to act that refined. The thought made me chuckle. If it were the young lady, she'd probably declare she was going to load magazines just as elegantly, only to fumble and drop everything on the floor. Then... who knows? Maybe she'd blame me and throw the pistols at my head.

"What are you thinking about? You look like you're enjoying yourself."

Chloe poked my cheek, snapping me out of my pleasant daydream. She really should announce herself before asking questions like that.

"I was thinking about the young lady. She's just so charming, after all."

Chloe's expression stiffened slightly. She looked at me with concern. "Sebastian, this might be rude of me to say, but... shouldn't you stay away from that young lady? It feels like such a waste."

Even if it was a waste, the young lady was the one being wasted on. Whenever I thought about how I constantly teased and tormented her, I was the one who felt guilty. I was the one who couldn't control my impulses and kept doing whatever I wanted.

"It's because I'm the one with bad behavior. If you got to know her, you'd see the young lady is actually very kind and delicate."

At my words, the princess stared at me like I was some poor fool being gaslit by his lover. Seriously, why that look? The young lady really was kind. She pressed a hand to her forehead with an audible slap, as if she had a headache, then walked off to inspect the operatives' equipment while adding one last remark.

"Don't let yourself get played by that young ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠lady's temper. I'm saying this out of genuine concern."

I'm the one who teases her every day. Her worry was unnecessary. Even if the docile young lady got angry, how bad could it possibly be? At most she'd just yell a little or hit me. Compared to the pranks I pulled, it was nothing...?

Now that I thought about it, that was strange. No wonder she misunderstood.

"Alright, everyone looks well-equipped. We'll wait for our allies' signal, then begin the infiltration!"

The infiltration operation would start with the diversion team causing chaos. Once the guards were drawn away and the entrances looked clear, we would slip ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠inside. At that moment, the Blood Demon quietly asked me,

"Even considering the need for stealth, isn't our force too small? Will this really work?"

Worrying again. I placed the hourglass into Chloe's hand as she stood tense beside me and said, "If too many enemies gather for us to handle, or if I don't come out even after the retreat window has passed, please use this to forcibly wake me."

Yes, I really hadn't wanted to, but I'd gone back to Gaia, endured her calling me incompetent, and begged until she gave me one more item. Desert Emperor's Hourglass.

Originally meant to ignore a powerful enemy attack for a few seconds by ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠becoming untargetable, what caught my attention was the "forcibly separates the user's soul from their body" part. Using it, I could instantly dispel most mental debuffs. I didn't know the exact principle—probably some kind of misapplication of the invulnerability effect.

I've already tested it, so it should be reasonably safe...

I'd already confirmed it worked properly against several mental attacks. The only downside was that someone else had to activate it for me, but the princess would handle that, so there was no problem.

And this is only a last resort anyway. We probably wouldn't need to go that far.

"Good. Everyone's ready, so let's rest for a bit."

The operatives couldn't relax with the princess right in front of them. Since it would take time for the diversion team to break through and draw attention anyway, a short rest wouldn't hurt—

At that moment, a crackling sound came from the radio the princess had distributed, followed by a voice.

Why do we even have radios?

"This is Team 1. We've broken through Sector A-2."

...Already? Surprised by how much faster than expected they'd entered, I spoke into the radio, telling them to slow down slightly, then turned to the operatives.

"Looks like we're going in right away. Let's move."

It was a little embarrassing to say that right after telling everyone to rest, but what could I do? Who knew they'd be this competent?

The underground passage was dark and eerie, with no separate mine shafts and not a single lit lamp. Just as I'd seen in the game, it was a true labyrinth.

"Everyone, stay close so you don't get lost!"

Thanks to the princess leading from the front, we hadn't lost anyone during the long march despite the incredibly long and twisted tunnels making rapid progress difficult. We dealt with any witnesses we encountered and continued searching for the right path.

"As I mentioned, no matter how much you wander around here, ordinary people will never find the central area we're heading to."

Ankyle's difficulty didn't come from its high-level boss fight—though that was hard enough. The real problem was the brutal maze you had to navigate just to reach it. There were traps everywhere, soldiers and executives stationed throughout, and the Demon King himself was hidden away. How could anyone easily break through passages more complex than Seoul's subway system under those conditions?

"Next, take the right turn..."

Of course, I'd memorized the entire layout after playing through it so many times, but thinking back, I still wondered how I'd managed to find my way as a complete beginner.

"Just two more kilometers! Everyone, hang in there a little longer!"

Before facing Ankyle, I recalled their background setting once more. What we needed to find at the center was Ankyle's core and host—Itz Paradox.

According to the setting, Itz Paradox and Ankyle Paradox were two separate beings sharing the same body. Not multiple personalities, but two independent minds residing in one form. Itz and Ankyle had competed for control of the body, but the kind-hearted Itz usually held the reins...

Then one day, an incident flipped that balance. A surprise attack struck the academy where he worked as a security guard. A lot of people died that day...

Badly wounded during the massacre, Itz lost control of his body, and Ankyle took his place. What Ankyle did with that power was use their ability to materialize hallucinations, controlling the illusions they'd created like clones while building their organization. That's why all the Unknown executives are made of Ankyle's materialized hallucinations.

Thanks to the route I'd chosen that cleverly avoided the executives, we still hadn't encountered any. But the moment Ankyle's hive-mind-like materialized hallucinations noticed the infiltration team, they would come rushing to protect the core—the body shared by Itz and Ankyle, the heart of Unknown itself.

And the original owner of that core, Itz's consciousness, was trapped inside a hallucination loop disguised as the academy attack. Yeah, to sum it up, I'm on my way to pull Itz out of that loop right now.

I was going to free Itz from the loop and let him take back control of the body from Ankyle. Playing as that character had been genuinely fun. The way he controlled clones and hallucinations was interesting, and above all, the tutorial that started inside the loop was entertaining. The same scenes repeated, but the process changed subtly with each branching point, breaking apart until Itz finally pierced through the hallucinations and reclaimed control of his body. That loop really was fun, but...

This time, I had to break it as simply as possible. I hadn't come here to enjoy the story.

"...Pfft."

As I was steeling my resolve, I glanced to the side and suddenly felt laughter bubbling up, so I quickly turned my head away. Chloe widened her eyes and gave me a questioning look, but I couldn't bring myself to answer.

She... she was wearing a white outfit with a black cloak, and for a moment she'd looked exactly like a penguin from a documentary.

"...What exactly were you thinking while looking at me?"

She asked back, looking sulky. Ah, she must have been offended. From her perspective, I'd suddenly started snickering while staring at her. I cleared my throat and answered honestly. Trying to make up some lie would only get me caught immediately anyway, and I couldn't think of a good excuse.

"Well... your outfit looked a bit like a penguin, so I laughed without thinking. I'm sorry."

Chloe tilted her head. "A penguin, you say... Aren't those usually plump, chubby creatures...?"

Oh no. This was bad. The princess didn't know about the adorable, waddling charm of penguins—she thought they were just ice pigs. This was a problem.

"If you look closely, penguins are cute too. They're actually my favorite animal."

Chloe's expression, which had been sulking like an older sister who'd been teased by her younger sibling, quickly softened at my words. Whew, thank goodness. I'd almost become the crazy guy who called an angel-like older sister a pig.

"We've arrived."

And right on cue, we reached the entrance to the path leading to the core.

"...Isn't this a dead end?"

The princess asked, but I didn't bother explaining. I threw a blood pack at the wall and blew it open.

Boom!

A short explosion echoed, followed by a brief cloud of smoke. When it cleared, I saw a man with green hair fixed in place, encased in something resembling red jewels.

Yes. That man was Itz Paradox.