Chapter 39: Sub Quest (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 39: Sub Quest (3)
To be honest, it wasn't that I hadn't expected Prince Ellen’s impulsive behavior.
It’s a classic trait of RoFan leads.
They never think about their social standing; the moment an incident occurs, they try to resolve it themselves.
Even though I already knew this, the reason I kept telling Prince Ellen not to do it was for the sake of the future.
The guy is still a human being. If I keep accumulating "nagging points" like this, won't he listen to me at least once later on?
…Though, knowing these RoFan problem children, there’s a good chance they still won't.
Still, I had no choice but to keep racking up those points so he wouldn't forget.
If even that doesn't work, I’ll really have to start looking for a way to retire.
Thinking of Senior Lucia, it feels like it might already be too late to start planning, though.
"He really has no hesitation."
The altar I reached a step too late was already drenched in blood.
As far as I knew, this guy had never killed a person before.
Was the Kingdom’s education that bad, or was Prince Ellen just a natural psychopath?
Or perhaps it was the brilliance of the Continent’s early education, which teaches that dark mages aren't to be treated as human.
"Make sure you finish them off properly."
But it wasn't over yet.
Thanks to Boradori’s spoilers about my life, I had looked into the bastards I’d be running into from now on.
The more I dug into these dark mages, the more they were filled with nothing but horror stories.
Among those stories, the most important thing to remember was that dark mages are most dangerous when they appear to be dead.
Usually, they’re the type to hide underwater and grind others up as sacrifices.
But right before their lives truly end, dark mages are the kind of scum who will grind themselves up to take everyone down with them in a final act of mutual destruction.
That’s why you don't just go for a confirmation kill; even after they’re confirmed dead, you have to keep them somewhere visible.
A magic circle could suddenly appear on the body and cause the corpse to explode, or it could spread a curse to the surroundings.
But since our busy Prince couldn't be bothered with such details, the cleanup naturally fell to the subordinates.
"I'll stick with the Prince."
Dumping the task of the confirmation kills and rescuing the brainwashed villagers onto the other knights, I walked toward the center of the altar, where ominous mana was radiating.
"Urgh!"
And there, a guy who looked like a villain out of central casting was collapsing, coughing up blood.
Of all the villainous-looking people I’d seen—second only to the Flower Arrangement Club President—this guy was spitting out lines like a third-rate antagonist.
"To think we would be discovered here. But you are already too late. This altar we have created is…"
Why doesn't our "goldilocks" Prince know where the skip button is?
He just stands there listening to everything the enemy says.
Thwack!
So, I pressed the skip button for him.
"Adam?!"
Prince Ellen looked flustered as the man’s head suddenly went flying, but I pulled him away from the corpse with a deep scowl.
"Didn't you learn this during your Royal training? Those Magic Spammers just talk to buy time."
"No, the other kids don't do that."
By "those kids," he probably meant the other RoFan male leads.
"Are those kids your enemies?"
"W-well, no."
"And this guy is a dark mage. He’s buying time with his mouth to pull something… Oh, for fuck’s sake."
Even though the head and body were separated, a purple light began to beam out from the eyes.
This is exactly why you’re supposed to crush dark mages the moment you see them.
"I don't know what that is, so let's just run for now."
"But!"
I turned my head to see what nonsense he was on about, and I saw characters starting to emerge on the wall where the eye beams hit.
They were forming into something like chains, heading toward the center of the altar.
And at that center was the beastkin girl I had seen from afar.
"I don't think we can save her."
It was unfortunate, but trying to save her could get us killed.
Therefore, I was prepared to swing my sword without hesitation to block Prince Ellen’s advance, but—
"Sorry!"
"If you're sorry, then just listen to me!"
As if he had expected even that, Prince Ellen parried my sword and dashed toward the beastkin girl. I had no choice but to grit my teeth and follow him.
Clang!
It was absurd.
A rope and a sword collided, yet it made a sound like striking a solid block of iron.
"Hurry up and cut it!"
Otherwise, I’m going to hit you in the back of the head and drag you out of here.
"I-I know!"
Whether he understood the look in my eyes or not, Prince Ellen began to deliver strikes infused with precise mana.
Before long, we were able to rescue the beastkin girl who had been at the center of the altar.
"If you're done, let's get the hell out of here!"
"Got it!"
He slung the collected beastkin girl over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, and we ran with all our might.
Even at this moment, the purple mana filling the walls was heading toward the center of the altar…
"It's following us?"
"I can see that!"
No, it started lunging toward us.
"Prince!"
"Run!"
"What?"
"I said run!"
Ignoring the knights who had finished clearing the area and were trying to regroup, I ran at full speed.
The knights, having some sense, began to follow us with everything they had, but the speed of the mana was gradually increasing.
Therefore.
"Split the manpower!"
To figure out what that thing was, I split our forces in half.
"It's only following us?"
"Next!"
So I split them in half again. And again.
By the time only Ellen and I were left, I had no choice but to give up.
"Let's ditch her."
It was clear the mana was following the beastkin girl.
I suggested we abandon the kid first, but—
"No. I'll try to block it!"
The idiot suddenly started charging back the way we came.
"Is that bastard insane?"
Screech.
I made a sharp turn, but it was hard to change direction quickly with the momentum I had.
"…This is driving me crazy."
By the time I finally managed to turn around, Ellen was already collapsing after getting blasted by the purple mana.
I hurriedly poured recovery potions over the fallen Prince Ellen, but as expected, they had no effect.
The only silver lining was that he was still breathing.
Leaving Ellen behind as he breathed quietly as if asleep, I shoved half of the remaining potions into the beastkin girl’s mouth and poured the other half over her face.
And then.
"Hey. Hey! Wake up. Wake up!"
Slap, slap.
I woke her up by slapping her cheeks without restraint.
In my past life, this would have been unthinkable, but in a medieval fantasy world, hitting a woman of another race I’d never met before felt less burdensome than hitting a prince.
Since I’d already done it to a RoFan female lead, I didn't feel a shred of hesitation.
"Ugh…"
It was the moment the beastkin girl, her cheeks flushed red, opened her eyes.
"Hiss… ah?"
The moment her eyes opened and her pupils dilated, they were filled with hostility.
I understood.
I didn't know how she got caught, but it wasn't like the dark mages had politely invited her to be a sacrifice and she had accepted.
She had gone through a horrific ordeal, so her hostility toward humans must be at its peak.
So, even if the human she saw upon waking was the one who saved her, it was only natural for her to be hostile at first.
She probably hadn't even processed whether I was a savior or an enemy.
However, explaining everything with words would likely require at least one fight with this hostile beastkin.
After subduing her, I’d have to explain everything that happened.
Even after that, it would take a considerable amount of time for a suspicious beastkin to open her heart.
That’s how stories usually go.
But right now, time was of the essence.
"If you don't want to die, listen to me."
"……"
This is when you need Leon-style persuasion.
Namely, a sword.
Persuasiveness increases by 100% when a sharp blue sword energy is touching someone's neck.
Keeping my sword leveled at her throat, I quickly moved behind her and whispered in her ear.
"First of all, we rescued you."
It was the truth, without a single lie.
"T-this is?"
It was a shame the party involved didn't understand, but there was nothing to be done about it, so I moved on.
"I also treated all your wounds."
This was also the truth. These were potions I’d squeezed out of the Empire and the Dale Royal Family—potions that were hard to buy even with money.
"But why do my cheeks hurt so much…"
"Maybe those wicked dark mages hit you."
I told a slight white lie at the end, but it was a small price to pay compared to the cost of the potions.
"In the process, our Kingdom’s Prince collapsed."
Tap, tap.
I lightly tapped her cheek with my hand that wasn't holding the sword.
Her gaze shifted slightly in that direction, landing on Prince Ellen, who was bound by purple mana.
"Ah, that."
Fortunately, it seemed she knew what that was.
"The Prince sacrificed himself to protect you from the mana that was chasing you."
To be honest, it was more like he just charged in recklessly on his own, but since it already happened, shouldn't we at least get a good image out of it?
"Recovery potions aren't helping. Do you know what that is?"
I asked politely, while still keeping the sword at her throat.
"Before that, I have something to ask."
Even so, she responded with a question instead of an answer.
Is she tougher than she looks?
"What is it?"
"Is that guy strong?"
"Our royal brat?"
"Yeah. That… royal brat?"
The beastkin girl seemed flustered by my sudden slip of the tongue, but I answered her question without showing any emotion.
"He’s at a level where he has no rivals. Why?"
In the future, he truly would have no rivals, and even now, there weren't many who could match him.
Upon hearing that, the beastkin girl flinched slightly and muttered as if lamenting.
"Then we're in trouble…"
A sudden chill ran down my spine at those ominous words.
A certain plot development flashed through my mind.
It couldn't be, right?
"Don't tell me it's something like brainwashing?"
Violet Village. Dark mages. Brainwashing. Salvia. Hallucinogens. An altar for sacrifice…
Recalling the events happening in this village along with those keywords, a common trope from my past life inevitably came to mind.
In subculture genres, there were often stories where a character was a total troll when they were an ally, but became a terrifying monster when they turned into an enemy.
Ah, was it the other way around? Usually, they’re strong as enemies but become weak once they join the party.
"That's right. They were trying to dominate and control me."
It seems I was right.
This was truly the worst-case scenario.
"How do we stop it?"
I asked for a solution.
"W-well, I'm from the martial arts faction, so I don't know dark magic."
Unfortunately, it seemed she was a brawler, a cousin to the brainless swordsmen.
Even if ignorant swordsmen and brawlers joined forces, dispelling damn dark magic would be impossible.
I quickly pulled my sword away and immediately asked for her cooperation.
"For now, grab that guy so he can't move."
"Huh? What?"
Leaving the confused girl behind now that the sword was gone, I rushed toward where the ropes that had bound her were.
Since the altar was a mess and the ritual hadn't been completed properly, I just had to tie Prince Ellen up while he was down and hold out until an expert arrived.
"Kyaak!"
"……"
But the moment I returned with the ropes, I saw the sight of a Flying Beastkin, and I had no choice but to drop the ropes and grab my sword.
*
This is Daisy, with crown daisy in her mouth, which I received as a result of winning a bet.
The flower-illiterate who didn't know what crown daisy was has become a free slave and is working like a dog.