No Way to Lower It Now

Tae-hyun stood before Count Besgo, feeling incredibly uneasy and anxious.

"Haha! Magnificent from this angle, and absolutely splendid from that!"

Wearing the expression of a passionate artist, Count Besgo grabbed Tae-hyun's arm and began kneading it this way and that.

Yu Ji-soo, incensed by the sight, drew her bow.

"That bastard..."

"P-Please, control yourself."

"Unni, how can you watch this and not get angry?!"

"Well, he's just an NPC, so it's... okay, actually, it's not okay, but we have to endure it for now!"

Yu Ji-soo huffed and puffed as she put her bow away.

Count Besgo stared ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at Tae-hyun, looking deeply conflicted.

"Ah, what a dilemma. Should I capture this in a painting, carve it into a sculpture, or compose a song...?"

"Y-Your Grace. What is so great about this nameless, lowborn wretch...?"

The artist NPCs standing behind him muttered in jealousy. How dare some nameless adventurer suddenly barge in and steal the spotlight!

Hearing this, the players who had been trailing Count Besgo chimed in, cheering them on.

Give him a piece of your mind!

Yeah! We've been working our butts off here, and this random nobody just rolls in...

But seriously, what do you even have to do to get that kind of treatment from the Count?

Do we need to cast an appearance buff or something?

What kind of appearance buff would even trigger a reaction like that...?

The players were green with envy, but they were also dying of curiosity. Just how did he build his character to make the Count react like that the moment they met?

"You fools have no eyes for true art! Look at him!"

"What could a lowborn possibly—Gasp!"

"Ugh!"

The artist NPCs began to tremble. What was this? What was this divine aura radiating from such an ordinary face? On top of that, he somehow looked incredibly honorable!

"..."

Tae-hyun stood there with a look of utter resignation.

To think his Reputation and Divinity stats would be used in a situation like this! The Archisus Church barely had any artist NPCs. They struggled to gather NPCs for other essential fields, so there was absolutely no way they had any in the arts!

"Your Grace! Shouldn't we be heading to His Highness the Prince?"

"Ah, wait a moment! I have a literal masterpiece standing right in front of me, what could possibly be more important than this?!"

"?!"

The player who had lost their hard-earned affinity just by saying one wrong word looked like they were about to cry. They knew nobles had notoriously prickly personalities, but this was just ridiculous!

"Your Grace. I'm sorry, but I'm actually quite busy..."

"Wait! Do not leave! If you act as my model, I shall reward you handsomely!"

"!"

Tae-hyun was already in dire need of Miriban City Contribution Points, so there was absolutely no reason to refuse when Count Besgo was practically throwing them at him.

-Hey! We can't get caught!

-It's fine as long as we don't get caught.

-...

An invincible logic! The party was extremely worried when Tae-hyun decided to stand before Count Besgo instead of running away.

...Though they were more worried for Count Besgo than for Tae-hyun!

Count Besgo. If you want to live a long life, you'd better not notice anything!

Hang in there, Count Besgo!

"Hmm... I quite like that one as well."

"?!"

Cain was startled. Him too?! Even though he was in disguise, it felt great. To think he was receiving the same treatment as Tae-hyun.

"Don't you agree?"

"Indeed...! Your Grace is absolutely correct."

"He is crude, but he has a natural talent for playing a villain."

"????"

Cain realized something was off as he listened to the conversation. Wasn't the nuance a bit different?

"..."

"Do you dislike it? Well, I suppose there is nothing to be done if you refuse."

Unlike with Tae-hyun, Count Besgo was cold. Cain certainly looked the part of a convincing villain, but it didn't really matter if he refused. He could always just find someone else!

"No, no! Not at all! Please, let me do it!"

Cain answered in a hurry. Whatever it was, he had to accept the quest first!

"So, where did you say the Third Prince is right now?"

"Ah. Do not move."

"I think I would be able to stay much stiller if I knew where the Third Prince was..."

"My word. Whenever you speak, I find myself strangely persuaded."

Count Besgo set down his brush and spoke.

"His Highness the Third Prince is currently gathering an army to strike down those wicked scoundrels of the Auston Kingdom. I imagine he is preparing to capture Beal Castle around this time."

Beal Castle was one of the famous castles in the borderlands. It was a stronghold coveted by both the Guild Alliance and the Midas Guild! And Tae-hyun remembered Beal Castle vividly. Because...

Didn't the demon army pour out of there last time?

Some crazy warlocks must have nested in its dungeons, because they had summoned a seemingly endless stream of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠demons. He wasn't sure if the Guild Alliance had caught wind of it yet...

"I see. Does the Third Prince have any weaknesses?"

"A weakness in His Highness the Third Prince? He has no such thing! He possesses none of the flaws that plague the First, Second, or Fourth Princes."

He's completely blinded by loyalty.

True to a noble swearing absolute fealty to his prince, he refused to utter a single flaw. However, Tae-hyun's speech skill forced the Count to lay bare his innermost thoughts.

"Well, if I absolutely had to nitpick, he is arrogant, disregards the opinions of others, and occasionally flies into a blind rage and lops off the heads of a few insignificant pests—but surely one cannot call those flaws, can they?"

"Of course not."

"...??"

Cain, standing nearby in his villain disguise, tilted his head in confusion. If those weren't flaws, then what on earth were they...?

"A true hero must possess that level of boldness. Why, I heard the King of the Atali Kingdom ties up anyone who opposes him and blows them to smithereens with bombs! That is exactly how a hero should behave!"

"...N-No, surely that is just a wild rumor?"

"It is not. I heard it from a highly reliable source."

There were simply too many eyewitness accounts for even Tae-hyun's eloquence to sway the Count's belief.

"Of course, His Highness is a far grander hero than that King of Atali. Yes, indeed. I believe in the Prince."

"Ah, yes. Of course."

Tae-hyun had no desire to compete with the Third Prince over who was the greater hero. Frankly, even being compared to him was offensive.

"Hmm. The painting is lacking a bit of luster. The paint... yes. Perfect."

Count Besgo reached his hand directly into the empty air and pulled out a handful of sapphires. Tae-hyun was dumbfounded. Cain nearly tripped over his own feet. Wh-What?

To use such high-level spatial magic, what on earth is his level? 500? 600? No... even if he's over 700...

What happened next was even more shocking. Count Besgo squeezed the handful of sapphires in his fist and crushed them into fine powder.

Crunch!

"Cough... Wheeze!"

Cain choked on his own spit and began coughing violently. Th-Those crazy noble NPCs! He knew noble NPCs defied all common sense, but to go this far was insane!

Tae-hyun's expression turned grave. Count Besgo was far stronger than he had anticipated.

I heard that the high-ranking NPCs of the Erangs Kingdom are among the strongest in Pan-On, but...

The Erangs Kingdom was home to all kinds of legendary NPCs—masters of swordsmanship, magic, and various other skills. Naturally, the levels of these NPCs were bound to be astronomical. However, since they rarely participated in actual combat, players seldom encountered them in action...

To think a mere noble NPC would be one of those high-ranking powerhouses!

Then again, for someone of a Count's standing, it wouldn't be surprising if he were a combat-type NPC rather than a non-combatant.

Count Besgo looked like a warm, friendly middle-aged man, but his Magic and Strength stats were clearly off the charts.

I should assume he's a Magic Swordsman over level 700.

Furthermore, the NPCs of the Erangs Kingdom didn't just rely on their levels; their gear and items were absolutely top-tier. There was a real chance Tae-hyun's absurd evasion rate could be completely shut down!

Tae-hyun suddenly felt an intense urge to put on his Adamantium Armor. Honestly, he was getting nervous!

He noticed Cain stealthily shuffling forward. He was trying to scoop up the sapphire powder that had fallen to the floor.

"What are you doing?"

"Ah, no. It's just... the, uh, powder looked a bit messy."

"Oh, my... Clean that up for him."

A servant swept up the powder and stuffed it directly into Cain's pocket. Tae-hyun was honestly envious. Who knew being so shamelessly pathetic could have its perks!

Instead of just ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠trying not to get caught, it might be better to actively persuade him...

"Speaking of which, how is His Majesty the King doing these days?"

"His Majesty has been unwell, so I haven't seen him in quite some time. Ah, what a shame. He was such a powerful man in his youth. I suppose no one can escape the passage of time. Myself included."

"Ahem, cough."

"?"

"It's nothing..."

Cain waved his hand while coughing. Count Besgo furrowed his brows as he stared at Cain.

"I brought him along because he has the perfect face ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of a villain, but he seems rather distracting, doesn't he? Shall I replace him?"

"No, it's fine. He's perfect."

"Very well. This piece of mine will truly be a masterpiece. As for the title... yes. The Angel sounds fitting."

"An angel of which god?"

"Hmm. For some reason, Archisus comes to mind. Are you perhaps a follower of Archisus? Perhaps I should make it the Angel of Archisus..."

"The Angel of Archisus does not look like this."

"Oh? What do they look like, then?"

"Well, for starters, they have a lot more arms, and multiple heads..."

"???"

Count Besgo tilted his head in confusion at Tae-hyun's description. What kind of angel looked like that?

"What kind of angel is shaped like that? You must have heard some bizarre rumors."

"...Perhaps it would be better to go with an angel of a different god."

"Is that so? Well, if you say so. Phaitos, then?"

"Uh, well, yes. Sure. Phaitos works too..."

Currently, the divine turtle of Phaitos was residing in his territory's zoo.

Thanks to the relentless, chaotic persuasion of Yong-yong and Heuk-heuk, the turtle had fallen into deep existential confusion.

-Should I keep believing in Phaitos? With two dragons telling me otherwise, maybe I should switch religions...

Seizing the opportunity, the dragons had swiftly relocated the turtle to the zoo. At this rate, the brainwashing was practically ninety percent complete!

"Then shall we call it the Angel of Phaitos?"

"Do you know what the Angel of Phaitos looks like?"

"Well, I can just have him hold a hammer."

An incredibly novel concept! Tae-hyun suddenly grew curious about Count Besgo's artistic skills. If he was at that level, capable of mastering both swordsmanship and magic as a Magic Swordsman, what about his painting skill...?

He couldn't possibly be an NPC with a secret skill in fine arts, could he?

There were certain powerful NPCs who possessed secret skills for every craft, capable of teaching them to players.

Well, if I want to flatter him properly, I should at least take a look at what he's drawn.

"May I take a brief break and look at the painting?"

"Haha. This is a bit embarrassing. Very well, come over and take a look."

Tae-hyun walked over to his side and looked at the canvas.

And froze in sheer horror.

"..."

"How is it? Splendid, is it not?"

"It is... highly unique."