The Escort Knight and the Prince

In all his time playing Pandemonium Online, Cain had never really been popular with NPCs. For starters, he played a combat class, and his infamy was sky-high... In the past, he would get chased out of towns the moment he set foot in them.

"Get out of here, you filthy thief! Guards! Guards!"

"Hey, I haven't even done anything yet!"

The only NPCs who had ever shown him any goodwill were...

'...The Akisus Tribe...'

Just hearing the name sent shivers down his spine! Although they got along well as fellow Chimeras, it wasn't exactly something to write home about.

But right now, the 4th Prince of the Erangs Kingdom was openly displaying goodwill toward him.

Though the system messages about bonuses and the prince being terrified were a bit concerning...!

Still, a win was a win!

*Grab!*

Cain eagerly snatched the 4th Prince's hand.

The prince flinched in panic. "W-why?! What did I do wrong?!"

"Let's be friends, Prince!"

"O-oh. Sure. Thanks?"

Seeing this seemingly gullible man act so friendly, Prince Cain let out a sigh of relief. So there is at least one decent human being in this terrifying ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Pope's entourage!

'Yes! I can use my royal charm to win over this pushover!'

The prince mentally slapped his knee. With his innate royal charisma, he would win this simpleton over and make him his loyal subordinate! If he succeeded, he might actually escape the clutches of that terrifying Pope.

"So, Prince, what do you like?"

"Uh... I like the idea of getting away from this group."

His true feelings slipped out in less than a second!

"What?"

"A-ah, nothing. Ahem. As for what I like... fine wine, masterpiece paintings, beautiful sculptures..."

"Zzz..."

Still sitting atop his horse, Cain began to nod off.

Watching this, Prince Cain's blood boiled. How dare this peasant fall asleep while listening to my refined, luxurious tastes!

"Whoops. Sorry. I dozed off for a second."

Cain had literally started snoring the moment he heard the word 'masterpiece'!

"...Why don't you tell me about yourself instead?"

The prince realized that bragging about his high-class hobbies was completely lost on a rustic fellow like Cain. It would be better to listen to the man's stories and play along!

"What is your class?"

"Uh... I'm..."

"...?" Why is he hesitating?

"Archisus's... Slave..."

"A what? A slave?"

"...Yeah, man!"

"H-hey, why are you snapping at me?!"

"S-sorry."

"I shall forgive you since you apologized. Hmm. A slave serving a god... quite a diligent profession."

"...!"

If Prince Cain had been a player, a notification reading [Cain's affinity has risen significantly!] would have popped up!

"It is a noble profession indeed."

"Tell... tell me more! *Pant, pant!*"

'Is he a lunatic, not a pushover?'

Suppressing his urge to run away, the prince forced himself to converse deeply with Cain. He listened to the adventures Cain had been on and the terrifying foes he had faced.

As a result...

"!??"

Cain was utterly bewildered. Why on earth was the prince getting terrified just from hearing about his past achievements?

"I-I have to travel with people who fight those kinds of monsters?!"

"No! It's perfectly safe!"

"Don't talk nonsense! How can any place be safe when you're dealing with dragons and demons?!"

He had a point. Tae-hyun's quests were notoriously lethal for anyone involved. In the worst-case scenario, the 4th Prince might literally end up as a bomb (or rather, what used to be the 4th Prince).

'I'd better not mention that part.'

Cain was glad he hadn't brought up the Living Bomb skill. If he had, the prince would have probably burst into tears and fled on the spot.

"I... I can't go! Royalty does not step onto the battlefield directly!"

As the prince began to throw a stubborn tantrum, Cain panicked.

'Oh crap, what do I do?'

If the prince refused to budge -> Tae-hyun would come over to ask what was wrong -> the prince would point at Cain -> Cain would be as good as dead!

'No way!'

He had to persuade him somehow! Cain wracked his brain to find the right words.

"I'm here, the holy knights are here, the Archisus Artillery is here, everyone will protect you! What's there to fear? I'll protect you myself! I'm a Ranker, you know!"

"Y-you?"

Cain's achievements certainly painted him as a highly skilled warrior, but for some reason, the prince found it hard to trust him. It was an instinctive, primal doubt!

However, other factors overrode his instincts. The prince was simply too terrified right now.

"F-fine. I shall appoint you as my escort knight!"

'Huh?'

Cain's face contorted. Granted, he was already extremely used to his current class and had built up too much progress to ever consider changing it, but still! The system didn't have to put it so rudely!

'Whoa...!'

So this was why everyone was so obsessed with becoming a noble! He hadn't even received a proper fief as a Count or a Baron, just a simple knighthood, yet the benefits within the kingdom were staggering. It was practically like becoming a VIP member of the kingdom.

'Wait, but when Kim Tae-hyun became a Count and even a King, he barely got any benefits and just suffered trying to scrape gold together... What gives?'

Such was the stark difference between the prosperous Erangs Kingdom and the utterly bankrupt Atali Kingdom!

'...If I tell the others I got this, won't I get beaten up?'

He could already hear the complaints. 'You shameless bastard, keeping all the good stuff for yourself!' 'Kim Tae-hyun did all the heavy lifting, but this guy gets the knighthood? Wow.'

"Slave of Archisus! I shall make you my escort knight, so pledge your loyalty to me! What is your name?"

"Ca... Cain."

"Cain? My name is Cain too!"

"What? Really?"

If Tae-hyun had been nearby, he would have shuddered and thought, 'Having the same name as Cain is an incredibly ominous sign!' But fortunately, Tae-hyun was currently leading the group from the very front.

The prince and Cain shook hands, both beaming with joy.

"Though we were not born in the same year, month, and day, let us die on the same year, month, and day!"

"Uh... that's a bit..."

"..."

Cain's face fell. He had shouted that out of pure excitement...

Seeing his reaction, the flustered prince quickly said, "A-ah, fine! I'll do it! We can do that!"

"In that case, Cain. As my escort knight and my friend, will you grant me a favor?"

"What is it?"

"Get me out of this group!"

"Uh... that's a bit..."

This time, it was the prince's turn to look dejected.

"...But you're my escort knight."

"N-no, but before that, I'm a slave."

To think he would ever use his own class as an excuse like this! Cain felt a pang of sadness as he said it, but he had no choice.

"And Cain, think about it. This is actually an opportunity."

"What opportunity?"

"I used to be a nobody, but everything changed the moment I joined the Archisus Church."

Join the Archisus Church and start your era of success! Cain began to pitch the idea passionately to persuade the prince. If Tae-hyun had witnessed this, he would have been deeply moved by how much Cain had grown.

"Think about it. If you lead the knights here, boldly sweep away the undead, and achieve great deeds, what will the other princes think?"

"...!"

The prince was instantly intrigued. It was true...

A ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠glorious prince fighting alongside the holy knights of the continent's most famous churches! While his half-brothers idled away lazily in the capital, he would return covered in battlefield glory!

How magnificent! Even the high nobles would look at him in a completely different light. After all, it was rare for royalty to actually step onto the front lines.

"...I-I'll do it!"

"Yes! That's the spirit, Cain! Let's do this together!"

"Y-you must protect me properly by my side, though."

"Of course!"

Just then, Tae-hyun's voice echoed from the front.

"Cain, come here for a second."

"On my way!"

And with that, Cain vanished in a flash.

Left entirely alone, the prince stared blankly at the empty space.

"...????"

You said you'd protect me by my side, you bastard!

"What were you talking about with the 4th Prince?"

"Oh, we just became friends."

"Really?"

Tae-hyun was genuinely puzzled. Cain didn't have a high Speech skill, nor did he have high Reputation, and befriending royalty was notoriously difficult. Yet they had become friends?

'Well, there's nothing wrong with them getting along, but it's certainly strange.'

'Come on, buddy. There's no need to worry about every little thing.'

Tae-hyun smiled and patted Carbanog to reassure him. What could possibly go wrong from a simple friendship?

"Did the prince complain about anything?"

"He did at first, but when I told him he'd gain massive royal reputation if we succeed in this expedition, he loved the idea."

"Oh...?"

Tae-hyun was genuinely impressed. Cain actually knew how to persuade people?

'Why are you suddenly being so negative?'

Perhaps because they were about to face Nevuchadnezzar, even Carbanog seemed to be on edge.

"Well, that worked out perfectly. It'll be much easier to move around with the 4th Prince cooperating."

The sheer scale of the army was so massive that even his Highest-grade Tactical Skill couldn't fully command it. That meant the holy knight forces of each denomination were incredibly powerful, and the other auxiliary forces were also immense.

Tae-hyun was even planning to send a letter to Evangeline to mobilize the Vampire Army.

'I'll have to place them on Lee Se-yeon's side.'

If he grouped them with the holy knights, the knights would probably have a collective stroke.

With all the summonable NPC factions fully mobilized, plus ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the massive legion of mages Lee Se-yeon was bringing, it was impossible for Tae-hyun to command everyone directly, even with his top-tier tactical skills. They would have to operate with a degree of autonomy!

'Besides, my relationship with the churches is fundamentally terrible...'

Rather than Tae-hyun giving orders directly, it would be far more effective to have the 4th Prince do it. Since every major church had a presence in the Erangs Kingdom, they would naturally listen to a royal prince!

"Since you've gotten close to him, I'd like to leave the 4th Prince in your care. Is that alright?"

"Of course! Just leave him to me!"

"Great."

The basic preparations were complete. All that was left was to set sail for the Asbian Empire!

'Oh, right. I should demand ships from the churches too.'

Tae-hyun had no intention of risking the Atali Kingdom's fleet for this. Even if everything went south, he had to minimize his own losses!

"Man, these trees just keep growing back no matter how many we chop down."

"Still, having the mages here makes it a lot easier."

"Since you're already here, why don't you stay a bit longer?"

The Orc Uncles were thoroughly enjoying themselves, chatting away excitedly thanks to the mages' impressive firepower. Of course, the members of the Midas Guild pretended not to hear them. They just wanted to clear their daily quests as fast as possible and get the hell out of there!

"You guys must be exhausted. Here, eat some of this."

"Is it... Abnormal Cooking?"

"...No, it's just fruit..."

The younger guild members flinched in horror. No matter how amazing the buffs were, they absolutely refused to touch Abnormal Cooking!

"Come on, you need to eat Abnormal Cooking to get your energy up—"

"Just take the fruit!"

The guild members hurriedly tossed the fruit over and scrambled backward.

The uncles looked disappointed but accepted the fruit anyway.

"Is this a tangerine?"

"No, it's an orange."

"Orange you going to eat it? It's been orange a long ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠time since we had fresh fruit..."

"..."

"..."

The Midas Guild members gripped their staffs with white knuckles. They desperately wanted to smack them! But they had to endure!

Just then, a sudden snort of laughter escaped from among the guild members.

"Pfft!"

"???"

"...Mr. Polle...?"