Infiltration

"I swear, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I just cannot get used to this smell."

Once again, we infiltrated Indigo through the sewers. Hwaryongwang's two aces were out of the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠picture — Aquaril had become my fairy, and Ryona was dead. That left only the four fairies who never left his side. I was still outnumbered, but I didn't feel outmatched in a fight. Even so, I took the sewers.

Can't leave the Prince and Princess out of this.

In Fairy Masters terms, Hwaryongwang was the Chapter 2 boss. The Chapter 1 bosses — the Prince and Princess — were still very much alive. But do I actually have to take those two down? They were the Chapter 1 bosses, no question, but I'd already learned through the Princess that the pair of them were constantly angling for Hwaryongwang's throne. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. There was a chance I could form an alliance with those two Masters.

Not a chance, though.

The Princess and I were practically mortal enemies at this point. She'd stabbed me in the back to save her own skin, and I'd killed her fairy Kyle and looted her fortune — received it as a settlement, rather. On top of that, she might still think I was dead. From what I'd seen, Hwaryongwang and the Princess weren't nearly close enough to be sharing intelligence.

The Prince, though. There's actually a shot with him.

Bison Trilly and I had no history whatsoever. No grudges, no bad blood. If it meant taking down a common enemy like Hwaryongwang, the odds of him joining forces with me were high.

And the party composition wouldn't be bad, either.

From what I'd seen of the Prince and his fairies last time, their class composition, levels, and ranks weren't anything to write home about — even being generous. His lineup was a mage, a thief, and a healer. No frontline tank to speak of. But if Aquaril and I joined in, that changed everything. With the two of us holding the front, the Prince could actually put his power to use. They were well worth allying with.

If it weren't for the Beginner Quest, that is.

How was I supposed to pass up a quest that paid three hundred gems?

Well. That settles it. I shrugged after checking the Beginner Quest. Might as well just stab him in the back, then.

For a weakling like me — a mutant who could steal other Masters' fairy ownership — betrayal was the only way to survive. Honor? It's not like I didn't want to keep my word. But honor is something you can only afford if you have the power to back it up. A nobody with no strength and nothing to his name who tries to play the honorable type just ends up dying a pointless death.

I don't want to die.

The memory of death had become a trauma, coiled around my memories — no, around my very soul — like a thick rope. I had no idea when this nightmare of dying would fade from my mind, but right now, I wanted to live. By any means necessary.

After resting at an inn that was practically our regular haunt by now, Aquaril and I headed for Bison Trilly's mansion in District 6 once night fell.

"Whew. This place is huge too."

True to his title, the Prince's mansion was every bit as large and imposing as the Princess's. A two-meter wall surrounded the estate, but that was no obstacle for us.

"Shall we hop over?"

"You need to be careful here, Master."

"Huh? Why?"

Aquaril stopped me just as I was about to scale the wall.

"Prince Trilly has a fairy named Violet."

"Violet... yeah, I remember her."

The name brought back the tall beauty I'd seen on the first day. Her figure was every bit as impressive as Aquaril's, and those skin-tight clothes had left nothing to the imagination — which was why that stunning rear view came back to me instantly.

"What about her?"

"Violet is a thief-class fairy. She's filled the inside of the mansion with dangerous traps."

"...Traps? Why?"

"Originally, Indigo had another prince besides Prince Trilly and Princess Lily. Last year, Hwaryongwang had Ryona assassinate him — a warning, to keep the Prince and Princess alliance in check."

The moment she mentioned Hwaryongwang assassinating a prince, I understood what she was getting at.

"Ah... so Prince Trilly laid traps in case he might get assassinated too?"

"That's correct."

"Ugh... how dangerous are we talking?"

"We'll be facing Hwaryongwang soon. Even a minor injury would be unwise, wouldn't it? Or I could go in alone, and you could wait here, Master."

"You, going in alone? I'd rather skip the alliance with the Prince altogether."

I waved her off. I wasn't about to let my precious, beautiful fairy get hurt. Besides, even though Aquaril was my fairy now, nobody else knew that. Hwaryongwang knew something had happened, but he didn't know the details. If Aquaril went in alone, the Prince would obviously assume Hwaryongwang had sent an assassin. So if we were going in, it had to be me alone — or both of us together.

Whether she was moved by what I'd said or not, the corner of Aquaril's carefully blank mouth twitched. The way she tried so hard to pretend nothing had happened was adorable.

"Ahem. But don't you need Prince Trilly's help, Master? So..."

"It's not like I absolutely need it."

"Pardon?"

Having the Prince and his fairies would bolster our forces, sure, but it wasn't essential. I could spend the remaining time analyzing Hwaryongwang's strength and come up with a strategy for the two of us to take him down on our own.

I shook my head and looked back at the Prince's mansion. Then I opened my status window and checked how many days I had left to offer tribute to Uroboros.

Including today, I had four days to gather 3,000 gems and offer them to Uroboros. Fail, and I'd lose the Uroboros's Avatar class. Could I convince Prince Bison Trilly and form an alliance in four days?

Realistically, the odds are basically zero. I took this way too lightly.

They were characters I'd seen in a game — just Chapter 1 bosses, I'd thought. I'd forgotten for a moment that the Prince, the Princess, and Hwaryongwang were all people. Same as me.

"Aquaril. Does Hwaryongwang always stay in the palace? He never goes outside?"

"That's correct, Master. I don't know why, but Hwaryongwang hasn't set foot outside once since becoming king."

"Really? So you and Ryona were managing Indigo?"

"Not exactly. Ryona and I handled the dungeons and the Prince and Princess. The city's day-to-day affairs were left to the administrators."

"Ah, administrators. Makes sense — even a small city like Indigo needs bureaucrats to function. So if I want to see Hwaryongwang, I have to go into the palace?"

"That's correct."

Before going all-out, I wanted to check Hwaryongwang and his fairies' status windows. They could be far stronger than I expected, so I wanted to scout them first and then plan the fight.

"Is there a way to sneak into the palace?"

"A way to sneak in... hmm. There is one method, but..."

"Yeah? What is it?"

"Well... I don't think you'd like it, Master..."

What kind of method would make her hesitate like that?

"It's fine, just tell me. This isn't the time to be picky."

"Well..."

At my prompting, the hesitant Aquaril finally spoke. I couldn't stop my face from crumpling at the method she'd come up with.

We went back to the inn and rested through the day, then headed out again once the night had grown deep. Honestly, was I even human at this point? Sleeping during the day and wandering around at night — I was basically a vampire.

"The sewers are starting to feel like home."

"I'm sorry, Master..."

"Huh? No, no. What did you do wrong? You just told me a way into the palace. I'm the one who wanted to sneak in. And I'm the one who chose this method, so you don't need to apologize."

I waved off Aquaril's apology. I'd been the one who decided to go with her suggestion. She had no reason to feel sorry, and no reason to apologize.

That's right. We were currently infiltrating the palace through the sewers.

The Princess's and Prince's mansions were large, but ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the palace where Hwaryongwang resided was far bigger and more magnificent. Atop the soaring rooftops, a flag bearing the emblem of a dragon wreathed in flame — Hwaryongwang's symbol — snapped in the wind. And yet, even including the soldiers, surprisingly few people actually lived in this massive palace. Hwaryongwang, terrified of some unknown something, had reduced the number of residents to an absolute minimum.

But a palace was still a place where people lived, which meant it had a sewer system. And sewers like this typically had no one stationed in them. Anyone who lived down here would be wracked with every disease imaginable before long.

"At least the smell isn't as bad. Small mercies."

The sewers I'd been using were on the outskirts of the city, and the accumulated filth made the stench absolutely unbearable. Anyone with low stats — or ordinary people who couldn't even see a status window — would pass out the moment they caught a whiff. Compared to that, this place was a flower garden. Relatively speaking, of course.

"This way, Master."

"Ah, right."

"Just in case, I'll go up first."

"No, I can go— and she's already climbing."

After walking along the waterway for a while, a ladder leading up appeared. I'd intended to go first — my Durability stat was higher, just in case — but Aquaril didn't even wait for my answer, climbing up as if this was one thing she wouldn't yield on. I shrugged and followed her up the ladder.

Aquaril had a really nice ass. Even covered by clothes, the fabric clung so tightly that the contours of her firm rear were on full display.

Once I take down Hwaryongwang, I'm going to have a wild time with Aquaril.

I'd been grinding levels and stats almost nonstop. Once Hwaryongwang was down, I was going to rest for a few days. But I didn't know anyone, and there wasn't much in the way of entertainment, so that left Aquaril... and honestly, if it was just the two of us, there was only one thing we'd be doing.

"There's no one here, Master. Come up."

"Got it."

Aquaril, having scouted the area first, reached down a hand. I took it and climbed up, then looked around. Stuff was piled everywhere — a storage room, probably.

"Now what?"

"I think it would be best to lie in wait in the kitchen."

"The kitchen? Why the kitchen all of a sudden?"

"Hwaryongwang's fairies prepare his meals. If we wait there, his fairies will come to us."

"Really? Cautious guy. Or is he just a coward?"

Having fairies prepare his food meant he was guarding against poisoning. A fairy would never betray their Master, so they'd never put poison in his food.

Following Aquaril's suggestion, I headed for the kitchen. She knew the soldiers' patrol schedules inside and out, weaving around them so easily that we didn't encounter a single person on the way.

This... was actually kind of fun. It felt just like playing a stealth action game.

Having successfully infiltrated the kitchen, we climbed up to the ceiling and waited for Hwaryongwang's fairy to arrive.

This... was actually really boring. Unlike a game, where the target showed up after a short wait, reality was just an endless stretch of tedious waiting.

Still, the stakeout paid off.

Creeeak—

The tightly shut kitchen door opened, and a fairy stepped inside. Apparently she was the only one preparing food in this vast kitchen.

Come to think of it, I need a cook too.

Life skills like cooking could be learned by anyone, regardless of class. And cooking was a huge help in dungeon raids — food made by a fairy with a high-level cooking skill granted buffs. In Fairy Masters, you'd sometimes fail a dungeon raid over a single stat point. A cook was indispensable.

She really is a fairy.

I nodded as I watched her start preparing food alone from above. True to fairy standards, she was a beauty you'd rarely see in my previous life.

Not bad at all.

I was impressed as I looked over Nami's status window — Hwaryongwang's fairy. She had solid stats and skills that were textbook healer. On top of that, her trait — Warm Flame (Normal) — boosted healing effects by 50% on fire-attribute targets.

A shame, but I'll have to take her out here.

If I left Nami alive, she'd be a major obstacle when I fought Hwaryongwang. She was off her guard, and she was a physically frail healer. In this situation, she was easy prey.