Chapter 59 — A Hand at Her Ankle
Chapter 59 — A Hand at Her Ankle
Translation: Godtl
Suddenly she felt a strong hand gripping her ankle.
Lelia let out a small involuntary groan.
Looking down, she saw Emperor Perseus groaning in pain.
"El... Elizabeth..."
Just then.
Knock knock.
"Your Majesty, are you alright?"
Along with the sound of knocking on the hut door, someone's voice was heard.
Lelia bit her lip hard.
Emperor Perseus wobbled and fell back into slumber.
"Your Majesty, may I come in?"
The voice came from outside the door once more.
[80%]
'No time.'
Lelia gripped the potion bottle.
"I'm coming in, Your Majesty."
Creak.
And the moment the door opened.
Splash!
She sprayed the magic potion once again on the face of the knight who had opened the door and entered.
The knight, without even noticing Lelia, collapsed and fell asleep.
'...What do I do?'
Of all places to fall...
The knight had fallen right in front of the entrance door. To close the front door, she would have to move that heavy knight and close the door again.
[87%]
"Hurry... hurry!"
Lelia stomped her feet anxiously, waiting for the gauge to fill. Her gaze was fixed on the open doorway.
'What's that sound?'
Just then, a commotion seemed to be heard from afar.
'More people are coming!'
Peeking her head out the front door, she indeed saw lights in the distance.
The Emperor's attendants and several knights were coming this way with lanterns.
[95%]
Lelia had to quickly flee the hut.
'Why did Emperor Perseus have to be here today of all days...!'
Resentment toward him rose in her heart.
Lelia ran quickly toward the northeast castle gate where Kalix would be waiting. Anxiety washed over her, and she ran desperately until her lungs were full of breath.
"Huh? You're back already? Did you succeed?"
Kalix, spotting Lelia from afar, waved his hand largely.
Lelia ran to him, glancing back nervously.
Kalix was kicking the armor of the knight he had knocked down earlier. It seemed he had tried to wear it but failed.
Lelia grabbed his arm and panted for breath.
"No, quickly... escape... hah..."
"What? Were you caught?"
"Yes, we'll be chased soon. Quickly, quickly, we need to escape! Quickly!"
The Emperor and the knight had been seen collapsed, so there would be chaos. As Lelia said, loud sounds seemed to be coming from afar.
Kalix stared at the exhausted, worn-out Lelia.
"Just a moment."
"Yes?"
"You said we need to go quickly."
At Kalix's subsequent actions, Lelia let out a silent scream.
Kalix suddenly grabbed Lelia's waist and lifted her up.
Like carrying a small child, he secured Lelia with one arm.
"Hold on tight."
As he said, Lelia unconsciously gripped Kalix's firm nape. At the same time, he started running like lightning.
When she came to her senses, she was in front of the inn where Lelia was staying.
Lelia only stepped on the ground after arriving there.
Perhaps startled from encountering Emperor Perseus, her legs trembled, making it difficult to maintain her balance.
Kalix quickly grabbed her arm.
"Are you okay, sister?"
"...Yes."
Lelia answered with effort and pressed her lips together tightly.
Her stomach felt queasy, exactly as if she had seasickness. Yet Kalix had run at such tremendous speed and showed no sign of exhaustion.
'He grew up completely like a monster...?'
The one who ran was Kalix, yet I'm the only one struggling.
Lelia looked at Kalix with an expression of somehow unfair resentment.
Entering the lodging, Lelia checked the clock on the wall. Romeo would be coming this way soon as well.
'Somehow my quarters ended up becoming the hideout....'
Lelia suddenly recalled that her quarters in the temple had become the same way, and she laughed.
As Lelia suddenly laughed with a deflating sound, Kalix sat down on the sofa with a puzzled look.
Lelia poured water from the tea table and handed it to him.
"Despite all that showing off, you failed in the end. Should have gone with me?"
Kalix asked sarcastically.
Lelia glared at him and sat across from him.
If Kalix had gone together....
It would have been terrible.
Kalix would have been startled by Emperor Perseus suddenly appearing, and would have beaten him down without hesitation. Things would have gotten much bigger.
"At least we didn't get caught. We just have to wait for another chance...."
Barely listening to Lelia's words, Kalix gulped down the water and asked.
"What exactly is the thing you're looking for?"
"...There is one."
Lelia gritted her teeth tightly.
'I was 95% successful....'
This was all because of Emperor Perseus.
'Then what should I do now....'
Since that incident happened today, surveillance at the northeastern city gate would probably become even stricter.
One soldier lying unconscious in front of the gate, several soldiers who fainted while standing, and the emperor and knight unconscious in the hut.
Fortunately, there were no traces so it wouldn't be discovered, but the future was the problem. Lelia had to go back to that hut.
'Should I really disguise myself as Romeo's fiancée or distant relative to enter the imperial city...?'
A frustrated sigh escaped.
'Come to think of it....'
Lelia stared at Kalix intently.
Above his head, the [!] quest icon and [?] affinity bar were still floating.
Lelia searched her memory.
[Special affinity can be checked starting from when the value crosses into +, or each time you use crystals or complete hidden quests! o(≧∇≦o)]
According to that explanation, Kalix's affinity value currently meant it was in the plus range.
'Just how high is the affinity...?'
It meant that while everyone else was struggling with minus values, only Kalix had risen to plus values.
He was like that when he was young too, but Kalix was really... simple.
Just then, a translucent square window appeared.
[Would you like to check the affinity of Special Affinity Target? (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧]
※Caution
Since you don't have a quest clear ticket, 1,000 crystals will be used. ʘ‿ʘ
"......"
One thousand crystals? One thousand?
One thousand crystals was a whopping 1 million shillings.
'I'm not checking.'
It was too expensive, ridiculously so. Lelia turned her gaze and stared piercingly at the [!] quest shape.
Actually, she had wanted to check those quest marks floating above her five friends' heads since before....
Suddenly Oscar and Griffith left, and the schedule for infiltrating the imperial city was quickly arranged, so she was too busy.
The exclamation marks above the other friends were gray, but only Kalix's was red.
It seemed that you could only proceed with the quest after the affinity turned to plus.
Ding!
Along with a cheerful sound, a rectangular quest window popped up.
It was special UI mode, so she could give commands without pressing buttons, which was definitely convenient.
[It seems Special Affinity Target has some worries. (｡•́︿•̀｡) Solve his worries and raise the affinity! (๑•̀∀•́ฅ ✧]
※ Quest Story Progress: 0%
Below that, the reward list icons were floating.
Lelia checked the rewards one by one.
∙ Affinity Check Ticket 1 sheet
∙ Special Recipe Puzzle Piece 1 piece
∙ Lv. 1 Random Gift Box[?] 1 piece
∙ Alchemy Lottery 1 sheet
The 'Affinity Check Ticket' seemed to be for checking someone's plus affinity without using crystals, as seen in the earlier guide.
And the 'Special Recipe Puzzle Piece' was....
'Do I have to collect all the puzzle pieces to get the recipe? How many do I need to collect? And what about the ingredients?'
Her head hurt from the ensuing questions.
Either way, if she collected all those recipe puzzles and cleared it, she would get closer to the final item, the 'Philosopher's Stone'.
'I don't know how many quests I have to clear, but....'
It didn't seem like something that would end overnight.
'What's that random gift box?'
Lelia quietly looked at it and speculated.
Given that the level was the lowest at level 1, and looking at the wooden box icon, it didn't seem like a box that would give good items.
'It might be ingredients for the special recipe.'
Once collected, everything tends to be needed later.
And lastly....
'Alchemy lottery ticket?'
Originally, this game had a lottery scratching system since the protagonist ran a lottery shop.
'But it was blocked here.... Whatever, let's just try it.'
Lelia looked at the 'Accept' button without hesitation.
[Will you accept the quest? (*•̀ᴗ•́*)و ̑̑]
'Yes.'
As she spoke inwardly, she could confirm that a quest list was created on the right side of her vision.
Since it was special UI mode, the settings button at the bottom right, crafting button, inventory, and now quest as well—all were visible in her field of view.
Fortunately, they were small enough not to interfere with daily life.
"You're glaring at something alone, why?"
"It's nothing. Um... do you have any worries?"
"......"
When she asked point-blank, Kalix's eyebrows furrowed. He looked at Lelia as if she were a crazy person.
The words had come out too abruptly.
Lelia panicked, shook her head briefly, and changed the subject.
"...Anyway, it seems I'll have to enter the imperial city again as Lord Romeo's distant relative sister, just as he said."
"Yeah, that would be good."
"......"
Lelia closed her mouth and pondered how she could hear Kalix's worries.
Kalix was sitting comfortably, polishing his weapon, looking like someone who had absolutely no worries.
That weapon was a greatsword he had received as a gift from a mercenary he had served as his master when he left the imperial city.
It was a heavy greatsword that no one could lift, and the mercenary had given it to Kalix as a joke, having stowed it away in his house.
Naturally, he expected Kalix wouldn't be able to lift it, but Kalix easily raised the sword even at a young age.
It wasn't simply a matter of strength.
A sword with intelligence had chosen him.
In this world, swords with intelligence existed, and that sword was one of them.
Lelia asked to dispel the awkward atmosphere.
"The sword must be hard to carry around because it's so big."
"Yeah. It's not heavy, but it gets in the way. I was actually worried about that."
At those words, a rectangular window rose up.
[Special Affinity Target has shared his worries. Find a way to solve his worries! ✧٩(•́⌄•́๑)و ✧]