Chapter 28
Chapter 28
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: The Princess's Letter
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[Chapter 28]
“Those free-spirited adventurers…… how…….”
As the players Dun had summoned began protecting the dungeon, the princess’s knights grew visibly flustered.
The princess was just as shocked. Her usual sly expression cracked wide open with surprise. For some reason, she also looked thrilled.
They probably wouldn’t have been so stunned if these had been ordinary commoners.
Unlike commoners who only encountered low-level adventurers under level 20, higher-status figures ran into much stronger players. High-level players rarely took on trivial quests, making them a pain to command.
Even the emperor couldn’t treat players lightly. They grew stronger without limits, came back to life even after death, and hunted down the monsters threatening people in their stead. Plus, if you offered proper rewards, they’d tackle any dangerous task without hesitation.
Because they belonged nowhere and wielded power beyond common sense, NPCs of higher level or status tended to tread carefully around adventurers.
So it made sense that they were thrown off by Dun commanding such adventurers so effortlessly.
“You really have a knack for interesting abilities.”
The princess quickly masked her surprise and let out a giggle.
“You lot, stop meddling in children’s affairs and return to your posts. You don’t think you can win against adventurers, do you?”
The princess waved dismissively at the knights glaring at the dungeon from all sides. They hesitated, clearly a bit intimidated, before pulling back their weapons aimed at the dungeon’s neck.
“Be grateful for Her Highness’s mercy.”
The knights couldn’t resist tacking on a nagging lecture right to the end.
“Quit acting like it’s some harsh medieval era.”
“Who’s the merciful one here?”
The players Dun had called shot back with scowls at the knights, who were itching to charge but couldn’t.
“Alright, you guys head back too. Job’s done.”
After a brief standoff between the knights and players, the knights withdrew, and Dun waved them off as well.
“?? I flew all the way here from the Continent of Elements?”
“That’s it? Just psyching out the princess?”
“Feels like we were just props for this quest.”
The gathered players grumbled, faces twisted in frustration. They were all players who’d caught Dun’s eye before and scored good loot from it.
Dun summoned familiar faces via quests whenever he needed player muscle. Since he offered generous rewards for relatively easy jobs, they dropped everything and came running at his call.
It had been a while, so their greed was showing—they clearly wanted to squeeze him for all he was worth. At least one of them was reining in the others, keeping the backlash and chaos down.
“Quest’s over. You know where my usual warp circle is, so off you go.”
He pulled some random item from his subspace pouch and shoved it at them. They nodded reluctantly, though disappointed.
“If you leave now, I’ll summon you again soon with a fresh quest.”
“Let’s bounce!!!”
One of the players knew a basic teleport spell, so they vanished in a flash. They’d probably warp to the Genesis Village hunting grounds and head back to their own farms from there.
In the end, it was just Dun and the princess again.
Sleep was the last thing on his mind now.
“The more I see, the more I like you…….”
He was half-asleep as he scooped up the oblivious Gaedung-i into a glass vial when the princess muttered to herself.
“The more I see you, the less I like you.”
“Was I a bit mischievous?”
He scowled at the word “mischievous.” Annoying was more like it.
“You barged into my turf and dropped slime poop everywhere, so yeah, I’m a little pissed.”
“……!!”
Hey! Kim Gaedung!
Dun glared at the utterly carefree Gaedung-i, blissfully dozing in the vial.
He’d snuck into that secluded palace garden for secret picnics plenty of times, and it turned out this princess owned it.
“Ah……. Sorry. Won’t happen again.”
“Hmm? Quicker to apologize than I expected. Here I thought you’d dig in your heels like ‘What’re you gonna do about it, princess?’ And for the record, I cleaned up the poop myself.”
What did she even think of him? He wasn’t that shameless. Probably.
“We’ll call it even with the silver coins you took. That was my entire fortune, you know.”
“……Tons to nitpick there, but I’ll let it slide.”
“Fine. No hard feelings now, right? Let’s never cross paths again.”
Her extreme annoyance and her clear intent to get one over on him reminded him strongly of someone. He wanted nothing to do with her.
Dun brushed the grass off his butt and stood. As he turned to head home, the princess suddenly grabbed his pant leg.
“Hey, you crazy bastard!! You almost yanked my pants off!”
“My name isn’t ‘crazy bastard,’ it’s Primavera. I’ll specially allow you to call me Prim as a nickname. Or Prim sis, to keep it friendly.”
“No thanks!!”
Dun swatted her hand off his pants, but she latched onto his leg.
“I’ll let you into my secret garden whenever you want. Can’t you stick around and chat a bit?”
“…….”
Her secret garden was stunningly beautiful, and that swing there was incredibly comfy, so he hesitated.
Dun sighed and plopped down beside her.
“Friends are too basic—be my bestie instead. How’s that?”
Dun flipped her the bird and stood again.
“Ah, wait—one more sec. Off somewhere again?”
She kept spouting nonsense. Dun bolted from the academy before she could grab him again.
* * *
After finishing deliveries to Selk Academy, it was getting late, so instead of heading to Lee Yoo-hyun’s, Dun went straight home.
Exhausted from wandering all day, Dun stripped the moment he got home and sank into hot water.
Dun absolutely loved baths. They took up a huge chunk of his hobbies.
Soaking in hot water melted away the day’s tension and restored stamina, and it was a cheap hobby you could enjoy anytime with just water—no burden at all.
He could stay there all day if allowed.
“Ah, fuck.”
Dun spat out a curse the second he slipped into the tub.
“Fuck, it was Seol Do-yoon.”
The weakener player he hadn’t recognized earlier. That was Seol Do-yoon.
The irritation and disgust he’d felt talking to that princess earlier? Exactly what he felt chatting with Seol Do-yoon.
Rough estimate: this put her at 1-2 years from now, the age when the living ‘Lee Sae-byeok’ entered the game.
And Seol Do-yoon too.
Annoying prick, but Dun needed him.
Seol Do-yoon had legendary debuff skills like attack power reduction, agility drop, mana drain—must-have for capture.
If sweet-talking failed, force would do.
[Unique] Soul Contract
Dun pulled up his inventory and stared blankly at the contract he’d once used on Lee Yoo-hyun.
Never thought he’d need the guy this badly.
He was a picky one, so prep would be key. Materialistic to the core, he might need way more cash than expected.
After his bath, Dun changed into fresh clothes and stepped out of the bathroom.
“Dun! Dun! You’ve got a letter.”
He was heading upstairs with a cool drink when Rihaowel suddenly grabbed him.
“A letter?”
“From the palace. What trouble did you stir up now?”
Dun took the ornate envelope from Rihaowel. It bore the imperial seal.
He had zero interest in opening it, but with Rihaowel eyeing him suspiciously and urging him to check it now, Dun reluctantly tore it open.
『I’ve never made friends before, so you’re my first. My one and only, which makes you my bestie by default. Come visit my secret garden. That’s an order from your bestie. You don’t seem to have any constant companions anyway, so I’ll be your first bestie. Convincing enough?
-Your precious childhood friend, Prim』
“What the hell’s this?”