Chapter 42
Chapter 42
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: Master of the Lake (1)
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Canelian finished her training only when her entire body was drenched in sweat, then headed into the bathroom.
It was originally exclusive to the prince, but Canelian and Silvret used it as well.
She dismissed the maids who offered to attend her and entered alone, then took off her metal armor.
Standing in front of the mirror, she checked out her body.
A bright red tube-top bikini.
Sexier and more dizzying than most underwear.
Her face heated up.
Not from the steam, but from embarrassment.
'Why does an artifact like this even exist? The more skin it exposes, the higher the defense... It's so indecent...'
Canelian washed off her sweat and slipped into the marble bathtub.
Large enough for dozens to bathe in at once.
'Feels so good...'
Stepping into the water wearing nothing but the bikini armor filled her with vitality.
The vigor enveloping her whole body made every muscle deliciously relaxed.
That was why her post-training soak had gotten much longer lately.
'I wonder if higher defense would make this vitality even better?'
Curious, Canelian pondered for a bit before mumbling the words the prince had taught her.
"M-Master. I want to wear a sexy slingshot string bikini."
She didn't know what "sexy" meant, but...
She could feel how intensely provocative the activation phrase was.
If it meant saying it to the prince's face, she'd have died first.
'Good thing the prince has no idea.'
'But how do you even read this? It's in some language I've never seen.'
Canelian had no idea that her mumbled activation phrase was being relayed to the prince,
or that the bikini mode switched manually, not automatically.
Ignorance was bliss.
A flash of light erupted, thin strings now connecting the three key points in a precarious design.
Canelian looked down at her submerged body, her face burning hot.
'H-How am I supposed to fight monsters in front of the prince wearing something this lewd? It'd be less embarrassing to just strip naked.'
Canelian recalled a few nights ago, when she'd slept without pajamas and the prince had stripped off her underwear in his sleep.
Her heart pounded fiercely with shame.
'Good thing I pretended to be asleep so it wouldn't get awkward. We'll just pretend it never happened. I was asleep and knew nothing.'
An even stronger, more pleasurable vitality coursed through her body.
Sinking in up to her neck, Canelian murmured softly.
"I suddenly want to go to the sea. Or a lake, at least."
It felt like the bikini armor was screaming from deep inside her, urging her toward the ocean.
True slaves don't yearn for freedom—they boast to each other about how heavy and shiny their chains are.
Chain Power measures that psychological dependence.
Windeler had worn the armor for less than two weeks, yet his Chain Power had already hit 80%.
'Is this a Swordmaster's loyalty? Chastity? Pride?'
This bastard Windeler—had he been hoping someone would treat him like a slave?
Masochist? Kinda dangerous.
Anyway, the high Chain Power granted him some freedom of movement.
Under the condition that his supervising noble was always tagging along.
"Sir Cheok is spending nearly all his time on personal training with the shield and other gear he ordered."
"He really blew all 25,000 gold on the forge orders?"
"Yes, confirmed with the blacksmith."
Looks like he was power-leveling hard in preparation for returning to the Empire later.
As the Empire's one and only Swordmaster, the stronger he got, the more influence he'd wield.
True to form for the guy with the strongest thirst for power.
'His life's goal was putting his son or grandson on the throne.'
"Your Highness, next is the mana herb sales report..."
The Prime Minister handed over three reports and briskly covered the priorities.
His reporting posture was impeccable.
"The debts the royals incurred to noble houses during the Great Pilgrimage have all been settled with mana herbs.
Other nations are steadily buying them up too, and they've caught on that we've succeeded in cultivating them."
"Our kingdom needs more outstanding mages and knights."
"With mana herbs this abundant, we'll see results soon enough."
He slipped in an update on Duchess Ceres too.
"Duchess Ceres is hard at work developing the Adun region."
Adun, a royal demesne.
Barren empty land, but Ceres was turning it into a full-scale mana herb farm.
That was why she wasn't at the palace right now.
"Guess I should drop by to see her face soon. Security's tight, right?"
"Of course. Though she hardly seems to need guards these days..."
"No matter how safe the kingdom is, ensure full security and protocol. It's a matter of sincerity.
Lack of it might make the Duchess feel slighted."
"Understood."
His expression screamed, 'You, of all people, saying that?' which rubbed me the wrong way a bit.
But with my fuckboy credentials, it checked out.
As the Prime Minister's report wrapped up, Baron Caron came to see me.
The moment he dropped to one knee with a grave look,
"Handle your love life yourself."
"My courtship with Lady Cecilia... Hah! How did you know?"
"I permit it. Now get out. No need for this next time."
"Everything in the kingdom belongs to Your Highness—how dare I without permission..."
I shooed Caron out before he could ramble more.
Guy's got rigid hierarchy sense; I knew he'd come begging approval again if another girl caught his eye.
Couldn't live like that.
'One woman's plenty—Canelian's enough. Hmm, squeeze in Object too? But if she realizes her true nature and turns back into a world tree or whatever, that'd be trouble.'
Elf, so her true form's a world tree?
Or judging by [Comet Fragment from the Sun], maybe she turns into a guardian star?
The instant I become Object's owner, she won't be by my side in elf form anymore.
'Claiming her as a concubine sounds nice, but I can't pass up becoming her owner.'
Means saying goodbye to her elf self eventually.
'Time to pick some skills.'
Wrath's Falling Thunder
Summons powerful lightning from the sky onto enemies.
Paralyze Field
Forms an electric field to paralyze and shock enemies in range.
'Typical dev team running things without a clue—skill names are a mess of Korean and English.'
Tough choice.
One-on-one or AoE this time—which to prioritize?
'Trait reset won't unlock till way later in the story. Gotta commit for life—pick carefully.'
I'd planned my tech tree ages ago.
But right before assigning, I second-guessed it ten, eleven times anyway.
'Stick to the plan.'
Acquire both, besties forever.
'Got a ton of legendary, mythic items—nice, but the problem is almost no mage gear.'
To be precise, barely any for mages, priests, engineers, summoners.
Mostly stuff suited for warriors, rogues, archers, martial artists.
'Like finishing the tutorial at level 52.'
If this were a game, I'd be unstoppable.
Main story hasn't even started, and I'm already 52.
Just 47 to max.
'Story-wise, you witness Arcana's fall, wander with Canelian for a year growing stronger, then get the main quest.'
"A year" of wandering was just a few hours real playtime.
'Do I really wait a full year? That's nine months left.'
A "Empire quest" pops: powerful monster appeared, check the rumors.
Empire NPCs betray you, naturally.
Noobs don't realize they've been screwed until much later quests.
Lowbie takes the quest, struggles to the lake.
Thinks it's a simple fetch, wanders around obliviously,
Then max-level raid boss ambushes, heart-pounding terror.
Gulped down in one bite.
Noob meets unexpected, absurd death.
'Your response determines the endgame raid story—huge differences later.'
Prepare thoroughly and flee,
Explore its guts and die mysteriously,
Or instant chomp.
'Turns out the Empire's sacrificing players as offerings. More souls devoured delays the lake dungeon spawning.'
Whenever idle, I jotted memories with the magic quill pen.
Not just game lore—everything from my past life on modern Earth, as it came to mind.
The magic quill transcribed my thoughts into text at insane speed with just a pretense of writing.
'Item infused with the Dragon Defense writers' dreams.'
As I organized thoughts with the quill,
The attendant burst through the door unannounced.
Irritation flared, but mindful of my fuckboy image, I kept calm.
"You never knock before entering the prince's office?"
The attendant paled and prostrated himself flat.
"This lowly one commits a capital offense! Spare me!"
Something clicked suddenly, so I replied in a curt, gruff tone.
Being nice would make him shake worse.
"Did I ever tell you to just barge in? Can't quite recall."
"L-Long ago, Your Highness... You asked if I ever saw pet dogs and cats asking permission every time they entered their master's room..."
Ah, that explained the casual barging in.
Another legacy of the original prince.
'I've mellowed a lot. Noticing these little things.'
"From now on, knock three times and announce yourself. Spread the word to all courtiers."
"Yes! Your Highness!"
"Right. What is it?"
"A herald from Pinia Kingdom! Monsters displaced by Pendragon Lake's flooding are attacking cities! They request aid!"
"Hold on, what?"
"Huge numbers of monsters assaulting the cities..."
"No, before that."
"P-Pendragon Lake flooded, displacing their habitats..."
Pendragon Lake's master.
The boss you'd raid first at max level.
'Pendragon Lake's specter, Dfellius.'
Devs showing noobs their endgame foe early: "Grow up and you'll face this guy. Fun, right?"
Main story's finally starting.
"Tell the Prime Minister: I'm heading to aid Pinia. Prepare Baron Caron and Mr. Cheok for deployment."
Training grounds.
Windeler trained in full armor, no robe.
Shield up firm for defense,
Then sword drawn lightning-fast from behind it, slashing the air,
Shield dropped in a flash, left-hand crossbow rapid-firing at targets.
Tung-tung-tung-tung-tung!
Metal bolts slammed precisely into the line of straw dummies.
Satisfied, Windeler sheathed the sword inside the shield,
Slung the crossbow on his back,
And naturally turned around.
The Prime Minister waited for training to end.
"A marquis visiting in person—must be serious."
"Pinia Kingdom's suffered massive monster attack damage. Nothing like Hessin Duchy."
"Deploying?"
"Yes."
Windeler nodded impassively.
"My sword belongs to the prince already—how could I slack on deployment?
Until that moment, I'll hone my blade, swing my shield, and tune my crossbow here."
The Prime Minister smirked, surprised, then withdrew.
Alone, Windeler resumed training.
Not swinging shield, sword, crossbow.
'Full giant robot transform takes about 3 seconds, so pose like this during... No, too flashy? More stoic and heavy...
Damn, 3 seconds is too short.'