Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Night Guest - 2
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The queen's position within the kingdom was crucial.
She supported the hero, defeated the Demon King, ruled the entire kingdom, and cared for its people.
Her greatness in protecting everyone and upholding the kingdom highlighted her presence.
If such a queen were assassinated, the resulting chaos in the kingdom would be immense.
It had been the same in the "Pale Moon" event. If you let the queen get assassinated, the kingdom would plunge into great disorder, public safety would deteriorate, and the number of dungeons and combat zones in the plains would increase.
Some villages would be destroyed or merged due to monsters, bandits, those seeking power amid the chaos, or cultists.
Of course, there were plenty of opportunities to gain from it. The number of foes to slay would rise, granting more experience and items, and you could access previously inaccessible areas for good loot.
That said, it had little to do with me. Before the main story, maybe, but after clearing it in Adventure Mode, there were far better items and hunting grounds aplenty.
And so, I walked the corridors of Baekam Castle.
Since I had permission, the traps in the halls didn't activate, and the occasional Lily Knight Order members or maids I passed merely bowed lightly in greeting.
Thanks to my Thief's Trap Detection skill, I traversed the corridor that made the back of my neck prickle and stopped before an ornate door. This was the queen's bedchamber.
As expected, elite knights of the Lily Knight Order stood guard before the bedchamber.
"Sage. What brings you here at this late hour?"
"Her Majesty has already retired. Unless it's urgent news..."
Here they come.
The Assassin's Presence Detection skill sharpened my senses, and I drew my staff from my waist.
"Sage?!"
"What's this?!"
Seeing me draw my weapon, the Lily Knight Order members gasped and drew theirs—lily swords and shields.
As the pure white swords and shields filled their hands, I couldn't help but smirk wryly.
It reminded me of the knight who once wielded that gear.
-Crash!!
I couldn't dwell on the past for long. The windows shattered, and black-robed figures rolled into the corridor.
-Hummm!!
The intrusion triggered the trap magics. But the moment one of the black-robed intruders raised a hand, the traps halted.
"My god!!"
"Lord Lukel's magic?!"
Big deal.
Magic cancellation was something you saw occasionally in the main story or dungeons, but it seemed unfamiliar to them.
"It won't take long."
I extended my staff, eyeing them as they drew weapons, and spoke to the Lily Knight Order members.
"Go inside and protect Her Majesty. Don't come out until I call."
"Y-Yes, sir!"
It was a shame to send in the knights who could provide support with three assassins right there.
But it didn't matter. This was a battle of time, after all.
The soldiers wouldn't ignore this commotion, and that magic cancellation couldn't last forever—once the traps reactivated, catching them would be a breeze.
The Mage's barrier poured from my staff, enveloping me. The assassin's eyes gleamed from beneath his hood at the translucent blue shield.
"...You're the Sage."
This event cleared if you just survived until the time limit.
And.
"Kill him."
No class in this game was better suited for enduring than the Sage.
So I could say it.
"Try it."
After several exchanges, their tactics shifted.
Since I was holding them off with ranged magic from keeping them from the room behind me, they decided to bash my barrier until it broke with raw mana-infused force.
Fearlessly, they closed in and pounded the shield.
It was a dumb strategy, but I didn't blame them.
From their perspective, it was a time-limited fight.
Even if they took me down, they'd have to deal with the elite Lily Knights inside before reinforcements arrived.
Thus, the assassins' attacks were fierce and underhanded.
And full of openings.
-Swoosh!!
An assassin's strike that had been hammering the barrier sliced empty air instead.
The moment his eyes widened in shock, I swung my staff at his head using the Warrior's Bash skill.
-Smack!!
It hit with such force it nearly snapped the staff.
Lucky break! A crit here!
Anyway, the one whose head I smashed properly was out.
Seizing the gap as another tried to enter the room, I hurled the broken staff.
Assassin's Dagger Throw skill.
Of course, it wasn't a dagger but a jagged staff shard—sharp enough to serve.
"Urk!!"
The pointed end embedded in his thigh. As he grimaced in pain, I retreated and invoked a spell.
"Wh-what the?!"
Shaman's basic spell: Shadow Step. One of the bread-and-butter skills that sealed movement by stepping on the foe's shadow.
"You bastard...!"
"Hah! Shadow Step! You know that traps you in place too?!"
True enough.
Shadow Step was meant for use with reliable allies nearby.
The leader-looking one cackled mockingly, and I mocked back.
"Think I used it for no reason?"
His eyes wavered. Right—this skill required allies. The moment he turned to check behind him.
-Crash!!
A massive general's axe cleaved his chest.
"Sage! You alright?! I came as soon as your messenger arrived... but I'm a bit late. Sorry."
"No worries, General Leoden. You're earlier than expected."
"You held out well! We'll take it from here!"
The knights General Leoden brought restrained the assassin caught in Shadow Step.
"Damn it!!"
He pulled poison from his bosom to end it all and swallowed.
Of course.
"...Why?"
My Poison Cure restored him.
Though my skill wasn't mastered, so he wasn't fully recovered—didn't look great.
But whatever.
It'd get worse soon enough.
"You've done well, Sage."
"No big deal. Anyway..."
I glanced at the fallen assassin leader's hand. A silver bracelet on it.
I removed the bracelet—with a slot for a small gem—and took it.
"What are you doing?"
"Claiming spoils."
One reason I stopped the assassination was for this.
General Leoden eyed the bracelet sourly, then grumbled reluctantly.
"We need it to investigate their backers. I'd like to examine it first..."
"Fine."
Nothing would come of it anyway.
But rules were rules.
I placed it on his palm, and moments later, the door opened.
Out came the Lily Knight Order member from earlier.
And the queen, pale-faced in a robe, clutching a sword.
"What... what in the world is this...?"
"Assassins came."
"...Who doesn't know that..."
"And I said don't come out till I called."
As I finished, the body of the assassin I'd bashed earlier twitched.
And.
-Slash!!
A tentacle burst from the black-clad back, tipped with a razor blade. It shot toward the unguarded queen.
I rushed and severed it with a flung dagger.
The queen, who nearly died, stared at me blankly, face drained white.
"A good staff makes thanks enough."
"In this situation, so casually... Anyway, thank you, Sage."
"No problem. Any issues elsewhere?"
In the game, attacks hit other places too.
General Leoden nodded at my question.
"Come with me, Sage. Let's check on the princess. You lot, escort Her Majesty!"
"Yes!!"
At General Leoden's shout, the knights moved. As the queen retreated under their guard, General Leoden and I headed straight for Lucille's room.
And there we found.
Two black-clad corpses.
And before them, Lucille Ermeyer standing with staff in hand, protected by maids and knights sent by General Leoden.
"Princess!"
Lucille snapped to at General Leoden's near-scream. Then she ran.
Past him, toward me.
"M-Master..."
Clutching me, she trembled. The sudden assassins had scared her badly.
I patted her while shooting an awkward glance at the sheepish General Leoden, who got it and directed the maids and trailing soldiers to clean up.
Meanwhile, I checked the assassin corpses.
Magic traces, but the decisive blow was one thing.
A sword wound very familiar to me.
"Did the hero come here?"
Lucille flinched, hesitated, then nodded slightly. At that, General Leoden clutched his forehead in disbelief.
"The hero... Well, that's a relief. But Princess, where did the hero go? We didn't find them at Her Majesty's attack site..."
At General Leoden's question, the trembling Lucille—like a frightened fawn—glanced up at me.
Eyes brimming with tears, she bowed her head and murmured softly.
"They said there might be trouble elsewhere... so they went there. After hearing you saved Her Majesty, Master..."
"That's fortunate at least. Anyway, understood. You lot, clean this up. And Sage, the princess seems shaken—mind staying with her a bit?"
Not a hard request.
I had questions too.
"Why'd the hero come here? Something happen?"
She didn't answer. Or rather, seemed unsure how to.
After deep thought, she bowed slightly and whispered.
"...Nothing happened."
Who'd believe that face about to burst into tears?
Something definitely happened.
*****
There was a girl with beautiful red hair.
She held the kingdom's highest noble status.
But that came with inevitable loneliness.
Even so, she couldn't show it.
Her father died before she could even perceive the world.
Her mother succeeded him as the kingdom's core, solving the world's monsters and myriad problems.
With few equals to comfort her, it was natural she'd turn to fairy tales.
Unlike the suffocating world where everyone feared the princess, the fairy tale worlds were different.
In them, the girl wasn't Lucille Ermeyer, the kingdom's princess—she was the hero.
Wielding the sword only the world-chosen could, saving countless people.
Surrounded by throngs, living happily.
Her greatest wish lay in those tales.
And that gleaming sword visible from the hero's seat at the capital's heart.
Didn't it link fairy tale and reality?
A faint childhood memory of holding her busy mother's hand at a rite left deep traces, shaping her ideal.
She wanted to draw that sword.
Become its master.
Become the world-saving hero.
For a lonely girl, longing to be the hero was as natural as her immersion in fairy tales.
And the odds weren't bad.
Lucille, thick with royal blood, had many talents.
Swordsmanship, mana.
A brilliant mind.
All top-notch for becoming a hero.
And.
Those talents.
That pride.
Crumpled the day she snuck from the palace and grasped the hero's sword.
It was kingdom tradition.
Anyone could try drawing the hero's sword.
Regardless of gender, age, status, or wealth.
So Lucille, qualified like all, failed like them.
That moment, she knew.
She wasn't fated to be the hero.
For one who'd dreamed and strived solely for that, the failure was devastating.
After, she hid.
Clutching deep defeat, a failure.
Years passed without leaving her room.
Then word came: one drew the sword, coming to the palace.
She suffocated.
Still mired in defeat, the hero's arrival—the victor's—was too much.
But as princess, she had to greet them, and realized that day.
She could never beat the hero.
Utterly different.
Defeated, self-esteem shattered.
I'd plummeted to mud-caked filth.
Claire shone sun-bright amid praise and blessings.
Knowing her own darkness, Lucille avoided her, sinking deeper.
'But now it's different.'
Walking the corridor, Lucille felt pleasant fatigue.
Well, not entirely pleasant.
Her first outing quest was tough, unfamiliar.
Still.
Better than rotting alone in her room.
"Heh..."
Her lips curled up.
Truly wondrous person.
Grateful for dragging out the shut-in failure.
For slowly erasing that defeat.
For affirming her.
Saying she was better.
Casually offering a hand to one flailing in the filthy mire.
"Hehe..."
Her attendant maid coughed softly. Noticing her un-princesslike laugh, she nodded and covered her mouth demurely.
But she couldn't stop.
Memories of today kept surfacing.
'Ah... Master's performance... So good.'
Cool breeze.
Tasty sandwich.
Juice revitalizing her exhausted body after battling countless wild boar monsters.
And best of all, the Sage's lute play.
The park had many people.
But in that moment, it felt like just her and the Sage in the world—ecstatic.
That memory.
Overlaid her gloomy, painful past.
Sweeter the more she recalled, Lucille headed to her room.
Smiling for the first time since entering the palace.
She spotted the woman before her door.
"...Princess. Could you spare a moment?"
The woman, beautiful from their first meeting.
The one who'd 'lost' him.
Gazed at Lucille with slightly dulled crimson eyes and spoke. Lucille nodded slightly.
Yes, time for a talk soon.
In the past, gripped by inferiority and defeat toward her, she couldn't even meet her eyes.
But now.
Much had changed.
Author's Note (Afterword)
Hello ㅎ Malmulmalmul here.
Hope you enjoyed today's read. Have a good night~