novelraw Chapter 86 : Chapter 86
Chapter 86 : Chapter 86
Chapter 86. Lion Heart (2)
Rude felt as if he were living a new life.
‘I'm happy. I couldn't be happier.’
Everything he saw resembled the shape of insects.
And was that all?
The residents here liked Rude, and his business prospered day by day.
I guess money really does beget money.
Now, one had to wait in line for over an hour to barely get a mealworm set.
Recently, even royalty and high-ranking nobles started visiting, and it had long become a tourist course to visit 'Rarc Village→Paradise of Dragons (Hot Spring Resort)→Sage’s Castle' in sequence.
They bought mealworm sets with both hands full, saying they were to be shared with acquaintances.
With the neighboring Lombard Kingdom, they even signed a contract to purchase by the cartload, reaching a point where supply was now running short.
Then one day.
A group of people came looking for Rude.
They were all familiar faces.
"Well, who is this? Isn't it Iris!"
Iris, who should have been in the Durani Empire, had come to see him alongside Frank.
Rude looked back and forth between Frank's and Iris' faces.
‘It doesn't look like they've made up, so how did they end up here together?’
Rude knew better than anyone how much Iris disliked Frank.
He had observed her for a long time as her magic teacher.
Rude discreetly asked Frank.
"What in the world is this combination?"
But Frank didn't answer his question and said something completely different.
"There's something I need you to do."
"What is it?"
"Be the judge."
Rude asked back with a face that said he had no idea what he was talking about.
"What does that mean?"
Frank's explanation soon followed.
They were to explore the Knossos Ruins near the Sage's Castle.
And they were making a bet on who would find the magic device called the Lion Heart first.
Rude was a man who loved betting as much as he loved insects.
His eyes sparkled as he raised his voice.
"Ooh! That sounds fun! So. When are you doing it?"
"Early tomorrow morning."
Rude whispered quietly in Frank's ear.
"Then won't you lose? Your strength hasn't returned yet······."
"No problem. I have something in mind."
"By the way, is there really something called a Lion Heart there? I've never heard of it in my life."
"There is. I guarantee it."
Rude looked at Frank with a bewildered face.
‘What on earth does this guy not know?’
And he wasn't even a wizard.
Anyway, today was a monumental day when Frank visited him with all three of his daughters.
As the manager of this place, Rude did his best to welcome the guests, putting his heart into presenting the best meal he could.
***
"Buuurp."
It seemed I had eaten too much.
That was because Rude had provided all sorts of delicacies.
I sat down in a chair, soothing my bloated stomach.
‘Even Rude the Sage doesn't know about the Lion Heart.’
As I said before, it was no exaggeration to call the Lion Heart a mass-produced magic device.
But that didn't mean the people here were familiar with it.
In fact, it was the opposite.
‘Magic devices are fundamentally not easy to obtain.’
In the game, they were set up to be easily obtainable for the user's convenience, but for the people here, entering ruins was as good as death.
It couldn't be helped.
Games and reality are different.
In a game, if you die, you can just start over, but here, once you die, it's the end.
It's rare to find someone who would risk their life to enter ruins.
Besides, the Lion Heart could never be found through normal methods.
‘That's because it's hidden behind a secret room.’
It wasn't a place simply hidden behind a wall.
When the boss was defeated in a specific way, a sub-space that didn't originally exist would open, and the secret room would appear.
In other words, a strategy method that, for now, only I knew.
This was the reason I could propose a bet to Iris.
‘Once she starts calling me father, Iris won't be able to treat me so carelessly anymore.’
The power of words is greater than one might think.
Just by having her call me father, I should be able to lower the hostility Iris holds toward me.
If this feels strange, try imagining calling someone you consider an enemy 'teacher'.
You'll feel a strange sensation.
Anyway, to think that not only the beds but all the furniture would be insect-shaped.
The chair I was sitting on was bee-shaped, and the bed was bedbug-shaped.
"They call bedbugs 'bed bug' in English, but this is a bit······."
Could I really sleep here tonight?
I was grateful that thanks to Rude, the villagers were no longer starving and the warehouse was piled high with money, but this was something that was hard for even me to accept.
As I lay on the bed, it felt like bugs were crawling up my back.
***
The next morning.
Not just me, but most of the people gathered here showed dark circles under their eyes.
‘It seems everyone was the same as me.’
A bitter smile formed on its own.
Iris, in particular, looked haggard beyond compare, as if she hadn't slept a wink all night.
I didn't mean to listen, but such a complaint stimulated my ears.
"What kind of twisted taste is this. Why is the bed cockroach-shaped."
Gasp. It makes the bedbugs seem noble in comparison.
Rude, you really are…….
I shook my head from side to side and explained the rules.
"Each team will have three members. The winner is decided by who finds the Lion Heart first within three hours."
Then, Number 3 threw a question.
"Can you explain what it looks like?"
"As the name suggests, it has the shape of a heart. It also emits a faint aura, so it will be easy to spot."
"A description as if you've seen it yourself."
Number 3 seemed curious as to why I knew so much about the Lion Heart, but I quickly changed the subject.
"It's up to the judge, Rude, to determine if the item brought back is the Lion Heart. He has an appraisal skill. If there are any objections, state them now."
No one took issue with my words.
Rude spoke up with an intrigued face.
"A chance to see the skills of the Unseen Ones with my own two eyes."
Then, as if he had prepared this sometime, he sat at a wooden table and spoke into a magic device that could amplify his voice.
"Ah, ah, the true showdown between the Unseen Ones and the Hero's party will now begin. Those who were waiting in the back, please enter."
As soon as those words ended.
People came rushing out in a crowd.
And they were wearing insect masks on their heads and insect clothes on their bodies.
"Don't push!! I'm going to sit in the front!"
"Where do you think you're going."
"Kyaaa. Don't push me!"
In no time, the place where we were was surrounded by countless insects…… no, people.
I asked with a dumbfounded face.
"What is this?"
"Haha. It's no fun if it's just us. I called the residents. They were all bored, as it happens."
He said he was always worried because there was no proper entertainment here, and thanked me for providing such a good event.
"Crazy bastard."
Rude was really not in his right mind.
To think he would call people over, on top of the bedbug-shaped and cockroach-shaped beds.
Anyway, this unintentionally became a great help to me.
Because among the bug costumes, there was one that depicted a cockroach.
"Hiiik! N-No!!"
Iris' scream filled the area in front of the Knossos Ruins.
***
Did she completely lose it after seeing the cockroach costume?
"Calm down, Iris!"
"No! I hate it all!!"
As Iris entered the ruins without looking back, Number 1 and Number 3 hastily followed her.
But I didn't move an inch from my spot for a long time.
Adel asked with an anxious face.
"Shouldn't we start moving soon?"
"Hmph. Are you worried we'll lose?"
"N-No, that's not it, but."
What does she mean, 'not it'?
She clearly had a face burning with competitiveness.
Is this a characteristic of Adel?
She would often show fighting spirit over trivial matters.
However, it seemed Adel wasn't the only one who found this strange.
As the people watched us and murmured, Rude shouted loudly.
As if this were some kind of tournament, Rude acted as a caster.
"What on earth are they doing? The Unseen Ones have entered the ruins, but the Hero's party is still not budging from their spot. Surely they're not being complacent, are they?"
At those words, Adel's body tensed up, and she stomped her feet and said.
"Father, we should hurry too."
"Let's go a little later."
"Is there a reason."
"Yes."
The monsters that appeared in the Knossos Ruins were all weak, but that didn't mean their numbers were small.
They had a characteristic of attacking in swarms when someone entered the ruins, and it was now morning with the sun up.
Even with Adel and Noemi by my side, it was like I was entering defenseless.
‘It's better to reduce the risk as much as possible.’
But saying it like that would make me seem pathetic, so I persuaded Adel with different words.
"I plan to persuade Iris through this bet."
"Persuade her?"
"By showing her the difference in skill. Even though my strength hasn't returned and I'm entering late, I want to show her the difference in our class by finding the Lion Heart first."
Adel nodded her head as if she understood.
"I see. You intend to show her why you are the Hero, right?"
"That's right. In a state of weakness, no words will get through. Even if we win, Iris will not try to accept me."
It's the same in diplomacy between nations; if you think about what happened to Ukraine with the United States, you'll understand right away.
‘If you're weak, you're bound to be ignored.’
So, by showing an overwhelming result, it is necessary to bring the opponent to the negotiating table on favorable terms.
Noemi, saying "As expected of Dad," gave a thumbs-up.
"I believed in you!"
Huhu. Well then, shall we slowly head into the ruins?
I moved my feet slowly, and the crowd sent their fervent support.
"The lord is finally moving!"
"Lord! We believe in you!"
"Waaaaah!!"
I turned my back and waved to them in response.
With a chic face, as if it were nothing.
***
Iris, who entered the ruins before Frank's party, burned with fighting spirit.
"Damn it. See if I ever come here again."
The thing Iris hated most was bugs.
And among them, she hated cockroaches the most.
Iris huffed and moved stealthily between the walls.
She had cast the Unseen Ones' trademark wall-phasing skill.
But the paths in the Knossos Ruins were intricately entangled like a maze, and every time she passed through a wall, a large group of monsters was there to greet her.
"Kuaaah!!"
Cutting them down wasn't the problem.
But their numbers began to increase endlessly.
Why was that?
From a certain point, to Iris' eyes, the creatures began to look like insects.
They poured out endlessly, and whether they used their sense of smell, they followed her like ghosts even when she passed through walls.
"D-Do something about them!"
To compare the difference in skill between her and the monster swarm, it was nothing more than a fight between a human and ants, but Iris lost her reason and panicked.
Only then did Number 1 understand why Frank wasn't following them.
"We've been had."
Even so, this was a competition.
Losing, no matter what, was unacceptable.
Number 1 tucked the panicked Iris under his arm and pushed forward without hesitation.
"I'll take the front, you take the back!"
"No problem. Just don't get lost."
While Number 1 cleared the path, Number 3 instantly killed the remaining monsters without leaving a single one.
But how long could this method be effective?
Number 1 and Number 3 were assassins, not warriors.
For now, they could break through without issue using their overwhelming difference in ability, but they too were gradually starting to run out of stamina.
On the other hand, thanks to them drawing all the monsters, there were those who were reaping the benefits.
They were none other than Frank and his two daughters, who had entered late.