Trapped in a Game That Flopped

Chapter 56

Episode 56

Even with the name clearly written on the bottle, the bastard looked back and forth between the potion bottle and me, as if he still couldn't believe it.

"...I didn't know this kind of potion existed."

"I guess not. It's a rare potion."

There are a few potions that even users crazy about the game can't easily craft, and one of them is the invisibility potion.

Most of the ingredients were easy to get, but just one.

There was one ingredient that you couldn't get until you reached level 100.

That was the [Giga-Centipede's Shell].

That's why users who had maxed out Adam's favorability through rapport-building during the Hailey scenario would usually receive it as a reward after completing the Darkness-Eating Centipede quest.

[Old Giga-Centipede Leg]

[Dried Giga-Centipede Shell Fragment]

But these were items that had been stored since the sealing 500 years ago, so they were too old to make very good potions.

'At best, they were probably mid-grade.'

But even then, most users didn't get them and craft the potion.

The Darkness-Eating Centipede quest was one thing, but it was just so difficult to get max favorability with the wary Adam.

'That's why I gave up on it a long time ago.'

But despite the insane difficulty, I was able to confidently craft an S-Grade Invisibility Potion.

Because I got it by beating the sealed Giga-Centipede myself!

'If anyone asks who knows the game, tell them to lift their heads and look upon the genius apothecary NPC of Dover Village.'

Filled with a strong sense of triumph, I arrogantly lifted my chin and looked at Elaine.

It was then.

He, who had been staring at the invisibility potion, suddenly started signing the contract without a word.

Elaine Griselda.

As the blank space was filled with crooked writing and a signature, the text above his head surprisingly changed.

[Thief Elaine Griselda]

I glanced at the text above Elaine, who had finally shed the 'Green Mask' label, and thought.

'...I thought he'd at least say he'd think about it for a day.'

I was the one who was flustered by the cool and quick completion of the contract.

"...Don't you need to read the contract terms?"

"No."

"What if it's a fraudulent contract?"

"Then..."

After finishing his signature, he tilted his head, thought for a moment, and answered.

"I'll just kill you then, Noona."

It was such a casual, everyday tone that I didn't understand him at first.

The bastard looked at me with those ridiculously innocent eyes and said.

"Elves, you see, retain all their memories from birth. It might be hard right now, but if I keep remembering and ruminating, someday..."

"..."

"Aw, it's a joke. I trust you, Noona! Hehe."

Looking only at his clear, smiling face, he was definitely a refreshing, handsome young man who would cause a stir in the community.

But for some reason, a chill ran down my spine.

Of course, there was no way Elaine could kill me later.

Not only was I much stronger, but I was also a sad NPC who would be forcibly recalled to Dover Village right before death.

But still, looking at the bastard smiling like his head was full of flowers, I felt very uneasy.

'Am I... doing the right thing? I didn't just get tangled up with this bastard by saving him for nothing, did I?'

Just as I was thinking that, the bastard fluttered the contract in front of my face and said in a cute voice.

"I said it was a joke. Loosen up, Noonaaa."

He was so distracting that I irritably snatched the contract from him and slapped it on the table.

"...Unfortunately for you, the party to this contract isn't me, so that'll be difficult."

"The party to the contract?"

"Yeah. Read this."

I pointed my finger above where Elaine had signed.

The part where the employer's name was written.

"Employer... Kassel Ludwig?"

I told him to read it, and he obediently read it aloud.

Then he asked back with curious eyes.

"Who's this? Is it your name, Noona?"

Who else? He's the Male Lead you're going to pledge loyalty to and support until the ending.

I couldn't say that, so I just said it concisely.

"The Crown Prince of the Empire."

"The Crown Prince..."

Elaine wasn't as surprised as I'd expected.

He just scraped his fingernail over the part where Kassel's name was written and muttered.

"So that's why you acted like you knew so much about me. This room, too..."

He scanned the suite with sharp eyes.

It seemed he assumed the Crown Prince had arranged everything.

'He has a point... a mere apothecary couldn't possibly pay for such an expensive room.'

I felt a sting of guilt and tried not to flinch.

I was only thinking about avoiding the Black Syndicate's pursuit and staying in a nice room.

I hadn't considered at all that the bastard would be more suspicious than grateful toward the person who rescued him from danger.

It was then.

[Elaine Griselda temporarily retracts his suspicion of you.]

'Heh.'

I was dumbfounded by the system window that popped up late.

Come to think of it, there had been no change in the system window until the notification that his suspicion was retracted.

"...Please let me off, Noona."

The bastard who had meekly lowered his eyes and asked me to let him off had clearly still held strong suspicion and considerable hostility toward me.

I wasn't planning on rapport-building, but of course, I had saved him with this contract in mind, hoping he'd feel favorable toward me.

But far from favorability, the bastard's inner thoughts, revealed by the system window, were absurd and chilling.

Just as I was staring blankly into space.

"By the way, Noona."

The bastard suddenly pointed to the same place I had pointed to earlier.

"This person's signature is missing."

He was talking about Kassel's signature.

Of course. This was a fraudulent contract written without the consent of the party involved.

But since it would all flow according to my intentions in the end, I answered nonchalantly.

"The two months you work with me is a probation period. If it goes well, you can continue to work under His Highness the Crown Prince. This is a sort of provisional contract."

"...A provisional contract?"

"Yeah. It's a good thing for you, isn't it? Even if you free the non-humans from the black market, there's no one who will hire a slave for their proper worth."

Whether in a game or in reality, money was always important.

"You can't live off thievery forever. Especially when you're not even getting what you're worth."

At my words, Elaine's sharp eyes drooped sullenly.

"Then... are you this person's agent, Noona?"

"Well... something like that. For now."

"If I do well for two months, can I keep working with you, Noona?"

As if he'd never been sullen, the bastard's eyes sparkled as he asked question after question.

They were questions that made no sense, so I completely ignored them and hurriedly snatched up the contract.

"Anyway. You already signed it, so you can't back out now."

Unaware that he'd signed a fraudulent contract, Elaine nodded innocently.

"I'll let you know what you need to do and what the plan is later. For today, just rest. If you're hungry, tell the front desk. I'm going."

After wrangling with the bastard, the sun was already setting.

I had no intention of sharing a room from the beginning, so I intended to go to my own room next door.

"Ah."

Then I remembered something and stopped, turning around.

As if he wasn't in any pain, Elaine was still kneeling on the floor by the sofa, staring at me with that bright face.

Seriously, what a crazy bastard.

"Here."

I took a potion from my pocket and set it on the table.

[High-Grade Healing Potion]

The bastard, who had been watching me endlessly, lowered his head and stared blankly at the potion.

Bruises must have been forming where he'd been hit, as his fine face was becoming blotchy.

"It's ugly, so put some on your face."

At my reluctant words, the bastard finally tore his gaze from the healing potion and looked at me.

"Noona... you're a strange, but kind, apothecary."

I frowned hard.

'What kind of bullshit is that.'

If I'm kind, I'm kind. Why add 'strange, but' in front of it?

I pretended I hadn't heard and turned around again.

But before I could even leave the room, a hand pulling on my robe forced me to stop.

I turned around, annoyed, and asked.

"What now."

"What's your name, Noona?"

"Ha... why do you care."

"Just because. You know my name, Noona."

I'd been wondering, but now I had to admit it.

This bastard was another psycho, just a different breed from Kassel.

Meaning, he was the type that was best to avoid, so I tossed him an answer.

"Shari Azrael."

At that, the bastard suddenly held out a hand to me.

"We made a contract, so shouldn't we shake hands?"

"Why the sudden handshake?"

"The Black Syndicate bastards always do it when they sell something."

It seemed he was talking about the act of sealing a deal.

The words 'provisional contract' seemed to have long since evaporated from his mind.

I fought back my exhaustion, grabbed his hand, and gave it a rough shake.

The bastard smiled brightly with his beaten, blood-caked lips.

"Please take care of me for two months, Shari-noona."

"Yeah. You too, Green Mask."

"We're colleagues now, so you can call me by my name. It's written right there."

"I'll think about it."

"So strange."

[Elaine Griselda feels slight dissatisfaction at your words.]

[Elaine Griselda feels a faint favorability toward you.]

I stared in disbelief at the system windows popping up one after another, as soon as he finished speaking, and shouted silently.

'You're the one who is.'

Logically, how can you feel dissatisfaction and favorability at the same time?

Maybe it's because he had an unhappy childhood, but the second main character was no ordinary lunatic.

"By the way, Noona. Aren't we going to pick a team name? What color is your hair?"

"..."

"You wear a gray robe, and I wear a black robe, so how about something like the 'Black-Gray Assassins'? If assassins is no good, then 'Rescue Squad'... Shari-noona, are you listening? Noona!"

I told him my name, and now the bastard was calling me nonstop, like we were old neighborhood friends.

I was about to get a complex from all his 'Noona'-ing.

I covered my ears and shouted, fed up.

"I'm going to my room, so let go."

"Whyyy. Talk more before you go, Noona."

"And stop with the 'Noona' crap! Why am I your noona? We have an employment contract, so I'm basically your boss now."

"Then what should I call you?"

When I forbade the title, he asked, his eyes wide.

Then I found I had nothing to say.

"...Teacher."

After thinking for a moment, I told him the title I'd used when I first called Kassel.

I couldn't just call him whatever, since he was a prisoner.

I remembered I'd also agonized over what to call him at first.

A title that treated him as a complete stranger, yet contained a certain amount of respect.

'Teacher' was about right for keeping my distance from the main characters.

"From now on, just call me Teacher Apothecary. I'm leaving."

"Then..."

The bastard started to say something, but I just ignored him and walked briskly to the door.

It was the moment I grabbed the doorknob.

"Teacher Apothecary Noona!"

A bizarre title came from behind me.

"Then how about 'Black-Gray Slave Liberation Squad'?"

'I should have just saved him and left him alone.'

As I finally escaped the room, I was filled with bitter, belated regret, but it was too late.

'Can I... really pull off this quest with him?'