Trapped in a Game That Flopped

Chapter 93

Episode 93

Startled by the Saintess's sudden visit, I stared at Kassel.

But he remained tight-lipped, showing no particular reaction.

'What are you doing? Hurry up and open the door!'

It was finally a chance to be free of the bastard, so I opened my mouth without hesitation.

"Um…… It seems the Saintess has arrived……"

I smiled awkwardly, indirectly suggesting we should wrap this up.

But the bastard said something completely random.

"What are you doing?"

"……Pardon?"

"Go open the door and greet her."

"Me……? Sir?"

'Me?'

As I gaped, pointing at myself with my index finger, the bastard crossed his arms, leaned back, and spoke in an incredulous tone.

"Then should I, the Crown Prince of the empire, personally open the door and greet her?"

"……"

I was the one who was so dumbfounded I felt like I could turn to dust.

'It's your door! You opened it just fine when you dragged me in here, so what's this X-rated bullshit now……!'

I was so appalled that words wouldn't even come out properly.

After gaping endlessly like a goldfish, I barely managed to pull myself together and ask.

"Did you not bring a servant to attend to you, or…… an adjutant?"

"Why bother, when I have someone I'm about to hire right here."

The bastard gestured at me with his chin, as if I was that 'someone to hire'.

I automatically ground my molars.

"Wha-iff I hadna comf heer, wha' werf you gonna doo...... (What if I hadn't come here, what were you going to do......)"

"Well, I would have contacted the palace then. Or told the Pope to give me someone to attend to me."

"Does that even make sen……"

"But why do I have to explain every little thing to you, bastard?"

I was about to ask if that even made sense, but I struggled to shut my mouth when I suddenly saw the bastard's bloodshot eyes flash.

The Male Lead bastard had a talent for spouting utter nonsense quite fluently.

It's not like he has foresight. How could he know I'd show up at the temple and leave all his subordinates behind?

In the end, he came to the temple alone from the start, and since he got lucky and ran into me, he was just planning to work me to the bone.

Just as I was enduring it, seething internally.

Knock, knock, knock.

"Your Highness? I was sure I heard voices, perhaps no one is in……"

The Saintess, having knocked one more time, finally seemed about to leave.

"Are you not going?"

At the same time, the bastard glared at me, pressing me.

It was utterly absurd that I'd come all this way just to end up in a position to wait on the bastard, but it was my loss if I missed this chance to get away from him, so I shot up from my seat.

I ran to the door, flung it open, and grabbed the departing Saintess.

"Someone's here. Please don't go!"

The Saintess, who was just about to turn the corner, looked back at the sign of presence.

And she made a surprised expression, seeing me standing in front of the room where the Crown Prince was staying.

"Oh? Sha……?"

Before she could say 'Shari?' and call my name, I quickly cut in.

"Haha, hello, Saintess! We meet again!"

Must protect my name, absolutely.

At my sudden appearance, the Saintess tilted her head, then quickly approached.

"We meet again here. By the way, Sha……"

"His Highness the Crown Prince was looking for a Sleep-Inducing Potion, so I had to visit him."

Again, before she could utter my name, I cut her off like lightning and rattled off the reason I was here.

"Ah……"

At that, she nodded with an awkward smile.

"I see. By any chance, did the treatment end well……"

"What business do you have here?"

Just then. From behind me, the room's owner finally spat out a greeting to the visitor.

I tactfully stepped aside so the Saintess could enter.

At my movement, the Saintess gave me a grateful look and took a step into the room.

"Well then, I'll be……"

"We still have things to discuss."

I tried to close the door and bolt in that gap, but the bastard muttered lowly.

I had nothing more to discuss with him. However,

"Go on and try leaving. I'm curious to see what happens."

[Crown Prince Kassel Ludwig holds strong displeasure toward your action.]

'Ughh......'

It was only a little while ago that I received the assassination target classification warning.

It was still a time when I had to humor the bastard, so I ended up frozen awkwardly, my hand still on the doorknob.

But there was still a chance.

The Saintess definitely wouldn't have come all this way in person for no reason.

'Assess the situation and bolt when I see an opening.'

When the high-and-mighty ones get deep in conversation, a moment always comes for a lowly person to get lost.

With that in mind, I watched her and Kassel closely.

"Ahaha…… I-I hope I wasn't interrupting……"

But it seemed dealing with the personality-shattered Crown Prince was overwhelming for her all the same, as the Saintess didn't actively approach him.

Smiling awkwardly at the chilly atmosphere, she soon greeted him with a polite attitude.

"Hello, Your Highness. I am Saintess Liv. We met once before, at His Majesty the Emperor's birthday. Do you perhaps remember?"

"Your business."

Indeed. Setting aside my astonishment at the bastard's words and actions, so fairly rude to everyone without discrimination.

At the conversation that followed, I looked back at Kassel, silently horrified.

"Ah, I was told that you, Your Highness, will be staying at the temple until the tournament begins."

"So."

"Since such a noble person has visited, the Pope said he would like to invite you to a banquet, Your Highness, to formally greet you as well."

Finishing her words, the Saintess forced the corners of her mouth up into a faint smile.

Banquet invitation, whatever. Because of what I heard before that, the words that followed didn't register at all.

'Crazy. He's staying here for a whole week? Why!'

I couldn't understand it at all.

The temple was the place that had contributed the most to Kassel becoming a prisoner.

By prophesying that he would cause a disaster if he fell asleep, they had proclaimed him the Lord of Nightmares to the entire world.

Because of that, Kassel should despise the temple, if anything. He had no reason to come here of his own free will and stay for a whole week.

'What on earth is going on?'

I became extremely anxious, wondering if this was also an effect of the game's accelerated progress.

Just as I was restlessly studying the Male Lead and the Saintess, wanting to quickly open the chat window.

"The old man sure has a strong stomach. Seems food can still go down his throat while looking at me."

"……"

"But what to do. My stomach is a bit weak. It'll be quite a difficult mealtime."

Kassel suddenly twisted his lips into a smirk and sneered without restraint.

I just gaped at his incredible attitude, calling the Pope an 'old man' in front of the Saintess.

Likewise, the Saintess also seemed not to have expected the Crown Prince to act like such a crazy bastard, her smiling face frozen stiff.

A cold silence fell over the room.

"Haha…… I-I will instruct them to prepare food that is easy to digest."

Fortunately, the Saintess gently broke the frozen atmosphere.

She must not have been idling her time away at the temple; her response was quite good.

"And, I have something urgent to discuss regarding the monster swarm attack near the capital……"

She, who had been speaking calmly, suddenly looked back at me.

'Now's my chance!'

At her troubled gaze, I didn't miss the opportunity and hurriedly shouted.

"I'll be leaving, then. Please speak comfortably!"

"What should I do, I'm so sorry. You're clearly here as my guest, yet I haven't been able to care for you properly from the first day."

Perhaps because it was in front of the Crown Prince, the Saintess graciously looked after me.

However, any more attention was an unwelcome thing, so I hastily shook my head.

"A guest, you say. How could someone like me, it's not fitting at all."

And just as I was hurriedly turning around, afraid I'd be held back again like before.

"Let's make time for a tea time soon, Shari."

The Saintess spoke to my departing back.

Along with my name.

At the faint scoff that followed, I gently closed my eyes.

"Can I be invited to that tea time, too?"

"Oh my, of course. It would be an immense honor if you would join us, Your Highness."

"So she says, Shari Azrael."

The bastard had accurately spoken my name yet again.

'Fuck......'

Why the hell did the bastard have to come to the temple now?

Why the hell did the Saintess have to appear now?

Why the hell, in front of the bastard, did she say my name.

Why. Why. Why.

Why......

The entire universe was conspiring to corner me.

I didn't have the slightest courage to look back.

"G-Goodbye!"

Slam!

I disregarded whatever would happen next, slammed the door, and bolted.

And I ran like crazy, fearing the bastard might chase after me and snatch my hood.

I only stopped when I reached the end of the corridor connected to the temple's central hall and realized no one was chasing me.

"Pant, pant…… Aaargh!"

Why the hell is nothing going right?

I was throwing a few punches at the air in frustration, but I stealthily lowered my arms when I suddenly felt eyes on me.

People near the Goddess statue in the central hall were staring at me with surprised eyes.

'Hah…… I need to turn on the chat window and ask right now……'

Inside the temple, there were quite a lot of eyes, due to the constant stream of visitors and priests walking around.

Of course, the chat window is only visible to me, but I always made a point to only turn it on in deserted places, just in case.

I bit my lip, glancing back.

The room I was staying in was not far away, but I didn't know when that demon-like bastard would chase after me.

'First, get out of here.'

Besides, there was something I wanted to check anyway.

To kill some time until the Male Lead bastard went to the banquet with the Pope, I moved right away.

As I crossed the temple's wide central hall and walked down the north corridor, the presence of people thankfully thinned out.

After walking for a good while, a back door appeared.

I went outside through the door without hesitation.

Dim twilight had already settled over the temple's back garden.

'Which way was it?'

I was standing in front of the door, trying to recall the temple's layout from a gameplay video in my faint memory.

"Move quickly!"

Suddenly, from the right side of the back garden, a group of figures walked over quickly.

[Geligo Mercenary]

About a dozen men in black masks were approaching, all of them carrying large sacks in both hands.

I quickly hid behind the door.

I peeked back, and thankfully, no one was there. Perhaps they intentionally restricted access to the north corridor at this time.

'Got lucky.'

It was a relief I'd moved quickly before.

Well, it wouldn't have mattered even if someone had come.

Knocking them out would have been no trouble at all......

The sack-carrying mercenaries walked in a single file, quickly crossing the back garden toward the opposite side.

Just then, a sack held by one of them thrashed violently.

"Ugh!"

"Hey! Be careful!"

As the man holding the sack staggered, a small, robed person at the front of the mercenaries shouted in alarm.

The white text 'High Priest Yones' sparkled above his head.

The mercenary who had staggered and almost dropped the sack laughed loudly, as if embarrassed.

"Hahaha! What can I do, this one's so lively it's still alive!"

"I always tell you, please move as quietly as possible inside the temple."

"Geez, so picky. Yes, yes. Got it, Priest-sir~"

After the brief commotion, they quickly started moving again.

Soon, they pushed through a section of the back garden overgrown with seemingly unmanaged vegetation and disappeared.

"Kireuk, kireureureuk……"

Mingled with the sounds of their presence was a strangely alien sound.

They faded into the distance together.