Trapped in a Game That Flopped

Chapter 97

Episode 97

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After arriving at the Hailey estate with Kassel, I was in a field near the village, plucking useless weeds.

'Damn it. What do I do?'

The bastard who insisted on coming with me was lying nonchalantly on a wide rock not far away.

'The monsters Nise revived will be here to attack soon……'

As I anxiously glanced at the bastard, racking my brain on how to shake him off.

"What potion ingredient is that?"

Kassel suddenly opened his mouth.

Feeling unnecessarily guilty, I looked back. He had sat up and was pointing at the reed leaf I was tearing apart.

"……It's an ingredient for the Saintess's treatment potion."

"A common reed leaf?"

"Yes."

Of course, that was impossible, but I answered brazenly.

To avoid the slight suspicion in his red eyes.

Seeing as he spoke first, he seemed to be getting bored.

I decided not to miss this chance and try to persuade him.

"By the way, Your Highness. The night is deep. Shouldn't you return and go to bed?"

"It's fine."

"Aren't you…… sleepy?"

I looked at Kassel's face, which showed no sign of sleepiness, and suddenly felt puzzled.

Normally, he should have eaten the food containing sleep potions at the banquet with the Pope and fallen asleep.

At my words, Kassel scoffed and said indifferently.

"If I slept well at night, I wouldn't have asked you for Sleep-Inducing Potions, bastard."

I was a bit dumbfounded.

Come to think of it, I remembered he had openly stated he needed Sleep-Inducing Potions in front of the Pope.

'No way…… on purpose?'

The thought crossed my mind, but I immediately shook my head.

It wasn't the right situation, and even if he had said it on purpose, it's not like the Pope would have refrained from using the sleep potions.

'He said he had a weak stomach. Did he not eat at all?'

At the bastard's attitude, showing no intention of returning, I nervously chewed my lip and hurriedly spoke.

"……Aren't you bored?"

"I am, a bit."

"Then you should return……"

At that, he shrugged and replied brazenly.

"Unfortunately, I don't have a Teleport Scroll, so I can't go."

Somehow, I knew he'd say that.

As if I'd been waiting, I took a scroll from my pocket and held it out.

"I'll give you a scroll to the Grand Temple. As it happens, I have quite a few……"

"I said it's fine."

"……Pardon?"

"Why go through the trouble? I'm fine, so don't worry about me and do your work. We'll return together."

The bastard waved his hand at me dismissively, like a merciful monarch, and lay down on the rock again.

'Damn it. Why is he being like this!'

It was driving me crazy. He wasn't exactly taking a stroll, so I had no idea why he was acting like this.

And to say he'd followed me to watch me, he seemed to have no interest in my actions at all.

'Maybe he knows something?'

There was no telling what kind of conversation had passed at the banquet with the Pope.

But that couldn't be, as the scenario was currently progressing in an abnormally twisted order.

Besides, unless the Pope was an idiot, he wouldn't have made his slanderous intentions obvious.

'……What do I do now?'

I sighed, my head aching.

I had to do the quest somehow without the Kassel bastard knowing, but no method came to mind.

Moreover, I wasn't even given time to think of a method.

Swoooosh!

Suddenly, along with a desolate wind, a faint, alien sound could be heard.

"Kireuk, kireureureuk……"

One by one, black figures began to appear from between the distant reeds.

[Lv.30 Goblin]

Soon, the text clearly visible only to my eyes began to multiply, swarming.

"Kireureureureu……"

The Grand Temple must have been determined, as it seemed they had sent quite a large number of monsters.

I surely wasn't the only one hearing this sound.

"……Your Highness. A swarm of monsters is coming."

I said, looking back at Kassel, who was still lying there nonchalantly.

"What am I supposed to do about it? Handle it yourself."

But the bastard, without even looking at me, spat out an answer that was the pinnacle of rudeness.

I suppressed my seething feelings and pleaded.

"How am I supposed to handle that many monsters……"

"You go around gathering potion ingredients but don't prepare for a single unexpected situation like this?"

"I only go to safe places, so this is the first time a dangerous swarm of monsters like this has appeared. And this isn't even a monster-spawning area."

While I was rattling off in frustration, the goblin swarm had approached quite close.

"Sniff sniff. Kireureuk!"

Perhaps having caught the scent of humans, one goblin at the very front flashed its bright yellow eyes and clacked its teeth.

As the green monsters, which came up to my waist, swarmed closer, I shivered in spite of myself.

"Ugh, so gross!"

"Goblins."

Only then did Kassel slowly sit up, confirm the dozens of goblins, and speak.

"You bastard, run to the village quickly and report the situation. I'll lure them."

"You, Your Highness? Lure them?"

"That's right. Their eyesight is poor, so they'll follow and attack things that move."

My eyes went wide.

His extremely casual voice was one thing, but the fact that he was going to lure them was even more surprising.

"You're not…… going to take care of them yourself?"

"I didn't bring my sword. How am I supposed to take care of them?"

At my question, he spoke as if scolding me, his eyes full of pity.

Come to think of it, Kassel was completely unarmed.

Because there was a rule that you couldn't carry weapons inside the temple.

"But……!"

I felt a surge of anger and opened my mouth to retort, but barely managed to shut it.

The bastard, trained in all kinds of martial arts since childhood, was practically a killing machine.

Honestly, he could probably fight them bare-handed if he had to. I had no idea why he was so unwilling to step up.

'Seeing as he's telling me to go to the village and report the situation, it's not like he's completely washing his hands of it……'

As I glared at him from under my hood in frustration, the bastard's red eyes flashed.

"But, what?"

"Hah…… It's nothing."

There was no choice. The goblin swarm was already right in front of us.

'Sob, I was saving this to use later.'

I couldn't just openly use a skill in front of Kassel.

I had no choice but to hold back my tears and take out the artifact Ari had given me.

"It's dangerous, so please step back behind the rock for a moment."

"You have a plan, I see?"

[Crown Prince Kassel Ludwig feels a strong interest in you.]

Just like the system window, Kassel looked at me with a face full of intrigue and obediently stepped behind the rock.

'Damn bastard. Why did you have to follow me……'

Cursing at his annoying behavior came naturally, but I couldn't resent him fully.

After all, I was able to get out of the Grand Temple thanks to his help.

So whatever his intentions were, this was something I just had to endure.

"Kireureureuk, Kuwek!"

Just then, a goblin at the front leaped toward me.

"Attack."

I muttered lowly.

[The S-Grade Area-of-Effect Artifact is activating.]

(Duration: 10 minutes)

'-988'

MP 21

'It consumes this much mana and only lasts for 10 minutes?'

Perhaps because there were so many goblins, my magic was drained in a flash.

A momentary dizziness washed over me, just like I'd experienced before.

I was annoyed, but 10 minutes was actually enough, so I bore it silently.

The artifact, steeped in magic, immediately lit up the red jewels embedded in each of its seven corners, one by one.

And, Jiiiiiing!

Straight red beams of light began to burst out explosively.

"Keok!"

"Kiek!"

"Keoheuk!"

The artifact scattered red light sporadically, like a mirror ball.

The goblins that had leaped right in front of me were cleanly bisected every time a beam grazed them, dying and spraying blood.

[You have defeated 2 Lv.30 Goblins with the S-Grade Area-of-Effect Artifact.]

[You have defeated 5 Lv.30 Goblins with the S-Grade Area-of-Effect Artifact.]

[You have defeated 3 Lv.30 Goblins with the S-Grade Area-of-Effect Artifact.]

As expected of an S-Grade artifact, it was really simple to take care of Lv.30 mid-grade monsters.

The goblins were mowed down like autumn leaves by a single laser beam.

They were probably bastards who had died once and been revived, so their vitality and defense were likely much lower.

System windows announcing the kills popped up one after another.

But I didn't even have time to rejoice at the slaughter happening right in front of me.

'Ugh, it's too brutal!'

In the end, I couldn't watch anymore, so I squeezed my eyes shut and waited for all the goblins to die.

"Kiek!"

"Kik!"

"Kkeueuk!"

I wonder how long I stood there, listening to the monsters' death throes.

"What the……"

Thud, thud.

Suddenly, a presence seemed to rush closer.

Someone grabbed my shoulder and pulled me back hard.

"Oof!"

Startled, I reflexively snapped my eyes open.

"Kiek!"

And what I saw was a goblin that had leaped right in front of me, and.

GRAB!

A large hand reaching out from behind me, gripping the goblin's entire face.

"I wondered what you were just standing there for while a monster was approaching…… What kind of crazy person stands with their eyes closed during a battle?"

A dark voice sounded from above my head.

I glanced up. A sharp jawline and a beautiful face were located right above my head.

Kassel, who had pulled me back, seemed to have blocked the goblin that I hadn't even known had gotten so close, but……

'Too close.'

Perhaps because I was in a position almost like being hugged in Kassel's arms, his face was excessively close.

For a moment, thump, I felt my heart sink.

Unlike his shattered personality, the bastard's face was extremely harmful.

Maybe it was because of the drained magic, or maybe the unexpected situation, but my vision swam a little.

'This isn't good……!'

I struggled to regain my senses.

Just as the bastard said, this was a dangerous situation.

The monsters were one thing, but the attack artifact sometimes recognized figures other than the caster as enemies.

That's why I had told Kassel to stay back behind the rock.

I hurriedly stammered.

"A-Artifacts are dangerous while active……"

But it was a needless worry.

[Activation of the S-Grade Area-of-Effect Artifact is complete.]

Soon, along with a system window announcing the artifact's effect had ended, a goblin that had been hiding somewhere popped out……

"Kiek!"

And bit Kassel's arm, which was holding its comrade.

CHOMP.

"Y-Your Highness!"