Cave Exploration

Pink hair, Rosalyn’s heroically large breasts among the heroines, and skin so transparent you could see the veins. Beautiful looks and even genius-level alchemy skills.

Rosalyn, the character I poured the most affection into, and who had so much high-level fan art that I couldn’t even post it in the notice, blushing as she looked at me gave me a very strange feeling, making me clear my throat for no reason.

“Ahem, it’s nothing weird….”

To distribute the Stone Thorn Disease cure that Rotten left me to many people, Rosalyn’s help was essential.

I gave a brief explanation of the Stone Thorn Disease and a request to mass-produce the cure, adding:

“This is a cure that will save many people.”

Rosalyn’s eyes lit up at my words. Even though she showed a fanatical obsession with Roel, she was basically a good person.

“This time, you’ll trust me, right?”

At my mischievous question, Rosalyn pouted and nodded.

“Okay. It’s about saving people, so of course, I have to help.”

Feeling trust in Rosalyn’s serious expression, I immediately handed over the research materials and the box containing the cure that Rotten had left in the spatial storage.

“Wow, there’s a lot of data….”

It was Rotten’s lifelong research, so the amount was considerable. After seeing the contents and making a slightly bored expression, I left Rosalyn with a request to take care of it and headed straight to Bella’s lab.

If it was the innocent Rosalyn, she would obviously be fooled by Bella’s flamboyant speech again. I felt it would be more comfortable to take action in advance before Bella did any dogshit.

*

Kraine La Bella, the current crown princess of the Kraine Imperial Family, with her unique ash-colored, fine white hair and appearance befitting the title of peerless beauty.

If you looked into her golden eyes in a place where warm sunlight shone, any man would have their sexual desire stirred.

Because of her beautiful appearance, she was even targeted by her own brothers from a young age, but rather, Bella used her appearance as a weapon based on her outstanding wisdom.

When her golden eyes drew a deep arc and she wore a faint smile, anyone would want to protect her.

Her affable smile and soft voice hid Bella’s true nature, making her appear as a lovely girl.

People who didn’t know Bella’s true nature easily confided their inner thoughts to her and became easy prey.

However, I knew the monster hidden behind that beauty better than anyone else, so I couldn’t be fooled.

“Yes, what’s the matter this time?”

As if expressing that she wasn’t happy to see me with her whole body, Bella sat in a chair with her arms crossed, looking at me. I sat in the opposite seat and immediately got to the point.

“You haven’t forgotten that you agreed to grant me a favor, right?”

When she didn’t want to give me the Spear of Destruction nicely and tested me with the word “insurance,” I responded to the test and asked her to grant me a favor as compensation.

“Of course, I remember.”

Bella replied, raising one corner of her mouth.

I told her that I had entrusted the cure to Rosalyn, and when the research was finished, I asked her to distribute the Stone Thorn Disease cure and acknowledge Rotten as the one who made it.

After listening to me, Bella asked a few questions about the cure and then nodded.

“Okay, if Rosalyn finds a way to mass-produce the cure, I’ll distribute it to the people.”

When I smiled satisfactorily at Bella’s cool answer, Bella suddenly asked.

“But have you ever thought about it? If you use the Stone Thorn Disease cure to use the Stone Thorn Disease, it could be a very good weapon.”

Bella’s golden eyes shone dangerously like a snake.

“This is a cure. Not a weapon.”

Anticipating what dangerous thoughts Bella was having, I answered with a serious expression.

A sneer appeared on Bella’s face.

“Don’t think emotionally about it as my opinion, and think carefully. If you use it on the barbarians in the north or the magical beasts on the eastern border, you can reduce the sacrifice of many people.”

Bella offered a sweet proposal, weighing the lives of others, but I shook my head.

“One person changed their life for the cure. They believed that I would use it for everyone and handed it over to me. But you’re saying we should use it as a weapon? Don’t defile Rotten’s will.”

“If it were Roel, he would have accepted my proposal. Because it’s the best way to reduce the sacrifice of allies and maximize the damage to the enemy.”

I couldn’t refute Bella’s words. Because those words were true.

Roel was a hero who saved the world, but he wasn’t stupid.

Sometimes he used power to defeat the enemy, and sometimes he accepted the sacrifice of a few for the sake of the greater good.

In the first place, this novel started with the idea that I should also write a hero story.

As with most heroes, Roel couldn’t escape the framework of utilitarianism unique to heroes.

A hero who fights for the happiness of everyone. He thinks that individual sacrifice is inevitable for the sake of maximum happiness.

Therefore, Roel chose growth rather than helping me, who was collapsing beside him, for the dream of becoming a hero.

Bella smiled like a snake and added.

“That’s the decisive difference between Roel and you.”

I growled at Bella, who said that.

“Stop talking bullshit and keep your promise.”

“You developed a cure to free people from suffering, but you hate the way to save more people’s lives. Don’t you think that’s a contradiction?”

Bella looked at me with a pure face like a child.

I chuckled and leaned my upper body forward, whispering to Bella.

“So what?”

“What…?”

Bella asked back dumbly, as if she hadn’t expected my words.

“I’m different from hyung-nim like you said. What’s more important to me is one person I know, rather than tens of thousands of nameless people.”

If I could use the Stone Thorn Disease to prevent the massacre on the eastern border that would happen in the future, I would have accepted Bella’s proposal.

However, there were many followers of the Order in the Imperial Palace right now. Even if Bella didn’t use it elsewhere, if the Stone Thorn Disease weapon fell into their hands, an uncontrollable chaos would come to the continent.

From the moment I coveted becoming Luna’s lover, I set a clear goal to become stronger for the sake of the people I cared about.

The current I can’t be a hero who saves everyone like Roel. Protecting the people around me was already not enough.

That’s not to say that I abandoned the promise to become a hero. It’s just that I have no intention of giving up what’s precious to me to become a hero like Roel.

Looking at Bella, who was making an absurd expression, I got up from my seat.

“Did you perhaps expect something from me, who you called trash?”

Saying that with a sneer. I turned my back on Bella, who was glaring at me, and left the lab.

Given Bella’s personality, she would try to keep her promise unconditionally, so the work Rotten left me would soon be resolved.

***

The weekend we promised to explore the cave arrived.

The club members who had finished preparing for the exploration in advance all gathered in the club room.

“Okay. Shall we move it?”

Lakar and I lifted the closet and moved it toward the bed wall.

With a click- Aria immediately opened the closet door.

Stopping Aria, who was about to run to the cave right away, I said to the club members.

“We don’t know what’s inside. Everyone, think of it as a practice and be alert.”

The club members nodded at my words.

I said that, but it didn’t seem particularly dangerous. Maybe it’s a place to rest like the island or the snow mountain?

Lakar, holding the cave lamp prepared by Kane, entered the closet first.

Following him, the club members headed to the closet, and I, holding the lamp last, entered the closet.

The inside of the cave was smaller than I thought. Two people could pass by shoulder to shoulder, but I didn’t feel the need to do so.

“Okay, for now, it’s Luna’s time to shine like last time’s practice.”

At my words, Luna smiled prettily and nodded.

Luna took out chalk from her pocket and drew a magic circle on the floor, using guide magic.

“If you go straight in…. There’s a huge space.”

Aria snorted, as if she was excited by Luna’s words.

“Space?! Isn’t there treasure there?”

Kane quickly grabbed Aria’s shoulder, who looked like she was about to run out right away.

“She said to go straight in. Let’s move to the position we had during the practice.”

With Lakar in the vanguard, we headed into the cave. It felt like a tunnel that someone had artificially dug, so there wasn’t much to see inside the cave.

There was no way to go to another path, so we walked straight. Before long, the huge space that Luna had mentioned revealed itself.

As we stepped in, light came in from somewhere and illuminated the inside.

“Wow, what is this…!”

Aria’s eyes widened. The other club members also opened their mouths and admired.

There was a huge temple, as if the entire cave had been carved out and built. And inside, there was a huge stone door that reached the ceiling, visible even from afar.

Looking around, we headed to the temple. There was nothing inside, just a path to the stone door.

“Is this the only way?”

The cave was much shorter than I thought. It took less than 3 minutes to arrive after coming out of the closet.

Lakar, who had checked if there was a path to another place, said.

“Isn’t it possible to go to another path through that door?”

Lakar was a little more excited than usual, as if his adventurous spirit was stimulated by the magnificent stone door.

“We don’t know what’s behind the door. Let’s split up and check the surroundings first.”

While we were scattered and looking around, Aria’s shout was heard.

“There’s something here!!!”

Aria must have found something at the door, waving her hands up and down, telling us to come quickly.

When all the scattered club members gathered, Aria shrugged and pointed to what she had found.

“Look at this! It’s ancient language!”

The unknown letters written on the door pillar must have been ancient language.

But everyone seemed to not know what was written because it was ancient language. Just when I was worried about whether we had no choice but to open the door and go inside, Luna suddenly stepped forward.

“I, I can interpret ancient language a little…! This is….”

Luna, who was looking at the letters on the door pillar, muttered after a long time.

“…Room of Trials?”

Kane jumped in as soon as Luna finished speaking.

“Okay. Department head, get some luggage from the storage, we’re going camping.”

Unlike Kane, who gave up right away, thinking it would be annoying to say it was a trial, Aria was more energetic than ever.

“Room of Trials!!! If we endure the trials, there will definitely be a huge reward…!”

“Camping!!!”

Aria couldn’t hear Kane’s scream, and she took out her staff and finished preparing to face the trials.

“We can do camping after it’s over!”

Kane looked at me with a sullen expression at Aria’s words. Well, it was a shame to just go camping after coming all the way here.

If it’s a trial, it doesn’t seem that dangerous.

“Okay, we can’t not go in after coming all the way here. Is everyone ready?”

When I took out the Spear of Destruction from the spatial storage and said that, everyone nodded vigorously.

“Okay, then let’s start Messiah Club’s third activity. Breaking through the Room of Trials! Let’s start!”

Actually, I was a little excited too. A temple of this huge size that is impossible unless it’s fantasy, and a magnificent door leading to the Room of Trials inside…! What man could resist this.

When I put my hand on the door with the club members, the magnificent stone door opened on its own, and bright light poured out from the inside, causing my eyes to close on their own.

When I opened my closed eyes, I was standing alone in a wide place that looked like the basement of a temple, with the club members who were next to me gone.

“What is it?”

Just as I was about to worry about the missing club members, something appeared with cute footsteps.

Unlike the cute footsteps, it was wearing red armor and approaching with a clatter….

“Raccoon?!”

It was a one-eyed raccoon holding a spear bigger than itself.