episode_0084

Perhaps it was because he was conscious of Princess Rasiel, but Prince Loras moved to attack the castle faster than expected.

Even though they must have seen the traces of our battle, they seemed confident that we would not pose a great threat to them.

‘Is it because of the difference in the number of people? Even so, it wouldn’t be right to just go along like that… .’

Sister Melody said, knowing that I was glancing at the prince’s punitive force.

“Do you care?”

“… Honestly, I’m worried. I have to be careful.”

“The punitive force was formed by the royal family, so would they have brought incompetent people?”

I felt a little better when I heard that I didn’t have to worry.

What sin could these many people have committed?

Being a member of the prince’s punitive force could not be considered a crime.

This concern would be abominable to them, since they would be secretly stealing the fruits of their labor.

“That’s right. I guess I should just worry about the future of our team members.”

The prince’s punitive force managed to destroy the ice castle’s gate and enter.

It seemed like there was a long battle going on, as monsters would occasionally pop out and fly off somewhere.

“We killed quite a few, but it looks like there’s still a lot left inside.”

“That’s right.”

The thought that we almost faced that number of monsters gave me goosebumps.

The monster attacked first, so I had no choice but to fight it. It must have been hard to go in there with my mind clear.

“You’re using your head.”

The prince’s punitive force that had entered the castle came back out, set up camp at the entrance, and began to lure monsters out to catch them.

They quickly realized that fighting in a castle, which was a field that was advantageous to the overwhelming number of monsters, was a huge loss.

“I was thinking about that method too… .”

“It stabilizes quickly.”

“The first floor will end blandly. I guess having a lot of people is an advantage.”

The monsters that kept pouring out from the first floor were enough to tire us out watching.

No one was more averse to giving the prince and his party a chance.

However, many people thought that the prince’s party would be upset if they were too good at conquering the level, but when they saw the amount of monsters coming out as the prince’s party conquered the first floor, everyone had a warm expression on their face like a full cat.

You can all imagine what would have happened if we had tried to deal with that.

“Being a minority isn’t bad. When there are that many people, they don’t get along well, so that’s why it’s like that.”

“Yes?”

Things that were not clearly visible to me seemed to be visible to the guide’s eyes.

According to the guide, there are incidents where people collide with each other during battle, fall down, or get hit by their comrades’ attacks.

“Do you see that here and there? In such detail?”

“Would I be a guide for nothing? Guides need to have good eyesight.”

It certainly doesn’t seem like something just anyone can do.

While they were chatting with their teammates like that, the prince and his party finally seemed to have killed all the monsters on the first floor.

“It’s over. Looks like they’re all dead. Hey, we should’ve gone there when they were full of eggs instead of going there first.”

The guide, who had been licking his lips as if he was sorry, suddenly lowered his head as if his eyes had met with something.

“Oh, we made eye contact.”

“With Prince Loras?”

“Yes.”

It seems like he was conscious of us looking at him.

While the monsters were being confirmed and killed and the injured were resting, he suddenly got up from his seat and began limping into the castle.

“He’s going inside. It seems he knows we’re looking at him.”

“There seem to be a lot of people injured… .”

At least it would have been okay to go in after taking care of the injured people.

The prince’s choice was regrettable.

‘You never know what dangerous traps might be inside.’

It seemed that his own pride was more important to that person than the bodies of a few soldiers from the punitive force.

“It’s not just our gaze that moves so quickly.”

At that moment, Sister Melody joined our conversation.

“Is that so?”

When the guide and I looked at her with bewildered expressions, she explained with a calm expression.

“Didn’t you see that they went in without a base camp? If the prince thought about it a little, it would have been an unreasonable schedule to proceed with the attack without a base camp. However, the reason it had to be done that way was to keep the people who would arrive soon in check.”

“Ah!”

Now that I think about it, Princess Rasiel said something.

Soon other people will arrive here and try to tear down the ice castle.

“Your Highness knows that too.”

“Yes. It’s clear that the idea is to attack as quickly as possible to avoid them.”

It’s not that he has a hasty personality, it’s just that the situation forced him to push himself.

“If you move too quickly, the damage will be great, so I don’t know if it’ll be okay.”

A limping man who was particularly visible to me.

Even though I only saw his back and didn’t know his face, I felt like I wanted to run over there and treat him right away.

Is this what is called an occupational disease?

“Well, why don’t we just sit back and take advantage? To be honest, it’s true that I don’t like seeing them do too well. It’s just annoying. Ah! That’s not something I should have said in front of the priest. I’m sorry if it made you uncomfortable. ”

“… No, that could be possible.”

I too hoped that things would not go well for the prince, so I can’t say anything.

While talking to the guide, the prince and his party all entered the castle, which was no longer visible.

We had to disperse after huddled together because we had lost sight of what to see.

“But when do we get into the castle?”

“Wouldn’t the prince go up to the second floor?”

“I’m sure the princess will make a good decision.”

The team members expressed their trust in the princess, saying that she would make a good decision.

It seems that the princess’s ambitious plan to pass the opportunity to the prince and take only the essence was well-received by the team members.

I felt the team members’ trust in the princess in a way I had never seen before.

* * *

The next day.

It came together faster than we expected, just as we had hoped.

“It’s the last name! Wow!”

“Is there anyone over there?”

A person appeared on the road the prince had come from.

“Is that a small team there too?”

“Wasn’t there a huge, large-scale punitive force in front of us?”

They also didn’t approach easily, perhaps because they were reluctant to talk to other teams in the labyrinth.

But since he kept glancing at us, I thought he might come to talk to us.

The leader must have expected it, as he prepared to welcome them.

“Hello.”

“Yes. Hello.”

The person who came to talk to us deliberately took off his weapons completely and stopped at an appropriate distance for us to talk.

“Do you have any information about that surname? We won’t ask for free information, but we will give you a reward.”

“The case is fine. We don’t know anything about the castle. We haven’t been inside yet.”

“Uh… Then what about that broken door…?”

“The other team that entered first did it.”

“Oh no! But why didn’t you guys go in?”

“I thought we’d just get swept away if we went in together. It didn’t seem like something that could be conquered in a day or two. I just wanted to move cautiously.”

“Ah… So you don’t have any regrets about us going in there?”

“There’s no way I can regret it.”

The leader reassured them with a soft smile.

It didn’t seem to be very effective though.

“… Okay.”

The stranger returned to his group with an expression that made anyone who saw him feel even more uneasy.

“You seem very suspicious, Leader?”

“I said it as kindly as possible… .”

“I guess you didn’t know that smiling like that would make you look more suspicious.”

“… … .”

Leaving their gloomy leader behind, they eventually chose to go inside, unable to give up the treasures they could gain from the ice castle even if we won.

We had to try not to look at them as they moved so as not to look suspicious.

“I don’t know why I’m being stabbed when there’s nothing to stab.”

“People are starting to come in, shouldn’t we go in too?”

Starting with those people, there was no way of knowing how many more labyrinth subjugation forces would come.

I saw people expressing impatience and said to Sister Melody,

“I have a feeling that my last name will become a den of demons.”

It was a place that drew out the desires of many people.

I remembered the martial arts novels I read in my past life.

‘It feels like a secret place where a legendary secret is hidden.’

A cave where treasure is hidden.

There was always a killing going on there over treasure.

‘It’s a cliché in novels, but….’

There was no guarantee that it wouldn’t happen in reality.

Isn’t our team also trying to find the space on the secret map because they can’t let go of their ‘greed’?

‘Things should go well…’

I am also a human, so I think it would be better if Princess Rasiel discovered the secret room rather than the prince discovering it.

You may not know, right?

‘I wonder if there’s something in that secret room that could wake up Princess Canabi.’

It seemed like it would be okay to look forward to the hidden room, which would probably contain valuable items.

And I couldn’t help but feel the desire in my heart turning me into an evil person.

‘I wish I could become a priest and see the fall of the prince’s expedition force. What should I do?’

Isn’t He already appearing in my dreams and bestowing grace upon me?

It was embarrassing and shameful for a guy who was supposed to be setting an example to think like this.

‘What if you get angry and say that my prayers are disrespectful?’

If He rebuked me, I felt I should accept it humbly and practice mental discipline.