episode_0237

Key personnel recruited with Lily’s help for the MacHeart suppression operation, Gyetmyeojosyegeuk Bolt.

As a crucial part of this operation and expected to be the main force, he also had a magic signal device to receive Lily’s gathering signal, but he was currently unaware of the signal she had sent.

Due to the sudden intrusion of a certain prince, Gyetmyeojosyegeuk Bolt not only lost sight of the magic signal device but also lost the luxury of looking elsewhere.

“Prince Antonio. Please don’t misunderstand.”

“Misunderstand… People usually say that.”

“What?”

“Even when I heard that Agnes was part of your party, I tried not to think too much about it. The compatibility of swordsmanship and magic is not determined by gender, so I thought it was natural for my fiancée, who will become the greatest magician, to be part of your party known as heroes.”

“…Who is this fiancée?”

Even though they weren’t engaged yet. Agnes’s muttering reached Gyetmyeojosyegeuk’s ears, but he couldn’t afford to focus on its content.

Feeling a bit uneasy from Prince Antonio, who was emitting a dangerous aura with a drawn sword towards him, Gyetmyeojosyegeuk had a bad feeling.

“I know there are rumors circulating about your party not being well-liked. I heard that almost all the female members of your party are against you.”

“First of all, that’s a misunderstanding, Prince Antonio.”

“Is it? Despite that, your influence over the women in your party seems quite splendid. From Aurelia, the saint of the Aurelian Church who must maintain her purity until the demon king is defeated, to the proud elf from the Forest of World Trees, and even your sister, Sarah, known as the Moonshadow Princess. You can control even the nobles, so you wouldn’t have trouble with a mere writer’s women.”

“…Please don’t jump to conclusions. And I didn’t manipulate anyone in the first place.”

“Whether you manipulated them or they attached themselves to you is not important. What matters now is that you touched my fiancée. …And to the extent of bringing her to this party filled with such indecent intentions.”

Gyetmyeojosyegeuk felt unjust and wanted to jump up and down, but Antonio’s suspicions were somewhat justified.

Events where the host is anonymously revealed at noble social gatherings like this, excluding regular palace events or noble birthday parties, usually had impure intentions.

Even if Agnes had attended alone (which was impossible without an invitation), Antonio, who had planned to attend and take her away, was enough to make him angry and excited to hear that she had attended a noble social gathering with a partner.

Bringing a partner to such an indecent event meant looking for a “partner to be together with” or “to swap with.”

Even if the other party was a man who would love Agnes for the rest of his life, he had no right to stop that love, but Antonio could never forgive someone who would push her into the debauched den of noble scoundrels like trash.

…Although the reasons why Gyetmyeojosyegeuk and Agnes participated in this party were completely different from what Antonio thought, he didn’t know their true intentions. He simply attended secretly out of curiosity after hearing his brother MacHeart’s words and attacked the hero when he discovered Agnes, without considering the consequences.

“Big trouble. Antonio has never served as a combatant, so he doesn’t know the patterns well…”

Even though they didn’t know when the magical signal from Lillis would return, there was no time to waste on him. However, even if they tried to ignore him, it was impossible to leave the banquet hall with so many eyes on them.

The best option was to quickly finish the sudden duel with Antonio and escape the chaos, but even that seemed difficult to accomplish.

Gyutmyajoshegikwat’s gameplay was mostly based on strategies from Lelgulchang and the knowledge gained from only one playthrough. Proceeding with the orthodox route from Lelgulchang’s last playthrough, they became stronger as expected, and when faced with unavoidable battles, they handled them based on their experiences from the previous playthrough.

They were well-versed in dealing with characters and enemies frequently encountered in the game, and while their performance in the swordsmanship department was influenced by their achievements against Ethan, Natalie, and Kaham in the past, knowing how to deal with opponents meant they didn’t know how to handle opponents they hadn’t faced before.

In the game world of “Luminor Academy,” Antonio’s presence was subtle. Being a latecomer prince left him in a position where he couldn’t help but be overshadowed in the power struggle.

While they had crossed paths in the game before, his presence was no more or less than a noble character who had temporarily helped during the event of Seraphine’s kidnapping.

His performance as a regular party member was subtle, and they had almost no memory of utilizing him, often leaving him behind in battles instead of fighting upfront.

“He might be weak. He might be weak, but…”

Fighting against an opponent whose true strength was unknown always came with tension. Moreover, this world was not the same as the original “Luminor Academy,” as Lelgulchang was acting independently and causing some events to unfold differently.

They couldn’t afford to underestimate Antonio’s skills at the level of the prince in the game, so Gyutmyajoshegikwat honestly didn’t want to fight if possible.

“Prince Antonio, I don’t particularly want to cross swords with you. I can explain that everything you think about me is a misunderstanding later.”

“…Later, when would that be?”

“Probably after tonight…”

“If that time comes, it will be too late. After my Fiancé is tainted by your impure touch.”

“…”

“I don’t particularly demand purity from my future wife, but I don’t want to create something I’ll regret in the future. If I can prevent it with my own strength, even more so.”

“Sigh…”

“Tsk.”

A deep sigh escaped Gyutmyajoshegikwat, and a faint clicking sound could be heard from Agnes, who was looking at Antonio from behind.

Antonio, who still didn’t realize that his actions, which he thought were for Agnes’ sake, were undermining her evaluation in real-time.

If anything were to happen to Lillis or if something irreversible were to occur, it would probably be best to consider that there was no chance for Antonio to win her love in this lifetime.

And as the pink-haired priestess, unsure of what to do, alternately looked between the prince and the hero, Cerista was the only one among those remaining in the banquet hall who had noticed Lillis’ gathering signal.

According to the prearranged plan, once they received the signal, they were supposed to either use the cloak of concealment or have Agnes use invisibility magic to escape from the banquet hall.

However, in the current situation where all eyes were on her, Agnes couldn’t use her concealment magic, and even if she used the hiding spell to blend in among the people, the effect would be minimal.

In the sight of Cerista, who was at a loss for what to do, it was ultimately the decision of pulling out her sword from her scabbard after much contemplation.

*Srrrung.*

“Yeah, if you’re a man, you should definitely have a conversation with swords.”

“That’s a gender-biased statement, Your Highness.”

Already diminished favorability was further reduced by the recent words, but the internal evaluation of the red mage was just a bit more tarnished.

“I don’t know if it will go well, but I have to somehow subdue without killing. It would be best if it could end with just unconsciousness…”

If she accidentally misplaced her hand and ended up killing the prince, not only would the story be disrupted, but her activities as a hero would also be severely restricted. If he was a royal influenced by the demons like MacHart, there would be some justification even if she killed him, but the prince in front of her was just a fool blinded by love.

But if she hesitated too much and held back her strength, only to get hurt herself, it would be a complete failure. And if she lost, she and Agnes would be bound and helpless here.

In that case, if Rilis, who would engage in a one-on-one battle with MacHart, would disappear tonight, and a few months later, she would be found somewhere as an unknown corpse.

…As a long-time friend and someone who had built a certain level of camaraderie in the community, Cerista could never tolerate that.

“I have to use my concealment magic or the hiding spell to escape when all attention is on the prince after making him unconscious. …If it’s difficult to hold back after the first clash, then I’ll have to choose the Rillichang side.”

If she could only save one, that side would be the right choice.

With that thought in mind, Cerista’s sword flew towards Prince Antonio, and Antonio’s sword also swung to parry hers…

*Clang!*

*Clang!*

*Thud!*

“Ughhh!!”

…A sound that should never have come from the side of Prince Antonio’s ribs as the swords clashed.

*Thud!*

“Cough, cough….”

“Uh, uh…?”

Edan, who realized the situation a beat late, turned his gaze towards the fallen prince and the mysterious assailant, holding the lost sword.

Meanwhile, the woman who suddenly barged into the duel and kicked the prince’s side with a flying kick, shouted in a furious voice the name of the prince she had brought down.

“Antonioooo!!!”

It was a situation where anyone could see that she had committed a grave offense by laying hands on a royal and interrupting a sacred duel involving the nobility, but no one present could blame her for attacking Antonio.

The woman who subdued the royal with a flying kick in a confrontation with Cerista was also a royal born from the same bloodline as Antonio.

Moreover, she was a royal one step higher in rank than Antonio.

“Sera….”

“Antonioooo!!! What do you think you’re doing right now?! Pulling out a sharp blade at a noble social gathering, are you out of your mind?!”

“Cough, cough…. S-Sera, I-I…”

“Suddenly making an excuse about having an appointment tonight and rushing out of the palace…!! I thought you were at least a decent kid, Antonio, but…!!!”

With an unexpectedly high pitch, Sera interrogated her younger brother, and all the nobles’ gazes in the ballroom were focused on her. In her different demeanor from usual, Cerista could discern the intent behind her actions.

Seraphine didn’t know how she managed to find out and come here, but regardless, what she was doing now was an action to ‘gather the attention’ of everyone in the banquet hall.

Not wanting to miss the chance that wouldn’t come again, he immediately put on the cloak of concealment with Serista and Ethan, intending to leave the scene…

“…Wait, where’s Ethan?”

“If you mean Master Ethan, he left the banquet hall first during the commotion earlier…”

Among those who remained in the banquet hall, only Serista noticed Lily’s gathering signal.

Ethan, who was the first to notice Lily’s signal, had already left the banquet hall a while ago.