episode_0307

The path I arrived at following Camilla’s guidance that I couldn’t bear to turn away.

They were waiting for me in this place where the Duke’s eyes could hardly reach, and all of their gazes were focused in one place.

If even one person here screams, my escape plan will definitely fail.

Since the clear condition for Chapter 3 is escape, failure of the plan will inevitably result in a huge penalty and postpone the escape.

But they don’t think so.

As you can see from the numbers that say 100% and the boxes that shine brightly, they are just waiting very quietly.

They waited for me in turn at the crossroads I was passing by.

The alarm sound has already been on. You’ll know what to do when you see this. However, I haven’t looked at the status window yet…

It’s obvious.

What should I do?

There was no way I wouldn’t notice something like this.

I just walked forward, towards them.

“It’s been quite some time since then… The doctor at the time said that I would never be able to survive with just the herbal medicine. In short, my life was like a candle in the face of a storm. And yet, I’m still alive. This is what I’m saying now.”

The first one is…

It was Tasha.

-Tiring!

▶By satisfying the hidden conditions, Tasha Deol’s intimacy will not drop below 100%.◀

▶The character shows endless loyalty to you.◀

[ Tasha Deol ]

[ Intimacy: 100% ]

“I will never forget the grace that saved my life by giving me the roots of the Shuhupeop tree.”

▶There has been a change to Tasha’s intimacy settings.◀

[ My final farewell to my benefactor. ]

…a benefactor.

That’s not it.

I bought the shuhupep tree root solely for my own purposes, simply because I knew Camilla’s background.

This will deactivate the dead trigger on the character Camilla.

I simply made that choice to survive.

Yeah, it’s not good intentions.

Absolutely not, I, a sloppy human being, would ever have such good intentions.

“No need. I─”

“Your Majesty. This is not something I bought with the Duke’s money, but something I bought with my own money.”

“…!”

The meaning of these words is… no way.

“It doesn’t belong to the Duke you hate so much, so wouldn’t it be okay if I took it?”

“I knew that.”

Tasha answered very politely as he looked at her with bewildered eyes.

“At some point, you stopped spending a single penny of the Duke’s money. As the head maid, you were already keeping an eye on it. But that’s not important right now.”

-Ouch.

Tasha, who had the same message as Camilla, hands me an item. At the same time, the item’s description text lit up.

◆A grade map

[ A top-quality map with a very small margin of error and detailed contour lines and river basins. ]

“You’ll definitely need an expensive map to get out of the dungeon. After you get caught, you’ll never have another chance. But to tell you the truth…”

“…”

“Lastly, I hope that I can repay that favor even a little and help ease the burden on your heart.”

I looked at the old man with his head bowed and received guidance along with a short word of understanding.

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

…Okay. I guess I should think rationally.

This map would be very useful for me as I don’t have a minimap.

Also, this is my last time with Tasha.

We won’t meet again. He said it was because of the burden on his mind, so it wouldn’t be a bad idea to listen to him.

I walked with my eyes turned away in such an ambiguous state.

But that’s not the end.

Rather, it was a beginning.

-chuck!

““To Lord Karsein Bagrand, the knight’s oath!””

A man and woman holding swords smiled and stood in front of me, taking the oath pose of a knight.

-Tiring!

▶By satisfying the hidden conditions, Radiel Groupain’s intimacy will not drop below 100%.◀

▶By satisfying the hidden conditions, Mark Redeltine’s intimacy will not drop below 100%.◀

▶The character shows endless loyalty to you.◀

[ Radiel Groupen ]

[ Intimacy: 100% ]

[ Mark Redeltine ]

[ Intimacy: 100% ]

▶There has been a change in the intimacy settings of Radiel and Mark.◀

[ My final farewell to my benefactor. ]

***

Radiel and Mark were not much different from Tasha.

“What if the person wielding the sword doesn’t even have a wrist guard?”

“Besides, even if you wear commoner’s clothes, you are still too conspicuous. You should bring at least one artifact that knights use when infiltrating so that you won’t be caught.”

■Items in possession■

◆Grade A wrist guard

[ Reduces stamina consumed when using a sword, and slightly increases movement efficiency. ]

◆A-Grade Assassin Hood

[ In fields where the danger level is lower than Caution, the stealth ability is increased, and in fields where the danger level is higher than Caution, the evasion rate is increased in proportion to the possessed stat. ]

They gave me the items they had procured with their own money.

The reason is that there is a screening process to somehow escape from the workshop, so in unavoidable situations, you have to hide.

The two knights’ claims were not wrong, just like Tasha’s.

But they said the same thing too.

“This is the last one. Please accept it.”

“Please. I want to repay your kindness, even if it’s just a little.”

Please accept it, it’s the last one.

Please let me repay the favor by lightening this burden.

Those were the kind of ambiguous answers.

…It’s a bit daunting, but I decided to accept it.

It was something I needed, and it was the right thing to do to reduce the variables in my escape from the Duke’s house, even if I thought about it rationally.

But from now on, every time I met someone, the same situation kept repeating itself.

“Thank you for saving Ruthmeyer!”

“As the village chief, I am happy to have met the best lord. Thank you, lord.”

Ruthmeyer’s Barak. And Kiyan, Tony, and Melik, whom I met for the first time.

-Tiring!

▶The character shows endless loyalty to you.◀

▶You have acquired the item!◀

“Thank you, bro!”

“Thank you, oppa!”

“It was an honor that you trusted me, a mere security guard, with this task.”

“Thank you for saving the foolish Chatren, my lord.”

Ferdi and Trisha, the guards Dyke and Frick, and Bremdo, the village chief of Chatren.

Everyone asked me for favors and handed me things as a token of their gratitude.

…with a common message floating above their heads: benefactor.

After that, people without messages appeared.

If you look closely, there aren’t that many people, just a few people representing each place. But strangely, the line felt long.

He walked bluntly.

I just received what I needed.

I never thought about it that deeply. It was just for me to achieve my goal.

If it were a game, this probably wouldn’t have been displayed as dots.

Those people, who are just characters in a Tsukur game… would never have shown such a message.

but…

Strangely enough, I didn’t think I would have any regrets.

As I walked forward, two familiar people appeared.

It’s probably these two people who created this matrix.

“…Why would you do that.”

“Isn’t this the last road you’re taking?”

“Aren’t you even denying it?”

“Yes, that’s true.”

“There are so many people who have benefited from your grace, but if I just send them away, I won’t be able to sleep soundly.”

“Yes, that’s right. ”

“…How shameless. Quite.”

“Even if you say that, they won’t forget the favor they received from you, right?”

The Duke’s old butler and his doctor laughed heartily.

“Haa. So, why did you do that? What were you trying to say by doing this?”

When asked why, the two become quite serious.

They immediately lower their posture.

…no.

I knelt down and bowed.

▶By satisfying the hidden conditions, Heron’s intimacy will not drop below 100%.◀

▶By satisfying the hidden conditions, Shayden’s intimacy will not drop below 100%.◀

[ Heron ]

[ Intimacy: 100% ]

[ Shayden ]

[ Intimacy: 100% ]

▶These characters show endless loyalty to you.◀

▶Hidden Event. The conditions of those who have received grace have been met.◀

▶There will be changes to the intimacy settings.◀

““To the benefactor who saved the Duke. I express my endless gratitude.””

[ A final greeting to the benefactor who saved the Duke’s family. ]

They too.

It was the same.

…I still don’t understand.

Soon the procession completing this road came to an end.

It seemed like Heron and Brem were the last ones.

There was only one horse prepared for the place I was walking to.

I guess this is the end.

I approached the horse without hesitation.

Right then.

The one person still left shouted at me.

“Your Majesty!”

…Okay. There’s still one person left.

The loyal maid followed me silently until the end.

When I turn my head back, Camilla starts to sob.

“Thank you for forgiving me for living such a life of great sins…! And…!”

The voice broke off.

Just looking at his heavily hunched voice, you can tell he’s not in a state to say anything.

But Camilla forced her voice to remain silent.

“It was an honor to be able to serve you, my lord.”

Camilla was a truly loyal maid.

He faithfully carried out my orders while carrying out all my duties.

So I didn’t bother looking at the status window.

But… when I got on the horse and took the reins.

“…Thank you for your hard work.”

“…!”

Those words came out of my mouth without me knowing.

-Heeheehee!

If it were original, I wouldn’t have left even a single word, saying that we would be no different from each other.

If you think about it rationally, it makes no sense. There’s no need to say something like that.

For some reason I felt like I had to do that.

-Isn’t it okay to just say that you’ve worked hard?

…That may be because of a woman I’ve been seeing so far that has caused a small change in me.

-Tiring!

▶I got out of the workshop.◀

▶CHAPTER 3 will be automatically cleared, and CHAPTER 4 will begin immediately.◀

▶Episode I. Escape in progress.◀

▶Avoid the Duke’s pursuit for the given time.◀

[ If you are tracked, you will be dragged back to the Duke’s House and returned to Chapter 3. ]

▶All of the 1st Knights of the Duke’s Knights are silent. The tracking time and range are reduced.◀

▶80% of the Duke’s servants keep silent about this. The tracking time and range are reduced.◀

▶Rusmeyer, the people of Chatren Estate keep this in mind. The tracking time and range are reduced.◀

▶News spreads more slowly due to the influence of Viscount Ptoa and Carlton.◀

The tracking period was three days. That means I had three days to not be caught.

But I was able to live in another city for these three days without any threat.

***

-Phew!

Claire spit out the water she was drinking.

“What? You can’t contact Carcein?”

“Yes.”

“No. Didn’t you say you were going to inspect the territory?”

“That’s true, but… I don’t know the details…”

“Haa. Then I can’t tell you to leave it blank that day.”

But no matter how I think about it, it’s a strange situation.

What the heck is going on?

Claire groaned and pushed the maid away.

“You clearly said you were going to inspect the territory that day.”

He said he would change into commoner’s clothes and go on an inspection tour undercover.

I heard it clearly with both ears just before getting on the carriage.

“But why haven’t I received a reply even though I sent letters to Rusmeyer and Chatren?”

There can’t be any other territories besides those two.

There’s no way the maid who just left would lie and say she was crazy, and she really didn’t know.

It’s now too much of a leap to even think that Carcein chews on purpose.

I couldn’t hide my uneasy feeling because there was no contact.

“…I guess I should go back to being a writer.”

Something was strange.