episode_0371

“Please be sure to stop by the mansion later!”

After Isabelle left, Joy said that she had nothing to do because she had work to do, and expressed her disappointment. After staring blankly at Isabelle’s earnest appearance, Joy wiped her face with a sigh.

“What on earth happened with Lady Arn that made Count Artea, known as the Iron-Blooded Merchant, show such a servile attitude?”

I moved my feet without answering her question. Because the head of the Artea family was a human being crazy about divinity, I wasn’t confident that I could convince him of that.

Joey, who noticed that I had no intention of answering, looked around without asking any more questions.

“There are a lot of people who look castrated.”

“That’s because this is an island for adventurers. The atmosphere is bound to be different from other estates.”

Arthur’s explanation was correct. An area called an archipelago, which is full of reefs and cannot be entered without knowing the route, has only a nominal ruler and no one actually manages it.

To put it simply, it is a place with nothing to gain, so no one wants to touch it.

Farming is difficult and does not yield any rare resources, and the small to medium-sized dungeons on each island are unique, but the items found there can only be found in other dungeons.

Everyone judged that there was little to gain compared to managing all 14 islands and dungeons, so although this island is part of the kingdom’s territory, no noble in the kingdom actually manages it.

So who manages the island where people live? It’s the adventurer’s guild.

The 14 dungeons, each with moderate difficulty and unique characteristics, are a great place for adventurers to improve their skills. The adventurer’s guild was attracted to it and proposed that they would manage this place, which was considered a curse to the country, and pay taxes.

The kingdom, which was already in trouble because no one wanted to take charge of this island, gladly accepted the offer, and thus this island became an island for adventurers.

“ Thanks to this, this place has become famous as a place that you must visit at least once if you are an adventurer.”

Even after providing basic information about the island, Arthur continued to explain the archipelago. It’s the physiology of the island.

Things like the characteristics of the dungeons on each island. There was some inaccurate information mixed in, but I didn’t want to make Arthur feel bad when he spoke so enthusiastically, so I didn’t say anything.

I don’t know if he was always interested in the archipelago, or if he was alarmed by my promise to test him and desperately investigated it, but it’s amazing. They say that you have to have a desire to improve to be able to teach.

“But the 3rd prince. Why is everyone so weak?”

Frey, who was quietly listening to Arthur’s explanation, asked a sensitive question in an innocent voice without even the slightest hint of malice. Is it because my voice was a bit loud? I can see the adventurers around me flinching.

“Ha. Frey. You are real.”

“Why? It’s true, right? This place is full of idiots who don’t even know proper martial arts.”

As Frey said, the level of adventurers in the archipelago is not that high.

As I said before, this is a place where it’s hard to live, but there’s nothing to be gained. The only people who stay here are some self-proclaimed adventurers and people walking around with their shoulders down.

People with real skills prefer to conquer large dungeons on the continent or join a mercenary group to be recognized for their skills.

Still, I’ll be staying here for more than a week, so there’s no need to have any trouble with the adventurers already. As I was looking at the people who were giving sharp looks to the knights guarding us but couldn’t express their dissatisfaction, I poked Frey’s side as he was trying to recite how sloppy the adventurers were.

“I don’t think that’s what a crappy swordsman who always attacks me would say, right?♡”

“…It’s not a joke. You’re a stupid prosecutor.”

“Okay. okay. Poor prosecutor♡”

“You’re not a slob!?”

“That’s right? Idiot prosecutor?♡”

“So you’re not an idiot! I’m a sloppy… sloppy? Hmm?”

I took Frey, who was struggling with self-contradiction, and headed toward the dormitory. To head straight to the dungeon after unpacking.

“From what I understand, there are procedures that must be performed before entering the dungeon?”

‘I finished that all in advance.’

“Of course, I prepared it in advance. Please do not think that I am as ignorant as the poor prince who was locked up in the palace. I feel bad.”

Many minor procedures have already been completed. Let’s join the adventurer’s guild as a group, where most are commoners and the only nobles are honorary or baron. What kind of mess would happen?

So, I asked Caria in advance to go through the procedures. So that you can focus on conquering the dungeon without worrying about other things.

“…Stir. Lady Aln. So are we heading straight to the dungeon?”

‘yes. ‘You had enough rest on the boat, right?’

“Are you planning to rest again after sleeping all day on the boat? Idiot. If you do that, you might end up becoming a stupid pig.”

“That didn’t happen!”

As we left the accommodation that Newman had prepared for us, we saw that one more person had been added to the knights who had followed us as our escort.

The man, who gave a taciturn appearance, was listening to the drivers talk about various things, and when he saw us, he showed his courtesy.

“Hello. Noble people. My name is Rias’ Banver and I will be your guide on this island. Please feel free to call me Benber.”

Anyone who looked at him would have thought that he was a man from a noble family, but I knew who was hidden behind him.

This man who introduced himself as Benber was Caria in disguise.

Voice, appearance, tone, mannerisms. Although nothing was the same, the energy of the evil spirit dissipating within her proved that it was her.

He said he would attach someone to me, but I never thought he would come himself. Somehow, Benedick easily allowed me to travel to the archipelago. I guess they thought it wouldn’t be a big problem since Karia would follow along.

“Let’s move quickly. If you want to conquer two dungeons in one day, you won’t be able to waste time.”

We arrived at the first dungeon following Caria’s guidance. The dungeon is located near the coast and has better items compared to other dungeons, so it is a place where many adventurers constantly visit.

Unlike large dungeons, medium-sized dungeons have a limited number of people who can enter them, so you need to wait your turn in front of the dungeon door to enter. But we didn’t need to. Because Caria reserved our seats before we arrived.

“Defeating the dungeon right away without even having time to catch your breath.”

“It’s fun. I wish we could meet like this…”

“You are the only one having fun. Fray Kent.”

As soon as I enter the dungeon with the three bickering people, their eyes are focused on me. He wants me to take full command as usual.

Of course, I have the ability to grant my friends’ wishes. Considering my current specs, I think I can beat this dungeon in less than an hour.

But instead of telling him what to do next, I just looked at Arthur quietly.

“Poor prince. Of course you’ve memorized the perfect book I wrote, right?♡ You were so confident, but you couldn’t read it yet, right?♡”

“Why are you asking that?”

“You couldn’t do it?♡ You said you would try as hard as you could, but you were just bluffing?♡ Phew ♡ That’s like the poor prince♡”

“What are you talking about? Of course I memorized it all. I’m just curious about the purpose of entering the dungeon and asking that question.”

“What do you think?♡ I think you would know that the poor prince is incompetent and helpless, but has a good sense of humor♡”

“…Are you really telling me to lead the dungeon strategy?”

Seeing Arthur blinking, he lifted his lips.

“If you don’t complete the game within four hours, a huge punishment awaits you, so please work hard♡ If you want to be punished, you can just do it roughly♡”

To motivate him, he sparingly spat out provocative words, and Arthur’s face instantly turned red.

“Oh? I will do it. I’ll clear the dungeon in four hours. instead. If I succeed, you will have to give me your forehead.”

“Do you really want to leave a mark on my white forehead?♡ You have really perverted tastes♡ It’s disgusting♡”

“…Tsk.”

I responded with a laugh to the sound of clicking my tongue, took out my mace and shield, and stood at the front line.

Hehehe. Now, let’s follow Arthur’s commands as an NPC, not as a player.

*

Joey was well aware of Arthur’s abilities. She had followed his instructions and conquered the dungeon several times.

It’s just blurred because there’s a non-standard being named Lucy next to him. Arthur also had a calmness and skill that was not befitting his age.

“Lucy. Don’t fight from the front, just hold on.”

“Sending such a cute and fragile girl to the lead. You are a devil.”

“…Fray. Meanwhile, you take care of the two coming from behind.”

“I’ll go.”

“Go and come back. Don’t go wild alone.”

“…tsk.”

However, the abilities that Arthur was showing now were not simply at the level of being superior to his peers.

His commanding ability, which had grown incomparably compared to the time of the final exam, was already reminiscent of a seasoned knight.

It may be your first time entering a dungeon, but finding your way around is not difficult. Dealing with the monsters rushing inside. Also responding to various traps. Even attacking the boss on the middle floor. Everyone has grown significantly compared to before.

Remember that you said you would learn dungeon strategy from Lady Aln. But it’s only been a month or two since then. I probably didn’t even have time to study properly during that time. How can you grow this fast?

Is the 3rd Prince’s talent really great? Or is the book that Lady Aln gave me really great?

“Joy. Don’t sit idle and prepare your magic.”

“I already did it.”

Joey got out of his thoughts and realized the nine magic circles that had already been completed. Then, arrows made of ice were shot from each magic circle and penetrated between the monster’s carapace.

Soon, the sound of frost forming inside the carapace is heard, and the monsters break into pieces and fall to the floor.

Extremely realistic and efficient use of magic. Arthur, who had not expected it to end all at once, broke into a cold sweat when he saw the scene, but Joey remained calm as if it was no big deal.

“A simple-faced young lady. Has the magic gone wild? You must be very annoyed that it was applied to me?”

“It’s not like that. As we continued to spar, I realized that there was no need for the magic to be flashy, so I changed it up a bit.”

Arthur looked at Joey, who shrugged his shoulders, as if he was fed up. Even though he inherited the blood of the Patran family, his magical talent exceeded the standards.

Maybe the next person to succeed Partran will not be Jeff Partran, but Joey.

“…Kyaaa?!”

Arthur’s wonder disappeared the moment he saw Joey slipping on the ice he had created.

“Puut. Hahaha. The idiot is really the idiot!”

“Don’t laugh, just help him up! Quickly!”

It’s cancelled. What kind of disaster will happen if that guy succeeds Partran?

Arthur sighed at the sight of Joey’s face turning red and blinked when he saw Frey who had already returned.

There were quite a few signs behind me, but have you already dealt with them all?

“They are all weak. It wasn’t fun.”

“…Okay. That’s such a shame.”

…It’s possible at this level. You might be able to win the bet you accepted in a fit of anger.

Facing truly monstrous talents, Arthur clenched his fists and shook his head constantly.

To avoid a penalty from Lucy Alln.