episode_0406

“Sigh~”

“Let’s sit down for a bit too.”

“It’s dangerous… We should go back now…”

“There’s nothing around but fog. Why worry so much?”

“You’re a skilled fog manipulator, after all.”

As the person the prince’s subordinates were keeping an eye on disappeared, they seemed to relax their tense posture a bit.

The man who had been persistently arguing that they should leave because it was dangerous was mocked by the prince’s subordinates.

“Hey! What are you doing? You should rest too. Don’t just stand there foolishly.”

At that moment, someone must have noticed me standing awkwardly and shouted abruptly.

Due to the fog obscuring faces, they mistook us for part of their group.

I approached the awakened individual who had been teased by the prince and sullenly sat in a corner.

Sitting next to him, I extended what I held in my hand towards him.

“Please have this.”

What I offered him was something to eat.

After receiving harsh words from the prince and being mocked by his subordinates, the awakened individual, feeling dejected, initially eyed me warily but then relented upon noticing the food in my hand and allowed me to sit beside him.

“Why are you here? Just leave me alone. Are you here to insult me too?”

Since this man was the starting point of the strange occurrences, he had endured insults from the prince’s subordinates all along.

“I can’t understand something no matter how much I think about it.”

But it seemed he had grown tired of the countless questions he had already faced.

“I haven’t done anything. I simply followed the prince’s instructions to create dense fog using my abilities. I want to know why things turned out like this!”

“Did you exhibit any different behavior than usual when using your abilities?”

“No. I was just blinded by that damn elixir…!”

Elixir?

“An elixir. What elixir are you talking about?”

“The elixir that the duke has been selling recently?”

Upon hearing the words “duke” and “elixir,” something clicked.

“Are you referring to the elixir sold at the auction by the duke?”

“Yes! I came here as compensation for that! I never expected to be treated like this!!”

I knew that the duke was making a fortune by selling items at the auction, but I had no idea that the bead elixir would come from here.

There were rumors of significant deposits from the duke’s side to Erin Tina.

However, it seemed to be more popular among the nobles than I had thought.

“Sigh~ Let me clarify once again. This fog is not created by me.”

“So, this fog is not yours but naturally occurring in the contaminated zone?”

“Yes!!! How could this fog be mine if you don’t listen to me? Absolutely not! Your refusal to listen is proof of that.”

Unless that man was a talented actor, what he was saying now would likely be true.

“Honestly, I want to run away. I knew nothing during my time here.”

“So, the prince’s goal is clear.”

“Yes! Please spare me. If I had known the plan was to kill the princess, I would never have come! If I had thought of committing such a dreadful act, you should have warned me beforehand! Why me of all people?”

Even if the prince’s plan succeeded, it would be difficult for this man to survive.

Knowing the prince as I did, he wouldn’t spare a used hunting dog.

Whether this man also realized this, despair filled his face.

“Unlucky.”

“Damn it!”

Did he think I was mocking him?

The man buried his face in his knees, as if indicating he wouldn’t engage in further conversation.

Still having questions for the man, I hesitantly spoke up.

“I have one last thing to ask.”

“……”

“If you answer, I can help you escape from here.”

“…Don’t play with me. I won’t fall for it!”

Perhaps mistaking me for someone else’s subordinate, he refused to believe my words.

So, as someone who would never serve under him, I revealed a truth using words he would never expect.

“You won’t survive here as a prince’s subordinate.”

“!!!”

Startled, the man jolted upright and looked at me.

The mist had thickened, making it harder for me to distinguish his face compared to before.

“W-Who are you? Aren’t you part of the prince’s entourage?”

His voice trembled.

“I haven’t introduced myself to you yet. Before drawing attention from others, calm down. It won’t do you any good.”

“Ah…! Y-Yes!”

The man hastily sat back down.

Innocently blinking, he whispered softly, “I thought you were the prince’s servant since you’re here. Who exactly are you?”

“Let them misunderstand from over there; I’ll take advantage of that.”

*Gulp*

Realizing I was his only lifeline, he trembled, showing signs of nervousness.

He seemed worried about revealing my identity to others.

“If you give yourself away like this, it puts me in a difficult position. Act normally, don’t be overly cautious, and stop trembling.”

“D-Did I seem cautious? I’ll try to act nonchalant.”

Despite his words, his body had already tensed up, giving away all his nervousness.

“I believe you didn’t intentionally create this mist.”

“T-Thank you. Sniff! No one believes me even when I’m not the one… sniff!”

Overwhelmed by pent-up emotions, the man burst into tears.

“Calm down, we need to hear your explanation. When did you use your ability, where, your usual proficiency with mist manipulation, and anything else you know.”

“Just in case, are you on the princess’s side?”

Ah, I hadn’t revealed my identity.

“Yes.”

“Ugh!”

At the mention of the Princess, the man fell into contemplation.

“As long as you cooperate, I’ll ensure you won’t face punishment.”

Not only sparing his life but also ensuring no repercussions, the man seemed resolute, revealing everything I had asked without holding back.

“Since using my ability, I’ve felt uneasy. Initially, I thought it was just a mood, but looking back, my body indeed felt strange.”

The man had created mist at a crossroads where the Princess’s punitive force passed by under the Prince’s orders. He used the mist to ambush them, but the assassins brought by the Prince were inadequate to face the punitive force.

“If we hadn’t ambushed them, we’d have been decimated in an instant. The difference in skill was overwhelming. Even if the Prince is crazy, he’s insanely strong! We lost miserably and couldn’t regain our senses!”

In a hushed tone, the man whispered in my ear.

He seemed terrified of openly showing disdain towards the Prince.

Meanwhile, the Prince’s attendants nearby were busy gossiping amongst themselves, paying no attention to us.

“So, you clashed once before.”

“Yes. We lost and fled. Until then, I thought the mist was on my side.”

Seemingly able to escape unscathed due to the dense mist.

“You benefited from the mist.”

“Only until then.”

Due to the thick fog, it also had the effect of separating allies.

The Crown Prince naturally moved to clear the obstructive fog and ordered it, but he could not dispel the fog he had created himself.

“It’s only now that I realize these fogs were not created by me. However….”

The man hesitated for a moment before revealing a secret he didn’t want to disclose.

“I am undoubtedly responsible for the start of this fog.”

Despite denying that it had distorted, it was the man’s sincere confession about the fog being unrelated to himself.

“I understand what you mean.”

Blaming the man who honestly laid out all the circumstances was not possible.

“However, you seemed quite adept at navigating through the fog. Could it be that you can find your way even within the fog? That is how you were able to guide the Crown Prince out of the fog.”

“The fog is my ability. Although it has become distorted, I never lose my way within the fog.”

The man, who confidently responded, suddenly looked crestfallen and continued speaking.

“…At least, not yet. The fog is getting denser. If I go deeper from here, I will lose my way too.”

It seemed that the man’s continuous insistence on leaving the Crown Prince was due to his lack of confidence in his abilities.

“Do not give up just because the fog does not listen. Try to control it slowly.”

“I have already tried enough. It’s pointless.”

“No. I’m not telling you to disperse the fog. I mean to use the current situation as a stepping stone to enhance your abilities. You haven’t dealt with this much fog before.”

“!!”

The man, who had not thought in that direction, blinked vigorously and soon hardened his expression.

“I will give it a try. The fog has been a companion since I was born. I almost gave up on my companion when the fog didn’t listen to me. Thank you for waking me up!”

Merely feeling frustrated about not being able to control the fog would change nothing.

It would be impossible for this man to wrest control of the contaminated fog from the polluted zone.

With their different standings, there would be no fight between them.

However, confronting an unreasonable entity would be a good opportunity for his growth.

One must continue to attempt difficult tasks to improve their skills.

The man now seemed to trust me completely, and with determination in his eyes, he asked, “Is there anything else you’re curious about?”

“If that’s all, it seems like we’ve covered the situation.”

It seemed that he might know how to eliminate the distorted fog.

However, finding the extermination unit was more crucial than spending time eradicating it.

“How can I assist you?”

“For now, we need to leave here and find the extermination unit.”

“I am aware.”

“You are aware?”

“If I had said I knew, you would have immediately gone there and caused trouble again. Once we were able to escape thanks to the fog, but I didn’t think such luck would come twice.”

Pretending not to know for survival was a reasonable choice.