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[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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Chapter 18
Eight pill bugs crawled onto the table, and the knight began moving them with dazzling sleight of hand.
This wasn’t the skill of someone who had only practiced once or twice.
Clearly, he had been enjoying this game long before our expedition arrived.
His swiftly moving hands came to a halt.
And so did my eyes, which had been following them.
“Speak.”
A smile played across my lips.
I tilted my head slightly and pointed left, then right, calling out the numbers.
“Three, four.”
A total of seven.
Our knights’ expressions hardened, and the opposing knight’s face twisted.
“I think you counted wrong. There should be eight pill bugs in total.”
The opposing knight said.
I scoffed and told him to move his hand.
He grit his teeth and pulled his hand away.
There were seven balls.
Split exactly into three and four.
“Huh? What the…?”
“Did two pill bugs merge…?”
I heard baffled voices from our knights, including Reuben.
The trick to this pill bug game wasn’t guessing how many bugs there were—but how many balls there were.
And pill bugs have a tendency to curl around each other to form a single ball.
If you didn’t know that, you couldn’t win.
— Not bad! He knows how to use his head! Makes it all the more fun to mess with him!
The spirit possessing me, Bultan, spoke gleefully.
‘What the hell? That never happened during practice.’
— There’s a technique to make pill bugs merge. Even tribe members don’t often share it. Must’ve overheard it somehow. Keke!
He chuckled mockingly.
Behind me, I heard knights grumbling over almost having been tricked.
But since we were winning, Reuben was blocking the ones who wanted to charge in.
“Is it my turn now?”
This time, my hands moved with flourish.
The opposing knight watched intently, his eyes sharp.
“All right! Guess.”
“Three, three.”
Six in total.
He must’ve thought two of them were merged.
Even I didn't know how many balls were in my hands.
“Nooope, I’ll give you one more chaaaance. Heeheehee.”
Bultan blurted out whatever he wanted.
The knight’s face twisted with frustration at his words.
I couldn’t see my own expression, but from the look on his face, I could guess it wasn’t a good one.
“...I’ll stick with my answer.”
“You’ll regret iiiiit, hehe!”
— Shut up, you crazy bastard!
Bultan’s influence was growing stronger.
Maybe the gamble had heightened his focus—he was starting to act independently of my will.
The knight’s cheek twitched.
It looked like he might just punch me.
“Four and three, sucker!”
Thankfully, the spirit revealed the result right away.
The knight’s eyes shook.
He was so sure it was three and three, but it turned out to be four and three—he’s clearly shaken.
“Yeah! That’s our Ren! Nicely done!”
“Bwahaha! Acting all high and mighty, and he can’t get a single one right!”
“There’s a huge skill gap here. Didn’t he say you needed sharp eyes and fast hands? Can’t even keep up with this?”
Our knights rained down mockery.
The knight who had faced me swore under his breath, eyes red, and stepped back.
The next challenger stepped up.
The result is obvious.
Both guessed terribly wrong and left humiliated by my taunts.
We didn’t lose a single round—the win was entirely ours.
“That’s our gravekeeper!”
“Don’t ever underestimate our gravekeeper again!”
“You idiots! Get your heads down and grovel! Bwahahaha!”
“With those slow eyes, how’re you gonna dodge a goblin’s poison dart?”
“No way. They probably just planned to take the hit in armor.”
The atmosphere on the Baran side turned sour.
Their gazes toward me were filled with hostility.
I slipped away quietly, pushing aside the Brillant knights trying to lift me up in celebration.
“Whew…”
[Descent has ended.]
[「Quest – Win big and humiliate your opponent!」cleared.]
[「Agility +0.3, Stamina +0.1」acquired.]
Hiding among the mercenaries from a distance, I watched the knights of Baran shouting that the match was invalid because I had cheated.
Clearly, they really didn’t want to crawl under anyone’s legs.
But they’d have to do it eventually.
There were too many witnesses—and the desert tribes especially despised those who broke a bet.
I wonder if I did the right thing.
I’d earned a lot of hostility from the Baran knights, but in exchange, I’d gained a ton of favor from the Brillant knights.
“Ren! You’re really something.”
Lloyd came over and spoke.
Other mercenaries, having seen the commotion earlier, gather around with questions.
How did I get so close with the knights?
How was I so good at the pill bug game?
Who the hell was I, really?
I laughed most of the questions off.
* * *
The knights’ quarrel ended as a brief episode.
In the end, the three knights who had participated in the bet crawled between the Brillant knights’ legs, and the chaos subsided.
But that wasn’t the important thing now.
The desert beast wave had begun.
The entire purpose of this expedition was to prevent the monsters from moving north across the continent and to eliminate their leader.
“We’ll probably be here for a month.”
“Maybe longer.”
“My goal is just to get out of here alive.”
Though the mercenaries were being paid handsomely for this mission, many would still die.
You had to be careful and lucky to survive.
Soldiers moved en masse toward the desert.
The knights followed to lead them, and the mercenaries filled in the rest—handling all kinds of miscellaneous tasks.
As a result, the desert tribe’s village became quite empty.
With nothing else to do, I went to the tribe’s graveyard.
I was hoping there might be a quest or something there.
“So we finally meet, Ren Arzen.”
A calm but firm voice called out to me.
I turned my head—and there stood Louise Heretia, watching me.
“Your Highness.”
“No need for formality. Aren’t you my secret escort?”
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[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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So he knew about me all along?
I thought Princess Jane hadn’t said anything, since he always seemed so indifferent.
“Yes.”
“…”
Contrary to my expectations, Louise’s eyes were filled with distrust.
Was it doubt about my skills?
Or distrust in me as a person?
‘Since Princess Jane introduced me, it must be about my skills.’
Jane had said she wouldn’t reveal my hidden abilities, thinking no one would believe her anyway—just like a true secret guard.
Louise had probably investigated everything about me.
So naturally,she would have doubts about my competence.
Especially considering that Scarlett Arzen, currently residing in Brillant, had come along—she must have told Louise something about my past.
The illegitimate child of House Arzen.
Pathetic sword skills, unable to endure the family's oppression and disdain, and ran away like a weak coward.
That was my reputation and standing within the Arzen family.
At this point, I doubt there are many who even remember me.
“I’ll do my best—”
“No, don’t worry. Just hang around quietly and head back when it’s over.”
It didn’t sound like something said out of disappointment.
“Still……”
“I heard from Scarlett. You were driven out of your family, weren’t you?”
I didn’t know how much she remembered or what she had said, but I wasn’t particularly thrilled by the mention.
“...Yes.”
“You might feel uncomfortable seeing her again, so you don’t have to stay near me if you’d rather not.”
I was left speechless at the unexpected kindness.
Prince Louise was being considerate toward me.
“It’s not uncomfortable. I’ve already left the past behind.”
“That’s the wrong approach.”
He looked at me with serious eyes and said,
“The past isn’t just something that’s gone. It’s a stepping stone for the future. Don’t try to forget it so easily. Erasing the past can’t be your escape.”
Yes, that’s Louise for you.
He doesn’t take the past or the future lightly.
That’s why, despite our difference in status, we could build a connection in our previous life.
Though I met Louise much later, it was clear that he had always been thoughtful, even when he was younger.
“I understand.”
He nodded.
Had he come all the way here just to say that?
Though Louise spoke out of consideration, I couldn’t just ignore what I knew—that a black mage was already involved.
‘The future’s already changed quite a bit.’
Louise might really be in danger.
And my instincts were telling me clearly:
If I stay close to him, I might find the key to the main quest.
“If you ever feel like you need me, I’ll come to you. Just don’t stop me when I do.”
“I understand.”
With that, Louise left.
At first, the desert monster wave wasn’t particularly dangerous.
But even so, due to the terrain, weather, and overall circumstances, casualties and injuries occurred daily.
I helped the soldiers carry the bodies of the dead and gave them proper burials.
[Spiritual Power increased by 0.1.]
[Spiritual Power increased by 0.1.]
After handling so many corpses, my Spiritual Power had increased significantly.
Spiritual Power was currently my strongest stat.
An increase in Spiritual Power meant a stronger ability to handle souls.
It extended the duration of necromancy spells and reduced the burden on my body.
I had grown a lot through this expedition.
* * *
More than ten days had already passed.
With consistent sword training and corpse handling, my stats had gone up considerably.
Quite a few soldiers had died.
And this was only the beginning of the real wave.
“We’re going to die out here.”
Lloyd grumbled in frustration.
The other mercenaries felt the same.
Some of them were already gone—nowhere to be seen.
Their stamina was probably reaching its limit, and the number of deaths would only start increasing rapidly from here.
“Ren, must be nice for you, huh?”
“Nice? I’ve been hauling corpses and digging graves every day. Barely getting paid, too.”
Actually, I get paid a lot.
Because I’m supposedly acting as Louise’s bodyguard.
Though I don’t do much.
“There was a mutated black-backed scorpion that showed up this time. Caused a lot of damage. For the first time, even a knight got injured.”
“It’s a tough time physically. And deserts are the worst for knights. They can’t wear their armor.”
If you wore thick steel armor in the desert and fought, you’d collapse in less than an hour.
Even knights.
Sure, if they just stood still, they could last longer, but that’s not exactly realistic.
“Looks like Prince Louise is planning to take action himself now.”
He was training with a few soldiers and knights, sweating heavily.
Louise could’ve stayed back and just dealt with the monsters from a distance, but his personality wouldn’t allow him to just sit back.
‘Why can’t he just stay behind?’
Even though I knew he survived in the past, I couldn’t shake off the unease.
This desert monster wave would only end once the leader of the monsters was taken down.
Mutants appeared at regular intervals, forming their own mini-armies—and those were what transformed into waves that moved toward the center of the continent.
To stop the wave, you had to cut down their numbers and kill the leader.
The mutated black-backed scorpion wasn’t quite the leader, but it was strong enough to be a mid-boss, and it seemed Louise was planning to deal with it.
‘Can’t be helped.’
I hurried over to Reuben and asked if he had any leather gear left.
“Hmm… I do, but why do you need it?”
“Just standing around feels wrong. I’m thinking of heading into the battlefield myself.”
“There’s no need. You’re the gravekeeper. Why would you—”
“Wow! That’s so like Ren! What a kind heart!”
“Someone like him should’ve become a knight. Not you.”
“What did you say, punk?”
The knights of Brillant gave me thumbs-ups at my words, full of praise.
Maybe because I’d built up some goodwill, they kept showering me with compliments.
“Are you sure about this?”
“Yes. It’s fine. I’ll just deal with the ones that sneak past.”
“Alright, then.”
After receiving a sword and armor from Reuben, I surveyed the desert terrain.
The bodies of monsters were scattered everywhere.
Soon, the expedition would start heading deeper into the desert to deal with the boss monster.
I planned to join the attack team from the sidelines and only jump in if Louise looked like he was in real danger.
‘This was the right decision… right?’
Looking out over the vast desert, a sudden wave of regret washed over me.
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[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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