[Translator: Dawn ]

[Proofreader: Alissa ]

Chapter 50: [Free Exploration] Hidden Back Alley (2)

I explained my plan.

The plan is simple. I'm going to intentionally touch the Mimic, and when it devours me, Demian will save me by defeating the Mimic.

And Evangeline will laugh at me seeing me being messed up in the process.

Seeing the prince make a much worse mistake than she did after stepping on fuel would ease her embarrassment.

Aha, I get it now.

Demian nodded his head.

But, Your Highness

Demian tilted his head right after.

Why do you want to do something like that?

Hm?I stopped for a second.

I understand your intention, but there's no reason for you to get messed up so bad, no?

He's right. Why would I?

Nobody told me to do it, and it's not like I'll recruit Evangeline because I suffered through this slapstick.

After giving it some thought, I shrugged my shoulders and answered

That's because Making someone laugh while getting messed up is my specialty!

My job is to be a streamer.

If I can make someone else laugh by suffering and breaking down during the broadcast, that's a good thing. Maybe it's because I've been thinking that way for so long.

Demian tilted his head as if he couldn't understand fully.

I smiled and tilted my head too. I don't know either, Demian.

My slapstick operation worked perfectly.

As soon as I touched the treasure chest, long arms and legs protruded from both sides of the box and grabbed me.

When the box was opened, it was full of sharp teeth.

Uwaaaah! Fuuuuuck!A long tongue came out of the box and licked my face. I screamed for real, not acting. I absolutely hated it.

Mimic's long tongue stretched out like a frog and tied me up tightly.

I was lifted up into the air and slammed right into the Mimic's mouth

Bang! Bang-!

Not.

Demian pulled the trigger in succession. The first shot pierced the Mimic's tongue, and the second shot pierced the Mimic's body.

Kyeeegh!

After letting out a scream, the Mimic was killed.

Demian received me who was falling to the floor. Thud!Ack!

Aagh!

Of course, Demian wasn't physically suited, he was a weak sniper.

He wasn't able to withstand the weight of my body falling, and we had to roll on the floor together.

Your Highness?!

My goodness, Your Highness! Are you okay?

As soon as this incident happened, the rest of the party hurriedly came running, but everyone was at a loss for words when they saw me.

Oww, I got hurt while opening a treasure chest without knowing it was a Mimic What is it? Why are you laughing?

I gritted my teeth at the party members who were clearly holding back their laughter.

However, Jupiter, Evangeline, and even Lucas couldn't hold back their laughter.

In particular, unlike the two who laughed openly, Lucas was even putting his fist in his mouth to desperately contain his laughter. You can just laugh, Lucas

Of course it was funny.

The Mimic's tongue was tied around my body, and I was soaked in the Mimic's saliva.

No one could call me a member of the Imperial Family in this appearance.

Demian pulled out a towel from his bag and handed it to me. I murmured as I wiped my hair with the towel.

What, what do you want? This is what a dungeon is! It's a place where anyone can make mistakes and we'll see each other do so. It's good enough that I'm unharmed, dammit.

Yup, yup, yup. I'll make sure to remember this for you, Sunbae.

Evangeline, who was giggling, shook her head.

You really are completely different from what I imagined.

You too, you little brat. You're very different from the flawless tanker Evangeline I had in mind.

'But at least she's laughing now.'

After brushing off my wet hair with the towel, I let out a sigh of relief inside.

If I see you depressed, Evangeline, it makes me feel guilty. Please, continue to live like that with happiness for your father's sake.

The situation was quickly settled, and a Standard Advanced Magic Core (R) came out of the Mimic's mouth.

We decided to take a break to finish collecting items and reorganize this mess.

Evangeline, who seemed to be in a better mood, was collecting items from the wreckage of the golem, even humming to herself.

After wiping my entire body with the towel, I felt a gaze as I was drinking some water.

I turned back, and it was Demian. I grinned.

What's up, Demian? Do you still not understand me?

I don't. I can't really understand what you think, Your Highness.

Then Demian smiled bashfully right after.

But I can tell that you're a good person.

I awkwardly drank the rest of the water. I didn't think I'd be called a good person for just doing one slapstick comedy.

[Translator: Dawn]

[Proofreader: Alissa]

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We continued to head forward.

The back alleys of the city immersed in darkness were intricately intertwined. But there was only one way forward.

All the other alleyways that branched out around the main route had dead ends.

Lucas tried to force himself over the high stone wall blocking the alley, but

Ugh?! Damn it!

The 'darkness' did not allow that.

The sticky, jelly-like darkness receded when we pushed the lights forward, but not when we tried to walk out of the route.

Everything beyond the stone wall was covered in this darkness.

It looks like we cannot go out of the appointed route. It seems that we better follow this alleyway.

Lucas, who had thrust his arm into the darkness above the stone wall, hurriedly came down and said so. I asked purely out of curiosity.

Were you able to touch that darkness? How did it feel?

Well, if I had to describe it

Lucas described it with a pale face.

Back when I was still an apprentice knight, I was once swallowed whole by a giant sandworm monster. It was similar to the texture of the inside of that monster's stomach.

Evangeline shook her head.

I have no clue what that'd feel like

However, I was somewhat able to understand. Probably because I was just tangled by the tongue of a Mimic.

So it must be sticky and stuffy.

Yes, exactly! That's it, Your Highness!

Alright, enough with that. Let's get moving

Evangeline's face went pale. Perhaps she imagined it.

There were sparsely shabby buildings along the road surrounded by stone walls.

Unlike the splendid city in the distance, most of them were old and rotten shacks.

However, we weren't able to enter these buildings either.

The door is

In front of the shack that we encountered first, Demian muttered.

The door is Blocked.

All doors and windows were firmly sealed with iron plates and boards.

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Lucas tried to tear off the iron plate, but it wouldn't budge.

It seems to have been installed magically. The door cannot be opened simply with physical force.

Jupiter said as she looked into the sealed window.

Demian tilted his head.

Do you think they locked it in order to protect the house from something outside? What could possibly have been outside?

That's not it, Demian.

After shaking my head, I pointed my hand at the nail holding the iron plate.

It was sealed from the outside.

!

In order to block the things that were inside from coming outside.

After gulping in nervousness, Demian asked with his voice shaking.

Then what could be inside this shack?I'm also unsure, but I reckon we don't have to find out right now.

Turning away from the shack, I stepped out onto the road that stretched ahead.

Let's move on.

The party members followed me one by one. Demian, who had been looking into the shack until the end followed.

[Area 2: Hidden Back Alley]

Clear Progression: Normal Room 3/4, Boss Room 0/1

Acquired Treasure Chest: 4/5

The exploring after that went smoothly.

Every time, as soon as the narrow alleyway widened a little, steam golems came out as expected.

However, it was only difficult at first. After learning a good strategy, it became easier.

Evangeline blocks, Lucas holds it down, Jupiter blows off its plate, and Demian aims for the core.

The creaky teamwork gradually became better. In the third encounter, four steam golems popped out, but all party members were able to destroy them without suffering any injuries.

'Acquired items are let's see.'

I opened my bag and took a look.

3 R-ranked magic cores, a bunch of magic crystals, and bundles of unidentified metal plates.

The durability of the plates was superior to that of ordinary iron. I was about to pick up a few to entrust a research request to the forge.

'It was not bad, but it could've gone better.'

The R-rank magic core isn't so bad of a reward, but I was a little unsatisfied as I expected much hotter rewards than this.

'Maybe I can count on the boss room reward.'

I thought, as the alleyway suddenly widened, and a small square appeared.

'It's the next room.'

Preparing for an encounter with a monster, I stayed sharp on my nerves.

The rest of the party members prepared for the battles in their own ways and cautiously stepped into the square.

There was a dried-up fountain in the middle of the square, and in the middle of the fountain was a statue of someone.

It was a statue of three people standing side by side.

For some reason, the heads of the two statues on the left and right were destroyed, and only the statue of the man in the middle was intact.

The man in the middle seemed to be the king of the Lake Kingdom wearing a crown on his head.

'Why were only the statues on the side destroyed?

As I was thinking of a pointless question,

Ah!

Demian suddenly shouted out loud.

Surprised, everyone turned to look at Demian. Demian pointed to the opposite side of the square.

Look, over there!

When I turned to look in the direction Demian was pointing at, my eyes widened.

The only light sources in this city were our torches and lanterns.

But on the other side of the square that Demian pointed to, another dim light shimmered. That must mean

It it must be a person!

Amid everyone's surprise, I didn't let go of my tension.

Let's approach cautiously. Get your weapons ready.

In a city full of monsters, there is only one thing scarier than monsters.

A person.

Because the people you meet in a place like this can't be normal.

'Could it be a hostile NPC? Or a friendly NPC? Which one could it be?'

I suddenly remembered the hostile NPC that appeared in the last stage, the Pied Piper.

He tried to ruin the stage for me in a way that I couldn't even imagine.

'One wrong move, and it's game over! I can't let my guard down, ever.'

We cautiously approached the light shimmering on the opposite side of the square.

As I got closer, the view on the other side was revealed with a dim light.

!

Five or six steam golems were shattered into pieces, and some of them were burning with oil leaking from their bodies.

That was the identity of the light we were looking at.

And a small woman was squatting in front of the fire.

Hm?

As she heard our footsteps, the woman turned around and recognized us, and greeted us.

Oh, if it isn't the group led by the Lord of Crossroad.

!

A woman with a hood draped over her worn-out cloak, gray hair, and an old sword.

Recognizing the person's true identity, I muttered awkwardly.

No Name?

It was the NPC that guided us into the Lake Kingdom last time, No Name.

It seems that you're taking the exploration quite seriously, reaching all the way here.

What are you doing here, No Name?

We did meet before, but I didn't let my guard down.

She's an NPC that I've never met in the last 742 playthroughs of this game. There was no way for me to tell if she was hostile or friendly.

Since she did guide us before, I'd guess she's not an enemy. However, that doesn't mean she is our ally either.

I was just taking a rest. It is quite tiring to live here in the Lake Kingdom.

After muttering, No Name turned to us.

Anyway, if you reached all the way here Then I should acknowledge you and bring 'this' out.

No Name tucked her hand inside the old cloak.

My party members and I flinched. I was nervous that she might bring out a hidden weapon.

Right after that, No Name took something out of her cape and spread it on the floor.

Thud!

It was a mat.

Afterward, No Name began to place items one by one on the mat.

The party members and I stood still and only watched No Name as we had no idea what she was doing.

Soon after, No Name took out her item display, spread her arms, and said a word indifferently.

How about buying something while you're here?

I sell great quality products at a low price.

I was so dumbfounded that I stared blankly at her, and then I shouted.

Don't tell me you're a merchant NPC?!NPC? I don't know what that is, but I am a merchant indeed.

Nameless nodded happily and added.

Buy-one-get-one event is in progress.

There's even a 30 percent first-time purchase bonus and double discount.

What're you waiting for, aren't you going to buy something? Are you going to stand at a distance and just watch this super-exclusive opportunity? You don't get such an opportunity so often.

I let out an empty laugh and sat down in front of No Name's mat, then lowered my voice and asked.

So, what are you selling?

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