Chapter 24
“What is this…?”
Slithering, squirming, squelching.
The appearance of unpleasant, multicolored slimes.
At this point, there was nothing unusual about it. After all, this was a slime habitat.
But for some reason, these sticky, slimy monsters seemed far more numerous than I’d expected.
“Am I imagining things?”
Had I always seen them in the game’s graphics, and now that I’m here in person, they feel more numerous?
I squinted, shining my lantern around, but the sight in front of me didn’t change.
And no matter how much I looked, if I had taken the right path, I would have expected to encounter only five or six slimes, but now I saw at least twenty or more of them.
‘I can’t have taken the wrong path, can I?’
I tilted my head, checking the sewer number on the wall.
But no, I hadn’t come the wrong way. I didn’t just rely on my memory to get here; I had checked the markings left on the map.
“Ugh.”
Luckily, thanks to the items I had equipped, I didn’t have to worry about being attacked, but these sticky slimes were blocking the path so tightly that it seemed impossible to move forward directly.
If there were only a few, I could’ve dodged them, but now… no matter what I did, things seemed to be heading toward a disaster.
‘This is a problem for my stealth, too.’
The palace knight corps wouldn’t let a suspicious woman covered in slime pass by.
They’d surely check my identity, and if that happened, it would be reported to Duke Ulmer…
‘No, no.’
Duke Ulmer was one of those bosses whom some players considered impossible to deal with when it came to helping the heroine. Especially early in the game.
I recalled how I had tried to make a deal with the mana crystal mines recently, only to find myself filled with frustration. I knew it would be better not to encounter him.
Although my infamy had already exceeded 300, that didn’t mean I could completely take down Duke Ulmer.
In any case, I kept letting my thoughts wander off course… and the conclusion was clear: I needed to find another route.
No matter how much I considered it, I didn’t want to be caught up with these large, disgusting slimes that looked like rotten fish eggs.
‘Ugh, is there going to be another unexpected variable?’
I was thinking that if I just cleared this path, I’d be able to reach the palace, but… avoiding detection at the palace and selling the mana crystals was the most important thing.
Yes, money. Only money.
I turned around and quickly dashed into a section of the sewer where the width of the passage narrowed.
With one hand holding my cumbersome dress, I leaped and squeezed my body into the opposite passage.
Or so I thought.
Splash!
“Ugh?!”
I tripped over the hem of my dress, which I had failed to catch, and slipped straight into the water.
The water I fell into was…
“Why is it moving so fast?!”
It seemed to be a current running downward.
‘Damn it!’
Had I been too careless, thinking it would be the same as the game’s graphics? Or had today’s constant variables led me into this mess?
While I was swept away by the water, the last thing that crossed my mind, even in the darkness of the sewers, was…
‘I can’t delete my character!’
Such a gamer-like thought.
Meanwhile, at the entrance to the sewers…
A man in a dark red robe entered the sewers so swiftly that his feet were almost invisible.
Tap, tap.
Normally, if a person were to walk through the sewer water, it would create a wet sloshing sound, but strangely, the man made dry, crisp sounds as he moved across the ground.
This was because his movements were so light, as if he had mastered an extraordinary level of martial arts.
“This is strange,” he muttered in a low, cold voice.
Snap.
The man used an artifact he was holding to illuminate the surroundings, and the once dark sewer was immediately lit up. Only then did his face become clearly visible.
He was a strikingly handsome man, with sharp features and pale skin, his red eyes glowing like precious jewels.
Despite his beauty, he was well-known to a select few. But seeing someone of his caliber in the sewers was unusual.
“Sure enough, there was a warning signal…” he said.
As he moved his artifact around to check the area, the crest of the royal family on his chest swayed.
His name was Adrian Theodore von Bregenitz, known as the “Fixer of the Royal Family.”
Not long ago, he had been inspecting the outskirts of Bregenheim, but now he was in the sewers, having realized that something had gone wrong with the secret underground dungeon owned by the royal family.
Although this area was managed by Crown Prince Herman, who was currently away handling trade negotiations with the Aldaren Kingdom, Adrian had to take responsibility for the situation.
‘It shouldn’t be an error.’
The royal family’s black magic detection artifact had been personally inspected by the Mage Tower’s leader. That meant the follower of the Evil God had been here.
‘The Artan Kingdom?’
Naturally, he thought of the kingdom that had been involved in recent conflicts, but then quickly shook his head.
The Artan Kingdom had been too distracted by widespread wildfires to make any substantial moves against the empire.
“Hmm.”
Adrian’s red eyes narrowed.
The artifact’s light had dimmed, meaning that the Evil God’s follower wasn’t here anymore. It seemed the person had either left or already infiltrated the palace.
He briefly extended his pale hand to touch the ground…
—Whispers, murmurs, fading…
It seemed as if the land’s memory had been erased artificially.
“Hmm.”
The evidence that the Evil God’s power had been involved was becoming clearer.
But was it appropriate to investigate the palace on the day of the Spring Ball hosted by the Empress?
Adrian, who did not hold authority over the palace knights, would risk challenging the Emperor’s authority if he investigated this personally. Even if the weak Emperor let it slide, the Empress would never allow such an action without consequences.
‘It’s not my job anyway.’
Though he was called the Royal Family’s “Fixer,” Adrian hated the title.
The fact that the artifact had given him a warning was something only he knew. Even if it led to harm to the Emperor, Empress, or Crown Prince, it wasn’t his concern.
“Forget it.”
Having made his decision, Adrian moved toward the exit of the sewers.
But then…
“This…”
His face twisted in disbelief as he noticed something.
A woman, half-submerged in the sewer water, hung limply from the edge, unconscious.
Her lips were turning blue, and if left alone, she would likely die from hypothermia.
But what shocked him was not that someone was dying here.
“Madwoman?”
The woman was someone he knew.
She was the same woman who, not long ago, had aggressively descended the mountain with a pickaxe, trying to kill him and Peter.
“Ha.”
A bitter laugh escaped his lips.
He hadn’t imagined that he’d encounter this madwoman again in a place like this.
“What to do…”
As a sword master, he easily pulled the woman out of the water and laid her on the ground.
She had survived thanks to an artifact, but her pale, wet skin was turning even paler, and if left like this, her life would fade quickly.
Originally, the sewer dungeon was devoid of any life, making it a dangerous place for any living creature.
“…Tch.”
Adrian opened a dimensional ring and took out a vitality potion, pouring it gently into the woman’s lips.
He then used an artifact to raise the surrounding temperature, and after a long while…
“Huff!”
A groan escaped from the woman’s lips.
