‘Suspicions?’
I couldn’t understand why a human who had just been sipping on a potion moments ago would suddenly warrant suspicions.
I was at a loss for words.
Of course, I had raised my voice without realizing it when I saw my precious potions being stolen and I momentarily lost my composure, but…
Who wouldn’t be astounded when they saw their belongings, especially valuable products that could make money, being ruthlessly kicked without even knowing the reason for it?
Upon reflection, my actions were well within the normal range.
However, Cassel’s suspicion seemed to imply that my behavior didn’t fit into either of the two categories he mentioned, so I quickly added.
“I’m also… afraid of you, Sir.”
I said it sincerely, but one corner of his mouth twitched upwards as if he didn’t believe me.
“You’ve been arguing back since earlier, but also trying to maintain boundaries… It’s as if you know who I am.”
“Arguing back? I haven’t…”
I felt embarrassed.
In just a short period of time, he had observed and analyzed my behavior as a mere apothecary. His unwavering and distrustful nature was quite remarkable.
Clucking my tongue at the AI’s keen insight, I quickly resumed my foolish apothecary persona.
“And… I heard from the Count that an important person from the capital was temporarily exiled.”
Anyone would naturally be cautious, even if he was a sinner.
In response to my flawless reply, the man who had been coolly smiling until a moment ago suddenly hardened his expression.
Then, he unexpectedly leaned closer to my hood and whispered menacingly:
“…I don’t suppose you’re lying when you say you don’t have any more potions, right?”
As his face came uncomfortably close, I couldn’t help but swallow hard, feeling a dryness in my throat.
‘The NPC inventory is off limits to anyone but the Operator.’
Despite knowing this, I couldn’t help but worry that he might take away the potions I had in my pocket.
I thought he looked handsome when he was tied up, but now he felt like a demon.
Cassel’s fans must have experienced this nerve-wracking situation at least once if they played the game.
Why did they idolize this crazy guy so much…?
“Of course not. I would never dare to lie about something as important as safety.”
I cleared my throat and answered when he immediately shot back.
“But why can’t I see your face?”
“What? My face… Are you asking about my face?”
“I don’t like it.”
“What do you mean…?”
“I’m barefoot and bound in chains. How am I supposed to believe you when you ask me to if your face is all covered up like a beggar?”
My vision became hazy again, just like when he stole the potions earlier.
So the asshole who kicked my potions and intimidated me was just doing it because he didn’t like my appearance…?
‘Your appearance looks even worse!’
…However, there was no time for me to retort.
It was because he suddenly reached out a massive hand toward me.
Swoosh.
The outstretched hand reached my nose in the blink of an eye, and I trembled at the thought of getting hit.
“Ugh…!”
But when the hand moved past my face and firmly gripped the edge of my hood, I realized what he was attempting to do.
‘Oh no! He’s ripping it off… My hair…!’
A strong force was applied to the top of my head as if my head had been grabbed and flipped over.
“Ugh…”
But nothing happened even after some time except that I felt my head being yanked backward.
When I reluctantly opened my eyes, I saw Cassel’s face, slightly contorted, right in front of my nose.
The hood refused to come off my head like it had been applied with super glue.
That’s right.
As part of the developer’s plan to minimize the cost of character design, only the operators could remove the NPC-exclusive robe.
The man who was vigorously gripping the hood seemed to tremble.
A brief moment of relief washed over me.
“What did you do to the robe?”
“Oh, uh, wait a moment!”
I urgently grabbed his hand when my neck forcefully tilted backward, as if being dragged by my hair.
“I cast a spell on it due to certain circumstances!”
“What kind of circumstances?”
“Um, well…”
While desperately trying to come up with an excuse this time, I suddenly felt unjustly treated.
‘Why is this bastard insisting on seeing my face?’
Even Adam, the client, didn’t bother to…!
“It seems like it’s time to oil your tongue again. Will you answer properly if I tighten my grip on your throat?”
When I stammered and couldn’t answer, he shook my head from side to side and threatened me with the menacing sound of the chain, ‘Clink, clink, clink!’
I shouted whatever came to mind.
“A s-scar!”
“..A scar?”
“Yes, a scar! I got a severe injury when I was young, and half of my face became necrotic! I couldn’t get it treated in time, so it might get infected again if it’s touched improperly!”
“…”
“But if it’s okay with you, I can release the spell and show you.”
Whether the idea of infection got through to him or not, the man abruptly stopped shaking his hand, which had been threateningly moving back and forth.
‘Damn it, I’m supposed to represent the concept of a 1st world-ranking beauty… how did it end up like this?’
I wondered if it would have been less embarrassing if he had forcibly uncovered my face.
‘Who am I hiding from, anyway?’
Initially, I had taken on the unnoticeable NPC role to ensure a smooth and fast game progression…
A single tear rolled down my cheek that was hidden beneath the hood.
「 [Insomnia-Inducing Awakening Potion] Duration: 00:05 」
At that moment, a system window that seemed to signal a timeout appeared on one side.
Still in the pitiful state of having my head held by him, I cautiously spoke.
“Um, by the way, Sir… the duration for the awakening potion is almost up.”
“Haah, you…”
I just reminded him of the danger, but his face contorted for a moment as if displeased.
Then, he suddenly let go of the hood he was gripping.
At the same time…
「 [The Lord of Nightmares] dispels his suspicions towards you. 」
I was on edge because of his menacing attitude, but I felt a sense of relief thanks to the system message that appeared next.
‘What should I do with this guy for real?’
With his expression and thoughts at odds, it was quite challenging to cater to his whims.
Maybe that’s why so many humans had faced a game over in this situation.
The protagonist of the game was simultaneously the hero who would save the world and the villain who could bring about its destruction.
I’ve heard his notoriety not only through the community but also through the players who made a fuss through the reports and chats.
However, my experience in dealing with him was truly beyond imagination.
“The awakening potions should be taken at intervals of once every hour. I’ll leave the other potions here and go.”
Amidst all this, I quickly got up and muttered under my breath, grabbing the last remaining reserve potion from his feet.
Since he deemed it unnecessary and had kicked it aside, he probably wouldn’t ask for it again.
“I’ll be off to make the potions, then…”
Leaving only those words behind, I hastily escaped from the prison, fearing that he might catch up with me.
After securely locking the prison door without looking back, I hurriedly descended the tower.
Thud!
While I was pulling off the tranquilizer needle from my right wrist which had lost sensation, a thought crossed my mind.
“Is this the community’s infamous initiation ceremony of the Lord of Nightmares?”
Due to his insane personality and numerous variables, most players clashed with Cassel from their first encounter, just like I did.
Some players who managed to survive proudly shared their stories, and it even led to the emergence of the ‘Evil Lord Initiation Contest,’ which became a trend.
I read a few of them back when it was popular…
‘But none of those strategies were helpful!’
While there were stories of players getting choked, I had never seen anyone like me, who was grabbed by the scalp and forced to headbang.
‘No, but why the fuck would that lunatic want to see my face, damn it?!’
I finally let out my suppressed anger after ultimately descending the tower and stomped my feet.
The more I thought back on my encounter with him, the more I couldn’t understand it.
There were instances of the apothecary NPC being killed, but the attention was usually on the players, and there was no reason to strip an NPC of its robe.
However, I didn’t need to be frustrated anymore since I could just ask the developers directly.
⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋
― Me: Fxcking hell! How on earth did you
create this game to make the protagonist this crazy?!
― [GM Ari]: Oh, Shari! You’re safe!
― [GM Sera]: We were pretty worried, junior.
You’re pretty good at improvising.
― [GM Jinu]: I can’t believe you survived
after talking back to him. Seems like
you’re not ordinary. Impressive, right? Impressive.
⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋
As soon as I turned on the chat window, the words that quickly filled it made my head go blank.
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