“Are you choosing not to invite Miss Evangeline to join our ranks?”
Aider pressed me further as I vacillated.
“Miss Evangeline could prove a crucial asset.”
“…To claim I’m not enticed would be a falsehood.”
Truthfully, I was hell-bent on recruiting her. The desire was overwhelming!
To possess two SSR tier front-liners at stage 3? Moreover, those being Lucas and Evangeline?
‘Regardless of how much the game tweaks the difficulty, having those two on my side would make for smooth sailing!’
However.
— I yearn for my daughter to escape this accursed place, this accursed duty, and to live a serene and joyful life.
I had given my word.
— Please, live freely… as your heart desires…
It was the final wish of the departed Margrave.
His dying plea was to free his daughter from the family’s burden.
“I must uphold my promise. I’ll let her choose her own path.”
“Aren’t you concerned about potential regret from missing this opportunity, my Lord? Isn’t it prudent to keep her with us, even if by force?”
“I refuse to disregard basic human decency merely for the purpose of game completion.”
Aider cocked his head, perplexed.
“But wasn’t your success in overcoming Hell Iron Man due to your indifference towards such considerations?”
“That’s accurate.”
I had crammed countless characters into every corner of the game. Treated them as expendable pawns.
For sub-quests, treasure chests, challenges, innumerable lives, I traded.
I sacrificed lives for efficiency. That’s how I managed to conquer Hell Iron Man.
“However, if I were to employ the same methods this time around, it would mean I haven’t evolved.”
I grinned faintly.
“My aim is to be a better version of myself than I was yesterday.”
Aider regarded me with a complex look.
“Such a constraint may end up being your downfall someday, my Lord.”
“I can live with that.”
I have no intentions of feigning sainthood, nor am I inclined to morph into a monster.
Even in a realm where life is taken lightly, I yearn to remain human.
That’s the crux of it.
“Anyway, Aider, please take good care of Evangeline. She’s a teenager undergoing the tumultuous phase of puberty. She must be bewildered.”
“As you command, my Lord.”
At my words, Aider nodded respectfully, pausing before changing the topic.
“Speaking of which, my Lord.”
“Hmm?”
“There’s the matter of Miss Evangeline’s spear and shield that you demolished recently.”
“Oh, that.”
I had shattered Evangeline’s equipment with my 777 Punch and had yet to address it.
Aider, who had been hemming and hawing, finally spoke up.
“Upon inspection, it turns out both the spear and the shield were of SSR-grade…”
“…”
“They’re irreparable, beyond the point of salvaging any materials. How do you propose to compensate for this…”
I momentarily felt light-headed.
SSR-grade items, both of them?
That signified they were not only pricey but exceedingly rare as well.
Should I be in awe of the potent force of my punch that obliterated them in a single blow?
“Could, could I craft replacements?”
“To fabricate top-tier gear, I require magic cores…”
Blast it. I had exhausted all the remaining magic cores in the production of magic cannons.
“Could my stroke of luck rectify this situation? Could we, could we call it even?”
“I don’t think that’s feasible…”
“Blast!”
A headache began to blossom, prompting me to massage the bridge of my nose while releasing a wearied sigh.
“Summon the party.”
The time was ripe for our expedition into the dungeon.
With sleep-deprived eyes wide open, I rose briskly from my seat.
“Time to hunt for some magic cores!”
Regarding the equipment, we could simply craft new ones, right?!
***
Thus, several hours later, as evening draped itself over the mansion grounds.
“It seems like a while since we last gathered.”
I addressed my assembled comrades.
“Has everyone recuperated sufficiently in the last few days?”
The party comprised of the usual suspects. Myself, Lucas, Damien, Jupiter. And…
“Why must it always be me?!”
Lilly, who predictably expressed her dismay.
Immediately after the summons were released, Lilly had attempted to evade, but anticipating this, I had guards stationed around the alchemy lab.
Lilly was apprehended in her escape attempt and was forcefully ushered here. A visibly upset Lilly protested.
“We’ve recruited new members, haven’t we? Why not take them instead!”
True, we had enlisted several hero characters from the mercenaries guild.
The issue was their status; all were grey-ranked. N-ranked.
Moreover, they lacked any special abilities.
Certainly, they held potential to evolve into valuable warriors in forthcoming battles, but the reality remained that they weren’t equipped for the main party.
Deploying them as a sub-party seemed the optimal choice.
Therefore, after the filtering process… R-ranked fire mage Lilly found herself once again summoned by the main party.
Furthermore, Lilly, having surpassed level 20 in previous battles and completed the first class transfer, had acquired a new skill dubbed ‘Fire Cannon’.
Though it’s essentially a powerful fireball, given she’s a mage, she guarantees more firepower than an average mercenary.
“The items you commissioned at the blacksmith also require coordination with the alchemist’s workshop! I’ll supervise it diligently! Isn’t that right, Your Highness?!”
Lilly pleaded, clinging to my leg.
“Hmmm…”
I grumbled, facing a quandary.
I had no intention to perpetually exploit Lilly in the main party.
Bringing a companion hampered by a leg injury into a hazardous dungeon was unquestionably reckless.
However, the harsh truth was that I lacked a suitable replacement.
‘If only I could enlist a competent R-ranked, no, even a respectable N-ranked hero character to take Lilly’s place…’
The recruitment of hero characters was a sluggish process.
The influx of newcomers to the mercenary guild remained scant. I’ve been recruiting them as they trickle in.
‘It would be fortuitous if I could enlist a competent NPC in the dungeon, but that’s entirely dependent on luck…’
I grumbled to myself, resting my chin in thought.
‘What should be my next move…?’
“Your Majesty, please be merciful!”
Lilly had resorted to the formal courtly vernacular in her desperate plea.
Just then,
“Where are you all heading?”
A youthful female voice broke the silence. All eyes turned in its direction.
Evangeline, a perplexed expression adorning her face, was ambling towards us from the mansion.
Without any armor, she appeared even more petite and out of place…
“Huh?!”
Lilly, recognizing the surge of SSR-grade energy radiating from Evangeline, hastily questioned me, her eyes wide with astonishment.
“Your Majesty! Who is she?!”
“…There are some among us who haven’t met her yet. Everyone, greet her.”
With some reluctance, I introduced her.
“This is Evangeline Cross, the only offspring of the Cross Margrave.”
Upon learning she was the Margrave’s daughter, Lilly and Damien swiftly bowed their heads in respect.
Jupiter, who had just finished her cigarette, presented a crisp salute.
“Condolences on the loss of your father, Miss Evangeline.”
Evangeline reciprocated with a flawless salute, so polished it was as if she had been trained in a military academy.
“Thank you for your sympathy, but I am managing.”
Next, Evangeline’s gaze met mine.
“So, where exactly are you heading?”
Despite my hesitation to share, I responded truthfully.
“The Dungeon.”
“The Dungeon? But where in this…”
She halted mid-sentence, her eyes wide with surprise.
“You don’t mean the dungeon beneath the lake?!”
“So, you were aware of it too?”
“The lake is merely a cesspool for monsters. The dungeon beneath it is nothing more than an inflated myth.”
Evangeline shrugged, her arms crossed.
“Numerous naive adventurers have flocked to the lake, lured by the promise of treasure, but none ever returned.”
“Not exactly. We have ventured there and returned safely.”
Evangeline narrowed her keen eyes, clearly incredulous. I shrugged in response.
“And we are set to journey there again.”
“So what you’re implying,”
Evangeline raised a finger, seeking confirmation.
“Is that there’s a dungeon that our Cross family, who has presided over this land for generations, is unaware of, and you have traversed it? Is that what you’re claiming?”
“The latter part is correct, Evangeline. However, as for the former, your family might have known about it. You’re simply the one left uninformed.”
“…!”
Evangeline bit her lip.
She hadn’t been groomed as the successor of the Cross family, as would have been customary.
Instead, she had chosen the path of an elite officer at the Royal Academy.
Even if the Cross family had been privy to the secret of the lake’s subterranean dungeon, she wouldn’t have been enlightened.
“Whether you believe it or not is inconsequential. We’re proceeding nonetheless.”
The loss of weapons necessitated our trip.
As I casually waved off her skepticism, Evangeline took a decisive step forward.
“I wish to accompany you!”
“What in the world?”
“Even though it may not appear so, I am a top graduate from the Royal Academy. I can confidently say I’ll be more useful in a battle than anyone else. ‘Senpai’.”
Evangeline stressed the word ‘senpai’, seeming to put in extra effort.
‘It seems like she wants to make it clear that she, too, graduated from the prestigious academy and can hold her own.’ I interpreted.
I sighed deeply.
“I get that, junior, but—”
“Please, I implore you to bring me along. If there truly is something beneath the lake, I need to witness it firsthand.”
“Well…”
“As the last surviving member of the Cross family, both of my parents fell victim to the monsters of the lake. I believe I have every right to investigate.”
I chose to remain silent.
That was precisely the issue. My intent was to keep her from facing the monstrous dangers lurking beneath the lake.
‘Your father wished the same…’
Suppressing my thoughts, I simply nodded.
“Are you physically up to it?”
Instead of responding verbally, Evangeline unraveled the bandage on her arm.
Minor cuts and scrapes were all impeccably healed. Indeed, her healing ability was befitting of an SSR-grade Tanker.
“What about mentally?”
“Excuse me?”
“Have you regained your composure?”
“…”
She had only learned of her father’s demise a few hours prior. Her emotional state must be quite unstable.
“Remaining idle only intensifies the pain. Keeping active is more bearable.”
Tying back her disordered hair, Evangeline opened her sharp eyes wide.
“So, what’s your decision? Will you let me accompany you?”
“…Fine.”
I no longer had grounds for refusal.
I glanced sideways. There, Lily was glaring intensely.
“Lilly, you’re staying in Crossroad.”
“Yay~!”
Lilly erupted into a joyous dance, arms swinging wildly. She seemed genuinely ecstatic…
“By the way, have you seen my lance and shield?”
Observing the rest of the party fully equipped, Evangeline inquired.
“I distinctly remember having them before I fainted yesterday…”
“Ahem, ahem! That’s… They were slightly damaged, so I dropped them off with the blacksmith for repairs.”
I quickly motioned to Aider. He immediately dashed off to the warehouse.
“For now, you can borrow some of the spare equipment we have.”
“Well… I suppose that’ll do.”
Aider returned from the warehouse with a lance and a shield in just a few minutes.
“Hehehe! I just grabbed the first ones I saw…!”
They were, of course, a sizable cavalry lance and shield. Although smaller than Evangeline’s previous gear, they were still fairly large.
Evangeline happily donned both pieces of equipment.
“It’s the same gear I used when I was younger. It’s been quite some time.”
Boom! Vroom!
Evangeline spun the massive cavalry lance as if twirling a baton, then gave a nod of approval.
“It’s slightly lighter than what I’m accustomed to… But I think it’ll suffice.”
To me, it seemed like a massive chunk of iron. That’s considered light?
‘Of course, her strength stat is 35.’
“Even with five of me, she’d probably still beat me in an arm wrestle…”
“Alright. I’m set.”
Evangeline, having secured her lance with a leather strap to her waist, sought confirmation once again.
“So, you’re letting me join the team?”
“Yes, yes. It’s best I pay heed to my junior.”
I opened the system window and added Evangeline to the group, leaving Lilly out.
[Main Party (5/5)]
— Ash(EX) Lv.11
— Lucas(SSR) Lv.31
— Jupiter(SR) Lv.37
— Damien(N) Lv.24
— Evangeline(SSR) Lv.35 [Guest Character]
A chime signaled the application of a new party synergy.
The formation was Commander 1, Knight 2, Healer 1, Mage 1.
[Active Party Synergy]
] (Commander 1) Battlefield Imperial Guard: The morale of this party never wavers.
] (Knight 2) Dual Knights: Physical defense of all party members enhances by 20%.
A knight-related synergy was activated. Our team had become quite solid.
“…”
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
I shrugged off Evangeline’s perplexed expression.
I was reminded of the dying Margrave in my arms, which made me feel uneasy, but honestly, having an SSR-grade tank in the team made me feel a lot safer.
I smirked.
“I’m relying on you, Evangeline, my junior.”
At this, Evangeline furrowed her eyebrows.
“By the way, how long do you plan on calling me your junior?”
–TL Notes–
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