The Crown Prince Who Raises Alt Characters

#Episode 280 Mercenary Owen (8) - Land of Silence. The Beginning. Although she was quite shocked by the environment that was much worse than expected, Ophelia adapted quite well to the environment outside the Empire. Yes, aren't humans fundamentally creatures of adaptation? The infrastructure is somewhat poor, and the food is somewhat tasteless, that's all. It's not like she has to live like this for hundreds or thousands of days, just endure it briefly until achieving her goal. Rural life that is endlessly hard for locals, if experienced for just a day or two, could be enjoyed as rural experience or healing camp - the same principle applied. "Hand over everything you have and get down on the ground!!" ...No, it seems like she might not be able to adapt after all. Seeing the group surrounding them with swords drawn before her eyes, Ophelia let out a sigh. "Um, I'd like to ask something." "What is it?" "What exactly are these humans?" "They're humanoid monsters called bandits. When a certain number gather to form a group, they evolve into bandit gangs, and depending on where they evolve, their routes split into pirate gangs or horse bandit gangs." "Isn't there a regression route?" "There's something called the stupid-stupid human species, but the flaw is that it's hard to distinguish from the smart-smart human species. In fact, there's a theory that they're the same species." "What kind of bullshit are you spouting right now!! Do we look like a joke to you!?" One of the bandits turned red-faced and got angry, but it was actually Ophelia who wanted to be angry. She spoke while feeling her temples throb. "...No, how can we encounter something like a bandit gang less than 5 minutes after leaving the city? Common sense says that if you're going to commit crimes, shouldn't you do it in more secluded places where others can't see? What if someone coming out of the city sees this situation and reports it to the Guard Squad?" "Well, it might be wise in the opposite sense." "How does the word 'wise' come up in this situation?" "It's more rational to wait near the city and respond immediately when prey comes out, rather than wandering around randomly attacking people without knowing where targets are, right? It's even better if they have connections with the Guard Squad." It was suggesting that the soldiers who maintain public order and the bandits who threaten it might be in cahoots. While Ophelia was left speechless by this truly shocking inference, the bandit gang, finally reaching the limit of their patience, began to take action. "These guys really, we've been watching and watching─ Gahk!" Of course, it was an action with little meaning. Even this territory's finest knight wouldn't last three seconds against Owen, so what need was there to mention a mere bandit gang? The human who had been raising his voice in front, presumably the bandit leader, instantly died with his throat pierced, and the other bandits soon followed their leader's fate. Ophelia did frown slightly at the sight, but she didn't question Owen about whether there was really a need to kill them. The reason they could joke around until just now was entirely because Owen's force was strong. If Owen hadn't been there, or if his power hadn't been this strong, it would have been Ophelia who suffered a miserable fate. "Should I move aside if you want to vomit?" "That kind of consideration becomes meaningless the moment you ask about it verbally, doesn't it? Forget it, let's just start moving." "As you wish." *** The development of civilization is greatly influenced by the surrounding environment. There's a reason why all the great founding civilizations have at least one river by their side. Water is essential for human survival, and adding conditions like fertile land or mild climate makes it even better. In that sense, the 'Land of Silence' was a very strange place. Water source? Though not at the level of great civilization founders, there's a river that could feed two or three decent territories, so it's not lacking. Fertility of the land? Various grasses grow throughout the vast fields creating green waves, and the earth itself is moist black rather than barren yellow, so there's no lack. Climate? Even if it's not mild all year round, it's at a level that can be sufficiently covered by alternating between long-sleeved and short-sleeved clothes. People live even in tiny lands that wildly fluctuate between above and below freezing, so how could people not survive in just this level of temperature? Yet there were no traces of civilization visible in this place. There were no villages where people gathered to live, no travelers wandering nearby, and not even the bandits who had frequently attacked the two of them. Owen whistled. "Was it called the 'Land of Silence'? What a well-chosen name. It's hard to find even a single ant." "We deliberately chose such a place." Ophelia looked at the scenery that was extremely peaceful, but therefore gave off a strange eeriness. Whether it was consideration for Owen, or because she herself needed to organize her thoughts, Ophelia calmly began to explain. "This Land of Silence is marked on maps as part of Tachanka Kingdom where we were just now, but in reality, no one from Tachanka comes anywhere near this place. Not only proper kingdom citizens, but even criminals and wanderers." It wasn't because this place was barren and hard to live in. No, as mentioned earlier, purely in terms of natural environment, the Land of Silence was quite good. However, there was an overwhelming disadvantage that overshadowed all of that. "You must not sleep in this land. Once you fall asleep even once, you can never open your eyes again." The exact reason was unknown. Some said it was caused by an endemic disease unique to this land, some said it was a curse laid by a god who died here, and others said it was because an eccentric mage kills any intruders to maintain a quiet research environment. "Thinking about recent experiences, the last possibility seems surprisingly plausible." "Come on, no matter what, it wouldn't be that extreme. ...Probably." Owen's voice lacked confidence. "Anyway, now I understand why not even animals are visible here, let alone people. If sleeping means instant death, no one would want to go to such a deadly land." "But it's the perfect environment for the powerful spirits we're looking for to dwell in. They hate crowded and noisy places with many people." "Isn't there a possibility that the spirit itself is the culprit? In that case, wouldn't you be in danger too?" "The Hydrain bloodline is recorded as being favored by spirits, so it should be fine." The last words sounded like a resolution she was making to herself. It was proof that Ophelia herself was quite frightened, but in Owen's eyes, that made her more admirable. Wouldn't someone who feels fear but still strives for their dreams deserve higher praise than someone who doesn't feel fear at all? Ophelia took out several refined pills from her bag and shared them with Owen. "These are Awakening Pills made through alchemy. I originally prepared plenty considering multiple mercenaries would use them, but since only two of us will use them, there shouldn't be a shortage." "Even if they're Awakening Pills, there must be limits, right? What about side effects? Roughly how many days can we endure?" "Up to about three days, just sleeping deeply after the effect ends is sufficient. After four days, it has adverse effects on health, and the awakening effect itself gradually diminishes." "It would be safe to come out roughly every two days to rest." "Not three days?" "We need to consider sudden emergencies. It's not something else - our lives are at stake, so shouldn't we be cautious?" At Owen's words, Ophelia puffed her cheeks slightly but eventually agreed. This was because she had experienced more than once or twice getting into big trouble by ignoring his words. Having finished their decision, the two made camp next to the boundary stone that divided the inside and outside of the Land of Silence, and decided to rest first. No matter how effective the pills were, considering they would have to explore a vast area without sleeping for a long time, it was important to get enough sleep in advance. However, if there was a problem. '...I can't fall asleep.' Inside the tent, Ophelia tossed and turned. This should be a moment when she needed to sleep even a little more to prepare for later, but the more conscious she became of needing to sleep, the more sleep eluded her and random thoughts increased. What if there are no spirits here? What if there are spirits but they refuse the contract? She already had other candidate locations picked out, but it seemed like there wouldn't be enough money to maintain the contract with Owen until then. Could there be a possibility that Owen would help without money─ '─There's no way. What kind of ridiculous imagination is that.' Owen is a mercenary, not some kind of volunteer. He's just protecting Ophelia according to their contract in exchange for money. To consider that natural goodwill and try to take advantage of it would be a very faithless and foolish action. Rather than that, it would be more realistic to offer more payment but arrange it as credit. Or she could offer something else that might tempt him to extend the contract, but was there anything like that? Among her current possessions, the most valuable would probably be her magic tools. Magic tools for purification, cleanliness, or instant shelter creation would be items that ordinary mercenaries would find eye-catching, but it was questionable whether they would have great value to someone skilled enough to defeat even a Green Dragon, albeit by surprise. Does he like alcohol? There are quite a few wine bottles in the family wine cellar that just take up space unnecessarily. Or maybe women? ...Women? Come to think of it, Ophelia's mind recalled a certain element that had casually passed by until now. 'Does it make sense to hire that man with this amount of money?' Of course, she hadn't given Owen a stingy amount of money. She had given him all the shares of the other mercenaries who betrayed her and even doubled it, so it was an exceptional amount for hiring a single mercenary. But she now knew Owen's true capabilities. Even if she couldn't know his exact level, just from what he'd shown so far, he was at a level where he could slap around ordinary knights. Even assuming he was at the end of 5th Rank, not 6th Rank, his worth would skyrocket, and compared to that, the contract fee Ophelia offered was nothing more than 'pocket change.' Yet he was faithfully fulfilling his role as a guard without particularly demanding an increase in the contract fee. Just because he was thorough about contracts? Or perhaps. '...Is he interested in me?' To call it a logical leap, there was no other plausible reason for a man to faithfully guard a woman's side while taking financial losses. To discuss the loyalty between knight and lord, Owen was a mercenary, and she wasn't really his lord to begin with. To call it simple camaraderie, the relationship they'd built was too shallow. To say it was like a daughter looking at her father, the age difference wasn't that severe. The face he showed when he shaved his beard once was quite young. 'Huh? Huh huh?' The more she thought about this seemingly plausible(?) hypothesis, the more confused Ophelia became. "Hey miss. Make sure to boil the water before drinking it. I know you trust the performance of purification magic tools, but they're strong against toxins and contaminants but don't prevent stomach troubles." "I caught some rabbits, how about we share them? Originally, lighting campfires at night and grilling meat - that's all romance. It's a difficult journey, so we should have at least this kind of enjoyment." "You're really admirable, miss. Overcoming family opposition and running toward your own dream isn't an easy thing to do." The words he had casually thrown out began to reassemble themselves arbitrarily in her mind. Usually she had dismissed them as merely sly jokes or useless meddling, but when she looked back with the filter of 'he's interested in me,' the content felt quite different. Could it be that he thoroughly killed the bandits because he was worried that any remaining bandits might threaten her later, so he cut them off at the root? When discussing the Awakening Pills, could his emphasis on two days instead of three also have been because he was worried she might collapse from depleted Stamina? Ophelia's cheeks turned bright red. After obtaining decisive evidence(?), her body twisted restlessly and she couldn't stay still. If there had been an objective third party here, they would have stopped her from writing this dark history by asking 'Do you happen to know what confirmation bias is?', but unfortunately, no such kind third party existed. Therefore, the next day. She spoke to Owen with dark circles under her eyes. "I'm sorry. But, I have Kuella." "Damn it, it seems the curse wasn't just one kind!"