◈ 163. [Side Story] New Terra (2)
after an early dinner.
When I tried to go out of the palace, the guards stopped me.
“His Highness Fernandez’s order to wait inside the villa.”
“How are you?”
How did you want to treat me well? I guess this was the intention of locking her up in the palace and only running around in it.
For now, I quietly returned to my room.
Ash’s life itself is a mess maker, but there’s no need to make a fuss even in this situation.
‘There is a way to get out quietly!’
I took out a cloak I had brought from the Crossroads.
[Invisibility Cloak (SSR)]
I put the cloak over my shoulders and looked in the mirror and saw an empty mirror. It works.
I was worried about what would happen if I couldn’t see myself and couldn’t keep my balance, but fortunately I didn’t.
My body was translucent to my eyes.
‘Okay then… … .’
Adjusting the front collar of my cloak, I looked at the bright lights of the city through the window of the villa.
‘Shall we go out to the city for a drink?’
There were many reasons why I was quietly brought to the ecliptic, but there was also a purpose to deal with things that could only be handled in the ecliptic.
‘Meet the architects, contact the guild, and… … .’
Mercenary Guild!
Go pick a hero!
***
[Invisibility Cloak] provides 3 levels of stealth.
In other words, detection magic of level 3 or higher is detected. And this is the imperial palace, the heart of the empire.
Of course, the detection magic is hanging at the entrance, so it could be caught right away if you make a mistake.
But I was lucky. My lodging was not the main palace, but a separate palace far away from the outskirts.
The level of surveillance was, of course, much lower than it should have been.
Squatting down next to the wall, I stared at the front gate of the villa guarded by guards.
Perhaps it was because his intelligence and magic stats had gone up quite a bit, when he concentrated, he could roughly detect the magic around him.
‘Although there is a surveillance spell… … Is it about level 1?’
We didn’t wait long, so it was time for the guards to change.
The door opened for a moment, and I slipped out through the gap between the soldiers coming and going.
‘It’s easy, it’s easy!’
After that, it was a breeze. Ash’s detached palace was located on the outskirts of the imperial palace, and the security net to break through was that shallow.
It didn’t take long before I was completely out of the Imperial Palace area and standing at the entrance to the city.
Confirming that there were no eyes around me, I took off my invisibility cloak and whistled as I looked around the palace. Let’s get some fresh air, Dad!
***
Walking down the street, the city was much larger than it looked from the sky.
Evening light permeated the streets where the sun had not yet fully set.
The streets, which had been cleaned around the imperial palace, became messy as they passed south, and instead gained vitality.
Loud conversation echoed, and the smell of wine, fire, and bread wafted from the stalls and stalls scattered everywhere.
I pushed down the hood of my robe and crossed a back alley full of people.
Maybe it was because I was accustomed to the quietness of the Crossroads. It’s been a long time since I’ve been in a place with so many people, so my eyes are spinning.
Standing in a somewhat secluded place, I breathed in and opened the map of my arms.
‘Let’s see, where should we go… … .’
Since there was a port to the south of the imperial palace, commercial facilities and guilds were naturally built to the south of the imperial palace.
It seems that the aristocratic families, the salons and high-end cafeterias serving them are located in the northern part of the imperial palace.
‘I don’t have to worry about things like class distribution in this city.’
Confirming my destination, I folded up the map and put it in my arms.
There are three places I need to visit.
It was the architects, the guild, and the mercenary guild that had been sent letters before.
The architect is needed for crossroad tourism city planning, and the upper level is necessary for me to eat the magic stone distribution network.
The mercenary guild is something I snoop around because I want to be a hero draw.
The closest of the three was the architect’s office. I hurried my steps to arrive before it was too late.
***
Architect’s Office.
“Come here~!”
bang!
As soon as I kicked in the door and went inside, the architect who had been looking at the blueprints with a serious face looked at me in surprise.
“Hey! Who, who are you?!”
“Who is who? You are a heavenly customer.”
Taking off my hood, I grinned.
“You’re not going to say you forgot to get the letter, are you?”
“If it’s a letter… … The construction of that hotel in Crossroads? omg! Stand, stand, could it be that His Highness, Prince Ash… … ?”
“I can’t help but catch someone.”
I’m holding you!
I went to the architect’s desk, sat down on the chair in front of me, crossed my legs and tilted my chin.
“Hey, let’s do something with me.”
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Although my attitude was so rude, I intended to treat architects properly.
The Crossroads is far from the ecliptic and is a dangerous place where monsters appear.
If you work in a place like that, they will of course pay you an extra allowance.
but.
“I’m really sorry, Your Highness… … .”
No matter how much I baked and boiled, the architect refused. I was genuinely puzzled.
“No, no matter how much money you give me? You’re saying you can’t do it no matter what?”
“… … .”
“Why are you doing that? Is there some other reason?”
“I can’t tell you that much. However, if you go see the other architects of the ecliptic, they will all give similar answers.”
there’s something different
I narrowed my eyes, pulled myself closer to the architect and lowered my voice.
“good. Then I won’t say anything more and I’ll just walk away. But just let me know Why? Did someone threaten you not to take my job?”
“Hick!”
The architect shrugged. Looks like the answer
“Hey, friend. I’m sorry to say this with my mouth, but I’m Prince Ash.”
I furrowed my brow and muttered a stern voice.
“If you don’t answer right… … What might happen?”
“Hey, hee hee… … .”
“Kwaaaang!”
“Hey hey! Help me!”
After scaring her, she is about to burst into tears. Having said that, I tapped the architect on the shoulder.
“are you okay. I won’t harm you if you tell me this. who? Who told you not to do my job?”
“That is… … .”
In the end, the architect was honest.
“Because the ‘big hand’ pressured me not to take on the Crossroads job no matter what… … .”
“… … ?”
I blinked my eyes.
“Big hand? Who is the eldest son?”
“I-I can’t speak, Your Highness. I am truly sorry!”
After that, he fell on the floor and began to weep, so in the end I had to leave the architect’s office without further questioning.
It was as the architect said. People from other offices also declined my request while praying.
When I went later, they closed the door and ran away, or even lowered the signboard. No, do I have to do this?!
***
So was the top.
When I was building a new distribution network in the game, all the merchants I was able to contact refused to sign a contract with me.
After I teased, coaxed, and threatened, all they said was one thing.
‘big hand’.
The big hand blocked all contracts with Crossroads.
In the end, neither the architect nor the upper management team succeeded in signing the contract, and I walked the streets and pondered.
‘Who the hell is messing around like this… … ?’
It’s been several weeks since I contacted the capital’s architect by sending a letter to the guild, so rumors must have spread to people in the industry in the meantime.
They say they’re looking for an architect and a guild at Crossroads.
And the author of ‘big hand’ who heard the rumor intervened and made things like this.
‘Who is it that can wield this much influence?’
i am a prince No matter how stupid he is, he is one of the emperor’s only three sons.
Besides, he is the commander of the southern front.
Even though it is a fist-fighting front line operated only by mercenaries without a proper regular army, he is the defense commander of the empire anyway.
Even though I personally came and asked for a contract, the architect and the guild risked their lives to refuse.
It means that the big hand is a more dangerous threat than me.
‘Is that Fernandez? Or, the emperor?’
The only two that come to mind right now are those two. Because they are clearly above me.
But it’s too much for the two of them to step out and stop it… … Aren’t you petty?
At most, in a small town on the frontier, at most a small job, at most an architect, at most a top.
It is hard to believe that the Minister of Government or the Emperor prevented this from happening.
Those two are the ones who can F*ck me up more efficiently.
‘Then who the hell… … ?’
As I walked while struggling, I was in front of the mercenary guild. I gulped down my dry saliva and looked up at the building.
Continental Mercenary Guild, New Terra Headquarters.
‘Let me pick a dog cheat hero!’
Of course, I know. There will be almost no mercenaries in the real world here.
This is the capital of the empire. It is a city where the imperial family’s standing army is stationed, and it is the safest place in the world.
It is a far cry from conflict. There can’t be a mercenary, a hunter looking for war, in a place like this.
This is just the Headquarters that oversees mercenary guilds scattered throughout the continent and conducts office work.
It’s probably not a space where you can actually hire mercenaries. but.
‘I’m sure I can figure out where the useful mercenaries are staying.’
I stopped by here to find out where on the continent my SSR class friends are currently wandering around.
As long as you know the whereabouts, you just need to find a way to scout.
‘And do you know? Will there be a high-level hero character waiting for me inside? The possibility is always there!’
Thinking about it, I opened the door to the mercenary guild. without really expecting too much.
however.
Flash-!
“… … ?”
As soon as I opened the door, dazzling golden light poured out. What are you?!
A woman stood in front of the empty Mercenary Guild counter.
A golden glow unique to the SSR class was emanating from her.
It was a young woman with short ultramarine blue hair and dressed in a simple black-and-white maid outfit. But what stands out most about her is… … .
coffin.
It was a huge black coffin on his back.
I was overwhelmed for a moment by this unbalanced, absurd visual, so I opened my mouth slightly.
SSR grade characters are all unique, so their appearance is unique, but are you obsessed with maid clothes? What’s for sure is that it’s a character you’ve never seen in a game.
“ah.”
She stared at me with two ultramarine eyes, the same as her hair. It’s a look that has no vitality like a dead fish.
With a stiff motion like a wooden doll, she grabbed the hem of her skirt and greeted me.
“… … You are here, Your Highness.”
“uh?”
“Since you contacted the architects and the guild, I knew you would come here and have been waiting for you.”
There was an indescribable anticipation in her toneless voice.
“My master wants to see you. quietly… … Please follow me.”
I could intuit that the owner of this woman was the ‘great hand’ who persecuted the architect and the guild.
At the same time I felt threatened.
A person who can manipulate merchants in the capital from behind, predict my movements, and call me, a member of the royal family, at will.
This is dangerous.
“Who is your master and you give me orders to come and go? How dare you be arrogant towards the imperial family.”
At my words, the woman tilted her head.
“Will you not follow me?”
“If so?”
“Then there is nothing you can do.”
chin-
The woman put her hand on the huge coffin on her back.
A short handle was attached to the top of the coffin, and the woman who held it easily picked up the coffin with one hand. like a blunt weapon.
“I have no choice but to take her by force.”
