Chapter 29
‘The skull icon gauge must be down to just one segment now.’
Moreover, the originally black icon had faded so much that it was almost invisible unless you looked closely.
But I couldn’t let myself rejoice just yet.
The skull icon’s colour, which had been slowly changing, hadn’t budged at all since a fortnight ago.
‘What on earth is the problem?’
The remaining gauge wouldn’t disappear until the colour completely drained. I wondered if I needed to put more effort into cooking.
From afar, I saw the village chief coming, flailing his short arms as if in a hurry.
“What’s going on? Did someone gild my house overnight?”
Why was everyone so busy this morning?
I waved my hand, and the chief quickened his pace. Perfect timing.
I brought out the bellflower candy I had prepared last night and discreetly offered it to him.
“Ahem… I’m not a child, yet you always bring me snacks like this. It’s rather embarrassing.”
He spoke and naturally sat on the porch. His face brightened upon seeing the snack. Now that I think about it, the village chief had gained a little weight since before. Maybe feeding him well was helping.
“Eat plenty. That’s the only way to lift the curse.”
The village chief nodded and ate the bellflower candy. Instantly, one of the golden seal icons above his head disappeared.
Now, roughly ten golden seals remained. The day to uncover the chief’s secret was drawing near.
“But what brings you here this early?”
“Ah, I came to deliver news and ended up just eating hastily. My apologies.”
“News? What is it?”
He swallowed the candy, then pulled something from his robes. From the glance I got, it looked like an invitation of some sort.
“The royal family has contacted us.”
“The royal family? Why?”
“It’s likely an official notice sent to each village. Princess Rita, who is in the tower, has gone missing, and anyone who finds her is instructed to report immediately to the royal family.”
“……?”
“How worrisome. I hope nothing has happened to the princess.”
“……?”
“You and Miss Romi should know this, so I hurried to deliver the news.”
With that bombshell, the village chief promptly vanished.
What in the world…? Who went missing?
The Rita Princess he mentioned was a key figure in Tales World.
“She must not go missing…”
Princess Rita needed to remain safely confined in the tower until Kaizen came to rescue her. That was the ‘setting’.
What exactly was happening?
“My head’s spinning.”
I tried to recall the now hazy storyline of Tales World.
‘It all began twenty years ago when a prophecy descended upon the royal family.’
The prophecy foretold that twenty years later, the Demon Lord would be resurrected to wreak havoc. To prevent it, Princess Rita, blessed with sacred power, and the hero had to join forces.
The king had a lot to consider.
“Princess Rita’s power could either defeat the Demon Lord or make him stronger.”
In other words, a double-edged sword.
After much deliberation, the king locked Princess Rita in the tower under the pretence of protection. So she stayed there most of the time, except during major royal events.
Of course, the king had specially designed a luxurious and comfortable residence for her in the tower.
“But… she’s missing?”
The tower, prepared for the ultimate confrontation with the Demon Lord, was almost impossible to enter or escape. Only the king and the hero, Kaizen, could access it.
“How could this have happened?”
Without Rita, how could the world be saved? My head heated up. All my past efforts suddenly felt meaningless.
“Unbelievable. If this is the case, why even have a game storyline?”
I was already busy caring for a lethargic hero, and now I had to find a princess too?
“I should’ve just been made the main protagonist. Ridiculous.”
If it were me, I would have just defeated the Demon Lord and saved the world ages ago! Nothing in this world was easy. The road ahead seemed endless.
“Ugh… and why is the sunlight so scorching?”
I grumbled alone on the porch when I noticed Kaizen approaching from behind the house, carrying a large sack on his shoulder.
‘Hasn’t he been out hunting for even an hour…?’
I watched nervously as he set the sack down in the outdoor kitchen and walked toward me. From a few steps away, he looked at me quietly and spoke.
“Why are you sulking again? Did something happen while I was gone?”
“Kaizen.”
“……?”
“They said the princess is missing.”
“I see.”
I was stunned by his nonchalant reaction.
“I said the princess is missing!”
“The royal family is searching for her, aren’t they?”
“Don’t you even care?”
Kaizen tilted his head curiously.
“Why should I care?”
I was dumbfounded. He truly seemed unconcerned about the princess.
“But she’s your fiancée.”
He pressed a hand to his forehead and exhaled lowly, a faint look of displeasure in his expression.
“As I’ve said before, I do not get engaged to princesses. How could I become engaged to a woman I’ve seen only once?”
“Well… that’s true, but…”
He was supposed to marry Princess Rita in the ending… Maybe he hadn’t fallen in love yet?
Confused, I watched as Kaizen sat on the porch, turning fully toward me. He looked me in the eye.
“Where did you hear such nonsense?”
“Uh, that’s…”
“Tell me the source of that rumour immediately.”
I was at a loss. Normally, he lets things slide, but now he was pressing me, and I was flustered.
‘The source… is the Tales World game. How do I even say that?’
While I hesitated, Kaizen suddenly frowned. A chuckle escaped his lips.
“Hah… I know who it is.”
“Huh?”
“It’s obvious. The neighbour rabbit, isn’t it?”
“……”
I pressed my lips shut. Kaizen’s gaze sharpened. Mutely, I sensed him mumbling to himself about that rabbit and that he wouldn’t forgive it.
The misunderstanding deepened, but I didn’t correct him. Better to let him assume wrongly than reveal this is a game world.
‘Hamma… sorry.’
I silently acknowledged Hamma, who wasn’t there.
“If I say it wasn’t me, please believe me. I don’t want such misunderstandings with you.”
His reaction was oddly different from usual. How should I put it? He seemed uneasy.
I watched Kaizen for a moment and asked,
“Why?”
I could ignore Hamma’s teasing, but when I asked Kaizen, his eyes wavered slightly. He remained silent, looking a bit confused.
After a long pause, he finally spoke.
“I am more rigid than I appear.”
Rigid? No, you’ve always been rigid, Kaizen…
“I simply do not wish to put a woman I have no interest in on the chopping block of rumours.”
“I see. Alright. I’ll be careful from now on.”
“That’s really all there is to it.”
“Okay. Understood.”
“……”
Silence fell.
After a moment, Kaizen abruptly stood, leaving without a word. I scratched my head, staring at the empty spot where he had sat.
“He must have been very upset.”
Understandable. If you aren’t engaged, you can’t sleep under the same roof. No wonder he was offended.
‘I’ll avoid talking about the engagement from now on.’
But Kaizen… Eventually, he would become Rita’s husband. I waved at his departing figure with a satisfied smile.
Three days later, I was in a state of complete excitement.
‘Finally… the golden seals are lifted…!’
I had no idea how much effort I had put into removing all those X icons. Every day, even after finishing village construction, I had called the village chief over and prepared meals carefully.
And now, the results were right before my eyes.
“How does it feel?”
Sitting in a circle on the porch were Kaizen, Hamma, the village chief, and me.
The usually quiet chief slowly opened his lips.
“Um… I feel nothing. Really… the golden seals have disappeared?”
He looked up at me with an anxious expression. His white ears twitched slightly.
