Chapter 67

Chapter 67

"This city is already mine. Cant give it back!"

I stuck out my tongue at her.

"You think I would just give it back because its originally yours? As if! To spit out power as sweet as a candy thats already been in my mouth! What a delusion!"

"..."

"This city is already claimed by Prince Ash!"

Evangeline, with an exasperated expression, froze in place, her mouth hanging open. Her eyes were wide with shock.

A chuckle escaped my lips. Perhaps it was time to tease her a bit.

"But! If you insist. If you insist on asserting your right as a successor."

I lightly tapped Evangelines forehead with my fingertip.

"Under the condition that you, as a mere knight under my command, cooperate in defending this frontline."

"Damn..."

"When you become an adult, when youre mature enough to take responsibility for this city. If you keep assisting me diligently until then, and if your feelings dont change until then!"

I nodded emphatically.

"Ill give back the position of Margrave and the lordship. All of it."

"..."

Evangeline, unable to close her agape mouth, suddenly narrowed her eyes.

"Three years."

"Huh? Whats in three years?"

"In three years! No, two and a half years, Ill be an adult. Lets see then."

Whether she was heated or happy to have a challenge, Evangeline passionately spoke to me with a subtly pleased expression.

"Ill earn your recognition! And Ill rightfully inherit both the title and the city."

Looking down at such a knightly girl, I curled one side of my lips into a smile.

"Ill look forward to it, Evangeline Cross."

Anyway, the strategy for this game takes about three years.

What does it matter if I return the city or not after that? Ill just throw a few more tickets at it.

We continued our staring contest for a moment, but eventually, both of us groaned in pain from our injuries and sat down on the bench.

After sitting silently for a while, basking in the sun,

"Can I ask you one more thing?"

Evangeline opened her mouth cautiously. I nodded in response.

"What is it?"

"When I was young, my mother told me."

Evangelines face was distant as she brought up an old memory.

"That she knew living in this city, marrying my father, and giving birth to me would lead to sorrow and hardship."

"..."

"Even knowing this, she chose this path because of continuity."

Evangeline gently shook her small head.

"What does continuity mean? Why did she choose to live in this city, knowing she would face such an end... for the sake of continuity."

"..."

"She said I would understand when I grew up, but even now, I still dont..."

"Is that so?"

I brought my fingertips together and placed them on the brow of the pensive Evangeline.

Pop!

I flicked her forehead.

With every ounce of sincerity, I poured all my available strength into my fingers.

"Arghhh!"

Evangeline, belting out a monstrous scream, clutched her searing red forehead and squealed.

"What, what is it?! Why are you hitting me?! Whats going on! Why are you hitting me!"

"Whats the thing that continues?"

I lifted my index finger and pointed it straight at Evangeline.

Stupefied, she stared at me and hissed violently.

"Hey, what! You hit me and then quiz me! So whats this thing that continues... huh..."

My finger, pointing at Evangeline, did not waver.

"...Huh?"

Only then did Evangelines mouth slowly open as she realized the nature of the thing that continues.

Thats right.

"The path your parents wished to continue, its right here."

Thats you, Evangeline.

"..."

Evangeline fell silent, frozen, as I gave her a sly smile and got up from my seat.

"Welcome back to the Monster Front, Evangeline Cross."

"..."

"Rest well for now. From now on, youll be at my mercy."

My eyes widened at the unexpected result.

It must have been because I monopolized the achievements in the orchard. Im not even a combatant, but I got the MVP.

"Well, lets look at the other results one by one."

Since I hadnt participated directly in the defense this time, I intended to carefully review the details.

But then,

Zap!

A silver spark flickered from my neck, and I felt a sharp pain in it.

As I reflexively clutched my neck, a system window appeared before my eyes.

[??? Necklace - Unlocking function in progress.]

The item that had been marked as ??? Necklace, which I had received as a tutorial stage reward.

The exact name of that necklace... was finally being displayed.

[Necklace of the Rebel(EX)]

- Necklace of the Player who rebels against fate.

- You can use the exclusive shop with the achievement points you have accumulated so far.

In other words, it seems like it allows me to use the special shop with the achievement points Ive accumulated.

"I dont know why its called the Necklace of the Rebel, though."

The player rebels against fate?

Its the first time Ive heard such a thing. I wonder if theres some hidden information.

"Hmm-"

After pondering, I set it aside for now and opened the achievement shop. Lets see whats there first.

Ding!

As I opened the achievement store, tutorial text flowed out.

[Welcome to the Achievement Points exclusive store!]

[You can purchase various items and abilities that will aid your game with the achievement points youve gathered.]

[Current Achievement Points: 1,000,000P]

[Add more joy to your gaming strategy by purchasing appropriate perks!]

Joy, huh... Arent they just trying to spice things up? I wonder if theres anything worth using.

Muttering to myself, an advertisement similar to a supermarket flyer popped up next.

[Directors Recommendation!]

[Dark Event Tracker]

- Detects and notifies you in advance when a dark event will occur in the stage.

- Price: 100,000P

[Please buy it because its really recommended by the director!]

...

A message that seemed to be desperately written by that guy, Aider, was visible. Did he consider this item particularly necessary...?

A dark event detector?

But, whats a dark event? Ive never heard of it before.

I touched the item for more detailed information about the perk.

[Dark Event]

- Occurs when ???s ?? intervenes in the game.

- A random event occurs on the stage, adversely affecting the players strategy.

I opened my eyes wide.

Could it be?

Though the points were considerably expensive, without hesitation, I immediately purchased the Dark Event Tracker.

Flash!

The necklace flashed once, and the tracker function was instantly added to the system.

When I opened the system window and expanded the Dark Event logs,

"Holy shit..."

Just as I suspected.

Every single stage thus far had activated a dark event.

Stage 1 designated a horde of the worst starting monsters, Living Armor.

Stage 2 involved the intrusion of hostile NPCs.

Stage 3 saw the monsters behaving oddly. Precise, a feint alongside a swift attack.

The worst parts of the stages so far had been due to these dark events.

Now its certain.

I had thought that the game had suddenly gone insane and the difficulty had spiked, but that wasnt it.

None of this is a coincidence. Someone is deliberately trying to ruin this game.

The malice I felt was not a misunderstanding.

But why?

Why would they go to such lengths to ruin this game? Why?

I glared into the empty void.

Whose malice is it thats disrupting my strategy...

Who on earth could it be?