How To Suck Honey With Extras [EN]: Chapter 228

254. The King of Obsession (3)

“I’ll even grant you a little blessing.”

“Huh? A blessing, you say?”

As I wondered, I felt a strange mana filling my body.

For a moment, my body tingled, and I reflexively shuddered.

“Did you do something?”

“Think of it as pocket change. The price for this body regaining its freedom can’t be equaled by a mere promise. Besides, if you want to summon this body in the future, I need to leave at least a minimal mark.”

What on earth did he do?

Just in case, I checked my stats.

I had been feeling a strange power filling my body a moment ago.

It seems my overall stats have increased thanks to that spirit creature’s blessing or whatever it is.

“I see you like it.”

“Well, it helped.”

He’s really giving generously.

He must have been desperate for freedom.

“If you’re satisfied, I’ll be on my way. I don’t want to stay here any longer.”

“Now that you mention it, where are you planning to go?”

“I have a home. I’m thinking of going back there first.”

“A home where spirit creatures live…”

“A place humans can’t easily go.”

I’m guessing it’s one of the Ten Great Demon Realms, but I don’t particularly want to go.

“In that case, if I call you later, how long will it take you to come?”

“Don’t worry. I can come whenever you call. Anywhere on this continent, I’ll arrive before you take five breaths.”

Does that mean he’ll arrive within about 10 seconds?

The spirit creature seems to have mastered the secret of moving along the massive flow of mana that runs beneath the continent’s foundation.

Is it magic with a different principle than teleportation or gates?

“As promised, Aillen, as long as you live and breathe, I will protect you from anywhere you call. I swear on the name of Valant, the king of the spirit creatures of this land.”

Valant, so that’s his name.

“I’ll call you anytime without hesitation.”

As I waved goodbye, he slightly twitched his lips as if he found it amusing, then disappeared into the ground, enveloped in blue light.

At first, I was worried because he was a snake spirit creature, but he was surprisingly intelligent and loyal.

Who said snakes were evil?

Only humans are evil.

“…Valant?”

As I was quietly savoring the lingering feeling of parting with him, I heard the princess muttering in confusion.

“What is it?”

“No… um… I think it’s just my imagination…”

The princess tilted her head, looking unsure.

“I once saw some data about spirit creatures, and I think I read that there’s a very strong entity called the king of spirit creatures…”

“…Could it be.”

Was that snake more of a big shot than I thought?

Why was such a big shot trapped in a place like this?

Well, according to the snake, he was tricked by some human, but…

“Come to think of it, there was a theory that among the spirit creatures, there are a few extremely powerful beings who control them.”

Additionally, Cruise said with a slightly hardened expression as if something was coming to mind.

“Aillen, it seems you’ve released something incredible.”

“…He’s not an evil being, so isn’t it okay? He’s reasonable and gentlemanly.”

At least he’s kinder than me.

Anyway, as long as he’s a source of strength, I don’t care if he’s a spirit creature or a demon king!

“Anyway, let’s hurry. It’s about time we run into him.”

Not much time left.

Our enemy is probably up ahead.

* * *

“…It seems we’ve caught up.”

I could feel it.

Whether it was the intuition granted by the dungeon resident buff or my own innate premonition.

I can’t ignore it.

“Aillen… this is a redundant question, but you’re planning to fight him, right?”

Cruise asks for a moment.

“…We have to fight. Isn’t that why we came all this way?”

“Well, whatever is at the end of this place, we can’t let him get it easily.”

Cruise agreed to fight without much hesitation.

“Ugh… are you two really going to fight?”

On the other hand, there must be someone who doesn’t want to.

If Cruise Elfamant is the type of protagonist who willingly faces danger.

Right now, she’s an ordinary person with the sensibilities of someone powerless.

Resilia probably can’t say she doesn’t want to outright, but she seems uneasy.

But there’s no way she can ignore it.

“Just so you know, the Empire will be attacked after the Selvas Kingdom, right? If we don’t deal with him here, your own house will be on fire.”

“…I suppose so!”

In the end, she can’t just stand by and watch.

But honestly, keeping Princess Resilia with us is also unsettling at this point.

‘Should I tell her to hide somewhere appropriate?’

Using spirit magic and magic, I could create a place to hide.

‘…Come to think of it.’

Then it occurred to me.

Perhaps Resilia could be helpful.

No, rather, it’s because it’s Resilia that she can be helpful.

Because she’s the only one here who is powerless.

“…Your Highness?”

I called out to Resilia and cautiously decided to make a suggestion.

“What, what is it?”

“If there’s something that Your Highness can do… no, something that only Your Highness can do, what would you do?”

“…Only me, you say?”

“Yes. No one else can. But there’s something that only Your Highness can do.”

Once he realizes it, Pellentronel will be most upset about the role she’ll play.

Sylvester, me, and Cruise can’t do it.

We’ve already attracted attention.

But Resilia, who hasn’t attracted anyone’s attention and is powerless…

She can move without being noticed by anyone.

That’s why she has to play this role.

“Ah, I understand.”

Resilia nodded to my suggestion, her eyes trembling with anxiety.

“You’ve made a good decision. …Then I’ll tell you about what I’d like you to do.”

I can already see it.

What kind of face will that guy make when he realizes this?

“If things go well, Your Highness can really mess with his plans.”

It’s not Sylvester or me who will interfere at the crucial moment.

It’ll just be a clumsy, powerless gag princess.

* * *

After sending Resilia on her errand.

As Cruise and I passed several more hours, a concrete sense of unease finally began to spread.

“…Goodness, he really smashed everything up spectacularly.”

“…Aillen, as you said, it seems he just bulldozed his way through.”

The traces of battle.

The shattered flesh of monsters.

Those traces, not yet cleaned up, are scattered everywhere, becoming clearer each time we pass.

He really has no intention of holding back.

“It seems we’ll be running into him soon. Prepare…”

It wasn’t far off.

And finally, in the distance, I could see the shoulders of a giant man sitting upright.

Pellentronel.

He was waiting.

“You’re later than I expected.”

At those words, as if mocking us, Cruise was about to chant a spell, half in anger, but I held out my hand to stop her.

Not yet.

Instead, I simply answered his words from before, as if joking.

“…Even though it looks like this, we hurried quite a bit. Frankly speaking, you’re just fast.”

We used all sorts of tricks to skip through the floors, but that guy literally smashed his way up with his body.

As if personally proving the ideology that only the power he believes in is the absolute standard.

Even I can’t help but feel a bit disgusted by this.

The problem is that the guy who was so far ahead is deliberately waiting for us here.

“It doesn’t seem like he’s just resting? Were you perhaps waiting for me?”

“…I simply thought you were the biggest obstacle, you meddler.”

“Aillen.”

“Hmm?”

His eyebrows twitched.

“Isn’t this the third time we’ve encountered each other? It’s quite a coincidence, so shouldn’t we at least tell each other our real names? And…”

“…There won’t be a next time, is that it?”

“You’re incredibly perceptive.”

As if knowing exactly what I wanted to say, he interjected.

“I know that this situation is one of your schemes. I’m not so foolish that I can’t even sense that, Aillen.”

“…”

“Originally, I should have broken through such schemes with my own body. However…”

Pellentronel has been watching only me since a while ago.

“I decided to prioritize waiting for you. Know it as an honor.”

“Oh… how truly, generation after generation, it’s an honor… like hell!”

I expected it.

He doesn’t know how I’ll interfere, so he’s camping out in front of the goal and plans to deal with me first.

‘I’d probably think the same way…’

It doesn’t matter.

I can fight anytime.

But for some reason, instead of radiating fighting spirit, he quietly shifts his gaze to the ceiling of the dungeon.

“Aillen, you probably know what’s here, right?”

Not ‘Do you know?’ but ‘You probably know?’

That means he’s asking because he assumes I already have information about this place.

“…This dungeon is somewhat special compared to others.”

I decided to answer honestly.

There’s no need to stall for time, and it doesn’t matter since he already knows the information anyway.

This dungeon is special compared to others.

The entry condition alone is that you can’t come unless you get a specific artifact.

Naturally, it means something important is sealed.

“But… what’s being kept here isn’t an artifact or a special ability.”

“…It’s not?”

Cruise seems to find that point strange as well.

There are definitely rooms with rewards.

And there’s definitely something that protects them strictly.

It’s certain that if you get it wrong, the world’s landscape could change.

“What’s stored here is this dungeon itself…”

“Hoh…”

Judging from his reaction, it seems to be the same as I knew.

“This dungeon… specifically, you could say it’s the overall control of the facilities here.”

“Control?”

“It’s not just control. If you reach the end of this place, you can freely use all the facilities that make up this dungeon. In other words, what that means is.”

“…That’s right. A natural fortress.”

He revealed his purpose.

He clenched his fist and spoke his will.

“I will make the summit of this place my throne. Isn’t this the highest place, the most suitable place for me to reign!”

“…”

“It sounds crazy, but it’s true.”

I knew it too.

However, it’s different from simply occupying a dungeon.

The problem is the danger of this place.

“…An impregnable natural fortress, so it’s definitely dangerous.”

Cruise also broke out in a cold sweat, as if she had thought about the danger a little.

If he occupies this place, if he makes this place his base, no one will be able to reach him.