What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 34

#034 Let’s Think of It as a Picnic (3)

-Screech!

Demi reacted faster than I did.

The little guy perked up his long, round tail and stepped off the picnic blanket.

He slowly opened and closed his mouth, as if threatening or wary of something.

“What was that sound just now?”

I asked Cardinal Boutier. She simply offered a picturesque smile, without a word.

-Rumble…

Once more, a thunderous sound echoed from the ground. Our group stirred with unease.

Without delay, I opened my Sanctuary.

A circle of golden aether [magical energy] brightly illuminated the picnic blanket, expanding according to its master’s will.

My Sanctuary had a maximum diameter of about 30 meters.

It was large enough to protect the seven people inside the blanket, as well as the Prince, Kristel, and Demi outside.

Could it be made larger? Well, it was possible, but not feasible right now.

“Monsters.”

Prince Cedrick said quietly. Ganael gasped in surprise.

I quickly rose and approached Demi.

Straining my eyes to see beyond the hill, I spotted several red dots in the distance.

“Why are there monsters here? Surely, there’s a strong barrier around the Imperial Palace….”

I trailed off, then turned to look at the Cardinal. Could it be?

“Everyone seemed a bit restless, so I briefly opened the barrier towards the mountains. With the help of the Royal Guards, we even dangled some bait.”

“Your Eminence.”

“Frederique approved it too. After all, they wrecked the Emperor’s favorite training ground.”

I swallowed hard. So.

The Emperor and the Cardinal, annoyed that the two protagonists had destroyed the indoor training ground, had decided to give their only son and someone else’s precious daughter a lesson.

Still, attracting monsters to the Imperial Palace’s back mountain? With civilians around?

What’s wrong with these two? Is that why the Prince is like that?

“You can’t properly prepare for the ‘Great Monster Subjugation’ by fighting among yourselves, so I prepared some monsters.”

Don’t say that like it’s today’s lunch menu!

-Thump, thump, thump…

“They’re coming.”

Kristel said. At her feet, tiny droplets of water floated anxiously.

The red dots at the edge of the horizon rapidly closed the distance, growing as large as fingernails.

-Thud, thud, thud…

“One, two, three….”

Four, five. A total of five beasts were charging towards us without hesitation.

I stepped forward, in front of the picnic blanket.

The Prince and Kristel stood at the front, with me behind them, protecting the Cardinal and the others.

“Everyone, stay inside the circle.”

“Do not worry, Your Highness.”

Benjamin replied calmly.

Mountain guide Agnes scanned the rear, identifying rocks and trees for cover.

Unlike me, who was seeing monsters for the first time, the locals quickly regained their composure, likely from experience.

Except for Ganael.

“I’ll just cheer you on.”

The Cardinal teased in a gentle voice. I couldn’t help but chuckle.

I shook my head and consciously channeled aether to my fingertips.

Soon, a subtle warmth filled both palms, and a bun-sized aether orb appeared above each hand.

“Lady Sarnese, don’t worry about aether and just respond.”

“Understood. That’s good.”

I clenched and unclenched my fists.

The golden aether orbs flickered on and off like fluorescent lights.

Ensuring a smooth flow of aether beforehand would speed up support.

I hadn’t used healing powers yet, but if I followed the books, I should be able to manage at least an average level….

-Thud, thud, thud…

-MooOOOO…

The beasts roared. I could see the monsters in the distance.

They were in the form of disgustingly red bulls, with skin that shimmered like snakes and shaggy manes around their necks.

Their size seemed to be twice that of a normal bull.

The sight of them charging with pure white eyes was quite terrifying.

“Toxin Bulls.”

The Prince, who had been silent, spoke.

He slowly took a few steps forward and drew the sword that hung diagonally at his right hip.

‘Toxin Bull,’ was it?

“Are they monsters that spew poison in the form of bulls?”

“Yes.”

My mind cleared.

I had seen them in monster-related books when lesser pandas appeared in the Imperial Palace.

Toxin Bulls were herbivorous monsters, but they expelled all the poison from the plants they ate to attack humans.

Fire attribute would be much more advantageous against poison, but our forces only had water and a swordsman.

“We mustn’t let them get close. Their breath alone can infuse poison.”

-Screech.

Demi cried softly at my words.

Feeling like the little guy circling my feet had a complaint, I lowered myself to one knee.

“Are you scared? Do you want a hug?”

-Kkiwoo.

Demi shook his head from side to side, as if that wasn’t it, then stood up on his hind legs.

Then,

-Rustle!

-Whoosh….

The grass in front of Demi began to fall. No, to be exact….

“It’s a knot.”

The grass was intertwined, forming a tight knot.

I reached out and pulled, but the twisted part didn’t weaken at all.

A way to hold the monsters in place and deal with them before they got close.

Suddenly, an idea flashed through my mind.

“Your Highness, Lady Sarnese. Let’s do this.”

I proposed.

Clear, watery eyes and fiery orange eyes turned to me simultaneously.

-MooOOO!

-Krrr!

The distance was now less than 100 meters.

Five Toxin Bulls were drooling as they charged towards us.

The secretions dripping from their tongues burned several wildflowers.

I squeezed aether into Demi, who was in my arms.

“Demi, can you do it?”

-Kkiung!

“It’s okay, even if you fail, that older sister and brother will take care of it. Two, three….”

The lesser panda raised his two front paws high.

“Now!”

-Crack!

With a noise like a giant watermelon splitting, the hillside caved in.

-Mooaeee!

-Krr! Kkeooo!

The sounds of bulls mooing and monsters roaring mixed together, and the Toxin Bulls, losing their balance, tumbled into the sinkhole.

Demi’s positioning was accurate, but the hole wasn’t very deep.

-Krrreureung!

The fallen five struggled to rise their massive bodies.

The Prince moved on his own without me signaling.

He darted out at an invisible speed and gracefully swung his left arm, which held the sword.

A faint ray of light flashed,

-Kwaaaang!

-MooOOOO!

With a tremendous sonic boom, the Prince’s sword energy slashed the monsters’ vitals.

It was truly otherworldly swordsmanship.

It was hard to believe that he wasn’t yet a Sword Master [a master of swordsmanship].

But there was no time to be stunned.

Two Toxin Bulls, barely clinging to life, were staggering out of the sinkhole.

“Lady Sarnese!”

I poured all the aether circulating in the water, which had been circulating since a while ago, into her, who was still standing inside the circle.

I saw the protagonist smile brightly like a star. Kristel took a deep breath,

“Leave it to me!”

-Tap!

She dashed out with a light footstep and quickly disappeared into the distance.

I admired the Paladin’s [holy warrior] characteristics that I had only seen in books.

It was an incredible physical ability that ordinary people couldn’t even dream of.

It was also a talent that the original her would not have been able to awaken.

-Swish, swish….

Near her boots, which approached the sinkhole, water rapidly rose.

Soon, a wide stream began to flow down the slope leading to the sinkhole.

-Kooong!

-Mooaeee!

As the dry soil turned to mud, the monsters slipped and fell on the slippery inner walls of the sinkhole.

Then, a huge stream of water poured down relentlessly, filling the pit.

The monsters, already weak against water and fire, quickly lost their strength as their bodies became thoroughly soaked.

-Kkeueooo….

After some time, only one of them was still breathing.

-MooOOOO….

-Cheeeee….

The monsters’ blood and saliva dissolved in the water, creating a poisonous liquid.

It was a great relief that it could be contained in one place.

If Kristel had faced them alone, it would have been difficult to prevent the poison from spreading everywhere, and if only the Prince had stepped forward, the monsters might have scattered and the concentration of the attack would have been reduced.

-Flutter….

With a final rough snort, the last monster closed its eyes.

My strength drained from my body, and a sigh of relief escaped.

“Your Highness….”

I heard Ganael muttering from behind the nearest rock, where she had been holding her breath.

Turning around, I saw Benjamin, Natalie, David, and Agnes looking up at the sky and praying.

I let out a weak laugh.

“Ah, damn it.”

Then, Kristel’s voice pierced my ear.

Startled, I turned to see her standing in an awkward position, about to fall.

It seemed that Demi had tied the surrounding grass to prevent the monsters from escaping the sinkhole, and she had tripped over it.

“······Are you alright?”

“Yes, I’m fine. I forgot about this.”

She smiled brightly. I returned the smile out of courtesy and turned to look at the Prince.

As expected, he was unharmed, not even a scratch, and met my gaze.

“······.”

I wondered if he wanted to pick a fight again, but he said nothing.

He simply tossed the broken sword to the ground and walked away.

Now that I saw it, it seemed that every sword he used was too weak to withstand his sword energy.

How could a prince not have a single famous sword?

“Everyone, you’ve done well. It was a pretty good warm-up, wasn’t it?”

The Cardinal’s soft voice gently landed on the picnic blanket.

She was savoring her coffee in the same pose as before the Toxin Bull herd had arrived.

Kristel chuckled and nodded.

I stroked Demi, who was nestled in my chest, and whispered.

“Good job, Demi. You’re today’s MVP. You are Pyeongchang [likely a reference to a famous person or event known for excellence].”

-Kkiiiiiit.

The lesser panda let out a brave cry. My Sanctuary slowly disappeared.

Lady Elisabeth, who had emptied more than half of her plum juice at once, finally looked relieved.

“I wondered why Her Eminence the Cardinal was taking away Royal Guard members.”

She smiled cheerfully, as if the questions she had for the past few days had been resolved.

The spring breeze blowing into the Juliette Palace garden rustled her olive-colored hair.

A day had passed since we had taken down the Toxin Bulls on the back mountain.

Today’s morning tea time was with Lady Elisabeth Mute, who had come to slack off.

“Her Eminence has no interest in knights or the military. There’s nothing to get involved with, either.”

She explained.

“But for some reason, she was looking for a few elite members with monster subjugation experience. She even asked if they knew how to herd cattle. At the time, I thought it was a joke, but it was for a beneficial field trip… I’m touched.”

Lady Elisabeth’s brilliant gray eyes sparkled.

Seeing her genuinely respect Cardinal Boutier, who was becoming an icon of tyranny in my mind, the future of the Empire….

Seemed to have some fine dust [a metaphor for something being slightly flawed or tarnished].

“In the future, if there’s a picnic like that, please include me.”

“It wasn’t a picnic.”

“Eating a Juliette Palace dessert in a scenic spot and then playing a round of monster hunting is a picnic.”

She was serious. I smiled wryly and moistened my lips with burdock tea.

Yesterday’s experience was definitely constructive, but the thought of the Great Monster Subjugation, which would be much larger in scale and more intense, made one side of my chest feel chilly.

Of course, with the two protagonists by my side, I didn’t think anything big would happen….

-Rustle.

“Prince Yeser.”

Benjamin appeared from one side of the garden, along with the sound of grass falling.

He was holding a dish covered with a silver lid in one hand.

It seemed he had brought snacks for me and Lady Elisabeth.

“I have good news and bad news, but I’ll tell you the good news first.”

“Ah, yes.”

Don’t people usually ask which one you want to hear first?

“The good news is that today’s coconut cake boasts the best taste.”

He revealed the contents of the dish.

A dessert with coconut powder, ground as finely as the ice of milk shaved ice, piled up like fluffy snowflakes.