What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 693

#693

Hiding in the Animal Forest (2)

So sleepy······.

-Yummy.

“Umm······.”

How long has it been since I slept like this?

-Yummy, give me some Ether.

Tap, tap. I felt something cold and watery pricking my cheek.

I frowned slightly and sluggishly turned my head.

My posture was a bit uncomfortable, but I didn’t want to open my eyes since it was such a long-awaited rest.

The slight chill and the strange dizziness in my head didn’t matter much.

Thoughts couldn’t string together and were cut off by the devil of sleep.

Just a little more sleep. Just 20 more minutes.

-Yummy. Yummy.

“Yeah······.”

-I’m hungry.

“Uh, there’s sweet and sour chicken in the fridge······.”

-······.

“Oppa [older brother] ate it all······.”

No, this isn’t my house.

That thought also lazily surfaced and then sank back into my subconscious.

I smacked my lips, savoring the taste of the red, spicy, and sweet sweet and sour chicken that lingered in my mind.

Sounds delicious. Please let me dream of soy sauce flavor too.

Then, the baby’s voice poked at my ears again.

-I need pure Ether to grow bigger.

“······.”

-Yummy, are you sleeping?

The soft sensation of something touching my cheek was no longer bothersome.

I felt like I could fall back into a deep sleep if I just closed my eyes for a minute or two.

‘Kkyaa.’ Something like an animal’s paw came into my slightly opened mouth.

The sensation of soft fur and jelly was vivid.

I desperately tried not to wake up. Of course, it was my precious troublemaker.

“Eheo, ehee euwoo hehe (Leah, I’ll give you Ether)······.”

-Kieung.

I mumbled with my mouth full and reached out in any direction.

Then, I poured out Ether haphazardly. Still without opening my eyes.

Squishy, squishy. Like melting ice cream to knead and eat.

-Saaa······

-Yeah, delicious! Delicious!

Soon, the baby said in a very satisfied voice. It sounded much more lively than before.

In the meantime, the red panda’s paw touched my chin and shoulder once each and then fell away.

I smirked slightly and then slowly returned to my original state.

I was so sleepy that I couldn’t tell if this was a dream or reality, well, of course, it’s probably a dream······.

-I like it so much. I love it.

“······.”

The baby mumbled from under my chin.

This time, for some reason, I didn’t feel any fur or warmth.

I patted the baby’s back and told her to go back to sleep.

No, that’s what I was going to do, but the girl suddenly raised her head. Our eyes met for a moment.

-Thank you, ‘Dad’.

“Heoooock!”

Who’s your dad! That’s a big problem!

“Good morning, Princess.”

“Heok! Cough, cough! Johan, cough!”

-Kiat!

Sir Johan? I was surprised and looked around, trying to calm my pounding heart.

My throat was scratchy from choking, and I couldn’t think straight.

After checking carefully, Leah was in my arms, and the girl I didn’t know was naturally not there. That really scared me.

Already, the surroundings were the color of thick squid ink. It was definitely daytime when I fell asleep······.

Wait a minute.

“Ah.”

You, Seo, you idiot! You fell into a trap like an idiot!

“What, no way. The net is still······!”

-Crackle, crackle.

“Heok.”

-Gurgle.

I was first shocked by the net trap still wrapped around my body, and second shocked by my current state of swaying as I moved.

The feeling of dangling like bait from a thick, tall tree branch was very thrilling.

The tree was groaning, as if telling me to please stay still.

I was in a situation where I needed my friends’ help due to a pathetic mistake, but I believed that they were all smart and capable, so they would get me out soon.

But this situation is······.

“Sir Johan, why are you caught in a net?”

And it’s right next door. You look very comfortable too.

“I thought you needed a break for about half a day.”

“Yes?”

I blinked.

“I can go a little further, but we have non-combat personnel and horses. If you look back, you’ll understand what I mean.”

The man in the dark smiled softly and gave a mint-colored gaze over his shoulder.

I turned my gaze as if possessed, following his hair swaying in the wind.

On a large old tree that must have been hundreds of years old······.

“Kuuuul······.”

Deroong.

“Keheo······.”

Diroong.

“Kooo······.”

And dangle.

As if the large, rough net was the arms of the warmest protector in the world, Francois, Sant, and Duke Lasso were hanging side by side, fast asleep.

So my friends are······.

“You’re using a hunting trap as a campsite. Without the owner’s permission.”

“You have to be flexible in times of war.”

The paladin replied gracefully. I belatedly looked closely at the top of the group’s heads.

There were leather pouches tied to it like the ones attached to my net, but they didn’t seem to be scattering white sleeping powder.

Looking closely, it was rather thin······.

“I’ve already blown the high-level monster sleeping powder around, so don’t worry.”

“Oh my gosh, thank you so much. So everyone fell asleep of their own accord?”

“Totally. Actually, I was a little sleepy too.”

Ms. Gain quickly added from Sir Johan’s diagonal direction.

I ended up laughing as I watched her stick her fingers out between the net meshes.

Even in the dark twilight, her watery eyes sparkled playfully.

“Did you get some sleep?”

“Don’t even mention it. I couldn’t sleep a wink because of His Highness the Crown Prince’s snoring.”

“Hahahaha.”

I immediately burst into laughter, watching the man in the next net frown.

Of course, it was a lie, just a joke between friends.

Now Cedrick knew that well too, so he just crossed his long legs and folded his arms (leaving aside how he could do that in a net).

Both of them had slept a bit, and their beautiful faces were radiant.

I carefully checked Isabel and the troublemakers and then looked down.

I could see the horses sitting around the tree, resting.

My eyes naturally went to Alison, who was physically weak.

“······Sir Johan.”

“Yes.”

“The sleeping powder. Could it have flown to the place where the children we met during the day live?”

“I made it fall into the opposite valley, so you don’t have to worry. Mainly intermediate-level or higher monsters gather there.”

“······.”

“I’ve never worked in the Roserhard Territory, but I know the nearby geography well. It’s not impossible to infiltrate the royal capital as it is.”

‘If we are careful enough.’ The cardinal whispered in a meaningful voice.

I nodded and shifted my posture.

And this time, I met eyes with the wizard in question.

“······.”

Ahem, this is unnecessarily awkward. I quickly cleared my throat, holding Leah.

I heard Zibril Diop sigh deeply.

He seemed to be clicking his tongue and scratching his head.

For some reason, the back of my head felt hot, and my shoulders felt heavier because I felt like my friends were watching me.

······Still, I have to say what I have to say without avoiding it. If I’m an adult.

“Hey, Princess. During the day, I······.”

“I’m sorry.”

“What?”

The young master asked back as if he had heard something strange.

I continued to speak without turning to him.

“There are times when I act particularly emotionally. Young children, animals, old people, or people who are sick. When I get involved with those people, it becomes difficult to judge anything calmly. I know that myself, but I’ve lived like this my whole life, so it’s not easy to correct. You might think I’m immature.”

“Wait a minute.”

“Still, it’s wartime, so I should control and endure those parts myself, but my attitude earlier was not befitting of a commander. I think I forgot for a moment that I am the princess of a country. In the end, I made you look like that.”

“Why don’t you listen to me?”

Thud. Something popped. I tried to focus on the situation.

“No, I apologize for that. In the future, I will be more calm······.”

“There it is! It went up in the nine o’clock direction, catch those things!”

“Yes!”

Flustered! I reflexively hugged Leah, swallowing the rest of my words.

It was because a very malicious voice echoed from that slope.

Diop immediately took out his staff, and my friends’ eyes sharpened at once.

Fortunately, the group didn’t have any lights on, so it seemed like we wouldn’t be discovered unless they approached this way.

But the problem is―

“Those rat-like things. How dare they make things this big without knowing how scary the Duke is!”

-Cheeee······

“Sir, aren’t we really catching children like this? They just seem like kids hiding in the mountains······.”

“Just? Does that look like they’re ‘just’ hiding, huh?”

The middle-aged man scolded in a sharp voice. I craned my neck here and there, trying to keep my presence as quiet as possible.

When I fixed my gaze in the direction Cedrick was gesturing, I could see about six people wandering through the forest. The number of people who just ran out seemed to be about that many.

The one in the lead seemed to be a knight, and the distance between us was about fifteen meters.

Arumhart, who was sitting on the ground, lowered his head, and Alison and the other horses followed him and hid.

The group held their breath as if they had made a promise.

“I guess it’s because you’re new. It seems like you don’t know the Lasso Ducal Family very well yet.”

The knight said pompously.

-Cheeeeik······

“Lord Maiker never overlooks a single sparrow, not even a single strand of its feathers. He even examines animals on the verge of death one by one and pinpoints the parts that can be sold like a ghost. Do you know how much he’s earned with that eye for detail in his lifetime? Huh?”

“······.”

“I, I don’t know······.”

“The young master who smuggled those things out to save them, or the little ones who stole them again and fed them… Anyway, there are too many thieves in the country.”

‘Tsk!’ The knight’s sword, cutting through the weeds, flashed ominously in the moonlight.

I barely managed to control my trembling breath and looked for Duke Lasso.

He was already awake in the net.

“······Heok. Haa······.”

To be exact, he was trying to calm himself by wiping his mouth with his large hand.

Sant, who was hanging right next to him, looked at him with pitiful eyes.

The knight continued to lecture.

-Chijijik, cheeeeee······

“This is all Lord Maiker’s land, and even those who can’t use one leg or those who have lost two eyeballs are all Lord’s assets, and even a single stone rolling around is Lord’s money. Do you understand? Lord Leopold just committed patricide [the killing of a parent] due to youthful folly and took his mother’s place.”

“Oops.”

“Pa, patricide?”

“You don’t need to know that far. Anyway, if you wipe out the little ones’ base, you can all sleep soundly for a while. That’s for sure.”

‘Because the Duke is very eager to clean up the territory.’ By the time the woman added that, the distance between us had become excessively close.

I tried to stay as calm as possible.

It had only been a few minutes since I apologized to Diop.

I glanced at Duke Lasso again with a cold head, then shared glances with Ms. Gain, Cedrick, and Sir Johan (but why does Ms. Gain have that expression?), and also checked the wizards’ reactions······.

“Huh?”

-Chichichik······

“Damn it, this is ridiculous.”

Uh? I opened my mouth as soon as I saw Diop.

That’s because the top of the net holding him was―

-Whoosh!

“Crazy, it’s on fire!”

“Yeah. Thanks to someone.”

When I glared at him with force, the young master grumbled as usual.

I was horrified and turned to him, forgetting to look for my water droplet partner. Your voice is too loud!

“What? What was that noise just now······.”

“Oh my, Sir Knight! There’s something hanging on that tree!”