What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 869

The Sub-Male Lead Goes on Strike (3)

The desert night was dangerous.

-Swish, swish…

“Oh, my god…”

The danger was so extreme that the word ‘dangerous’ couldn’t even begin to describe it.

The areas where oases and villages were located were relatively safe due to the presence of troops—and large settlements like Gigolt Village even had special barriers to prevent monster invasions—but for those who couldn’t settle and wandered, every grain of sand in the desert was a trap, and the vast sky was a torment.

People swept away by sudden haboobs [violent dust storms], their bodies never recovered; people stung by black amber wasps, their bodies swelling four times their size before dying; people falling into quicksand, buried alive among ancient underground relics…

The stories were all gruesome and horrifying, so even the most daring archaeologists and theologians wouldn’t venture out to explore ruins in the middle of the night.

But those banished from the village to pay for their sins had no choice.

-Swish, swish, swish, swish…

“Oh, dear God! I’m going to die here before I discover the truth.”

The old woman, trapped inside the bars, muttered as she looked up at the sky like a stage actor.

Before she knew it, the shadow of a terrifying monster loomed over her small body.

The dense fur on its snout made a swishing sound as it swept the ground.

The creature resembled a scorpion, and the alchemist, who had experience making various potions using all sorts of monsters, recognized its identity at a glance even in the darkness.

“Phantasm Beetle, ah, Phantasm Beetle! Grinding its tail after drying it would produce a truly fine powder. As fine as flour…”

-Kieeeek!

“Oops, I misspoke. I made a mistake.”

The monster gnashed its large pincers, foaming at the mouth.

Its reddish-brown eyes seemed to gleam with anger.

The old woman swallowed hard and wiped the sweat from her forehead with a handkerchief—

-Kaga-gang!

“Ouch!”

The creature swung its centipede-like body, striking the bars of the cage with great force!

The old woman couldn’t withstand the tremendous impact and collapsed onto the floor of the prison.

The bones and muscles throughout her body screamed even before her vocal cords could, and as she panicked, the monster began to cling to the bars. ‘Kaga-gang!’ The Phantasm Beetle was alone and clearly a juvenile, but the old woman had no time to consider such things.

What did it matter if there was one poisonous monster or two?

She was going to die within minutes anyway!

-Sasa-sat…

“Oh, finally, yes! It’s emitting hallucinogenic mist, of course! It’s a blessing to die without pain.”

‘Although I haven’t obtained the truth!’ The old woman staggered to her feet, rolling her eyes around.

It was a moonless night, but it wasn’t hard to recognize the identity of the faint white substance slowly spreading beneath her feet.

The alchemist quickly picked up the hat that had fallen to the floor and dusted it off.

Although she had never lived in a grand castle or mansion in her life, she firmly believed that she was a descendant of a great noble family.

So, if not on any other day, at least in the last moment of her life, she would act nobly…

-Kieeeeeeek!

“Hwaaaaugh!”

-Ssaeeeeek!

As soon as the monster swung its pincers, the old woman let out a bizarre scream and went flat—!

-Swish! Thwack!

Just then, the sound of something sharp cutting through the air rang out.

It was a very loud and short sound, so the woman didn’t even realize that the situation had changed drastically for a few seconds.

“…Huh?”

-Kit…?

The beetle seemed to be in the same state, as droplets of foam slowly dripped from its mouth.

The alchemist very slowly raised her head.

The monster’s ominously gleaming shell, its eyes that had been moving distinctly, its countless thin legs, and its terrifying poisonous tail…

-Thud, splat!

“Oh, God!”

-Kieeeek…

‘Cheeeee…!’ It was collapsing before her eyes, making a burning noise.

No, in fact, the cross-section of the monster’s body, which had been neatly sliced, looked as if it had been charred black.

The old woman stood frozen like a Samling stone [stone pillar], her mouth wide open in shock.

She didn’t even think to cover her face with her sleeve at the pungent smell of burning, and she just sat there blankly, wondering what on earth was going on…

“You.”

“Aigoo!” [expression of surprise/fear]

A voice growled like a hellhound guarding the gates of hell.

The alchemist’s shoulders jumped up and then flattened against the floor like Baghrir dough [a type of Moroccan pancake].

Soon, a jet-black blade entered through the bars, aiming at her wrinkled forehead.

…It was a sword she seemed to have seen somewhere before.

“Oh, please listen, wise and merciful sir! This body, this body was banished from my hometown long ago and is a humble being without a penny to my name. If I didn’t have these clothes, this old woman would freeze to death miserably…”

“You said that your ancestors’ ashes were buried in Gigolt Village.”

“Huh?”

The old woman raised her eyes sharply. Cedric Liester stared with his eyes wide open, as if he would not allow even the slightest gap. ‘Aigoo!’

“Y-yes, that’s right! I did, yes. It’s the truth, without even a speck of falsehood!”

“If we find Count Ralph Gigolt’s remains, can we also obtain traces of the holy water he drank before he died?”

-Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!

“…Y-yes?”

The alchemist, who had been watching the beast pat the dead monster with its front paws, raised her head in surprise.

For some reason, her face was tinged with a strange joy.

“Young master, did you perhaps come all the way here because you believed my words? Such a thing has never happened in my entire life…”

-Sreung!

“Answer.”

“Yes, of course! I can say for sure, with my 150 years of alchemical life on the line. Holy water! The purest crystal of ether! That wondrous divine substance is certainly somewhere in the desert. It’s the truth. To be exact, it’s in the Count’s homeland, right here, no, there…”

The old woman pointed north with trembling fingers. It was in the direction of Gigolt Village.

“…Somewhere underground in Gigolt. To say that he drank the holy water and his whole body burned to death is baseless nonsense, and in fact, it’s a story that almost no one has heard! This is a secret, but I’ve known for a long time. Our ancestors’ remains are in that land…”

-Kagang!

“Goodness gracious!”

This time, someone struck the bars from the opposite side of the prison.

The old woman was terrified and dropped her hat.

Jibril Diop was shining his red eyes and the tip of his staff in the dim light.

Soon, he held a large, blunt lock in his hand.

The prison door was broken in an instant!

“Listen. It would be best for you to cooperate properly, since these precious people are willing to believe your claims.”

“…Oh, my. I understand. I understand.”

“Don’t even think about running away as a criminal of the Imperial Army. If you do such a foolish thing, your wanted poster will be plastered all over the continent.”

“Of course, yes.”

‘Thank you so much, young master.’ The alchemist, who quickly grasped the situation, prostrated herself again.

Only then did Cedric sheathe his sword and turn to look beside him.

Yeser Venetian was already climbing onto Arnhardt’s saddle, and only Gain, holding Herrit’s hand tightly, stood by his side.

He had half-expected it, but the con artist, no, the ‘alchemist,’ was really locked up here…

“Ha, I guess this is what it means to grasp at straws. I’m living to see the day when I believe the crazy ramblings of someone who’s been kicked out of town.”

“I don’t know if she’s crazy. But at least it’s not nonsense.”

‘Because she’s only saying what she thinks is the truth,’ Diop said, nodding his chin.

Then Herrit, who had been staring at the old woman in her fancy clothes for a long time, wrote carefully on Gain’s palm.

It was so warm and nice to have this when they could communicate.

‘Aunt Chris. That grandma looks like me.’

…Huh?

“Jesus, what are you saying, my cinnamon roll baby? Auntie is so upset by that? Our Herrit is so pretty and kind, who does she look like, no way.”

‘Ah, maybe our hair color is a bit similar? Because it’s white?’ Gain gently stroked the boy’s hair and met his gaze.

The child eventually smiled shyly at her beaming face.

Around that time, Prince Yeser coldly asked the old woman, who was crawling out of the cage.

“You. What’s your name?”

“…Anpeta. My name is Anpeta, young master. It’s a name passed down through generations.”

“I see.”

That was the end of the conversation with the old woman.

Jibril continued to clean up the divine beasts that were hitting the dead monster—”Well, maybe it’s because I encountered a Phantasm Beetle during the monster subjugation in the past,” Gain guessed—and before long, they moved in the direction of Gigolt.

This was the last clue for the Moon Hunt party. But it wasn’t their last attempt.

*

…Just a sliver of Lord’s Raji [a reference to a popular web novel], oh my god, Jung Eun-seo.

‘Yekrianruinedme left a comment on episode 1 of The Sub-Male Lead Goes on Strike.’

May 12th. It was lunchtime at the company.

I was reading the push notification that popped up on my phone screen when I almost spat out the water I was drinking.

‘Comment’?

“Wow…”

…Comment? Really?

Yekrianruinedme left a comment on our story?

On The Sub-Male Lead Goes on Strike, which doesn’t even get ten views per episode?

“What should I do, the first comment…”

Hyung [older brother/male friend] had repeatedly told me never to read comments, but when I was actually in this situation, I couldn’t control my heart, which was pounding as if it would burst.

Of course, it wasn’t so much a feeling of happiness as it was a rather scary and fearful feeling.

It was closer to calmly sinking than being excited, but inevitably, it was a complex and contradictory feeling that was trying to float up a little…

“Yedael, what are you looking at? You look serious.”

“Ah, it’s nothing. I was just checking an app for a moment…”

“Oh! Canary? Yedael likes webtoons [digital comics]?”

“I’ve been reading web novels here lately.”

“Web novels, come to think of it, my sister has been reading a lot of web novels these days too. Are they fun?”

“Haha, yes. They’re somewhat fun.”

“I used to live with romance novels in my arms. What do you usually read, Yedael? Wuxia [Chinese fiction genre featuring martial arts]?”

“I read wuxia. It’s fun, it’s called . I recommend it.”

The director, who had come out to eat with us after a long time, suddenly recommended our hyung’s novel.

‘Oh! I’ve been reading that these days too!’ Since it was a fairly famous work, there was an immediate response from the next table.

Thanks to the unexpected readers of , I was able to gloss over our story roughly.

It was a grateful thing in many ways. I should tell Jung Hyun-seo when I get home.

While responding appropriately to my colleagues’ conversation, I quickly went to the Canary app…

“…Oh well, I don’t care.”

Click! I closed my eyes tightly and pressed the bell-shaped button.

The contents of the latest notification immediately appeared, and Yekrianruinedme’s comment came into view at a glance.

‘Ah, it’s just a male lead story, disappointed’

“…”

I felt a little nauseous for a moment, but when I hurriedly turned off my phone screen and put it in my pocket, it seemed to subside quickly.

Soon, the team leader scraped the remaining fried rice and put it on my plate, but for some reason, it didn’t go down as if a fish bone was stuck in my throat.

I chewed the sand-like grains of rice and belatedly regretted it.

…I should have listened to hyung. I should have never read it. Why did I do that?