What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 871

#871 What Happens When the Sub-Male Lead Goes on Strike (5)

The time in the desert flowed as quickly as sand, and before we knew it, it was May 13th.

Various desert minorities, dressed in their finest clothes, gathered in the plaza.

-Whoosh······

“Honey, look over there. The moon shadow is brighter than last night.”

“Oh, it is! Really!”

“Goodness, I thought the continent was going to go completely bankrupt······. It’s the grace of the Main God.”

Thanks to the Crown Prince’s party’s return and their extraordinary actions, Gigolt Village had been buzzing for days.

Firstly, they brought back the alchemist ‘Anpeta,’ who had committed serious crimes such as arson and fraud and received the highest penalty in Gigolt.

It was a great relief that she was tightly bound with ropes and wouldn’t be released anytime soon, but the old woman’s return was enough to unsettle many residents.

There were many homes where the elderly and young children were not allowed outside, fearing that she might become a free person and retaliate against the residents.

-Kugugugung······!

“Oh my, they’re digging up the ground from early in the morning.”

“Well, there’s no helping it. The Papal State said that holy relics are buried in our village, right? That’s why they’re so busy searching.”

“Ha! You can’t trust the Papal State’s words. I heard the Secretary-General fell ill from ‘dung poisoning’ [likely food poisoning from unsanitary conditions].”

“Dung poisoning, hahaha!”

-Gogogogo······!

Furthermore, under the command of the honored guests, a large-scale ‘holy relic excavation’ began in northern Gigolt.

The second piece of news also made most of the residents uncomfortable, but soon they were given appropriate compensation.

His Highness Crown Prince Cedrick Liester, the little sun of the Empire, generously distributed the gold he had brought on several horse saddles to the residents of Gigolt, and even provided them with the most precious food in the desert: raw seafood.

Many people who had never eaten seafood in their lives were deeply moved by the Imperial Family’s grace and bowed deeply.

In any case, there were no immediate problems even if a large-scale excavation took place in northern Gigolt, as it did not include important buildings or residential areas.

The north was originally such a land.

“But, you know… Has it been since yesterday…? No, was it the day before yesterday? Don’t you think we’re getting along strangely well with the Imperial soldiers? Huh?”

“Ah, I felt it too. I felt like the times when we couldn’t communicate in the same language have drastically decreased.”

“Exactly! It’s not just my family who thought that! My sister-in-law said the same thing!”

“Of course, the continent won’t collapse. It’s a land blessed by God; there’s no way it will collapse.”

Gigolt, a wealthy village the size of a decent city, was divided into three districts. The circular central district was lined with various accommodations and marketplaces, including the Gigolt Caravanserai [a roadside inn where caravans could rest and resupply].

This was planned as the central commercial district from the time Count Ralph Gigolt conceived the desert city six hundred years ago.

It was a prime location where the wealthiest people in the village lived, and it even had a large oasis and plaza, so the residents had long called it ‘Primus’.

“Listen, since the Papal State is being mentioned.”

“Yeah.”

“Why did His Highness the Crown Prince bring back the criminal we threw out of the village, huh? And put her right in the middle of the important mining site? Do you know anything about that?”

“Oh dear. I asked my close knight friends, but they all clammed up like a pot lid. It’s top secret, top secret.”

“Goodness!”

“Maybe the old woman knows something? Maybe she’s sitting there as an observer.”

Meanwhile, southern Gigolt was a tray-shaped area that surrounded Primus, and it was the area where most residents lived.

It was also a prime location well-equipped with childcare facilities and various amenities.

The village’s second oasis and a large agricultural area were located here, so people called it Secundus.

“Well, I don’t know······. What could possibly come out of a six-hundred-year-old crematorium?”

“How can a believer like us know the lofty intentions of the Papal State officials?”

“Hmph. I just hope no ghosts come out.”

“Hey, don’t say unlucky things. The spirits were all taken to the heavens by the ancient king. You heard how the royal capital of the Divine Nation collapsed!”

“Wasn’t it said that the north was originally a temple site? There must be something good there, so they tried to build a temple.”

Lastly, northern Gigolt had always been a deserted land.

It was known as a prime location that the designer of the desert city, Count Gigolt, had set aside to build a temple during his lifetime.

However, he suddenly disappeared into the mirage of history.

The desert minorities, especially those rooted in Gigolt Village, constantly created new rumors about the Count’s last days, researched them, and spread unfounded stories again.

However, he was not recorded in any historical records from some point on.

No one witnessed his end, and no one heard his will.

Only countless self-proclaimed descendants and fraudsters claiming to be Gigolt’s descendants wandered the wilderness.

“I don’t think I’d be surprised by anything that comes out of the ground, and honestly, I don’t think anything will come out. The Divine Beasts who have been digging that up for three days seem the most amazing.”

“That’s true. Has anyone among us ever seen a Divine Beast in person?”

“It’s true that the Liester Empire is blessed by God.”

“Yes, just last night! The oil in a few torches in the plaza ran out, and the lights were going out, but that little Divine Beast scurried over······.”

After Ralph Gigolt disappeared, his temple construction plan also became a castle in the air [an unrealistic or unattainable goal].

The vast equilateral triangular vacant lot seemed unable to find a use for a while, but it had been used as a crematorium for the village residents for hundreds of years.

Some priests resided nearby to perform the last rites for the deceased or burn incense, so it ended up playing a role similar to a temple.

So the people of Gigolt called this place ‘Tertius’.

The third, the third district. A place that was indispensable to them, but at the same time, a land that no one was attached to.

-Thud, thud, thud······

“······Oh, over there. An Imperial noble is coming this way.”

“It’s Kristel Rambouillet! The star of the Imperial Navy!”

“Make sure to greet her well; she’s the granddaughter of the Rambouillet Caravan.”

“She might have heard what we were saying. Everyone, manage your expressions!”

“Hello, hello. Oh my, you’re out here from the morning?”

The pink-haired paladin in a blue coat greeted the residents with her usual simple and friendly tone.

The residents simultaneously burst into laughter and bowed.

The baby Divine Beast in her arms also waved its flipper feet happily.

The knight slowly looked around them and spoke in a soft voice like flowing honey.

“You must be very uncomfortable because of the digging in the north, right? I’m sorry.”

“Oh no, not at all, milady!”

“We’ve already received excessive compensation, and the Imperial Knights are working hard, incredibly hard, for our safety. Of course.”

“This is just between us, but it’s much better now than when the Papal State knights were here.”

“Oh my goodness, that’s right.”

‘That’s true!’ People dressed similarly to Imperial clothing, people with colorful veils hanging down in front of their eyes, or people wrapped in beautiful scarves all agreed.

The paladin drooped her eyebrows with a very moved expression.

“Oh, because you’re all so understanding and cooperative, I hope there will be good results soon. But nothing’s coming out even though we’re digging. I wonder if a hot spring will burst out of there.”

The residents burst into laughter at the knight’s joke.

They told her what they knew as best they could, but unfortunately, it was all information that Gain already knew.

Still, she didn’t give up.

She thanked everyone with a kind attitude, didn’t show any signs of fatigue, and playfully struck up a conversation again.

“Still, one good thing is that the soil is soft, so it’s very easy to dig. I understand why that alchemist dug a tunnel to the north.”

“Ah······.”

“Ha, hahaha······.”

When the story of the alchemist Anpeta came up, the residents’ faces gradually darkened.

It was a natural reaction since they had suffered at the hands of the old woman.

Gain stroked Tite’s head and asked gently.

“Maybe······. Maybe you know something about that old woman? Anything is fine except that she’s a con artist. Even something very trivial is fine. She keeps insisting that she’s a descendant of Count Gigolt, and she sincerely believes it, so a lie detector is useless.”

“There’s a legend that the Count was a madman, and that’s one thing they have in common. If that old hag is of Gigolt blood, she must have inherited the blood of a madman.”

“It’s been a long time since she was exiled from the village, so my memory is hazy······.”

At that moment, an old man with white hair mumbled from the crowd.

Everyone, including Gain, turned to look at him.

“······Usually, she hardly slept. She said she was going to research something, make something, and other than sleeping for about an hour or two a day······.”

“Was that so?”

“Hey, grandpa. Isn’t wandering around without sleeping a specialty of madmen? It’s too obvious to tell the honored guests.”

“I once, once asked her. Why do you wander around day and night without sleeping so much? Then she said······.”

The old man’s eyes, which seemed to have deteriorated a lot, became even darker.

Gain also focused her attention.

“She said she slept too much when she was young······. Now she’s tired of it and can’t sleep. I laughed a lot when I heard that.”

“Oh, grandpa······.”

The conclusion was also bland, so the residents patted the old man’s shoulder and looked at Gain.

She waved her hand and smiled with a completely okay expression.

Around that time, Herit was seen walking over, holding the end of Djibril Diop’s cane.

Gain remembered her promise to buy the child a snack and greeted the residents kindly.

It was good that the dark moon shadow was slowly brightening, and it was good that the continent’s language was communicating again like a lie, but the stress was immense because she couldn’t find a way to cross dimensions and retrieve Master Gu—the traces of the Holy Grail.

It’s been three days of excavation, and all that’s come out are a few real ancient artifacts······.

“Haa······. Well! I’ll greet you again. I’ll go back to the site now.”

“Oh, please go in, milady.”

“You’re really suffering a lot.”

“Ahaha. The Divine Beasts are suffering more than me.”

······Demi, Leah, Perry. The earth-attribute Lesser Pandas were also slowly reaching their limit.

The ether level of the priests here was not enough to completely replenish the children’s energy.

Gain, lost in worry, waved her hand at Herit and walked.

“Milady, it’s the full moon in three days.”

“······Yes?”

It was the old man from before. Gain blinked and turned to look at him.

Then the residents repeatedly made embarrassed expressions.

“I’m sorry, milady. He used to study astrology······. He knows when what moon will rise even without the moon and says things like that.”

“Ah, I see. Thank you for the good information.”

After greeting them cheerfully until the end, Gain soon met Herit.

The boy, who had woken up early again today, smiled brightly, saying that there were seven street food stalls he had seen on the way here.

Master Gu came to mind again for a moment.

*

Sunday, May 17th.

-Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep! Bbrrr!

-Clatter!

“I’m home.”

I had decided to take a break from updating the fanfiction on weekends, so I had been catching my breath for about two days.

After uploading over five hundred chapters in five days, I hadn’t even logged into Canary at all.

And yesterday, I met up with my middle school friends for the first time in a while, and today I went out for lunch with my army juniors.

I wonder what delicious food Sir Johan has eaten······.

“Jeong Yeseo, you crazy bastarddd!”

“You scared me!”

Right then, Eunseo ran towards me from across the living room at an incredible speed.

I seriously told her to be mindful of the noise between floors······.

“Hey, you’re in first place! Your ranking has skyrocketed since last night, and you’re in first place in the contest now—!”

Eunseo suddenly shoved her phone screen in my face.

I blinked with the dumbest face in the world.

“······What?”

What?