PMEVBO 7
by Leviathan“Haa…”
Calm down and think about what to do from now on. Getting excited won’t do anything. I pressed my palms against my eyes, trying to suppress the anger welling up in my skull.
First of all, I’ve suddenly become a criminal who assaulted the Duke. But within the next ten days, I must praise the duke’s son, whom he abused, three times.
…It was hopeless. I couldn’t even decide what to do first.
But I had the Discernment skill. I wasn’t going to save it until it was useless, so I had to use it now.
I quickly opened my inventory window. There was a yellow butterfly icon labeled “Discernment.” I immediately clicked on it.
──────【 Skill 】──────
Would you like to cast the skill ‘Discernment’?
Yes / No
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It used to just cast things without a word, so why is it suddenly asking for my consent? The status window’s burdensome kindness briefly made me shiver, but I calmly pressed “Yes.”
──────【 Discernment 】──────
Makes a correct judgment for the achievement of ‘ | ’.
────────────────
Instead of the “???” that should have been floating in the reward field, a thin bar was blinking. It was like a cursor on an internet browser. Was it telling me to fill in the reward I wanted?
But that was a futile thought that couldn’t see even an inch ahead.
──────【 Skill 】──────
Skill ‘Discernment’ casting failed!
────────────────
It failed to cast? Why on earth?
The help icon in the bottom right corner started to blink as if it were answering me. I hurriedly pressed it.
────【 Help 】────
D-14 (359h 10m 49s) remains until the next skill cast.
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The cooldown has expired, and I must wait 356 hours, 10 minutes, and 49 seconds before I can cast the Discernment skill again. Reading that kind explanation, I just chuckled.
My grand plan to outsource my brain to the Discernment skill had gone down the drain. Now I could only rely on my own judgment.
Fortunately or unfortunately, I had an idea. I didn’t like it much, but I flipped the Duke’s body over and started to strip him of his clothes. A moment later, the Duke was back to his original state.
As I carefully gathered the clothes I’d removed and stood up, I sensed a contemptuous gaze from somewhere. Iser was looking at me as if I were some undesirable pervert.
I let out a small sigh. Ugh, how many times have I been mistaken for a pervert today? I must be cursed with bad luck.
I wanted to get out of this ridiculous misunderstanding quickly.
“……I know what you’re thinking, but it’s not like that.”
Do you think I’m doing this because I want to? There’s a reason for everything. I tried to act nonchalant and walked slowly toward Iser. Then I unilaterally announced.
“From now on, you and I will be touching each other a little. I apologize in advance.”
“.….”
“But our skin won’t touch directly, so please bear with it.”
With those words, I wrapped Iser’s small body in the ornate clothes I’d taken from the Duke. Since the Power of Life is activated through contact, I decided to minimize contact by wrapping him in clothes. I thought it would be less painful when I held him.
“It doesn’t hurt and it’s fine since I wrapped you in clothes.”
“.….”
“I was worried, so I’m glad.”
If it hurts when I hold you, I can’t kidnap you.
Iser’s eyes were wide like a startled rabbit’s as he was buried in the Duke’s clothes. I looked down at him and spoke calmly.
“Iser, let’s get out of here together.”
I felt dizzy, it was the first time in my life I’d ever seen someone announce a kidnapping.
Because of that, I didn’t notice the change in the sub-quest window.
────【 Sub-Quest 】────
Praise ‘Iser Hayut’!
(1/3)
D-9 (239h 58m 48s)
Reward: Skill Draw Ticket (1x)
────────────────
***
Duke Hayut, Kogaron, opened his eyes.
“Ugh…”
A young man’s face, with a lanky appearance, entered Kogaron’s frowning vision. It didn’t take long for Kogaron to realize whose face it was.
“…Butler?”
“Oh, your Grace! Are you awake?!”
But the young butler’s boisterous voice failed to reach Kogaron. The sight of himself rolling around on the dusty floor in nothing but his underwear was too shocking.
He stared blankly at a spider descending from the ceiling on its thread for a moment, and then he suddenly realized.
‘This is the room where I threw that thing, Iser!’
It was certain. In his perfect ducal castle, that room was the only place that looked like a pigsty. Unless the servants had all gone mad as a group, they wouldn’t have created another pigsty like this inside the castle without his knowledge.
Kogaron raised his upper body with a disgusted face.
“Why am I lying in a filthy place like this?!”
And in nothing but his underwear, no less.
Kogaron quickly recalled his last memory.
“Iser… that thing was acting so arrogant, so I was teaching him a lesson. Then…”
He got hit in the back of the head by someone and lost consciousness.
No, so does that mean there’s a someone who sneaked into this room, knocked him out, and then even stripped him of his clothes?
“What kind of arrogant bastard dares to rob me in my own castle! Argh! Argh! My, my head…!”
Suddenly, the back of his head started to hurt as if it was going to split open.
“D-does your head hurt?! I’ll go fetch a doctor…!”
The butler stood up as if he’d run out of the room this instant. However, Kogaron, groaning through the pain, waved his hand to stop him.
Iser is right here, so why would I need a doctor? I can just use him for the treatment, you idiot.
“Ugh, forget the doctor. Just go and drag Iser here, quickly…”
His temper flared along with the intense headache, but the robber was already gone.
But it was fine. He had someone else to take his anger out on until the thief was caught. Turning the arrows of his displaced rage toward Iser was something Kogaron was all too familiar with.
‘No, Iser, that damn thing! What was he doing while I pass out right in front of his nose?! He should’ve treated me immediately!’
Who was the one who fed, clothed, and housed that useless brat who couldn’t do a thing on his own? How dare he repay his grace this way? What an ungrateful wretch. He’d get the treatment done first, then show the boy the taste of the whip again.
“Your Grace…”
“Ugh, what? Why haven’t you dragged him here yet…?”
The butler was an idiot, but his quick actions were useful enough to keep him in the position. It was strange that such a man was just loitering around.
“Well, when I entered, he was already…”
Kogaron’s expression hardened after hearing the butler’s words, and he searched the room with difficulty, clutching his aching head.
Then he realized.
“Iser… where did that thing go…?”
Iser was nowhere to be seen in the room.
“Right now… Find him right now… Bring him in front of me…!!!”
Kogaron, who had been shouting with a bright red face, collapsed on the floor, unable to bear the headache.
***
Unlike the Discernment skill, which allowed me to choose only ghostly, deserted paths, my luck with picking paths was abysmal. To exaggerate just a little, I felt as if I’d seen every single person in the castle. Because of that, I had to work up a sweat trying to hide from detection.
I’d eaten poison for breakfast, and before I knew it, it was evening.
The setting sun was staining the ashen fortress walls with a rosy hue.
Ah, he must be hungry.
I adjusted my hold on Iser in my arms and began to climb the high castle wall. I was able to reach the top of the ramparts in no time just by jumping three or four times.
As it turned out, that extreme physical ability wasn’t a boost from the Discernment skill, but Lucariel’s own innate passive. Now that I was executing my daring plan of kidnapping the young master, the extraordinary physical strength of this budding final boss was my only lifeline.
The Hayut Duchy at twilight, tinged with the warmth of early summer, was a sight to behold.
But now wasn’t the time to get lost in the sentiment.
I jumped toward the other side of the wall.
Or I tried to jump.
Thump!
My attempt to jump down from the ramparts was blocked by something mysterious and failed.
“…What’s this now?”
I felt something in front of me.
I kept feeling the colorless, transparent wall in front of me. If anyone saw me, they’d mistake me for a mime actor.
That was exactly when.
Wee woo!
Wee woo!
Wee woo!
A loud siren-like noise began to blare from the status window. The pure white light it had once emitted had now turned a blood-red color.
A new window appeared, shining through the ominous light.
──────【 System Error 】──────
An unexpected intervention has been detected.
‘ ████ ’ temporarily secures authority.
The player’s location is fixed to ‘Duke Hayut’s Castle’ by ‘ ████ ’.
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