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#26 Episode: The Promising Candidate (3)

『The Curse of the Forgotten King』

The first stage effect reduces health by 1% every hour.

In fact, for players with a certain level, this debuff isn’t that troublesome.

“A warrior with decent health stats can just endure with natural regeneration, right?”

“Well, if it gets urgent, they can use potions. They can also receive healing from a priest.”

However, this is only considering players who are ‘above a certain level.’

Those whose stats aren’t high enough to endure with natural healing, or those without the funds to keep using potions.

Specifically, what about the players who just ‘managed to survive’ in this fight?

I shifted my gaze aside and watched a player in basic equipment clinging to another player who looked like they had decent gear.

“Um, excuse me. My health keeps going down; what’s going on?”

“Didn’t you see the announcement? Everything was explained, so why are you asking again?”

“I heard it, but I couldn’t make sense of it…”

“Don’t ask me; go look for someone else. I’m busy gathering maps.”

“Ah…”

The player in novice gear couldn’t say anything more and wore a bewildered expression.

Nadia, who was next to me, frowned at that scene.

“That’s just harsh. That person must be desperate to ask like that.”

In response to her seeking agreement, I shook my head.

“No, it’s not a good action, but it’s not exactly callous either.”

“Huh?”

Nadia blinked in surprise, as if she hadn’t expected me to say that.

“That person’s life is on the line too. If the curse reaches its final stage, without taking measures, in 200 seconds—just over 3 minutes—they’ll die right away.”

“But it’s still only the first stage, right?”

“You never know when the next stage will hit. It could simply be a matter of time passing, or there might be other conditions involved.”

Whether intentionally, or simply because she skipped it, Lunara didn’t explain anything on that part.

So, from the player’s standpoint, they could only vaguely guess.

“How much is the drop rate for map fragments? How much does the blessing effect obtained in the dungeon offset the curse? And what is the actual difficulty of the dungeon? That damned fake GM didn’t explain anything. Perhaps even this time spent talking is a luxury. Yet, what would they say if they didn’t help others with their time? They might end up dead themselves!”

Nadia’s face turned pale.

She fumbled with her lips, finally squeezing out a word.

“…But just leaving them to die is too much.”

She wasn’t talking about a way to save them. She wasn’t logically refuting my words either.

She was just expressing her feelings, saying it doesn’t seem right.

And that was enough.

“Indeed, that’s true. Then, shall we try helping people?”

“Huh?”

“You said we can’t just let them die. Then we should do our best to save them.”

I could almost see numerous hooks popping up beside Nadia’s rabbit-eared head.

After all, it would be quite jarring for someone who just insisted they had no time to help others to suddenly turn around like this.

“Hey, aren’t you the one who was going to help but pretended to be devilish about it?”

If they’re saying ‘Oh, how sad, what to do,’ while thinking they’re in a safe zone, then when they realize they’re in danger too, their attitude will change.

“That lady is in a similar situation, having received your help, so she wouldn’t brazenly come out with a poker face, right?”

You wouldn’t know until you experienced it. The psychology differs when going into and coming out of the bathroom.

In the recent situation, it would’ve been enough for Nadia to just feign understanding of my argument without the need for a poker face.

But Nadia spoke, knowing she might be in danger and that it could jeopardize her relationship with me, the major benefactor, but still decided to help someone else.

That difference is significant.

“Still, being so overtly testing might make that lady uncomfortable—”

“Th-thank you! Lady Erin. Let’s do our best!”

Who finds it uncomfortable? Would you like to say that again, Older Brother?

“( ´・ω・｀)”

I ignored my brother, who had started with the funny face, and smiled gently at Nadia.

“No, I should be thanking you. You’ll have to do all the work anyway.”

“Huh?”

“There’s no time to create a script, so let’s replace it with a contract that has a party chat feature. I’ll tell you the lines from behind, so you just have to follow what I say.”

“Okay?”

“Oh, should we change clothes first? For something like this, a white robe is the standard, right? As you do your best, many will survive, so please give it your all!”

“……Okay?”

*

In truth, the ‘helping people’ that Nadia mentioned wasn’t that grand.

It was just explaining the trials to those who didn’t really understand this situation and were in a panic, and if possible, gathering a few of them to join our party.

Of course, the number of people that could be saved with such a method wasn’t high. Out of six spots in the party, if I and Nadia filled two, only four could be saved in a dungeon raid.

Moreover, we couldn’t simply enter the dungeon; Erin and Nadia had to gather all the map fragments and use them for others. Even getting 40 people saved would be fortunate with that method.

It was inevitable.

As a single player, there were limits to what could be done.

But as a former GM—and a certain younger sister who seeks to reclaim that GM seat—there was no way I would be satisfied with just that.

With server merges and NPC data retention issues making it beneficial to save as many players as possible, all that was left was to run at full speed towards that goal.

As a result,

A peculiar sight unfolded in front of the Arkeia lord’s mansion, with a high school girl with rabbit ears laying out a mat and bowing.

“Lord of Arkeia! Please listen to my plea! If this continues, many people in this city will meet their deaths, and to stop that, I need your help!!”

Dressed in a pure white robe, with hair let down, it was a scene straight out of a historical drama, but the one raising her voice in the costume was the rabbit-eared creature A, and the imposing structure in front of her wasn’t a grand hanok but a temple-like building filled with Greek vibes.

In front of this bizarre spectacle, no matter how busy the players were with their own tasks, they found themselves unwittingly becoming spectators, lost in the scene.

“What the heck is she doing? Has she gone nuts?”

“Shouldn’t she be hunting instead… No, did they have clothes like that?”

“I don’t know why, but I saw it being sold in a shop.”

The players sent looks filled with ridicule and confusion.

Since they couldn’t bear the burden of trials alone, they now felt they had to rely on NPCs.

Some players looked sympathetic, wondering how desperate she must be to do that, but they weren’t stepping in either. They were lacking in resources.

However, just as they were clicking their tongues or shaking their heads to leave the plaza…

“Hey? Someone came out from inside?”

“Didn’t they come out to say to not be a nuisance?”

“Given the soldiers’ demeanor, they seem to be a high-ranking official?”

In reality, there were very few players who recognized Aurelia’s appearance.

To build a direct relationship with her, one would have to clear the quests that the city provides multiple times, yet those actively playing used the temple’s task system without bothering with unstable city quests, while those less active hadn’t even heard of them.

Nonetheless, Aurelia’s unusual aura, the quality of her equipment, and the attitudes of the soldiers towards her revealed the truth.

She truly was the ruler of this Arkeia.

Aurelia opened her mouth.

“It’s noisy outside, and coming out, I find the chatter quite a spectacle. Wanderers, in the end, you are merely travelers who will briefly stay in this Arkeia and leave. You are not residents here; why should I help you?”

Her voice was as cold as ice.

As Aurelia’s demeanor, which already had a strong, haughty impression, lowered the atmosphere, Nadia, who was kneeling, quivered noticeably.

Inside, Aurelia was impressed.

“What a remarkable performance. If I hadn’t heard from Lady Erin, I might have genuinely mistaken her for being terrified.”

In truth, Nadia was genuinely scared, having completely lost her grip on the script, but Aurelia was unaware of that.

“Answer me. Why should I, this Arkeia, aid you, the wanderers?”

Nadia felt like her mind was going blank.

Before she became a VTuber, she had suffered through pressuring interviews while simply trying to find a regular company job.

Yet because of that very state, she was able to recite the party message echoing in her ears.

“As the Lord said, we may simply be wanderers here in Arkeia. You may think of us as scoundrels who only cause accidents and disturbances without providing any real assistance. But we have commenced our journey here, purchased food here, and adorned ourselves with gear bought here! Moreover, we will continue to do so!”

“But isn’t that merely temporary? You’ll obtain everything you can here and then move on to a stronger, richer city. So in that case, I would be using Arkeia’s resources and manpower to do good for others.”

“Then we shall become citizens of Arkeia! We will pay taxes or whatever it takes, so please help us!”

Nadia shouted with teary eyes, now wondering what in the world was happening.

However, to those around, it looked like a desperate underdog making an effort not to give up.

“Hm.”

Aurelia crossed her arms, contemplating.

The audience that initially just watched the strange show now gulped nervously as they followed the unfolding process.

And finally, Aurelia spoke.

“General.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

“Prepare the contracts in bulk. The contract stipulates ‘for a period of 1 year, those who generate profit from defeating all types of monsters must pay one-tenth of their earnings to Arkeia in exchange for a temporary citizenship.’ ‘Those with temporary citizenship will have the right to participate in the ‘special monster subjugation operations’ conducted by Arkeia.’”

“Understood.”

In truth, the contract from BE had magical enforceable power, making it difficult to prepare easily like that. Yet, due to Erin’s intervention, Aurelia had ample funds, so this was no great deal for her.

Aurelia turned to Nadia, who was still kneeling in her robe.

“I shall honor your courage. Might I have your name?”

“…My name is Nadia.”

“Very well, Nadia. I shall remember that name.”

Shortly afterward, a large notice was posted on the bulletin board in the Arkeia plaza:

[Only wanderers who have gained citizenship in Arkeia can participate in the monster subjugation operations run by Arkeia soldiers. No experience required. No job required. Even battle beginners are welcome.]

[Temporary shop in Arkeia now open. Presenting a ‘fragment of the royal tomb map’ can be traded for a sum of money or exchanged for another type of ‘fragment of the royal tomb map.’]

The first notice didn’t hold much significance for experienced players.

Upon reviewing the details of the ‘subjugation operations’ attached below, it became clear that the places soldiers were dispatched to were hunting grounds already bypassed by high-level players.

However, things were different for novice players who couldn’t do proper hunting and were trembling in fear.

While it wasn’t possible to expect techniques for teaching fear to other gamers from a “gamer,” teaching fear to neophytes from a “soldier” was a rather ordinary affair.

“Hey! Straighten up! Open your eyes wide! Grip your weapon tightly!”

“You’ve got comrades beside you! If things get dangerous, they’ll help, but until then, do your best!!”

The period consumed by the first trial was ten days. Those novices, who had trembled in fear without living or dying during those ten days, began to transform into warriors through the assistance and training of skilled soldiers.

The direct fear of the King’s curse became their motivation to wield their weapons.

The second notice was also incredibly attractive to experienced players.

The drops of map fragments A, B, C, D, E, and F were completely random, causing various players to keep getting only specific pieces or end up missing a certain one, preventing them from attempting challenges.

Even attempting to trade with other players required writing contracts for safe transactions, not to mention the work of finding players with desired pieces, but with Arkeia overseeing this, locating and trading fragments became dramatically easier.

Players began to chatter about a certain player involved in this incident.

“I heard that a player named Nadia persuaded the lord?”

“Nadia, isn’t she that player in the ranking? She could clear the trials on her own, yet why did she plead for the lord in front of everyone?”

“Seeing her in a white robe, pleading like that, was kind of funny, but she must have made that appeal to get the lord to agree.”

“Honestly, I would have wanted to hear what was said if someone did that.”

“It’s amazing to see someone trying to save others despite it not being a huge benefit to herself. I never thought someone like that existed.”

Among players, Nadia’s reputation began to rise sharply.

There were some sour players, but their voices were drowned out.

And even among the entities that were not players, Nadia left a strong impression as a ‘promising candidate.’

「『Usagimoe』 donated 1,000 coins.」
> The rabbit-eared cutie has arrived!!!!!!

「『Solemn Sage』 donated 1,000 coins.」
> Other players are so selfish that I can’t quite warm up to them, but this player is nice!

「『Quickshot Mage』 donated 3,000 coins.」
> I want to see her shoot quickly!

It was all just as someone had planned.