〈 Chapter 32 〉 The Fugitive

*

Inside the store, where the number of customers had dwindled after mealtime, I sat in a corner and kept a sideways glance at the guy opposite me.

Crunch crunch

Slurp slurp

Munch munch

He was devouring the food in front of him like a possessed being.

Is it really that delicious?

I can’t tell.

“It’s not so much delicious as it is he was incredibly hungry.”

Something that looked like it was not meant to be eaten had just disappeared into his mouth.

Yet, after blinking a few times, he gulped it down.

And once again, he resumed his gluttony.

“Surely, he was that kind of guy.”

Because he was young, he was clumsy in many ways.

But I couldn’t match his obsession with survival.

“Yet he must be struggling to survive that much.”

If I had to name the character I found the hardest to train among those I raised, it would undoubtedly be Allen.

And if asked to name the next hardest character… I’d hesitate for a moment before picking this guy.

“Especially on that route, at least at the beginning, it’s even harder than Allen.”

It’s impressive that he’s made it this far.

So I never expected to see him here.

“This is throwing my plans off a bit… ”

I stealthily checked the food in front of him.

He was almost done.

“What to do?”

I needed to verify something.

Is this guy truly following the route I know?

If he really heads for Sakh as indicated in that route, there’s a chance my plans could get derailed.

Just as I was lost in thought, a timid voice came from him.

“Um…”

When I looked over, he had a flustered expression on his face.

“Th-That is…”

Stumbling over his words, he suddenly turned his gaze to the ceiling.

Perhaps the Divine Seat had intervened.

“Thank you. Thank you for the food. But…”

Tears were starting to well up in his eyes.

“I really have no money at all…”

I sighed.

“I don’t need money.”

“What?”

After all, I didn’t buy it expecting anything in return.

It was amusing how he gulped down three servings and only then admitted the truth.

“If it’s not money, then what…”

His face reddened.

This self-consciousness was exactly what I had come to expect from him.

“So I just felt sorry for you.”

It was sincere.

Anyone who had ever trained this guy would feel that way.

He’s really pitiful.

“…I’m sorry.”

He bowed his head.

“For misunderstanding you as some strange person.”

“It’s fine.”

I knew he was exactly that kind of guy.

Well, it’s possible to be misunderstood as a strange person.

But in the next moment, he did something I never anticipated.

“U-Um. Thank you! I’ll be going now!”

He quickly shot up from his seat and nimbly made his way through the tables.

He truly exhibited the characteristics of a character with a Stigma, no matter how difficult the situation.

But it wasn’t the time for me to just stand there in a daze.

“Wait a minute!”

I rushed to my feet.

He was already on the verge of bursting out into the rainy night.

I couldn’t let him go. I needed to know where he was headed.

‘Wind’s Power.’

In an instant, the wind wrapped around my feet.

With lighter steps, I quickly caught up to him.

Grab

“Eek!”

As I grabbed the nape of his neck, he began to struggle.

“Let go!”

“If you promise you won’t run away.”

“I won’t run away!”

I was skeptical, but I let go for the time being.

Even if he tried to run again, I could catch him with Wind’s Power.

“Why are you doing this? You said you didn’t want anything from me! So, this is where we part ways, right?”

The path we part ways on is important.

But there was something more pressing at that moment.

“Do you have a place to go?”

It was still early spring, so the weather was chilly.

And with the rain pouring down, staying outside would only lead to a cold.

“That…”

“Come with me. I’ll give you a place to stay.”

Then he wrapped his arms around himself.

Weirdly, it felt like he was creating distance.

“You just said you didn’t need anything. Was that a lie?”

I shook my head.

I needed to pull back before things escalated further.

“You’re a man, aren’t you?”

“Are you perhaps the rumored gay man I’ve heard about?”

I hadn’t even considered that.

But surely that couldn’t be true.

Let’s stop with the nonsense and just give in here.

‘What should I do…’

It would completely defeat the purpose if I offered him a separate room.

If he just ran away in the morning, that would be it.

I needed some excuse to have a conversation with him.

Just then.

“Eek.”

His body shivered.

“This is…

I grabbed the nape of his neck again.

“Just come with me.”

It was then that we were about to head to the dormitory.

Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder.

‘Huh?’

It was the innkeeper.

“You need to pay before you leave.”

Oh, right.

*

Snore

After being wary, I fell into a deep sleep once I lay on the bed.

He must have been exhausted.

‘How long has he been rolling around?’

His clothes were torn and filthy, covered in grime.

His short hair was an entangled mess despite being cut.

With that kind of condition, it goes without saying he reeked.

I would first need to wash up and change clothes as soon as I woke up tomorrow.

At this rate, even without it raining, he would soon fall ill.

‘I thought for sure he would be a seasoned player.’

This was a route that wouldn’t get posted on guide sites.

Just an entertainment route known only to a few folks.

That’s why I figured that his Stigma—that is, the player—must somewhat delve into Hundred Braves.

‘But his condition…’

If this was the state he was in, had I not discovered him today, he surely would have died.

Unless there were other factors at play, dying due to a failure in managing stamina would mean his training was lacking.

That made it hard to consider him a seasoned player.

‘Of course, we can’t completely rule out the possibility that he’s a seasoned player at this point in the route,’ I thought, staring intently at him, and gave a silent command.

‘Status.’

At that, the status of the soundly sleeping guy appeared before my eyes.

[Status]

1. Information

Name: Ershiarah Rodeleim

Age: 14

Gender: Female

Race: Human

Stigma: Royal Emblem

2. Stats

Health: F+

Strength: F

Agility: D

Magic Power: C+

3. Skills

[Court Etiquette (A)]

[Handicraft (C+)]

[Tea Ceremony (C)]

[Riding (C)]

[Stealth (D)]

[Social Skills (F)]

4. Traits

[Authority of the Leim Royal Family (Major)]

If someone could see this guy’s status, they would immediately notice.

No, even without viewing the status, they would likely figure it out.

At least that he was a girl.

Earlier, I purposefully feigned ignorance about her short hair and how she deliberately tried to lower her voice. I had to bring her into the dormitory, after all.

Well, a complete stranger might have been fooled, but honestly, drenched in rain, it was evident from her body’s outline.

But the problem was that she wasn’t just a girl.

There was another fact that could only be gleaned from her status.

‘The third princess of the Leim Kingdom, Ershiarah Rodeleim.’

Looking like this, it was hard to believe, yet she was the princess of a kingdom.

Despite that, she found herself in this state, starving and caught in the rain due to the situation in the kingdom.

There’s currently a coup happening in the kingdom.

The royal knights had rebelled and confined the king.

In the process, they have killed all the royal family members that opposed them, leaving behind only the king they couldn’t kill.

The third princess managed to escape from that bloody castle.

Having dodged assassins sent by the knights, she made her way to Saint City Hailen, only to realize it wasn’t safe either, as it was populated by heroes employed by the knights.

After going through various hardships and escaping from Saint City Hailen, the place she accidentally arrived at was this Basilium.

“To think it would be so simple. Just escaping the assassins and heroes to get here is nearly impossible.”

That’s why Princess Ershiarah’s conventional route was established as surrendering to the coup forces.

After a brief period of submission to preserve her life, she would quietly gather strength to take revenge.

However, that route had the limitation that she had to quietly gather strength. It wasn’t sufficient to extract her full potential.

‘Thus, the route developed by me and other players was the fugitive route.’

Though it varied slightly depending on training proficiency, on average, surviving twenty escapes would yield a maximum of one or two successes.

Even after escaping, those employed by the kingdom would still come searching for her.

It was a route filled with dead ends, but not entirely impossible.

Nevertheless, it was often criticized for its meager rewards in comparison to the risks incurred.

In the end, having to hide her identity due to the kingdom’s pursuers was always a hassle.

But what overturned that evaluation was the ‘Sakh Route’ I had discovered.

While raising another character in Sakh, I had gotten some hints from the scripts about an “Incarnation Device” exclusive to Princess Ershiarah.

However, to utilize that device, the prerequisite of successfully escaping was necessary, making it just another entertainment route.

‘I wonder if this guy is going to follow that route?’

Actually, that “Incarnation Device” in Sakh wasn’t limited just to her.

With certain means, other characters could use it too.

I, myself, had been heading toward Sakh in hopes of using that device.

However, if she were to indeed head towards Sakh, it could complicate my plans regarding the device.

That’s why I wanted to ask her.

To see if she was perhaps heading for Sakh.

If she wasn’t, then there was nothing to worry about.

But if she was truly heading for Sakh…

‘Then…’

I stared at her intently.

Whether she was aware of it or not, she lay there sound asleep.

To be honest, I wanted to protect her.

I had raised her numerous times and witnessed her die too many times.

Now that my perception of characters had changed through Gwen, I felt a personal urge to ensure her safety.

However, if that were to obstruct my growth…

‘…’

I couldn’t reach a conclusion.

So, I decided to ask her tomorrow morning.

It wouldn’t be too late to decide after that.

I sat on the floor, leaned against the wall, and closed my eyes.

Then I commanded.

‘If she attempts to leave her room, wake me up using Wind’s Power.’

It was a trick I used to effectively manage my time when I was homeless.

*

[The trait [Absolute Obedience] manifests.]

“Let go!”

“I don’t want to.”

While she did have stronger strength than her peers thanks to being marked, ultimately, she couldn’t overcome the physical difference.

Her body went limp as she gave up on resistance.

“This feels like a wrong kind of predicament.”

“It’s your fault for coming along just because I fed you and gave you a place to sleep.”

It felt morally wrong in some way, but I didn’t care.

After all, I hadn’t done anything wrong.

“Er…”

I almost accidentally called her by her name, realizing I hadn’t even heard it yet.

“What’s your name?”

It must have been an unexpected question, as she fumbled her mouth for words.

Eventually, she answered.

“Elsie.”

Did she think of hiding her gender?

No, even aside from gender, there wasn’t much difference from her real name.

I decided to carve out some time later for a discussion about her alias.

‘So for now…’

I announced to her.

“You need to wash up.”

Sorry, but…

You really do stink.

*