Chapter 84 : Ice Castle (6)

Whether it was because he was conscious of Princess Lasiell, or not, Prince Lorath moved faster than expected to attack the castle.

Even though he must have seen the traces of the battle we fought, he showed confidence that it wouldn’t be a major threat to them.

‘Is it because of the difference in numbers? Still, they can’t just go like that…’

Noticing that I was glancing at the prince’s expedition, Sister Melody spoke.

“Are you worried?”

“…Honestly, I am. We need to be cautious.”

“Since it’s an expedition formed by royalty, do you think they brought incompetent people?”

Her reassurance that there was nothing to worry about made me feel a bit more at ease.

What harm could so many people have caused?

Being part of the prince’s expedition couldn’t be a crime.

They were planning to secretly take credit for the results of their work, so worrying about it must have seemed like a disgraceful action to them.

“You’re right. I should focus on the future of our team.”

The prince’s expedition finally destroyed the gate of the ice castle and entered.

I could see monsters occasionally leaping out from inside, flying somewhere, suggesting a fierce battle was ongoing.

“We killed quite a few, but it seems like there’s still a lot left inside.”

“Yeah.”

The thought that we almost had to face that many monsters sent chills down my spine.

The monsters had attacked first, so we had no choice but to fight back, but if we had tried to enter sober, it would have been a tough time.

“They’re using their heads.”

The prince’s expedition had come back out of the castle and began luring monsters outside by setting up a defense at the entrance.

They quickly realized that fighting inside the castle, where the overwhelming number of monsters had the advantage, was a losing battle.

“That method was something I was thinking about too…”

“It seems to be stabilizing quickly.”

“The first floor will be over in no time. It really seems like having more people is an advantage.”

The monsters constantly pouring out from the first floor were enough to make us shudder as we watched.

Nobody wanted to give the prince’s group a chance anymore.

However, many thought that if the prince’s group progressed too well, they would be upset. But as they saw the amount of monsters coming out from the first floor, they all looked relaxed, like full cats.

It was easy to imagine what would have happened if they had to face those monsters.

“Being few in number isn’t so bad. With so many people, they can’t coordinate well, and that’s why it looks like that.”

“Huh?”

It seemed that the guide could see things that I couldn’t see in detail.

According to the guide, during the battle, people were tripping over each other, falling, or hitting their own teammates with attacks.

“Can you see that over there? In that much detail?”

“Would I be a guide for no reason? Guides need good eyesight to do this.”

It definitely didn’t seem like something just anyone could do.

While I was chatting with my team members, it seemed like the prince’s group had killed all the monsters on the first floor.

“It’s over. It looks like they killed them all. Ah, we should have waited until they were fully ready to leave before going in.”

The guide, who seemed a bit disappointed, suddenly lowered his head as if he made eye contact with something.

“Oh, I made eye contact.”

“With Prince Lorath?”

“Yes.”

It seemed like he had been aware that we were watching.

The injured people were resting after confirming the monsters were all dead, but suddenly, someone got up and limped back into the castle.

“They’re going inside. It seems they know we’re watching.”

“They look pretty injured, though…”

At least they could have taken care of the injured before going in.

I felt disappointed by the prince’s choice.

‘I wonder if there are any dangerous traps inside.’

To that person, their own pride seemed more important than the lives of a few soldiers in the expedition.

“Moving urgently isn’t just because of our gaze.”

At that moment, Sister Melody interrupted our conversation.

“Is that so?”

When the guide and I looked at her with puzzled expressions, she explained with a calm face.

“Didn’t you see that they went in without a base camp? If the prince had thought about it, he would have realized that trying to attack without a base camp was an unreasonable schedule. But he had no choice; it was to counter the people who were about to arrive.”

“Ah!”

Now that I thought about it, Princess Lasiell had mentioned it.

She said that other people would soon arrive and try to take the ice castle.

“So the prince knows about it.”

“Yes. He’s trying to finish the attack as quickly as possible to avoid them.”

It wasn’t that he was impatient; the situation had forced him to act recklessly.

“If they move too hastily, the damage will be great. I wonder if they’ll be okay.”

The limping man, who had stood out especially in my line of sight.

I didn’t know his face since I only saw his back, but I felt an urge to run over and treat him immediately.

Is this what they mean by professional instinct?

“Well, we can just sit back and enjoy the benefits, right? Honestly, it’s true that if they do too well, it becomes unpleasant to watch. It’s just annoying. Ah! I shouldn’t have said that in front of the priest. Sorry if it made you uncomfortable.”

“…It’s okay. That can happen.”

I couldn’t really say anything because I thought the same way about hoping the prince didn’t succeed.

While the guide and I were talking, the prince’s group had disappeared inside the castle, out of sight.

We had lost our chance to watch and had to scatter after gathering together.

“But when do we go into the castle?”

“Maybe when the prince goes up to the second floor?”

“I’m sure the princess will make the right decision.”

The team members showed trust, believing that Princess Lasiell would make the right decision on her own.

It seemed like the ambitious plan of Princess Lasiell to leave the opportunity to the prince and only take the core of the matter really resonated with the team members.

I could feel the trust the team had in Princess Lasiell, which I hadn’t seen before.

The next day.

Surprisingly, things moved along much faster than we expected.

“The castle! Wow!”

“Isn’t there someone over there?”

People appeared along the path the prince had taken.

“Looks like a small team over there?”

“Didn’t we see a huge, large-scale expedition in front of us?”

They seemed hesitant to mix with another team too carelessly, perhaps because of the maze, so they didn’t approach easily.

However, seeing them glancing at us constantly, it seemed they would eventually come over to speak.

Perhaps anticipating this, the leader prepared to welcome them.

“Hello.”

“Yes, hello.”

The other party, who came to speak, deliberately removed all their weapons and stopped at a safe distance where they could talk to us.

“Do you happen to have any information about that castle? I’m not asking for free; we will offer a reward.”

“No reward needed. We don’t have any information about the castle either. We haven’t gone inside yet.”

“Hmm… Then what about the broken gate?”

“Another team went in first.”

“Ah! But why haven’t you gone in?”

“We figured we’d just be swept away if we went in together. It didn’t seem like a place that could be conquered in just a day or two. We’re trying to move carefully.”

“Ah… So, you have no problem with us going in there?”

“Not at all.”

The leader reassured them with a soft smile.

It didn’t seem to have much effect, though.

“…I understand.”

The stranger, with a clearly uncomfortable expression, returned to their group.

“They look pretty suspicious, leader.”

“I tried to be as polite as possible…”

“Didn’t you know that smiling like that with that face only makes you look more suspicious?”

Leaving the gloomy leader behind, it seemed they couldn’t give up on the treasure inside the ice castle, even if they thought we were suspicious. In the end, they chose to enter.

We had to make sure not to appear suspicious and tried to avoid looking at them as they moved.

“I don’t know why I feel guilty when I’ve done nothing wrong.”

“More importantly, people are starting to come. Shouldn’t we go in too?”

With those people leading the way, we couldn’t know how many more maze expedition teams would show up.

I said to Sister Melody, watching the anxious people.

“I have a feeling this castle is going to become a bloodbath.”

It was a place that seemed to draw out the desires of many people.

It reminded me of a martial arts novel I had read in my past life.

‘It feels like the hidden legendary secrets are in a mysterious room or something.’

A treasure hidden in a secret room.

It was always the case that bloodshed would surround the treasure.

‘It’s a cliché from a novel…’

But there was no guarantee that it wouldn’t happen in reality.

Our team was also trying to find the space in the secret map because they couldn’t let go of their ‘greed.’

‘Things better go well…’

I, too, as a human, hoped that if anyone were to discover the secret room, it would be Princess Lasiell, not the prince.

Who knows?

‘Maybe there’s something in that secret room that could awaken Princess Kanabi.’

The hidden room would likely contain something of great value, so it seemed worth hoping for.

And the desire in my heart made me think impure thoughts, which I couldn’t help.

‘As a priest, is it wrong to think that the prince’s expedition should fail?’

On top of that, hasn’t the one who shows grace been appearing in my dreams to bless me?

It felt embarrassing and shameful for someone who should be a role model to have such thoughts.

‘What if they get angry at my impure prayers?’

If they scolded me, I’d have to humbly accept it and work on my spiritual growth.