Aider read the official document that had arrived from the capital.
"The imperial forces have captured the capital of the Bringar Kingdom, which was at war on the western front, and are now gradually seizing the remaining territories," he relayed.
"..."
"As previously stated, they cannot lend any troops until the situation in the west is completely stabilized..."
"Should we just fend for ourselves, regardless of the hardship?"
"Seems that's what they're suggesting."
"Damn it..."
Swallowing a gulp of air, I rubbed the stiff muscles at the back of my neck.
They even captured the Kingdom's capital? That means the war is almost over.
Can't they lend us some troops? Huh? Is it too much to ask to lend a mere troop to a pitiful, youngest prince?
"If the southern front is pushed back, the human world itself will be destroyed, don't they understand that? They probably don't, damned idiots!"
I tore up the delivered document in a fit of anger and threw it away.
At the bottom of the document, the seal of my elder brother, Fernandez 'Ember Keeper' Everblack, who is the regent and the second prince, was clearly stamped.
I especially ripped that part into pieces. Go to hell, you bastard!
"Sigh."
Trying to cool down my heated head, I spoke to Aider in a calm manner.
"Aider. Send another plea."
"It probably won't be of any use..."
"Still, send it. The message is this. This is the final warning. If they don't send reinforcements this time..."
While taking note of the message, Aider glanced at me with wide eyes.
"If they don't?"
"Next time, they will see the best mischief the youngest prince can do. Tell them that."
"Understood. But are you sure it's okay to threaten the royal family so openly...?"
"The situation at the front is even worse, this is just a joke in comparison."
After finishing the note, Aider adjusted her glasses and pointed at the last sentence.
"And I'm curious, what exactly is this 'best mischief' you mentioned?"
"I have something."
I smirked grimly.
"There is a last resort that will certainly bring reinforcements from the capital when used. But I really don't want to use it."
There is indeed a way that should only be used just before game over.
But it's a method as good as suicide, so I won't use it unless it's really necessary.
"Well, unless it's really necessary..."
"Hehe."
At my evil laugh, Aider made a scared face.
What about this, you damn director. If I die, you die with me!
***
Crossroad downtown. Blacksmith shop.
I stepped into the place where hot heat spewed out.
The blacksmith, who seemed to have been informed of my visit, was waiting and bowed as soon as he saw me at the entrance.
"Your Highness, welcome!"
"Hmm."
I glanced at the system window floating above the entrance to the blacksmith's shop.
[Blacksmith - Lv.5]
Level 5.
I had been pouring in a hefty amount of support money, so it had risen about 2 levels.
The blacksmith's facilities had been expanded, and the number of workers had increased.
It was nearly a full-fledged equipment factory now.
"Last week, we brought in additional equipment. Thanks to your generous investment!"
The guild leader said. Of course, I intended to reap the benefits of my investment.
"Today, I want to order weapons for my personal guard and the parties under my direct control. Make them with special care."
"Absolutely! What kind of weapons do you need?"
"Silver weapons."
I recited the list of necessary items concisely.
"Ten silver long swords, ten daggers, ten spears, fifty quivers of arrows. Can it be done in three weeks?"
I deliberately placed a generous order. Silver weapons were effective against vampires, but their durability was quite poor.
After briefly weighing the amount of the order and the production capacity of the blacksmith, the guild leader nodded readily.
"Of course! However, with this quantity, I think our current silver stock will not be enough."
"I have some silver stocked up. I'll have it sent over."
"You're truly thorough. As soon as you send it over, we'll start working on it today."
"Good. Once they're ready, have them delivered to the Lord's Mansion in order."
"Understood... Anything else you need?"
I pointed my chin toward the pile of metal chunks stacked in the blacksmith's warehouse.
"Can you gather the metals I'm about to name? I need some refined metals. Of course, I'll pay the price."
"Of course, we should give them to you. But where will you use them?"
"Well..."
I thought for a moment, then decided to simplify my explanation.
"For a bribe, perhaps?"
"..."
The startled blacksmith asked.
"...Eh? A bribe? With metal?"
***
Lake Kingdom underground dungeon.
In front of Zone 4 safe point. Base camp.
Flash-!
Stepping through the teleport gate, I landed lightly on the ground.
Lucas and Evangeline, who had arrived first, were scanning the surroundings, on guard against potential enemies.
Today, I brought only these two.
"There are no enemies in sight."
"Even so, let's not let our guard down."
Just then.
"No need to worry about those masked bastards anymore, they won't dare to set foot here."
A familiar old voice echoed. Looking over, the blacksmith Kellibey was striding towards us.
Kellibey's face was filled with unmistakable joy.
"You scoundrels! I told you to visit often, and here you are so soon. What? Did you find some honey in this dull place?!"
His mouth was grumbling, but he seemed genuinely happy to see us. He really looked like a grandfather waiting for his grandkids to come home, which was somewhat amusing.
Speaking of which.
"When you say they won't dare to... you mean the Nightcrawler Squad won't be able to enter here anymore?"
At my question, Kellibey nodded.
"Right, right! How's that, feel good?"
"But how is that possible? Those bastards are numerous and powerful."
"Hehe..."
With a sinister laugh, Kellibey pointed to the opposite side of the base camp.
"Look there! Our beloved camp matron, Coco the Severer, has returned!"
At his words, I turned to look, and it was true.
An old witch setting up monoliths engraved with magic characters around the camp was visible.
Even with a heavily bent back, she seemed to be a giant of at least 6 feet.
"Huh?"
The witch noticed us and lumbered over, thumping the ground as she moved.
"Hehehe! What's this? Fresh meat? Is it fresh meat?!"
Startled, Lucas and Evangeline were about to draw their weapons, but I stopped them. She's a friendly NPC, so there's no need to be hostile.
"Nice to meet you, fleshies! They call me Coco. I'm here to assist adventurers like you, so don't be afraid!"
Coco slapped Lucas and Evangeline on their backs with her huge hand.
"Cough!"
"Gak!"
"By the way, why are you all so skinny? Nothing but bones, tsk tsk... Come here! Let's have some snacks and talk."
The witch grabbed Lucas and Evangeline and dragged them to a corner of the base camp.
A witch's workshop was magically erected, though I had no idea when it had been set up.
"Here, eat this. I prepared something delicious for little ones like you."
The witch took out a suspicious green jelly from a glass jar and fed it to the two knights.
"Gurgle?!"
"Sir?!"
Lucas and Evangeline turned blue and looked at me, but I ignored them. Eat up and grow taller, kids.
'Coco the Severer.'
I carefully observed the giant witch who was laughing 'hehehe' (and the two knights struggling with the jelly).
She wasn't just given a horrifying name for nothing.
This witch grandma was a space magician who could sever space.
In other words, she's the main NPC for teleportation. All the teleportation gates in this underground dungeon were set up by her.
"Aha, Crown and those ragamuffins? I 'severed' them so they won't dare step foot here again!"
Although her words sounded scary, she simply meant that she had set up a barrier to prevent them from coming.
The monoliths she had set up earlier must have been barrier stones.
Anyway, we were fortunate. With this, our base camp was safe from the Nightcrawler Squad.
While there was a chance another enemy could appear, we should be safe now that Coco, the strongest among the friendly NPCs, had returned.
'Just by looking at how she effortlessly uses the lost art of teleportation magic, one can guess how powerful this granny is.'
Then, Kellibey, who was standing next to me, glanced behind me.
"What's with these metals? What are they for? Where will you use them?"
Behind me, a large pile of metals gathered through the teleport gate was stacked up.
These were the items I purchased from the blacksmith's shop today.
"These Star Silver ores are for weapon crafting. Isn't that what you asked for?"
"All in a day's work...?"
"There's no need to waste time on such things."
I glanced briefly at my sub-quest window.
[Limited Equipment Crafting Quest]
- Collect the necessary ingredients for crafting Star Silver weapons. (3 pieces)
> Star Silver Ore (3/3)
> Refined Iron Ingot (15/15)
> ...
> SR-SSR Grade Magic Power Core (0/3)
> Darkness Crystal (0/3)
There were many things, but most were bought from the blacksmith shop in Crossroad with hard cash. After all, I expanded the smithy for this purpose.
"A bit too much metal, isn't it?"
Kellibey raised an eyebrow at the excessive variety and quantity of metal for making just three weapons. I just shrugged.
"Just a small token of goodwill."
I had brought everything, from gold to copper, assorted by type. I thought it'd make a nice gift for this metal-obsessed blacksmith.
"Hmph. Giving me second-rate metals as gifts, what a laugh."
Kellibey scoffed, but he still pocketed the metals and took them to his smithy.
"But I'll accept it. The smithy is new, and we're short of just about everything."
His tinkling laughter was somewhat insincere. What a crafty old man.
"Alright, let's see... Then, the remaining materials for crafting Star Silver weapons are... two more items."
Kellibey, counting the remaining materials, gave me a skeptical look.
"Three top-tier or special Magic Power Cores. And... three Darkness Crystals. You sure you can get them?"
"Of course. I'm going to fetch the Magic Power Cores today. The special ones."
If I'm going to make something, it ought to be top-notch. That should give the precious monster aristocracy more to chew on.
"You think you can just find special Magic Power Cores when you want to? You sure?"
"Absolutely. Just get ready to cast the weapons."
Confident in my response, I left Kellibey's skeptical gaze behind and headed towards the witch's workshop.
Actually, I was planning on using a mix of SSR and SR Magic Power Cores, but thanks to Coco visiting the base camp, I now had a way to obtain SSR Magic Power Cores.
"Coco."
"Hmm? What is it, kiddo? Want some jelly too?"
Coco, feeding the purplish jelly to Lucas and Evangeline, turned to me.
Lucas and Evangeline, their faces smeared with jelly, shook their heads vigorously at me. I wasn't interested in eating it, anyway.
Jingle.
I took out a golden key from my inventory and held it out.
It was the [Golden Room Key] I obtained after defeating a Golden Gargoyle during the last exploration of Sector 3.
"I have a 'key', and I was wondering if you could open the 'door' for me."
"Ho ho ho!"
Coco, taking the key, twinkled her eyes, glossy as glass beads.
"Well, well, well, you've picked up something fun!"
I grinned.
When you find a rare key item in the dungeon and bring it to Coco, she opens a teleport gate to the corresponding room.
This key opens a room that hosts a one-time event dungeon.
Among them, the Golden Room is... a bonus dungeon where high-grade items fall like rain.