Chapter 186
Chapter 186
Carried by Gear (3)
Having a weapon changed my quality of life. As expected, nothing beat a blunt weapon when it came to smashing heads. There was just one thing I found disappointing.
“It's cumbersome.”
Since my proficiency with a staff was low, it felt cumbersome. The corridor wasn't narrow, but the weapon required a wide range of movement.
There were plenty of times when I accidentally scraped it against the wall. Of course, if I simply forced it through with brute strength and swung it, I could make it work somehow.
“You have skill in combat, but you cannot handle the staff itself.”
Even the Imperial Princess acknowledged it. At first, I moved well according to her instructions, only to suddenly start moving strangely at some point.
Those weren't the movements of someone who used a staff. The Imperial Princess let out a hollow laugh. Even in that state, I was steadily smashing the demons' heads apart.
“That is characteristic of someone who prefers short weapons.”
“Ah. Is that so?”
At some point, the Imperial Princess had begun analyzing me. If it had been anyone else, I might have found it unpleasant, but I welcomed it instead.
“It cannot be helped for now. Let us find a weapon that suits you in the next armory.”
A weapon belonging to the Imperial Princess. I quite liked the brutally shaped Hellhorn Bull blunt weapon she normally used.
It had exactly the sort of appearance that came to mind when I thought of a blunt weapon, and the impact when striking something with it was incredible. Even so, it wasn't an Artifact-grade item.
It was merely a particularly sturdy blunt weapon. But all the weapons the Imperial Princess possessed were Artifacts. Every last one of them was something special.
“I'm looking forward to it.”
Swinging those things around would probably be incredibly fun. The Imperial Princess smirked at my words.
“Let us rest for a moment. I know a safe place here.”
The Imperial Princess walked ahead while waving the flag. We were currently about to clear the third of the five floors of the northern Imperial Palace.
Only the mid-boss remained, and we intended to rest briefly before facing it. The place the Imperial Princess led me to was a rest area used by the maids.
“Here. Wipe yourself.”
“Thank you.”
The Imperial Princess searched around and handed me two towels. I wet one of them and began wiping around my face.
My eyes had been feeling stiff from being soaked in blood. The world that had looked red gradually regained its colors.
“It seems like we'll start seeing boss monsters soon.”
“Hmm.”
I casually mentioned it to the Imperial Princess. She closed her mouth and furrowed her brow.
“From what I can tell, there are approximately two who might appear as bosses.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. The Deputy Head Maid and the Head Maid.”
I nodded. They were exactly the bosses I'd encountered in the game. Of course, depending on your choices, you could encounter different bosses.
If Stage 1's concept had been zombies, Stage 2's concept was fallen demons. I wondered whether we could expect at least a little intelligence from them.
Though if they were nothing more than monsters charging at us with their eyes rolled back, the chances were slim.
“Is there anything I should watch out for?”
“Hmm. There is, but from what I can see, I should be able to handle it myself.”
Instead of questioning her, I stared intently at the Imperial Princess. No matter how extraordinary she was, there was no way she could make her way through this dungeon with the body of a mere six-year-old.
Noticing my gaze, the Imperial Princess gave an alluring smile.
“I have not used this flag until now, but it will probably be of great help.”
There was nothing I could do if the Imperial Princess was that confident. I nodded and looked at the flag. It couldn't have been more plain.
The only thing that stood out was the Imperial emblem stamped onto it. Everything else was ordinary.
“Do you need something to eat?”
“I'm fine. Do you have anything to drink?”
“Here.”
The Imperial Princess handed me a water bottle. I immediately tipped it back and drank from it. The Imperial Princess then held out a piece of bread she'd gotten from who knew where.
“You, Davide. Could you help me with something?”
“?”
I looked puzzled, but soon realized what she meant and tore off a small piece of the bread before putting it into my mouth.
The Imperial Princess didn't trust food. It was because she'd suffered through all manner of poisoning attempts. That was why she'd made a request like this.
I did feel somewhat annoyed, but when I thought about how many times the Imperial Princess had died in this nightmare, my feelings softened. Only after realizing that I was fine even after eating the bread did the Imperial Princess begin nibbling away at it.
“I-I was hungry. I am sorry.”
“It's all right. Her Imperial Highness, the Imperial Princess.”
When I stared at her, the Imperial Princess hurriedly tried to hide herself. I accepted the apology that followed.
It was by no means easy for a member of the Imperial Family to apologize to someone beneath them. Members of the Imperial Family always had to be perfect and noble.
Being turned into a poison taster should have been more than enough to make me angry, but strangely, I didn't feel much resistance. Maybe I felt sorry for the Imperial Princess.
“Then we'll set off.”
I watched the Imperial Princess finish chewing the bread before standing up.
The Imperial Princess rinsed her mouth with water and stood as well. Perhaps because her stomach was full, some color had begun returning to her face.
***
“Huh.”
To be frank, I hadn't completely believed the Imperial Princess's claim. Her words that she could handle it herself. The body of a six-year-old didn't exactly inspire much confidence in me.
That was why I'd prepared extensively. But even I hadn't expected something like this. Countless items appeared in [Difficult Dungeon].
Flags appeared fairly often among them, and most flags were buff items. The Imperial Princess's flag was similar.
―Kieeeek!
I stared dumbfounded at the Deputy Head Maid struggling in the grip of my gauntlet. It was simple. We'd entered the area where the boss battle took place and received a debuff.
It was a debuff that slowed allies, so just as I thought the fight might become fairly difficult, the Imperial Princess awakened the power sleeping within the flag.
I snapped the neck of the screaming creature. After the system announced that we'd cleared the mid-boss, I looked at the Imperial Princess.
“Are you all right?”
When she activated the flag, an enormous light surged from it. The moment the Imperial Princess and the Deputy Head Maid were bathed in the pillar-shaped light, they began weakening.
The Imperial Princess simply became dazed and couldn't properly come to her senses, while the Deputy Head Maid suffered an incredible 50% reduction to all her abilities.
I hurried over to the Imperial Princess and took the flag from her hand. Only then did the light disappear, and the Imperial Princess collapsed limply.
“……I never wish to use that again.”
“You can't do that. You said that was the mid-boss, so there's still the final boss.”
“Ugh.”
The Imperial Princess openly showed her displeasure. What kind of ability could make even the Imperial Princess, who had endured death itself, groan like this?
“What effect did the flag have?”
I asked the Imperial Princess, who seemed to have recovered somewhat. She hesitated before sighing and opening her mouth.
“It possesses the power to turn women into men.”
“……?”
For a moment, I couldn't understand what the Imperial Princess had said. Turn what into what?
Seeing my stupid expression, the Imperial Princess's face reddened. The sight of her trembling was pitiful, but my curiosity came first.
“When this flag is activated, it emits light. A woman struck by that light becomes a man. If exposed to it for approximately one hour, she will transform completely.”
“…….”
It was a flag with a far more open-minded philosophy than I'd expected. I let out a hollow laugh at the absurd ability.
“Only women exist in this place. I thought it would certainly be extremely effective. The process of a woman turning into a man was, how should I put it. Incredibly humiliating.”
“…….”
“Having the identity that constituted who I was shaken felt no different from death.”
Was it really that bad? I couldn't understand or sympathize with it. There were plenty of novels in other subcultures that incorporated the element of gender transformation.
If that were the case, shouldn't every one of those characters have ended up like this? The Imperial Princess sighed as she looked at my face.
“It might have been different if I had simply changed. The problem was the ‘process of changing’ itself. It produced an overwhelming sense of revulsion.”
“Hmm. I see.”
“……It seems you did not understand. I shall make sure to find a flag that turns men into women.”
“I respectfully decline.”
Well, I understood the general idea. No, that wasn't what mattered. What mattered was that it helped us in battle.
And since it didn't threaten the caster's life or health, there wasn't much of a problem.
“As long as your body remains unharmed, it's fine.”
The Imperial Princess pouted at my words. I smirked and untied the curtain wrapped around my waist. The Imperial Princess hadn't fully recovered yet, so it seemed I'd have to carry her again.
Without complaint, the Imperial Princess climbed onto my offered back. I wrapped the curtain around us tightly before handing her the flag.
“How exceedingly troublesome.”
The Imperial Princess muttered her impression as she watched the Holy Scripture fall onto my head yet again. I felt the same.
Just because the tip was slightly pointed, it immediately appeared and smacked me over the head. I readjusted my grip on the Golden-Banded Staff and started walking.
A roughly 50% reduction in abilities was a better support effect than almost any other item. It was unfortunate that it only worked on women, but in our current situation, it was the perfect item.
“We'll move quickly.”
The things in the corridors weren't worth mentioning. Even in the game, they'd only been placed there to provide experience points and material items.
But in reality, there were no experience points or material items. I conquered the stage with literally unstoppable momentum.
Praise be to Adaptive Body.
“This appears to be the last one.”
The Imperial Princess looked at the enormous door with distant eyes. We'd reached the fifth floor with the momentum of a tidal wave sweeping through a city.
We'd avoided every battle we could, which was why we'd moved so quickly. In the actual game, fighting every battle would have been the correct choice.
But there was no reason to go through all that trouble when there were no rewards.
“Is it someone you know?”
“I know all of them. There is no one within the Imperial Palace whom I do not know.”
The atmosphere grew heavy at the Imperial Princess's words. Being killed by people you knew. Offering your neck to people you'd given your heart to.
It wasn't a pain I could easily imagine. I tried to put the Imperial Princess down.
“Just continue like this. Once I activate the flag, I will be incapacitated anyway. If even the slightest bit of reason remains, she will try to target me.”
“You're right. But is my back comfortable?”
I cracked a joke to lighten the atmosphere. The time the Imperial Princess and I had spent here had been quite profound for both of us.
Seeing Anaye together and repeatedly crossing the boundary between life and death had stripped away some of the formality between us.
The Imperial Princess's tiny hand smacked me on the head.
“You insolent fellow. How dare you behave that way toward an Imperial Princess of the Empire.”
Her words were filled with laughter. I composed myself and slowly tried to open the enormous door. For some reason, however, it wouldn't open.
“It says ‘Pull.’”
“Ah.”
At the Imperial Princess's words, I grabbed the handle and pulled, and the door opened effortlessly.
I stepped forward with an embarrassed expression. Why did every door here have to be pulled open? The room where the Head Maid stayed was bleak.
“In this situation?”
The figure of the Head Maid, who appeared to be the boss monster, entered my sight. Like the others, her skin had turned red.
That meant she'd entered a state of Berserk, yet for some reason, the Head Maid was sitting at her work desk and looking through documents.
Noticing the noise, the Head Maid raised her head and looked at us.
“You, Davide. She has no reason left. That is a monster.”
The eyes that met mine were a chilling blood-red. The Imperial Princess spoke through gritted teeth. I also readied myself.
Those weren't a human's eyes. They were the eyes of a monster that had gone mad and run wild.