NOVEL NEXT Chapter 10
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The green-burning torches cast eerie shadows.
As the spiders retreated, Cyan surveyed the surroundings.
The area was open on all sides, making it easy to escape even if monsters appeared again.
"Are the temple stairs this high? Even the Great Temple in the old capital is big, but it doesn't have stairs."
The Crown Prince admired the temple, looking up at it.
"I'm glad to see such a magnificent sight before I die. I have no regrets."
"Your Highness."
As the situation worsened, the Crown Prince pretended to be more relaxed and made frivolous jokes. Cyan tried to stop his lord.
The sight of his neck, bitten by the baby spider, covered with Cyan's handkerchief. The bleeding had stopped, but the demonic beast's poison couldn't be neutralized. If not for the royal family's poison-resistant constitution, it wouldn't have been strange if he died at any time.
"I know. But if we keep being tense, we might die from the pressure. Cyan, you should try to relax a bit too."
As the Crown Prince patted Cyan's shoulder, Max clicked his tongue and glared at us.
"Tch."
The internal faction fight in the imperial palace is originally fierce.
Cyan was one of the chosen ones.
The scholarly family he was born into, his high learning, his brilliant mind. He had reached mastery in both magic and spirits.
From the moment the current Emperor, impressed by him, had him play with the young Crown Prince early on, Cyan knew.
'I have been designated as His Highness the Crown Prince's closest aide.'
He was used to the criticism, jealousy, envy, checks, and belittling towards himself, who had secured a place next to the future sun.
Cyan didn't think his sharp tongue and his behavior of openly ignoring those who were dull or foolish were a problem.
Aren't they substandard and incompetent?
Those who rushed at him felt deprived by the gap with Cyan and naturally broke down, or realized that his contemptuous gaze didn't even treat them as people and became intimidated on their own.
Of course... not everyone was like that.
Lady April was chattering very closely with Yeniel.
"Come to think of it, the doll we saw before coming in seemed cute. Lady Yeniel."
"What doll?"
"The child with the knife rotating in its mouth! Umm, I can't remember the name. It was a boy and made squeaking sounds."
"...You think that's cute?"
It was about the creepy boy mechanical doll that was creaking at the dungeon entrance. Like Yeniel, Cyan was inwardly horrified.
A bright appearance as if on a picnic, even in the gloomy situation of the hidden world.
"But it's a child doll. It's cute, isn't it? It's just the right age for Pipi. Oh, Pipi is the name of my doll! She's a very cute girl. I wish Pipi and that doll could be friends."
"...Wouldn't it be better to think about it again?"
Yeniel, perhaps shocked by such a description of the horrible doll, was rarely giving advice on someone else's words.
"It's better to carefully consider before deciding on who to keep by your side as a friend. Don't trust hastily, you should think about what kind of existence they will be for yourself."
Even in a situation where they should be tense, the group's atmosphere was soft thanks to April.
If they hadn't entered the hidden world, they might never have known her merits in their lifetime.
A fatally beautiful appearance that bewitches people.
The day April first appeared in high society was chaotic.
Even Cyan was stunned by her extraordinary beauty, and some people trembled and fainted or collapsed from hyperventilation.
-I am Cyan Isengrift.
-Oh my. I feel like I've heard that somewhere. Somewhere, someone's friend?
-You're mistaken.
April's father, Marquis Sharon, true to his bad reputation of having muscles even in his brain, always greeted Cyan, who was part of the Imperial faction.
Other Sharon family members? They were equally incomprehensible. They think Cyan and Marquis Sharon are close.
They didn't seem to care or even think about whether they belonged to the Noble faction or the Imperial faction.
-Umm, April's memory is bad so I must be wrong. But Sir Cyan.
Calling the other person's name suddenly at first meeting, at that moment, as if he had gone crazy, his heart pounded loudly.
-Yes, please speak.
-If you eat grape seeds, will a grapevine grow in your stomach?
-...Pardon?
-I'm curious if a grapevine will grow in your stomach if you eat grape seeds. Uncle said four trees would grow for him, so at least two should grow for April, right?
But the fantasy immediately crumbled at the stupid statement.
-Why on earth are you asking me such a thing?
-Well, Sir Cyan looks smart because you wear glasses. Wearing glasses means you're smart, right?
-...
It was the moment Cyan realized that his ideal type was a sensible and intelligent person.
But in this gloomy situation, he somehow felt saved by this young lady he thought was lacking.
Look, didn't she try to protect Cyan from the jealousy of his political enemies? Even though Cyan himself had been used to ignoring envy since a very young age.
What would someone who knows nothing know?
'To such a person with low intelligence... Well, having low intelligence isn't necessarily bad.'
There are very rare exceptions.
If the people of the Imperial faction who had constantly heard Cyan's sharp tongue heard this, they would clutch their chests from the shock.
[Advisor Cyan's affection has increased.]
April, not knowing Cyan's thoughts, tilted her head wondering what he was thinking.
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Cyan glares at me.
[Advisor Cyan's affection has decreased.]
[Advisor Cyan's affection has increased.]
[Advisor Cyan's affection has decreased.]
[Advisor Cyan's affection has increased.]
Why is he like that?
Every time Cyan muttered in a barely audible volume, his affection went up and down.
"Why am I thinking this..."
"But it's not necessarily wrong..."
It's confusing with the affection change notifications constantly popping up in front of my eyes.
'Isn't there a way to turn these notifications off?'
Affection notification function off
Tip. Turn on the affection notification function in the settings menu!
Oh, surprisingly, the notifications turned off.
I try opening the settings menu as written in the tip.
'Settings menu.'
Error occurred!
No player information.
Tip. Status window is unavailable!
If neither this nor that works, how can someone who's not a player live without feeling miserable?
Fortunately, in
Detailed Affection Window
▶Crown Prince: 90% (Lover)
-Favorite gifts: Wine, Thousand-year-old humor book
-Feelings towards [Light-pril]: Love between lovers, possessiveness
▷Advisor Cyan: 57% (More than friends, less than crush)
-Favorite gifts: Stationery items, Bitter things
-Feelings towards [Light-pril]: Someone he's worried about, Someone he wants to support, Friendship
The direction of emotions, favorite gifts that would help with conquering, definition of the player.
'Still, it's annoying when it's not there when you actually need it?'
I felt a bit disappointed. In fact, even if it was really there, I'd probably just find it bothersome rather than read it diligently.
Temple front stairs.
We finished our rest and walked along the long line of green torches.
While the width of the stairs was extremely wide, the height of each step was rather low.
The path leading up to the temple was bright thanks to the torches, but because the flames were green, the atmosphere felt gloomy.
Sparks flew, and our shadows stretched long.
"Lady Yeniel, Lady Yeniel. This seems to be the end of the room."
I called Yeniel like a child. Yeniel answered calmly.
"It seems so. Lady April, be careful with your feet as we go up. The stairs are quite low. It's dangerous if you fall on the stairs."
"Yes."
I laughed brightly as I climbed the stairs.
We arrived at the temple entrance after climbing up.
The marble floor looked pale green in the faint green light.
Perhaps because of the atmosphere, it looked more like a place where a demon might be trapped rather than a temple.
As we entered, we saw the spacious interior.
It's a structure where several large pillars stand neatly supporting the roof. Walls filled the spaces between the pillars, and there were no windows.
Only faint dust and cobwebs existed in the empty interior.
"Heek."
Max flinches at the sight of the cobwebs. The expressions of the other members weren't very good either.
"It's empty."
The Crown Prince evaluated after looking around the interior.
"There's nothing. Isn't the first floor of a temple usually made very splendidly, putting all the budget into it? Like the Great Temple in the old capital."
"It is peculiar indeed. Even I, Max, have never seen such a structure before."
I was watching the changes in Yeniel's expression. Her eyes flickered as if something was on her mind.
Then suddenly, as if she realized something, Yeniel spoke to the people.
"This is a reverse temple."
"A reverse temple?"
At my mumbled question, Cyan explains.
"It's a temple for demons. Unlike regular temples, the first floor is left empty, and the second floor is decorated. That's... Could it be? Is this a dungeon of demon worshippers?"
Cyan's eyes widened.
At that moment, as if understanding those words, with a rumbling sound, the marble stairs slowly rose up before our eyes.
The ceiling opening upwards opened.