The Prince Who Absorbs Abilities With a ‘Click’

Chapter 14: Request for bait

In the office of Prince Raiel, the Crown Prince of the Exion Empire, the evening sunset was visible through the window.

“So, lately, Kain has been staying in his room?”

“Yes, Your Highness. He even takes his meals in his room now.”

Raiel lifted his wine glass and examined it under the light. The red liquid shimmered in the sunset light.

“Hmm.”

His younger brother, Kain.

Until now, he had been a quiet and ordinary person. Or at least, that’s what he had thought.

But when did it start?

After Jade’s death…No, more precisely, after the story of the appointment of the Lord of Kverndel, Kain’s behavior had subtly changed.

He couldn’t exactly say how it changed. But the fact that someone who had always acted quietly and ordinarily was now locked in his room all day meant that something must be going on.

“Any other unusual circumstances?”

“Recently, there have been many stories about Prince Kain among the maids.”

Hm?

Raiel’s eyebrows twitched.

What was this about?

“What are they saying?”

“Strangely…it seems that more and more maids are falling for Prince Kain’s charm.”

“Huh…”

Raiel took a sip of his wine.

This was the most absurd thing he had heard recently.

Of course, those who inherited royal blood tended to have good looks.

But for the maids to fall for him and start talking about it?

That was far beyond normal.

‘He’s no incubus.’

Aside from that, there didn’t seem to be any other peculiarities.

Anyway, no matter what Kain did, this was the Exion Empire.

Within the Empire, Prince Raiel’s eyes could not be avoided.

“Tsk, today, this just doesn’t suit my taste.”

Raiel put down the glass he had been drinking from.

The reason he was particularly concerned about his younger brother Kain was simple.

Kain’s nature seemed to be similar to his own.

That’s why he couldn’t help but pay attention.

Kain was unaffected by the death of his brother, Jade. In fact, he maintained an attitude as if it had nothing to do with him.

Raiel found Kain’s behavior irritating.

A personality that wasn’t interested in his brother’s affairs and only thought about himself.

It could be seen as indifference, but character is a fine line.

Perhaps Kain only cared about himself and saw others as insignificant.

If that was truly the case, it was clear that Raiel wouldn’t be able to tame Kain even if he became the next emperor.

‘A wild beast that can’t be tamed must be killed.’

A wild beast that hasn’t been domesticated will ultimately die.

This meant that he would have to kill his own blood brother.

Others might think this was cruel, but the princes were beings who were given the right to ascend to the throne.

Even though they shared blood, brothers were nothing more than rivals.

Thus, the problem Raiel was now contemplating was about what to do from here.

“By the way, what about the request?”

“It can proceed as Your Highness wishes. Just give the order.”

“Good.”

Raiel walked to the window and the sunset cast a shadow over his face.

The request.

Raiel had a request he wanted to give to the Adventurer’s Guild.

On the surface, the purpose of the request was simply to gather information about a dungeon but the reality was different.

The purpose was to use the request as bait to send adventurers into the dungeon.

The dungeon in question was the one where Jade had died, and at the same time, it was under the control of a lich.

And this dungeon was located near the city of Kverndel.

Next year, Kain would be appointed as the lord of that city.

‘Perfect.’

A cold smile appeared on Raiel’s lips.

Normally, it would have been right to mobilize the Imperial Knights to suppress the dungeon and recover Jade’s body.

But he intentionally chose not to do that.

In fact, he considered this an opportunity.

He had even held a meaningless funeral for Jade without the body.

‘I’m going to grow that dungeon now.’

His plan was simple.

He would continuously send adventurers into the dungeon to help the lich grow.

In other words, he was planning to use the request to lure adventurers into a trap.

And the grown lich would threaten Kain.

Naturally, Kain’s incompetence as a lord would be exposed, and if things went well, the problem could be solved without Raiel even having to intervene.

It wasn’t a bad plan for Raiel.

“Alright, let’s recruit the first group of adventurers from Kverndel.”

Raiel’s eyes shone.

Inside the tavern, the clinking of wine glasses filled the air.

People gathered around wooden tables, chatting, while the fire in the fireplace created a cozy atmosphere.

One particular table was unusually loud.

At that table, four adventurers in their outfits were raising their glasses, and a middle-aged retired knight exclaimed in admiration.

“Ah, this is refreshing! It’s cold in Kverndel, but at least you can enjoy a good drink, right?”

His name was Laurent.

He was the leader of the adventurer party made up of four members.

Laurent, who had a bit of white mixed into his hair, emptied his glass and continued.

“A new request has come in from the Adventurer’s Guild.”

“What now? Don’t tell me it’s woodcutting again?”

Luke responded playfully to Laurent’s words as his slender fingers fiddled with the dagger at his waist.

“No, at first, I thought it was that too. But it wasn’t at all. This is an important matter, so listen closely.”

Laurent’s expression became serious.

Kverndel was a city with a harsh environment, and it wasn’t a place where people frequently came and went.

Naturally, the requests that came into the local Adventurer’s Guild were limited, usually just escorting merchants or gathering firewood.

But now, for the first time in a while, a real request had come in.

“The new request is for dungeon reconnaissance.”

At Laurent’s words, the others showed interest.

“Oh, which dungeon is it? Wasn’t there a dungeon around here?”

The one showing interest was Amy, a mage.

The brown sleeves of her robe brushed against the table as she spoke.

“There seems to be a new dungeon nearby. They need information about it.”

“A new dungeon…it could be a little dangerous.”

However, unlike the others, Sara, the apprentice priest, spoke with a worried expression.

Her priority was always the safety of the party members.

“Ah, our priest is always so worried. Requests like this don’t come up often, and for adventurers like us, it’s always best to jump at the chance if the reward is good. Laurent, what’s the reward like?”

Unlike the worried Sara, Luke’s eyes sparkled as he asked.

“It’s substantial. Just for reconnaissance, the reward is huge.”

Laurent spread out five fingers.

Luke’s face fell, clearly disappointed.

“Ugh, only 5 gold?”

Who would get excited over 5 gold?

It wasn’t a small amount, but for adventurers like them, it was too little.

Divided among four people, each one would get barely 1 gold.

The dungeon was an unknown place, full of potential dangers.

Would risking their lives for reconnaissance in such a place be worth just 1 gold?

Luke shook his head, and Laurent grinned as he added.

“No, it’s not 5 gold.”

“Huh? Then maybe 50 gold?”

Luke’s eyes sparkled again.

50 gold would be worth it.

That would be 12 gold each, which was about the equivalent of a few months’ worth of earnings for an average person.

But Laurent shook his head.

“It’s not that either. It’s a 500 gold request.”

“Whoa!”

At Laurent’s words, everyone gasped.

Even Amy, the mage, and Sara, the apprentice priest, looked shocked.

“Five hundred gold?”

That was the same reaction from Luke.

Reconnaissance for 500 gold?

Luke had been into dungeons many times as a guide.

He could confidently say he had entered more than anyone else in the party.

But for just reconnaissance to be worth 500 gold?

This was the first time he had seen something like this.

“Don’t…don’t you think the reward is too high? It feels strange.”

Sara was uncomfortable with the situation, and it wasn’t just her. Amy felt the same way.

“I feel the same. If it were 50 gold, I’d understand, but 500 gold feels way too odd.”

A magician is a being that requires a lot of upkeep.

If it were 50 gold, she wouldn’t have hesitated to accept the request.

However, the 500 gold, which is ten times the amount, had even Amy conflicted.

If the reward is set that high, the request must be a dangerous one.

Laurent, who understood the party members’ concerns well, nodded while drinking.

“I know what you’re worried about. But if you look at the request details, you’ll understand.”

Laurent began to explain the request.

Simply put, this request was made by a noble family.

And it seems that the young master of this family went into a dungeon without knowing what he was doing and disappeared.

“Then it’s possible he’s already dead?”

At Luke’s words, Laurent snapped his fingers.

“Exactly! I heard from the guild that the requester thinks his son is dead. They said if we scout the dungeon and bring back the son’s body, they’re willing to pay double the current reward.”

“……!”

500 gold is already a high reward, but if it’s doubled, that’s a thousand gold.

Everyone was shocked, and Laurent looked out the window as he spoke.

“As you all know, I have a daughter.”

The firelight from the fireplace illuminated his scarred face.

“If my daughter went into such a dungeon and something happened to her…I’d do anything to find her body.”

Laurent’s heartfelt words didn’t make Sara want to oppose the request.

“I…I think it’s fine if it’s for that kind of purpose.”

Of course, Sara approached it from a human perspective, not for the money.

Even if the person is already dead, everyone deserves to return to the embrace of the gods.

Wouldn’t it be too pitiful if they were left abandoned on the cold dungeon floor?

Starting with Sara, Luke and Amy also started to think positively about the request.

Moreover, if the requestor was a noble family, the situation was different.

Even though the reward is high, if it’s for retrieving the body of their son, it’s not so hard to understand.

“So, what do you think? As the party leader, I need to listen to my party members’ opinions.”

But already, Laurent’s expression was filled with certainty.

He was sure no one would refuse the request.

And that was right.

“…As expected from Laurent. I’m in favor.”

Luke sheathed his dagger and stood up.

“I’ll go too. I’ve wanted to buy a magic book anyway, so this works out.”

Amy also agreed.

“To guide the poor lamb to the embrace of the gods, I can’t sit this one out either.”

Sara agreed for a different reason.

When everyone agreed to take the request, Laurent nodded.

“Alright! We’ll go into the dungeon the day after tomorrow. Let’s break up for today and gather tomorrow to prepare!”

Thus, Laurent and his party decided to enter the dungeon.

It had been two days since I started training the magical girl, Seo Jiwon.

During this time, I had learned a few things.

“When a magical girl is in a dungeon, time doesn’t pass in the original world, huh?”

One of the key features of the game “Magical Girl Maker” was the ability to travel to other dimensions through dimensional cracks.

The other dimensions, of course, referred to the other games I was playing.

I decided to test Seo Jiwon by sending her into the Dungeon Master universe.

What was surprising was that when she returned to her original world, time hadn’t passed at all there.

“This is totally broken, huh?”

I had been worrying about how to train the magical girl without spending money, but if it’s like this, I don’t have to worry.

If I send her to another dimension, it’s like a training ground where time is infinite, right?

So, I kept her in the dungeon and just trained her.

At first, Seo Jiwon was extremely resistant to seeing the dungeon and monsters.

“Eeek! No, how can a monster be a subordinate of the contractor?”

Seeing monsters in the dungeon, the magical girl was terrified.

It took some time to calm her down at first.

“Why does it feel like I can’t progress the game unless I make the character feel better?”

I might be exaggerating it as a great game, but I was getting frustrated at having to pay attention to every little detail.

Every time, I responded with, “How dare a game character talk back?” and made the magical girl work harder.

At first, she was flustered, but as time passed, she seemed to have adapted to the dungeon.

Now, she could see a Skeleton Gunner, Orc, or Goblin without any issues.

The only thing she hadn’t adapted to was dancing and singing.

“What kind of magical girl attack involves dancing and singing?”

“I will NEVER sing! And I won’t dance either!”

But it was the truth, wasn’t it?

【Magic Wand Toy +1】

Magical Girl’s Purification: Deals mental damage to the opponent. However, it can only be activated when the magical girl dances and sings while holding the magic wand.

I couldn’t even show the description of the magic wand she was holding, so every time, I had to control the cat character ‘Kain’ to calm her down.

“Maybe I should’ve just given her a gun?”

It wasn’t a bad idea, but if I did that, the advantage of the Skeleton Gunner would be gone.

More importantly, what would happen if someone suddenly invaded the dungeon?

[An intruder has entered the dungeon!]

Yes, just like now.

“Huh? Suddenly?”

No, seriously, the alarm that an intruder had appeared popped up.

“Well, this is perfect.”

Now that an intruder appeared, it was time to see how hard my magical girl had been training.