Your Majesty, Dinner Is Ready. Chapter 6 - Was It You?

Chapter 6 — Was It You?

 

I stood there quietly, gazing up at the moon as the wind brushed against me.

[S-Rank Labyrinth – Nightmare Dungeon]

The nightmarishly difficult Labyrinth that even gave the game its title.

Clearing that place led to the ending.

Whether that would still be true now that this was reality rather than just a game, I couldn’t say.

But one thing hadn’t changed.

Someday, I’d have to enter it.

If left unconquered, it would become the cause of the world’s destruction.

‘In the end, my long-term objective is the same as it was in the game.’

I had to steadily explore Labyrinths, build my reputation, and gather Mysteries, equipment, and artifacts until I became stronger.

That said, I did not intend to pursue a balanced build by collecting every possible avenue of growth.

There was only one category of enhancement I planned to focus on…

Anything related to health.

Since a Cultist’s physical capabilities were so frail that dodging or blocking enemy attacks was difficult anyway, there was a build based on simply enduring everything with one’s body instead.

The so-called Immortal Cultist.

Not “immortal” as in worshipping a fire god… Immortal as in unable to die.

‘There’s really no reason to use any other build.’

Even overseas players had been impressed enough to fall in love with the flavor of the Korean-style Cultist build for a time.

There wasn’t really anything left to improve.

As long as I gathered the required Mysteries and artifacts according to plan, I’d eventually possess a vitality so tenacious that even zombies would click their tongues in disbelief.

That much remained the same as in the game.

But there were differences, too.

‘Maybe I should form an expedition party.’

Actively cultivating talent.

Since reality finally allowed me to enter a field that had never been available to Cultists, I intended to become something of an expert at raising explorers.

The first people I’d invest in would be a certain pair of tiger beastkin siblings whose potential, if developed properly, could reach absurd heights.

 

[Your body is frail enough that standing in a cold draft will give you a cold. Unless you possess the peculiar tendency to derive pleasure from the suffering caused by fever, coughing, and a runny nose, it is recommended that you step away from the window.]

 

Obediently closing the window, I rubbed the area around my right eye.

Marlin quietly approached.

“Mister.”

“What is it?”

“Thank you for saving Abel and me. I don’t even know how I could ever repay this kindness….”

“It’s fine. I’m satisfied just knowing I protected the dreams and hopes of children.”

“…Could you please smile brightly when you’re joking?”

“I’m not joking.”

“…Of course you aren’t.”

The tiger beastkin girl lightly smacked the floor with her tail before tilting her head.

“By the way… What’s your name, Mister? We can’t keep calling you ‘Mister’ forever.”

“Good question. I wonder what my name is.”

“Oh, come on!” 

“This time I’m serious. I’ve lost most of my memories. I can’t even remember what my parents looked like anymore.”

“…Really?”

It wasn’t a lie.

The Cultist player character’s background really was amnesia.

And, in reality, I genuinely had no idea what my parents looked like.

“Then how do you know so much about Labyrinths when you don’t even know your own name?”

“I already told you. Lord Lidni knows everything.”

“So… An evil god told you all of this?”

“You could say that.”

In reality, all He’d done was complain while eating offerings…

Still, using His name allowed me to openly display my game knowledge without raising suspicion.

In that sense, our evil god wasn’t entirely useless.

Only now did Marlin finally seem to believe me.

She looked at me with pity.

“Then… Would you like me to give you a temporary name until you recover your memories?”

“Do you have any suggestions?”

“Mmm… How about Gold Eye?”

“Your golden eyes are the most memorable thing about you!”

Smiling, I placed a hand on Marlin’s shoulder, touched by her earnest idea.

“No matter what career you choose in the future… Never open a naming service.”

“…”

“Wait. I should have an identification tag.”

I took a round metal plate resembling a medal from inside my clothes.

At the bottom was the sacred shield emblem showing it had been issued by the Harmony Church.

In the center…

A name had been engraved.

 

– KAR

– Cultist of the Twisted Truth

 

“…Kar.”

Murmuring the two letters written on the identification tag, Marlin followed me back to the table.

By then, the sleeping employee had finally woken up.

“Welcome back, Explorer. I’m glad to see you’ve returned safely.”

A man dressed in ceremonial robes of black and white bowed with his hands clasped together.

 

[Lucius (Human, age 23), Ordinary Priest of “Seeking Lamp,” a priestly order of the Harmony Church. Although remarkably lazy, he is every bit as devout as one would expect from a follower of that hypocritical goddess. He has a mild temperament, making him an excellent target to befriend and take advantage of.]

 

A priest of the Harmony Church, devoted to Artein, the Goddess of Protection and Wisdom.

Whatever his faith, his professional spirit clearly needed work.

Despite being on duty, drowsiness practically oozed from every inch of his face.

“…Where are Sir Tunrak and Sir Vance?”

It was a question that naturally made the atmosphere solemn.

Rubbing the area around my chest with a fist, I answered,

“The mighty orc warrior Sir Tunrak and the veteran mercenary Sir Vance have departed on a journey from which they shall never return.”

“Priest… Would you offer a prayer for the repose of their souls?”

“…”

“Why are you looking at me like that, Marlin?”

Marlin stared blankly before whispering in disbelief,

“Why are you suddenly talking so normally? When you talk to me, you sound like some deranged person….”

“Marlin. Do you perhaps enjoy slandering the person who saved your life?”

“…”

Wearing an expression as if she’d just bitten into something foul, Marlin quietly stepped back.

“We fled in such a hurry that we couldn’t witness the end. But those two stood against the ghouls to buy us time until the very last moment. It was truly a noble sacrifice.”

“Artein….”

Priest Lucius murmured softly while straightening the hair on the left side of his head.

Then he carefully looked the three of us over.

His expression carried obvious confusion.

“…How exactly did you manage to hide yourselves from an entire ghoul horde?”

A fair question.

A Cultist and two children.

Judging by raw combat ability alone, our group was significantly weaker than Tunrak, the novice orc who had died first.

Yet somehow we’d survived a Labyrinth where merely breathing was enough for ghouls to pursue you.

“If you happened to discover a hidden clear condition… Please tell me. We’ll purchase the information for an appropriate price.”

 

[A Labyrinth begins with information and ends with information.]

[Furthermore, your method of clearing the [Hideout of the Lurker Ghouls] has never before existed in this world. Selling that information to the priest of that hypocritical goddess should earn you a worthy reward.]

 

Selling exploration information.

It was a lucrative source of income, especially when one discovered Hidden Pieces.

“I was planning to sell it anyway.”

I thoroughly explained the Hidden clear condition… rendering every ghoul incapable of fighting.

However, I deliberately omitted any mention of the Hidden reward, the Grimoire of Mystery.

It only appeared the very first time someone completed the Hidden condition.

Mentioning it would accomplish nothing.

“Thank you for your report.”

Lucius carefully wrote down every word before entering a room adjacent to the kitchen.

When he returned, he carried a heavy money pouch in one hand.

Even at a glance, it looked weighty enough that the siblings’ eyes widened.

“This is an advance payment of fifty gold. Once verification is complete, we’ll provide the remainder of your reward. It should take only a few days. However… Since this is only a low-rank Labyrinth, I wouldn’t expect too much.”

“Honestly. Isn’t it a bit ridiculous for an E-Rank Labyrinth to contain ghouls?”

“Well… The clear condition itself is easy….”

Marlin’s previously drooping tail shot straight upward.

“Easy? That was easy?”

“You only had to survive for eight hours without dying. That’s an extremely easy condition.”

“Then what counts as difficult?”

“There are Labyrinths where you have to survive drifting alone at sea for an entire year.”

“…”

Apparently overwhelmed by the absurd scale of Labyrinths, the tiger beastkin girl’s mouth hung open.

Though it was still too early for that.

If I mentioned that the example I’d just given wasn’t even an S-Rank Labyrinth… only an A-Rank one… she’d probably suffer an even greater shock.

So I decided against saying anything further.

“Is there anything else I can help you with?”

“I’d like a meal. Would that be possible?”

“Certainly. Since it’s rather late, however, the only things available are hardened bread and lukewarm stew. Would that be acceptable?”

“For me, even that feels like Lady Artein’s generosity.”

I’d exhausted both my Mental Power and my stamina.

I wanted to eat anything at all.

The siblings apparently felt the same.

Their ears perked up simultaneously.

Seeing the hopeful expressions on their faces, I stopped the priest before he reached the kitchen and ordered portions for them as well.

“I really keep imposing on you….”

“So you are aware of that.”

“Abel. Hurry and say thank you.”

Unable to withstand his sister’s insistence, the boy lazily bowed his head to the side.

Marlin looked ready to scold him.

I stopped her.

He was at the age where children were naturally ill-mannered.

What did it matter if his greeting was half-hearted?

“Your food is ready.”

Soon enough, bread and stew were placed before us.

Bread as hard as bricks.

Stew that had merely been reheated until lukewarm.

Naturally, neither tasted particularly good.

Even so, everything disappeared effortlessly into our mouths.

It was a valuable reminder that the old saying…

Hunger is the best seasoning… really was true.

After finishing the meal, I spoke to Lucius, who had been waiting nearby.

“I’d like to stay the night. Do you have any vacant rooms?”

“As it happens, exactly two remain. Then I’d like one for myself… and one for these siblings. I’d also appreciate a change of clothes.”

Marlin immediately waved both hands in protest, clearly beginning to feel burdened.

I simply ignored her.

If I left them alone, they’d probably end up sleeping on the streets.

As an adult, I couldn’t just pretend not to notice.

The fact that the explorer who abandoned them had mentioned tiger beastkin were worth befriending…

Or that they possessed excellent stats worth raising…

Those were merely secondary reasons for helping them.

After paying three gold coins… covering the meal, lodging, clothing, and even the mandatory tip you’d expect from an American-made game…

I headed upstairs.

My room was at the very end of the hallway.

The siblings were given the room right beside mine.

“Thank you… For everything.”

“See you tomorrow, Kar.”

“Sleep well. You too, Abel.”

Creak.

Opening the old wooden door, I entered my room and immediately collapsed onto the bed.

Fatigue.

And food-induced drowsiness.

Two sleep fairies from entirely different worlds fluttered around my head.

If I simply closed my eyes now… I’d probably sleep like a log.

 

[Proper sleep is necessary to restore your depleted Mental Power. I shall permit you to become a sleepyhead for today alone!]

 

Still…

There was something I wanted to confirm before sleeping.

Perhaps because I finally had a moment to breathe.

Questions that had never occurred to me inside the life-threatening Labyrinth now began surfacing one after another.

Above all, one question eclipsed every other.

Who am I?

If I started pondering it philosophically, I’d be thinking all day.

So instead, I simply checked the tiny wall mirror hanging beside the bed.

‘Not bad.’

My shimmering golden hair and eyes looked as though they had been forged from molten gold.

My skin was pale enough to seem almost white.

The appearance immediately reminded me of a certain race… one that inherited only the disadvantages of both humans and elves… Yet possessed outstanding Charm.

The text from Eyes That Perceive the Truth appeared, confirming my suspicion.

 

[Kar ??? (Half-Elf, age 22), Cultist of the Twisted Truth.]

 

Even in the game, a Cultist player’s surname always appeared as question marks.

Right now, though… The name wasn’t what mattered.

A Half-Elf Cultist.

One of the most difficult ways to play Nightmare Dungeon…

Had become my reality.

Who would’ve imagined I’d personally experience a combination where even a completely ordinary playthrough inevitably spiraled into one incident after another?

…

‘Who turned me into this?’

Thankfully.

 

【 Seeker who treads the path toward the Twisted Truth. The Wise One has been deeply moved by your utmost devotion.】 

 

Considering the words that had appeared on my monitor just before I lost consciousness…

It wasn’t difficult to guess who had brought me into this world.

“Lord Lidni… Was it You?…”

Our evil god… Had summoned me into this world.