Wasn’t This Supposed To Be a Strategy Game? Chapter 67

At Karon’s words, the air froze for a moment.

He tightened his grip on his sword, and Eden, too, suddenly remembered where she had seen that black orb before—it was the same type that had released Tannir during the founding banquet.

Her eyes widened in alarm, but Asmon crouched down calmly and picked up the orb.

“It hasn’t cracked.”

His composed voice finally let the knights breathe a sigh of relief. Apparently, unless thrown forcefully enough to fracture, the orb wouldn’t release a monster like before.

Asmon carefully examined the black sphere. With this level of darkness, it had to be a mid-to-high level monster. It was far too valuable for a low-level bandit in some rural backwater to be carrying around.

Eden, understanding as much, quickly unfolded the map.

‘As expected, it’s a map of Reblum.’

As she thought, it was indeed Reblum’s map, and on it was a red circle drawn around a specific location.

‘But even after getting the map, the quest still hasn’t cleared.’

That meant the event quest wasn’t finished yet. Eden repeated the quest title to herself:

‘Reblum’s Secret Trade.’

Something clicked. Her eyes flew wide as a realization struck. Without hesitation, she grabbed the collar of the unconscious man and slapped him hard across the face.

Smack—!

Startled, Karon and Asmon turned to Eden, but she didn’t even glance their way. She shook the man violently.

“Wake up!”

After another firm slap, the man jolted upright, twitching as he came to.

Eden grabbed him by the collar with both hands and glared into his eyes.

“You were going to trade that cursed item in Lector Mill, weren’t you?”

Lector Mill was a coastal city located to the east of Reblum—and exactly where the mark on the map had been.

At her words, the man’s face tensed. That was all the confirmation she needed.

‘Damn it. So the event quest isn’t over yet.’

Which meant the real hint still wasn’t in her hands.

A secret trade…

Eden realized she had to go to Lector Mill herself and complete that deal. She shoved the man away and turned to face Asmon.

“We have to go to Lector Mill.”

Both Asmon and Karon’s faces hardened at her words. Even within Reblum, Lector Mill was known as one of the most dangerous, corrupt cities.

“Priestess, Lector Mill is far too dangerous. We should gather more information before—”

“I’ll go with her.”

Asmon cut Karon off sharply, answering without hesitation.

“You should return to the capital, Commander. It seems I’m the only one the priestess needs now.”

He tucked the cursed item away in his coat and turned to Karon with a leisurely smile.

Karon raised an eyebrow, but Asmon didn’t bother to look at him again—his attention was solely on Eden.

****

Eventually, since Karon had his own duties and could not linger in Reblum, it was decided that he would return to the capital. The outcome was a relief for Eden, who had grown weary of the tense standoff between the two men.

All except for Asmon, who made it blatantly obvious—with every fiber of his being—that he was still angry.

Feeling like she was sitting on a bed of nails, Eden ate dinner while sneaking glances at him.

It was already late evening after they had spent hours looking around Horun, and she had come to Asmon’s residence under the condition that they would leave early the next morning.

Asmon had said nothing on the ride over and was now grimly eating dinner with her, apparently intent on tormenting her with his silence.

Eden nervously braced herself, half-expecting him to threaten her with canceling their contract again.

That was when Asmon finally spoke.

“Is the food to your taste?”

“Absolutely not!”

She blurted it out, having been steeling herself to reject a threat rather than answer a simple question. It was an absurdly wrong reply.

Asmon blinked and looked at her.

“…Excuse me?”

Realizing her mistake, Eden froze.

“If it’s not to your liking, I’ll have something else brought.”

“N-no! It’s great. Delicious!”

Seeing that he might actually call someone over, Eden hurriedly stabbed her fork into the meat pie and shoved it into her mouth. The food really was quite good.

But…

She peeked at Asmon again. Their eyes met—his gaze unreadable, as if he were observing a curious specimen under a microscope—and it sent a chill down her spine.

“…Aren’t you angry?”

Swallowing the food, Eden finally decided to confront the matter head-on. She’d be traveling with him to Lector Mill, after all, and couldn’t keep tiptoeing around him forever.

“I am.”

Asmon replied plainly, and Eden’s face scrunched awkwardly. He didn’t look angry anymore, but that didn’t calm her nerves.

“Even so, the contract can’t be canceled. There’s a reason I acted that way. I can explain.”

Asmon silently watched her flustered attempt to explain herself.

“The truth is… I received a divine revelation. A prophecy said I had to find a girl named Ella in Horun. I didn’t tell you because I was worried it would delay things. Since I was with the commander, I knew I’d be safe.”

At Eden’s last words, Asmon’s brows knit in displeasure—but she didn’t notice, continuing with her string of explanations.

“But Ella has gone missing. I think there’s a strong connection between finding her and locating the Tebel.”

Eden delivered the situation in a single breath.

“If we go to Lector Mill and complete the cursed item transaction, we might find a lead.”

Finishing her explanation, Eden stared at Asmon as if asserting the justification of her actions. Asmon, still watching her, slowly opened his mouth.

“Then it would be best if you stayed in Reblum until the Tebel is found.”

His response was so unexpected that Eden blinked in confusion.

“…Pardon?”

“Don’t worry about the temple. I’ll take care of it.”

His calm voice made it sound as though everything was already settled.

“Your Highness, that’s not necessary—”

“They said the transaction is set for the evening. If we leave around midday, we’ll arrive with time to spare.”

Eden tried to stop him, flustered, but Asmon smoothly cut her off. She was momentarily at a loss for words before cautiously asking:

“You’re really going with me…?”

Asmon gave her a look—as if to say, Was that really a question? And something about that gaze weighed heavily on Eden’s chest.

“Commander Karon was right. Lector Mill is a dangerous place.”

“…”

“So you mustn’t leave my sight anymore.”

He set his knife down and offered a faint smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. It was a gentle warning, and Eden finally realized that Asmon’s anger hadn’t cooled in the slightest.

A cold sweat formed at the back of her neck.

***

The next day, Eden and Asmon departed for Lector Mill—both in disguises so thorough that no one would recognize them as a prince and a priestess.

His subordinates were also disguised, deployed throughout the city to remain on standby in case of emergency.

As the operation grew in scale, Eden began to feel uneasy.

‘This is just an event quest. Was it really okay to drag Asmon into this?’

But with how firmly he had insisted, she had no choice.

“There are people in Lector Mill who buy and sell monsters and cursed items.”

Asmon shared what he had learned from interrogating the captured bandits the night before.

“They don’t know what those items are being used for, either.”

His matter-of-fact tone made Eden frown. Her face was mostly hidden, but the discomfort was clear in her eyes.

“Count Retten might’ve been a hint…”

It was an open secret that some nobles in the empire purchased monsters for ornamental purposes. Count Retten—whom Kyris had used to frame Asmon—was living proof.

If any city were well-suited for illegal monster auctions, it would be one as corrupt as Lector Mill.

But what puzzled Eden was the connection between the auction and Ella. That part, she couldn’t make sense of.

She couldn’t get the image of Tethes sobbing for his lost daughter out of her mind. It gnawed at her.

‘What kind of game is this? Going after kids is crossing the line, you bastards!’

She silently vowed to rate this game a 1-star when she got back. As she brooded over that thought, the outskirts of Lector Mill came into view.

Unlike the quiet, ghost-town feel of other parts of Reblum, Lector Mill was bursting with noise and activity.

Eden rode beside Asmon, taking in the scenery with wary eyes.

It was clear at a glance that the people here were completely different from those she’d seen in the capital.

Rough-looking men, more intimidating than even yesterday’s bandits, were hauling goods or shouting in the streets. Fistfights and curses flew freely.

“Relax. They’ll notice if you’re too tense.”

Asmon gave her a casual warning, and Eden, who had been nervously glancing around, quickly turned her head forward and nodded.

Where Eden was clearly overwhelmed, Asmon didn’t seem even slightly fazed.

Soon they arrived at their destination—a tavern where the trade was set to happen. They tied their horses at the stable and stepped inside.

The moment they opened the door, a wave of raucous noise and pungent liquor hit them.

Eden stuck closely behind Asmon as he strode inside, moving like he had been here a dozen times before.