21. Long Wait
From the moment Kephir learned that I sensed danger here, she had been rushing to find us by any means possible!
And I knew very well: Kephir would definitely come over to show off her strength, not like Aunt Mel, who would only come after everything was over to clean up the mess like Officer Megure from Conan.
After all, everything before me was nothing less than a serious “royal path adventure”: Kephir had saved the nearly injured King Aidefu of the Purus Kingdom from the madness of the minor character thirty-eight, and then, whether by chance or design, had caught the favor of that artifact. In the end, Aidefu, out of gratitude, handed the artifact over to Kephir.
As for me? What does it matter to me, the big villain? It’s just a matter of escaping a marriage…
It seemed urgent, yet it was more of a false alarm; this was clearly a tailor-made upgrade script for Kephir! So I was completely unperturbed! Besides, Kephir had already arrived!
“Arsath, stop him!”
In the blink of an eye, the Ice Fairy emerged from Kephir’s sword, effortlessly blocking the recent attack from the minor character thirty-eight right in front of me! Even if Kephir didn’t ask too many questions, she could tell what had just happened, so in the next moment, her figure appeared before the still-crazed minor character thirty-eight in the blink of an eye!
Then…
Before I could even see what was happening, minor character thirty-eight let out a scream, his hands twisted behind his back by Kephir, one foot pinned to the ground!
Then, Kephir’s gaze immediately shot towards those flustered lackeys and the old elf who had rushed out to watch the commotion, turning to ask me.
“Are these also involved?”
Her tone was so casual, as if she could easily crush everything, that the group of minor characters shot me pleading looks of “I didn’t do anything, I’m just a bystander.” Only after I shook my head in denial did they finally breathe a sigh of relief.
“I heard there was a problem inside, so I came over, but… did this elf cause you trouble? He seems a bit off.”
“…”
Isn’t that right? I was even starting to suspect that the minor character thirty-eight, who was currently being stomped on by Kephir and had just been kicked unconscious, had taken some kind of powerful potion before trying to cause me trouble. Even after Kephir had given him a fierce lesson, he still harbored ominous words about me in his script.
[Minor character thirty-eight wants to kill Oujili De.]
Why did this minor character suddenly have such deep resentment towards me? But since Kephir had already knocked him out, it was pointless to think too much about it now.
Moreover, with the immediate danger averted, I had even more troublesome matters to address.
First of all: Aidefu, who had just been protected in my arms, was now fine. She had pushed my hand away and was looking at me and Kephir with a face full of suspicion.
Previously, I had told Aidefu that Kephir was my opponent, but given the situation just now, with Kephir’s actions and her worried gaze, how could that possibly be something an “opponent” would do? In our panic, we had completely forgotten to maintain the pretense of our relationship in front of Aidefu…
Next, as usual, the afterthought character—Aunt Mel, along with a bunch of elves, rushed in, immediately bestowing shiny silver bracelets upon the fallen minor character thirty-eight and his lackeys!
“Minor character thirty-eight, the Purus intelligence department suspects you and your accomplices of attempting to attack the King and Prince of the Purus Kingdom, and you are to be detained and interrogated! Everything you say will be used as…”
The guy was still lying on the ground unconscious; how could he say anything? However, Aidefu wanted exactly this effect, directing Aunt Mel to have a group of elves carry minor character thirty-eight and his lackeys away.
With the departure of minor character thirty-eight, everything seemed calm. I no longer faced any threats from death scripts, and as long as Aidefu had seen Kephir’s actions, she would surely think, “This foreign woman saved me.”
Then, with the artifact so close at hand, how could Aidefu possibly deny Kephir the chance to prove herself as the artifact’s master? Perfect! There was a small crisis, but it was resolved directly through Kephir’s heroic actions—wasn’t this the standard protagonist upgrade script?
Perfect!
But in the next moment, I realized I had been too optimistic!
I saw Aidefu rise and not immediately thank Kephir; instead, she picked something up from the ground, examined it closely, and suddenly looked up at us with a piercing gaze!
If it had been a look of gratitude, that would have been fine, but at this moment…
[Aidefu wants to kill Oujili De.]
Cough! Why!? I just saved your life!
I quickly realized! Because the “red object” Aidefu was holding looked so familiar to me!
【Adele obtained the marriage certificate that Kephir had dropped.】
【Eugene and Kephir’s relationship exposed!】
Damn!
Kephir!!!
It’s not like I haven’t acknowledged our relationship. Seriously, do you have to treat this thing like a treasure and carry it around all the time!?
Now is not the time for me to complain; everything has spiraled in the worst direction because of this!
“Eugene, Kephir, can you explain to me what this is?”
Adele held a knife in one hand and raised the red booklet in the other, her gaze fierce and filled with unwillingness! The script is set, and I fear… I won’t even have a chance to cover it up!
“I appreciate your help with that minor incident earlier, but before that… you two aren’t after the artifacts of my Kingdom of Plous, are you?”
In the next moment, Mel, realizing the situation, immediately summoned elves to surround us. I’m not worried about my “death script” multiplying; it’s just that with this, Kephir’s artifact on her side could…
【Kephir escapes with Eugene!】
It’s over, Kephir’s upgrade script is ruined! I absolutely must stop this!
However, Kephir had no intention of hiding anymore and grabbed my hand before I could react.
“To be honest, Miss Adele, I am this man’s fiancée.”
Kephir spoke simply and directly, leaving me no room to maneuver, “My fiancé has never had any intentions from the start; it’s you who, due to your own thoughts, is trying to force a marriage. He has never agreed! As for you thinking Eugene is after your artifact, hmph, aren’t you also after my man? We’re all in the same boat.”
“What!”
“I’ve already expressed my guilt towards you through the method of saving you, so please do not disturb our world of two.”
With that, Kephir pulled my hand and started to leave.
Truly worthy of being the true protagonist, her methods are so over-the-top. But Kephir, the Adele in front of you is not just some little elf girl!
“Leaving?”
Adele sneered, “Do you think you can just walk away!? Intelligence Department! Capture them and throw them in the dungeon!!”
【Eugene’s life sent to another place!】
The familiar death script appeared; it turns out the script I was worried about would happen at this moment! Fortunately, Kephir is right beside me, so at least I don’t have to worry about the death script coming true!
【Kephir escapes with Eugene!】
But with this, Kephir has to give up on this upgrade script, and the treasure will be out of reach! Tsk, but right now, Kephir’s safety is more important! I can only let Kephir make a run for it!
That said…
I looked around; Adele’s “intelligence” isn’t something to be taken lightly. In just this moment, the escape routes in my script have dwindled to almost none!
“Stop dawdling, fortune teller, look for a way out, or I’ll be in trouble too.”
“Okay!”
I nodded and looked at the prophecy again! However, the next moment, what I discovered was not an escape route, but…
Stranger content in the script! I can hardly believe my eyes!
【Nilu saved Oujilide!】
【Nilu took the artifact!】
What… what is this!?
Nilu!?
That, that maid of Kefir, Nilu!?
Immediately after, I felt a wave of palpitations!
Then, a shadow flickered in the air! Accompanied by an even more dangerous script, I had no time to think and could only rely on instinct to make the most important choice!
【Nilu severely injured Kefir!】
“Kefir, there’s an enemy!”
I immediately pushed Kefir aside!
——
Later, I’ll add Nilu’s new outfit, sigh~ it just feels like drawing a new woman, the change is too drastic.