40. Come on, hit me on the chest

Now I seriously doubted that this “mysterious woman” was of any use, and even the description of her in the script was very vague. What kind of “big move” was hidden with what kind of strength, of course, couldn’t be directly “stabbed.” Not to mention that the other two silly orcs seemed to have been deceived; it was really inappropriate to take action without clearing up the misunderstanding.

What I wanted to know was the purpose and thoughts behind this black-robed woman posing a threat to Kephiel’s script, so I didn’t mind taking the risk to test it out.

Soon, under Adéve’s lead, our group entered the so-called “Elf Ruins.” Unlike the true ruins located in the central uncharted territory of the continent that I had initially explored with Kephiel, the Elf Ruins of the Plouce Kingdom looked more like an adventure game set up specifically for vacationing.

With Miss Adéve’s enthusiasm for magical technology, she naturally wouldn’t be interested in anything like “treasures,” so this ruin-like place had been drained of its last bit of value by Miss Adéve. Because of this, even I was almost deceived by her seemingly genuine yet false statements.

“Originally, this place was meant for tourists from the Kingdom of Plouce to enjoy their vacation, and to play some adventure games on the side. But recently, I don’t know which tourist caused some random destruction, and while we were patching things up, we detected a trace of magical energy, so we followed it.”

Leading the way, Aidef spoke while glaring at me.

Don’t look over here; it’ll give us away.

“Although we sent our capable elves to investigate, the Kingdom of Plouce doesn’t really value these ancient techniques anymore. We had to stop our work before reaching the suspected ‘treasure’ location due to some strange barriers.”

After weaving through the ruins, which were filled with annotations and seemed to have a certain atmosphere, Aidef took off her gloves and fanned herself. She then stopped in front of a piece of debris. At first glance, it looked no different from the other ruins, just stones wrapped in greenery, but the script had already revealed its uniqueness.

[A mysterious woman sensed the aura of the treasure.]

Turning my head, I saw that this woman was putting on quite the act. Even though she had already found it in her heart, she still pretended as if nothing had happened while following us.

She didn’t seem anxious. Looking at her this way, it seemed that “stealing the treasure” might just be a secondary goal for her!?

I didn’t have time to think too much; after all, I couldn’t afford to be the slightest bit negligent at this moment!

“This is it.”

After masking the unnaturalness in her voice, Aidef said, “It looks like an ancient mid-level magic called ‘Phantom Wall.’ We, from Plouce, shouldn’t have any problem dealing with it here.”

As she spoke, Aidef drew her knife and waved it in front of her! The original ruins transformed into a mist and vanished, revealing a passage leading underground. However, before that, a barrier blurred the surrounding environment, blocking the way forward so forcefully that even I could see it!

“However, what lies ahead is something we suspect to be a kind of barrier. Of course, we’ve tried to break it, but it was completely useless; all the elves from the past were thrown back.”

Before the black-robed woman could react, Aidef shot a “you beastmen wouldn’t understand a thing” look at the two orcs. After receiving no response, she turned to me, fuming.

“This is why I brought Oujilid here. After all, he’s been running around and is wanted, rumored to have a genuine ‘prophetic’ ability, so… I hope Oujilid can help us unravel this.”

Aidef, you’ve made me sound like Doraemon. What if those two orcs from the Austro-Hungarian Empire have some “unreasonable thoughts” about me? Our plan didn’t include anything like “you flatter me with compliments,” did it?

However, this worry was unnecessary; everything so far was within my plan. Whether it was deliberately creating some “treasure in the ruins” or bringing everyone along to hand it over to the orcs, it was all prepared by me. But from here on out… everything would need to be “imrovised.”

Because I couldn’t possibly know what the other party was thinking from the very beginning. Especially at this moment in the script, after Aidef mentioned the treasure’s location, it became increasingly clear.

[A mysterious woman severely injures Kephiel!]

[Oujilid protects Kephiel and dies!]

[Gu Erdan and Ge Luom, under the command of the mysterious woman, attempt to crush Oujilid!]

Everything seemed to connect, yet at this moment, not only the black-robed woman but even those two orcs who were clearly scripted to kill me were still obediently keeping their heads down!

This made me realize that merely attracting attention wasn’t enough!

“This place… is a layer of barrier.”

Clenching my fists, I spoke.

To resolve Kephiel’s troubles and to help Aidef uncover the truth, I had to take risks.

“It seems that it requires native elves to use their magical power to support the others to pass through temporarily.”

Aidef was eager to try, as this was part of our discussion, but…

“However, this requirement seems quite high. Just you alone, Your Majesty Aidef, might find it difficult to support it. We’ll need someone with high magical prowess and rank to assist. Simply put, it requires Aidef and another skilled magic user . Unfortunately, I’m not suitable.”

I looked at the black-robed woman, and as I expected, she wouldn’t be willing to help at this moment, especially since she was already plotting against Kephiel.

—

The woman in the black robe took a step back and smiled, “Sorry, I might not be up to it either. Besides, I still have to be responsible for receiving the treasures afterward, so I’m afraid… I can’t leave ~”

“I know, I just wanted to take a look at you. I had no intention of letting you Austro-Hungarians try anything.”

Kefir beside me seemed to sense something, but I had no intention of giving her a chance to refuse.

“Kefir, you stay here with Aidefu to maintain the barrier. I’ll go with the three envoys from Austro-Hungary to retrieve it. I feel more at ease with you here supporting it; after all, once this kind of barrier closes, it’s not easy for those inside to get out, as foretold in the prophecy.”

“But…”

Kefir looked over with great concern, and this understandable worry somewhat masked her true feelings. Phew~ This is good.

“It’s fine, Kefir. We’re just going to get a treasure.”

After all, the most dangerous part of the script ahead is you. Even the true protagonist of the script can encounter real danger. At this point, I can’t possibly give up on this trap that has already “dropped the bait.” Even if the orcs’ intentions toward my script have become increasingly sinister, I must use this opportunity to investigate all the information in the black-robed woman’s script!

Taking a deep breath, after Kefir and Aidefu had convincingly maintained the barrier, I led the way for the black-robed woman and the two orcs, entering the interior of the barrier, heading down toward the underground space.

【Gu Erdan has set his sights on Oujili De!】

【Ge Luo Mu has set his sights on Oujili De!】

As soon as Kefir distanced herself from me, dangerous content quickly appeared in the script!

There’s no escaping it, but this time I don’t plan to hide!

—