Chapter 45

Gidehme’s rugged face flushed bright red.

His mouth opened and closed like a fish gasping for air, as if trying to utter the hardest words in the world.

“T-thanks for helping me!!”

Ah, his voice cracked.

I blinked, then dipped my head slightly. I probably shouldn’t laugh, right?

Though someone next to me was clearly holding in their laughter.

“I-I really wanted to say that. And also… I heard you made it out okay too. But they said you passed out and were in pain…”

“Yeah, I got sick. I was… scared too.”

Okay, it wasn’t exactly an illness, but close enough. Gotta keep up the frail candidate act.

Besides, it wasn’t a lie. I was the last one to come out and the one who stayed unconscious the longest.

Gidehme’s eyes widened, then lowered slightly.

He must be feeling all kinds of emotions right now.

I pretended to fidget with my fingers, then asked,

“You… got a new guardian?”

“Huh? Oh, y-yeah… I picked someone… new…”

I glanced behind him. Sure enough, a new holy knight stood nearby.

A woman, with a short bob haircut.

‘Seems decent enough.’

Definitely better than that selfish bastard who used his last guardian as a meat shield.

I lowered my voice slightly.

“That test was hard enough already… You should pick someone decent.”

Gidehme’s eyes rolled toward me in surprise.

“I read the rules. You can change guardians until the ceremony’s held officially…”

“O-oh. Right.”

Gidehme nodded. Now that he’d said his piece, he could leave.

He looked like he still had more to say, but after glancing at my face, he probably thought, She still looks sick… and walked off.

‘Hmm, do I still look that pale?’

I looked around.

It wasn’t just me. After going through a literal life-or-death test, everyone’s complexion looked off.

But you could tell the candidates had grown noticeably closer.

Even some of the guardians were looking at the pope candidates with slightly different expressions now.

‘Good thing guardians can’t talk to candidates in this room.’

I ignored the dagger-like glare coming from Usher.

‘I am not talking to you, you damn fanatic.’

At least something had gone well.

Even though I’d ended up doing a lot in Team 1 and 2 regardless of my own intent…

Apparently, a few other heroes emerged from Team 3 and 4 as well.

I wasn’t the only one who stood out. Thank god.

‘Thanks to that, survival rates jumped way up.’

Usually after this chapter, four—sometimes six—candidates would be eliminated.

There’s a reason this was called a newbie’s graveyard.

I fixed my gaze on one spot.

A pretty girl with soft platinum-blonde hair stood out.

She was the one who had saved the hostages and her entire team in Team 4, or so I’d heard.

But the one who stood out even more…

As I turned my head, my eyes met someone else’s.

Light-purple hair, huge round glasses—a boy.

That boy was the one who saved his entire Team 3 without losing a single member.

He, the platinum-haired girl, and me—we were undoubtedly the top three aces of this test.

And now that boy was walking toward me.

‘No. No, no, no…!!’

Outwardly I shrank back, but inside I was already grimacing hard.

Because—

[Faction: Royal Spy]

‘I do not want to get involved with you!’

I didn’t even want to talk to him!

But contrary to my desperate inner prayers, the boy stopped right in front of me.

Up close, his features looked even sharper behind those glasses.

Which only made me more uncomfortable—I averted my gaze.

‘I’m just a shy little kid. Painfully shy…’

“Hey.”

Please. Feel the walls I’m putting up. Just walk away… Treat me like poop or something…

“Hey?”

Dammit!

I glanced up at him meekly.

“Wh-why are you talking to me…?”

Good, trembling voice on point.

Behind his glasses, his eyes were sharper than I expected.

Like the glasses were hiding how intense his gaze actually was.

‘Just like his guardian.’

“Do you know my name? Thought I should introduce myself before anything else.”

I knew it well. But I pretended not to.

Didn’t even lift my head. Just huddled up like I wanted him to go away.

But the boy completely ignored my social barriers and spoke smoothly.

“My name’s Emmet Dyer. Um, and… my guardian is Anto…nio.”

You almost said your real dad’s name, didn’t you?

‘Because it’s a fake identity.’

And who even refers to their guardian with a “sir”? Weird kid.

I just stared at him like a cat about to hiss.

“And also, uh, I passed through District 2’s ‘Swamp.'”

District 2’s Swamp. Excluding the one I went through, it ranked among the top three hardest Labyrinth areas.

Meaning, in terms of potential alone, this guy was second only to the protagonist.

‘Even if he’s a spy.’

Royal Spy.

In simple terms, these were the lackeys sent by tyrants or crooked ministers from the crumbling kingdom. People who wanted to hoard all the comforts and luxuries for themselves until the very end of the world.

They were the elites handpicked by the royal court to claim the pope’s position.

Even if they were kids, they were top-tier geniuses.

‘He’s gotta be one of the brightest of the bunch.’

No doubt his divine power was top-notch.

His character stats were also crazy high.

Emmet Dyer.

He was one of the main rivals who constantly clashed with the protagonist.

I’d tried to recruit him hard in past runs, but it almost never worked.

And it wasn’t just that. As he grew, this guy only became more of a headache.

Anything involving the royal spy always led to…

Kidnapping.

Kidnapping.

More kidnapping.

Game Category [Post] [Casual Chat]
Title: YAAAAA!!! Stop making those kidnapping sound effects, damn it!!

WTF!!!!!!!

I got kidnapped again. Again! AGAIN!!!

Someone drop mini-game tips 😭

❤️ Likes: 255

Comments
👤 Savior 1
“Hey Sayver, did you escape the carriage?”
└ Original Poster: 😭😭 Not yet…
└ Sayver 1: Uh oh. If you cross the border, it’s game over…

👤 Savior 2
“At this point, just enjoy it lol.”

👤 Savior 3
“I think I’ve discovered a new kink: Kid-nap kink? (Ahn~♡)”

👤 Savior 4
“Fanatic’s imprisonment vs. Spy’s kidnapping”

└ Sayver 1: 111111
└ Sayver 5: 22222222 Clearly 2??
└ Savior 3: Mix 1 with 2 and see what happens~ Ahn ♡
└ Original Poster: Stop voting on my post, you lunatics…

Desperate to put distance between me and the kidnapping prodigy, I subtly leaned back. Not that he’d get the hint.

“What’s your name?”

“…You already know.”

“Huh?”

I only lifted my eyes, shaking faintly on purpose.

“You know already… so why ask?”

“…”

My name had already spread far and wide as a Labyrinth-clearer, and we both knew it.

His eyes behind the glasses narrowed slightly—just for a second—then he smiled gently.

“Sorry. I think I scared you. I just wanted… to thank you.”

Emmet scratched his cheek.

“I heard you helped my father. Without asking for anything in return.”

“…”

“Really, thank you.”

He bowed his head politely.

At a glance, he seemed like a well-mannered, normal kid.

Except his face was way too handsome.

“Thanks to you, I got to see my dad again, safe and sound. I need him, you know.”

…So you can kidnap people together?

“And I heard you didn’t ask him for anything.”

Before entering the assembly room, I did see his guardian, Antonio. He must’ve waited outside while Emmet came in.

‘Didn’t last long though, thanks to my dad’s terrifying presence…’

Even Laura, who was in the same team, couldn’t approach me afterward, so I’d say Daddy was being quite fair.

Which I appreciated.

“…You helped… without asking anything too. You did something kind…”

In truth, this boy should be considered the MVP of the test.

Team 4 had a casualty. Team 1, where Gidehme was, was wiped out except for him.

Only our team and Team 3 made it out with zero losses.

‘And they returned way faster.’

Of course, if we’re assigning points, my daddy wins for literally defeating a paranormal aberration.

But that part wasn’t public knowledge.

Since the Dog-Headed Judge was a deviation-type aberration, even the Order probably couldn’t fully grasp what happened inside.

Which meant, arriving late like I did, I probably looked less impressive than Emmet—and that’s exactly what I wanted.

‘Ranking around second or third is perfect.’

No need for the spotlight. I shouldn’t get it anyway.

“You did something good too.”

“Mm, not quite.”

And then—smile.

Emmet grinned wider than he had the whole time.

“I saved him for money, actually.”
 

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Translator: Japchae