Translator: SumTLMan
Gloshi’s story had come to an end.
In short, it was about Mordiya having taken a liking to Gloshi since she was very young, but due to various reasons, she didn’t manage to be with him immediately. Perhaps because of this, Gloshi became an obsession for her, even after nearly a decade, she hadn’t completely let go.
“It seems, what began as childhood sweethearts turned into a forceful demand,” Daus summarized, stroking his chin with an “I understand now” expression.
Gloshi, shivering a bit, replied: “…Mordiya and I weren’t childhood sweethearts; I just met her a few times when I was young.”
However, Daus didn’t pay attention to Gloshi’s response, continuing to mutter to himself: “This seems just like those typical cases in the novels about witches liking runaway husbands.”
Gloshi continued to tremble, weakly saying: “…I didn’t run away.”
Daus, not looking at Gloshi but with a spark in his eye as if a light bulb flashed across his face, exclaimed: “No wonder that princess told you before to either become one with her or become her pet. It seems she truly loves you.”
Gloshi’s expression suddenly stiffened, looking at Daus incredulously: “Lord, how would you know about that?”
This time Daus responded, smiling warmly: “I was there watching at the time. She was much gentler with you than she was with that boy who claimed to be a demon lord.”
Hearing this, Gloshi’s face turned pale, and his lips trembled.
Angel observed Gloshi’s expression and Daus’s strange tone when saying “gentle,” roughly understanding that this gentleness was probably not the usual kind.
“Speaking of which, the fact that you could resist her temptations and treatment and still not submit is somewhat admirable,” Daus commented deeply after looking at Gloshi.
Upon hearing this, Angel somewhat understood why Daus previously thought Gloshi was interesting.
It must have been because he witnessed this scene.
Gloshi, receiving such rare praise from Daus, showed no joy but instead bowed his head, eyes downcast, and whispered in a very soft voice: “I have thought about submitting… but Blazer was right there next to me, and he didn’t choose to submit either. How could I beg pitifully? Moreover, I don’t want to expose my inner weakness in front of others…”
Gloshi’s soft whisper added a touch of emotion to the atmosphere.
Ms. Melo looked at Gloshi, whose eyes were slightly red, and originally did not want to comment, but eventually she softly consoled: “You’ve already done quite well.”
Angel didn’t speak, but he also agreed with Ms. Melo’s words.
Is Gloshi’s heart truly weak? Angel did not know what specifically had happened, but judging from Daus’ evaluation of him, it seems that at least in his eyes, Gloshi had reached the point of “seeing things differently.”
Even if Gloshi, as he himself claimed, wanted to hide his weakness or did not want to be looked down upon by Blazer, from a results-oriented perspective, he at least toughed it out until the end, and that was enough.
“Tsk tsk tsk, you actually cried, that’s unseemly,” Daus timely broke the serene atmosphere: “That kid who likes to call himself the demon lord actually performed better than you, but I paid more attention to you than to him. It’s because you exude the aura of a darling of an ivory tower from the inside out, and your contrast made me see you in a different light, but now, it seems I was mistaken, the ivory tower remains just that.”
Upon hearing Daus’ words, Gloshi immediately took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing the somewhat sour emotions in his chest.
But Daus still gently shook his head: “It’s no longer interesting.”
These words were directed at Angel, and Angel understood his meaning; Daus was preparing to change his assessment of Gloshi from “somewhat interesting” to “not interesting.”
But did Daus really find it no longer interesting just because Gloshi had teary eyes?
Angel thought, probably not.
It was more likely that, like some people who are easily satisfied, once his curiosity was satiated, he was ready to leave without remorse.
And Gloshi, who had been “consumed”… would probably remember Daus’ words for a very long time, and if he were a bit more sensitive, perhaps until the day he died, it would feel like a fishbone stuck in his throat.
However, Angel had no intention of explaining for Daus; in his view, it was good for Gloshi to take a hit to his self-esteem.
Gloshi might indeed be sensitive and weak inside, but after this strike from Daus, should a similar situation arise in the future, he might remember Daus’ words and, like this time, bite the bullet and tough it out, pretending to be strong.
“Since your story is now over, you can step down,” Angel looked at Gloshi.
Gloshi hesitated: “Lord, may I say a few more words?”
Angel did not refuse, signaling him to speak.
“I actually am not that close with Mordiya, I wouldn’t even remember her if her knights didn’t seek me out. So, it’s definitely not a childhood romance.”
“Moreover, I don’t think Mordiya likes me as you suggested, lord. She gave me a choice: either become one with her or become her pet.”
“Both options aren’t really appealing. Becoming one with her sounds like some kind of hint, but to me, it probably just means literally being consumed by her. As for becoming a pet, isn’t that just being at her mercy?”
After clarifying his non-ambiguous relationship with Mordiya, Gloshi apologized again, expressing his remorse.
Gloshi: “Then I will step back now; I am going to take care of Blazer. He… actually is a good person.”
After mentioning to take care of Blazer, Gloshi paused briefly as if he wanted to say something more, but ultimately, all he managed was a comment: “He is doing well,” before he retreated.
“Half-truth, quite odd,” Daus shook his head and sighed: “I thought we’d hear some gossip about that boy who loves to call himself the demon lord, but he left without saying anything.”
“You’ve seen enough of the show, aren’t you full yet with just a little gossip?” Angel casually replied.
Daus just shrugged, without adding more.
At this point, Angel turned to look at Ms. Melo: “Having heard Gloshi’s story, do you have any thoughts?”
Ms. Melo pondered: “It’s like a farce. However, considering it happened in the Guman Kingdom, it’s understandable.”
Angel: “What I mean is, do you think the princess’ obsession is so urgent that she would capture Gloshi recklessly, even at the risk of involving you all?”
Ms. Melo thought for a moment: “I don’t know, it doesn’t seem from the surface that it would involve us too, but that princess has a peculiar personality; perhaps she really could do something like this.”
Angel: “After she threw you in the dungeon, she hasn’t come to see you, has she?”
Ms. Melo nodded: “Apart from Blazer and Gloshi, and the injured Amesa, none of us have seen the princess.”
Angel mused: “That’s also strange, she really seems not to care who you are.”
Ms. Melo: “Perhaps, it really is because of her personality.”
Angel looked towards Daus, wanting to hear his thoughts.
However, Daus innocently said: “I’ve said all I had before, I don’t have any particular thoughts about her, nor do I know the backstory of this situation.”
Daus spoke confidently, but Angel didn’t believe him. Daus must have discovered something at Princess Castle; otherwise, why would he have mentioned “immediate benefits” earlier and even incited Angel to confront the princess.
Nevertheless, Daus wasn’t willing to divulge more, and Angel didn’t press further. The truth here will eventually come out, and if necessary, they could always send Totoro to see what’s really going on.
Not long after Daus finished speaking, Ms. Melo suddenly said: “Ah, Old Porter has come out.”
Following Ms. Melo’s gaze, Angel indeed saw Old Porter approaching from the direction of the back hall.
Angel sighed: “Let’s leave this to others to investigate. If she dares mess with the people of the Savage Grottoes, whatever the reason, we will definitely find out the answer.”
After a pause, Angel said to Ms. Melo and Daus: “You guys do as you please, I have some matters to discuss with Old Porter.”
With that, Angel didn’t say anything further and stood up to head towards Old Porter.
Old Porter saw Angel approaching, excitement evident in his gaze and expression, his lips even trembling slightly. Angel had seen this look many times before; anyone who had been to the Savage Grottoes invariably showed such astonishment. Thus, Angel knew what Old Porter wanted to say without having to ask.
Just as Old Porter was about to speak, Angel interrupted: “Some things are better discussed elsewhere; let’s go to the secret chamber we were in before.”
Old Porter immediately nodded and moved to follow.
Angel then said: “By the way, arrange for those talents to come again; I’ll go ahead and wait for you. Oh, and there are patrol guards outside, they’ll probably come over soon, just handle it. Don’t worry, I’ve set up an illusion outside, they won’t be able to see what’s inside, even if they come in, they’ll only enter the illusion.”
“For more detailed information, you can consult Ms. Melo.”
With that, Angel left the hall without giving Old Porter a chance to respond.
Although Old Porter was eager to follow Angel, especially wanting to discuss the matters of the Wilderness of Dreams, since Angel had instructed him so, he could only proceed with the matters at hand.
Anxious to see Angel, Old Porter quickly went to inquire Ms. Melo about the situation.
Meanwhile, Ms. Melo was about to leave, not wanting to continue sitting at the same table with Lord Red Sword, Daus. However, seeing Old Porter approaching, she paused.
Just as Old Porter was about to speak, Daus interjected: “Didn’t the Super Dimensional Wizard say he needed to see you?”
Old Porter respectfully replied: “There are patrol guards coming this way, the lord instructed me to handle the patrol guards first as it’s urgent. After dealing with it, I will go to him.”
Daus murmured doubtfully: “Is that so?”
Old Porter confirmed: “Yes.”
Daus seemed skeptical, sensing something unusual about Angel leaving alone, but Daus also accepted it as no issue.
“Forget it,” Daus sighed, picking up his drink and starting to drown his thoughts, his mind shifting back to how to contend with that Crowned Parrot.
Seeing this, Old Porter hurriedly inquired about the situation at Princess Castle from Ms. Melo, to assess how to deal with the guards.
As Ms. Melo briefed Old Porter about the recent events, elsewhere, Angel had arrived at the secret chamber.
Instead of entering, Angel casually gestured, creating an illusion inside the chamber.
If someone were there at that moment, they would have seen that the illusion was precisely Angel’s current appearance!
Once the illusion was set, Angel then opened the Gateway of Fantasy and disappeared into it, vanishing instantly.
…
Daus’ suspicion was correct; Angel indeed had other matters to attend to, and these were related to Princess Castle.
But this time, Angel was not planning to sneak into Princess Castle again.
Instead, he came to the top of a deserted hill not far from Princess Castle, looking down at the distant Princess Castle from a high vantage point.
Then, Angel took something out of his bracelet.
After a while, a shadow flickered over the hilltop, like a large bird sweeping across the night sky, diving straight into the area of Princess Castle…
And Angel still stood at the edge of the hill, looking at the castle that was still bustling and shining brightly.
…
At this time, on the third level of Princess Castle, wails kept sounding.
One servant after another was pushed into the rooms by the extremely angry princess. Soon after, the servants ran out in terror.
The princess grabbed the servants, picked up an unknown potion, and poured it into their mouths.
All the servants who were fed the potion started experiencing body stretching and deformation, bone changes, and flesh squirming, causing these, at most, low level apprentice servants, to let out wails.
After the wails, came the screams.
The servants with mutated bodies did not escape death; eventually, all of them burst and turned into a spray of blood.
After this batch of servants all died, the angry gaze of the princess turned backwards, and another batch of new servants was brought up. They had seen the terrifying death of the previous servants and shuddered in fear under the princess’ gaze.
But the princess did not care about the lives of these people at all, pointing at them: “Get in there, quick, get in there!”
The screams of the servants could not evoke the princess’ sympathy, only making her angrier.
At this moment, a hand gently patted the princess’ shoulder.
The princess turned her head angrily, only to find that the one patting her was the silent Gray Crow Wizard standing by her side.
“The servants in the castle are almost all dead. If they die, there will be no one to serve you anymore. Let them go,” the Gray Crow Wizard said softly.
Princess: “No way, absolutely not! If I don’t find out which potion works, I will not stop! If people are gone, just keep capturing more. The kingdom lacks everything, but people are what it lacks the least!”
The Gray Crow Wizard sighed softly.
The princess, however, sneered: “Don’t think I’m doing this just for myself, your situation is the same as mine, you should look at your own face!”
Through a mirror nearby, the Gray Crow Wizard could clearly see his own face.
Gray Crow had always worn a hood, which he now had to remove since it could no longer fit over his head. His face and scalp were covered with multicolored mushrooms. These mushrooms, which varied in size, now densely populated his entire body, stretching his clothes taut.
Not only Gray Crow, the princess standing opposite him, and the servants who had fled from the door only to die, all suffered the same fate.
Their bodies were completely covered in mushrooms.
The cause of all this was the pink snake spirit named Surekha, which had previously been touched by the princess and had exploded.
It seems Surekha had been tampered with by outsiders; after it exploded, a thick mist began to spread, and anyone who came into contact with this mist would start to grow mushrooms.
The princess and Gray Crow were the first to be affected.
The mushrooms grew as if they were part of their bodies; cutting them only caused pain and they would quickly regrow. This alarming growth rate terrified the princess.
Even if the mushrooms did not seem to have any immediate negative effects, becoming disfigured was something the princess could not tolerate.
She had always pursued the most refined lifestyle and could not bear to have flaws on her body.
Therefore, she began to try various potions from Princess Town, allowing these servants to enter the room and become contaminated with mushrooms in an attempt to test these potions.
But so far, no potion has been able to inhibit the growth of the mushrooms.
Just as the princess screamed in anger, a strange laughter echoed throughout the now eerily empty castle.