Chapter 136:
A bitter taste rose in his throat, and his body felt slightly warm. For some reason, his confidence soared.
‘It’s definitely working.’
He wasn’t sure exactly what kind of reaction his body was having, but he felt excited.
‘Good thing I saved it.’
Last year, there was a rumor that a hard-to-find doping potion was available at the David Estate, so he had obtained one and tried it. It wasn’t bad.
Of course, some people had denied its effectiveness, calling it a scam.
‘Most of those people were low-ranked adventurers.’
No matter how good the doping potion was, it would be useless for weak people. Unlike them, he had graduated from the Royal Academy in the upper-middle ranks, so it was bound to be effective for him.
As Gerald drank the potion, Kaine watched him with an incredulous expression.
‘Wow, this guy. Look at his face.’He had a ridiculous expression on his face, full of confidence. He raised one corner of his mouth.
Kaine wanted to stomp on him right now.
‘Phew. I should hold back.’
Even if he beat him here, he would probably make excuses. It was better to exercise patience.
‘In the first place…’
If he lost after taking the potion, his despair would only be greater.
At that moment—
“Phew…”
Finally, Gerald finished drinking the cowardly doping potion and let out a shallow sigh. Then, with an arrogant expression, he kicked off.
“What?!”
Gerald rushed towards Kaine, but Kaine’s figure disappeared from his sight, as if he had never been there in the first place.
Gerald looked around in bewilderment.
“Ah, finally, a hit to the back of the head.”
Kaine spoke with a relaxed voice and swung his arm, aiming for Gerald’s head, but with enough force to avoid killing him.
-Whoosh!
For Kaine, it was a controlled strike, but for Gerald, it was a powerful blow.
“Damn it!”
Gerald cursed as he felt a chill down his spine, unable to resist properly.
-Thud!n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om
He was hit squarely on the back of the head.
“Kreeek!”
A bomb seemed to go off in his ears. He felt dizzy, as if he might pass out at any moment.
Gerald rolled on the ground, trying to keep his consciousness.
“Fortunately, you didn’t pass out.”
Kaine looked down at him with a cold voice, as if delivering a death sentence.
“Ugh! I finally… even took a doping potion… and I still lost to a rogue like you…”
“…”
Kaine burst out laughing mockingly. Then, he looked down at Gerald with pity and spoke.
“Hey, did you know what that doping potion you took was?”
“What…?”
Did he know what it was?
Gerald tilted his head at Kaine’s sudden question, looking confused.
“Think about it. Why would I have waited for you to take the doping potion?”
“…”
Suddenly, a word flashed through Gerald’s mind.
‘No, it can’t be.’
He denied reality. He didn’t want to admit that he was weaker than Kaine, even though he already knew it. He also admitted that he had underestimated Kaine. ȑ�
But there was one thing he didn’t want to admit.
‘I’d be too pathetic.’
As Gerald denied reality in his mind, Kaine spoke with a cold voice, as if telling him not to deny it.
“Fake.”
“…”
“The doping potion you took is fake, you idiot. Haha. And you didn’t even know that, yet you were acting all high and mighty. Do you know something else?”
“…”
At Kaine’s question, Gerald clenched his lower lip and remained silent.
Kaine smiled triumphantly, like a devil.
“The doping potion you took was distributed by the cult, right?”
“What…? The cult?”
“Yes, you cult guy. So, before you get caught, let’s make you a eunuch.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Kaine stamped his foot with full force towards Gerald’s crotch.
-Thud!
Dust rose in the training ground. After a while, the dust settled, and Gerald lay on the ground, unconscious, with his eyes rolled back.
Thus, the duel between Kaine and Gerald ended, and the quest was also completed.
.
.
.
At that moment—
“Kim Soo-yong, is what David von Kaine just said true?”
“Yes, it is. The potion that Edward von Gerald, the noble, took was the one distributed by the cult to adventurers last year.”
“Hmm.”
Kim Soo-yong wouldn’t have said that if it wasn’t true. After all, he was the one most affected by the cult.
Patrick stroked his chin and thought for a moment. Then, he slowly opened his mouth.
“First, we need to interrogate Edward von Gerald. I don’t know if he’s a member of the cult or not, but there’s a possibility that he’s connected to them.”
As soon as Patrick finished speaking, Mika took the unconscious Golden Sun away.
“Then, Kim Soo-yong, call Kaine and his party to my room.”
“Yes, I’ll do that.”
________________________________________
After the duel, Kaine rejoined his party.
“Kaine, why didn’t you tell us?”
“Yes, why didn’t you tell us?”
Skaya and Eileen bombarded me with questions, looking extremely disappointed.
What, you didn’t tell us anything?
I didn’t understand, but Jenny solved the mystery.
“They’re upset because you didn’t tell them about your sudden increase in aura.”
“Oh, is that it? It’s not a big deal.”
I shrugged, and Skaya slapped me on the back.
-Smack!
Why did you hit me out of nowhere?! I didn’t want to get hit by magic, so I just took the slap.
“Why did you hit me?”
“I don’t know. I just felt like it.”
“Can I hit you once too?”
“No, if you hit me, I might die.”
I quickly rejected her sincere request. Unlike Skaya, Eileen’s hit would probably hurt a lot.
“Why are you sulking over something like this?”
“I’m not sulking! I’m definitely not!”
“I’m not upset at all.”
If only they could express their feelings without showing it on their faces.
Right now, their faces were half-disappointed and half-pouting, like a puppy lowering its head because it didn’t get a treat.
They’ve been showing a lot of emotions lately.
As I was thinking this,
[Even the Goddess of Fate would be disappointed if she was like them.]
The Constellation sent a message, agreeing with the two of them. Why? Even the Constellation understood their feelings.
I couldn’t accept it.
“Hahaha.”
Lise covered her mouth and laughed, as if she had won something.
At that moment, I realized why they were reacting this way.
‘Lise must have teased them about this.’
There’s no other reason for them to have such expressions over something so trivial.
Lise must have boasted to them that she knew about it first, and they must have felt like they had lost.
It’s as clear as day.
‘Haa…’
Recently, I’ve been feeling that Lise’s personality has changed quite a bit. Ever since I saved her and confessed to her.
‘I should do something for these two sometime.’
Otherwise, they might team up and try to kill me with their combined strength.
As I made this vow in my mind,
“Kaine.”
A familiar voice called out from behind. We all turned towards the source of the voice.
It was none other than Kim Soo-yong. I tilted my head and asked,
“What’s up? Weren’t you with Prince Patrick?”
“Yes, but he wants to see you.”
“Me?”
“Well, to be precise, he wants to see all of you.”
At his words, we looked confused, especially Jenny, who was from a local noble family.
“Okay, if the prince calls, we have to go. It’s not like we’re in trouble, right?”
“Don’t worry, it’s not that.”
Kim Soo-yong denied my concern and started walking ahead.
Although we were suddenly called by the prince, we decided to follow him.
It didn’t seem like he was going to interrogate us.
Anyway, even if he was, we couldn’t refuse.
After walking for about 10 minutes,
-Thud, thud.
We finally arrived at our destination. A building more magnificent than the noble’s mansion came into view.
Perhaps it was because he was a royal?
Even the mansion he lived in was treated differently.
Well, that’s to be expected.
“Prince Patrick, I’ve brought Kaine.”
“Yes, come in.”
Kim Soo-yong slowly opened the door.
The room was even more luxurious than the mansion we were staying in.
Prince Patrick sat on the sofa, sipping tea leisurely.
“Everyone, please sit on the sofa.”
We sat politely on the sofa opposite him, with Kim Soo-yong and Jenny on either side of me.
I didn’t want the women to fight over sitting next to me in front of the prince.
“Hmm… Kaine, I saw your match today. You’ve become much stronger.”
“Yes, I’ve been trying hard to change.”
To be precise, I didn’t want to die.
“Yes, even from my perspective as an ordinary person, it was clear how much effort you put in over the past year. Anyway, Edward von Gerald, your opponent, is suspected of being a member of the cult, and we will interrogate him.”
Tsk! As expected, there’s nothing I can do.
Even with my heart as vast as the Pacific Ocean, I tried to reform him, but…
‘In the end, the prince took the lead.’
To be honest, I had denied it.
He might not be a member of the cult.
No matter how much of a rogue he was, I shouldn’t have had a preconceived notion that he was a member of the cult.
Moreover, he was a friend of mine from the past.
But he trampled on my kind heart.
I didn’t want to believe it, but what if…
‘Who would have thought he was actually a member of the cult?’
No, it can’t be.
Gerald, who has been friends with me since the past, can’t be a member of the cult.
And…
‘I still don’t know.’
It’s too early to conclude that he’s a member of the cult.
He might be misunderstood.
As I tried to deny reality, Prince Patrick continued,
“Even though the doping potion isn’t conclusive evidence, we will interrogate him. What do you think?”
The despicable cult member. He still hasn’t learned his lesson!