I Don't Want To Work! - Chapter 128

CHAPTER 128

“Phew.”

As I stepped out of the door, I remained standing right where I had been.

‘I feel a bit dizzy like I was just here for a moment.’

I stretched my arms and moved my neck from side to side.

Ah, fighting makes me tired. Exhausted.

As I vigorously rubbed my shoulders, a voice came from behind.

“Master?”

Emerging from the bushes was Lionel.

“Master!”

Lionel quickly approached and grabbed my hand. His blue eyes darted around busily.

“Are you hurt? Any discomfort?”

“No, I’m fine.”

As I turned around, Lionel let out a long sigh.

“You surprised me…”

But Lionel still seemed unsettled, his voice trailing off as tears welled up in his eyes.

“You disappeared suddenly, Master. I was so frantic.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, my heart is still racing.”

He said, tilting his head from side to side.

He just wanted a hug.

I opened my arms, and as if waiting for it, he lowered his body and leaned in.

“Oh, but Lionel.”

After patting Lionel’s back a couple of times, I spoke up.

“Did you find it?”

Even without stating the object, Lionel understood and nodded immediately.

“I found the crossroad.”

“Good, let’s go then.”

Lionel showed a hint of disappointment, but there was no time to waste. 

We needed to check quickly.

Lionel and I slowly walked into the depths of the forest.

“What about Achel and the other?”

“As soon as you and the evil god disappeared, they vanished too. As if they had fulfilled their roles.”

It seemed like they were brought along to restrain him.

“By the way, where did you go, Master?”

“Well…”

Walking in stride, I cleared my throat.

How to describe it?

A place old yet not aged.

Furnishings arranged by human hands but untouched by them.

“The house where the evil god used to live?”

“Huh?”

Lionel furrowed his brows in confusion.

“It’s more like a space modeled after the old house.”

We trudged through faded flower petals and past furniture that showed signs of use.

No matter how you looked at it, it seemed like a manifestation of the house where the evil god, once a human, and her mother, used to live.

‘Maintaining such a space would require a lot of power, even for a god.’

After being expelled from the divine realm, she must have barely managed to maintain that space.

In reality, apart from that room, nothing else was visible.

‘Well, what’s done is done.’

It’s outrageous, kidnapping hundreds of children, brainwashing them, and using their prayers to sustain that space.

Thinking about it made my brows furrow.

And the approach was not just wrong, it was wrong.

‘Kidnapping the kids and Lionel in the first place was crossing the line.’

Ugh! 

I clicked my tongue loudly, and Lionel, who had been looking around, naturally turned to me and grinned.

I burst into laughter for a moment.

‘That’s just my habit.’

I have no idea where I picked up that habit from.

At some point, I caught myself grinning, a behavior that seemed a bit embarrassing for an adult to do, even though it was something I used to do as a child. 

I kept telling myself that I needed to change it.

But here I was, fully inheriting that habit.

“Master?”

I was now smiling instead of clicking my tongue as if I didn’t understand why Lionel was asking, given the change in my demeanor.

Lionel grinned in the opposite direction.

“Yeah, it’s nothing.”

With a lowered head, I resumed walking.

“Anyway, I visited the place where the evil god used to live as a human.”

“Are you kidding?”

Lionel, who had been walking beside me, frowned and asked.

“It’s just the ramblings of a god who enjoys making nonsense.”

“Even so, you took it lightly.”

“You’re wise, Master.”

As we exchanged various conversations, my steps halted.

“Oh…”

It was there.

The path I had seen in the painting.

More precisely, it was a fork in the road with the same trees planted.

‘Considering there were two paintings, this place seems to be the right one…’

But no matter how much I looked, there was no building resembling a temple.

“Hmm, nothing here?”

That couldn’t be right.

It should be here.

‘What could it mean, with two girls depicted in the painting?’

One was the evil god, and the other one was… her?

Various thoughts crossed my mind.

Tick.

Something trickled down my cheek.

“Huh?”

As I lifted my head, the sky glimpsed through the leaves was tinged with haze.

“It looks like it’s going to rain.”

“Oh no.”

Encountering rain in a regular forest wasn’t a good situation.

Let alone here, in this dangerous forest teeming with monsters.

We needed to hurry back even for a moment.

“Master, today doesn’t seem like the right day. How about coming back next time? The hunting festival lasts for three days, after all.”

“We should do that.”

I nodded, letting out a heavy sigh.

Ah, what in the world…

Thanks to coming down to the Terron region and holding the hunting festival, the duration was extended to three days, which was fortunate.

Otherwise, I would’ve come all the way here just to take a pointless detour.

“Yeah, since today isn’t the right day.”

“Just a moment, Master.”

I couldn’t hide my disappointment as I turned back with drooping shoulders.

But Lionel started walking briskly somewhere.

“Lionel?”

Wordlessly, Lionel stopped his stride at a fork in the road.

Then, in no time, he picked something up.

“Master, look at this.”

Lionel showed me a small pebble in his hand.

It had a slightly unusual color, but it seemed like an ordinary stone you could find anywhere.

“What about it?”

“It’s a bit strange.”

Approaching me, Lionel handed me the pebble.

“Doesn’t it look like a part of a statue?”

He said it again, and it did look like that, strangely enough.

There seemed to be some sort of groove.

When I lightly touched the pebble with my hand, it became clear.

“Really? There seems to be some sort of groove.”

Despite being old and broken, I could feel it once I touched it.

“It kind of looks like human eyes, doesn’t it?”

As I played with the pebble like a belated game of sensations, a shadow fell over my head.

When I looked up, Lionel was using his cloak to shield the rain pouring down on us.

“It’s starting to rain quite heavily. Should we head back for now?”

“Yeah, let’s do that.”

“Since it seems difficult to make it to a place with shelter, I’ll just teleport us.”

Before I could finish my sentence, a dizzying sensation washed over me. 

It was teleportation magic.

When I opened my eyes again, we were in a field with tents pitched.

“Wow.”

I covered my mouth with the hand holding the stone. My stomach felt queasy.

“Are you okay, Master?”

“Uh, yeah.”

I thought I had gotten much better at teleportation sickness.

Why was it still bothering me…?

“But Lionel, I meant to ask you before we teleported…”

As I tried to calm my churning stomach, I threw a question at Lionel.

“What about the horses…?”

Didn’t we leave them tied up in the ominous forest where monsters appear?

If I’d known this was going to happen, I should have just walked in the rain to where the horses were.

As I looked worriedly into the forest, Lionel smiled faintly.

“Don’t worry too much. I released a few horses to hunt monsters, so they’ll come back on their own.”

That’s a relief.

I nodded.

‘Then the harvest is related to the evil god’s story and this statue fragment.’

Argh, I sighed.

Although today wasn’t the right day, I couldn’t help but feel disappointed in the outcome.

“Sister!!”

But that disappointment didn’t last long.

“Sister!!”

Arkin, who spotted me from afar, ran towards us at a frightening speed.

And he stopped right between me and Lionel.

“Prince Arkin.”

“…Long time no see, Duke Marcus.”

Arkin briefly glanced at Lionel with a stern look.

“Sis!”

In an instant, his expression changed.

“Let’s get out of the rain first, Sis.”

Whether he meant to get away from Lionel or not, he took me under a nearby tree.

“I’ve caught a lot! Will you accept them, Sis?”

Well, he’s cute, so I guess it’s okay.

“Did you catch a lot?”

“Yeah. A real lot!”

When I reacted, Arkin’s face flushed.

“There are goblins and orcs.”

The orcs were a bit… well, it was a bit…

“So, you’ll accept mine, right? Mine!”

“…Mine?”

Why was he emphasizing his own so much?

As if others didn’t bring anything…

“Lottie!!”

It’s raining.

It’s definitely raining.

What was coming from afar, kicking up dust, was Stella.

More precisely, it was Stella riding a horse, accompanied by knights dragging something behind them.

Excited, Stella waved her weapon around.

“I got it! I caught a gargoyle!”

Please, no.

“Lottie.”

This time the voice came from above.

With anxious eyes, I looked up.

Craaap.

A gigantic, toothy flower floated ominously in the air, seemingly capable of effortlessly swallowing a person or two whole, with its roots cleanly extracted.

Leonard looked at me proudly, grinning widely.

“I caught something interesting. How do you like it?”

Please, no.

“I, I! I caught it too!! I caught around ten of them all together!!”

Don’t go!!

“Your Highness.”

Gulp, I swallowed hard at the voice filled with ominous vibes.

No, not you? Lionel, right?

You were with me, weren’t you?

“I’ve caught a few trolls. Do you like them?”

…Even you would betray me.

It seemed that Arkin had caught the trolls while hanging onto me.

“So, Lottie!”

“Whose catch do you like the best? Oh, by the way, what I caught can be planted in the garden.”

“Sis, sis! I caught the most, sis!!”

“Troll blood can also be used for regenerative medicine, Your Highness.”

Gargoyles and goblins, still alive, and three trolls amidst the shrieking carnivorous plants.

“So.”

“Which game do you prefer?”

“Mine, Lottie?”

“No, mine?!”

I just laughed at the calamity I brought upon myself, now one more than before.

I just want to be alone.

Please let me be alone.

Please.