I Don't Want To Work! - Chapter 170

CHAPTER 170

“What, what is this!”

The startled people turned their attention towards the source of the noise.

Thud! The sound of a chair falling backward echoed.

It was a high-ranking priest who suddenly rose from prayer.

“H-High priest?”

A startled knight approached, but the high priest’s eyes were wandering as if his taste had soured.

‘Ah, here it begins.’

“Priest, High Priest!”

“Get out of the way! Move!”

The knights grabbed the high priest’s arms, but he struggled even more violently.

“Calm down!”

The knights forcefully dragged the high priest away.

The high priest quickly put on a smile.

“Despite your illness, you pushed yourself to attend the ceremony. Shall we continue with the prayer?”

Though it was forced, everyone seemed to accept it and move on.

“Kukk!!”

Another high priest suddenly stood up.

“Gah….”

And then another one.

Chaos ensued. 

The plaza, once filled with the sound of prayers, was now filled with chaos.

‘Pentas is truly amplifying its effects.’

The substance I gave Lionel earlier was Pentas, which enhanced its effects.

And this was Pentas’s true nature.

A powder made from grinding and mixing five different stones, it was meant to be a medicine, but only its side effects remained.

‘Initially, it was used as a medicine, but the subsequent side effects were significant.’

It could only be used as a medicine in the very early stages. 

After a few doses, the side effects would manifest.

“Move aside!”

Trying to move excessively, shaking their heads in agony, eventually succumbing to madness due to the side effects.

‘Knowing this, they still sold Pentas to people.’

I chuckled as I watched the high priests who had sold Pentas for profit.

How does it feel to experience the side effects of something you sold while pretending to be unaware?

The high priest looked at the chaos with bewildered eyes.

A face unsure of what to do.

What should he do?

This wasn’t the end.

“Lionel.”

As I quietly called his name, Lionel lightly tapped the table.

At the same time, a man stood up abruptly.

“This is the side effect of Pentas!!”

“…!!”

The faces of the nobles sitting there turned dark.

Of course.

The side effects had already appeared, and there must have been whispers among the people, wondering if, perhaps.

But because of the great trust in the temple’s medicine and the temple’s power, they would have brushed it off.

And today, I pointed out that doubt.

“Could it be that our child…!”

“I gave this to my mother as a gift!”

“No way!”

Different cries of despair erupted.

They had spent a lot of money on a medicine that promised healing, only to find it was harming them.

As this realization dawned on them, anger began to simmer in their eyes. 

They rose to their feet and rushed forward.

“What are we going to do about our child!!”

“Ladies and gentlemen, please calm down, please!”

Just as the temple knights and soldiers protecting the relics and the high priest were trying to calm the nobles.

“Huh?”

“Ugh.”

The knights and soldiers began to stagger this time. 

Oh, it’s nothing. 

It’s just a good medicine for the body. 

The only problem is that when you first take it, you feel very, very dizzy, you know?

“Ugh.”

Ah, and a little nauseous.

With even the knights and soldiers helpless, the plaza became a literal mess.

“Guards.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

In the midst of it all, I commanded Pandelion’s knights who were protecting me.

“Will you assist the priests? This could escalate into a real problem.”

“But, Your Highness. Protecting you is our duty.”

“We also have to protect the Pandelion Empire. If we just sit here quietly, there could be criticism from the royal family later.”

I could have helped, but I just stood there. 

Many people were getting hurt.

Such talk might arise.

Honestly, I didn’t think we could breach the walls of the palace, but the knights seemed to think otherwise as they exchanged glances.

Then Lionel added a word.

“I’ll protect Her Highness with my life.”

“…Understood!”

“Remain safe here, Your Highness.”

The knights, who had readied themselves lightly, plunged into the chaos.

‘Sorry.’

I’ll be jumping in soon too.

“Let’s go, Lionel.”

I quickly moved towards the High priest.

“Le, Let go of this, plea, se!!”

The High priest was already under attack by someone. 

It seemed like he was experiencing the side effects of Pentas.

The High priest’s eyes widened as he noticed me.

“Yo, Your Highness, help m… kukk!”

“Gah!”

Sorry, both of you are falling asleep.

After I wake up the High priest’s senses a bit, I’ll make an antidote for Pentas.

Oh, you’ll meet your end in prison, you bastard.

“That’s it.”

I snatched the tablet from the unconscious High priest’s hand.

It still shone brilliantly, indicating that something was still inside it.

<…!!>

The Lord shouted something.

As if I could hear that in this situation!

I was about to strike down the tablet when I was pushed forward.

“What the, what the!” 

I turned around in surprise, and the man I had knocked out earlier was laughing and picking up the tablet.

“Thank you, Wanderer.”

“…!!”

It was an evil god. 

An evil god forcibly inhabiting a human body.

“Thanks to you, it’s going to be easier than I thought, you know?”

The evil god, shaking the tablet so I could see, laughed.

It was a smile of victory no matter how you looked at it.

The evil god reached out and grabbed my cheek.

“I don’t think of you as badly as the current Lord does.”

He laughed, his eyes gleaming.

The brown irises turned purple in an instant.

<Let me know when you’re ready to follow me.>

Crash!

The tablet fell to the ground, making a loud noise as it shattered.

<Ahahaha!!>

At the same time, the evil god regained its true form. 

Long hair, purple eyes, and black wings.

With just laughter, the arrival of a god shook the surroundings. 

“AAAAH!”

Humans swept away by the power of the god fell one by one.

<I’m finally going, Father!!>

As if ignoring such humans, the evil god flapped its two wings.

The wind violently disturbed the surroundings.

‘He shattered the tablet, so now it’s trying to bring down the Lord.’

My prediction was correct as the evil god quickly created a path connected to the divine realm.

A path that only gods can open and traverse.

‘That’s the gateway to the divine realm that only gods can enter…’

I covered my face with my hand and gazed at the gateway to the divine realm.

If I were to use that, I could go straight there, but it was impossible with a human body.

Alternatively, another god would have to protect me for it to be possible.

Just like this.

As if they were waiting, several figures emerged from thin air.

Achel, a man with white hair, and Dark Elves clad in armor.

The evil god had been preparing for war calmly.

Approaching the evil god, they were engulfed in a black force, as if they were about to ascend to the divine realm together.

In the midst of it all, Achel was glaring at me.

“…!!”

She shouted something but was swept away by the storm of power. 

A strong light burst forth.

I closed my eyes and when I opened them, the evil god had long since disappeared.

I slowly closed and opened my eyes again.

I missed the moment I had longed for.

What should I do?

My heart began to beat faster.

If the evil god were to eliminate the Lord first, then, I wouldn’t know what to do.

Should I go under the evil god’s wing?

“I… I…”

“Master.”

Where had he been, Lionel reached out his hand to me.

I grabbed his hand and managed to rise to my feet.

“Lionel…”

With a despairing look, I buried my face in Lionel’s chest.

“What should I do…? The evil god went to the Lord first.”

“It’s okay, Master.”

Lionel embraced me tightly and whispered in my ear.

“There are no more weeds of the evil god around here.”

“Oh, really?”

I raised my head abruptly. 

The tears I had barely held back were long gone.

“Then, I guess I could’ve done it roughly.”

“It was enough.”

Lionel smiled and tidied up the stubborn hair that had fallen forward as he fell.

“It all went according to your plan, Master?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

Snatching the tablet, conceding the order to ascend to the divine realm first.

“It all went according to plan.”

It was my plan.

“Now, Lionel.”

I firmly grasped Lionel’s hand.

“Could you take me to Mom? We can move slowly.”

I could use magic to instantly travel to the entrance of the village outside the Cranis Forest.

“But, Master.”

“Hmm?”

“Why did you concede breaking the tablet? Especially with the added delay.”

“Well…”

I looked at Lionel.

“There’s a curse on it.”

“…A curse on the Lord’s tablet?”

“Yeah.”

“How did you know that, Master?”

“Well…”

I chuckled.

“I put it there.”

By the way, there was also a potion that would make human hands dirty just by touching it.

“When was it? There was a time when the Lord’s response was urgent. So I came all the way here. The Lord asked me to protect their relic as a favor.”

“…”

“So, I cursed it and applied the potion meticulously.”

So, the current state of the evil god is probably not ideal.

<Kukk!>

It’s probably not in a proper state, right?

And the evil god probably doesn’t know that I cursed it.

<…So, you’re planning to strike from behind like this, Father.>

He’s just fueling revenge against the Lord for nothing.

I smiled broadly while holding Lionel’s hand.

“Shall we go deal with it?”