I Don't Want To Work! - Chapter 3
CHAPTER 3
“Undine.”
Although I called Undine, I didn’t summon any spirits. I simply called the spirits that were naturally floating around.
Luckily, there seemed to be a body of water nearby, as several Undines had been floating around since a while ago.
<Do you recognize us?>
<Do we appear?
Curious about my call, the Undines gathered around and began chattering excitedly.
<I sense human energy!>
<Spirit King. It’s the Spirit King’s energy!>
<Are you the contractor? The Spirit King’s contractor?>
“Yes.”
I nodded.
“I am a contractor of the Four Elemental Kings.”
An elf, a mermaid, a dwarf, and one human at one point.
I made contracts with the Kings of Wind, Water, Earth, and Fire.
The contract of the spirits is a contract of the soul.
So, if I wanted, I could summon all Four Elemental Kings right here and now.
‘Not going to call them, though.’
Actually, even if I wanted to call them, I couldn’t.
Not only do I lack affinity with spirits, but I also lack the mana to be a medium for summoning, so even if I were to shout ‘Summon the Spirit Kings!’, I’d end up cutting my ticket to the afterlife.
And with an affinity of 0, they wouldn’t come even if I called them.
‘Ugh.’
Feeling uneasy, I furrowed my brow.
<Wow!>
Whether I was troubled or not, the Undines looked at each other with surprised faces before starting to chatter randomly.
<I know!>
<A human and a contractor of the Four Elemental Kings.>
<The Wanderer, the Wandering One, right?>
That’s right, the Wanderer.
The spirits who knew my true identity and some sentient beings called me that.
Wanderer of life.
It was a name given because I wander within the constraints of life without departing into death.
I didn’t particularly like the title.
But now wasn’t the time to worry about that.
“Yes, the Wanderer. So, could you summon some water here?”
<Yes, of course!>
<We’ll do it for you!
As soon as the Undines learned that I was a contractor of the Spirit Kings and also a Wanderer, they became polite.
Amidst their proud demeanor, the Undines conjured small droplets of water and poured them into a basin.
Soon enough, the basin was filled with clear, cool water.
“Thank you.”
<It’s nothing!>
<We’re good at this kind of thing!>
Leaving the proud Undines behind, I washed my face.
‘Refreshing.’
Washing my face with clean water made me feel alive again.
It also seemed to clear up the clutter in my mind a bit.
‘Now, what do I do next?’
Sitting on the edge of the bed, I pondered.
Usually, when memories surfaced, I would quickly organize my life and head to my tower.
In the middle of the continent was a forest called Cranis.
Also known as the Forest for the Dying.
It was named so because 90% of those who entered died.
Even the few survivors weren’t in a normal state.
Orcs, Kobolds, Goblins, and Trolls.
Familiar monsters, to say the least.
Griffins, hippogriffs, Nancies, and even dragons.
The place where thousands of monsters gather is Cranis.
Thanks to that, no country has been able to claim that land smack dab in the middle of the continent like a golden egg.
‘He was a great help when I first settled.’
I chuckled, thinking of my friend who was taking a nap.
It seems like it’s time to wake him up. How long has it been since he fell asleep?
Feels like a few hundred years.
Confusing.
‘I’m doing well thanks to him.’
With no people around, rare herbs grew well, and there was no problem with risky experiments.
The monsters didn’t say anything.
Moreover, in exchange for making various potions for sentient beings, I was also ensured convenience.
So while it might be a land of death for others, for me, it was nothing short of paradise.
That’s why whenever I regained memories of the past, I immediately headed to Cranis…
‘But this time, it’ll be difficult to get rare herbs if I go to Cranis in this lifetime.’
Judging from my current condition.
I needed rare herbs from Cranis, but I also needed herbs from other continents.
So being stuck in the middle of a forest where nobody comes made it difficult to obtain the herbs I needed.
And the bigger problem was…
‘I’ll die if I go.’
My physical condition.
With this sorry excuse for a body, I would surely collapse and die before I even left the capital.
Get blisters on my feet and die, trip and die while walking!
Suddenly blinded by the sun and fall to my death! The weather suddenly becomes freezing and die!
Anyone would laugh it off as a joke but don’t laugh.
I’m talking about reality here.
‘But that means I have to stay here until I recover…’
Is that possible?
Can I do that?
Not someone else, but me, got caught trying to poison the Empress.
Huh, a peculiar thought popped into my mind as I furrowed my brow.
‘But why am I still alive?’
If I were caught trying to poison the Empress, it would have been an immediate execution.
Usually, the funeral and inauguration ceremonies for the emperor were held back-to-back.
The emperor had to die for a new emperor to emerge.
But right now, both the emperor and the previous emperor, they’re both alive in Pandelion.
‘Two possibilities.’
First, if the current emperor had revolted.
Sometimes, they spare the lives of those they have no evidence against or no justification for executing.
‘But the previous emperor isn’t obsolete, and she’s living comfortably in the palace.’
According to the knights who guarded the prison earlier, the relationship between the previous emperor and the current emperor seemed good.
‘That leaves the second possibility.’
The previous emperor voluntarily stepped down and handed over the throne to the current emperor.
‘A very rare case.’
I’ve seen hundreds, thousands of kings and emperors, but such cases were rare.
Letting go of the absolute power once you’ve grabbed it isn’t easy.
And in many cases like this, the relationship between the previous emperor and the current emperor was not just good but very solid.
Hmm.
The more I think about it, the more I realize there’s no reason for me to be alive, right?
“Here we are.”
A strange voice suddenly interrupted my thoughts.
Before I could ask who it was, the door opened, and a man and a boy walked in.
The man, who still looked young, was dressed as a servant, and the boy was a….…
“Hey, half-breed!”
It was that insolent brat.
“You lost your memory, huh?”
He was probably around three or four. The boy who came in with sparkling eyes smirked.
“What’s the matter? A dirty half-breed like you lost your memory too?”
He seemed familiar, but I couldn’t remember because my memory didn’t come back.
“And not just anyone, you tried to harm Her Majesty the Empress. Why, did you think your dirty blood would balance out the noble blood?”
Since I didn’t react much, his tone became increasingly biting.
Anyway, calling me a dirty half-breed with dirty blood.
I can guess how my current life was.
“Hey!!”
Since I didn’t react at all, the boy yelled louder.
“Are you listening to me?!”
“No?”
Why would I listen to that? Those words are just meant to hurt me.
As I blinked casually, the boy’s face turned red and blue.
“How dare you ignore me…?”
“Who are you?”
I roughly guessed, but I have to pretend not to know. It’s annoying.
This time, his eyes widened at my question.
“How could you not know me? Are you stupid?”
“I might not know. You said so yourself that I lost my memory. So how could I know you?”
His already wide eyes widened even further at my answer.
The eyes of the man behind him widened too.
They were both forgetful idiots, apparently.
‘Well, it’s still useful to exploit them.’
I chuckled.
It was time to confirm the hypothesis that just came to mind and leave the prison.
“Kid.”
“I’m not a kid!”
The fact that he got angry at the word “kid” itself means he’s a kid.
I bowed my head slightly, concealing my laugh under my tongue, and looked into the kid’s eyes.
“Oh, really? Then what’s your name?”
“I am Arkin Pandelion, the second prince of the Pandelion Empire.”
The kid puffed up his chest proudly.
Wow, does it feel that good to be the second prince of the Pandelion Empire?
When I looked at him with a cute gaze, Arkin’s eyes immediately sharpened.
I straightened my back.
“Okay, Arkin.”
“Address me properly as Prince Arkin!”
“I don’t want to.”
As I replied bluntly, Arkin looked at me with a face at a loss for words.
It was a face that said, ‘This shouldn’t happen.’
‘I know very well what kind of personality I have in this life.’
I chuckled inwardly, smiling wryly as I licked my lips.
Unable to rebel once, unable to even utter a word of pain properly.
Being tormented as much as possible, being suppressed as much as possible.
I must have lived shaking here and there.
And with the words ‘half-breed’, and ‘dirty blood’ easily coming out of Arkin’s mouth.
Other people would have also easily used those words.
‘My pride would have been shot.’
How could I stand up for myself if he kept doing that to me?
Eventually, I must have reached the point of thinking, ‘I am an easy target.’
But there’s no such thing as a person who deserves that.
“Hah.”
Exhaling shortly, I composed my expression and looked at Arkin.
“Arkin.”
“Uh, yes?”
“Do you want me to address you as Prince Arkin?”
With a slight smile, I looked down at him.
Arkin blinked as if he didn’t expect that.
“Well, then, tell me what happened back then. When I tried to poison Her Majesty the Empress.”
“Why?”
“Just curious. I lost my memory, right? If you tell me, maybe my memory will come back…”
No?
Arkin hesitated at my words. There was also a hint of wariness in his gaze as if seeing a stranger.
He quickly sensed the change in the atmosphere surrounding me.
Sharp-witted little brat.
“W-Well, about the Empress…”
Arkin stammered and spoke up.
“The Empress and you, you were drinking tea together, and suddenly, Her Majesty collapsed.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah, the inspector said there was something wrong with the tea leaves you gave to Her Majesty. The maids also testified that there was something wrong with you…”
Arkin, who had said that much, suddenly widened his eyes and yelled again.
“So, you’re the culprit! Got it?!”
His small shoulders rose and fell.
Arkin seemed quite angry, having said everything obediently as per my request.
“Haha, thanks, Arkin.”
Whether he was angry or not, I smiled broadly.
The conclusion was reached.
For a princess without even health, what reason could there be for her to attempt the assassination of the Empress?
‘It’s a frame-up.’
This life wasn’t smooth sailing from the start.