I Don't Want To Work! - Chapter 95
CHAPTER 95
“Welcome.”
A charming and well-mannered butler greeted us with a bow.
“It’s been a while. Is the room ready?”
Arkin asked, and the butler nodded.
“Your Highness Arkin, we have prepared the room you always used and the one with the best view of the sea.”
I mentioned before leaving that I wanted to see the sea as much as possible.
It seemed they prepared a room where I could also enjoy the sea view.
“I’m fine, so please show my sister to her room.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The butler smiled at me.
“Would you like to come this way?”
When Betty and Liena tried to carry luggage, they were opposed.
The villa staff brought the luggage.
“Wow, amazing.”
As Betty passed through the long corridor, her eyes sparkled.
“Mom, look at that!”
Raven was the same.
Raven, who was usually quiet, grabbed Liena’s arm excitedly.
“Is that the sea?”
“That’s the sea!”
Both Raven and Betty exclaimed simultaneously.
‘It’s indeed beautiful.’
I blinked as I looked at the sea through the windows across the long corridor.
The sea visible from dozens of windows was truly breathtaking.
“This is the room where Her Highness will stay.”
The butler, who arrived on the third floor, opened the door and smiled.
“Wow.”
As I entered, I widened my eyes.
The room layout wasn’t much different from other villas, but…
The huge terrace in front was filled with the sea.
“The sea looks really beautiful, doesn’t it?”
“Yes, indeed.”
I placed my bag on the sofa and walked out onto the terrace.
As soon as I opened the terrace door, the scent of the sea filled the air.
‘I missed this smell.’
Maybe because I used to live in the sea as a mermaid.
Whenever I smelled the sea, I felt nostalgic.
“Sister.”
After gazing at the sea for a while, I turned around.
The butler, Betty, and Liena had disappeared, and only Arkin was standing there.
“Huh? Where are the others?”
“The butler went to guide them to their rooms.”
Arkin, who came out to the terrace with me, squinted in the bright sunlight.
“What should we do now?”
Arkin seemed confident that he had everything planned out, so I followed along without a plan.
Arkin chuckled as if he was waiting for me to ask.
“First! We’re going for a walk in the forest!”
“The forest?”
Without resting?
“Yeah! Then we’ll go on a boat ride! I bought a beautiful boat, you know? The lake is nearby, only about thirty minutes away. We’ll take the boat there, pack lunch, have a picnic, and then, sister, guess what? We’ll go horse riding. We’ll ride horses to the sea! Can you ride a horse, sister? If you can’t, I’ll teach you! It’s easy, so you’ll learn quickly. And then, after that, sister…”
I grinned as I listened to Arkin’s endless plans.
That’s right.
He’s a lively 10-year-old boy overflowing with energy…
* * *
“It’s refreshing.”
I fervently appealed to Arkin, saying, ‘I’m exhausted, I want to lie down on the bed right now and rest, and I’m also hungry.’
As a result, other schedules were pushed back.
Only the forest walk, which Arkin insisted on doing, came out.
Of course, it was after a bit of rest following the meal.
I’m so relieved that Arkin understood that my energy levels weren’t up to following the plan.
‘I shouldn’t let a 10-year-old boy handle the plans next time.’
I murmured as I walked along the forest path.
Arkin, who was walking ahead of me, suddenly shouted.
“Sister, this place is awesome! We’ll ride Thunder here later!!”
Indeed, Alexander Alfred Sebastian Thunder III couldn’t even remember his own name, let alone his owner.
In the end, he just became Thunder.
“That’s great.”
I smiled broadly while holding an umbrella.
Arkin smiled back.
“Sister, do you know how to ride horses?”
“Maybe?”
I used to be good at it in my past life, but now I’m not sure.
Even things I used to be good at in my past life sometimes required a brief period of adjustment depending on my physical condition.
Maybe horseback riding is like that too.
“I don’t quite understand what you mean.”
“I learned it a long time ago, so my memory’s a bit fuzzy.”
Arkin blinked at my response, then turned his head, saying, ‘Hmm, I see.’
“Sister, sister.”
He tugged at my sleeve, but I asked.
“How far do we have to walk?”
“It’s not far, and there are places to rest if it’s too tiring.”
“Is it well-maintained?”
“This is my favorite place, you know?”
Arkin grinned broadly.
“And if we go over there, there are rocks.”
Arkin pointed to a place.
“There’s a place where big rocks gather. The adults say it’s strange, but honestly, it looks cool to me!”
“Really?”
“Yeah!”
Arkin and I walked at a leisurely pace, matching each other’s strides.
Arkin, excited, kept chattering away.
“This time, a new swordsmanship instructor came! But he’s really strong! I asked Gerol, and he said the instructor joined the Royal Knights around the same time as him.”
As Arkin got excited talking about the new swordsmanship instructor, he picked up a twig.
“Like this, like this! And then, you strike like this!”
He then demonstrated the swordsmanship he had learned.
How adorable.
As I watched proudly and clapped, something… felt eerie.
‘Huh?’
Something, a creepy energy, ran through my feet.
‘What is it?’
I quickly scanned the surroundings.
But everything seemed fine in the dense forest.
But why?
Thump, thump, thump.
Why do I have such a bad feeling about this?
Quietly, I reached for the power crystals of the spirit kings I had brought in a small bag.
“Sister?”
Arkin, who was enthusiastically showing off his swordsmanship, blinked.
“What’s wrong? Are you not feeling well?”
Arkin looked at me directly.
“I just want to go back. Let’s return to the villa and rest a bit.”
<Found you!>
“Arkin!!”
Thud!!
I grabbed Arkin and threw myself to the side, a large boulder landing right where we were.
“W-what’s this? Why did a rock fall from the sky….”
A boulder big enough to crush a grown man to death.
If I had been a second too late, it would have crushed his limbs.
As if realizing that fact, Arkin trembled.
Darn it.
I bit my lip.
I couldn’t tell why someone was attacking me, or who the attacker was, but one thing I knew: it was a god.
“Arkin, run to the villa for now.”
“What about you?”
“I’m-.”
Kwaaang!!
Before I could finish my sentence, the rock flew again and hit a tree beside us.
That was just the beginning.
Kwaaang, thud!!
Rocks kept coming.
Trees hit by the rocks fell, rolled, and collapsed.
The dreadful noise deafened my ears.
I quickly hugged Arkin and hid behind a large tree.
I don’t know how they knew we were taking cover, but now rocks began flying only toward the tree we were hiding behind.
Some fell, some hit the tree, but it endured.
But how long could it endure?
Even if this tree is massive, it wouldn’t last long.
“N-No, Sister. I’m scared.”
“It’s okay.”
I reassured Arkin, hugging him tightly.
“Arkin.”
As I called him, Arkin looked at me with tear-filled eyes.
“When the rocks stop, run to the end of the path as I said earlier.”
“What about you?”
“Run to call the knights. Got it?”
“But Sister, you should come too!”
Arkin grabbed my clothes and cried.
“I’ll go with you!!”
“Arkin.”
I held Arkin’s cheeks firmly, meeting his gaze.
“We need to get the knights here quickly, okay?”
“……”
Tears poured again.
Arkin wiped them roughly with his sleeve.
Then he nodded.
“Yeah!”
The tree couldn’t hold anymore.
With a loud noise, it fell sideways, leaving us unprotected.
“Run!!”
I shouted, and Arkin ran behind the fallen tree.
And I ran the opposite way of Arkin.
As expected.
The rocks were no longer aiming for Arkin; they were precisely targeting me.
Moreover.
“……!!”
Now weapons were flying.
I gritted my teeth as I narrowly avoided a weapon that almost hit my head.
‘Get to a place with no people first!’
I told Arkin to call the knights, but it was to send him to a safe place.
I completely deviated from the path and ran into the forest.
Thump, woosh!
How many rocks were left?
Rocks kept flying without a break.
One of them flew directly at me.
It was almost too late to dodge.
‘Darn it!’
I pulled out Sylphid’s power crystal and created wind.
Whoosh!!
The strong wind stopped the rock, but only for a moment.
It just slowed down a bit.
But that was enough.
As I rolled my body to the side, the rock landed with a thud.
“……!”
Perhaps because I dodged too urgently, my body didn’t stop.
I could only finally get up after rolling on the ground several times.
I struggled to get up, supporting my upper body with trembling arms.
Meanwhile, the rocks didn’t fly.
This should be enough.
And I’ve distanced myself enough too.
“Hey.”
As I got up, I glared towards where the rocks were coming from.
“Come out.”
I’ve known since earlier that something has been following me in the shadows of the forest.
That’s why I urged Arkin on even more and sent him away.
But now Arkin was far enough.
“Kyres, you bastard!!”
At my shout, someone walked out from the shadows.
Like a figure drawn from the shadows, he had no presence or sound.
“Ugh, ugh…..”
A living-like dead.
<……I’ll kill you. I’ll kill you!>
Where did it go wrong, this supposed god?