I Will Not Fall For the Villain’s Flirtations - Chapter 54

The tall man had the hood of his priest’s robe pulled all the way over his head. Because of this, his face was not clearly visible.

Is it because of the sunlight? Why is he covering himself up like that?

“Excuse me, you’re, um, too close…”

It was uncomfortable walking so close that our elbows touched, so I finally spoke up, but the man suddenly grabbed my hand.

“What the!”

However, as quickly as he grabbed me, he let go after placing something in my hand. Wondering what he had given me, I opened my palm to see a small tin.

“Ointment?”

Opening the round lid, I saw that it was an ointment for wounds. When I looked up again, he had already disappeared.

As I watched the group ahead, a thought suddenly struck me, and I tightly gripped the ointment tin.

No way.

“…Keene?”

* * *

The perilous exploration began.

The first and last time I had been in a cave was when we camped out in Luticia. Back then, we didn’t go far from the entrance, so aside from the dust, it wasn’t too bad.

However, whether it was due to the different structure or just the nature of caves, as soon as we went a bit deeper, we were immediately engulfed in pitch-black darkness. The complete darkness, where I couldn’t even see in front of me, was so overwhelming that I found it hard to breathe.

“Light the way!”

At the loud command, the mages created round orbs of light and floated them in the air. As the sudden bright light hit me, I reflexively closed and then opened my eyes, and only then did the cave’s interior come into view.

The ceiling of the brownish limestone cave was filled with stalactites that looked like icicles. The floor was also covered with white limestone formations, creating various-sized towers. Stalactites and stalagmites met above water puddles, forming columns that seemed to support the ceiling. Some of these had such beautiful curves that they looked like sculptures.

Many priests stopped in their tracks to admire the breathtaking scenery. The grand sight carved by groundwater momentarily made us forget how dangerous this place was.

“We’ve found the first formation. Everyone, gather close.”

Amidst this, a voice brought everyone back to reality. Turning quickly towards the direction of the command, I saw Peidos and several knights standing with their feet in a shallow lake.

“Ugh, that must be the entrance to the ruins.”

Rancho, who had been fiddling with a thin column, shivered and moved forward. Watching him for a moment, I swallowed hard and followed suit, stepping into the lake.

The water wasn’t as cold as ice, but it was quite chilly. Thankfully, it didn’t reach my chest. Trying to calm my nerves, I stood behind the other priests. My heart pounded at the thought of facing traps soon.

At that moment, a whistling sound came from a distance.

“Hey, knight! Isn’t it too much to leave us behind after agreeing to go together?”

It was Nizaz’s group.

The reason we started the exploration without them was simple. They didn’t show up at the agreed time. Realizing it was a power play, Peidos ordered us to proceed without waiting for Nizaz’s party.

The ruins’ door wouldn’t open without holy power anyway. This was one of the reasons the Holy Kingdom claimed ownership of holy relics outside its borders.

In other words, the other side was at a disadvantage. No matter how strong Lucan’s army was, we had no reason to yield.

“Is it right for a priest to break promises like this?”

“There is no courtesy owed to those who don’t keep their promises. If you wish to maintain the alliance, it would be wise to remember this.”

“……”

As the smile disappeared from Nizaz’s face, his playful expression turned icy cold in an instant. In the suffocating silence, both our priests and Nizaz’s men alternately looked at their leaders.

The tense standoff finally ended when Nizaz let out a bitter laugh.

“Fine. I’ll remember.”

With that, he led his men down to the lake.

Nizaz’s group was about the size of a squad. With fifteen priests and roughly ten Lucanians gathered, the previously spacious formation now felt cramped.

This is why the exploration team had to be small. The ruins couldn’t accommodate many people.

“We’re activating the formation, so no one move!”

With a solemn command, the magic circle in the water lit up brightly. It was undoubtedly a teleportation magic circle.

However, just as I closed my eyes, expecting the familiar queasiness, the ground beneath us suddenly gave way, and the entire exploration team began to fall.

“Whoa!”

This, this isn’t right!

In the brief moment of confusion over the unexpected turn of events, a deafening scream echoed nearby.

“{Aaaah! Catch me! Lift me up!}”

Even in the terror that left me speechless, it was amazing how well his mouth worked. I almost wanted to sew Nizaz’s mouth shut as he continued to squawk in a language I didn’t understand, while praying that our mages would regain their composure quickly.

Fortunately, my prayer was answered, and just before we crashed to the ground, the mages cast levitation magic in time. Thanks to them, we avoided having our heads smashed.

“We, we’re alive!”

Rancho, looking as if he had aged ten years in an instant, gasped for breath, clutching his chest. I was no different. Struggling to stand on my shaky legs, I looked around.

The cave, darker and mustier than before, seemed quite spacious. Looking up at the ceiling densely covered with stalactites, I gazed into the far distance, which was out of sight even with the light magic.

With no path behind us, the only way forward was through the passage ahead. Fortunately, no one seemed injured before the proper exploration began.

“Feeling dizzy. Cutie, won’t you hold me?”

“……”

Although there seemed to be someone whose mind might be a bit damaged.

I cast a disdainful glance at Nizaz, who was babbling nonsense and pestering, wondering when he had come over to this side. How could such a person be a strong contender for the next emperor? What did the people of Lucan do to deserve this?

“Stop pretending to be close and get away…”

But before I could finish my scolding, the stalactites on the ceiling suddenly began to fall over our heads before the expedition members had even begun to regroup.

“Ah!”

“Form a barrier!”

The priests timely formed barriers, causing many of the stalactites to bounce off like deflected arrows. Some of them even embedded themselves into the rocks.

The long, straw-like stalactites had a lethality that was hard to believe given their slender shape. Considering the height from the ceiling and the thickness of the stalactites, they should have broken upon impact, but their sharp ends dug deep into the ground. A direct hit would be a one-way ticket to the afterlife.

Urgently forming a barrier, I looked up at the ceiling to check how many stalactites were left.

“…Huh?”

I thought we just had to hold out until they were all gone. But for some reason, the number of stalactites was exactly the same as before. It was as if they were endlessly replicating.

“Magic?”

Could it be a trap mixed with magic? Then how long do we have to hold out?

What if our holy power runs out?

As cold sweat trickled down my back at the dizzying thought, a Lucanian man, who was somewhat distanced from the priests’ barrier, stopped swinging his sword and froze like a broken wind-up doll.

“……”

I didn’t see exactly what happened to him. From the circumstances, I could only infer that he had been impaled by a stalactite.

The reason I couldn’t confirm his condition was that someone had covered my eyes at the precise moment. As my mind, frozen in shock and horror, belatedly started to process what was happening, I tried to understand the situation.

“Don’t look.”

A low whisper flowed into my ear.