I continuously shoved venison into my mouth.
At the same time, I was ordering the priests around with my chopsticks.
The bonfire crackled, and the meat skewers cooked deliciously.
The priests and I had set up camp in a corner of the valley.
It was naturally strange to be sitting and eating with those who had tried to kill me, but…
Gulp, gulp.
“Kyah, this is the famous Aurax’s Revolutionary Hard Liquor! The aroma is amazing! But the aftertaste is rough. Do you have any ice?”
“Why do assassins carry this kind of alcohol when on a mission? Ah, is it for when they assassinate? Even if you’re going to die, a drink is okay. Is that it?”
“
“Munch, munch, munch, this place cooks venison well. It’s a real gem. You could open a barbecue place under the name of the Vengeance Priesthood, couldn’t you?”
“…Third Prince, I say this every time, but can you please just eat without talking?”
“I say this every time, but how do you eat with your mouth shut? You’re a strange sir.”
Chomp, chomp, chomp, chomp.
I paid no attention and crammed food into my mouth.
The impersonation of Eolem’s incarnation was concluded, and I had naturally returned to being the Third Prince, Gilloshian.
And it had already been three days since we started traveling together like this.
During that time, we had become quite accustomed to each other.
It wasn’t that we recognized each other as allies…
‘It’s that these guys can’t kill me, and I’ve gotten used to the fact that I have to follow them.’
For a brief moment, they accepted the fact that we were in the same boat.
So the priests did their best to assist me and hastened their steps.
But still, the forced march was brutal.
‘I’m sick of jerky.’
Gilloshian’s body, which had been plump, looked almost half its size, that’s how difficult the journey was.
It was fortunate that I hadn’t fallen behind.
‘Actually, I overcame several such crises.’
It was a given.
In the original scenario, the Third Prince Gilloshian was a truly trash-tier NPC who could only eat and relieve himself.
And that setting applied to me as well.
[Status]
Giloshan Elodie Vald
Title: Pig Prince
Fate: Slave Gladiator (F)
Level: 0
Strength: 35
Intelligence: 68
Stamina: 9
Charm: 61
Total: 173
Points remaining: 3
…Endurance is 9!
Wow, a single digit!
My eyes couldn’t believe it.
‘It’s like I’m not even a newborn; how can stamina be 9?’
An average NPC’s total stats are around 200.
Usually, stamina was between 40 and 60.
But 9 means…
‘This isn’t even a human being, is it? Is it practically a corpse?’
I couldn’t help but wonder how this body had managed to breathe and survive until now.
So, walking the mountain paths with the priests was practically hell.
The priests, like assassins, were physically excellent and passed through the densely overgrown forest as if flying.
In contrast, with this body, just a short walk caused sweat to pour like rain and my legs felt like they were tearing.
In the end, I had to resort to a trick.
“Huff, huff, sirs, hit me a little.”
“I?”
“Just slap me here on the cheek!”
“What? Have you lost your mind climbing the mountain?”
“Just hit me!”
Smack!
[Recovery Skill: Masochistic Taste]
[The effect of the skill will be applied for 30 seconds.]
With a stinging pain, my stamina began to recover.
“Phew! I feel a bit better.”
When I exclaimed, the priests clicked their tongues.
“We knew you were a scoundrel, but we didn’t know you had this kind of taste! Do you not care about the situation or the person?”
“It’s not like that.”
‘From “Taste for Bondage” to “Masochistic Taste.”‘
Thanks to it, I could walk again, but the self-loathing…
Sigh
Do I really have to go this far?
But there was no other way.
If there was another way, it would be to snatch and consume the stamina potions that the priests had, but…
‘That’s not a good choice.’
It wasn’t just my stamina that was weak; my combat power was also the same.
The Vengeance Priesthood must fight in my place.
In a situation where a battle could break out at any time, taking potions for my own comfort was not much different from saying we should all die together.
And rolling my body like this was also beneficial to me.
‘Abnormally low stat points can be quickly improved through training without investing points.’
It’s similar to how a person exercises to gain strong physical strength.
Dragging this exhausted body and climbing over mountains becomes stamina training.
Too tired to move my legs?
Then I somehow endure until the 15-minute cooldown is over, and then again.
Smack!
“…You’re hitting harder and harder.”
“Cough, cough. It feels good somehow.”
“Can’t I hit next?”
“Hey, it’s my turn!”
As they adapted, the priests even started taking turns slapping my cheek.
‘These crazy bastards.’
Both sides were getting infected with strange tastes.
But the results weren’t bad.
[As a result of harsh training, your stamina has improved!]
[Stamina: 37]
The terrible stamina that should have had me in the ICU had become reasonably normal.
Accordingly, Gilloshian’s body had lost considerable weight and gained muscle.
‘Even so, I’m still just a baby pig body.’
Still, there was some reward for becoming a pervert who gets slapped by big, dark-skinned men.
‘Still a long way to go. To move properly.’
I organized my thoughts and waved my hand.
“The meat’s burning, sirs! Don’t priests know how precious other people’s flesh is? Flip it quickly, quickly!”
“…Third Prince, isn’t your stamina lacking?”
“Ugh, perverts always targeting me whenever they get a chance.”
“Who told us to hit them first!”
Thus, we had safely escaped to an area and finally managed to light a fire and eat warm food.
What wouldn’t taste good?
“Third Prince.”
High Priest Varmilo spoke to me as I devoured the food like a glutton.
I mumbled a mouthful of potato and looked up.
“Why?”
“As early as tomorrow, we should reach the teleportation gate we used to get here. We’ll use it to return to Aurax. But…”
“?”
“We have a bit of a problem.”
His gaze was quite serious.
“We originally came to kill you, not to bring you back alive. The fact that you became His Majesty Eolem’s apostle… was something no one knew.”
“Oh.”
The old man hadn’t finished speaking, but I knew what he meant.
‘So, the accomplice within the imperial family who helped them assassinate Gilloshian must have gotten upset, right?’
That means a new problem has arisen.
Varmilo quietly looked around the forest path.
“Originally, we should have left your corpse as evidence and a result. But we couldn’t. Thanks to His Majesty Eolem descending upon your body.”
More precisely, thanks to me, who pretended that god had descended.
“Of course, the imperial family would be in an uproar, and pursuers are probably chasing us. Perhaps our escape route is already cut off. If they moved quickly, it’s entirely possible.”
In short, the co-conspirator had set up the assassination of the Third Prince, but it was only half-executed.
So, the co-conspirator might be enraged and cause trouble.
I nodded.
“Hmm, I suppose so. But who exactly does ‘that side’ refer to? It wouldn’t be His Majesty the Emperor, would it?”
At that, a flicker of surprise crossed Varmilo’s expression.
This must have been a sharper question than he expected.
Indeed, they knew me as the good-for-nothing Third Prince, so it made sense.
“That is…”
Varmilo pondered whether it was okay to tell me this.
But his hesitation was brief, and surprisingly, the answer came out readily.
“It’s the Imperial Grand Chamberlain.”
The Grand Chamberlain, Viscount Jairic Moss, who presides over imperial events.
“He’s in contact with our revolutionary army’s command.”
“Ah.”
I nodded.
It was actually the answer I had expected.
Because I knew the original scenario inside and out.
“I see. The Grand Chamberlain.”
When I replied calmly, the old man’s eyes widened slightly.
“Why aren’t you surprised?”
If it were the good-for-nothing Third Prince, known for living without a care, he wouldn’t be able to help but be surprised at the news of a traitor nearby, would he?
That was exactly the look he gave.
But I shook my head.
“Political intrigue isn’t something new. Besides, if it’s the Grand Chamberlain, he might have reason to betray the imperial family.”
“?”
“His ancestors were from the Northwestern Khan tribe. And the Khan tribe is close to the revolutionary army, aren’t they? So, couldn’t they conspire with the revolutionary army to try and gain power again? It hasn’t been that long since the Empire and the Khan tribe waged war over control of the Northwest.”
This time, Varmilo’s eyes trembled greatly.
He looked like he couldn’t believe the words that came from the good-for-nothing prince’s mouth.
He knew everything from trivial internal affairs information like a minister’s lineage to the interests of continental powers and historical backgrounds?
‘That good-for-nothing Third Prince? Was he such a person?’
That was the look he gave.
I could see it all.
However, I casually waved my hand.
“It’s nothing special, but you’re giving me such high praise, it’s quite embarrassing. Hahahaha!”
“I didn’t say it out loud, but…”
“Your expression says enough! Hahahaha!”
And there was still one more thing left.
“But you shouldn’t have trusted that person too much. The Great Chieftain of the Khan tribe no longer has much interest in the northwestern region. The Grand Chamberlain is also using the revolutionary army to build his own power rather than for revolution. So, that person cannot be a truly trustworthy ally.”
“Then are you saying the Grand Chamberlain might be a double agent?”
“Well? Who knows.”
…Of course, I knew, but I didn’t tell him.
But just me rambling this far was enough to make Varmilo look like he was seeing me in a completely new light.
To be precise, he was probably seeing Gilloshian, my shell, in a new light.
“Amazing, simply amazing. To think the Third Prince was hiding such insight. Public opinion is somewhat…”
“Exaggerated and baseless, yes.”
When I retorted, Varmilo let out a small laugh.
In any case, his words about a potential problem with the priests’ escape route were true.
I threw an empty skewer into the fire and fell into thought.
‘In the original story, the Grand Chamberlain succeeded in greatly expanding his influence by leveraging the Third Prince’s assassination.’
So, he must have had great expectations.
But with me inhabiting Gilloshian’s body, things had become quite different from the original.
From the Grand Chamberlain’s perspective, the expected outcome didn’t happen, so he would try to fix it or retaliate somehow.
And Jairic was a man with that kind of power.
He would certainly know the movements of the Vengeance Priesthood.
The kidnapping took place in a hunting ground near the Empire’s central city, ‘Kertion,’ and we had consistently headed northeast, crossing mountains.
‘Then the closest defense force would be the Special Knights, and their commander is Marquis Elon Reith.’
He was one of the Empire’s three great swordmasters and a person with immense loyalty to the imperial family.
In other words, an impenetrable ‘wall’ that we couldn’t bypass or persuade was placed before us.
And naturally, Varmilo Dimarque was completely unaware of this fact.
“For now, we’ll increase our travel speed. We need to shake off the pursuers and get to the gate. It will be tough, but endure. If we’re slow now and get blocked from front and back and attacked from both sides, that would truly be…”
“No. Not like that.”
I shook my head.
“You can’t do that. Even if you try, if they’re already guarding the gate, you won’t get through.”
“Then? What do you propose?”
Gilloshian, who should have died three days ago, didn’t.
Therefore, the current story had to diverge from the original.
But this was still The World Forsaken by God, and he was still an expert in this game.
“Just find a new path and that’s it.”
I suggested a new path to the high priest who was frowning deeply.
“Just wait a moment. Just for a day or so.”
“Wait…? Here? What?”
“Uh, um, that’s it.”
How should I explain this?
While I was hesitating, the answer unexpectedly came from an unexpected place.
“So you’re saying we should wait for the ‘bear’ and the ‘magpie’ that are chasing us?”
Protagonist.
The unknown figure who had been walking without giving me a single glance for the past three days opened his mouth.
Hey tl I think you forgot to paste his status window. There is nothing mentioned other the word
that error is fixed, thank you for pointing it out