RGS Vol 8 Part 11

‘To be exact, it started 12 years ago. I remember that was the first time the Ice Mountain began to melt.’

12 years ago.

Could this time period mentioned by the lord somehow related to the burning of the Dragon Forest?

Ashler couldn’t help but wonder if the question that came to mind was related. And when he arrived at the inn with heavy footsteps, he happened to meet Roster, who had arrived ahead of the group. Curious about how the festival sightseeing had gone, Ashler approached Roster cheerfully.

“Hey, how was the festival… huh?”

Only then did Ashler realize Roster was deep in thought, his eyes were slightly dazed. When he gave him a nudge, Roster finally recognized Ashler.

“Ashler, you might be right.”

“My words are always right. But which words?”

Normally, Roster would have drawn his sword first and told him not to show off, but this time was different. He continued to stare into space, still lost in thought. In the end, the skewer vendor was not killed. While Abel was wide-eyed with surprise, Karas simply threw some gold coins and bought all the skewers.

Roster viewed this as a form of conversation only between them. Abel tried to persuade the other person to change, and Karas rejected it. But instead of actually killing, he bought the skewers. This outcome made them hopeful.

“He seems foolish but isn’t.”

Who exactly?

As Ashler, frustrated, was about to draw his sword, Roster finally met his gaze.

“Perhaps, just maybe, Lord Abel might actually change His Majesty.”

“What happened at the festival?”

Ashler asked sharply, and Roster shrugged his shoulders.

“It could be something, or it could be nothing.”

“What on earth does that even mean?”

“It’s so natural to us who’ve seen His Majesty for a long time that it’s nothing, but today it became something unusual.”

Something natural to them. Ashler easily grasped the meaning in Roster’s words.

“Did His Majesty kill someone?”

Yes, Roster nodded.

“But maybe, just maybe, next time he won’t draw his sword over a fallen skewer.”

Roster had a strange smile on his face, but Ashler didn’t smile back.

“A fallen skewer isn’t enough.”

Even if Abel did something, it would take more than that. Abel had to change Karas’ mind and guide him to eliminate any potential disasters. Karas had Abel. But Abel alone was not enough to quell Karas’ brutality at the moment. Roster recalled the lord he had met when he saw Ashler’s expression.

“Does it seem serious? Honestly, I think it would be fine to just wait until the Ice Mountain melts.”

“Don’t say that. Who knows what greater danger will arise from knowing it’s dangerous and leaving it unattended? It’s fortunate that the wizard of the Ice Mountain is willing to help us. Still, we need to check it with our own eyes. We need to see and assess the severity of the situation and check for any small details the lord may have missed. We can’t be too careful about anything. No one knows what the future holds.”

No one knew better than them how futile reassurance about the future could be. Who would have thought? A powerless child could destroy the King’s Heart, which stood tall like a mountain, and the Dragon’s Forest, burnt and rendered useless, would turn into a world-overturning disaster. Roster nodded at Ashler’s words.

“Right, we can’t be too careful. By the way, did you talk to the innkeeper? To make sure to leave only one room.”

There was tension on Roster’s face as he emphasized ‘one room’. Ashler’s face was similarly serious as he nodded. Yes, they had come to the inn first to double-check. In order to see if there was only one room left for Karas and Abel. Before entering the castle, Karas had casually asked the commanders.

“The inn, it’ll be crowded, right?”

For a moment, the commanders almost laughed at the innocent question. It was the first festival, so he must have been worried that there wouldn’t be any rooms because of the crowd. Ashler reassured him on behalf of everyone.

“Yes, that may be the case, but don’t worry. We’ve already sent a message to reserve an entire inn, so you can use it comfortably without being crowded by people…”

The words couldn’t come out completely. The eyes that abruptly looked back at him were full of murderous intent. Then he asked again.

‘The inn will be crowded, so there will be just one room left, right?’

Only then did the commanders realize. He wanted to use the excuse that there was only one room left to stay with Abel. Then they sighed in unison.

How innocent is our emperor?

He could just order it as the emperor, but instead, he planned to act as if there was only one room left in front of Abel. This way, he could shamelessly suggest they share the room.

Although it was unfortunate for Abel, seeing a young man in his twenties who wanted to save his pride while also resolve his lust was quite endearing. If the Emperor wanted it, they had no choice but to fill the remaining rooms and participate in the act. The two hurried inside to grab the innkeeper and confirm once more.

“You did well as per the letter sent in advance, right? Ah, who sent the letter?”

The inn was somewhat busy, with several guests already drinking and making a loud noise. The innkeeper seemed to have followed the instructions in the letter to keep a moderate number of guests, so it wouldn’t be too empty or too crowded. He gave them a thumbs-up as if telling them not to worry.

“Hoho, there’s no problem at all. According to the letter sent by the anonymous person ‘C.L.L,’ we’ve arranged it so that two to three people must share a room. In particular, one room has been prepared exceptionally well.’

No matter how they looked at it, the anonymous sender was obviously Clara. As soon as they were reassured by the innkeeper’s confidence, the door opened, and the rest of the group finally returned. Seizing the moment, Ashler stepped forward in front of Karas and showcased his ever-improving acting skills.

“I apologize, but due to the festival, only a few rooms are left in the inn. Therefore, even if it’s uncomfortable, I’m afraid you two will have to share one room.”

The sincere regret and pity in Ashler’s voice made Abel quickly nod his head.

“Yes, of course. It’s fortunate enough that we found a room at all with so many people. Um, Prince. Because of me, the bed will be cramped, but will you be okay with that?”

Just okay? He was beyond thrilled. Although Abel and Karas had s3x numerous times, this would be their first time sleeping in a bed. And Karas also remembered it clearly. Abel’s words said it would be comfortable to sleep in a bed instead of the forest and that he would move himself if they did.

“Yes.”

Along with that response, Karas nodded his head vigorously. However, everyone but the delighted Abel noticed Karas’ eyes gleaming like a beast at the sight of its prey. While they silently prayed for Abel’s well-being, they were also thankful for his sacrifice, which could improve the Emperor’s mood. Furthermore, Abel, who was oblivious, made the situation even brighter.

“Ah, I ate so much delicious food at the festival that I don’t even need to eat dinner. I’ll head up first. Karas, please have your meal and join me later.”

“I’m not hungry.”

It was the first time. The one who always shouted out, ‘I’m hungry,’ now said he wasn’t hungry. Abel blinked in surprise as he listened but then nodded in understanding. Following the innkeeper’s guidance, he went up the stairs. The others in the group also followed to leave their belongings in their respective rooms.

Was it just everyone’s imagination, or did Karas’ footsteps seem lighter as he walked down the long hallway on the second floor? Their tense minds, still reeling from the festival’s earlier violence, relaxed pleasantly as the innkeeper opened the specially prepared room and guided them in.

“Here it is. We have laid out a new bedding, so you should be able to sleep comfortably.”

The proud innkeeper’s face matched the clean, freshly laundered bedding in the room, which promised a comfortable night’s sleep. In separate beds, that is. There were two beds.

Bang!

“You, you b*stard! Are you trying to bring about the end of the world?!”

An enraged Roster began to strangle the innkeeper’s neck. As the innkeeper choked and gasped, Ashler grabbed Roster’s arm and pulled him off. The innkeeper, who had barely survived, looked at them with a resentful gaze.

“I’m sorry. But the letter just said to prepare one room.”

It’s just a mistake in the room allocation, and now it’s the end of the world?

It was unfair. However, there was someone who felt more wronged. Clara shouted in anger.

“Hey, are you kidding me?! I clearly wrote more in that letter besides preparing only one room! What good is it if there are two beds?! What if the world ends because of you?!”

So why would the world end over one room?

The innkeeper’s sense of injustice reached its peak, but he cowered under the face of their murderous glares. He made one last attempt to defend himself.

“But, but look here. The letter only said to make sure the two of them should stay comfortably and happily together.”

When he handed over the letter, Clara snatched it eagerly and pointed to a specific part.

“Exactly, that’s what I wrote! Look here, the word ‘happily’ in big letters! Obviously, ‘happily’ means to spend time happily in the same, one bed! Don’t you understand? Isn’t that right?”

Clara, who was now flustered, asked the others as if frustrated. Sure enough, the word ‘happily’ was written in big letters just as he said. Melmond, the butler, and Nani nodded and stepped back. The rest knew that the three commanders would handle it.

Clang, clang, clang.

At the same time, he three commanders drew their swords and approached the source of the problem, Clara.

“I always knew you would cause the end of the world someday.”

Kin, on behalf of the group, advanced with pressure, supported by Roster.

“Even if the world ends, I’ll make sure you’ll go first.”

Ashler couldn’t hold back his anger either.

“This time, you won’t be able to sneak behind a tree.”

Just their threatening presence made Clara seem like he was already in another world. Although they felt like letting him get what he deserved, Melmond thought they needed to find a solution first. He urgently asked the trembling innkeeper.

“Is there no other room? Can we change it to one with just a single bed?”

“N-no, there isn’t. I’m sorry. I just thought they should be comfortable, so I put in two beds and also left something for them to enjoy. Sniff.”

Enjoy what?

When the butler beside him asked, the innkeeper opened his mouth, unaware that he had just saved the world from potential destruction.

“I left a bottle of honey wine.”

⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖

“Hehe. Hehe.”

The world spun around. Along with the laughter that kept coming out. He felt extremely good as if his body was floating above the floor. But the person sitting across from him wasn’t laughing.

Ah, why wasn’t he laughing?

Abel raised his hand to give him a nice drink as well. However, even though he reached toward the wine, he couldn’t grasp anything and just swayed. Then the person in front of him caught him by the shoulders.

“Hehe, the alcohol isn’t kicking in, hehe.”

Abel clung to Karas’ arm, continuing his drunken rambling.

“If you drink this, you’ll feel really good. You feel so good that, haah, it’s hot.”

He stopped talking and began to strip off his clothes in a hurry. But even after removing his clothes, the heat didn’t subside.

Why?

Then he realized.

Ahhh―it’s because I hadn’t taken off everything.

“It’s hot, so I need to take it all off. Hehe, aren’t you hot too? Right?”

Abel fumbled with his hands with the strings on the other person’s clothes, trying to untie them, but it didn’t go well. No, he couldn’t see them properly. Frustrated, Abel moved closer to get a better look at the strings on the chest. He strugglingly climbed up onto the firm lap and plopped down.

Only then did Abel feel close enough to be satisfied, and he tried to untie the strings again. But strangely, he felt even hotter. Especially between the legs where he was sitting, a scorching heat rose up, pressing between his thighs. He stopped untying the strings halfway and lowered his hands to reached to touch the hot thing.

In the middle of where he was sitting, something was bulging out.

What is this?

He wondered, feeling oddly pleased and ticklish. As he touched the hard thing protruding through the clothes with his hands once again, he heard a whisper in his ear.

“Ask me to put it in.”