Chapter 34

#034 Think of it as a picnic (3)

- Squeak!

The one who reacted before me was Demi.

The little guy raised his round tail and moved his feet outside the picnic mat.

He repeatedly opened and closed his mouth slowly, as if threatening or warning something.

“What was that sound just now?”

I asked Cardinal Bouthier. She only smiled like a painting, without answering.

- Rumble...

Once again, a thunder-like sound came from the ground. The group was greatly alarmed.

Without hesitation, I opened my sacred ground.

The golden circle of ether brightly illuminated the picnic mat and expanded in area according to my will.

My sacred ground had a maximum diameter of about 30 meters.

It was large enough to protect the seven people on the mat, as well as the prince, Christel, and Demi outside.

There was a way to make it bigger, but it was impossible to implement immediately.

“Monsters.”

Prince Sedric said softly. Kanae gasped in surprise.

I quickly got up from my seat and approached Demi.

Glaring at the hillside until my eyes hurt, I saw a few red dots enter my field of vision.

“Why are monsters here? I thought a powerful barrier was set around the palace...”

I stopped speaking and turned to look at the cardinal. No way.

“Everyone seemed a bit restless, so I temporarily opened the barrier on the mountain side. We also set up some bait with the help of the royal guards.”

“Your Highness.”

“Frederick also agreed. The emperor had the training ground set up like that for his own use.”

I swallowed hard. So,

The two main characters had trashed the indoor training ground, and the enraged emperor and cardinal decided to give their only son and a precious daughter from another family a proper education.

Still, to bring monsters to the palace's back mountain? There are civilians here too?

What's wrong with both of them? Is the prince like this because he resembles them?

“I thought you couldn't properly prepare for the ‘monster extermination’ by just fighting among yourselves, so I prepared some monsters.”

Don't say it like it's today's lunch menu!

- Rumble...

“They're coming.”

Christel said. Tense, small water droplets floated up from her feet.

The red dots on the horizon quickly closed the distance and grew to the size of fingernails.

- Rumble...

“One, two, three...”

Four, five. A total of five beasts were charging towards us without any hindrance.

I walked to the front of the picnic mat.

The prince and Christel stood at the front, and I protected the cardinal and the group from behind.

“Everyone, don't leave the circle.”

“Don't worry, Prince.”

Bengiamin answered calmly.

Mountain keeper Agnes was checking the surroundings for rocks or trees to use as cover.

Unlike me, who was seeing monsters for the first time, the locals seemed to have experience and quickly calmed down.

Except for Kanae.

“I'll just cheer.”

The cardinal added fuel to the fire with her gentle voice. I couldn't help but laugh bitterly.

I shook my head and consciously sent ether to my fingertips.

Soon, a gentle warmth filled my palms, and an ether orb the size of a bun appeared on my hands.

“Princess Sarnez, don't worry about the ether, just deal with it.”

“Alright, that's good.”

I clenched and unclenched my fists.

The golden ether orb flickered on and off like a fluorescent light.

To ensure quick support, I had to smooth out the ether flow in advance.

I hadn't used my healing ability yet, but if I followed what I read in books, it might work...

- Rumble...

- Moo...

A beast's cry echoed. The monsters were visible in the distance.

They had a form as red as blood, with skin that glistened like a snake's and a shaggy mane around their necks.

Their size was about twice that of a regular bull.

Rushing towards us with white-hot eyes, they were quite terrifying.

“Dokdok Bulls.”

The prince, who had been silent, muttered.

He slowly took a few steps forward and drew the sword slanted at his right waist.

‘Dokdok (荼毒) Bulls’?

“Are they the monster bulls that spew poison?”

“Yeah.”

My mind calmed down.

I had seen them in a book about monsters when the pandas appeared in the palace.

Dokdok Bulls were herbivorous monsters, but they expelled all the toxins from the plants they ate to attack humans.

Fire attributes would be more advantageous against poison, but our side only had water and swordsmanship.

“We can't let them get close. They can make their breath poisonous.”

- Squeak

Demi let out a small cry at my words.

It seemed he had a complaint about something at his feet, so I bent one knee to lower my posture.

“Are you scared? Do you want a hug?”

- Squeak

Demi shook his head from side to side, as if to say it wasn't that, and then stood up on his hind legs.

Then,

- Crunch!

- Splash...

The grass in front of Demi began to lie down. Or, more accurately...

“It's a knot.”

The grass was entwined, forming a solid knot.

I tried to pull it, but the tangled part didn't weaken at all.

A method to hold and deal with the monsters before they got too close.

A sudden idea flashed through my mind.

“Prince, Princess Sarnez. Let's do it this way.”

I suggested.

Her clear blue eyes and his fiery orange eyes turned to me simultaneously.

*

- Moo...

- Roar!

The distance was now less than 100 meters.

The five Dokdok Bulls were drooling as they charged towards us.

The secretions from their tongues burned a few wildflowers.

I pushed ether into Demi, who was in my arms.

“Demi, can you do it?”

- Squeak

“It's okay, even if you fail, that sister and brother will take care of it. Two, three...”

The panda raised its two front paws.

“Now!”

- Crack!

With a sound like a giant watermelon splitting, the hillside sank.

- Moo!

- Roar! Roar!

The bellowing of bulls and the roaring of beasts mixed, and the Dokdok Bulls, losing their balance, tumbled into the sinkhole.

Demi's positioning was accurate, but the hole wasn't very deep.

- Roar!

The five fallen bulls struggled to get up, but the walls of the sinkhole, now slippery with mud, caused them to slip and fall.

Then, a massive stream of water poured in mercilessly, filling the pit.

The monsters, already weak against water and fire, quickly lost their strength as they got wet.

- Groan...

After some time, only one was still alive.

- Moo...

- Hiss...

The monsters' blood and saliva were mixing with the water to create a toxic liquid.

It was fortunate that it could be contained in one place.

If Christel had faced them alone, it would have been difficult to prevent the poison from spreading, and if only the prince had gone, the monsters might have scattered, reducing the effectiveness of the attack.

- Snort...

With a rough snort, the last monster closed its eyes.

A sigh of relief escaped me as the tension in my body eased.

“Prince...”

From behind the nearest rock, Kanae's muffled voice was heard.

Looking back, I saw Bengiamin, Natalie, David, and Agnes praying with their heads raised to the sky.

I let out a deflated laugh.

“Oh, crazy.”

At that moment, Christel's voice rang in my ear.

Startled, I turned my gaze and saw her standing in an awkward, almost falling position.

It seemed she had tripped on the grass tied by Demi to prevent the monsters from escaping the sinkhole.

“...Are you okay?”

“Yes, I'm fine. I forgot about this.”

She smiled. I returned a polite smile and turned to look at the prince.

As expected, he hadn't been hurt at all, and he met my gaze.

“...”

“...”

I thought he might start an argument, but he didn't say much.

He just dropped the broken sword on the ground and walked away.

It seemed that every sword he used was too weak to withstand his sword energy.

Does a prince like him not even have a single famous sword?

“Everyone did well. It was a pretty good warm-up, wasn't it?”

The cardinal's soft voice gently landed on the picnic mat.

She was savoring her coffee in the same posture as before the Dokdok Bulls arrived.

Christel burst into laughter and shook her head.

I stroked Demi, who was clinging to my chest, and whispered.

“Good job, Demi. You're today's MVP. You're the best.”

- Squeak

The panda let out a brave cry. My circle slowly disappeared.

*

Lady Elizabeth, who had drained more than half of her mulberry juice in one go, now looked much more comfortable.

“The cardinal said she had borrowed some royal guards for some reason.”

She laughed brightly, saying that her curiosity of the past few days had been resolved.

The spring breeze blowing through Juliette Palace's garden made her olive-colored hair sway gently.

It had been a day since we had killed the Dokdok Bulls on the back mountain.

Today's morning tea time was with Lady Elizabeth Mute, who had come to play hooky.

“The cardinal isn't interested in the affairs of knights or the military. She doesn't get involved in such matters.”

She explained.

“But for some reason, she found a few elite members with monster extermination experience. She even asked if they knew how to herd cattle. At the time, I thought it was a joke, but it was for a beneficial on-site learning experience... I'm moved.”

Lady Elizabeth's beautiful gray eyes sparkled.

Seeing her genuinely admire Cardinal Bouthier, who was gradually becoming an icon of mischief, the future of the empire...

It seemed to be slightly clouded.

“Please include me in such picnics in the future.”

“It wasn't a picnic.”

“Eating Juliette Palace's dessert in a beautiful place and then fighting monsters, that's a picnic.”

She was serious. I smiled wryly and sipped my burdock tea.

Yesterday's experience was certainly constructive, but thinking about the much larger and more intense monster extermination, a chill ran through me.

Even though the two main characters were there, I couldn't help but feel...

- Rustle

“Prince Yeseo.”

With the sound of grass being flattened, Bengiamin appeared from one side of the garden.

He was holding a silver-covered plate in one hand, which seemed to be a snack for me and Lady Elizabeth.

“I have some good news and some bad news. I'll start with the good news.”

“Ah, yes.”

Usually, wouldn't you ask which one to hear first?

“The good news is that today's coconut cake is the best.”

He revealed the contents of the plate.

The coconut powder, finely ground like shaved ice, was piled up like a light snowfall on the dessert.

In the center was a symbol of the Church of the Lord, made of dark chocolate.

Lady Elizabeth exclaimed, “What a beautiful sight, what a grand view.”

My lips curled up in a smile at the good news.

“And the bad news is... An interview request has come in, Prince.”