Chapter 427

427 The Prince’s Game #3

“You seem to have been pretty busy at the palace, huh?”

When I returned to the hotel, an elf lounging on a long chair in the lobby greeted me.

With her pure white gown and equally spotless skin, along with her silver-white shimmering hair, the identity of this fairy needed no question — it was clearly Elpride.

“Did you really have fun at the palace? You look exhausted. Looks like you partied all night? Even though you sent off the nymphs much earlier.”

Elpride was oddly interrogating me.

Apparently, because the plan was for me to return to the hotel by late afternoon yesterday, and I’ve only come back now at noon today.

“Did some noble young ladies hit on you?”

Noble young ladies hitting on me? Sure, there were many nobles and maids at the royal castle, but it wasn’t a situation where anyone’s face stood out to me. They were merely part of the background to me.

As I hesitated in answering due to my fatigue, Elpride frowned, clearly displeased.

It seems Elpride thought I had partied wildly at the royal palace and just came back now.

How should I explain this?

With all the events that occurred in a single night, I have no idea where to start.

At that moment, Paranoi, who had been following me, interjected.

“Partied?! For someone of your lowly status, that’s awfully disrespectful! Sir Hassan worked tirelessly through the night without a wink of sleep to secure the peace of the continent and control over the world!”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Sir Hassan did nothing interesting other than touch Princess Freida’s chest!”

“Huh? What? Who’s this Princess Freida?”

“I would explain, but this body of mine is incredibly sleepy…”

With that, Paranoi dropped a comment that could easily lead to misunderstandings and strode off to her room. She must have gone to sleep. What a j*rk, Paranoi. Dream about eating ginseng-flavored candy or something.

Ultimately, the only ones left in the lobby were Elpride, who still held a suspicious look, and me.

Elpride’s red eyes coldly scrutinized me, making my chest tighten.

In the past, when I was still Elpride’s slave, she often audited the receipts for the food and lodging expenses she provided me. Every time I tampered with those receipts to save up 30 silver coins for my freedom, she would give me a similar cold, suspicious look.

Though, despite my tension, Elpride gave an indifferent chuckle and continued.

“Something like this is more Luna’s job, right? What you do or don’t do has nothing to do with me. It’s commendable that you managed to return alive, at least.”

I’m not sure what she meant, but it seems she accepted it.

On the wave of this smooth transition, I asked her.

“Elpride, if you heard what happened at the royal palace, you’d be shocked. Where are Luna and Hippolyte? There’s something I need to tell everyone.”

“They’re probably roaming around the market together. I think they mentioned taking the nymphs out for a stroll as well.”

“Is that so? Did you not go anywhere today?”

“Well, I wanted to visit the Shrine Knights’ office, but they said only authorized personnel could enter. So I’ve just been lounging on this luxurious chair and reading books.”

“That’s probably what happened.”

I could easily imagine Elpride being turned away from the knights’ office.

This girl had a crush on a certain deputy knight from the Shrine Knights, a gold-armored knight named Natatos or something like that.

To be precise, her interest seemed to lie in the prestigious title of this knight — “Dragon Slayer.”

But her attempt to meet him must have failed, which led her to k*ll time by staying at the hotel.

“So what’s this about the princess’s chest, you say?”

“What? Weren’t we supposed to just let that go?”

With no choice, I told Elpride the entire story of everything that happened.

Lacking in eloquence, I recounted everything in chronological order: the successful conclusion of the nymphs’ performance, the sight of treasures in the warehouse, my meeting with the prince, and everything in between.

“Hnnn…”

After hearing my entire story, Elpride knitted her brows in a fairly serious manner.

“The princess who was nearly poisoned with eight-step venom must surely have the elves of Albrheim involved.”

“Right.”

Elpride lives up to her name as an elf.

Perhaps seeing this story from her perspective would give her other insights that I had not considered.

Indeed, Elpride supplemented some information that I had not thought about, scratching at things in realms I had not reached.

“In reality, even among elves, not just anyone can handle the eight-step venom. It’s a deadly poison capable of killing Thor of the Lightning in nine steps, and even among elves, it’s treated with great care.”

“Thor of the Lightning — are you talking about your deity in Albrheim?”

“That’s right. He was a god of brute strength. Someone so strong that he could lift the World Serpent with ease. Thinking about it now, you’re somewhat similar.”

“Is that so? I am somewhat powerful these days.”

“You’re just strong in a dumb, brutish way. Idiot. Of course, you wouldn’t succumb to something as trivial as snake venom. Anyhow, since it killed a god, the number of elves who can handle it is rather limited.”

“Hnn…”

I tried to organize my thoughts.

It killed Thor of the Lightning, a deity associated with lightning. That must mean he had an enormously powerful divine essence. To d*e from a snake bite within nine steps — that’s indeed terrifying venom.

Clearly, something as perilous as that must be handled with utmost caution in the elven society of Albrheim and would not be something just anyone could obtain.

As I was organizing my thoughts, Elpride, who had been briefly silent, spoke again, having apparently gone over her own thoughts.

“It seems the elven kings may be involved in this matter. In fact, aside from those guys, there aren’t many who could handle the Eight.”

“Elven kings?”

At the mention of elven kings, I recalled the Queen Freida of Albrheim. I had once wondered if Elpride had any familial connection to her, but I had forgotten to ask earlier.

“Hmm, Freida. A famous name. There’s a pretty good chance my name was also derived from that.”

“Right? So, it doesn’t concern you then?”

“Among female elves, the name Freida is common. Elves name their children after famous old figures or deities, hoping they’ll resemble them.”

“That makes sense.”

Maybe her name was derived from a famous historical figure?

I even considered whether Elpride could be a princess of the elves, but she appears to be just a regular fairy — well, not exactly regular, considering she once set the World Tree on fire.

“Hey, Hassan, were you seriously thinking something ridiculous just now?”

“Nope.”

“In any case, this suggests the involvement of the elven kings for an incredibly long time. If we must intervene, it would be wise to exercise caution.”

With that, Elpride stopped talking to me.

As usual, she simply went back to reading her book.

*

“Alright, little forest nymphs, it’s nap time! Amiris, Ornoi, Sartiol — everyone, brush your teeth, and let’s get into bed!”

After some time, Luna came back into the hotel, leading about ten or so nymphs.

Luna takes care of the nymphs without showing even a hint of annoyance, whether it’s helping them brush their teeth, combing their hair, or tucking them into bed.

How can she be so devoted?

But soon, after combing the nymphs’ hair, Luna sneakily collected a few strands of their hair and stuffed them into her pocket with a mischievous grin.

“Phew! Collecting enough hair, we could make clothes! A garment woven from fairy hair — it’ll be amazing!”

Exactly.

The nymphs are well taken care of by Luna, who is like a kindergarten teacher, and Luna benefits by gathering materials — it’s a win-win, mutually beneficial relationship.

Anyway, what’s important now isn’t that.

“Luna, I have something to say. Please gather everyone in my room.”

After everyone gathered in my room, I briefly explained the events that happened at the royal castle and carefully laid out what we should do next.

“I have collected all three keys to the warehouse of Pluto’s followers. It’s only a matter of time before we can truly explore the Labyrinth of Pluto. But it won’t be easy.”

At this, Hipolyte, who had been silently listening from her seat, added a few words with her arms crossed and a hardened expression.

“Unbelievable stories, indeed. The prince being a princess all this while. The politicians of the capital will be in an uproar.”

“That’s probably true.”

“But our main concern as warriors must be that Gigas fellow.”

The story about the prince actually being a princess, and how many innocent people were wrongfully executed due to possession by an evil spirit, is ultimately something that Thunderblade and Princess Freida must resolve themselves.

Even if political circles get noisy, it doesn’t concern us much, if at all. If it does, it’s not a priority now.

What’s important to me right now is forming a party that will head to the underworld.

That’s why I called these trusted allies to build a party.

But Hippolyte, who has the most experience in this type of expedition, let out a deep sigh throughout my story, revealing a clear sense of worry.

“But we’re talking about heading to the underworld. It won’t be easy. Hassan, have you heard of the Argo Expedition?”

“Not really.”

To be precise, I’ve heard the name, but I know nothing about the details. Why would Hippolyte bring up this somewhat familiar but strange name now? As I pondered this, eager to decipher her intention,

“I know it!”

Luna suddenly shouted excitedly.

“A few years ago, the expedition to retrieve the Golden Fleece in Colchis on the eastern continent! The name was even famous in Ideope!”

Afterward, Luna enthusiastically explained the expedition known as the Argo.

In short, it was a large-scale expedition team composed of gold-tier adventurers and warriors of equivalent strength.

“Just as Noxdotty said, the team was led by the trickster Jason and included many disciples of Kairos, like Actaeon. Though some left halfway, even Gloria was part of that crew.”

In total, there were more than twenty heroes involved.

Although Luna listed out many names, the only ones I recognized were Gloria and Actaeon. Nevertheless, that gave me a sense of the scale of this expedition team — they could overthrow a kingdom.

Indeed, Hippolyte summed up the mission:

“Colchis, where the Golden Fleece was, was filled with all sorts of monsters and demons. The journey there wasn’t easy either. It was a Platinum-tier mission, far exceeding the Gold level.”

A Platinum-tier difficulty.

That’s the pinnacle difficulty where even several Gold-tier heroes must unite to barely achieve it.

It’s clear that Hippolyte wouldn’t exaggerate by calling the Argo expedition a Platinum-tier mission. Then why bring it up now?

Just as I wondered this, Hippolyte preemptively explained:

“Even gathering the Golden Fleece from Colchis required so many heroes. But Hassan, you are talking about forming an expedition to the gates of Hell.”

“Ah.”

“The Underworld ruled by Pluto isn’t somewhere just any god can freely visit, except for Mercury. Moreover, Tartarus is the abyss even gods fear. To put it bluntly, it’s impossible —”

At that moment, Paranoi clicked her tongue.

“To compare the expedition Hassan will lead with the crew of mortal humans on the Argo — such talk is outrageous!”

“What? Crew, you say? Why such criticism?”

Paranoi’s disparagement made Hippolyte furrow her brows. As a Gold-tier adventurer herself, Hippolyte must have been offended by such a dismissive remark about the heroes aboard the Argo.

Nevertheless, Paranoi shouted loudly, veins popping out on her neck.

“Compared to Hassan, the heir to the fires of Hell and noble bl**d, those who boarded the Argo are mere mortals, a ragtag bunch!”

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