The Protagonist Already Knows

Chapter 6: Slumbering Prince

As the door to her store swung open, Melissa hesitated, afraid to make the same mistake she had made a few days ago.

However, just a few moments later, a voice, clearly that of a child with a forced cold, sounded.

"Excuse me, I’m looking for a night-seeing po-"

Flickering her head away from her potions in the store’s backroom and seeing a boy in an oversized coat and cap that covered his face, Melissa practically yelled, the veins on her forehead bulging.

"PERIL!"

Peril rapidly turned around, his cap falling off and revealing his blue eyes and black hair, and immediatly sprinted out of the store.

"That...I thought it would work this time."

Rapidly panting, Peril stood outside the only alchemy store that had yet to ban him and gazed upward at the light-blue sky.

Walking through the streets of Ascent, Peril passed by the school building he was supposed to be in and plopped down on the empty street.

"This town is...so boring."

Peril wanted to escape, leave Ascent. He wanted to go on an adventure like those heroes he had seen on television.

Peril wanted to do something with his life, not become a merchant like his parents: just another leaf that could be flung away at any time by the slightest breeze in the world of magic.

He understood that in this world, mundane humans were sitting ducks: expendable creatures to those with heroic powers.

After all, he had witnessed it firsthand.

Peril had watched his parents be abused by guildmasters constantly, forced to take on losses just to satisfy those "heroes."

He had seen their faces...their sullen faces when they couldn’t even afford a piece of bread for themselves after being forced to sign an unfair contract with a guild.

Those images never vanished from his mind.\

Recalling the words of his grandfather, a B-rank hero who had commanded great respect, Peril couldn’t help but feel ashamed of himself.

"Remember...you must protect your family above all else."

While covering his face, Peril stammered.

"I-i’m so powerless."

Clenching his fists, Peril recalled the manor he had found just a few days ago. The voices he had heard coming from it.

"You want power...? Come inside."

"We understand you...let us free, and we’ll take care of those selfish guilds."

"Do you want to save your parents?"

Every time Peril saw his parents, the mysterious voice from the manor still echoed in his head.

Rapidly shaking his head, Peril cried out.

"B-but, I need a night-vision potion to explore it. I need help..."

Just then, the image of the young man with crimson-red eyes flashed in Peril’s eyes.

It was the first time a newcomer had appeared in the district in weeks.

What if he found that manor and took his opportunity? What if he were like one of those rotten guilds and was going to blackmail his parents?

Ash’s appearance alone had sparked a sense of urgency in Peril’s mind.

Leaping upward, his nails drawing blood from his palm as he clenched his fists even harder, Peril ran.

And there it was...at the very end of the last street.

Peril saw it: a three-story stone house, covered in moss and resembling a mini medieval castle with two high watchtowers.

Reading the sign lying above the wooden door, Peril took a deep breath and approached the door.

[Tartarus]

...

...

...

*BANG~BANG*

*BANG~BANG*

*BANG~BANG*

Snapping awake at the aggressive knocking, I immediatly began swaying back and forth in bed, feeling my head surge with pain.

Scratching my burning head, I slowly got out of bed, my previous memories slowly flooding back in.

*BANG~BANG*

"I’M COMING!"

Sighing, I buttoned up my rumpled white collared shirt and opened the door of my rented room, immediatly met with a familiar elderly figure.

"Wh-"

Before I could even say anything, the alchemy lady grabbed my shoulders and shook me rapidly, all the while repeteadly saying,

"y-you’re here! You’re a hero right? I searched everywhere for you... PLEASE H-"

Before she could continue rambling, I quickly cut her off, softly pushing her arms off my shoulders.

"What’s going on!?"

The lady, now on the verge of sobbing with tears dancing on the corner of her eyes, looked down and said while trembling.

"My grandonson...Peril; he’s gone missing. The officials...the officials, they say they won’t do anything until five days have elapsed."

Instinctively, I looked at my smartwatch, the date immediately appearing.

[August 17]

Three days...I had been unconscious for three days.

If this lady hadn’t woken me up, how much longer would it have been...?

Pausing for a moment, I confusedly asked.

"Aren’t you an alchemist; don’t you have a hero helping you brew potions?"

Although mundane humans could become alchemists and sell potions, they required the presence of a hero, as only the first step of brewing magical potions required mana.

Now looking straight down, the lady responded.

"M-my husband, he...passed a few weeks ago. I-I’m just selling what’s left."

Rubbing my head, I glanced at the sobbing lady before me and awkwardly coughed.

"I would recommend waiting for the officials...I won’t be of much help to you."

Stammering, she reached into her pocket and handed me a piece of paper before stammering.

"A-ah, I see."

Taking the piece of paper, I seriously memorized the missing boy’s face before re-entering the streets of Ascent, paying all my remaining cash to the lodgekeeper.

The backlash from drinking 4 potions had been more severe than I expected, costing me three entire days.

If I wanted to make it to the academy’s opening ceremony on time, I had to leave by tomorrow morning.

Thankfully, I now had everything prepared.

Glancing at my smartwatch screen, I quickly searched my replica of Ascent, finding Tartatus in a matter of minutes.

Finding the building’s location, however, was not the reason I had gone through the trouble of mapping out this entire district of Ascent.

Taking a deep breath, I began walking straight.

I knew exactly what I had to do to successfully accommodate the Specter’s lineage.

Ash, on the other hand, was clueless when he wandered into Tartarus and began the trial. And yet, we were technically the same person.

It was going to be a life-and-death game of hide-and-seek.