PGMTP - Chapter 10
Fortunately, Sharent Clown's son seemed to be more flexible in his waist and had stronger grip strength than me.
Even though we're both kids, we're definitely different in size.
"Hmm... You're not cleaning well."
As I watched Sharent Clown's son scrubbing vigorously while lying on his back, I took a deep breath.
'It was definitely time for cleaning.'
But still, maybe because Sharent Clown's son has more strength, it seems to be getting cleaner than when I cleaned it.
'Where can I get slime secretion for real? I can't believe I'm in this situation.'
In fact, it's an easy task to catch just one slime in the lower ruins managed by Martop to obtain slime secretion. (??? I'm still confused by this slime thing.... anyway let's get back)
It's frustrating that I can't do that.
"Well, is this enough?"
I squinted my eyes as I carefully examined the suction cup offered by Sharente Clown's son.
It's much more satisfying than what I cleaned.
I thought he was just crying all the time, but he's actually more helpful than I thought.
I nodded my head satisfactorily as I looked at the slightly cleaner pacifier in my hand, then put it back in my mouth.
Sharante Clown's son pulled his knees up and hunched his body, glancing at me.
"You know, you're not supposed to keep coming here."
I replied indifferently, shaking my hand up and down.
It's bothersome, really bothersome.
Since it seems unlikely to pick fruits today, I should go in early and take a good nap.
This little brat might not know, but babies need to take regular naps.
I used to complain to the maidservants about raising me inside, but now it feels like I'm raising myself.
As I crawled clumsily, Sharant Clown's son chased after me from the side.
He lowered his body and even crouched down to walk, but no matter how fast he crawled, he couldn't take it away from me.
Just as I stopped moving abruptly and was about to say something in a whimper.
Gwoooh-!
A giant roar echoed in the sky.
I perked up my ears.
It was a cry I had heard many times before.
And it was a cry that shouldn't be heard here in the first place.
'Griffon.'
I easily deduced the identity of the cry.
Griffons were the guardians and sentinels of intermediate ruins.
"Huh? What's that?"
As I nodded my head, my tongue got twisted, and a childish voice came out.
I let out a childish voice, my tongue twisted in the process.
I slapped Sharent Clown's son's ankle lightly.
"Ouch! Stop it!"
You idiot!
He had a knack for targeting particularly small creatures that moved, despite his size and appearance.
And he particularly enjoyed targeting creatures that were smaller than him.
I grabbed the hem of his clothes around his ankle, but Sharent Clown's son showed no sign of understanding.
"Huh? Baby, why are you like that?"
I didn't know.
I exerted my own sense of wit and saw no reason to try harder.
Letting go of Sharent Clown's son's clothing, I quickly crawled and hid my body under a nearby tree.
Sizzle-!
When the Gryphon cried again, people started appearing one by one from various directions, wondering what was going on.
"What the heck is this... Why is such a creature here!"
Desha Clown's voice rang out angrily.
It was even more surprising that there was no servant screaming in fear in the midst of all this.
Perhaps everyone was well-trained.
The Gryphon spread its wings wide and flashed its eyes from the sky.
Having spotted its prey, the Gryphon began to descend vertically towards Sharent Clown's son.
"Ah..."
'I knew this would happen.'
Well, when you have a chance to run, you should run.
Sharente Clown's son was frozen in surprise and couldn't move, probably because he had never experienced anything like this before.
Still, with the skilled veteran Deshar Clown around, things would somehow work out.
"Kaisen, come here."
A calm, sweet, smooth, and gentle voice, like oil dripping, came from behind Deshar Clown.
But at the same time, it was arrogant. The owner of the honey-like voice, which was familiar to me as well, was revealed.
I turned my head towards the source of the voice.
"Oh, father!"
The expression on Sharente Clown's son, who had been frozen in fear, brightened up.
With swollen eyes, he rushed to Deshar Clown and hugged his legs tightly.
Sharente Clown smiled softly as he held the child.
I watched the scene with mixed emotions.
Honestly, I was surprised.
I had thought that Sharente Clown was a cold and ruthless person who wouldn't care about family affection.
As someone who had reached that level of existence, it must have been clear how much family could be a hindrance and a threat.
"Stay with your grandfather."
"Yes!"
Sharente Clown's son, who answered confidently, hid his body beside Deshar Clown.
'Sharente Clown.'
He suddenly blocked the path in front of his son and lightly swung the heavy-looking spear with one hand.
The grandiose spear he was holding had a sleek shape and swift movements.
Moreover, for handling such a massive spear that required large movements, his movements were incredibly graceful without any unnecessary gestures.
Compared to magical combat, he seemed to be ignorant of physical combat, but in my eyes, he looked as if he had reached a high level of expertise.
"It seems, Father, that even the lowliest of beings have lost their way on this journey."
Sharente Clown, facing the dense magical energy and murderous intent of the griffin, remained relaxed with a smiling face.
'The rumors surrounding him seem to be more than just empty rumors.'
I heard that he handles all sorts of weapons like toys, and his temperament is quite cruel.
The rumor that he obtained relics by conquering a ruin with a small elite group was not just an empty rumor.
If he's around, my life will be safe.
Feeling relieved, I looked around.
The griffin turned its gaze entirely towards the overwhelming aura emitted by Sharente Clown.
He dodged the attack wielded by Sharente Clown and retreated to keep his distance from the opponent who was trying to take his life, scattering in all directions."
"What on earth are the Matop and the wizards doing? Isn't the ruins their responsibility?"
"Well, you see. It seems they've lost control of their master and lost their way as well."
I hid my body among the bushes, listening to the angry voice of Deshar Clown and the muffled voice that responded.
The master they were referring to was probably me, who was supposed to be dead.
My mouth tasted bitter.
It wouldn't be difficult to return to my room, taking advantage of the fact that everyone's attention was focused on the Griffin.
'By the way, why isn't the management being done properly?'
As he said, the ruins with the Griffin were under the jurisdiction of Matop.
However, it seemed that the management was not being done properly. Normally, personnel should be stationed to guard the ruins at all times.
Ruins.
Yes, there were ruins in this world.
And within them lay relics.
There were no records of how or when these ruins came into existence.
Why they existed, how they came to be, no one knew, but they had existed since ancient times and evil spirits had flowed out from there.
Naturally, there were relics in these ruins.
The problem was that in order to obtain these relics, one had to pass through the entrance of the ruins on the surface and descend to the bottom of the unknown underground, where countless evil spirits were guarding the path to the relics.
The relics were imbued with a very special power.
There were several stories about relics in ancient documents.
Artifacts sometimes have the power to manipulate human emotions, control animals, or possess the power of healing or purification, or even the power of curses.
There were cases where the owner of an artifact became incredibly powerful, or their cooking skills improved significantly when using the artifact.
In the latter case, it was said that once addicted to the food, one could not escape from its grip, as if they had taken a terrible drug.
However, as much as there were many who desired the power to control life and death, the walls of the ruins where the artifacts existed were so high that only those with exceptional skills dared to attempt to obtain them.
There were two main types of artifacts in the ruins: the holy relics that were considered more sacred than anything else, and the evil relics that possessed a malevolent energy comparable to that of the holy relics.
Only about eight types of artifacts had been publicly revealed in the world.
Considering that there were only thirty-seven publicly known ruins, the number was very low.
It was difficult in itself to go in and come back alive.
Currently, there were three relics in the Heirun Empire.
One was owned by Duke Clown, another by the royal family, and the remaining one was kept in the temple.
It was rumored that the relic in the temple already had an owner.
Information about Duke Clown's relic was very scarce, so no one knew who owned it or where it was kept. It was said that the royal family's relic had not found its owner.
The relics managed by Matap consisted of two evil relics and one holy relic.
One of the other two relics was owned by a kingdom across the sea, and the other by another empire standing in the middle of a desert, possessing a unique evil relic.
'If you're going to chase people away, at least do your job properly.'
I suddenly felt annoyed.
I walked down the empty corridor with a bitter feeling.