It was completely confusing, but there was a clear fact.
‘The story progression has completely changed.’
This was the scene connected to the final chapter of the game story, which Ranshel had always believed was not his part.
In the original game, Zavad forms an expedition to conquer the Dungeon to break the curse of the snowy mountain demons that froze his beloved’s legs.
The demon who cursed Frey was a descendant of the Demon King, and to break the powerful curse he cast, they had to purify and annihilate the core the Demon King left behind in the underground dungeon where the Demon King’s soul slept.
The story was that the Demon King, whose soul within the core was also shattered, would be annihilated without leaving any trace, and the descendants of the Demon King remaining on the snowy mountains would no longer be able to covet the Empire.
And the ending of the game was that the great hero who saved the continent from danger by thwarting the Demon King’s resurrection and the Saintess would receive the praise of the entire Empire and get married.
‘But all of that has gone wrong….’
Zavad doesn’t love Frey, so he would not be inclined to break the curse.
The story of the hero who defeated the Demon King marrying the Saintess was long gone.
Since the premise disappeared, the process would change, and the result would inevitably be different.
‘The only thing that’s the same is that the Dungeon must be conquered?’
Ranshel rolled his eyes past the wig and carefully examined the interior of the hall.
Looking closely, he saw a stone statue resembling the shape of a demon placed between the altars for the ritual.
Through his past experiences and the explanation of the item the system had just given him, he could now roughly guess the prelude to all these events.
The remaining demonic energy throughout the continent was because the human hero sealed the Demon King’s core underground, and the Archbishop’s claim that this land was polluted was because the Agents’ purification efforts were hindering the Demon King’s resurrection.
The Archbishop intended to drive out Frey, the Saintess, and move the Great Temple out of the capital to extinguish the holy aura that suppresses the demonic energy.
This prayer meeting run by the Archbishop was the ‘Resurrection Prayer Meeting,’ with the purpose of resurrecting the Demon King sealed in the Dungeon.
Although monks, believers, and some nobles under the Archbishop were involved, a significant number of them were mobilized against their will due to the curse, so the meeting would naturally fall apart if only the Archbishop were dealt with.
Demon worship, let alone Demon King worship.
Could there be any greater heresy than this?
If they could successfully raid this scene, they could drive out the Archbishop and his followers from the Temple and eliminate the villains who threatened Zavad.
However, if this hall itself acted as the Dungeon, dealing with the Archbishop would lead directly to conquering the Dungeon.
The Demon King, having lost his body, would manipulate the Archbishop to eliminate the intruders.
‘Then, I need to send a party of ‘Agents’ who received Frey’s blessing to purify the Demon King’s core. But where do I find these Agents?’
Ranshel was pondering inwardly.
As if reading his mind, the system displayed a new window.
[Sub-Quest Notification]
You are a person who has incurred the wrath of the Demon King and cannot accompany the Dungeon raid. Instead, recruit an ‘Agent’ party to conquer the Dungeon.
-Goal: Register all characters who received Main Character ‘Frey Vershel’s’ Blessing into the party.
-Completion Criteria: Change all characters in the list provided in the Quest Status to ‘Registration Complete’ status.
-Reward: Event Contribution increased by 30 percent.
Note: Party registration is only possible when you directly encounter the corresponding character.
+
“…….”
Ranshel narrowed his eyes and glared at the system window issuing the sudden command.
As he continued to stare, a list of ‘Agents’ who had received Frey’s blessing and were eligible to conquer the Dungeon appeared, as if urging him.
[Quest Status]
+
-Zavad Pompel (Knight): Not Registered [Blessing Skill Not Applied / Registration Not Possible]
-Hans (Shield Soldier): Not Registered [Blessing Skill Applied / Registration Possible]
-Daniel (Assassin): Not Registered [Blessing Skill Applied / Registration Possible]
-Dotter (Archer): Not Registered [Blessing Skill Applied / Registration Possible]
+
…They were all familiar names.
Ranshel subtly raised his head and looked at Daniel standing next to him.
Feeling his gaze, Daniel slightly tugged on Ranshel’s clothes, as if asking what was wrong.
This was clearly the ‘state of encountering the character’ that the system required.
‘……Register.’
When Ranshel muttered the word inwardly to test it, the text in the window immediately changed.
[Quest Status]
+
-Daniel (Assassin): Registration Complete
+
Ranshel tightly closed his eyes and then opened them.
The system had no intention of sending him into the Dungeon, but it seemed to want him to take on the role of helping to conquer the Dungeon.
It was similar to how a player in the original game would send an Agent party into the Dungeon, but would not directly intervene in the conquest process because it proceeded in an auto-battle format.
‘First, Daniel is registered, next is….’
Ranshel frowned while examining the system window.
-Zavad Pompel (Knight): Not Registered [Blessing Skill Not Applied / Registration Not Possible]
Zavad was currently the only person in the Agent party—who fulfill God’s will—who had not received Frey’s blessing.
Even sub-characters like Hans and Dotter had the skill applied, but he alone had the big red letters ‘Registration Not Possible’ displayed.
Ranshel didn’t know when Frey had encountered the others, but at least Dotter must have received the blessing when he came to the capital for the entrance exam….
Zavad alone had not received the blessing that was applied even to characters he had interacted with for such a short time. Ranshel pouted his lips with an inexplicable sense of disappointment.
“For the glorious return of the great King!”
While Ranshel was checking the sub-quest, the praise of the Demon King, disguised as the Archbishop’s sermon, had ended.
He blended in with the stream of people exiting the hall with Daniel and left the meeting.
Zavad and Frey, who were among the people pouring out of the chapel where the ceremony had also just concluded, joined them.
The four gathered in a private room inside the Great Temple to discuss the prayer meeting organized by the Archbishop.
“To run a prayer meeting that not only covets power but also praises the Demon King… this is clearly an act that threatens the security of the Empire.”
“Yes. The coming of the darkness he worried about… was a warning about the resurrection of the Demon King.”
The justification was clear.
Now, by publicly announcing the contents of the divine prophecy the Saintess received during the official service, they could obtain permission from the Holy Emperor for military suppression within the Temple and raid the Archbishop’s prayer meeting.
However, since the Holy Knights, who should be protecting the Temple, were on the Archbishop’s side, it was necessary to create an environment where the Imperial Knights could intervene under the pretext of defending the Empire’s security from the threat of the demons.
Zavad decided to take the Imperial Knights Entrance Exam immediately after being conferred as a Knight.
The mini-game, which was originally the final trial before the heroine and the capture target were united, had now become the main game.
This could no longer be called a dating game.
‘It’s not easy for a game to fail this badly.’
Ranshel sighed, watching Frey and Zavad, who seemed to have absolutely no affection for each other.
Then, feeling a gaze, he met Zavad’s eyes, and quickly lowered his head.
Since he hadn’t changed clothes yet, he was able to cover his face with the hanging wig.
‘Don’t look at me, seriously.’
Or I’ll kiss you….
Ranshel, feeling the gaze continuously fixed on him even with his head bowed, couldn’t take it anymore and quickly stood up.
“I’m going to change my clothes!”
And he fled, wrapping the wig around his face like a scarf.
The romance between the player and the capture target was long gone, but because the essence of the game had changed, he still remained in this world.
And he had to fulfill his assigned role.
He wasn’t in a situation to be suffering from this damn unrequited love, he thought, gripping his furiously pounding chest.
