Page 8 of I Ran Away to Evil #3
Pure Fan Service
Gerda
I shouldn’t have done that.
Tonight had been going so well. I’d bought flowers for my hair, and Henrietta had enjoyed trying all of the street food—don’t ask me how she ate so much for someone so tiny—and Minstrel Brownie had taken to breaking out into song every time there was a pause in the scheduled performance.
The original band hired for the town square, The Hart and Hare, took a thirty-minute break every two hours. Now was one of those breaks, and Brownie was having a blast entertaining the crowd.
I had to admit, she was amazing . Her music was upbeat and catchy, and she had a beautiful singing voice.
Yes, everything had been going well … until I spotted him .
Duke Julian of North Sumbria. The half elf took after his human mother, dark skinned and sharp featured. His purple hair was from his elven father’s side, and he wore it long and bound in locks tied at the back of his head.
He was leaning against a magical lantern post, listening to the music.
I couldn’t help staring at him; he was just that strikingly attractive. Something about the way he always looked stern—it made me want to tease him. While playing through his route, he’d only ever smiled at the end. And only if I’d made all of the right choices along the way.
Making him smile had been worth all of the effort I’d put in.
Without Henrietta going down the hidden route, there’d been no reason for Julian to leave his fortress. And I’d missed him at the Spring Ball while trying to save everyone.
Tonight, his outfit was pure fan service. He was wearing black leather traveling clothes, knee-high boots, and a belt without a pouch or dagger. He had a warrior’s build, though I had to admit I was a little more toned than he was.
His silver eyes suddenly met mine from across the square.
I froze.
And I might have panicked. But only for a second. Glancing over his shoulder, I did my best to pretend that I was really looking at someone behind him. When Julian’s eyes followed mine, I used the opportunity to step out of sight, ducking behind the nearest stall.
If he was at the market … The premonition from earlier flashed through my mind. He must have dropped his locket on his way out of the palace.
I hesitated for only a second. Brownie was still very much distracted with her performance, and Henrietta was nearby arm wrestling someone for a free floofpoof roast skewer.
I’d had my own taste of the lightly salted roasted bird earlier.
It tasted a lot like chicken … but then again, a lot of the monsters tasted like chicken.
“Henrietta?” I waited until the queen slammed her challenger’s arm down and claimed her floofpoof prize before getting her attention.
“Gerda!” She smiled at me and pointed at the lineup of five burly individuals all ready for a turn. “Would you like me to win you a snack?”
I shook my head even as the next contestant, an ogre twice the size of Henrietta, took the seat and offered his hand. “Not if I crush you first, girlie!”
“Bring it!” Henrietta laughed then slammed the ogre’s hand into the table so hard the table creaked.
“I am going to turn in for the evening,” I let her know. “But I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Have a good night,” Henrietta replied. Then she turned back to the ogre, who was shaking out his sore hand. The Dark Lady patted her opponent on the arm reassuringly. “That was great! I’ll have the soy-glaze flying pork skewer, please.”
The vendor rushed to fulfill the order even as the ogre accepted defeat and paid for the food.
I left the busy town square and headed up the main road to the palace. There was no need to backtrack and follow the duke from where he’d come—[Sense Fate] had already told me where the locket had fallen.
This would have been an ideal game scenario for the Heroine of Justice and Duke Julian to come together. Instead, I was going to pick up the locket and turn it over to the palace staff.
Her Royal Viciousness, Queen Henrietta had already found her Happily Ever After. There was no heroine left to go and solve all of the quests that continued to pop up, so it was up to me to ensure things didn’t go too far off the rails.
That had been my original purpose for becoming Madame Potts.
If Henrietta was too busy to complete all of the important scenarios and I was tied down to my bridges, then I could just let everyone know what was going to happen, and they could solve the problems on their own.
Every nation in Valaria had their own high-level elite to throw at trouble.
I arrived at the palace’s outer gate and flashed my invitation.
It was something I’d won from Julia months back.
The woman had been on a warpath to make it to the Black Fortress as fast as possible, so I’d traded passage—and even offered her a shortcut with my bridge teleport skills—for special guest invitations to each of the major events in North Sumbria this year.
Julia was a good sort, and within the week she’d sent me passes for the Spring Ball, the Summer Masquerade, the Fall Ball, and the Winter Feast.
A palace guard checked my invitation for forgery then checked in with housekeeping to pick out a room for my stay. To make things easier, I asked for one in the western wing.
Once through, I took the nice cobblestone walkway that followed alongside the main road, heading straight for a courtyard on the western side and checking my perk to make sure I was going in the right direction.
[Passive Perk: Sense Fate has activated. Duke Julian von Slyke will lose his locket at the Coral Palace West Fountain tonight.]
[You have crossed paths with a fate that can be changed. Area of effect radius: Level 65 x Perception 43 x Foretelling 4 = 11,180 sq/ft. Fate herself will guide you.]
[“There falls a sacred treasure, a clue toward the crowned. Give back the lost before the mask, and see the scepter found.”]
As far as Fate’s riddles went, this one was surprisingly easy.
Though I worried that she called it a sacred treasure …
I didn’t want to steal Julian’s locket to complete my Season Two treasures quest. I’d found all of the treasures from Season One because I’d already known where they were hidden. That wasn’t the case with Season Two.
So far, I’d managed to do quite well for myself, all told.
[Quest: Season One Treasures Found 10/10 Complete]
The pride of a gamer; I’d found every treasure from Season One:
The Ancient Gamblers Amulet, which let me convert my EXP costs to gold.
The Master Cast Crystal, which connected to all Cast Crystals.
The Coldiron Skillet, which raised the chance of success on all culinary skills.
The Badgerclaw Best Blade, which was a poison sword permanently coated in dragonsbane.
The Arcane Catspaw Gloves, which identified a target’s highest-value item and stole it.
The Trickster’s Scarf that let the wearer change their appearance to foxfolk, lizardkin, human, elf, dwarf, troll, ogre, selkie, or preela.
The Hero’s Spatial Ring, which kept items frozen in time and had a thousand-item max capacity, with each space allowing up to ninety-nine of that item. It was currently at 899/1000 spaces used.
The Legendary Sunlight Mallet, that granted a seventy-five percent chance to repair any item up to Legendary grade, three times daily.
And lastly, the Veralyn’s Enchanted Restraint Manacles, which prevented access to all nonpassive titles, skills, perks, bonded and equipped items, and it capped the wearer’s attributes at fifteen.
But I’d played through Season One enough times that I could find the hidden treasures with my eyes closed. Season Two was a test to my actual abilities, especially when I couldn’t be sure an item was actually a “treasure” until I held it.
[Quest: Season Two Treasures Found 7/10
Nova’s Celestial Pendant: An opal pendant that glows near celestials and darkens near demons. +5 Charisma with Divine.
King Kraken’s Heart: A ruby pendant that allows you to breathe underwater. +5 Charisma with sea creatures.
Valarian Royal Mantle: +3 to Charisma when equipped. 5/6 set pieces found.
Valarian Royal Breastplate: +3 to Strength when equipped. 5/6 set pieces found.
Valarian Royal Shield: +3 to Constitution when equipped. 5/6 set pieces found.
Valarian Royal Crown: +3 to Perception when equipped. 5/6 set pieces found.
Valarian Royal Sword: +3 to Dexterity when equipped. 5/6 set pieces found.]
I was one item away from finding all six pieces in the Valarian Royal Set … and if Fate’s riddle was any hint, the Valarian Royal Scepter was linked with Julian and his locket.
Even without my [Map] perk, I knew how to find the Coral Palace west fountain.
I’d combed over the entire place while playing through Julian’s route and knew it well.
Which was good, because I felt overanxious.
Treasure hunting in public put me on edge, and I felt like Julian was right behind me, watching me look for his treasure.
I pushed away the thought.
It took a little bit of searching, but I found the pendant in the grass beside a bench.
Moonlight glinted off the broken loop of white gold that had previously kept it secure on its chain. Pulling out my Legendary Sunlight Mallet, I lightly tapped it against the locket.
[You have attempted to use the Legendary Sunlight Mallet to repair Duke Julian’s Cherished Locket - Epic grade. You are unskilled. 75% chance of success. You have failed.]
I sighed as a piece of locket chipped off. That was fine; I still had two more attempts today. Worst case, I could try again when the mallet ability reset at midnight.
The mallet hit a second time as an angry voice called out behind me, “Stop!”
[You have attempted to use the Legendary Sunlight Mallet to repair Duke Julian’s Cherished Locket - Epic grade. You are unskilled. 75% chance of success. You have succeeded.]