Although this continent was full of hidden dangers, its natural scenery was exceptionally beautiful. Both sides of this ordinary road were lined with lush green trees, and little flowers bloomed all over the grass.
Beneath the shade of a roadside tree, Yu Deng sat on his horse, listening to the merchant's self-recommendation.
The man spoke with utmost sincerity. "I'm very strong and can withstand pain. You can make me do anything you want, and you can even hit me whenever you like."
As he spoke, the man's tone unexpectedly carried a hint of anticipation.
Yu Deng lowered his head in a daze and stared at him. "???" What on earth was this guy talking about...?
Yu Deng glared at the man. After a long while, he finally managed to squeeze out a clarification. "You're talking nonsense! I-I don't even like hitting people!"
He wasn't that bad of a person... He didn't just go around hitting people for no reason, okay?!
Yu Deng had absolutely no idea that while he was sleeping last night, a certain dragon had sneaked into his bedroom, gotten slapped by him unintentionally, and remained obsessed with that experience ever since.
After being annoyed for a moment, Yu Deng put on the air of a little princess and authoritatively ordered the merchant who had appeared within the kingdom's territory, "Y-You are not allowed to say things like that again. That's an order!"
The merchant, who was actually the leader of the dragon race, continued staring at Yu Deng without even blinking, despite being reprimanded. His gaze grew increasingly infatuated.
Even the little princess looked beautiful when he was angry. A faint blush spread across his pretty face, his expression was lively and radiant, and his eyes resembled the most precious gemstones.
The man couldn't help praising the little princess in his heart. Only after finishing his silent compliments did he realize what he had just offered himself up for. He felt a little regretful, then very skillfully came up with a new excuse.
His docile appearance just now must have put the little princess at ease. Everything was still under his control. Perhaps he could even take the little princess directly back to his lair!
Thinking this, the man became even more obedient and docile as he replied, "I understand, Your Highness. I'm very sorry that my words just now displeased you. I'll correct my behavior, so... would you be willing to change knights?"
The terrifying evil dragon actually wanted to become the princess's knight. Surely, no one would believe it if they heard about this!
"With all due respect."
Song Shiyu's patience had nearly reached its limit. He spoke coldly. "Her Royal Highness already has a knight, and you're interfering with Her Highness's patrol around the city."
The leader of the dragon race also found this knight extremely unpleasant.
"Is that so? If I remember correctly, according to the rules of the humans... ahem, the Kingdom of Sturit, knights who aren't strong enough aren't allowed to guard the princess."
Song Shiyu stated calmly, "I am the finest knight, and I have already entered into a contract with Her Royal Highness."
The leader of the dragon race: "..." So what if you've entered into a contract?!
The two rivals found each other equally irritating. They exchanged hostile glares, their eyes filled with displeasure. A few seconds later, Song Shiyu heard a system notification.
[Ding! Player Song Shiyu, please take note: Your favorability and trust level with the ??? race have decreased by 100. Your current values are now negative.]
Song Shiyu: "."
He sneered inwardly, thinking that this suspicious man was indeed another Fantasy Species.
In the blink of an eye, the two had already attacked each other simultaneously, showing no mercy whatsoever. Both seemed determined to finish the other off right then and there.
Yu Deng turned his head around in confusion, only to find that his knight was already fighting with the merchant. Both of them were incredibly powerful, their movements lightning-fast as dazzling flashes of magical light flew chaotically through the air.
Yu Deng could barely keep up with the pace. "??" Wait a minute, how did they end up fighting?!
The livestream comment sections for both Yu Deng and Song Shiyu were scrolling rapidly, with everyone discussing the scene unfolding before their eyes.
[Wait a minute? If I'm not mistaken, that man selling goods seems to be the leader of the dragon race...???]
[I can responsibly tell you that you're not mistaken. I saw the leader in the background of another player's livestream yesterday. He breathed out a single stream of fire and burned down an entire mountain.]
[The dragon race is so hot-tempered. Some unlucky guy randomly spawned in their territory and was mistaken for a spy. He almost got beaten into a punching bag.]
[So what exactly was that dragon doing just now? Deliberately disguising himself as a peddler to attract Baby's attention, giving away a whole bunch of gold for free, and even fighting someone just to become Baby's knight?]
[Little Princess Dengdeng's charm is just that powerful!]
[Not gonna lie, seeing Song Shiyu, that poker-faced block of ice, actually fighting someone for the princess is pretty surreal, too.]
"Wait a minute..." Yu Deng watched the fight until his head started spinning. He opened his mouth, but for a moment, he had no idea how to stop them from fighting.
System 01 emitted a brief detection beep and reminded him, [Host, data analysis complete. The man who was selling you goods just now is also one of your special mission targets in this instance.]
"Eh? So he's one of them, too." Yu Deng tilted his head back, trying to get a clearer view of the two men's fighting movements.
At that moment, the Main System, which had been silent for some time, suddenly appeared.
[Attention, Player Yu Deng! Your special mission target is currently causing severe energy fluctuations. Please complete your mission as soon as possible, and do not destroy the instance!]
At the same time, the royal guards, who had fallen some distance behind after being left in the dust by the black horse, finally caught up. They shouted as they hurried toward him, "Your Royal Highness! Are you alright?! We've detected magical fluctuations!"
Yu Deng immediately felt as though the noise was making his head buzz. He took a deep breath and reprimanded his two mission targets. "Y-You two, stop fighting!"
Yu Deng hadn't even shouted particularly loudly. His soft voice didn't sound fierce in the slightest, yet the two men instantly stopped fighting and returned to his side, one after the other.
"Your Royal Highness." Song Shiyu lowered his head and apologized before his love rival could get a word in. "I'm very sorry for engaging in combat without your permission. It was a dereliction of my duty. However, I only wanted to deal with someone who harbored ill intentions toward you."
Dragon: "?" Who's the one with ill intentions?!
"Your Highness, I merely wanted to prove that I'm more qualified to become your knight. I absolutely had no intention of harming you."
After explaining himself to the little princess, the leader of the dragon race raised his head and glanced at the royal guards rushing toward them in a large group. He then looked at the little princess, whose patrol had yet to be completed, before finally glancing at the knight who had prevented him from getting the princess.
...What a nuisance.
The dragon grew somewhat restless. After weighing his options for a few seconds, he ultimately decided to leave for now.
The man took out a cloth bag and helped Yu Deng pack away the pile of treasures in his arms. He then stuffed the little wooden dragon carving into the bag as well.
"Until we meet again, little princess."
The next moment, the strange man disappeared from Yu Deng's sight.
Yu Deng rubbed his eyes in confusion.
Eh? How did he just disappear...? Oh well. That man was one of his special mission targets, so they would probably meet again in the future, right? For now, he should focus on completing his patrol.
The royal guards, who had arrived rather late, finally caught up with them, but they couldn't find a single suspicious person.
"Let's go." Yu Deng turned around and called his knight. "Let's continue patrolling the city... Song Shiyu, you aren't injured, are you?"
Song Shiyu maintained a calm and composed expression on the surface while secretly stepping on his love rival's foot.
"No. As your knight, I'm not so weak that I'd get injured that easily."
...
Yu Deng led the guards at the very front of the procession, guiding them along the road until they reached the other end of the royal city.
Yu Deng made a rough estimate. The population of the Kingdom of Sturit wasn't particularly large, probably comparable to that of a small city in a modern country.
Of course, having hundreds of thousands of NPCs in an instance was already a lot!
The patrol procession entered the bustling streets of a small town. When the people saw Yu Deng, they stopped whatever they were doing and welcomed his arrival.
"May we be forever grateful for the glory Your Highness has brought us!" the people cheered. "May the glory of the Kingdom of Sturit endure forever!"
In corners that Yu Deng didn't notice, the flowers along the roadside quietly bloomed toward him, while many little animals poked their heads out to watch him attentively.
At that moment, Yu Deng felt no less nervous than he had back in the Evil God instance when he'd tried to change the beliefs of the townspeople. He struggled to maintain his composure, occasionally exchanging a few words with these enthusiastic NPCs.
Those residents who were fortunate enough to speak with the princess all wore expressions of sheer happiness.
Yu Deng took a moment to think. So far, nothing bad like what had happened last night had occurred during the patrol. Could it be that, as a princess, he really could dispel darkness and bring glory and happiness to everyone?
Huh? Wait a minute, what's happening over there?
Yu Deng narrowed his eyes slightly and looked toward a spot not far ahead. It seemed that some people were arguing.
"Your Royal Highness, would you like to go over there?" Song Shiyu asked.
Yu Deng hesitated for a few seconds before nodding. "Mm... Let's go take a look."
They soon arrived at the scene of the argument. It was a bakery, with a tailor's shop right next door. The owners of the two shops were quarreling with each other.
"You're absolutely crazy! Who gave you permission to dump your trash in front of my shop?"
"You were the one who occupied part of my shop's space first!"
"Oh, my God! Do you even hear yourself?!"
At first, the two shop owners had merely been verbally attacking each other, accusing one another of wrongdoing. However, after Yu Deng approached, their voices grew increasingly shrill.
"I curse your bread to become stale, hard, and smelly, so that you'll never sell a single loaf!"
"How ridiculous! Then may the fabric you use for your clothes forever remain nothing but worthless rags!"
Under normal circumstances, these should have been nothing more than thoughtless threats uttered in the heat of an argument. But in this instance, the scenes they described actually became reality.
At some point, the sky had turned gloomy and overcast. The surrounding residents had disappeared, and so had the royal guards accompanying them. Apart from Yu Deng and Song Shiyu, only the two arguing NPCs remained.
The two NPCs turned their heads toward him in unison. Their eyes were hollow and pitch-black, and their expressions stiff and rigid.
"Your Royal Highness, what do you think we should do?"
A wave of dark emotions washed over them, as though trying to drag them into a terrifying abyss. The soft, fragrant bread inside the bakery swelled and grew larger before leaping out of the shop, transforming into yellow monsters as hard as stone. Meanwhile, the fabrics inside the tailor's shop floated in midair, letting out piercing shrieks as they twisted and coiled around one another, resembling grotesque faces stitched together.
The scene was absolutely horrifying. These densely packed, bizarre creatures surrounded them, as though they could swallow them whole at any moment.
So this was the danger of an A-rank instance...
Yu Deng felt that familiar sensation of being pulled into something. Instinctively, he felt afraid, and his eyes uncontrollably began to turn red. However, after being frightened by that long-haired, ghostly face yesterday, he had gained a little experience and managed to keep himself conscious.
"Your Royal Highness, are you alright?"
Yu Deng held his scalpel and slowly turned his head. He saw Song Shiyu standing beside him, his eyes clear and bright, seemingly unaffected by the instance in the slightest.
Song Shiyu swung his sword and shattered one of the bread monsters before positioning himself protectively beside Yu Deng. His tone was gentler than usual, almost as though a teacher were patiently guiding a foolish student.
"Your Highness, you are the princess of this kingdom. You have the authority, as well as the means, to resolve these problems among your subjects, don't you?"
Yu Deng slowly processed his knight's words, a beat behind.
That's right! He was the princess. Those NPCs had showered him with all sorts of exaggerated praise, calling him the embodiment of glory and a precious treasure. Surely, he couldn't be completely incapable of using magic, right? At the very least, someone with his status should possess some authority!
Authority...
Come to think of it, he had never used the item he obtained in the Evil God Temple, but its name was related to authority.
[Item Name: ???'s Authority]
Yu Deng lowered his head and slowly took out the pale golden scepter.
The item's description was incomplete. It only stated that it could control something, and he had no idea whether it would even be useful...
Song Shiyu's gaze lingered on the scepter for several seconds.
Yu Deng held the scepter diagonally with both hands. After staring at it in confusion for a few moments, he issued a quiet command based on his intuition.
"Bread isn't a monster, and fabric isn't a monster either... The subjects of this kingdom are kind and honest. Things shouldn't be like this."
There was obvious nervousness in Yu Deng's voice, but, unexpectedly, his words worked.
The gemstone at the top of the scepter flashed for several seconds before suddenly releasing a wave of energy. The anger and hatred in the two NPCs' eyes disappeared. They actually stopped moving, and the bakery and tailor's shop gradually returned to normal. The residents and guards also reappeared before their eyes.
Phew... This item seemed to be useful! He just didn't know exactly how to operate it.
Yu Deng's heart was beating rather quickly. He breathed a sigh of relief but continued holding the scepter.
Sunlight fell upon the little princess once again. His features were exquisitely beautiful, his eyebrows and eyes serene and gentle. Holding the scepter, he resembled a compassionate deity.
Yu Deng blinked, looked at the street that had returned to normal, and then turned to Song Shiyu.
"I took care of it, right?"
"...Yes." Song Shiyu gazed at the proud little princess. "Your Highness, you did wonderfully."
...
Yu Deng was nearly finished with his patrol route. Although the patrol seemed simple, following the entire route from beginning to end had taken him until the afternoon.
During the latter half of his patrol, Yu Deng encountered two more sudden incidents. Fortunately, he had already dealt with the problems at the bakery and tailor's shop, so he had gained some experience. He managed to complete the mission without any serious mishaps.
[Ding! Congratulations, Player Yu Deng, on completing the scenario mission: City Patrol.]
[Ding! Player Yu Deng's trust level among the human race has increased.]
Eh? So, if he wanted to complete the main mission, he had to finish various smaller missions first, right?
Thinking this, Yu Deng slowly climbed down from his horse. However, the moment his feet touched the ground, his legs suddenly went weak. He swayed twice and nearly collapsed onto the ground.
Song Shiyu reacted quickly and caught Yu Deng.
"Your Highness?"
"It hurts..."
Yu Deng didn't dare move a single muscle.
During the city patrol, Yu Deng had been so nervous that he barely noticed the friction against his thighs from riding the horse. Now that he had climbed down, he finally felt the burning pain on the insides of his thighs. Even taking a single step was difficult.
Yu Deng secretly used a bottle of healing potion on himself. However, after waiting for a while, the muscles in his legs continued to ache in waves.
"Ugh... Tongtong, your system shop is selling fake medicine again..." Yu Deng complained.
[Sorry, Host. Your constitution in this instance is special, so ordinary medicine cannot heal you.]
The princess appeared to be injured, leaving the guards and servants in a state of panic. The captain of the guards immediately dropped to his knees with a thud, cold sweat beading on his forehead. "Your Highness, please punish me! I should have prepared a carriage for you."
Yu Deng was in too much pain to speak. He waved his hand to tell the captain to get up, then tugged at Song Shiyu's sleeve. "I want to go back to my room."
The knight immediately obeyed and carried the little princess back to his room.
"Song Shiyu, my legs hurt so much..." With no one else around, Yu Deng could no longer hold back his tears. He spoke pitifully. "Do you have any medicine?"
"Please wait a moment. Let me examine you." Song Shiyu gently lifted the hem of the skirt and removed the princess's trousers.
Yu Deng didn't resist his movements, allowing him to remove the obstructing fabric. His fair, delicate skin was swollen and red, clearly irritated by the friction from riding the horse during the patrol.
Song Shiyu used a healing spell unique to this instance. His expression then turned somewhat serious. "Your skin is very delicate. Ordinary methods may not be very effective in treating it."
Yu Deng felt terribly aggrieved. "Then what should I do?"
A faint glimmer flashed in Song Shiyu's eyes, and a fleeting, furry silhouette appeared behind him.
"Your Royal Highness, I have a method that can effectively relieve your pain. Would you like to try it?"
There was actually such a good method? Yu Deng urged him, "Yes! Hurry up, okay?"
Song Shiyu looked at Yu Deng for several seconds before beginning his unusual treatment.
Yu Deng immediately trembled and asked in confusion, "Didn't you say you were going to treat me...?"
"I am treating you."
Yu Deng was very puzzled. The sensation in his legs was strange, but after a while, he seemed to feel somewhat more comfortable.
What a strange method of treatment...
Suddenly, a knocking sound came from the door.
"My dear child, are you there? I have something to discuss with you. May I come in?"
It sounded like the Queen's voice.
Yu Deng pushed Song Shiyu's shoulder, signaling him to stop for the moment. Song Shiyu obediently stopped, but when Yu Deng stood up, he moved closer again and hid beneath the princess's voluminous skirt.
The little princess's dresses were all extremely luxurious ceremonial gowns. Their wide, layered skirts were puffed out dramatically, leaving more than enough room to conceal an adult.
At the same time Song Shiyu slipped beneath the skirt, Yu Deng had already agreed to let the Queen enter his room.
The door opened. Yu Deng froze, not daring to move. He could only whisper, "W-What are you doing?!"
Song Shiyu said nothing, quietly indicating that he merely wished to continue helping the little princess recover.
Yu Deng wanted to say something else, but the Queen had already approached. She stood two or three meters away from him, with a tea table between them.
"My good child, I heard that you injured your legs. Are you alright?" the Queen asked.
It would have been fine if she hadn't mentioned it, but the moment the Queen brought it up, Yu Deng found it even harder to ignore the troublemaker hiding beneath his skirt.
Yu Deng stammered out a reply. "Thank you. I'm feeling much better now."
"That's good. I wanted to discuss the trade agreement between the mermaid race and the human kingdom with you." The Queen spoke gently. "However, child, where is your knight?"
"A knight is supposed to protect the princess at all times, after all."
Yu Deng instinctively answered, "He's here..."
No, that wasn't right. He couldn't answer like that! What if the Queen asked where the knight was...?
Yu Deng hurriedly changed his answer. "N-No, that's not right. He's not here. He had something to take care of, so he left for a while."
The Queen seemed a little puzzled by the princess's choice of words. "Is that so? Then you should make sure he doesn't leave you alone for too long. A knight who neglects the princess's safety isn't a good knight."
"I-I understand." Yu Deng struggled to maintain his composure and secretly stepped on Song Shiyu's foot.
However, Yu Deng immediately regretted it.
The troublemaker hiding beneath his skirt had actually taken advantage of the moment when Yu Deng stepped on him to shift closer and resume his intimate treatment, catching Yu Deng completely off guard.
Song Shiyu continued his treatment beneath the hem of the skirt.