Becoming an Extra in a Trash Game

Chapter 18

“I can’t understand, Young Master……”

Alkaido murmured, thinking of Adelian who wasn’t even in front of him.

He had served the family’s Young Master since he could barely walk, but lately, everything he showed was difficult to understand.

Adelian, who was born into a family known in every corner of the continent, and who had inherited nothing from Caiman except his looks.

‘Does he possess this level of insight?’

Unless it was a department directly assigned to Caiman, there was nothing Alkaido didn’t know.

Adelian has such strong information power that he can read the continent from where he sits.

“It shouldn’t be possible… But since it happened, I have nothing to say.”

Despite there being no drought, the movement of food is increasing. It’s especially severe in the desert country of Radeon.

‘It’s originally a country that frequently imports food, but food imports are rising sharply compared to the expected population increase.’

Not only food, but the overall distribution of monster by-products has decreased, and the production of magic stones is rapidly declining.

The problem is that it’s difficult to read the cause and effect.

In the case of food, distribution usually increases when productivity drops due to drought, floods, or insect infestations, but the problem is that the continent has been quiet lately.

Even though there have been three or four large-scale monster subjugations in the past few years that reached Alkaido’s ears, the overall by-products have rather decreased.

‘The indicators have only decreased in areas along the mountain range.’

In a way, each of these things might not be significant on its own, but when put together, the overall trend is becoming tangled.

There was no drought, but there were more average harvests than bumper crops. What if the demand for monster by-products keeps increasing while the supply decreases?

‘The most serious issue is the magic stones, isn’t it?’

Magic stones, or mana stones as they’re called, are an indispensable energy resource on this continent.

They not only allow for a comfortable and luxurious life, but depending on how they’re processed, they can also be materials for items that take countless lives.

For instance, a single magic stone can cover most of the daily necessities and strategic materials.

So if their production is decreasing for no reason.

‘War will break out.’

Some countries, especially those with production sites, might have already noticed.

A war could break out to seize resources.

“It’s absurd, but.”

At first, he thought someone might be manipulating Adelian as a figurehead, but no one had secretly met with Adelian.

In other words, Adelian is somehow looking out at that distant place while sitting in this castle.

Just as goosebumps were rising on Alkaido’s arms, someone knocked and entered.

“Sir Alkaido. The Young Master is looking for you.”

“I’ll be right there.”

As if suddenly doused with cold water, the strangely thrilling sensation dissipated, and Alkaido calmly looked at the servant.

‘I need to confirm it myself.’

And when Alkaido went to meet Adelian, he became certain.

“It’s a secret.”

That he knows how to save the continent.

* * *

“Why is it a secret, Young Master? If the continent is stained with war and the family declines, it won’t be good for you either.”

“That’s true. But why do you think I would tell Alkaido everything?”

I took out a round candy from the glass jar of candies I had brought because Kane and Luna kept saying the green juice was tasteless, and put it in my mouth.

“You’re not on my side, so do I have an obligation to reveal my hand to you?”

I looked at Alkaido, who was leaning slightly on the table with one hand. A slightly troubled face.

“Or are you going to be on my side?”

Alkaido answered in a monotonous tone, as if it was always the case, to my casual question.

“I am always a loyal subordinate.”

How cunning. It’s probably a trick to increase trust by subtly mentioning his trait, but.

I’ve already been backstabbed by Alkaido. The feeling of betrayal when my squirrel-like hoarded game money was stolen.

“Haha, what a joke. Did Father tell you to say that too?”

But there’s no need to openly show that I know Alkaido’s loyalty trait belongs to the family itself.

To hide my dry mouth from this subtle battle of wits, I mentioned Caiman while rolling the candy with my tongue.

“You know too, Alkaido. The reason why no one has sent assassins to target me or tried to use me through persuasion, even though I’ve become the acting head of a huge family that encompasses the continent.”

I wonder what he’s thinking behind that unchanging face.

I need to be just a little bit ahead of what Alkaido thinks.

Like a swamp of unknown depth. I am an unpredictable existence.

“Why do you think that is? Because the other bloodlines aren’t qualified? Or are they too dull to even think of it? Ah, that could be possible.”

I laughed out loud mocking them and opened my mouth again.

“But if it were me, I think I’d give it a try. A young brat who just became an adult has a ring that can control the continent? It seems worth targeting. Why doesn’t anyone do it?”

I opened my mouth as if what I had thought up while pretending to be insightful was the correct answer.

“Everything is as Father wishes.”

It’s probably not entirely wrong.

Shamelessness is the answer.

I shrugged my shoulders, straightened my body that had been leaning crookedly on the table, and slowly approached Alkaido to face him.

“Father is all good, but he sometimes suffocates me with overprotection, you know? It gets boring and tedious sometimes.”

I’m bored, I’m so bored and tired that I’m preparing to leave this place.

“So my true nature is too boring. Now even drinking or hitting someone is too troublesome.”

Therefore, everything I do these days is just my whim, a small rebellious heart towards Father, and mischief that doesn’t harm the family.

“Meanwhile, it seems the continent’s situation is strange. No matter how boring it is, it’s our home. We can’t let it fall, can we?”

So despite having many flaws and secrets, I’m still a good card for making the Kruger family last.

I subtly laid that foundation.

“What do you plan to do?”

After a moment’s thought, as if he had finished weighing his options, Alkaido casually threw out a question.

“I’m not saying you should come over to me right away. You’re a loyal subordinate, Alkaido. However,”

I swallowed the candy that had melted to be smaller than my fingernail and exhaled.

“You’ll have to move for me too. Well, for now, I’ll be satisfied with you being a double agent of sorts.”

My every move, besides the shadows attached in the name of bodyguards, it’s probably Alkaido who passes information to Caiman.

Such a person must have noticed what I’ve been preparing lately, so I need to set a trap before being interfered with.

“The continent needs to be peaceful for our family to grow more. That’s what father would like too, right?”

I spoke casually and held out one hand. As if to shake hands.

And Alkaido would know the meaning of this.

He reached out his hand without a moment’s hesitation to grasp mine, and I laughed out loud as I shook the hand.

“Then is one of Alkaido’s legs on the ship I’m on?”

“How could it not be?”

“Then will you bring me the documents now? I’d like to compare them.”

With the data in my head.

Of course, Alkaido will probably imagine information sources behind me, but.

‘Nope. There aren’t any.’

I’m just a veteran player who remembers this and that from looking at Triwiki all day and playing in the gallery.

I watched Alkaido bow his head in greeting and leave the room, but even after the door closed, I couldn’t relax and sat in a crooked posture.

“Is he gone…?”

Oh my… Oh my!

My whole body aches.

It’s as painful as when I rode a horse for hours and got rolled around by Mark in the training ground.

I staggered to the bed and dived face-first, groaning.

I’m going through such hardship. Dol-i-kki and Rachel better sprinkle some DLC… Sprinkle some DLC.

Content like childcare or home decoration would attract female gamers, and things like dueling arenas would attract male gamers!

I was imagining the DLCs I would demand when I went back, but then I stretched my body even more.

“I feel drained.”

If it weren’t for the candy I ate in the middle, I’m sure I would have felt my blood sugar dropping.

While I was groaning, I heard the door open, and Luna came over and started massaging my shoulders and arms with her small hands.

“I saw Sir Alkaido leaving. He said he had something to do and told us to go play…”

Luna’s pink eyes are filled with worry as she speaks softly.

Feeling bad for making Luna, who feels like a young sister, worry, I spoke as if it was nothing.

“Ah… Well. What I was trying to do went pretty well. Did Luna have fun too?”

“Today too… I ran to the lake with Beth… And we picked carrots right from the garden and ate them…”

When I patted Luna’s head with my other hand while she was busy massaging, her white ears perked up happily.

“Really? That must have been fun. And what else?”

I responded to Luna’s words with interjections and reactions.

I’m hoping her speaking skills will improve a bit more if I react well and talk to her often like this.

It’s peculiar every time I see it, by the way.

The white ears twitch slightly whenever she chatters happily.

I once asked if it hurt because I saw them being tied, and I was told it’s similar to crossing your arms to link them.

‘It’s really amazing.’

While getting a massage and responding well verbally, I stopped my wandering thoughts and casually opened my mouth.

“Was Kane getting beaten up well?”

“I put… Potions in the bathroom… Beforehand…”

Seeing her mumble ‘His arm was dangling…’, It seems his arm was broken again.

He’s really stubborn anyway. What’s the use of losing Indomitable? He’s doing everything he needs to on his own.

Actually, the training Kane received when he was dragged to the assassin group was inhumanly harsh.

Kane is doing all that by himself in this good environment.

At least he’s not practicing things like enduring while eating rotten meat, hiding in water for three days with just a reed, or withstanding torture without opening his mouth.

Should I be relieved that he’s not training like that?

‘I suspect he just can’t think of such training methods.’

Anyway, those skills become useless later on.

Once you get a few more heroines in your party, problems like food or enduring in water are solved in an instant.

I shook my head to drive away sleep as I felt drowsy from Luna’s massage.

“Don’t fall asleep… Do you want to eat something?”

“Hmm… Maybe. I’m not sure.”

I feel like I should eat something, but.

As I was lying in bed a bit longer, fidgeting to recover my drained energy, a servant sent by Alkaido came with a bundle of documents.

“Young Master, these are the documents Sir Alkaido sent. Shall I give them to you now?”

“No. Just leave them there and go. I’ll look at them when I have time.”

Pretending not to be very interested, as if they weren’t important documents.

After waving him off, as soon as the servant left, I quickly got up and started reading the papers, flipping through them.

“What kind of… Documents are they?”

“It’s data I received from Alkaido. Continental logistics indicators and such. Want to look together?”

At my kind coaxing, Luna smiled as if she had chewed something else along with carrots and shook her head.

“I’ll go get… Snacks and tea…”

“Alright.”

After watching Luna slip away, I lay back down on the bed and started checking important parts while flipping through the papers one by one.

‘Food shortage. Monster by-products and magic stones…’

Things that are lacking, movements that have increased.

Synthesizing this information, the start of the continental war this time will be.

“Hmm… Is it this time…”

Originally, when you start Innocent Saga, it begins from Kane’s perspective, who escaped from the assassin group taking advantage of the continent’s chaos.

And that chaos has some parts that are the same and some parts that are different each time you start a new game…

“This is ridiculous.”

I chuckled and waved the paper.

It really is a crappy game, seriously.