The Bastard First Prince Doesn't Want to Die Chapter 179

[Translator - Jjescus ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]

Chapter: 179

“What was the mission the village chief talked about?” The question filled my mind, but I couldn't find even the smallest clue to answer it.

After much deliberation, I finally decided to go to the library.

“What are you doing here?”

When I reached the library, soone was just coming out, closing the door. I thought about turning around as soon as I sensed their presence, but since I didn't have a key anyway, I decided to approach the person and ask them to let in.

"Why are you here?"

And it was Hwang Danyo. I don't know if she was in a bad mood or if it was because of , but as soon as she saw , she spat out the words sharply.

I shrugged and pointed to the library.

"Why else? Is there anything else to do in the library besides reading books?"

Hwang Danyo narrowed her eyes suspiciously and glared at .

"What are you trying to steal?"

...Steal? Was I a beggar?

...Well, half right.

I shook my head, but she didn't seem to believe .

"I just ca because I was curious."

Hwang Danyo snorted.

"Curious about what?"

"Well, many things... But why should I explain? It's not like you're going to tell anything,” I replied rudely.

"I don't know."

Is she really going to tell ? I thought for a mont and asked, "I just want to know why things have been so chaotic lately."

"Hmm..."

She seed like she was going to answer, but it was just a bluff.

Hwang Danyo didn't answer but stared at the library door behind her and raised the bundle of keys she was holding. I heard a clinking sound from the bundle of keys.

"It's because of the village chief."

That wasn't the kind of vague answer I wanted to hear. Honestly, even a passing dog could make that kind of guess.

But since she's a human, shouldn't she give a better answer than that?

I sighed briefly and asked again, "...Can I interpret your answer as saying it's related to the village chief's worsening condition?"

When I said that, Hwang Danyo quickly averted her eyes.

"Why don't you answer? You seed like you were going to tell ."

She shook her head.

"It was a bluff."

"A bluff!" I snapped.

But if you act like you know everything and don't give a proper answer, isn't that a bluff? What else would it be?

"I heard everything from the village chief. You said you won't be staying in our village for long anyway. So why are you interfering?"

"...Does that an you want to leave right away?"

Hwang Danyo was silent. Her face was flushed as if she was angry.

"Who says you can leave?"

No, what am I supposed to do then? If you don't want to interfere with the village affairs while I'm staying here, and you don't want to go back to where I ca from right away...

Does that an I should do nothing? But that's a waste. A waste of ti.

"You can't go anywhere until the village chief allows it. And you can only open the library with the village chief's permission."

"The village chief is in no position to give permission or not."

When I said that casually, Hwang Danyo frowned.

"What did you say?"

"Don't you know? The village chief..."

“The village chief is... well.”

“Since she’s staying at the shrine, nothing big is going to happen if I sneak a book out of here.”

“So?”

“That’s all.”

“So you’re saying you’re trying to steal it, after all.”

I scoffed, dumbfounded.

“Am I a beggar? Why would I steal it?”

“What other reason could there be? And how would I know?”

Hmm.

At this point, I wished I had encountered Hwang Gongyeong instead of Hwang Danyo in front of the library.

He seed easier to approach... or persuade.

Despite seeming careless, Hwang Danyo didn't show any signs of easily opening the library.

But the key was right in front of ... I could just reach out and grab it.

“Wait a minute.”

...Couldn’t I just take it? It’s not like I’m trying to do sothing bad. I just have a pure intention of wanting to read a book.

That’s right. I could just reach out and grab it. Why am I wasting ti arguing pointlessly?

I raised my hand and pointed at the air. As soon as I raised my arm, Hwang Danyo flinched.

“Over there.”

“Huh?”

“A mosquito.”

“A mosquito?”

Hwang Danyo looked in the direction I pointed.

Don’t get distracted.

A mont was enough. I quickly snatched the bundle of keys that Hwang Danyo was holding and inserted the key into the lock on the door.

“Yaaah!”

Hwang Danyo scread as she was robbed of the key in the blink of an eye.

However, the library was quite far from the village. Ordinary people would never be able to hear a scream from this far away.

Was she not screaming to call for help? Hwang Danyo soon stopped screaming and began to pull .

But it was too late. It was already open.

“I won’t forget this favor.”

“Hey!”

Leaving Hwang Danyo behind, I calmly walked into the library.

“Hmm... This musty sll.”

I smiled. How much I wanted to co back here.

I didn’t think I would have another chance to enter the library. I had to make the most of today’s opportunity.

“Are you crazy?”

“I don’t care what you think, so do whatever you want.”

I casually looked around the bookshelves.

There was no obstacle between and the books that I had only been able to glance at because of the village chief. They were just a bunch of rotten pieces of paper, but why do they look so tempting?

“Heehee.”

“What’s that dirty laugh…”

Hwang Danyo glared at , restless. But knowing that it would be useless to fight back, she simply glared at from about a step away.

“I’ll just solve my curiosity and go back to the village. I don’t plan on reading everything here anyway... I need to eat dinner too.”

“Do you think I’ll believe that?”

Hwang Danyo retorted in an irritated tone. I nodded casually and replied, pulling out a book.

“Believe it or not, it’s your wish. Stay there if you want.”

She gnashed her teeth.

“You, the village chief won’t let you off easily.”

“I don’t know.”

Honestly, I didn’t think the village chief could get out of bed again.

As I recalled the last ti I saw the village chief, I thought of Aro, who was miserably staying by her side even after being pushed away by the village chief.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts and continued reading. I looked through several books in a row. Before long, I was frowning deeply.

“It seems like what I’m looking for isn’t here…”

I muttered, closed the book, and found the crate the village chief had asked to open. When I glanced back because my back felt so stiff, Hwang Danyo was glaring at with a terrifying expression. If her gaze had had any power, I would have been torn to shreds.

I glanced at her uneasily and opened the crate, first examining the map attached to its lid.

I spent a long ti looking at the map, then rummaged through the crate and unrolled the scrolls stacked inside.

I don’t know how much ti had passed, but I suddenly lifted my head because my shoulders were stiff, and I heard snoring nearby.

Hwang Danyo, exhausted from glaring at , had fallen asleep leaning against the bookshelf.

I had finally found answers to so of the questions I had. Although there were still unanswered questions, it was ti to go.

I tidied up the crate and other books and shook Hwang Danyo awake.

“Ughh.”

Hwang Danyo opened her eyes and looked like she had seen a monster. Then she recognized and started glaring at again, as if she was going to kill .

I scoffed and said, “Let’s go.”

“...Don’t get cocky. There won’t be a second chance. Ever.”

Well, I don’t know about that. I didn’t reply and walked out of the library first.

* * *

And so, the sa routine continued for a while. Nothing improved.

The monsters kept appearing, and the atmosphere in the village was gloomy. Except for the appearance of the monsters, it was relatively peaceful, but I didn’t think it was true peace. It felt like everyone was avoiding sothing.

I was floating in the middle of it all. When I wasn’t trying to figure things out, I went out to fight when the monsters appeared.

After defeating the monsters and returning to the village, Aro would co to find . Maybe it was because we shared the mory of visiting the village chief at the shrine, but she seed to rely on a lot.

Since what happened at the shrine, she had beco noticeably less talkative. Should I consider it a mature attitude? To , it didn’t seem like a positive growth.

When I asked her why, she wouldn’t tell her inner thoughts. And I couldn’t see her talking to the other villagers either.

As the monsters appeared more frequently, Jawoon even moved into the village. However, the atmosphere of subtly rejecting Jawoon remained.

This confusion seed to be sohow hidden by the villagers’ avoidance. I imitated their attitude and tried to stay out of sight.

I wondered how long this situation would continue. Was it a price for solving so of my questions? Every day, I had new questions.

However, that didn’t last long. One evening, when I returned from hunting monsters, I realized that the village was unusually gloomy and noisy as soon as I entered the village gate. And when I reached the square where people gathered, I understood why.

“I have sothing to say.”

Sannyeong had returned to the village for the first ti in almost two weeks. But the village chief was not there; it was only her.

[Translator - Jjescus ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]