2-1. The Scribe
"What?! What's happening?!"
The Viscount threw open the window and shouted. But in truth, he already knew.
"It's a pursuit squad!"
That the mad princess was trying to hunt down and kill him—him, who had fled with the King's Proof. He stuck his head out and looked back. Dozens of mounted soldiers were in pursuit, loosing arrows as they came.
He shouted irresponsibly.
"Faster! Go faster! Do something!"
He was no soldier—a man who'd spent his entire life in royal court positions. This was the best he could do. The Viscount latched the window shut and clutched his head.
"Damn it. Damn it!"
How did it come to this? And how did the pursuit squad catch up so fast....
He'd thought he'd slipped out unnoticed in the chaos, but apparently not.
Either that, or the princess who'd plotted the rebellion commanded a larger force than was publicly known.
The Viscount was groaning and clutching his head when someone spoke to him.
"What? What did you just say?"
It was the scribe. The one he'd brought along just before escaping the capital.
The scribe spoke again, urgently.
"We need to stop the carriage! At this rate, it'll flip!"
What nonsense. If they stopped the carriage, what about the pursuit squad?
Under normal circumstances the Viscount wouldn't have even dignified it with a response, but cornered as he was, he snapped back in a fury.
"Shut your mouth if you don't know anything! Do you have any idea what kind of men are behind us?!"
"No, that's not what I— if we keep going like this...... At least slow down!"
"It's Count Russad's army! The kind that throws crying babies into bonfires! If they catch us— HURK?!"
CRASH—!
A violent LURCH—! and then the sensation of being launched skyward.
The table and ink bottle went airborne, and as everything came crashing back down, they tumbled together with every object inside the carriage.
"AAGH! AAAH!"
The carriage had flipped and slammed into the ground. In the pitch-black darkness, Suhyeok frantically shoved at the things crushing him.
"Ngh...... ugh......"
But the Viscount wasn't moving—dead or otherwise—and Suhyeok's own body was in no shape either.
It feels like I'm standing on my shoulder...... Is my back okay? My arm's broken.
A corpse and a table tangled together made for a barricade all on their own. Suhyeok gave up struggling and lay pinned, helpless.
"Somebody help...."
Outside, the sounds of blades clashing rang out. In reality it wasn't that long, but after what felt like an eternity the noise died down, and approaching footsteps could be heard.
"Pull them out."
Since the carriage was overturned, the door opened at an awkward angle. Suhyeok barely cracked his eyes open and looked up at the figures who'd wrenched the door away.
Armed soldiers.
And a single heavy-armored knight on horseback.
"Hel—...."
Suhyeok didn't care who they were. The sheer relief that someone had come to help wrung the voice from his throat.
But,
"Looks like the Viscount's dead? No idea who this one is."
"Pull everything out."
They seemed to have no interest in whether Suhyeok lived or died. Rough hands yanked the Viscount's corpse away, and Suhyeok, who'd been pinned beneath it, screamed.
"AAAAGH!!"
For real. Insane. Insanely painful.
For the first time in his life, Suhyeok foamed at the mouth. Strictly speaking, with about five teeth knocked out it was more of a bloody foam, but regardless.
Whether Suhyeok's eyes were rolling back and his body was convulsing was of no concern to the soldiers. They pulled out the table, the leather case, the chest, and lastly, Suhyeok.
"A scribe."
The adjutant who'd been commanding the soldiers stepped forward. He gathered the quill pens and ruined letters that had spilled from the carriage and presented them to the knight.
The heavy-armored knight read the letters, tucked them into his coat, and gave an order.
"We're heading back. The princess is on her way, so make it quick."
"What do we do with this one?"
Swinging up onto his horse in one fluid motion, the knight answered simply.
"Bring him."
***
"Excuse me. I'm in real pain here—could you at least change my position?"
"......"
That was what Suhyeok said, slung over a horse's back like a sack of grain.
The horseman didn't even pretend to listen. Suhyeok winced in pain and let out a sigh.
How did it come to this?
One thing was certain: he was inside the game. As impossible as it was to believe, and as clueless as he was about where to even begin making sense of it, the situation kept barreling forward.
'Fine. Let's say I've been pulled into the game. No—does it even make sense to accept that? ......Forget it. Let's just go with it. I made the game too well and that's how I ended up like this. So then...? Yeah, I still don't get why this happened.'
The things he couldn't understand were far from few.
Starting with 'who am I?'
Suhyeok gathered his thoughts while his face bounced against the galloping horse's flank, planting kiss after kiss on its thigh. The Viscount had me transcribing his dictation, and those soldiers called me a 'scribe.'
'It doesn't make sense from the very start.'
Why am I not the game's protagonist?
If he'd been dragged into the game by running it, then as the player, he should naturally have started as the main character.
If he'd started as the protagonist, this never would've happened.
As a developer, Suhyeok wasn't well-versed in the in-play scenarios, but he knew the basic early-game progression from QA testing.
The protagonist was supposed to help the Viscount's carriage when it came under attack—not end up like this.
Rather, the protagonist defeats the pursuit squad, and though the Viscount dies regardless, the protagonist learns that the princess has assassinated the king and the world has plunged into an age of chaos, kicking off the main scenario.
Naturally forming a hostile relationship between the princess who killed the Viscount and the protagonist along the way.
Yeah, fuck. That's how the game goes. That's how it's supposed to be. Not getting tied up like a bundle and hauled away.
The more Suhyeok thought about it, the more absurd it felt, and he muttered to himself. So what happens to me now?
He couldn't know yet. But there was one single consolation.
'I'm a civilian.'
A silver lining of not starting as the sword-wielding protagonist, perhaps. He didn't know what a scribe's deal was exactly, but it had to be some powerless occupation that just pushed a quill around.
Maybe I won't die. They might just let me go. Those bastards already got what they wanted. No—they recovered something they were never supposed to lose.
His expectations kept tilting toward the positive.
With his arms and legs bound and nothing he could do, propping up his spirits like this was all he had.
FWEEEET—!
"All units, walk!"
It was after they'd ridden considerably farther. The mounted column pulled on their reins. From ahead, a formation of troops was approaching along the narrow road.
Fluttering in the breeze—a crimson bladed rose.
The royal banner. No—the banner that, since the king's assassination, had come to symbolize one person alone, rippled in the evening wind.
"All units, halt!"
"Dismount!"
Our column stopped a hundred meters out. Every rider dismounted and prostrated themselves, while the heavy-armored knight at the very front knelt on one knee.
After a brief wait the approaching formation arrived and halted. Suhyeok raised his head and saw a nobleman on a black horse come forward to speak with the knight.
Midway through the exchange, the knight pointed at Suhyeok. The nobleman gave a slight nod.
"Bring him."
Suhyeok was marched along behind the knight. The nobleman on the black horse led them to a column of carriages at the rear of the formation and bowed deeply toward the most ornate one.
"Your Royal Highness. My knight has performed his task admirably. I humbly beg your commendation."
Even the slightest of the princess's movements seemed to demand an elaborate ceremony.
A lady-in-waiting emerged from a different carriage behind, rushed over, boarded the princess's carriage through the side door, and a moment later darted back out to open the door on their side.
Only then did the princess reveal herself.
Genevieve Astrada.
The last remaining bloodline of this kingdom's royal house, and the wretch who'd murdered her own father with her own hands.
And in KingRPG, she was also one of the protagonist's most formidable rivals—thanks to her ruthless judgment and outstanding political acumen.
- "Honey, Genevieve Astrada? You think this character's balance is okay? I built her like you asked, but...... I'm not sure a princess should be this strong."
- "It's fine! The concept is a princess knight."
On top of all that, she was powerful.
Because Juha had designed her, enamored with the concept of a Princess Knight—a royal princess who was simultaneously a knight. Suhyeok had been the one to implement her, but she had an absurd set of gimmicks.
Enough that he'd predicted she would probably become KingRPG's newbie killer.
"Well done."
Genevieve Astrada. She stood on the carriage steps and spoke without setting foot on the ground.
The heavy-armored knight bowed even lower, and the nobleman, who had already dismounted, held something out to the princess.
"This is the item Your Highness sought. As you said, Viscount Alang had stolen it."
"......Recovered more easily than I expected. Thanks to your knight's efforts."
The princess looked at the knight again.
But that was the face of someone pleased? Her eyes were nothing but cold, as though it was the most obvious outcome in the world.
Then her crimson irises turned toward Suhyeok.
"What is that?"
"Ah. There was more to report. Viscount Alang had this letter drafted. It appears he intended to have it copied and sent to the lords."
The princess took the letter.
"And that one there is the scribe who wrote it. As you're aware, scribes have fast hands—they can copy a letter like this dozens of times in no time."
"Good work stopping it. I alone will be sufficient to deliver news of the king's passing."
"My deepest congratulations. What shall we do with him?"
Oh.
Suhyeok quickly prepared to drop to his knees.
So I was basically a human copy machine. The princess who'd assassinated the king would need dozens, hundreds of letters written and sent before long, so his calculation was that she'd need him.
But.
"Kill him."
The princess said that and turned back inside.
That was it. The carriage door closed, and before the fate decided so effortlessly could even register, Suhyeok could only stand there stupidly, letting out a single "Huh?"
"Come here."
"Huh?"
"We'll handle this and be right back."
"Huh?"
"Lay him down. Flat."
"Huh huh?"
A mouthful of dirt.
His face was shoved into the ground, the forest scenery towering high above him, the soldiers' ragged breathing crushing down on him. An axe blade, raised with merciless cruelty.
Only then did Suhyeok realize.
The game that we—that Juha and I had made—was a dark fantasy.
"P-please, spa—!"
The blade fell with the evening glow.
The sensation of his head tumbling down a slope. Just as consciousness grew hazy.
"The princess has assassinated the king."
Viscount Alang's voice reached him once more.
[ Chapter 0. The King's Proof ]
"GASP—! Wh-what?!"
Suhyeok, who'd been rolling down a slope, grabbed his own head. Panting, he felt along his neck and face—when a somewhat annoyed voice reached him.
"I understand you're startled, but don't act rashly. Focus only on transcribing my words accu—"
"AAGH! Fuck, you scared me!"
What? What just happened?
Suhyeok pressed himself into the corner of the carriage and looked around wildly.
A cramped space. But a familiar one—the interior of a carriage with doors on either side, draped with red velvet curtains.
And Viscount Alang, glaring at him with sharp eyes...... Suhyeok blinked in bewilderment.
It was as if he'd been sent back to the morning. The only difference was that he now knew the Viscount's name; everything else was completely identical to before.
"What did you just say?"
The person in front of him looking a bit angry—that was different too. No wait, that's only because I accidentally swore.
Suhyeok quickly apologized.
"I'm sorry. I was just so startled. I must've had some kind of episode. Please...... please continue."
The Viscount glared at him, then drew in a deep breath.
Hmph. He flared his nostrils wide to vent his anger, then resumed speaking. A fine display of professionalism from KingRPG's narrator.
Not that Suhyeok was transcribing a single word, of course. Lost in thought, he arrived at a realization.
'Wait—did the game just restart?'
It clicked.
This is inside the game. Something went wrong and I didn't become the game's protagonist, but I'm this world's sole player. Since I—the player—died, the game restarting was a perfectly natural outcome.
KingRPG worked that way, and most games in general did...... though it would've been a million times better if it had shut down instead of restarting.
Suhyeok let out a deep sigh.
'Why the hell did I get pulled in here? How did I end up suffering like this...... No. Forget that. Focus on surviving first. Getting out of here comes before everything.'
If he stayed put, he'd die again. His eyes, sharpened by the awareness of danger, swept the space around him.
A moving carriage. The pursuit that would begin any moment. The Viscount babbling away, and beside him—a chest, a leather case, the quill pen in his hand, paper, a table, and an ink bottle.
Suhyeok searched for every possible way to survive. After trying this and that, the one thing that felt like it might actually work was:
using KingRPG.System;
namespace Exit_from_Inside;
public class ExitTask {
public ExitTask() {
var _manager = new KingRPG_Manager();
var TaskRunner = new ProcessHandler() { accesslevel = _manager };
TaskRunner.Run(true); } }
new ExitTask();
Coding.
Because I'm a developer, and this is the world I built.
Suhyeok gripped the quill pen and began writing out code.