Chapter 90 The Villainous Heir and the Shady Guide Deep into the Anclear Forest’s Path of Disposal
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
We finished our discussion back in the room, and then met up with that shady tool shop owner at the tavern. Since then, we’d been following his guidance, wandering along some path I didn’t recognize, far into the Anclear Forest’s Path of Disposal. It felt like we’d been walking for an age.
”Ihihihi! This way, gentlemen, this way! My, oh my! Thank you ever so much for agreeing to my little request, young sirs.” The guide cackled, his voice a greasy whisper.
”…Say, Tool Shop Owner,” I drawled, turning slightly. “Did you sleep well last night?”
”Ihi? Ah, yes! Meeting young sirs like yourselves eased my mind, so I slept like a baby, ssu!”
”Is that so? Well, that’s good to hear,” I replied easily. “But tell me, that Sacred Artifact on your backpack? It looks pretty amazing, doesn’t it? Where did you get a hold of that?”
”Ihihihi. Oh! What sharp eyes you have, young sir. I found this back in the day, at an old antique market in the Albion Empire, you see.”
”Oh, really? I’m fascinated by Sacred Artifacts! Could you tell me more about that story?” I asked, playing the interested aristocrat.
”Ihi? Is that so, is that so? Why, then we share a hobby! By all means, young sir, let’s talk about Sacred Artifacts!”
I got the Tool Shop Owner to tell me all about the Sacred Artifact he had on him, while behind us, Elmia and Silvia were walking, still tied up in the rope. ¹ Karentisia was holding the lead rope, guiding them along.
”Nya nya. Elmia, that guy…” Silvia mumbled, her cat-like ears twitching with suspicion.
”…What is it, dayo? Why is that person even here, dayo?” Elmia stammered back anxiously.
”Hey. What are you two whispering about?” Karentisia demanded sharply, her red hair seeming to catch the dim light. “If you’re plotting anything, I’ll leave you behind in this forest.”
”Nya nya. Don’t be stupid, Karentisia! Are you really gonna abandon us for a little lost play, nya?” Silvia countered. “If you’re gonna do that, only leave Elmia, nya!”
”Th-th-that’s right, dayo! If you’re gonna do it, only leave Silvia, dayo… I’m too weak and frail for that, dayoo!” Elmia squeaked, trying to shove her co-captive forward.
”Th-that’s right, nya. Elmia is too frail for that, nya… Wait, why are you trying to sacrifice me, nya!” Silvia yowled in protest.
”…I can hear everything, you idiots,” Karentisia sighed, her exasperation a physical weight in the air. (Honestly. Why is the Stupid Dog talking so normally with such a suspicious shopkeeper? And why isn’t he worried about this forest at all?)
”…Karentisia. Where are we going, dayo?” Elmia asked, her voice dropping a little.
”Nya nya. I was super curious about that too, nya. Weren’t we supposed to be looking for the Golden Feather, nya?” Silvia added.
”Yes, that’s right,” Karentisia confirmed. “I was told to help search because the location had been narrowed down. It’s apparently near the Golden Spring.”
”Th-th-the Golden Spring, dayo? That’s a place only two people of the Elven Royal Line and one person with the blood of the Beastfolk Chief can enter! The conditions are too strict, dayo!” Elmia cried out, terrified.
”N-nya. That’s right, nya. Plus, you need permission from the Fairy King, nya.” Silvia shivered.
”…Well, the conditions have been met now, haven’t they? All thanks to you two getting caught by the Stupid Dog (Shin). Apparently, the Fairy King’s permission was secured from the start, so it’s all your fault we’re now heading to the dangerous Golden Spring.”
The rope in her hand tightened suddenly. SQUEEZE!
”O-ow, that hurts, dayo! Karentisia! The rope is getting too tight, dayo!” Elmia wailed.
”Nyaa! I’m sorry, Karentisia~!” Silvia cried.
”More importantly, is it really true that the Elves have blockaded the entire Shurhelged area? And that it’s the Half-Elves leading the charge—that’s hard to believe,” Karentisia continued, ignoring their pain.
”…I-it’s true, dayo. Recently, there have been way too many Disposal Fairies ² flowing in, so the demi-humans and fairies are migrating west, dayo. The Half-Elves, who disliked this, ignored the royalty and created something called a ‘Gate’ to close the path between the Elven and Demi-human lands, dayo.”
”Nyaa… The east is full of Disposal Fairies, so we can’t leave the country, nya. And if we leave the forest and go abroad, we’d just get captured and enslaved, so we were using a secret forest path to illegally sneak into the Elven country, nya. We were actually sent here to investigate and quell that issue, nya.” Silvia explained, her voice tinged with the mission’s failure.
”…Then we got caught by that person, dayo.” Elmia finished simply.
”Nyaa nyaa,” Silvia agreed.
”…That person?” Karentisia murmured, her face darkening.
Something was noisy behind me. What was going on? Were they arguing over who gets to own me? If that’s the case, I really am a sinful boy, aren’t I? What a predicament.
”Ihihihi! They are a lively bunch, aren’t they?” the Tool Shop Owner chuckled.
”Are they perhaps arguing about me?” I asked.
”…No. They likely just don’t want to go to the Golden Spring. And that Elf girl seems quite irritated, ssu,” the Tool Shop Owner clarified, his voice still too cheerful.
”Hmm. You have excellent hearing, Tool Shop Owner. You also have great eyes, and you seem to have a lot of different forms inside of you. I’m quite jealous,” I said, letting him know I saw through his disguise.
”Ihihihi! …Have you figured out my true identity, ssu? As expected of the man famously known as the Evil Child, young sir. …Are you going to kill me now?”
”Why would I do that? You’re going to give me that Sacred Artifact if I do the job, aren’t you? There’s no need to kill you.”
”Ihi… Contrary to the rumors, you’re quite a kind young man, ssu. I’m so glad I consulted with a certain Chris, Ihihihi!”
”…Ah, so that’s the route you took. I see.”
This secret route involving Karentisia had a few different branching paths. They were all supposed to happen when the protagonist, Alexia, and Karentisia turned fifteen.
We’re only about to turn eleven, though. Why are these four-years-future hidden routes happening now?
Is this another effect of Fate Power? …Perhaps the world is giving me, a good and kind man among men, a trial?
That’s surely why the protagonist, Alexia, and the other heroines are becoming more and more aggressive and perverse. It’s all Fate Power’s fault. Definitely.
”Young sir. Is something troubling you? Do you have a worry?” the Tool Shop Owner inquired.
”…Tool Shop Owner. Are you sure about this? Things are going to get really bad for you if you continue. You can still turn back now,” I warned him, giving him a chance.
”Ihihihi! I don’t quite understand what you’re worried about, but we’ve reached our destination, young sir. This is the Golden Spring… the place where the Sacred Artifact, the Golden Feather of the Fairy King, is hidden.”
In the deepest, most ominous part of the forest was a patch of brilliant gold. It was a spring that shone with an intense golden color, one so deep you couldn’t see the bottom.
The Tool Shop Owner pointed at the spring with an expression of strong, unsettling resolve.
”…Did we really get here this fast? Normally, wouldn’t you get lost for two or three days before finding the true path, Tool Shop Owner?” I pressed.
”Ihihihi! Well, I took a few shortcuts, you see. More importantly, let’s all dive into the Golden Spring quickly! Before my time runs out… Let us go to the Golden Forest!”
”Stupid Dog! Stop him! He’s using us to manipulate the Elves and Demi-humans…” Karentisia yelled, lunging forward.
”It’s no use, dayo! We won’t make it, dayo!” Elmia shrieked in panic.
”Nyaa~! I’m being sucked into the sparkling light, nyaa~!” Silvia cried.
”…Was that your choice, Tool Shop Owner? You can’t go back now. What a sad person you are.”
Pulled in by the Tool Shop Owner, we were all sinking down into the golden depths of the Golden Spring.
—
Summary:
The villainous heir, Shin, and his captured heroines are led deep into the perilous Anclear Forest by an unsettling Shady Guide. As political strife between the Elves and Half-Elves looms, the group is forced toward the dangerous, restricted Golden Spring to retrieve a Sacred Artifact. The chapter ratchets up the dark fantasy suspense, confirming Shin’s awareness of the Guide’s true motives and highlighting how his ‘Fate Power’ is accelerating the hidden routes of the Yuri RPG’s plot—setting the stage for a dangerous plunge into a pool of pure gold.
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Character Insight:
Shin maintains a deep, almost bored, ironic detachment from the high stakes, viewing the increasing chaos and the heroines’ emotional turmoil as the inevitable result of his ‘sinful’ nature and the mysterious ‘Fate Power.’ His willingness to let the Shady Guide proceed, even after figuring out the plot, shows his calculated and morally ambiguous approach to this adventure, prioritizing the acquisition of the Sacred Artifact over personal safety or the captives’ freedom.
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Behind the Scene:
The characters have now fully transitioned into a major, four-years-early hidden plot route. The introduction of ‘Chris’ as the person the Shady Guide consulted suggests a deeper conspiracy is at play, manipulating the main cast. The journey to the Golden Spring—a place requiring specific royal and tribal bloodlines—is a direct consequence of Elmia and Silvia’s capture, solidifying their forced role in Shin’s adventure.
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T/L:
¹ In the original text, the Shady Guide is literally a ‘Tool Shop Owner’ (道具屋), a generic but highly suspicious figure, whose true nature is only hinted at. ↩
² Disposal Fairies refers to a type of corrupted or exiled magical entity, suggesting a dangerous ecological/political crisis in the Eastern lands that is causing a refugee flow into the West. ↩
Notes:
• Alt – A Dragonkin member of the Twelve Apostles who was researching Dragonkin-related Divine Artifacts. He becomes Shin’s primary source of information and suggests consulting his mentor, Lin, for a potential cure.
• Fim – The Pope Cera’s chief aide and the de facto second-most powerful man in the Lax Empire. Yellowish hair. He is a self-important, theatrical man with a perverted obsession with the young hero, Shin. He wears expensive suits, which are quickly destroyed when he transforms. His loyalty is twisted and ultimately self-serving, seeing the Empire as his personal playground.
• Albion Empire – A nation to the east of Regain where dragonkind is revered as divine. It is currently locked in ‘bloody, territorial chaos’ with the new Demon King’s forces in Schwert.
• Silvia – Another one of the ‘Hidden Eroins’ from the original game, her full background is not revealed in this chapter, but she is highly protective of ‘Karen’ (Karentisia) and recognizes the Protagonist’s Sacred Artifact. She is easily angered and speaks with an intense, aggressive cat dialect.
• Lin – Alt’s mentor, described as the ‘Great Hero who sealed the ancient dragon, Albion, who resides in the Dragon Country.’ He is suggested as someone who might possess knowledge of a cure for the dragon race’s strange disease.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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