I Became the Mastermind Who Betrays the Heroines

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]

Chapter 57 - How to Cross a Desert (4)

"Well... the treatment is finished."

The old man had received treatment.

Regia had carefully bandaged his injured arm, wrapping it tightly.

Thanks to her efforts, the old man seemed to be in much less pain, a gentle smile now lingering on his lips.

His aged lips expressed gratitude.

"Thank you for your help, young ones. I don’t know how I’ll ever repay this kindness..."

"Kindness... It was nothing, really."

"Your skills are better than the local doctors. You’ve got quite the talented hands, young lady."

"Th-Thank you."

Regia looked away, embarrassed.

I, who had been quietly observing from the side, chimed in with a few words.

"You did great, Miss Regia."

"Sorry?"

"Your treatment was skillful, and you had quite the assortment of medical supplies. It all seemed quite professional."

"I-If you say that too, my lord... it’s embarrassing..."

"I'm just stating the facts."

In truth, her treatment had been flawless.

Given the experience she’d gained traveling alone across the continent, she seemed well-prepared to handle minor injuries with ease.

As the modest girl tried to deflect the praise, I shrugged my shoulders.

"Looks like compliments are your weak spot, Miss Regia."

"Ugh."

A flush of pink crept onto her pale cheeks.

Regia was particularly vulnerable to compliments, often blushing when praised, even if only lightly.

Her reactions made it clear that she found them genuinely uncomfortable.

"...There’s nothing worth praising, really."

It seemed her low self-esteem was the cause.

After biting her lip for a moment, the protagonist gave a forced smile and turned her head away.

There was something bitter in her expression.

"They’re not exactly useful skills, after all."

Her clear green eyes blinked slowly.

For a moment, a shadow passed across their surface, as if she was recalling something painful.

Before I could respond, she quickly changed the subject.

"A-Anyway... Sir?"

"Hm?"

"Do you happen to know where we are?"

"I thought something was strange from the start... Don’t tell me you two don’t even know where this is?"

"Actually, the truth is..."

Regia briefly explained our situation.

The old man, learning of our predicament, was momentarily surprised before sighing quietly to himself.

"A teleportation accident... You’ve had some terrible luck."

"Yes, when we came to our senses, we were already here."

"My, my."

I silently listened to their conversation.

I didn’t want to interrupt the flow.

The old man looked at us with a sympathetic gaze.

To repay the help we had given him, he began to share what information he could.

Of course, none of it was of much use.

‘This isn’t the world we know, after all.’

This place was another dimension.

It was the setting of the book [How to Cross a Desert] that had swallowed us.

Whether we had truly entered the book or simply been transported to the dimension that inspired it, I couldn’t say for sure.

But one thing was clear—this was not the world we knew.

As such, the information the old man provided was useless.

"I’ve never heard of that country before..."

That was the kind of response we got.

Regia’s face was filled with confusion.

She couldn’t possibly know the cities, countries, or continents from a novel she hadn’t read.

Faced with unfamiliar names, she grew more and more puzzled, eventually concluding that we must be in some remote region, far from the Empire.

It was a reasonable guess.

That explanation seemed more plausible than the idea of having entered a book.

I nodded at Regia’s theory and spoke as if I were trying to work out a solution.

"Our first priority should be to get out of the desert."

"If we reach the nearest city... we might be able to contact someone or ask for help."

"Exactly."

As we discussed our next steps, the old man, who had gotten to his feet, quietly joined the conversation.

He offered his help as if it were the natural thing to do.

"As it happens, I’m also crossing the desert."

"A-Are you heading to a city...?"

"If we keep going straight, there’s a city up ahead. I’m heading there myself. If it’s alright with you, how about we travel together?"

"That’s... great news."

"We’d be very grateful if you could guide us...!"

We eagerly accepted his offer.

I couldn’t help but smile slightly.

The old man was the key character of this field, the one who held the key to completing the episode.

To successfully finish the event, we had to cross the monster-infested desert safely.

Just before we set out, Regia asked a quiet question.

"But, sir... Why are you crossing the desert in the first place?"

The old man responded without a moment's hesitation, a gentle smile on his face.

"Because someone is waiting for me."

His clear blue eyes sparkled brightly.

***

In the original game, there were around 60 hidden episodes.

Most of them were like easter eggs, simple events that rewarded players with minor items.

However, some were different.

They featured challenging fields.

Players had to analyze the stages meticulously and put together strategies to progress.

Each episode could only be played once.

Unless you started the game over from the beginning, you couldn’t experience the event a second time.

Naturally, if you failed, there would be no reward.

In short, these episodes were content designed for the hardcore players.

Among those hidden episodes, there was one that stood out as the most infamous...

[EP???. How to Cross a Desert]

- A Gate in the Sky, A Kid Who Stays Up Under the Stars -

How to Cross a Desert.

The stage itself was simple: you just had to escort the designated NPC safely to their destination.

Of course, that didn’t mean the difficulty was low.

This episode was notorious among players.

[Category: General Forum]

[Title: The Desert Stage is Seriously...]

Why is it so hard every time I try it?

I’ve had to restart so many times because of this one.

[The patterns are seriously the worst]

-> How many damn scorpions spawn anyway?

-> Even if you gathered all the scorpions in the Sahara, there’d still be fewer than here.

[You have to memorize all the patterns, 100%]

-> It’s way faster if you follow a walkthrough video.

-> Damn it, another walkthrough... I should start worshipping them.

-> That PanicWalkthroughGuy is a legend.

-> No, PanicWalkthroughGuy is off-limits.

[The last wave is literally impossible to survive]

-> I fail there every single time...

The player had to withstand waves of monsters while steadily making their way toward the destination.

It was a hellish march.

Unfortunately, that hell hadn’t changed now that the game had become reality.

The path to the destination was nothing short of grueling.

Swarms of scorpions poured down on us.

We carefully cleared the surrounding area as we advanced.

Since it was still early in the episode, we hadn’t faced any major threats yet.

"Haa...!"

I let out a short breath as I swung my sword.

A thin, black line sliced through the air.

The blade cut through the moment.

And then.

Slash!

The head of the scorpion rushing toward me was split in half.

The creature lost its balance and collapsed.

I ignored the blood splattering at my feet as I caught my breath.

"Whew..."

That was already the fifth battle.

My stamina was starting to reach its limit.

As expected, without using my [Liar] abilities, my overall efficiency was far lower.

The silver lining was—

‘Since it's still the early waves... everyone’s holding up well.’

It seemed we were still at the stage where we could manage.

Though Regia was visibly exhausted, she was doing her best to stand her ground against the scorpions.

She clearly didn’t want to be a burden.

Of course, in the end, she mostly just bought time until I finished them off...

"You can fall back now, Miss Regia."

"...Thank you."

Every time this happened, Regia would wear a complicated expression.

It was as if she felt a deep sense of deprivation.

The girl bit her lip gently.

It seemed she was frustrated by her inability to contribute much.

"...."

I silently turned my head.

Standing amidst the corpses of scorpions was the old man.

He was holding a crossbow.

"Hmm... Looks like we’ve cleared the area."

The old man muttered under his breath.

Surprisingly, he had demonstrated exceptional marksmanship.

He had been sniping from a distance and creating openings for me in close quarters, providing solid support.

He was quite the competent ranged fighter.

"You’re still quite fit for your age, sir."

"Of course! Otherwise, how would I have dared to cross this desert?"

"That’s true."

The sky had turned crimson.

The day was ending.

The first day of the episode featured up to five monster waves.

Including the battle we’d just finished, we had already faced five.

There was no need to worry about any more attacks today.

We began preparing to camp for the night.

"We need to eat... but all that’s around are these scorpions."

The old man sighed for a moment.

He cut off the tail of one of the scorpions and offered us a chunk of the meat.

The raw flesh dripped with purple blood.

"This is about the only edible part. It tastes like rotten chicken, but you get used to it after a while."

The old man opened his mouth as if to demonstrate.

But his attempt was quickly stopped.

Thanks to Regia, who rushed in to stop him.

"Wh-Why are you trying to eat it raw?!"

"What else am I supposed to do?"

"I-I’ll cook it for you! Even without magic, I know how to start a fire!"

"Oh? Well then..."

In the end, the girl successfully dissuaded him.

She pulled out some crude tools from her bag and skillfully started a fire.

Soon after, she cooked the scorpion tail thoroughly.

Thanks to her, we avoided the disaster of eating raw meat.

"It’s more palatable cooked."

"It’s not too bad. The strange texture is less noticeable now that it’s warm."

"I’m glad..."

Regia let out a sigh of relief.

Her hands, still moving deftly over the fire, seemed well-practiced.

I watched her quietly for a while.

When our eyes met, she gave me an awkward smile.

"Hehe... I picked this up while traveling the continent alone."

"Thanks to you, we avoided a terrible meal."

"I’m just glad I could help in some way."

But Regia’s face looked troubled.

There was something unusually dark about her expression.

Maybe it was because of her continued helplessness or her lingering feelings of inadequacy.

She muttered softly under her breath.

"...I didn’t help at all today either."

Her words were barely audible, but I’m sure that’s what she said.

Her voice sounded fragile, as if it might break at any moment.

"It’s about time to sleep."

"...."

"We need to figure out the watch schedule as well. Shall we check with the old man?"

Regia stood up, brushing off the sand.

Then, as if nothing had happened, she gave me a bright smile.

A smile worn like a mask.

I watched her for a while without saying anything.

***

The red sunset eventually disappeared beyond the horizon.

With the sun gone, darkness remained, and the sky was now illuminated by the soft glow of countless stars.

The scenery was bathed in a quiet serenity.

Night had fallen over the desert.

It was time to close our eyes for a while, to rest before facing the challenges of tomorrow.

"...."

We took turns standing watch.

The order was decided fairly—through rock-paper-scissors.

I was first, Regia was second, and the old man took the last shift.

While the others slept, I quietly kept guard.

"It’s a bit chilly."

I rubbed my hands together, trying to warm them.

A small magical lamp glowed faintly in front of me.

Though it was a pitiful light compared to the darkness that had settled over the desert, the stars in the sky provided just enough illumination to keep the night from being too dark.

I stood still, feeling the cold air seep into my skin.

As I was absentmindedly soaking in the atmosphere, I heard a sound nearby.

Shuffle, shuffle.

The soft sound of footsteps on the sand.

Turning my head, I saw a girl with pink hair approaching.

It was Regia, looking somewhat hesitant.

"Miss Regia."

"My lord...?"

"It’s quite late... I take it you couldn’t sleep?"

"...Yes."

I gave her a gentle smile.

Then, lightly patting the ground beside me, I spoke.

Tap, tap.

"Would you care to sit with me for a while?"

"..."

Her green eyes blinked softly.

I smiled at her, offering my hand to the hesitant girl.

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]