I Married the Beautiful Female Protagonist In Order To Survive

50. I Savor Lemons

After being startled by Miss Nell’s “critical moment” reminder, forcing me to release my hand that was ready to “wall-slam” her and instead go out for dinner, Kefir lost her mood. After dinner, she cuddled up with Nell for a cozy rest, while I, the “stinky man,” had to sleep elsewhere.

To my surprise, instead of spending the whole night clinging to Kefir’s leg, I spent it staring at the script, but the scenario of the Russian Empire’s goons coming to cause trouble didn’t happen. They looked ready to “take us out” in the morning, but seemed to have learned their lesson by night?

With the dawn of the next day, within the Goddess’s Relic, I had no time to ponder further.

After confirming that the three Russians hadn’t followed us, we continued exploring the path that I had discovered with Kefir’s “protagonist’s halo” the day before.

Considering yesterday’s events, I decided to enlighten Kefir a bit about how she’s “completely different” from the extras; there’s no need to imitate others, but…

“Kefir, I’ve learned through prophecy that, while anyone can explore the Goddess’s Relic, there are paths prepared especially for you.”

“…”

Kefir seemed not to listen, just kept her head down, and now I, not her, became the pathfinder.

Me, a major villain, walked the path meant for the protagonist, am I out of my mind!? As much as I say this, I can’t be even more reckless and scold Kefir. As for why she insists on staying so close to me today, I can only pretend to be blind and not see.

“Like some dead ends in others’ eyes, ideas, for you, might just be secret passages that can be opened. Some odd-looking objects that others touch and feel might not react, but when you touch them, they have an effect.

In the game, this is called ‘interactive elements.’ Once Kefir understands this, won’t she be unbeatable in the future? Wouldn’t that make my embrace both satisfying and delightful?

However, Kefir remained silent without answering, while Nell timidly stopped in her tracks.

“Mr. Oglethorpe…”

“What’s wrong, Nell?”

I asked instinctively, turning my head, and Kefir, who had been silent and looking down, suddenly woke up, raised her head to look at me, and hesitated.

“That… just now, I touched something as you said, it seems like I pressed a protruding stone…”

“…”

Done for! I completely forgot about Nell!

【Click】

Although the words were meant for Kefir, Nell, from another perspective, is also a ‘protagonist’! And unlike Kefir, Nell belongs to the ‘one slash at level 999 supported by the world’s script’ kind of protagonist!

【Nell has opened a hidden path and obtained a powerful artifact bound to her soul!】

【Thunderous Roar】

With the script now clear, the spot that Niel had just touched indeed revealed a passage leading underground. A few light-shunning bats flapped out, as if afraid that Niel wouldn’t know this was where the sacred artifact was hidden!

“Ah, Miss, it seems there’s a path…”

“Hmm hmm… Ahhh! Wait, wait a moment!”

I finally managed to stop Kefir and Niel before they could act on any strange ideas.

Letting Niel go down to fetch some artifact, and then she stabs me to death later? Tsk, I was careless this time, thinking it was a relic copy with no one around, so I let Niel follow. Now it seems, even without direct delivery from elderly grandpas and grandmas, Niel could level up just by walking!

“I just had a premonition, there’s a trap below!”

I had no choice but to lie.

“What does it matter, you guys stay up here, I’ll go down and take a look.”

And, to straighten out Kefir’s proud notions, I had to pile lies upon lies, while firmly gripping her arm.

“Absolutely not! I’ve foreseen it, Kefir, you’ll get hurt if you go! Trust me this once, let’s not be curious for now.”

Through the clothes, I could feel Kefir’s body tensing up. After being so stiff for a while, she finally let go of my hand with a sigh and stumbled forward.

“I, I understand, then let’s not look any further and move on.”

“Phew… That’s great, Kefir, I’ll warn you in time if there’s any danger.”

“Mm… Mm…”

Undoubtedly, in this “copy,” the true protagonist like Kefir should be involved in ordinary exploration, encountering some minor wild creature, entering a boss room that looks different, and then after defeating the boss, getting the treasure and leveling up.

As for stumbling upon artifacts just by walking, that’s definitely Niel’s “feature.” Always heart-pounding like before, having to make various excuses to fool Kefir, sooner or later she’ll suspect whether I’m hiding something.

Perhaps, for the exploration later, it would be better to have Niel, the maid who discovers artifacts just by walking, stay at the camp?

“Kefir, don’t… don’t look at that chest! There’s actually a monster hidden inside! It’s the legendary chest monster!”

“I… know, I know! Charlatan, don’t get so close, you reek!”

Am I not afraid of dying…

Once again, because of Niel’s discovery of a “hidden chest,” I had to persuade Kefir not to look too closely. I heaved a deep sigh, turned my head, and found that Niel had already put a little distance between us.

I hurried over.

“Niel? What’s wrong?”

“Miss seems very happy, and… her relationship with the other Miss is really getting better… I…”

Niel seemed to be muttering something with a gloomy face, but when I ran over, what I saw was the maid’s sunny smile.

“It’s nothing, I just tripped a little. Mr. Ogelid, let’s hurry and catch up with Miss’s pace!”

——

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