I Became a Raid Boss

If I had to summarize the character of Ashie Grasis in one phrase, I would say,

“Not a royal like a royal.”

He treats those beneath him kindly, yet maintains an air of dignity that leaves no room for disrespect. While upholding his decorum, he refrains from extravagance. He never neglects either literary or martial pursuits, always refining himself and bending low to look out for those in humble places.

Perhaps most of the relief measures that were carried out in the royal family came from his intellect, right?

Hearing all this, one might think,

“Huh? Isn’t that commendable? How is that not royal-like?”

A royal who is frugal, incorruptible, and considerate of the people. Truly an ideal model of royalty, isn’t it?

Yet, the royals of Grasis, as I knew them, were anything but that.

To me, royals meant self-indulgent good-for-nothings who squandered the treasury on hedonism while draining the blood and sweat of the common people to fill their bellies.

Expressing it like this makes me feel like I’ve become some revolutionary shouting for the guillotine.

“…Hey, Kana. Can we actually say that? He’s still royalty, after all….”

“What does it matter? He probably thinks the same.”

“Hmm. It stings a bit, but he’s not wrong.”

“Is… is that so?”

Da-eun, who had been rolling her eyes while being cautious of Ashie’s reactions, let out a sigh that was either relief or exasperation.

Was she worried about being accused of disrespect?

Even if Ashie truly had such a character, what could one question about disrespect when Grasis had perished?

“I told you, I said he’s not royal-like.”

“Yup… that’s true.”

Seeing her nod, it seemed she finally grasped my words.

Ashie’s demeanor? His characteristics? Whatever it was, because of those traits, he was treated like a child or a black sheep within the royal family.

To put it simply, he was the “swan mistaken for a duck amidst the ugly ducks.”

Yet, the reason he wasn’t chased away was, who knows?

Perhaps it was due to his remarkable skills, the last ties of blood, or maybe another reason entirely.

Whatever the reason, I didn’t particularly want to know.

At this point, it was no longer necessary to know.

What I was curious about was something else entirely.

“How are you still alive?”

“…Saying it like that makes it sound like I shouldn’t be alive. I know you didn’t mean it that way, but still.”

Ashie said with a huff.

“What’s there to it? I just got lucky. You know I’m not the type to be cooped up in the royal castle. I was outside the castle when it fell, so I avoided the trouble… Just a sob story like that, sorry if you expected something more moving like knights risking their lives to buy time so I could escape the castle safely.”

“I wasn’t expecting that.”

Although if he was talking about his personal knights, that’d be a different story. The royal knights wouldn’t do something noble unless it was about their own safety.

“…So why are you suddenly pretending to be a blacksmith when it’s not in your destiny?”

“It’s not pretending to be a blacksmith, I’m still an apprentice.”

“Whatever it is.”

“…You really haven’t changed.”

His voice had a hint of sweetness. I pretended not to notice the emotion embedded in his tone and shrugged.

After hearing my question, Ashie hesitated for a long while. His expression, recalling the past, seemed both painful yet nostalgic.

The others around us waited for him to speak in silence, caught up in the atmosphere.

“…After I got dumped by you.”

“Eh?! Ah, no… I’m sorry. Please, continue.”

“-After that, I kept thinking. What was I lacking? What on earth was it that you found unattractive about me? My looks? My wealth? My personality? No matter how I thought, none of these felt right.”

“…I mean, I can see the first two, but I think personality might be a point.”

However, my words were lightly dismissed.

“In that time, I realized that women are attracted to a man’s masculine traits.”

“Eh?”

“…What?”

Da-eun and I simultaneously voiced our doubts at his conclusion, which leaped several levels.

Not that it was wrong, but it felt so abrupt!

Even while we were dumbfounded, his explanation continued.

“So what does being masculine mean?”

It means being different from women.

That was how Ashie started his argument, with a rather obvious assertion.

Blah blah blah, whatever….

Honestly, the story wasn’t particularly interesting, so I tuned out halfway, letting his words flow past one ear and out the other.

Da-eun, who seemed to be translating for the viewers occasionally, became quiet at some point.

Eventually, Ashie’s lengthy speech came to a stop, not by his own volition.

Having realized it would never end if I let him continue, I decided to halt the meandering flow.

“…I get it roughly. What you mean is, if it’s a job primarily done by men, it’s something women can’t do, which implies it’s a masculine profession, right?”

“Exactly. There are plenty of male blacksmiths but finding a female blacksmith is like searching for a needle in a haystack.”

“Hmmm…”

Da-eun’s expression was already twisted in confusion.

I jabbed her side, giving her a nudge, “Is this really our prince?”

Well, thinking of guys working out to get a better impression from women, he might actually be onto something…

But still, isn’t it strange for a prince to become a blacksmith for such reasons?

Is love really that blinding?

While that thought struck me as admirable, it was immediately overshadowed by discomfort, considering the fact that the target of such love was me.

“Is it true you walk around without your shirt on for that reason?”

“It’s part of doing things men can do.”

“No, most guys don’t want to run around half-naked.”

Ashie might be acting indifferent, but clearly, the fall of Grasis had hit him hard.

He was a decent guy, despite his annoyances when he crawled close to me.

Still, having lost all of his blood relatives and his country, it would be impossible not to feel something.

If only Ashie were born twenty or even ten years earlier and taken the throne, Grasis might not have fallen.

Poor guy.

“So Kana, let me ask you again. Will you become my partner?”

“Go away.”

…If only it weren’t for all of that.

*

-Ashie the pedo…

-Can’t believe someone is actually confessing like this lol

-From a fantasy perspective, it might not be so strange?? In fantasy worlds, aren’t they supposed to become engaged and married from a young age?

-I’m a Silian and I totally get that ㅇㅇ

-No, Silian’s don’t talk like that…

-But seriously Kana is way too young; I really can’t see her as a romantic interest.

-There are a lot of people who see it that way.

Ashie, with a flashy track record of two confessions and two rejections, was smugly awarded the glorious title of “Pedo” by Da-eun’s viewers.

Of course, Ashie had no idea about this, but he found Da-eun’s gaze strangely uncomfortable.

However, the time for him to nurse his broken heart didn’t arrive.

They had a serious incident to resolve: the “Dragon Orb Theft.”

Receiving the situation from Brondin and Da-eun, Ashie, unlike others, was well-versed in Arkish, being of the royal family of Grasis, so communication was not difficult.

“Do you have any leads?”

“Hmm.”

At first, it seemed he was deep in thought as he shook his head.

“No, nothing specific.”

“Do you have any idea when it was stolen?”

“I received an item yesterday after talking to my master, and since then, I haven’t touched anything in the box. I wouldn’t dare touching my master’s belongings without permission.”

“Hmm!”

Brondin, crossing his arms, nodded.

While it was a perfect answer for an apprentice, it didn’t help solve the problem.

“Ugh….”

Even after Ashie returned from his errand, the situation hadn’t progressed, and Da-eun made a groaning sound.

I wonder what Kana thought about this situation.

Glancing over, Kana simply stared blankly at them, her eyes wide open.

As the three of us talked, Da-eun thought of Kana’s expression, similar to Brondin the other day.

‘…So cute.’

Oh wait, that’s not it…!

Slapping her cheeks to regain focus, Da-eun shook herself awake.

Despite being the most reliable ally in battle, Kana might not have a way out of this situation.

The trouble was initiated by Kana, yet the cleanup fell on Da-eun.

However, her motivation soared higher instead.

‘This is an opportunity. A chance to prove my abilities to Kana. If I manage to resolve this without her help….’

Imagining Kana looking up at her with sparkling eyes, saying, “Da-eun… you’re amazing,” made her chuckle softly.

But still, no smart ideas had surfaced.

So she made her choice.

“Help me, you guys!”

She decided to seek the viewers’ assistance.

Humans are social animals by nature.

They don’t live in societies by managing everything alone.

That’s why there was no shame in Da-eun asking for help.

-Her words flow like a waterfall.

-Joanie for the national assembly!!

-Wait; is that right?

-I suspect the limping guy is the culprit.

-Are you the Holmes of Korea?

Yet, just because she asked for help didn’t mean the viewers gave any valuable advice.

While Da-eun looked over comments like, “I think the culprit is… [See more],” she clicked her tongue.

“If only I had read some detective novels or at least played some mystery games to sharpen my detective skills!”

Smoothly shifting the blame onto others, the chat filled with trolls.

It seemed they were ready to light a fire under Da-eun’s rear end.

“Speaking of which….”

It seemed Ashie remembered something he’d forgotten.

“Master, nobody came by the workshop yesterday, right?”

“Hmm? Yeah, that’s right.”

He’d not taken any orders that day, and there weren’t any customers stopping by either.

After all, he had a sign on the door saying, “Not Open Today!” That few would bashfully knock on a closed door.

This was the city of Dwarves, Baltora.

Even if one blacksmith closed up shop for the day, there were plenty of other workshops around for potential buyers.

“And Master, you always lock the door while you sleep.”

“Yep, that’s right.”

Brondin himself crafted the workshop’s door.

It was a sturdy metal door with a meticulous locking mechanism, making it near-impossible for an ordinary thief to break in.

It wouldn’t be a door that could easily fall to the tricks of petty criminals.

“But it got broken into.”

“…. ”

Brondin, who had been chatting excitedly, was suddenly silenced by Da-eun’s remark.

Just a moment ago, she had praised the work he did, and now her sharp observation inflicted greater damage than he had anticipated.

As Ashie cleared his throat, trying to refocus everyone’s attention.

“If a thief did steal something, then the crime must have taken place during the time between my quitting and starting again. So, it happened at night, right? And as I mentioned, Master, you locked the door and confirmed it.”

“Yeah. I vividly remember locking it and checking as well!”

“Locked doors can only be opened either from the inside or with a key. However, it’s unlikely that you would have let anyone in….”

“The thief must have had the key?”

Da-eun’s final blow got Ashie to nod.

“The door crafted by my master is so sturdy that if it was opened by an unconventional method, then surely there would be traces left behind. It’s not a door that you could slip through without leaving evidence.”

Brondin dashed over to examine the door.

He scrutinized the lock, checked the doorknob, and stepped back to examine the door panel.

Fidgeting around, he began to tremble with his beard.

“…There are no traces at all! Could it be that the thief’s skills surpassed mine!”

“No, Master. There’s no thief skilled enough to surpass you!”

“…My apprentice!”

“Master!”

‘…Such nonsense.’

While the two men embraced, their sweat causing them to seem like they were in a sweaty hug, Da-eun grimaced in horror.

So she picked up where Ashie had left off when he couldn’t continue his words.

“We will need to find the person who has the key. Do you know anyone?”

Brondin, who had been hugging Ashie, released his grip.

He seemed reluctant to speak as he hesitated, to which he finally gave in to Da-eun’s prodding.

“Other than my apprentice, there’s only one person.”

“Who is that?”

He opened his mouth, still wearing an awkward expression.

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