Shota's Isekai NTR Adventure Chapter 1962: Death Valley

"Are you crazy? You want to go to that place?"

Previously, I had kept our destination a secret, but the moment I revealed it, everyone stared at me as if I had lost my mind. Their reaction was understandable, considering our goal was a location notorious for its extreme danger.

Unless forced by absolute necessity, no sane person would ever set foot there. Every nation on the continent regarded it as a forbidden taboo zone due to the lethal risks involved. Consequently, suggesting a trip to such a place naturally led everyone to question my mental state.

Nevertheless, that was exactly where I intended to go. The next messenger of the god was currently hiding within those borders. Since I had no other options, making the journey was a requirement I couldn't avoid.

As we traveled, my followers attempted every possible argument to dissuade me from this path. However, regardless of their pleas, I remained completely deaf to their warnings. This stubbornness eventually forced them to take more aggressive action.

"Your majesty, please don’t do this."

A group was already waiting for me when we reached the town closest to our destination. Because they had arrived on the backs of wyverns, I recognized them instantly. As members of the royal guards, their primary duty was my protection.

Klein was the one leading this effort to halt my progress. There was no doubt that the mermaids escorting me had leaked my plans to them. They must have provided detailed reports on my movements, allowing the guards to track us and coordinate their arrival so they could intercept me before I even reached the town.

I didn't feel any resentment toward them, as I had anticipated this kind of interference. Still, their requests to stop weren't going to change my mind. This mission was simply too important to abandon.

Once we were in the town, they adjusted their manner of address, though their behavior made my high status obvious to anyone watching. I had hoped to gather supplies and intel quietly before entering the valley, but Klein and his team made moving inconspicuously nearly impossible. To resolve this, I had to lay down the law.

"Either follow me quietly or I’ll run away."

Hearing this, the expressions on Klein and the royal guards' faces twisted with frustration. They were well aware that if I truly intended to ditch them, I possessed the means to vanish. Left with no alternative, they reluctantly agreed to cooperate, knowing I would follow through on my threat if they didn't.

With that settled, I began interviewing the local mercenaries for information. The region I was targeting was known as Death Valley, a name earned through its reputation for lethality. It was described as a lifeless, parched wasteland, yet it was teeming with dangerous monsters. Where there are monsters, there are valuable materials to be harvested.

The mercenaries based in this town frequently entered Death Valley to hunt for these resources. Since they had explored the area extensively, I expected them to provide the specific details I needed. However, the reports I received were far from consistent.

"That place is no different from hell."

While all the mercenaries agreed on the valley's hellish nature, that wasn't the specific data I was looking for. When it came to the actual terrain, their accounts varied wildly. Some described it as a confusing maze of interconnected tunnels where one could easily become lost. Others claimed it was an open desert plagued by relentless sandstorms.

There were even those who depicted it as a hidden oasis overflowing with rare treasures. Essentially, every person had a completely different story about what Death Valley actually contained. Since I had no personal experience with the area, I had no mental map to rely on.

"Your... Young master, surely this is enough to prove how perilous this place is," Klein remarked after our investigation had gone on for a while. The other royal guards nodded solemnly in support of his statement.

I ignored their comments, instead analyzing the contradictions in the mercenaries' stories. These men only ventured into the valley for profit, meaning they likely didn't stay long. The information they provided was limited to their specific hunting grounds. Each mercenary group likely stuck to their own established territories.

Therefore, it wasn't that they were lying to me. Given the generous gold I paid and their drunken states, they had little reason to deceive me. Their answers were simply fragments of a larger, more complex whole.

Sighing to myself, I muttered, "It seems like asking around won’t work. I’ll have to go in myself to see what that place is like."