I Became the Narrow-Eyed Character in the Little Prince Game

The largest underground city in the Empire—the Kingdom.
A domain once ruled by the Sovereign, who had been known as the pinnacle of the underworld.
True to its name, the Kingdom boasted massive scale.

Comparable even to some major cities on the surface… and yet it lay buried deep underground.
According to the original setting, the imperial capital had once been located near this area.
It likely served as both a tourist destination and a refuge.

But—
Roughly a hundred years ago,
A massive earthquake struck the region, causing devastating damage to the entire capital.

The ground became unstable, and the underground city was suddenly at risk of collapse.
One by one, people began to leave because of the danger.
Even the emperor of the time chose to relocate the capital.

Thus, a city once full of life was completely abandoned.
“Where the bottom lies, things from the bottom gather.”
The city quickly decayed into a slum.

The constant fear of the ceiling collapsing.
The wealthy fled, and only the impoverished remained.
And with the Imperial Family withdrawing support from the area,

The lightless underground began to fester with stagnant rot.
A landfill.
Where no eyes reach, the vermin swarm.
Public order hit rock bottom, and crime became part of everyday life.

A city where hope no longer existed.
Junk piled up, and the landfill grew.
Then—

A man rose to seize control of the chaos, and began to reign over the depths.
It was the so-called Sovereign, then regarded as the peak of the underworld.
He made the city his base and named it his Kingdom.

Things from the bottom gather at the bottom, after all.
The city grew even darker.
Until not even a sliver of sunlight remained.

"Still… I don’t remember it being this much of a wreck."
I muttered as I surveyed the surroundings.
The streets were shrouded in deep darkness.

My unhurried steps passed through the outskirts of the underground city.
It had been several months since my last visit, and the atmosphere now was drastically different.
People sprawled along the streets, not a speck of light in sight, the scent of blood brushing past my nose…

"Something’s off."
Maybe it was the sense of wrongness.
I couldn’t help but furrow my brow.

A thick, clinging silence had settled over the city.
"Lady Neria."
"Yes, Master."

"It’s been like this the whole way in. Not a single hint of movement… this unnerving quiet."
"It’s as if the entire city has fallen asleep. Even the homeless scattered around are all unconscious."
"It’s not like it’s the middle of the night either. It’s still broad daylight up above."

"Even for an underground city, there’s no reason it should be this quiet during the day…"
"The Sovereign must have had a reason for requesting support."
"Yes… the atmosphere is certainly disturbing."

The eerie air grew thicker with every step.
Figures were strewn across the streets.
All of them had collapsed without the slightest twitch.

At first glance, they looked dead—but upon closer inspection, they were still breathing.
They were simply… unconscious, as if asleep, with no awareness.
It was an utterly bizarre scene.

"…So quiet."
As we neared the heart of the city, the number of people lining the streets grew.
Thugs, beggars, merchants… all had collapsed, unconscious.

Now they filled entire alleyways from wall to wall.
The strange dissonance gnawed at me.
Just like Neria had said, it really did feel as if the whole city had gone to sleep.

And the occasional whiff of blood only added to the nausea of the scene.
Our eyes landed on one spot.
"Master, that over there—"

"How dreadful."
A body crumpled in a narrow alley.
A corpse drenched in blood.

Most of the people we passed had been unharmed—but that didn’t mean all of them were.
Now and then, in between the unconscious, a corpse would appear like this.
And they all looked disturbingly similar.

"Hm."
Whatever had been done to them,
They looked like they’d been chewed apart by something.

Limbs torn off, spilled entrails soaking the ground.
And the head… was even worse.
"At the very least, we can tell the culprit is violent."

The forehead had a clean hole in it.
It looked like the brain had been completely devoured.
I clicked my tongue softly.

…Has what we feared finally come to pass?
The Kingdom.
The bottom of the continent.

It seemed that even here, the seeds of calamity had begun to sprout.
Or perhaps—they had taken root long ago.
I quietly expanded my aura beneath a cloak of falsehood.

As we moved through the city—
"I’ll have to contact headquarters."
"Understood, I’ll do it immediat—"

SKIIIIIIEEEEEK—!
A scream tore through the air from somewhere.
It wasn’t human.

There was no way such malice could come from a human throat.
We turned toward the source of the sound.
In our field of vision, only a faint shadow emerged.

"What is that…?"
A blood-soaked specter.
At a glance, it resembled a wild beast; on closer look, something more aquatic.

Its murderous energy gleamed grotesquely in the pitch-black dark.
It charged at us with savage momentum.
Between its jaws was a half-chewed skull.

"Master…!"
Neria stepped forward without hesitation.
In her hand, a faint light shimmered around a drawn dagger.

But even as the specter approached, I didn’t move.
I simply gazed up at the towering mass with a calm expression.
Because I was sure.

"You’re late."
I was sure those monstrous fangs would never reach me.
Sensing the presence coming from behind, I muttered quietly.

A worn, aged voice followed.
"You’re still as cold as ever, aren’t you."
The next moment—

A brilliant flash lit the alley.
The specter was shredded without even a chance to resist.
Before it stood a white-haired old man.

Murderous intent surged around him.
"Been a while since we last met."
The Sovereign.

The one-armed old man stood before us.
His dark suit fluttered in the wind.
His signature golden eyes gleamed.

"First, thank you for coming. Leader of the stars."
"I came quickly, but… the state of this city is outrageous."
"Let’s move for now. No telling when the chaos might resume."

"Chaos…?"
The old man stepped ahead.
Without looking back, he spoke.

"Make haste. Night’s already begun, it seems."
A line heavy with meaning.
***

The city center, filled with collapsed people.
We left that place and made our way down a remote alley.
Along the way, we shredded apart the occasional specter that popped out.

"My apologies. The timing’s not ideal to properly welcome a guest."
"From the looks of it, I’d say that’s an understatement. What exactly ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) happened here?"
"Well… just the usual story of the bottom dwellers."

On the way to somewhere—
We listened to the Sovereign’s tale of the Kingdom.
The topic that emerged from the lips of the old man was rather unexpected.

His one empty sleeve fluttered in the breeze.
"Have you ever heard of Cauchemar?"
"If you mean Cauchemar… the drug?"

"Yeah, the new synthetic stuff. It’s been all the rage down here for the past few months."
"I’ve heard it’s highly addictive, cheap, and supposedly comes with almost no side effects. Since our city doesn’t deal in narcotics, I don’t know the full picture, but…"
"You’re spot on. It was practically revolutionary. Strong, safe, affordable… the perfect product for bottom-feeders, wouldn’t you say? It was a huge hit here in the Kingdom."

"A new drug gaining traction—that’s nothing new for this kind of place."
"Right. Just another day down here."
"Then…?"

"The problem is, someone used that ‘normal’ as a cover to slip in."
"…So someone tampered with the drug called Cauchemar."
"To be precise, the drug itself was the bait."

We listened to the full explanation.
Cauchemar.
A new drug that had exploded in popularity across the Kingdom.

Its origin, ingredients, and production—none were known.
As the Sovereign tore apart another specter, he muttered,
"I was complacent. Even after a thorough analysis, nothing suspicious came up. And now, it’s come to this mess."

"What exactly happened?"
"You saw the people lying all over, didn’t you?"
"More than enough. Looked like they were all taking a group nap."

"That was just two days ago. Like they’d planned it, they all lost consciousness at once."
"All the citizens of the Kingdom… over 300,000 people?"
"Anyone who had ever taken Cauchemar ended up like that."

"Considering how popular it’s been these past few months, that’s no small number."
"Exactly. That’s why the whole city looks like a sleeping beauty’s castle."
"Except… it’s not a forest, and they’re definitely not princesses."

"Not really the part I was hung up on."
A dry joke in return.
But regardless of the banter, the situation was grave.

The Kingdom had always been a haven for criminals, cartels, and junkies.
In other words, there were very few people who hadn’t used the drug.
A rough estimate would put it at over seventy percent.

As I scanned the area, I posed another question.
"The enemy’s not ordinary. Do you have any leads?"
"It’s got to be the cult. Those specters earlier, too—reeked of their foul mana."

"On top of that, it looks like the former businessman and some outside cartels may have gotten involved as well."
"To think the Kingdom had this many enemies waiting to strike."
"If the cult had any reason to attack the Kingdom…"

"They have more than enough, don’t you think?"
The Sovereign chuckled, as if to say: do you really have to ask?