After Rene left, the first thing I did was to clean up the situation.
You might ask, "Is there really a need to clean up now that the root of the problem is gone?"
Yes, there is. If I don’t take care of those who deserve punishment now, it’ll just fizzle out later.
I blocked the knights, who were about to go back to training, and asked the one who looked most bewildered,
"Are you running away because you’re scared of me?"
"No, of course not, my lady. It’s just... we have some work to do."
"Is that more important than me?"
"Well... no! What could be more important than you, my lady!"
"Right?"
I gave a sly smile, tilted my head, and got the knight, Posel, to kneel. Then, I whispered in his ear,
"If you promise to be a loyal dog, I might let this pitiful coward go."
"What should I do, my lady?"
"I told you to be loyal, not to empty your brain. Heh, our little dog. Were you scared?"
I patted his chin, and Posel trembled.
"I’ll make sure they experience hell like they’ve never known before."
"If it’s sloppy, it’s punishment."
"...Understood."
I decided that a man who ran away didn’t deserve to be a man, and warned him that I would turn him into something fitting for that. Then, I faced the half-wit fox.
He must have known I was angry, yet his eyes were full of expectation.
"Stupid papa?"
"What’s up? What’s wrong, Lucy?"
"I need papa for something only papa can do. Will papa listen to me?"
"Of course! How could I ever refuse Lucy’s request?"
"Then stay with me for a week and take care of this."
The half-wit fox, who had been grinning, paused and looked horrified as he glanced at Benedict.
Benedict seemed just as bewildered, but I didn’t care. This was partly his fault too.
"If you fail, I won’t look at papa’s face for a month."
"Don’t worry! I’m the greatest knight on the continent!"
"Yeah. I’ll be expecting it. Stupid papa, do your best so Lucy doesn’t say she’s disgusted with you, okay?"
"Wait. How does this count as punishment?! Punishment should involve pain!"
The half-wit fox, flustered by an unexpected situation, raised his voice, but I didn’t react to him at all.
"Eh? Stupid papa. Why do I still hear the sound of a dog barking?"
"I got it! Lucy! I’ll take care of it!"
"Stop! Don’t touch me! I need to stay by Lucy’s side! Lucy! Lucyiiiii!"
Even the half-wit fox couldn’t escape easily when Benedict’s eyes were burning with rage.
If he tried to create another clone and escape, I’d have no choice but to let it slide. But he had no tact, so that was unlikely.
Forget it. I’ll think about that when the time comes.
The only remaining issue was the two old men in my mace. But there was no way I could make them suffer at the same time.
For now, I’ll just make a note in the book of grudges. Later, I’ll make them pay for it.
"So what brings you and the incompetent prince here? If you’re here for something useless, I’d rather you disappear."
"A little bit of time is all I need, Master. I’m not sure about the prince, but I’m not here for something that will take long."
Karia, who was always busy, wouldn’t have come here unless she had something important to discuss.
Nodding, I led the two of them to the Arln family’s reception room.
The reception room, which had been in chaos because of the half-wit fox and Rene’s fight, was now restored to its former neatness. Even the tea, with warm steam rising from it, was ready, as if they had been waiting for us.
"It was prepared by the housekeeper," Erin said.
Hearing that made me feel a strange sense of gratitude for this mansion still having some conscience left.
Not that I cared about Benedict or the half-wit fox, though. The knights were all muscle-brained, the sword was a stupid dog, and Erin was still trying to dress me in fluttering clothes. The branch family members who had been confined to the mansion would run away at the sight of me.
Thinking about it, why did my situation feel so pathetic? Is this how it’s supposed to be?
"Let’s get to the point, so focus, Master."
Ah, yes. Please, go ahead.
"I’ve tracked the whereabouts of the missing pope. He’s been wandering around the outer edges of the continent, hunting strong beasts. This doesn’t seem like simple tourism. Do you know anything about it?"
As Karia mentioned, it couldn’t be simple tourism. With his long-awaited wish about to be fulfilled, there was no way he’d waste time on sightseeing.
It must be related to the pope’s goal.
Hmm... There’s not enough information. Anything else?
"The only thing I know is that he dealt with those who tried to target him. He’s been operating quietly, but I’ve only just picked up his trail, so I don’t know much."
I don’t have any better guesses. The fact that the pope has been absent from the church for so long is irregular enough on its own.
How can I predict the thoughts of someone who seems like they’re about to ascend into the heavens?
"Ah, by the way, I do know one thing. The pope bought a bunch of jewelry from the Artisans’ Guild. That’s how I was able to track his movements."
...What? That lunatic bought jewelry from the Artisans’ Guild!?
I shuddered at the thought of the pope’s maddening laughter.
This is a truth I didn’t want to know. Is this what they mean when they say sometimes lies are necessary?
"If there’s nothing more to speculate on, I’m done. Prince, if you have something to say, go ahead."
Taking his turn, Arthur thought for a moment before speaking to Karia.
"It’s a complicated topic, but Karia, how much do you know about the First Queen’s birth and upbringing?"
"That crazy woman? I know most things about her. I was the one who conducted the verification."
"You think you can tell me about her? If there’s something you want in exchange, I’ll make sure to pay."
"No, it’s fine. If I take money from your friend, I feel like I’ll hear some bad things later."
Karia waved her hand at Arthur’s serious tone, then double-checked if the soundproofing was working before opening her mouth.
"First of all, the First Queen’s birth is unknown. There’s no information."
"...What? She was born in the Bolossi Baron’s house."
"That’s what’s known, but the current king, who was close to the Lahvi Duke’s family, had the First Queen adopted into the Bolossi family. So, no one but the current king knows her true origins."
Arthur looked completely stunned. Anyone would be shocked to find out that what they thought was true was actually a distortion.
Even I was shocked.
Wait. The First Queen had a secret like that!?
There was a reason she became the fantasy trump card!? She wasn’t just a crazy lunatic!?
"She shouldn’t have been able to rise to the throne because of her origins, but her abilities were exceptional, and the current king strongly insisted that he vouch for her origins, which is why she became the First Queen."
And the king had been the one most active about the marriage with the First Queen!?
No way! The theory that the fantasy trump card was devoured by the king in the Soul Academy community was a joke!
The strong woman, the twisted sexual desire joke—it was all true!?
In the face of this shocking truth, I blinked, and Arthur cleared his throat.
"Then, another question. Karia, do you know anything about the existence of a ‘Watcher’?"
"I don’t think it’s a metaphor. Could you explain it clearly?"
"A being that watches over whether Soladin’s king fulfills his oath."
"That... I don’t know. Sorry, even when I worked in the kingdom’s intelligence department, I never heard of it. It seems you don’t know either, Master."
Of course, I don’t know! That wasn’t even in the game!
The most uptodate nove𝙡s are published on frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓.
Damn you, useless god! Why did you leave out so much information!?
With all this setup, why didn’t you release a DLC to explain it!? Why were you torturing people by making mods!?
I can’t forgive this!
I’ll get back at you later! I’ll lock you up and only feed you dumplings while you make the game!
"Master, can you contact Erginus through the fairies? I feel like asking him might give us some answers."
After hearing Karia’s words, I looked up and saw the fairies, who had been hiding among my hair, finally revealing themselves.
"You don’t need to shout. I can hear you just fine."
Erginus, who had suddenly popped out of the shadows in the room, gently pressed the head of a fairy.
The fairies, seemingly attached to him like a prince consort, clung to him happily.
<What’s going on? Why is he still alive?>
<He’s not the Erginus we were with. It’s an imitation he created.>
<An imitation? That?>
<Not anymore. He gained divinity.>
<...What the hell does that mean.>
As Garad kept asking questions, Erginus looked at the empty space next to Arthur and nodded. I heard that Arthur had something fairy-like attached to him.
"I understand the situation. The birth is suspicious, and his thinking is similar, so it’s worth doubting. But as far as I can tell, it seems unrelated to the Watcher. There were no traces of magic."
Erginus said it wasn’t related, but his answer wasn’t firm. His attitude, leaving room for doubt, made us question further. He awkwardly smiled and said,
"I was going to confirm it again, but it seems there’s a constraint. Divinity is such a hassle at times."
Apologizing, he pulled out a cloak from his spatial pocket and handed it to me.
Wait. This... this is the cloak that the hero used in the past, right?
"I heard through the fairies that Ruel’s puppet was broken. So I brought this as part of the repair process."
"Does the virgin not know there’s a process for that?"
"You’re talking about the process of being acknowledged? You don’t need that for you. A hero wouldn’t disapprove of you."
Taking the cloak from him, I looked at the sacred artifact with an indescribable emotion, then let out a laugh.
Well, fine. I’ll think of it as him taking care of one bothersome thing.
Now, is everything ready for the island?
Alright. Let’s go.
We’ll uncover what happened in Lucy’s past.
And why Rene is so obsessed with Lucy.
I’ll figure it all out and return.