episode_0093

An empire that may be rotten on the inside, but always shines brightly on the outside.

The emperor of that empire, Maurice von Fieldor, had a total of five sons and daughters.

1st Prince Ian, 2nd Prince Aiden.

1st Princess Ayla, 2nd Princess Elvira, 3rd Princess Deyla.

And as I said before, the first princess was dead, and the second prince, Aiden, was beheaded.

Even the second princess Elvira sticks by Ian’s side, while the third princess Deila continues her lonely fight.

These are the settings of the palace that can be seen in the game.

The protagonist has two choices here. First, he can follow the mainstream and support the First Prince to make him the Emperor, or he can support the Third Princess, his only rival, and walk the thorny path together to make her the Emperor.

Even though her mortality rate is comparable to that of the party members, she can still ascend to the throne.

And if you support the Third Princess, you can learn about the inside story of the palace in this way.

I felt a new sense of emotion listening to her story, because I had received a similar quest in the game.

Let’s dig up the death of the First Princess together and expose the First Prince’s corruption. Then, Ian will suffer a big political blow, and in return, Dale will gain power.

There’s just one thing that’s a little different…

‘Second Prince Aiden.’

Aiden’s existence is never specifically mentioned in the quest. No, not only that, but Aiden’s existence is almost never mentioned while progressing through the game. He always exists in a state of confinement.

That’s what suddenly came out of her mouth.

Even though they said they needed a witness, I couldn’t help but be slightly surprised since I didn’t expect him to show up.

Usually, it’s because the main character in the game has already taken care of everything.

‘but···.’

But on the other hand, I could understand it.

The main character in the game usually exists with an absurdly high reputation.

Of course, it is the only hope for the continent, and by the time you receive the quest, you will have already killed several of the Four Heavenly Kings.

The influence that such a person has cannot be ignored even by the emperor.

By that time, a warrior can already create considerable power simply by supporting someone. If such a person exposes someone’s corruption, that alone will cause considerable damage.

But what about me now?

I had no influence at all. I did defeat two of the Four Heavenly Kings, but the curse and my actions ate away at all my accomplishments.

So even if I found some evidence and exposed it, it was uncertain whether people would believe it.

Rather, if you doubt, you doubt.

That’s why the alternative came out.

‘Second Prince Aiden.’

According to her, she was a witness to the accident.

Even aside from that, being a prince, he was bound to have influence.

The only problem was the rumor that he was mentally ill… but if he could just deal with that, he would definitely become a much better instigator than me.

After thinking about it that far, I said to her.

“That’s a good idea. The problem is how to save the 2nd prince···.”

“I know the place. My second brother is always in the Palace of Repentance······.”

“Who doesn’t know the place? The problem is getting there.”

The Palace of Repentance was a separate building designed outside the Imperial Palace. It was a confinement palace built solely for the Second Prince.

Since it is a place where the royal family resides, there are many servants and guards protecting them.

It may not be difficult to break through by force, but there are limits to extracting it secretly.

Going there and persuading him is also a problem.

“Don’t worry about that. I don’t plan on doing it right now anyway. I’ll call you later when I’m ready and when I need to.”

As we listed those problems, she ended the conversation by saying this.

Her violet eyes were filled with determination.

Perhaps she knew that plan was her last chance.

If you’re so determined, I guess I can leave it to you for now. I have work to do anyway.

So we finished our conversation and parted ways, promising to meet again next time.

Along with a secret that could potentially turn the tide of the situation.

*

The next day.

I woke up early in the morning and headed straight to church.

Because I had to strengthen the Holy Sword once again.

Since the Four Heavenly Kings have been captured, the Goddess will also have more costs to spend.

So I had no choice but to put everything else aside and go to church.

Creak···.

As I entered the church, a sacred atmosphere greeted me. The structure itself was familiar, as it was a church within the empire I had been to before.

Unfortunately, the saint wasn’t there this time, because I arrived before her.

Even though she was a saint who lived in a church, the bed itself was superior to that of the imperial inn.

‘I’ve toured most of these places before···.’

That’s why I headed straight to the prayer room. After all, my main goal for today was to meet Enen.

Along with strengthening the Holy Sword, I also had to obtain information about the next Four Heavenly Kings.

As I entered the prayer room, the sunlight from the sky became even more intense. In the center of it all, I saw a beautifully carved statue of Enen. I frowned slightly at the sight of it.

Because I felt reluctant about what I was going to do in the future.

‘I don’t really feel like it, but···.’

But if you want to meet, you have to pray.

Kneel down, close your eyes, and pray devoutly in front of the statue.

And I drew Enen in my mind.

Then···.

“It’s been a while, warrior.”

I was above the clouds again.

*

Warm sunshine, soft clouds.

A beautiful woman, Enen, standing above the dreamy scenery.

It’s a truly sacred sight, but it makes me feel a little uncomfortable.

“As expected, you are a warrior. Not only did you capture Chungwang, but you also captured the second of the Four Heavenly Kings, the puppet master. This is truly an incredible achievement.”

“Ah, yes···.”

I awkwardly lowered my head as I looked at Enen, who welcomed me with a bright expression.

Her joy seemed genuine, but to me it just felt uncomfortable.

Because I have already seen her true self.

When I imagined a level 100 monster that no one could possibly deal with, I couldn’t help but cringe.

Doesn’t that compliment sound like praising a monkey for being clever? Of course, I may be being pessimistic about the other person’s intentions.

There was too much information I didn’t know to judge the other person. I didn’t know if I could trust them since they were hiding so much.

Although I have no choice but to cooperate with him because of the enemy known as the Demon King, Enen is no different from an uncomfortable boss to me.

Of course, I couldn’t stay quiet like that forever, so I spoke to her timidly.

“This time, you came in the same body as the one I saw last time.”

“Haha, of course. I know it’ll be hard for me to take out the main body, so there’s no reason to take it out, right?”

“How much stronger does the main body have to be to be able to see it comfortably?”

“Why? Isn’t it cute and pretty now?”

Enen was acting cute with his own clone. He looked pretty good, but he did a lot of things to me, so I wasn’t that attached to him.

When I don’t respond, Enen coughs and asks me.

“By the way··· You spoke informally last time, but this time you’re speaking formally?”

“Someone asked me to be polite, so I’m trying my best to be polite right now.”

“Oh my, you still remember what I said last time?”

Then, wouldn’t it be strange to still speak informally when threatened while showing a Cthulhu-like entity?

“But that’s only natural. I’m a god by name, so I can’t be ignored for the sake of my followers, right?”

It seems that our goddess has a bit of an old fart mentality. How could she care about such trivial things? Of course, it wasn’t that important, so we quickly moved on.

After such trivial small talk, she got to the main point.

“By the way··· Is that why you came here today?”

Although he lumped the reasons together as ‘those reasons’, it was easy to guess what they were.

Because most of what you get from her is information about strengthening the Holy Sword and the next Four Heavenly Kings.

When I noticed that, I immediately nodded.

“Then, can I ask you to strengthen the weapon first?”

“Yes, of course.”

I handed her the holy sword. The luxurious holy sword with the golden blade passed into her hands.

She began to wield the holy sword as if she had been channeling divine power like last time.

“Fortunately, this time I have some more cost to use, so I can strengthen it more than last time. At the end, the Demon King intervened, so I ended up getting some cost instead.”

It seemed to be referring to the black fog that supported the puppet government.

Indeed, I thought the Demon King intervened simply because that little Enen kid took a shit. But it turns out that the Demon King was a bit too pushy.

As a result, she ended up with resources.

“Of course it’s not that much··· but it’ll be more noticeable than last time.”

As she spoke, she handed me the Holy Sword.

The buffs added this time are said to be a slight increase in magic power, slight body strengthening, and an increase in mana amount.

Indeed, when I held the holy sword in my hand, I could definitely feel that it was better than last time.

What can I say, my body felt a bit lighter. The passage through which my mana passed seemed a bit more refined, and my head seemed a bit clearer than before.

She was about to end the conversation here and move on to the next one.

“Okay, then should I just tell you about the next Four Heavenly Kings?”

“No, before that···.”

But I stopped her. Enen probably thought I had answered most of her questions the last time.

But I still have questions.

He opens the subspace and takes out an item. What came out of the subspace was alcohol. A purple wine bottle that exuded a luxurious feel. It was something he had secretly taken from the banquet yesterday.

Enen tilts his head as if asking what he is doing when he sees that.

I said to her as I put the bottle on the floor.

“Let’s talk.”

Enen, this time it was her I was curious about.