episode_0412

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Crash!!!

Kwaaaaaaaah!!!

A massive explosion shook the ground.

“Eek.”

Thud-!

The explosion flipped dirt, rocks, dust, and mist over us.

I’ve seen Yul training at Shasha’s training ground before, but I’ve never seen him use that ability.

He mentioned that he avoids using it unless absolutely necessary due to its wide range and immense power.

“It’s almost like a nuclear explosion.”

I understood why Yul had to say such words.

“Insane.”

“Wow.”

Even the students were astonished.

The boss monster was torn apart.

It’s not easy for a creature to die from an explosion like that, so it was surprising.

All eyes turned to Yul.

The mist around us dispersed due to the explosion, clearing the surroundings momentarily.

Thanks to that, we could see everyone around staring at Yul.

“…What’s wrong?”

Yul asked awkwardly, noticing the stares were overwhelming.

“It’s awesome to be wrong!”

“I couldn’t understand why he kept supporting us in this direction instead of focusing on alchemy, but now it makes sense.”

“To be honest, I had similar thoughts in my head.”

“Seeing him still making potions here, I thought going into non-combat roles might be more convenient.”

“He was preparing to attack right after this one ended, I was too.”

“I was also getting ready.”

“Why did you hide such an amazing skill until now?”

Yul’s eyes widened as he realized the students were thinking that way.

“I didn’t expect you guys to think like that. I made those potions because you liked them…”

Apparently, he didn’t anticipate that the kids would think he couldn’t do anything else.

The students apologized to Yul.

“Sorry for the misunderstanding. Your potions work well.”

“Yeah, I didn’t expect your abilities to be as good as your potions. Usually, people struggle to excel in just one thing.”

“I was thinking wrong for a while.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

The students cheered Yul as they looked at the torn body of the boss monster.

“If you’re this strong, you should go into combat roles. Who else will if not you?”

“Agreed.”

“It feels refreshing. It was hard to watch because it was disgusting.”

“If you fight with that ability, you can win against anyone.”

Yul nodded at the student’s words.

“I can’t just use it recklessly. Once used, I can’t use it for a while, and it takes a lot to activate.”

“Well, if you could just use it freely, it would be quite intimidating.”

“Still, I’m envious. I’d feel more secure if I could use something powerful like that.”

While the students chatted among themselves,

“Should we leave now?”

“I’m all for it.”

The man and I stepped back to inform the extermination team that the boss monster had been defeated.

“We knew you had great abilities, but… truly amazing. Those kids seem to live in a completely different world from people like me.”

It’s natural since they were born with different talents.

“Thanks to those kids’ abundant talents and strong powers, we can feel safe. It’s better to feel gratitude than deprivation.”

“Oh, of course. It’s reassuring to think that those students will enlist and fight for the empire.”

The explosion Yul created dispersed the mist, allowing us to see clearly ahead for the first time in a while, which was refreshing.

We all wanted to return to a place without mist.

That sentiment would likely be shared by everyone in the extermination team.

“Now we can go back.”

“We can return now? I thought we were going to die here without a chance to leave, but we’re going back alive.”

After learning of Prince Il’s plan, she was in a state of resignation, expecting to die.

Unable to rebel against the Emperor due to her limited power, she simply followed along with the Prince, and that’s when she encountered me.

The area around the man’s eyes became moist.

“…What has become of Prince Il?”

“Since I’ve lost the person I needed to guide, it won’t be easy enduring in the mist.”

I was curious about Prince Il’s current situation as well.

Even if he manages to escape the Contaminated Zone alive, Prince Il cannot return to the palace.

“If he wants to preserve his life, he’ll have to abandon his noble status and live in hiding. But can Prince Il truly hide his identity and endure?”

Due to his attempt to kill Princess Mona, there is no place left in the Empire where Prince Il can stand.

Even though she is a princess, the Emperor will not forgive Prince Il.

He organized a punitive force to restore the honor of the fallen nobles, but Prince Il went there and caused trouble.

Upon hearing this news, the Emperor was not merciful enough to spare Prince Il.

“It might be easier for both of us to die in the Contaminated Zone, but who knows what will happen.”

If the nobles value honor, they would know that dying in the Contaminated Zone is a cleaner end.

Returning to the Empire would only lead Prince Il to suffer and eventually face execution.

“It’s almost like having a wisdom tooth pulled out unexpectedly.”

Although the perfect plan for the punitive force was disrupted by Prince Il, I left his problem alone for now since it wasn’t an immediate concern and resolved it neatly.

Finally, the picture of Princess Mona succeeding as the heir was completed.

“Now Princess Mona only has the stairs leading up to the Empire left.”

Her remaining quest was to return to the Empire, and the price of success was to ascend to the position of Crown Princess.

※ ※ ※

A splendid welcoming ceremony.

Hooray for Princess Mona! Long live the Emperor!

Long live the Empire!!!!!!

People of all ages and genders welcomed back the punitive force that had returned after ending the war.

Princess Mona, riding on a horse, calmly accepted the cheers of the Empire’s citizens at the forefront.

The return of the punitive force took longer than expected.

However, the citizens did not mind her delayed return.

Rumors had spread about the punitive force losing contact, but Princess Mona ultimately proved the results.

“You’ve returned after conquering twice as much land as planned!”

“As expected of Princess Mona!”

“Is she going to be the successor now?”

“Probably, right? After achieving such a great feat, who else but Princess Mona deserves to be the heir?”

They defeated two boss monsters.

In other words, the land controlled by those boss monsters became part of the Empire.

Leaving that land untouched would have been a waste, so the punitive force decided to incorporate it.

“Of course, because it’s Princess Mona. I knew it would turn out like this.”

“I knew it too. When will people stop cursing her based on all sorts of rumors?”

“Hush!”

Those who had been swayed by rumors quickly changed their behavior upon Princess Mona’s return.

It wasn’t anything new, as they had always acted this way.

The nobles pondered on what to do next now that Princess Mona had returned unscathed, while the commoners rejoiced purely at the news of her purifying the Contaminated Zone.

“If she purifies the contamination, maybe our lives will improve a bit?”

“Who knows. If the nobles say it’s good, then it must be good.”

Whether informed or ignorant, unlike the chaotic first welcoming ceremony, Princess Mona’s second ceremony proceeded smoothly.

As Princess Mona walked towards the Emperor amidst the cheers of the Empire’s citizens, he opened his arms to welcome her.

Descending from her horse, Princess Mona knelt before the Emperor.

“Your Majesty! I belatedly fulfill your command and announce my return.”

“Making my father wait for so long. I heard that you returned after purifying more land than planned, but I was very worried that you might have been injured.”

“I apologize, Your Majesty.”

The Emperor standing before the imperial citizens did not look like someone carrying ominous rumors.

‘A guy who looks so fine is rumored to be a playboy who fools around and flirts with women.’

Perhaps because the Emperor looked too fine in front of them, despite all the rumors about him, the imperial citizens cheered for him.

It was only natural for Mona Princess’s actions to be directed towards her father, the Emperor.

Feeling pleased, the Emperor praised Mona Princess a few more words before declaring to everyone.

“I will appoint Mona Princess as the Crown Princess.”

“!!!”

“Prepare for the appointment ceremony quickly.”

Wow!!!

Making such a declaration in front of the imperial citizens held significant meaning.

Even if it was a spontaneous decision, being a command in front of everyone made it irreversible.

The imperial citizens cheered at the news of Mona Princess’s appointment as the Crown Princess.

If the support of the imperial citizens was weak, such an enthusiastic response would not have erupted over the appointment news.

Everyone was delighted by the appointment of Mona Princess as the Crown Princess.

Mona Princess’s appointment as the Crown Princess was nothing short of laying the groundwork for a better future for the empire.

‘Now that she’s the Crown Princess, one burden is lifted.’

For other nobles in a hopeless situation, Mona Princess becoming the Crown Princess meant that the chances of my plan succeeding had increased by at least 40%.

The influence Mona Princess could wield was that significant.

“What should I do now?”

The man who had caused the mist was watching alongside me as Mona Princess was declared the Crown Princess.

Since this man had left the contaminated zone, the mist would slowly dissipate.

He felt unjustly blamed for his actions, but he wasn’t entirely blameless.

It was true that the mist had been manipulated to the extent of going beyond his intentions.

However, the reason the mist could continue to grow and expand was because the man was present in that place.

The fact that the mist could rapidly grow within the contaminated zone and that he could easily guide it ultimately stemmed from the man being the core of the mist.

Perhaps if the man had continued training within the mist, he could have achieved even greater success.

‘But that’s only possible if he wanted it.’

However, this man didn’t seem to care about that and just wanted to leave because it was frightening.

While he seemed to have felt some joy in his achievements, since encountering the boss monster, ensuring his safety seemed more important than any accomplishment.