episode_0038

Restarting Catan didn’t take long. It was only natural that the 3rd prince wasn’t concentrating on the game at all until the middle.

I connected the village and the city, but the 3rd Prince lost without being able to make much progress in the first village and road.

The process was not pleasant, to say the least. In a board game played by two people, it is not good for one side to lose without being able to do anything.

Nevertheless, the 3rd prince was smiling faintly.

“I guess I lost. It was a very fun game.”

“Then, shall we play one more round?”

“… … … It was already getting late at night. I have to go back now so I can do my work tomorrow.”

The 3rd Prince changed the subject as naturally as possible and looked at the clock hanging on the wall.

From midnight, 1 minute ago.

The prince, who knew full well that if he sat like this, he could get caught up in another round, got up immediately.

“It was a very pleasant time. Let’s meet again tomorrow.”

“Are you doing it again then?”

“Yes, yes. Whenever I have time, I’ll hang out with you all day. Is it okay?”

“It’s still a bit disappointing, but… … Okay.”

Was it not light that shined, but light?

As far as the prince knows, Kyle Byron has been playing Catan since morning, so it’s no joke, he’s been playing that board game for nearly 20 hours. But do you feel disappointed there?

If you have to be that crazy about board games… … To be honest, the prince was not confident. The promise to do it all day long is just lip service and there will be no actual action.

The prince nodded and approached the door and knocked a few times.

It was to send a signal to the maid waiting outside the door.

Knock. Knock.

“… … … … ?”

The answer doesn’t come back.

Obviously, if you knock from inside, it means that it is safe, so you must have promised to respond by knocking in the same way.

There was no sign of popularity outside the door.

‘… … This.’

He is indeed the 3rd prince with vague magical talent, but even with his small magical power, he can tell who is standing outside the door.

A basic level of detection magic appears in his hands.

“What… … ?”

As expected, there was no one outside the door. Apparently, when I first came in, the head maid was standing there.

The middle-aged head maid was a competent Auror user and a loyal person, as she was the only person the Third Prince trusted. The nanny who took care of him when he was young, and the person who still supports him.

Where on earth has she gone?

At that moment, the prince’s mind became complicated.

“Knock… … … Ah!”

“… … Kyle?”

“I forgot something, but I finally remembered! It’s midnight right now… … .”

“What do you mean?”

“Excuse me for a moment.”

Kyle Byron, who was contemplating with his arms crossed as if he couldn’t remember something, got up from his seat and approached the door.

Kyle stood in front of the prince, wondering why there was no maid outside the door, whether it was a trap or whether he should open the door or not.

“Six times… … Was it?”

“Hmm?”

Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock.

Knock on the door six times at regular intervals.

The prince didn’t understand what that thing was doing.

Dang───

At that moment, the sound of midnight rings in the room.

And the moment he heard that sound, only one thought came to the prince’s mind.

‘The clock here… … It wouldn’t be a grandfather clock, would it?’

Right after that.

Clap la la la la rock!!

“Uh, huh!?”

“Oh… … … !!”

Space unfolds.

The windows were forcibly closed, the doors were locked, and everything was dark.

At the same time, the board game room’s walls unfolded as if they were collapsing.

In common sense, it was nonsense. This is the third floor of the castle, and there should be a hallway outside the door, another room beyond the wall, and empty space beyond the window.

But at the same time, beyond the collapsed wall, there was only a pure white space.

A strange space that spreads out endlessly and makes you wonder if this is all a dream and an illusion.

In that space, Kyle Byron and the 3rd Prince.

[Ah, you’re here.]

“A little… … It’s late. It’s too late to remember.”

[Okay… … It definitely took a long time to say that. I haven’t seen a guy like you since Justinia.]

“Justinia… … ?”

I was able to encounter a certain being.

It was a person, but it was not a person.

Half of the body was clearly human, but at the same time, half was made of bricks.

The left arm is a normal arm, but the right arm is made of rough, thick brick.

On the left was a human face with one eye, a nose, and half a mouth, but on the right there was an eye, nose, and mouth made out of bricks in an extremely awkward way.

An appearance that feels somewhat unpleasant and bizarre.

Such a being and Kyle Byron spoke naturally as if they were acquaintances.

… … Of course, the prince did not understand this whole situation.

During their conversation, there was a name that could never be passed over.

“Now, just a moment. Justinia? Are you really talking about His Majesty the 15th Emperor?”

[I guess so. A lot of time has passed.]

“What… … … .”

Justinia Severus. The 15th emperor of the empire, and a person said to be one of the greatest emperors in history.

He was also the person who carried out hard-line purges and reforms and succeeded in all of them, raising the imperial power of the empire to an inviolable position.

Thanks to that feat, it became customary for even emperors to call him by his honorific title instead of calling him by his name carelessly.

What on earth is this being that so carelessly puts the name Justinia?

Meanwhile, the brick man looked at him quietly, as if he had finally recognized the existence of the third prince.

[ah… … Right. You are the child Lucius spoke of.]

“… … !!!”

Lucius.

There was no need to say whose name it was.

‘father… … ?’

That was the name given to the current emperor of the empire and the prince’s father.

He calls the great previous emperor like a friend, and even addresses the current emperor lightly.

At the same time, building this space within the imperial castle, which receives all kinds of magical and technological protection.

Moreover, it is a being with such a strange and unusual form.

The 3rd prince’s management skills and insight were screaming.

Run away right now. If that’s not possible… …

“Who are you? Great being.”

[That’s just lip service. However, there were few people who said that in front of me.]

“Ah, Your Highness the Prince. This person──.”

[Spirit of the outsider, won’t you leave the introduction to me? This is also my promised role.]

“If you say so.”

[Thank you. Child of Lucius, what is your name?]

“… … Lou Gehrig, Lou Gehrig Severus.”

[good night. Lou Gehrig Severus. In accordance with my promise to the bastard and progenitor of all Severus, I introduce myself to you.]

Quad Deuk!!

Bricks are piled up.

The bricks that made up half of the existence increased infinitely, slowly stacking up like a fortress, increasing in size.

The image that was finally completed looked somewhat familiar.

“… … Hwangseong (皇城)?”

[I am the home of the Severus royal family, a fortress floating in the sky, and I am like a spirit that has tied itself to this place.]

The being who built a huge brick castle and floated it in the air, just like the appearance and size of the imperial castle seen from the carriage in the sky.

I left the imperial castle behind and looked down at the 3rd prince.

[I am the Grand Wizard of the Imperial Castle.]

“… … … !!”

A person who stands above the emperor, the most respected person in the empire.

That’s how he announced himself.

*

‘What, didn’t the prince know?’

He suddenly took form and introduced himself, and I tilted my head as I looked at the 3rd prince, who seemed shocked by the introduction.

In common sense, how could a guy called the prince not know about the great wizard of the royal castle?

He even spoke to me on my first visit, but I wonder if he really didn’t know it existed.

‘No, I knew it existed, but this is my first time actually seeing it…’ … ?’

Certainly, seeing the names of Emperor Justinian and Lucius being called out, one could guess where the brick-man archmage was.

Isn’t this a position that protected the Severus royal family and the imperial castle for a long time?

‘… … uh? But didn’t they say that the Grand Wizard was a collateral royal family member?’

It was around this time that I began to have doubts about the contradictions that were different from what I had heard so far.

After completing his self-introduction, the Archmage turned his attention to me with Hwangseong floating behind him.

[The soul of an outsider, but why was this child brought here?]

“Huh? Is it not possible?”

[Originally, the only person who can meet me is the emperor. When a new emperor ascends to the throne, he is the first to come to see me.]

Oh, it was something like that.

Then it would definitely be troublesome… … What is it?

“If that’s the case, why did you introduce yourself…? … ?”

[…] … … Basically, if you stay in a space like this for a long time, you get bored. The reason I called you was to satisfy my curiosity.]

So, you’re saying that the great wizard who protected the royal family throughout history introduced himself in front of the prince simply because he was bored? And by building an imperial castle like that in the back?

What can I say, kinda.

‘He’s an archmage, right… … ?’

Well, now that I think about it, Orphin and other archmages from the Mage Tower also used antimagic while playing Kyle Galli and caused an uproar.

If you think about it that way, isn’t that what all archmages are like in the first place?

After some understanding, I faced the Grand Wizard of Hwangseong.

“I understand. It’s okay.”

[You are truly having ungodly thoughts. This is why the soul of an outsider is… … .]

“Didn’t you say that he is similar to His Majesty Emperor Justinian?”

[It has to be that way. He also had a soul like you. I want to talk to you right now and satisfy my curiosity, but first, that kid… … What to do with Lou Gehrig comes first.]

“You can do whatever you want. Great wizard.”

[He seems to be quite quick-witted. Of those who came to me after becoming emperor, nine out of ten confronted me.]

“Isn’t it because I am not the emperor? I am just the third son who did not participate in the competition for the throne.”

[What you are saying is clear water. There is a reason why Lucius said it differently.]

Come to think of it, the prince told me this. Emperor… … That is to say, his father keeps trying to bring him back into the race for the throne after he had already withdrawn.

No matter what the 3rd prince’s true intentions are, if he actually returns, it is obvious that he will be subject to severe checks from the 1st and 2nd princes, and they may even resort to extreme measures.

Because he was worried about him, the 3rd prince himself played Catan every day and showed his two older brothers that he was not interested in the throne.

‘At that time, I wondered what the emperor was thinking.’

Considering that he had given this archmage a separate message, did he really think he had a chance of winning the race for the throne?

The 3rd prince, who bowed his head politely as if he was thinking the same thing, seemed to be shaking slightly.

“What did His Majesty the Emperor say about His Highness the Third Prince?”

[You ask that confidently, soul of an outsider. I can answer that, but what to do with that kid, Lou Gehrig, comes first. Unless you are the emperor, you are not allowed to meet me, even if you are a member of the royal family.]

“Then… … No way!?”

[…] … Don’t think such scary things about killing me. I just erase the memories and send them back.]

Oh, I see. He spoke so grandiosely that I actually had to silence him.

Even when he first spoke to me in his head, this archmage seemed to be able to read other people’s thoughts.

‘The soul of an outsider.’

Is it because I read the ‘original world’ in my thoughts that I said that? What if the emperor Justinia had the same soul as me?

This meeting may be more important than I thought.

Out of curiosity, I thought it was a board game, but it wasn’t.

‘By the way, I’m erasing the memory.’

“If you erase your memories… … … .”

[You probably won’t remember what happened tonight. Even when I played that board game with you.]

“Can’t you control it?”

[If magic were that omnipotent, I wouldn’t have ended up like this.]

So you’re saying that you’re forgetting all the comfort I gave you?

No, wait a minute.

‘I promised to meet again and play Catan.’

That’s all day long. But you’re forgetting all those promises?

Thanks to his insight and social skills, playing a board game with the prince was different and more fun than playing with Sally, the Water Tiger, or Adella, so I was excited after receiving the promise.

Even if she comforts the prince who has forgotten all about comforting again, will she be able to receive the same promise as before?

Moreover, as I had a better impression of the board game called Catan, I got closer to my original goal of ‘fashion from the royal family’.

At the very least, it was troublesome for me that the 3rd prince lost his memory here.

‘But what should I do?’

I guess I’m an exception because I’m an outsider’s soul and was invited first, but originally, only the current emperor can see the great wizard of this imperial castle. The Third Prince, who happened to come together and see the Archmage, must forget that memory.

The archmage is kind to me now, but I don’t know how he will react if I ask him not to erase my memories.

What should I do───

“… … hmm? Current emperor?”

[Anyway, I’ll erase my memories now. Slowly, I have to communicate with the spirits of outsiders as per my original purpose… … .]

“Wait a minute, wait a minute.”

[…] … … what?]

“So, doesn’t that mean that only the current emperor can see the Archmage?]

[Yes, but.]

No, then it’s simple.

How the 3rd Prince does not forget his memories. How he does not forget the board game promise he made with me. How to maintain the current prince who is friendly towards board games.

there is. A very clear method!

“Then shouldn’t His Highness the 3rd Prince become emperor?”

[…] … … uh?]

“… … Huh?”

“Yes?”

what.

What’s the problem… … ?