Chapter 59: Secret Meeting with the Second Prince
Kinu returned from the ring amidst loud cheers.
「Aun, your partner is strong, right?」
「Ah… Yeah!」
The line I told Kinu while we both were clearing the Plainevelt Dungeon, she repeated it back to me.
From the moment we met, Kinu was greedy for “strength”. Remembering that time, I was deeply moved, thinking that she has truly become stronger.
To be honest, I was really surprised by this match. Since she didn’t have the muscle strength to fight in close quarters, I was worried about that, but she used swords made of magic and the twin swords. Only Kinu could perform such a feat.
She can deliver effective hits at long, mid, and short distances, and can even recover her own HP… To be honest, it’s almost scary how she has no weakness.
I have to show everyone how cool I am too!
「I’ll be able to fight tomorrow! I hope you all don’t lose your shit.」
I jokingly said so, and we moved to the contestant’s spectator area to watch the next match.
Next is the second semi-final match, the match between 1st ranked Daytona and 3rd ranked Sword Master.
The winning clan in this match will compete in the final match the day after tomorrow.
According to the information Nelfie has collected, it seems that Daytona has finished all the matches without having their general to step in. The five members are Bride, Elia, Darius, Meloria, and Romelio.
The four other members of the Tempest Cloud party have not changed since 14 years ago.
And Romelio, that guy… is an elf.
It seems like he’s involved in the kidnapping case…
Regarding the result of the match, Romelio eliminated all five contestants.
He skillfully wielded a bow and rapier, as well as wind magic at mid range. The distance from the spectator seats to the ring was too far, so I couldn’t appraise him, but in today’s match, he mainly fought from long-distance with a bow.
He probably has a status similar to Nelfie.
For the time being, we were only able to learn about Romelio. But since the final match is the day after tomorrow, we have 1 day to spare. Nelfie said she’s going to collect information, so we will have a strategy meeting tomorrow night.
After we finished watching the match, I was called out on our way back to the inn.
As I turned around, I saw Legenda standing there wearing the armor of the Knight’s Order.
「Aun of Star Supremacy, a message from His Highness Ruzark…『I really want to talk with you tonight. If possible, please come alone』. He said that he would wait for you in Room 206 of Golden Grape Arbor at 22:00.」
「I see. Okay, tell him I will come alone.」
「…Understood.」
Is there something he wants to tell me, or is it something he wants to ask about? Well, I won’t know the details until I actually go there.
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～Golden Grape Arbor, Room 206～
When I arrived at the appointed place at 22:00, the second prince Ruzark, dressed as a merchant, was sitting on a chair drinking tea. Behind him stood Legenda, whom I met during the day, dressed as an adventurer.
「I’ve been waiting for you, Aun-kun. Please take a seat.」
「…Is it informal today?」
While asking so, I sat down on the chair the prince prompted me to.
「Of course, it’s an informal occasion. Please keep your tone as it is. Also… I’ll speak in my natural tone. It would be easier to have a conversation that way, isn’t it?」
「I guess. So? Why did you call me all the way here?」
「Because of the place we met the other day, I couldn’t talk much in detail. …There are also complicated circumstances.
This room has a sound-insulating magic tool so that it can’t be heard from the outside. I only use this place for really important matters.」
「It almost seems like you are trying to tell me to trust you first? As I said before, it depends on the favor itself.」
「I know that. But I have to show my sincerity too, right?
Alright then, let’s get straight to the point, Fernando, the first prince, candidate for the next term king. The power of the nobles who support him has grown too strong in recent years. I want to remove that power.」
「In short, you want me to take part in the power struggle?」
「No, I am sure Aun-kun has no interest in that kind of thing. What I’m talking about is the reason why I asked Aun-kun to win the championship.
“Daytona” is currently ranked first in the clan rankings, and most of its members are from the Tempest Cloud party.
And all four of them are nobles who support the first prince.」
「Continue.」
「And when I looked into those nobles, I found something strange about the circulation of their money. They are conducting slave trading black market, human trafficking… and other wicked things without remorse.
In addition, due to their position as rank one in the order, they pulled some of the people in Alraine’s adventurer’s guild to their side, and I have partially confirmed that they were involved in the illegal activities.」
「So, if we remove the reputation of ”Rank 1 Clan” which is their symbol, it will be easier to proceed with the investigation…」
「That’s right. My faction has many nobles from frontier areas such as Recuria. Each of them are excellent, but when it comes to the nobles in the royal capital, it’s different. So, I am thinking of overthrowing the central nobles in the first prince’s faction and increasing my influence in the royal capital.
However, up until now there have been no adventurers who seemed to be able to win against them… and just when I was about to give up, I heard the news about you guys defeating a dragon.」
「Is it possible that it was Your Highness who skipped our ranks to S-rank and made it possible for us to participate in the ranking battle?」
「I didn’t do anything about skipping you guys to S-rank. It’s something you won with your own strength.
However, I did speak to the upper management of the guild a little about the ranking battle. I apologize if I made you feel bad.」
「No, it’s the other way around. Thank you for allowing us to participate in the ranking battle.
Let’s see now… Well, since you were so honest with me, I shall also open up to you.
Actually, if we win, there are two things I’d like to ask from you.
I would appreciate it if you would consider that.」
「Judging by the flow of the story, does it have something to do with the nobles?」
「Well, yeah. Do you know about the slave traders’ raids that happened one after another in Miralda?」
「Of course. Thanks to that, even the nobles of the royal capital received some damage. Could it be… that it was you guys?」
「Yeah. We sort of got involved. And I’m also sheltering the freed slaves.」
「What a fortunate coincidence! I’ve never felt the presence of God as much as I do now! If that’s the case, our interests are aligned!」
「I suppose. One of the things I want to ask you to do is condemn the nobles, slave traders, and adventurers involved in this matter. I want you to do it as thoroughly as possible.」
「I understand. Leave that to me. However, whether or not you can win the ranking match will be the key. I’m requesting you again. Make sure you win.」
「Yeah, I know. Leave that to us.」
「I’m looking forward to it. So, what’s your other request?」
Although it’s unofficial, conversation with the second prince of Ruzark is currently quite profitable for us.
However, even if everything went well, the first request is only a temporary measure. It’s something that came to my mind while we were talking, but my next request is my true desire.
NEXT CHAPTER
RELEASE RATE
I Became A Zombie After Being Deceived And Killed
Speed up schedule by 10 hours
Current schedule: Every 70 hours
Ru-kun, King-kun.