EP.197 After the curtain falls (3)
1st Prince, Isaac.
The first time I heard that name was through the first princess, Lruel. The princess told me. Her own brother is paranoid, and she says she is a f*cking person with no teeth.
“If I were asked to describe my brother in one word, she would choose the word ‘mentally ill’ without the slightest hesitation.”
A power-mad psychopath, she said.
A person who does not hesitate to kill his own relatives for power. The first prince I heard about from Princess Leruelle was that kind of person.
‘In other words, that’s it.’
If you think about it, it was like that.
All I knew about the First Prince was what I heard from Princess Leruelle. No matter how indifferent I am to the royal family, this was a bit strange.
“If you are the first prince, aren’t you the heir to the throne?”
The investiture ceremony of knights.
Speech from the battlefield.
Or, a place to praise the hero’s achievements.
If he were the heir to the throne, he would have seen him at least once in such a public place… but I have never seen the first prince before.
‘Something, it’s strange.’
I didn’t think much of it until now, but once the questions arose, they continued one after another. The decisive thing was this letter in my hand.
A letter received from Kelhalm.
A letter said to have been sent by the first prince.
I could feel a faint magical energy there. Although it is very faint, the lingering scent of demonic energy remains. Of course, since it was such a small amount, it could be thought of as a reverberation left over from the encounter with Skebal.
But, it’s still strange.
I felt like I was missing something. I frowned. In most cases, he had no intention of entering into the royal family’s power struggle. If I intervene, things will get complicated in some way.
‘however···.’
This makes the story a little different.
Since the First Prince was involved in a series of events and there was suspicion that he was connected to a demon… this was not something that could be ignored.
The center of humanity.
The head of the royal palace that rules over humanity.
If there is a devil there, it must be rooted out. I muttered quietly.
“···Should I knock it over?”
“What do you spill? Is it really the royal palace? “Do you really want to see me fall down holding the back of my neck, senior?”
There was a voice that responded to my muttering in surprise. I turned my head and looked where the voice came from.
“I already have a lot of work to do, and if one more incident happens here, I might die from overwork. “Really.”
A sofa placed on one side of the teacher’s room.
It was Kalt, sitting on my favorite sofa with his eyes wide open. The gaze was so harsh that I lowered my gaze.
‘I owe a lot in this case…’
I slowly raised my head and saw Kalt’s face. To be more precise, an eye patch covering one eye.
“···Are you feeling okay?”
“I had a lot of muscle pain, but it seems to be better than I thought. “It is a bit strange.”
“Strange?”
I tilted my head.
“what?”
“Are you sure you were injected with this?”
Kalt took out a test tube from his pocket.
The test tube filled with red liquid did not even look like it was a normal drug.
“This is a serum being developed to strengthen the bodies of superhumans. “It’s a drug that hasn’t yet been tested for side effects… To be honest, I was a bit prepared when I started using it.”
I’m going to lose the use of at least one limb.
While mumbling that, Kalt shook the test tube.
“But, I’m fine.”
“···Are you okay?”
“yes. “Other than the muscle pain, I’m really fine.”
“Isn’t the drug injected properly?”
“no. The effect of the medicine was properly received. In fact, there were movements that were close to those of a superhuman…”
Whoosh.
Kalt said, swinging his arm as if he were swinging a sword.
“When you deliver the final blow, you really feel like you’re a superhuman.”
“···okay?”
I narrowed my eyes.
I raised my hand with Kalt in my sights.
“Hey, Kalt.”
“yes?”
“Do you want to try avoiding it?”
“yes? What are you saying… 100,000,000!”
Okay, I snapped my fingers.
In an instant, the completed spell shines. The power was lowered to a stinging level, but the speed was the same as usual.
The place where the spell was directed was Kalt’s forehead.
However, what the spell hit was the wall of the teacher’s room.
“What, what is it?”
Kalt tilted his head to the side and looked at me with his eyes wide open, as if embarrassed… but I was just as embarrassed.
“···Are you avoiding this?”
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“No, what do you mean?”
“Has that person really gone crazy?” I said, pointing to Kalt, who was looking at me with those eyes.
“How did you just do that?”
“yes? what···.”
“I’m talking about avoiding the spell. “I couldn’t have read the movements or the flow of mana, so how did I avoid that?”
Only then did Kalt turn his head and look behind him. A slight scratch remains on the wall of the teacher’s office. It was a trace of the spell that Kalt had avoided.
“uh···.”
Kalt blinked.
“Something sent a tingling sensation up my spine…?”
“Hey, that…”
I said.
“Isn’t it an extra sense?”
An intuition that is infinitely close to foresight.
For those skilled in the sword, it feels like a symbol.
And, a sense that Kalt has never had before.
“···Is this real?”
“···Shall we try one more time?”
“Boo, please.”
Kalt stiffened and looked at me.
Towards Kalt, who slightly lowered his posture as if to ask him to come, I slowly put my middle finger and thumb together. She gulped, and dried saliva ran down her neck. For some reason, even I felt nervous.
“Going, going?”
“Oh, please come.”
Okay, I snapped my fingers.
This time with a little more force.
Smite.
A ray of lightning is aimed at Kalt’s forehead. If he avoids it this time, Kalt will have clearly reached the realm of superhumanity.
Perfect!
And, the bang hit the mark.
Making a very lively sound.
“100 million!”
Not on the wall, but on Kalt’s forehead.
Suddenly, Kalt’s head tilted back.
2.
“The road to becoming a superman is long and arduous…”
“They say it’s an area you can’t reach unless you throw something away or break something.”
As I looked at Kalt rubbing his reddened forehead, I smiled bitterly.
“But it looks like we’re almost there.”
“It seems so. “I dodged five or six out of ten shots.”
It was true.
Even after the one success and failure, I fired about fifteen more hard hits, and Kalt succeeded in dodging five or six of them.
“It’s not perfect, but I feel like I’m one step closer to becoming a superman.”
“Honestly, I had an experience where it wouldn’t be strange if you became a superhuman.”
“Is that so?”
“Hey, think about it.”
I spread my fingers wide.
“You’ve been on the battlefield for a long time. “I have crossed the line of fire several times over the years, so my experience has been fulfilled.”
thumb.
“I also learned swordsmanship from Mr. Kuntel, a sword expert… so my skills have been perfected to a certain extent.”
Index finger.
“And… even after encountering the sword of death and the skull bowl, I came back alive. I find this the most fascinating. “How on earth are you holding on?”
Fold your middle and ring fingers at the same time.
I said, waving my remaining finger in front of Kalt.
“The only thing left is to break it or throw something away.”
“···That is the condition for becoming a superhuman.”
“Well, I heard that the superhumans of the old Galatrick sword rose to the realm of superhumans in a different way… I don’t know about that.”
I smiled.
“Congratulations, Kalt.”
To reach the realm of the superhuman.
It was something Kalt had dreamed of for a long time. It felt quite good to see my old subordinate taking a step closer to his dream.
“Those eyes.”
I pointed to Kalt’s eyes.
It was the left eye that was lost in the battle with Skebal.
“I’ll fix it somehow, so don’t worry.”
Kalt smoothed his eye patch and smiled bitterly.
“You don’t have to do that.”
“It’s because I got caught. I.”
I said, waving my hand.
“So, the story got a bit lost.”
I lifted the letter that was on the table.
“First Prince, what on earth are you doing?”
“I don’t know either.”
“···what?”
I blinked.
“You are the Royal Guard.”
“Yes. “The name Hound is familiar, though.”
“Does it make sense that the royal family’s closest aide doesn’t know the prince well?”
“That’s it.”
Kalt sighed briefly. He seemed like he had a lot to say, but wasn’t sure where to start.
“The First Prince is a very unique person. “This is a conclusion he came to after encountering and observing several times… but how should I explain this?”
Ah, Kalt sighed.
“I feel like it’s not just one person.”
“···Not just one person?”
“Yes, it is different. “It’s just… a bit foreign.”
Tracker.
A class that reads and understands someone’s actions and ‘tracks’ the target. As Kalt boasts of unrivaled talent in his class, Kalt’s observation of people was surprisingly sharp.
Kalt says:
The first prince is said to be foreign. I’m not sure.
“There’s a part of me that seems crazy about power. “There is an aspect of a tyrant who spreads spider webs everywhere in the palace and purges those who oppose him.”
However, Kalt interrupted.
“On the other hand, it’s different if you hide and watch. It’s like a ghost. I try not to reveal myself. “It feels like I’m hiding behind the stage and watching.”
Two different appearances.
“The distinction between the two appearances is clear. “It’s like it’s not just one person.”
So, what’s your problem?
It was the moment when I was trying to explain the whole story to Kalt, who said that. Something shined in my arms. It was a magic tool that had been linked to Princess Lruel.
“···wait for a sec.”
I took out a magic tool.
The royal family’s communication network had been restored, and letters were being engraved on the brightly shining stationery.
“Professor, the royal family’s communication network has been restored.”
And, I wasn’t the only one whose magic tool was ringing.
-Beepeeeeek.
A loud noise rang out from the hem of Kalt’s coat. Kalt frowned and took out a magic tool from his coat.
“···First, let’s check and talk.”
“That would be great.”
Kalt and I focused on the news being delivered to each of us. I saw the letters engraved on the letter paper.
“I have a lot to tell you, but I think I should tell you this first.”
A moment’s hesitation.
Afterwards, I narrowed my eyes at the engraved letters.
“My brother disappeared from the royal family.”
“It means it disappeared overnight.”
and.
“In the red palace where my brother stayed…”
The moment I saw the next letter, I held my breath. I looked up from the letter and looked at Kalt. Kalt also seemed to have received the same information as me… His gaze was shaking.
“···I’m going now.”
Kalt sent a message to his subordinate, and I wrote a reply to Princess Lruel’s letter. And, we both stood up at the same time.
The stage has closed.
Something was wriggling behind it.
3.
The first princess, Lruel.
She was walking through the corridors of the palace alone. It was because her thoughts were difficult to organize. Whenever her mind was busy, she would walk around the palace alone.
‘My brother is missing.’
The heir to the throne has gone missing.
Each department was shaken up, but the Red Palace, where the First Prince’s residence was located, was the same as always. Lruelle could not possibly understand that fact.
Those who lost their owners.
Servants who could not determine their master’s whereabouts.
They, who should have been more confused than anyone else, were just tending to the red palace as always. Like a doll that has lost its soul. It was the same as always, but it was an overly bizarre scene.
‘I’m missing it.’
I am confident of that.
‘What on earth?’
Lruelle walks down the royal hall with a frown. No matter how long he walked while lost in thought, Lruelle felt that the air around him had changed.
“······.”
Leruelle raised her head without saying a word.
It must have been a sunny day, but the surrounding area was dark as if it were night. It was not natural darkness. It is a darkness like a shadow created by sunlight shining on an object.
chin.
And then, footsteps are heard in the darkness.
Lruel looks towards where the sound is coming from. There is someone approaching, dragging a shadow. He opened his arms wide and exaggeratedly towards Le Ruel.
“Oh, Leruel.”
Skinny physique.
White blonde hair that has lost its color and is almost gray.
An outfit consisting of only black and white.
Lruel said the name of the person looking at him from the shadows.
“···Brother Isaac.”
1st Prince, Isaac.
Lruelle’s eyes narrowed as she looked at him.
“I heard you went missing.”
“well.”
Isaac shrugged his shoulders.
“I just go back to where I want to go. “My place was not here.”
“···Certainly, your brother is not a person suitable for the throne. Good thing he knows it himself. “I guess my barking was worth it.”
“Haha, that’s poignant. “Leruelle.”
Dry laughter echoes through the hallway.
Isaac’s eyes bent into half-moon shapes. A laugh resembling a sneer lingered in Lruelle’s ears.
“The days when I was a child running away in fear still flash before my eyes.”
Mild threat. Le Ruelle finished her sentence, hiding her trembling fingertips between her sleeves.
“···What are you planning to do?”
“Do something more valuable.”
“Is there anything more valuable than the ten years you have spent on the throne?”
“Oh, Leruel. “Do you think there’s value in something you can take whenever you want?”
Leruelle flinched and frowned.
“…Are you just saying ‘it’s worthless’?”
“There can be no other meaning.”
“Then, brother, for something worthless…”
Did you brutally murder your younger brothers and sisters?
Just as Lruel was about to say that, Isaac cut her off. She filled in her afterword with her own words.
“It is not a sacrifice for something worthless.”
He smiled.
“I needed stimulation in my boring life. A human being who struggles to live is always beautiful. “Just as it was a hundred years ago and a thousand years ago.”
The shadow tilted and tilted.
“When you live a long life, you become hungry for stimulation.”
Lruelle looked at Isaac in silence.
Clearly, the person looking at him was his brother, whom Lruel had hated. However, the Isaac she remembers does not smile ‘that way’. He didn’t even enjoy talking that way.
different.
Something is different.
“You are not my brother.”
Lruelle opens her mouth.
“Who are you?”
The corner of Isaac’s mouth twitches at that question. At the same time, the surrounding shadows are also distorted. Isaac approaches Lruel with a twisting shadow.
One step, another step.
Something disguised as a human approaches you. However, Lruel cannot move. He had even forgotten to breathe and Le Ruel saw a shadow approaching.
chin.
The shadow that came right in front of me stopped.
The shadow slowly lowers its head.
“That question is not yours.”
A shadow whispers in Lruelle’s ear.
“It’s Stella’s job to ask questions.”
With that sentence left behind, the sound of footsteps fades away. Only when the sound of footsteps could no longer be heard did Le Ruel let out her breath.
“Huh, huh…”
Breathing hard and wiping the cold sweat running down the back of her neck, Lruelle looked back.
“······.”
There was no one there.
As if it had been like that from the beginning.
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