“Even if they had dedicated just a tenth of the attention they give me to governing, this country would have become a much better place to live.”

“Elias,” Leo quietly reprimanded him.

In the novel, the protagonist’s greatest enemy wasn’t Pleroma or anything else. It was the imperial family itself.

The ‘uncle’ he referred to was the current emperor.

He had a younger brother, but he was weak and had less magical power than a lower noble, so he was never considered a candidate for the throne. Thus, his uncle naturally ascended as the emperor.

However, the emperor’s peace began to crack when his brother had a child.

From this frail brother, who was hardly considered a mage, a more powerful mage than the current emperor was born.

For the emperor, who had grown up as the pillar of the imperial family, it was a bolt from the blue.

This meant it became difficult to pass the throne to his own child.

Of course, typically, even if a child from a collateral branch was stronger than one from the main family, the successor from the main family wouldn’t be replaced. The collateral child would simply achieve the greatest honor and wealth within the family.

But Elias went beyond that; he was born with unprecedented magical power that could threaten even the current emperor’s throne.

From the moment his magic manifested, Elias became an enemy to the current emperor and his children.

Elias calmed his emotions at Leo’s words and smiled.

“Anyway, you’re in a similar situation. I heard you can’t use magic, but for Adrian Askanian to be wary of you, I wonder how much magic you’re hiding. No, how have you been hiding your magic all this time?”

“My older brother has been feeding me poison since I was a child.”

“Oh.”

Elias frowned and stroked his chin.

I took out the poison I always carried and handed it to him from my jacket pocket.

He held the bottle up to the light and laughed.

“This is unbelievable. It’s hard to believe that someone so dedicated to the people would feed poison to his brother. And then frame him with false accusations?”

“Yeah, that’s why I need to deal with Pleroma.”

“To directly counter the rumors your brother created. Ah, this is thrilling.”

Elias snapped his fingers.

“Exactly. You might be disappointed that my motives aren’t pure, but I’d like you to focus on the fact that I have a powerful driving force.”

“Don’t worry. If ten people are told to do righteous work with pure intentions, seven would fail.”

Elias lifted his wine glass in a toast.

Then he furrowed his brows and burst into laughter.

“I should keep my mouth shut, but I made a mistake. Yes, that’s exactly what I think because I’m that kind of person.”

I responded with a smile.

In my opinion, he belongs to the three he mentioned.

Even if not, having watched him for ten years, I know that he is more righteous than anyone else, regardless of his motives.

I spoke after a suitable pause.

“I will break the rumors my brother created and ultimately free myself from his control. To do that, I need to deal with Pleroma. So, I hope you will join our group. You would be a great asset to our efforts.”

“Do you think I can achieve something? You saw what happened this morning, right? I’m just a student who causes problems. Would I be any help?”

“Don’t you know your potential and capabilities better than anyone? I think it’s remarkable that you judged the beast problem, which the imperial family didn’t acknowledge, as a crime by Pleroma and went out to investigate.”

Elias, who had been smiling leisurely, wiped his expression and donned a resolute smile.

“…That’s right. I need to get my money’s worth.”

“Of course, I can provide you with just as much help.”

“You are confident. Do you know what I want?”

“You are also chasing Pleroma, aren’t you? No, let’s be clear. Your goal is to fulfill your imperial duties in your own way.”

Elias squinted, opened his mouth as if stunned, then slowly tilted his head and laughed.

“Are you serious? Don’t you know what people think of me? I will assume you made a mistake talking about the imperial disgrace.”

“There’s a reason you live like that.”

Elias’s smile slowly faded. It wasn’t a cornered expression. He just seemed to be watching to see how far I’d go. He stared at me intently.

“There’s no other way if you don’t want public support. Of course, that image is also perfect for achieving your goal. The current imperial family is neglectful of governance, resulting in many gaps. I know you’re running around under that image, fulfilling your responsibilities on behalf of the imperial family.”

Elias continued to watch me in silence.

“Why do you do that? Isn’t there a part of you that wants to oppose the imperial family that insults and rejects you? Anyway, if it’s a process of disgracing the imperial family in your own way, even with different intentions, I want to say that I am walking the same path as you.”

“……”

It’s not just a guess; it’s a fact.

It’s the inner workings of Elias that I read.

But I can’t reveal that now.

“I can help you achieve what you want, Elias.”

Elias stared at me unblinkingly, then took a sip of wine and smiled softly.

“You said your name is Lucas.”

“Yes.”

“That’s a cool name. Come to think of it, both our names end with that damned ‘s’. So… Lucas, Luca. Hmm, I like it.”

Elias tapped the rim of his glass in time with the rhythm of his words. Then he leisurely raised his head and met my eyes.

“Alright, I’ll cooperate with you, Luca.”

“……”

For a moment, I was at a loss for words.

Only my brother and the protagonist call Lucas ‘Luca.’

In Luca’s chapter, the protagonist called a 10-year-old classmate’s name with an unusual affinity and for some reason, used the nickname of someone who was already dead.

Putting aside that story, hearing it directly like this left me speechless.

The protagonist is the same now as he was ten years later.

I felt the same relief I often felt from Leo, that the world I knew was still here.

But it also reminded me that no one recognizes the original me, and that everyone truly sees me as Luca.

Elias waved his hand in front of my unresponsive face.

“Isn’t this a moment to be happy? Was I too rude on our first meeting?”

“Hey, you can’t just call him that without asking first.”

Leo glanced at my expression and scolded Elias. Leo knew that my brother called me by that name. So he must be even more uncomfortable being caught in the middle.

“No.”

I looked into Elias’s upright eyes.

“Welcome, Eli.”

*Ding*

Chapter 4. Constant Dripping Wears Away the Stone (2)

Quest 1: Make Elias Hohenzollern your ally. (1/1) (11 hours 53 minutes 17 seconds)

* Route 1 ― 〈 Quest 2 〉

* Route 2 ― 〈 Chapter 5. Do Not Praise a Day Before Evening Comes 〉

Congratulations!

Quest 1: Make Elias Hohenzollern your ally. Success!

Route 1 ― 〈 Quest 2 〉 has been confirmed.

With this, I have successfully made two characters from the novel my allies.

I should take a look at the status window.

Elias Hohenzollern

[Favorability +2]

Title: ?

Health: +9 [+7]

Mental Power: +8

Magic Power: +9

Skill: +6

Impression: +3

Luck: +8

Traits: Eternal Protagonist (Lv.2), Charisma (Lv.3)

A favorability of 2.

Considering that until yesterday, he probably believed I was Pleroma, this isn’t bad at all.

If I had checked earlier, I would have certainly seen a negative number. But facing it now, seeing it as a positive, it felt pretty good.

‘…’

I’ve gotten used to a life where I’m pleased with just 2 points out of 10.

Like with Leo, the title is still a question mark. But below it, like with Leo and Narce, there are stats not typically seen in our peers.

More importantly…

‘Eternal Protagonist?’

My gaze quickly shifted to the traits section at the very bottom.

That’s a fitting name for a protagonist.

I tried to check what effects it had, but another window didn’t open.

‘There must be a reason why it’s under traits and not titles.’

As I was admiring the text before me, Leo asked in disbelief.

“Eli…?”

Contrary to Leo’s question, Elias clapped his hands with a satisfied look.

“I like that! Take a lesson from Lucas, Leo.”

“No way.”

“I call you Leo.”

“You can call me Leonard, Elias.”

“Hmm, I’m starting to wonder who else is part of this.”

Elias brushed off Leo’s remark and lightly tapped the table.

I checked my watch. It was almost time for everyone to gather.

“Just wait a bit. They’ll be here soon.”

***

“There’s thirteen of us including me? That’s a lot.”

Elias counted the number of chairs the students were sitting on.

Last time, there were ten, but we had brought in two more members since then.

Normally, it would be noisier since Leo was the only one who had gone to hunt the beasts yesterday, but because Elias was sitting here, it was extremely quiet.

The students glanced at Leo and me, then at Elias, their expressions asking how Elias ended up here.

Just then, someone warped in through the entrance.

Narce, who came in last, tidied his dirt-covered boots at the entrance and scanned the students.

“Hmm, everyone’s here. I’m not late, so why’s the atmosphere… Ah.”

Narce smiled, then approached Elias and extended his hand.

“Narce. Looking forward to working with you.”

“I’ve heard about you. You’re the exchange student, right? I also transferred to Class 2-B and it’s almost my first day at school, so it feels reassuring to have a comrade~”

Leo scolded at that.

“You only attended for one day, skipping class. Narce has already been here for a month.”

“It’s the thought that counts. If we count the time, I’ve been at this school for two years.”

“Haha, I know what you mean. Let’s do our best together.”

“You’re a good friend.”

Narce winked and returned to his seat with a laugh.

Encouraged by Narce’s greeting, Melvin, who looked excessively pale, managed to smile.

“Uh, so Elias joined too… since when?”

“Starting today. It seemed like you guys were having too much fun. So, what have you been up to? I’d like to see some materials if you have any.”

I took out my file and handed it to him.

Elias whistled as he flipped through the pages.

“You’ve had four meetings so far? The quality is good, who did this?”

“All of us. We compiled the materials each of us brought.”

At my answer, someone at the table spoke up.

“Most conclusions were drawn by Lucas.”

“Right.”

At that, Elias, who had his head buried in the file, looked up at me with a smile.

“I thought as much earlier, but this isn’t much different from the information the imperial family has. In some parts, it’s even better. Though they have more volume, with this, you can extract enough here.”

“That’s surprising…”

Leo mumbled, holding his forehead in disbelief at Elias’s laughter.

He was wondering if the imperial family’s standards were at the level of a high school club.

Then, Leo suddenly lifted his head with a thought.

“Wait, how do you know about imperial family documents?”

“I broke in once. Couldn’t make copies though.”

“…”

It seems we’ve acquired quite a reliable individual.

Amidst the dumbfounded students, I smiled with satisfaction.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep