Chapter 197: Insight (2)

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“What do I want? Hahahahaha!”

At Carl’s question, Crown Prince Yulian burst into hearty laughter.

He laughed so hard, tears welled up in his eyes, unable to contain the amusement.

In fact, it was Carl, who had thrown the question, that ended up looking awkward.

Crown Prince Yulian soon wiped the tears from his eyes and offered an apology.

“Ah, my apologies. I wasn’t mocking you. It’s just that you always do and say things beyond my expectations.”

Carl nodded briefly and remained silent.

Crown Prince Yulian had completely seen through his identity.

It was no exaggeration to say that his future now lay entirely in Yulian’s hands.

‘If it comes to it……’

He might have to abandon everything—Bavaria, Leipzig, and all he had built thus far—and flee to another country.

Even if Yulian tried to detain him right now, he was confident he could escape without much trouble.

However, NOX, which had already deeply rooted itself in the Imperial Capital and the Empire, would suffer a critical blow.

Since possessing the body of Karl Leipzig, this was the first time things had veered so far from his intentions, leaving him mentally tangled.

“Well, no need to be so tense. I didn’t summon you to hold you accountable. I called you out of curiosity.”

“……Is that so?”

“Yes. Normally, people would ask, ‘How did you find out?’ or ‘Since when have you known?’ But you asked what I wanted. Why is that?”

Crown Prince Yulian seemed genuinely intrigued.

Carl shrugged nonchalantly and answered.

“What’s already happened can’t be undone. So the best course is to figure out how to handle this situation. In that regard, Your Highness’s intentions—as the decision-maker—were the most important factor.”

Tap!

Crown Prince Yulian slapped his knee at Carl’s words.

“Yes! That’s exactly it! Refreshing, I must say. These days, there’s no one among the younger generation who understands so readily like you, Carl. Finally, I’ve found someone I can converse with.”

Clink.

He sipped his tea and continued speaking with a bright, beaming expression.

Like a mischievous child who had just found an amusing toy.

“From the first moment I met you, I knew you weren’t ordinary. Could someone so average overcome the Trial of the Hero and become his successor?”

“……Ah, so that was the issue.”

Carl let out a soft exclamation.

Unearthing the ruins itself might not have been such a big problem.

Crown Prince Yulian probably just thought of him as a slightly curious fellow.

But everything changed when he inherited the Sword of ‘Justice’ after overcoming the trial.

‘The Empire is more sensitive to Hero-related matters than one would expect.’

Naturally, they must have launched a thorough investigation into him as the successor of the Sword.

“……If the Imperial Palace moved with full intent, then discovering a singularity wouldn’t be strange.”

“It was difficult. You were extremely thorough. But we’re relentless, aren’t we? Eventually, we found a thread and succeeded in connecting the dots.”

A rising power that had taken control of Leipzig’s underworld, then expanded into the capital, and now was shaking the markets with a new product called Mana Beads.

“I was planning to summon you soon anyway. I wanted to tease you—let you know that you’re not the only one aware of your little secret.”

“……Hah.”

Carl gave a bitter chuckle.

Judging by the tone, Yulian didn’t seem hostile or wary toward him.

On the contrary, he appeared more amused, wondering how best to make use of him.

‘That’s not a bad thing. No—it’s actually good.’

Originally, he had planned to align with someone at the level of the Chancellor, but if the Crown Prince himself became their backer, there was nothing more reassuring than that.

“So, do you know what conclusion I came to after observing you?”

“What is it?”

“This man hasn’t lived only one life.”

“…….”

But the next statement caught Carl completely off guard.

The question now was whether this was the insight of someone at the level of the Crown Prince, or if the Empire had pieced together fragments Carl had unconsciously left behind and reached that conclusion.

“Ah, don’t get me wrong. Only a very small number of people besides me have reached this inference. In fact, before you, a few regressors and other unidentifiable individuals had also been detected.”

“……Is that so?”

Carl decided not to hide it and chose to use the truth to his advantage.

One must never lie before the Crown Prince.

In that case, it was better to go along with what had already been confirmed rather than deny it.

Even when blending 99% truth with 1% falsehood, this approach worked better.

“The reason is the Hero. There’s a record that when the world falls into chaos, beings akin to Heroes reappear. Just like you inherited ‘Justice’.”

“Then are there other successors who inherited from different Heroes?”

“No, there aren’t. That’s why I thought it would be the emergence of new Heroes rather than successors. So when you overcame the Trial of ‘Justice’, I was quite surprised.”

To think that beings like possessors or regressors existed besides himself.

……Come to think of it, it wasn’t all that strange.

Even if he and the rest of the world were different, there was still Yuria, who perceived this world as a game.

“So, here’s my question.”

Crown Prince Yulian crossed his legs with a faint smile.

At that sharp gaze directed at him, Carl realized that this very moment was a turning point.

“What events will occur in the future?”

“In the future……”

Carl gave it careful thought.

Crown Prince Yulian had already concluded that he was a regressor.

Though the truth was that he was a possessor, Carl had no intention of correcting that misunderstanding.

Claiming to have future knowledge would make him more useful to Yulian—and besides, there was someone nearby who truly did know the future.

‘Then Yuria’s existence must absolutely be concealed.’

Carl had conducted a thorough investigation on Yuria right after learning she was a Player.

But he had found nothing suspicious, and Crown Prince Yulian likely would not either.

Therefore, once he finished organizing his thoughts, he raised his head and responded to the prince’s question.

“First, allow me to say that my memories are not complete.”

“Not complete?”

“My memories are split into several branches, making it difficult to determine which ones are real.”

“Hooh.”

This referred to what Yuria had said about choices and branching points.

Not knowing which would become the future of this world, he decided to lay the groundwork by revealing everything he could.

“The first is an invasion by the forces of the Demon Realm.”

“……The Demon Realm!”

“As in the history of the Ancient Heroes, the Demon King leads the armies of the Demon Realm to invade the Middle Realm.”

“……”

While speaking, Carl kept a close eye on Crown Prince Yulian’s expression.

If he had met several regressors in the past, he would have heard similar stories.

But contrary to expectations, Yulian’s face looked extremely serious.

‘Don’t tell me he was bluffing about the regressors?’

If so, he had been thoroughly deceived—but fortunately, that didn’t seem to be the case.

“……None of the regressors I’ve met until now ever spoke so specifically about the future.”

“Is that so?”

“Most were mentally unwell and spouted nonsense. A few said cryptic things like ‘a dark shadow will cover the continent,’ but who would’ve thought that shadow was the Demon Realm.”

“That’s one possibility. The other is Ragnarok.”

“Ragnarok? You mean the war of the gods?”

Carl explained about the position of the Chief God.

Of course, he omitted critical facts—such as how he had gained Kylos’s power or actually encountered fragments of gods—and instead focused on encounters with heretics from the shadows.

“……That’s quite a blasphemous tale.”

“The Empire designated the Cult of Earth as its state religion, correct?”

“That’s right. But if what you’re saying is true……”

“You believe me?”

“How could I not?”

Crown Prince Yulian gave a dry laugh as he spoke.

“There’s clear evidence right in front of me—an under-ten child builds a Merchant Group, dominates the underworld of Leipzig and its surrounding territories by his mid-teens, and by twenty arrives in the capital, establishes a massive organization, and introduces the invention of the century—Mana Beads.”

“Hm.”

Carl nodded.

He hadn’t thought much of it, but from another’s perspective, it must have seemed extraordinary.

“You made the Mana Beads as well? That magician named Cloaren……”

“A substitute. She’s Yuria, a cadet of Bayern and the Successor of the Gray Magic Tower. She knows my identity, so I asked for her cooperation.”

“She knows your identity?”

“That’s correct. Both Princess Laysis of Alforam and Yuria of the Gray Magic Tower are aware of who I am.”

“……”

Crown Prince Yulian looked at Carl and grinned.

“Are they your women? You’re greedier than you look. I thought you only had your eyes on the princess of Alforam.”

“……”

Carl neither confirmed nor denied, instead offering a bitter smile.

“Very well. Then I shall recognize your merits and won’t meddle in that matter. But what do you plan to do about the Alforam princess? Applying for asylum won’t be easy.”

“What worry is there when Your Highness is here?”

“Hahaha!”

At Carl’s overtly flattering remark, Crown Prince Yulian burst into laughter once again.

There was nothing more amusing than hearing such ill-fitting words from someone equally ill-fitted to say them.

“Indeed. Since you’ve given me such a good laugh, I’ll make sure to take care of that part.”

“I’m grateful.”

Carl smiled inwardly.

Getting someone like Princess Laysis to defect to the Empire would require a long, complicated process.

That was why Carl had been channeling accomplishments and fame toward her ever since their time in Bayern.

And now that even Crown Prince Yulian had pledged his support, everything would proceed as smoothly as if a sail had caught a strong wind.

“Well then, the chatter was fun, and I’ve confirmed your story is indeed true.”

Carl nodded.

As expected, Crown Prince Yulian was no easy man.

Whether it was through magic or artifacts, he was clearly testing the truth of Carl’s words the entire time.

‘That’s why I answered vaguely on the important parts.’

There were aspects of communication between people that didn’t need to be spoken.

Glances, gestures, eye movements, atmosphere, and nuances.

Having encountered many forms of magic and artifacts in the past, Carl knew that such tools couldn’t detect those subtleties—and so, he skillfully guided Yulian with his words.

As if he truly were a regressor.

“Now we come to the real matter.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Carl, how about working with me? I’ll make sure the compensation is more than generous.”

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