The owlbear’s carcass turned out to be unexpectedly delicious.
Surprisingly, it was Aden who did the cooking himself, while Jun merely handed him the seasonings.
“Thanks to you, we had an excellent meal.”
“Hoho, not at all. I’m the one who’s glad to have met young folks like you. It’s been so long since I’ve had a proper conversation like this.”
“Have you been living away from society?”
“Something like that. I’ve wandered through all sorts of remote places.”
Is that why his clothes are in such rough shape?
Jun thought of the spare clothes he had packed.
“Would it be all right if I offered you some clothes?”
“Hmm? Are you sure? If so, I won’t say no. Haha.”
Jun estimated Aden’s build and handed him a suitable outfit. Once dressed, the old man looked much more presentable.
“You’ve done me a favor.”
“It’s nothing. You are the sword that protects the Empire, after all.”
“Hoho. That was a long time ago. I’ve been retired for quite a while now.”
Though for someone who claimed to be retired, he looked far too vigorous.
Moreover—
Aden… he wasn’t a playable character, but he showed up often.
Depending on how the story progressed, he could become either an enemy or an ally.
That’s why, if there was an opportunity to make a good impression, it was wise to take it.
“Mmm.”
By then, most of the group had finished eating. Except for Maya, who was still going.
She had the smallest build among them, but she ate the most.
“Hoho. Small as she is, she eats heartily.”
“She is like that… but…”
Small?
Only then did Jun take a good look at Maya and the rest of the group, one by one.
“……”
“What’s the matter?”
“Could it be…”
“Aha. Are you wondering why your illusion magic didn’t work on me?”
That was it.
Right now, Jun was using illusion magic to make himself and Eleanor appear middle-aged.
Aiden was set to look like he was in his early thirties, and Maya had been given the appearance of an average adult woman.
Yet Aden had referred to them as “young” and described Maya as “small”.
“It was a finely tuned spell, but it doesn’t work on me. That’s just the kind of body I have.”
“…I apologize. That was discourteous of me.”
If it had gone unnoticed, that would be one thing, but casting illusion magic on someone without informing them was, of course, a questionable act.
“The White Whale Mercenary Group?”
“…That’s right.”
“Hahaha! Now it all makes sense. Gaining such immense fame all of a sudden… it’s only natural. On the contrary, it was a wise move.”
But Aden didn’t seem the least bit displeased.
“Don’t worry. Your illusion magic was impressive. I doubt anyone else besides me would have seen through it.”
“That’s a relief.”
“Indeed. It’s hard to explain in detail, but my body doesn’t respond well to magic.”
At those words, Jun had a realization.
Magic Immunity.
A physical trait attained by those who pushed their magical resistance to the absolute limit.
In the game, Jun had never used a mage character when fighting Aden, so he had missed that detail.
And since Aden was never a playable character, he didn’t know the specifics of his stats when he was an ally either.
“No need to be so tense. I don’t expect anything from you.”
“I see.”
“Hmm… but now that I’ve seen all of you up close, it’s clear that your reputation isn’t undeserved.”
Aden glanced over the group, nodding approvingly.
“If you don’t mind, would this old man be allowed to hear about your adventures?”
Laughing heartily, he explained that stories like that were a joy to listen to in one’s old age.
“There’s no reason you can’t. What would you like to know?”
Given who he was, Jun nodded without hesitation.
“The hot topic in the public eye right now would have to be the Orc Lord, wouldn’t it?”
“Aiden, why don’t you explain?”
“M-Me?”
“Since you’re also a swordsman, I thought you’d be able to explain it well.”
Aiden had been trying to maintain a neutral expression for a while, but he clearly looked like he wanted to keep talking to Aden.
“Ahem! Then… I suppose I should start from when we discovered the temple ruins.”
The story continued late into the night.
Thanks to that, the tension that had risen with Aiden’s appearance eased somewhat, and Aden too listened attentively to Aiden’s tale.
You could almost call it a peaceful scene.
If not for the dismembered owlbear lying beside them, it might have looked like a grandfather and grandson chatting by the campfire.
***
Late into the night, the party had all gone to bed, and Aden stepped outside alone to get some fresh air.
“Hmm-hmm. Interesting young folks, they are.”
The White Whale Mercenary Group.
When he first heard the rumors, he thought they might be a bit exaggerated.
But now, having met them in person, he realized the rumors weren’t unfounded after all.
“No wonder that friend of mine took an interest in them.”
Thinking of his long-time friend, he gazed up at the night sky.
“I only wish days like this could last longer.”
When had it been?
Aden had once seen a vision conjured by a shaman in an underground dungeon.
That shaman had foretold a future where the Empire would be engulfed in flames, and after that, Aden ended his long self-imposed exile.
It might have just been the nonsense of a mad shaman.
But Aden, with all the years he had behind him, could sense something.
Perhaps the appearance of these brilliant young talents was somehow tied to that prophecy.
“The question is…. where will this change begin?”
Perhaps the winds of change had already started to blow.
***
At the break of dawn, the party set off once again.
At some point, Aden had taken a seat in the carriage, and Aiden chattered beside him like a grandson.
“The slope’s pretty steep.”
Jun, sitting alone in the coachman’s seat, murmured as he eyed the steep hill ahead.
“Hold on. Golem, stop.”
[Keen Eyesight] had picked something up.
“What is it?”
“There are signs that something crashed here.”
“Huh…?”
Then Aden also stepped down from the carriage and looked around.
“Looks like it happened fairly recently.”
At those words, Jun carefully pulled out an artifact called the “Phenomenon Recorder” from his subspace.
“Eleanor. Take some shots of the area with this.”
“Got it.”
Next, Jun cautiously looked down the slope.
[Keen Eyesight] proved its worth once again.
“I think I see fragments of a carriage down there.”
“Hooh. Good eyes you’ve got. I’ll go check it out myself.”
“No, let’s go together.”
“You happen to have learned the Fly spell or something?”
At that question, Jun shook his head.
The Fly spell wasn’t particularly helpful for evasion and consumed too much mana, so he hadn’t bothered to learn it.
Instead—
[Iron Fist]
A summoned iron fist opened its palm in midair, and Jun stepped onto it.
“Aiden, Maya. Guard Eleanor.”
“Yes.”
“Alright.”
“Sir Aden, would you like to ride as well?”
“No, if I get on, your spell might become unstable.”
“Now that you mention it, good point. Let’s go.”
Controlling the floating [Iron Fist], Jun descended to the bottom of the slope and clicked his tongue at the sight. It was worse than expected.
“Damn…”
Given the height, the carriage had been so thoroughly destroyed that it was unrecognizable.
Everyone who had been inside was already dead.
Just in case, Jun cast [Scan] and picked up a life signal from another direction.
“Sir Aden.”
“Ah… over there, then.”
Beneath the torn-off roof from the shattered carriage, now lying in disarray—
Someone was collapsed on the ground.
“…What?”
Aden’s eyes widened slightly at the sight.
It was someone he hadn’t expected to see.
“Why are you here…?”
A young man with pale grayish skin and black hair lay unconscious.
Jun’s gaze grew immeasurably deep as he looked at him.
The Third Prince.
Javier.
According to the game’s storyline… he was the traitor of the Empire and the usurper of the crown.
– Cursed imperial members.
– I loathe you all.
– You who made me like this, who drove us this far!
– You who even destroyed the only blood relative I had left in this world!
– I am filled with hatred.
Now, the one who would mark the opening page of the Empire’s coming tragedy had appeared, on the brink of death.
***
The Jun of the past wouldn’t have hesitated over what to do with the prince before him.
He would’ve killed him without question.
The prince, unconscious and collapsed, was the one who would create the first crack in the seemingly impenetrable Empire.
But the Jun of now didn’t choose such an extreme option.
For one, Aden was standing right beside him. And more importantly…
There are gaps in the story I don’t fully understand. Killing an imperial member based on the flawed plot of an incomplete game is far too risky.
Jun finished his thoughts in a split second and turned to Aden.
“Would you mind waiting a moment?”
Saying that, Jun immediately checked the prince’s pulse.
“Thankfully, his life isn’t in danger.”
“He fell from that height and still survived… That’s luck.”
“I can feel magic coming from his pendant. Most likely, he was protected by some artifact.”
“I see… That really is fortunate. Let’s head back up.”
“Would it be alright if I left that part to you, Sir Aden?”
“And you?”
“I’ll stay to take photos of the scene.”
He took out the spare “Phenomena Recorder” he’d brought just in case and began documenting the surroundings.
“Ah! Right. I’ll leave it to you, then. Call me right away if anything happens.”
“Understood. Please explain the situation to our priestess above.”
“You mean this guy?”
Carrying Javier over his shoulder, Aden ran up the steep path as if it were flat ground.
Jun, watching the scene, remained alone and looked around.
This is a critical turning point.
He sensed it instinctively.
An accident involving none other than the third prince?
That’s not something that happens every day.
He activated [Keen Eyesight] to its limit and searched the area, digging deep into the memories from his past life.
Eventually—
Left alone, Jun stared at the wreckage of the collapsed carriage for a moment.
“……”
Then, he turned his gaze to the corpse of the coachman.
***
Jun came back up about ten minutes later.
“Senior!”
“Ah, Aiden. How’s it looking over there?”
“They say he’ll probably wake up soon.”
“Really?”
If that was the case, it seemed safe to leave that part to Eleanor.
“Um, senior. That person…”
“…Do you know him?”
Could it be that Aiden and the third prince knew each other?
“Yes. Well, kind of. We were acquainted.”
“Oh.”
He pretended not to react, but Jun was deeply surprised inside.
There hadn’t been any clear connection between Aiden and Javier in the game’s story.
“A long time ago… we spent some time together. Just briefly, though.”
“Doesn’t sound like it ended well.”
“Yes. It’s not exactly a pleasant memory. Ah, it wasn’t his fault. It’s just that……”
Aiden hesitated for a moment, then spoke carefully, glancing around nervously.
“His mother is a bit… dangerous in several ways.”
“……”
A concubine. Beneth.
A woman known for her complicated and controversial reputation.
As that thought crossed his mind, Jun ran a hand down his face.
“Alright. Got it. You take care of things over there.”
“Understood.”
With that, Jun approached Maya, who was staring blankly into space nearby.
“You’re back?”
“Yeah. Hey, Maya. Do you know anything about this plant?”
What Jun was holding was a black flower, adorned with vivid patterns.
“…? What is that? Why are you holding it, Leader?”
“Found it on the way. It looked familiar somehow.”
“Get rid of it. Nothing good will come from holding on to that.”
“Can you explain a bit more?”
“Hmm. I heard this from the tribe’s shaman. That flower is…”
Just as Maya was explaining the flower in detail—
Aiden who had gone over to Eleanor suddenly shouted.
“Senior! He’s awake!”
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