The tour itself proceeded smoothly.
Everywhere they went, the cities welcomed them with great fanfare, and the local leaders would rush out in person to lavish praise on the imperial members.
There were many eyes watching, and more importantly, the presence of knights discreetly guarding the two imperial members prevented even the slightest incident from occurring.
They even have an artifact that can detect poison in food.
Artifacts like that differ vastly in price based on performance.
Naturally so.
Not all poisons are the same, and it’s incredibly difficult to encode information about every poison in existence into a single artifact.
Did the Emperor personally lend them this artifact?
If it was an artifact of that caliber, it was almost certainly made by Shylock in the past.
Thanks to that, I guess there haven’t been any major incidents.
But that assumption was nothing more than Jun’s misunderstanding.
“There have been a total of 15 attempts.”
“…What do you mean?”
“Fifteen times. Javier’s food has been poisoned during our time in Blackout.”
“……!”
Late at night. While Javier had gone to speak with Aiden, Jun took the opportunity to have a private conversation in Dexter’s carriage.
“…Does the Third Prince not know about this?”
“That’s right. He still doesn’t realize the situation he’s in.”
Indeed.
Javier was still unaware of both the carriage accident he had experienced and the true purpose of the current tour.
“Why are you keeping those facts from him?”
“He’s a sensitive child. If he were to find out, he’d probably fast for the entire remainder of the tour.”
And that would be unsuitable for the “image” the imperial family was trying to project.
If he went around with a constantly tense expression, visibly frightened, the narrative of “brotherly harmony” would fall apart.
“But the bigger issue is that we still haven’t identified who’s been poisoning the food.”
“When did the poisoning begin?”
“From the very moment we arrived in Blackout. The only time the food was safe was during the Fairy Queen raid.”
“…Hmm.”
After hearing up to that point, a certain figure suddenly came to Jun’s mind.
It might be that bastard.
A slippery guy who mainly used poison even in the game.
The problem was that he was a particularly annoying one to deal with.
He’s such an expert at running away that you have to pull every trick in the book just to catch him…
But right now, they weren’t prepared for anything related to him.
Still, it wasn’t like they could just sit on their hands.
Above all, if news of this reached Javier’s mother, Beneth… all hell would break loose.
For someone like Beneth, who couldn’t trust or rely on anyone in the imperial family, the fact that Dexter was personally filtering every bit of food that went to Javier would mean nothing.
“Would it be alright if I took care of this matter myself?”
“Oh? Are you saying you can solve it with magic?”
“That’s not quite it. But I do know another way… though it will take some time.”
“That’s fine. As long as it’s resolved before the tour ends.”
For now, Jun had bought some time. In the next city they arrived at, he immediately sent a letter to Chloe, and by the time the banquet on the second level concluded, he had received her reply.
As expected, they’re hard-to-find items, so it’ll take some time. But I’ve got money, so I can get it done within a month.
He had started preparing relatively quickly. Soon after, the group arrived at the third level.
“Whoa… there really are a lot of people.”
“Still, compared to other places, it’s a bit lacking, don’t you think?”
Soon, the Voltain Ore Fields came into view.
One of the [Checkpoints] directly governed by the imperial family, this place alone accounted for 30% of Blackout’s total ore consumption annually.
It boasted an enormous amount of production. The issue, however, was that the Voltain Ore Fields themselves were a city designed not for mercenaries or adventurers, but for laborers.
Because of that, the city’s appearance was quite different from the places they had seen so far… and the people welcoming them were covered in dust and dirt.
“It is a pleasure to meet you. Our empire will always remember your efforts.”
Yet, in contrast to the environment, Javier’s expression as he looked at the laborers seemed much lighter than before.
He showed no hesitation in shaking their calloused hands, and even his smile felt genuine.
So he had that side to him.
Dexter, watching the scene quietly, also smiled faintly at his younger brother.
And then—
“We greet the rightful successors of the Empire.”
It had been a year since they last saw him….Ginovan.
Now the commander of the third level, he stood before the group.
And as Jun faced him, he couldn’t shake the feeling of regret inside.
Is it already too late?
Jun had realized that Ginovan was involved with the Heavenly Church.
And not just vaguely; he had unmistakable evidence.
***
The Heavenly Church is evil.
That much was an unquestionable truth.
Not just because of what Jun had experienced in this world, but because it was something he had known since his time as Lee Jeong-jun.
When was it again…
Jun had been someone who truly enjoyed the game Blackout.
It was the first game he had ever played in his life, and at the time, it had been his only form of escape.
Even so, the reason he had never paid attention to the story of Blackout was because its plot was incredibly dark.
At first, it played out like a typical tale of betrayal among humans. Something you might see in a movie.
But once the Heavenly Church began to reveal its true power…
The story became as dark as the game’s title suggested.
A First Prince consumed by vengeance.
A Third Prince intent on destroying the empire.
An empire crumbling under the weight of it all.
NPCs who, unable to trust anyone, became more evil than ever before.
And at the center of it all was the Heavenly Church.
Jun had seen countless NPCs fall and be destroyed by the Church’s influence.
Other players in the community called that the real charm of Blackout.
Life was already tough in reality, so how could anyone enjoy a game whose story was just as bleak?
And watching a lovingly raised playable character suffer a mental breakdown and fall apart was never a pleasant experience.
Most of those characters who broke down like that… were all somehow tied to the Heavenly Church in the past.
One of the most vicious tools used by the Heavenly Church was the Evil Spirit Orb.
The moment it was absorbed, it drastically increased the target’s magical adaptability. It had the incredible power to elevate an average person into a prodigy.
If that were all, Jun wouldn’t have described the Church as an evil akin to a drug.
Because the Evil Spirit Orb had a function strikingly similar to the Gu poison often found in martial arts novels.
Only, instead of a bug taking root, it was a corrupted spirit that settled inside the body.
Countless citizens of the Empire fell for the allure of that Evil Spirit Orb and became puppets of the Heavenly Church.
What’s more, the Evil Spirit Orb was closer in nature to a kind of seed.
Its true purpose would later be revealed, shocking players throughout the game.
So then, how had Jun come to know about this?
“It’s truly good to see you again like this, Jun.”
“…It really is.”
Their hands met. From the ring embedded with Illusia, an unpleasant sensation crept up.
It was a kind of signal Illusia sent to Jun. And the moment he read that signal, he realized—
That the commander standing before him,
The person who had helped him reach this point, someone who could even be called a benefactor…
Had swallowed an Evil Spirit Orb.
***
After arriving at the [Checkpoint], Jun entered the room he had been assigned and fell deep into thought.
What should I do?
He hadn’t yet told Dexter anything about it.
His friendship with Ginovan?
Of course, it wasn’t like there was no bond between them at all, but still…
It’s strange enough that I even know about the Evil Spirit Orb.
Unlike the people he had met so far, someone from the Imperial Family wouldn’t fall for a “mysterious mage” act.
Naturally, he would need to explain how he knew about the Evil Spirit Orb. But if he gave a poorly thought-out lie, they’d only find it more suspicious.
I’ve been walking a tightrope up until now. Anything more would be too dangerous.
The reason Chloe had gotten so angry when Jun started moving alongside the Imperial Family…Jun wasn’t unaware of it.
It was just that, in order to survive from here on out, he had no other option but to side with them.
It was when Jun’s thoughts were growing heavier.
Sitting on the sofa near the window, he unintentionally tuned into voices coming from the balcony of the room next door.
“So that’s when Commander Ginovan wrote a letter of recommendation so we could join the assault, right?”
“I see… So my eldest brother and I were able to benefit from that. But why is someone like him in a remote place like this?”
It was the voices of Aiden and Javier.
Aiden doesn’t seem to particularly dislike him either.
Every now and then, when Javier mourned the death of a friend or lamented living according to his mother’s will, Aiden would seem quite troubled too.
Aside from that, though, the two had been spending more and more time talking like this.
And as a result, Javier’s expressions were growing brighter by the day, which was definitely a relief.
Still… I’ll have to explain the situation to the Third Prince at some point.
No matter how kind someone might be, they wouldn’t feel good knowing they’d been used the entire time.
Shouldn’t he go find Dexter and ask for permission about this?
Just as that thought crossed his mind—
“Haha… Well, I’m not sure I know the reason either.”
“They have their own burdens in life. Most likely, it’s because they lost in a political struggle.”
“A political struggle?”
“Yes. As you know, the commander currently leading the Black Forest Fortress was once involved in the central politics of the Imperial Family, wasn’t he? And the two knights who always stood at his side were the same. In that sense, the empire probably didn’t know how to deal with someone who earned such great merit last year.”
“So they sent him off to a place this remote…?”
Could they really cast aside a knight who had even saved someone’s life over something like that?
Aiden reacted as if he couldn’t understand the baron’s decision at all. But Javier was different.
He answered quietly.
“In a way, you could say it was a form of exile. They were likely buying time so the other two knights could aim for higher positions. That’s how terrifying politics can be. Even when you do something right, you’re not praised….only held in check.”
“Hearing it like that… it really is scary.”
Even in Aiden’s voice, after hearing the full story, there seemed to be a hint of disappointment toward the Imperial Family.
And then—
“I’m afraid too. I wish people would just be honest and speak their minds. Why must everyone go so far to hide what they truly feel?”
“Haha…”
“So, brother.”
“Hmm?”
“Won’t you tell me? The things you’ve been hiding from me.”
“Uh…?”
“And the true purpose of this tour.”
The Third Prince Javier. Though he may have been soft-hearted, he was by no means a fool.
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