Rise of the Fallen Kingdom’s Third Prince

The next day, Yuri calmed Asana, who insisted on following him to the end.

“It’s dangerous, so don’t follow me and return to the imperial palace.”

“Ugh, fine.”

“Give my regards to Yekaterina.”

“She was angry…”

“Ugh…”

Yuri patted her shoulder as he spoke.

“How’s that guy, the God of Murder?”

“Fine. Right now he’s hiding.”

The entity called “God of Murder,” which resided inside Asana, feared Yuri.

Whenever he was nearby, it disappeared as if it were dead. It claimed there was a terrifying smell or something like that.

Asana tilted her head in curiosity, but Yuri could imagine the reason.

Since the God of Murder was a being originating from the Void, it was surely sensing the presence of Kruphpk, with whom Yuri had become friends.

Compared to that one, the God of Murder was a very weak existence.

“Tell him not to be so scared. If he keeps running away, I’ll drag him out by force and throw him into the Void.”

“Oh, he just woke up and said something.”

“What did he say?”

“That he’s sorry.”

“Sorry for what?”

“For everything, just in general.”

“Tell him to treat you well, understood?”

“He says he will.”

“Good.”

Yuri hugged Asana.

“I’ll be back soon, wait for me.”

“Yes.”

Saying farewell to his master and the disciples, Yuri left the Blue Star School.

At first, it had been nothing more than a purposeless escape, but now he had truly acquired a reason.

“Is it that the storm comes looking for me, or am I the one who causes it…?”

Sighing, Yuri picked up a copy of The Hwangseong Night at a street stall.

Originally it was regarded as a small, low-credibility magazine compared to Monthly Diarip, but after the war, by publishing sensationalist articles without rest, it had become the number one magazine on the continent.

“Oh, an article is already out.”

The cover prominently featured his visit to the “House of Love.”

Since it maintained a good relationship with Yuri, The Hwangseong Night had treated the matter very positively.

The article concluded by praising Yuri’s spirit of service and urging more attention to those marginalized in society.

Yuri murmured,

“I’ve raised interest in welfare, I’ve protected peace in the East, and now I must go fight for the fate of the continent…”

“You’re busy, Your Highness.”

“The truth is, it would be a waste for me to stay in Hwangseong pushing papers.”

“Are you saying that Her Majesty the Empress’s judgment was wrong?”

“That’s not it.”

It was Laurent, who had been quiet, who spoke.

“Then, what do you plan to do now?”

“What do you mean?”

“Whether you’re going straight to Brusen, or if you’ll ask someone to accompany you. You should seriously organize a plan.”

“Hmm…”

Laurent was right.

The situation was serious, but in reality, no one knew exactly what was happening. It was all conjecture.

If the Empire on the other side of the sea desired war, the entire continent would need to be summoned again.

But if they had only come for an exchange, the first step was to confirm the situation.

After a moment of silence, Yuri’s eyes opened wide.

“I’ve thought of the first thing I need to do.”

“What is it?”

“We’ll go to the Magic Tower.”

“The Magic Tower?”

“If that mysterious ship really came from another continent, we won’t be able to communicate. No one will know how to speak their language.”

“I see. Are you going to borrow that object?”

“Exactly. I’ll go see Tatago.”

Tatago, Maryrose’s master in the Magic Tower, was the one who pursued the unique magic called the “Absolute Interpretation Formula.”

Unlike Maryrose, who initially leaned toward the “Transcendental Interpretation Formula” because it was more attainable, Tatago had dedicated himself exclusively to the Absolute.

And recently, gathering all his achievements, he had created an artifact.

He called it “Mamago.”

An object capable of translating two different languages in real time. Though it was not yet perfect, it was enough to maintain simple communication.

“We’re pressed for time, so we’ll stop at the Magic Tower along the route.”

“In that case…”

Liberta, where Yuri’s group was, was in the east of the continent. To reach the west coast, where Brusen was, they had to cross the center.

“We’ll pass by the Magic Tower of the Union of Small Kingdoms.”

Yuri’s group turned toward the Union.

***

Yuri, Laurent, and Jared hid their identities with slime masks, which sometimes caused minor incidents, but they always resolved them by force.

“Sorry! We’ll live in harmony!”

“That’s fine.”

This time, the three became involved in a dispute between villages.

In a mountain village, a hot spring had suddenly emerged.

Unfortunately, it had sprung up right on the border between two villages.

Both argued over ownership of the waters, and soon the young men gathered to settle it with fists. They had even hired mercenaries from other regions.

The only redeeming factor was that they still had a minimum of sense, as they hadn’t resorted to weapons.

Even so, violence was still violence, and Yuri intervened.

“We’ve stopped the fight, but resolving this won’t be easy.”

“Yes…”

Arms crossed, Yuri sighed as he looked at the young men from both villages lying face down on the ground. All of them had bruised faces after being struck by him and his group.

He didn’t feel at ease either.

In truth, these young men were simply raising their fists because they followed the leaders of their communities.

“These things are really difficult… In Cedric’s time, there was an obvious evil, so all you had to do was swing your sword without hesitation…”

“That’s how it is everywhere people live.”

“What should we do?”

Yuri was nothing more than a prince of the Kingdom of Briol and an emissary of the Empire. In the Confederation of Small States, he had no authority.

Laurent asked,

“Yuri, wouldn’t it be better to just split the profits in half?”

“That would be the easiest, but…”

“Aren’t you the owner of the Chronicles of the Tyrant King?”

“That’s only symbolic, it doesn’t give me authority. Besides, all of this is because the state’s laws haven’t been properly passed down to the villages. First, we have to teach them that the law is above fists.”

At that moment, among the men lying face down, someone suddenly got up and approached Yuri.

“Hmm…?”

It was a thin man with glasses, a sharp gaze behind the lenses. His aura exuded venom. He gave the impression of someone who could spend the entire day studying without getting up from his desk if he put his mind to it.

Even Yuri took a step back in surprise.

“Who is that?”

Then, one of the men lying in front of Yuri shouted,

“That’s the pride of Dumbledoor village, the genius of the Imperial Academy, Joseph!”

“What?”

The so-called Joseph stopped firmly in front of Yuri. Not even a knight held such composure before him, yet Joseph opened his mouth with an attitude showing not the slightest hint of intimidation.

“Your Highness.”

“Hmm?”

Yuri was surprised again. He was wearing a slime mask, yet this man had recognized his identity instantly.

“H-how did you figure out who I am?”

“It wasn’t hard to deduce Your Highness’s identity.”

“How…?”

It had been a while since Yuri had met a true genius, and he was on full alert. He felt that if he let his guard down, this man could see through everything.

“It was because that man called you ‘Your Highness.’”

“What?”

“And because that same man called you Yuri.”

“So that’s it…!”

“There’s only one royal family member in the entire continent with the name Yuri.”

Yuri nodded. It wasn’t an especially brilliant line of reasoning.

“Fine. As you say, I’m Yuri Briol. So, pride of Dumbledoor village, genius of the Imperial Academy Joseph, what business do you have with me?”

“I…”

Joseph continued speaking calmly.

“I came out to explain to you the true root of this chaos.”

“And what would that be?”

“The king!” Joseph shouted.

“It’s because the one who should have been the true king was imprisoned, and the one who should never have been king usurped the throne.”

The situation was becoming more serious. Yuri held his head in his hands and groaned.

“Damn it. I ran away because I didn’t want to work, and I ended up with the Empire from across the sea showing up, and now I’m even involved in a case of throne usurpation…!”

“You ran away because you didn’t want to work? And what’s this about the Empire from across the sea?”

“You’ve got good ears, kid.”

Joseph adjusted his glasses.

“Anyway, it seems serious things are happening. You ran away to avoid work and ended up tangled in even worse problems. An empire from across the sea may have found a new continent with a completely different and cruel culture.”

“You’ve already deduced that much? Seriously, your mind is quick. As expected from the pride of Dumbledoor, genius of the Imperial Academy Joseph…”

“I can offer you a small support.”

“Support?”

“Yes. There’s someone who will be of great use to you, Your Highness. If I’m the pride of Dumbledoor village, that man was the pride of Orphen village. We competed for the title of genius of the Imperial Academy.”

“Orphen? The territory of Brusen…?”

“Exactly.”

Orphen was the land governed by Jose, the very place where Yuri and Jose had staged that beautiful duel by the sea.

“His name is Buscolum. They called him the Genius of the Sea. He was obsessed with navigation. He might be the only man capable of taking Your Highness to the New Continent.”

“No…”

Yuri hadn’t planned on traveling to a New Continent, but hearing it from Joseph made him feel as if he really had to do it. As if the world itself were sending him an omen.

“It’s not that I want to…”

Yuri wanted to resist fate, but Jared and Laurent accepted Joseph’s proposal before he could.

“They say where there’s a will, there’s a way, Your Highness. I think this is one of those cases.”

“Buscolum, huh? That’s a name that inspires trust. Yuri, solve this problem first, then go meet this Buscolum.”

“Ugh…”

In the end, Yuri had no choice but to nod.

“Fine… Then, what country is this?”

“Konzed.”

“Konzed?”

In the Tyrant King Chronicles Competition, the king of Konzed was completely corrupted by black magic. Yuri remembered that, after his death, the son had inherited the throne.

“That’s how it was at first. But…”

Joseph shook his head.

“The brother of the dead king took the position from him. Now that man revels in the power handed over to lust, driving Konzed to ruin. The people call him the False King.”

“Damn it…!”

“The False King conspires with lords and corrupt nobles who give him bribes. The country no longer fulfills its role. The law is useless, and brute force reigns.”

Joseph’s glasses gleamed.

“That’s why they ended up fighting with their fists over the ownership of the hot springs. The village chiefs even incited them from behind. With the law not working, anarchy rules.”

“Ugh…”

“Is this really a country fit for people to live in? Your Highness must save Konzed!”

Joseph knelt on one knee.

“Oh, Sovereign!”

Then, all the other men lying down got up at once and also knelt on one knee before Yuri.

“Oh, Sovereign!”

Yuri replied,

“All of you, back on the ground!”

“Yes!”

“What do you think you’re doing trying to trick me…?”

“Ugh…”

Except for Joseph, everyone else lay back down.

Arms crossed, Yuri looked down at Joseph.

“Pride of Dumbledoor village. Genius of the Imperial Academy Joseph.”

“Yes.”

“As you know well…”

Yuri’s eyes shone coldly.

“This Buscolum must be someone truly capable.”

“Of course.”

“I don’t know if I’m making the right decision…”

“Don’t worry. Buscolum is the real deal.”

“Alright…”

“Would you like me to tell you an anecdote?” Joseph smiled.

“Your Highness, do you know how to make an egg stand upright?”

“What?”

“It was an exercise in class to stand up a round egg. Is that even possible? In the end, no one succeeded… except Buscolum.”

“And how did he solve the problem?”

“Hahaha, he simply held it upright.”

“What?”

“He simply kept it balanced.”

“What are you saying?”

“He had an extraordinary sense of balance. Not only could he stand eggs upright, but also stones, pencils, anything. He even managed to stack three eggs on top of each other like a tower.”

“…”

“That time, I, jealous, said it was easier to break an egg and stand it that way. But the teacher slapped me for saying that. Hahaha…”