Chapter 18: The old man discovers it.

Following what I said in the previous chapter, I’ll continue to translate the novel while leaving honourifics such as -dono, oneechan, aniue etc etc since I couldn’t find any way to translate them into english comfortable.

This chapter is much shorter than usual but I hope you enjoy it.

< Start of Chapter>

That Prince Aleck who was known for his leadership and his ability in combat was defeated.

The person whom everyone thought was the strongest in the kingdom was defeated in a duel. Nobody could accept that fact as the audience received a shock and people started to murmur.

I was surprised at the outcome as well, however there wasn’t any time for me to waste.

What was important was that Princess Aure managed to obtain a super rare item capable of casting Teleport, and called it Summoning Magic as she teleported several evolving monsters as her minions. If I don’t stop her before the match, then Lutra will suffer defeat as well.

Although she gave a ridiculous reason to her actions, the referee was likely one of her underlings as he did not voice out against her actions. This also made persuasion meaningless.

Due to the lack of time, we began acting separately.

Luna searched the area using her Presence Detection while Til with her special visual acuity began searching the vicinity while I went to meet a certain man. In all honesty, there are only so many places where you could hide gigantic monsters in the area. Especially since the range of Teleport was only ten metres and stretching to thirty metres at the expense of inaccurate teleportation, reducing the possible hiding spots to several locations.

It was impossible for the monsters to be hidden within the audience, hence they were likely within the coliseum or underground. But this wasn’t all.

They were likely hidden in a secret room that wasn’t open to the public. While Luna and Til continued to search above ground, me and Phil entered a room.

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Surprisingly my title of a Hero was useful in this situation. Originally, it would be difficult to arrange a meeting with him as we entered his room, watching his subordinates carry him and place him down in his resting room.

[Could you be here to comfort me? Or are you here to enjoy the view?] (Aleck)

This person was Prince Aleck. His complexion appeared much better as he had an excellent healer as a subordinate. His wounds would most likely recover in a matter of minutes. However, the body worked differently from the mind as his psyche was probably still in shambles.

[Why would I do that. I’m sure that the Prince Aleck would never want that.] (Yuuya)

We’ve spoken with each other several times and although I’ve requested to speak on friendlier terms, he continued to speak in the polite tone of a noble.

[I expected as such…If Yuuya-dono came all the way here, is it for Lutra?] (Aleck)

[That’s right. I’ll start with my observations. Princess Aure’s summoning magic is a hoax. She isn’t summoning them, she’s teleporting them in from somewhere else with the help of her collaborators using a special item. However, her teleportation has a maximum range of thirty metres. There are only so many places to hide monsters from the public’s eyes in this area. I was hoping you could help us with this.] (Yuuya)

This coliseum wasn’t a private facility, in fact it was used extremely often by the royal family.

In addition to the inheritance ceremony, there were many events held here were attended by royalty and other important guests. Taking their safety into consideration, there were hidden rooms and spaces throughout the vicinity to keep them safe in the event of an emergency. If Princess Aure was indeed concealing her monsters, then this should be where she’s hiding the. This was why it was important to consult Prince Aleck as he was the most likely person to know it’s possible location.

There were twenty minutes left until the final match begins. There wasn’t enough time for us to search for the hidden rooms and fight the soldiers protecting the rooms. This was the fastest action plan we could take, requesting Prince Aleck to find the hidden room while silencing the soldiers using his authority.

[Did you really expect me to cooperate with you? Even after being kicked out of contention for the throne?] (Aleck)

[No. I know that Prince Aleck would cooperate.] (Yuuya)

[I’ll like to hear the reason behind your confidence.] (Aleck)

[You’re a wise person. Currently, between Lutra and Princess Aure it’s easy to tell who will win the finals. You aren’t a merciful person either. The Prince Aleck I know, is an opportunistic person. Facing against those monsters with your own body, having your life saved by Lutra. It wouldn’t be enough for you to return the favor to Lutra for saving your life. You’ll have to return the favor to Princess Aure as well.] (Yuuya)

Prince Aleck began to laugh heartily, as if he found something extremely funny.

[If you say it out loud, then I have no choice but to cooperate. Yuuya-dono, follow me.] (Aleck)

Prince Aleck stood up, showing that he wasn’t a cowardly person that everyone knew he wasn’t. Rather than refusing to cooperate, he knew that it would be much more favourable for him to support Lutra’s cause and guide her to the throne, then requesting for her favor.

However, I’m sure that he would have supported Lutra regardless.

At the end of the day, he was still a good man.

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While we were on the move I used a magical tool to contact Luna and Til to our location. It was an item that we got in the royal dungeon which allowed us to send an alarm to everyone in the party within one kilometer. Although it wasn’t possible to send a message, it was still useful as it also shows our location.

[Yuuya-dono, I never would have thought that such monsters existed. Above all, I am ashamed from being defeated by a monster. I still have a long way to go before you’re within reach….. I wasn’t surprised by their attacks, I noticed that they hadn’t been defeated yet. However, their strength was so overwhelming that my body couldn’t stop trembling. Fear and despair made my body stiff. And that solidified the results.] (Aleck)

[When I fought, there was only a single monster. If there were three, then I wouldn’t have won. Much less survive.] (Yuuya)

While walking down the hidden passage within the coliseum, we began to discuss the incident in Rumberg, from the evolving monster to the bribery of the guild chief.

[Just how did Aure get her hand on such a thing… Is there really an organization capable of controlling such powerful monsters? There is more evidence being piled against Aure being king. Even if she lost, it is dangerous to have such an organization exist. No matter what we’ll have to catch them by their tails. I’ll be sure to check with my subordinates afterwards.] (Aleck)

Even without me saying anything, Prince Aleck knew what I was hoping he would do. Back in Rumberg, we were unable to catch any clues about the organization. This time, I hope that we would be able to catch some hint about our opponents will become increasingly dangerous when left alone.

… If Princess Aure became King, then who knows what kind of requests the organization would make of her. This would grant them the ability to manipulate the Laluzulu kingdom at will, with her secret deal with them being held against her. While I was preoccupied with my thoughts, we met up with the two children. They were talking to several soldiers ahead of us.

[Yuuya, Luna found a monster! Under the ring, there’s a monster hiding in this direction!] (Luna)

[Said Luna but these people aren’t letting us through!] (Til)

It was a rough explanation but it was enough for us to understand the situation.

Not just for me, but for Prince Aleck.

[I am the first prince of the Laluzulu Kingdom, Prince Aleck. I order you to let us pass.] (Aleck)

[… That’s not possible. I can’t allow anyone to pass through here.] (Soldier)

[Is it Aure’s orders?] (Aleck)

The soldiers didn’t answer Prince Aleck’s question but their silence proved him right as Prince Aleck continued forward.

[Regardless if Aure becomes the queen. Until the inheritance ceremony is over, my orders precedes hers. Furthermore, my actions are required to prevent a crisis from approaching the Laluzulu Kingdom. Obstruct us any further and you will be charged with treason against the kingdom. Will you continue to follow your duty?] (Aleck)

[Hiie. That’s impossible. I-,.. I don’t mean to go that far.] (Soldier)

[Then let us pass.] (Aleck)

As expected of Prince Aleck. If we were alone then we wouldn’t have been able to fight through the soldiers who were trained in combat easily. We proceeded past the corridor the soldiers were protecting and found a hidden device which opened a hidden staircase. The device was incredibly well-hidden to the point that I don’t know if I could have found it in time. I was extremely relieved that I decided to look for Prince Aleck as he began to explain.

[Yuuya-dono. I’ll be honest as we’re both men here. If I had won the inheritance ceremony, then I would have requested Lutra to be my queen. I wasn’t able to find a method to get her to agree, however when Lutra mentioned the bet earlier, I couldn’t help but smile.] (Aleck)

My words were caught in my throat as a huge bombshell was dropped onto me.

[….Aren’t the two of you siblings.] (Yuuya)

[Our mothers are different. Besides, that isn’t relevant to us royals. On the contrary, it’s common for royals to marry within the family to prevent our blood from diluting. I’ve been enchanted by her strength and beauty for the longest time, which was why I wanted to exclude her from the battle. Although that’s all in the past.] (Aleck)

[Is this because you lost the throne?] (Yuuya)

[There’s that, but also because there was a man stronger than me that she has found. I have a question for you, Yuuya-dono.] (Aleck)

The conversation ended there as we reached the end of the hidden staircase where a cage was kept. The monsters were kept within the cage as three men were standing guard around it.

The worst case scenario has occurred just as I thought. All three monsters weren’t here.

That wasn’t the worst of it all. The three men who were keeping guard, I couldn’t see their levels. Meaning they were higher levelled than me, above the forty mark.

I turned to my watch as the match was three minutes and twenty seconds away.

Three mercenaries above level forty and three monsters around level fifty.

These were the foes we had to defeat within three minutes. My bones are going to shatter from the pressure.

[Yuuya-dono, we’ll leave the conversation for later.] (Aleck)
[I agree. Let’s get these people out of the picture first.] (Yuuya)

[Uhn. Luna will assasin them!] (Luna)

When Luna flicked her fluffy tail, Bazerato which was tied to her tail flew through the air as she grabbed it.

As well as several toys and sweets which fell onto the ground. It seems that there is a lot more to her tail than I thought. This was something that warrants an investigation.

[Til, you’ll be using this bow.] (Phil)

[Eh, oneechan’s earrings are bows?] (Til)

[These too are magical items. Please generate the arrows yourself.] (Phil)

One of the mercenaires seemed to be a magician as he began a chant.

This was the start of the battle.

Prince Aleck, Luna and I started running toward them as Phil and Til began to pull their arrows.

It’s a steep task to complete in three minutes, but we’ll do it somehow.