Chapter 51
The Crown Prince’s Memory felt like looking at a complexly tangled skein of thread.
Following a single thread would lead to a tangled section.
The moment I tried to untangle it, I’d lose the original thread and have to start finding the path all over again from the beginning.
It had an incredibly unfriendly structure.
At first, I thought this was simply a problem caused by my not having adapted properly to the body yet.
“It must be that memories kept piling up through repeated regressions.”
There was only one container to store memories.
Due to the regressions, completely different stories from the same time period kept accumulating in the body.
And problems arose in the process of checking them.
The most reliable way to Check a memory was to pinpoint a specific one.
Right now, even that is impossible.
For one, I didn’t even know how many times the Crown Prince had regressed.
It wasn’t exactly clear what he had done in each specific regression.
It still felt like walking through a fog.
The only fortunate thing was that there was an Executioner who knew about the Emperor.
Step.
I stopped my steps in front of the Palace where the Dwarf Executioner resided.
Screeeech.
The sound of rusty hinges moving could be heard.
THUD!
With that sound, the massive door in front of me opened from the bottom up.
It wasn’t some security grate, so what was the reason for making an entrance like this?
“Is this supposed to be a display of a craftsman”s sense?'
I didn’t know for sure if the Executioner I was about to converse with was a Dwarf or not.
But this was enough to show clearly that his dexterity was extraordinary.
“Your Highness! You’ve finally visited my Palace! I’ve always been waiting for when you would come!”
As soon as I stepped inside the door, a voice rang out, and the Executioner came out to greet me.
A build somewhat small for a typical adult, a body that looked similar to or slightly smaller than Arveda caught my eye at once.
“But he”s ridiculously sturdy.'
He didn’t give off a small and fragile vibe at all.
It felt like thick steel bars had been tightly compacted with a compression press.
The Executioner, for whom the word 'compact' was a perfect fit, let his long beard hang down and gave me a deep bow.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness! I am Gilbart Hantron! I am finally greeting you formally.”
“I am Bellon Bellos. But you could have just come to see me comfortably. What were you waiting so long for?”
“There are stories that can only be told when I visit in person. If I were to visit your palace directly, it would draw too much attention.”
“That is true.”
I nodded at the words of the Dwarf Executioner, Gilbart.
His brown beard, which was about the same length as his height, suddenly caught my eye.
“That’s a magnificent beard.”
“Haha! I’m glad you recognize it. It’s a bit awkward to stand here talking like this, so I will escort you inside.”
He seemed genuinely pleased by the compliment about his beard.
Stroking his brown beard, Gilbart widened his stride and marched straight ahead.
Thud, clang!
Thud, clang!
The further I went into the Palace following Gilbart’s lead, the more I felt the smell of iron seeping into my nose.
Iron, steam, and intense heat.
It was as if Gilbart’s Palace was one Giant Blacksmith’s Forge and Blast Furnace.
Incredibly rough sounds rang out, and I got the feeling that something was constantly being produced.
Creak.
“This way.”
The place Gilbart guided me to had an interior that naturally brought the word 'Master’s study' to mind.
Luxurious, extravagant items that could never be simply mass-produced filled the entire room.
From the chairs to the table, not a single thing was trivial.
“My hobbies lean this way, you see. As I collected things, I naturally took an interest in decorating like this.”
“It’s wonderful.”
“Haha, thank you.”
Following Gilbart’s careful gesture, I naturally sat in the seat of honor.
As soon as Gilbart saw me sit, he quickly took a seat next to me.
“It is an honor to be able to host you like this.”
“But from what you said earlier, it sounded like you were waiting for me.”
As soon as I said that, Gilbart slowly lowered the corners of his mouth, which had been grinning widely.
“Just what kind of story is he trying to tell?”
If an Executioner came to my palace, it would naturally draw attention.
But even so, it would only be drawing attention within the palace.
He was reluctant to receive even that, and waited for me to come. I couldn’t help but think there was something more to this.
Just looking at him now, his expression changed the moment we were about to get to the main point.
“There is the Covenant, so of course I had no choice but to wait. Are you not the only one who can resolve our deepest desires? especially since Luminix’s case has already been resolved.”
“Was it because of the Covenant?”
“About half of it is.”
Gilbart continued speaking and tapped the table.
In time with that signal, the table split open, and suddenly two glasses of beer rose up smoothly from the bottom.
“How about a drink? Beer made by a Dwarf tastes truly excellent.”
“So you were a Dwarf after all.”
“Haha, of course I am a Dwarf.”
Clink.
The joy that should have existed at the moment the glasses clinked together was not present.
Was it because the topic of the Covenant had already come up, or because of the topic that was about to come up?
After maintaining our forced smiles and refreshingly emptying our beer glasses,
“I recall that you were close to His Majesty.”
I immediately brought up the main point.
It wouldn’t be too late to handle matters related to the Covenant later.
Since there are no hints regarding Gilbart’s Covenant right now anyway.
Right now, asking about the Emperor was naturally the top priority.
“Are you speaking of His Majesty?”
“Yes.”
A brief silence.
Gilbart stroked his beard, let out a “Hmm,” and slowly opened his mouth.
“It has been quite a while since he vacated his seat, but he often used to do this as well.”
“He used to do this often?”
“Yes, and every time he did, Your Highness always governed the Empire well, just like you are doing now.”
The words that followed were shocking.
To think this wasn’t the first time the Emperor had vacated his seat for so long.
But to some extent, it also made sense.
“I was the only one constantly looking for him; everyone else acted far too nonchalant.”
No one even pointed out any problems caused by the Emperor vacating his seat for a long time.
Talk of succeeding to the Throne hadn’t even come up at all.
But that was because the Emperor frequently vacated his seat in the past, and the Crown Prince acted as his proxy.
“So you”re saying this is some kind of custom?'
What on earth was the reason for doing such a thing?
That was the moment my thoughts reached that point.
- There are things that cannot be changed no matter how many times I regress.
- Is that so.
Once again, the fog in my mind cleared, and the Crown Prince’s Memory was forcibly played in my brain.
The Crown Prince seemed to be conversing with the Emperor, keeping his gaze fixed on the Throne.
It would have been nice if I could have seen the Emperor’s appearance as well.
It was definitely the Crown Prince’s Memory, but strangely, the memory was played from a third-person perspective, looking at the Crown Prince.
- I met with that woman as well. I told her there was no need for us to be like this, but it was no use.
- …It’s absurd enough that we are the ones yielding, truly.
- She always made the same choice across several regressions. Along with the incomprehensible words that the most successful one is the Protagonist…
- I do not see what that has to do with our Empire falling.
- She even refused my request to at least accept the imperial citizens. When cornered, she screamed incomprehensible things about NPCs and whatnot…
- Did you kill her?
- Even if I kill her, she does not die.
“That woman” mentioned in the conversation seemed to be referring to Mirne.
- Since when did things turn out like this? I clearly felt everything was peaceful in the past.
- A future where the entire Continent must be sacrificed for the sake of one country… it is hard to accept.
- Your Majesty, to prevent this, we must prepare for the next time.
What kind of preparation were they talking about?
I wanted to find out in more detail, but the conversation ended there.
It was a short conversation, but there wasn’t a single thing in its content that wasn’t shocking.
“During the process of his regressions, the Crown Prince made contact with Mirne.”
I didn’t know how the Crown Prince found out the reason the Empire was falling.
But the Crown Prince thought Mirne was the culprit, eventually met her, and tried to mediate the situation.
“But based on the question “Did you kill her?”, the result must not have been good.”
In this case, he would normally have tried to just wipe her out using Imperial Military Power.
Or maybe he had already done it at least once through his regressions.
But the result must have been bleak, and that was why the talk of preparing for the next time came up.
“The next time… Does the next time mean the next regression? Or after the transmigration?”
Did the Crown Prince also know that transmigration would happen?
Various thoughts floated around in my head.
“It can be seen that the Emperor and the Crown Prince had many conversations like this in the past. The Emperor knows that the Crown Prince regresses. If so… is the Emperor”s disappearance really just a simple missing persons case?'
Perhaps the Emperor disappeared intentionally.
He made a promise with the Crown Prince that I couldn’t know right now and vanished.
To prepare for this moment, didn’t he create the impression from the past of constantly disappearing and reappearing?
“Now I know why I instinctively shun Mirne. It is because the Crown Prince”s body hates her.'
If there were two Transmigrators, they could have shared the information they knew and achieved a better outcome.
It wasn’t for nothing that I took a hostile approach to Mirne from the start.
My body had been screaming that it was doomed from the beginning.
Throughout the Crown Prince’s repeated regressions,
In no worldline had he ever joined hands with Mirne and achieved peace.
The body already had a rejection response just by trying to do anything with Mirne.
“Your Highness?”
“…My apologies, I had something to think about for a moment.”
“Not at all. Isn’t that what a place like this is for? A good environment naturally leads to deep thoughts.”
At Gilbart’s words, I woke up from my reverie.
One question was resolved, but new questions continued to arise.
“Then does Mirne really want the Empire to fall? Is it because she”s the Protagonist, and the rest are NPCs?'
What on earth did that have to do with the Emperor disappearing?
“My… memory is a bit hazy, but if His Majesty disappeared periodically, where did he usually tend to go?”
“I do not know that much either. The reason I was the only Executioner who could periodically keep in touch with His Majesty was because of weapons.”
“Weapons?”
“Yes, the sword Your Highness is currently using is a Prototype, and we always had discussions about making something more destructive.”
“Something more destructive? What kind of thing was it?”
“You must have truly forgotten because you’ve been so busy lately. You clearly told me to make the God-Slaying Sword.”
The God-Slaying Sword.
There was only one reason this was needed.
“To kill Romper.”
Just how many times had he regressed?
And how many routes had he experienced during each of those regressions?
“Why did such a Crown Prince let go of everything and give up in the part where the novel takes place? Did he know that transmigration would happen? Or was it to see what would happen if he gave up?”
Various possibilities sprang up in my mind.
“What if I am the regressed Crown Prince? I could be the Crown Prince who thinks he transmigrated.”
I felt dizzy.
There were so many possibilities that it was hard to say anything clearly.
Then, suddenly, I came to a single conclusion.
“No, I am me. This is certain because my memories before I transmigrated are clear.”
There was no need for my identity to be shaken.
Establishing the unchanging truth, I continued the conversation.
“Did you make that sword?”
“Yes, I made it. Now I am making the next one.”
“There’s a next one?”
“Something even stronger than that… His Majesty left those words and departed.”
As Gilbart spoke, he unconsciously made a gesture of reaching for a book at his side and opening it.
But there was no book at his side, and no book was opened, naturally.
“Oops, old habits die hard.”
Spitting out sly words, Gilbart strongly implied he wanted me to ask about his recent action.
“What was that motion just now?”
I immediately took the bait.
“This is the biggest hint I can give you regarding the Covenant.”
Along with a wink from the Dwarf who looked to be over 100 years old at a glance, I heard the hint about the Covenant.
“Did you lose something?”
“There was a book that contained everything about our Clan; it was definitely there… but one day it suddenly disappeared.”
I had heard everything important.
After that, we continued the conversation with very light topics.
“Come to think of it, are you the only Dwarf in the Empire? I’d like to entrust the Academy Construction to you.”
“Haha, construction… That brings back a lot of memories. But as for my kin… I have to stay by the Empire’s side because of the Covenant, so I don’t know much about their news.”
“Is that so.”
“But if you go to the Western Region, the hometown of the Dwarves will probably be there. About… a thousand years ago, it was definitely there.”
“The Western Region?”
As soon as the Western Region was mentioned, I thought of a single possibility.
“Could it be that the Heterogeneous Races are gathered in the Maselin Kingdom…? Even if they don”t live together, are they all heading that way?'
Why would they be there?
The reason was too simple.
They had to be close for the Maselin Kingdom to easily snatch up fortuitous encounters.
“Should I dispatch more of the Eye of the Empire?”
I was having such thoughts.
- Your Highness’s First Aide! Teo!!! I have finally discovered traces of a Black Mage!
Teo’s contact came.
The news that he had found a Black Mage.
Just when I thought I had nowhere to vent my anger right now, I felt this was really great.
“It was a pleasant conversation. I hope we can talk often.”
“You may come visit comfortably at any time. And as for the Academy Construction, I will at least dispatch some golems for now.”
“Thank you.”
“It is a natural thing to do for the Empire, Haha ha ha!”
The conversation with Gilbart concluded there.
“Please, I hope the Black Mage comes to me alive.”
If it were up to me, I would have wanted to move to the place with the Black Mage’s traces right away.
But I couldn’t step forward every single time something like this happened, so I decided to trust the others for now.
- I will send staff-wielders and Knights your way, so stand by. And good job.
- Thank you! I will always prove that I am the Staff-wielder most suited to be by Your Highness’s side!
- I’ll look forward to it.
- Yes!!! Loyalty!!!
I set the direction to send reinforcements to Teo’s side.
For now.
“Since a Black Mage has been discovered, Black Mages will probably reveal themselves in various places.”
It was time to put effort into the eradication of Black Mages.