-Third Person POV-
-Location: Plaza of Glory-
The knights and mages headed to the Bell Tower. The citizens started to get nervous about what was going on. They had no choice. A person appeared on top of the Bell Tower, and then more people in black attires started to appear on top of the buildings nearby as well.
“Get down this instant!”
“Everybody, head up to the top of the buildings now!”
Cale heard the voices of the knights nearby and looked toward the man standing on top of the Bell Tower with black attire and a mask. It was the blood-crazy mage, Redika.
‘I was worried this would be different than the novel as well.’
If Redika did not show up, he would have needed the Black Dragon to reverse the flow of mana coming to the mana bombs to locate the hidden Redika and allow Choi Han to kill him.
Cale was relieved that he would not need to do that and remembered the description in the novel.
Redika’s hand became covered in red-coloured mana. This punk was unique, in that people could see the colour of his mana, even though he was a mage. He then swung his hand and announced as he had in the novel.
<” Should be fun.”>
“Should be fun.”
A chilling voice that sounded like metal screeching against one another, filled the plaza. Then, the red mana shot out to different spots in the plaza. But, despite that, he seems to be looking around.
‘Is he trying to find someone?'
That moment was exactly 9:01 am.
Oooooooooong-
A vibration started from underneath the Bell Tower.
Beeeeeeeep-
Beeeeeeeep-
Magic devices started to go off in multiple locations. The red mana that was flying toward the detonation devices inside the magic bombs suddenly lost strength and started to spin aimlessly in position.
It was the result of the mana disturbance.
Then, it happened inside the plaza as well.
Beeeeeeeep-
Four spots started to ring in the plaza.
“Found it.”
Cale’s quiet voice was drowned out by the alarm of the magic devices.
Someone within the area of those four alarms would have the magic bomb on them.
As Cale expected, the magic bombs had an alarm to sound that there was an error.
Cale could see Choi Han, Eve, Rosalyn, and Lock heading toward the four locations.
10 minutes. Even if they could not manage to dismantle the bombs in 10 minutes, they had plenty of time to move the bombs to the mountain in the rear to make it go off without hurting anyone. It was possible because of Rosalyn and the Black Dragon.
- Found one human.
Cale started to smile after hearing the invisible Black Dragon’s report.
The 10 minutes had just started.
Cale could see Choi Han grabbing someone as the Black Dragon made his report. It was the person the Black Dragon determined to have the magic bomb.
Cale could see the necklace on the person’s neck.
‘That must be it.’
Cale could see Choi Han ripping off the person’s necklace. He gave it to Eve as she use her string to gather all the other magic bombs. At the same time, Cale’s body was jerked. Someone had pulled Cale’s arm.
“Cale!”
It was Eric Wheelsman. Cale slowly looked around him, starting with the top of the Bell Tower.
“Hahahaha-“
The blood crazy mage Redika was laughing.
Wiiiiiiiiing.
A loud noise appeared alongside the noise of scratching metal, combining to create a terrifying screech.
“Your Highness! Please get to a safe spot!”
The Royal Knights and some mages were next to the royal family and the king to help them escape. Cale first looked toward the crown prince. His hair was still blonde.
‘Was it not magic-using mana?’
Cale remembered what the Black Dragon had said in the past. Cale decided to stop thinking about it and continued to look around.
Half of the remaining Royal Knights and mages were working to calm the crowd and find the Mana Disturbance Tool, while the other half was rushing toward the secret organization. Redika, who had been laughing for a while now, started to speak. He could see Eve avoiding Redika sight. It seems she doesn't want him to notice her.
“This is annoying”
With that, all of the secret organization members other than Redika started to launch long-range attacks. Spears, daggers, and throwing knives; all sorts of attacks started to pour down upon the knights.
Boom!
Wiiiiiiiiiiiing-
Beeeeeeeep.
Cale found it very loud. At the same time, the Black Dragon continued its report.
- One more human.
- And another.
9:04 am. This was the third person so far.
“Cale! We should go as well! We should go!”
“Young master Cale, hurry up!”
Cale looked toward Eric, Amiru, Gilbert, and Taylor. They had all quickly gathered around him. Eric was looking around with a chaotic expression on his face. Cale followed his lead and looked around as well.
“What are you doing? Hurry up and let us go!”
“Let us out right now!”
The nobles were fighting to get out of the plaza as quickly as possible. Of course, there were a couple of calm ones as well. However, It was different underneath the platform.
“Why are you blocking the exit!”
“Open up a path!”
The citizens were screaming for the knights to open the door and rushing toward the exit. The knights and soldiers shouted back at the citizens.
“Please calm down!”
“Please wait just a moment!”
“You expect us to wait in a situation like this? Get out of our way!”
“Are you crazy?! The nobles are trying to leave right now! Let us leave as well!”
Cale looked for hands being raised in the air amid that chaos.
“W, what are you doing?!”
Choi Han pulled a bag off of an old man’s shoulder and thrust his arm into the air as Eve once again caught it. This was the third person. Cale turned his head to look around at the people around him.
The door for the nobles and priests was already open, with many nobles and priests quickly heading out as fast as they could. It looked more peaceful because there were fewer people than the gate for the citizens down below, but it was still chaotic with each person trying to get out faster than the other.
That was why.
“What a mess.”
It was a complete mess. Eric was frantically pacing around, so Cale put his hand on Eric’s shoulder to calm him down. He then held onto Eric’s shoulder tightly.
“Hyung-nim.”
“Ah.”
Cale continued to speak once the pain snapped Eric out of his chaotic state.
“Calm down.”
Eric calmed down after seeing Cale’s calm demeanour. He then looked around. The knights were fighting against these unknown assailants while the royal family was in the process of escaping. The citizens looked to be in a state of chaos. As Eric absorbed all of the events going on around him and turned back to look at Cale, Cale started to speak.
“That is more like you.”
“...Thank you. I feel like my head has cleared.”
Cale shrugged his shoulders and turned away. Gilbert and Amiru had come back to their senses after hearing what Cale had said to Eric and were looking at Cale as well. Even if they tried to head for the noble’s exit gate right now, they would just be swept up in the chaos. The head families of the other regions were busy gathering their people and calming them down while trying to figure out a path of escape.
Gilbert watched some of the other nobles before looking around. The other nobles from the Northeast region were headed toward them. They were all looking at Eric, but Eric and Gilbert were looking at Cale.
“...What the...”
Cale looked toward Taylor. Taylor was different from the others. Taylor’s concern right now was that the citizens’ gate was still not fully open. The gate was opening very slowly, most likely so that they could control the flow of people running out.
Taylor was a very altruistic and good person. That was why he was more worried about the citizens than himself. Cale looked toward Eric and started to speak. Eric had the qualifications to be the leader of this group, after all.
“Let’s go.”
After hearing Cale’s words, Eric nodded his head and led the Northeast nobles to the gate. Cale looked at the clock.
9:08 am. The mages were busy getting rid of the mana disturbance. The Mana Disturbance Tool was going to run out in a few minutes. It only lasted this long because there were a lot of people in the plaza adding to the chaos.
- One more removed.
Now it was four. There were just two more remainings. Two minutes. Cale thought that they should have enough time. He could see Eve wrapping up all the magic bombs with her string. Even though it's invisible, it's quite obvious when you see it moving around like a ball.
Redika’s red mana balls were still spinning around in the air. The moment the Mana Disturbance Tool stops working, those mana balls will immediately head for the magic bombs and detonate them.
Cale looked at the clock on the Bell Tower before starting to walk. The Black Dragon made another report at this time.
- That is all.
“... What?”
“Young master Cale, what is wrong?”
Taylor, who had been walking next to Cale, looked at Cale with confusion, but Cale did not have time to focus on him.
‘There are only four?’
Cale remembered that there were a total of 10 bombs in the novel. Had it changed? Cale stopped walking and looked around. The Mana Disturbance Tool had a range of a large mountain. If the magic bombs were buried elsewhere, the alarm would have gone off at that location.
But the alarms for the high-grade devices only went off inside the plaza.
Did the number of bombs change because the story has changed?
9:09 am came and went, and only a few seconds were left until 9:10 am. One of the mage’s amplified voices rang out in the plaza.
“Activate Mana Stability Magic!”
As soon as he said that, mages from eight different directions chanted a spell at the same time. Eight magic balls of light shot up into the sky.
Boom-
They blew up in the air and started to spread like a thin tent. And then, finally.
Wiiiiiiiiing-
The noise started to quiet down. Mana was starting to become stable once again. 9:09 am and 55 seconds.
Cale could see four items being shot up into the sky at that time. It was Rosalyn and the Black Dragon using their magic while Eve tried to keep in a ball to make sure it doesn't fall out. Those four items followed the stabilized flow of mana and flew toward the mountains to the south of the capital.
For these two, who were extremely sensitive to mana, something like this was a breeze. Eve isn't but she knows how to be careful with those bombs.
The citizens blankly watched as these four items flew like shooting stars toward the mountain with harsh terrain that prevented people from traversing through.
“Mana Stability Complete!”
9:10 am and 5 seconds. The mage shouted out loud, and Redika’s red mana balls started to chase behind the items flying toward the mountain. As the red mana balls finally came into contact with the four items...
Booooooom-!
A large explosion occurred in the sky. It was so bright that it temporarily blinded everyone who was looking at it. A large pillar of black smoke soon followed and rushed up into the sky. Even though the mountain was far to the south of the plaza, a large gust of wind rushed toward the crowd in the plaza. Eve look terrified at the sight but also happy that she managed to save people from dying.
The plaza instantly became silent. The mages’ expressions turned completely pale. It was because they realized the identity and purpose of the red mana balls that started to fly as soon as they stabilized the mana.
“...Those were magic bombs.”
Taylor Stan muttered those words in shock. Any noble who had the slightest knowledge of magic would know that only one item was capable of having such a destructive force.
A magic bomb.
Even the king and some of the princes, who were retreating, stopped moving. Everybody could not help but think about how those items had shot up from within the crowd before starting to fly toward the mountain.
Cale brushed his hair which was a mess from the gust of wind.
‘I guess there were only four bombs.’
Nobody had died.
- We saved them all.
Cale could hear the Black Dragon’s voice in his head. Cale just quietly listened to the dragon. The once chaotic plaza was now very calm. No, it was almost depressing now.
The people were probably thinking about the terrible scene that could have happened in the plaza. They were probably swept up in their emotions of both relief and fear.
- I saved them!
The Black Dragon sounded very happy and excited. This was the first time that this young Black Dragon, who had been wishing for its death after living a life of despair, had saved something with its strength.
Cale thought about the Black Dragon’s emotions as he moved his gaze to the location the magic bombs had shot up into the air. The knights and mages were heading to that location.
However, Cale’s group had already left the scene. They then used the invisibility magic device Cale had borrowed from Billos to hide in the farthest corner of the plaza. Unknown to him, Eve had stayed behind. Even though she only met Redika once, she knows how crazy he is. She knows that there's still more to come.
‘Then Choi Han will chase after the mage to kill him.’
Cale looked toward the top of the Bell Tower. Eric and the rest had already stopped moving. They were able to figure out from what the mages were saying that the magic bombs were supposed to explode in the plaza, but ended up exploding in the mountain far away to the south.
How could they not?
Redika said it himself from the top of the Bell Tower.
‘Unfortunately, nobody died. Why did they go off over there?’
Redika continued to speak in that metal screeching voice.
“Guess this one was a failure. At least I know her location now.”
The King started to shout toward Redika.
“What are you doing? Who are you? Do you think you will be fine after attempting to commit such a deed?!”
King Zed’s response changed after realizing that it was not just an attack that was planned. The fact that they were trying to detonate magic bombs directly next to the royal family and nobles was no different than declaring war against this kingdom.
But Cale had a different thought regarding Redika’s statement.
‘..., ‘This one,’ was a failure?...‘Her' location?’
Cale’s expression stiffened, worried that there was something else as well. His changed expression made Taylor, who was approaching Cale to speak thinking that things were now okay, stop moving. He then looked toward the top of the Bell Tower like Cale was doing.
“Oh well then.”
The metal screeching voice rang throughout the plaza. Redika shouted toward the king and the knights without caring about the fact that the mages used levitation magic to approach him.
Snap.
He snapped his fingers and two people appeared next to him.
These two were just wearing black attires without the red star and white star symbol on their chest. They were each wearing a backpack.
Cale started to frown.
‘Those are the remaining bombs.’
Those two people were most likely members of the assassin team of the secret organization. They were people whose lives did not matter. Cale now understood the location of the remaining two bombs.
The two of them each took out three scrolls and ripped them at the same time.
Shield, acceleration, and combustion.
“Go.”
Redika gave the order and the two people, whose bodies were now burning, rushed toward the citizens below the Bell Tower. Redika shot out two balls of red mana toward the two people.
Eve figure out what he meant as soon as she heard the word. She tried to use her string to slow down their movement even if it was just a little bit. She was sweating and panting as she kept replacing the string that snap over and over again. Even if it wasn't obvious, tears were running down her face.
‘N-no...mister will... Eve...can't l-lose him too...'
“S, stop them!”
Magic bombs were guaranteed to go off if they were not dismantled.
Unfortunately, Redika was closer to these two people than anybody else. The red mana reached the backpacks of the two suicide bombers.
The bombs were going to detonate soon.
The two people, who had used acceleration magic, were rushing toward the plaza at a fast speed. The string that is attaching themselves onto them slow them down little by little but it cannot stop them.
One of the two rushed toward the royal family while the other...
‘He’s coming this way.’
Rushed towards the nobles.
Eve is no longer invisible and could be seen clutching onto the string with her life depending on it. She trying to stop them from injuring the civilians.
All of this happened in less than 10 seconds.
- I’m coming!
Cale raised his hand as he heard the dragon’s voice. He could see Eve in distance on the rooftop trying to stop the bomber.
“Aaaaaaah!”
“R, run away!”
“Dodge!”
It was too late to dodge. You were not going to get out of the bomb’s range simply by running for a few seconds.
“C, Cale, let’s go!”
“Young master Cale, hurry!”
Eric, Taylor, Gilbert, and Amiru did not run away right away like the others. They were trying to save Cale as well. However, it was all too late.
Cale was extremely annoyed. If he started to run and the bomb went off, he would probably lose an arm. However, the Vitality of the Heart would help him recover his arm.
However, the people who were trying to protect him would lose at least a limb no matter how fast they ran. They would also not be able to recover from their injuries as he could.
Rather than allowing something like that to happen...
“...Sigh.”
Cale let out a deep sigh and opened his palm up into the air. It was time to change plans. At that moment, Rosalyn, who was teleported through the Black Dragon’s magic, created a two-layer shield around herself and Cale. Eve once again replaces more of the string with a stronger one. Blood was dripping down her nose but she ignore it.
At the same time...
“Explode!”
Redika shouted out with joy.
“Huh?”
Rosalyn had a blank expression as she stared at what was going on in front of her.
The suicide bomber who was headed their way was surrounded by large wings. A silver shield shot up to the sky as if it was protecting the people in the plaza, and the wings of the shield surrounded the bomber. It looked like the shield and the wings were completely swallowing up the bomber.
And a strong shield that was not very visible because of the silver light surrounding the silver shield.
- I will block it as well.
The Black Dragon announced in Cale’s head.
A holy looking person with a silver shield was standing underneath the sun. A strand of silver light connected the red-haired man with the shield in the sky. Cale started to curse as his hair fluttered from the gust of wind.
“...Fuck!”
And then the bomb went off.
Boom-
Boooooom-
Two explosions that could not be compared to the one from earlier simultaneously went off in the plaza. Everybody crouched down and covered their heads with their hands. Eve flew back due to the force of the explosion but use her string to tie onto the rooftop chimney.
“Ahhhhhhh!”
“Ugh. My, my arm!”
“Ugggggh!”
The screams of people getting injured or killed filled the plaza. And then...
Swiiiiiiish-
A gust that sounded like rain brushed by over the heads of the people. The people at the centre of the plaza got covered by the dust from the ground, while the people by the fountains got drenched by the fountain water before they all slowly raised their heads.
The first thing they saw was something going toward the North. None of the royal family was hurt because a shield was created to protect them, but the people around them were hurt.
These were the people who arrived at the plaza earlier than anybody else to wait for the king. In addition, there were the servants, the lower-ranking officials, the lower-tiered knights, and the mages who did not have enough time to launch their shields.
Some of them were injured while others were dead. The black smoke made it impossible to see the royal family’s blonde hair.
The people still alive all raised their heads. They then looked toward where the nobles and the citizens had been standing. Eve had gotten up at some point and turned her head to look at Cale.
Crack-
The silver shield started to slowly break like pieces of glass. The silver wings crumbled down as well. As they started to crumble, black smoke started to come out of the encirclement. There was a person inside, however, nothing, not even a piece of flesh or even a drop of blood, could be seen.
Everybody looking felt chills going down their body. This helped them understand the strength of the explosion.
Their gazes naturally turned toward a single location. It was the end of that silver strand of light.
“Young master Cale!”
Rosalyn quickly started to support Cale back up, as one of Cale’s knees gave out and he was starting to fall. Rosalyn looked back and forth between Cale and the silver shield that was slowly dissipating. She then looked toward the royal family. These were two very strong explosions.
Eve tried to get up but she flinch when she felt something painful in her stomach. She looks down and sees a piece of the rooftop tile piercings her. Her eyes widened but instantly calm down and slowly pulled out the tile. She used her string to close the wound. Despite dying many times, she can still feel pain.
‘Ah... I ruin the dress mister gave to me...'
She looks at Rosalyn who is supporting Cale. Of course, Rosalyn and Eve knew that the Black Dragon’s shield had absorbed the majority of the explosion, but it was still true that Cale’s silver shield had done something amazing.
That meant that the recoil from it would be severe as well.
Rosalyn grabbed onto Cale’s arm to keep him up and called out to him. Cale was standing there with his head down.
“Young master Cale, are you okay? Young master Cale!”
He then started to think.
‘Damn, it hurts.’
Cale had lowered the strength of the silver shield after seeing the Black Dragon launch a shield of its right before the explosion. Thanks to that, the recoil was not as severe. However, his palm was still throbbing. Cale, well, Kim Rok Soo, tended to exaggerate when it came to pain.
Even a small amount of pain was still painful. He tried to raise his head back up.
“Cale-nim!”
“Young master!”
Cale could hear the voices calling out to him getting closer. He then raised his head.
“Cale, are you okay?”
“I’m ok...cough!”
“B, blood......!”
Eric’s face turned pale, and he almost fell backward.
However, Cale started to feel better after coughing up that small amount of blood. Eve freaked out. She almost open up her wound again caused her accidentally lose focus. She was trembling as she look at Cale bleeding.
‘Did I...fail to protect him? Is he in pain? Is it...my fault?'
‘The Vitality of the Heart is good.’
The pain in his body disappeared, and his body started to settle back to normal at a very fast rate. Cale’s body became healthier than ever as the ‘Vitality of the Heart,’ started to go to work. He didn't even realise what Eve is going through right now.
A refreshing feeling that was similar to the feeling he had when he was able to sleep peacefully because Ron had gone on vacation surrounded Cale. He then slowly closed his eyes and started to feel his body.
‘Arms and legs are still attached. My palm was throbbing a bit earlier, but even a paper cut hurt more than that. My body is healthier than ever after that single cough.’
Cale felt like he understood why the heroes never threw the ancient powers away, even if they were not very useful. There were benefits to using these ancient powers. Using it hurt less than he expected, and now he was feeling great.
Cale started to smile in satisfaction.
As he did that, the people surrounding him became a mess.
“You think this is funny right now? Stop laughing!”
Cale opened his eyes after hearing Taylor’s shocked and sorrowful voice. He had opened his eyes after checking his body and realizing that everything felt great. However, the sun was shining too brightly that he had to squint.
“Stop trying to open your eyes either!”
‘What’s going on with him?’
Cale looked toward Taylor in confusion as he sat down with Rosalyn’s support. A noble should not do something like this, but he felt like it would be okay given the situation. Cale pretty much just plopped down on the ground without caring about what people thought of him.
The Black Dragon continued to yap away in his ear.
- Weak human, you cannot die! You are too weak! If you die, I will destroy everything! I will kill everyone, destroy everything, and once everything is gone, including your corpse, I will kill myself as well! Eve needs to get treated as well! She not holding up too well right now!
The Black Dragon seemed to be concerned, but the words coming out of its mouth were pretty vicious. Cale started to frown from the content of the Black Dragon’s words. But he caught onto something.
‘Eve's not holding up too well?'
“Young master Cale, we will call a priest over!”
“I will go with you!”
Amiru and Gilbert said that before rushing toward the priest who was entering through the gate. They did not care about their messed up dress and suit. Seeing them rushing forward like that, Cale did not dare to say that nothing was hurting.
‘Doesn’t hurt to be checked out. I also need to pretend to be hurt.’
It was great for Cale if the priest showed up. Eric Wheelsman was standing next to Cale and glaring at the other Northeastern nobles nearby, as well, as the other nobles from other factions, to prevent them from approaching.
Cale was not looking at this, as he was looking at a discussion that may create some more chaos.
“...Please get out of my way.”
“No way. Civilians are not allowed inside.”
“...Civilian? Who came up with crap like that?”
Choi Han was talking to the knight in charge of the nobles with a cold gaze in his eyes. Cale had told Choi Han not to come forward, no matter what. Cale started to frown and waved away Choi Han, who had gone against his order.
Choi Han saw Cale’s reaction, so he bit down on his lips before bowing his head.
“I apologize.”
‘I told him not to come forward, but it’s not something to apologize about.’
Cale then saw On and Hong on Choi Han shoulders. Cale smiled to signal to them that he was fine, and turned away from them as they all seemed completely lost. His eyes widened upon seeing Lock running up to Choi Han with Eve in his arm, unconscious. She seems to be bleeding heavily.
“...Young master Cale, are you okay?”
Cale nodded his head at Rosalyn’s question and wiped away the blood at the corner of his lips. He hoped that Eve is okay.
“Yes. I am absolutely fine.”
Cale’s movement seemed normal as he wiped away the blood that was as red as his hair. However, Rosalyn had just seen what Cale had done. Could a princess like her take the same action? She quietly started to mumble to herself.
“...I really can’t figure you out.”
However, she just silently stared at Cale once he turned to look back at her. Cale’s expression became serious. It was because he realized that she was not looking at him, but past him. He then followed her gaze and turned around.
“Ah.”
The blood-drinking mage. He was now floating in the air as he looked down on them.
“I never expected something like this to happen. But this is pretty fun as well.”
The blood crazy mage Redika said that as he looked toward the royal family. The mages once again used levitation magic, and even the capital’s guard rushed over to aim their arrows toward Redika.
Redika then turned his gaze toward the nobles.
He made eye contact with Cale and then noticed Rosalyn next to Cale as well. Although her hair was dyed brown right now, Redika should recognize Rosalyn, whom he saw at the Blue Wolf Village. The metal screeching voice rang through the plaza once again.
“Wow, so many different colours of blood that I like! But not like hers..."
Many of the mages launched attack magics toward Redika.
“Attack!”
It was not visible because of the mask, but Redika’s eyes curled up like a crescent moon underneath.
“I want to put them in my display case.”
Cale’s expression stiffened, and he accidentally let out his thoughts.
“Is he crazy?”
Usually, crazy characters like this end up dying quickly. Cale thought about that and looked toward Choi Han.
Choi Han nodded his head and disappeared.
Naturally, Choi Han was moving to capture and kill that mage. However, Choi Han was not moving toward Redika. It seems they had left Eve to a priest even though it's risky. They might try to kill her since she's a zombie.
Redika looked toward the king as the magic attacks were about to hit him, and started to speak.
“Then see you next time!”
He then disappeared. Not only that, he took everyone who came with him as well. This bastard’s specialty was teleportation magic. There was no way for the people attacking him to know where they went. However, the novel mentioned where Redika teleported to after disappearing from the plaza.
Choi Han, On, Hong, and Lock all headed there earlier.
If that is where Redika and the secret organization members teleported to, they will most likely die at Choi Han’s hands.
‘I’m just worried that Choi Han will go berserk.’
That was why Cale had sent On, Hong, and Lock with Choi Han. The three of them would be able to help Choi Han remain rational. Choi Han was weak against young and weak existences.
Cale stood up from the seat.
The king was heading back up to the podium, and the people in the plaza started to chatter once again. The villains had disappeared, but they left behind a cruel sight. The king was heading to the podium to try to calm the crowd.
“I will do my best to get revenge for this cruel and terrible incident. That is why I want all of you to follow the orders of the crown and focus on calming yourselves and getting rest. We will push this celebration back.”
Cale turned away from the king to look at Rosalyn. Originally, she was supposed to hide her presence today, but she had revealed herself for Cale.
‘She probably stepped in because the Black Dragon cannot reveal himself. Eve also tried to help. It gave us some time to prepare ourselves thanks to her.
Rosalyn started to smile after making eye contact with Cale. She then mouthed a word to respond to Cale’s gaze.
‘Secret.’
Cale started to smile as well. She was someone who was on the same wavelength as him.
Cale had given the seven people in his crew some instructions before the day began.
First, the dragon and the beast tribe trio would not have their identities revealed, no matter what. Eve was also supposed to be hidden but it seems she revealed herself halfway. At least she wasn't spotted by Redika.
That was the most important task.
Second, even if Choi Han and Rosalyn end up being recognized, they will just say that they happened to be here by coincidence. This was only possible because the crown had no way to know about the magic bombs hidden in different locations in the plaza, and because there was no way to prove the identities of who got rid of the bombs that were shot up into the air.
Third, they will not cause each other harm.
Cale and Rosalyn knew what they both had to do from that single moment of eye contact. That was why Cale brushed the dirt off of his clothes and fixed it up.
He then started to smile toward the person walking toward him.
“Young master Cale, are you okay?”
The priest was huffing as if he was dragged over here by Amiru and Gilbert. Rosalyn stepped back, and Cale pushed his hand out to the priest and started to speak.
“It hurts a lot. Please take a look.”
Cale then noticed that the crown prince was heading toward him. The crown prince would recognize Rosalyn and probably already saw her two-layered magic. He would then question the relationship between Cale and Rosalyn.
In a situation like this, it was better to suck out everything he could from this situation. That was why he started to speak in a voice that was loud enough for the priest and the nobles around him to hear.
“It is hard to protect something.”
‘If I had to reveal my card and use my ancient power, I should take anything and everything I can from this situation.’
It was not Cale’s style to sacrifice himself just for fame and no material gain. Cale found money to be better than fame and believed it would be better to be rich than to be a hero.
“Ah, yes, yes indeed. I saw your silver shield, Young master Cale. You did something marvellous.”
The priest took a gulp and grabbed Cale’s hand to inspect him. The priest’s words made the nobles around Cale look at him with curiosity and doubt.
Cale Henituse, the man who was known as trash, had revealed such strength. This fact was a very big shock to everyone. Then there were his actions just a few moments ago, where he protected people against the explosion before falling while spitting out blood. But now, he was standing there as if nothing was wrong.
The nobles were observing Cale, and, because the king had left, many of the citizens were looking toward Cale as well. They could not forget about that silver light.
Cale briefly looked around at the faces of the curious nobles. Each time he made eye contact with one of them, they all showed different reactions. Some continued to show their curiosity, others avoided his gaze, and some just smiled at him.
Cale looked back at the priest after looking around at all the nobles and responded to his statement. Cale’s voice was still nonchalant and calm.
“I guess this is your first time looking at an ancient power.”
Ah.
The priest let out a gasp.
Ancient power, a relic of the past you could only gain from fortuitous encounters. Each of them was said to have unique skills and strengths.
“I see.”
A familiar voice started to speak from behind Cale and put a hand on Cale’s shoulder.
Cale knew that he had arrived.
“Your highness.”
Cale turned around and made eye contact with the crown prince, Alberu Crossman. He then realized that this moment was similar to what he had read in the novel.
The hero of the plaza terror incident. To deal with the complaints from the citizens about their safety and the fact that the royal family and nobles were trying to run away, the crown prince had turned Choi Han into a beacon of hope. The person who created the hero Choi Han in the novel was crown prince Alberu, the man in front of Cale right now.
Cale realized that the moment he was expecting was here as soon as he saw the look in prince Alberu's eyes. He had expected this to happen from the moment he used the ancient power and had quickly formulated a plan in his mind. Cale was planning to use this situation to his benefit from this moment onward.
The crown prince also realized that Cale was very similar to him.
“...Mister Cale.”
Prince Alberu hugged Cale with half shock and half admiration on his face.
“Thank you. We are so proud of what you did.”
Anybody could see that the crown prince was so full of admiration that he showed a reaction that he should not have shown as a prince.
At that moment, Cale heard crown prince Alberu whisper in his ear in a voice that only Cale could hear.
“Mister Cale, you and I share the same style right?”
‘Of course.’
Alberu's voice was a bit tense at finding someone like him.
“I will make sure nothing is annoying and reward you handsomely. What do you think?”
‘In that case.’
Cole lifted his hands and smiled as he hugged prince Alberu back. He then started to speak.
“Your highness, it was nothing. I only did what any citizen of the kingdom would do.”
The young dragon’s voice echoed in Cale’s mind.
- ...Something is very odd here.
The dragon who saw all of this happen was young but pretty sharp.
Cale finished his fraudulent hug of admiration, before heading to the palace. Although healing and investigation was the purpose of heading to the palace, since it was like this anyways, Cale was thinking about taking at least a pillar of the palace for himself as he walked with the crown prince.
Naturally, the crown prince’s face was stiff.
Cale was about to get in a carriage with the crown prince. The crown prince was asking Cale for performance until the end. Naturally, the carriage Cale was on was the crown prince’s carriage that was urgently brought over to the plaza.
“Mister Cale, please get on first. For today, you deserve this honour.”
The crown prince had a smile on his face that was completely different from his stiff expression from earlier. The crown prince knew that other people were now watching, and needed to keep up the act.
“How could I do that? I cannot get on the carriage before you, your highness. You are the star that shines down on citizens like me.”
- ...Human, is your head okay?
Cale just ignored the Black Dragon’s question. The crown prince patted Cale’s shoulder and started to speak.
Pat. Pat.
The crown prince was patting his shoulder quite hard.
“It is an expression of my respect for you. Go ahead.”
“If that is the case, this lacking citizen will get on first.”
Crown prince Alberu was the only one from the royal family who was still at the site of the terror incident. He stayed at the plaza even after the rest of the royal family had gone back to command the knights to take care of everything and to show care for Cale. Next to him was Cale Henituse, the man of the hour and the one who will remain etched in the people’s minds about this incident.
The sight of the two of them standing together was like a beautiful painting, and it made people think highly of both of them.
Cale got onto the crown prince’s carriage and peeked to the side.
The nobles were near the carriage, with the citizens being right behind them. Cale lightly gestured with his eyes to say goodbye to Eric, Gilbert, Amiru, and Taylor before smiling at Neo Tolz, who was blankly staring at him.
Neo Tolz flinched after seeing Cale’s smile while Venion, who was standing next to Neo, stiffened up. It was not just him. All of the high-ranking nobles were observing Cale.
‘How could that trash gain such power? No, how could that trash act in such a way?’
They were all sending him gazes that seemed to imply those statements, but Cale ignored them and continued to stare at Neo until Neo flinched and turned away.
‘I guess I can get rid of one of his evil minions.’
That was what Cale was thinking as he got on the carriage. His smile then disappeared as soon as he was inside. Crown prince Alberu entered behind him and then ordered his servant.
“Treat the lady over there as a VIP. Also...bring the child that was heavily injured to the palace and put her in the same room as our guest of honour."
Alberu was, of course, talking about Rosalyn. The carriage door started to slowly close and Cale made eye contact with Rosalyn before the door closed completely. Rosalyn’s smile seemed reliable.
Click.
The carriage door finished closing and Cale leaned back on the chair.
‘The royal carriage is a different quality. Where do they get such leather for their seats?’
Cale felt the comfort of the seat before turning to look at Alberu, who had also gotten rid of that fake smile from earlier and now had a stoic expression, just like Cale.
“Do you need any healing?”
Cale bluntly responded.
“My body is healthy, but shouldn’t I get the best doctors and priests to take a look? I want to just lay around for about three or four days.”
“Ha.”
The crown prince’s laugh sounded like a sigh. However, he then nodded his head.
“You’re right. That will be good. The noble who saved everyone is hurt, and the crown is giving him the best treatment possible to nurse him back to health. Very nice.”
The crown prince did not keep up his act now that he knew he and Cale were of the same type of people. That was why he got right to the point.
“Mr Cale, are you involved with them?”
Them. Alberu was talking about the people who appeared at the plaza today. Cale made eye contact with Alberu as he thought about how the Black Dragon was probably following him right now in his invisible state.
This was what the Black Dragon had said as Cale got into the carriage earlier.
- Why did the crown prince not do anything when the other humans were dying? He is strong.
The crown prince was hiding his strength. He did not do anything, even when one of his servants died and a young knight lost his arms and legs. He just pretended to be weak and hid.
‘I thought he was a good person, even if he tended to use people.’
But that was not the case.
That was why Cale comfortably responded. He had a bright smile on his face.
“Your highness, why would I do something so annoying?”
“Indeed.”
The crown prince immediately agreed. There was no way someone who was hiding as trash would do such a thing. Furthermore, Alberu could tell that Cale only stepped in because there were no other alternatives.
“The crown may try to uselessly investigate you.”
“You will protect me, right, your highness?”
“Why are you asking such an obvious question?”
Alberu was going to protect him. Alberu opened the curtains to see the crowd of citizens outside. He put his smile back on and continued to speak.
“Let’s finish our conversation when I visit you later to check on how you are doing.”
The crown prince was going to go visit a healing noble and wanted to talk. There was quite a lot to talk about. Cale thought about Rosalyn, the ancient power, and his reward, as he started to speak.
“Your highness.”
“Yes?”
“If it is for a conversation with the star of our nation, this Cale is always available.”
The corner of Albert's smile started to turn into a frown.
“I don’t want my actions to be exaggerated when you package it up for the public.”
“I will only package it up a bit. I just need enough for people to not complain about the crown.”
The crown prince continued to speak while casually saying the next part. It sounded a bit glib, but it was the truth.
“Anyways, thank you. The number of people injured was lower thanks to your help.”
It was difficult to tell whether crown prince Alberu was a good person or a bad person. No, Cale didn’t even know if he was human. However, Cale did not care about any of that, and just said what he needed to say.
“I look forward to my reward.”
“Ha.”
The crown prince shook his head, but did not say anything like, ‘don’t look forward to a reward.’ It meant that he will make sure Cale was rewarded handsomely for his efforts.
That was how Cale entered the palace once again while receiving much different treatment than previously. The fanciest and most luxurious room in the palace, which was reserved for foreign royal visitors, was provided for Cale.
‘Choi Han’s group stayed here in the novel too.’
Cale laid down on the extremely luxurious bed that was worlds softer than his bed and started to eat grapes one by one. She was also patting Eve head after she was brought into the room. They already told him about her injury. He was worried at first but after finding out that she have a chance of surviving, he felt relief.
Another person who was staying in the palace came to visit at this time.
“Young master Cale.”
It was Rosalyn, and, as expected, she was not alone.
“Cale-nim.”
Choi Han was with her. On, Hong, and Lock were standing behind Choi Han with pale expressions on their faces. Everyone kept glancing at Eve. However, Cale started to frown after looking at the last person behind all of them.
“Y, young masteeeeeeeeer!”
It was deputy butler Hans. Hans looked like he wanted to cry. Hans, Choi Han, and Lock were able to enter the palace as Cale’s servants and guards. Cale put his hand up toward Hans, who looked like he was going to rush toward him.
“Stop.”
That made Hans stop moving, which gave Cale time to get up from the bed and start to speak to the others.
“Come on in.”
He was very relaxed as if he was the owner of this palace.
Cale had a conversation with Hans first. Hans checked Cale’s condition before reporting like normal as if the teary face from moments before had never existed in the first place.
“I have contacted master-nim back home. I thought it would be better if we contacted them before the crown did, so I hired a mage to open a communication port. In doing so, I ended up spending a lot of money.”
“Good job.”
“And.”
Hans peeked toward Rosalyn.
‘Of course, he knows.’
The corner of Cale’s lips went up just slightly. Hans was a great butler candidate and knew more about the nobles than Cale did. There was no way such a person would not have other information as well.
“Continue.”
Hans reported after getting Cale’s permission.
“I told everyone in the residence to remain quiet about Rosalyn-nim for now.”
“Thank you very much.”
“You did well.”
Rosalyn and Cale praised Hans. Since they have not had any time to discuss, it was better for Rosalyn and Cale that they remained quiet about her for now.
“Excuse me, young master.”
“What?”
“I did give a report, but I think you should contact home via a communication port shortly. If you don’t, I believe master-nim will personally travel up here.”
His father, Count Deruth, would do that. Cale was busy thinking about how he could take care of this situation without jeopardizing Basen’s position as the successor, so he just nodded his head. Hans got up after seeing Cale nod.
He was a sharp one.
He knew that he needed to leave for Cale to speak with Rosalyn, Choi Han, and Lock.
“Then I will go look for the caretaker of this palace to discuss a few things.”
“Sure.”
Hans had left the room, so the Black Dragon finally revealed himself. He then headed to Cale’s bed and started to eat the fruits located there as he started his report.
“There are no video or audio recording devices in here.”
He did a good job with whatever Cale told him to do, even if he did not look like he would do so. That was what Cale was thinking as he looked around the room that he was staying in.
It was a room for foreign royalty. Doing something like placing recording devices in such a room would easily be a cause for war. That was why the royalty in all of the different nations worked to hide video and audio recording devices in hidden locations around common areas, like the dining room.
This meant that they could say anything they wanted to in this room. However, Rosalyn still cast a noise cancellation spell.
“It’s better to be safe.”
“Miss Rosalyn, that side of you is wonderful.”
Cale agreed with Rosalyn’s decision and then looked toward Choi Han. Choi Han has had his head down since he entered the room. Cale had a pretty good idea about what happened after seeing Choi Han like this.
He did not manage to kill Redika.
-To be continued...-