"Even if you knew then about all the extra paperwork and headaches it would bring, you would still make the same deal," Tasha said.
"That's true. I would 100% make the same deal," Alberu agreed.
"When you think about it, did he really make that much more work for you? Wouldn't the multiple terror attacks leading up to the war that then lasts for decades only to end in loss and the destruction of the world have generated far more paperwork and headaches?" Alberu* asked.
"You have a point. He may have generated a lot of paperwork for me, but pretty much all of it was actually a benefit and having everything finished in only 2 years definitely means less paperwork overall," Alberu stated.
"Two years as opposed to 20 years is a lot less paperwork and headaches," Tasha commented.
"Besides, it's probably unfair of me to blame any paperwork or headaches the rest of the group caused on just him, so not all of it was his fault," Albert pointed out.
All individuals in group 5 guilty of having caused paperwork generating commotions suddenly found various areas of the room very fascinating (with the exception of a few who were either quite proud of what they had done or too oblivious to realize that comment was about them).
Chapter 46: Somehow (4)
Cale was about to get in a carriage with the crown prince. The crown prince was asking Cale for a 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 honor."
"Even though I was acting at the time, I really did mean that," Alberu said. "I didn't exactly trust you at that time, but I was very grateful to you for all the lives you saved."
"I knew you actually cared about the lives of your people and that's why I didn't mind making a deal with you," Cale stated. "Things would have been different if it had been your father or brothers pulling the same stunt."
All versions of the mentioned individuals blushed in shame at the muttered comment from the red-headed commander.
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.
"You weren't wrong there. I did know people were watching at that point, but my smile wasn't the stiff one from before since I was genuinely happy about the survival of all those people," Alberu admitted. "Letting a bit of my actual feelings through right then was helpful."
"True. If your actual feelings are in line with the act you are portraying, there's no harm in letting it show," Alberu* agreed. "Well, at least a little."
"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 myself."
– ...Human, is your head okay?
"Pfft."
"Hahahaha."
"So funny."
"Burned by his own kid."
"Not surprising the kid thought that way though. I'd have thought something was wrong with him too."
"Yeah, we have the advantage of knowing his thought process here, so we sort of know where he's coming from."
"Not like that completely helps."
"I know what you mean. He's still hard to figure out even knowing what goes on in his head."
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.
"Hey, Cookie Prince. You have to be more careful with the weak human," Raon scolded Alberu.
"Sorry, Raon. I didn't realize how weak he was at that time," Alberu responded.
"I guess that's true," Raon conceded.
"I'll make sure to be extra careful from now on," Alberu promised.
"Good. It would be bad if you accidentally hurt the weak human," Raon stated.
The affronted look Cale gave the two at their conversation had everyone chuckling.
"It is an expression of my respect for you. Go ahead."
"If that is the case, this lacking citizen will get on first."
"Is that how all of your earlier conversations are going to go? Both of you trying to one up the other with words," Bud* asked.
"Pretty much," Alberu answered.
"Quite a few of the conversations we have even now are the same," Cale added.
"Ah, that's true. Guess I should have realized that already since you've done the same in here a few times now," Bud* said.
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 in order 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.
"Not just the people there to witness it in person either. The news of that incident spread around the continent and was etched in the minds of everyone that heard it," Litana said.
"Not always in a good way though. I'm pretty sure anyone from Arm was pissed off every time they heard that story," Cage commented.
"True. Anyone in on the evil plot was probably livid that it didn't go the way it was supposed to," Taylor agreed.
The sight of the two of them standing together was like a beautiful painting, and it made people think highly of both of them.
"It keeps getting pointed out while we read this and I've been wondering for awhile now, but why the fuck is almost everyone in that world so good looking?" Lee Chul Min* whispered to Park Jin Tae*.
"Must be the setting for that world. Whoever made that world must have read a lot of fantasy novels or something where everyone is good looking and created a world based off the concept," Park Jin Tae* whispered back.
"That sucks. Why couldn't our world have that setting?" Lee Chul Min* whined.
"Even if it did, you'd be one of the obligatory ugly people in it," Park Jin Tae* replied with a grin.
"You don't have to be so mean about it," Lee Chul Min* pouted. "Besides, you'd be right there with me."
"You're probably right," Park Jin Tae* sighed. "We'd be considered minor villains the protagonist had to overcome, so we'd definitely be ugly when compared to everyone else in such a setting."
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 to Neo Tolz, who was blankly staring at him.
"Pfft. It was nice of you to say goodbye to us, young master," Taylor said with a laugh. "I'm sure young master Neo appreciated the attention too."
Chuckles were heard at Taylor's words.
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.
"Pfft. Just had to poke at them one more time, didn't you?" Kim Rok Soo questioned.
"Of course. It was very satisfying," Cale answered.
"Oh how I wish I had been there to see the look on the bastard's face," Cage sighed.
"I would have loved that too," Cage* agreed with her counterpart.
'How could that trash gain such a 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.
"There he goes reading people's minds again," Lee Chul Min* commented.
"Guess we better be careful what we are thinking whenever he's looking in our eyes," Park Jin Tae* added.
"Seems like you had fun intimidating the poor idiot," Alberu said to Cale.
"It was fun and the little weasel deserved it," Cale replied.
'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."
"Thank you for that, but I was trying to be inconspicuous at that time," Rosalyn pointed out.
"I know, but you had just aided young master Cale in his efforts to save everyone from the explosion," Alberu said. "I think that earns some VIP treatment even if you aren't a princess from a neighboring kingdom."
"I suppose that's true," Rosalyn agreed.
"Also, I was trying to score some bonus points with you," Alberu added.
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.
Rosalyn smiled at the words on the screen. It made her feel warm and happy to know Cale thought of her as reliable in any way.
Click.
The carriage door finished closing and Cale leaned back on the chair.
'The royal carriage really is a different quality. Where do they get such leather for their seats?'
"Pfft. You just survived a terror attack that didn't follow the script you were expecting and caused you to have to step up, draw attention to yourself, and get hurt enough that your healing power made you cough up blood to fix it and that's what you are thinking about?" Archie said with a laugh.
"I like comfortable things," Cale bluntly replied.
His family all nodded in confirmation.
"It's good you know what you like," Bud* commented.
Clopeh made another mental note on his god's preferences.
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 back.
"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."
"Hahahaha. Blunt as always," Archie* laughed.
"It's kind of refreshing though," Bud* commented.
"I agree. At first it was shocking and I wasn't sure if I actually liked it, but then I realized how much nicer it was to just have him bluntly tell me what he wanted instead of trying to guess like with most nobles," Alberu agreed.
"That does sound nice," Alberu* added.
"Would save a lot of time too," Alberu^ remarked.
"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."
"A mutually beneficial arrangement," Heo Sook Ja* said. "That's a good way to start a partnership."
"Definitely leads to a better working relationship than having one side at a disadvantage from the get-go," Kim Woo* agreed.
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.
"I know better now. That was a completely pointless thought on my mind there," Alberu remarked.
"That's right! Our human would never work with those bastards," Raon shouted.
"Yeah," Hong agreed. "He only pretends to work with them sometimes to smack them from behind, nya."
"He did that in my world too," Dodam^ added. "That bastard never saw it coming."
"Cale-nim is good at smacking them from the back," Choi Han agreed.
"We will have to pay attention to how you all did it, so we can do something similar," Choi Han* said. "It seems like it would be very fun and satisfying to smack them in the back."
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.
All three Alberus flinched at the words. Alberu and Alberu* even more so than their younger counterpart since this had already happened for the both of them and they didn't have the option of doing it differently.
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.
Alberu and Alberu* both felt regret and shame at the words on the screen plainly spelling out the cowardly choice they made.
"I do regret my actions at that time, but I still don't think I made the wrong decision," Alberu* said. "I may have been strong enough to save some of them, but I had neither the backing nor the strength to do so at that time."
"I regret the choice I made then too. Just as Alberu* said, I didn't have the backing and even if I was personally somewhat strong, I wasn't politically strong then. Also, I was always terrified that my secret would be discovered if anyone looked close enough, so I chose to remain as an average and powerless prince to bide my time," Alberu explained.
"I can honestly say that I would have made the same choice, if we had never been brought here," Alberu^ added.
The shame on the faces of the three had Cale opening his mouth to speak. He didn't like that look on their faces.
"Your decision wasn't wrong. As the ruler of a kingdom or even potential ruler, your own safety comes first since a kingdom without a leader is especially vulnerable. Choosing to protect yourself until you had the power to actually make a difference was the wise choice. If you had stepped forward then, it's true that you could have saved at least some of those lost lives, but your heritage may have also been discovered which could have resulted in you losing your position or even life and whatever lives you may have been able to save in the future would have been lost," Cale stated.
Hearing Cale's opinion on the matter and knowing he thought the choice was the right one at that time was a relief to all three of them.
'I thought he was a good person, even if he had a tendency to use people.'
But that was not the case.
The hurt looks on three very similar faces had Cale speaking yet again.
"Ignore the bullshit," Cale reminded them. "I didn't know all the circumstances then. The opinions I formed in the past based on only partial information were incorrect and what I said a moment ago are the opinions I have formed after knowing everything."
Relief once again filled the chest's of the three.
Alberu^ knew he hadn't made that choice yet and couldn't really be judged on an action he hadn't committed yet, but he knew he would have behaved the same way and hearing that Cale wouldn't actually think less of him for that choice still felt good.
Alberu and Alberu* could feel a tiny weight in their chests shift with Cale's words. They still feel guilty (and always will) for having acted in such a cowardly way since their actions cost the lives of others, but knowing Cale didn't think less of them for it soothed some of the anxiety they felt at having others know what they had chosen to do.
All three vowed to be better from this point on. Alberu has already put that into practice, but he knows there is still room for improvement.
That was why Cale comfortably responded. He had a bright smile on his face.
"Your highness, why would I do something so annoying?"
"That answer fits you quite well," Bud* said with a laugh. "Though, at this point we all know that that's just an excuse to cover how you are secretly a softie that doesn't like to see innocent people hurt."
"He's also a very vicious and vindictive individual that makes sure to pay back any and all bastards that mess with him, his people, and the innocent masses," Bud added.
Everyone else nodded along with the two's words.
Cale pretended he heard nothing, but the slight pink coloring his cheeks gave him away.
"Indeed."
The crown prince immediately agreed. There was no way someone who was hiding as a trash would do such a thing. Furthermore, Alberu could tell that Cale only stepped in because there really were no other alternatives.
"It really is amazing how alike the two of you think," Jang Man Soo* said.
"That princess, Rosalyn, too," Kim Min Joon* added.
"Right. She does too," Jang Man Soo* agreed.
"That probably made coordinating things between the three of them much easier," Heo Sook Ja* said.
"It really did. Knowing there was someone else, multiple people at that, thinking along the same lines as me was very relieving since I knew I wouldn't be able to manage everything and be everywhere on my own," Alberu admitted.
"That would have been very reassuring," Heo Sook Ja* nodded. "Especially during a war."
"The crown may try to uselessly investigate you."
"A completely useless endeavor," Zed declared. "There would have been absolutely nothing to find."
"Yep. At that point in time, I hadn't even left Rain City in years and pretty much everyone avoided me. Not to mention the lack of an underworld in the Henituse territory meant that I couldn't be forming connections with any shady characters plotting terror attacks," Kim Rok Soo remarked.
"You really did set up the perfect cover for me," Cale admitted. "Made things so much easier for me. I am not sure I would have managed if you had been a proper, well behaved noble before I took over."
"I really am glad my reputation didn't put you at a disadvantage. I did worry about that when I made the deal, but I was desperate enough to squash that worry and go through with it anyway," Kim Rok Soo responded with relief.
"No need to worry at all. It was a great help," Cale reiterated.
Kim Rok Soo gave him a grateful nod at Cale's insistence that the reputation was welcomed and not in any way resented.
"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 in order 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."
"I figured we could wait to discuss the details until after you had been completely checked over and rested. Even if you insisted that you were perfectly fine, you still coughed up blood and I was worried there may be something wrong with you internally. I didn't want you dying because I insisted we finalize our deal first," Alberu stated. "Plus it looked better to outsiders."
"I really was fine, but it was nice to be able to lay around and do nothing for a bit," Cale responded.
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 Alberu's smile started to turn into a frown.
"Pfft. The way the two of them interact with each other is really amusing."
"They were acting like brothers even then."
"I know what you mean."
"I don't get it, how were they acting like brothers?"
"You must be an only child."
"They act like brothers in the way they deliberately try to annoy each other."
"Yep. Exactly. Siblings always annoy each other on purpose at some point."
"Oh. I get it now."
"The prince just isn't as good at it."
"He obviously gets better at it later."
"True. Doesn't seem like he has much practice being a brother at that point."
"He does now though."
"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."
"You said only a bit, but those damn silver shields were everywhere after that," Cale grumbled.
"I really didn't dress it up much. It's mostly your own fault for doing it in such a spectacularly eye-catching manner," Alberu defended himself.
"It's not like I could have used a small version of the shield for that. I had to make it big enough to contain the blast," Cale pointed out.
"True. Doesn't change the fact that your actions were imprinted in the minds of the people enough that I really didn't have to dress it up much at all," Alberu stated.
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."
"I wasn't trying to be glib about it at all. I was genuinely thankful to you," Alberu remarked.
"I know that now," Cale said.
It was difficult to tell whether crown prince Alberu was a good person or bad person. No, Cale didn't even know if he was human.
"I know you are a good person now and your race doesn't matter either," Cale stated.
"That's right, human. Cookie Prince is a good person just like you," Raon agreed.
Their words and the agreeing nods of the rest of his found family filled Alberu with warmth. It felt really good to have someone accept him for who he is, flaws and all.
Alberu* and Alberu^ feel both the warmth their counterpart felt at such acceptance and jealousy that it's not 100% directed at them. They are accepted by virtue of being an alternate version of Alberu and not simply because of who they themselves are, but that's okay. Their counterpart has earned that for himself. The jealousy is hard to kill and, if they are being honest with themselves, they don't completely succeed at squashing it all, but they won't let that tiny portion living in some dark corner of their mind fester and turn them bitter.
With those thoughts in mind, they both firm up their resolve to create their own relationships and make their own found family.
However, Cale did not care about any of that, and just said what he needed to say.
"I look forward to my reward."
"You do enjoy rewards," Alberu sighed. While the royal treasury and even his own personal treasury can still handle it, he is eternally grateful for Cale's ability to pick up loot almost everywhere he goes. Having heard about a few of his spending sprees (and he thought the Magic Tower had been expensive), he's sure there would have been sizable chunks missing by now.
"And loot. I think our human likes loot even more than rewards," Raon commented.
"I think so too," Hong added.
"He does have more fun when getting the loot than he does when getting the reward," On stated.
"It is much more satisfying to loot the enemy, but rewards after looting the enemy are very enjoyable too," Cale remarked.
"Oh! That is good," Dodam^ agreed.
"Of course it is. Getting a reward for looting the enemy is the best kind of reward," Cale continued.
Cale and the children averaging 7.5 years old spent a few more minutes discussing looting and various kinds of rewards while their family and friends all smiled at the ridiculously adorable sight. Everyone else just shook their heads at how odd (but admittedly adorable) that family is. They really should stop expecting normal from them.
"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.
"I enjoyed the reward very much and put it to good use," Cale said happily while remembering how he had used that first golden plaque.
"I know you used it to purchase the Magic Tower, but what did you use it on for your second purchase?" Alberu asked.
"I cashed it in for silver coins," Cale answered.
"What in the world did you need 2 billion gallons for?" Alberu questioned.
"I wondered that too when he asked me to get them for him, but thought it was better not to know after I asked," Odeus commented.
"I used them to relieve some stress and get stronger," Cale replied.
Everyone but Raon looked at Cale with a mixture of curiosity and disbelief on their faces, but Cale just turned his attention back to the screen. With a resigned sigh at the lack of answer, everyone else did the same.
That was how Cale entered the palace once again while receiving a much different treatment than previously. The fanciest and most luxurious room in the palace, that was reserved for foreign royal visitors, was provided for Cale.
'Choi Han's group stayed here in the novel too.'
The questioning glances sent toward Choi Han*, Rosalyn*, and Lock* had the three chuckling in amusement.
"Yes, that is what happened," Rosalyn* relieved everyone's curiosity.
"It was really, really nice. I'd never been in a room as fancy as that and was worried to touch anything in case I ruined it. Took me a while to relax there," Lock* said.
"It was the same for me. I had never been anywhere as fancy as that in my original world and then spent years just struggling to survive in the Forest of Darkness. Obviously Harris Village didn't have anything that could compare either," Choi Han* admitted.
"I guess my upbringing as a princess made that the usual for me, so I didn't feel awkward at all in the room. It was actually really familiar," Rosalyn commented.
"Sorry, I hadn't even thought of that when I put all of you in those rooms. While I was trying to win points with your group, I really was grateful and wanted to show my appreciation by giving you the most comfortable rooms in the palace. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable," Alberu* apologized.
"It's fine. I know you meant well and once I stopped worrying about breaking things in there, it was really nice," Choi Han* replied.
"Me too. I enjoyed it once I relaxed," Lock* added.
"I'm glad you enjoyed it," Alberu* said in relief.
Alberu looked toward the members of Cale's group that had been with him at the time of the incident with a question in his eyes.
"I was perfectly comfortable, but that's probably because I was already used to living in a palace," Rosalyn responded.
"I was too worried about young master Cale to really notice much about where I was and had probably gotten a bit used to being around expensive things since staying at the Henituse residence," Lock replied.
"I was also worried about Cale-nim and having stayed in both the Henituse estate in Rain City and their residence in the capital helped lessen any anxiety I may have felt about being in such a fancy room," Choi Han answered.
"I liked it there. The bed was big and soft," Hong chimed in.
"It was. The food was tasty too," On added.
"I agree. It's not as good as our house, but it's still good," Raon declared.
"I'm glad none of you were uncomfortable," Alberu said with a smile.
Cale laid down on the extremely luxurious bed that was worlds softer than his own bed, and started to eat grapes one by one.
Violan and Deruth glanced at each other after reading those words and shared a look before turning toward their son to ask him a question.
"Son?"
"Yes, father?"
"When you say it was worlds softer than your own bed, are you referring to your bed in the residence at the capital or the one in your room at home in Rain City?" Deruth asked.
"Ah! I....I was actually still sort of thinking of myself as Kim Rok Soo at that point and was referring to my bed back in my room on Earth 1," Cale awkwardly answered. "The beds in the Henituse residences are nice as well. Only a little less comfortable than that one."
"That's good. Although it seems we need to have a discussion with whoever is in charge of the furnishings for the VIP rooms in the palace," Deruth commented while Violan smiled at him in agreement.
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. However, Cale started to frown after looking at the last person behind all of them.
"Y, young masteeeeeeeeer!"
Hans blushed hard and covered his face in embarrassment at his past reactions.
"Sorry. I really overreacted then, but I was so worried when I heard you had coughed up blood," Hans explained.
"It's fine. I had already figured that would be your reaction," Cale responded.
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 servant 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.
"He behaves the same way no matter where he is," Alberu mumbled.
"He really does," Antonio agreed.
"It suits him though," Taylor added.
Many couldn't help but to agree with Taylor's words.
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."
"Thank you for that. It was much better coming from you instead of hearing it from the crown," Deruth praised Hans' decision making skills.
"I was just doing my duty, master-nim," Hans said with a bright smile.
"Good job."
"And."
Hans peeked toward Rosalyn.
'Of course he knows.'
"It is my job to know about the nobles of not just our kingdom, but the neighboring kingdoms as well. I also made sure to know at least the basics about other influential individuals as well," Hans declared proudly.
"That's impressive," Jae Ha-Jung* commented.
"It's just the basics a good butler should be able to do," Hans* added.
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.
Hans perked up happily at the praise from Cale.
"I am glad my knowledge of the nobles has helped you, young master," Hans said.
"It was very helpful. The novel didn't mention very many of the nobility in detail," Cale responded.
"I'm sure you would have still done very well even without me, young master. Your ability to read people is very impressive," Hans praised Cale.
"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."
"That was also very much appreciated," Rosalyn stated. "Gave me time to make my plans to deal with the bastard that tried to have me killed."
"Would you and Miss Rosalyn* mind giving me specifics about the person that attempted your assassination and the other individuals involved? I would like to be able to warn your counterpart from my world before it happens," Alberu^ asked the two.
The both of them brightened at the young prince's request and happily answered.
"It would be my pleasure," Rosalyn* said. "It would be wonderful for that bastard to get what's coming to him sooner. Thank you."
"I would very much appreciate that. Thank you," Rosalyn stated. "Not only will that bastard get what's coming to him sooner, that would also save the lives lost in the attempt on my life."
"You are both quite welcome, but I feel I have to be honest with you and tell you my reasons are not entirely altruistic. I am hoping to be able to use the information as a starting point to build an alliance with the Breck Kingdom of my world," Alberu^ explained with a somewhat sheepish look.
"Not a problem for me since that alliance will go toward preventing the end of your world," Rosalyn pointed out.
"Same here. You should use any advantage you can," Rosalyn* added.
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 in the near future. If you don't, I believe master-nim will personally travel up here."
"He was correct about that," Deruth confirmed.
"He was ready to depart the moment Hans ended the communication," Violan tattled.
"I restrained my impulse to immediately head there," Deruth pouted at being called out. "It's not like you weren't right there with me ready to head out."
"I was concerned about his safety and didn't feel the royal family or their Royal Knights were up to the task since he had needed to step forward in the first place," Violan bluntly stated.
Said individuals all flinched at that comment, but couldn't really refute it. They really weren't prepared to go against Arm at that time.
"I understand where your concern was coming from. We were woefully underprepared for the threat of Arm then, but we have improved ourselves since. Although, my dongsaeng and his group are far more capable of dealing with anyone that may attempt something than any of us," Alberu remarked.
"You are a part of that group, hyung," Cale pointed out.
Alberu felt a bright smile spread across his face at his troublesome little brother's words.
His father, Count Deruth, would definitely 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.
"Hyung....," Basen choked up on the emotions filling his chest upon reading those words.
'Hyung was concerned about my future even then. He's such a good big brother. They both are.' Basen thought with a glance at Kim Rok Soo.
"What is it, Basen?" Cale asked him.
"It's nothing, hyung. I'm just happy," Basen replied.
Cale looked at him in confusion for a moment before shrugging and turning back to the screen.
Basen continued to look at his brother for a moment more and vowed to himself, yet again, that he would make sure their territory is somewhere his brother can live peacefully and happily.
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.
"I would have kept Raon-nim a secret from everyone, young master," Hans stated.
"I know. I just didn't want to go through the hassle of dealing with your initial freak out," Cale responded.
"Ah. I suppose I would have handled it poorly at first, but I can't help feeling that Raon-nim had to spend a lot of time invisible, which was unnecessary if I had known about him. He would have been able to be more comfortable instead of hiding all the time," Hans explained.
Cale gave Hans a genuine smile at the concern and consideration he showed for Raon.
"Thank you, Hans. I know you would have never revealed his existence to others without permission, but I was still worried about the 'secret organization' at that time and didn't want to reveal his presence unless necessary and after that, it just became a habit to keep his existence concealed," Cale admitted.
"I understand, young master," Hans replied with a nod.
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 really 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 this room that he was staying in.
An apology was already leaving Cale's mouth before Raon had even turned his pout toward his father.
"Sorry. I was unused to being able to count on a four year old to do a good job with whatever task they were given. Human four year olds are much less reliable than a great and mighty dragon."
"I understand, human. Since I was the first dragon you had ever seen, it's to be expected that you wouldn't realize how amazing I am then," Raon said while giving his father a pat on the head. "It's good that you have learned that now. You are a very smart human."
"Pfft."
Stifled laughter filled the room at the utterly precious sight before them. Murmurs of 'cute', 'adorable', and various other similar phrases could also be heard.
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.
"That would be annoying, but I guess it's not really that different from the security cameras that were all over the place in our world," Park Jin Tae* mentioned.
"True. There were definitely security cameras all over the place before the apocalypse," Jung So Hoon agreed. "Don't have as many recording devices anymore."
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."
"As you have said several times now, it is always better to be over prepared and not need it than under prepared and caught off guard," Rosalyn said with a smile.
"That is indeed the case. There have been several occasions where that has made the difference between victory and defeat," Cale added.
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.
"Wow. You knew just by looking at him," Lee Chul Min* said.
"It was obvious. If he had succeeded, he would have come back with his head held high, his eyes sparkling, and practically bursting to tell me all about it," Cale explained.
Choi Han was not pouting at how apparently predictable he was even before they had gotten to know each other better.
"Tell me."
Choi Han lifted his head up.
"That mage appeared in the location you told me. I tried to kill him, but his subordinates rushed toward me."
"I'm sure they were ready to die."
"...Yes."
The secret organization valued Redika quite a bit for some reason.
"He was completely insane, but he did have talent and he enjoyed inflicting misery and suffering on others to the point the White Star never had to question his loyalty. After all, he was well paid, highly regarded for his talents, and was given free reign to indulge in his 'hobbies' as a member of Arm. Pretty much everything he could ever want, so there was no reason for him to ever betray the organization," the Dragon Half-blood commented.
"That's true. His incredibly disturbing 'hobbies' probably fit in quite nicely with Arm and their goals too," Cale agreed.
"They would definitely create despair," Cage* added.
"So they escaped?"
"...Yes."
Choi Han lowered his head again as he continued to speak.
"I only managed to cut off his left arm."
'Hmm?'
"I then burned the arm up in case he came back for his arm to put it back together. Ah, his left eye should be injured as well."
"Efficient, but terrifying," Lee Chul Min* said with a shudder.
"Nice job, uncle," Choi Jung Soo* praised. "Always good to make sure they can't come back at 100%."
"It didn't completely stop him though," Choi Han grumbled.
"It did stop him from carrying out any other terror attacks," Taylor pointed out.
"At least I accomplished something then," Choi Han mumbled.
'Isn't that a death sentence for a mage?'
"Turns out it's not actually a death sentence for a mage as long as they are determined enough and have a bit of talent," Cale mumbled to himself.
Mages needed to cast magic with both hands for their mana to be balanced. Losing an arm would end up affecting that quite a bit.
"It does make it much harder, but any mage with a high sensitivity to mana and talent in manipulating it would still be able to cast," Rosalyn said.
"It's possible that casting could take longer or have a higher chance of failing too," Glenn added.
"It could also affect the strength of the spell," Glenn* contributed.
"Would also make it easier to go into a mana explosion too," Rosalyn* pointed out.
Cale looked toward Choi Han with a stiff expression.
Choi Han was standing there with his head down and fists clenched.
"I was supposed to kill him. I'm sorry."
"No need to be sorry. You did well."
"You really did," Cale insisted. "It was a big help just to injure him enough that he couldn't make as much of a pest of himself."
"We are all grateful for that. I'm not sure the Stan territory would have been able to handle any attacks with everything going on there at that time," Taylor said.
"True. Would have caused way too much chaos with the title moving from your father to you already causing plenty," Cage agreed.
Cale looked toward Lock, On and Hong who were sitting next to Choi Han. On and Hong did not move toward the Black Dragon like usual. They were stiff in Lock's arms. Lock was looking at Cale with a desperate gaze.
'Did he go berserk?'
"I didn't. You didn't need to be so worried that I would lose my rationale," Choi Han grumbled.
"You may not have gone berserk, but you did go very wild," Lock tattled.
"That's right. You were very scary then," Hong said.
"I agree. They did deserve it though," On added.
Choi Han looked properly chastised at the children's scolding.
Cale looked toward Choi Han and asked.
"His subordinates?"
"I thought it was better to kill them, so I took care of them."
That made the red kitten Hong rub his face on his sister On's body. Choi Han had used his black aura to completely get rid of them without any traces. This was the first time Hong realized that you could melt a person with aura.
"Holy fuck!!! That's both terrifying and disgusting!!" Lee Chul Min* shouted.
The room was full of vigorously nodding heads and a few curious looks.
"Could have done without knowing that particular bit of information," Park Jin Tae* mumbled.
Cale just stared at the words on the screen before shuddering and deciding there were some things he would rather this reading not reveal.
"It's best to be thorough to prevent any future issues. You didn't break any buildings or anything like that, right?"
Cale was worried that Choi Han went berserk and destroyed some other things. Harris Village and the Blue Wolf Tribe incident were both traumas for Choi Han. Cale was worried that he would go crazy when seeing the people who caused those traumas standing right in front of his eyes.
"I was careful not to cause too much destruction since you reminded me not to before we started the operation," Choi Han commented. "I did let out my anger on them though."
"Nothing wrong with that," Cage said. "They took important people from you and tried to do it again, so it's only natural that you took out your anger on them."
'If he goes berserk, I may end up having to clean up the mess.'
Since Choi Han was staying with him, Cale would need to clean up the mess. However, Cale did not want to do such a thing.
"Your ridiculous sense of responsibility rears its head again. You do know that you could have just pretended not to know how any damage had happened. There was just a terror attack in the capital after all," Archie* pointed out.
"That thought didn't even cross your mind at all, did it?" Witria* asked.
"It honestly didn't," Cale said. "If Choi Han destroyed someone's home or workplace while acting on my orders, why would I pretend not to know? It's just cruel to take someone's home or livelihood from them, leave them to suffer with nothing, and just pretend not to know about it," Cale remarked.
"And that's one of the many reasons we all think of you as a kind person," Litana said with a smile.
"But that's just basic decency," Cale insisted.
"We've already decided your level of doing things is vastly different to everyone else's and what you see as basic is what everyone else considers above the basics," Rasheel reminded him.
"Which is why you will always be seen as a kind person," Cage added. "Even when you are being what you think of as selfish."
Cale's look around the room only showed him that everyone was in agreement with Cage and further reinforced his belief that everyone around him was indeed very strange.
'How on earth could my being selfish ever be considered as kind. There's just no understanding some people and their thoughts.'
"Yes, of course. As Cale-nim mentioned, I made sure not to damage anything around the area."
The kittens remembered what Choi Han said to the subordinates as he killed them.
'All of the important people in my life were killed or almost killed by you. Including today!'
The buildings were not damaged, but the look on Choi Han's face as he melted the secret organization members alive was quite scary. He did not go berserk, however, that made it scarier.
"Fuck! That really didn't need anymore details after the first time it was mentioned," Lee Chul Min* shuddered.
"Some things are better left a mystery," Park Jin Tae* agreed.
"You may have gone a bit overboard there, uncle," Choi Jung Soo* called out.
"You terrified the children," Lee Soo Hyuk* pointed out.
Choi Han looked toward On, Hong, and Lock and apologized to the three.
"Sorry. I may not have gone berserk, but I did go overboard. I shouldn't have let my anger get the better of me while the three of you were there."
"It's okay, hyung. I understand how you felt. It was scary, but I was also happy that they were dead," Lock admitted.
"I was glad they were dead too, but I didn't like how scary it was," Hong stated. "It is okay though since I know you were very angry and sad."
"My dongsaeng is right. Sometimes it's hard not to overreact when you feel so angry and sad, so it's okay" On agreed.
On and Hong finally moved toward the Black Dragon to get a sense of relief by the dragon's side. The strongest, cutest, and nicest individual in this room was this Black Dragon.
Raon beamed happily at the praise from his siblings.
"You are also strong, cute, and nice," On said to Dodam^.
Dodam^ brightened at her words.
With that, all individuals in the room were treated to the massively cute sight of two baby dragons practically glowing in happiness.
Cale observed the kittens heading to the bed before speaking to Choi Han.
"You decided you didn't want to know the details of what happened after seeing their reactions, didn't you?" Kim Rok Soo* asked.
"Yes. Their reactions were enough for me to tell that I was better off not knowing. I managed to make it two years without the knowledge that it's possible to melt people with aura and then the damn author of this decided to overshare," Cale grumbled.
"Sorry, Cale-nim," Choi Han apologized.
"No reason for you to apologize. It's not like you knew we'd be here one day reading about our past actions," Cale pointed out.
"I see, you worked hard."
Cale's words made Choi Han look up at him. Cale looked at Choi Han and everyone else as he continued to speak.
"All of you did something amazing today. It is thanks to you that all those people lived. Miss Rosalyn, you worked hard as well."
Choi Han, Rosalyn, Lock, On, Hong, and Raon all smiled fondly at the memory of Cale praising them for saving people. They will never get tired of that. Cale's praise never fails to make them feel proud and warm.
"It really was amazing," Taylor commented.
"It was only the beginning of all the amazing feats you all accomplished too," Antonio added.
"The group has grown a lot bigger since then though," Cage pointed out.
Everyone in group 5 that had the privilege to be considered a part of that group in any way puffed up a bit in pride. The few present that weren't a part of that group sulked at being excluded.
Choi Han's tightly clenched fists loosened up a bit. Rosalyn looked at Lock, Choi Han, and the kittens that were wagging their tails, before finally landing her gaze on Cale. An odd sense of cohesion surrounded her.
"It never fails to amaze me just how well all of you work together," Valentino* commented.
"We have a great leader," Paseton pointed out.
"Helps that we all trust each other to have the other's back too," Bud added.
"It's also beneficial to our overall teamwork that none of us are trying to claim all the glory for themselves," Rosalyn remarked.
"It's more like the opposite for us actually," Choi Han said.
"True. We are all kind of trying to foist the praise and accolades off on others or at least share them amongst ourselves," Rosalyn agreed.
"I can see how that would make your teamwork much smoother. With everyone being an actual team player and doing their part without trying to grandstand, everything would run much smoother," Alberu* acknowledged while wondering if they would be able to accomplish that in their world. They will just have to try their best to get as close to it as possible.
The Black Dragon started to speak at that point.
"You worked hard too."
This made Cale start to smile as he nodded his head.
"Indeed. I worked very hard. That is why I will be rewarded."
And the time to have their first discussion about his reward soon arrived.
"I bet you were very happy for that discussion," Bud said.
"I was looking forward to it quite a bit," Cale admitted. "That reward made it much easier to carry out some of the plans I had."
"Glad the royal treasury could assist you in your endeavors," Alberu deadpanned.
Cale gave Alberu a smirk in reply.
Snickers were heard throughout the room at that.
"You can head out now."
"Yes, your highness."
Crown prince Alberu sent out the priest who just sat there filling the time without doing any actual treatment on Cale before turning to make eye contact with Cale. Cale had an expression of awe that the crown prince came to visit, until the door closed and Alberu started to speak.
"That expression of yours is giving me the chills."
The room burst into laughter upon reading that.
"I can't even picture that look on the young master," Hannah said while laughing.
"Me either," Bud agreed.
"Wouldn't you just have to picture what he would look like when presented with a mountain of treasure?" Archie asked.
There was a pause as everyone tried to imagine what Cale's face would look like when being handed a mountain of treasure before the room was filled with loud laughter yet again.
"Now I can picture it," Hannah stated.
"I think that would actually be rather adorable," Tasha said.
"It really would. I can totally picture the wide sparkling eyes as he stands there gaping in awe at the sight before him and there would definitely be stars or flowers or something shining behind him," Cage agreed.
The laughter renewed in intensity for a while before everyone managed to calm themselves down and pay attention once again.
Cale spent the time everyone was cackling over something weird again to daydream about said mountain of treasure. The look on his face as he imagined it is why it took so long for the laughter to die down.
"Thank you very much."
Cale returned to his usual relaxed expression. Alberu seemed to find that more bearable as he sat on a chair next to the bed Cale was laying on looking like a patient.
"It's amusing that you find his usual relaxed and borderline disrespectful expression easier to handle than the awe filled one. I wonder at your tastes, hyung," Robbit teased his brother.
Alberu just stared dumbly at his brother for a moment before pulling himself together at his brother's snickering.
Robbit was actually enjoying an interaction with his older brother for once. He decided he likes it far more than the relationship they have had up to this point.
'Fuck that's weird. Never in my life would I have thought the day would come when one of my blood siblings would tease me good naturedly.' Alberu thought before opening his mouth to speak.
"It was refreshing to have someone just be themself in my presence. I was used to nobles and commoners alike practically tripping over themselves trying to make a good impression, suck up to me, or just look at my every action with awe or the opposite and having to deal with the either barely concealed or blatantly obvious contempt and disdain I'd get from those belonging to a faction that wasn't mine, so Cale's complete indifference to my position was really nice," Alberu admitted. "Although, it did take me a while to get used to it and I honestly found him annoying at times before that."
"That's exactly what I was going for at that point, so it's good to know I didn't fail there," Cale remarked. "I wanted to make it so you wouldn't like dealing with me. That way I could avoid troublesome situations."
"And yet, you contacted me first a few times there in the beginning," Alberu pointed out.
"Can't help that I stumbled upon good business transactions or important information that was better to share for the sake of my slacker life," Cale muttered.
"I have said that you are currently resting. I said that you got up at the plaza even though it was difficult so that you could help calm things down like a proper noble."
Alberu started to smile before adding on.
"Since you revealed that you possess an ancient power at the plaza, I played along and said you have a defensive ancient power that is not very strong. That is what you wanted, right?"
"Mm."
"His shield is actually very strong," Pen said while remembering the battle at the Gorge of Death.
"I agree. It's not weak at all," Valentino added.
"All of his ancient powers are really strong," Taylor mentioned.
"They are definitely stronger than most others," Bud agreed.
"Probably why there is such a harsh backlash when he overdoes it while using them," Cage stated.
"It was also due to his previously weak plate," Eruhaben said.
"Previously?" Deruth questioned.
"His plate is much stronger after using the World Tree's root dagger," Eruhaben answered while shooting Cale a very disapproving look at the mention of 'the incident'.
Many other disapproving looks joined Eruhaben's.
"I see," Deruth replied with his own look toward his son.
"Does that mean the backlash he receives from using his ancient powers won't be as bad now?" Paseton asked.
"It shouldn't be, but we won't know for sure until he uses them," Sheritt answered.
"In that case, I'm perfectly content to just live with my curiosity," Cage commented. "I prefer there not being any further incidents that would require young master Cale to use his ancient powers to the degree he had to before."
The rest of group 5 all agreed and hoped that would be unnecessary, but this is Cale they are talking about and they knew he would somehow end up involved in something again.
Cale pretended to contemplate as he responded back.
"A young noble who is weak but stepped forward for the kingdom. It's nice."
"Indeed."
Cale preferred that people thought he was 'not very strong.' It wasn't a lie, he really was weak.
"That's right, human. You are weak and should just let the strong people in our family do the hard stuff. Don't overdo it and almost die again like last time," Raon said while remembering the sight of his father limp in his small arms while covered in cuts and blood.
Cale just smiled and gave Raon and the other three children piled on him pats. He knew he couldn't make the promise to let the others take care of all the hard stuff since he also knew he would always step forward should he need to.
"By tomorrow, any information about rumors about you and the current situation will be delivered to you through your butler. Make sure to take a look."
Prince Alberu was definitely treating Cale differently than he had treated Choi Han in the novel. He didn't have even an ounce of a warm smile and just had a stoic expression. It was as if he was dealing with someone he didn't want to deal with because he needed to do so.
"That's exactly what I was doing," Alberu confirmed. "I knew there was no reason to treat you extra nice since it wasn't going to get me anywhere with you. Plus, you definitely seemed like you also didn't really want to deal with me."
"You are 100% correct, hyung. At that particular time, I wanted nothing to do with you other than to collect my reward and then be on my way," Cale concurred.
"I was admittedly using you for my own ends, especially in the beginning, but as I got to know all of you better, I genuinely began to like you, so not all of the warm smiles and such were an act," Alberu* mentioned.
"That's fine. We were also sort of using our connection to you to get our revenge," Choi Han* admitted. "I can't speak for the others, but for me, I do genuinely like you as well."
"Same here," Rosalyn* said.
"I like you too," Lock* added.
Alberu* sent a happy smile toward the three which they returned.
That was how Cale wanted it to be.
Cale made eye contact with the crown prince who was staring at him. Prince Alberu started to frown after seeing Cale's relaxed demeanor and started to think for a bit before he finally said what was on his mind.
"...By the way."
This extremely hesitant attitude made it seem like he was expecting something. Cale just waited patiently as this was rare to see from the crown prince.
"I was used to the image of the confident crown prince from the novel since the novel really didn't show you in moments where you weren't being your dignified princely self," Cale explained. "I prefer the real Alberu to the novel Alberu."
At Alberu's* dejected look, Cale decided to speak again.
"That's not saying I don't like either of you two. I like the two of you more than the novel Alberu as well. I just meant that I prefer knowing the real person and not the flat version from the novel that lacks all the little subtle things that make a person truly who they are. The same goes for all of you. You are all much more than your novel version."
Cale's words had everyone in groups 3, 4, and 5 smiling in happiness.
While Cale was waiting, the Black Dragon who had woken up from his nap underneath the bed started to talk to Cale in his mind.
– Now I am certain. He is not human.
"And thus begins your efforts to disregard the issue which, as we all know, completely failed," Tasha chuckled.
The crown prince asked his question at the same time.
"...You are human, right?"
"Pfft. That may have been the first time he was mistaken as something other than human, but it won't be the last," Bud laughed.
What was going on? A straight and a hook landed on him at the same time. Cale suddenly wished he really was hurt.
The laughter already filling the room increased at Cale's reaction.
"The timing on that was perfect. Knowing that they didn't plan it at all and the prince couldn't even hear the little one makes it even funnier," Bud* gasped out between laughs.