WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Arsène
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Romance Fantasy’s Pushover Crown Prince Is No More ◈
Chapter 51: The Crown Prince’s Memories
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The Crown Prince’s memories were like a tangled ball of thread.
Follow one thread, and eventually, it led to a knot.
The moment I tried to untangle it, I lost track of the original thread and had to start finding my way from the beginning again.
It was an incredibly unfriendly structure.
At first, I thought it was simply because I had not fully adapted to this body yet.
‘The memories must have kept piling up through repeated regressions.’
There was only one container for memories.
Yet because of the regressions, entirely different stories from the same point in time had continued to accumulate in this body.
That was why problems arose when I tried to examine them.
To verify a memory with any certainty, I had to pinpoint a specific memory exactly.
For now, even that was impossible.
I did not know how many regressions the Crown Prince had gone through.
Nor was it clear what he had done in each one.
It still felt as though I were walking through fog.
At least there was one fortunate thing. One of the Executioners knew the Emperor.
Clack.
The moment I stopped before the palace where the Dwarf Executioner was staying...
Creeeak.
The sound of rusty hinges turning rang out.
Thud!
Then the enormous door before me opened from the ground upward.
This was not some security grate, so why was the entrance built like this?
‘Is this supposed to show off a craftsman’s sense of style?’
I did not actually know whether the Executioner I was about to speak with was a Dwarf.
Still, one thing was clear. His handiwork was extraordinary.
“Your Highness! You have finally visited my palace! I have always wondered when you would come!”
As soon as I stepped through the door, a voice rang out, and the Executioner came to greet me.
At a glance, he seemed somewhat small for an ordinary adult, about the same size as Arveda or perhaps a little smaller.
‘But he is unbelievably solid.’
There was nothing small or delicate about him.
He looked like thick steel bars compressed tightly in a hydraulic press.
The word sturdy suited the Executioner perfectly. His long beard swayed as he bowed deeply to me.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness! I am Gilbat Handtron! I can finally greet you properly.”
“I am Bellon Velos. But you could have come to see me whenever you wished. Why have you been waiting so long?”
“There are matters that can only be discussed when you come in person. If I were to visit the Imperial Palace myself, it would draw far too much attention.”
“That is true.”
I nodded at the Dwarf Executioner, Gilbat.
His brown beard, nearly as long as he was tall, caught my eye.
“That is an impressive beard.”
“Kekeke! I am glad you recognize its worth. Standing here to talk is hardly ideal, so allow me to lead you inside.”
Apparently genuinely pleased by the compliment, Gilbat stroked his brown beard before striding ahead with long steps.
Thump, clang!
Thump, clang!
The deeper I followed Gilbat into the palace, the more the smell of metal filled my nose.
Metal, steam, and intense heat.
Gilbat’s palace felt like one enormous forge and furnace.
Harsh noises echoed everywhere, and it felt as though something was constantly being produced.
Creak.
“This way.”
The place Gilbat led me to had the sort of interior that immediately made me think of a chairman’s office.
Luxurious, ornate items that could never be mass-produced filled the room.
From the chairs to the table, nothing there looked cheap.
“This sort of thing is my hobby. As I kept collecting pieces, I naturally became interested in decorating as well.”
“It is impressive.”
“Ha ha, thank you.”
Following Gilbat’s careful gesture, I took the seat of honor.
The moment I sat down, Gilbat quickly settled into the seat beside me.
“It is an honor to receive you like this.”
“From what you said earlier, it sounded as though you had been waiting for me.”
As soon as I said that, Gilbat slowly lowered the corners of his mouth, which had been curled into a grin.
‘What is he trying to tell me?’
If an Executioner came to the Imperial Palace, they were bound to draw attention.
Still, that attention would only be within the palace.
Yet he did not even want that, and had waited for me to come instead? There had to be something more to it.
His expression had changed the moment I tried to get to the main point.
“There is the Covenant, after all. Of course I had no choice but to wait. You are the only person who can resolve our long-held wish. And in Lumynix’s case, you have already resolved it.”
“Was it because of the Covenant?”
“Half of it, yes.”
Gilbat continued while tapping the table.
At that signal, the table split apart, and two glasses of beer slowly rose from the floor.
“Would you care for a drink? Beer made by Dwarves is truly excellent.”
“So you really are a Dwarf.”
“Ha ha, of course I am.”
Clink.
The cheer that should have accompanied the clinking of our glasses was absent.
Was it because the Covenant had already come up, or because of what we were about to discuss?
We maintained polite smiles as we drained our beers in one refreshing gulp.
“I remember you being close to His Majesty.”
I brought up the main subject at once.
It would not be too late to deal with the Covenant later.
There was no clue yet concerning Gilbat’s Covenant.
Learning about the Emperor was obviously the priority right now.
“His Majesty, you say?”
“Yes.”
A brief silence followed.
Gilbat stroked his beard and slowly opened his mouth with a thoughtful hum.
“He has been absent for quite some time recently, but he used to do this from time to time as well.”
“He used to do this often?”
“Yes. Each time, Your Highness always governed the Empire well, just as you are doing now.”
What he said next was shocking.
This was not the first time the Emperor had been absent for such a long period.
Still, it explained some things.
‘I was the only one who kept looking for him. Everyone else was acting far too calm.’
No one had even pointed out the problems caused by the Emperor’s long absence.
There had not been any talk about succeeding to the throne, either.
Was it because the Emperor had often left before, and the Crown Prince had acted in his place?
‘So this is a kind of custom?’
Why would anyone do something like that?
The moment my thoughts reached that point...
- There are things that cannot be changed, no matter how many times I regress.
- Is that so?
The fog in my mind cleared once more, and the Crown Prince’s memory forcibly began playing in my head.
The Crown Prince appeared to be speaking with the Emperor, his gaze fixed on the throne.
It would have been nice if I could see the Emperor as well.
It was clearly the Crown Prince’s memory, yet strangely, it played from a third-person perspective that watched the Crown Prince.
- I met that woman as well. I told her there was no need for us to do this to each other, but it was useless.
- ...It is absurd enough that we are the ones forced to yield.
- She made the same choice in every regression, saying something incomprehensible about how the most successful person was the protagonist...
- I do not understand what that has to do with our Empire being destroyed.
- She even refused when I asked her to at least accept the citizens of the Empire. Backed into a corner, she raved about NPCs and other things I could not understand.
- Did you kill her?
- Even if I kill her, she does not die.
The woman they mentioned was most likely Mirne.
- When did things become like this? I clearly remember feeling that everything was peaceful before.
- It is difficult to accept a future where an entire continent must lean toward one country.
- Your Majesty, to stop this, we must prepare for what comes next.
What were they preparing for?
I wanted to find out more, but the conversation ended there.
It was a short exchange, but every part of it was shocking.
‘During his regressions, the Crown Prince came into contact with Mirne.’
I did not know how the Crown Prince had discovered why the Empire was being destroyed.
Still, he seemed to have believed Mirne was responsible and eventually met her in an attempt to mediate.
‘But judging by the question, “Did you kill her?” things could not have ended well.’
Normally, he would have used the Empire’s military might to simply wipe everything out.
Or perhaps he had already tried it at least once through regression.
But the outcome must have been bleak. That was why he spoke of preparing for what came next.
‘Next... Does that mean the next regression? Or after possession?’
Did the Crown Prince know that someone would possess his body as well?
Various thoughts drifted through my mind.
‘The Emperor and Crown Prince must have had many conversations like this in the past. The Emperor knows that the Crown Prince regresses. Then... was the Emperor’s disappearance really just a simple case of him going missing?’
Perhaps the Emperor had disappeared deliberately.
Maybe he made some promise with the Crown Prince that I could not yet understand before leaving.
Perhaps he had repeatedly vanished and returned since long ago to create the impression that this was all normal, so he could prepare for the present.
‘Now I understand why I instinctively dislike Mirne. The Crown Prince’s body hates her.’
If there had been two transmigrators, they could have shared what they knew and created a better outcome.
There was a reason I had instinctively taken a hostile stance toward Mirne from the beginning.
My body had been screaming that it was doomed from the start.
Throughout all the Crown Prince’s regressions, not a single worldline had ended with him joining hands with Mirne and achieving peace.
That was why this body rejected even the thought of trying anything with Mirne.
“Your Highness?”
“...My apologies. I had something to think about for a moment.”
“Not at all. Is that not what occasions like this are for? A good environment inspires deep thought.”
Gilbat’s words pulled me from my thoughts.
One question had been answered, but new questions kept following one after another.
‘Does Mirne truly want the Empire to fall? Because she is the protagonist and everyone else is an NPC?’
And what did that have to do with the Emperor’s disappearance?
“My... memories are unclear, but if His Majesty disappeared periodically, where did he usually go?”
“I do not know that much. The reason I was among the Executioners who could regularly maintain ties with His Majesty was because of weapons.”
“Weapons?”
“Yes. The sword Your Highness is currently using is a prototype, and we often discussed creating something more destructive.”
“Something more destructive? What was it?”
“You truly have been busy recently, if you have forgotten. You ordered me to create the God-Slaying Sword.”
The God-Slaying Sword.
There was only one reason to need that.
‘To kill Romper.’
How many times had he regressed?
And how many routes had he experienced in each regression?
‘Why did a Crown Prince like that give up on everything when the novel began? Was it because he knew someone would possess his body? Or did he want to see what would happen if he gave up?’
All sorts of possibilities filled my mind.
‘What if I am the regressed Crown Prince? I could simply be a Crown Prince who believes he transmigrated into another body.’
It was dizzying.
There were too many possibilities to say anything with certainty.
Then one conclusion came to me.
‘No. I am myself. That much is certain, because my memories from before I possessed this body are clear.’
There was no need for even my identity to be shaken.
Holding onto that unchanging truth, I continued the conversation.
“Did you make that sword?”
“Yes, I did. Now I am making what comes next.”
“There is something after it as well?”
“His Majesty left after saying that he wanted something even stronger.”
As he spoke, Gilbat unconsciously reached to his side and mimed taking out and opening a book.
There was no book at his side, so naturally, nothing opened.
“Oh my, habits truly are frightening.”
Gilbat spoke casually, making it painfully obvious that he wanted me to ask about the gesture.
“What was that movement just now?”
I took the bait immediately.
“This is the greatest hint I can give you about my Covenant.”
With a wink from the Dwarf, who looked at least a hundred years old, I received a clue about his Covenant.
“Have you lost something?”
“There was a book containing everything about our people. It was definitely there... but one day, it suddenly disappeared.”
I had heard everything important.
After that, we continued with much lighter topics.
“Come to think of it, are you the only Dwarf in the Empire? I would like to entrust the Academy’s construction to one.”
“Ha ha, construction... That brings back memories. As for my people, I must remain by the Empire’s side because of the Covenant, so I do not know much about them.”
“Is that so?”
“But if you go west, there should be a homeland of the Dwarves. It definitely existed until about a thousand years ago.”
“To the west?”
The moment he mentioned the west, only one possibility came to mind.
‘Could it be that the Nonhuman Races are gathered in the Macelin Kingdom? Even if they do not live together, are they all over there?’
Why would they be there?
The reason was simple.
They needed to be close for the Macelin Kingdom to easily obtain lucky opportunities.
‘Should I dispatch more Empire’s Eye agents?’
As I was thinking that...
- Your Highness’s Staff No. 1! Theo!!! I have finally discovered traces of a Dark Mage!
Theo contacted me.
He had found a Dark Mage.
I had been thinking there was nowhere to vent my anger, so this could not have come at a better time.
“That was an enjoyable conversation. I hope we can speak often.”
“You are welcome to visit whenever you wish. As for the Academy’s construction, I will dispatch at least a golem.”
“Thank you.”
“It is only natural to do what I can for the Empire, kekekeke!”
That was where my conversation with Gilbat ended.
‘I hope the Dark Mage comes to me alive.’
I wanted to head to where the traces of the Dark Mage had been found immediately.
But I could not personally step in every time something like this happened, so I decided to trust others for now.
- I will send Staff members and knights there, so wait. And well done.
- Thank you! I will always prove that I am the Staff best suited to remain by Your Highness’s side!
- I look forward to it.
- Yes, sir!!! Loyalty!!!
I decided to send reinforcements to Theo.
For now.
‘Now that one has been discovered, Dark Mages will start appearing in several places.’
It was time to focus on exterminating the Dark Mages.
Footnotes:
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