WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Arsène
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Romance Fantasy’s Pushover Crown Prince Is No More ◈
Chapter 73: War of Conquest (7)
──────
[ The hidden male protagonist, ‘Rumta,’ has appeared. ]
[ Rumta is a descendant of the Giants and will become your dependable shield. ]
“What?!”
The moment Mirne saw the message before her eyes, she jolted upright.
“Rumta has already appeared?”
The hidden male lead had appeared absurdly early.
Rumta was originally supposed to appear after the Academy.
More precisely, after forming a club at the Academy, doing this and that, then stumbling upon a portal that led to the Giants’ underground domain beneath the Empire.
Rumta was supposed to be discovered naturally while exploring that place.
Yet he had appeared so openly when the Imperial Academy had not even been completed?
“Is this... a bug? No, how? Could it be the Imperial Crown Prince again?”
It was the most likely explanation. In fact, nothing else could have caused this.
At the same time, it was impossible to believe.
How could the Imperial Crown Prince find the Giants’ underground domain?
The ordinary method was to use a portal that appeared once the Academy was completed.
There was also a hidden method. Gain the World Tree’s favor, and it would find the way for you.
The former was impossible because the Academy had not been completed.
As for the latter, there was no way the Imperial Crown Prince could have already made contact with the World Tree.
‘Unless... he did?’
Mirne’s eyes flashed as she checked every notification the System had sent her once again.
She had been so busy lately that she had not properly checked her System messages.
If something had changed, there should definitely have been a record of it in the messages.
“...There’s nothing?”
There was nothing, yet a variable had suddenly appeared? That made no sense.
Then there was only one possibility.
“Could it be that I couldn’t receive notifications about the World Tree because I haven’t met Ailoren... and the Imperial Crown Prince used that opening to contact the World Tree?”
It could only mean that the Imperial Crown Prince had made contact with the World Tree.
Even that made no sense. How could the Empire’s Imperial Crown Prince know of the World Tree’s existence and personally go there?
It was truly absurd.
“What the hell is the Imperial Crown Prince? He’s not a capture target, and he’s not even my helper... yet he keeps creating variables all by himself?”
Had something gone wrong during her transmigration? Once or twice, she could have dismissed it.
Still, the thought that he had suddenly contacted the World Tree, something with no direct connection to the Empire, was ridiculous.
“He isn’t even a playable character... so what is he?”
There was one possibility left.
“...Could the Imperial Crown Prince be a transmigrator too?”
It was a hypothesis she had buried deep in her mind because she thought it impossible.
If the Imperial Crown Prince was a transmigrator, though, certain things made sense.
For one, he was an unexpected presence, running wild within the story far more than he had in the original work.
Perhaps it was better to say he acted of his own accord.
Even Theo, who stood beside the Imperial Crown Prince, had slipped away from being a capture target.
If the Imperial Crown Prince really was a transmigrator, then he would surely be acting to protect the Empire.
“Then should I... meet him? Ask whether he’s a transmigrator too... The Empire is going to fall anyway, so should I tell him about the future, tell him to wrap everything up quickly, and have him submit to Macelin?”
Even as she considered it, Mirne hurriedly prepared to move.
Meeting the Imperial Crown Prince immediately would be difficult, so the first thing she had to do was...
“The World Tree... I need to secure the World Tree first!”
She had to check on the World Tree, which had not produced a single message.
The World Tree was one of the essential requirements for making Macelin stronger.
It had to be transplanted into the Macelin Kingdom without incident.
+++++
Losing one’s memories was a hollow thing.
At the same time, it was a life spent trembling in fear every day.
If the day came when one even forgot that they had lost their memories...
Then truly nothing would remain.
“...Are you the Giant who will carry on this generation’s Covenant?”
“Yes.”
Long ago.
Just after Pavan had outgrown infancy.
Pavan spoke with a Giant who was gradually crumbling away before her.
“I will go below. I will forget everything... and sleep until the moment the Covenant is fulfilled...”
“....”
“While I sleep, I will not forget anything. I will wait in a world with my eyes closed until the Covenant is fulfilled.”
“What is this Covenant even for? Why did the Giants swear loyalty to the Empire?”
“To reclaim what was lost... The Great Prophet said so. That it could surely be reclaimed, that the day would come.”
“...What did we lose?”
“We lost our memories. Our history, our lives, our emotions, everything....”
At first, Pavan could not understand those words.
Yet understanding was unnecessary to grasp their meaning.
Tap.
The moment the crumbling Giant’s finger touched Pavan’s forehead.
“Ah, ah, aaaah!!!”
Countless memories flooded into Pavan’s mind.
The history of an entire race poured into one person’s head.
Normally, it would have been enough information to turn anyone into an idiot in an instant.
Before the information could overflow and destroy Pavan’s mind, though, it vanished even faster.
Ssshhh.
There was only a brief moment of pain.
Beginning with that pain, Pavan truly took on the Giants’ Covenant.
It had happened in an instant.
“...What the hell was that?”
After briefly losing consciousness from the pain, Pavan could no longer remember anything.
Pavan had lost everything, from the life she had led until then and how she had grown up to the thoughts she had lived by.
All that remained were instinct and countless faint, scattered scraps of information.
Even those seemed to disappear in real time every time Pavan blinked.
“...No.”
Pavan immediately rose and wrote down everything she could remember.
It took no time for every wall and sheet of paper inside the Executioner Palace to become storage space.
Favorite colors, food, activities, times of day, weather.
Terrified of losing who she was, Pavan frantically wrote down information.
It seemed to continue for years.
Then, one day.
“Ah.”
Pavan realized she had come to feel anger.
What was this Covenant that had to be protected?
If it had not been fulfilled for so long, was it not simply false hope?
‘If losing my memories is inevitable, if it will all disappear anyway... wouldn’t it be better to wander freely?’
Could a Covenant that had not been fulfilled for thousands of years suddenly be fulfilled in my generation?
The deadline was gradually approaching. Would my life end with nothing but records?
‘...By the time the Covenant ends, perhaps I’ll have gone mad with anger.’
Anger at not regaining her memories, anger at the future where everything would be lost.
Would that future come to this land?
Pavan’s feelings were complicated.
Pavan hoped the Covenant would be fulfilled, but also wanted to lose everything and pour out that rage instead.
Could such intense conflicting emotions truly exist?
‘I must be afraid.’
If the Covenant was fulfilled, how would the returning memories come back?
Would they seep into my mind as they had then? If one individual had to receive all the memories of an entire race...
What would that existence be called from then on?
‘...Would I become a living library?’
As those complicated thoughts continued.
Crack, crack.
Something broke.
“Do you think I would stand by and watch my retainer become like that?”
A voice followed immediately after the sound of breaking.
Pavan had never forgotten this voice and had no intention of losing it.
She did not know where it came from, but Pavan slowly raised her head.
“No, Your Highness would never do such a thing.”
“Good. As long as you know.”
The Imperial Crown Prince smiled in satisfaction at those words.
“Let’s go.”
Craaaack!
The Imperial Crown Prince awakened Pavan’s mind.
+++++
The moment I heard that something was wrong with Pavan, I rushed over and saw...
“Gaaaaah!”
Pavan was clutching her head and thrashing wildly.
For some reason, Pavan looked furious.
I put away my sword and threw myself forward to subdue Pavan.
“Arveda, Lumynix, assist me. Prioritize subduing Pavan.”
“I am ready at once!”
“As you command!”
With the support of the two Executioners, subduing Pavan did not seem difficult.
The problem was why this situation had suddenly occurred.
‘There should be a trigger somewhere nearby. What the hell is it?’
Whoosh!
I scattered flames around us to brighten the area as much as possible.
Bang!
As I dismantled Pavan’s armor piece by piece to fully restrain her.
“Found it.”
I spotted a pillar releasing a low, vibrating hum.
More precisely, it was a cone-shaped structure with a sphere floating above it.
A lock sat prominently on the sphere’s surface.
It clearly looked like something connected to the Covenant.
It also looked like something that needed to be removed.
So.
“Arveda, Lumynix, I’ll leave Pavan to you for a moment.”
I left Pavan with Arveda and Lumynix.
Then I quickly leaped toward the structure.
Slice!
Without hesitation, I cut through the lock.
Fwaaaash!
An enormous light burst forth the moment I cut it.
At the same time.
Rumbleee.
That light seeped into the Giants reaching their hands toward the ceiling.
“Is this the third one?”
I muttered to myself.
“Hm?”
Something like black smoke, rather than light, tried to cling to Pavan.
“What’s this?”
Slice!
I casually cut through it, and the moment I did.
[ Pavan’s sacrifice did not occur during the process of resolving the Covenant. ]
[ As Pavan survives, hidden male protagonist ‘Rumta’s’ disposition changes from ‘Obedience’ to ‘Freedom.’ ]
Messages whose meaning I could not understand filled my vision.
His disposition changed from Obedience to Freedom? What the hell did that mean?
For now, that was that.
[ The Executioners’ Covenant has been resolved. ]
[ The worldline changes. ]
[ Fate changes. ]
[ The possibility of the Empire’s destruction decreases by 10%. ]
[ Current possibility of the Empire’s destruction: 20% ]
[ The Empire no longer appears likely to fall. ]
Now that I had resolved the Covenant, it was time for a sweet reward.
Lumynix had received Fairy Tail, while Arveda had received the Dragon Legion.
Then what would Pavan give me?
That question lasted only a moment.
[ As a reward for resolving the Covenant, you acquire the title ‘Recorder.’ ]
[ Through the title’s effect, your actions will be recorded from now on. ]
“...?”
I had received a reward that seemed awkward to use right away.
A title? This really was like a game.
‘No. If what Mirne read was a visual novel... does that mean this really is a game?’
That aside, I also received five whole points to invest in the Tech Tree.
That was enough to unlock roughly fifty percent of the Mana Stone Train tech.
I immediately called up my status window in my mind to invest in the Tech Tree, but then...
[ More than half of the Executioners’ Covenant has been resolved. ]
[ The Hidden Tech Tree has been unlocked. ]
A new Tech Tree revealed its presence right beside the old one.
I was going to ignore it for the moment and unlock what was needed for development first.
[ Magitech Airship ]
“...Huh?”
I couldn’t ignore that.
Footnotes:
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