WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Arsène
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Romance Fantasy’s Pushover Crown Prince Is No More ◈
Chapter 74: War of Conquest (8)
──────
The truth was, I had not invested points merely upon seeing the words Magitech Airship.
I had imagined a cool scene where Swordmasters descended from a massive airship while it rained magic down below.
But the real reason lay elsewhere.
‘It connects to the Great Empire.’
A line extended from the [ Magitech Airship ] Tech Tree.
At the end of that line was [ Great Empire ].
‘The Great Empire... doesn’t simply refer to the Empire’s past form.’
The moment I saw it, I became certain.
The Great Empire did not simply mean restoring the Empire to how it had been before it fell apart.
‘Does the Great Empire refer to the Empire at its most splendid point during the Imperial Crown Prince’s regression? No... the Empire that existed before Mirne transmigrated into this world.’
From its founding until now, it had been the strongest Empire, growing without a single setback.
That, I felt, was what the Great Empire meant.
Otherwise, there was no reason an airship, something that should not even exist at this stage, would be connected to the Great Empire.
‘Since this is the first clue leading to the Great Empire, I have no choice but to unlock it.’
So I invested the points immediately.
[ Forgotten knowledge, ‘Magitech Airship,’ appears in the Empire. ]
[ The Empire’s proficiency in Magitech knowledge is currently low. ]
[ It will take an extremely long time for Magitech Airships to appear. ]
[ You must activate Magitech-related Tech Trees to accelerate the process. ]
I realized there was still a long road ahead.
‘Magitech...’
I had already invested in it to some extent.
It was foundational knowledge needed to create the Mana Stone Train, and it was necessary to open advanced classes at the Academy.
Yet the System message was saying that “some extent” was nowhere near enough.
Other than correcting the most basic things, such as language, education, and units of measurement, I had poured everything into that field.
And it was still insufficient.
‘Now I understand just how advanced airships are.’
I had thought investing a reasonable number of points would at least give me one as a sample.
The System message did not seem willing to tolerate that kind of easy shortcut.
‘Let’s stop worrying about that for now.’
I wanted to look into more things, but...
“Pavan, are you conscious?”
“...”
“It must be a side effect of recovering her memories. She seems to have fallen into a deep sleep.”
With Pavan unconscious on the ground, I could not keep focusing my attention elsewhere.
Besides, the newly revealed male protagonist was bothering me as well.
“Arveda, Lumynix. Take Pavan out of this underground area first. I have a few more things to check.”
“...May this lady return to Your Highness’s side after safely moving Pavan?”
“M-me too, Your Highness...!”
“I don’t think I’ll need much help. Arveda can come support me later.”
“Woohee!!!”
After confirming that the delighted Arveda and dejected Lumynix had taken Pavan away, I examined the sleeping Giants, who were still reaching toward the ceiling.
“Strange. If the Covenant has been fulfilled, shouldn’t they move right away? Like the Dragon Legion? Why are they still rigid like statues?”
Once a Covenant was resolved, a form resembling a curse should normally disappear on its own.
For some reason, though, the Giants remained hard and unmoving like statues.
I had clearly seen light enter them.
“...Is there some trigger I don’t know about?”
Had I resolved the Covenant, but not completely? That did not seem likely when the status window had already announced it was resolved.
‘The chance of an error is extremely low. Then there is only one possibility.’
I immediately headed toward Rumta.
Rumta, the hidden male lead guarded by Giraffe Face.
I had only glanced at him before, but now that I looked properly, he had exactly the sort of appearance that made one think he would be ridiculously strong in a fight.
“Is this what it means for a hidden character to be a hidden character? He looks like he could casually snap the Northern Great Warrior’s wrist, even if that guy was thrown together out of nowhere.”
He appeared to be around five meters tall.
His build looked like what one would get by making a person out of thick steel beams.
Then there was his skin, which was literally black.
A faint blue glow lingered over it, but its base color was pure black.
He looked convincing enough to have been carved from a lump of black iron in the shape of a Giant.
“This guy seems to have some major connection to what’s happening.”
If he was a hidden male lead, he should have had something to do with the current situation.
The problem was that he was simply standing there with his arms folded and eyes shut, like a wax figure displayed in a museum.
He needed to show some sort of reaction before I could act accordingly.
“Rumta, what do you know that made you remain here alone? Why was the System protecting you?”
I knew no answer would come.
Still, the moment I spoke, just in case...
[ Rumta awakens. ]
Along with the message saying Rumta was awakening, his eyelids slowly began to open.
Describing it as his eyelids opening felt absurd, but that was genuinely what it felt like.
It was as though an impossibly massive mobile fortress had been compressed into five meters and started up.
Rather than facing another living creature, I felt like I was facing a weapon.
[ Rumta’s disposition is Freedom rather than Obedience, so he does not immediately submit to you. ]
Then another message followed.
[ Rumta is enraged. ]
It was telling me to resolve the current situation with force.
[ The will of the Giants looks upon you. ]
Thud!
Rumta slowly unfolded his arms.
“...If the Covenant has been resolved, does that mean my sister is dead?”
He spoke in a hollow voice.
“Savior of my people and enemy of my sister, I thank you... but I will also hold you accountable.”
Without another word, he charged straight at me.
The fight had begun without any explanation.
Still, I found this situation simpler.
‘Until now, I had to approach everything in such complicated ways because of the System and all that.’
Even the System had been unable to properly stop the Imperial Crown Prince’s power and had been forced to use Save & Load.
Yet this hidden male lead thought he could challenge me.
“How presumptuous.”
Perhaps because he had awakened after sleeping for so long, he could not properly sense the difference in power between us.
I decided to show him directly.
Bang!
I grabbed Rumta by the hair as he charged at me and slammed him into the ground.
Before he could rise, I brought my foot down on the back of his neck.
Thud!
He was certainly tough. His neck did not break.
I had deliberately held back in case that happened.
“From the way you spoke, Pavan appears to be your sister. Why did you assume someone who is perfectly alive was dead?”
“Grrrk...!”
At first, Rumta tried to rise without even understanding how he had been defeated.
Then he realized he could not move as he wished, and after considering my words...
“...Pavan is alive?”
Even as he struggled desperately to lift himself, he answered calmly.
It was quite amusing to see someone five meters tall trembling beneath my foot while remaining composed, but I did not show it.
“Perfectly alive. But if you keep acting like this... Pavan may be safe, but you will likely die soon.”
I had already forgiven him once for attacking first just because he was a hidden male lead. I had no intention of extending any further mercy.
I had already killed around two male leads. If he continued to act defiantly, it would be time to find out whether a replacement could appear if I killed the hidden male lead before his story arc began.
It did not matter whether he surrendered immediately or resisted.
If I were going to run from a few characters who appeared late, I would not have acted this way in the first place.
I muttered that thought aloud and was about to draw my sword when...
“...I apologize. The current situation is so different from the prophecy that I was flustered.”
Rumta instantly became as meek as a lamb. That did not mean I planned to remove my foot from his neck.
If he suddenly charged at me again, I would have no choice but to cut off his head.
“Different from the prophecy? Are you talking about the prophecy concerning the Covenant? The one that says it will not be fulfilled?”
“Yes. The Covenant would not be fulfilled... and a righteous woman would appear... and save everyone.”
“Who said that?”
“...I do not remember that much. I apologize.”
His face was pressed flat against the ground, so speaking could not have been easy.
Yet Rumta diligently answered every question in that position.
We had only exchanged a single blow, but he had fallen into line so quickly that it almost seemed unnecessary.
If I had to compare it to something, it felt like looking at Theo.
At least Theo had personally witnessed me erase the entire Mage Tower.
Rumta, on the other hand, had suddenly become obedient just because I stepped on his neck. It was strange.
‘...That’s not what matters right now.’
Listening to Rumta, the righteous woman seemed to refer to Mirne.
But how could Mirne possibly enter the Empire’s underground area?
Was it referring to five years in the future, since the prophecy said the Covenant would not be fulfilled?
As I considered various possibilities, I continued questioning him.
“What do you mean Pavan dies?”
“No matter how wise Giants may be, it is too much for one individual to receive an entire race’s memories. That is why we have always suffered from the curse of forgetting. We must forget information the moment we remember it for our minds to endure.”
As I listened to Rumta, I recalled Pavan writing knowledge inside her armor.
‘Was this what she meant when she said everything would disappear if she did not do that?’
While I sorted through the information I already knew, Rumta continued.
“But if the Covenant is fulfilled in such a situation... the information recorded until then does not disappear. Instead, the Giant who inherits the Covenant becomes the artifact itself, distributing knowledge among the Giant race.”
“So you thought Pavan was dead? Because if the Covenant was fulfilled, Pavan would naturally have died?”
“That is correct. But you say Pavan is alive...”
Was the black energy that had tried to enter Pavan’s body the thing that would have turned Pavan into an artifact?
Rumta continued to mutter in disbelief, so I asked another question.
“If Pavan does not die, the Giants will not awaken? Because the knowledge has not all been distributed?”
“That is not the case. It will simply take longer than usual.”
“Once they finish absorbing the knowledge, every sleeping Giant will awaken with a clear mind.”
“Yes.”
With only the information I had heard so far, the story felt disjointed.
But the moment I put Mirne into the picture, everything began to fit perfectly.
‘If the Covenant was not inherited, the Giants would have become enraged, destroyed the Empire, and then gone to Macelin.’
That much was already known.
Yet there were several hidden pieces of information.
When the Imperial Crown Prince had waged a War of Conquest against the Giant race, Rumta had never appeared.
He had fought the Giant race itself, yet Rumta, who looked strong enough to be their leader, was nowhere to be seen.
That was suspicious.
“So that’s why he’s hidden.”
I could not confirm it exactly, so this was little more than piecing things together.
If Mirne resolved the Giants’ Covenant before it broke...
‘Would the hidden route unlock then?’
Perhaps Rumta would appear as the reward.
That would explain why Rumta’s original disposition had been Obedience.
If it had not been Obedience, he would have charged at Mirne the moment Pavan died, just as he had done now.
Only with Obedience would she have been able to speak with Rumta and understand his feelings.
A female protagonist comforting a male protagonist grieving over his dead sister.
It was an extremely clichéd development.
“I understand it couldn’t be helped, but I don’t think I can forgive you easily.”
Rumta would say something like that, Mirne would respond appropriately, and they would talk until he became her companion.
With a disposition of Obedience, Rumta would have no choice but to get along with Mirne.
‘I hope I’m wrong, but things like this usually fit too well.’
But Rumta was now free. Would he go straight to Mirne if I left him alone?
As I was thinking that...
“...If I can truly confirm that my sister is alive, I, Rumta... swear my loyalty to you for the rest of my life.”
“Those are pleasant words.”
He had said exactly what I wanted to hear.
He seemed docile enough, so perhaps it was time to remove my foot.
I did so immediately.
The instant I did, Rumta sprang to his feet.
Then, at that exact moment...
“Y-Your Highness!!! I will support you at once!!!”
Arveda suddenly popped up beside me with a very urgent cry.
Huuuuup.
After taking a deep breath...
Fwoooooosh!
She unleashed her breath in an instant, striking only Rumta with perfect accuracy.
It was Dragon Breath at point-blank range. I could have stopped it, but I deliberately did not.
I wanted to test how durable this hidden male lead was.
“...This must be how you felt when I attacked you without warning at first. I sincerely apologize.”
Even a hastily fired Dragon Breath would normally leave not even ashes behind.
Rumta, however, only had a few scorch marks on his body as he bowed to me in apology.
“Oh.”
“Y-Your... no, Your Highness... are you all right?”
Arveda’s panic was a bonus.
+++++
The Giants’ Covenant had been neatly resolved.
At this point, the problems occurring outside the Empire were also beginning to be dealt with one by one.
“But the kingdoms have been fighting far too many wars recently. They’re doing so without even considering the Empire.”
“That is correct!”
I did not like the current state of affairs on the continent.
They were waging wars among themselves while the Empire watched with its eyes wide open. How could they dare?
So...
“The Empire does not wish for constant disputes, so it cannot be helped... I would like to build Imperial military bases in each kingdom. What do you think?”
I wanted to remind every kingdom why the Empire was called the Empire.
Footnotes:
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
