Chapter 103
Chapter 103
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 103
Chapter Title: Fake Crown Prince (1)
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We set foot on the island and immediately headed off to find Nederman and Allen.
Along the way, the island's ecosystem struck me as bizarre.
Emotel Island was filled with plants that were all achromatic, as if it were a world drained of color.
From the gray sea to the ashen beach, it said it all.
“Allen! Nederman!”
Iriel shouted at the top of her lungs toward the boat abandoned on the shore.
But there was no response.
Only the quiet sound of the waves reached us.
At that moment, something rustled in the bushes behind us.
Two beastmen emerged.
The moment Iriel spotted them, she drew her sword and went on guard.
I simply stared at them.
Because I knew who they were.
“It’s us! Us!”
The two beastmen jumped back and frantically waved their hands.
“Genes! It’s me! Me!”
They were making a huge fuss, as if afraid I might swing my sword at them.
But I already knew they were Nederman and Allen.
I said,
“I know.”
“You knew and still went for your sword?”
“That’s too much!”
As they said, my hand was already on my sword hilt.
I knew their identities, but their appearances made my hand twitch toward my blade anyway.
“No, what happened to you two?”
Iriel was too shocked to continue.
The beastman who looked like Nederman bared his teeth in a grin.
“I mean, even I jump every time I see this guy’s state.”
“You’re not looking so hot yourself, Nederman!”
I said,
“Have you finished everything?”
Nederman nodded at my question.
“Of course. We killed them all. We got some basic info out of them, but nothing too useful.”
“We’ll talk details later. For now, wash up and change your clothes.”
I gave them time to clean themselves up first.
It wasn’t so much consideration as it was discomfort on my end from looking at them.
A short while later, we met again, and they looked presentable.
“Man, putting on fresh clothes makes me feel refreshed enough to fly.”
“It’s like being reborn.”
“You do look the part.”
Iriel clapped her hands as she saw them restored to human form.
I said,
“So, what info did you get.”
“You’ve probably guessed, but this seems to be the Emotel Island we were looking for. The guys who brought us didn’t know much either, but they said they’d been here for over four years. The imperial army’s been stationed here even longer. Looks like they’re up to something in the center of the island. These guys didn’t know the details on that either. The conscripted folks are put to work as miners digging up mana stones in the mines over there. That’s where these bastards came from. Gave ’em a few good whacks, and they spilled everything. All that suffering for nothing. Should’ve beat it out of them from the start. Damn it.”
Nederman then poured out all the unfair treatment they’d endured over the past week. Allen chimed in from the side, doing the same. It was their way of whining for some recognition of their efforts.
Nederman narrowed his eyes at me.
“Are you even listening?”
I organized the situation in my head and said,
“First, we’ll scout the island’s overall layout from the high ground, then decide our next move.”
“You damn bastard. You didn’t hear a word.”
“We move now.”
No sooner had I finished speaking than I started walking.
There was a tall mountain rising in the distance.
From its peak, we’d get a full view of the island.
* * *
“Move it! Faster!”
At the overseer’s shout, gripping his club, miners covered in white dust filed out of the large cavern.
Covered head to toe in gray dust, only their eyes gleamed white, making it impossible to tell one from another.
‘Fucking dogs.’
Cheris, the foreman of Shaft 1, ground out curses under his breath as he followed the prodding overseer.
It had been eight years since he came here.
He had become the longest-tenured worker in the mines. More accurately, the longest-surviving one.
It was a badge that meant nothing beyond getting used to this hellish toil.
Well, there was managing the newbies.
Damn it all.
Just one more chore piled on.
Remembering his duties, Cheris spoke to the newbie trailing quietly behind him.
“How was it today?”
“……Just getting used to it.”
With only the whites of his eyes visible, even his identity was a mystery.
“What was your name again.”
“Als.”
“Right. You’ll get the hang of it soon enough.”
Als nodded. He didn’t have the energy to reply.
His body was already giving out from the grueling labor that dragged on all day.
Mining mana stones was becoming familiar to his hands, but that didn’t make his body any less weary.
It was simply that this brutal hardship was starting to feel normal.
“They are sending the money home, right?”
When Als asked cautiously, Cheris flashed the whites of his eyes.
“Ha, fuck. You think they’d work us like this and not pay up.”
He seethed quietly but intensely.
Yet even he didn’t seem entirely sure.
No one had ever left this place.
The overseers claimed they sent money home regularly, but Als couldn’t bring himself to believe it.
Here, he was being used like a slave.
There was no respect for him as a human being. He’d expected hardship for the high pay, but not to this extent.
Still, the thought of rebellion didn’t even cross his mind. Their violence was merciless.
Anyone who protested had their heads chopped off on the spot.
There was no other way.
They did show the payroll ledgers every month, so he had no choice but to trust it.
As Als’s eyes wavered with anxiety, Cheris spoke up.
“Just endure ten years. Ten years.”
Ten years.
The sheer span of it made Als’s legs feel weak.
The time he had to endure ahead.
It felt so distant, he wondered if that day would ever come.
But Als nodded at Cheris’s words.
He had no other choice anyway.
Cheris patted Als’s shoulder in encouragement.
He knew well the hopelessness Als was feeling.
He’d been there himself.
He still was.
His own ten years were approaching, but whether the imperials would honor their promise was anyone’s guess.
No one had completed a full ten years here yet.
So he counted down the days in anticipation, yet dreaded it too.
What if it was all a lie.
Cheris shook his head to dispel the uneasy thoughts.
‘Don’t think nonsense.’
There were no answers anyway.
Unsettled, but he had to believe.
After working them like livestock for ten years, they wouldn’t just kill them, right.
Inhuman bastards, sure.
But still.
In this situation, their word was all he had to cling to.
He didn’t want to die here.
“You lazy shits, why are you dragging your feet today of all days!”
At the overseer’s bellow, Cheris cut off his talk with Als. Any sign of dawdling, and the club would come down without mercy.
Here, even time to think was a luxury.
That was when unrest stirred in the yard.
The overseers, who had been herding the miners harshly, exchanged words and grumbled among themselves.
“Ha, fuck. Again?”
“What the hell does that damn bastard find to eat here that he keeps coming back.”
From their reaction, Cheris could easily infer what was happening.
‘That lunatic’s back again.’
A short while later.
A group appeared before the miners.
He arrived leading four knights behind him and the mine supervisor.
The overseers bowed deeply to the man at the front and said,
“We see Your Highness, the Crown Prince.”
The miners also lowered themselves rigidly and echoed,
“We see Your Highness, the Crown Prince.”
“Yes. You’ve all worked hard today.”
He nodded gravely, accepting their greetings.
As if the only one with color in this achromatic world, he wore vibrant, multicolored robes.
His shimmering silver hair and clear silver eyes added to his vitality.
A handsome man with soft features, fair skin, and a straight nose.
He continued in a dignified voice.
“All tasks, be they small or great, know no distinction. The sweat you shed now is for Francia. Nay, for the land of your ancestors, the Crebon Empire. I know well of your labors, so I ask that you continue to give your all.”
The Crown Prince appeared out of nowhere to preach.
The miners and overseers, eager for rest, all grimaced in unison.
Listening to his pointless drivel was torment in itself.
Cheris let his rising curses slide in one ear and out the other, barely swallowing them down.
‘Does that dog-fucker think this is his playground. Fuck.’
With nothing better to do, he’d occasionally show up at the mines to play prince.
If he at least looked out for their convenience, they might hold their tongues.
But no, he spouted grandiose nonsense, acting like mining mana stones was some grand mission.
It only stoked the rage in their chests.
‘Who the hell do we suffer for!’
Because of that kingdom those bastards ruined, he’d ended up here, mining stones instead of tilling fields.
He, who’d done nothing but live diligently, was living like livestock under the imperials.
And that prince bastard was thriving without a care, so how could he not seethe.
On top of that.
‘The Empire as the land of our ancestors? What kind of dogshit nonsense is that! The fucker’s lost his mind.’
Ignoring their sour expressions, the Crown Prince pressed on.
“As I’ve said many times, your work lays the foundation for a great undertaking and aids this body in gaining the strength to step forth into the world. You must approach it with a sense of mission and unwavering effort.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
They bowed their heads perfunctorily, half-listening.
He might bear the title of Crown Prince, but he held no real power.
A figurehead who could do nothing but spout such words.
“When this great undertaking is complete, I shall bestow great rewards upon you all. These are the words of Francia’s Crown Prince—believe them.”
‘Rewards my ass.’
What power did a prince of a fallen kingdom wield.
From tales the newbies brought, Francia’s situation hadn’t changed, if not worsened.
In such straits, what could he do.
For instance, wasn’t he holed up on this island, prattling emptily.
They merely played along with his prince games out of necessity.
“Then rest well. I must inspect the mines.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
As the Crown Prince departed, the overseers spat curses, faces twisted.
It was immensely satisfying.
His visits ignited fury, but seeing the overseers’ faces like that was a small consolation.
“Move it! You damn Francia fucks! Because of your prince, we’re the ones suffering like dogs!”
But having to bear their backlash made it all the more fucked.
Cheris and the miners hurried off at the overseers’ urging.
A rickety building, on the verge of collapse, loomed before them.
* * *
From the mountain peak, the island’s landscape unfolded at a glance.
Having passed through achromatic terrain the whole way, I’d expected it, but the island was painted entirely in grays.
Thick storm clouds blanketed the sky too, leaving no trace of vibrant color anywhere.
“This island makes me depressed just looking at it.”
That was Iriel’s impression.
It did feel like confronting something ominous—not exactly uplifting.
Nederman pointed to the island’s center.
“There it is. The City of Immortality.”
Amid the gray woodlands stood buildings.
Their architecture evoked an ancient city.
At the center rose a massive structure.
A square pyramid, its top sliced flat like a plateau.
Considering the distance, it had to be enormous.
I shifted my gaze to the mountainside near it.
A wooden palisade encircled sheer cliffs.
A few dilapidated buildings were visible inside.
Quite a ways from the City of Immortality.
“Where to first.”
Nederman asked.
The mines were closer, but no need to head there straightaway.
Even if we freed them, we’d have to cut down the imperial troops garrisoned in the City of Immortality to end this.
Halent was likely there too.
“We go to the mines first.”
Still, I set our course for the mines.
We might glean more intel from those running them, and above all, saving people came first.
Striking the center first risked them slaughtering the miners to cover their tracks.
Heading to the mines exposed us, but I wasn’t concerned.
From the circumstances so far, Halent’s objective was here.
They wouldn’t expect the White Lion to show up, so they wouldn’t abandon it and flee blindly.
If he was here, we’d cross paths soon enough.
And.
We’d verify the truth behind the rumor that the Crown Prince lived.