The Third Prince's Bride
Shock and horror swept through the crowd. Hwimin was the cause. No way!!! ...In fact, the bracket had been deliberately rigged for him to lose. The bizarre rule that even let the princess enter knights in the competition. Hell, the entire tournament was ridiculous from the start. The third prince had stubbornly forced it through, but that was all there was to it. The empire planned to hand him victory no matter what.
Hwimin running into the vice-commander right in the first round was no coincidence whatsoever.
But... how is this possible?!
They had naturally assumed he would win. They believed there were no variables. A crack had just formed in the empire's arrogance.
If His Highness the Third Prince actually loses, the empire's dignity will...!!
Then every eye in the arena turned to one man. Third Prince Verce. A popular figure with many fine qualities, except for the abnormal lust that made him aroused by swords.
If Hwimin beat him?
*Gulp.*
A war might break out.
In the worst case, it was entirely possible if the hardliners rose up in arms.
Why did His Highness insist on holding this absurd tournament in the first place...
That was why their gazes toward the third prince were filled with doubt, but...
*Clatter clatter clatter clatter.*
"O-oh!! Ooooooh!!!"
The third prince—the very lunatic rumored to have once tried inserting himself into a sword sheath—was busy excitedly jiggling his blade while staring at Hwimin.
"......Ah."
He's still every bit as weird as ever!
Everyone who saw it simply gave up. Understanding that was impossible. No, they didn't even want to understand it.
His name is Ryu Hwimin. It would be nice if the man possessed even a shred of political insight, or at least basic common sense.
The eyes swung back to Hwimin. As they did, the general thought was: No way he'll actually win all the way. He can obviously tell this event was prepared for us to win. It had to be nothing more than a show to excite the prince's interest...
"Third Prince. I'm sorry, but I'll be taking the princess back."
"......!!!!"
Hwimin's provocation landed like a bomb. The empire's people screamed inside their heads!
That bastard really intends to go through with it!!!
That kingdom bastard was seriously about to do it. In a tournament held purely on the third prince's whim, where the winner had already been decided... he planned to snatch the championship without reading the room at all.
Tension instantly flooded the arena. This was a catastrophe.
*Whisper whisper.*
"Hey, why don't you stop that guy you brought? You know if it goes this way it'll be trouble for both our sides."
The imperial princess seated beside her whispered anxiously into her ear.
Yet the princess's reaction was...
"Certainly, as things stand now, it would be right for me to become the third prince's consort."
"Yes. So..."
"But what about the future?"
The princess suddenly said something completely out of left field.
"......Huh?"
What is this girl even talking about?
The imperial princess covered her mouth with her fan to hide her gaping jaw.
"What do you..."
"By the way, Your Highness, that's beautiful. That ring."
"This one?"
She even changed the subject to the ring. The imperial crest engraved on the band sparkled on the hand holding the fan.
"How many years ago was it made?"
"A little over fifty, I'd say. It was crafted for the founding anniversary."
"Yet it still looks brand new."
"Well, it's gold. Anyway, why the sudden interest in my ring?"
"......"
A flicker of pity crossed the princess's eyes as she gazed at it.
"Your Highness, I'm sorry. Hwimin has a far greater purpose. There's nothing I can do to stop him."
"Purpose? You brought him here because you didn't want to marry our pervert. You suggested it yourself."
"No. He came looking for me. From an incredibly distant place."
"What have you been saying this whole time?"
"Just watch."
And right then—
*Shing—!!!*
The sound of a blade leaving its sheath rang out. Both women's eyes snapped toward it.
In front of Hwimin, a knight was roaring.
"GRAAAAAHH!!!"
His condition was obviously abnormal. Eyes rolling wildly. Breathing that sounded more like a beast than a man. Veins bulging grotesquely across his muscles.
"For the Babel Empire... glory!!! (Glory to the Babel Empire!!!)"
Even his pronunciation was slurred. It was clearly the empire's prized berserk magic at work.
"......!!!"
It's so blatant! They're not even pretending to save face?!
It was such a shameless tactic that even the imperial princess was stunned, but...
"Coo-ee-coo-ee."
"......?"
Hwimin simply crooked his finger in a lazy beckoning motion. An obvious provocation. The move looked strangely cheap, yet precisely because of that it radiated the overwhelming confidence of someone who knew he had already won.
In truth, he wasn't nervous in the slightest.
Even so, it's still just an Egen Tower climber.
Awakeners who usually reached this point were around level 115. It might be a bit tough, but if you exploited an opening, even ordinary awakeners could win easily enough.
To Hwimin—with his overwhelming specs and multiple mythic-grade traits—the knight's desperate flailing looked downright adorable.
"GRAAAAAWR!!!"
"Up we go!"
*Thud—!!!*
He smacked the charging knight's armor. Using the Sword God trait to gauge the force, he delivered a shock strong enough to knock the man unconscious. It didn't take long for the knight's eyes to roll back as he collapsed.
"Krrgh..."
"......"
*Thump.*
The knight toppled over, armor and all. Silence fell across the arena.
There was no one left in the empire who could stop him. Everyone realized it in that moment.
*Tap tap.*
"Hey, hey! Hurry up and stop your knight already!"
The imperial princess began urging her again. At this rate something truly terrible was going to happen.
But once again the princess paid her no mind.
"It won't do any good."
"But if you just say the word..."
"And that's not going to be the problem anyway."
"......Huh?"
"Look over there."
The princess pointed. The imperial princess followed her finger—and her eyes flew wide.
"This is a waste of time. Don't you agree, Ryu Hwimin?"
"......!!!?"
That pervert is stepping forward without any tact whatsoever!!!
The third prince himself was making his move. Sword already drawn, face lit with pure delight.
"The rest of you, forfeit. I'd get jealous otherwise."
"But Your Highness!"
"Do you not hear the words of I, Verce? Forfeit, I said."
"......Yes."
The knights who had half-risen from their seats sat back down awkwardly. They knew they couldn't beat Hwimin even if they tried, and they couldn't disobey an imperial command. They decided to simply watch.
The satisfied prince turned his gaze to Hwimin.
"Now then, shall we begin? A most pleasurable time awaits."
"......"
I'm having a horrible time, though?
Despite achieving the time reduction he'd wanted so badly, Hwimin's expression grew sourer by the second. The next words made his face darken even further.
"Come, show me your long and upright sword!"
"Um... Your wording is a little..."
"Ah, I should show you mine first! Behold!"
The prince lifted his blade with an innocent, childlike grin. The exquisite weapon gleamed.
"Truly big and beautiful, is it not?!"
"Ah, yes."
"Now then... won't you do it with me?!"
"......"
"Here I come!!!"
And with that—*whoosh—!!*—the prince swung at Hwimin with a face full of joy.
Let's just end this quickly. Sigh.
*Slice.*
With one casual swing, Hwimin cut the prince's treasured sword cleanly in two. It clattered to the ground.
*Clang.*
As the blade he had cherished above all else rolled across the floor, sharp gasps rose from every direction.
"Hup?!"
His Highness's sword!!!
The prince was obsessed with swords. To him they were lovers, spouses, everything. Yet despite shattering that precious blade...
"Hngh!! A-as expected!!"
Why was the third prince laughing? Why was his face flushed and his body trembling? The people of the empire had no idea.
Only two people—the princess and Hwimin—knew the truth.
It's only just beginning now....
This tower's notorious specialty.
The princess silently closed her eyes. Hwimin quickly stepped back.
In the heavy silence pressing down on the coliseum, only the prince's bright voice rang out.
"Yes, yes!! You are precisely the one I have sought my entire life!!"
"......"
"No matter how fine the sword, if the one wielding it lacks skill it is meaningless! In your hands, the sword shines most beautifully, Ryu Hwimin!!!"
"......"
"Therefore—come!! Become my bride!! I shall give you my everything, so remain at my side for life and polish my sword to perfection!!"
A long, heavy silence fell.
No one dared open their mouth. They genuinely did not want to process what they had just heard.
The imperial princess was the one who shattered it.
That crazy bastard?!
"Knights! Knight Order!!! Seize that pervert immediately and throw him in the dungeon!!!"
Losing to Hwimin would have been better. They could have spun it as respecting his chivalry and yielding on purpose. But this? Become my bride? The third prince of the empire... asking a man?
If you're going to do it, at least do it secretly behind closed doors!!!
If word got out, the temple would throw a fit. They foamed at the mouth over homosexuality; they'd gleefully brand him a heretic. The temple could be suppressed, sure. The real problem was the incident itself. This was a stain on the empire, a shame that would follow its history forever.
The kingdom was no longer the issue.
"Nothing happened here today, understood?! If any rumors spread, I will eradicate even the collateral branches of that family, so mark my words!!"
Therefore the imperial princess declared it never happened. Everyone agreed. The empire's people gathered here, the princess who had nearly been forced to marry that thing, and even Hwimin himself—no one wanted to be remembered in history for something like this.
*Drag drag.*
"Ryu Hwimin! Sheathe your sword! And if possible, slather it with plenty of oil so it makes wet squelching sounds!"
"Your Highness, please!!"
"Ryu Hwimiiiiin!!!"
The prince, being dragged away by the knights, clearly did not agree. But regardless, he was removed from the arena.
Only then did Hwimin move.
"Your Highness. Since things have turned out this way, I trust you'll take good care of the princess on her journey home?"
"I-I was planning to, but..."
"Then I'll be on my way!!"
Goodbye, kingdom floor!
He walked toward the portal that had appeared before him. He kept walking until the princess's desperate voice rang out.
"W-wait! Ryu Hwimin!"
"Huh? Princess?"
"Wait!!"
She came running down in a frantic hurry, clutching the hem of her rustling dress, shoes clacking loudly.
The words she delivered after running so desperately were surprisingly simple.
"Are you leaving?"
"That's the plan. Actually, I..."
"Then what happens to you?"
"I'm going up, of course."
Hwimin answered casually. There was no point explaining towers or anything else to an NPC. He turned away again.
"Well then. I wish you happiness."
"......"
*Step step step.* Hwimin walked briskly. In the eyes of the princess watching his back, tears welled up until they spilled over.
Ryu Hwimin... Ooh!! He has come by reversing time!!
Just how far in the future did he come from?
In truth, the princess knew his circumstances. A person who had arrived from a future so distant that even the ring had worn smooth. A royal who sought the past to change the future. Since it came from the Spirit King, it could not be false. Hwimin was a time traveler.
How horrific a future must my marriage to the third prince have led to?
But reversing time was great magic. She could not even guess what price it demanded. In other words, he had paid a colossal cost to come to the past, and yet...
I'm going up, of course.
His very existence is about to be erased, yet how can he leave so cheerfully?
Once his mission was complete, he would disappear. Since the future had changed, it was only natural. To the princess, Hwimin stepping into the portal looked like he was fading from existence.
Did he at least prevent the world's destruction?
She didn't know what butterfly effect her political marriage would have caused. But Hwimin was that strong, wasn't he? What future events had forced him to become so powerful? And what catastrophe was so terrible that even that strength wasn't enough—he had to risk everything to travel to the past?
The princess had no idea. So she never asked.
There are circumstances I cannot speak of. I'd appreciate your understanding.
That smile, which had seemed to accept everything, still remained vivid in her mind three years later.
*Mumble.*
"...Farewell, my knight. The most noble hero who came from a truly distant place."
Tears rolled down the princess's cheeks, soaking her dress. At least she would remember deep in her heart that a hero had sacrificed himself for the world.
Of course, none of this matched the typical story of the fourth floor, but...
*Grin grin.*
Now I just need to defeat the boss!!
Hwimin had no clue the story had changed. Having climbed from the first floor to the thirty-ninth in a single day, there was no way he could know about any hidden plot.
Scenario First Clear!
"......Eh?"
Therefore, the message that greeted him was something Hwimin could never have anticipated in his wildest dreams.