Chapter 152
Chapter 152
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 152
Chapter Title: Irritating Attention
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The enhancement ticket that Onist gave me couldn't be used on anything related to boosting my specs.
Not only equipment, but skills like magic or crafting knowledge were probably off-limits too.
But it said system upgrades were possible.
I was puzzled.
What exactly improves when you upgrade the system?
Does the UI get a nicer look or something?
Onist had probably lumped all the basic info provided to Outsiders under the term "system."
So, maybe I could upgrade the setting collection too?
The character setting collection.
The special system that made me mistake this world for a game—something I thought only I had.
Information is a powerful weapon.
But knowing it doesn't necessarily make you stronger, or guarantee you'll profit—there's ambiguity there.
So, it might be possible to enhance it.
If it wasn't, it'd warn me, and trying wouldn't cost me anything.
I strongly recalled the reward from Onist, and a system message appeared.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [What would you like to enhance?] 'Character setting collection.'
And then.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Are you sure you want to enhance 'Character Setting Collection (SS)'?] It works.
I answered 'Yes' in my mind.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Beginning enhancement.] *Ding!*
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [The Character Setting Collection has evolved into 'Character Compendium Setting Collection (SSS)'.] [Descriptions of major characters have become more detailed, and brief explanations have been added for those who will influence future events.] So that's why it's called a 'compendium'.
It means even people treated as extras beyond the main characters will have entries.
Existing entries like Clarier's or Mayal's are more detailed now, and people who weren't in the collection before have rough info displayed.
I hadn't actively used this info much so far, but if I play it right, it could benefit my relationships going forward.
Well, that's not why I enhanced it, and honestly, the info might still be too vague to really profit from.
Here's where the gamble comes in.
The compendium only shows people who'll influence future events.
Is the king of Entiaer Kingdom one of them? And how much info will it have?
I quickly scanned the compendium with my eyes.
Time wasn't on my side.
Staying quiet for just a minute was fine, but any longer and they'd nitpick it.
At that moment.
*Ding!*
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Would you like to use the search function?] A search function, huh.
Search by character's name or something?
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Enter a character's name or keywords like origin to display a list of available info. The more specific the keyword, the faster you'll find who you're looking for.] Got it.
'Search Entiaer Kingdom.'
No sooner had I thought it than names scrolled down in a list.
Quite a few.
Dozens, at least.
Were there this many influential people in Entiaer?
The bar for "influential" might be lower than I thought.
'Royal family.'
Adding the keyword narrowed it down to four names.
Eniris the Queen was among the royal family members.
One was a man with a languid yet irritating expression.
Nicholas Slos Arts Netra V, King of Entiaer Kingdom.
Click.
⚔ STATUS ⚔ 👑 Name: Nicholas Slos Arts Netra V ⚥ Gender: Male 💼 Occupation: King of Entiaer Kingdom 📜 Details: 52nd King of Entiaer Kingdom Exceptional in ability and appearance, but steeped in laziness, his public trust is lukewarm. Playful and free-spirited, he often acts on whims. Cherishes Queen Eniris and takes no concubines, yet he's a lecherous scum who cheats with palace staff. Aware of his reputation, he has the judgment and skill to build solid connections—including foreigners and even Outsiders, one of whom he's particularly close to. .....
An Outsider.
The moment I saw that, I asked,
"The Outsider behind this mess—is it someone from the 'Main Branch'?"
Main Branch.
The Outsider clan with the New Faction and 'that guy'.
Honestly, it was baseless suspicion.
But when I thought who might deliberately target me at this timing, they were the first to come to mind.
If it's the Main Branch...
What the hell should I do?
Suddenly, I felt a phantom bloodlust from somewhere.
"Hoo,"
I heard my own sigh clearly in my ears.
Calming my emotions, I stared blankly at the king.
He hadn't expected this; his languid, bored demeanor shifted slightly to tension.
And then.
"Your Majesty. What is the meaning of this?"
"Wh-what...!"
At the sudden voice, one of the ministers around the king stammered.
It was warranted.
I'd just spoken casually to the king without honorifics. Our Gold.
I'd thought he'd use casual speech only in private, but if he felt like it, he didn't hesitate even in official settings.
But the king regained his composure, as if snapping back to his senses.
"Hahaha. Viscount Gold. A bit rude, no?"
"Rude? Your Majesty. I want to ask."
A hot, intense aura poured from Gold that defied explanation.
"Pushing my brother with petty pranks—is that looking down on the Hart family?"
"Hahaha."
"Th-this bastard dares!"
The king laughed like it was amusing, but the minister beside him flipped out. That outburst quieted with a grunt under Gold's stern glare.
Gold, your charisma is insane.
Also, the Hart family's status was higher than I'd imagined.
Maybe even above the royals.
⚔ MESSAGE ⚔ [Brat. I hope the one contracted with Nicholas Slos Arts Netra is from the Main Branch.]
[That way, things'll get fun.]
Screw that.
Ignoring Mangsin's words, I kept staring daggers at the king.
The ministers' faces flushed with anger at our insolence.
Even the knights rattled their weapons with a clang.
Then.
"Your Majesty. May I speak?"
Gold's father, Gald, stepped forward from among the ministers.
He stood with hands behind his back before the king—blasphemous, yet no one reproached him.
As I'd thought earlier, the Ten Great Families were in no way inferior to the Entiaer royals.
The king said playfully,
"No, you may not."
"Your Majesty."
Queen Eniris, who had been quietly observing, spoke reproachfully, but the king raised a finger to his lips with a "shh."
"Quiet."
What kind of asshole king is this...?
Thinking he might be tied to the Main Branch fueled my hostility.
"Your Majesty. As Viscount Gold says, this prank of yours can only be seen as disdain for the Ten Great Families, led by House Hart."
At Gald's calm voice, the king stifled an unkingly chuckle.
"Oh? How so? Care to explain, Marquis Blija?"
Suddenly turning the arrow elsewhere.
Marquis Blija.
Clarier's father, right?
A blue-haired middle-aged man with a cold, dark, taciturn vibe slowly stepped forward.
He frowned slightly at the king's call but said nothing.
The silence dragged uncomfortably until another voice spoke.
"May I speak in his stead, Your Majesty?"
A relatively young voice that sounded handsome even from tone alone.
I'd heard it before.
El's father, whom I'd seen once on the floating island.
Leor R. Graize.
His attire wasn't flashy.
Quite modest, yet it made him seem to shine brighter than anyone here, exuding utmost dignity and grace.
"Duke Graize. Speak."
"Thank you for your generosity, Your Majesty."
Leor bowed appropriately and his eyes gleamed.
"Instructor Dre was recommended by our Houses Graize, Hart, and Blija, and brought to the capital. He also proved his qualifications with tremendous achievements."
"Indeed."
"Moreover, from the circumstances, my humble opinion is that he cannot be a criminal. Therefore."
"Am I nitpicking?"
The king suddenly sounded angry, but Leor smiled at the fury.
The king flinched.
"How dare I utter such nonsense."
"......"
"Unlike Marquis Gald, I don't think Your Majesty is disregarding us. Please just give us a chance to reinvestigate Instructor Dre."
"Instructor. You keep emphasizing 'instructor'. Leor."
The king smirked, fell silent briefly, then spoke.
"I hear Pryunar Academy suffered considerable damage because of him? Rumor has it he escalated an incident that could've evolved quickly."
"That matter's already resolved."
Casual speech again.
This time from a lunatic woman.
In full witch garb—closer to a revealing dress—she was Pryunar Academy instructor Emily.
I hadn't known she was here.
Did she come all this way... for me?
Probably not, but as a man, I couldn't help hoping.
"Oh, Emily. Long time no see."
"Long time, Your Majesty."
No one murmured this time.
As if her casual tone was only natural.
I'd thought it many times, but was being a Pryunar instructor even more prestigious than I'd realized?
Or was Emily exceptionally outstanding?
Either way, the king clearly couldn't ignore her opinion.
"Resolved? A half-baked instructor pulls off something like that, and the academy forgives him?"
"It's the will of our principal, Renea. He's under review now, but he's a full-fledged instructor. I'd vouch that without him, the floating island would've crashed."
Murmurs.
The room buzzed.
Naturally. Pryunar Academy's reputation had tanked from the floating island incident.
Claiming it wouldn't have been resolved without me was basically self-sabotaging their prestige.
Conversely, it proved I was someone they wanted to protect at all costs.
The king caught on and just laughed.
"...Haha."
A small chuckle.
"Hahahahahahaha!!"
But it swelled into booming laughter echoing through the vast audience chamber.
Anxious ministers, the Ten Great Families' heads with varying tensions but all like "so what?", and Emily looking utterly indifferent.
The laughter cut off abruptly.
"Well, now."
The king's leisurely, soft voice turned feral in an instant.
"You dare look down on your king?"
"Perish the thought."
Leor replied emotionlessly to the king's rage, which would make ordinary men tremble.
"If you're holding him accountable, Your Majesty, do the same to us."
"What?"
"We recommended him and brought him to the capital, Your Majesty."
Gald nodded in agreement, while Blija's head grumbled like "don't drag me into this."
Whose side is that uncle on?
No, Leor probably wasn't on mine either.
What was his angle, acting like he was helping me?
Then, the audience chamber felt like it froze solid—an immense chill swept through.
The family heads unmoved by the king's anger—even Emily, strongest here—flinched.
"Your Majesty."
That voice, once warmly embracing me like a saintly mother, now evoked piercing cold and winter's bite.
Queen Eniris.
Just sharpening her gaze and lowering her tone snuffed the king's rage like a candle in a gale.
"I believe I've always respected and followed Your Majesty's will."
"Y-yes, I know, my queen."
The king placated her.
I'd thought he respected Queen Eniris for handling his duties.
But now, it seemed she was just purely stronger.
The power from Queen Eniris was unnervingly immense—comparable to the strongest I'd met, vast mana pulsing.
The king forced an awkward smile to gloss over the crisis, but under her glare, his haughty face twisted, sweat beading even before the instructor and family heads.
I knew it.
He—the king—had never been genuine.
Joy, anger—all masks for gain. I could feel it.
It showed he had the skill and nerve befitting the throne, not just a figurehead.
But before Queen Eniris, he crumbled instantly.
"Your Majesty."
Queen Eniris called again.
I got it.
That was the final warning.
The king cleared his throat dramatically, then burst into guffaws.
Pure theater, of course.
A desperate pivot. His clownish act drew a hollow laugh from me.
"Hahahaha! You lot lack a sense of humor!"
"Our apologies, Your Majesty."
Leor sounded genuinely sorry, but his flat expression left me impressed.
You could sass like that too, huh.
"Hahaha! Just kidding, kidding! Would I mishandle the hero of the floating island, savior of the family heirs, the man who triumphed over a dragon's corpse and the infamous 'Outsider Killer'—our kingdom's treasure?"
"......"
With the king's hearty laugh, the room's chill thawed.
Sighs of relief dotted around.
Gold, watching, scowled in displeasure and seemed about to speak.
I stopped him with a hand, staring straight at the king.
"Your Majesty."
"Oh, yes, yes. Instructor Dre—no, a new title now. Do you know what reward we've prepared for you?"
I ignored him and said,
"You haven't answered my question yet."
The warming room chilled again.
Queen Eniris looked uneasy, Gald sweated profusely, Blija's head averted his eyes.
Leor watched me with keen interest.
That gaze irritated me, and I snapped curtly,
"Is the Outsider close to Your Majesty from the 'Main Branch'?"
"......"
The king's smiling face hardened, then he answered.
Utterly off-topic.
"From now on, you are Baron Dre."