Chapter 279
Chapter 279
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 279
Chapter Title: The Dilemma's Trap (3)
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“Hmph, still got that sharp tongue. What's the point of this whole clown show? Did Father promise to make you king later or something?”
“I believe I made myself clear. I'm not interested.”
Zion paid him no mind and turned away. He walked along the wall, admiring the view of the waiting room.
In truth, today's demonstration schedule was a surprise to him as well. He hadn't expected Orkamp to challenge him to a real fight so soon.
But in the end, it meant they were also quite desperate.
After circling the waiting room, Zion arrived back in front of Shirone and made a tempting offer.
“I'll send you home.”
Shirone asked back with a puzzled expression.
“What are you talking about?”
“You said you're not interested in being the first prince, right? That means the reward you get from this demonstration is your freedom. I'm saying I'll give that to you. No matter how much you try to evade the eyes of the Kazra Royal Castle, you can't escape the eyes of Terase. Because we play on a global scale. But what if I let you go? Kazra becomes mine, and you get your freedom. It's a win-win, isn't it?”
It was a sweet temptation, difficult to refuse. But it wasn't a matter to be accepted lightly.
Empress Terase had said she planted Zion to swallow Kazra whole. Therefore, if Zion became king, Orkamp and Eliza would die. If the royal family's legitimacy wasn't severed, they might plot for the future.
“What do you want me to do?”
“Simple. Ruin the show. That Archangel's power or whatever, just mess it up. And then tell the nobles. Say that the rumors were, in fact, exaggerated, that you succeeded out of sheer luck, and that it's not magic someone as insignificant as you can perform. Something like that.”
Understanding, Shirone nodded.
Today's demonstration was a political event. Whether the nobles believed his lies or not, the moment he waved the white flag, the game would be over.
The only thing that weighed on his mind was the death of Orkamp and Eliza. Was it really okay to let that happen?
Even though they had abandoned their child, they had at least let him live. Did he have the right to repay that tiny bit of grace with death?
“I'll think about it. No, give me some time to think.”
“Take all the time you need. I'll hear your answer in the colosseum anyway. Whichever you choose, Kazra will fall to me regardless. Make a wise decision.”
As Shirone lowered his head, he heard the sound of Zion leaving. But his mind was too cluttered to pay it any attention.
Help Orkamp, and he would be pursued by Terase's faction for the rest of his life. Side with Zion, and Orkamp and Eliza would die.
‘What should I do? What in the world am I supposed to do?’
Uorin, having retrieved her pet cat that had been wandering around the waiting room, finished her preparations to leave and bid Shirone farewell.
“Stay strong.”
Shirone looked up at Uorin with lifeless eyes. She probably knew of his dilemma. But she offered no advice beyond words of comfort.
He tried to convey his urgent feelings with a desperate gaze, but she just tilted her head and smiled as if she knew nothing.
Shirone looked down at the ground with a resigned expression.
What was he even hoping for? There was no one in the royal castle who would help him.
At that moment, Uorin let out a sigh.
“Haa.”
Then, in a calm, subdued voice, she spoke.
“Do you want me to help you?”
Shirone raised his head again.
Uorin was still beautiful. But the bright feeling she had exuded just a moment ago was gone.
“Of course, I could help you.”
Uorin took a couple of steps back as if to re-establish a distance.
“But I could also choose not to. What's important is plausibility. For example, let's say there's a tycoon with 100 billion gold. That person wouldn't mind giving away a single gold coin to just about anyone. But they don't. Not because they're stingy, but because there's no plausibility. If they give one gold coin to someone without a reason, they would eventually have to give one gold coin to everyone in the world. You don't have that plausibility yet. So you must create a reason why I absolutely have to help you.”
“What… what should I do?”
“That, too, is up to you. You might lose a lot in this demonstration. But it's also a chance to gain something more precious. I hope you make a wise choice.”
With those words, Uorin turned towards the door. The beautiful smile Shirone had hoped for never appeared.
Left alone in the waiting room, Shirone was lost in thought. He was analyzing her final words, left at the last moment of his dilemma.
‘I see.’
Losing a lot meant the material loss that would occur if he gave up being the first prince. Conversely, gaining something precious referred to the lives of Orkamp and Eliza.
If Zion became the king of Kazra, that would give Uorin the plausibility she needed to help him.
In other words, she was telling him this: I will guarantee the lives of your biological parents, so hand over the throne to Zion.
‘Right, that's enough for me.’
Shirone resolved to ruin the show.
Orkamp would probably be disappointed, but since it would ultimately save his life, Shirone would have fulfilled his duty as a son.
The lamps on the ceiling lit up, and a loud siren blared.
Having organized his thoughts, Shirone stepped into the elevator built into the wall. As he pulled the switch, the elevator ascended to the surface with a clanking sound.
What he saw upon reaching the ground was sealed darkness and an iron gate 10 meters ahead.
The sun was setting, so the light was faint, but the champions of old must have gazed upon the brilliant daytime sun and reaffirmed their hope for life.
The iron gate rose, and Shirone walked to the center of the colosseum.
Zion was right to call it a clown show. With so many eyes fixed on him, he felt as if he had been stripped bare.
The target stood in the direction of the setting sun. It was a shabby wooden plank, seemingly found in a pinch as a last resort.
To receive magic with that, not even a thrown stone? If the intent was to mock him, it was a perfect fit.
A smirk appeared on his face as he imagined the power struggle that must have occurred just to pick a single target.
“We will now begin the qualification assessment for the first prince candidate.”
The qualification assessment for the first prince candidate. It was certainly a decent pretext for putting a clown on display.
Shirone paid his respects to Orkamp and spoke.
“Your Highness, magic is a powerful force. There is a risk of property damage. I would like to ask for your understanding in that regard first.”
He was implying that their precious target might be destroyed. It was a jab at the group that was mocking him.
Orkamp quickly understood and supported Shirone's intention.
“Do not worry. The target is a mere formality. As long as you can display your skills, you may do whatever you wish.”
Shirone felt a sense of triumph, as if he had landed a blow on them. But in the end, this was all he could do.
Feeling a slight sense of self-loathing, he turned to face the target. As everyone held their breath, he focused his mind and cast Halo.
An intensely star-like light embedded itself in the space, then began to move slowly, drawing a massive circle.
He had to draw it as large as possible.
Amy had told him after their two thousand duels that Halo could shock those with sensitive senses. If so, it was bound to work on someone here.
It might be a meaningless resistance, but without doing what he could, he couldn't create any variables.
Finally, the Halo was complete, and a radiant aureole appeared.
Amy quickly scanned their surroundings.
First, Reina grimaced. To feel pressure from Halo meant her Schema sensitivity was considerable.
The nobles, on the other hand, were unconcerned. Most nobles at the center of power were in administrative roles, far removed from Schema or the Spirit Zone.
But the situation was different for those who protected them. They were, without exception, gritting their teeth desperately.
‘Hmm, they are certainly strong…’
Zion and Uorin didn't seem particularly shocked.
Not that she had expected anything from the start, so Amy looked towards Orkamp's side.
Specifically, at the tall man standing behind Orkamp.
Many masters were present, but none had been as tense as that man. And even now, unable to adapt, he was covering his face with his right hand.
‘Dammit! That surprised me.’
Arius decided to believe in the existence of the soul. The moment the aureole was born, he felt something in his head fly outwards. It was that terrifying of a shock.
For him, who had not been mentally stunned for more than a second since joining the Seven Archmages, it was astounding.
‘He’s manifested the Immortal Function into a form. Is that the basic mental framework of a Nephilim?’
Having finished his analysis of Halo, Arius waited calmly. He planned to grasp its mechanism through this demonstration and find a way to undo the capsulization. As Ataraxia began to integrate, his eyes shone intensely.
‘It’s starting! First, a binary choice. Is it based on a binary system?’
With the first magic circle embedding itself in the center of the Halo, a shower of light poured down.
The nobles marveled at the spectacular sight, but Arius was methodically organizing every concept being integrated into Ataraxia without missing a single one.
‘Algebra. Musho Geometry. Multiple Operation Equations. Vanessa's Theorem. Sphere Integration. Eisen Relativity. And that, is that Hagel's Paradox?’
As the concepts piled up in Ataraxia, his thoughts began to overload. His head felt like it was about to explode.
As the integration process passed the halfway point, even the Zeta Function, the pinnacle of human intellect, appeared. It was an equation for finding the pattern of prime numbers, a hypothesis believed to contain the blueprint of the universe.
Arius stopped thinking. No, he couldn't think.
From the Zeta Function onward, everything was a concept he had never seen before, and they were embedding into the Halo at an incredible speed.
Analysis impossible.
‘Son of a bitch…’
As the integration finished, Ataraxia was born as a resplendent, unified concept. It was the reality of a super-magic amplification circle that no human could ever manifest.
Arius trembled with a sense of defeat.
He had only managed to understand 65 percent of the entire circuit. Compared to Shirone, who had given up at the 17 percent mark when possessed by Ikael, it was a tremendous level of intellect, but not knowing even 1 percent was still not knowing.
Shirone gazed at the Ataraxia floating before him, lost in thought. His life would change depending on what he chose from this point on.
After about 10 seconds, the nobles who had been watching intently gradually lost interest.
Knowing how crucial a single second was in a real battle, they were merely disappointed by Shirone's immaturity.
“What's he doing? Either do it or don't.”
“He's so indecisive. Or does he need more preparation time?”
There was no way the nobles, who commanded great mages, would show patience for a student-level demonstration. As voices of discontent rose from here and there, Zion added his own.
“Haha! Rumors are always prone to exaggeration. With so many high-ranking mages in the royal castle, how could a mere mage aspirant be tested with something like this?”
At that, those presumed to be part of Terase's faction chimed in one by one.
Leaving them to set the mood, Zion looked down on Shirone arrogantly.
The stage was now set. All that was left was for Shirone to confess his inadequacy.
Shirone listened to the voices coming from all directions. As expected, most of them were Zion's cronies.
‘Right, let's just stop. They were too strong for me to face from the start.’
Shirone let his shoulders slump powerlessly and opened his mouth.
“I…”
The first word of the momentous announcement came out, but the nobles' murmuring showed no sign of ceasing.
Realizing his voice was too soft, Shirone took a deep breath, filling his lungs with air so everyone could hear.
‘Wait…’
Then, a strange thought occurred to him.
Was giving up really the right decision?
It was a sudden thought, one that rose not from his mind, but from his gut.