Three Chances

Behind the academy's main building stood the Crown Prince's Executive Estate, a residence the size of a great manor.

It was the place from which the Crown Prince conducted the affairs of state while continuing his studies, and the security was every bit as severe as that purpose demanded. Not even the Headmaster or the Academy Chairman could come and go as they pleased.

"I request an audience with His Highness Prince Darius."

X put the request to the Imperial Royal Guard knight posted before a vast and ornate door. A commoner daring to ask such a thing at nine o'clock at night would ordinarily be charged with lèse-majesté without a second thought.

And yet.

"His Highness is expecting you."

The knight opened the door as if he had been waiting for those exact words.

…He's been waiting for me?

X followed the knight into the mansion. He had no idea why the Crown Prince would be expecting him, but it made getting an audience considerably easier.

"So you're X."

The moment he stepped into the great hall, someone was standing there with grave formality. A knight in ornate full plate, helmet off. A beauty whose blazing, flame-colored hair was bound in a long tail, her features so sharp that merely looking at her felt like it might draw blood.

X knew exactly who she was.

A 7-Star warrior, and Knight Commander of the Imperial Royal Guard. Milia.

"Hurry. Do you intend to keep His Highness waiting any longer?"

Milia left him standing there and set off at a clip. Her temperament was identical to what he had read in the setting notes.

A fiery disposition that cannot stand to wait.

Her strides were as impatient as her temper, long and unhesitating. And yet not the faintest footfall sounded — proof enough of her martial mastery. The walk to the Crown Prince's office was a considerable one. For a long while, not a word passed between X and Milia. She spoke only once, just before they arrived.

"A word of warning. In this place, you are not a student. You are a commoner, nothing more. Forget that, and you die by my hand."

The office door opened on the heels of that savage counsel.

The room was decorated with lavish works of art. Magical tools that existed purely for ornament were on display; the whole atmosphere reeked of an obsession with beauty. There was a faint, unspoken suggestion that without these things to look at, enduring this place would be impossible.

And at the center of it all, one man.

A sculpted beauty of golden hair and golden eyes. A compact, well-built frame in golden proportion.

That's Crown Prince Darius.

In the middle of that opulent office, Crown Prince Darius sat at a desk, working through a mountain of documents. It was not a volume any one person should have been able to handle.

Admire later…

X dropped to one knee and offered a proper greeting.

"I present myself before His Highness Prince Dar—"

"Milia. Arrest whoever wrote these and throw them in a cell for a month."

"On what grounds, Your Highness?"

"They recorded the figures incorrectly. Incompetents…"

Darius handed the documents to Milia as if X did not exist. She took them and immediately began exchanging messages with someone on her Mana Phone. The two of them processed paperwork as though X had never been in the room at all.

Fifty minutes passed with X still on his knees. Just as even he was beginning to grow restless—

"We'll take ten minutes."

Darius set down his fountain pen and let out a breath. Four-tenths of that enormous pile had already been processed. It was evidence enough of how extraordinary his capacity was. After that brief sigh, he opened his mouth.

"Do you know why I let you in."

The question came without preamble.

"To hear about the recent incidents firsthand, Your Highness?"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"…Hah. Milia. Bring that here."

Milia fetched something and set it down in front of X. A stand built to hold three vials. Three healing potions sat in it, each one looking extraordinarily potent.

"In light of your contributions thus far, I will grant you three chances."

"Contributions thus far…? And by three chances, you mean…?"

"There is something I need to confirm with you first."

Darius passed a document to Milia. It was placed in front of X, and he looked at it as a matter of course. The instant he did, a chill ran down his spine.

Darius began his explanation with complete indifference.

"February twenty-second is the academy's entrance ceremony for new students. Even from the farthest reaches of the Empire, arrival takes a minimum of one week. Gates are not omnipotent."

He glanced at a document on his desk. A New Student Admission Application Report.

"Which is why new students typically allow themselves more than a week of leeway. That window usually falls around the first of February — which is also the academy's application period. The Empire is at its noisiest then, so naturally every ounce of administrative power is mobilized. And yet."

"You came in the instant applications opened. As if you had been waiting for nothing but the entrance ceremony."

Darius had investigated every scrap of information on X. Including things X himself did not know.

I can still explain this—!

"A diligent personality, I suppose. But this is strange."

Darius examined the next document. A Gate Usage History Report.

"In the five years prior to February first, there is no record of a Gate being used under the name 'X.' Did you not use a Gate? Then let us consider the other possibilities."

He looked at the next set of documents. A Checkpoint Inspection Report, and a Citizen Administration Report.

"You do not appear at any checkpoint in the same period. So were you born and raised in the capital — in Valon? Unfortunately, no citizen by the name of 'X' has been found. Which makes it seem as if…"

Darius's indifferent gaze settled on him.

"You sprang into existence. For the sole purpose of entering the academy."

X had been laboring under a colossal misconception. The misconception that the being he had to face was "Crown Prince Darius."

The thing standing in front of him was not Crown Prince Darius.

It was the Dritania Empire itself.

"Then."

Shing—

Beside him came the sound of Milia drawing her sword. Darius gave the order, indifferent and ice-cold.

"Explain yourself."

At the same instant, a status window erupted noisily before his eyes.

A Probability Penalty had triggered. Ten Thousand Lies and A Single Truth had been sealed. He could no longer slip past lie detection. Fortunately, Humanization had not come undone. Transforming into a demon here would have been a catastrophe.

Not that the situation had improved.

I can't explain…!

Knowing nothing of his own past had always been his greatest weakness. It had worked with Roxwell because nothing could be proven. If no one could prove anything, all he had needed was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a story that held together front to back.

This was different. If a full investigation had already been completed, proof was required. And unfortunately, X had no means of providing any. There was not a single thing he could say.

Understanding the meaning of that silence, Darius sighed.

"Milia."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Shing—

With that word, a cold pain bloomed at his ankles.

"…Huh?"

The pain sharpened, clarifying into unmistakable agony. Both of X's ankles had been severed.

"Ghhhk…!"

He clenched his teeth. He could not scream. Milia splashed a healing potion over the stumps. The severed ankles knitted themselves back together in moments.

"Two chances remain."

At Darius's words, X finally grasped the situation for what it was.

He brought me here to interrogate me…!

This was not an office. It was an interrogation chamber presided over by the Crown Prince.

Darius turned a page and continued.

"Very well. Let us assume there was an administrative error. The Empire's administration is not perfect. Tracking every citizen with one hundred percent certainty is impossible. I will grant you that. But this, too, is strange."

The document was titled Special Admission Recommendation Letter Usage Report.

"The Special Admission Recommendation Letters issued at the academy's founding admit of no error whatsoever. A privilege of astronomical value is not something in which errors simply occur. It is one of the matters I have managed personally, every year."

He reviewed the report's contents at an unhurried pace.

"Fifty Special Admission Recommendation Letters were issued in total, and as of this year, all fifty have been used. The student who used the fiftieth and final letter was Leon Brave. And yet."

The last line of the report was not number fifty. Numbers fifty-one and fifty-two had been newly added. Fifty-one was listed as X. Fifty-two as Elia.

"Numbers fifty-one and fifty-two, which did not exist last year, have suddenly been added."

"…!"

There had been nothing about this in the setting. He had never imagined such a thing would exist. But Darius was not wrong. These were special exceptions that guaranteed unconditional admission to the academy. Of course they would be managed.

Darius produced two sheets of paper. Special Admission Recommendation Letters.

"The fifty-first and fifty-second Special Admission Recommendation Letters, which should not exist. Strangely enough, investigation confirmed them as genuine. There was no irregularity in the administrative serial numbers or the authenticity verification. Fine. Perhaps I was mistaken. So I cross-verified."

The report listed the name of the official who had certified each letter at the time of its use.

"Ordinarily, the Headmaster or the Academy Chairman provides the certification. For this cohort, the Headmaster certified them all. I received confirmation that he personally certified number fifty, Leon Brave, and number fifty-two, Elia. However…"

Darius's gaze turned on X.

"Number fifty-one. X. Neither the Headmaster nor the Chairman certified yours. I assumed different people had certified different letters. Their accounts contradict each other. So I will ask."

Milia's blade gleamed coldly once more.

"Who certified your special admission?"

There was no such person. X had dropped into this world out of nowhere. When he opened his eyes, he was in the middle of the entrance ceremony. He had clawed for survival among people he did not know. He had neither the time nor the reason to concern himself with a past he had no knowledge of.

And now that fact was closing around his throat.

"Milia."

Shing—

At Darius's summons, X's neck was cut halfway through.

Blood sprayed.

"Kh, khrrrk…"

He clamped down on the blood pouring out, and Milia splashed healing potion over him again, roughly. The neck healed fast, but even that brief hemorrhage left his head spinning.

And that was not all.

The Probability Penalty had triggered again. And with it came a fear he could not resist. The sealing of his titles meant the sealing of the Iron Face effect. The title that had suppressed fear in every situation was gone.

What he felt now was terror in its purest human form.

"One chance remains."

His teeth chattered. His whole body shook. He was standing on a blade called truth. This was not an interrogation chamber. It was an execution ground. An execution ground of truth, where no excuse of any kind could be made.

Wh-what do I do…?

X had always slipped out of situations with lies. But lies would not work here. His talents, his titles — everything had been locked down. All that remained was one wretched body.

This is why I tried to avoid this…!

Once you fell into Darius's net, everything was investigated. The Crown Prince was not buried in a mountain of documents for no reason. Since the incident five years ago, he had stopped trusting anything. That was why he confirmed everything himself. Lie-detection magic, artifacts — none of it mattered unless he was personally convinced. The ultimate paranoiac, who believed in nothing.

That was why Darius was the strongest intelligence operative in the Empire.

"Make any excuse you like."

No thought would come. Fear had eaten his mind. Every plan he had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠prepared before coming here had collapsed. Any lie he told would surely fail to—

A lie…?

As he stood there, white with terror, a primitive instinct woke. A single purpose he had forgotten entirely rose to the surface.

Why have I been lying all this time.

Not for vast power. Not for overwhelming strength. Not for an honor no one else could touch.

"Y-Your Highness. I-I…"

The one thing that had driven him all this way was this, and this alone.

"I-I know the f-future of the E-Empire…"

X had simply wanted to live. And if that was so, there was only one thing to do.

"This Empire will…. No…"

He steeled himself for what came next.

Before that blasphemous declaration, Darius sighed.

"Milia."

Shing—!

This time both eyes were carved out. The terror of vanishing sight crashed over him. And yet, strangely, his voice did not tremble.

"The demons will turn the Empire into hell and bring down the Evil God to destroy the world. That is the future that is coming!"

"Milia."

This time his left shoulder was sheared away. Not a shred of X's sincerity was getting through. It did not matter.

"There are countless tasks required to prevent that destruction, but the one that must be done right now is this!"

"Milia."

This time his right thigh was cut off. Darius dismissed the words as a madman's ravings. That was fine too. He had never expected a heartfelt appeal to reach this ultimate paranoiac in the first place.

What mattered were words that could not be ignored. He used the keyword he had obtained from Princess Beatrice.

"Removing the curse upon His Majesty the Emperor!"

The first to flare at those words was Milia, standing beside him.

"You insolent—!!"

He had dared to speak of the Emperor she served. In front of the Knight Commander of the Imperial Royal Guard, no less. That was lèse-majesté, and summary execution.

The blade came screaming down—!!

Milia's sword fell toward X's neck. She was so enraged that aura blazed along the steel. But the blade never reached him.

"Stop."

A voice more furious than the Knight Commander's cut through the air.

"Right now."

Darius strode toward X.

"What."

He seized the blood-drenched X by the collar and hauled him up.

"Did you just say."

X knew Darius's situation well. What had happened five years ago, and what the man felt now. What the Emperor's collapse meant to him.

"Your Highness never wanted His Majesty to fall! You never had any great desire for power to begin with! But you felt it — the vast responsibility of the Empire itself!"

"Fine. Let's see how far this nonsense goes."

WHAM—!!

"Ghak…!"

Darius slammed X into the floor as if hurling away refuse. Breath and blood burst from X's mouth. He did not stop.

"Everything was planned! The assassination of Her Majesty the Empress, the change in the Princess, the curse upon His Majesty! Your Highness knows better than anyone that this situation cannot go unquestioned!"

"I don't know ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠how you know any of this, but…"

Darius clad his fist in aura and began to beat him.

"If you wanted to live, you should never have said that…!"

THUD—!

He clung to the fraying thread of consciousness. If he blacked out now, he would die in truth. And so X did not stop.

"Five years ago — remember the incident when Princess Beatrice lost her holy power…! That was when everything changed…. Your Highness suspected it too, which is why you seized the imperial authority…!"

"What do you know about my sister to run your mouth like that…!"

"The reason Princess Beatrice lost her holy power is clear! She became a being that cannot use holy power! And on this continent, there is only one such being!"

"Shut your mouth—!!"

THUD—!!

The pain of the struck flesh being crushed fried his brain. Still, X had to speak.

"You have to accept it now, Your Highness, even if it grieves you."

He forced the truth Darius had wanted to look away from out into the open.

This was the reason X had come here. This was the reason he had walked through everything it had taken to arrive. To tell Crown Prince Darius the truth.

It was the essential condition for stopping the Hellgate scenario and the Empire Division scenario. If he could not make the man understand this, the Empire would fall regardless. He would say everything, even if it meant taking Probability Penalties.

And then he took one step further.

"There is a way to put all of this back as it was."

With the right hand that could still move, he caught Darius's wrist. That hand was trembling more violently than it ever had.

"A way to restore the Princess, avert the Empire's crisis, and go further — to stop the destruction of the world."

Whether what he felt in that grip was rage or hesitation, he could not tell. He had no eyes left to see Darius's face.

"I will remove the curse upon His Majesty the Emperor."

But the emotion trembling through that hand was unmistakable.

It was a thread of hope.