Chapter 109
Chapter 109
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 109
Chapter Title: Crown Prince (2)
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4.
“I’m El Pam.”
The moment Prince Kashan laid eyes on El Pam, he didn’t greet him right away.
Instead, he looked shocked.
It was unavoidable.
“You’re alive.”
In Prince Kashan’s mind, El Pam was one of the dead.
Of course, he hadn’t met El Pam just because he’d simply returned alive.
Whether ordinary adventurers lived or died, it meant nothing to Prince Kashan.
What mattered was where El Pam had returned from alive.
“How did you survive that tomb?”
The prince’s tomb.
A place he’d conquered, but judged that everyone involved had died.
To Prince Kashan’s question, El Pam answered calmly.
“I got lucky.”
That was it.
El Pam didn’t explain the details.
Prince Kashan didn’t press him on the curt response, either.
They both knew.
No matter what El Pam said here, Prince Kashan had no way to verify it.
“Good thing you got lucky. Glad you made it back alive.”
And whatever the reason, it didn’t particularly matter to Prince Kashan right now.
He meant it literally.
“If you help me, you’ll be a huge asset.”
What Prince Kashan needed was El Pam, the adventurer who’d survived the prince’s tomb. That was all.
To such a Prince Kashan, El Pam said,
“I’m sorry, but I have no intention of contracting with you, Prince Kashan.”
It was a shocking statement.
Especially shocking to Prince Kashan, who thought he’d gained his greatest ally.
But when he heard it, Prince Kashan’s face showed no sign of shock.
It wasn’t an act.
“You plan to talk to the other princes?”
“Yes.”
“Wise choice.”
Prince Kashan understood El Pam’s decision.
It was a chance to raise his value higher than ever. There was no reason to contract with Prince Kashan right away.
In fact, Prince Kashan was satisfied.
If El Pam had shown goodwill and wanted to contract here, Prince Kashan would have been suspicious instead.
Right now, more than ever, he had to be wary of those approaching with goodwill.
“So, have you spoken to the other princes yet?”
“No. I thought coming to you first, Prince Kashan, was the bare minimum courtesy.”
“Is that so? Then my offer will be your first one.”
Above all, Prince Kashan was confident.
“Feel free to negotiate with the others. But no one will top my offer.”
He was confident it would be an offer he couldn’t refuse.
“If I become crown prince, I’ll give you anything you want.”
And Prince Kashan made that offer.
“Anything the king of Ariant can give.”
It was an outrageous proposal.
One that rejected comparison to something like offering a legendary item.
In other words, Prince Kashan was that sincere—and that desperate.
“Anything at all is fine?”
“Words once spoken are defended with my life. That’s what a king is. If you only say what you can keep, you shouldn’t become king.”
Hearing that, El Pam nodded.
“I didn’t expect this from you.”
Prince Kashan smiled at those words.
His bold offer had swayed El Pam’s heart. It was a smile of satisfaction at that fact.
‘Of course. He couldn’t have anticipated an offer like this.’
Prince Kashan’s proposal was outrageously unexpected in every way.
‘Just as I thought.’
Of course, except for El Pam.
He knew.
‘That’s Prince Kashan for you.’
What kind of man Prince Kashan was.
He couldn’t not know.
The prince who’d fought Queen Arleda to the end was none other than Prince Kashan.
It meant he was more desperate than any other prince to normalize the Ariant Kingdom.
So, this proposal from Prince Kashan now was fully within the realm of what he could expect.
“I’ll stand with you from now on, Your Highness.”
Of course, Prince Kashan wouldn’t know.
‘He won’t have predicted what I’ll demand.’
What El Pam coveted.
Naturally, El Pam had no intention of saying it right away.
‘More importantly, now...’
And now wasn’t the time.
‘Word of my existence will reach Queen Arleda.’
5.
“El Pam? That El Pam?”
Queen Arleda looked shocked at the report from her subordinate.
It wasn’t just Queen Arleda.
Ebok, who was listening to the report by her side, also wore a more surprised expression than ever.
They were both that stunned.
“That El Pam met with Prince Kashan?”
The fact that El Pam, whom they thought dead, had returned alive and met Prince Kashan wasn’t a trivial matter.
It wasn’t just because a dead man had come back to life.
“Ebok.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“What do you make of this situation?”
“As long as El Pam is alive, we’re as good as dead.”
They had received orders.
“Lord Will wanted him dead.”
From none other than Lord Will, the legion commander who led them.
But El Pam was alive?
That was as good as defying Lord Will’s orders.
Excuses didn’t matter. They wouldn’t fly in front of the Black Mage’s legion commander.
Hiding it from him was impossible, too.
Lord Will’s ears and eyes stretched across Maple World like a spiderweb.
“And yet we’re still breathing.”
In other words, Queen Arleda and Ebok still drawing breath was a signal from Lord Will.
“Our last chance.”
If they failed to deal with El Pam this time, he wouldn’t hold back anymore.
At that point, neither showed surprise or bewilderment anymore.
When your life hung by a thread, there was only one expression to wear.
“We need to kill Prince Kashan first. No, the other princes don’t matter, but Prince Kashan and El Pam—both must die.”
Desperate resolve etched on their faces.
Then, breaking news arrived for the two of them again.
“Prince Kashan is challenging it now?”
6.
“The crown prince selection begins!”
By the time word of the crown prince selection event spread across the entire Nihal Desert—when it hadn’t fully yet—
“Prince Kashan is challenging it!”
“What?”
News about Prince Kashan spread.
“What? What’s that supposed to mean all of a sudden?”
“Prince Kashan is the first to challenge the Mystic Gate!”
Everyone was naturally shocked by the news.
“Already? We heard about the crown prince selection just yesterday—yesterday!”
The princes were just about to start recruiting adventurers in earnest, and yet he was already attempting the conquest?
So most thought,
“It’s fake, right?”
That the rumor was false.
But that thought didn’t last long.
“I, Kashan! To prove my worth as crown prince, I now begin the conquest of the Mystic Gate!”
Because Prince Kashan himself had started moving.
At that point, everyone began to question.
“Why is he moving this fast?”
The other princes were just starting to recruit adventurers. How could he already assemble a conquest party?
“It’s not a speed run, is it? It’s not about clearing fast—it’s about the numbers, right?”
Above all, this crown prince event offered no benefits for clearing quickly.
So everyone thought it would take at least half a year, or even years if it dragged on.
Yet here he was, challenging it less than a week after Abdullah VIII’s announcement—not even a month?
No one could fathom Prince Kashan’s intentions.
“Boss, what’s going on?”
Even El Pam’s companions, led by Dibo, were the same.
No one questioned siding with Prince Kashan.
“Yeah, what’s this about? Huh? It’s great going with Prince Kashan, but why so fast? What’s the reason?”
But moving this quickly was unexpected.
“This is too dangerous.”
Above all, Prince Kashan’s actions couldn’t be seen positively, no matter how hard you tried.
It was a Mystic Gate conquest more perilous than ever.
Even with full preparation, it wouldn’t be enough.
And yet, charging in this fast, without even time to catch your breath?
Only one person had no doubts.
“The key to this Mystic Gate conquest isn’t the quality of adventurers.”
“Huh? Boss, what do you mean?”
El Pam knew.
“It’s exactly that. What matters is minimizing traitors.”
“Traitors?”
“Reducing internal enemies as much as possible—that’s the priority. Prince Kashan already has plenty of quality adventurers anyway.”
Prince Kashan already had countless adventurers and soldiers with him.
And their skill levels were top-notch.
There’d be no issues with the conquest itself.
As long as no problems arose from within.
“Over half the adventurers who come will be spies anyway. Teaming up with them is suicide.”
In other words, spending time gathering better adventurers here was pointless at best—suicidal at worst.
“The longer it takes, the more will be bought off.”
Worse, the longer it dragged, even those originally loyal enough to follow Prince Kashan into fire might waver.
“Because it’s about selecting the crown prince.”
Given how important this was.
Only after hearing El Pam’s explanation did his companions show some understanding.
And soon, their expressions hardened.
“Wait, so we’re just fighting trolls?”
They realized it would be a far harder conquest than imagined.
“So how many do you expect?”
Naturally, the more trolls, the steeper the difficulty would skyrocket.
“About three out of ten.”
“Huh?”
At El Pam’s words, everyone’s faces didn’t just harden—they went pale.
“B-Boss? What did you say?”
“Hey, that’s ridiculous!”
“Right? Three out of ten?!”
“Impossible number!”
In a 100-man party, even one troll put everyone at risk. That was the terror of trolling.
One person could poison the food and cause massive casualties.
But three out of ten?
That meant thirty out of a hundred. If they trolled...
No proper Mystic Gate conquest could happen.
It was an absurd number.
“You’re overestimating it, Boss.”
So Dibo and the others didn’t believe El Pam.
“Plus, isn’t Prince Kashan rushing to weed out traitors?”
“Yeah, he must’ve hand-picked them.”
Prince Kashan was doing this bold move precisely because he worried most about traitors.
So there should be fewer.
To his companions’ doubts, El Pam replied,
“I didn’t word it precisely.”
“Right?”
To his relieved companions, El Pam said,
“Three out of ten is the reliable ones. Meaning seven out of ten are traitors.”
Out of a hundred entering, seventy trying to kill Prince Kashan.
At that number, Dibo and the others looked dazed.
It was so vast, their thoughts froze.
Regaining his senses, Dibo said,
“Boss, you sure?”
“My estimate. Prince Kashan’s surroundings are already filled with those bought by Queen Arleda. Or rather, they always have been.”
No one questioned further after El Pam’s words.
At least, El Pam wasn’t the type to joke or spout nonsense about this.
If he said it, it was likely true.
“This is insane.”
And they had to conquer the Mystic Gate with Prince Kashan in this absurd situation.
“Even a normal 300-man gate would be nuts.”
Not just any Mystic Gate, but the hardest, 300-man version.
Prince Kashan hadn’t announced it yet, but most expected he’d tackle it with 150 people.
Meaning no more than that, at least.
Worst-case scenario in every way.
“Boss, you sure this is okay?”
But facing the situation, El Pam showed no concern.
“It’s fine.”
Not bravado.
“I’ve prepared a powerful trump card for times like this.”