Chapter 116
Chapter 116
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 116
Chapter Title: Chapter 36. The Second Deal with Phantom (1)
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“Prince Kashan has returned!”
It took one day.
“Prince Kashan conquered the 300-man Mystic Gate with only 99 people!”
One day was all it took for news of Prince Kashan’s return to spread across the entire Nihal Desert.
“Really?”
It was that shocking.
“Does that mean Prince Kashan becomes the crown prince?”
A shocking piece of news that would determine the fate of the Ariant Kingdom.
But the news didn’t end there.
“How in the world?”
“Only six survived!”
“How many? Six?”
The follow-up news stunned the world once more.
“My god, so 93 died?”
It was undoubtedly a catastrophe.
Prince Kashan had succeeded, but the tragedy was far too devastating to celebrate that success with fanfare.
That left people wondering.
“What the hell happened in there?”
What kind of monster had been inside the 300-man Mystic Gate to cause so many deaths?
But Prince Kashan offered no answers on that front.
He said only one thing.
“I led 99 people inside and conquered the 300-man Mystic Gate.”
He had succeeded. That was it.
There was no explanation of how 93 had died, why they died, or what had happened.
Prince Kashan kept it hidden.
“Looks like Prince Kashan won’t be talking about it.”
The world didn’t question the fact much.
“Well, it’s only natural.”
If anything, they understood.
“It’s not exactly a good thing.”
Aside from the success itself, everything else was a fatal blemish on Prince Kashan.
To be honest, if it hadn’t been a crown prince competition, his name would have hit rock bottom.
There was no need to air that kind of thing.
Naturally, the world lost interest in the five other adventurers who had survived with him.
In Maple World, they weren’t seen as the great adventurers who made a crown prince—they were just the stragglers who barely escaped with their lives alongside the prince.
That was why.
“Is this really okay?”
Prince Kashan asked El Pam that question.
“If we go this route, your reputation will hit rock bottom.”
Prince Kashan had no intention of hiding what had happened inside.
That everyone except El Pam’s party—his own loyal retainers—had been traitors.
That the boss monster they faced was a Junior Balrog, something that had never appeared in any Yellow-grade Mystic Gate before.
And that El Pam’s party had taken them all down.
None of it was insignificant, and there was no reason to hide any of it.
Yet the reason he hid it was simple.
“It’s fine.”
El Pam had asked him to.
To bury everything that happened inside.
From El Pam’s perspective, there was nothing strange about it.
‘No need to reveal my power unnecessarily.’
He wasn’t an adventurer who chased fame.
Before returning to the past, he had earned more titles than any adventurer in the world.
In that situation, excessive fame would only hinder his movements.
“As long as it’s not inconvenient for you, Prince Kashan.”
“It’s fine.”
In truth, it tarnished Prince Kashan’s own honor, but he didn’t mind much.
“If it weren’t for you, my life would have been worthless.”
Not only had El Pam saved his life, he had made him crown prince.
And it wasn’t just this once.
“Thanks to you, I’m standing here.”
Even before, Prince Kashan had received El Pam’s help, and without it, he would have died long ago—or ended up in a state no better than death.
“I’ll get you the promised item as soon as possible.”
That was why Prince Kashan planned to obtain the Onyx Dragon’s gem for El Pam at the earliest opportunity.
In other words, he needed time.
Prince Kashan wasn’t crown prince yet.
Conquering it with 99 was just a show of superiority. The other princes hadn’t even properly challenged it yet.
Even after becoming crown prince once it all ended, it wouldn’t be over.
The Onyx Dragon’s gem was attached to Abdullah VIII’s turban.
Retrieving it would require many steps.
“It’s fine.”
El Pam understood.
Even so, he had demanded it for a reason, of course.
‘This puts Prince Kashan in my debt big time.’
If it had been a Legendary-grade item, Prince Kashan could have gotten it right away, but the Onyx Dragon’s gem was different.
Not being able to deliver it immediately meant Prince Kashan remained in debt.
And debts accrue interest.
‘It’ll come into my hands eventually. That item.’
Of course, the biggest reason for demanding the Onyx Dragon’s gem was that it was the most valuable thing he could receive.
An extremely valuable item at that.
‘Just have to wait.’
Even El Pam, who usually wanted items he could use right away, was willing to wait for this.
It was more than enough compensation for saving Prince Kashan and making him crown prince.
In short, the deal was done.
Naturally, Prince Kashan moved on to the next topic.
“Now all that’s left is Queen Areida.”
That was important too.
“I’ll protect you from Queen Areida.”
El Pam was currently a target for his life from her.
“Still, be careful.”
After all, he had just shattered the plan she had poured her heart into.
“If I were Queen Areida, I wouldn’t let you, El Pam, live.”
She would surely go all out to kill him.
“She’s still queen. And I’m still just a prince.”
And if she wanted to kill El Pam, it had to be before he became crown prince.
She would come at him even more aggressively.
“It’s fine.”
But El Pam wasn’t particularly worried about it.
Prince Kashan smiled at that.
“With your skills, I suppose so.”
He took it as proof of confidence.
“No.”
“Hm?”
But that wasn’t why El Pam said it.
“Queen Areida will be assassinated soon.”
El Pam knew.
“By the Sand Shadow Group.”
How Queen Areida would exit the stage.
“What do you…….”
The moment Prince Kashan made a dumbfounded face at El Pam’s words, that was when it happened.
Knock knock!
A knock, and a man entered Prince Kashan’s room.
It was rude.
Entering without being told to.
But Prince Kashan didn’t reprimand the rudeness.
Because the news brought with such discourtesy couldn’t be ordinary.
“Prince Kashan.”
To the tense prince, the subordinate whispered very quietly in his ear.
“Queen Areida has been assassinated.”
2.
It happened in an instant.
“Queen Areida has been assassinated!”
The news spread from the Ariant Kingdom across Maple World in a flash.
Naturally, people were shocked.
Queen Areida of the Ariant Kingdom, assassinated of all people?
“The Sand Shadow Group did the assassination!”
And when it came out that the Sand Shadow Group was behind it, no one remembered Prince Kashan’s story anymore.
El Pam’s party was no different.
“Pfft!”
Dibo, who heard the news, spat out the food he was eating onto the dishes spread across the table, as always.
“Pfft!”
This time, Kiri did the same, spraying food across the table.
“Cough, cough!”
Miner didn’t spit, but coughed repeatedly like something was caught in his throat.
Only Ralph was different.
Gulp!
He swallowed his food properly before speaking.
“Food costs money too. Don’t waste it spitting it out.”
But his expression, like he’d forced it down, wasn’t much better than the other three.
It was that shocking.
“B-Boss? H-How did this happen?”
Queen Areida being assassinated was one thing, but El Pam predicting it beforehand.
“It’s the natural course.”
To El Pam, it wasn’t all that surprising.
“The moment Prince Kashan returned alive, Queen Areida’s fate was sealed.”
This crown prince selection was her last card.
There was nothing after that.
And that last card had failed.
“Prince Kashan wouldn’t let Queen Areida go, and public opinion won’t side with her either.”
All that was left for such a queen was a gruesome end.
“The problem is that she’s just the tail.”
And from the perspective of the Black Mage’s followers who manipulated her, they didn’t want the fallout reaching them.
The solution was simple.
“Cut off the tail before it becomes a problem.”
That was why El Pam wasn’t surprised.
“Linking it to the Sand Shadow Group will stir up more chaos in the Ariant Kingdom.”
Plus, involving them could provoke a war between Ariant and the Sand Shadow Group.
Chaos in the Nihal Desert.
From the Black Mage followers’ view, it was all profit.
That was why.
“The assassination news spreading this fast is proof.”
“Huh?”
“Just as I said. The queen was assassinated. It’s a fatal blow to Ariant’s public safety. Unless Ariant’s idiots, they’d normally hide it as much as possible.”
“Ah!”
The reason Queen Areida’s assassination spread through Maple World at an astonishing speed.
It meant someone was deliberately spreading it.
In other words, everything was planned.
“So Queen Areida is probably still alive.”
That was why El Pam was certain.
“She’s alive?”
“They faked it all and she escaped. Not hard. No one will demand Queen Areida’s body. No, they can’t.”
That Queen Areida was alive somewhere.
“But the deal condition is met, so no big issue getting the item.”
“Huh?”
At those last words, Dibo and the others tilted their heads.
Deal condition? Item? What did that mean?
“Ah!”
Then Miner remembered and shouted.
“With the Phantom Thief!”
El Pam’s deal with the Phantom Thief.
The others recalled it soon after, their surprise turning to shock.
Queen Areida’s death fulfilled that absurd condition?
And just as El Pam said.
“Boss, did you predict this far?”
That the moment Prince Kashan became crown prince, Queen Areida would meet her end.
“If I hadn’t predicted this, there’d be no reason to stay here and go through all this trouble.”
After that, no one asked El Pam any more questions.
Silence fell over the table.
“Um, here’s your dish.”
A restaurant staffer broke the silence, bringing a massive roast turkey.
“Yes?”
Dibo blinked in surprise at the staffer.
“We didn’t order anything.”
They hadn’t ordered any new dishes yet.
“Yes?”
El Pam spoke to the surprised staffer.
“We did order it. Put it on the table.”
“Yes!”
At the response, the staffer barely squeezed the roast turkey onto the crowded table and left.
“Boss ordered it? I didn’t know you liked massive roast turkeys like this.”
“I didn’t order it.”
“Huh?”
Before his puzzled companions, El Pam used a fork and knife to slice the giant roast turkey clean in half without a word.
And inside it, El Pam found what he was looking for.
“Huh? It’s a letter?”
A single letter.
“Who sent it?”
“There’s only one adventurer who sends letters like this.”
El Pam answered the question.