Interlude: Night of the Outcasts
“Kuhahahaha…!”
In that room of the palace, every desire was packed in.
The inner walls were painted with gold dust on the walls, floor, and even the ceiling. What made them shine were countless piled-up jewels. On the golden long table, infinite delicacies were spread, and lightly dressed women holding pottery filled with fine wine stood in rows—
“That bastard Second Prince Schwarl really fulfilled my demands perfectly…!”
And in the center of the room was an abominable [war maniac].
A handsome man with blood-colored long hair dyed gray in places.
Sitting atop a pile of jewels with women at his sides, laughing “Satisfied, satisfied”—this man was none other than:
“Women, tell the prince that [Mercenary King Zax] is grateful for his hospitality!”
He was the war overlord, Zax Roa.
A specially dangerous entity leading the mercenary organization [Hell Wolf] with over ten thousand total troops.
And then—toward such a man, someone approached with piercing, irritated steps.
“—There’s no need to go through servants.”
“Hmm?”
What appeared there was a golden-haired, blue-eyed noble young man.
A youth who gave a completely opposite impression to the rough Zax. Unlike the satisfied Zax in this extremely lavish room, this man narrowed his eyes saying “Vulgar…” This man was none other than:
“And I am no longer a prince. I am the 99th ruler, [King Schwarl]!”
Schwarl Strain.
The former second prince and revolutionary who buried his father king and the brother who was designated as the next king.
Now the Strain Kingdom was in his hands, and the vulgar palace where the [Mercenary King] resided was also prepared by Schwarl.
“Oh, my apologies, Your Majesty. This Zax Roa has poor upbringing, so please excuse me.”
“Silence… More importantly, what’s the situation…!?”
Schwarl trembled his thin fists. With half-bloodshot eyes, he glared at Zax Roa.
“It’s been half a month of searching the burned and collapsed royal castle! Why hasn’t First Prince Weiss’s corpse been found yet!?”
Yes. That was what was wearing down Schwarl’s spirit.
Ah, how detestable, his real brother Weiss.
Despite being called the [Ice Prince] for his unfriendliness, all those placed near him were inevitably drawn to him.
Schwarl had always hated such a brother.
“Hey Zax, you said it, didn’t you!? That you dealt him a definitive mortal wound! That he was engulfed in flames and crushed under collapsed rubble!”
“That’s right.”
“Then why!? Even though I’ve had the slaves search continuously without rest, why hasn’t his corpse been found!?”
Schwarl roared. Toward him, Zax stroked his chin, going “Hmm.”
It wasn’t a lie that he had cornered Weiss.
He had slashed him to pieces with his weapon, then hit him with deadly explosive flames using his own [Gift].
And Weiss was blown away. He was crushed under a large amount of rubble when the wall he crashed into collapsed, but Zax didn’t let his guard down.
He approached the rubble crushing the prince, intending to bombard it with explosive flames until everything turned to dust—at that moment,
“…The soldiers stood in the way, didn’t they. I killed them all in seconds, but could he have escaped in that opening?”
“What!?”
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Schwarl’s eyes bulged. The anger rising from him made the servants against the wall grimace.
“Gaaaah! So you’re saying that First Prince Weiss escaped that night of revolution!?”
“Well, that’s how it seems. Even so, with third-degree burns covering his entire body, he should have died within a night.”
“Enough with the hypotheticals! I want to see that bastard’s corpse with my own eyes!”
Sweeping away the numerous delicacies arranged on the table before him, Schwarl finally began trembling as he bit his nails.
He looked like a sick man. Hardly befitting a king of a great nation.
In contrast, Zax remained calm.
“Calm down, Your Majesty. Maybe the corpse just burned to ashes along with everything else.”
While speaking with a wine cup in hand—in his heart, he hoped for Weiss’s survival.
Ah, I hope that bastard’s alive…!
He couldn’t forget the excitement of that night.
How magnificent Weiss was, roaring wildly while unleashing a rain of deadly sword strikes with killing intent.
Wonderful. Too wonderful. To reach such a level at his young age must have required tremendous effort beyond mere talent.
Zax respected him from the bottom of his heart.
Billions of times more than the little man in front of him.
“…I want to do it again…”
“What did you say!?”
Ah, damn. It seems my desire leaked from my mouth.
Zax brushed it off with “It’s nothing,” then turned sincere mercenary eyes toward the young man.
“I acknowledge my client’s dissatisfaction. If we sought the best outcome, we should have brought back Prince Weiss’s head. As the leader of [Hell Wolves], I apologize.”
“Ah, yes… as long as you understand.”
“That said.”
The mercenary king snapped his fingers.
In an instant, five shadows swept through the room with a gust of wind.
They moved so fast their hands couldn’t be seen as they severed the heads of the lined-up maidservants—!
“What!? What’s this sudden—assassins!?”
“No, you’re wrong. These are my beloved comrades-in-arms, the ones I trust most among the [Five Great Wolves].”
Black-clothed warriors gathering under Zax.
A young man with a beast-like face.
A gentleman with a gentle smile.
A white-haired old man with crushed eyes.
An unnaturally beautiful girl.
And finally, a masked man.
Reeking of blood, they all knelt before Zax in unison.
“I had the women killed because I want to have a ‘man-to-man talk’ with you from now on. This place is now off-limits to women. Ah, if there was a favorite among the killed ones, my apologies?”
“…No, it’s fine. They were just worthless servants anyway. So, what’s this talk about? If it’s something trivial, I’ll be genuinely angry.”
“Nah, it’s serious business talk. I’m not so unprofessional as to joke around after missing the prince job.”
With that preface, he continued.
“Hey, Your Majesty. If Prince Weiss’s corpse never turns up, it’ll become harder for soldiers and citizens to submit to you, right?”
“Mm.”
“They’ll harbor unnecessary hope, thinking ‘Maybe Weiss-sama is still alive.'”
“…Yes, that’s right.”
He didn’t want to admit it, but it was true.
Though the prince was peculiar—expressionless and would go running through the city all day—his support from the knights and capital citizens who had many opportunities to interact with him was, for some reason, tremendously high.
“Humanity shows through. Your brother must have been quite sincere.”
“Shut up! For me, he was nothing but a nuisance!”
Thanks to that, the Schwarl administration’s approval rating was virtually nonexistent.
The gossip spread to justify the revolution—”The former king and first prince were villains who lined their own pockets behind the scenes”—only worked in the provinces.
“At this point, we just need to crush the capital citizens’ hope. For that, we need to find and display Weiss’s corpse.”
“I see. Then let’s go with [Plan B]. For now, bring someone with a similar build to the prince.”
“Huh?”
He couldn’t understand.
What was this man saying?
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