As night fell, the imperial capital became a sleepless city ablaze with all kinds of colorful lights.
Parties for social gatherings were held here and there. Unfinished conversations from the day flowed from mouth to mouth.
"The 3rd prince arrived today, didn't he?"
"I really want to meet him."
"I heard he's just like the rumors said."
With the Allied Army's campaign concluded, stories about the 3rd prince of Briol continued to circulate.
Accounts of the eighteen-year-old prince fighting more valiantly than anyone against the orcs, his reputedly handsome appearance, and testimonies that his true skill far surpassed what had been known—all these were more than enough to keep gossipmongers entertained.
And today, that very 3rd prince had arrived at the imperial capital.
That fact alone was enough to stir the social circles, but then he made yet another scene.
"He destroyed a house?"
The 3rd prince of Briol, who was said to be staying at the Duforia Hotel, suddenly appeared in a residential area in the heart of the capital, allegedly threw someone out from the second floor, jumped down after them, and landed cleanly.
Then, he dragged the collapsed person off somewhere.
The account, spread by a few eyewitnesses, had already circulated throughout the entire capital.
"Why would he do that?"
"I heard something about it."
As everyone pondered the reason, someone spoke up.
"They say the person the 3rd prince took down was a foreign student from Briol."
"Then he was a noble from the same country?"
"Yes. A student from the swordsmanship department at the Academium. I think his name was Gott?"
"Were the two on bad terms?"
"I don't know about their personal relationship, but my friend's servant, who happened to be running an errand and saw the scene, said this."
Enjoying the attention, he took a sip of his drink. After a sufficient pause, he slowly continued.
"He said the student didn't look normal. Like someone high on drugs."
The party hall fell silent.
Drugs were a sensitive topic in the Empire.
Recently, illegal substances had started spreading through back-alley networks, slowly corroding the Empire from within.
The capital had at least been considered clean of such drugs—but his words shattered that belief.
Then suddenly, one of the attendees, who had been quietly listening, tilted his head.
"Then, was the 3rd prince of Briol trying to rescue a fellow student from his country who had fallen into drugs?"
He was Ail, a reporter for the Daily Imperial, a newspaper known for covering petty gossip from the capital.
"Personally, I think that's quite likely. But who can say for sure?"
"Interesting."
Ail jotted the story down in his notebook. He smelled a scoop.
"May I write an article on this?"
"Yes. It's something I heard as well. If it's useful, by all means."
"But throwing someone from the second floor sounds a bit rough for a rescue, don't you think?"
A window was shattered, and a person had fallen. It hardly sounded like a normal response.
"True enough. Either way, the 3rd prince of Briol seems to be quite bold. Despite his young age."
"That's probably why he made such an impact during the war."
"In any case, one thing's clear. If the drug part is true…"
The partygoers were already inflating the story among themselves. The conversations exchanged here would soon morph and spread in all sorts of forms.
"That the 3rd prince of Briol is the kind of person who even cares about an ordinary student. He's not just some guy who happens to be good at fighting."
And the next day.
The front page of the Daily Imperial featured an illustration of a young man dragging a collapsed figure across the ground.
The headline read:
"The 3rd Prince of Briol—Savior, or Executioner!"
***
Yuri, unaware of any of this, was fast asleep at the Duforia Hotel.
Unknowing of what had transpired the previous night, Laurent knocked on his door.
"Your Highness."
"Mm…"
"May I come in?"
"Mm…"
Yuri replied in his sleep. Laurent opened the door and stepped inside.
"Ah, you were asleep."
"Mm?"
Yuri opened his eyes. The moment he awoke, he sat up without any sluggishness.
As Yuri suddenly raised his torso without warning, Laurent flinched and took a step back.
"You looked like one of those undead I've heard about in rumors."
"I'm alive."
"Where on earth did you go last night?"
Laurent tilted his head.
He had heard that Yuri would be meeting Dale in the evening to do something, but then Yuri had suddenly disappeared, leaving only a note.
"I'm going to inspect the capital. Sleep without me if I'm late."
The 3rd prince was always unpredictable in his actions.
Laurent knew Yuri's capabilities, so he wasn't particularly worried. This was a man who had once rampaged through the heart of an orc army. It seemed unlikely that anything would happen to him in the well-patrolled, brightly lit capital.
Still, the Yuri he met again in the morning looked extremely tired.
"Laurent."
"Yes, Your Highness?"
"I want to become a sword."
"A sword, sir?"
"I mean, I want to watch over Briol from behind as Cedric governs it, only stepping forward to stab the enemy when there's a real problem."
"You surely will."
"Which is why babysitting isn't my thing."
"Have you had a child?"
"No."
"Congratulations."
"…Is that even a real question…"
Yuri sighed.
"There are just too many people who still can't take care of themselves, even as adults. That's what makes things hard for me."
Looking back on his past life, he probably had been one of those people himself, but Yuri shrugged off the guilt and continued.
"Maybe kids these days are just too sheltered…"
"What in the world happened yesterday for you to be saying that?"
"Do you know someone named Gott Bakbar?"
"Ah, yes. The son of Count Johannes…"
"That's right."
"I've met him a few times. At a swordsmanship tournament."
"And?"
"He wasn't bad. Among our peers, he was pretty decent."
Yuri was an abnormal being on his second life, but Laurent himself was considered one of the most talented across the entire continent.
The fact that someone like Laurent said Gott wasn't bad meant that Gott wasn't completely lacking.
Yuri was satisfied with the decision he had made yesterday.
"Why do you ask about him?"
"Let's go see him later."
"He's in the capital?"
"He's a foreign student at the Academium."
"Is that so?"
Yuri grabbed Laurent's shoulder and stood up completely.
"For now, let's eat and talk."
"Very well."
Yuri, along with Laurent, exited the room and entered the hotel's first-floor restaurant. The Duforia Hotel offered a breakfast buffet.
They sat wherever they wanted.
The interior was luxurious.
The chairs had gold-trimmed carvings on their backs, and from the ceiling hung an enormous chandelier, so large it would take three grown men to wrap their arms around it.
The breakfast items were set on trays, still steaming with heat.
Some of those who had come from Briol were already eating.
When Yuri appeared, they bowed their heads in silent greeting, and Yuri waved his hand to accept.
"Is Jared still asleep?"
"Yes. Shall I wake him?"
"Leave him. He's disqualified as a guard."
Yuri and Laurent returned to their table with plates of food.
Laurent asked,
"So what exactly happened yesterday?"
"Well, you see…"
Yuri explained the events of the previous night while chewing on a piece of meat.
When he mentioned that it had been Gott's order for Dale to bring them to the Duforia Hotel, and that a woman named Pamia had tried to seduce him, Laurent's expression hardened.
Upon hearing that Gott had used drugs, Laurent's eyes turned cold.
"So, what did you do?"
"I took care of everything."
Yuri hadn't come all the way to the heart of the Empire, the imperial capital, to deal with things the hard way.
He didn't know what kind of intentions Edran had in orchestrating all of this, but Yuri simply acted according to the law.
"I threw Gott into the mental treatment facility run by the temple."
"Excuse me?"
"I registered him at a rehabilitation clinic for drug addicts. Turns out there's a lot of guys like Gott."
"Ah…"
"I dragged him there in the middle of the night and threw him in. He freaked out, but I managed to persuade them. As expected, money works wonders with the temple."
Laurent's expression relaxed.
"You did well, sir."
Now, Gott would begin the healing process to free himself from addiction.
"Once morning comes, the city guard will investigate the source of the drugs. That bastard Edran probably has some backing, so he won't be arrested right away, but what can you do."
Trying to solve things from the shadows would only make matters worse. Since he was in someone else's territory, Yuri intended to break through everything openly and honestly.
Those who walk upright have no need to fumble around in the dark.
"A lot has happened already, and it's only the first day."
"Tell me about it. But…"
Yuri was chewing his food when he suddenly raised his eyebrows.
Even though the Empire was said to be ahead in every field, he hadn't expected its cuisine to be so refined. It was a flavor he'd never experienced before.
"What is this taste? Such a unique flavor."
"A scent I'm experiencing for the first time."
"Some may love it, some may hate it, but I quite like it."
"I'm fine with it as well."
Just then, a voice answered from nearby.
"Master…"
Yuri and Laurent turned their heads.
A man who had been quietly eating nearby let out a small chuckle and answered again.
"It's master. Some people just can't eat it."
"Is that so? Thanks for letting me know."
The man didn't speak further. He simply smiled faintly and focused on his meal.
Yuri glanced over him briefly. There was nothing suspicious about him.
Laurent spoke.
"By the way, someone from the imperial palace will probably come today, right?"
"Seems likely."
"Are you planning to participate in the swordsmanship tournament?"
"We'll see."
Yuri shrugged.
"I'm still thinking about it."
"If Your Highness joins, the entire continent will come to admire your skill."
"That's not exactly something I'd welcome."
While they were having that conversation, the man who had told them about the master rose from his seat and approached their table.
Keeping a polite distance, the man smiled as he spoke.
"By any chance, are you the 3rd prince from Briol?"
"I am."
"Sorry to interrupt your meal."
Then, he took something out.
"I really wanted to show you this."
"What is it?"
"A newspaper."
Yuri accepted the newspaper the man handed him.
Back in Briol, it was something he hadn't been particularly interested in. But the newspapers published in the Empire were different.
For one, they caught the eye with large illustrations on the front page. There, a young man was depicted walking through a dark street at night, dragging the leg of a collapsed person.
It looked more like an illustration from a novel than a newspaper article.
"The artwork is quite impressive."
"He's a famous artist known for his speed. He's our newspaper's exclusive illustrator."
"Ah, so you work for the paper?"
"That's right."
The man pointed at the folded section of the paper in Yuri's hands.
"Try unfolding it."
"Hmm?"
Yuri followed his suggestion and checked the rest of the page, where a surprising headline was written.
"I wrote the article. What do you think?"
"You're a reporter?"
"Yes."
"Oh…"
Yuri quickly scanned the article.
The events of the previous night were described roughly. There were no major inaccuracies—mainly because there wasn't much detail in the article to begin with.
Someone had fallen out of a second-story window, and the 3rd prince of Briol had dragged him away. The fallen individual appeared to be a drug addict.
That was all.
The rest was filled with the reporter's editorial commentary.
"I ask your understanding for publishing a story about Your Highness without any prior notice. At The Daily Imperial, we value the citizens' right to know. Even the Crown Prince is an avid reader of our paper—it's the Empire's most widely read daily."
"Hm…"
After a moment of thought, Yuri nodded.
"No, you did well."
His name had already become well known after his achievements with the Allied Army. He had long given up trying to avoid fame beyond necessity.
More importantly, this article might help him get what he wanted.
"What's your name?"
"Ail. I'm a reporter for The Daily Imperial. Here, let me give you my card."
"As long as I'm staying in the capital, I think we could become friends."
"Do you really think so?"
"Of course."
"Hearing that from you makes me very happy."
"You probably came here hoping to write a follow-up article. Like the headline says, you want to know what kind of guy I am, right?"
"Well, not exactly, haha…"
For Ail, this was a stroke of luck.
The 3rd prince of Briol, the hottest topic in the capital, was unexpectedly friendly. On top of that, he even seemed willing to give him new material.
He opened and flipped through his notebook.
"Then, I'll write down what you say."
"Mind if we talk while eating?"
"Of course not."
"You won't twist my words, will you?"
"Never. I have no desire to get on Your Highness's bad side. I hope to meet you again."
"I'm glad we understand each other."
As Yuri savored the meat dish accompanied by master, he slowly began to speak.
"The bastard I slammed into the floor yesterday—well, that guy…"
"Gott Bakbar."
"Yeah, Gott Bakbar. The truth is…"
Yuri put on a sorrowful expression.
"He was actually a very close friend of mine."
[T/L: Read more chapters on Ko-fi page "RevengerScans" : https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]