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Chapter 115: The Second Deal with Phantom (1)
1.
“Prince Kashan has returned!”
One day.
“Prince Kashan conquered the 300-man Mystic Gate with only 99 people!”
It took only one day for the news of Prince Kashan’s return to spread throughout the Nihal Desert.
“Really?”
It was that shocking of a news.
“Then is Prince Kashan becoming the crown prince?”
Shocking news that decided the fate of the Ariant Kingdom.
Moreover, the news didn’t end there.
“How on earth?”
“Only 6 people survived!”
“How many? 6?”
The world was once again surprised by the following news.
“Oh my god, so 93 people died?”
It was a clear disaster.
Prince Kashan had succeeded, but it was too tragic a disaster to celebrate with fireworks.
Therefore, people wondered.
“What on earth happened inside?”
What kind of monster was in the 300-man Mystic Gate that caused so many deaths?
But Prince Kashan didn’t give any answer to that.
He only said one thing.
“I led 99 people and conquered the 300-man Mystic Gate.”
He succeeded, that was all.
There was no explanation anywhere about how 93 people died, why they died, or what happened.
Prince Kashan hid that fact.
“It seems Prince Kashan won’t reveal it.”
The world didn’t really question that fact.
“Well, it’s natural.”
Rather, they understood.
“It’s not a good thing.”
Except for the fact that he succeeded, the rest were like fatal flaws for Prince Kashan.
Frankly speaking, if it weren’t for the crown prince competition, it was something that could have ruined Prince Kashan’s name.
There was no need to reveal such a thing.
Naturally, the world also lost interest in the five adventurers who returned alive with him.
Maple World regarded them not as great adventurers who made the crown prince, but as defeated soldiers who barely survived with the prince.
That’s why…
“Are you really okay with this?”
Prince Kashan asked El Pam that question.
“If this goes on, your reputation will be ruined.”
Prince Kashan, needless to say, had no intention of hiding what happened inside.
The fact that everyone except the El Pam party, even his loyal followers, were traitors.
That the boss monster they faced was a Junior Balrog, which had never appeared in a Yellow-rank Mystic Gate before.
And that the El Pam party had defeated all of them.
None of it was insignificant, and naturally, there was no reason to hide it.
The reason for hiding it was simple.
“It’s okay.”
El Pam had asked him to.
To bury everything that happened inside.
From El Pam’s perspective, it wasn’t strange.
‘There’s no need to reveal our strength unnecessarily.’
He wasn’t an adventurer who craved fame.
Before returning to the past, he had achieved more titles than any other adventurer in the world.
In such a situation, excessive fame would only be a hindrance to his actions.
“As long as Prince Kashan is not uncomfortable with it.”
“It’s fine.”
In fact, from Prince Kashan’s perspective, it was something that would also tarnish his own reputation, but he didn’t care much.
“If it weren’t for you, this life would have been meaningless.”
It was El Pam who not only saved Prince Kashan’s life but also made him the crown prince.
It wasn’t just this time.
“Thanks to you, I was able to stand here.”
Even before, Prince Kashan had received help from El Pam, and without that help, he would have been dead or as good as dead.
“I will give you the promised item as soon as possible.”
Therefore, Prince Kashan intended to obtain the Onyx Dragon’s Jewel that El Pam requested and give it to him as soon as possible.
In other words, he needed time.
First of all, Prince Kashan hadn’t become the crown prince yet.
The fact that he conquered the gate with 99 people only meant that he had gained an advantage. The other princes hadn’t even properly challenged it yet.
Even after all that was over and he became the crown prince, it wouldn’t be the end.
The Onyx Dragon’s Jewel was on Abdullah VIII’s turban.
Obtaining it would inevitably require many processes.
“It’s okay.”
El Pam knew that.
Nevertheless, there was a reason why he requested it.
‘With this, I’ve put Prince Kashan in great debt.’
If he had asked for a Legendary-rank item, Prince Kashan would have gotten it for him right away, but the Onyx Dragon’s Jewel was different.
The fact that he couldn’t get it right away meant that Prince Kashan would continue to be in debt.
And this debt tends to accrue interest.
‘Someday, it will come into my hands. That item.’
Of course, the biggest reason for requesting the Onyx Dragon’s Jewel was that it was the most valuable item he could receive.
A very valuable item.
‘If I just wait.’
Even El Pam, who usually wanted items he could use immediately, was willing to wait.
It was enough to be the reward for saving Prince Kashan and making him the crown prince.
In short, the deal was done.
Naturally, Prince Kashan moved on to the next topic.
“Then the only one left is Queen Areda.”
That was also an important story.
“I will protect you from Queen Areda.”
Currently, El Pam was in a position where his life was threatened by Queen Areda.
“Be careful, though.”
Moreover, El Pam was now the one who had completely ruined the plan that Queen Areda had put her heart and soul into.
“If I were Queen Areda El Pam, I would never let you live.”
She would surely try her best to kill El Pam.
“She is still the queen. I am still just a prince.”
And if she wanted to kill El Pam, before Kashan became crown prince was her last chance.
She would be even more aggressive in her approach.
“It’s okay.”
But El Pam wasn’t particularly worried about that.
At that sight, Prince Kashan laughed.
“With your skills, I guess so.”
He thought those words were proof of confidence.
“That’s not it.”
“Huh?”
But El Pam didn’t say that because of his confidence in his skills.
“Queen Areda will be assassinated soon.”
El Pam knew.
“By the Sand Bandits.”
How Queen Areda would leave the stage.
“What does that…”
The moment Prince Kashan made a dumbfounded expression at El Pam’s words, there was a knock.
Knock, knock!
With a knock, a man entered Prince Kashan’s room.
It was rude.
To enter without being told to come in.
But Prince Kashan didn’t rebuke the rudeness.
The news he brought, even with the rudeness, couldn’t be ordinary news.
“Prince Kashan.”
The subordinate who entered whispered very quietly to the tense Prince Kashan.
“Queen Areda has been assassinated.”
2.
It was instantaneous.
“Queen Areda has been assassinated!”
The news spread instantly beyond the Ariant Kingdom to the entire Maple World.
Naturally, people were surprised.
The queen of the Ariant Kingdom, of all people, had been assassinated?
“The Sand Bandits assassinated her!”
Moreover, when the story that the Sand Bandits were behind it came out, no one remembered Prince Kashan’s story anymore.
The El Pam party was no different.
“Pfft!”
Divo, who heard the news, spat out the food he was eating onto the dishes spread out on the table, as always.
“Pfft!”
And this time, Kiri also sprayed food on the table.
“Cough, cough!”
Minerv didn’t spit it out, but instead coughed repeatedly as if choking.
However, Ralph was different.
Gulp!
He swallowed the food he was eating and said,
“Food is money too. Don’t waste it by spitting it out.”
But even though Ralph forced the food down, his expression wasn’t much better than the other three.
That’s how surprised he was.
“B-Boss? H-How did this happen?”
Not only that Queen Areda was assassinated, but also the fact that El Pam had predicted it beforehand.
“It’s a natural course of events.”
Of course, it wasn’t a big surprise to El Pam.
“The moment Prince Kashan returned alive, Queen Areda’s fate was practically sealed.”
This crown prince selection was the last card Queen Areda could play.
There was nothing after that.
And that last card had failed.
“Prince Kashan wouldn’t just leave Queen Areda alone, and the public sentiment wouldn’t side with her either.”
All that was left for Queen Areda was a miserable fate.
“The problem is that Queen Areda is the tail.”
And from the perspective of the Black Mage’s followers who controlled Queen Areda, they didn’t want the aftermath to reach them.
If so, the solution was simple.
“Cut off the tail before it becomes a problem.”
That’s why El Pam wasn’t surprised.
“Implicating the Sand Bandits would help further the chaos in the Ariant Kingdom.”
Also, by involving the Sand Bandits in this process, they could induce a war between the Ariant Kingdom and the Sand Bandits.
It meant chaos in the Nihal Desert.
In many ways, it was a profitable deal for the Black Mage’s followers.
That’s why…
“The fact that Queen Areda’s assassination is spreading so quickly is proof of that.”
“Huh?”
“It’s as I said. The queen has been assassinated. It means there’s a critical flaw in the Ariant Kingdom’s security. If the Ariant Kingdom isn’t foolish, they would usually try to hide this fact as much as possible.”
“Ah!”
The news of Queen Areda’s assassination spread surprisingly quickly throughout Maple World.
It meant someone was deliberately spreading it.
In other words, everything was planned.
“Therefore, there’s a high chance Queen Areda is alive.”
That’s why El Pam was certain.
“She’s alive?”
“She staged everything and ran away. It’s not difficult. No one would demand Queen Areda’s body. No, they couldn’t.”
That Queen Areda was alive somewhere.
“But we’ve still fulfilled the terms of the deal, so there shouldn’t be a big problem in receiving the item.”
“Huh?”
At the last words, Divo and the others tilted their heads.
Terms of a deal? Item? What did that mean?
“Ah!”
Then Minerv shouted, remembering.
“With Phantom Thief!”
The contents of the deal El Pam had made with Phantom Thief.
The others also remembered it, and now they were filled with shock beyond surprise.
Hadn’t they fulfilled the absurd condition of Queen Areda’s death?
Moreover, it was as El Pam had said.
“Boss, did you predict even this?”
That the moment Prince Kashan became crown prince, Queen Areda would meet her demise.
“If I hadn’t predicted this, there would have been no reason to stay here and take risks.”
At that point, no one asked El Pam any more questions.
Silence fell over the table.
“Excuse me, your food is here.”
The silence was broken by a restaurant employee who brought a huge roast turkey dish.
“Huh?”
Divo was surprised by the employee’s appearance and asked again.
“We didn’t order this?”
They hadn’t ordered any new dishes yet.
“Huh?”
El Pam spoke to the surprised employee.
“We did order it. Please put it on the table.”
“Yes!”
With that answer, the employee barely managed to place the roast turkey on the full table and disappeared.
“You ordered this, boss? I didn’t know you liked such a huge roast turkey.”
“I didn’t order it.”
“Huh?”
In front of his companion who tilted his head in confusion, El Pam used a fork and knife to split the giant roast turkey in half in one swift motion.
And inside, El Pam found it.
“Oh? It’s a letter?”
A letter.
“Who sent this letter?”
“There’s only one adventurer who would send a letter like this.”
El Pam answered the question.
[Translator – Pr?ks]
[Proofreader – Pr?ks]