Became The Son Of The Final Boss [EN]: Chapter 188

188.

I read through the history of the Fairies with great interest, like diving into a captivating historical novel.

In particular, the section on Fairy Spiritism piqued my interest considerably. Unfortunately, it didn’t delve into enough detail to be practically helpful in improving my own Spiritism.

“It’s getting late.”

I’d started reading the book around noon, and before I knew it, a significant amount of time had passed.

I closed the book and stood up.

Hamilton was approaching from a distance.

He arrived in front of me, bowed his head, and said, “Your Highness, I have something to tell you.”

“I was just about to head back to the office. Let’s go have some tea.”

* * *

After arriving at the office, I gestured for Hamilton to take a seat.

“Sit over there.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Taking a seat opposite Hamilton, I immediately got to the point. “What’s going on?”

“It’s about information regarding a secret organization.”

“Secret organization?”

“Yes.”

I frowned involuntarily.

‘A secret organization, huh?’

I knew that this secret organization, which had been wielding influence over many countries on the continent from behind the scenes, was now primarily a group that worshipped the Demon King.

And, more importantly, they were the ones who took my mother hostage and cursed her to keep my father in check, ultimately leading to her death.

“The secret organization to which Marquis Daret belongs is already quite well-known among the common people.”

“What?”

I widened my eyes in disbelief.

Why would a secret organization be a secret organization if its existence wasn’t shrouded in mystery, its members unknown, and its purpose ambiguous?

It seemed contradictory that such a secret organization was already famous among the common people.

“At first, I just thought it was a new religious group, but there were too many strange occurrences. I became convinced it was related to a secret organization.”

Hamilton handed me the documents he was holding.

“First of all, here are the contents summarizing the secret organization. In short, among the common people, the secret organization is called the Purifying Flame Order.”

“Purifying Flame Order?”

Hamilton nodded. “Yes. The core idea is that God will send down the purifying flame to cleanse the fallen world and usher in a new era.”

There was nothing particularly unique about the name or purpose. Many religions have similar end-of-the-world prophecies.

Hamilton continued, “The Purifying Flame Order claims that there are priests prophesied by God, and when they all gather, the purifying flame will descend from the sky and purify the fallen world.”

“There’s nothing special about that either.”

Hamilton smiled faintly at my words. “The reason they are famous among the common people is simple: their method of proselytizing.”

“Are they handing out food or something?”

“It’s an enormous amount. The total amount of food distributed by the Purifying Flame Order members proselytizing throughout the continent is enough to feed a kingdom-sized country for at least a year.”

I widened my eyes.

“What?”

“Relief is a common method of proselytizing for many religions, but no religion uses that much food for relief efforts across the continent. So, I kept tracking it, and the trail led to Grenian.”

“Was there a relationship with Marquis Daret?”

“Yes. The food taken from the Daret Marquisate was distributed throughout the continent and used for Purifying Flame Order proselytizing.”

I quickly opened the documents.

As Hamilton said, it was a document tracking the areas where the Purifying Flame Order carried out relief activities and the food transportation routes.

“The starting point is the Daret Marquisate.”

“There are several routes intricately intertwined, but it’s undeniable that Marquis Daret played an important role in proselytizing.”

I judged that Hamilton’s investigation was highly credible.

“It all fits together. Marquis Daret was famous for being quite wealthy, even within the Pyreon Kingdom. His territory boasted the highest food production in the Pyreon granary area.”

“Yes.”

I closed the documents.

“Good job, Hamilton. This is a significant breakthrough. The secret organization is a religious group, and purifying the world is their justification.”

I leaned back deeply.

“The reason they are famous among the common people but difficult to grasp is probably because it’s hard to find traces of the prophesied priests, right?”

“That’s correct. Proselytizing is widespread, but those who are proselytizing are all naive people who receive food and genuinely believe in the Purifying Flame Order – that the purifying flame will one day purify the world.”

“Those who actively proselytize must be connected to the priests. You can think of the priests prophesied by God as secret organization members.”

“We are tracking the food transportation routes, but the routes are so complex and diverse, spanning the entire continent. There’s a limit to the manpower available to investigate.”

I made a decision.

“I will report to Father separately and continue the investigation in conjunction with the Imperial Palace intelligence organization.”

Hamilton widened his eyes and asked, “The Shadow of His Majesty… are you talking about them?”

“They are the best intelligence organization on the continent. Director Hamilton, take charge of investigating internal Grenian issues and the Kingdom Federation. Choose one of your subordinates to take charge of the secret organization.”

I thought it would be better to focus Hamilton on solving the tasks immediately given to me.

“If the Imperial Palace intelligence organization takes over the secret organization investigation, the workload will be greatly reduced.”

“Yes. I will take action.”

My father was more interested in the secret organization, the Purifying Flame Order, than I was.

‘Perhaps Marquis Daret is also among those called the prophesied priests. And they are the key.’

This much could be easily inferred just by reading the report Hamilton brought.

“Good. You’re doing really well. Oh, you know that your territory has become very prosperous, right?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“I’ll report that to the Imperial Palace as well.”

I patted Hamilton on the shoulder and encouraged him.

* * *

Because of my father’s schedule, I couldn’t see him in person, so I submitted Hamilton’s report separately, adding my own opinion.

The content was that I wanted the Imperial Crown Prince’s intelligence organization and the Imperial Palace intelligence organization to work together.

It seemed I could wait for my father’s answer on that. The problem that needed to be solved right away was the coming-of-age ceremony preparation.

“One week left.”

I answered briefly to Ken’s words.

“I know.”

“You don’t seem nervous.”

“I am nervous. That’s why I can’t do my job properly.”

I was having a meeting with Ken in the office about Grenian, and we were taking a short break.

As soon as he told me to take a break, he started talking about the coming-of-age ceremony.

“The coming-of-age ceremony will be the starting point.”

“Starting point?”

“Yes. First of all, the coming-of-age ceremony is a declaration that there will be no more changes in the position of the Crown Prince.”

Until then, my position had been very precarious. I brought it on myself, but other than the justification of being the Empress’s son, I hadn’t proven that I was a person fit to be the Crown Prince.

Rather, I had only provided reasons why I should step down from the position.

“After deciding to be with Your Highness, I thought that the biggest goal was to keep the position of Crown Prince, but fortunately, it seems I don’t have to worry about that after the coming-of-age ceremony.”

I shrugged my shoulders.

“That’s a relief.”

“Of course, the families of several princes, including Duke Beregon, will not easily give up on vying for the position of Crown Prince. Until now, they all seem to be acknowledging Your Highness’s coming-of-age ceremony, but they are always sharpening their swords beneath the surface, and they will wield them if they see even a small opening.”

I nodded.

“That’s right. They are not people who will easily give up power.”

“What will change after the coming-of-age ceremony is that they will at least not openly question Your Highness’s qualifications as they did before.”

The coming-of-age ceremony, which was a week away, had several meanings, as Ken said.

“And now, a fierce battle for power will take place among the three political forces in the center.”

“The noble faction is fine, but can I consider the imperial faction as my force for the time being?”

Ken shook his head firmly.

“They are only loyal to His Majesty. Why else would they be called the imperial faction, not the royal faction?”

Ken continued, “They have a latent belief that no one other than the Emperor is qualified to be the master of the Empire.”

“Because most of them are my father’s loyalists.”

“Having gone through the founding of the Empire and the conquest wars with His Majesty, they have absolute loyalty to the Emperor.”

Ken’s voice became sharp.

“In some ways, they will try to prove Your Highness’s qualifications more strictly than the noble faction nobles. Until now, they have somewhat recognized the justification Your Highness has, but after the coming-of-age ceremony, it will inevitably change completely.”

“Because I’m completely solidified as my father’s successor?”

“What they are absolutely loyal to is His Majesty. And that loyalty stems from admiring His Majesty’s perfect ability.”

Ken accurately pointed out the characteristics of the imperial faction nobles.

“So, they are obsessed with the idea that the lord they serve must be perfect. If the successor of the lord is not as perfect as their lord, they will think they are not qualified.”

“Now that I’m really the official successor, it means they’re testing me too.”

“Yes.”

My head throbbed.

“Everyone is strictly evaluating me.”

“There has never been anyone like His Majesty the Emperor in the history of the continent. As his successor, you will naturally bear the weight befitting him.”

“Well. Anyway, Duke James is helping a lot, so my influence in the Imperial Palace will grow.”

“If you leave for Grenian immediately after the coming-of-age ceremony…”

I cut off Ken’s words and said what I had planned in advance.

“I’m going to the Western Forest first.”

“You’re going to the Western Forest first?”

“I’m thinking of going with Lillian. I was going to send her to Grenian to participate in the construction of the Magic Tower, but I think it’s better to secure the contents of the Mana Oath [a powerful magical contract] first.”

Ken exclaimed, “Ah,” at my words, Mana Oath.

“The magic book?”

“That’s right. I have to find that magic book first. Once I go to Grenian, I won’t be able to move for a while until the work with the Kingdom Federation is finished.”

In my opinion, it would take at least two years to reorganize the Crown Prince’s direct territory, Grenian, and inflict substantial damage on the Kingdom Federation.

I will have to leave the Imperial Palace for quite a long time as soon as I have my coming-of-age ceremony.

‘There’s a magic circle, so there’s no big problem with going back and forth.’

Ken opened his mouth again.

“First of all, I will contact the Western nobles.”

“It won’t be a big problem if I suddenly change my schedule, right?”

“No. We can adjust according to Your Highness’s plan. It’s also a good idea to check the West once, since there’s also the matter of Bikan. Didn’t the Western nobles not attend the last banquet because of time constraints?”

The Western nobles were busier thanks to the changes I had implemented, and they didn’t have time to attend the banquet held at the Imperial Palace.

I was thinking of increasing their influence in the center, but I thought it would be better to go to the West myself to raise their status.

‘Just like when my father visits an area and shows his support, the status of that area naturally rises.’

Now, even if I simply visit an area, many people have grown to the point where they accept the area visit in a different light.

“Send a messenger to Marquis Mike first. While going to the West, I will also look into the distribution of purified water, the formation of the Western Federation, and monster hunting.”