What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 831

Dartanyan and the Moon Hunt (3)

-Tap, tap, tap…

“I’m alright.”

“No, your cheek is red where I hit you. I sincerely apologize. I have terrible sleeping habits. That’s why I usually don’t sit next to anyone… I’m so sorry. I’ve committed a great rudeness to someone so precious.”

Gain bowed his head before the prince, utterly flustered.

Because he didn’t feel comfortable with the other person, today’s mistake felt even more mortifying.

Losing sleep wasn’t new, and feeling tired during the day was something he was used to, but to sit next to Prince Yeser on his first business trip after the war? What was he thinking?

He should have done whatever it took to change seats…!

“Hey, let’s switch seats. The prince is uncomfortable because of me.”

“Why would I?”

Gibreel Diop, across the aisle, smirked and refused.

Gain suppressed the urge to rip off that earring of his and turned to the man sitting next to him.

The Crown Prince raised an eyebrow, as if curious about the deal he would offer in return.

“If you switch seats with me, I’ll give you medicine that stops sudden diarrhea.”

“Not even worth answering.”

“……”

You son of a bitch.

“Dear Sir Kristel, I assure you, I am quite alright, so please do not worry.”

The prince said, looking down at Tete, who was asleep in his arms.

Gain thought for a long time about his presence, which was not comfortable, but his voice, which was overly familiar.

Of course, he didn’t come up with a clear answer.

“…Still, I’m sorry. I’ll call a healing priest when we get off the carriage later. No, should I call one right now?”

“It’s not like I’m injured, so it will subside soon. Please, rest comfortably.”

“……”

The man with the smile didn’t seem to mind at all, and the cheek that seemed to be swelling red was slowly subsiding as he said.

Gain made awkward eye contact and straightened his posture.

Still, the little accident from before had startled him awake, so that was a good thing.

He rubbed the tip of his nose awkwardly and looked out the window.

The prince inconspicuously covered Gain’s lap with a blanket.

-Swish…

The spring breeze blows.

The bushes in the eastern part of the empire, welcoming the new season, were slowly putting on their green clothes.

A flock of thrushes fluttered from the crevices of the chestnut tree, which had a large nest on its crown, and an ambiguous silence lingered in the wide imperial carriage for a long time.

Gain remembered that the tea room had been very noisy the last time they drove down this road.

But today, even the Divine Beasts were quiet.

The troublesome creatures, awakened from their long sleep, had become very mature for some reason, and followed Gain, Cedric, and Prince Yeser wherever they went.

As if to supervise what they were doing.

“……”

-Clatter, clatter…

And not long after…

“Ha. It’s been a while.”

Gibreel said with his arms crossed. Gain felt similarly.

Beyond the sharply rising lord’s castle of the Blanquer Duchy, a noble building hidden deep in the forest came into view.

The mages’ research center, the pinnacle of Liester’s magical technology—the Magic Tower.

The first external schedule for Crown Prince Cedric, who had returned as a triumphant general, was to personally visit the place that defended the empire’s front lines and developed various magical tools used in the war, and to commend the mages for their hard work.

He, who came to take care of state affairs along with the late Stanislas State Preceptor [a high-ranking advisor or tutor], had many options, but the Crown Prince chose Blanquer as his first destination without hesitation.

The people of the Imperial Palace whispered that he must be trying to give strength to his deceased father’s family.

Gain just thought, ‘Whatever.’

It was a family that had even shot a divine bow at the heart of the enemy country, so of course they should be given power.

Besides, their friend Eva was a child who had learned how to use power for good.

There was nothing to worry about.

-Tap, tap, tap…

…Ah!

“I’m crazy! I almost forgot!”

“Jeez. Give me a warning before you shout.”

“I just had a dream, and Sir Inecker Vass gave me an important clue! I think this is a hint about the moon hunt!”

‘Clap, clap!’ Gain clapped her hands loudly and shook her necklace.

The three men and the Divine Beasts who had woken up from their sleep looked at her at the same time.

‘Moon Hunt’. After Prince Yeser publicly proposed it at the social gathering two days ago, it had completely established itself as their official goal.

The group was determined to find the moon that had been erased from the sky, the angel who had flown away with it, and Sir Johann Haynes, who had chased after the moon.

Early on, the prince had told some of what he knew about the angel in question.

First, the Chief Seraph of the Main God, who had been the subject of numerous sightings, was not a fictitious being. He actually held the moon and flew far, far away.

Second, as the moon disappeared, the group’s memories were also partially erased.

Third, the reason Prince Yeser, who had been asleep, opened his eyes was because of the grace of the angel. This is also why the prince knows clues about him.

Fourth, if the moon is not recovered soon, a great disaster will occur on the entire continent. This was a conclusion that everyone could have predicted even if the prince hadn’t pointed it out.

“Why, did that cardinal recite the coordinates of where the moon fell?”

“What are you talking about? It’s not that much.”

“Tell me.”

Cedric urged with a dark look.

Gain could tell that he hadn’t slept last night either, without even asking.

“Ahem. Sir Inecker Vass, I told you about him last time, right? He appears in my dreams and gives me burdensome support, telling me to try to regain my memories or forcibly recall them. But a little while ago, he looked at my hand and suddenly said that there was a pearl here. And then…”

‘There has been contact with the vessel.’

‘-Swish…!’

‘Ugh!’

“…What? You really saw that guy in your dream?”

Gibreel leaned forward. Gain nodded like crazy.

“Yeah. Brown hair, brown eyes, and even though he was made of bubbles, he was obviously a beauty. The person reflected in my water mirror is definitely him, okay?”

“…Does that mean he’s an ‘angel’?”

“Maybe? Maybe?!”

-Squeak?

Gain’s voice grew louder as the carriage rattled once.

Then, possessed words poured out.

“No, wait a minute. Until now, I hadn’t thought that the person in the necklace and the moon angel were the same person, but after hearing Your Highness’s words, I think it could be? If that angel was someone we knew—then wouldn’t it make sense that our memories were erased at the same time as he disappeared? That’s right, that’s right!”

“…Indeed.”

‘Clap!’

“This is it! This is why the Palace Lord does reasoning shows!”

Excitement surged to the top of her head, and hot air was blowing out from above her philtrum [the vertical groove between the upper lip and the nose].

Whether the prince next to her was looking at her and clearing his throat or not, Gain was now no different from a runaway train that had derailed.

‘Palace Lord’. Yeser Venetian was the only one who caught the extraordinariness of that word right now.

“He called me ‘Sister’ in my dream and laughed sweetly, you know? He even knew my name and called me by my first name! He was so charming that he could seduce many people with his charm? I think he’s an angel with nine tails?”

“Suddenly you’re saying things that are less persuasive.”

“Hey, really, would Sir Vass lie! He looked at my hand and said there was a pearl attached here… Wait, stop.”

Suddenly. She lowered her voice with a serious expression.

The three men—no, correction—two men thought that the knight in front of them was obviously half-crazy.

And that was understandable enough given the situation so far.

“Crazy. ‘There has been contact with the vessel.’ The meaning of what he said… Could it be.”

‘Swish!’ Gain turned to the prince next to her with a whoosh.

The purple eyes that had been holding her all along blinked innocently. ‘Hmm?’

“Excuse me!”

-Grasp!

“Ah.”

The prince, whose hand was suddenly grabbed, exclaimed.

Before he could react any further, Gain quickly snatched the hand in the diagonal direction. ‘Clack!’

“Let go.”

“Hold hands, you two, quickly!”

Gibreel frowned at the voice that rang loudly through the tea room.

Cedric Liester was burning with a glare that seemed to burn Gain to a crisp.

In fact, a few small sparks flew up!

“Let go. Before I throw you out of the carriage right now.”

“Sir Kristel?”

“Ah, Your Highness, I heard that memories come back when you come into contact with the vessel? I guess it’s because the angel saved Your Highness. You haven’t made any progress with your dream lately, have you? Listen to your sister’s story when I’m being nice!”

“How dare you—”

“Shh! Shake hands like this, shake hands! Because you’re friends!”

-Squeak, squeak!

-Yaoooo

The man tried to shake off her hand roughly, but this time the Divine Beasts were a little faster.

The Crown Prince couldn’t sincerely resist the joint attack of Demi and Perry, who jumped up.

The breathing cotton balls clung to him, wagging their terrifying tails and wielding their terrible paws!

-Squeak!

-Thump!

“Hey, don’t kick me too!”

“That’s right, just hold it like this for a second! It’ll definitely have an effect on Your Highness too, right? Let’s just believe in your sister’s story just once, okay?!”

“That’s enough—”

“No, longer! The longer the contact, the better the effect! I can feel it!”

-Woong! Woong!

“…Hahaha.”

Even Tete, who had woken up from his sleep, began to cry loudly, and the tea room eventually became noisy.

The prince felt a warmth in his heart and burst out laughing.

*

Meanwhile.

Venetian Royal Capital. Liester Imperial Army Headquarters.

-Flutter!

“The way out is on the right. Our knights will escort you, Count.”

『…Thank you.』

Elizabeth Mute, the Imperial Guard Captain, had just escorted a nobleman from the Theocracy out of Emperor Frederick’s camp.

It was not surprising that dignitaries came and went to the Emperor, but today’s guests were very special.

She watched the old man’s back as he walked slowly with a limp.

He, whom Elizabeth had met in the Rose Garden, had been quite stout, but since the end of the war, he seemed to be losing weight rapidly.

-Thud, thud, thud…

“…Lord Roseharder.”

『…』

The Guard Captain called him in a low voice.

It was very rare for Elizabeth, the Emperor’s sword and a soldier, to act so impulsively while on duty.

『Are you calling me?』

Etzardt Roseharder turned to her with his hands behind his back.

The knight decided to take the opportunity to ask the cardinal about his questions.

There were many mysteries in this war, but there was one in particular that he wanted to ask.

He licked his lips and raised his head proudly.

The servants who followed the two quickly began to use sign language.

“…At that time. When Karme and I brought the Heroic Spirit to the Rose Garden. You were clearly trying to protect the royal capital with the remains of Pope Mateus.”

『…That’s right.』

“How could someone who was in charge of the royal family’s finances and directly planned the security of the royal capital, someone who had such power…”

『How could I not have expelled Sneider in advance? How could I have just watched the royal family fall into Sneider’s hands?』

“……”

『That’s what you want to ask. I understand.』

‘Swish, swish…’ A salty wind blew from the east.

Red flags fluttered from the tops of hundreds of barracks.

Beyond the thin mist, a few spiers of the Venetian Royal Castle protruded like broken branches.

The Count stood silently with his back to the knight for a while.

『…The whole continent called our Roseharder the dog of the Venetian royal family. Even this old man thought it was a very loyal family for hundreds of years, so it was not unreasonable to say that. However…』

“……”

『…We were not pet dogs kneeling under the king’s knees, but hunting dogs ready to bite the throne.』

“Yes?”

The Guard Captain, who did not understand, frowned.

The Count of the ruined country smiled faintly and turned to her.

The servants’ hands and expressions moved quickly.

『…The one we truly served was the Main God, and the one we truly worried about was His well-being. Our family has only been monitoring and assisting the royal family so that it does not go astray.』

“……”

『…If the blessed Venetian family goes wrong even once, a tragedy will occur on the continent. There was no more sacred duty. But…』

The old man carefully took another step.

In the distance, his son, Sant, was seen running into the Imperial Army’s relief center.

To save small and precious lives.

『…Looking back now, we were truly arrogant.』

“……”

『Believing that we were seeing the bigger picture than anyone else… In reality, we did not see even the smallest thing. As a result of that karma, we eventually lost His Highness Eliser.』

“…Yes. That’s right.”

The Guard Captain affirmed bluntly.

The Count let out a sigh-like laugh and walked away.

Elizabeth’s dark green hair fluttered long.