Chapter 74

Ryan shrugged. "That was a one-time use Supernatural Item I got, for survival. Once it's used, it's gone."

"I see."

Caslathdi had no doubts, because Ryan was clearly unable to fight again after taking the blow from the birdman. It would have been troublesome if Jonathan hadn't arrived in time.

That kind of thing must be very precious... Ryan is really thinking of me.

"Don't worry, I will compensate you for this loss later," Caslathdi said.

"Then thank you very much, Your Highness."

Only a fool would refuse a free lunch. Besides, it's good that Caslathdi thinks that way. The Character Card's abilities should be kept hidden as much as possible, otherwise he can only explain it as a 'professional trait'.

After the two finished talking, they went to meet with the Iron Blood Legion.

The person in charge of the liaison was Gruk. To make the act convincing, Gruk spoke with Ryan on behalf of Magana, which led to this rescue plan.

As for Kosotoya, it was destroyed, but Avik escaped under the escort of the city's defense forces. After all, the enemy had three or four thousand men, and the Iron Blood Legion also had to take on support missions, making it too difficult to capture him.

Caslathdi didn't care too much, she just felt a little regretful, but as long as she still had control of the three major cities, the other side would definitely make a comeback.

In comparison, she was more concerned about the cooperation with Magana. Gruk said that he would consult the Grand Duke after returning to Berman City and then discuss it in detail.

After the initial conversation, Caslathdi left to rest, as the continuous battles had left her quite exhausted.

Ryan went to the other carriages and went through the mayor's procedure, showing the surviving city guards and Security Officer the mayor's warm regards.

"Two thousand people, almost all of them are dead..."

Looking at the remaining less than two hundred city defense soldiers, Ryan felt a pang of emotion.

This was a plan to assassinate and protect the Her Highness the Princess. They succeeded, but... could it really be considered a success?

If the casualties of the Royal Guards are included, their total number of deaths in this war exceeded three thousand.

Three thousand people.

Putting aside other things, many of the city defense troops were new recruits who had just been brought in. They didn't get to enjoy the preferential treatment of imperial soldiers and were killed in action within days of enlisting.

And so, when they return to Berman City, they will likely be greeted with cheers... cheers for the Her Highness the Princess's survival.

Commoners, nobles, royalty... the difference in status is obvious.

"Why am I whining like this? These are the people I brought here."

Ryan shook his head inwardly, feeling that he had been overthinking things. That's just how the world is; he couldn't blame anyone else.

Clang~ Clang~ Clang~

The train made a rhythmic sound as it collided with the rails. Ryan sat down by the window to rest for a while.

"Hey kid, are you alright?" Jonathan walked over with a bottle of wine, sat down, and took a big gulp. "Phew~ It's been quite a rollercoaster ride, but at least it turned out well."

"Is this a good result?" Ryan shrugged. "The casualties were heavy."

Jonathan shook his head. "There's nothing we can do. The big shot's goal is that war can only lead to tragedy. Have you ever thought about what would happen to us if we failed to bring the Her Highness the Princess back?"

"Or rather, what awaits this land? Let me tell you, the Imperial Capital hold an emergency meeting. Those elders will feel that this place has betrayed the Empire. Whether it's Berman City, Kosotoya, or Nade City, what awaits them is likely a large-scale purge by the Imperial cavalry."

"If it really comes to that... ha~ what are a few thousand people? The deaths of tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands are just a matter of issuing an order. So, don't think about it too much. Thinking too much will only make you miserable. Do what you are capable of. If you want to change these things, then strive to become stronger."

After saying that, Jonathan took out another bottle of wine from his leather jacket pocket and handed it to Ryan.

"Want a couple of bites?"

"I won't drink it."

"You don't smoke or drink, you're such a good man." Jonathan didn't press the matter. He glanced around and whispered, "When you took that blow for the Princess, did you use your job-change ability? Whatever it was, if the Princess asks you, just say it was a life-saving item I gave you."

Ryan was taken aback for a moment, then laughed and said, "She already asked, and I said it was a disposable item, and she didn't suspect anything."

"That's good. Anyway, don't tell anyone about your profession or the Magic Power talent test, including me, because sometimes I can't even be sure if I am who I am."

"Uh, what do you mean?"

"Anything can happen in the extraordinary world, can't it?" Jonathan waved his hand. "In any case, it's always good to be vigilant."

Ryan nodded; the old captain's experience was always right, and he made a mental note of it.

"By the way, that Shally... is she one of yours?"

"Hmm, I saved her before, and now she's pledging allegiance to me. I didn't expect her to be so powerful."

Jonathan's eyes lit up. "The Burning Covenant is in need of a Vice Captain. Ask her if she's interested."

"No, get out, goodbye."

"Hey, hey, hey! Don't say that!... Tch~ Stingy."

Watching Ryan's departing figure, Jonathan clicked his tongue. "How dare you speak to your old boss like that? You've really gone against the grain."

The train arrived in Berman City in the early hours of the morning.

Fortunately, they did not encounter any further attacks along the way, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief when the train came to a stop.

It was late, so Ryan had someone escort Caslathdi back to the castle. He also had Jonathan arrange for several investigators to protect her secretly. 'Shally' did not return to the army, but instead secretly returned to the stronghold with the Ground Fire Gang.

Only members of the Ground Fire Gang knew her identity; perhaps some had already figured it out, but no one had asked.

That's obvious. Anyone who has witnessed 'Shally's' rampage would choose to remain silent. It's best to stay away from such a killing machine.

After everything was arranged, Ryan returned to his residence at around 2 a. m.

"The Grand Duke is probably resting by now, let's talk about it tomorrow."

Ryan sat at his desk, lost in thought. It was quite late, but he wasn't sleepy at all.

Actually, when Jonathan talked to him about those things today, he really wanted to ask how powerful one had to become to be qualified to make a change.

City Lord isn't enough. A nobleman? A marquis? A duke? Still far from it. An emperor?

Even an emperor may not be able to do whatever he wants.

"One person is definitely not enough. We need to raise more Alts. If every Alts account is Empress- level character, what's there to worry about?"

Ryan finally understood that saying—all fear stems from insufficient firepower.

"Since things have come to this... let's go to sleep."

The next day, Ryan slept until 10 a. m. and realized he was already late for work, so he decided not to go to work in the morning.

I made a call to the office and instructed my secretary to handle the matter.

"Mayor, Councilor Rhode just came to inquire whether we should hold a banquet tonight to celebrate Her Highness the Princess's safe return," the secretary asked.

"Hold a banquet? Why doesn't he think of holding a memorial service to remember the fallen warriors?" Ryan snorted. "Tell this guy to stop thinking about being a lapdog all day and do something productive. The Princess is furious right now. If he doesn't want to die, he'd better behave himself."

Ryan knew all too well what these nobles were thinking.

But couldn't you have used a more sophisticated method?

All you do is hold banquets all the time. Aren't you tired of it? Everyone else is. How about we give you cash and let me ransack your house?

Although Ryan didn't know what Caslathdi was up to, he definitely didn't want to waste time on the so-called banquet. The Princess was an ambitious person, and while socializing at banquets was important, Berman City was completely under their control, so there was no need to do this.

Compared to before, this time two or three thousand people died. They were also fathers and children of parents. Even if they sacrificed their lives gloriously, they would still be sad.

Is it appropriate for you to hold a lavish banquet to celebrate when there's a funeral going on over there? At least Ryan doesn't think Caslathdi would do something so foolish.

"Mayor, I will give the instructions immediately."

After contacting his secretary, Ryan took out his mirror.

It's time for a long phone call with Grand Duke Magana.

"... Hmm? Ryan, I was just looking for you." Magana's white-haired dwarf form appeared in the mirror. "Gruk told me this morning that Caslathdi has returned to Berman City and apparently agreed to cooperate with me? Tell me the details."

"That's Grand Duke, Your Excellency. That unlucky fellow has decided to temporarily join forces with you. She hopes to use you to find out who's behind this and to clean up the other forces in the Southern Territory."

"Haha! That idiot, I knew she was too incompetent to be a proper Princess, and she actually dared to dream of vying for the throne." Magana laughed heartily. "Very good, Ryan, you did a great job. So next... um, should we tell her that it was her second brother who did it? Let her go and complain to the Old Emperor first."

With the Blood Cult making their move, and combined with previous speculations, Magana was pretty sure it was the Second Prince who did it.

The other party is now powerful and influential. General Erwin commands a large army and has the support of many military nobles. Factional forces are subtly challenging her, and in addition, the Second Prince is the rightful heir. Currently, he has the highest popularity in the empire.

Besides that, there's the Fourth Prince, who has the support of the Senate, and his mother's family are imperial merchants who control the economic lifeline and wield great power.

As for the remaining Princess Caslati... well, it can only be said that her mother, the empress, died too young, otherwise she wouldn't have suffered such a tragic fate.

"Don't rush. The evidence is still uncertain, so there's not much point in saying anything. Besides, given the Old Emperor's current condition, he might not really care."

The Old Emperor was nearing his death, so naturally he supported the struggle for the crown prince position to determine the ultimate winner.

If Caslathdi is killed by a scheme, it's because she lacked the ability.

Fair?

There's no such thing as fairness in this world.

"Yeah, that old man's not quite right now." Magana muttered to herself. "It's strange, the sorcerer I hired actually cursed himself to death while chanting a spell."

She was quite puzzled. Recently, she had hired a powerful sorcerer to curse the Old Emperor, but the emperor was unharmed while the sorcerer died.

You should know that the sorcerer was Fifth Tier Transcendent, and it took a lot of effort to find such a person.

Given ample time to prepare, this kind of profession could even kill Sixth Tier Supernatural Being.

So, the curse couldn't kill that old man?

Magana has always found this quite puzzling.

"Uh, what did you say, Your Grand Duke?"

"It's nothing, just a small matter, don't worry about it." Magana waved her hand. "I will tell Gruk what to do next, and make him my official representative in the Southern Territory. As for what Caslathdi wants to do, you can take her to talk to Gruk."

Ryan nodded. "I understand... Your Grand Duke, why not have Creed do these things?"

Come to think of it, he hadn't seen Creed in a long time.

"That guy, he has some issues, you don't need to worry about it." Magana waved her hand. "Compared to him... Ryan, you're the one who's thinking of me."

"Your will."

Ryan was puzzled; it seemed something really had happened.

A mole... Speaking of identities, Ryan's only worry is Keisha.

However, the woman's whereabouts remained unknown after she disappeared. He sent Blood Robe to investigate, and they searched almost the entire Berman City but found no clues. It was as if she had vanished into thin air.

The Eye of Dawn —this power is truly too mysterious.

After contacting Magana, Ryan went to the castle to see Caslathdi and confirm the details of the collaboration.

When asked about the attacker's identity, Ryan only said that it was likely the same person behind Bill, leaving the rest to Caslathdi to investigate.

Whether they find out or not doesn't really matter much. It's just a few people anyway. Since it's not Magana, then the Second Prince or Fourth Prince is most likely one of them. As for the other princes and nobles, it's hard to say.

However, on the other hand, Ryan felt that the Second Prince's actions had gone a bit too far.

Even if it's to limit the development of Caslathdi, isn't he afraid that others will take advantage of the situation and benefit from the conflict? After all, there's more than just Caslathdi in the Southern Territory; there's also Magana.

"Could there be another expert?"

Ryan couldn't help but think.

Unfortunately, there's no such element in the game. The classic eroge world storyline progresses! Progresses! Progresses! As for other conspiracies and schemes? Forget it, players don't have the patience for that.

While many people do enjoy finding serious plots in erotic films, if it's too serious, it loses its appeal. Wouldn't it be better to use that time to play some great games?

However, Ryan kept this in mind; if there really was a cunning old fox involved, things wouldn't be so fun.

The cooperation was finalized, and the Iron Blood Legion remained stationed outside the city. During this time, Magana would replenish the personnel, bringing the total to 2,000.

If there are too many, Imperial Capital in the capital will have objections, and it will be very troublesome if things get out of hand.

However, the Royal Guards is dwindling in number, and now only a thousand remain, a devastating loss.

Therefore, the Berman City's defense forces really need to speed things up.

"By the way, how much money is left in the municipal treasury?" Caslathdi suddenly asked.

Ryan's heart skipped a beat. "What does Your Highness want to do?"

"I want to give some compensation to the families of those injured or killed in this incident," Caslathdi sighed. "The casualties this time were too great because of me."