The Cursed Prince

The group fell silent. Rayleigh sighed. He had only wanted to find an old friend and settle their old grievances. Why had he run into new ones now?

Scopper Gaban had a headache too. Although he had settled down in Elbaf and even had children, it was still inappropriate for him to get involved in the royal family's affairs.

Regarding Loki's mother and Ida...

"Ah..." Scopper Gaban sighed, then raised his head and said seriously, "Do you know Loki's story? Loki, the prince known as the Cursed Prince."

Oh? A story?

Mobius beckoned Shyarly to sit down, while Rayleigh looked over with curiosity as well.

Seeing that the atmosphere was right, Scopper Gaban's voice grew deeper.

"Loki's father was Harald, but his mother was not actually Harald's beloved.

The person Harald truly loved was Ida. They had been together since they were young.

Kind-hearted Ida changed the once arrogant and overbearing Harald. They grew up together at sea, fell in love, and eventually had Hajrudin.

But the giant elders were dissatisfied with this marriage. They acknowledged Ida, and they acknowledged that Hajrudin was Harald's son and the prince of Elbaf, but they did not recognize Ida as Harald's lawful wife or Hajrudin as Elbaf's heir.

Ancient giant blood flowed through Harald's veins, making him naturally stronger than other giants.

To ensure that bloodline endured, the Elder Council chose a girl from Wine Village who also possessed ancient giant blood—Estelida. She was Loki's mother."

The wisdom of the older generation. The old guard's most useful moment.

Mobius nodded slightly. This was the bloodline theory. Scientifically speaking, powerful parents were likely to produce extraordinary children.

"Although Harald wanted Ida to be his lawful wife, he could not defy the Elder Council. Left with no choice, he married Estelida."

At first, they got along fairly well. Estelida was extravagant and loved wealth, but she also loved Harald's strength.

Soon, their child—Loki—was born into the world.

But on the day Loki was born, Estelida threw him from the castle's high tower, letting the newborn infant fall into the Underworld ten thousand meters below."

Shyarly had been listening with great interest, but Scopper Gaban's sudden turn left her completely stunned.

"Wait, an infant? Thrown from a castle? Ten thousand meters? The Underworld?"

Shyarly could not help questioning it. How could those words possibly belong together?

Elbaf had been built upon the enormous Treasure Tree Adam. Because of the tree's immense size, it was divided into three levels: the Sky Realm at the top, the Sun World in the middle where people lived, and the Underworld at the bottom, where sunlight never reached.

The Underworld lay in the snowy mountains at Elbaf's lowest level. With no sunlight all year round, temperatures remained below freezing, blizzards raged constantly, and frozen earth stretched everywhere.

There were also many gigantic beasts known as "mountain masters." Every one of them was as large as a giant, enough to claim a place on the seas.

If infant Loki had fallen down there, how had he survived until now?

"Unbelievable as it may be, that was the truth. The newborn Loki was thrown into the Underworld and fell onto an icy plain filled with gigantic beasts.

Then...

With unimaginable perseverance, Loki killed the gigantic beasts that tried to attack him, then forcibly climbed the World Tree and returned to the castle.

Estelida was terrified at the time and fled back to her village overnight."

At that point, Scopper Gaban could not help laughing. Though he had never witnessed such a scene himself, he could imagine it.

These matters were no secret in Elbaf.

"How is that possible..."

Shyarly muttered several times, unable to believe it. If it were the current Loki, she would not doubt it, but he had been a newborn infant!

"What a monster."

Rayleigh sighed as well. Forget him—even if that bastard Roger had gone through something like this right after being born, he would have been finished.

"Later that same year, Elbaf suffered an unimaginable famine, yet Estelida blamed every bit of it on Loki."

"How could that happen..."

"I can hardly believe it either. They say Estelida was a geomancer, and after seeing Loki's eyes, she sincerely believed he was a monster."

Scopper Gaban shook his head. He did not know what kind of eyes could make a mother act that way.

"Later, Estelida died less than a few months after Loki was born. Before she died, she kept muttering that every disaster had originated from Loki's curse.

Loki, rejected by his birth mother, had been crying at the time.

Afterward, Estelida's brother took care of Loki. Because Loki had an eye condition, he made Loki wear bandages from childhood, never seeing the light of day.

Loki grew increasingly silent and rarely played with children his own age. Instead, he often went to the Underworld, where he became friends with a group of gigantic beasts.

He led those beasts to attack giant villages, set villages ablaze, and even knocked down Hajrudin with a single blow when he came to stop him.

That child had never felt love, so he could only seek attention in such ways, yet it could never fill the emptiness in his heart.

Until he met Ida. Under Ida's care, the infamous Loki gradually became obedient, just as Harald once had.

You all saw it too. Although that kid kept speaking harshly, he never lacked concern for Ida.

I think the reason he destroyed the village was Ida."

Scopper Gaban sighed again. As a preacher of love, he could naturally see through people's hearts.

"How could it be like this..."

Young Shyarly's eyes brimmed with tears. She could not imagine what would happen to someone who had never felt love after the person who truly loved them died.

Mobius closed his eyes slightly as well. There were plenty of people in the pirate world with miserable childhoods, but Loki was something else entirely.

As a child, he had been cast into the Underworld by his birth mother, climbed back through blizzards and gigantic beasts, then been despised by that same mother, who continued claiming he was cursed even before she died.

Then he had been cared for by his uncle, who secretly abused him and prevented him from properly opening his eyes from such a young age.

He had finally met Rocks, a mentor in life, only for Rocks to die overseas not long afterward.

Later, he met an adoptive mother who truly loved him, only for her to be poisoned to death because people from his birth mother's village were jealous.

Less than a year later, his father was brainwashed and framed because of his own foolishness, forcing Loki to kill his father, only learning before he acted that his father loved him too.

He even found someone he liked in the future, only to be abandoned at the altar.

Everyone Loki cared about either despised him, died, or was personally dealt with by him.

"So..."

Scopper Gaban suddenly raised a hand, looking as though he had a brilliant idea.

"Mobius, why don't you go help Loki? That kid may not mean what he says, but he really is a good child."

"Me?"

Mobius pointed at himself, somewhat doubtful. Did he look like a psychiatrist?

"Don't play dumb. I've seen that look in Roger's eyes before, you bastard. You want Loki to become your companion, don't you?"

Scopper Gaban grinned wickedly. This kid really had good judgment, picking out the one with the greatest potential right away.

"That's true."

Mobius nodded. Who would not want someone with that kind of strength under their command?

"Go lend that little Loki a hand. I can tell you're compatible. At the very least, keep an eye on his voyage."

"Loki went to sea before, but just after setting out, his ship broke down. If some passing fishermen had not happened to find him, he might have died."

"Rayleigh said you wanted to learn something. How about this? If you can help Loki, I'll teach you the skill I've kept hidden away. What do you say?"

Scopper Gaban chuckled, wearing the air of a master.

Yet for some reason, upon hearing about Scopper Gaban's secret skill, Mobius pictured him marrying a female giant and having children.

Hmm...

"Deal."

Mobius agreed. It was only a small favor. Besides, with Scopper Gaban vouching for him now, recruiting people would be much easier.

"Excellent!"

Scopper Gaban burst into laughter. Just watch him work—he would save the Cursed Prince. Harald, someday you would definitely have to buy him a drink!