New Identity
I followed the Vice Commander with Kals and Tyrbaen in tow.
Eve, meanwhile, glanced at me cautiously—then dragged Elaine Holt along with her.
I jabbed her in the side.
'Hey, why'd you bring her?'
Her response came right back:
'What, I need a trustworthy ally too, don't I? Just like you!'
'...'
So basically—she was saying I'm not trustworthy.
…That kind of stung.
I nearly died saving her, and this is the thanks I get?
'They say you should never take in a black-haired beast.'
Turns out that saying's spot on.
"Now then, everyone—come closer to me."
At that moment, the spell began to activate.
[Teleportation Magic: Mass Teleport]
A dizzying sensation wrapped around my feet—
and in the next instant, we had left the hunting grounds behind, standing atop the observation tower overlooking the vast forest.
In the darkness, pockets of fire still burned here and there.
The acrid scent of smoke drifted up from the blackened forest below.
I'd survived that hell—and even achieved a massive level-up in the process.
'Fifteen levels, huh.'
Heheheh…
No matter how many times I thought about it, that was one hell of a satisfying feeling.
But when I turned my head—
I froze.
"…High Priest?"
It had been a while since I'd last seen Bamilo Dimark.
"Oh, you've arrived, Shan?"
The priest stood there, firmly pinning someone beneath his foot.
"Argh! What are you doing?!"
The person whose arms were bound and pressed into the ground was none other than Grace Miller.
The high priestess of the Kishiris Cathedral had been stripped of her weapons and was now face-down in the dirt.
The meaning was clear.
Eve's companion, Elaine, seemed to realize something and widened her eyes.
"N-no way!"
Her gaze darted back and forth between the two priests.
"This can't be! Are you saying all the priests of Kishiris Cathedral were involved in this insane plan?"
Kals and Tyrbaen's eyes hardened as well.
The thought that every priest of the Kishiris Order might have joined in this horrific operation—
it was enough to make anyone furious, even those outside their faction.
But neither the Vice Commander Kaid, nor High Priest Bamilo, nor anyone else could answer.
Because they truly didn't know.
Except for me.
And Eve, who knew everything just as I did…
"..."
Remained silent.
Her lips were sealed as she glared daggers at Grace's head, who was still screaming and thrashing.
Meanwhile, I was still utterly baffled.
'What the…? This isn't how the procedure's supposed to go.'
Of course, I knew very well how this quest was supposed to end.
'Hmm… Normally, it would've gone like this…'
As soon as I'd arrived here via teleportation, a heated argument should've broken out:
—High Priest! How could you do such a thing?!
The Vice Commander and the Aeolem Temple priests would confront the Kishiris faction, presenting the captured chief priest as evidence, pressing them hard—
—What are you talking about? I have no idea what's going on!
Grace would deny it all with a calm face.
Even with clear evidence, she could bluff her way through, since no child had actually died.
—We can't just let this go. You'll have to answer to the Special Task Division, High Priest.
—Do as you wish. Let's see whose side the Task Division takes.
The argument would escalate until the archbishops arrived to smooth things over.
—Thanks to you, a tragedy was averted. We would like to offer our gratitude and a modest reward.
That's how it was supposed to proceed—ending with the player receiving their due rewards.
Yeah. That was the script.
But now…
"Let me go! Let go of me!"
Grace was writhing helplessly, pinned to the ground—no debate, no argument, just brutal restraint.
A situation completely different from the original game.
'What the hell happened?'
And then—
"Gilroshan Ello di Valt, Third Prince of the Magic Empire."
Erec Kaid suddenly turned toward me—and spoke my real name.
"Let's greet each other properly. I am Erec Kaid, fifth successor of Panadium. I may be lacking, but I currently serve as the Vice Commander of the Revolutionary Army."
…Great. He'd thrown me off again.
In the original quest ending, there was no such line.
As Vice Commander, he never introduced himself to the player—it wasn't necessary.
But now, Erec Kaid was smiling at me with that impossibly kind expression, clearly expecting a proper exchange of names.
'I have no idea what's going on anymore.'
With all these unscripted events piling up, I could barely keep my head straight.
"Gilroshan of House Valt greets you. May the blessings of the Fivefold Mana be upon you, Lord Kaid."
I instinctively bowed in the Imperial manner.
Huh, that came out way too naturally.
Even Kals, beside me, gave me a thumbs-up.
'Well done, Your Highness.'
'What did I do?'
'When dealing with high-ranking officials of the enemy, proper etiquette requires using our imperial greeting style. You remembered it perfectly!'
'…'
For the record, I didn't remember anything.
It just came out on its own.
In any case, this whole unexpected turn clearly had something to do with Erec Kaid.
He looked over the restrained priests and began to speak softly.
"A few days ago, I received an interesting report from the Aeolem Order and the city guard."
That gentle tone of his… was unsettling.
"It was quite fascinating, actually. A team of Aeolem inquisitors tried to assassinate an important Imperial figure—only to accidentally bring his party to Aulrax instead."
"..."
"And then I heard they broke out of the underground prison."
Of course—he was talking about us.Aulrax
"Ahem."
I scratched my head, not knowing what to say.
"To be honest, I was furious at the time. I can tolerate assassinating Imperial officials—that's part of war—but kidnapping them, then letting them go? That's ridiculous, don't you think?"
…Assassination is fine, but releasing the captive isn't?
'What kind of moral compass is that supposed to be?'
It hit me again—I'd really walked straight into a den of monsters.
"Looking back, it is quite laughable."
"Yes. I even summoned the bishop of the Aeolem Church to hold him accountable. But then Archbishop Hendel told me something… far more interesting."
At that moment, the warmth vanished from Kaid's eyes entirely.
"There are those," he said, "who dared to interfere with the future of our Revolutionary Army—for their own selfish gain."
The air seemed to ignite.
His eyes blazed, ready to incinerate the Kishiris priestesses on the spot.
'That's… practically a beast's killing intent.'
Indeed, Erec Kaid was a man whose fiery passion could rival that of a young warrior.
But—
'Panadium, the Magic of Balance.'
Behind that ultimate mastery of magic, he hid his true nature—posing as the calm, benevolent sage everyone believed him to be.
…Hmm. I see.
So that's how it is.
While I was lost in thought for a moment, the Archmage steadied his aura and let out a deep sigh.
"Unfortunately, at that time, I had no evidence to act upon. So I could only watch from the sidelines until now."
"..."
"When Archbishop Hendel mentioned that His Highness the Prince was taking an interest, I felt uneasy… but I decided to wait and see."
And that patience had paid off in full.
Despite the catastrophic monster flood, the Ritual of the Crimson Wind remained unbroken.
The children had united as one and overcome the crisis together.
'They'll likely become a great asset to the Revolutionary Army.'
And the perpetrators behind this deranged scheme had also been caught—
Chief Priest Ervia, both wrists severed and limbs bound.
High Priestess Grace, face shoved disgracefully into the dirt.
"..."
Now that they knew they'd been under suspicion all along—and that there was no way out—both women stayed silent.
All of this was thanks to me.
Without me, it never would've gone so smoothly.
"Third Prince, this incident you've resolved will be handled with utmost seriousness."
At the Vice Commander's gesture, armed members of the Special Task Division entered.
They bound the two priestesses tightly and dragged them away.
Their pitiful figures being hauled off were almost tragic to behold.
"A report will of course be made to our currently reclusive Commander, and the leadership will soon conduct an extensive search and interrogation throughout the entire Kishiris Cathedral."
"...!"
That was when it hit me for certain.
'Yeah… this really has diverged from the original storyline.'
And the reason why?
I could easily guess it.
'…Because I'm Gilroshan.'
Because this body belonged to Gilroshan Valt, the Third Prince of the Magic Empire—
the entire chain of events had changed course.
Had I been just an ordinary player, Archbishop Hendel and the Vice Commander would never have held private discussions about this matter.
'In the original story, the Vice Commander—unaware of the flood—would've only pieced things together after hearing Bamilo's report.'
But because of my presence, the scenario had shifted.
Thus, the priestesses were captured and dragged away almost instantly.
"I would like, albeit unofficially, to express my deepest gratitude to Prince Gilroshan on behalf of the entire Revolutionary Army."
The Vice Commander bowed his head before me, as though this entire disaster had been his own failure.
And watching that, a thought formed in my mind.
'Right. It was the same with Cardcheater Chero… and with the Tomb Ruins too.'
Every time something deviated from the original game, my plans would inevitably fall apart—
but each time, I'd end up gaining something far greater than expected.
Would that be the case again this time?
'Ideally, he should ask me if I want a reward…'
I wasn't sure yet.
The quest completion message hadn't appeared.
While I was still spinning through those thoughts, Vice Commander Erec Kaid turned toward Eve.
"We also owe much to you, Lady Eve."
So—he already knew who she really was.
But his next words were… strange.
"As repayment, would it suffice if we prepare that ship you mentioned earlier?"
…Ship?
What ship?
"Uh, um…"
Seeing my eyes narrow, Eve waved her hands frantically.
"Th-that's not what I was after, sir! I just wanted to save the children, that's all!"
The Archmage only smiled faintly.
"I see. Then we'll discuss it later."
Then he turned his gaze on me, his expression quietly meaningful.
'…Ship? Does he mean an actual vessel? A sailing ship?'
But why was he looking at me like that?
What was I supposed to do with that?
After their private talk, Erec Kaid addressed us both.
"The Revolutionary Army leadership and the Grand Aeolem Church will see to it that the two of you are rewarded appropriately for your efforts. You have my sincere thanks."
At that, the air shimmered—
and the system message I'd been waiting for finally appeared.
***
[Quest "You're the Jailbreaker, I'm the Archbishop" — Complete]
[Quest "Savior of the Sons" — Complete]
[Please check your rewards.]
[Some rewards may be collected from the Grand Aeolem Church.]
***
"Ah…"
My mind went blank.
'Finally. It's over!'
The long quest had reached its end.
And then—another message popped up.
[You have received a special reward from Vice Commander Erec Kaid of the Revolutionary Army.]
This one—could it be…?
"If there's anything you need, please let me know," said Kaid. "I'll do what I can."
"...!"
It was exactly what I'd been hoping for!
Suppressing the urge to cheer, I immediately spoke up.
"Please open the route to the Sealed Azure Mountain Range."
Erec Kaid's eyes widened—instantly understanding my intent.
"Your Highness… are you planning to challenge the lair of the dead dragon?"
I slowly nodded.
'To retrieve the dragon's egg from the Lair of the Death Dragon.'
That had been my ultimate goal in coming to Aulrax all along.
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