Chapter 101
Chapter 101
Qualification
“You sure made a flashy mess from the start, didn’t you?”
Katya spoke gloomily as she looked at the scattered reporters outside their lodging.
Still, it was fortunate that the place was good enough to feel like it had come through the Pontiff’s introduction. At least those people hadn’t barged in and started interrogating them under the guise of an interview.
“You sure you’re okay? You usually hate standing out.”
“I was going to stand out sooner or later anyway. If I’m going to, I’d rather do it in style.”
Aiden, the one who had actually caused the stir, remained perfectly composed.
He wasn’t wrong. From the moment the Pontiff pushed him into the succession ceremony, attention was inevitable. It had just come a bit earlier than expected.
“...You sure you’re okay?”
Still, Katya asked the same question again.
She hadn’t been in a good mood since they arrived in the Holy Crown Kingdom, but now it felt like she was hitting new lows.
“You don’t like being on bad terms with people either.”
Aiden, who had quietly listened to her, gave a short snort and casually sat down in front of her.
“Your Highness. We’ll be here for a while. Anyway, the task His Holiness entrusted us with isn’t a short one.”
“...Huh?”
“So, to make that time a bit more comfortable, may I ask you one thing, Your Highness?”
“What is it?”
“Why are you just letting them treat you like that?”
“...”
“You’re not the type of person to just take it. From what I’ve seen of Your Highness, you’re not someone who puts up with that kind of thing.”
Katya’s expression darkened.
“Well, you see—”
“—You can explain when you’re ready.”
But before she could finish, Aiden casually cut her off.
His indifferent tone startled Katya as she looked at him.
“That was all the explanation I needed. You can’t go against the royal family of the Holy Crown Kingdom because of some inconvenient reason, right?”
“...Yeah.”
“Right. That’s exactly why I’m saying this.”
While Katya tilted her head in confusion, Aiden continued without changing his expression.
“Anyone who’s unreasonably rude to you here—I’ll wipe them out.”
“...”
Katya blinked and looked at him.
She had about two questions.
“...Didn’t you always tell me not to cause trouble?”
“That’s because if you go wild, someone might actually end up dead.”
“...”
Logical argument confirmed.
Even Katya nodded with a face that said she couldn’t argue with that.
Aiden still remembered the time when she had been dispatched to forcibly bring him to the Holy Crown Kingdom.
Even though Aiden had mellowed a lot while spending time with her, it would be a problem if he ever snapped and reverted to how he was back then.
And the next question was this.
“...Why only go after the ones who’re excessively rude?”
“Considering Your Highness’s usual behavior, there are probably people who hold a grudge just from that.”
“...”
“If we go after even those people, then we’d be the trash.”
“...Hmm.”
Once again, logical argument confirmed.
Katya nodded with a look that said she couldn’t refute that either…
She had at least a faint awareness that she’d always acted as she pleased.
“But that aside.”
Aiden let out a sigh and continued.
“If someone picks a fight with us without provocation, then they have no right to complain when they get crushed. That’s just normal between people.”
“My friends who got caught up in this with me— I think they’re enjoying this right now.”
“...Huh?”
“It’s a chance to get their faces out there. I’ve set the stage nice and flashy for them.”
Except for Alex, who’d been directly punched by Aiden, it was highly likely that everyone else was thinking something along the lines of, "This is our chance!"
Especially considering the nature of the preliminaries tomorrow.
‘From their perspective, they probably think there’s no way they’ll lose.’
The succession ceremony was a marathon held over a long period, and the preliminaries were essentially designed to weed out those with potential—gems among the rocks.
So the emphasis was more on raw ‘talent’. More precisely, it was to gauge how refined a person’s skills were.
“They’ll probably proceed with the supernatural ability levels forcibly restricted. To make sure everyone starts from a similar baseline.”
And under those conditions, they probably believed they could easily beat someone like Aiden, who had supposedly crawled up from nowhere.
Anyway, if everyone’s output was roughly equal, the side with the numbers would naturally have the advantage.
Right about now, they were probably in a celebratory mood. That kind of crowd always was. They only got brave when they were convinced they could win.
“...Then isn’t that dangerous? You could lose, right?”
Katya rolled her eyes around and asked cautiously, but Aiden only grinned.
“Didn’t I just tell you? I always follow through on what I say, no matter what.”
His eyes curved into a crescent.
“If I can’t do it with my teeth, I’ll use my gums.”
“...”
For someone saying something like that, his expression already made it clear that he’d decided exactly how he was going to execute his enemies.
That expression was—
To put it in Katya’s words, the kind of look he always wore when he was thinking something ideologically dangerous.
▣
“Aiden has become a royal of the Holy Crown Kingdom.”
Noel muttered in disbelief, and Aiden chuckled quietly in agreement.
The symbol of the Holy Crown Kingdom of Craven hanging around Aiden’s neck proved that he had the right to participate in the succession ceremony.
It really hit him again—how shockingly unconventional the administrative system of the Holy Crown Kingdom was.
More precisely, it would be accurate to say that far too much authority was concentrated in the Pontiff's hands.
Despite the incident just yesterday, the ‘temporary’ royal authority had already been granted to him today. The speed at which the whole matter had been handled was incomprehensible.
Of course, just becoming a royal didn’t grant him immunity, so he could still face backlash for what happened yesterday.
But in response to that possibility, the Pontiff had said:
– You think they’ll try it? Knowing they’d go straight to hell?
– ...
– Everyone present probably knew that you and I are at least somewhat connected. Unless they’re particularly brave, most of them won’t even dare to bite at you.
...This was why power was a beautiful thing.
With a satisfied nod, Aiden looked at the facility in front of him.
This was the building where the preliminaries would take place to select which royals would participate in the succession ceremony.
“I’m off, Dame Noel.”
“...I’m sorry I can’t assist you.”
No matter how you looked at it, this was a solo event. No one else could intervene or offer help.
Thinking that, Noel lightly patted Aiden on the shoulder with a somewhat regretful look.
But the moment she saw the expression on Aiden’s face, her own froze up.
“...Aiden.”
“Yes?”
“Please keep your intensity in check.”
“...Pardon?”
“Every time you make that scary face, you end up doing something huge, don’t you...!”
“...”
Katya had said something similar yesterday, and now even she was saying it.
Wasn’t everyone treating him a little strangely lately...?
Pondering that odd feeling, Aiden tilted his head and stepped into the building.
Everyone was watching him due to what had happened yesterday, but he didn’t seem to care at all. His slightly tired-looking eyes soon found the person he was looking for.
Then, Aiden immediately approached Alex and initiated the conversation.
Alex, upon noticing him, probably tried to spice things up with a provocative line or two.
Something like, "You’re lucky I didn’t bail," or "Don’t expect me to go easy on you," or the usual posturing.
But Aiden wasn’t interested in that.
“Let’s say the loser gets their royal authority revoked, all assets confiscated, and is exiled from the country.”
He shoved the main point in before the other guy could even speak.
If their goal was to boost their public image by using others—
Aiden’s goal from the start had been to “wipe out” these punks who had acted rudely toward his friend.
“And let’s add this: the winner gets to use the loser like a slave. Not like we’re actually stripping anyone of their human rights—it’s just a labor contract at that level.”
“...”
“So, shall we sign an agreement to that effect and proceed?”
With eyes clear and pure, and a stack of prepared documents neatly placed in front of them from who knows when, Aiden made the entire group around Alex pull twisted faces.
‘...Is this guy completely insane?’
That was the shared sentiment everyone at the scene must have felt.
...Had Noel and Katya been there, they would’ve nodded so hard their necks might’ve snapped.
▣
‘The event’s not that exciting.’
Unfortunately for Aiden, the preliminaries were not structured for direct confrontation between the royals.
Maybe it was out of consideration, since there’d be more than enough head-to-heads once the formal ceremony began.
‘...So it’s a labyrinth run.’
Recalling the full explanation he’d just heard, Aiden stroked his chin.
He quietly stood up from his spot. No one else was around—it was a dimly lit area. Probably the starting point of the labyrinth assigned to him.
From now on, everyone would start racing toward the center of the labyrinth.
The preliminaries would take place inside an artificial dungeon built into the building. Participants would fight artificial monsters as they made their way through the maze.
Each participant woke up in different locations and had to advance to the deepest part of the maze as quickly as possible.
It was a fairly orthodox setup. Anyway, when evaluating someone for the Pontiff’s title, the first and foremost criterion was “strongest.” Combat ability was a very basic metric to fulfill that label.
‘So this is how it works.’
As expected, before the event began, specially crafted armlets were equipped to limit total supernatural output.
Even those who could handle massive power were now reduced to levels akin to apprentices who’d only just begun to train in supernatural abilities.
Under these conditions, Aiden had to score higher than the entire group around Alex, even though they’d be judged more leniently.
He’d already signed the agreement under those terms.
It was going to be tough.
Chances were, no one here was weak. The fact that they had earned the title of royal and stood here meant they had the potential to become the head of a nation.
And yet—
‘...Well then.’
He would do it.
Thoroughly, leaving not a shred of room for rebuttal.
‘Get ready to be wiped out, you punks.’
Of course, he had good reason to believe he could pull it off.
It was, in fact, a given.
Because there was a variable the organizers had absolutely not accounted for.
Or rather, it would’ve been strange if they had.
Who on earth would ever expect—
—that someone would show up not only with the divine power usable by all Holy Flame users, but also with a whole arsenal of different supernatural abilities?
While everyone else raced toward the labyrinth’s core, Aiden calmly rotated his powers and checked his status.
He could afford to start a little late. A cheetah doesn’t care about the other hounds in the race. As long as this one thing was confirmed, he could take his time.
Then Aiden took a deep breath and recited an invocation.
“Law, I make my vow.”
Qi responded and surged forth.
...It was his full, original output.
“Lotus, orb, shine forth.”
His mana flowed.
...Again, full output, untouched.
Soon after—
‘So only the divine power got reduced?’
A twisted grin crept up Aiden’s lips.
In other words, it was just that.
There were various rules for joining the preliminaries, but—
Nowhere did it say that one had to only use divine power to pass.
Sure, he’d probably get cursed at. Who ever heard of someone using multiple powers to pass a trial for selecting the Pontiff?
But—
‘That’s not my problem, is it?’
His current goal was to crack open the skulls of the ones who insulted Katya.
There was no reason to go easy.
And so—
Right now, he was entering a coliseum where everyone else had come in with a single dagger—while he alone rolled in with a war chariot.
“That bastard...”
Even the Pontiff, watching from somewhere, clicked his tongue at how overwhelming his power was.