The Crown Prince In Hiding

One Week Later

Final exam season had arrived.

The time left in their second year as students was drawing to an end.

Nora encountered something new sitting behind Anfield's Happy Cottage on the day they had arranged to study together.

"What is that, Mr. Fury?"

"This is a telescope."

"A telescope for looking at the stars?"

"It's basically like a magnifying glass."

"Where did you get it?"

"A kind person at Mathema gave it to me. Careful, it's heavy."

Nora reached out and tried lifting it.

"Don't go twisting things around for fun. If something breaks, we're going to have a real problem."

"Are you being possessive of your new toy?"

"A little. But if it breaks, it really would be a problem."

Just then, a new guest entered through the property's gate.

Rafinya, with her hair grown a little longer.

"Mr. Fury, what's that?"

"My new toy."

Dan wiped the glass at the end of the telescope before covering it again with its white cloth.

"Let's get back to studying."

Dan let out a quiet breath through his mouth, twisting his body from side to side as his bones cracked and popped.

At the same time, Casca walked out carrying warm tea for everyone.

"Good job, everyone~"

"...Thank you."

Rafinya accepted the tea with a somewhat awkward expression, seeing Casca grinning happily without realizing that this was exactly the kind of life Casca had always dreamed of.

"By the way, how have you been?"

Casca suddenly asked Rafinya.

She paused for a moment, slightly confused by the question, before answering.

"I'm fine, as usual."

"How about Yildiz?"

"I haven't seen him."

"Really?"

"Why do you look so disappointed?"

"These are the seniors who have brought honor and prestige to our Knight Division."

Rafinya and the scholarship students stood watching the first-year students attending the Knight Division classes.

The juniors looked at them as though they were legendary celebrities, their eyes sparkling with admiration and a desire for autographs.

However, there was one person among those first-years whom Rafinya would rather not look at unless absolutely necessary.

"Ugh!? --- Aaargh!!!"

His sparring partner was thrown through the air. He landed face-first on the ground before his opponent extended a hand and pulled him back up.

At that moment, Senior Aaron walked over to speak with him.

"I didn't know you had some boxing skills too. What's your name?"

"I'm Sauce, sir."

"Not bad... not bad."

"Thank you, Senior Aaron."

Rafinya watched the interaction with Mr. Sauce Gardner closely.

"Have you trained in boxing before?"

"A fair bit."

The young woman narrowed her eyes.

What an incredibly arrogant attitude...

"Interested in joining our division?"

"I've always been prone to injuries since I was a kid. I've never had the slightest intention of joining the Knight Division."

"Wow... that's harsh..."

Sauce looked behind him and spotted Rafinya.

He gave her a single raised eyebrow.

The young woman rolled her eyes.

"My brain is completely fried. Let's go outside for a walk and clear our heads."

Dan closed his book and stood up.

When he stepped outside, Princess Nora and Rafinya followed him.

"We haven't seen much of you on Saturdays and Sundays lately. Is something going on?"

Nora asked.

"Yeah. I've been extremely busy."

The list seemed endless—everything from Diablo's plans for opening up its borders, to matters concerning debt, and most of all, the Warehouse.

"I have to keep talking with Dominic from time to time because I've already started sending people to establish an excavation zone on our island."

"Has Thomasin's excavation proposal been approved?"

"The king has been informed and given permission. I appointed trustworthy Diablos to assist them... I don't know whether they'll actually be useful."

He turned back toward the other person behind him.

"The Knight Division finishes its exams before we do, right?"

"Huh? ...Yes."

Rafinya answered.

"Any plans for the holidays, Rafinya?"

"I'll probably go home. I'll be training with my father's Lark Battalion throughout the holiday."

"That's unfortunate. You won't get to settle the score with Jaiba."

"We could do it right now, Mr. Fury."

"Oh? Getting fired up and eager for a fight?"

The promise Fury had made to Rafinya was finally being fulfilled today.

Nora thought the same thing as everyone else. There was hardly any need to guess what the result would be.

And it was proven beyond a shadow of a doubt when the scene cut again.

Rafinya was down on one knee, using her sword to brace herself against the ground.

Her clothes were torn, dirt and dust covered her body, and she was panting as though she were about to collapse. Sweat drenched her face and body.

Standing before her was Prince Fury in his gigantic black-and-red demon form.

His armor was covered in hundreds of scratches, some deep and some shallow, as though he had been struck countless times in rapid succession.

But no matter how Nora looked at it, those attacks had not even penetrated his thick armor.

"Mr. Fury."

Nora pointed toward her own shoulder.

The black-and-red demon turned and discovered that there was a small fire burning on him. He brushed it away before transforming back into Dan.

He walked over, pulled Rafinya to her feet, and patted her on the back.

Her entire body was burning hot and drenched in sweat.

"Spend another ten years collecting battle scars like I did."

"Mr. Fury, is that a compliment or are you bragging?"

"Quiet, Princess. The soldiers are talking."

"Can't we fight again after another ten years?"

Rafinya asked.

Nora: "Will you even still be young in ten years?"

"Behave, Princess. What am I, your playmate?"

Princess Nora walked away from beneath the tree after Dan pretended he was about to throw a rock at her.

"If I'm still alive by then, I'll definitely fight you."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

Rafinya's expression brightened, though it was subtle enough to be difficult to notice.

She lowered her sword to her side.

"It's nice to stretch my muscles once in a while. Makes me remember the good old days too."

Nora: "When you were young?"

"I'm STILL young."

Dan waved his hand dismissively.

"Back to the dorms, you two. You'll lose points otherwise."

Dan waved at them. They bowed and left Anfield.

After seeing the children off, he circled back behind the house and uncovered his telescope.

Casca Saint-Maximin was leaning against the wall, watching the boy from the back door.

"Where are you taking that?"

"The sky is clear tonight. Time to try out my new toy."

"Wow, it's incredibly clear. Humans can make something this amazing?"

Casca pulled her eye away from the eyepiece after taking her turn.

She was astonished by the image of the moon, shining brilliantly, with details far beyond what the naked eye could perceive.

"See?"

Dan took his place and continued observing the stars.

After some time had passed, Dan spoke.

"Casca, there's something I want to ask you."

"What is it?"

"It's about human religion."

"What about it?"

"I heard that the CIS scriptures say God took seven days to create the world. But Thomasin showed me layers of earth that indicate our world is billions of years old. Casca... why do people still believe in religion?"

Hearing the question, instead of feeling as though he had insulted her beliefs or immediately jumping to defend religion,

Casca simply laughed.

"Fury, even if another billion years were to pass, humans would still have faith in religion."

"Why? What I've seen practically contradicts everything written in the scriptures. Why do humans still believe?"

"Because not everyone gets to live lives as fortunate as ours."

You're a prince. I'm a hero. Neither of us has had to struggle just to survive.

"But for many people... the answers provided by religion are the only way forward in their lives."

"Through some intangible love from God?"

"It wasn't made to be touched... It was made to be felt."

"Do you still have faith?"

"Of course."

"Then why do you still believe?"

"Because I can feel His presence."

"Couldn't that just be something you've imagined?"

"If you're calling me crazy, just say it."

"I'm asking seriously."

"No one knows."

Casca said with a gentle smile.

"I believe that all of us are part of Him... Fury."

We are all parts of God, and when we die, we will all return to the same place.

"The CIS calls it THE SOURCE."

She gestured toward the countless stars scattered across the night sky.

"CIS religion today has been distorted. Faith has been turned into a collar, placed around the necks of people who don't understand Him by opportunists hiding behind scripture... that's not CIS, Fury. He never taught us to use religion that way. The story about God creating the world in seven days was an addition made a thousand years ago. In the original version, there was never even a record of how God created the world."

You might wonder why humans added those things in the first place.

The answer is survival.

"Do you think religion is just words written on paper, rigidly believed by a certain group of people? It isn't."

She turned toward him.

"Religion is like a living thing... it evolves for survival."

"Do you think there was no other religion before CIS? Of course not."

Humans have changed religions throughout many different eras.

CIS is simply one of them.

But the CIS religion has managed to evolve through the ages and survive all the way to the present day.

When it was first born, its purpose was its true purpose: to provide answers about life.

That is the duty of religion. It must guide life, not control it.

A true believer does not struggle or lash out when someone questions their faith.

They simply smile in response to criticism from outsiders without feeling threatened.

Because their faith has already been proven to themselves... and has led them to whatever truth they believe life holds for them.

"What makes you believe CIS is the real one?"

"His voice."

"Then is He cursing me right now?"

"He only speaks to me."

The true CIS scriptures never say that God commands us.

They simply say that we are all part of Him—the same being that people a thousand years ago called by another name: THE SOURCE.

"Humans are merely receivers and transmitters for the signals He sends. It depends on whether someone is capable of receiving them or not."

"Then I must be pretty dull."

"Perhaps you simply don't need Him, Fury. And that's okay. Because in the end, when you and I leave this world, we'll return to being part of Him."

"You know something..."

Dan pulled his head away from the telescope.

He seemed to deliberate for a moment before turning toward Casca.

"A belief that we will become something in a higher dimension... I've heard about it at Zentinel too."

"Really?"

Casca frowned.

"You never told me about that. When did you hear it?"

Dan stared at the empty air in front of him.

"Ten years ago."

"...Was that around the same time you started isolating yourself?"

"You could say that."

"What kind of ideas did you hear?"

He didn't answer the question.

He remained silent...

And then he spoke.

"...What I fear."

When Casca heard those words...

and when she looked into her fiancé's eyes,

she froze.

What his eyes were revealing—

was genuine fear, coming from the deepest part of his heart.

A creature like Fury was afraid?

What had he heard, and from whom?