Unexpected Hero (3)“Did you see? Did you? Hahaha!”
The meeting was supposed to be held for many days. However it had ended earlier by Hayden Greenriver and Ian Page, who thought of everything and not by Ragnar as everyone had expected.
“Your highness.”
“Oh, Captain. You should have seen it!”
With the Crown Prince’s happy face, Oliver was relieved. He as well, was very nervous about this meeting.
“I smashed the council….. Khmmm, before this, let’s get some wines and start my story. We haven’t enjoyed it for a while, right? And let’s tour this city for a bit. We don’t always have a chance to come Demidera, do we?”
The Crown Prince looked at Ian and Oliver. As he said, when would be the next chance to play around? Ian nodded his head, and Oliver remained silent but with a positive att.i.tude.
“Hahaha! Good. Ian, you are almost an adult, aren’t you? I will teach you how to drink like a real man, real men has special wa……”
“The Crown Prince, your highness.”
While the Crown Prince was thinking about alcohol, Ragnar, who hadn’t a single chance to speak and was supposed to be the main hero of the council, approached the Crown Prince.
He smiled a fake smile.
“What.”
“It was outstanding. Today, your little brother learnt many things”
Even with the cold response from the Crown Prince, Ragnar complimented him. He controlled his facial expression very well. Today, however, he couldn’t truly hide his real emotions perfectly.
‘His mouth is smiling, but his mind is not smiling.’
Not only Ian, but the Crown Prince felt same way.
‘This is good.’
It was first time he defeated Ragnar, and its excitement was unspeakably good.
His old hatred was mostly solved by this event.
‘No more bad feelings, as well.’
During normal days, whenever the Crown Prince met the other princes, especially Ragnar, he felt a pressure that squeezed his heart. However, at the moment he felt nothing.
‘That’s strange.’
Although the Crown Prince didn’t know that the feeling he used to feel was in fact, inferiority. However, this time, he wasn’t inferior to Ragnar anymore. Hence, he hadn’t felt the bad feeling.
‘Maybe it’s because I feel good today?’
After he made a brief conclusion, he laughed loudly.
While tapping Ragnar’s arm, he replied warmly.
“Haha! That’s good to hear, brother.”
Thanks to his response, Ragnar’s hatred was growing bigger. The pitiful Crown Prince used to growl at him with inferiority. Thus, every time Ragnar saw his struggling, he felt good. It made him feel superior. However, this time was different.
“You, too, eh… what’s it called again? Ah yes! Practice! Always practice, and train yourself! And…. Whatever, do your best. Do you understand?”
Ragnar now lost his smile completely.
He barely prevented himself in making his angry face.
He didn’t expect to hear such bulls.h.i.t from the Crown Prince.
His pride was shattering.
‘f.u.c.k!’
After re-managing his face, Ragnar turned his face away. If he kept on seeing that idiot’s face, he wouldn’t able to calm his mind anymore.
‘It’s all that brat’s fault.’
He now looked at Ian.
The very existence who made him the most uncomfortable right now.Son of a b.i.t.c.h!
‘That b.a.s.t.a.r.d ruined everything…!’
Ragnar ground his tooth.The Crown Prince, the knight who protected that idiot, and the mage who helped that idiot,
‘I will make all of them regret it. I swear’.
Regardless of Ragnar’s feeling, the Crown Prince was excited about tonight’s party. He intended it.
“Ok ok, Let’s have fun! We will blow away all the tiredness from last week. Oliver, you too, relax and enjoy tonight. Don’t be too strict, okay? Ian, you too, you will be adult soon so…. Ah, did I already tell you this?”
While the Crown Prince was getting more excited,
“Anyway, so…. Huh?”
Ian’s body started turn. The Crown Prince was the first one who noticed that change. Soon, most of the people recognized Ian’s change. Not only Oliver and Ragnar, but also Greenriver’s emba.s.sy and its guards who were standing far away saw the change.
“I, Ian? What’s going on? Your body…..”
Precisely, Ian’s body started to blur. At the beginning, his body blurred slightly, but as time goes by, his body started to blur more severely.
“I guess it’s my limit.”
“Limit? What do you mean?”
(ED Note: Until now I completely forgot he was a puppet…Due to me not releasing for so long…)
The Crown Prince couldn’t understand what he was saying.
Limit? What limit?
What did he mean?
“I apologize, but I think we better enjoy the party at the Royal Palace.”
“So what do you mean…..”
“I will tell you in detail,”
Soon, his face started to blur, hence, his voice started to blur as well.
“At the Royal Pala…….”
Ian’s body disappeared like a mirage.
When everyone was caught in the embarra.s.sment,
The Tower Lord opened his mouth.
His voice was quite different than normal.
It was full of nervousness.
“A, an image? So he had been an image for a while…?”
He murmured like a mad man, and everyone could hear his voice.
He completely lost his mind.
“There is no such image spell in existence…..”
In his understanding, it was impossible. Mirror Image only allowed its caster to make a puppet that can’t do anything but stand. He hadn’t seen nor heard about a puppet that can talk, move, cast spells, and last for a week.
“So all the plans we had prepar….”
Due to his mind being lost, it lead him to say things until Ragnar pulled the Tower Lord’s robe quietly. Thanks to that, he woke up from his disoriented (delusion?), and quickly shut his mouth.
‘So all the plans we had prepared were made into playthings,’
Unbelievable puppet magic.
Although it was unbelievable, everyone saw it with their own eyes.
It was some kind of new magic that he didn’t know.
‘By his puppet magic?’
Literally, their plan was ‘played’ by Ian’s puppet. The Tower Lord had thought himself as ‘The peak of magic’, but he was made a plaything of by that youngster, Ian Page’s puppet magic.
“……”
The Tower Lord Habert lost his words.
His pride was stomped.
He had pa.s.sed around 70 years old.
He never felt such shame in his life.
‘Hahaha…..’
Many people were watching him.
He couldn’t laugh out loudly.
But the way the Tower Lord laughed was weird.
His laugh was uncanny. It was based on something that came from his deep ego, ‘madness’.
“My lord. This is the doc.u.ment plan about rebuilding the border village. Please read it and tell us any things to fi……”
“Nothing.”
“Pardon?”
It was the bas.e.m.e.nt gymnasium of the Pieric province castle.
More than 10 days had pa.s.sed since Ian became unconsciousness by the Puppet Play spell. However, the great land lord and his best warriors were still fully armored. Except the moment when they ate or went for the toilet, they kept protecting the gymnasium by rotation.
“How many times do I have to tell you? I gave you authority to make any decision for a while, didn’t I tell you before?”
“B, but…”
“Unless you dared to sneakily create personal benefits.”
The great landlord Kalian re-grabbed his axes quietly. By its threatening scenery, the middle aged secretary was surprised
“P, personal benefit? Why do you talk like that to me…..”
“I know, I know. I know you can be trusted. Anyway, support the rebuilding project as much as we can. If it is still not enough, use money from my family cache. Do you copy?”
“Y, yes my lord.”
“Then go back. I need to protect my benefactor.”
Ian Page, the benefactor of the province.
It was the true honor and responsibility to accomplish his benefactor’s favor. Although it was getting longer than he thought, but it was a part of it.
“Zzzz…. Phew……!”
Not everyone was armored and awake like Kalian and his warriors. Mary, who sat next to Ian, was sleeping deeply.
“Zzz…..”
“Ma’am Mary.”
“Phew….”
“Ma’am Mary.”
“Huh….?”
Mary opened her eye.
“Ehik!”
As her costume magic was dispelled, she made weird shouting.
“Sir…. Ian?”
“Long time no see.”
“Y, you awake?
“As you can see.”
Ian was still lying down.
He couldn’t move his body.
He hadn’t moved his body for more than ten days.
Although he minimized his bodily cycles with the help of magic, but it wasn’t be perfect though.
“You okay….. Right?”
“It seems I have some problems at the moment. I feel a headache, I can’t move and most of all,”
Ian paused for a moment.
Soon he opened his mouth.
“My stomach.”
“Huh? Your stomach? Do you feel a stomach ache?”
“No, I’m feeling hungry.”
He never said to someone that he was hungry, except for his mother. However he couldn’t bear it anymore. Even a mage couldn’t perfectly control their bodily cycle.
“A lot.”
Ian emphasized it.