49.
Behind the Academy's Main Building stood the Crown Prince's Office, the size of a grand mansion.
The Crown Prince's Office was a place for the Crown Prince to manage state affairs alongside his studies.
As such, its security was strict, a place not even the Academy Director or the Chairman could enter without permission.
"I request an audience with Crown Prince Darius."
X requested the meeting from an Imperial Royal Guard knight standing before the massive, ornate gate.
A mere commoner daring to make such a request at 9 p.m. would surely be punished for blasphemy.
However.
"His Highness has been waiting."
The Imperial Royal Guard knight opened the gate as if he had been expecting him.
'…He's been waiting?'
I followed the knight into the grand mansion.
I didn't know why the Crown Prince was waiting, but thanks to that, meeting him became easier.
"So you're X."
As I entered the mansion's hall, someone was standing there sternly.
It was a knight in ornate full-body armor, without a helmet.
A beautiful woman with fiery, flame-colored hair tied back in a long ponytail.
The lines of her face and the shape of her eyes were so sharp they looked like they could cut you just by looking.
X knew very well who she was.
'A 7-Star Martial Artist and the Captain of the Imperial Royal Guard. Milia.'
"Hurry up. Do you intend to make His Highness wait any longer?"
Milia left X behind and quickened her pace.
Her personality was exactly as I had read in the settings.
'A fiery temper that hates waiting.'
Her steps were as brisk as her temper.
Yet the fact that she made no sound proved her martial prowess.
It was quite a distance to the Crown Prince's office.
For a long while, there was no conversation between X and Milia.
Milia only spoke a few words before they arrived at the office.
"A piece of advice. In here, you are not a student, but a mere commoner. If you forget that, you will die by my hand."
With that murderous advice, the office door opened.
The office was decorated with magnificent works of art.
One could feel an obsession with beauty, to the point that there were Magic Tools used purely for decoration.
I could vaguely sense an intention, as if it would be hard to endure without at least looking at these things.
And in the center of it all was a person.
A handsome man with blonde hair and golden eyes, like a sculpture.
A sturdy frame and a body of golden proportions.
'That's Crown Prince Darius.'
In the middle of the splendid office, Crown Prince Darius sat at his desk, reviewing a mountain of documents.
It was an amount no single person could possibly handle.
'Admiration later…'
X knelt respectfully and offered his greeting.
"It is an honor to meet Crown Prince Dari—"
"Milia, find the ones who wrote these documents and throw them in prison for a month."
"On what charge, Your Highness?"
"They recorded the figures incorrectly. The incompetent fools…"
Darius handed the documents to Milia as if X wasn't even there.
After receiving the documents, Milia immediately contacted someone on her Manaphone.
And so, the two of them continued to process documents as if X had never been there from the start.
50 minutes passed as X knelt and waited.
Just as X was starting to grow impatient.
"Let's take a 10-minute break."
Darius put down his fountain pen and sighed.
Forty percent of that massive pile of documents had been processed.
It was proof of his extraordinary competence.
After a brief sigh, Darius spoke.
"Do you know why I let you in?"
He suddenly threw such a question.
"Is it to hear directly about the recent incidents?"
"…Hmph. Milia, bring that."
Milia brought something and placed it in front of X.
It was a holder that could carry three potions.
There were three incredibly potent-looking Recovery Potions.
"In light of your contributions so far, I will give you three chances."
"My contributions…? Three chances, you say…?"
"First, there is something I must confirm about you."
Darius handed a document to Milia.
It was placed before X, and he naturally read it.
The moment he saw it, a chill ran down X's spine.
The document's title was "Investigation Report on 'X'."
Darius began his explanation indifferently.
"February 22nd is the Academy's entrance ceremony for new students. It takes at least a week to arrive, even from the furthest frontiers of the Empire. A Gate is not omnipotent, after all."
Darius glanced at a document on his desk.
It was the "Report on New Student Admission Applications."
"Thus, new students usually travel with more than a week to spare. That time is usually around February 1st, which is also the Academy's application period. It's the Empire's busiest time, so naturally, all administrative power is mobilized. And yet."
The document read as follows.
「Applicant Name: X
Application Time: February 1st, 08:06
Application Number: 0015」
"You came in the moment applications opened. As if you were just waiting for the entrance ceremony."
Darius had investigated every piece of information on X.
Including things that X himself did not know.
'Still, I can explain this…!'
"Yes, you must have a diligent personality. But this is strange."
Darius looked at the next document.
It was the "Report on Gate Usage History."
"For five years prior to February 1st, there is no record of a Gate being used under the name 'X'. Did you not use a Gate? Then let's consider other possibilities."
Darius looked at the next document.
They were the "Checkpoint Inspection Report" and the "Civil Administration Report."
"You weren't confirmed at any checkpoint during that period either. Then were you born and raised in the capital, Valon? Unfortunately, no citizen by the name of 'X' was found. This makes it seem as if…"
Darius's indifferent gaze turned to X.
"You just suddenly appeared. Solely to enter the Academy."
X had been making a grave miscalculation.
The miscalculation that his opponent was 'Crown Prince Darius'.
The one before his eyes right now was not 'Crown Prince Darius'.
It was the 'Dritania Empire' itself.
"Well then."
Sshing-
The sound of Milia drawing her sword came from the side.
Darius commanded indifferently, coldly.
"Explain yourself."
At the same time, a Status Window noisily appeared before his eyes.
『Warning! The existence of 'X' cannot be explained.』
『Plausibility Penalty acquired: Possessed Talents temporarily sealed』
A Plausibility Penalty had been incurred.
Ten Thousand Lies and One Truth had been sealed.
Now, I could no longer escape lie detection.
Thankfully, my Humanization wasn't canceled.
If I had turned into a demon here, it would have been a catastrophe.
But that didn't mean the situation had improved.
'I can't explain it…!'
Not knowing about the past was my biggest blind spot.
It worked with Rockswell because it couldn't be proven.
As long as the story made sense, it was fine, since no one could prove it.
But now it was different.
If a full investigation has been completed, proof is required.
Unfortunately, X currently had no way to prove anything.
There was nothing he could say.
Understanding the meaning of his silence, Darius sighed.
"Milia."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Sshing-
With those words, a chilling pain shot through my ankles.
"…Huh?"
The sensation gradually sharpened into unmistakable agony.
Both of X's ankles had just been severed.
"Kghh…!"
I couldn't scream, so I gritted my teeth.
Then, Milia poured a Recovery Potion on my ankles.
The severed ankles were instantly healed back to normal.
"Two chances remain."
Darius's words made me grasp the situation properly.
'The Crown Prince brought me here to interrogate me…!'
This wasn't an office.
It was an Interrogation Room presided over by the Crown Prince.
Darius turned a page and continued his explanation.
"Fine, let's assume there was an administrative error. The Empire's administration isn't perfect. Tracking every citizen can't be 100% certain. I'll concede that. But this is also strange."
The document was titled "Report on the Usage of Special Admission Recommendations."
"There are no errors when it comes to the 'Special Admission Recommendations' issued at the Academy's founding. A privilege of astronomical value couldn't possibly have an error. It's one of the matters I personally manage every year."
Darius slowly reviewed the details of the report.
"A total of 50 Special Admission Recommendations were issued, and as of this year, all 50 have been used. The student who used the 50th and final recommendation was 'Leon Brave'. And yet."
The last line of the report was not number 50.
Numbers 51 and 52 had been newly added.
Number 51 was written as X, and number 52 as Elia.
"Numbers 51 and 52, which weren't there last year, have suddenly been added."
"…!"
This wasn't in the settings.
I never imagined something like this would exist.
But Darius wasn't wrong.
It was a special privilege for unconditional admission to the Academy.
There was no way it wouldn't be managed at all.
Darius took out two pieces of paper.
They were Special Admission Recommendations.
"The nonexistent 51st and 52nd Special Admission Recommendations. Curiously, the investigation revealed them to be 'authentic'. There were no issues with the administrative serial numbers or authenticity verification. Yes, I thought perhaps I was mistaken. So I cross-referenced."
The report listed the name of the official who authorized the use of the Special Admission Recommendation.
"Usually, the Academy Director or the Chairman provides authorization. For this year's class, the Academy Director authorized them all. I received confirmation that number 50, Leon Brave, and number 52, Elia, were personally authorized by the Academy Director. However…"
Darius's gaze turned to X.
"Number 51, X. I was told neither the Academy Director nor the Chairman authorized you. They each assumed someone else had authorized it. Their stories don't match. So, let me ask."
Milia's sword glinted coldly once more.
"Who was the one who authorized your special admission?"
There was no such person.
X had just been dropped into this world out of nowhere.
When he opened his eyes, he was in the middle of the entrance ceremony.
He struggled to survive without knowing a single person.
He had neither the time nor the reason to care about a past he didn't even know.
And now, that very thing was choking the life out of X.
"Milia."
Sshing-
At Darius's call, X's neck was half-severed.
Pshwaaa-!
"Kgh, krrrk…"
As he pressed down on the gushing blood, Milia roughly poured another Recovery Potion on him.
His neck healed quickly, but the brief blood loss made his head spin.
That wasn't all.
『Warning! The admission of 'X' cannot be explained.』
『Plausibility Penalty acquired: Possessed Titles temporarily sealed』
The Plausibility Penalty triggered again.
At the same time, an irresistible fear washed over me.
The sealing of my titles meant the sealing of the 'Iron-faced Skin' effect.
The title that had suppressed fear in any situation was gone.
What I felt now was the pure terror of a human being.
"One chance remains."
My teeth and my entire body began to chatter.
I was on the razor's edge of truth.
This wasn't an interrogation room; it was an execution ground.
An execution ground of truth where no excuse would work.
'Wh-What do I do…?'
X was someone who always escaped situations with lies.
But here, lies would not work.
Talents, titles, everything was sealed.
All that was left was this one pathetic body.
'This is why I tried to avoid him…!'
If I got caught in Darius's surveillance network, everything would be investigated.
There was a reason Darius was buried in a mountain of documents.
He hadn't trusted anything since the incident five years ago.
That was why he verified everything himself.
Whether it was Lie Detection Magic or a Magic Tool, he had to be convinced himself.
The ultimate paranoid who trusted nothing.
This was why Darius was the Empire's greatest source of information.
"Try any excuse."
I couldn't think of anything.
Fear had consumed my thoughts.
All the plans I prepared before coming here had collapsed.
Any lie I told would surely fail…
'A lie…?'
As I was pale with fear, a primal instinct awakened.
A single goal I had completely forgotten came to mind.
'Why have I been lying until now?'
It wasn't for great authority or powerful strength.
Nor was it for an honor that no one could approach.
"Y-Your Highness. I, I…"
The driving force that had moved me until now was just one thing.
"I, k-know the, f-future of the, E-Empire…"
X just wanted to live.
In that case, there was only one thing to do.
"This Empire… no…"
I steel my resolve.
"This world will soon meet its destruction."
At that blasphemous declaration, Darius sighed.
"Milia."
Sshing-!
This time, both of my eyes were cut out.
The terror of losing my sight assaulted me.
But strangely, my voice did not tremble.
"The demons will turn the Empire into Hell, bring about the Descent of an Evil God, and destroy the world. This is the future that is coming!"
"Milia."
This time, my left shoulder was severed.
None of X's sincerity got through.
But it didn't matter.
"There are countless tasks needed to stop the destruction, but there is one that must be done right now!"
"Milia."
This time, my right thigh was severed.
Darius dismissed these words as the ravings of a madman.
But that was fine.
I never expected a heartfelt plea to reach this ultimate paranoid in the first place.
What was important were 'words that he absolutely could not ignore.'
I would use the 'keyword' I got from Imperial Princess Beatrice.
"It is to remove the curse placed upon His Majesty the Emperor!"
The one who reacted first to those words was Milia.
"Blasphemy…!!"
I had dared to speak of the Emperor she served.
And in front of the Captain of the Imperial Royal Guard, no less.
This was naturally a crime of blasphemy, punishable by Summary Execution.
Swiiish-!!
Milia's sword swung down toward X's neck.
Her Aura blazed on the sword, showing the extent of her rage.
But that sword never reached his neck.
"Stop."
The voice of the Crown Prince, more enraged than the Captain, was heard.
"Just now."
Darius strode forward to stand before X.
"What did."
He grabbed the collar of the profusely bleeding X and lifted him up.
"You just say."
X knew Darius's situation very well.
What happened five years ago, and what he was feeling now.
What the Emperor's collapse meant to Darius.
"Your Highness never wished for His Majesty the Emperor to fall! You never had much desire for power in the first place! But you must have felt the 'great responsibility' of the Empire!"
"Fine, let's see how much more of this bullshit you can spew."
Kwang-!!
"Keuk…!"
Darius slammed X into the floor as if throwing him.
Breath and blood burst from X's mouth, but he didn't stop.
"Everything was planned! The assassination of Her Majesty the Empress, the Imperial Princess's change, His Majesty the Emperor's curse! Your Highness must know better than anyone that this situation cannot be anything but suspicious!"
"I don't know how you know that, but…"
Darius imbued his fist with Aura and started beating him.
"If you wanted to live, you shouldn't have said that…!"
Thwack-!
I barely held onto my fading consciousness.
If I lost consciousness now, I would surely die.
That's why X did not stop.
"Remember the incident five years ago, when Imperial Princess Beatrice lost her Divine Power…! So much changed then… You took the Imperial Authority because you were suspicious, didn't you…!"
"What do you know about my sister to be spouting such nonsense…!"
"The reason Imperial Princess Beatrice lost her Divine Power is clear! It's because she became a being who cannot use Divine Power! On this continent, there is only one such being!"
"Shut up-!!"
Thwack-!!
The crushing pain where I was hit seared my brain.
Still, X had to say it.
"Even if it saddens you, you must now acknowledge it, Your Highness."
I presented the truth that Darius wanted to ignore.
"Your Highness's sister, the Imperial Princess, has become a demon."
X came here to say these words.
He had gone through so much to say these words.
'Tell Crown Prince Darius the truth.'
This was the essential condition to prevent the 'Hell Gate Scenario' and the 'Empire Division Scenario'.
If I couldn't make him understand this, the Empire would be destroyed anyway.
Even at the risk of a Plausibility Penalty, I will say everything.
And I take one more step forward.
"There is a way to return all of this to how it was."
With my still-moving right hand, I grabbed Darius's wrist. His hand was trembling with unprecedented ferocity.
"There is a way to return the Imperial Princess to normal, to stop the Empire's crisis, and furthermore, to prevent the world's destruction."
I wasn't sure if it was rage or hesitation.
I couldn't see, so I couldn't see Darius's expression either.
"I will remove His Majesty the Emperor's curse."
But the emotion trembling through his hand was clear.
It was a sliver of hope.