"So, what you are saying is that this Xiaolen World gave you a variety of mines as a reward?"
"Yes, your highness."
Alberu brushed his face with both hands multiple times while looking at the calmly responding Cale.
"Hahaha-"
He then laughed.
'What the hell?'
Cale stared at the crown prince, who was frowning and then laughing and then frowning and then laughing, with an unsettled look on his face.
"That's right, crown prince! It's good to laugh! Laugh a lot!"
He also looked at Raon, who was laughing along with Alberu, with the same gaze.
It felt as if Raon was getting influenced by Alberu the more time they spent together.
'…Hmm. That's not bad though.'
The crown prince was the type to take care of things well, so it would be pretty good for Raon to take after the crown prince's disposition.
"Haaa-"
The crown prince laughed for a while before sighing and then mumbling.
"You have a whole gamut of mines that are the larger than both the Eastern and Western continents' mines combined? And you can have them installed wherever you want? There is even a mine with magic stones imbued with dead mana?"
Cale nonchalantly asked a question because Alberu looked quite odd mumbling to himself.
"Are you still injured, your highness?"
The person who had been lying on the bed in the call seemed quite fine now, but…
"…It sounds like you are only asking to follow proper etiquette?"
Alberu looked shocked that Cale asked that so nonchalantly before nodding his head.
"Yeah. I'm fine. I'm perfectly healthy."
"Raon."
Cale called out to Raon in a low voice.
"Gently push his highness's side."
"I got it, human!"
"No, wait-!"
Raon poked the crown prince's side.
"Ugh."
Raon flinched.
"Hey, crown prince, did that hurt a lot?"
His round eyes opened even rounder.
"I, I really gave it a gentle poke! I pushed ever so gently so that even our human wouldn't think it hurt!"
Raon's expression became serious.
"Human! Our crown prince's health seems to be in a serious state! He's even weaker than you! He's totally feeble!"
The crown prince's face looked more and more embarrassed the longer the black Dragon continued to speak.
'…Is that really something to be that embarrassed about?'
Cale did not like either of their reactions very much but had to say what he needed to say.
"I heard that your right arm and upper body were injured, your highness. Please explain in detail."
"…There are no issues with regular movements."
The crown prince let out a short sigh.
"Of course, it would be difficult to fight."
Raon added on.
"And he is in pain when I gave him a gentle poke!"
"…That's right, Raon-nim."
The crown prince just played along with the young Dragon. He peeked at Raon before continuing to speak.
"The Molan patriarch's leg is still in a cast but his arm has fully healed. The cast should come off by next week as well."
"I see."
The crown prince peeked at the stoically responding Cale before frowning.
– Hey crown prince, our human is angry! He is very angry!
The crown prince nodded his head in a way that Cale could not see after Raon warily spoke into his mind.
Tap. Tap.
Cale tapped on the screen of the divine item and mumbled to himself.
"…It looks like the Blood Cult needs to be taught a lesson."
Of course, in addition to the Blood Cult, the punks testing Roan now that it looked to be shaky were in the same boat.
"By the way, there is something I'm curious about!"
Raon slowly interjected into their conversation.
"Hey crown prince, there was supposed to be a Dragon in the capital. Did the Dragon not fight?"
Cale had called Saint Jack and Cage to the capital before heading to Xiaolen. He had also requested for a Dragon to be here.
"There was a situation, Raon-nim."
Alberu answered Raon before making eye contact with Cale.
"There's a reason I said that there is a damn rat."
The crown prince had said that there was a rat in the Royal Palace.
"The Hunters barged in the night the Dragon left for a bit to visit Sheritt-nim's castle."
"So did you find the rat, your highness?"
"No."
Alberu looked quite tired.
"It must be quite the headache, your highness."
"That's right."
"The fact that they knew whether the Dragon was in the palace or had left means that it is someone with a pretty high position in the Royal Palace. That is indeed a problem."
"It is indeed. But I think that I will find the rat soon."
'Mm.'
Cale started to think. He then decided to be the bigger person and asked.
"Is there any way for me to help, your highness?"
"Pfft."
Alberu scoffed before shaking his head.
"No. There is not."
"I see."
It was at that moment.
Ooooooooong-
The divine item in Cale's hand started vibrating again.
Cale looked at the mirror screen.
There was a new message.
< Reward 2 >
'Wow.'
Cale was amazed.
'Xiaolen is quite efficient.'
Xiaolen really was sincere, unlike the God of Death.
He had no intentions of going back to that world, but he did like the way the planet took care of things.
'Shall I see what is on it?'
Cale opened the window.
< The list of rewards for the ten heroes >
The postscripts caught his eyes first.
< PS 1. Cale Henituse, just so you are aware, I chose the things that I thought you and your friends needed the most. >
< PS 2. I am very generous. I only picked items that have been passed down for generations on the Xiaolen Planet. These are all things that could remain as legends. >
Cale stopped there and read the information at the top of the list, his own reward.
< 1. Cale Henituse >
< Cape of the Sun (Rank: Divine) >
< This is the cape worn by the ruler who created the first nation on the Xiaolen Planet. This ruler was a single-lifer and became the first god born from Xiaolen. >
"… Uhh…mm..."
Cale flinched for a moment.
"What is it? Is there a problem?"
Alberu asked, followed by Raon.
"Human, is the God of Death saying nonsense again?"
Cale silently looked at the screen.
< The first Monarch of Xiaolen always wore this cape on the battlefield and ended up creating a great Empire. This Monarch always had this cape on right up until ascending to become a god. There are myths about this cape having the touch of a goddess, but that is a lie. However, it does have the blessing of a World Tree. >
< FYI, Divine is the highest rank for treasures. Underneath it is the Legendary Rank. >
"… Mm...."
Cale gulped after looking at the effects of the treasure before looking at the next item on the list.
< 2. Mary>
< Night's Robe (Rank: Legendary) >
< Robe used by the first necromancer of Xiaolen. The World Tree once had this item, but now the possession of it has changed to the Xiaolen Planet. >
Cale slowly continued to read before subconsciously opening his mouth.
"Wow..."
< 3. Eruhaben >
< Whip of the Desert King (Rank: Legendary) >
< A warrior wandering through the desert became king. He had an eccentric ability that allowed him to turn pebbles of sand into a whip. The whip with that ability remained after the king's death and ended up in Xiaolen's possession- >
"… Wow..."
Cale lifted his head up.
He nonchalantly commented to Raon and the crown prince who were looking at him.
"It sure is generous."
Xiaolen… This planet really knew how to get it done.
This bastard had really given treasures as rewards.
Ooooooooong-
The divine item vibrated again.
It seemed as if Xiaolen had sent another message. Cale checked the message.
< Thank you for saving my world. I never forget a person's kindness. - Xiaolen >
Raon, who was looking at him, started to speak. Raon was so shocked that he was stuck right to Alberu's side.
"Wow, hey crown prince. Why is the human smiling like that?"
"…Yes, Raon-nim."
The crown prince was shocked as well.
"T, the human is smiling like the sun during spring!"
"…Yes, Raon-nim."
"The human looks quite wicked."
"…Yes, Raon-nim."
The crown prince could not say anything to refute Raon's words. Cale was smiling so elegantly, but it looked ever so vicious.
Cale didn't care and leaned back on the seat of the carriage heading back to the Royal Palace.
'They'll get stronger.'
The group would become stronger with these rewards.
< Simply speak the name of the item while looking at the screen in order to receive it. >
Cale had a satisfied smile on his face after reading the generous explanation about how to receive the treasures.
"Your highness."
"…Huh?"
Cale didn't even care about the crown prince awkwardly responding as he said what he wanted to say.
"I think I need to discuss a few things regarding the locations of the mines."
Alberu thought for a moment before asking.
"What and who do you need?"
Cale immediately responded to Alberu, who had instantly realized what he was asking for and had asked for specifics.
"Miss Rosalyn, Duke Fredo, and the Dark Elf Mayor."
And…
"Has Billos become the leader of the Flynn Merchant Guild?"
"Billos is the only person left who can take the position now."
"Then please call Billos over as well."
The crown prince stared at Cale before smiling.
"That's a pretty decent gathering of people."
Magic stones, dead mana magic stones… And jewels.
Alberu agreed that this was the right group of people to discuss those three things.
"And what do you need?"
Cale just needed one thing.
"I just need a map, your highness."
"How entertaining."
Alberu gave a short comment about the situation before adding on.
"Gold can sometimes defeat the blade. Of course, the gold that has been discovered this time can turn into a blade as well."
Magic stones and dead mana magic stones were expensive items, but also very strong things they could possess.
"The owner of the mine will be me or someone of my choosing. However, your highness, I will hand over some of the rights to you so that you can use it as you please."
"Yeah."
Alberu extended his hand and Cale shook it.
He then nonchalantly commented.
"Your grip has become weaker, your highness."
"That's right! The crown prince is currently weaker than our human! He needs to rest!"
"...."
The crown prince frowned.
As Cale's smile was about to become even bigger in response…
Ding ding!
He heard a different notification in the mirror.
He was not familiar with this tone.
Cale inadvertently looked at the screen to see what the alarm was about before flinching.
'Hmm?'
The mirror that had a wallpaper like a tablet…
'It was a desolate black land. Red lava was flowing through it.'
The black ground that had a red liquid that resembled lava flowing through it… The wallpaper had changed a bit.
'What is going on?'
The black ground had a large mountain in the distance.
However, the top of that mountain had a chunk missing as if there had been a large explosion.
"…Huh?"
'This mountain- The Fire of Purification-'
Cale recalled the location he had met the Fire of Purification.
'It looks like that place?'
That meant that this black mountain…
'…The god who shot out of that mountain was going to fight against another god.'
The Fire of Purification had been about to participate in that battle as well.
'Is this missing piece the result of that battle? Is this not just a wallpaper but something that holds a different meaning?'
As wrinkles appeared on Cale's forehead…
Ding! Ding!
The mirror chimed again as if asking him to quickly read the message.
< Invitation for Dimension Travel >
An invitation had arrived from another world.
'Isn't this too fast? I just got back to Roan from Xiaolen today.'
Cale was not happy about this but still decided to check the message.
< The Central Plains World has sent an invitation. A message from the Central Plains ... See more details. >
< Will you read the invitation? >
"What is going on?"
Cale calmly responded to Alberu's question.
"I received a message from the world of the Blood Cult."
The name of the World was the Central Plains.
Usually in wuxia novels, the Central Plains was not the entire world but just a part of the world that was used as the background for the wuxia novels.
'But this is a place where the Central Plains is the entire world-'
Cale felt as if he could understand why the team leader said that this world was a bit different from the Central Plains he knew.
He clicked the 'See more details' button.
"...."
"Human, why are you scowling?"
He ignored Raon's comment and focused his attention on the message.
The God of Death had said the following.
He said that the World personally wrote the invitations.
< ...Hello...? My name is Central Plains... >
Yes, the God of Death had said that the worlds personally wrote the invitations.
< ...I... Do not o, own much... What should I do...? It would be great if you could come, but... What should I do...? >
"Human, your face is turning weird!"
< ...I don't have anything to give you... What should I do...? >
< U, umm, you know, the... you see... The Blood Cult is quite rich...? >
< The Good faction... The Demon Cult... The Evil faction... All of them are richer than me? >
< ...And the Imperial Palace is super rich...? >
< M, maybe you can loot them...? I will help you...! >
"Hey crown prince, the human's face is becoming even weirder!"
< ...And I, I! I know something else too! The location of the Peerless God of War's tomb...! I'll tell you that too... So would you please be able to come...? >
< ...I... am scared... Of the Blood Cult... And the people of the Martial Arts world... They... Are always fighting... Please help me...! >
< I am a baby world in terms of age... I am a weak world... I don't have much strength... >
< ...P, please sir... >
< Please save me....>
< - Sincerely, Central Plains, the world who respects Cale Henituse >
"Hey, crown prince! The human is clutching his head with both hands! What he saw must be giving him quite a headache! Something must have happened!"
'Haaaa.'
Cale ignored Raon's fuss and lowered his hands from his head to his eyes.
It was dark.
He had received treasures that could make his friend stronger and he might even be able to see Choi Jung Soo if he went to the Central Plains. He thought that it might be more relaxing than his trip to Xiaolen, but…
It felt as if things in the Central Plains would be just as difficult as things in Xiaolen.
Ding ding!
< ...I will desperately... be awaiting your response, sir... >
< - Sincerely, Central Plains, who is yearning for your response >
Cale ignored the message.
—
Translator's Comments
What a respectful little world.