NOVEL NEXT Chapter 59
The first prince of the Turk Kingdom, Arnold Arthur.
He walked through the royal capital, letting out a deep sigh.
It was so impoverished that it hardly resembled the capital of a nation.
Occasionally sighted noble mansions looked no different from commoners’ homes compared to the imperial nobility.
“What on earth am I supposed to do…?”
For those involved, it was misfortune.
But this was a common scene outside the Empire during this time.
In the past, during the Empire’s continental conquest era, any nation that resisted the Empire had vanished from history.
And the nations that bowed their heads to survive were all in the same boat as the Turk Kingdom.
They paid tribute to the Empire every month, offering specialty products and money, as if paying taxes.
To prevent vassal states from planning rebellions, the Empire continually monitored their military growth.
Moreover, the Empire adjusted the tribute so that the royal families of vassal states couldn’t accumulate excessive wealth.
Because of this, the citizens of the vassal states had to endure high taxes to prepare the tribute.
Most cities, like the royal capital of the Turk Kingdom, fell into poverty.
It was hard to live in the vassal states, so most people fled to the Empire.
With the population dwindling, the vassal states struggled just to maintain their form of government, living each day in agony.
Except for the Empire, the rest of the countries faced a bleak future.
Most royals fell into drugs or pleasures, letting everything go in such realities.
The king of the Turk Kingdom was no exception.
At least he was engrossed in “Maple Leaf Story.”
Lying idle and playing games was, at least, some good fortune.
Instead, Arnold took on the entire administration of the Turk Kingdom.
And unfortunately, Arnold was a prince who loved his country.
Of course, he had no power to change reality.
“Sigh…”
Upon returning to the palace, Arnold let out another sigh.
As usual, the king sat in his armchair, absorbed in “Maple Leaf Story.”
“Your Majesty.”
Naturally, the king didn’t wake up.
“Your Majesty…!”
Suppressing his rising emotions, Arnold spoke a few more times.
Still, he didn’t wake up.
“……”
Arnold bit his lip and lowered his head.
His tightly clenched fists trembled.
“Stop it!”
Shouting like a balloon filled with air about to burst, Arnold forcibly disconnected the session.
With a bewildered expression, the king awakened from his illusion.
“Uh, Arnold. What’s going on…”
“Why are you playing ‘Maple Leaf Story’ again?!”
“W-what?”
“Your Majesty, what have you done this time, and why are you logging back in?! What if someone sees you?!”
The king, looking dazed, got up.
Though he was a somewhat fussy prince, it was the first time he’d gotten this angry.
“And what were you thinking, scamming people in a game?! A ruler of a nation doing that! You wouldn’t have stopped your ways if it weren’t for this!”
Most people in the palace knew the king was “Electricity God vv.”
It had been agreed upon that the king personally attending the “Zatume Expedition” would cause numerous problems.
Instead, they all agreed to use a stand-in.
However, they didn’t know the king had changed his username and was scamming behind the scenes.
Now, the stand-in, Count Horio, had been executed due to the Emperor’s anger.
As a result, the scam came to light, and the Turk royalty learned about it.
“Even though we’re being robbed daily, is it wrong to prank a little in the game?”
The king reached out for his lost “Maple Leaf Story.”
Arnold shouted, throwing a maple-shaped stone on the ground.
The artifact cracked slightly when thrown on the hard floor.
“Please stop! If you get caught, the Empire might come crashing down!”
“How would they even know?! With Count Horio executed, how would they trace me?!”
“Do you not feel any guilt towards Count Horio?!”
“Why would I not feel guilty?!”
The king said this and bent down to pick up the “Maple Leaf Story” pieces from the ground.
Then he pulled the blanket back over himself and logged back into the game.
“……”
Arnold looked down at him with a disillusioned gaze.
No words came out of his open mouth.
It felt like he was choked.
Should he consider it fortunate?
As the king said, the Empire hadn’t managed to find him.
No matter how powerful the Empire was, there were limits to uncovering users’ actual information.
Time passed, and after the “Maple Leaf Story” update, people dressed in strange outfits began appearing in the outskirts, including the Turk Kingdom.
All adorned with red crosses, they distributed food and engaged in healthcare activities.
“…Who are those people?”
“I heard they’re a group created by the Illusion Tower and some affluent benefactors. They travel around helping the impoverished.”
“Why are they doing that…”
It was something that defied common sense.
It’s not like anyone outside of the church engages in charitable work.
And even the church only shares a few pieces of bread.
Miracle healing was a blessing reserved only for the faithful.
“…Wait, isn’t that the reckless prince of the Empire?”
While overlooking the city from the palace, Arnold was taken aback.
Among the charity workers was the Empire’s third prince.
“…Huh?”
A shocked Arnold and his aide hurried down from the palace.
“Y-young prince, we greet you.”
Arnold slightly bowed to Rikal.
Rikal, distributing drinking water to the people, just turned his gaze toward him.
“Nice to meet you, Prince Arnold. No need for formalities. I’m not here for that.”
“How did you get here…”
“As you can see, I’m engaged in charitable work.”
But why that.
Rikal shifted a water jug with ease.
It wasn’t a skill that someone would casually pick up after trying it once or twice.
Rumors had circulated that the Empire’s reckless prince had changed recently.
He was completely different from the Rikal Arnold once knew.
“Y-you seem impressive.”
“The Turk Kingdom is indeed a desert region, so it seems there’s a shortage of water. I plan to provide support through the Red Cross organization going forward.”
“Red Cross organization?”
“Yeah. It’s created by the Illusion Tower, and even the royal family is providing a little support. I couldn’t just sit back after witnessing the situation firsthand.”
“O-oh…”
Who was responsible for the current state of the frontier vassal states?
It was baffling how they could oppress and seize everything while simultaneously engaging in charitable acts.
It was almost like the actions of someone with a split personality, leaving Arnold speechless.
“Y-you’re amazing.”
But no matter how crazy Rikal’s actions were, that was all Arnold could respond with.
“If His Majesty is also…”
“His Majesty is unaware. Recently, he’s been caught up in other matters, so he hasn’t interfered with governance too much.”
“Ah… I see.”
The Emperor’s situation seemed similar.
Fortunately, it didn’t seem he was here because of the scam incident, which reassured Arnold.
“I’ll help as well.”
*
“Almost all countries except the Empire are in such a state.”
There were even poorer nations than I had anticipated.
Nations fading under the Empire’s shadows.
Engaging in charitable work made me truly feel their harsh realities.
Recently, I had been participating in activities once or twice a month.
“I’m originally from the Turk Kingdom, you know. But back in my day…”
“I didn’t ask. Let’s just get to work.”
Ignoring Hetz’s mumbling, I moved on.
Despite that, Hetz was providing the most support after establishing the organization.
Rikal was with the Turk Kingdom royalty.
Through Rikal, the royal family was also providing assistance, which Rikal claimed was for image-making.
“Nice to see you.”
I approached Rikal and the royals to greet them.
In this activity, I was particularly keeping an eye on Rikal’s movements.
I couldn’t help it because the king was the perpetrator of the “Maple Leaf Story” scam that had the Emperor fuming.
“Nice to meet you. I am Prince Arnold Arthur, the first prince.”
Whether the perpetrator was caught or not wasn’t my concern.
But since I was interested in the recent scam incidents in “Maple Leaf Story,” I was keeping tabs.
If it were revealed that the king was the culprit, this kingdom would vanish from history.
The first prince either knew about his father’s actions or not, looking tense while glancing at Rikal.
“Is this supposed to be a noble mansion?”
While walking through the royal capital, Rikal commented on a dilapidated mansion.
The manor, with only one or two servants, was pitiful compared to the imperial nobility.
“The Empire monopolizes everything, which is why the outskirts are like this. Considering the money you squandered, it’s…”
Rikal seemed unaware of the Empire’s atrocities.
Since it had been created long ago, it might be an irrelevant detail to Rikal.
To the people of the Turk Kingdom, Rikal’s actions could appear as “giving medicine and taking medicine” at the same time.
So, we passed several noble families.
Then, as we were passing by a somewhat decent mansion,
“Wow, Your Highness! Your Highness!”
A noblewoman rushed out towards the prince.
“Y-you there! Quickly take her to the—!”
Startled, the prince urgently called for the knights.
At the prince’s command, the knights brought out the lady.
“My husband was suddenly taken to the Empire and killed! It’s surely related to that… W-uh, waah…”
The prince rushed out and covered her mouth, but it was already too late.
The expression on Rikal’s face had already changed upon hearing the news.
“Wait, halt!”
The prince’s face turned pale.