The Prince Wants to Retire

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The Crown Prince Wants to Retire

1. An Unwanted Rebirth!

As Kariel was sucked into a black hole and lost consciousness, the moment he opened his eyes, he found himself staring at a landscape he had seen long ago.

“Where is this…?”

Frowning as he recalled the room he had used as a child, Kariel looked down at his hands.

It didn’t seem like he had regressed to an age much younger than he was now; his hands were somewhat grown.

“So, I’ve really regressed?”

Kariel muttered to himself, gnashing his teeth immediately after.

Having been reborn as a result of being tricked by a god, Kariel gazed angrily out at the sky visible through the window.

If there was a god right in front of him, he felt like unleashing a barrage of punches until he collapsed from exhaustion.

Just then, an odd sound tickled his ears.

– Bap bam bam!

With a trumpet sound resonating in his ear, a shower of white light burst forth, creating a translucent window before Kariel.

[Hello? How was the rebirth?

Hehe! I’m here to give you the promised reward.

You might wonder why I didn’t show up in person… well, you’d just punch me again, wouldn’t you?

I hate getting hit! Dehet!]

Crack!

The sentence was grating enough to make Kariel clench his teeth as he stared at the translucent window.

Just then, the text already present vanished, replaced by new words.

[If you continue, you might end up dying from rage, so I’ll stop.

You must be curious about the promised reward, right?

Once this message disappears, the reward will be given immediately.

I hope you live a happy life this time around.

Let’s go, fighting this life too! ♥]

As the irritating message concluded, the reward that he was to receive appeared in the translucent window.

[You are endowed with a unique ability due to the blessing of the god. Your unique ability is ‘Contract Holder of Fire’.

※ An overwhelming talent related to fire will manifest as characteristics tied to contracts. You possess the potential to contract with any being associated with fire.]

“……Contract Holder?”

The moment Kariel expressed his confusion, his body glowed brightly as the light seeped into him.

At that moment, a new translucent window appeared to dispense the remaining rewards.

[Your incurable disease is caused by excessive bloodline abilities (all fire-related powers). The immense fire energy accumulated within you is consuming your life.]

[Searching for possible recovery methods.]

[Exploring recovery methods…….]

While the translucent window had paused mid-search, it suddenly changed.

[Finding a way to utilize the Contract Holder ability and bloodline powers.

1. Contract with fragments of mythical beings in exchange for the fire energy built up in your body.

Recommendations: Fragment of the God of Destruction, Fragment of the Behemoth that swallowed the sun, Fragment of the Hell Gatekeeper, Fragment of the Fire Spirit King.

※ (Important) If you contract with all beings listed in the recommendations, you can reach the level of Grand Master.

2. Strengthen your body through special training methods.

Recommendations: Body Technique of the Werewolf.]

As Kariel stared blankly at the translucent window detailing how he could recover his body, he muttered.

“What exactly… are fragments?”

[They are parts of noble beings from the Mythical Era. They are dormant in artifacts or ancient ruins.]

Words inscribed in the air seemed to respond to Kariel’s question.

While contemplating, the translucent window generated new text before his eyes.

[The god’s rewards have all been granted.]

[This window will disappear in 10 seconds. 10… 9… 8… 1, poof!]

With a sound of ‘poof!’ the translucent window vanished.

In the novels he had read on Earth, there were system windows, and they granted munchkin-like skills, but this one only provided a few methods before disappearing.

Kariel stood dumbfounded, staring at the spot where the translucent window had been. Suddenly, he sprang up from his seat.

His whole body ached, but he gritted his teeth and endured, quickly sitting at his desk.

He hastily wrote down the recovery methods, one by one.

Then, the term “YOLO life” that the god mentioned came to mind.

“YOLO life, huh….”

Kariel murmured quietly as he became lost in thought.

‘Is that truly possible?’ a question crossed his mind, and something flickered through his brain.

“If I were to trade the emperor’s position….”

It was a fleeting thought, yet instantly, plausible plans bubbled forth.

The position of emperor was a hindrance to his desired YOLO life.

If it were peaceful times, he might have considered becoming the emperor even as a blind pawn.

However, thinking of the future, the emperor’s position was nothing more than a burden to his happiness.

Like a composer struck with a burst of inspiration, Kariel feverishly jotted down plans, rubbing his tired eyes as he rose from his seat.

“Shall I leave it at this for now?”

Mumbling to himself, Kariel placed what he had written so far into a drawer and stood up.

“Cough!”

The moment he stood, his body swayed, and he collapsed to the floor.

With a loud thud, Kariel fell, and a servant rushed in.

“Your Highness!”

Seeing the fallen Kariel, the man hurriedly dashed over to help him.

“Ta…ri…on.”

“Your health is already not good; you mustn’t overexert yourself!”

It was Talion, the faithful attendant of the Crown Prince’s Palace who had sacrificed himself in his previous life to save Kariel.

Seeing him alive and looking at him with concern stirred strange emotions in Kariel.

Talion flustered, brought potions for him to drink, firmly standing guard with orders not to move.

Watching Talion, Kariel couldn’t help but smile bitterly.

‘I never thought Talion would die like that.’

The strongest man in the empire, after the Master, had died because of his own carelessness, believing those he considered companions.

‘This life won’t allow such a fate.’

Resolute, Kariel let Talion’s worried admonishments wash over him and took a moment to think.

“Talion.”

“……Yes? You called for me?”

Talion, who had been intensely worried and talking, snapped out of it and looked at Kariel.

“I have a favor to ask.”

Kariel’s words made Talion’s eyes widen in surprise.

It seemed he was moved that Kariel, who always appeared lethargic due to his bad health, would ask him for something.

“Your Highness, whatever it is, just tell me. I will devote my life to it….”

“There’s no need to risk your life. It’s a simple request. Just bring me some paper first.”

“Yes!”

Stopping Talion, who seemed ready to march off to war, Kariel began to jot down his requests on the paper Talion had brought.

“Wait, you said it was simple, right?”

As the paper quickly filled up, Talion began to look troubled.

The words written there were far more detailed than expected.

Of course, most of those words were meaningless gibberish.

Some were written like whining about how hard things were, while others requested a specific fruit to fetch.

As Talion continued to read, his eyes widened in shock.

“T-this is….”

“Shh!”

Talion nodded quickly as Kariel placed a finger to his lips.

Though filled to the brim, the disconnected sentences resembled a child’s journal and followed certain patterns.

And those patterns were something Talion was very familiar with.

‘Because it’s something Talion taught me in my previous life.’

He had surely taught Kariel in this era as well.

But back then, Kariel was too slow to learn as he focused on finding ways to recover.

“Well done!”

Talion exclaimed, raising his thumb, then began to read through the points slowly.

While mixed in with various other things, he quickly grasped the key points.

There were three major points that mattered most.

1. The list of those in the Emperor faction toying with his name.

2. Filter out those among them who are involved with criminal organizations.

3. Lastly, bring a list of the spies in his palace.

Talion read through everything, looking worriedly at Kariel.

“This is… too… dangerous.”

Kariel chuckled at Talion’s anxious expression.

“I don’t plan on doing anything immediately. But I should have an awareness of what’s going on, shouldn’t I?”

At Kariel’s words, Talion sighed and nodded slightly.

The three factions that had long been established within the empire.

Among them, the weakest, the Emperor faction, had allowed the royal family to use their names for business endeavors.

It was a fact that they had even allowed borrowing their names to cover up crimes to some extent.

In his previous life, Kariel had often turned a blind eye and lent his name to push forward the Emperor faction, all for the sake of becoming the emperor.

‘Not in this life.’

Kariel gritted his teeth at the thought.

Of course, he couldn’t act right now.

His physical condition was garbage, and he had no resources or information to act on.

But even in this era, there was a small force that Talion had personally cultivated.

‘Though small, it’s an organization entrenched within, so they should be able to gather surface-level insights.’

Just as Kariel thought, Talion nodded slightly and spoke.

“It is possible. But…”

“How many times must I say I’m not planning to take any action? Just find out.”

“……Understood.”

As Talion reluctantly responded, Kariel smiled broadly and spoke up.

“Just call for one attendant.”

“W-what? Are you going to give me orders…?”

“Ah! I plan to send someone to the Imperial Palace library to do a little investigating.”

“Let me handle it!”

Seeing Talion pound his chest as if to claim the job, Kariel shook his head.

“You should look into that.”

“If it’s a small quantity, I can certainly handle it.”

“Really?”

As Talion confidently confirmed it, Kariel grinned and began writing down the books he vaguely remembered needing.

From historical texts about the Mythical Era to martial arts manuals and encyclopedias about monsters, he wrote it all down.

Of course, he included random things to confuse the spies as well.

“Uh….”

“Of course, these are things I want right away, and naturally, I’ll also want herbal lore and documents regarding this condition to find solutions for my recovery.”

“Um….”

“A lot, right?”

At Kariel’s question, Talion awkwardly chuckled and nodded slightly.

“Get them now.”

“Yes! Oh!”

Talion saluted like a soldier, then left the room with an elegant bow, albeit with a look of surprise.

Moments later, a different attendant entered in Talion’s stead, and Kariel handed over the list of books to retrieve from the library, lost in thought once more.

The primary reason he lost Talion.

It had been the betrayal of those he thought were allies.

‘The Emperor faction…’

As he gritted his teeth, Kariel reflected on the Emperor faction.

Looking back, they were utterly useless.

If it were a peaceful era, he might consider dragging along such useless individuals, but the future was hellish.

Moreover, since he had no desire to become the emperor, there was no reason for him to tolerate the Emperor faction.

‘I will use the Emperor faction as a sacrifice for my YOLO life.’

Having solidified that thought, Kariel smiled lightly.

This time, he wouldn’t let his guard down or be treated like a fool.

The conviction he formed from enduring terrible hardships as an emperor was clear.

That was, ‘If you get tricked twice, it’s your own fault.’

This life wouldn’t lead him to such a fate.

‘I’ll take what I need and bail out of the Imperial Palace.’