Surviving a Shounen Manga

So It Was You?

That night.

White Rain’s VIP banquet hall.

Contrary to my expectation that they were holding some kind of secret meeting with the doors locked, the hall was already crowded with quite a few people.

Looking at the faces of those who’d gathered, there were not just VIPs, but also their attendants, employees carrying drinks and food, and people preparing for the banquet itself, such as entertainers preparing for their performances.

Also, I could see some people milling around, clad in overly flashy evening dresses. Apparently, the event was open to the first-class passengers, as well.

There didn’t seem to be any strict restrictions on entry.

Not just that –

"Wow, is the front completely open?"

"Actually, looks like the walls have all been replaced with glass."

All four walls around the entire hall had been completely replaced by transparent glass panes.

I didn’t know if they wanted to watch the night sea under the moonlight or something, but anyway, the banquet on the top floor was apparently open to all.

Of course, it didn’t seem to be attracting that much attention, since there was a party going on at the lower decks too.

While I walking at a slow pace and taking it all in –

"You’re here! Squatjaw Adventurers!"

A familiar voice came from somewhere.

Looking back, I found the black-haired young man from earlier.

The guy who’d introduced himself as the fourth prince of the Skull Empire.

"In case you’ve forgotten, my name is Nergui. "

"Aah, right."

"Come, come. Everyone is waiting."

I narrowed my eyes at the back of the guy who was now walking in the front.

‘What’s he planning, this guy?’

At first, I didn’t think much of it, but if I thought about it again, he was highly suspicious.

Wasn’t he the fourth prince of the empire? The fourth son of the current emperor?

But somehow, from the beginning, he was the one in charge of guiding us. Some young chicks who’d just become official adventurers. And he was a complete natural at it, without a single sign of discomfort.

Of course, I couldn’t be sure of his actual position in the VIP hierarchy, since I didn’t know his current position in the empire, the overall power structure, or the method of imperial succession. Maybe he was being treated more harshly than I expected.

But nevertheless, the mere fact that ‘the emperor’s son wasn’t a cocky rascal’ made him a character type that deviated quite a bit from the typical extras.

At the very least, I couldn’t predict this character’s next actions.

And one more thing, the guy’s appearance.

Black hair, narrow eyes, and a slight smile permanently hanging at his lips. He was neither handsome nor ugly, he just had an ordinary face that could be seen anywhere.

In fact, for all the time he’d been guiding us, until the last moment when he’d revealed himself, I hadn’t given him a second thought. Although we were both VIPs, I’d never even considered that his status had to be at least somewhat noble.

The reason was simple. Because he looked that transcendentally average.

It’s true that an ordinary face is a typical characteristic of a character that isn’t inherently important. After all, there’s no reason to give much thought about the looks of an extra who hardly appears once or twice in the story.

There is one exception to that, however, and that is when it’s someone of high status.

It goes without saying that the higher a character’s status, the higher the reappearance probability. In that case, such a mediocre appearance can be intentional on the author’s part. To hide a secret that should not be easily revealed.

In other words, it means that the same possibility existed for that guy as well. This guy could be the ‘secret boss’.

Actually, ‘secret bosses’ can be divided into two types:

A character with ‘gentle face yet high status’ belongs to this second type.

However, in Adventure King, there were far too many examples of the former type, so I’d overlooked the latter as an option almost unconsciously.

Now that I looked at him with fresh eyes, that smiling face seemed to have a bit of slyness mixed in it.

Of course, just because this guy was acting somewhat inconsistent with his status, I couldn’t immediately start treating him as a suspect. Because he might really not have any malice.

But –

‘I have to set some boundaries.’

I couldn’t take my eyes off him.

Just then,

"Ah, you guys are here."

His steps stopped at the entrance to the garden next to the fountain.

Familiar faces were gathered together inside.

A middle-aged man named Tamar, a redheaded S-class adventurer, and the other VIPs.

That was then.

"Bataar?"

The princess looked at one side and suddenly spoke.

There he was. The old man who’d came all the way from the Skull Empire to convince the princess.

"I came here because of Tamar’s invitation. So that I could meet you, princess."

"Aah…"

"The maid who was accompanying you is well taken care of. Shortly after you disappeared, after wanderings a while, she finally found us."

"… Thank you."

"You don’t have to thank me. Because this is why I’ve been chasing after you, princess. Now, you only need to come to us."

However, the princess flatly refused.

"Thank you for taking care of her, but I’m fine. I plan to make the journey on my own."

"You’re saying the same thing again. I don’t want to make a scene at a place like this, so I’ll go meet you privately in a little while."

"I’m good, you don’t have to come."

"Your maid really wanted to see you, princess. I’ll bring her with me."

"…"

At that moment,

"Looks like everybody’s here."

Tamar, who’d been enjoying wine all by his lonesome in one side of the garden, came towards the front.

Then, as if giving a speech, he spoke loudly.

"There’s only one reason why I’ve brought you all here. Because, before the full-fledged banquet begins, there are things that need to be addressed first. As you may have guessed, it’s the matter of the second princess of the Mainin Kingdom."

Pointing towards the princess, he continued.

"Everyone knows the atmosphere between the Skull Empire and the Mainin Kingdom these days. Things are looking very ugly. Now, let me ask you one thing. Is this a problem just between the first prince of the empire and the second princess over there? Do you all really think so?"

There was no one to answer him.

"The rumours that the nobles of the Mainin Kingdom are already siphoning away their wealth have long since turned out to be true. Their money is flowing to the other countries, or even to Westland! You who are here should already know."

Again, there were no specific answers, but there were some reactions among the crowd.

Like giving a soft cough, or avoiding others’ gazes by turning their head away.

"The merchants who used to travel to and fro between the empire and the kingdom have become hesitant, and the farmers who had been devoted to their work have stopped taking care of their fields. Maybe it’s because they aren’t sure if they’ll be still there to harvest the crops next year. Is it just the kingdom? Of course not. The empire is the same. And is that all? Living conditions and market flows in these two nations have been completely disrupted, so how could the other countries around them remain unaffected?"

After that long speech, Tamar’s eyes turned to the deck below.

"What if something out of the ordinary happens between the empire and the kingdom? The people here will be fine. But what about those down there on the deck? They, too, are not completely irrelevant to the current situation. Right now, they are laughing and making merry so innocently –"

Following him, everyone’s eyes focused on the deck below.

Tamar was silent for a while, while others watched him and held their breath.

Eventually, his gaze turned to the princess.

"I thought the princess herself had already realized this, but she hasn’t said anything yet. Shouldn’t you come clean before it’s too late? To prepare others for the future. Whether that’s a peaceful life like before, or a hellscape red with blood."

"…"

I’d thought he might come prepared, but his skill in directing the scene was better than I’d expected.

The princess hesitated, and then took a step forward.

"I, I…"

However, facing the flood of questions from the VIPs that immediately followed, the princess’ words halted there.

"So what are you going to do? Princess, please tell us."

"Are you planning on getting married after all?"

"Or are you going to reject the proposal of the first prince? Face to face?"

Royal Teacher Bataar was among them, too. He seemed to think of this as an opportunity.

"Princess, I don’t know why you’re being so stubborn. The prince is a warm-hearted person. There is a clear solution everyone wants, so why do you keep procrastinating? Are you planning to run away again this time?"

The princess shook her head.

"I won’t run away…."

"Then?"

After a while, the princess continued speaking as if she had made up her mind.

"I’m going to the capital of the Skull Empire!"

Then everyone responded, ‘ah, so it is’.

From their point of view, in fact, it was a very natural result.

Tamar smirked and spoke up again.

"Now you see? How much trouble did you stir up for no reason even though you were going to do this anyway? From now on, I’ll escort you personally…"

"It’s fine, I’ll just get off at Nanma Port. I don’t need any help from you."

Then,

"Right. The princess should go with us, not you, Tamar."

Royal Teacher Bataar jumped into the conversation as well.

"From the princess’ point of view, it’s not that easy to trust you and go on a journey together, isn’t it? So…"

"No, I’m not going with you either."

"…"

"Anyway, is it fine now? As soon as we get off, I’ll go straight to the capital. There won’t be any delays, so rest assured."

That was then. –

"How can we believe you? What if you run away?"

It was him. The fourth prince, Nergui.

"If you change your mind midway, wouldn’t all this talk become meaningless?"

"I won’t run away. I bet upon my honour."

Then, strangely, everyone nodded their heads.

"Yeah…"

"If you’re betting on your honour, then…"

I didn’t know how great the honour of the royal family was, but it seemed to function like some kind of a token of trust.

It was a bit hard to understand, though.

However, the fourth prince seemed to still have more to say.

"Even though you say that… even if you have no intention of escaping, there’s a risk that you’d get kidnapped. Why do you refuse to be escorted by the imperials?"

The princess answered this briefly.

"Because there is someone who’s already promised to accompany me."

When she looked back at me, her eyes were filled with a strange sense of trust.

Hmmmm.

I scratched my head.

"Uh… yes. We’ll be going together. To the imperial capital, I mean. Well, we’re just a new adventurer team made up of young chicks, but you don’t need to worry…"

That was then.

"Haah… more of your cheeky blather."

The redhead stepped forward, as if he’d been waiting for this moment.

Well, as expected.

"Just you? You’ll be the one protecting the princess? There were rumours just a while ago that you even got attacked by assassins…"

"Oh, huh? How did you know? I didn’t make a fuss because it was no big deal."

"Those who keep talking shit, have to accept getting hit[1]. How strong do you think you are, Squatjaw?"

"Stronger than you, I guess? You were third in the qualification exam, you said? We were number one."

"Heh, what clumsy provocation."

Although he said that, the guy looked so angry that his skin tone now matched his hair. His clenched fists were trembling. That third place in the qualification test seemed to be his sore spot.

And then,

"Fine then, Squatjaw Adventurers. I, Xavier, challenge you to a duel."

The angry man suddenly let out some strange words.

"What?"

"I can’t leave the princess to someone like you. It makes me anxious."

"What the hell do you mean?"

"The role of the princess’ escort is one that I, too, covet quite a bit. Because tales of it will spread."

"That sounds pretty silly."

"Well, whatever the reason, isn’t it common for several adventurer groups to compete for a single treasure? You must’ve done that once during the qualification exam, too. This time, the princess is the prize."

"…"

Of course, it wasn’t that I didn’t understand what he meant. I was just wondering about this guy’s choice.

He wasn’t at all interested in the princess. This bastard only wanted to make me kneel.

In other words, there was absolutely no reason to take this approach. He could’ve just asked for a fight.

‘No wonder things had been quiet all this time…’

I could roughly understand the situation.

Somebody had to have planned all this.

"Of course, you’ll represent your team, right? Although it doesn’t matter if all of you come together."

"Why would all of us need to go together? But, hey, you want to fight here? Inside this banquet hall?"

Then, as if he’d been waiting for me to ask –

"The stage has already been set up."

Nergui smiled, and pointed to a corner of the banquet hall that had been shrouded in darkness.

And then,

Popopop–.

The lights turned on, revealing a stage.

Looking closer, I could see that it was a fighting arena surrounded by wire mesh.

"Haa…"

It seemed that they’d prepared everything in advance.

By then, I’d understood everything. It would’ve been strange if I hadn’t.

It was you, huh? The one behind all of this?

I turned my head and looked at the fourth prince.

The guy just laughed.

Then,

"Ooh!"

"Ooooh!"

Cheers could be heard from below.

"Heeh…"

As I watched, all the transparent glass panes surrounding us turned into electronic displays. I didn’t know how they manged it, but the image of the fighting arena was being broadcast on the glass.

Today was my sudden debut as a UFC fighter, apparently.

"Fufu… this is the true beginning of tonight’s banquet."

The fourth prince gently lifted a glass of wine, as if giving me a toast.

"There’s only one rule. The one who can walk out wins."

The guy who’d came up as the referee, promptly left the arena after spouting a single line of bullshit.

"Keke…."

The redhead was smiling, as if in a good mood.

Perhaps because his long-awaited moment had finally arrived?

"If you start begging now, I’ll spare you."

"Does talking so much crap not tire you out?"

"You cocky bastard. How long can you keep that attitude up, I wonder? Looks like that beautiful title of first place in the qualification test has made you unable to judge your own level."

"No, if you look down on the test so much, what does that say about you?"

"Huh, me? It doesn’t have anything to do with me though?"

"…"

He was crazy.

"Can I tell you something? Of those who’d ranked among the top in the qualification test in the past, only a handful actually managed to raise their rank again within the next three years. Because they all got overconfident in their own skills."

"Okay, I see? So what?"

"I got a B+ grade at the time, but now I’m an S-ranker. That’s what’s important, my actual rank as an adventurer. You must’ve been cocky, just looking at the fact that I finished third, but that’s gonna cost you."

He was all kinds of ridiculous, and not very funny.

"I’m sorry, but you’re the only one here interested in your exam ranking. It doesn’t matter if you were third or fourth –"

"Third."

"Like I said, whatever. And if it’s not first place, isn’t it all the same anyway?"

The redhead turned red.

"You…! Bastard! You’re pretending you don’t care, but…!"

"Alright, can I tell you something? You were lucky enough to be in third place. If you’d taken the exam this year? You wouldn’t have made it into the top three even if you died."

At this, the guy roared with anger.

"What bullshit… Do you even know who I am? People call me one of the best talents of this age! You dare…"

"I’ll know once we tussle a bit, right? So come and show me. How great is the best third place of this age, I wonder?"

Quickly, I mimicked a unique ability.

Instantly, electric currents wrapped around my body.

‘It’s a bit sad to say, but… the third place being the best is actually true.’

[Lightning that Destroys Calamity].

Leo’s power of lightning, the ability regarded as the strongest in man-to-man combat, began to flow through my body.

"Now let’s see, which one is the strongest."

Editor’s Notes:

[1] A more faithful translation would be “cheekiness naturally invites others’ anger”, but we couldn’t resist…