The World After the Bad Ending - Chapter 208

Amid the smoke blooming from the explosion, knights and remnants of the enemy could be seen fleeing.

Then, the defensive magic of the academy partly opened, and knights swiftly rushed out.

They began restraining the members of the noble faction.

Aiming for the ground on purpose, they incapacitated most of them.

Those nearby might lose an arm or two and get injured, but considering they were targeting us, there was no reason to hold back.

Honestly, I wouldn’t have minded wiping them all out.

With both sorrow and sympathy having vanished, there was no reason to show mercy.

But Isabelle was with me.

She is strong when punishing evil but powerless in the opposite case.

If she helped only to see a large number of people die, Isabelle wouldn’t be able to handle it.

“Lacking empathy, her mind can only judge things rationally.”

The anger that had just blossomed might apply to others, but it was insufficient when applied to herself.

Fortunately, Isabelle acted as my restraint.

“You’ve really outdone yourself.”

Meanwhile, Card, bound by shadows, approached us.

Though Solbas had given orders, he had already committed one betrayal.

It seemed he wouldn’t be trusted.

Card didn’t exactly look like he was hoping for trust either.

“Wangnon, do you genuinely intend to end the civil war?”

Was he curious if I meant what I said?

“Yeah. But I don’t plan to do it with my own strength.”

“Then how?”

Ending a civil war isn’t something that can be done overnight.

We’d need to uncover the origins of the conflict and understand just how deeply entangled the noble faction’s roots are.

The civil war won’t end until those roots are torn out.

But there’s one crucial element in such a civil war—

Justification.

A civil war without justification is nothing more than a coup, not a revolution.

“The noble faction rushed to end the civil war in a short time.”

They seized the opportunity to strike swiftly while the royal forces were concentrated at the Magic Palace.

They even deployed Mystic users to ensure victory in the civil war.

But ironically, these two moves became their downfall.

With these two actions, the noble faction cannot evade condemnation from other nations.

However, had they seized power, the story would’ve been different.

Their justification for the civil war was Prince Maron’s incompetence.

Following the incompetence of the late king, who passed away not long ago, the prince’s incompetence was the last straw.

The noble faction claimed they couldn’t stand by and watch, hence their uprising.

“The noble faction will try to pin the blame for the two prior incidents on Prince Maron.”

Their argument would go like this:

They grew disillusioned with Prince Maron’s incompetence and gathered at the royal palace to protest.

But Prince Maron panicked, ignored the possibility of the Magic Palace’s apostles leaping into action, and recalled the royal troops to the palace!

This escalated into clashes between the royal and noble factions.

Finally, the royalists attacked the noble faction.

‘Though, in reality, those were likely spies planted among the royalists.’

The noble faction, declaring they would reform the unjust nation, rose in rebellion and launched their attack.

Then, already-registered Mystic users barged in.

They’d later be spun as patriotic heroes who could no longer endure the long oppression under the Phanissian monarchy.

The Umbra family, with its prior reputation for skilled Mystic users, existed as a convenient excuse for the noble faction to exploit.

Would other nations tolerate this?

‘They would.’

Nations operate for their own benefit.

The noble faction had likely already prepared compensation plans for other nations.

In fact, compensation deals had probably already been discreetly negotiated between nations.

On the other hand, if the royal faction won, other nations would gain nothing.

The royal faction suppressing the rebellion without foreign aid would mean no leverage for outsiders.

From their perspective, it’d be better if the noble faction won and they could extract concessions.

I laid out this reasoning methodically to Card.

He didn’t refute whether my speculation was accurate.

It was a deduction based on information and trends about the Phaniss Kingdom from the game.

Fortunately, it seemed mostly correct.

“But all of this hinges on capturing Prince Maron swiftly and usurping the throne.”

The noble faction’s justification was the incompetence of Prince Maron, following his predecessor’s failures.

But that meant that without capturing Prince Maron, they could never claim victory.

Prince Maron had safely escaped the royal palace and was now at Aquiline Academy.

As long as he wasn’t in the noble faction’s grasp, the rebellion couldn’t be blamed on him.

“Are you suggesting they’d drag out the civil war and resort to a siege?”

This time, they’d been forced to retreat after losing the military confrontation.

But as long as Prince Maron remained at Aquiline Academy, the noble faction would never give up.

By now, their occupation of the royal palace was likely nearing completion.

The next wave of forces would be on an entirely different scale.

Sharin’s magic wasn’t infinite either.

At best, today’s defensive efforts would be the limit.

“If you’re thinking of escaping somewhere, give up. The noble faction has plugged every exit in Phaniss.”

He boasted that no matter who we were, we’d be caught trying to flee.

“Card, what are you talking about? There’s one path they’ve overlooked.”

Card blinked.

Soon, his eyes gradually widened.

Meeting his gaze, I grinned slyly.

“The Magic Palace’s entry window hasn’t closed yet.”

It hadn’t been a full day since entry into the Magic Palace became possible.

“……Wangnon, you’re truly out of your mind.”

Prince Maron was still in his teens.

Meaning—he could enter the Magic Palace.

In contrast, Phaniss’s knights and soldiers couldn’t.

They had no access to the Magic Palace.

“We’ll take Prince Maron to Jerion through the Magic Palace.”

That was the solution I proposed.

All of the noble faction’s arguments would collapse if they failed to capture Prince Maron.

“The Hi-Sirion Empire has long advocated for the dangers of Mysticism and worked to suppress it. Particularly, they’ve paid the most attention to the risks of the Magic Palace.”

The Hi-Sirion Empire had ample justification to expel the noble faction, who had crossed the line by instigating this civil war.

What would happen if they protected Prince Maron, the epitome of justification?

Not just Hi-Sirion, but other nations too would now have a reason to intervene.

Unlike if the royal faction ended the civil war—where outsiders gained nothing—this time, they could personally assist in ending it.

They’d have every chance to flaunt their involvement.

Plus, the heroic prestige of driving out the Phaniss noble faction, who’d nearly caused a global disaster, was a bonus.

“How about it? Doesn’t this sound like a pretty solid plan?”

Card looked utterly stunned.

But he no longer objected.

He’d realized I was truly serious about pulling this off.

“So, Card, you’ve got to help take Prince Maron there too.”

“……Aren’t you worried I might betray you again?”

“You like women, don’t you?”

I smirked.

“Our team’s full of pretty girls.”

Card let out a dumbfounded laugh.

“Yeah, and they’re all head over heels for some troublemaker.”

Is that how it is?

Still, his expression suggested he’d reconsidered.

“Solbas, do as you wish. This is your last chance.”

Solbas, who had been listening quietly, flinched.

“If it were me, I wouldn’t mind ambitiously saving a nation once. If you help, the Umbra count’s family might even receive a pardon.”

Solbas exhaled deeply, then clenched his fists.

“At this point, it’s not like I have a choice anyway.”

Fair enough.

He’d already dug himself too deep to back out now.

With both their agreements secured, that settled it.

“We’re moving immediately. Get ready. Isabelle, gather the kids. We need to tend to the injured too, so I’m counting on you.”

“Yeah, got it.”

Isabelle nodded and walked past me.

“You’re kinda cool today. Might just fall for you again.”

What kind of nonsense is she spouting right now?

Isabelle covered her mouth with her hand, laughing as she ran off.

Seeing her adorable act lightened the mood a little.

The only thing left was persuading Prince Maron.

That’d be the hardest part.

So, I decided to keep it as simple as possible.

I immediately went to meet Kurama.

He was still guarding Prince Maron’s door.

But his expression was brighter than before, likely having heard of our exploits outside.

“Sir Kurama, we need to talk.”

I relayed the earlier conversation with Card to him.

Kurama’s face lit up as soon as he heard everything.

He, too, realized this was the trick to surviving the situation.

“But the knights can’t come with us.”

Only those in their teens—or those like me wrapped in the Shroud’s bandages—could enter the Magic Palace.

So, the knights couldn’t join us.

“We are knights. Protecting our lord is our reason for existing.”

Kurama replied without hesitation.

“Rather, we should buy time here to ensure a smooth passage to the Magic Palace.”

“As long as His Highness remains safe, that’s enough for us.”

His eyes shone with determination.

I’d respect the knight’s resolve.

“Musica.”

“Yeep!”

The moment I called, Musica’s head popped out from the wall.

Giratoni waved his hand at me too.

“You two could buy time by fighting the royal knights and then retreat into the shadow realm.”

Musica was borrowing Binisha’s body.

Meaning she couldn’t enter the Magic Palace either.

And Giratoni would obviously stay to protect Musica and Binisha.

“Of course. We can make it look like we vanished completely.”

“Sounds dangerous.”

“If I cared about danger, I’d have fled the moment the civil war started.”

Musica laughed, as if offended I’d doubted her.

I trusted her skill and courage.

“Your Highness, Prince Maron, we’re coming in.”

With no time to waste, I opened the door without waiting for a response.

“Eeek! H-Huh!”

Inside, Prince Maron flinched and pressed himself against the wall.

“I—I’m not going anywhere! I’ll hide here forever!”

Seemed he’d been eavesdropping by the door.

While everyone else was risking their lives, their so-called leader was like this.

“Prince Maron.”

I gave him a friendly smile.

Then, without hesitation, I punched him in the jaw.

Prince Maron crumpled with a soft thud.

As everyone gaped, I quickly gathered him up.

“Alright, let’s move.”

Pointless persuasion?

Time-consuming.

Feels like stroking intellectual vanity.

Etc., etc., anyway, headache-inducing.

Solution: A fist.

Done instantly.

An excellent method of persuasion.