Chapter 101 - Qualifications

“You certainly started things off with a bang.”

Katya spoke glumly as she watched the reporters scattered outside their lodgings.

Thankfully, their accommodations were fine enough to make it clear the Pontiff had arranged them. At least those people weren't barging straight in to interrogate them under the guise of conducting interviews.

“Are you going to be all right? You always hated attracting attention.”

“I was going to attract attention soon enough anyway. If I'm going to stand out, I might as well make a splash.”

Aiden himself, however, couldn't have been more nonchalant about what he'd done.

He wasn't wrong. The moment the Pontiff pushed him into the succession ceremony, that attention had become inevitable. It had simply arrived a little earlier.

“... Are you going to be all right?”

But Katya repeated the same question.

She hadn't been in high spirits once since arriving in the Holy Kingdom, but now she seemed to be sinking to new lows by the moment.

“You don't like making enemies of people for no reason, either.”

Aiden listened quietly, then snorted and sat down in front of her.

“Your Highness. We're going to be here for a while. Whatever else, the task Her Holiness gave me won't be finished quickly.”

“... Huh?”

“So, to make our stay a little more pleasant, may I ask you one thing, Your Highness?”

“What is it?”

“Why do you just sit there and take it?”

“...”

“You're not normally like this. From what I've seen of your personality, you aren't someone who would put up with that.”

Katya's expression darkened.

“Well, you see...”

She struggled to find the words.

“There's a reason for all of it—”

“Explain it when you can.”

Before she could finish, however, Aiden casually cut her off.

Katya looked at him in bewilderment at his apparent lack of concern.

“That tells me everything I need to know. For some uncomfortable reason, you can't simply lash out at the Holy Kingdom's royals.”

“... Yes.”

“Right. That's why I'm telling you this.”

As Katya tilted her head, Aiden continued without a change in expression.

“I'm going to wipe the floor with everyone here who takes their disrespect toward you too far.”

“...”

Katya blinked at him.

She had a couple of questions.

“... Aren't you always telling me not to go around causing trouble?”

“That's because people could actually die if you start running wild, Your Highness.”

“...”

Logical proof complete.

Even Katya nodded in acceptance.

Aiden still remembered when she'd been sent to drag him to the Holy Kingdom by force.

Spending time with him had taken much of the venom out of her, but it would be a problem if she snapped and reverted to her old ways.

As for her other question...

“... Why only the ones who take their disrespect too far?”

“Considering your usual behavior, Your Highness, some people probably have perfectly ordinary reasons to hold a grudge.”

“...”

“We'd be scum if we wiped the floor with those people too.”

“... Hmm.”

Once again, logical proof complete.

Katya nodded, looking unable to argue...

Even she had some vague awareness that she'd always done whatever she pleased.

“But that's a separate matter.”

Aiden sighed and continued.

“If someone messes with us when we haven't done anything to them, they have no right to complain about getting crushed. That's basic human decency.”

“Those fellows who got mixed up with me are probably enjoying themselves right now.”

“... Huh?”

“It's a chance to get their names out there. And I've set quite the stage for them.”

Other than Alex, who'd personally taken the beating, the rest were very likely thinking something along the lines of, “This is our chance!”

Especially given the nature of tomorrow's preliminary round.

'They probably think there's no way they can lose.'

The succession ceremony was a marathon that stretched over a long period, and the preliminaries ultimately aimed to separate the talented candidates from the rest.

That meant a strong emphasis on assessing talent alone. More precisely, they would determine how thoroughly each candidate had honed their abilities.

“They'll probably impose a limit on everyone's total supernatural power. To put us all on roughly the same starting line.”

Under those conditions, they would assume they could beat Aiden easily, no matter where he'd come from or what he'd been doing.

After all, if everyone had about the same output, the side with more people held a definite advantage.

They were probably celebrating by now. That was exactly how their sort operated. They only acted tough when they were certain they could win.

“... Then isn't that dangerous? You could lose.”

Katya's eyes darted about as she asked, but Aiden only grinned.

“Didn't I just tell you? I keep my word, no matter what.”

His eyes curved into crescents.

“Even if I lose my teeth, I'll use my gums.”

“...”

... For someone saying that, he looked as though he'd already decided exactly how to execute them.

That expression—well, to borrow Katya's words, it was the look he always got when his thoughts turned downright dangerous.

▣

“So you've become a royal of the Holy Kingdom, Aiden.”

At Noel's incredulous remark, Aiden gave a wry chuckle in agreement.

The emblem of the Holy Kingdom of Craven hanging around his neck certified his eligibility to participate in the succession ceremony.

It struck him anew that the Holy Kingdom's administrative system was more unconventional than he'd expected.

More precisely, an outrageously large amount of authority was concentrated in the Pontiff's hands.

Despite yesterday's incident, he had been granted “temporary” royal privileges today. He couldn't even imagine how quickly they'd processed the paperwork.

Of course, becoming royalty didn't give him immunity, so he could still face trouble over what had happened yesterday.

But when he'd asked about that, the Pontiff's answer had been as follows.

[“Would they dare? When it's obvious they'd be putting themselves through hell?”]

[“...”]

[“Everyone there would have realized you and I have connections in the first place. Unless they're exceptionally brave, most won't even consider going after you.”]

... This was why power was so nice.

He nodded in satisfaction and looked at the facility before him.

This was where the preliminary round would be held to select the royals participating in the succession ceremony.

“I'll see you later, Dame Noel.”

“... I'm sorry I can't help you.”

This was, after all, something he had to do alone. No one else could step in to help.

With that thought, Noel gave Aiden's shoulder a regretful pat.

Then, the instant she saw his expression, her face stiffened.

“... Aiden.”

“Yes?”

“Please try to keep it within reason.”

“... Sorry?”

“Every time you make that terrifying face, you end up doing something outrageous...!”

“...”

Katya had said something like that yesterday. Why was Noel saying it too?

People had been treating him rather strangely lately...

Puzzling over that thought, Aiden tilted his head and entered the building.

Everyone was watching him because of yesterday's incident, but he didn't seem to care in the slightest. His slightly weary-looking eyes soon found their target.

He went straight up to Alex and spoke first.

Recognizing him, Alex had probably been about to say something to liven things up.

Something about how Aiden hadn't run away after all, or how he wouldn't go easy on him.

But Aiden had little interest in any of that.

“Let's say the losers get stripped of their royal privileges, have their property confiscated, and get exiled.”

He drove straight to the point before Alex could get a word out.

If these people wanted to use someone else to boost their own fame, Aiden's aim from the very beginning was to wipe the floor with the scoundrels who'd insulted his friend.

“And let's add that the winners get to work the losers like slaves. Not actually stripping them of their human rights, of course. Just an employment contract that amounts to the same thing.”

“...”

“Shall we sign an agreement to that effect before we get started?”

Aiden's eyes were utterly clear and innocent as he neatly stacked documents he'd prepared at some point in front of them. Every member of Alex's gang stared at him with a bizarre expression.

'... Is this bastard completely out of his mind?'

Everyone present must have been thinking the same thing.

... Had Noel and Katya heard them, they would have nodded hard enough to break their necks.

▣

'Not much of an event.'

Unfortunately for Aiden, the preliminary round wasn't a direct contest between the participating royals.

Perhaps it was a gesture of consideration, since they would be fighting one another more than enough once the ceremony proper began.

'... A race through a labyrinth, huh.'

Aiden stroked his chin as he reviewed the explanation he'd just heard.

He quietly rose to his feet. The place was dark, with no one else around. This was probably his assigned starting point in the labyrinth.

Everyone would now be racing toward its center as fast as they could.

The preliminaries involved navigating a maze inside an artificial dungeon built within the facility, defeating artificially created monsters along the way.

The participants woke in separate locations and had to reach the maze's deepest point as quickly as possible.

It was a conventional format. After all, the first criterion associated with the title of Pontiff was being the strongest, and combat ability was one of the most fundamental measures of that.

'So this is how it works.'

And, as expected, they had been fitted with specially made bracers before the event began to limit their total supernatural power.

Even those who could wield vast amounts of power would probably now have output comparable to novices who had only just begun learning to use it.

Under these conditions, Aiden had to earn a higher score than every member of Alex's gang would receive in their eventual assessment.

He had already signed an agreement on those terms.

It would certainly be difficult.

In truth, there probably wasn't a single pushover here. The mere fact that they had qualified as royalty and earned a place here meant they had been recognized as potential leaders of a nation.

Even so...

'... All right, then.'

He would do it.

Thoroughly, and beyond any room for dispute.

'Get ready to have the floor wiped with you, you scumbags.'

Naturally, he had grounds for that confidence.

It was obvious, really.

There was a variable the organizers could never have accounted for.

No, it would have been stranger if they'd anticipated it.

Who on earth would expect a divinity wielder to possess every kind of supernatural power—not merely dharmic power, which anyone could learn?

While everyone else set off for the deepest part of the labyrinth, he slowly circulated his supernatural power, checking its condition.

He could afford a slightly late start. A cheetah didn't concern itself with the racing dogs. As long as he could confirm this one thing, starting a little slowly was fine.

Then Aiden drew a deep breath and spoke.

“By the Law, I swear.”

Qi flowed forth.

... At his normal output, unchanged.

“O lotus, O precious jewel, shine forth.”

Dharmic power flowed forth.

... This, too, was at his normal output.

In short...

'Only my divinity has been reduced?'

Aiden's lips twisted into a smile.

That was the thing.

There had been all sorts of rules for entering the preliminaries.