"An outworlder?" Jack was startled by the revelation.
"I cannot identify the ambusher because he or she was wearing a face mask, but my Inspect showed for certain that the ambusher was an outworlder. A level 32 Assassin," Alonzo said.
Jack thought back to Claudius' comments when they met outside. He felt weird at the time, but now he understood.
"At this time, you are the only outworlder with the sufficient rank to access the training cave," Mason said to Jack. "But the nobility faction didn't register you using your points to access those caves. Additionally, we have checked, you are not in Thereath at the time when the ambush took place."
"So, I was a suspect?"
"Don't be offended, Mister Storm Wind. A royal prince had been attacked, every action needs to be taken. Otherwise, some other parties will start asking questions. It is better if we collect all the facts first before those unwanted parties used the information for their own purposes."
"Don't worry about it. I will also think of myself as a fair suspect under those circumstances. But you mentioned the entry record to the training cave area was destroyed. I doubt an outworlder has the resources to achieve that."
"That's true. Not to mention as well the murdered guard was a level 40 elite. I doubt a level 32 outworlder could have done that without attracting attention from the guards at the other training caves nearby."
"So, you mean he is working with an insider? A native in the kingdom faction?"
"I have no doubt that is the case. And I must say, this insider is a powerful person. Not everyone can have access to the record and leave without a trail."
"I can venture a guess," Prince Alonzo gave his thought.
"The second prince?" Jack asked.
"He is the only one who wants me dead and working with an outsider as well," the Prince replied.
"I agreed," Mason said.
Princess Sindral, who has been silent, appeared very upset as she said, "How can he be so vicious! We are still siblings, after all. Is getting the throne so important to him?"
Mason sighed, "Power can cause people to go blind. One can even sacrifice their own family for it. Unfortunately, the king's health isn't getting any better. I fear the situation in this kingdom will just get worse."
"Actually, I have some doubts," Jack said.
"About what?" Commander Quintus asked.
"The assassination attempt…"
"What about it?"
"I'm not sure if I should say this yet, but there is still too little to go on. I think there is something more to the incident. I mean, the perpetrator had planned so well for the ambush that both the outworlder and the records are gone without any trails. Yet, their primary objective was not achieved.
"Don't get me wrong, I'm happy you are safe," Jack said to Prince Alonzo. "Still, I think if they can cook up a plan that makes them escape so effectively, they should have made a plan that ensures their assassination is successful. For example, use a much stronger poison that can kill with one strike? Or a poison that is uncurable, I don't know if those kinds of poison exist. It's just examples. For them to fail their primary objective seemed like a letdown for such a well-crafted plan."
"You mean… their objective is not to take the prince's life?" Mason asked.
"As I said, there is still too little to go on. I simply put this out to not let us jump into conclusion hastily," Jack said.
"I don't understand, what else can the reason be?" Princess Sindral uttered.
"Well, one that I can think of, probably to put more hate into us, outworlders? I think there are a decent number of kingdom officials who dislike us. I've met a few of them already, after all."
Mason contemplated Jack's speculation. While princess Sindral said, "An act of one outworlder should not reflect the others. Why are the outworlders be the target when just one of them committed it?"
"I agree. One bad apple doesn't spoil the whole bunch," Jack said.
When he noticed the others' weird faces, he said, "sorry. It was a lyric from a song where I came from. It means the act of one person shouldn't be a judgment for the rest. However, a mass that already has hate inside them will do just that. They will simply incorporate this one person's sin as the sin of the whole. It is difficult to reason with such a mass. As for the ambusher, I suspect he or she was not privy to the real objective as well. We, outworlders, do tend to be too passionate about completing quests without considering the full picture. The ambusher could just be doing such a quest."
"If your theory is true, then the crown prince can also be a suspect," Prince Alonzo said. "He has the most dislike against outworlders, after all."
"As I said, nothing is certain. We need to know more first before coming to a conclusion."
Mason nodded at Jack's words, "I'm glad we have this talk. Otherwise, I might have missed some details in our investigation. I will instruct my men so they don't dismiss any clue that might point to the crown prince. It was indeed the right choice when I decided to send you an invitation into our kingdom faction."
"I'm also glad about that decision," Alonzo said as he tried to sit up. Princess Sindral told him not to, but he insisted, so she had no choice but to help him sit on his bed instead.
"Mister Storm Wind, I have a favor to ask," the prince said.
"Your Highness, if you need any help, just ask. I will help if it is within my power," Jack replied.
"I'm glad to hear that. Though I'm afraid this request may be a bit hard."
"Do you want to ask me to investigate this incident? I did admit that if we find out the culprit, the powerful person behind it might not be happy with me, but I'm not afraid."
"I commend your courage, but that's not the favor I'm asking. Though I've no doubt you will need the same amount of courage if not more… Do you know, when I first meet with you, I had no thought at all about this power struggle. I don't care about who ascended our father's throne, whether it was Therribus or Rhemos. In fact, I have no thought at all to compete with them. I just hope that I can live my life peacefully, even after one of them becomes the king. I thought that if I show no intention to compete with them, they will leave me alone. But, I know now that is simply a delusion. No matter what I do, peaceful life is not a possibility."
Jack could sense the sadness in the prince's voice. He felt sad about this situation as well. He had no brother nor sister, but he knew that siblings should support each other, not trying to kill each other. Did power corrupt this much? History, unfortunately, informed so.
"I've come to this decision during the expedition, but I will state it again," Prince Alonzo uttered. "I will do all I can to vie for the throne, and when I do, I will honor the wish of my father to maintain the stability of both this kingdom and the relationship with outworlders. Therefore, Mister Storm Wind, I ask this of you. Are you willing to help me in my pursuit to secure the throne?"
Jack was surprised by the request. He was glad that the prince ask for his help, but he didn't think that the prince would value him this much to consider him an important asset in the battle for the throne."
Before his surprise waned, he was given another surprise again by a notification voice, "You have been offered an SSS grade chain kingdom faction quest, Throne of Themisphere. Do you accept?"
'F*ck me! Another SSS quest? Hey, Peniel! Do you think this one is genuine?' Jack sent his thought to Peniel who was sitting on his shoulder.
'Considering it involves the fate of a country, I think it is,' Peniel answered.
'What do you think? Do you think a genuine SSS quest will be too difficult for me?'
'I think so. But a genuine SSS chain quest will also take a long time. As I said before, the SSS grade of a chain quest reflects the overall difficulty, not its individual quest. Considering you are now an elite class, you should be able to tackle those first few individual quests. Its difficulty will approach SSS grade at the end of the chain quest.'
Jack pondered about the information. Prince Alonzo was assuming Jack's silence as he was still considering his request, he said, "if you are unwilling, I totally understand. Don't feel bad about it. This is my problem, after all. I will still consider you as my friend."
Hearing the prince's words, Jack made a resolution.. He stood up, knelt down, then declared resolutely, "Your Highness, I will give my all to help you in becoming the King of Themisphere."
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