The Hero’s Party Members Treat Me Well for Some Reason - Chapter 93



Ennen (1)

Even if the inside may be rotten, the outside always shines brilliantly—the empire.

Emperor Maurice von Pildor of that empire had a total of five children.

First prince Ian, second prince Aiden.

First princess Ayla, second princess Elvira, third princess Dayla.

And as mentioned before, the first princess was dead, and the second prince Aiden was confined.

Even the second princess Elvira clung to Ian, while only the third princess Dayla continued her lonely fight.

This was the extent of what could be known about the palace’s setting from the game.

—

I hope this translation captures the essence and atmosphere of the original text!

The protagonist can make two choices here. The first is to support the First Prince along the mainstream and make him the Emperor, or to support his only rival, the Third Princess, and walk the thorny path together to make her the Emperor.

Even though her mortality rate rivals that of the party members, she can still be elevated to the throne.

And if I support the Third Princess, I could learn the ins and outs of the imperial palace in this way.

As I listened to her story, I felt a wave of nostalgia. It was because I had received a similar quest in the game.

We could dig into the death of the First Princess together and expose the First Prince’s corruption. Then, Ian would suffer a significant political blow, and in return, Dayla could gain power.

However, there was one slight difference…

‘Second Prince Aiden.’

The existence of Aiden had never been mentioned in the quest. No, not only that, but throughout the game, Aiden’s presence had hardly appeared. He had always existed in a state of confinement.

For him to suddenly come out of her mouth was unexpected.

No matter how much a witness was needed, I hadn’t anticipated him being mentioned, so I couldn’t help but be slightly surprised.

Usually, the protagonist in the game handled everything.

‘Well…’

But on the other hand, it made sense.

The protagonist in the game typically had an absurdly high reputation.

Of course, they were seen as the continent’s only hope, and by the time they received quests, they would have already captured several of the Four Heavenly Kings, just like now.

The influence held by such a person could not be ignored, even by the Emperor.

Therefore, by that time, a hero who supported someone could create a considerable force simply by doing so. If such a person exposed someone’s corruption, it would cause substantial damage on its own.

But what about me right now?

I had no influence whatsoever. I had captured two of the Four Heavenly Kings, but the curse and my behavior had overshadowed all those achievements.

Thus, even if I were to find some evidence and expose it, it was uncertain whether people would believe me.

If anything, they would likely be suspicious.

That’s why the alternative emerged.

‘Second Prince Aiden.’

According to her, he was a witness to the incident.

Even without that, being a prince meant he inherently had influence.

The only sticking point was the rumor of him being mentally unstable, but… if that could be resolved well, he would undoubtedly be a much better instigator than I was.

Having thought that far, I spoke to her.

“That’s a good idea. The problem would be how to rescue the Second Prince, though…”

“I know the location. My second brother is always inside the Repentance Palace…”

“Who doesn’t know the location? The problem is getting through to there.”

The Confession Palace was a building designed separately on the outskirts of the Imperial Palace. A secluded palace created solely for the Second Prince.

Perhaps because it was a residence for royalty, there were many attendants and a significant number of guards to protect him.

While it wouldn’t be difficult to break through with force, there were limits to discreetly extracting him.

Moreover, persuading him once there would also be a challenge.

“Don’t worry about that. I don’t plan to execute anything right now anyway. Once I’ve made all my preparations and it becomes necessary, I’ll call for you.”

As I listed these concerns, she concluded the conversation with this statement.

Her violet eyes were filled with a firm resolve.

It seemed she understood that this plan was her last opportunity.

If she was solidifying her will like that, I could trust her for now. After all, I had my own tasks to attend to.

With that, we finished our conversation and parted ways, promising to meet again.

Hopefully, with secrets that could turn the tide of the situation.

*

The next day.

Waking up early, I headed straight to the church.

I needed to strengthen the holy sword once again.

Having captured the Four Heavenly Kings, there would now be costs that the goddess could utilize.

Thus, I had no choice but to set aside everything else and go to the church.

Creeeak…

As I entered the church, a sacred atmosphere welcomed me. Since this was the same church I had visited before within the Empire, the structure itself felt familiar.

Unfortunately, the saint was not present this time, as I had arrived before her.

No matter how much the saint lived in the church, the beds in the Empire’s inns were superior.

‘I’ve already toured most of this place before…’

Therefore, I headed straight to the prayer room. After all, my main purpose today was to meet Enen.

I also needed to gather information about the next Four Heavenly Kings along with the holy sword’s enhancement.

As I entered the prayer room, sunlight poured down even more fiercely from the heavens. In the center stood a beautifully carved statue of Enen. Seeing it, I frowned slightly.

I felt a reluctance towards the actions I was about to undertake.

‘It’s not something I’m keen on…’

Still, I had to pray if I wanted to meet her.

Kneeling on both knees, I closed my eyes and offered a reverent prayer in front of the statue.

And I envisioned Enen in my mind.

Then…

“It’s been quite a while, Hero.”

I found myself once again above the clouds.

*

Warm sunlight, soft clouds.

Standing in a dreamlike scene was a beautiful woman, Enen.

It was indeed a sight that appeared sacred, yet it felt somewhat uncomfortable to me.

“Indeed, it is you, Hero. Not only did you capture the King of Demons, but you’ve already captured the second of the Four Heavenly Kings, the Puppet Master. Truly an impressive achievement.”

“Ah, yes…”

Looking at Enen, who welcomed me with a bright expression, I awkwardly lowered my head.

While her joy seemed genuine, it felt uncomfortable to me.

I had already seen her true form once.

Imagining a level 100 monster that seemed unbeatable made me instinctively shrink back.

Wasn’t that praise akin to complimenting a monkey for performing tricks? Of course, I might just be pessimistic about her true intentions.

There was simply too much information I didn’t know to judge her. With so many things hidden, I couldn’t be sure if I could trust her properly.

Though we were forced to cooperate due to the threat of the Demon King, Enen was nothing less than an uncomfortable superior to me.

Naturally, I couldn’t remain silent for long, so I timidly spoke to her.

“You’ve come as that avatar again, haven’t you?”

“Haha, of course. I know it would be tough if I brought out my true form, so there’s really no reason to do so, is there?”

“Just how strong does that true form need to be before I can see it comfortably?”

“Why? Isn’t this form cute and pretty?”

Enen playfully acted coy with her avatar. While her appearance was indeed quite nice, I didn’t feel particularly fond of her due to all that had transpired.

Seeing my lack of response, Enen cleared her throat and asked me.

“By the way… last time you spoke informally, but this time you’re using formal speech?”

“Someone asked me to be polite, so I’m trying my best to be respectful.”

“Oh my, you’re still holding onto that from last time?”

Isn’t it strange to still speak informally after being threatened with a true form reminiscent of Cthulhu?

“But it’s only natural. I’m a deity, after all. I can’t just be disregarded, considering my followers.”

It seemed our goddess had a bit of a traditionalist streak. It was amusing that she cared about such trivial matters. Of course, it wasn’t very important, so we quickly moved past it.

After that trivial small talk, she finally got to the point.

“By the way… is the reason for coming here today really because of those reasons?”

Although I had lumped it together as ‘those reasons,’ I could easily guess what they were.

What I could gain from her mostly consisted of the enhancement of the holy sword and information about the next Four Heavenly Kings.

Realizing this, I nodded immediately.

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“Then, may I ask for the weapon enhancement first?”

“Yes, of course.”

I handed her the holy sword. The luxurious holy sword with a golden sheen passed into her hands.

She began to shape the divine power as she did last time and started to hammer the holy sword with a thud-thud sound.

“Fortunately, this time I have some usable cost, so I can enhance it more than last time. When the Demon King intervened at the end, it actually resulted in me gaining some cost.”

It seemed she was referring to the fog that had supported the puppet master.

Indeed, I thought it was purely because that idiot Enen had messed things up, leading to the Demon King’s intervention. It turned out the Demon King had also overextended himself.

As a result, she ended up with more resources.

“Of course, it’s not a huge amount… but you’ll feel it more than last time.”

She said this as she handed the holy sword back to me.

The buffs applied this time were a slight increase in magical power, a mild physical enhancement, and an amplification of mana.

Indeed, as I grasped the holy sword, I could distinctly feel the improvement compared to last time.

How should I put it? My body felt a bit lighter. The passage of mana seemed more orderly, and my mind felt clearer than before.

She intended to finish the conversation here and move on to the next topic.

“So, shall I just tell you about the next Four Heavenly Kings now?”

“No, wait a moment before that…”

But I stopped her. Enen might think that I had satisfied most of my curiosity with the many questions I asked last time.

However, I still had some questions left.

I opened a pocket dimension and pulled out an item. What came out from the pocket dimension was alcohol. A bottle of purple wine that exuded a luxurious vibe. It was something I had stealthily taken during the banquet yesterday.

Seeing that, Enen tilted her head as if to ask what I was doing.

I placed the wine bottle on the floor and said to her.

“Let’s talk a bit.”

Enen, what I was curious about this time was her.