RPG chapter 54

54　Grey’s secret

「Are you pitying me?」

Grey Ryuuga was hostile toward me

It is understandable

「No, or rather, are you ridiculing me? Do you intend to have a closer watch of me, who had lost to you and lost the position of the empire’s strongest, groveling on the ground?」

「I am not that free」

Right after the audience ended, I was pressed by a snapped Forte

After promising to have a party for two after the mission ends, in addition to patting her head to the point that smokes came out, she finally cheered up

Why we have to take a 2-man mission?

Seriously, why?

「I know, you want to harass me, didn’t you?」

「Harass?」

「I disgraced myself by losing to you, and desperately tried to recover the lost ground. This mission is the first chance. But it was ruined as you butted in」

That is a terrible way to say that

「If we go together, the merit is yours if the mission is successful. Currently you are on a rise, so everyone will notice you. I will be in your shadow」

「I crushed your plan to redeem yourself, huh……?」

It’s a joke, isn’t it?

I already said I am not that free, you know?

Why should I harass you to the point of making Forte angry?

「It was just me wanting to give you a lifeboat since you was so desperate. Even just a little, please obediently receive a human’s good will」

「Lifeboat……？」

「In the first place, do you really think you can recover from your blunder with just the current mission? The glorious strongest of the empire suffered a complete defeat. That blunder is bigger than you thought」

「Ugh……?」

「This is a rebellion of a small district at most……a miscellaneous matter that we are not sure if it’s true or not. It is not enough to recover the lost ground. The emperor must have prepared a stage for you to recover your honor someday. You jumped for a small profit without waiting for that……」

The emperor was troubled because of that carelessness of yours

「At the audience, the emperor mercilessly spoke ill of you, but I understood his feeling. To think that the one who will succeed him to carry the empire on his shoulder can only see the near future」

「……!?」

After I pointed it out, Grey Ryuuga finally understood the situation and trembled all over

「I, did I betray that person’s expectation again……!?」

「Did you understand the feeling that I couldn’t see?」

In fact, at that place, it seems like I was the only one who noticed the mental state of both of them and broke in

If you don’t want me to butt in too much then don’t create more trouble

「Kuu, once again, I……! What the heck should I do to not disappoint that person!?」

「For the time being, you should properly finish the mission you volunteered」

He would give up on you for real if you couldn’t do that

「If you complete what you can do one by one, the emperor will acknowledge you. You are his cute son no matter what happened after all」

「Is that so?」

「That’s right. Please trust your father」

「Umu……!?」

…………。

……。

「No, hold up. What did you say just now?」

You are slow to notice that

「You……!?　Did you know？　The relationship between me and his Majesty……!?」

「Father and son, isn’t it?」

Do I really need to say it?

「How do you know? The secret that only a limited number of people know!? Where!? How……!?」

My neck is grabbed and shaken

There are actually people who do this kind of thing

「I am sorry!? I won’t tell anyone!?」

The reason I knew it is not something I can say

Of course, the source is from my previous life

It is confirmed right after defeating Grey Ryuuga in 『Beast Fantasy 4』

After being defeated by the protagonist, Grey Ryuuga, on the verge of dying, called the emperor 『Father』. Right after that, the emperor’s body and soul were controlled by the beast aura and he became a monster. He personally devouring his own child is a shocking scene before the last battle

「……Really, such a bottomless man. Listen here, you must not tell anyone」

「Is that a secret……? I didn’t know that……!?」

「The order of discovery is really strange, you know!?」

Sorry

Since it’s game knowledge, it got mixed up here and there

「…………Currently, his Majesty the Emperor has no child. His Majesty is already old. Therefore, that becomes a worrisome matter」

The absence of the emperor’s child……in other words, his successor

Right, in that situation, when the emperor passed away, there would be quarrels about 『Who would be the next emperor?』

「If you announce you are the imperial prince then the matter would be settled, right?」

If you think about it, if the famous Grey Ryuuga – the empire’s strongest is the imperial prince, the next emperor would be the most powerful

It’s so good that everyone would tremble

「……There were 4 brothers above me」

「Eh?」

「In fact, one of my brothers was intended to become the next emperor. However, everyone died」

What? I don’t know about that

Is this a hidden setting not mentioned in the game?

「Died, from a succession race?」

「That is not the case. The Behemoth empire started as a puny nation. My brothers worked in solidarity to protect the country which was always on the edge」

Speaking of royal family, there is always the image of them being obsessed with power and created domestic discord

But the siblings here were unusually close

「Then why……?」

「Everyone was killed in action. But not because of being attacked by the enemies. They were consumed by the beast aura they cladded on their bodies and lost their sanity on the battlefield. They lost the choice to retreat and can only advance as a raging beast. In the end they were surrounded and killed by the enemies」

4 people, in succession

「Occasionally, after defeating all enemies, they attacked the allies while wishing for more battle. There are some brothers who used up all their strength after tearing off several hundred soldiers of our own country. Everything is because of the beast aura. My brothers lost their heart because of it!」

「Well……!?」

Certainly, beast aura has that effect

Beast god Beast ruled over the instinct and beastly nature. If the beast aura, which is his power, dwells in a person, it will snatch away their reasoning, disturb their calmness and turn them into a beast in the end

There are countless examples

My comrades such as Gashi, Forte or even my sister Selen, all of them became violent after absorbing the beast pieces

The emperor himself is being eaten by the beast aura for many years and is loitering on the border between sanity and insanity

The moment the balance is broken, the last boss of 『Beast Fantasy 4』 will be born

If it’s not limited to 『4』, there will be numerous similar cases

「Even so, that is a striking example……No matter how much the beast aura consumed their reasoning, if they have to fight to death then getting stronger is useless……!」

「According to father, it is a curse of the beast god only on the imperial family. Despite being the same beast aura, the one dwelling inside the imperial family is special. It erodes the spirit more viciously」

So, in the end, his beloved children died, and the broken heart of the despaired emperor becomes beast-like even faster……？

What a disgusting plan of the beast god!

「After realizing that, he finally began to find countermeasure. But that was too late, the only one remained is me, the last child. If only the child of the emperor is affected with the special maddening beast aura then let’s raise the imperial prince in secret. That was what he decided」

「Eh? That’s it?」

「Yes, that is it. But surprisingly, the plan went smoothly. The beast god’s malice didn’t reach me, who was entrusted to a distant countryside and was raised as an adopted child of a rural noble」

Fortunately, he seemed to grow up healthily without getting any disease

「But I am not content with the truth. In order to be useful to the emperor……my father, I earnestly trained to develop a strong mental strength to get rid of the influence of the beast aura. After spending much effort to the point of vomiting blood, I became the empire’s strongest and was able to get close to the emperor. Not as a son but as a confidant……!」

Grey Ryuuga – the empire’s strongest, has such a hidden story

Rather, doesn’t he look like a protagonist?

His character’s depth doesn’t lose to the original protagonist Sero’s

「But, in that circumstance, why did you join the Twelve Apostles?」

For the imperial prince, the beast aura is dangerous, that’s why you hid yourself in somewhere far away. But then you intentionally received the beast piece and absorbed the especially thick beast aura, isn’t it like pulling the cart before the horse……。

「It is to accomplish my duty as an imperial prince. I live to succeed the seat of the emperor from father to make the empire flourish. That’s why I must overcome the beast aura」

So you absorbed the beast piece?

If even the especially thick beast aura of the beast piece can’t shake your mind, you think you can oppose the maddening beast aura exclusively to the imperial prince?

「Everything was fine. Until you appeared」

「Eh?」

「After being thoroughly defeated, I realized that I am not qualified to succeed father’s seat……Do you know why I told you this much?」

Hah?

Now that you mentioned it, didn’t this mean all of the doubt and grudge are cleared?

Are you serious about exposing the state of affairs to a complete stranger like me?

「If you didn’t know the secret of my birth then I wouldn’t tell you this much. But if you are aware of that then I think it’s better for you to fully realize the seriousness of the matter. Otherwise you wouldn’t understand the threat 『You will be killed if you leak this』」

「I am sorry……!?」

If you want to kill me then I will become stronger to return kill……!?

「Listen here! I will do my best cooperate with you. In order to succeed my father, and in order to become worthy of it! The twelfth place Jirat, support my growth!」

「Certainly, my prince!」

「Stop saying prince!!」

While being dragged up to a strange matter, I started my first mission