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Through the smoke blossoming from the explosion, the knights and the remaining enemies could be seen fleeing.

At the same time, some of the academy’s defensive magic opened up, and knights quickly charged out.

They began to restrain the members of the noble faction.

They deliberately targeted the ground to neutralize most of them.

Those nearby might lose an arm or two and get injured, but since they had targeted us first, there was no room for mercy.

Honestly, part of me felt like it wouldn't matter if we wiped them all out.

Maybe because sorrow and sympathy had disappeared together, there was no reason to hold back.

However, Isabel was here with me.

She is strong when punishing evil, but when it comes to the opposite, she shows a vulnerable side.

If she saw people dying en masse even though she helped, Isabel wouldn't be able to handle it.

‘Lack of empathy makes my mind judge everything too rationally.’

Even the anger that had just flared up wasn’t strong enough to apply to myself.

Fortunately, Isabel served as my brake.

“You really made a mess, huh.”

Meanwhile, Card approached, restrained by shadows.

Although Solvas had given the order, Card had already committed an offense once.

Because of that, he seemed unable to gain trust.

Card didn’t look like he was seeking trust either.

“Wagnon, are you really thinking of ending the civil war?”

Is he wondering if I’m serious?

“Yeah, but I don't plan on doing it by myself.”

“Then what are you going to do?”

Ending a civil war isn’t something you can achieve overnight.

You have to uncover where the war started and understand just how deeply rooted the noble faction is.

Until you pull up those roots, the civil war won’t end.

But in such a war, there’s one thing that matters most.

Legitimacy.

A civil war without legitimacy is just a coup, not a revolution.

‘The noble faction tried to end the civil war quickly.’

They staged a surprise attack, taking advantage of the fact that the royal forces were concentrated in the Demon Dungeon.

They even used mystics to ensure their victory in the civil war.

Ironically, these two actions ended up dragging them down.

Because of these two mistakes, the noble faction couldn't avoid international condemnation.

Unless, of course, they seized power.

Their justification for the civil war is the incompetence of Prince Maron.

Following the death of the previous incompetent king, now even the prince is deemed incapable.

The noble faction claims they couldn't just sit back and watch.

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

Their story would go like this:

They gathered at the royal palace to protest Prince Maron’s incompetence.

But Prince Maron, gripped by fear, disregarded the possibility of the Demon Dungeon's apostle rising and withdrew the royal forces!

During this process, a scuffle broke out between the royalists and the noble faction.

Eventually, the royalists attacked the nobles first.

“In reality, it was probably spies planted among the royalists.”

The noble faction would then declare a rebellion, claiming they were trying to change an unjust country.

Mystics, who had already been registered as citizens, would also join the fight.

Later, they would be glorified as national heroes who could no longer endure the Kingdom of Panisys' exploitation.

There’s already a noble house, Umbra, recognized for its capable mystics.

It made for a plausible excuse for the noble faction.

Would other nations tolerate this?

“They would.”

Nations act for their own gain.

The noble faction probably already prepared compensation packages for the other countries.

They would have secretly sent those packages already.

Meanwhile, if the royalists won, foreign nations would gain nothing.

All the royalists would have done is suppress an internal rebellion without outside help.

From their point of view, it was better if the noble faction won and they could reap the rewards.

I explained all of this carefully to Card.

Card didn’t deny my deductions.

They were based on the information and flow I had observed about the Kingdom of Panisys in the game.

Thankfully, most of it seemed to be accurate.

‘But all of this assumes the noble faction can quickly capture Prince Maron and usurp the throne.'

Their ideology is based on the incompetence of Prince Maron, the successor of the previous king.

But that means if they fail to capture him, they cannot win.

Prince Maron has already safely escaped the royal palace and is now at Aquiline Academy.

As long as he remains out of their hands, they cannot blame the rebellion on him.

“You’re not thinking of dragging this out into a siege, are you?”

This time, they retreated after being overpowered.

But with Prince Maron at Aquiline Academy, the noble faction would never give up.

They had probably nearly completed taking over the palace.

The next wave of troops would be on a completely different level than before.

Even Sharin’s magic wouldn’t last forever.

At best, we could defend for one more day.

“If you’re thinking about escaping somewhere, forget it. The noble faction has already blocked every hole in Panisys.”

He confidently said that even we would get caught if we tried to escape.

“Card, what are you talking about? There's still one path they neglected.”

Card blinked.

Then his eyes slowly widened.

Meeting his gaze, I flashed a sly smile.

“The entrance to the Demon Dungeon hasn’t closed yet.”

There was still time left before a full day passed.

“…Wagnon, you really are insane.”

Prince Maron was still a teenager.

Which meant he could still enter the Demon Dungeon.

Meanwhile, the knights and soldiers of Panisys could not.

They were barred from entering the Demon Dungeon.

“We’ll take Prince Maron to Zerion through the Demon Dungeon.”

That was the solution I proposed.

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

“Hysirion has long warned against the dangers of mystical forces and has worked to suppress them. Especially regarding the Demon Dungeon, they've been more cautious than anyone.”

The Hysirion Empire now had a legitimate cause to drive out the Nobles' faction, which had already crossed the line with their rebellion.

And if we protected the highly symbolic Prince Maron, what would happen?

Not only Hysirion but also other countries would gain justification to intervene.

Unlike before, when the Royalist faction ending the civil war brought them no advantage, now they could help end it — and take all the credit for it.

They could flaunt their virtue as much as they wanted.

On top of that, they would gain heroic fame for ousting the Panisys nobles who had triggered a global disaster.

“How about it? Seems like a pretty solid plan, right?”

Card showed a stunned reaction.

But he no longer opposed me.

He realized I was truly going to pull this off successfully.

“So Card, you’ll have to help me take Prince Maron.”

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

“You like women, don’t you?”

I grinned broadly.

“We have plenty of pretty girls on our team.”

Card let out an exasperated chuckle.

“They're all girls who fell for some kind of womanizer.”

Is that how he sees it?

Still, looking into Card’s eyes, it seemed he had changed his mind.

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

Solvas, who had been quietly listening, flinched.

“Well, it wouldn’t be so bad to save the country for once. If I help, I might be able to get a pardon for the Umbra Count’s family.”

Solvas let out a long sigh and clenched his fists tightly.

“At this point, I don’t really have a choice, do I?”

True enough.

He was already too deeply involved.

Now that I had their agreement, it was settled.

“We’re moving immediately. Get ready. Isabel, gather the others. Make sure to look after the wounded too, please.”

“Okay, got it.”

Isabel said that as she passed by me.

“You’re kind of cool today. I might fall for you again.”

What the heck is she talking about in this situation?

She ran off, covering her mouth and laughing.

Seeing her cute behavior made the tense atmosphere loosen up a bit.

All that was left was to persuade Prince Maron.

That would be the hardest part.

So I decided to solve it as quickly and simply as possible.

* * *

I went straight to meet Crama.

He was still standing guard in front of Prince Maron’s door.

Perhaps having heard about our successes outside, he looked brighter than before.

“Sir Crama, I have something to discuss.”

I immediately told him what Card and I had discussed.

After hearing everything, Crama’s face lit up.

He realized it was a brilliant plan to navigate the situation.

“But the knights cannot accompany us.”

Only those under eighteen years old, or those like me who wore the Veil Bandages, could enter the Demon Dungeon.

Thus, the knights couldn’t come with us.

“We are knights. Our very existence is to protect our lord. In fact, if we stay and buy you time, it will make your path to the Demon Dungeon smoother.”

Crama answered without even a hint of hesitation.

“As long as His Highness is safe, that’s all that matters.”

His eyes shone brightly.

I would honor the knights' wishes.

“Musika.”

“Yeees!”

At my call, Musika poked her head out from the wall.

Grantoni also waved at me.

“You two can buy time with the Royal Knights and then hide in the Otherworld, right?”

Musika was inhabiting Vinesha’s body.

That meant she couldn’t come with us to the Demon Dungeon.

Naturally, Grantoni would stay with Musika and Vinesha.

“Of course. We can make them think we completely vanished.”

“It’s going to be dangerous.”

“If we worried about that, we would’ve fled as soon as the rebellion started.”

Musika laughed, asking what I took former heroes for.

I trusted in her skills and courage.

“Prince Maron, I’m coming in.”

Since time was pressing, I didn’t even wait for an answer and opened the door.

“Eek! Eek!”

Prince Maron flinched and pressed himself against the wall.

“I-I’m not going anywhere! I’m going to hide here for the rest of my life!”

He must have been eavesdropping at the door and heard everything.

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

“Prince Maron.”

I gave him a friendly smile.

And without hesitation, I punched him squarely on the chin.

Prince Maron collapsed with a thud.

While everyone stood there with their mouths agape, I quietly gathered him up.

“Alright, let’s move.”

Long-winded persuasion?

Takes too much time.

Feels like intellectual vanity.

In short, a headache.

So, a punch.

Quick and effective.

A truly excellent negotiation.