The Extra of The Lunerra

Chapter 447 - 80: Realizing the Talents Falling Behind

When the guards learned that I had requested an audience with their king, they looked at each other briefly. And, I don’t know why... but for the first time, I felt that they were a ’person’.

Until now, they had always felt like robots, obeying every order without question, no matter what. So... it was strange, a bit.

Anyway. They told me that my request would be forwarded to the king and that I should continue to wait in my room. And so I did, I lay down on the big sofa in the living room and started to check things out, just in case, as I always do.

But... it wasn’t a quiet process like most of the time.

"Hey, Aiden."

I answered while keeping my eyes on the screens in front of me.

"Yes, Julian?"

"Things are happening that you’re not telling us about."

"Yeah, I’m also a little confused myself."

He waited a moment before continuing.

"Whatever’s going on, I’m sure there’s a reason behind it that you’re not telling us."

He paused again, this time sighing slightly.

"Still... it worries us that we were trying so hard to make everything perfect before and now we’re just standing here like this. Is something wrong? Are we in a situation we don’t want to be in? Is there... anything we can do?"

I squinted, staring at the screen in front of me for a while without saying anything. Then I slowly sat up on the couch I was lying on, not caring that my face passed through the screens in front of me. They closed the moment I did anyway. Then, I turned toward Julian.

"This part of the plan... was one that I thought would be resolved relatively easily. It’s also a part I can’t tell you about for now. Because it deals with a personal problem of the king. So far... I wouldn’t say there’s an extreme problem, it’s just that there’s a detail that’s stuck in my mind that’s causing me a bit of confusion, and I’m dealing with it."

Julian didn’t change his expression, didn’t react in any extreme way. He just...

"A personal matter of the king, huh... I see."

And I tried to get back into a reclining position, thinking that he wouldn’t question me much after that, but before I could...

"Isn’t our goal here to bring Adrian to the spotlight and use him to create a connection between Cevilian and Eshaware?"

I straightened up again, turned back to him.

"Yes."

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"Solving a personal matter for the king... wouldn’t put you in the spotlight rather than Adrian?"

"The matters I would have Adrian resolve concern all elves and all of this kingdom, and the matter I would resolve concerns only the royal family. So... no. It will help build a better relationship between me and the royal family, yes, but I have no plans to make myself a hero, as I did with the Holar. It’s... unlikely, but it might even put me in a position where the royal family doesn’t particularly like me."

This time, I didn’t lie down again but stood still, and Julian... suddenly tensed.

"D- don’t misunderstand please. It’s not that I don’t trust you, I’m just... trying to understand why you are doing things I don’t understand."

Well, I can very well understand him.

So I told him it was fine, without being too pushy, and I moved to lie down again.

But... I paused as a sudden thought came to me.

Really, now that I think about it...

"Julian, what is your general level now?"

Julian was surprised for a moment by the sudden question. Yet he did not refuse to answer.

"It became D two weeks ago, why do you ask?"

It became D two weeks ago...

He has almost the same rate of development as in the game. By the standards of this world, he’s really way ahead of his peers, but...

Not good enough.

Adrian is C+, I am C, and Lucia is probably C-.

I paused for a moment, leaning back slightly.

"It’s... nothing, I just had a little thing on my mind."

Julian gave me a strange, blank look. And then... he must have really run out of questions, because he went back to his work.

And me... I couldn’t stop thinking.

It’s quite normal for Adrian and Lucia to show an extreme, monstrous speed of growth compared to the others, given their importance and position in this world. And now, they’re getting stronger even faster than in the game. Adrian at this point should have barely reached C grade and Lucia should have been stuck at D+.

"I... I don’t know. I want to kill him, but he looks at me with my son’s eyes; he talks. I also don’t want to kill him. I just want to keep him captive. I think we can use him and learn something important from him, but... that’s a different choice to make too. So... I’m not sure. I don’t even know how my wife will react yet."

Hmm...

"Then... I have one last favor to ask of you."

He took a deep breath, calmed himself down again, and fixed his eyes on me.

"What is it?"

"I want to speak to Alith."

King Faelan rolled his eyes.

"Go, talk to him about whatever you want to talk to him about."

"No, I want a one-on-one conversation, one the guards can’t listen in on."

King Faelan paused, his eyes twitching, his expression sour.

"Why?"

"Because I feel something is wrong and there are things I need to verify. The Prince... at least the wiera in his place... is too comfortable, don’t you think? Saligia must have big plans for him if they turned him into a wiera, but he doesn’t give off that vibe.

He acts like... like he’s not in danger, like Saligia is coming to save him. And I don’t like that."

"You think the guards might be on his side?"

"Yes, it’s a possibility that is not impossible, no matter how unlikely. That’s why I don’t want them to hear what we’re going to talk about. I’ll let you know everything in full at the end of our meeting with him."

King Faelan waited for a long time without saying anything, lost in thought.

At the end, though.

"Okay, fine. But you don’t have to write me a full report. I’ll come with you."

...

Well... here comes the tricky part

"No, Your Royal Highness."

Actually... I was a little bit hesitant, in case he might respond overly negative.

And King Faelan looked at me with such eyes that I felt as if what I thought would happen.

But, far from that...

"Why?"

He remained very calm.

He wanted a logical answer.

Thank you, I guess?

"Because... as a wiera, I plan to approach him as if I am an ally."

His left eyebrow slowly raised as he heard what I said.

"Go on."

"First, I will interrogate him, as if I am testing him. I’ll look for answers in secret. Then, as if I were on Saligia’s side, deceiving everyone, I’ll offer him help and gauge his reaction. Interrogate him, in a way. Your presence with me would completely throw my plan out of whack."

"Alith, even as a wiera, even as a violent and angry person, is no fool. Even if he believes you are on Saligia’s side because you’re a wiera yourself, he will question why you exposed him. He won’t trust you."

"I know. And I have a plan for that."

Alith is not a fool, yes.

But neither am I.

"I will simply fabricate a scenario that my revealing his existence is a planned blow to the royal family, that he must return to Saligia. I will do my best to make it as believable as possible. If I fail, we have nothing to lose. But if I succeed, we have something important to gain."

King Faelan looked me in the eye throughout this entire explanation. He didn’t take his eyes off me for a second.

And... he didn’t seem to look negatively on the plan I had in mind.

I think I managed to convince h-

"And... how can I be sure that’s not really your plan?"

...

What?