The Prince Wants to Retire

---

Chapter 3: The Changed Crown Prince

“No one enters the Cursed Room.”

In that place, a fleeting blue light briefly cleansed the cursed space.

[You have qualified to clear God’s hidden mission through a contract with a Mythical Being.]

[The second trial hidden by God has been triggered. Escape the Cursed Room!]

At the moment the Translucent Window vanished, the cursed energy that had momentarily been purified surged towards Kariel.

– So jealous! Let me make a contract too!

– I want to get out as well!

– Contract with me!

As the cursed artifacts began to swarm around Kariel, eager to taint his mind, a small fireball popped up.

– Where do you think you’re going, pests!

The tiny fireball, with eyes, a nose, and a mouth, brandished its adorable little arms.

For a brief moment, the dark energies vanished from around Kariel.

“Sur…th?”

– What are you doing? Hurry and get out!

“The necklace…”

As Kariel tried to break the sealing device to retrieve the necklace, Surth shook his head.

– Get out of here right now!

Frowning at Surth’s insistence, Kariel thought about how it would be pointless to leave the necklace behind after going through all that trouble to make a contract.

As he hesitated, staring at the necklace pulsing with blue flames, Surth urgently spoke up.

– That’s just a remnant of the curse parasitizing part of my power. Since it came to you, it’s utterly useless.

Upon hearing this, Kariel no longer hesitated and quickly took action.

But it was as if weapons around him, refusing to let him go, started trembling and releasing cursed energy.

– Faster!

“This is my limit!”

Gasping for breath, Kariel was urged by Surth to run faster, but he was already at his limit.

The blue flames were temporarily blocking the cursed energy, but as the barrier thinned, more curses began to converge on Kariel.

Fortunately, the flames he emitted held them back for now, but it was only a matter of time.

Still, thanks to his frantic sprinting, he was nearly at the door of the Cursed Room.

– Damn it! This is really my limit!

As cursed forces swarmed in from all directions, Surth’s blue barrier faded away.

In an instant, countless cursed hands reached for Kariel.

As huge amounts of hands made of black smoke were about to touch him, the flames resisted.

But, there were just too many of them, and the flames began to turn black.

“Gyaaa!”

With a scream that sounded like a howl, Kariel hurled himself through the door.

For the first time since arriving here, he made such a reckless move.

But it was exactly this reckless act that allowed him to burst out of the door, just as it reacted to the energy of the curses and quickly closed, activating a barrier.

Boom!

A sound loud enough to ring in the Imperial Palace echoed through, accompanied by a horrifying scream of the cursed entity, but it soon fell silent.

The powerful magic that sealed away the numerous cursed artifacts effectively suppressed the curses.

However, some curses were still sneaking out.

In that moment, a shadow appeared in the distance and cut down all the curses.

As the black sword, a weapon of the Shadows of the Palace, obliterated all the curses, Kariel seemed to relax and fell to the ground.

“Haah… Hah…”

As Kariel wiped the sweat pouring down his face and laid back, the shadow hurriedly approached.

“Your Highness, are you alright?”

Seeing the shadow rush over to him, Kariel nodded wearily.

“I’m sorry. I should have been more careful…”

“It was me who tried to go in alone from the start. It was my fault for provoking the cursed artifacts too.”

After Kariel said this to the self-reproaching shadow, he lay for a moment to catch his breath.

Once he regained some composure, the shadow cautiously asked, “Was there an unsealed artifact?”

Shaking his head, Kariel replied, “There isn’t a single artifact that I brought out.”

Kariel gestured as if to look for some, raising his arms as he got up.

At this, the shadow bowed its head with a remorseful expression.

“Then later, go in and check.”

The shadow paused at Kariel’s remark but simply bowed its head without further comment.

It flitted its mouth open and shut repeatedly, which made Kariel chuckle softly.

“You can report it to His Majesty.”

Upon realizing what Kariel meant, the shadow’s eyes shook nervously.

“…The Nobles will find out.”

“I don’t care; just do your duty.”

Shadows are more like the Emperor’s secret guards.

They are devoted only to the Emperor.

But the current Emperor wasn’t exactly a good person.

He was a brainless coward, lacking abilities and any desire to try.

That was Kariel’s assessment of the Emperor.

Despite being talentless, he was suspicious of anyone who might threaten his position, so it was natural for the Emperor’s faction to test Kariel.

“This is going to get bothersome.”

Kariel muttered as he slowly made his way to the Imperial Palace report.

Walking while observing the treasures in the third chamber that were accessible to the royalty, Kariel clicked his tongue.

‘Had these treasures been well utilized, the Imperial power wouldn’t have been smashed to bits like this.’

Sighing at the thought, he shook his head.

Even if the Emperor’s talent were merely average, no, even below average, the Empire wouldn’t be in such disarray if he hadn’t been plagued with doubt.

‘If it weren’t for that damn paranoia, the country wouldn’t have fallen to this state.’

Kariel shook his head in disbelief.

The once lofty status of the Empire lay shattered due to generations of cowardly rulers.

Many neighboring kingdoms, once too afraid to raise their voices, had begun to brazenly challenge the Empire.

Nevertheless, things were somewhat better now.

When Kariel took to the throne, the nearby kingdoms had gone mad and audaciously plotted war against the Empire.

“Really, this country is beyond hope.”

Kariel murmured, stopping his steps as he passed by the fourth chamber.

[Having passed the trial, you receive God’s official mission.]

[Contract with Mythical Beings: God of Destruction (Cleared)]

[Remaining Mythical Beings: Behemoth that swallowed the sun, Gatekeeper of Hell, Fragment of the Fire Spirit King.]

Upon exiting the Cursed Room, a Translucent Window appeared.

It was a mission from God after passing the trial.

Had Kariel been a priest, he might have rejoiced at receiving God’s mission, but he hated the divine.

If God appeared right before him, he’d land a punch first.

The problem was the next window that appeared.

[Upon completing your mission, one wish of yours will be granted.

※ This time, I won’t cheat.]

With an important indication highlighting the bold letters.

Although it was only one wish, the prospect of having any wish granted was impressive.

It meant that any wish, within God’s limits, could be fulfilled.

“Hmmm…”

As Kariel pondered over the Translucent Window, a small fireball appeared and approached him.

– What’s up?

As Kariel stood there staring into space, Surth, with a puzzled expression, inquired.

He explained the Translucent Window to him.

– Hmmm… it looks like another scam, doesn’t it?

“Right?”

Kariel nodded in agreement with Surth’s words.

Who would believe a scammer who says they won’t scam you?

As they shook their heads at the thought that gods couldn’t be trusted, the Translucent Window suddenly disappeared, replaced by one with a long message.

[Don’t you want to see your mom?

What about your siblings? Or maybe, how about conquering the continent?

Just say anything. I’ll make it happen.

But first, make a contract with me.

Honestly, it’s a really easy condition.

Just come find me when you have some time, and it’s done, right?

It’s not hard at all… just make the contract and your wish shall be granted?

I’m giving you a freebie since you’ve worked hard!]

Kariel’s eyebrows knitted together as he read the suspiciously familiar text.

Seeing this, Surth asked curiously, and Kariel recited the message.

– Clearly a scammer, huh?

“Right?”

Kariel agreed, shaking his head again.

Just as he was about to ignore the unnerving divine message and leave for the Imperial Palace report—

– Hmmm, but if you have the leisure to, maybe making a contract wouldn’t be too bad.

At Surth’s words, Kariel tilted his head.

“What do you mean?”

– In fact, aside from the Fragment of the Spirit King, all were unfortunate souls.

“Oh?”

– They lived wretched lives due to being turned into Behemoths by the gods and were sealed away… It might be good to free the ones you can, you know?

Surth spoke briefly about the events during the age of the gods, explaining how many Behemoths fell victim to the gods’ scams, himself included in Muspelheim.

Eventually, Surth ended his tale, lamenting the gods.

Kariel sighed softly at Surth’s tale.

– Ah! But there’s no pressure. Just saying if you’re able to, it would be worth considering.

As Kariel contemplated by Surth’s choices, the Translucent Window reappeared before him.

[Do you accept this mission? (Yes/No)]

“Is there really no penalty for failing the mission? Like, will I get sicker or something…?”

[None!]

At Kariel’s mutter, the Translucent Window popped up immediately.

Suspicion crossed his mind, but with no penalties, he thought there was no particular reason not to try.

Just as Surth suggested, if it turned out to be too difficult, he could abandon it.

‘It’s worth a shot; if it doesn’t work out, I’ll just quit.’

As Kariel hit ‘Yes,’ the Translucent Window disappeared.

[The gods’ wagering officially begins upon acceptance by the parties involved.]

[There are no penalties for failing the mission for the parties involved. However! There may be consequences for those around you. Please be cautious!]

“…Consequences?”

As Kariel’s face scrunched in confusion, the Translucent Window vanished as if it had completed its task.

With a worried expression, Kariel stepped out to head to the Imperial Palace report.

“What is this?”

As he exited the report room, a group of Imperial Palace Knights stood waiting.

In front of them, numerous Inner Court Attendants and personal pages attached to the Emperor’s Palace were gathered.

“Your Highness, we meet again.”

As soon as Kariel showed up, they all gave their greetings.

Kariel rephrased his question, “Let me ask you again. Why are you gathered here?”

One of the older attendants, seemingly their representative, answered.

“His Majesty has summoned you. You must come with us.”

“Why?”

When Kariel asked with a frosty expression, they flinched.

He had asked why, even after invoking the Emperor’s name.

“It is regarding the Imperial Palace report. His Majesty requests your immediate presence.”

“Is there an official order from His Majesty?”

At Kariel’s question, the older attendant flinched.

“His Majesty conveyed it verbally.”

“Even so, there should be an attendant who takes notes. If not, there should at least be a makeshift order created by the pages.”

An Emperor’s command.

Regardless of how personal the matter was, there would still be an order produced.

Even if it wasn’t an official command sealed by the Emperor’s stamp, it would still be used as a command document by those who served the Emperor.

Of course, many things have been simplified with the rise of cowardly rulers, and personal orders can often be conveyed verbally, but the palace laws still existed.

“That… that is…”

If an experienced attendant was this flustered, it clearly indicated they had rushed over after getting a report on whatever happened inside.

‘Seems they came in a hurry.’

Kariel walked out slowly, taking in the sight of the attendants guarding the door, his expression growing colder.

“Are you daring to impersonate His Majesty’s orders?”

“N-No, we aren’t!”

The older attendant jumped in surprise at the accusation of impersonation.

“I’m going to check with His Majesty right now. If it turns out to be untrue, it would mean you’ve impersonated His Majesty and even if it’s not, I shall hold you accountable for neglecting your duties.”

At Kariel’s words, everyone present wore expressions of shock.

As they looked among one another, Kariel maintained his icy demeanor but felt amused inside.

‘My recent actions have been strange, so I’ll put on a show to intimidate them?’

Grasping the Emperor’s intentions, Kariel couldn’t help but snicker inwardly.

Thinking of the Emperor, a coward with a heart smaller than a minnow, he purposely took on a heavy tone and told Talion.

“Let’s go!”