A carriage was traveling on the road. It was a four-seater pulled by a pair of horses. There was a coachman driving the vehicle. The horses were a quasi-magical breed equivalent to Level 2 monsters so they had greater endurance and speed compared to regular horses.

  Sometimes, a red dragon could be seen flying overhead this carriage, frightening the horses when it got too close, much to the coachman's dismay.

  Prince Croix and the other three members of this team were inside the carriage. It was the second day of the trip from the Crimson Capital to the Valentine Duchy.

  Alfred, Croix’s loyal knight, was escorting the elven mother and daughter to Liapris on Croix’s order so he wasn't here. He would catch up later.

  The inside of the carriage was quiet. Croix was reading some documents without any rocking or swaying to trouble him as the wheels were enchanted. Viers and Boram were training on their seats. Lastly, Ciel Valentine was looking at the scenery with a forlorn look most of the time.

  She was having mixed feelings about going home. One part of her was happy to return to her homeland where she grew up, the other part was dreading the family problem waiting for her there like a titanic-size antlion pit.

  It’s a bit suspicious when I think about it. The first two rounds of the Grand Prix were held in the capital but suddenly Round 3 is in the Valentine Duchy? The possibility of this being the plan from the start is not zero but my gut feeling says this is the attempt of mom and dad to bring me home.

  Ciel stifled a sigh. She had done it so much that her teammates must be getting annoyed hearing it.

  Whatever. Focus Ciel! You’re still in the Grand Prix and the competition are all strong foes. Must keep it together!

  All 16 teams departed the capital at the same time like in a race but from then onwards, it was up to the teams to choose how to arrive at the destination. Some teams used flying items or even teleportation which cost a boatload of money.

  On the other hand...

  Boram was broke. He was a slave and any pocket money he received from Viers was spent on cultivation resources.

  Croix was also broke. The wayward prince didn't get monetary support from his aunt and he didn't ask or dare to ask. She already paid for his education, what else could he ask for? Any income he got from the side he used it for cultivation.

  Ciel was no different, broke. Even though she came from a wealthy ducal family she didn't get any of it since she ran away from home. She got money from her work in the Silver Legion but after using them for cultivation purposes, what little she could spare she used it to help the less fortunate individuals that she met in her journey. At Celedony, she freeloaded at her friend’s place!

  Recalling the face Viers made after the three reported their monetary situation made Ciel want to bury her face in a pillow and scream.

  So Viers entirely footed the bill to hire the carriage to the duchy for the team. Compared to the teams with the backing of great houses and other kingdoms, Croix’s team carriage was far too ordinary.

  Actually, the three of them were the norm. Independent Pathseekers without the backing of an organization tended to be poor. Walking the Path of Power cost a ton of money. The higher their Level was, the more expensive the resources and facilities they needed.

  Of course, there were expectations. Ciel strongly suspected Viers was one of such exceptions.

  She had only seen a glimpse about the organization behind Viers. The club meeting in a place called the Velvet Sea. The leader seemed to be someone called the Big Boss and while he was absent, as his disciple, Viers ran things. It was still too early to determine what this gathering entailed but her instincts told her she should keep an eye on its future proceedings.

  That reminds me...

  She turned her eyes to Viers, thinking about what he said. Whatever he did at the Magisterium made him unable to utilize water anymore. At least for the foreseeable future. It didn't seem to bother him in the slightest though. She knew he possessed a second affinity. Was he going to show it? Soul was a bit of a controversial affinity to use.

  ...His serious face is kind of cool actually. Hard and sharp like the edge of a blade and deep like the ocean.

  The real face of Viers juxtaposed itself in Ciel’s mind.

  ...Huh!? What was I thinking? Perish the thought! Perish the thought! He’s got a couple of girls in his circle who are obviously fond of him. We are just pretending to be lovers! Also, there’s still the matter of what he did at Valkut. His actions involving civilians there have not been put on trial!

  But he’s dead, at least to the others. From the Church, only I know Viers actually survives and he called my life debt to never speak about it to anyone. I’m honor-bound to compel but it's frustrating! How can justice be served then? Arrgh! This is so frustrating! Is this his aim to avoid answering his crimes? Rouge! Trickster! Scoundrel!

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  Ciel tried her special sight to see the ‘color’ of a person’s nature once again. Sure enough, Viers’ color wasn't that of a remorseless, crazy mass murderer kind.

  Still, he might not be at the far end of the bad guy spectrum but he’s definitely on that side!

  But what should I do about him? We’re in the most important competition of the year and I made him my fake lover. Urgh. Perhaps I didn't think this through. Oh Goddess... What did I get myself into?

  “-el. Miss Ciel?”

  “Ah?” Ciel only realized the call now, “Forgive me, Prince Croix. My mind was elsewhere. You were saying?” She replied as politely as possible.

  “I’m just asking if you’re okay. You... looked like you were at war with yourself earlier.”

  Ciel heard a small chuckle from Viers and felt her ears getting hot.

  “I’m fine! No problem whatsoever! Yes, entirely in control! Now, please excuse me, I wish to train.”

  “O-oh,” Croix was a bit surprised by the rapid and candid reply. “Be my guest.”

  Ciel pulled out a card that Viers gave her, the card with the writing: The Justice. There was a stylized picture of a woman with a sword and a scale on the card’s front. She tried the practice that Viers taught her and the other new girl in the club.

  It was pretty complicated but Ciel remembered it. This was the first time she tried it though. She finished a few cycles and opened her eyes with a glint of surprise.

  ...It’s also a soul-tempering method?

  ***

  Viers could guess what kind of internal struggle Ciel wrestled with but he had no intention of interfering. Why should he? When the story development would end in his favor. Either way, he couldn't afford to. He had many other priorities.

  Tower Master Baharir’s last act of spite against his murderer was the extension of his Domain. Viers’ water affinity that was sealed during the battle was further locked.

  It was an unexpected setback but within Viers’ damage tolerance. Baharir was not a trash Level 4 peak. He had a home ground advantage and Viers still managed to end his life. Viers took a bit of a risk challenging such a person as a newly minted Level 4 but, as always, his gains made up for his loss and more.

  With the skills in his arsenal, the sealing of his water affinity was inconvenient but hardly fatal. That was without bringing his soul affinity to the table. In a desperate serious battle where his life was at stake then Viers would have no qualms using his soul powers even if the whole country was watching but he didn't think something like that would happen in the Grand Prix.

  The format of Round 3 was more interesting and more tolerable than Round 2 to Viers’ palate. The 16 teams would race to a certain point at the Valentine duchy’s border from the Capital and they would then choose various tasks.

  These tasks would be the various problems the duchy was experiencing. From culling a monster population, relief efforts after a natural disaster, finding an elusive criminal hiding in the city, and even resolving a problem between one House and another.

  The purpose of the race was that the first to come had more tasks to pick from, preferably that played to the team’s strength. The last to arrive had to take the last task that nobody wanted, which most likely meant more troublesome than the rest.

  Once all 16 teams finished their assignments, another round of solving the regional problems would begin. Like before, the team that finished their task first would get the first pick. No task would be the same.

  At the border starting point, an observer would be attached to each team. Their job was to observe how the team solved the problem and grade how well they did their job or how bad they messed up. So the task could not be done shoddily because they want to get it done as soon as possible.

  The 8 teams with the highest score would go to the next round.

  The observer would be like the clergies that followed each team in Round 1 but this time they were the duke’s men and instead of protecting the team, it was the team’s responsibility to protect the observer. If the observer died, the team automatically failed.

  Since there were no more life ropes given to the contestants by the organizer, the risk of death was getting higher. It seemed from now on the training wheels were off.

  Hands-on problem-solving of real troubles. Unlike the previous rounds, this is more fitting in measuring a king’s candidate disposition and character. When you rule a country, trouble never ends after all. Hmm... What will they do about the audience?

  The Latias Grand Prix was like the Olympics and lots of people came to the capitol to see the tournament. Now the contestants were all going away, was that it then for the paying customers? At least in Round 1 and 2 they got plenty of visual treats.

  Viers internally scoffed. Why was he thinking about a bunch of strangers that didn't matter to him? He corrected his mind’s navigational course back to personal improvement.

  I did score a lot of things from the Magisterium raid, didn't I? Let’s see...

  Viers’ mind zeroed in on a certain weapon first and foremost.

  The Beam Saber, what he decided to call the fictional-turned-real laser sword from now on, was currently unusable. A soul search on Baharir’s soul showed Viers the problem. Apparently, the sword was powered by the Tower. It took a massive amount of energy to produce the heat capable of slicing through almost anything. A tall order, even in this world of magic. Baharir connected the Tower’s power source to the blade to make it work. Therefore, outside of the Magisterium Tower, the Beam Saber was a laserless hilt toy.

  It would take more than that to prevent Viers from wielding the coolest weapon in existence.

  Three years ago, Viers picked something from a meteor that fell into the sea near the Shore. The place where Croix was Viceroy of. Viers and his allies slaughtered a million fish monsters in the aftermath.

  The meteorite’s core was a great treasure. Viers examined it should be able to give someone a Light 5 affinity. Level 5s would fight each other for this thing. The Merfolk called it the Shining Heart. Viers nabbed it faster than anyone else. But because there were no suitable candidates, Viers kept the core in his vault to this day.

  The day had come for the Shining Heart to be put to use. It was similarly a potent power source, like a mini fusion reactor. The crystal would be a suitable power source for the Beam Saber.

  Using the mechanical knowledge from the creator, Viers modified the Beam Saber just fine. It activated without a problem. Now he waited until the opportunity for its debut came. There was no rush. Sooner or later, it would come.

  What else... Ah, yes...

  Thinking about all the power and money he obtained, Viers’ eyes would have twinkled golden if they could.