Chapter 45 – Somehow (3)

Boom-

Boooooom-

Two explosions that could not be compared to the one from earlier simultaneously went off in the plaza. Everybody crouched down and covered their heads with their hands.

"Ahhhhhhh!"

"Ugh. My, my arm!"

"Ugggggh!"

The screams of people getting injured or killed filled the plaza. And then…

Swiiiiiiish-

A gust that sounded like rain brushed by over the heads of the people. The people at the center of the plaza got covered by the dust from the ground, while the people by the fountains got drenched by the fountain water before they all slowly raised their heads.

The first thing they saw was something going toward the North. None of the royal family was hurt because a shield was created to protect them, but the people around them were hurt.

These were the people who arrived at the plaza earlier than anybody else to wait for the king. In addition, there were the servants, the lower ranking officials, the lower tiered knights, and the mages who did not have enough time to launch their shields.

Some of them were injured while others were dead. The black smoke made it impossible to see the royal family's blonde hair.

The people still alive all raised their heads up. They then looked toward where the nobles and the citizens had been standing.

Claaang-

The silver shield started to slowly break like pieces of glass. The silver wings crumbled down as well. As they started to crumble, black smoke started to come out of the encirclement. There definitely was a person inside, however, nothing, not even a piece of flesh or even a drop of blood, could be seen.

Everybody looking felt chills going down their body. This helped them understand the strength of the explosion.

Their gazes naturally turned toward a single location. It was the end of that silver strand of light.

"Young master Cale!"

Rosalyn quickly started to support Cale back up, as one of Cale's knees gave out and he was starting to fall. Rosalyn looked back and forth between Cale and the silver shield that was slowly dissipating. She then looked toward the royal family. These were two very strong explosions.

Of course, Rosalyn knew that the Black Dragon's shield had absorbed the majority of the explosion, but it was still true that Cale's silver shield had done something amazing.

That meant that the recoil from it would be severe as well.

Rosalyn grabbed onto Cale's arm to keep him up and called out to him. Cale was standing there with his head down.

"Young master Cale, are you okay? Young master Cale!"

He then started to think.

'Damn, it hurts.'

Cale had lowered the strength of the silver shield after seeing the Black Dragon launch a shield of its own right before the explosion. Thanks to that, the recoil was not as severe. However, his palm was still throbbing. Cale, well, Kim Rok Soo, tended to exaggerate when it came to pain.

Even a small amount of pain was still painful. He tried to raise his head back up.

"Cale-nim!"
"Young master!"

Cale could hear the voices calling out to him getting closer. He then raised his head.

"Cale, are you okay?"

"I'm ok…cough!"

"B, blood...!"

Eric's face turned pale, and he almost fell backward.

However, Cale started to feel better after coughing up that small amount of blood.

'The Vitality of the Heart really is good.'

The pain in his body disappeared, and his body started to settle back to normal at a very fast rate. In fact, Cale's body became healthier than ever as the, 'Vitality of the Heart,' started to go to work.

A refreshing feeling that was similar to the feeling he had when he was able to sleep peacefully because Ron had gone on vacation surrounded Cale. He then slowly closed his eyes and started to feel his body.

'Arms and legs are still attached. My palm was throbbing a bit earlier, but even a paper cut hurt more than that. My body is healthier than ever after that single cough.'

Cale felt like he understood why the heroes never threw the ancient powers away, even if they were not very useful. There were benefits to using these ancient powers. Using it hurt less than he expected, and now he was feeling great.

Cale started to smile in satisfaction.

As he did that, the people surrounding him became a mess.

"You think this is funny right now? Stop laughing!"

Cale opened his eyes after hearing Taylor's shocked and sorrowful voice. He had opened his eyes after checking his body and realizing that everything felt great. However, the sun was shining too brightly that he had to squint.

"Stop trying to open your eyes either!"

'What's going on with him?'

Cale looked toward Taylor in confusion as he sat down with Rosalyn's support. A noble should not do something like this, but he felt like it would be okay given the situation. Cale pretty much just plopped down on the ground without caring about what people thought of him.

The Black Dragon continued to yap away in his ear.

– Weak human, you cannot die! You are too weak! If you die, I will destroy everything! I will kill everyone, destroy everything, and once everything is gone, including your corpse, I will kill myself as well!

The Black Dragon seemed to be concerned, but the words coming out of its mouth were pretty vicious. Cale started to frown from the content of the Black Dragon's words.

"Young master Cale, we will call a priest over!"
"I will go with you!"

Amiru and Gilbert said that before rushing toward the priest who was entering through the gate. They did not care about their messed up dress and suit. Seeing them rushing forward like that, Cale did not have the courage to say that nothing was hurting.

'Doesn't hurt to be checked out. I also need to pretend to be hurt.'

It was great for Cale if the priest showed up. Eric Wheelsman was standing next to Cale and glaring at the other Northeastern nobles nearby, as well, as the other nobles from other factions, to prevent them from approaching.

Cale was not looking at this, as he was looking at a discussion that may create some more chaos.

"…Please get out of my way."

"No way. Civilians are not allowed inside."

"…Civilian? Who came up with crap like that?"

Choi Han was talking to the knight in charge of the nobles with a cold gaze in his eyes. Cale had told Choi Han not to come forward, no matter what. Cale started to frown and waved away Choi Han, who had gone against his order.

Choi Han saw Cale's reaction, so he bit down on his lips before bowing his head.

"I apologize."

'I told him not to come forward, but it's not something to apologize about.'

Cale then saw Lock, as well as On and Hong on Lock's shoulders, behind Choi Han. Cale smiled to signal to them that he was fine, and turned away from them as they all seemed completely lost.

"…Young master Cale, are you okay?"

Cale nodded his head at Rosalyn's question and wiped away the blood at the corner of his lips.

"Yes. I am absolutely fine."

Cale's movement seemed normal as he wiped away the blood that was as red as his hair. However, Rosalyn had just seen what Cale had done. Could a princess like her take the same action? She quietly started to mumble to herself.

"…I really can't figure you out."

However, she just silently stared at Cale once he turned to look back at her. Cale's expression became serious. It was because he realized that she was not looking at him, but past him. He then followed her gaze and turned around.

"Ah."

The blood drinking mage. He was now floating in the air as he looked down on them.

"I never expected something like this to happen. But this is pretty fun as well."

The blood crazy mage Redika said that as he looked toward the royal family. The mages once again used levitation magic, and even the capital's guard rushed over to aim their arrows toward Redika.

Redika then turned his gaze toward the nobles.

He made eye contact with Cale, and then noticed Rosalyn next to Cale as well. Although her hair was dyed brown right now, Redika should recognize Rosalyn, whom he saw at the Blue Wolf Village. The metal screeching voice rang through the plaza once again.

"Wow, so many different colors of blood that I like!"

Many of the mages launched attack magics toward Redika.

"Attack!"

It was not visible because of the mask, but Redika's eyes curled up like a crescent moon underneath.

"I want to put them in my display case."

Cale's expression stiffened, and he accidentally let out his thoughts.

"Is he crazy?"

Usually, crazy characters like this end up dying quickly. Cale thought about that, and looked toward Choi Han.

Choi Han nodded his head and disappeared.

Naturally, Choi Han was moving to capture and kill that mage. However, Choi Han was not moving toward Redika.

Redika looked toward the king as the magic attacks were about to hit him, and started to speak.

"Then see you next time!"

He then disappeared. Not only that, he took everyone who came with him as well. This bastard's specialty was teleportation magic. There was no way for the people attacking him to know where they went. However, the novel mentioned where Redika teleported to after disappearing from the plaza.

Choi Han, On, Hong, and Lock all headed there earlier.

If that really is where Redika and the secret organization members teleported to, they will most likely die by Choi Han's hands.

'I'm just worried that Choi Han will go berserk.'

That was why Cale had sent On, Hong, and Lock with Choi Han. The three of them would be able to help Choi Han remain rational. Choi Han was weak against young and weak existences.

Cale stood up from the seat.

The king was heading back up to the podium, and the people in the plaza started to chatter once again. The villains had disappeared, but they left behind a cruel sight. The king was heading to the podium to try to calm the crowd.

"I will do my best to get revenge for this cruel and terrible incident. That is why I want all of you to follow the orders of the crown and focus on calming yourselves and getting rest. We will push this celebration back."

Cale turned away from the king to look at Rosalyn. Originally, she was supposed to hide her presence today, but she had revealed herself for Cale.

'She probably stepped in because the Black Dragon cannot reveal himself.'

Rosalyn started to smile after making eye contact with Cale. She then mouthed a word to respond to Cale's gaze.

'Secret.'

Cale started to smile as well. She really was someone who was on the same wavelength as him.

Cale had given the six people in his crew some instructions before the day began.

First, the dragon and the beast tribe trio would not have their identities revealed, no matter what.

That was the most important task.

Second, even if Choi Han and Rosalyn end up being recognized, they will just say that they happened to be here by coincidence. This was only possible because the crown had no way to know about the magic bombs hidden in different locations in the plaza, and because there was no way to prove the identities of who got rid of the bombs that were shot up into the air.

Third, they will not cause each other harm.

Cale and Rosalyn knew what they both had to do from that single moment of eye contact. That was why Cale brushed the dirt off of his clothes and fixed it up.

He then started to smile toward the person walking toward him.

"Young master Cale, are you okay?"

The priest was huffing, as if he was dragged over here by Amiru and Gilbert. Rosalyn stepped back, and Cale pushed his hand out to the priest and started to speak.

"It hurts a lot. Please take a look."

Cale then noticed that the crown prince was heading toward him. The crown prince would definitely recognize Rosalyn and probably already saw her two-layered magic. He would then question the relationship between Cale and Rosalyn.

In a situation like this, it was better to suck out everything he could from this situation. That was why he started to speak in a voice that was loud enough for the priest and the nobles around him to hear.

"It really is hard to protect something."

'If I had to reveal my card and use my ancient power, I should take anything and everything I can from this situation.'

It was not Cale's style to sacrifice himself just for fame and no material gain. Cale found money to be better than fame, and believed it would be better to be rich than to be a hero.

"Ah, yes, yes indeed. I saw your silver shield, Young master Cale. You did something marvelous."

The priest took a gulp and grabbed Cale's hand to inspect him. The priest's words made the nobles around Cale look at him with curiosity and doubt.

Cale Henituse, the man who was known as trash, had revealed such strength. This fact was a very big shock to everyone. Then there were his actions just a few moments ago, where he protected people against the explosion before falling down while spitting out blood. But now, he was standing there as if nothing was wrong.

The nobles were observing Cale, and, because the king had left, many of the citizens were looking toward Cale as well. They could not forget about that silver light.

Cale briefly looked around at the faces of the curious nobles. Each time he made eye contact with one of them, they all showed different reactions. Some continued to show their curiosity, others avoided his gaze, and some just smiled at him.

Cale looked back at the priest after looking around at all the nobles, and responded to his statement. Cale's voice was still nonchalant and calm.

"I guess this is your first time looking at an ancient power."

Ah.

The priest let out a gasp.

Ancient power, a relic of the past you could only gain from fortuitous encounters. Each of them were said to have unique skills and strength.

"I see."

A familiar voice started to speak from behind Cale and put a hand on Cale's shoulder.

Cale knew that he had arrived.

"Your highness."

Cale turned around and made eye contact with the crown prince, Alberu Crossman. He then realized that this moment was similar to what he had read in the novel.

The hero of the plaza terror incident. In order to deal with the complaints from the citizens about their safety and the fact that the royal family and nobles were trying to run away, the crown prince had turned Choi Han into a beacon of hope. The person who created the hero Choi Han in the novel was crown prince Alberu, the man in front of Cale right now.

Cale realized that the moment he was expecting was here as soon as he saw the look in prince Alberu's eyes. He had expected this to happen from the moment he used the ancient power, and had quickly formulated a plan in his mind. Cale was planning to use this situation to his benefit from this moment onward.

The crown prince also realized that Cale was very similar to him.

"…Mister Cale."

Prince Alberu hugged Cale with half shock and half admiration on his face.

"Thank you. We are so proud of what you did."

Anybody could see that the crown prince was so full of admiration that he showed a reaction that he should not have shown as a prince.

In that moment, Cale heard crown prince Alberu whisper in his ear in a voice that only Cale could hear.

"Mister Cale, you and I share the same style right?"

'Of course.'

Alberu's voice was a bit tense at finding someone like him.

"I will make sure there is nothing annoying and reward you handsomely. What do you think?"

'In that case.'

Cale lifted up his hands and smiled as he hugged prince Alberu back. He then started to speak.

"Your highness, it was nothing. I only did what any citizen of the kingdom would do."

The young dragon's voice echoed in Cale's mind.

– …Something is very odd here.

The dragon who saw all of this happen was young, but pretty sharp.

Cale finished his fraudulent hug of admiration, before heading to the palace. Although healing and investigation was the purpose of heading to the palace, since it was like this anyways, Cale was thinking about taking at least a pillar of the palace for himself as he walked with the crown prince.

Naturally, the crown prince's face was stiff.

***

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Yu Ryeo Han]

[Translator – Anowa]

[Proofreader – Rai_Mayank]