This Bastard is Too Competent

Chapter 45: A Risky Deal

"Why are you here?"

Ian looked at the Third Prince with a puzzled expression. 

After all, this place was in front of the main palace.

It was a place heavily guarded by royal knights.

If the Third Prince had come, Ian would have known from the knights' reaction.

However, the Third Prince was smiling very brightly.

“There is no place I cannot go to in this royal castle, my little brother.”

The Third Prince smiled broadly, saying that he would show him all parts of the royal castle. 

"Want me to help you get out?”

Ian frowned slightly at the Third Prince's smile.

‘Why is he being so kind to me? Is there anything he wants?'

Obviously, it wasn't like this in his previous life.

The Third Prince just helped him out of pity.

So, instead of answering, Ian looked suspiciously at the Third Prince.

"First of all, I need to hear why you're trying to help me."

"What reason do I need to help my cute brother?”

"But to the other younger brothers…"

"Oh, not them."

“…”

Ian sighed. He did need help anyway.

"I see. Then I will be under your care for a while, and I will use my brother’s pass…”

"A pass? Why would you need that?"

"What?"

Ian felt something ominous, but regardless, the Third Prince took Ian somewhere. 

It was a thicket in the most remote part of the royal castle.

Ian was immediately wary of the appearance of the deserted place.

"This is the farthest place from the main gate."

Even though Galon was next to him, Ian couldn't believe the Third Prince brought him to such a secluded place.

‘Is he trying to kill me?’

Moreover, the Third Prince was said to be the greatest sword genius in history.

‘As expected, I shouldn't have believed him.’

As Ian was getting vigilant and prepared for a fight.

"Now, this is the back door. Follow me."

The Third Prince smiled nonchalantly and pushed the thicket away.

But soon Ian was speechless.

He had no choice but to.

Because it was an unexpected place.

“Isn’t this… a doghole?”

What was worse, it was so low that Ian had to crawl.

However, the Third Prince looked triumphant at Ian's surprised face.

“Hoho. How was it? This is where I often use it. Great, isn’t it?”

Ian stared at the Third Prince as if looking at a madman. 

There were certainly no knights around and the hole was also connected to the outside, so he could sneak out without a pass.

The only problem was…

"The hole is too small."

At Galon's displeasure, Ian looked at him in sweat.

Surely it might be possible for Ian, who was a child, or the Third Prince, who was generally on the slender side.

However, Galon, who had broad shoulders, would get stuck on the way in. 

Yet, the Third Prince only took up the dissatisfied voice with a grin.

"Oh, no. Since it has come to this, you and I have no choice but to go out alone, no? Sir Galon should wait here."

“…”

Somehow it seemed intended, so Ian looked suspiciously at the Third Prince. 

‘Is he someone I can trust?’

To be honest, it was hard to believe.

The Third Prince gave him a lot of help in this life. However, in his previous life, he almost killed Ian.

He even put Garcia in a hard time.

But right at that moment.

Woong! Woong!

<Faith> in Ian's body was beating.

As if it was meeting a dear friend.

This feeling definitely came from the Third Prince.

Furrowing his brow, Ian said.

"All right. Let's go together, Brother."

"Prince? Will it be okay?"

Galon approached nervously, but Ian nodded in assurance.

"It has to be done tonight anyway. And there's also Third Young Master Karan out there."

In case of emergency, he had the ability to escape by himself.

He had the royal treasure sword and the cloak with a floating function.

There were the shoes he got this time as well.

‘I'm not sure, but I'm curious about the talent I got from the scented candle. My swordsmanship talent may have evolved one step further.’

Ian now could run away and fight most opponents at the same time in any case.

So, there was no need to worry.

For this reason, Ian, while looking at the Third Prince with a strange gaze, deliberately beckoned to Galon and said, "Galon, please go back to the Crystal Palace. And please check what Sir Nathan is doing."

“!”

"I think I've heard of his entry into the palace."

It was suspicious that they didn't contact each other for so long.

But then the Third Prince laughed.

"If it’s the second son of Marquis Adeles, I think he went to the palace of the First Princess?”

"Oh, really?" 

Ian snorted at his thought. 

"Then let's go." 

As soon as Ian went into the hole, Galon moved quickly.

***

“Wow.”

Ian had no choice but to doubt his eyes.  

It was because of the buildings in front of him.

"This is…"

Outside the hole was a town several kilometers away.

It was a slum. 

When Ian turned his head in a hurry, the royal castle stood several kilometers away. 

That's why Ian was surprised.

‘The doghole is a long way off.'

It was connected to the inside of the town as if it were teleportation.

But that was not the only surprise.

Shhh.

The hole that he had just come out from was disappearing.

At that scene, Ian revealed his murderous intent and glared at the Third Prince.

"Did you trick me and lure me into a slum?”

When Ian pulled out his sword, the Third Prince raised both hands as if he had no intention of doing so.

"What do you mean trick? Go closer again. It will reopen."

“!”

It was true.

As Ian approached the wall he came out from, the hole reappeared.

And at the astonished Ian, the Third Prince smiled.

"It seems to be a doghole exclusive to royals made in ancient times. Some of our ancestors were like us."

“!?”

In a word, it meant that it was a hole that opened in response to the blood of the royal family. Of course, the location the hole opened to would be different for each royal family, so they should find their own pathway.

Ian's eyes soon changed.

‘I think this is useful.’

He couldn’t help thinking so.

It even connected to the back alleys of the royal capital far away from the royal castle. It was like a top-notch magic tool. If he opened it there, it would lead to other places.

Therefore, it was rather amazing that the Third Prince gave away such precious information. Ian in the past didn’t know about this high-level piece of information.

Of course, it wasn't without its absurdity.

‘I can't believe the ancestors made this kind of hole for their own amusement.’

Who the hell were they?

Of course, that wasn't the point now.

Fweet! 

There was the sound of a whistle followed by a loud commotion. 

"There he is! That blue hair!"

“You bastard who robbed our gambling house!”

"He even stole the goods from the auction house! Make sure you catch him. We need to retrieve the goods!”

“?!”

Suddenly, men poured out into the back alley.

As if waiting for the Third Prince to appear near here, they were running with their teeth gritted.

Ian panicked and turned to look at the Third Prince.

"Bro, brother?"

"Oh, sorry. I forgot to change my appearance."

"What were you doing outside?"

"Well, I was just getting some fresh air."

The Third Prince raised the sword with a grin.

Ian was perplexed but thought it didn't matter.

It was an opportunity to see the skills of the Third Prince, who was called the sword genius.

‘I may discover his weakness.’

But it was then. 

Slam!

"He is on the same team! Don't let him live!"

“?!”

The windows in the distance opened and crossbows popped out.

And a bolt zipped as if to pierce Ian's head at any minute.

Right when Ian was caught off guard.

Whirl!

“!”

The tip of Ian's cloak moved by itself and grabbed the bolt.

The men were stunned into silence.

"What? What was that?"

"Did the cloak catch the bolt?”

Even Ian, who was about to slash the bolt with a sword, was surprised.

‘I never knew it had the <Arrow Shield> effect!’

No, for some reason, Ian felt the relic was becoming newer, getting further from its antique self the more he used it and the more enemies he encountered. Regardless, Ian dashed on the ground as if it wasn't important. 

"Since I have blocked for you, now we’re even, Brother."

"Oh, thank you."

At the same time, an amazing thing happened.

Tap! 

Ian flew upward as if stepping in the air.

[Air Walker]

It was none other than the shoes of the First King.

Ian, who flew up in a flash, swung his sword at the men in the window.

Crack!

In an instant, the bows and crossbows of those men were cut down.

The men shouted in haste.

"G-get him first!"

"I can't catch him because he is flying around! And the arrows don't work!"

It was true.

Due to the effect of the cloak's <Arrow Shield>, it was impossible to catch Ian with a ranged weapon.

Ian flew in quickly and smashed the assailants' weapons first. 

Tak! 

Even if they were pursuers, it was not so hard to take away their weapons because most of them were gangsters. 

However, the Third Prince, who was also brandishing a sword, was watching Ian with a weird look.

‘Where did he get those shoes?’

Obviously, the only thing Ian brought back from the trial was the cloak.

However, the shoes also appeared to be the belongings of the First King.

‘And he is pretty good at fighting.’

When Ian caught the monster of the trial, he thought it was a fluke relying on the ore that made up the sword. 

And after a while. 

"Ru… run away!"

"Retreat for now!"

As the assailants fled, Ian came down to the ground. 

But his gaze was directed at the Third Prince.

‘As expected, he is a sword genius.’

Despite dealing with ranged weapons and facing dozens of assailants, he was not out of breath, and even in that situation, no one died.

And so, the two successors stared at each other in vigilance, gleaning each other's hidden card.

Meeting his eyes, Ian turned away without hesitation.

"Then I'll be on my way."

“Wouldn’t it be dangerous to go alone?”

"Well, I think it would be ten million times more dangerous to go around here with my brother."

The Third Prince seemed shocked by the thorny remark, yet Ian calmly ripped off a fallen man's robe. He needed to disguise himself to wander around the back alley.

But before Ian left.

"Be careful. I think the Second Prince visited the First Knight Order. To get revenge on you."

The Third Prince looked genuinely worried.

And after Ian left, a strange smoke rose behind the Third Prince. 

[Master.]

The Third Prince smiled happily at the voice heard in the shadow.

"How come some of them aren't from the town?"

[Yes. I felt a familiar aura among them.]

"Well, it must be one of those forces that are trying to keep me in check."

The Third Prince then proceeded to go after Ian without much hesitation.

He pretended to let him go, but he had planned to follow Ian from the beginning.

The reasons were simple. The first was because he was curious about where his younger brother, who came to the castle for the first time, would visit tonight.

The second was…

‘The youngest keeps getting something precious. There must be a secret.’

The voice was heard again speaking to the Third Prince, who raised the corners of his mouth.

[Shall we take care of the Seventh Prince here? It would be easy to deal with him now.]

It was then. The Third Prince spoke coldly as if he had never laughed.

"I certainly told you to leave my brother alone.”

[But, my lord, the Seventh Prince is definitely the target of future threats…]

"Don't make me say it twice."

The voice trembled at the Third Prince’s menacing words. 

[I'll do as you wish, my lord.]

The Third Prince continued his steps with a mischievous smile.

He was about to chase Ian. Unlike Ian, who did not yet have a servant equivalent to a shadow, it was not difficult for the Third Prince. 

It was the moment he was about to follow. 

"Where are you going?”

Someone stopped him.

It was a knight with his face covered.

"You’ve got a knack for being such a nuisance."

He was none other than the Second Prince's knight, and he would be after Ian at the same time.

The Third Prince looked at him with cold eyes.

"What are you doing here not taking care of my brother whose arm was cut off?"

"My lord asked me to pass this message to you. Why do you keep helping that serf boy?"

"How arrogant. That's not your business, is it?"

"You'd better not do anything you will regret. The prince will soon move with Lavaltor in the lead. If you don’t want to be dealt with together….”

The Third Prince burst into laughter as if it was outrageous.

That knight was by himself. The Third Prince was rarely in the palace, so the knight must have been waiting all the time on the road he frequented, but…

"You must be in a hurry because of the youngest."

"I assume you didn't have the will to negotiate. Then…"

"Do you think you can go back alive?"

In an instant, a silent scream echoed in the back alley.

***

While the Third Prince was fighting against the Second Prince’s force.

"Is it this way?"

Ian was making his way through the back alley.

This was the first time he had been out of the city alone, but it was because he experienced the back alleys of the royal capital for the first time.

But he didn't get lost.

Apparently, the letter from Karan through the messenger was pointing in the right direction.

So, it was fascinating.

‘This must be a paper used in the Kingdom of Magicians. How did Karan have it?’

Ian had seen this in his previous life.

But it was just before Ian died. It was about the end of the kingdom’s Battle of Ranking. At that time, goods came in as the trade route with the Kingdom of Magicians was opened.

But that wasn't the point now.

[Black Rose Tavern]

Ian finally arrived at the spot where Karan's letter pointed.

He went inside without hesitation.

Squeak!

The walls were not painted well. The door was stiff. Also, there weren't many people.

There were only rough-looking people who looked like mercenaries.

Ian approached the man who appeared to be a bartender.

"Welcome. Is there anything you need?”

But Ian remained silent.

He just took out the paper that Karan sent him and placed it on the table.

The bartender's eyes slightly widened.

"You seem to be Master's guest. This way."

Ian was guided down to the basement.

When the bartender pressed on a certain part of the underground wine cellar, a secret passage was revealed.

However.

“Mmph!”

There was Karan tied to a chair.

Also.

"Don't move."

“!”

Ssk.

The bartender, who had guided Ian so far, pointed a dagger at Karan's neck.

Only then could Ian see it.

A woman was sitting across from Karan.

She was glaring at Ian.

But something was off.

Woong!

It was definitely the same sensation he felt from the Third Prince.

She somehow felt like a colleague to him.

But she seemed to be hostile to Kaistein. In fact, Karan was on the verge of being killed.

And.

"If you want to save this guy, you better put down your weapons, you dirty Kaistein."

Karan looked at Ian begging for help. 

However.

"I don't want to."

"What?"

"Prince?"

Ignoring the bewildered woman and Karan, whose gagged mouth had been loosened by his desperate struggle, Ian flashed an evil smile.

“Whether you kill him or not, that has nothing to do with me. Shall we talk about our stuff first?”

"Prince!!!"

Only Karan was crying.

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