"Hahaha!"

  Theodore sat on his throne and let out a boisterous laugh.

  "Well done~, ‘the Investor’!"

  "Your Highness honors me with your praise. I merely did my humble part—all credit goes to the support you provided, Your Highness~!"

  "Oh~, quite the silver tongue, aren’t you?"

  "I only speak the truth~."

  "The Investor" replied respectfully.

  "Now then, Your Highness need only sit back and wait for the results~!"

  "Sit back and wait~?"

  Theodore’s lips curled into a faint smile, but his eyes narrowed slightly.

  "‘Investor’, do you really think those three will fight to the death if we do nothing at all in this situation?"

  "That would naturally be impossible. However, Your Highness, rest assured—we have plenty of contingencies in place. You need only wait and see."

  As he spoke, the "Investor’s" eyes—hidden beneath his bowed head—glinted with an unfathomable depth.

  "Oh? Very well. Since you’ve already shown me what you’re capable of, I’ll sit back and enjoy the show!"

  "Thank you for your trust. I’m confident that a mutually beneficial partnership will flourish between Your Highness and us~."

  ......

  After leaving the Third Prince’s royal residence,

  "The Investor" walked down a sparsely populated street with several of his most trusted subordinates.

  "My lord, there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask."

  One of them voiced a question that had been weighing on his mind for some time.

  "You’re wondering why we chose Theodore, aren’t you?"

  "The Investor" said flatly.

  "Y-Yes! Please forgive my impertinence, my lord!"

  The subordinate replied, breaking out in a cold sweat.

  "It’s of no consequence."

  "Thank you, my lord!"

  The subordinate sighed in relief.

  "I’ll tell you the answer anyway—though you’ll find out soon enough without me saying a word."

  "I ask you all—who do you think will become the next Emperor?"

  The subordinates exchanged glances,

  then all shook their heads.

  "Hmph~!"

  "The Investor" let out a cold chuckle, then uttered something utterly shocking.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  "The next Emperor of the Parasara Empire can only be one person—Crown Prince Drehack Serions! No one else stands a single chance."

  "What?"

  The subordinates were all stunned.

  "Hmph~, it’s only natural that you’re surprised. But—"

  "The Investor" said slowly,

  "Once you’ve seen it with your own eyes, you’ll understand...... That Drehack possesses a natural aura of a ruler—he is destined to be king."

  "B-But my lord, if Drehack is the only one who can win—then why are we......"

  "Heh~!"

  "The Investor" looked at the subordinate who’d spoken, his gaze filled with impenetrable meaning.

  "Who told you that I’m investing in Theodore?"

  "Huh? This is......"

  The subordinates grew even more confused, completely unable to comprehend what "the Investor" was saying.

  Wasn’t everything they were doing right now an investment in Theodore?

  "Hehehe, you’ll understand soon enough. The real show is only just beginning!"

  With that, "the Investor" walked away with a smile, offering no further explanation.

  "......"

  The men behind him remained completely baffled, but they had no choice but to bury their doubts deep and silently follow in his footsteps......

  On a street in the Middle District,

  Hulim sat inside a carriage, peering through a gap in the curtains at the street scene outside. Langard, with its constant flow of people, always had something new and interesting to see.

  Just then, amid the crowd, Hulim spotted a strange man dressed in black cleric-style robes, with what appeared to be a tattoo on his forehead.

  "Hmm?"

  Staring at the man, Hulim frowned slightly.

  "What’s wrong, Hulim?"

  Miko, sitting beside her, noticed her odd expression and asked.

  "Nothing, it’s fine."

  Hulim replied casually.

  "Are you sure? You looked like you’d seen a ghost just now—I thought something had happened to you again......"

  Having taken care of Hulim during her period of weakness while traveling, Miko had instinctively thought of that time and felt a twinge of worry.

  Hearing this, Hulim turned to look at Miko and smiled.

  "It’s okay. I’ll never let something like that happen to me again!"

  "I see. Sorry for overreacting."

  Seeing that Hulim really was fine, Miko realized she’d been worrying unnecessarily and apologized.

  Hulim smiled and ruffled her hair, then turned back to look out the window.

  But—

  He was gone......

  The man she’d seen just a moment ago had vanished without a trace.

  "......"

  After this little incident, Hulim simply closed the curtains completely, no longer bothering to look at the street outside.

  There was something about that man......

  For some reason, Hulim felt a surge of revulsion just from being near him.

  ......

  One dark night,

  "W-Who are you!?!"

  A noble stared nervously at the man who had suddenly appeared before him—a man with a balance tattoo on his forehead.

  "No need to be alarmed. I’m not here to harm you. I’m here to save you~."

  "Save me? What utter nonsense! I’m perfectly fine! State your purpose at once, or I’ll call the guards!"

  "Hehe, is that really the case?"

  "The Investor" smiled at the noble before him.

  Then, what he said next struck the noble like a bolt from the blue......

  After some time,

  "The choice is yours......"

  "The Investor" dropped this line, then vanished into the night.

  The noble stood frozen in place, his face ashen white, cold sweat dripping from his palms.

  ......

  ......

  At Manacos Magic Academy,

  Hulim arrived at one of the potion research labs.

  "Good day, Professor Raelingrim!"

  Hulim greeted the slightly gray-haired professor before her politely.

  "Yes, I remember you—you’re that student Hulim, aren’t you?"

  "That’s right, Professor."

  "I thought so. Hello, Hulim. What can I do for you today?"

  Raelingrim asked with a gentle smile on his face.

  "Professor, I missed the final exam for Potions Class earlier, so I’m here to request a make-up exam."

  "I see. I am indeed in charge of grading the final Potions Class assessments. However......"

  Raelingrim hesitated for a moment, then spoke slowly.

  "There’s a bit of a problem right now."

  "Is something the matter, Professor?"

  "Yes," Raelingrim nodded. "For this year’s Potions Class final assessment, there’s one type of potion that requires an ingredient we currently don’t have in stock at the academy."

  "Furthermore, each potion is graded separately. If I were to let you brew a different potion instead, your final score would not be comparable to the other students’ results—and the academy always avoids situations like that......"

  Upon hearing this, Hulim felt a twinge of frustration.

  "Professor, could you tell me which ingredients are missing?"

  If they weren’t too hard to obtain, she could go get them herself. Distance wouldn’t be an issue—not with convenient aerial transport available.

  "Haha," Raelingrim laughed warmly, his demeanor very approachable. "Truly, you live up to your reputation as the academy’s greatest genius of all time. Your initiative is admirable. However, student Hulim, there’s actually no need to go to all that trouble."