Chapter 907 Stockholm

"And now that you have lost it, you came running to me?" asked Arthur with a frown. "How do I know you are not the traitors yourselves?"

"Long ago, our ancestor sacrificed her life for the world to retain its peace. As her descendants, we carry on her will to do the same. We are on your side, creator," said Echoless as Miko was shocked by the accusation.

"I have yet to see the Berilo Kingdom standing as an ally of mine," said Arthur with a frown. Then, he smiled as he raised his hand. A hologram appeared to reveal the crown prince in his new home. "I still have your prince, who once provoked me. Are you sure you want to do the same, Echoless?"

The old man was silent before he turned toward Miko. His eyes told her that she had to intervene and use the friendship she once had with the creator. The pet.i.te woman took a deep breath and walked forward.

"You once chose to believe Hazel would not become your enemy even if you gave her that summoned beast, and I told you it was a mistake. A few days ago, while the world was busy with what was happening in Ilios, Hazel used that summoned monster to conquer a part of Berilo. We lost that artifact around the same time because we were busy fending off her attack."

"…I heard of no such news."

"No one dared to report it, and if the world knows that Berilo is also Mirage Organization, we would be crushed. We had no choice but to keep the secret and suffer the consequences of your choices. Do not blame this on us, creator. It was the person you chose to believe who helped steal the artifact."

Arthur was silent as he tried to piece together what he knew about this timeline. The previous Arthur seems to have chosen to believe Hazel over Miko, which made her hate him.

"Can you come back to the balcony, Aurora?" muttered Arthur toward empty air, but he knew the witch could hear his request. After a few minutes, footsteps rang behind the two guests, making them turn toward her with confusion. "She can detect lies from truths."

"And how do we know that she would tell the truth?" Echoless asked an interesting question. Aurora smiled before raising her hand toward the old man, which he took with confusion. Then, she turned toward Miko. After a few seconds, the two broke their handshake, and the old man seemed convinced. "It seems that your ability can transmit to others."

"This is not an ability but a gift."

"We can trust Aurora to show us the truth. Repeat what you told me, and we will know if this is true."

Miko was displeased that she was placed under a microscope, but she repeated her words anyway. Aurora stared at her before relaying the result to Arthur.

"She does not lie, as far as she believes," said Aurora. "Remember that I give the subject truth, not the absolute one. Everything she said was the truth, from past to present."

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Arthur was now even more convinced that there was something he was ignorant about. His past life was confusing because it deviated too much from the timeline he knew. Thus, he had to shoulder the choices he made as someone else.

Alka broke his trust in humanity and the world, which made him quite the cynic. However, the previous Arthur never suffered the betrayals, the fear, or the torture that he did. Thus, he might have trusted Hazel as Arthur did before he visited Alka.

"I understand the situation, but how is this related to the Empyreans?" asked Arthur at last. At the moment, the ones who could threaten him are those dormant monsters.

"After the artifact got stolen, we had to a.s.sume the worst. Thus, we gathered intel from around the world about the other nations, looking to see who was the one to steal it. That was when we noticed their movement."

"Despite the vague words, it seems his words are true," said Aurora with a frown. "It seems they have spies infiltrating nations who could relay this information back to them."

"I met one such spy," said Arthur with a smile. "I still remember how Berilo kept an eye on me through one of Mistletoe"s members."

"…knowledge is power," said Echoless without shame over their tactic. "We survived countless dangers due to the information we obtained promptly. This is one such information, creator."

"Call me Arthur Silvera."

"As you wish, Arthur Silvera," said Echoless without missing a beat. "This is the warning we came to deliver. It is a gesture of goodwill from our king. Thus, he comes with a request."

"It is not goodwill if it comes with demands," said Arthur before he sighed. "You want Kirk Berilo, right?"

Echoless nodded.

Arthur pondered the situation for a moment. He kept Kirk in the Runic Dome because Berilo knew of his ident.i.ty, and they were becoming arrogant enough to demand him things. If Arthur had not chosen to topple the power scale between them, their positions would have been reversed.

"There is no more need for me to keep him captive, and I don"t fear any member of Mirage or Berilo. Thus, you can have him back," said Arthur as he waved his hand. Suddenly, Kirk appeared between the four, sitting over a chair with a sandwich in his mouth.

"…"

"…"

Kirk Berilo blinked a few times before he placed the sandwich into his pocket dimension and rose from his chair. If one did not know the situation, one would never think have just been released from months of imprisonment.

"Is it time to go home?" asked Kirk as if they were on a picnic. He adjusted his clothes before turning toward Arthur. "I enjoyed my stay in your dome. If possible, I would like to visit again."

All four were shocked by his words, including Arthur. He even considered whether it was Stockholm syndrome.Echoless was the one to snap out of his daze and hurry to kneel before his prince.

pαпdα Йᴏνê|,сòМ "It is good to see you in good health, my highness," said Echoless before he raised his eyes to inspect the prince. "I see that the ordeal has not broken your spirit."

"…it was more of a vacation," said Kirk with a sigh before he turned toward Arthur again. "Although we have differences, I must admit that you treat your hostages well. Let us meet under better circ.u.mstances and rediscuss our future, Arthur Silvera."

Arthur nodded without much thought, and Echoless followed his prince to leave. Miko stayed behind even after her comrades left, and she glanced at Aurora before looking at Arthur.

"You can leave us alone," said Arthur with a nod. Aurora bowed again and left under Miko"s curious eyes. After the witch was gone, they talked privately for the first time since Runera. "I have to apologize for what I did before. However, I did it to survive."

"You no longer need to do that?" asked Miko with a raised brow. Arthur smiled and did not say a thing, making her sigh. "You have grown too fast indeed. I still remember when you were just a neo-ranker two years ago in the trial."

"You protected me well," said Arthur before he gestured toward the railings. "You can have a seat if you want."

Miko was hesitant but nodded in the end. She jumped over the railings and sat down, facing the vast land. Arthur followed her to do the same and let the silence sit between them.

"What happened to that giant wolf of yours?" asked Miko suddenly. Arthur was surprised, and she saw it in his eyes. "It is still alive, right?"

"When the trial ends, all partic.i.p.ants return to their a.s.signed gates. I was the first one to leave because I was the one to end it. However, I had no idea where Kira entered the trial from or whether he would get to leave it."

"I thought you raised it?" asked Miko with a frown. Arthur a.s.sumed he told her in the alternate timeline. However, he shook his head.

Kira was thrown into the trial when Ellen tried to save her mother in a different timeline. Thus, Arthur a.s.sumed he would not meet the wolf in the trial this time. However, the two timelines seemed to merge so that a paradox would not form.

"Are you worried about it?" asked Arthur with confusion. "I thought you would be here to hate me again. Even though I deserve it this time after threatening you like that when we last met."

"I do not hold it against you," said Miko with a sigh. "Even if Hazel and her charm fooled you, it was not the reason I was angry. I was jealous because I thought you trusted me more than you trusted her, but I was wrong. That made me hate you."

Arthur remembered their meeting before his journey toward Mountain Range Rovero. At that time, Miko confessed that she liked him as more than just a friend. However, Arthur did not feel the same.