🟠 Chapter 55:
"You two… saved Elithius?"
Surprise was clear on Prince Elnar's face after hearing Haizen criticize Ryo for claiming credit for rescuing Elithius.
Yet, despite his shock, he didn't want to jump to conclusions—he first needed to know exactly who these two strangers were.
He spoke in a measured tone:
"Alright… I want to understand who you are first."
Takeru replied,
"Your Highness, I believe we already told you our names."
Elnar, staring at them with a piercing gaze, said,
"No… I mean, who are you really? What brought you here? At first, I thought you were just new workers at the palace, but you don't seem like it."
Takeru understood the prince's intention and decided to explain the story that brought him and Haizen together with Ryo and Elithius.
"Alright… everything began when we 'caught' this prince at a lake near one of the villages.
You might not believe this, but your younger brother was in the body of a fish… yes, a fish. By chance, he returned to his original body, but that's a different story.
Anyway… when we first saw him, he was a bit rude, but since we're kind people, we saved him from the lake—he can't swim, after all.
Then he called his dragon, Ryo, to attack us as a reward for rescuing him, of course. But Ryo noticed our strength and asked us to help him and the prince against the gang that targeted him.
And, as usual, because we're kind, we agreed. Later, one of the gang members kidnapped the prince from Ryo, so we decided to go and retrieve him from the gang's lair. And as you see, we succeeded—and here we are."
Haizen cast a sideways glance at Takeru, suspicious—Takeru had clearly twisted some details.
Even Elnar himself sensed that parts of the story might be exaggerated.
Elnar said hesitantly:
"I'm not sure if everything you said is true, but I also don't think it's all lies."
Takeru smiled confidently:
"Well, at least the essence was correct."
Elnar noticed Takeru's broken arm in a cast and Haizen wrapped in medical tape.
He wanted to know whether the gang had been truly powerful, or if these two were simply strong in comparison.
"Who did you face there?" he asked, curiosity in his tone.
Takeru replied,
"Well, we faced all the Numbers—from Number Five to Number One. Honestly, we only defeated one person—Number Five, who is now with us. Numbers Four and Three sustained some damage, but not enough to take them out."
Elnar raised an eyebrow:
"Number Five? You mean… that person you called Mr. Mummy?"
"Yes, exactly. That's why I said earlier he's somewhat dangerous. I don't know if he's truly allied with us yet, so we keep him restrained."
After hearing this, Elnar decided to continue the conversation in their room.
"Alright… let's continue in your room."
"Is this to talk to Number Five?" Takeru asked.
"Of course. What else?" Elnar replied.
The three left Elithius's room and returned to the previous one.
There, Number Five was still deeply asleep.
Elnar approached, trying to wake him, but he didn't respond, no matter how he shook him.
Haizen sighed and stepped forward confidently:
"Step aside. I have a better method. But first, everyone cover your noses."
Elnar didn't understand what Haizen intended, but Takeru caught on when he saw the magical stone Elithius carried in Haizen's hand.
"Wait… are you seriously going to extract that thing from there? What if nothing comes out?"
Haizen smiled at Takeru:
"Don't worry. I'm not as incompetent as you. I can get it out. I believe there's another of those disgusting socks from that prince—I can pull it out, and that idiot will wake up."
Haizen used the stone to extract one of the socks, but nothing came out. Instead, something far worse emerged: old, filthy, sweat-soaked clothes, enough to nearly suffocate everyone.
The pile landed directly on Number Five's nose, waking him instantly.
"Ugh! What is this disgusting smell? Get it away from me!"
"At least he's awake," Haizen said.
Elnar, still astonished at their bizarre methods, took the stone from Haizen:
"Give me that stone. You must have taken out a lot from it."
Takeru replied sarcastically:
"Don't worry, your brother only hides trash in that stone."
Once Number Five was awake, Elnar began asking him questions.
"So… you're Number Five, a member of the gang?"
Number Five looked at him with surprise.
"Elithius… you've grown."
Elnar was shocked by Number Five's response, similar to Takeru's earlier reaction, but he moved on quickly.
"No, I'm not Elithius. I'm his brother, and I want to know what your gang wants from him."
Number Five smiled coldly:
"Unfortunately, Your Highness, I am the most ignorant person among the Numbers; you may not believe it, but I don't even know the face of our Boss."
Elnar's patience snapped. He grabbed Number Five by the collar.
"You will tell me everything you know, fool! Everything!"
Elnar tried to crush Number Five's skull with his hand, but Haizen intervened:
"Enough. You want the truth—you must let him speak."
Elnar calmed himself and released Number Five.
At that moment, Takeru remembered Number Five's words during the rescue of Elithius—how their actions had been exposed to Number Three.
He wanted to know how the gang discovered their plan.
"Number Five, when we entered the gang's headquarters and our plan was revealed to Number Three, how did he know?"
Number Five replied:
"At that moment, Number Three tricked you with the idea of the 'Boss.' He wanted to see if you realized that the Boss representing the gang and the company was fake—and that the real Boss is Number One."
The truth became clear to Takeru and Haizen—they understood why they had been discovered.
Elnar, however, was stunned.
He knew the Boss of EconPulse—and now discovered this person was a fake.
Not just deceptive… but completely fraudulent.
Elnar wanted to know more.
"What else do you know?"
Number Five answered:
"Well, as I said, I don't know the real Boss's face. But what I do know is that Prince Elithius is merely a plaything in his hands. He does whatever he wants with him."
Elnar was disturbed by this, but the final blow came when Takeru revealed another detail:
"Number Five, you said Elithius is a plaything of the Boss… is that why he's wanted?"
This hit Elnar like a dagger—he had never heard this from Ryo before.
It was the first time he learned it.
"Wait… what are you saying? Elithius… wanted?"
Takeru replied, almost surprised at the prince's ignorance:
"Ryo never told you? Elithius is wanted—and he even changed his name ridiculously."
"Tell me—what is Elithius's name on the wanted list?"
"Elithiur!"
"Elithiur?"
"Yes. He only changed one letter. Ridiculous."
Elnar's heart burned with anger.
His little brother, the foolish boy, was now a toy in the hands of strangers.
Then he asked Number Five one final thing:
"Please… if you know even a small detail about this Boss, tell me."
Number Five didn't know the identity of his leader, but he noticed something obvious—even to a fool, if he were part of the gang:
"As I said, I don't know the Boss's identity. But from my experience in the gang, there is one thing I noticed… I'm not sure if it's true. The Boss is someone from this very palace."