<b>? The Imperial Prince And The Nutcase Wizard ?</b>


    Even in a vtile situation, the wizard remained serene.


    Rather, he looked at Irid with pity.


    “Prince…….This is just Illusion Magic.”


    “Do not insult the time I spent with her…..!”


    His grip on the cor tightened. Irid red at him with an intensity as if he was about to kill him. The wizard sighed heavily as if scorched by the stare.


    “What do you think you can possibly gain from denying it’s Illusion Magic?”


    “…….What?”


    He started to speak thenguage of a nutcase.


    “This exnation is far simpler. Prince. Moreover, it’s also the right thing to do.”


    “A no-good wizard has…….yed a bit of a trick on you, Prince, so all the events and idents you experienced inside were nothing more than a midsummer night’s dream.”


    “The next step is easy. All you need to do is righteously get angry and punish the offensive wizard. That’s it. There’s nothing for you, Prince, to take responsibility for here.”


    “However…….if you believe a momentary illusion to be the truth……Then, my goodness. Where do we even begin to unravel such a mystery, thus finding a solution?”


    The wizard’s low-spirited eyes gazed at Irid. Despite his still rising anger, Irid had no choice but to loosen his grip. Because of the indifference that swirled in the wizard’s eyes. Because of the madness that truly seemed to take all this lightly.


    “I have seen many like you, Prince……..”


    “Those who couldn’t maintain their distance and got immersed always met a terrible end. It is inevitable. yers are always……outsiders. They cannot stay forever. They are destined to part ways eventually.”


    “It is just………Illusion Magic that shows the most feared form of oneself. Wouldn’t this sort of exnation be good enough?”


    Irid’s hands trembled as much as his wavering heart.


    It was a cruel mockery and insult that tore at his wounded heart, yet it was as tempting as it was hurtful. If all the pain he received, Centra’s crisis, and the miserable future that was the Wither Emperor were a lie…


    Then, it was alright not to be angry with himself.


    He didn’t have to despise himself for failing to foresee the attack and letting her get caught in the explosion. Just pouring out his anger on the wizard in front of him would settle everything, after all.


    However….


    Even now, the memories he made vividly came to mind when he closed his eyes.


    Even now, the lingering scent of rosemary was still on the tip of his nose.


    Even now, his heart ached.


    All of these were resisting with all their might.


    …..He could not bring himself to run away to a morefortable choice.


    Second Prince Irid reminisced about his nine-day journey. Scenes from the past shed through Irid’s mind like a panorama.


    “At first…..I was scared. After falling into an unfamiliar future, Imented about my failures while wandering the back alleys of the city. It was a terrible experience. I still hear, from time to time, the resentful voices ming me.”


    In the future where he was known as the Wither Emperor, he had thought of giving everything up. He was terrified and tried to run away.


    “However…..after that, I was very happy. At some point, I forgot thepulsion to be the Emperor and my terrible failures.”


    She had held the fleeing Irid, refusing to let him run away.


    She, like a firefly, guided Irid’s soul.


    “As if a hole in my soul was filled, I feltplete. I received something far too precious from her.”


    And that was why the Irid of now was here.


    Irid, trapped in anger and anxiety, could reflect on himself through the twisted words of the wizard. After all, the wizard in front of him was illuminating the future of himself who had fled in terror.


    He couldn’t throw away the precious things he had barely gathered just to run away. He had to embrace both the hurts and the joys, taking a step forward.


    What did the world call this?


    <b>  Courage.</b>


    “……Is that so? Yes, so that’s how it was.”


    Second Prince Irid gained realization.


    Why did he wake up in the Empire a hundred yearster?


    Why was he able to find the other half of his soul in that vastnd of a future regime?


    It was never a coincidence.


    “It seems that the magic that sent me randomly was not random after all. They say that the gods of the distant past gave their champions trials akin to how there are both sides of a coin. And to those who overcame such trials, they were granted immense power.”


    The Trial of Fate. In the times when gods directly interfered with the human world, it was a grand ceremony held to choose their proxy; in order to do so, predetermined fates were set to the test, shaking and overturning what was alreadyid on the board.


    “Trials and hardships. Is it perhaps Dimensional Magic that transports the Casted¹the person who has the Magic cast on them to a world directly connected to their fate?”


    “……Is that how you decided to interpret this?”


    “You must have experienced it firsthand before anyone, Wizard……..And in the end, your heart must have broken.”


    “There were a few unpleasant experiences. But it was all an illusion, so.”


    The wizard shrugged his shoulders. His gesture seemed extremely mechanical. Afterpleting the magic, the wizard must have also attempted Dimensional Travel. And he must have experienced a miserable and terrible failure. As such, he, whose heart had been shattered, seemed to dismiss everything as an illusion.


    “You are a nutcase. Madman, I will notment on you ignoring reality and running away. After all, I, too, would have broken down if she wasn’t there.”


    However…


    “But I── still have things I must do. Cast the spell once more.”


    He had to save Centra. The explosion was powerful, but if those who knew how to wield mana prepared, it would only result in serious injuries. Centra, with her quick reactions and senses, must have defended herself properly.


    The Resistance hardliners woulde to kill Centra for a definite end. She was vulnerable and in danger. Only Irid could help her.


    Second Prince Irid was resolute.


    The wizard, as if utterly mystified, shook his head and then spoke in a low voice.


    “……Time is rtive, Prince. On the other side, time is no different from stopped.”


    “Is that so?”


    “It is better to prepare sufficiently, enjoy a tasty snack, and y again in a refreshed mood.”


    “It is truly fortunate that there is time. How many chances do I have left?”


    “……One, Prince.”


    “Then I’ll see you in a week. Send me a list of items needed for recasting the magic.”


    Irid straightened the wizard’s crumpled clothes and turned his back. With the incident resolved, the Purple Magic Tower Master and the boy knight also retracted their mana.


    Irid took the boy knight and left the tower.


    In the tower, now with one side of the wallpletely wrecked, the Tower Master and I faced each other with nk expressions. What on earth just happened?


    I racked my brain to grasp the situation and summarized it in one sentence.


    “Right now, am I being mistaken for…….‘A nutcase who got messed up by a Dimensional Magic experiment, then convinced himself it was all an illusion’?”


    Even after summarizing it, my head was spinning because I was unable to understand. Who the fuck was the nutcase here? I had announced THREE times that it was fiction. I obviously thought Prince Irid was deeply immersed in role yi- I mean acting.


    I thought he was aware it was all an illusion. But,e on! What kind of crazy prince tests Dimensional Magic on himself?


    Normally, you would be willing to let ten subordinates get fucked up first as an experiment, jumping in only after ensuring safety! Didn’t he just send it because he knew it was all an illusion and wanted to fool around while saying it was a test?!??!?!?!


    But to think that there was a batshit crazy prince who would actually jump into Dimensional Magic while thinking it was real……..


    Should I be upset about the misunderstanding or should I be pleased, thinking of this as me simting Virtual Reality so well? As I was vaciting and throwing unstable fits, the Tower Master cautiously made ament.


    “U-Uhmm…….But you know….”


    “Yes?”


    “If we’reparing you and the Prince, aren’t you the one who’s a bit…….Mentally? Unwell, right……? Couldn’t it actually be real Dimensional Magic?”


    “???”


    At the Tower Master’s ludicrous remark, I was about to deny it……..but……


    Now that I think about it, she might be right. Whenparing His Highness to me, wasn’t he moreposed and put-together? And he also remembered people’s names.


    Was I actually a brain in a vat?


    Was I, who thought of myself as a GM, actually a Dimensional Wizard?


    Was the Virtual Idol Heart-chan, whom I thought I created and sent out, actually my hidden ego??


    “KEUUAAAAAGH NO! NO WAY!!”


    Caught in the whirlwind of the Prince’s Talk No Jutsu²a joke alluding to the ninja techniques used in Naruto and the trope that a protagonist can talk a viin into not attacking., both the Tower Master and I plunged into mass panic and confusion.


    After turning the totem³a ritual to differentiate whether it is reality or a dream and pinching each other’s cheeks…


    Only after reconnecting to Virtual Reality and creating three hundred copies of Heart to make them do a group sh mob….


    Did we think, ‘Ah it was indeed an illusion’, and was able to stretch out both our feet in assurance and sleep with peace of mind.


    “Sir Knight, invite the wizards of the me Tower skilled in calctions. And please contact my sister as well.”


    “……Are you certain you are alright? Your Highness, I suspect hypnosis.”


    “Then could you try releasing it from me?”


    “Please excuse me.”


    The boy knight gathered mana in his hand and lightly touched the forehead of Second Prince Irid. Irid staggered briefly, then steadied himself.


    “How do you feel?”


    “Fine. I don’t feel a sudden rise or drop in emotions, nor gaps in memory. My resolve is still……..fully intact.”


    The boy knight furrowed his brows. It had only been three hours. In that time, the Prince had changed into apletely different person. His impulsive nature had turned into firm initiative. The righteous light shining from his eyes reflected an unwavering resolve.


    “What have you experienced?”


    “In the future, a hundred years from now……I fell in love. How embarrassing.”


    “It sounds quite unfamiliar to me. Wasn’t Your Highness uninterested in such matters?”


    “Well….I just hadn’t met an attractive and truly charming woman until now.”


    “If you have fallen for her that deeply. I am anxious I might have to stop you to fulfill my duty as a loyal subject. I am referring to using the Dimensional Magic once again.”


    “I shall be honest. I would like to stay in the future, a hundred years from now, but I won’t. After all, I must make this Empire resound with 『Beer and Song』. And stop the ck wizard of the Kingdom Alliance.”


    “????”


    “I am trying to be brave. But before that……I wish to save the one I love. So I must put my efforts for bettering the Empire on hold for a bit. Will you join me, Sir Knight?”


    “It is quite charming and pleasant to see. I shall follow you.”


    Irid walked ahead and the boy knight followed. One week remained.


    Irid gathered experts from various fields to save Centra.


    <ul><li>1


    the person who has the Magic cast on them


    </li><li>2


    a joke alluding to the ninja techniques used in Naruto and the trope that a protagonist can talk a viin into not attacking.


    </li><li>3


    a ritual to differentiate whether it is reality or a dream


    </li></ul>


    ***