"The crown prince… is resting from his injury." said Roy.
"Injury?! Roy, what happened?" asked the Duchess.
"As you know, the entrance test is ridiculous and the Crown Prince happens to meet with an accident during today's entrance test." explained Roy.
Nirvas' entrance test is famous for being ridiculous. Even some seventh-grade combatant is helpless in front of the test. There are five tests to enter Nirva.
Each of them will be decided by the examiner. However, the test content could become ridiculous as there is no bound and limitation.
Sometimes, they need to fight in battle and win. Others need to fight against monsters without using mana. There are also times they need to make something like magical tools despite not having any knowledge about it.
The test is completely random and in the hand of the examiner. Moreover, there are no base criteria for the test.
It could be something like making sales of 1 million gold coin items or killing a monster overlord. The test content is very random and could become ridiculous. Fortunately, people could still be grouped together and take the test as one group.
Still, it doesn't mean the test will go easier as many people do it together. The examiner could also give a test that is harder to be done as a group. Sometimes, they even impose tests like only one person from the group can pass or kill the other group members.
Despite this ridiculous test, many people are still trying to enter the Nirvas kingdom. One of the main reasons is because it is famous for its safety vault from ancient times.
No one knows when it happened and the reason, but every powerful force and kingdom in the world entrusted Nirvas kingdom for their neutrality and safe vault. Some records said they were a sort of safety bank in the past.
Everyone entrusts them to keep important items like artifacts, rare ingredients, materials, and many more. It doesn't matter if your item is dangerous or could end the world. As long as they fulfill the contract agreement, Nirvas is willing to store any item.
This makes Nirvas connected with various kinds of ancient and superior races. Be it dark elves, giants, or even dragons. They often use Nirvas' service to store their items.
Therefore, many people try to enter the Nirvas kingdom to connect with various forces when they come to the Nirvas Kingdom. Unfortunately, because of their ridiculous entrance test, only some people can enter this kingdom.
For years people have believed that only talented and rare geniuses can pass their tests. Besides that, it will depend on their luck and fate to pass the test.
Crown Prince Eric's group happens to get a test like hunting a fourth-grade monster in the forest without using mana. During the hunting, he gets ambushed by hidden monsters and injured.
Although the injury is not severe and immediately gets treated, he still needs to rest as the after effect of the Miasma Antidote. Even the seventh-grade king Nexus will scream in pain during the administration of Miasma Antidote, much less a fifth-grade combatant like Eric.
It is already a miracle he didn't fall into a coma from the pain. After hearing this, the Duchess couldn't help but release a frustrated sigh. They plan to have diplomacy with Nirvas to not lend any kind of help to Nergal with Eric.
However, Eric needs to rest for a few days. Even if he can attend tomorrow's test, there is no guarantee that the examiner will give a ridiculous test like targeting him on purpose.
Then, she remembers someone in her group is good at medication and secret art from the Temple of Death. Remembering this, the Duchess looked at Angus.
As Angus knows what the Duchess is thinking about, "Aunt Extalia, you know I don't work for free. Moreover, this is not concerned about the safety of the Heart Kingdom." said Angus as he didn't plan to offer his help any further.
The Duchess and Roy immediately understood what Angus implied. Angus is coming here because he just wants to take his reward and doesn't want to refuse King Leon's order for no reason.
However, Angus also has a bottom line. They couldn't just keep taking advantage of Angus. It is already a blessing, Angus compromise with their demand to help them enter Nirvas. Taking more than that will only ruin their relationship.
They could wait for the Crown Prince to be healed but also know that Nergal's delegation had already passed their fourth test. However, If Angus joins their group, they will also need to take the test from the start.
Therefore, Angus doesn't have to heal the Crown Prince, who could recover naturally in a few days since they also need some time to pass the entrance test. After giving his statement, Angus and Jayna go towards Anna, who is dragging Mira to explore the hotel.
Helpless by this situation, the Duchess finally decided to contact King Leon using their Soul Pair bracelet at night.
The following day, Angus is eating together with his group with the addition of Mira. At first, they were confused about whether to let any stranger sleep near them or not.
But, the little troublemaker suddenly invites Mira to sleep together, which the quiet girl accepts. Unfortunately, they could not sleep yesterday night as Anna kept asking to play cards and other games.
Angus and Jayna lost badly to these two girls last night. The couple knows Anna has a Godly instinct to help her win. But, they don't understand how Mira can keep winning from them. Both Angus and Jayna even keep using their [Analyze] active the whole time.
Yet, the small silver-haired girl is still able to beat them. As for Anna and Mira, they are tied. Sometimes they lose. Other times they win. Now, Angus and Jayna are completely convinced Mira may be as monstrous as Anna or even more.
After a difficult conversation with Mira, they also find she wants to enter the Nirvas Kingdom. The green-eyed girl is actually the opposite of the active Anna.
If Anna is very active and likes to talk with incomprehensive words, Mira is a taciturn girl and only speaks with one word and nods. As soon as knowing Mira will also enter the Nirvas Kingdom, Anna pleads with the couple to let her join their group.
After a whole night of persuasion and losing in the game, Angus reluctantly agreed with her request. Besides, he knows the taciturn girl is not going in their way during the test.
As they are having breakfast at the hotel's dining hall, Aunt Extalia approaches them with a heavy face.
"Morning, Aunt Extalia." called Angus.
"Huff…" replied Aunt Extalia while sighing before seeing Anna, who was eating without manners.
Anna keeps picking some food, even the others' food but always leaves a small portion for Mira. Fortunately, Mira didn't mind Anna's manner and eating silently.
"Is there anything wrong, Aunt Extalia?" asked Angus.
"Leon already gave his verdict." replied Aunt Extalia with a forced tone.
Hearing their Aunt didn't put a named king on Leon, they know this is not an official conversation.
"He… He gave me full authority regarding the Nirvas test group. Whether you will heal the Crown Prince or not." said Aunt Extalia.
"So, what did you decide?" asked Angus.
"As the Duchess, I should make you heal Eric." said Aunt Extalia in truth.
"You know I will refuse it, right?" replied Angus shortly.
"I know. Actually, I also hate the idea of being dependent on you, especially in this small matter. Even if the Nergal can enter Nirvas, it will be hard for them to get Nirvas' help. Moreover, we are not afraid of another Nergal attack even with the addition of Nirvas." said Aunt Extalia.
Seeing Aunt Extalia's frustrated face, Angus and Jayna feel wrong. But, they also didn't want to keep working for free. They have already done too much for the kingdom, especially Angus.
If they do more than this, they will only stagnate the growth of the whole nation. A nation depends on a strong leader and every citizen to become a powerful kingdom. Without its citizens, the kingdom will become nothing but a name.
The couple is smart enough to realize this important thing. Even King Leon and Aunt Extalia also know this since they have already experienced it in the past. Dozen years ago, the Heart Kingdom was too dependent on them, making the other people unable to grow more.
It was until King Leon decided to improve the kingdom's overall infrastructure that they finally became the number one human race kingdom in Firuman.
"Why don't we just wait for the Crown Prince to heal? Besides, if we are going to be grouped, it doesn't matter if he is fully recovered or not." said Angus blatantly.
The Duchess knew what Angus implied. He indirectly says Eric is too weak to affect the test if they are grouped.
"Fine. I will relay this to Roy. Anyway, you didn't happen to meet with Eric's group yesterday night?" asked Aunt Extalia.
"Of course not. Aunt, this is not in the Heart Kingdom. Those weaklings should be the ones that greet us." said Angus with contempt before he took back a piece of meat from Anna's plate.
Nove l B(in).C OM