Chapter 54: A Hero
This is very beneficial for him and brings him at least two major advantages:
First: growing faster. Faced with a succession of conflicts, he, as the Walker of the Devourer’s Path, is more likely to grow disproportionately.
Second: having more control over the story and what happens, or at least accelerating enough arcs so that Brandon doesn’t have time to control them all.
He had recently realized this: things were going according to his memory of the novel (not counting the appearance of The Butler and the issue with Professor Sara), and that meant Brandon had not used his ability to affect things on a small scale within this arc.
It was strange. Why not use it? There are two reasons: His abilities have a fairly high cooldown, so he can’t do it so freely. And the second reason is that he doesn’t need to.
Whatever the reason, either one works for Ryan in this context of speeding up the arcs.
Because the less power Brandon has in the plot, the more power he has in it. It’s a conflict to see who wins control of the story, and Ryan has a default disadvantage, so he has to do things differently.
As long as Brandon’s ability is on cooldown, Ryan will benefit because he can follow the plot without being affected by adverse effects.
And as long as Brandon doesn’t try to affect the plot because he’s trying to do something more far-reaching, he can grow and prepare for it. Either way, he’s benefiting.
Besides, if it causes more arcs and plots to come in succession, Brandon will have less time for whatever he’s doing, which is the perfect way to disrupt his plans.
Considering all this, stirring up this hornet’s nest of senior citizens was the best short and medium-term decision. If The Butler still had contacts here, he would be alarmed at being discovered, so he would speed up his own plans.
The same would happen with the other antagonists seeking to sink their claws into the city through this development of old fogies.
Therefore, his answer was clear.
"Stirring up a hornet’s nest is never a good option, right?" he asked, and Patrick nodded.
"It could lead to your death."
Most certainly.
"But not stirring things up will also lead to my death. Faced with a probability and a fact, I’d rather choose the probability. At least I have a chance of surviving if things go well," he replied with a smile and patted him on the shoulder.
"Go do your job and don’t worry about the odds. Things will turn out so well that you’ll be amazed and start to respect me," Ryan said, nodding to Cecily.
It was time to begin the real mission.
-
Disturbing the peace on private property that has its own rules is not a great idea anywhere in the world. Even less so in a private community governed by what has been the kingdom’s elite for many years.
In particular, the elite of the armed forces is not easy to deal with when they get older. They are completely irrational and only interested in their own benefit, but the nation allows them to do so because they have been heroes for many years.
But among a bunch of stubborn, arrogant, and irrational people, good manners are always hidden somewhere.
"I always thought that the first one who would have the guts to try to come in here on a mission would be Young Brandon. After all, he inherited his father’s characteristics and his mother’s guts. But this is a surprise." A man dressed in a military uniform but without insignia spoke from behind a desk.
His hair was white and had a few wrinkles, but he didn’t look his age.
His actual age was 180, older than the current king.
Ryan and Cecily were sitting across the desk.
"Life always surprises us, General Roger..."
"Eh." He raised his hand to stop him. "I’m no longer a general, ninth prince. I’ve been retired for many years."
"I must still treat you with the respect you deserve as one of the greatest heroes of our kingdom. Should I call you Winter Hero, then?"
Roger laughed heartily. "I haven’t heard that nickname in a long time, but you can call me without so many honorifics. I’m more interested in knowing why you’re here," he said and looked out the window.
"The people outside are making a racket. I’m afraid they’ll be coming to see me shortly."
"I have a request for you, Mr. Roger," Ryan said slowly.
Roger raised his eyebrows, curious. "A request? Do you want me to restrain those people outside?"
"I need the west wing of the development to be under my complete control for a few hours, until 3 a.m. I don’t want anyone visiting that place. That will mean keeping those outside contained for many hours."
Roger nodded gently. "Quite a big request, considering that the west is an active area."
"I’m sure you can do it, that’s why I came here."
"It is possible for me to do it. But I don’t see any benefit in stopping the movement of the economy in that area just because you ask, Ninth Prince. You don’t have anything I want or am looking for, nor do you have a status high enough for me to pay homage to, right?" After saying this, he looked at Cecily, who had been silent the whole time.
"Or are you using Miss Larsen’s status to do so?"
Ryan shrugged.
"Cecily has nothing to do with this; she just came to help me," Ryan replied clearly.
Even Cecily didn’t understand why he wasn’t using her status to do so. Although she didn’t have much say in the circle of veterans, her father did, and he was highly respected, so she could use that to her advantage.
But Ryan had other plans.
"I don’t have enough status to ask things of you, Mr. Roger. Among all the princes, I am the lowest in status. I have barely been recognized as a true royal prince, so I can’t imagine that you would do something as big as that at my request," he said.
"Profits come first, don’t they?" He smiled. "But this time, you should know a few things. We are not ignorant of what goes on inside the most prestigious development in the kingdom. So many powerful people gathered together with so many contacts is a strange danger to royalty."
"Power blinds them, and treacherous movements are on the rise. This time, they even dared to shelter the thief who had an object belonging to the king. That is a clear sign of royal treason."
"Do you have proof, Ninth Prince?" he asked, placing his hands on the table. "Without proof, I fear your words are merely an insult to our intellect, abilities and status. It could be seen as an attempt at treason on your part toward heroes of the past. That would be more serious than entering here without permission."