Chapter 3. Status Effect Nullification
Forgiveness or whatever, what did I have to do?
That person just did his job.
An Inquisitor suspects heresy, otherwise, why would he be called an Inquisitor?
Radel said to Kirio, thinking a very ordinary thought.
“Brother, you simply did your job. There is nothing for you to feel sorry about towards me.”
Kirio was shocked once again by Radel’s words.
Being branded a heretic was akin to being ostracized from society.
It was a matter so grave that merely suspecting someone of heresy could lead to a life-or-death decision. To forgive such an act so easily?
‘O, Supreme Deity...’
The Prince was a being closer to the Nameless God than he had imagined.
Kirio's eyes grew warm with emotion. Simultaneously, an alarm sounded in Radel’s ear.
Ding.
[The Quest has successfully ended.]
[You have gained the Inquisitor’s Trust.]
[Your fame rises in the Order of the Nameless God.]
***
After completing the Quest, Radel sent Kirio away, saying he wanted to rest.
He needed time to organize his thoughts.
There were too many new things he was seeing for the first time, like the Affinity System and the Quest, which didn't exist when he was a Hunter.
Well, the sudden appearance of the System or Status Window from his past life was already strange.
‘Right. If I think about it that way, none of this makes any sense.’
It didn't make sense, but it was Radel’s reality. All he could do was confront the unfamiliar and get used to it.
Radel tried to summon the Status Window while thinking of Kirio, who was outside, but it didn't appear. It seemed he could only check it if the target was nearby, but he couldn't call Kirio back just to check the Status Window.
‘It's more uncomfortable having him next to me.’
Kirio’s constant questioning about his comfort felt like a bed of thorns.
He recalled the sight of Kirio pouring water into a cup and holding it up to his mouth when he said he was thirsty.
He was the very definition of a manager who pokes a hole in a water bottle cap and inserts a straw.
Radel felt like a celebrity for a moment.
‘Wait. Do all the other Imperial family members live like this?’
Receiving this kind of attendance?
The Princes and Princesses had gained attention by manifesting their Abilities from a young age and had built their own power bases.
They would be accustomed to having things done for them without lifting a finger.
This did not apply to Radel.
From the start, there wasn't a single person working in the 8th Prince’s Palace he could call 'his person.'
As it was the most secluded palace and its master was a timid Prince without any power, capable and talented attendants were reluctant to go to the 8th Prince’s Palace.
As a result, most of the attendants at the 8th Prince’s Palace were novices. It was highly likely that the person who tried to kill Radel was one of those attendants.
‘Whether it was an accident or a mistake, I don't know.’
He floated the Status Window and speculated.
‘Accident... that’s unlikely, I suppose.’
Now that he had nearly died, he deeply felt how dangerous the Imperial Palace was.
Someone might try to take Radel’s life and send an assassin again.
‘I need at least one more weapon to protect myself.’
Radel examined the Trait window again.
[Status Effect Nullification (S)]
Nullifies all types of magic that affect the user's status.
However, attack magic is excluded.
He had a little expectation since it was S-rank from the start, but it was as he thought. The Troll's Heart was at least nerfed, but Status Effect Nullification was exactly the same as in his past life.
How despairing he had felt before when he was initially happy about the S-rank, only to find out that a Trait grade this high meant only SS-rank or higher Heal or buffs would work.
Moreover, not all status effects were nullified.
It couldn't block simple poisons that weren't magic.
‘I don't know when I’ll be poisoned, and this is so useless...’
Ding.
The familiar sound reached Radel’s ear as he grumbled inwardly.
[Unknown magic is interfering with the user's perception.]
[Status Effect Nullification is activated.]
[Someone is watching you.]
‘What?’
He had to remain calm.
‘When did they get in?’
Radel feigned a composed expression.
It was not good to show that he had noticed anything.
Checking his surroundings, he saw one person standing beside his bed, having entered at some unknown time. It was a suspicious figure with a mask covering their face.
‘An assassin? I don't see any obvious weapons right now.’
Radel, who was already worried about assassination, was convinced when he saw the suspicious visitor who happened to appear.
He didn't know who sent him, but there was someone who wished for his death.
‘Since Status Effect Nullification was triggered, did he use magic to block my sight?’
It seemed he had sneaked into Radel's Treatment Room using Invisibility Magic or Illusion Magic.
Since he only cleared Dungeons in his past life, this was the first time Status Effect Nullification had been triggered in daily life.
The fact that the magic applied to vision if it affected the user's status was an unexpected discovery.
Radel decided to re-evaluate the Trait.
‘Maybe it might be somewhat useful?’
More than that, the masked man’s actions were strange.
He stood next to Radel’s bed, staring intently, and slightly shifting his body to continue observing Radel whenever he moved.
‘What on earth is he doing?’
It would have been easier to ignore if he couldn't see him, but it was hard to ignore him now that he was visible. He didn't know when he might turn violent and try to kill him.
Radel, in a nonchalant motion, picked up the water pitcher beside the bed and poured water into the cup.
He had to be cautious.
‘Phew.’
And pretending to put the water pitcher down, he grabbed the neck of the water pitcher tightly and swung it straight toward the masked man's head in one swift motion.
Crack!
It was a surprisingly clean success.
***
The masked man barely regained consciousness.
His head was ringing with a ding.
He couldn't believe he had failed.
The opponent was the 8th Prince, who had just manifested his Ability. He was clearly a brat who knew neither swordsmanship nor magic, nor how to handle his Ability.
‘But how?’
How could he have spotted him and attacked?
“Ah, you're awake.”
The masked man, startled by the kind voice, tried to move his body.
However, he was tied up very tightly. He was so thoroughly bound that even his eyes and mouth were covered.
As the masked man writhed, the Prince whispered.
“Don't move. Because I don't have much Strength.”
At the same time, something cold touched the masked man’s neck.
“I'm holding a knife.”
A hint of madness could be felt in the apologetic tone, as if he couldn't help it.
‘Crazy!’
The masked man hurriedly revised his information about the 8th Prince.
He was no mere brat.
He had grown up virtually neglected by the Imperial family, so what was with this skillful threat? The record said he was timid and introverted and never left the palace?
The masked man was confused.
“I have many things I’m curious about. I hope you'll answer them.”
The 8th Prince said that and then posed a question.
“Why did you sneak in? To kill me?”
But no matter how long he waited, the Prince did not undo the gag.
He asked for an answer, didn't he?
“Mmf, mmh!”
The masked man struggled, feeling wronged.
“Ah, I forgot to explain. Nod your head if the answer is yes, and shake your head if it's no.”
The Prince apologized for forgetting to mention it.
Even that composed attitude was chilling.
“I can't undo your mouth. It would be troublesome if you bit your tongue.”
The 8th Prince acted with unbelievable familiarity.
As if he had been through this situation countless times.
“I'll ask again. Did you try to kill me?”
“Mmh mmh!”
The masked man vigorously shook his head.
“I see. Then I'll ask something else.”
He heard the sound of the 8th Prince taking something out.
Rustle.
The sound of paper being flipped.
“Are you collecting information on the Princes and Princesses?”
The masked man’s body stiffened.
Radel did not miss that small change.
He was surprised when the masked man collapsed after being hit by the water pitcher. Radel didn't expect him to be knocked out in one hit.
It was thanks to the opponent's carelessness.
Radel hesitated for a moment, then tied him up appropriately and thoroughly searched his belongings.
The memories of being a Hunter in his past life were a great help.
As expected, no hidden weapons came out, but a small notebook did.
It was densely filled with information about the Princes and Princesses. Radel began to read the notebook aloud in front of the masked man.
“August 11th. The 7th Princess used her Ability and burned down the garden. She wields her Ability arbitrarily depending on her mood. Lacks caution.”
The 7th Princess.
The Cretian Empire numbered the Princes and Princesses in the order they were born.
The 7th Princess was the Emperor's seventh child, born a few months before Radel.
Radel had encountered her more than his other siblings, so he knew a bit about her personality.
‘It’s true she lacks caution.’
“September 4th. The 5th Prince used his Ability to bring rain to the suburbs. The range was 2 hectares. Growth observed compared to a year ago. Confirmed to be related to an increase in amount of Magic Power.”
It was a surprisingly meticulous record.
The masked man held his breath, perhaps racking his brain.
“October 30th. When His Highness the 9th Prince used Freezing Magic, the lake in October froze over, and a sudden northern wind seemed to blow from afar. It was truly an exquisite harmony that transcended the seasons, the pinnacle of dazzling beauty.”
Radel continued to read, then tilted his head.
‘Why is the description only here...?’
“The Dragon’s Blessing. How beautiful it is! It is undoubtedly the greatness that will forever shine upon the Cretian Empire and a sacred proof.”
“Mmf!”
It was strange.
At this passage, the masked man began to writhe very violently in distress.
“Mmf!! Mmh mmh!”
“As a subject of the Empire who has the privilege of living in the same era as His Highness the 9th Prince, I feel an utterly complete joy and consider myself an unprecedentedly lucky person.”
“Gasp! Sob!”
The masked man twisted his body left and right and let out strange sounds as if he couldn't bear it.
‘Could this reaction be?’
Radel had a hunch.
The feeling of going crazy when someone reads your hidden diary out loud. That feeling of being forcibly stripped naked and exposed in the public square!
This level of reaction confirmed that the masked man had written it himself.
Radel, who had unintentionally performed psychological torture, felt awkward.
“Yes, well. I see. It seems you were indeed collecting information.”
Perhaps exhausted from struggling, the masked man became quiet.
Radel, who had something to check, undid the blindfold covering his eyes.
‘8th Prince... I won’t let you get away with this.’
The masked man trembled with shame, vowing revenge. This was the first time he, an elite and secret agent of the Empire, had been humiliated like this.
He internally swore revenge, cursing.
This half-wit who had just recently manifested his Ability, the shame of the Imperial family...!
This insolent one who dares not even stand at the feet of His Highness the 9th Prince...
“Can you see well now?”
Insolent...
Ding.
[The target's Affinity surpasses 20.]
‘I knew it.’
Radel confirmed his suspicion through the masked man's action of freezing when he saw his face.
The fanatic content directed at the 9th Prince written in the masked man’s notebook, and the drop in Affinity upon seeing Radel’s face.
The masked man was a follower of the 9th Prince, Radel’s twin brother.
Radel grinned at him.
“You like my little brother, don't you?”