Player 0.4 [You have died.] [Reset in progress.]

Chase's colorful rings twinkled in the light from his room as his fingers rolled a golden coin through them.

Luca Frey… just who are you exactly?

The ball had long ended and was dead into the night now. Only the palace guards continued to operate throughout the grounds as per usual.

Chase lay across a lounge bed on his balcony, his body draped in a long silk robe, comfortable in the warm summer night air. The balcony was quiet, save for the distant sounds of crickets, roaming guards, and the soft rustle of leaves in the nearby trees.

His gaze wandered across the sky, taking in the star-filled sky and a nearly darkened crescent moon. Unlike the Daylan Dynasty capital, which had considerable light pollution, the night sky here still allowed a decent view of stars scattered across an endless expanse of velvet.

Chase rolled the golden coin, his only item from his late father, while he assembled his thoughts. It was a lucky charm of his.

After running into Luca at Princess Eveyln's ball the first time around, Chase looked into the golden-eyed young man. He did so for anyone he suspected to be an Awakened.

It was a brief investigation, as the next rounds started momentarily; however, he was efficient. He had gone to the famous Gossip Queen of Genise and questioned well over two dozen people regarding Luca.

I didn't expect to find a lot in two days of work, especially without probing those within the Frey household, but to discover next to nothing…?

It was peculiar. People knew of Luca, but no one appeared to know much about him except to say that he was very close with his family, had a flashy sense of fashion, and tended to play a lot of tasteless pranks. Yet, no one was acquainted enough with him to provide anything else of substance. Or even knew whom he was well acquainted with outside his household.

It was odd because while the Freys weren't welcomed in many social circles, they were exceptionally well connected. Even Luca's twelve-year-old siblings, Elda and Jarvis, had many friends. And yet Luca appeared to lack even friendly acquaintances outside of his household. None at all. It was too suspicious.

And after meeting with him directly, I only feel even more confused.

Chase tossed the golden coin in the air and watched it glitter in the little light emanating from his room before it fell back into his palm, only to be returned to roll between his fingers.

It would have made sense if he was socially inept, but that's not the case.

He frowned and thought back on his conversation with Luca earlier that evening.

Luca had revealed that he had been on the battlefield against the Kobar Empire, much like the previous main character, before dying in his original life.

He was also probably there when I had my picnic several rounds ago.

A light breeze stirred the air, carrying the scent of blooming flowers from the garden below. Chase took a pause to inhale the familiar fragrance.

Fifteen rounds ago, Chase had the brilliant thought to view the final battle between Adovoria and the Kobar Empire. He had toured through the abandoned Adovodian palace before taking position in a tower with a decent view. The same floral scent he smelled now had also emanated throughout the palace, albeit much more potent; the gardens had grown out of control without anyone managing them.

With that picnic, Chase realized the resets were occurring with one of the Adovorian soldiers and narrowed it down to the main character in subsequent rounds. However, an Awakened that had lived through all of the rounds since the war began suggested to Chase that it wasn't worth getting involved and to just enjoy life and wait it out.

But she was wrong. This isn't anything like that old hag described of the previous Summonings.

Curiously enough, Luca, who was of this realm, was made into a 'Player' because none of the other-realmers wished to continue partaking in this 'Game' of saving Adovoria due to how difficult it was. Thus, instead of life moving on after all the other-realmers left, the resets continued.

If professional other-realmers couldn't save Adovoria, what chance does Luca have? Waiting it out may take forever.

"I ought to go see that woman and inquire about this strange development," Chase mused aloud. "Her shop should still be in the capital."

Then the other curiosity was that in return for partaking in this 'Game,' Luca was allowed to turn the time back an extra four years because of his requested condition to save everyone he cared about; specifically, Micah Frey's death being the catalyst.

But why would this so-called 'System' bend over backward to accommodate Luca?

Most curious was that despite his careful questioning, Chase had barely learned anything else about Luca's involvement in this 'Game.' He felt he had revealed more to Luca than he gained in return, even though he was asking the questions.

How could nearly every question posed be met with 'I don't know'?

Luca didn't know the most basic of things, like what the game rules were, whether or not he could quit the game, transfer it to another person, or restart it from another point in time. All he really knew was that all the previous Players had left (the concept of other realms was foreign to him until Chase even mentioned it) and that Luca was turned into one of these Players based on having met the right conditions (not that Luca even knew what these conditions were).

It's like he doesn't know anything. It doesn't make any sense.

Luca Frey appeared far too ignorant for having been selected as a worthy new main character.

Why would he be chosen from all the possible people in our realm? Or even out of all the Phoenix-Eyed? He's not even the only Awakened in Adovoria.

Chase's fingers stopped rolling the coin and gazed into a reflection of himself on a small mirror propped up nearby his lounging spot.

Unless he thwarted my ability somehow. He may have altered his own memories or had a high-level artifact on him that prevented it from working correctly.

"But I didn't see anything on him," Chase countered himself aloud and adjusted his light violet hair.

Maybe it was very discreet? Or it was an antique artifact or even an other-realm item?

He rang out in laughter as he thought it through further.

Yes. That must be it. After all, he certainly did appear to know about my ability. He even managed to escape and avoid the last question, albeit it was a rather unusual way of doing so.

Just as Chase was ramping up into his interrogation, Luca momentarily gazed at the thin air, pounded his glass of water, filling his cheeks, and tossed the empty glass at a hanging mirror, shattering it. Chase was so dumbfounded that he didn't follow Luca as he ran out.

Whatever method he used to evade the other questions must have had a limit, so he intercepted my ability by making answering impossible. A rather unusual but nonetheless effective method to avoid lying.

Chase frowned at his reflection.

"But if he knew, then why didn't he leave earlier? Or say something?" he mused.

In Chase's experience, there were only two occasions that he was caught for using this truth-forcing ability of his. In one case, he was sworn off. In the other case, he was blown to bits with a mana-bomb. An apologetic gift helped smooth things over on both occasions.

"Since I've been caught, it doesn't bode well. If all of the resets are dependent on Luca, I need to remain on his good side," Chase noted.

Given how much of a fan of the palace pastry chef he is, we ought to get him a new cake in apology. But perhaps with blueberries if he's so adamant about insisting that he's allergic to strawberries.

"Yes, I will ask the pastry chef again. And in any case, we need to be warier of Luca," he tapped his reflection.

Indeed. He is obviously far more clever than he lets on. He managed to have his people kill us in the previous round. That hasn't happened in about thirty rounds now and should have been a big enough alarm as is.

"Your Holiness?"

Chase leaned back on the outdoor lounge bed and arched his head over the backrest to look toward the attending priest who called out.

"Hello there," Chase said.

"Is everything alright?" The priest asked. He had a tight smile, and his beady little eyes moved between Chase and the mirror.

Chase turned over to look at the priest properly. The man had a shiny bald spot at the top of his head, surrounded by curly black hair on the sides. He must have only been in his mid-thirties but could have passed as much older.

"Ah! Terrowin!" Chase exclaimed, recognizing the man. He had yet to run into him these past couple of rounds ever since Luca reset the round four years early.

"Are you back from gambling away our followers' donations?" Chase guessed.

"Your Holiness—indeed!" Terrowin laughed awkwardly, unable to lie and yet unable to recognize he spoke the truth, not of his own doing.

Chase smirked.

The Paragons of Rahosm Temple's clergy could be bucketed into two groups. Those that served the temple to line their pockets, and those that believed in the future that Chase Daylan, their Golden Saint, would bring about… to line their pockets.

The Paragons of Rahosm Temple was as corrupt as it came, and everyone was in on it, except for the followers that gave away their gold.

Not that I give a damn.

Chase stood up from his lounge bed and walked over to the priest. His golden silk robe fluttered with a sudden breeze.

"Terrowin, you've been out all day, so you probably haven't heard," Chase leaned down to speak into the priest's ear. "I have gained enlightenment as the prophecy foretold."

"Is that so, Your Holiness?" Terrowin smiled but obviously fell into the first bucket of the clergy people.

"Indeed," Chase said, still leaning down, "I hear you have a son. How old is he now?"

"He has just turned two," Terrowin replied.

"That is wonderful!" Chase smiled. "And I would love for him to live to age three, that is, if you stop spying on me on behalf of my second oldest sister."

"Wh—" Terrowin's eyes grew large.

Chase clasped the priest's lips shut together with his long fingers before Terrowin could say anything else.

"Will you continue spying on me, even if it means your son dies?" Chase let go.

"No! I will stop!" Terrowin replied.

Chase arched an eyebrow. His ability was working full force, so he knew the man wasn't lying.

His kid must either be really cute at this age, or he's not getting paid yet nearly as much as my dear older sister would have paid him in the future.

Chase shrugged. "I guess you get to live."

In the previous resets, four years in the future, he had Terrowin killed for answering the question incorrectly, albeit honestly. He never bothered with Terrowin's son either. It wasn't like the little kid did anything to him.

To the credit of The Paragons of Rahosm Temple, there were few betrayers and they were caught quickly by other clergy members before they could do any actual harm. Chase was their golden cow that they just needed to keep happy and milk for donations from their followers. Even Terrowin, despite relating news about Chase to his older sister, had no intention of having Chase Daylan actually killed.

But whether intentional or not, he did get me killed in my first life after all.

"But bygones be bygones," Chase remarked. "Especially ones that have yet to even happen."

He walked back inside his spacious palace suite, although it was not nearly as luxurious as his multiple suites back home in the Daylan Dynasty. Being a Daylan Prince certainly had its perks. Still, his clergy ensured that everything was even more luxurious for Chase than for any of his siblings. They might have been a greedy bunch, but they were also insistent that their Golden Saint lived lavishly and well-pampered, without any needs unmet.

"Ah." Chase gazed back. "Did you win anything today? Or did you gamble away all the gold?"

"I won forty gold," Terrowin replied.

"Good." Chase nodded. "That ought to be enough. Go to the palace pastry chef first thing this morning and pay him to make a large blueberry chiffon cake. As large as possible. And have it done before noon."

Terrowin shifted in place but seemed to decide that giving up the gold was better than risking another threat.

"Your Holiness, why do you need such a cake?" Terrowin asked instead.

"I need to get back into someone's good graces," Chase replied.

Hopefully, he likes it. Or someone in his household that can influence him has a sweet tooth.

 

AlekAundra

Ah, yes, hopefully, someone within the Frey household likes cake.
(ㆆ _ ㆆ)