Chapter 347: The Princess’s Arrival, Lance’s Funeral, a Hidden Health Concern

Chapter 347: Chapter 347: The Princess’s Arrival, Lance’s Funeral, a Hidden Health Concern

This just gave Gideon an even worse headache.

"This is all your fault!"

Gideon radiated resentment.

"I’m worried sick. How am I supposed to break the news to her? None of this would have happened if you hadn’t insisted they team up in the first place!"

Faced with his old friend’s accusation,

Necros didn’t argue. He just said one thing softly.

His words plunged Gideon into an immediate silence.

"Because... when I looked at them..."

"It was like seeing us back in the day."

"I thought... that with those two kids, I might see a better, happier ending than the one we had."

It had to be said, Necros always knew exactly how to find Gideon’s soft spot and press it hard.

Those words not only silenced all of Gideon’s complaints but also stirred a profound sense of guilt deep within him.

Gideon slumped back into his chair like a deflated balloon.

"We can’t hide it for much longer..."

He let out a long sigh.

"Princess Elvira arrives in White River City tomorrow afternoon to select for the Crimson Crown Knight Order. And Cecilia is in her entourage. She’ll find out sooner or later."

What made Gideon feel even more helpless was that

the officials of White River City had already issued a formal notice.

They were going to hold a grand, formal funeral for Lance.

Furthermore, they planned to spend a fortune commissioning White River City’s finest sculptor to create a hero’s statue in his likeness. It would be permanently enshrined in the Divine Hall of Terence, the War God of White River City, to be revered by all.

Even more,

he’d heard that the Provincial Veterans’ Hospital was pulling all sorts of strings and pouring resources into an attempt to nominate Lance for the *Star Feather Chronicles*!

If the nomination succeeded, Lance would effectively gain the qualifications to become a Preparatory Heroic Spirit!

Gideon knew that all these exaggerated honors and posthumous titles

were just part of a public relations campaign. The Provincial Government Headquarters had urgently mobilized vast resources to suppress the negative social impact caused by the massive Underground City outbreak.

’If that kid Lance could see this from beyond the grave, he’d probably think dying was worth it, wouldn’t he? After all, gaining the qualifications for a Preparatory Heroic Spirit wasn’t an achievement you could get just by sacrificing yourself to save a mere ten thousand people. It required incredible luck and the backing of official powers.’

"I just wonder..."

Gideon thought, finding some grim amusement in the situation.

"If the kid really did go to the Heroic Spirit Hall in the Star Realm, things would probably get pretty awkward when he ran into Galeos again, wouldn’t they?"

...

"So, this so-called ’Boy Who Survived the Great Calamity’ is a man of noble character? Someone who’s been helping people since he was a kid, who grew up through countless trials but kept his kind heart, and who often helps his elders selflessly! What a great guy!"

On a wide post road leading to White River City,

Lance sat in a swaying carriage, listening to several merchants in his car vividly recount stories they’d recently heard.

As he listened to these "glorious deeds," Lance felt a profound sense of shock.

’Could such a perfect saint really exist in this world?’

"He single-handedly fought off three frenzied wolves just to cover his companions’ retreat? As a child? And in the end, on the brink of death and unconscious, he managed to bite one to death and pull through?"

Lance clicked his tongue.

’Are ordinary kids in this world really built that tough?’

"How could it be fake?"

The fat, bearded merchant sitting across from him laughed and slapped his thigh.

"Stories about this boy are spreading like wildfire in all the taverns! If everyone’s saying it, it can’t all be lies made up to trick us, right?"

"Oh? So what happened to this brave boy when he grew up?"

Lance asked, feigning curiosity.

’Based on the novels I read in my past life, these kinds of righteous hero stories usually have a follow-up where they get betrayed or turn to the dark side. That’s what makes it interesting.’

"Well, that’s a long story. I heard that during one of the Summer Crowns..."

Just as the portly merchant was about to show off more of what he knew,

suddenly,

the carriage wheels rolled over a raised paving stone, and the entire car jolted violently.

The driver, sitting at the very front, flipped open the curtain and shouted back into the carriage:

"Everyone! We’ve arrived at White River City!"

At these words,

everyone in the carriage stopped talking. They all crowded around the small windows and the door curtain, craning their necks to look outside.

They were on a hilltop.

Before them,

not far below, lay a bustling megalopolis.

A shockingly wide river cut through the entire city.

Sunlight glinted off the densely packed spires of buildings and Mage Towers.

On the wide surface of the White River, countless massive merchant ships, laden with cargo, sailed by.

Banners of every vibrant color fluttered in the wind.

Outside the city’s towering outer walls,

vast swathes of the once-flat wilderness had been sectioned off, now covered with countless neat rows of temporary wooden houses.

A steady stream of refugee caravans was being methodically funneled here from post roads in every direction.

Although the number of refugees was immense,

thanks to the Kingdom’s intervention and the aid of Professionals, the entire resettlement area didn’t look chaotic at all. Instead, it formed a strangely harmonious vista with the magnificent city walls in the distance.

’All I can say is, in a world with Extraordinary Power, as long as the authorities are willing, the speed of their infrastructure projects is right on par with modern engineering from my last world.’

Lance mused silently to himself as he gazed at the clusters of buildings.

After so many days of rough travel,

he had finally arrived at the provincial capital, White River City, for the second time.

The day he’d fallen out of the Star Realm’s transport channel,

he hadn’t landed in a safe zone. Instead, he had crashed right into the depths of Copper Creek Forest.

Because of the Farsos’ Wedge in his chest,

for the first two days,

the excruciating pain that pierced straight to his soul made it impossible for him to concentrate enough to fight.

He could only struggle to survive in a forest teeming with Demons.

As the Farsos’ Wedge gradually took form, the intense pain slowly began to subside.

Only then was he able to make his way out of the forest.

When he finally followed the route from memory to where Gray Rock Town should have been,

the sight that met his eyes made his heart sink.

The once bustling Adventurer Town—small, but brimming with life—

had been reduced to a pile of rubble.

Later,

he had walked dozens of kilometers on foot to the nearest town untouched by the Demon wave.

In that town, he traded some materials from his Imaginary Number Dark Grid for money and bought a clean set of Ordinary clothes.

It was also there, through bits and pieces of tavern gossip, that he managed to string together everything that had happened over the last few days.

He was finally able to relax when he learned that Rein, Nia, and the others had all successfully evacuated.

Finally, he spent a little money to board this public carriage bound for White River City.

’The top priority now is to find Uncle Rein and the others as soon as possible.’

Lance thought as he watched White River City draw closer.

This matter couldn’t wait.

He’d discovered that the Farsos’ Wedge in his chest, which had started as just a dull ache, was now, in the last two days, nearing completion!

He needed information.

Since Uncle Rein had information on a hidden god like Chaos, he surely knew something about Faros as well.

’At least, in my opinion,’ Lance thought.

’Since the Faceless Hermitage Association could mingle with high-ranking Great Nobles and even conspire with them to interfere with the Underground City,’

’the background of that order, and the true purpose of that Evil God, must be anything but ordinary.’

’They must be a significant power within the Kingdom, which means Uncle Rein would know about them.’