Chapter 263

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"Baby-5, don't you think it's unreasonable? Why do the dead only get 70% of the bounty? The wanted poster clearly states 'dead or alive.'"

"Exactly, it's so unreasonable!"

"You think so too, right? I'm sure the Navy is taking kickbacks. After all, the money ultimately comes from the World Government's funds."

"Yeah, the Navy is the worst."

On the way back, Abel couldn't help but constantly grumble, and Baby-5 played along, joining him in denouncing the Navy. Then, they found a restaurant and helped the owner clear the inventory. Even though the owner was grimacing and dared not charge them, Abel didn't want to take advantage of such a small benefit and even paid extra for the meal. Of course, that is assuming he had money on him. If not, he would certainly have 'borrowed' some from some 'kind-hearted people.'

After returning to their family's base on the island, Abel completed his training tasks for the day and then went back to his room to turn on the system.

[Begin searching for Prayer Orders. Search complete!]

[A Medium Prayer Order has been acquired]

[Order description: This country has rotted away, with a puppet-like young Emperor and a Minister who perpetuates endless brutal politics, along with a cruel and bloodthirsty S-rank General. The people are crying, pleading for divine punishment to fight violence with violence!]

[Order contents: 1. Overthrow the empire. 2. Defeat Esdeath in a 1VS1 direct confrontation (optional)]

[Basic reward for the order: 3,000 trading points]

[Optional reward: Imperial Arms: Demon's Extract 'Manifestation of the Demon God' (acquirable upon completing the optional order content)]

[Time remaining to accept the order: 4 minutes 59 seconds]

[Note: Upon successful acceptance of such Prayer Orders, an energy projection of the host's body will be automatically generated and immediately deployed to the Order world.]

...

"Imperial Arms. Could it be that world?"

Abel didn't rush to accept this Prayer Order. Using the less than five minutes he had, his brain was running at full speed. If it really was the world he was thinking of, it would belong to a medieval Western fantasy setting. Empires, different races, and beasts known as Dangerous Species. However, in that world, the beasts are not the real danger. The rotten royal authority and nobility are!

The special power of that world comes from a weapon known as the Imperial Arms. About a thousand years ago, the founding Emperor of the Empire, in order to maintain a long-term rule, summoned the world's top craftsmen by offering unimaginable wealth and power to create forty-eight unique weapons using Dangerous Species monsters as materials, along with rare metals like Orihalcon and a vast number of lost secret techniques. They called these weapons "Imperial Arms" – artifacts with various miraculous abilities. Those who wield these Imperial Arms are known as Imperial Arms Users.

Of course, not everyone could use these Imperial Arms, and the consequences were severe for those who did not have the right compatibility; using them forcibly could lead to instant death. So, the main conflict in that world was the war between the rebel army and the empire. It could also be seen as a battle between the Imperial Arms Users from both sides.

Abel remembered this so clearly because the series was very popular when he watched it, and the author was crazily killing off characters, slashing through well-known and well-liked characters, which made him look up the information and even remembered the name Tetsuya Tashiro!"Fortunately, the main military power in this world almost entirely derives from Teigu, and there isn't any particularly noteworthy power on its own."

"Moreover, purging the rotten nobility and dealing with monarchic authority is completely stress-free."

Abel made a quick analysis and felt that although this wish order had some difficulty, it was much friendlier than the 'enemies' from before who could only be killed by special methods.

Aside from needing extra caution with some particularly unique Teigu, most of them couldn't affect him much.

As for the optional content of the order, he nearly laughed out loud.

Esdeath might be the pinnacle of combat strength in that world, but as luck would have it, he specialized in toppling the strongest!

"Perhaps this time I can aim for another five-star rating."

With that thought, a prepared Abel accepted the wish order, and his consciousness was immediately immersed in the alternate world.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself on the bustling streets of the imperial capital, surrounded by a busy crowd that didn't give him a second look.

After surveying his environment, Abel checked his attire.

As expected, he looked like a typical country bumpkin, but even that couldn't hide his incredibly handsome face.

As if on cue, a lavish red carriage suddenly halted in front of Abel.

Out stepped a vibrant and cheerful golden-haired noble lady.

"Hello, I'm Aria. May I know your name?"

"Abel."

Abel raised an eyebrow, thinking what a coincidence.

"You must be new to the imperial capital, Abel. If you haven't found a place to stay, you're welcome to stay at my house for a while. My father always taught me to help those in need."

While offering, Aria stole glances at Abel's face, her cheeks reddening to the point of resembling a lovesick girl.

An average person would find it hard to resist such a cute and beautiful noble lady.

Though Abel felt nothing in particular, he was curious to see if his luck was indeed that good.

Pretending to be grateful, he said, "That would be wonderful. I just arrived in the capital today, and I was swindled out of all my money, but I believe there are more good people than bad."

"Of course, don't worry. I'll have someone track down that despicable swindler tomorrow."

Aria clenched her fist cutely, showing solidarity in her anger.

And so, Abel boarded the carriage that would take him to Aria's castle manor.

Along the way, Aria probed about many things, and Abel pretended to be naively sweet, concocting a story about a country lad coming to the city to make his mark.

The two guards driving the carriage displayed enigmatic smiles, perhaps happy at the thought of their young mistress bringing home another "prize."

Upon entering the castle, Abel put on a convincing act of a country bumpkin overwhelmed by the new surroundings.

Especially when Aria linked arms with him, he blushed appropriately.

This led Aria, who was sneaking peeks at him, to possibly daydream all sorts of scenarios.

Later, the meeting with Aria's parents was extremely pleasant.

Abel even enjoyed a sumptuous dinner with them.

It's worth mentioning that before him, there was a boy named Tazmi who had been similarly taken in by Aria.