vrcanaries Chapter 203 How about I reward you with the title of princess consort?
Chapter 203 How about I reward you with the title of princess consort?
"Hello……"
While Philippa and Alpha were having their "friendly exchange," Gray's attention was focused on something not far away.
This encounter with Philippa was hardly a coincidence.
Actually, it was while I was browsing the trade fair with Alpha that I sensed the fluctuations in space, which is why I came over here to see what was happening.
As a result, they ran into this "arch-enemy".
Gray has found the source of the spatial fluctuations; a peak ninth-tier professional is lurking not far away.
He sensed no malice; he guessed they were sent by the Olmec royal family to protect the hero's team.
Tsk tsk, sending one of humanity's strongest combatants, especially a master of the extremely rare space element, is truly extravagant.
It seems her father is quite worried about his daughter's safety. With this setup, even if they were to fight against a faction of the Demon Cult, they probably wouldn't be able to harm Philippa in the slightest. Alpha's plan to bury the hero's team in the wilderness is naturally not feasible unless he takes action himself.
Gray currently intends to let the Hero Squad develop on their own, at least for now and for the foreseeable future, as they pose no threat to him.
Finding a way to end the endless cycle of human and demon history before the hero team grows up is one of Gray's only two options, though it's somewhat unrealistic.
This involves the secrets of the world, and once the topic of the secrets of the world is brought up, it will be like the demon of desire and truth, Thurt, on the Holy Light Pilgrimage, who will be "silenced" by that being, or rather the limitations of the world.
This is almost flawless. Gray can't even get the most basic information, so how can he end the eternal cycle of conflict between humans and demons?
The second method is much easier than the first, but it doesn't guarantee survival and can only be used as a temporary measure to buy more time.
That means he should cultivate a good relationship with the hero now, and when Philippa grows strong enough to kill him, he should reveal his identity and appeal to her emotions. There's a high chance Philippa will spare his life. He believes their relationship is quite good, and the princess and heroine shouldn't be so heartless.
But this can only be a stopgap measure to buy more time for the first option.
Number 0486 (Lyla) brought out a large amount of cutting-edge magical research data from the forbidden area of the Astraea Magic Academy, but this is useful to Aiota and can help her continue her research that combines magic and technology.
What's useful to Gray is the research data that the Astraea Magic Academy has secretly collected on several generations of heroes. It mainly covers what kind of talents the heroes will have, what kind of magic and martial arts they can use, and what kind of impact they will have on the members of the hero's party.
Gray knew very well that he would never be a match for Philippa in the future. Philippa, with her light-attribute magic, was the one who could best restrain him. Eliminating her completely to prevent future troubles was also out of the question, and knowing the hero's abilities was of no use.
And summaries of the patterns in which heroes are born are meaningless to Gray, even if the results are not completely random.
The most useful information is that if a hero, even if he has the strength to defeat the Demon King, fails to do so for an extended period, he will be stripped of his hero status, and another hero with greater protection will be chosen to continue the mission of defeating the Demon King.
So, does that mean we can hide from the hero forever, wait until the hero's identity is stripped away, and then come out to cause trouble when the next hero appears but hasn't grown up yet, and then hide again and repeat this series of operations when the new hero grows up?
Gray felt that exploiting such a bug was unrealistic. Based on the extremely frequent encounters he had with Philippa after she became the hero, Gray thought this method wouldn't work.
He felt that even if he hid on the other side of the continent, Philippa would be able to find him...
But if the second plan succeeds, and Philippa is stripped of his hero status one day, and a new hero takes over the mission to defeat him, then he won't be able to play the emotional card anymore.
There were no safe havens on any side, and even the only viable path offered no hope. This was the predicament Gray found himself in, a dead end with no chance of survival.
Gray did not despair or drift aimlessly through life because of his dire situation.
Relax. After all, this is my second life. I've already lived in another world for so long while retaining the memories of my previous life, which is already worth the price of admission. There's no need to ask for too much.
But who would want to die if they could survive? Behind him were a group of ten shadow servants, each a little girl who depended on him. He couldn't let them die so easily.
That's all for later. For now, let's try to build a good relationship with Philippa, hoping she'll spare our lives.
Gray then intervened in the conversation between Alpha and Philippa.
"Now your father has given you the freedom to move around, hasn't he?"
Philippa only wanted to talk to Gray. Her small talk with Alpha was just to confirm whether this woman was a potential rival. Since Gray had spoken, Philippa naturally focused all her attention on the man she liked.
“Of course.” Philippa proudly showed off the sword-shaped mark on her wrist: “I am a hero now, how could Old Deng dare to lock me up in the palace again?”
"What a loving father and filial daughter," Gray thought to himself, but on the surface he joked in a normal tone, "Your Excellency is wise, could you bestow upon me a minor official position or something?"
Philippa thought about it carefully and realized that Gray was the adopted son of the impoverished noble family of Brant.
How about I offer you the position of princess's husband?
Unfortunately, Philippa only dared to keep these words to herself and did not dare to say them out loud. She did not want to be treated as a joke or to be seriously rejected. So she could only reply, "When I return from defeating the Demon King, I will have my father bestow upon you an official title and a huge piece of land."
Gray: Thank you for defeating me and then posthumously granting me a title?
What a fine example of "winning fame both before and after death"!
"Really? Then I'll wait and see, and eagerly await good news from the hero." Although he felt extremely amused, Gray didn't show any unusual expression on the surface.
Philippa's words were true, of course. She did indeed plan to ask Reginald for a marriage decree after defeating the Demon King, so that Gray would be a true prince consort. Her father would certainly not let him be just an adopted son of a fallen noble family; he would be particular about social standing and bestow a title upon Gray.
But Gray already has a fiancée. What if Gray is already married by then?
Her father would at most allow her to marry a woman of lower status, but he would never agree to let her be a concubine, because that would mean she would miss out on Grey.
So, Philippa decided to find out about Gray's fiancée.
"Grey, who's your fiancée? Is it that girl from last time?"