Chapter 55. A Majesty's Pride (1)
Beep.
Jooheon pressed the button again.
[Joint Guarantee activated.]
[Lifespan: -1 year.]
"HEY!"
Jaeha's scream erupted across the table, but Jooheon pretended not to hear him.
His eyes remained fixed on the track.
Soon, the Fortune infused into the elderly contestant, number five, began taking effect.
As proof, the second hand on the bomb's timer stopped for a brief moment.
"......?"
The old man looked down at his ankle in surprise.
Then he raised his head.
His eyes met Jooheon's.
There was neither fear nor gratitude in his gaze.
Instead, he looked as though he had realized something.
Jaeha chuckled.
"Has he figured out you're the one who chose him?"
"No."
Jooheon narrowed his eyes.
"I think he recognized me as a Majesty. It takes one to know one."
"!"
Meanwhile, Basil frowned as he watched Jooheon.
He seemed to be feeling a strange sense of unease.
Of course, the horse Jooheon had chosen had terrible physical abilities, while Basil's own choice was the strongest of the five.
Still, there was no harm in taking precautions.
Basil raised an Artifact.
"I suppose I should improve my horse's abilities."
He used two Artifacts.
The first was—
[Tyche's Coin (S-Grade / Consumable Artifact) (31/100)]
A blessed coin belonging to Tyche, the Greek goddess of fortune.
Heads meant success.
Tails meant failure.
However, in this city, the coin would never land on tails.
Cling!
The coin spun through the air, shining brightly.
Heads.
The second Artifact was—
[Hermes's Winged Sandals (S-Grade / Consumable Artifact) (593/1000)]
An Artifact in the form of footwear that granted the wearer increased speed and jumping ability.
It was perfect for a race.
But at that moment—
"?"
The Artifact failed to activate.
What?
Jooheon chuckled at Basil's confusion.
"Having trouble?"
"!"
"I told you, didn't I?"
"Nobody gets to use Artifacts fairly in this game."
"......"
Is this that Majesty's ability?
Then I have no choice.
Basil immediately pressed his button again.
Click.
This time, twice as much Fortune poured into contestant number four.
A golden aura exploded around her, propelling her body forward.
"Excellent."
Basil smiled in satisfaction.
"At this rate—"
BOOOOM!!
Before he could finish speaking, a gigantic steel beam fell onto the track ahead.
"Aaaah!"
Contestant number four barely managed to roll out of the way.
Her Fortune had saved her.
However—
Click.
The timer on her ankle bomb sped up another stage.
"...What?"
For the first time, Basil's expression stiffened.
He had increased her Fortune.
So why had the disasters become even worse?
Meanwhile, contestant number five continued running slowly.
He limped and gasped for breath.
But strangely enough, every disaster seemed to avoid him.
No.
Even when a disaster struck him, he somehow remained unharmed.
Majesty Jaeha narrowed his eyes at the sight.
"That's Fortune..."
"No."
"That doesn't look like Fortune."
Jooheon smiled as though he had been waiting for Jaeha to notice.
"Exactly."
"That's the old Majesty's ability."
His lips slowly curled upward.
"He isn't avoiding the disasters."
"He's postponing them."
As an experiment, Jooheon activated Hand of Redefinition.
A system message appeared, revealing the old man's ability.
[Majesty Unique Ability]
[Deferral]
Grade: Majesty Unique / Passive
All effects, including curses, calamities, accidents, and instant-death judgments, are applied ‘as late as possible.’
As long as the target remains alive, all disasters are deferred and remain in a scheduled state.
Deferred effects activate when the target leaves the location.
Jooheon chuckled.
The old man was a Majesty, and he had somehow continued surviving this game despite his terrible physical condition.
Jooheon had suspected he possessed some special means of survival.
So that's his ability.
Jooheon nodded.
"That old man isn't lucky."
"He's just putting everything off."
Jaeha's expression hardened.
"...Then that means he's—"
"Exactly."
Jooheon smiled.
"The kind of person who avoids dying now, only to have every delayed death hit him at once later."
Then—
Beep.
Jooheon's finger pressed the button.
No.
Saying he pressed it once would be an understatement.
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!
He hammered it repeatedly without the slightest hesitation.
[Joint Guarantee activated.]
[Lifespan: -1 year.]
[Lifespan: -1 year.]
[Lifespan: -1 year.]
[Lifespan: -1 year.]
[Lifespan: -1 year.]
Warning messages piled up one after another.
And every single payment came out of Majesty Yoo Jaeha's lifespan.
"You fucking—!"
Jaeha's curse burst out, but Jooheon was already watching the track.
An extraordinary radiance descended upon the elderly contestant.
Fortune.
Far more Fortune than he had received before.
The old man's steps began to change.
His limping legs were still slow.
But each step became firm and steady.
He didn't sprint.
Nor did he rush.
But he never stopped.
Meanwhile—
BOOM!!
The ground collapsed in front of contestant number three.
He tried to dodge, but it was already too late.
"Urgh!"
Around contestant number two, the empty space suddenly distorted as though gravity had reversed.
"What the hell?!"
Her body became suspended in midair, leaving her unable to take another step.
Contestant number four also tangled her feet and fell.
"...What?"
Basil muttered unconsciously.
"What the hell is happening?"
Even though he was using <Odysseus's Journey Home>, an Artifact designed to create an exceptionally difficult journey, he had never seen chaos like this.
What could possibly be causing these bizarre phenomena?
Every horse had stopped.
In this situation...
Only the old man, number five, continued moving forward.
Slowly but surely, he approached the finish line.
Only then did Basil finally pay attention to him.
And he recognized the old man's identity.
"That man..."
"Wasn't he a Majesty who had all his Fortune confiscated and was reduced to a racehorse after losing everything?"
Basil remembered him clearly.
The old man had once been a Majesty who challenged the Queen of Fortune to a duel with his worldline at stake.
But he lost.
Everything he possessed was confiscated.
And the Queen of Fortune threw him into this gambling arena as a racehorse.
That's right.
He was nothing more than a broken chess piece, not even worth paying attention to.
Even after becoming a racehorse, the old man had shown no motivation.
It was almost as though he were simply waiting for death.
Then why—?
Why was he moving so determinedly now?
Why wasn't he stopping halfway, as he always did?
Why wasn't he giving up this time?
At that moment, contestant number five approached the finish line.
All the color drained from Basil's face.
The old man slowly turned his head.
Not toward Basil.
Toward Jooheon.
For a brief moment, a long-buried emotion flashed through his eyes.
This ridiculous game.
The old man bit his lip.
This game was nothing more than the Queen of Fortune's entertainment.
A cruel gambling spectacle in which Majesties were bankrupted and reduced to racehorses for others to laugh at.
It was a cage that stripped them of their honor and pride.
That was why the old man had never intended to run seriously in the first place.
Whether he reached the finish line or dropped out halfway, his Deferral ability meant he wouldn't die immediately anyway.
So he had always stopped around the middle of the race, deliberately insulting the players who had bet on him.
That was the last remnant of his pride as a Majesty.
I refuse to dance for your amusement.
But this time was different.
The old man looked at Jooheon again.
The man who had chosen him.
Someone who had recognized his identity and believed in his potential rather than judging him by Fortune or physical ability.
He didn't see a Majesty as a racehorse.
The old man knew.
That choice hadn't been a coincidence.
So this time, he ran with everything he had.
Not because he enjoyed gambling.
Not because he wanted to prove he could win.
It was his way of returning the favor.
This is my repayment for choosing me.
And that wasn't all.
They're all still alive.
Except for the contestant killed by Basil's scheme at the very beginning, every horse was still alive.
Ordinarily, they would have been dead by now.
And the old man understood why.
That young man...
Jooheon had clearly shared his lifespan, and therefore Fortune, with horses he hadn't even selected.
That was why they were still alive.
The old man found it strange.
Normally, people who play this game only care about their own horses.
They calculated everything.
Who should live.
Who should be abandoned.
Someone with power like Jooheon's would normally be even more ruthless.
Get rid of the horses you don't need.
That was common sense in this city.
It was how Majesties operated.
But—
He tried to save all of them.
The old man's lips moved ever so slightly.
Just this once.
I'll run like this just this once.
He raised his head.
As a Majesty.
As someone whose story hadn't ended yet.
At last, he crossed the finish line.
Immediately, the winning horse's position changed.
The old man was transported from the track to the area outside it.
Jooheon immediately noticed.
"Oh?"
"Looks like winning lets you escape."
It was a familiar arrangement.
Just like the promises made to slaves in the Colosseum that victory in battle would earn them their freedom.
But for the old man...
Leaving the track meant leaving the location.
Flash!
At last, every disaster that had been deferred awakened.
Lightning.
Collapse.
Instant death.
Incineration.
Every calamity seemed to announce that its turn had finally arrived.
The old man looked down at his hands.
So this is the end.
There was neither fear nor regret on his face.
He simply accepted it.
This had always been his inevitable conclusion.
The old man had known from the beginning that winning the race would lead to this outcome.
In the past, his companions, defensive Artifacts, and healing Artifacts had protected him from the disasters he accumulated.
But now he was a bankrupt Majesty who possessed nothing.
He would undoubtedly die.
Even knowing that, he had given everything he had to cross the finish line.
And he didn't regret it.
He himself hadn't exactly lived a virtuous life as a Majesty, a ruler who once possessed an entire worldline.
But only after the Queen of Fortune took his world, his family, his companions, and everything else from him had he finally understood.
Shamefully late...
He had realized what was truly precious.
And if his life was going to end for the sake of a young Majesty who didn't treat people like tools, it wasn't such a bad ending.
The old man closed his eyes.
But Jooheon was already moving.
Majesty Yoo Jaeha shouted as though he had lost his mind.
"Stop!"
"Where the hell are you going?!"
"I've still got business with that old man."
"It's already over!"
"You'll get caught up in those disasters too!"
"Come back!"
"You're right. It's over."
Jooheon spoke calmly.
"That's why I'm cleaning up afterward."
He stepped in front of the old man.
The old man raised his head.
This time, surprise filled his eyes.
"...Why?"
It was a short question.
Instead of answering, Jooheon reached out.
"Hey, old man. Isn't the water in hell still a little too cold for you?"
Then—
Tap.
He placed a hand on the old man's body.
[Authority activated.]
(To be continued.)
