"Bang—!"
A sharp, air-rending crack suddenly exploded across the plaza of the royal capital.
For a heartbeat, time itself seemed to freeze.
The crowned king, standing on the front of the platform in the center of the square, jerked as if struck by a heavy blow and toppled straight to the ground.
The instant everyone saw the king fall, the entire plaza boiled over.
Screams of every pitch burst from the crowd below as people scattered madly in all directions.
"Enemy attack! Protect His Majesty! Protect the royal family!"
The soldiers who had been standing guard around the plaza immediately sprang into action, sweeping their eyes in all directions as they searched for the assassin hidden in the darkness who had attacked the king.
The guards standing beside the king quickly formed a tight circle around his collapsed body. Two medics rushed over from a distance carrying a stretcher, and the accompanying doctor hurried forward to check the king's wounds.
At that moment, someone in the crowd suddenly lunged at the nearest soldier, launching a sneak attack.
Some people did not run at all. Instead, they pushed against the flow and charged toward the king. These assassins who had come to kill the king had no intention of retreating; what they wanted now was to confirm whether the king had really died in that first strike.
The guards on the platform instantly noticed the abnormal movement. The soldiers around the plaza wanted to rush over to block the assassins, but the panicked crowd trying to flee clogged their path, making it impossible for them to reach the king in a short time.
On top of that, the assassins hidden in the crowd were suddenly launching attacks at them, forcing the soldiers to split their attention just to protect themselves.
The king's personal guards, seeing the assassins coming straight at them, immediately split off a portion of their number to intercept, while the remaining guards urged the medics to lift the king and prepare to leave.
They could not allow the king to remain in such a dangerous place, and they had to escort the remaining members of the royal family away from here as well.
Seeing the king's group about to withdraw, the assassins went completely berserk. They threw their lives away without hesitation and hurled themselves against the guards barring their path.
But faced with the guards' armor, these assassins had no way to break through quickly. They could only watch helplessly as the king and his entourage were escorted away.
At this moment, on the very edge of the platform, in the most inconspicuous corner, a boy was standing quietly.
He wore a well-fitted but far from luxurious prince's ceremonial outfit. His face remained calm as he watched everything unfolding before him. The blood and gore splattering across the plaza did not stir even a flicker of fear in his eyes. He looked less like a child and more like an adult who had already been through much.
Ronan was this boy's name, the second prince of the Lulusia Kingdom.
When the guards withdrew just now, everyone had, whether intentionally or not, overlooked his existence. After all, the second prince was born when the king, drunk, had relations with a maid.
Ronan's birth was a considerable disgrace to the royal family. His existence had sullied the "noble" bloodline of the royals, so none of the royal family acknowledged him.
As for the king, he did not like this son at all. There were even years when Ronan never saw him once. This time, Ronan had only appeared here because today's event was a national celebration, and the king had brought him along for form's sake.
Ronan himself did not care.
Because inside this small body was the soul of a man in his twenties from Blue Star. What he wanted most was for no one to notice him.
Although Ronan did not know why he had ended up in this unfamiliar body, ever since he learned that this was the world of One Piece, he had adapted very quickly.
One Piece was anything but unfamiliar to him. In his original world, Ronan had followed One Piece for more than ten years. He was very clear about the events that took place in this story.
Becoming the second prince of the Lulusia Kingdom was, for Ronan who had come to this world, the best outcome among bad options.
After all, the identity of a prince already placed him above ninety-nine percent of the people in this world. He had been "born in Rome," even if this particular identity was not well liked.
The bad news was that this was the Lulusia Kingdom.
In Ronan's memories, the Lulusia Kingdom was first overthrown by the Revolutionary Army, and then wiped off the map by a new weapon of the World Government.
Fortunately, that event was still more than ten years away. Ronan had plenty of time to think about how to face it.
What came to this world with him, lodged in his mind, was also a mysterious panel.
It was precisely because of this mysterious panel that Ronan could stand here now with confidence, even without any guards protecting him.
Because right beside him stood two women clad in light black armor, each carrying on her back a greatsword nearly as tall as she was. Their twin eyes were silver, and both of them had golden hair. Their only difference was that one of them looked even colder, her gaze sharper.
These were the warriors Ronan had summoned over the years by relying on the mysterious panel in his mind. They were female warriors from the world of Claymore, ranked No. 1 and No. 2 respectively: Alicia and Beth.
The colder one with the sharper eyes was the elder sister, Alicia.
With these sisters guarding him, Ronan simply did not care about the chaos in the plaza. What interested him more at the moment was the content displayed on the panel in his mind.
"Face the assassination before you, survive, and return to the royal palace.
(D-rank quest. Time limit: one hour. Reward for completion: 10 quest points. Failure: 15 quest points will be deducted. Accept?)
Holder: Ronan
Quest Points: 90
Abilities: Armament Haki (not initiated; 100 points required to upgrade to Initiated)
Physical Arts (proficient; 700 points required to upgrade to Mastery)
Special Skill: Lucky Roulette (1000 points per spin)"
"As expected, a new quest popped up."
Ronan was not surprised.
This panel that had crossed into this world together with him would release quests, and once he completed them, he would earn quest points. The only problem was that the quests it issued were entirely random.
For all these years, every quest had been triggered on the spot. Ronan still had no idea what pattern the panel used to generate them.
The quest points earned from completing quests could be used not only to strengthen his own abilities, but also to spin the Lucky Roulette.
In Ronan's opinion, though, the Lucky Roulette was a total scam.
Aside from the very first free spin he had been given when he arrived in this world—which had summoned Beth and Alicia from the world of Claymore—he had managed to scrape together the points needed for two more spins over the years, and gotten absolutely nothing in return.
From that moment on, Ronan never wasted quest points on the Lucky Roulette again.
Thinking this, Ronan did not hesitate at all. He silently chose "accept" in his heart. The second quest on the panel instantly changed to "accepted," and the time became "remaining time: one hour."
To Ronan, this quest was basically free quest points. With Beth and Alicia here, he had no doubts whatsoever about their strength.
"We're leaving too."
The quest's objective was to return to the royal palace.
Since the quest had already been triggered, there was no point in staying here any longer. Right now, earning quest points was what mattered most.
(End of Chapter)
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