Chapter 115

Is it this question again?

After hearing the Princess’s words, the lazy youth paused, didn’t immediately roll the dice, but suggested:

“Princess Veronika, although the result I roll only reflects the present moment, in questions spanning long periods, conditions and outcomes often change—but not always.”

“It’s only been a few months since you last asked this question; asking it now, the result should be very similar to last time, so you’d better pick a new one.”

“I won’t change it. This one.”

The Princess shook her head, her expression calm:

“This is my innate responsibility, and my only hope right now. If not this, what else could I ask?”

“Since you insist, then alright.”

With a helpless shrug, the lazy youth released his right hand—the two dice struck the table in sequence, bounced a few times, and landed showing two bright red ones.

“Due to the Lyon family matter, your probability of saving the kingdom has indeed risen by two points, reaching eleven percent.”

As he spoke, the lazy youth lightly tapped the table with his knuckles; the two dice twitched, then began rolling again.

“Next, securing control of the Military Department, cooperating with the Defense Minister to seize the positions vacated by the Lyon family, and the probability will rise another two points.”

“Then, ally with the Prime Minister to intervene in the Upper Academy and suppress the old nobility; next, join forces with the old nobility to suppress the Lower Academy, passing laws restricting certain commercial activities and increasing taxes—after these steps, the probability will climb to twenty-six points;”

“Then, find a way to become Queen, and through purging rebels and resisting the new invasion, seize back military, financial, legislative, and personnel powers, while promoting officials who share your vision—then the probability will surge to fifty-one points…”

It’s roughly the same as last time.

Hearing the rising probability and recognizing these as actions she’d already planned, the Princess smiled faintly, then slightly shook her head.

True, if she accomplished all this, she would indeed have the power to save the kingdom—but these tasks aren’t as simple as ordering a cart of fruit or secretly removing a wheel.

Every single point the man proposed, if truly realized, would demand countless sleepless nights and years of grueling negotiation—her path was still so long…

“Rattle-rattle!”

As the Princess leaned in to listen, for some reason, the dice on the table, having reached “fifty-one,” didn’t continue toward “sixty-six”—instead, they suddenly began spinning at high speed.

Under the lazy youth’s stunned gaze, the two dice spun faster and faster, until they scoured the solid wood desk, producing black smoke; a sharp, acrid stench of burning filled the entire room.

What is this?!

Though anomalies were nearly impossible to destroy this way, the lazy youth instinctively reached out to grab them, trying to force them to stop—but the moment his hand touched the dice, the rapidly spinning bone cubes sliced open his palm.

As he yanked his hand back in pain, the two blood-smeared dice clacked together a few times, then slowly came to rest, their sharp edges pointing upward, lying quietly in the small groove worn into the desk.

“….”

Watching the lazy youth stare blankly at the dice, the Princess’s heart tightened; she quickly asked:

“Why are both edges showing ‘zero’? What does this mean?”

“It means… this attempt didn’t fully activate.”

Looking at the dice stained with his blood, the ring of blood smears on the table, the lazy youth pressed his bleeding right hand, frowning:

“Your question involves someone with a Lyon value above sixty… I mean, a being of True God rank. He sensed our probing and intervened to block this inspection.”

True God? Why does this keep tying back to a True God?

As someone aware of the Clearance Bureau and anomalies, the Princess knew some truths about True Gods—she understood they weren’t as grand or benevolent as believers claimed—and her expression grew tense.

“Could it be… a True God will descend upon the kingdom?”

“Probably not.”

The lazy youth shook his head, his expression hesitant:

“Beings of True God rank aren’t necessarily True Gods themselves. I didn’t see his face, but his build seemed human—only he had multiple wings, and…”

And strangely… he looked familiar…

Recalling the vision he’d just seen, he firmly memorized the back of that dark-haired, dark-eyed, slender figure with several differently colored wings, then said reassuringly:

“And he may not be targeting the kingdom at all. If he truly is a True God, you might later clash with his followers, or cooperate with him, or simply keep running into him—any of these could accidentally draw his attention and cause him to interrupt our probe.”

“But with the Clearance Bureau on our side, there won’t be any major issues. Countless True Gods have tried to descend before, yet all were driven back—no True God has ever remained long-term in this world. You don’t need to worry too much.”

But that’s a True God! How could I not worry?

Hearing the lazy youth’s words, the Princess took a deep breath and asked:

“So, can you try rolling again? To confirm the situation.”

“Sorry, I really can’t…”

Holding up his still-bleeding palm toward the Princess, the lazy youth sighed:

“That being’s temperament seems relatively mild—he didn’t get angry upon sensing my probe, only gave me a minor punishment.”

“But if I push my luck and forcibly probe the future again, I probably won’t be killed, but I’ll likely be bedridden for months.”

“Alright, thank you for your effort.”

With a disappointed sigh, the Princess silently pulled out a checkbook, paid the agreed fee, then added a substantial bonus, and warned cautiously:

“If, after some time, that True God stops watching you…”

“I’ll immediately complete this result, and notify you at once of any anomalies.”

After giving his promise to a “longtime client,” the weary lazy youth wrapped his injured right hand in a bandage, then decisively took his leave, retrieved his stored suitcase, and headed toward the Clearance Bureau.

Though his bureau chief was easygoing, the central headquarters had strict regulations for this kind of rare, highly valuable ability—one that could easily shift the balance of power.

Especially regarding whereabouts: every location visited and every person contacted had to be reported in detail, so he could only sneak out for side jobs during brief gaps between official missions.

To help his new colleague ascend to the Dukedom, he’d already delayed nearly two days—if he didn’t return to file his report soon, he’d have to face headquarters’ inspection alongside his new colleague.

Pushing open the heavy door into the Clearance Bureau, he carried his suitcase through the dim corridor, then noticed the end of the hall bathed in sunlight—the bureau chief’s office door appeared to be open. After a moment’s hesitation, he didn’t head to his own office, but took out his pre-written mission report and walked toward the chief’s office.

“Chief, I’ve returned from the investigation… Ah… sorry.”

As he raised his report to speak, he noticed someone else was inside the office; he politely apologized, then instinctively glanced at the colleague within.

A young man with dark hair, dark eyes, and a slightly slender build turned his head slightly in surprise, gazing back at him…