Chapter 486

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Chapter 486: Balance (3)

“Huh?”

“…What.”

Doatel’s docking channel opened.

Jiseon and Kubu were both surprised in succession, and Moro drove the final nail in.

『What the, are they arresting us?』

Honestly, everyone except Yeongwoo had expected this outcome.

“…What the hell.”

Yeongwoo, the only one in the group who couldn’t believe what was happening, rubbed his eyes and stared at the floating message.

「Small vessel |Doatel-4024| has opened a docking channel.」

“…These bastards really have lost it.”

These audacious caramel-heads had made the bold decision to detain the visitors until their identities were confirmed.

And they hadn’t even notified the supposed target of arrest.

“Why treat someone trying to turn their life around like a criminal?”

—Well, from their side, you showed up uninvited, pointed weapons at them… An arrest seems fair, doesn’t it?

“Did you forget? My mother’s on board too.”

—Considering they’re arresting you, they must be reasonable people. So they probably won’t just kill us outright.

Jiseon shrugged nonchalantly and put on her helmet, checking the greatsword strapped to her back.

—Though just in case, we should be a little cautious.

Yeongwoo rolled his eyes and nodded.

“Well… I suppose experiencing the royal arrest procedure isn’t the worst. It was bound to happen eventually.”

Besides, that escort ship was their only way into Doatel.

‘Once I get into Doatel, I’ll find a way to meet Aldo.’

Thinking he could meet a royal prince without an invitation in the first place had been a huge miscalculation.

So this minor issue wasn't even really a problem.

Tssshhh!

At last, a milky-white portal appeared at the center of the control room.

『I’ve accepted their docking request. Enter through this portal and you’ll arrive directly on the escort ship.』

As the portal was pointed out, Jiseon turned to Earth and asked:

—It goes straight into the escort ship? Doesn’t that mean we might get beat up the moment we step through?

『Hmm… I don’t actually know how Doatel handles arrests.』

No one there did.

Who among them had ever been arrested on any other planet?

“Then we’ll just have to find out. I’ll go first.”

Yeongwoo stepped toward the portal, and everyone watched his back with tense expressions.

If something happened to him after stepping through, his father Jeonggu would become the new Lord of the Family.

Would that be a blessing… or a disaster?

One thing was certain: the kind of rapid, unconventional growth that Yeongwoo had achieved would no longer be possible.

『Try to come back alive. You’ve still got a long way to go.』

With those parting words from Moro—no, from his mother-in-law—Yeongwoo’s body and consciousness were pulled into the milky-white portal.

Shhhhhhh!

‘Whoa, what the—this one feels different from other portals.’

As he passed through the portal, Yeongwoo felt a strange sense of discomfort.

Unlike dungeon portals, which fully transferred him to another domain, this one merely moved him past the docking barrier—its very composition seemed different.

Then finally—

Fwoosh!

As his blurred vision began to clear, walls with a porcelain-like texture came into view.

“So this is the escort ship?”

Yeongwoo, eyeing the fairly luxurious materials used in the interior, looked around with a tinge of envy. Just then, a deep, solid voice came from above.

—How would you like to be addressed?

“…Huh?”

As Yeongwoo looked up, a massive caramel-armored knight was towering over him.

The ceiling of the ship must have been at least six meters high, and the top of the knight’s head nearly touched it.

‘That’s massive.’

The knight’s head was square-shaped—signaling that he was of a firm and dependable type in Doatel culture.

—How would you like to be addressed?

The towering caramel knight repeated the question.

After a moment of thought, Yeongwoo answered,

“Call me Lord Jeong Yeongwoo.”

Just then, his mother appeared behind him, so he added her introduction too.

“And this is my mother, the Iron-Blood Empress Song Jiseon.”

Jiseon, just regaining her senses, turned her head to look at her son.

—What kind of nonsense are you spouting?

“It’s your business card in Doatel.”

—What?

While the two of them frowned and whispered to each other, the caramel giant extended a thick arm and pointed ahead.

—Lord Jeong Yeongwoo, and Iron-Blood Empress Song Jiseon. This way.

The knight then took the lead.

Thud, thud.

The space they were currently walking through was a giant corridor.

About six meters in height, ten meters wide, and roughly thirty meters ahead stood a large arched door.

‘Something’s probably going to happen when we get there.’

Since they were still being treated relatively well for detainees, Yeongwoo decided to observe a bit longer.

—Huh. I thought I’d get smacked around the moment I arrived, but nothing’s happening?

Jiseon muttered while walking behind Yeongwoo.

He glanced at the caramel knight ahead and answered in a low voice.

“Whatever else, we should be careful with that guy.”

—…Why?

“He came alone to meet us—meaning, us, the soon-to-be-arrested criminals. That means he’s strong. Strong enough to deal with anything that might happen here by himself.”

It was something Yeongwoo had learned through his resets.

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Truly strong people don’t travel in groups.

Because they don’t need to.

Have you ever seen the chairman bringing bodyguards around?

Of course, he wouldn’t dare compare this caramel knight to the chairman—but at the very least, he was probably the designated problem-solver aboard this escort ship.

Thud, thunk!

Soon, the enforcer Caramel reached the end of the corridor and turned around.

—Please enter here.

“What’s inside?”

Yeongwoo asked, barely finishing his question when the arched door at the end of the corridor slid open sideways, revealing a line of knights clad in silver-white armor, filling his field of view.

‘So those are the small fries, huh.’

Yeongwoo could even tell which faction the Caramels inside belonged to.

That armor they wore was exactly the same as the one used by Prince Aldo’s royal guard.

He remembered clearly because he’d once received their help during a wedding ceremony.

‘So, because I dropped the prince’s name, the royal knights showed up themselves?’

That was the only logical conclusion.

Although, judging by the fact that none of them recognized him right away, it seemed the ones who’d come to Earth back then weren’t here.

Step.

Then, a particularly lanky-looking Caramel pushed through the large figures and stepped forward.

—Ah… The stench is already unbearable.

“Huh?”

Yeongwoo widened his eyes upon seeing the other’s sharply pointed, cone-shaped head.

He had seen plenty of Caramels before, but this was the first time seeing one with such a sharp, angular skull.

“Stench? You’re not talking about us, are you?”

The cone-head tilted his chin up arrogantly and replied:

—You reek. An overwhelming stench of dark karma clings to you. A foul odor.

Then he gave a slight shudder and waved his hand through the air.

—To think you’d dare speak the prince’s name while dragging in that filth… It’s truly blasphemous.

It was clear now.

They were here to arrest criminals.

“But blasphemous or not, your prince is my friend. He even came to our planet and gave us a wedding gift.”

The cone-head exploded in rage.

—Such a vile lie! Silence that mouth! The stench worsens!

“…You little—”

As a flicker of murderous intent appeared in Yeongwoo’s eyes, the cone-head and all the knights in the room flinched instinctively.

—D-Disarm him first.

The cone-head stepped back and ordered the knights around him.

One of the large Caramels in silver armor stepped forward and reached out a hand toward Yeongwoo.

—Citizen Jeong Yeongwoo, hand over your weapons. All visitors to Doatel must be unarmed.

But just behind him, another knight could be seen preparing a pair of handcuffs.

“…Really? You expect us to fall for this when someone’s already holding out the cuffs?”

Clearly, Doatel had never dealt with a real criminal before.

Otherwise, there’s no way the royal knights would be so sloppy with their arrests.

“Hey, cone-head. Be straight with me. If I board this thing without resisting, will I be able to meet Prince Aldo at some point?”

When Yeongwoo took a step forward with that question, every knight in the room immediately drew their swords.

Shiiiiing!

—Huh?!

—D-Don’t move!

—First warning! Disarm yourself immediately!

“…”

Yeongwoo began to wonder how many warnings they’d give before actually doing something.

Not that he wanted to mess with these overly polite Caramels.

As long as he could meet Prince Aldo, he was willing to put up with a bit of procedure.

“Answer me now. If I ride this, do I get to meet Aldo? I trust you wouldn’t tell a dark lie like I supposedly did.”

The cone-head twisted the tip of his own head sharply — a sign of extreme tension.

As Yeongwoo expected, the cone-head didn’t spit out another line about foul smells.

—…This ship is bound for the high-altitude prison in southern Doatel.

“What? So you were just going to throw me in jail?”

—It is currently the royal festival season…

According to cone-head, during such times, no one from the royal family was allowed to meet outsiders, and it was impossible for the prince to have invited anyone in the first place.

So, since Yeongwoo had falsely claimed to be invited and even aimed ship cannons, he had been deemed a terrorist.

“A festival? While a new planetary vessel just appeared in the galaxy? And you're off playing party games?”

As Yeongwoo raised his voice, resting his hand on his hybrid weapon, cone-head quickly backed off and cleared his throat.

—In any case… you’ll have to come with us. Please place your weapon on the ground. This is your second warning.

By the book, the cone-head continued issuing warnings.

But this time, he seemed more confident.

Click!

The arched door that had previously closed slid open again—blocking Yeongwoo and Jiseon’s retreat was none other than the “enforcer” from before.

“Oh-ho. Look at these guys.”

Yeongwoo grinned wickedly upon seeing that the enforcer’s head had changed from a square to a hexagon.

Jiseon cautiously reached for the greatsword on her back and asked,

—What are you thinking? Don’t we need this ride to get through the refugees and reach Doatel?

“Yes. That’s why we’re on board.”

—Uh… right, but…

“Now we just need to change the destination. From the high-altitude prison to the royal festival hall.”

—…How?

Sensing a dark future ahead, Jiseon’s voice quivered inside her helmet.

Yeongwoo gave her a short answer.

“Like this.”

And without warning, he lunged forward and kicked the cone-head square in the chest.

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