Chapter 3

—Well, I’d announced my grand vision for the city, but nothing would get done if I didn’t know anything about this world.

“First, show me a map of the city. And the blueprints for the previous urban development plan. I also want to inspect this city and the biggest city nearby. And find out how much money and what resources we have available, along with the people who know how to build things.”

Once I decided to do something, I followed through.

Everyone in the room except me gasped and began murmuring. It was like they’d finally woken up from a dream and returned to reality.

“Oh, and look into what kind of cities my rivals are planning to build, too.”

If my rivals in the succession struggle were also thinking along the lines of entertainment, I’d have to come up with a strategy to compete with them.

—Well, I doubted people from another world would come up with the same ideas as me, but better safe than sorry.

“Also, get me some fresh clothes, food, and alcohol. And a private room where I can be safe.”

I was hungry, and wearing funeral clothes felt like bad luck. More importantly, maybe it was because I’d just woken up, or because I’d spent the last three days in a coffin, but my body felt incredibly heavy.

For now, I wanted to take it easy and get some rest.

I was a night owl, after all.

“—Understood. I’ll make the arrangements immediately.”

A young priest knelt and replied.

He didn’t have to be so formal with me.

The room I’d been shown to seemed to be the prince’s private quarters, and it was lavishly furnished.

There was a huge four-poster bed with a canopy, fluffy carpets, and glittering decorations. Every piece of furniture seemed to flaunt the owner’s wealth and authority.

Princes sure lived well.

The gap between their lives and those of ordinary people was enough to make me cry.

Still, there wasn’t a TV, home theater, or even a speaker. Not a single magazine, either. It looked like a painfully boring place.

Naturally, there probably wasn’t any internet, either. Nobody had a smartphone.

If someone had owned one, they’d definitely have pointed a camera at me when I came back to life, and the video would’ve ended up online.

This was bad. There was barely any entertainment here. I might die of boredom.

Did anyone know where I could find a shisha bar?

The loungewear they’d given me consisted of a loose linen top and matching bottoms. They were pretty comfortable.

The bread and soup were surprisingly good, and the wine looked expensive.

It was a simple meal, but considering I’d only just come back to life, it was good enough.

Still, next time, I wanted some meat.

Once I’d finished eating, the attendants who’d been looking after me left the room.

However, a guard remained outside.

That personal royal guard, Clive, or whatever his name was.

—That guy made me a little uncomfortable.

Maybe it was his overwhelming presence, the way he stared at me without the slightest restraint, or just how intensely I could sense him nearby.

Anyway, I finally had some time alone, so I headed toward the full-length mirror in the corner of the room.

Reflected in it was a man who looked like a handsome actor.

He seemed to be around twenty.

—Dazzling blond hair. His natural color, not dyed.

—Blue eyes. No colored contacts, either. When I looked closely, they were almost unbelievably beautiful.

He had well-defined features and a slightly androgynous, sweet-looking face.

The perfect face for a prince.

Of course, the inside was still me, so my sleaziness was bound to show through.

“…What a bad dream.”

I pinched my cheek, but all I got was pain.

I went over to the bed and sprawled out on my back.

I’d thought I’d fall asleep right away, but sleep refused to come.

I just couldn’t settle down.

Maybe it was because this wasn’t my body, or because it had been dead for three days. I felt disgustingly uncomfortable, like I was wearing someone else’s clothes that had been left lying around.

I looked at my hands.

They were pristine. My fingers and nails were immaculate, too.

These were probably the hands of someone who’d never punched another person in his life.

Well, whatever. Having a good face was never a disadvantage. And having a high social status was a plus, too.

Sure, there was the risk of assassination, but if I’d been reincarnated as a homeless person instead of a prince, my chances of surviving would’ve been screwed from the start.

Which meant I couldn’t afford to give up this life after all.

I’d make use of everything available to me.

I wasn’t about to die twice.

I’d live as Prince Yuri.

I could explain away my change in personality and lack of memories by claiming that I’d been dead for three days.

—Come to think of it, they said His Highness Yuri could use divine arts.

How did I use them? What kind of effects did they have?

This was the kind of ability I’d be wasting if I didn’t figure out how to use it properly.

There was no point sitting around thinking about it. Asking someone would be much faster.

…But who should I ask?

Just then, someone knocked on the door.

“Yeah, come on in!”

I answered casually, and a young priest appeared at the doorway. He was one of the priests from that cramped room earlier.

“—Your Highness, is there anything you need? Has anything been unsatisfactory?”

He asked with a hint of nervousness.

He had nice eyes.

He’d do.

“Perfect timing. Hey, there’s something I want to ask you. Got a minute?”

“Yes, of course. Anything you wish.”

He smiled, looking a little pleased. He was the type whose emotions showed easily on his face. And he was innocent, too.

I lowered my head slightly and gave a self-deprecating laugh.

“…I’m scared, you know. The way I am now seems completely different from the Prince Yuri you knew before I died, and I can’t remember anything…”

I paused for a moment, letting the silence hang.

“They seem to call me the Holy Prince, but I don’t even know what I can do. Even with these divine arts, I don’t know how to use them or how to make everyone happy… If only I could at least figure out how to use them…”

“Your Highness… I-if you don’t mind me teaching you, I’d be happy to…”

The young priest seemed terribly nervous as he spoke, the tips of his ears turning faintly red.

“—Divine arts are the power of prayer and will. Officially, they’re considered miraculous techniques activated when someone chosen by the bloodline of the Holy Royal Family synchronizes with the divine will…”

“…So how do I use them?”

Enough with the formal explanations. I wasn’t the type to sit around reading instruction manuals or contracts every time I wanted to do something.

In other words, I could use God’s miracles, right?

That was all I needed to know.

“Huh? Oh, yes! Um… The basic method is to imagine light. Warm light that gently embraces someone…”

“…Can I try it?”

“Of course! P-please use me as your target!”

This guy sure had guts.

There was no way I’d volunteer to be the test subject for some amateur experiment.

“…Are you really sure?”

“Y-yes, of course!”

I did as he instructed and gently closed my eyes, imagining a warm, soft light that wrapped around someone…

At that moment, a sudden warmth bloomed at my fingertips, and a faint golden light began to glow.

—Whoa, seriously? This is straight-up fantasy.

While I was still marveling at it, the light spread outward, flowed into the young priest, and then burst softly.

Huh? Was that safe?

“—As expected of Your Highness! This is the ‘Healing Light’! A miraculous power that eases pain and fatigue!”

“Oh? So I healed you? I’m glad…”

The young priest was completely entranced, as if he’d just gotten high on something.

Besides easing pain and fatigue, this seemed to affect the heart, too.

Well, of course it did. A prince as beautiful as a god had just used his powers for your sake.

And if the pain in your body disappeared afterward, you’d practically become a believer on the spot.

If I became some kind of cult leader, couldn’t I rack up a ridiculous number of followers?

“How far can I take this healing ability?”

“I’ve heard that with enough training, it can heal all kinds of injuries and illnesses.”

“I see…”

That was good to know.

An entertainment district was bound to have plenty of illnesses and fights, no matter what I did.

If I could heal those, then there couldn’t be a more suitable ability for me right now.

“So I can save everyone, too…”

“Your Highness Yuri…”

“Thanks. What’s your name?”

“—My name is Luca.”

“Luca, huh? Nice name. I’ll remember it.”

Luca’s face turned red, and he left the room.

The door closed, and silence settled in.

“……..”

—What a pushoverrrrr.

No, don’t laugh. Hold it in.

These people from another world were way too easy. Show them a little vulnerability, and they were completely won over. Man, he was adorable.

Of course he’d be happy. He’d gotten to help the miraculous Holy Prince, been praised by him, and even had his name remembered.

I was happy, too. It was like I’d just acquired a junior underling.

Looking forward to working with you from now on, buddy.

Satisfied, I settled back onto the bed and stretched lightly.

I closed my eyes, gazed vaguely at the golden light still lingering behind my eyelids, and slowly let myself drift off.

I had no idea how long I’d been asleep when I suddenly opened my eyes, sensing that something about the atmosphere in the room had changed.

The air felt… heavy.

Something was there.

Through my blurry, half-awake vision, I could make out a presence standing in the darkness, sharp and intense above all else.

If this had been my old world, I’d have assumed it was a burglar. But right now, I was a prince who was supposed to be under close protection.

“What is it? What’s going on…?”

The person standing there was a knight. It was Clive, the personal royal guard I’d seen briefly earlier that day.

But he was completely different from before.

His presence was quiet, cold, and beastlike.

Shit. The way he was acting, he looked like he might run me through with his sword at any moment.

—A sharp pain shot through my back, the same place where I’d been stabbed.

No. This body hadn’t been stabbed yet.

But I knew that sensation. It was exactly what I’d felt when I’d been killed.

Cold sweat spread across my entire body.

Clive’s eyes glowed a pale blue in the darkness.

“…Who are you?”

His voice was unnaturally low, heavy with the tone of an interrogation.

—This is bad. This guy doesn’t look like he’ll be such an easy pushover.