Chapter 167

“I saw it with my own eyes.”

Through the telescope in his hand, he personally witnessed Leon and the princess falling from the sky together. The middle-aged man couldn’t help but sigh, explaining with a look of both relief and complexity:

“The anomalous item I possess is called [Otherworld Door]. Not only can it open behind any door in the capital city to let you enter our base at any time, but it can even open a door to the future.”

“What?!”

Seemingly hearing the middle-aged man explain his ability for the first time, the bald woman couldn’t help but look over in surprise, asking with eyes full of shock:

“Future? Is it the future I’m thinking of?”

“Hmm, it’s the future you’re thinking of, and this future can be changed. Everything I do after learning about the future can alter its appearance. For example, that slingshot shot you just made was the ‘answer’ I found from the future.”

After glancing in the direction of Leon Manor, the middle-aged man with streaks of gray in his temples said with a complicated look: “That person from the Clearing Bureau is… cautious to an extreme degree. Whenever there’s even the slightest disturbance around him, he immediately uses that extremely troublesome ability to protect himself and the princess, not giving even half a chance.

You know, no matter whether it’s ambushes, inducements, or poison explosions, last night I tried more than eighty times with the future version of you all, trying out over a dozen plans, but every single time he managed to evade us. We never succeeded in completely killing him.

The two times we got closest to success were when we mobilized everyone directly, sparing no cost to force him into a desperate situation. The result was that a fatal strand of hair activated, instantly killing everyone except me and Phoebe. He only sustained minor injuries.

The second time, we sent Phoebe, who had amnesia, to get close to him. She touched him, making everyone forget his existence. But that person just touched Phoebe’s hand, and everyone’s memories began to slowly return. In the end, we still couldn’t do anything to him.”

After recalling the “strategic battle” with “Prince Leon,” the middle-aged man turned his head and looked at the bald woman beside him, who had been stunned by the story, sighing helplessly: “This guy’s ability is really disgusting, almost without any weaknesses… I have no idea what he’s gone through, why he’s so cautious, as if someone is always ready to harm him.”

“…”

Uh… It seems like that person didn’t make a mistake since you tried to ‘harm’ him eighty times last night. If he wasn’t cautious enough, he would probably be dead by now.

“The person from the Clearing Bureau has strong abilities, but eventually you caught them off guard, so looking at it this way, your ability is still stronger!”

With a look akin to seeing a psychopath, the bald woman looked at her leader who kept causing trouble and excitedly said, “Hey, Leader! You can actually see the future! With this ability, aren’t you invincible? Isn’t it true that you can do whatever you want?”

“Not exactly.”

The state of the middle-aged man seemed a bit strange. After wiping away the sudden tears that welled up in his eyes, he shook his head with a somewhat melancholic tone:

“Even if you can see the future infinitely many times, it doesn’t mean you can truly change the future because some problems are destined to have no answers.”

“This… Leader, I don’t understand…”

“To put it simply, some things you know will happen, but you still lack the power to change them, like the future of this country.”

After looking at the slightly dazed bald woman, the middle-aged man hesitated slightly for a moment, then smiled with a sense of relief and explained:

“Do you know? Our assassination attempt on the princess actually succeeded last time.”

“Ah???”

“It’s true. When I crossed through the [Otherworld Door] and arrived in the future, Luke controlled the princess’s attendants and successfully killed her. However, shortly after she died, I managed to send back a message from the future.

I said that even in the future without the princess, the kingdom was still not saved; it just changed from being completely shattered to barely surviving.

And because I felt a bit soft-hearted after retreating from the door of the future, I slightly altered the plan, allowing the guards controlled by Luke to choose another position for their watch, thus deliberately giving up that successful assassination opportunity.”

“Ah this… This…”

“Why! Why?! And she’s the princess! You’re a rebel! How could you tell me you felt soft-hearted? What nonsense are you spouting?”

“There’s nothing I can do; I couldn’t help feeling soft-hearted because she’s my sister.”

“AH???”

After wiping away the tears in the corner of his eyes with the back of his hand and smudging the foundation used to cover up his face, revealing several irregularly shaped spots that looked like dirt stains, the middle-aged man said with a complex look: “If it weren’t for her, I would have been killed in the capital city during the second year of the war. Since the fate of the kingdom is the same whether she exists or not, how could I bear to kill her?”

“?????????”

So the leader of the rebels… is actually the prince of the kingdom? What have I been doing all this time? Looking at the distinctive spots on the weathered face of the middle-aged man, the bald woman felt a surge of blood rushing to her head, almost going crazy on the spot, stammering:

“Are you really Joshua? That idiot prince? Impossible! You? You?!”

“I’ve said it before, my ability is called [Otherworld Door].”

Gazing into the distance at Leon Manor, the middle-aged man said with a lonely look:

“Being able to observe the future freely comes with an unparalleled price, and the price I paid matches the name of this ability.

Because I suffered for thirty years due to the destruction of the kingdom, I chose to step through the gate to the other world, completely abandoning everything I had. No family, no past, and not even a future.

Now, I am merely a ghost wandering in the other world. Even though I’ve gained the opportunity to save the kingdom and change all regrets, none of those changed regrets have any connection to me anymore. This is the price of using the Otherworld Door.”

“…”

After explaining the truth about his ability, the middle-aged man wiped away his tears and slightly bowed with an apologetic expression as the bald woman’s expression completely twisted.

“Sorry, I originally planned to take this secret to my grave, but in a few minutes, my sister… the princess will disappear from everyone’s memory, and I will also forget her. I couldn’t help myself, wanting to confide in someone while my memory is still intact.”

“You… Me… Damn it! Why did you choose me? Why didn’t you… Mm? Mm!”

“Because among all of us, you’re the only one I can beat. Sorry about that.”

Pinching the bald woman’s mouth and forcefully sprinkling some strange powder inside, the middle-aged man said to the terrified bald woman:

“Don’t worry, it’s not poison. It’s powder ground from Phoebe’s fingernails. Judging by the dosage, it should only make you lose about an hour of memory.

Just take a little nap… Just a short nap will do… Besides, thank you for listening to my secret. After telling everything, I feel much better.”

“…”

Looking at the apologetic middle-aged man thanking her, the bald woman struggled a couple of times but couldn’t break free, her mouth still pinched shut, unable to curse. She could only express her anger through her eyes.

You feel better now! But now I’m starting to feel bad, damn it! Let me go, you animal! Shit!

凸(艹皿艹)!

(The chapter ends here.)