Imprisoned for a Trillion Years, I Was Worshipped by All Gods!-Chapter 542 - 98-Rosalia

The room contained only two chairs and, in the center, a raised confessional booth. Around half a meter off the ground, a square opening had been cut into the booth wall, covered with a fine mesh screen that made visibility almost nonexistent.

Under normal circumstances, a priest or nun would sit inside that booth, listening to the prayers or confessions of the faithful.

But given the current sensitive situation, it was obvious that the elderly nun had brought them here with a different purpose in mind.

The third princess tapped lightly on the wooden wall surrounding the confessional to make sure no one was inside. Only once she confirmed it was empty did she sit down in one of the chairs.

Alan could barely hold back anymore and spoke up. "Third Princess, I…"

"Shhh!"

She suddenly raised her index finger to her lips, motioning for silence.

"Rosalia," she whispered.

"Remember, there's no Third Princess of the kingdom here. Just the daughter of a merchant—Rosalia."

"Or, if you're like Alice, you can call me Rosa."

"…Alright."

Alan understood what she was worried about. Though the confessional was quiet, it wasn't soundproof. If someone pressed their ear to the wall, they could probably hear everything happening inside.

He cleared his throat and corrected himself, "Rosa, actually, I've been thinking about it during the whole trip. Our encounter in the miniature world—it all seemed far too strange."

"If this tier-diamond spell really is as coveted as everyone says, then there should've been a lot more powerful mages competing for it."

"Why didn't the other kingdoms send their elite forces? And why were we able to just walk away with it so easily? Don't they have any reaction to that?"

Rosalia glanced at him, then lightly tapped the tip of his nose with her finger.

"You still have a lot to learn."

"To tell you the truth, the first ones to discover that remnant world of the Forbidden Magus Nicolas weren't from the Plantagenet Kingdom. It was a joint scouting party composed of mages from other kingdoms."

"Geographically speaking, the entrance to the miniature world isn't even within our territory."

"And the scroll? That was just a bonus. Or rather, it wasn't their primary objective at all."

Alan's brows furrowed further. "Then… what was their real objective?"

Rosalia lowered her gaze, her eyes fixating on the floor in front of her. "Think carefully—what's the most essential thing for a miniature world to maintain long-term stability?"

"Well… a massive source of mana, of course."

"Exactly. So, what can provide that kind of stable and abundant mana?"

"Mana stones!" Alan answered almost immediately. Then the realization hit him. He looked at Rosalia, now fully grasping her meaning.

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Seeing his understanding dawn, she smiled. "Looks like you're not completely hopeless. Yes, while the relics left behind by the Forbidden Magus were valuable, the real treasure lies beneath the surface—an enormous mana stone mine that powers the miniature world itself!"

"A single skill scroll has limited use, even if it's tier-diamond."

"But a vast mana stone deposit? Its value is worth more than dozens of scrolls combined."

"The reason the kingdoms didn't send their top-tier mages was to avoid drawing attention. Instead, they dispatched promising newcomers to act as decoys."

"Once everyone was convinced the scroll had been taken and the world held no more value, the real experts would make their move—cleaning the place out and seizing the true prize."

Alan was stunned.

The third princess patted his shoulder and continued, "My father—the current king—knew all of this. Yet he chose not to fight over that mana mine. Instead, he voluntarily gave it up. On the surface, it might look like a sign of weakness, but in reality, it was a strategy to preserve the Plantagenet Kingdom's core strength."

"There are dozens of complex layers to this political game. Even I can only understand part of it. You? You'd be completely in the dark."

Alan gave a bitter chuckle. He finally understood why Rosalia wouldn't let him come to the marketplace.

If the power struggle over a miniature world was already this convoluted, then diving into the heart of such a conflict might very well mean dying without even knowing how.

"Haah…" Rosalia let out a soft sigh—half complaint, half apology.

"You see only the surface-level clashes between kingdoms. What you can't see is the raging current beneath the iron walls forged from blood and steel."

"And I never told you this before, but when the exact location of the miniature world was first identified, several tier-platinum mages were silently assassinated."

"While you were unconscious for those three days, even more tier-platinum mages perished inside the world. I even heard that to ensure absolute success, some kingdoms sent out mages far stronger than platinum—tier-diamond mages."

"Tier-diamond?!" Alan sucked in a sharp breath.

That level of power was still far beyond his current reach.

If it hadn't been Duke Mogan he fought back then, but someone even stronger, he'd likely have died on the spot—without even leaving a corpse.

Noticing his unease, Rosalia smiled softly and reassured him, "But you don't need to worry that much."

"You're not completely alone. You still have Sirius Academy backing you, don't you?"

"Sirius Academy? What are you talking about?" Alan looked confused. "Isn't that just a no-name academy barely hanging on? Nobody pays attention to it anymore."

Rosalia wagged her finger at him.

"No, no. While it's true that Sirius has fallen on hard times, you know what they say—an old dog still has a few sharp teeth."

"Old Gayle may be aging, but if anyone dares mess with one of his students, he won't sit idly by."

"As long as he's around, Sirius Academy is still a banner worth respecting in the kingdom."

She paused for a moment, then added, "Besides… you and those few other students joining Sirius wasn't a coincidence."

"I don't know what Gayle is planning, but he definitely has a reason."

"Before you enrolled, Sirius and Lioncrest clashed in a brutal conflict."

"You should already know what happened—countless Sirius students perished."

"Including Gayle's own daughter."

Alan looked curiously at her. "Why are you telling me all this? Isn't this kind of history considered highly confidential within the kingdom?"

"Because it's a warning," Rosalia said with a side glance.

"Don't think I don't know what you're planning. You're still thinking about getting involved with the marketplace, aren't you?"

Alan gave an awkward laugh. He couldn't deny it.

That lingering [Battle Spirit] within him hadn't been extinguished—not yet.