The call connected immediately. Holographic images of the royal family members, save for Alicia, materialized in the empty space.
It had been quite a while since he'd faced his siblings. Not as long as since the last king's time, but long enough.
Nora, who seethed with hidden frustration over not getting her revenge before the old king's death. Tony, wearing his usual inscrutable smile. Morris, whose composure was surprisingly intact despite Kenbi's destruction of his research—though compared to the last time they'd met, the dangerous edge in his demeanor had noticeably dulled. Zachary, for whom Angus still couldn't read what was going on behind those eyes.
"It's been a while, all of you. The time has finally come. I imagine you all understand, but—three days from now, the seal on the Royal Tower will be lifted, and the next Code King will be decided. This is what we've been preparing for."
"Truly, how sentimental, my brother. I never imagined you'd break our unspoken agreement right down to the wire... but I suppose that's what you get from a man who wagered everything on becoming the next Code King."
Hit where it hurt, Angus's expression twisted for an instant.
In the end, his revenge had never materialized. He'd gained an advantage, sure, but that didn't make everything fine.
This was nothing like sending Kenbi after Morris and having her destroy his research at the moment of completion. The former was Morris's incompetence to blame, but the latter—the blame fell squarely on Angus for breaking their unspoken agreement.
"That was something the Royal Guard acted on independently—but I won't make excuses. As an apology, if you surrender the throne and cooperate with me, I'll permit you to live under my reign as well, Nora."
"...What?"
Nora's temperament was far too dangerous to leave unchecked, but when you were in the wrong, there was nothing to be done about it.
There was a benefit, at least. If he could avoid a fight with Nora's forces, he wouldn't have to deplete his future military strength.
"This is my final ultimatum. The rest of you as well—surrender. My forces are overwhelming. If you surrender now, I promise that those who aligned with you will not be mistreated. When you consider the chaos that erupted during the last battle for the throne, that should be a more than generous offer. We shouldn't be wasting our military strength fighting among ourselves."
He knew perfectly well that none of them were the type to give up just because of an ultimatum. The only one who might possibly side with Angus was Tony.
Morris might have surrendered at one point, but judging by his current expression, that was out of the question.
For a moment, silence filled the void. The first to speak was Zachary.
"The hell I'm gonna go along with that! You think you've already won? Huh? If you win, what happens to Alicia?!"
Fool... a mad dog who can't even see the difference in our power—huh? Ali... cia...?
Angus's eyes widened in shock at a name he never could have anticipated. Zachary pressed on.
"I'm siding with Alicia, Angus. I'm not letting you kill my sister!"
What was this man talking about?
Alicia Code was just a spare. Even with the lock removed, that principle didn't change. As a royal, she technically had the right to become king through the system, but—why would a man who resented every royal and noble in existence suddenly take the side of a spare?
Even if Zachary, who'd spent his time fraternizing with commoners, joined her cause, Alicia stood no chance—yet while Angus was still processing, Morris, who had been equally wide-eyed at Zachary's declaration, spoke up.
"...I'm siding with Alicia too. Not because I'm joining Zachary, but I can't stomach watching Alicia die like this. This is my own decision."
There had been a report that Kenbi had declared her intent to support Alicia. Had that actually been true?
How ridiculous. Alicia was a princess without resources. Zachary was underprepared. Morris had his research destroyed and posed no meaningful military threat.
The three of them combined were hardly a force to reckon with.
Tony, who had been listening to these declarations with round eyes, burst into laughter as though he'd seen something truly bizarre.
"Ha... ha... So two more people are rallying to Alicia's side, even though nobody could even remember her name just the other day. Ain't that a strange turn of events, brother?"
When had this come together? His surveillance had shown nothing of the sort.
Lost for words before this wholly unexpected development, Angus was cut off by Tony.
"I'm not siding with Alicia either. The one I'm siding with— is Klye Andrich."
"W-what are you talking about!? Tony!"
Tony had a vast coalition of nobles backing him. There was no way he'd jeopardize them with a reckless move like this.
That was what Angus had firmly believed, which made Tony's words strike like a bolt from the blue. Tony licked his lips and continued.
"That man is interesting. He turned a fight that was essentially settled upside down. Sorry, brother."
"Tch... You fool. You'll regret this later."
Side with that four-point loser?! That was tantamount to siding with the master Alicia served!
It didn't seem like a choice his meticulous brother would make.
He never would have guessed that the weakest man to have slipped in from outside would rear his head here—but it wasn't over yet. Nora was still left.
Nora's faction and Angus's faction possessed military power far beyond the others. The amount of time they'd invested in war preparation was on an entirely different level.
Even if it came down to a three-way battle between Angus, Nora, and the rest, there was no conceivable way Tony's side could win.
Still, that man—if Angus had assumed he was merely incompetent, he'd been sorely mistaken. The man was nothing short of a lethal poison to the Code. The moment Angus became king, the executioner's block would be first on his list.
As he was hardening this resolve, Nora, who had been silent for some time, let out a deep sigh.
"Ah, damn it... Fine. I understand. I'll side with Alicia too. A promise is a promise."
"!?! What!? What are you talking about?!"
Angus shot to his feet. A promise? What was she talking about?
Nora's territory was largely shielded from surveillance, so a secret agreement wasn't impossible—but Nora, who had been so obsessed with winning, siding with someone else? Unbelievable.
"I see, I see. Nora, you mean you'll help Alicia after I become king, correct?"
"Hmph... No, brother. I'm saying I'll hand the throne over to Alicia. A kingdom in her hands would be far better than letting it fall to a coward like you."
"Y-you're insane... Do you even understand what you're saying?!"
Those words were beyond belief.
Angus and the others weren't merely pursuing the throne for themselves. Each had a faction, and they bore the expectations that came with it.
Nora, who should have understood that better than anyone, was willing to give up?!
"Ha ha ha, now that's unexpected. Even Nora folding? Even I didn't see that one coming. This is rich."
"If those words are true, then Tony declared his support for Alicia without any consideration of Nora's backing whatsoever."
No, it was more than that. Every other member had visibly faltered the instant they heard someone else was siding with Alicia.
Which meant this—hadn't been coordinated in advance.
But it was equally clear that this was no mere coincidence. Angus felt a chill run down his spine.
In this city, under the dominion of the City System, without anyone knowing?
Who had drawn this picture?
"Hey, brother. So what's it gonna be? Everyone except you seems to be rallying behind Alicia—"
"...Tch."
Alicia Code had no resources. This was effectively a one-versus-four contest. It was getting tight, but it wasn't as though there was zero chance of winning.
The real problem was the fact that he'd been left entirely alone.
Partnerships were to be expected, but everyone else uniting as one against him was unprecedented. And each of their territories had their own citizens—their own supporters.
Could a man who had fought and won against every other royal united against him truly befit the throne?
This was nothing like the last battle for the throne, when no one knew anything. Simply winning wasn't enough.
He had to win—and then demonstrate that he was worthy of being king. Of course, once he claimed the Royal Scepter, he'd have access to the full authority of the crown. But could he fulfill the duties of king in that state?
He swallowed hard. Cold sweat traced down his cheek.
There was no need to test it. By every measure, it was impossible. It was the furthest thing from the vision of a king that Angus aspired to be.
Reading Angus better than anyone, Nora smiled and posed her question.
"Planning to spend three days agonizing, brother?"
None of their gazes held the slightest hint of treachery. Angus had never met Alicia face to face.
But there was no way Nora or Tony would hand the throne to just anyone.
Was that princess really talented enough to stake the Code's entire future on?
"...Could a spare who's been locked away this whole time really lead this nation?"
"That would fall to us to support her. Besides, from what I've seen, Alicia's potential is quite considerable. Given her personality, I doubt she'd refuse."
"Alicia was aware that I'd been watching her too. Her mastery of the City System is remarkable. You'd need an extremely deep familiarity to detect surveillance conducted through the City System. Am I right?"
Tony's words were difficult to believe.
Detecting surveillance required delving into the deeper layers of the City System and discerning the resource consumption used in the monitoring system's operation. Even Angus couldn't do that on a whim. If that was true, then Alicia genuinely possessed power befitting a royal.
There was no room left for choice.
Rather than exhausting everything he had to defeat every last one of them and claim the throne, elevating Alicia together would forge a far stronger Code. His military strength wouldn't even need to diminish.
He'd thought he could win easily. To think that at the very end, he'd receive such a reversal.
"Fine... I have no choice. It seems there's no other way."
The moment he made that humiliating decision, a voice called from behind.
"Wait, Lord Angus. You intend to abdicate your claim to the throne?"
"Jean, is it..."
The speaker was Jean Gordon—Angus's right-hand man, the Royal Guard who had overseen military organization and excelled in a multitude of other fields. Interfering in a discussion among royals was an unforgivable breach of protocol, but it was an undeniable fact that the military power Angus currently wielded had grown so large in large part thanks to this man.
Having expanded their influence this far, only to surrender when victory was still within reach—from Jean's perspective, he had every right to feel that the terms had changed.
"As much as I regret it... I have no alternative. If the king can be decided without battle, so much the better. It may go against the former king's wishes, but—"
However, the former king was dead. The various rules established through the royal authority had begun to fray the moment the authority holder perished. The sooner things were restructured, the better.
As Angus weighed how to explain his reasoning, Jean fixed him with those violet eyes and spoke.
"Let me ask one more time. Lord Angus, you are giving up your claim to the throne?"
The force behind his tone was almost as though he were pressing for confirmation. Was this harassment? Making him repeat it to twist the knife?
"I'm giving up! Even if I became king right now, it would serve no benefit to this city!"
"Ah... You're all—no, everyone in this city is far too naive."
"...What?"
Jean's aura shifted. The man who had served so capably as Angus's right arm suddenly radiated an air of arrogance, looking down at Angus with undisguised contempt.
"Angus, you have renounced your right of succession. That inheritance transfers to me, your direct Royal Guard commander."
"!?"
"With rights come responsibilities. Having rejected the throne, you no longer possess any rights as a royal. Those are the rules of this city."
Rules even Angus had never heard of. He frantically called up the City System and checked his information.
"Th-that's impossible... Me, Class 1!? No—renouncing, there's no such rule—"
"And if no one else is needed—then I suppose I'll take the throne for myself. My, my. I was planning to scrape by at the very last moment, but I never expected things to turn out like this."
Jean sighed. Nora, struck speechless by the sudden turn of events, rose to her feet and fixed Jean with a murderous glare.
"Foolish... Only royals can become king. An outsider like you could never—"
"Quite right. Only those of the direct bloodline who activated the Code may become king—the inheritance of resources does not extend to the right of succession—but—"
Jean Gordon smiled and lowered the hood he'd been wearing.
Hair the same deep crimson as Angus's, and violet eyes. Features he'd never thought twice about until now.
Jean wore a warped grin and spoke with undisputable delight.
"I am, without question, a child of Cross Code. Angus—no, my dear brother. Did you not know? Before Cross became king, there was a woman he spent time with—a woman whose story he once shared."
The moment those words registered, the system updated. Jean Gordon's information rewrote itself. From Class 6 noble—Jean Gordon, assigned by Angus—to Class 8 royal: Jean Code.
This was the system's recognition that the man before him was indeed of Cross Code's direct bloodline.
The woman Cross had known before becoming king. Yes—Angus had heard the story just once, long ago. The king's lover—who had fled the Code right before the succession battle and served as a guide for the Explorer's Guild's assault.
Leading the charge of an assault was the gravest of crimes. And when the perpetrator was the king's former lover, it was a subject too damning to even speak of.
But to think—there had even been a son.
Jean tilted his head skyward and spoke with deep emotion.
"Finally, after all this time, the moment has come. I will seize the Code from the ones who killed my mother, and with its power, I will utterly destroy the Explorer's Guild—those incompetent fools who orchestrated her death."
Revenge. That was the goal. The traitors and the hunters who had carried out the assault had all been purged, or so he'd heard.
Angus glared at Jean, who now held a far higher class than himself.
"You think such... an absurd thing... is even possible?"
"Of course, brother. I have spent far longer than you researching advanced physical civilizations, all for this very moment. The only unexpected variable—that would be the Treasure Hunter the Explorer's Guild sent. The divine strategist of the Thousand Transformations. A prodigy from Zebeldia who crushes every difficult commission and obliterates every obstacle through sheer intellectual brilliance. To think a Hunter of that caliber would appear while the Code was under my control—and for the Explorer's Guild to send such an intelligence-specialized Hunter to this Code at that. They're a troublesome bunch. I don't know how they falsified the System's evaluation, but it's thrown my plans into utter chaos. Still, even Thousand Transformations couldn't have anticipated my existence—"
The divine strategist of the Thousand Transformations... Could it be a third Hunter?
Jean's plan had been to turn the high-level Hunters it attracted into pawns. There should have been three Hunters who fit the bill. He'd seen only two matching the description and assumed only two had come— Jean fixed them with a contemptuous gaze.
"Well, no matter. You lot—deliver a message to the Thousand Transformations. To Klye Andrich. Tell him: if he thinks he can stop me—me, who holds every secret of this Code—then let him try. I am nothing like you soft people who've been soaking in this city system's warm bath. What matters is victory. I will crush everyone and take the throne."
The world lurched, then steadied. There were no earthquakes in this flying city.
The Code was moving.
"I've just set the Code in motion. The instant I become king, I will launch an assault on the Explorer's Guild's headquarters and use that as the signal for a full advance. Stop me if you can."
"You understand nothing! You think you can govern the Code through such barbarism?!"
Angus's furious glare was met by Jean's insolently courteous response.
"It is you who understands nothing, Lord Angus. I have no intention of governing. Neither I nor the mercenaries do. This Code is simply a weapon. And for all your airs of superiority—you're all descendants of criminals, aren't you?"
"!!"
Angus froze at those words. Jean looked on with satisfaction.
"I'm quite busy, so I'll take my leave now. Don't worry—I won't kill you just yet. I'm curious to see your expression when you witness my Code in action. You there—escort the former prince outside my territory."
The mechanized soldier on guard duty seized Angus's arm and forced him to his feet.
At Class 1, resistance was futile. Angus had trained his body to some degree, but he understood the pointlessness of struggle. He knew the City System better than anyone, and he knew there was no way out.
Angus was dragged from the territory by the very soldiers who had once protected him.