The Retired Hero is an Extra

Unaware of the anomaly in his friend, Jash grew impatient while sitting in the carriage with Caera.

"Why is it taking so long?" he grumbled in annoyance.

"Calm down, will you?" Caera replied with a frown.

She didn't like his hastiness one bit, wondering what had happened to this joykill brother of hers.

Meanwhile, Jash had actually planned his actions after arriving right on time.

'Ugh. If the banquet is in full swing, I can blend in with the crowd and pass the time all the while confirming the truth.'

Unlike Amael or the other guests, who were either forced to or had purposefully arrived early, Jash had no intention of doing so.

In fact, his parents weren't even in the same carriage. They would arrive even later than him.

—Scrik!

Jash pushed aside the curtains blocking the outside view, resigned to find out the cause for the delay.

"No wonder!" he cursed under his breath, but Caera seemed to have heard it and hummed curiously, "Hm?"

Knowing her personality, he just rolled his eyes in exasperation. 'Just my luck,' he thought.

"The guests are conversing at the entrance gate while some are literally blocking the path," he explained in a dissatisfied tone.

"Well, it makes sense," Caera said, and Jash nodded, though his frustration remained.

He was forced to attend despite his uneasy feeling, wanting to run away from discovering the world's truth, delaying it as long as possible.

"I get it, I get it, alright? Everyone is curious about this big of a celebration!" Jash agreed in an overly dramatic manner.

There were many rumors in the market about why such a significant event was being held, inviting the future prospects of their world.

Some said the Emperor wanted to flaunt his children, while others thought it was to announce the successor.

As the First Prince had long graduated from the academy and the First Princess too would be graduating this year, the rumor had some weight.

But people who knew the Emperor personally knew that couldn't be the case.

In their eyes, he might like his children, but there was no way he was a fool who'd take a risk this big without giving his younger children a chance.

In simpler terms, he wanted to allow Prince Avon and Princess Ava to compete in the succession battle as well.

'It doesn't matter who participates, the winner is already set in stone,' Jash thought, remembering the events of the Imperial Family.

If his prediction proved to be true, then the next successor wouldn't be a prince, but a princess.

'How would the world react if the second female ruler is born soon?' he mused with a contemplative expression.

"Jash!"

A hissed whisper and nudge brought him out of his reverie as he noted that their carriage was about to enter.

'Finally, I can get out of this damned box!' He put away his discomfort and put on a fake smile.

Following Caera, he disembarked from the carriage as it was led to the parking area within the Royal Palace.

As soon as he stepped out, the Imperial Guards, in charge of the security, came into his view.

They were maintaining discipline in the area by identifying the guests as well as putting up the selected maids or butlers as their guides.

"Greetings, Young Master and Young Miss of the Ramille duchy," a guard greeted them with a curt bow of his head.

Jash and Caera just nodded before looking at the maid approaching them.

Sensing their gaze, the guard introduced, "She shall be your guide and will lead you to the venue."

"Let's go," Jash said, with a nod to the maid who bowed her head almost to a ninety degree.

'So strange,' he thought, feeling a bit uncomfortable with the overly polite attitude of the maid.

Although he had gotten used to such things over his life, it wasn't supposed to be the same at the Imperial Palace.

However, Jash's attention was quickly stolen by the chatter in his surroundings. 'So noisy,' he thought, his ears aching.

As the loud animated conversations entered his ears, he didn't forget to filter out any useful information within them.

Despite his emotional turmoil, he wasn't one to let go of such a golden opportunity.

'Hm? So some think it is because of the upcoming marriage of the First Prince? Nah, definitely not...'

'Engagement talks of the other three? Nope, they don't have much of a choice there...'

'Maybe of Prince Avon since he ended up falling for a daughter of the Warmis Clan?'

Jash knew from the novel that Avon ended up liking that girl, but as the rule of cliches, she too is a harem member.

'Just who isn't a freaking harem member!?' Jash cursed inwardly, remembering Princess Ava and her plot.

Then it hit him!

'How come I forgot her!' he clicked his tongue subtly, making sure no voice leaked.

When compared to the Warmis Clan, one of the best alchemist clans in the Empire, the difference was stark.

Princess Ava was kind-hearted and truly wished to help others, even commoners—she was truly different from her siblings.

Not that it mattered, though.

She also ended up as one of the many women in the protagonist's harem, but there was still a high chance she could be the successor.

It just depended upon if the protagonist defeated Avon after getting involved with the Warmis Clan daughter, who would then seek revenge.

The usual story ends with the protagonist unaliving Avon, becoming the public enemy number one.

'And at that exact moment, Ava will support him, right!?' Jash cursed inwardly, guessing the entire plot without even knowing if it was real.

Still, he trusted his instincts and believed his thoughts were true, regardless.

'Anyways, there should be engagement talks between Ava and Amael, no?' Jash thought as his eyes narrowed.

'Mom and dad talked about it once,' he recalled with a dazed expression.

Of course, they immediately changed the topic, so he wasn't privy to the details.

But according to rumors, after the natural awakening of the future heir, Duke Blake and Emperor Solarnelle wanted to betrothe their children to each other.

However, not many even knew that Amael had awakened naturally, unlike the rest of the awakened Hunters.

Still, some rumors went around which said the heir of Blake's had received countless marriage proposals post his awakening.

'As if! That greedy Emperor just wanted to tie down the talented genius,' Jash sneered at the foolish attempt.

It was impossible to tie down a Heroine to someone who only had training in his mind.

While Amael was indeed a genius born once a millennium, he focused more on training as a Hunter and the Heir.

So, his time was already cut short for the most part of the day, it would be incredibly hard for him to stretch it any thinner to make time for a girl.

'Even dad wanted to...' Jash thought but gulped as he glanced at Caera before looking away.

'It would indeed be a good thing, but... forget it,' Jash sighed inwardly, as he was one of the few who were aware of Amael's progress.

'Even Caera just reached Mid E-Rank, yet that guy is already about to enter Late E-Rank!'

Just thinking about otherworldly talent irked Jash as he had his reservations about Amael after gaining many more memories.

As if on cue, a voice interrupted their walk around the palace while the maid gave brief introductions about the areas.

"Jash! Caera!"

Turning to the source, both of them recognized the person, speaking in unison, "Amael!"