“The Rank Four to Rank Five advancement ritual is: live for at least ten years without violating any laws. Naturally, the longer the duration, the better the effect.”
“Huh?” After hearing this 【advancement ritual】, Freya couldn't help but be stunned. This... was a bit different from what she had imagined.
The only two advancement rituals she knew of before this were the Rank Four to Rank Five ritual for the Earth Pathway's Path of Life, and the Rank Five to Rank Six ritual for the War Pathway's General. The former required hosting a gathering and drinking the potion amidst everyone's gratitude, while the latter required personally creating a purgatory and drinking the potion within it.
Simply put, both of those required doing something and then drinking the potion the moment it was completed. Why did the Law Pathway's ritual turn into just waiting out a clock?
But she had to admit, in a sense, this fit her impression of this pathway quite well. Not breaking any laws for ten years before being allowed to advance further—this was just too official.
Freya began to ponder. Had she broken any laws in the past ten years? It seemed... she hadn't?
At least the original owner of the body was definitely a law-abiding citizen. The issue lay in the period after Freya had transmigrated. Recalling her actions, she had actually done quite a few bad things.
For example, borrowing money from Brother Scar and not paying it back. But that happened in the simulation, so it shouldn't affect reality, right? Just like how the Special Service contract she signed in the simulation couldn't affect reality either.
Or like killing that Devil Pathway extraordinary who intended to “consume” her, which was the first death crisis Freya faced upon transmigrating. To be honest, this was hard to evaluate. Self-defense? In reality, War Freya had actively lured the opponent to a secluded corner and initiated the attack.
No matter how she looked at it, it seemed more like premeditated murder than self-defense.
But the one who did it was War Freya. The law-breaking War Freya... should have nothing to do with Freya herself, right?
The killer is the red-haired one. What does that have to do with me, a brown-haired girl, or Law Freya, who currently has white hair? If you want to arrest someone, go arrest the red-head!
Of course, that was just a joke. She didn't know how the advancement ritual judged these things. After thinking about it, Freya realized the only way now seemed to be... directly drinking a Rank Five potion to test it out.
In the simulation, of course. If Law Freya drank it and didn't die, it meant she was fine. But if she died instantly, it meant that if Law Freya wanted to advance to Rank Five, she would have to wait ten years. That was far too long. Freya would probably just give up on the Arbiter path altogether.
At this moment, the King continued, “As for the Rank Five to Rank Six advancement ritual, it is to draft a brand-new law yourself. Once this law formally goes into effect, you may drink the potion.”
“Huh?” Hearing this ritual, Freya was stunned once more. No, were the Arbiters of the Law Pathway all this abstract? Drafting a law herself meant only high-ranking national figures could possibly complete this ritual, like the King, the Prime Minister, or high-ranking, powerful nobles.
But it didn't seem... entirely impossible to complete. If one advanced normally, they would surely become a high-ranking national figure after reaching Rank Five anyway. With some effort, drafting a law wouldn't be out of the question.
However, for a completely wild Arbiter like Freya, this was simply impossible.
Freya suddenly thought of something and asked, “If the ritual was completed in the past, and some time has passed, can one still drink the potion?”
The King said, “I'm not sure about other pathways, but for the Law Pathway, it is possible. For example, if you drafted a law a year ago and drink the potion a year later, as long as that law is still in effect, it will work.”
Freya nodded, still digesting this information. The King then asked, “Is that really all? Do you not need me to do anything else for you? For instance, giving you a few bottles of potions, some money, or arranging some guards for you?”
Freya said, “No need, this is enough.”
The King sighed. “Alright, child. If you want anything else, you can come to me at any time. I will do my best to make up for my past mistakes.”
Freya said, “Then... can I look around the palace? I'm quite curious about this place.”
The King said, “Of course, child. Of course.”
As the King spoke, he personally stood up to escort Freya out of the study, and said to Augustus at the door, “Take this child around to tour the palace.”
Augustus bowed slightly and said, “Yes, Your Majesty.”
The King nodded, then turned and returned to the study to continue his work. As for Freya, her goal was naturally not to actually tour the palace, but rather to meet with Trig. She just didn't know where Trig was at the moment.
Then, just as Freya was thinking this, the sound of footsteps echoed. She turned to look and saw the stout Prime Minister, Trig, walking toward the study. He seemed to have something to report to His Majesty. What a coincidence.
Trig stopped in front of the study door and looked at the three people before him. Naturally, he recognized Augustus—a veteran of the Holmes family and a high-rank extraordinary of the Scholar-Artisan Pathway. As for Euphy, a child of the Holmes family, he had also met her a few times.
But when his gaze finally landed on Freya, Trig's pupils constricted for a fraction of a second. A girl he did not recognize at all, a complete stranger, yet someone who bore a slight resemblance to the King's mother, was currently standing at the study door, looking as though she had just finished speaking with the King. This truly made it hard not to suspect something.
One could only say it was fortunate that Trig was a clever man. If it had been someone like Kuro, this matter would have probably slipped right past. But Trig immediately committed this detail to memory. Even if Freya did not seek him out, he would certainly take the initiative to have someone test her.
Freya then said to Trig, “And this is?”
Augustus introduced, “This is Trig, the current Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Tarapaca.”
Freya showed an expression of sudden realization and greeted him, “Oh, hello~”
Next, she had to find a way to get in contact with Trig alone to discuss some rather “private” and “potentially fatal” topics—which, of course, meant the coup d'état.
Just then, Euphy suddenly said to her grandfather, “Oh, right, Grandfather, come over here for a second. I have something to tell you!”
As she spoke, Euphy pulled Augustus to the side.
...
Rate on N.U.
