Help, I'm in Another World and All the Men Are Are So Dangerous! [BL]-Chapter 232: A King in the Making

Maybe it was just that the rest of them were so hopeless in comparison, but at least this prince was taking action.

Even when speaking to Laxus, he was making an effort to communicate as an equal.

He possessed a genuine sense of justice, which—when considering the royal family’s track record—made him perhaps the most reasonable one among them.

"You know what? I kinda respect you," Rocco admitted. "I’ll cheer you on, Prince."

When Rocco spoke in a calm, sympathetic tone, the Crown Prince burst into tears.

At first glance, he had seemed like a confident and imposing figure, but now he had completely transformed into a tearful, emotional wreck.

Still, in a way, this overly dramatic display was oddly fitting for the royal family of this kingdom—it almost felt reassuring.

"Hmm... but, you know, maybe your approach wasn’t the best," Rocco mused. "Ignoring people’s feelings and forcing things never really ends well."

"...You’re right," the prince admitted, his voice heavy with regret. "To be honest, I already knew that. From what I heard, Laxus is deeply devoted to his fiancée. There’s no way I could go through with something as cruel as tearing apart two people who truly love each other."

Seeing the prince slump his shoulders in dejection, Rocco couldn’t help but chuckle.

For better or worse, the Crown Prince seemed to be a kind and pure-hearted person.

His words might have sounded arrogant at first, making a bad first impression, but after talking to him for a while, it became clear that he was simply bad at expressing himself—at his core, he was a good person.

As the sandcastle neared completion, the prince’s eyes sparkled faintly with excitement.

Rocco reached out and gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

"You’re a good person, Prince. If you find the right way to do things, I think you’ll make a great king one day. Right, Laxus? The prince is a good guy, don’t you think?"

"Hmm? Yeah, I guess so," Laxus replied nonchalantly. "He’s easy to handle, so I like him. At the very least, he’s a hundred times better than the king’s younger brother."

"Laxuss!" The Crown Prince sniffled happily, moved to tears again.

But, well... Rocco was pretty sure Laxus didn’t mean "like" in the way the prince thought he did.

After all, he had literally just called him easy to handle.

However, seeing how pleased the prince was, there was no need to correct the misunderstanding.

"Oh! I got it!" Laxus suddenly declared. "You should just become king. Win some great merit by taking down the king’s younger brother."

Rocco blinked at the casual way he had just addressed royalty.

However, rather than pointing it out, he urged Laxus to continue while shaping the triangular roof of their sandcastle.

"The current king is spineless, and a rebellion is already brewing. To be frank, this kingdom is doomed," Laxus stated bluntly.

"Do you really have to put it that way...?" the prince whimpered.

Completely ignoring the prince’s distress, Laxus swiftly molded a mud ball into a perfectly shaped rooftop, his voice light and confident.

"We should take advantage of this situation," he continued. "Eliminate the dangerous rebel factions, then take over after the weak king steps down. The people would rejoice, and your approval rating would skyrocket."

"There’s absolutely no way," the Crown Prince declared with certainty.

"Absolutely no way...?" Rocco echoed, his brows furrowing in concern.

The sheer confidence in the prince’s lack of confidence was almost impressive.

"Oh, I see," Laxus said nonchalantly. "Well, do whatever you want, then. You’re choosing that path, huh? You’d rather be assassinated by the king’s younger brother and have the throne stolen from you? Huh. Interesting."

"I was wrong! I’ll do it! I’ll become king, so please, I’m begging you—lend me your strength!"

Without hesitation, the Crown Prince threw himself into a deep bow, prostrating himself on the ground in a manner far too practiced for someone of royal blood.

Beside him, Laxus calmly placed the final triangular rooftop onto their sandcastle.

With that, it was finally complete.

Hooray!

But... what were they even talking about again?

"Prince, you’re really gonna be king?" Rocco asked, his eyes lighting up. "That’s great! I can’t be your bride, but... I’ll cheer you on!"

He had been admiring their finished sandcastle when he noticed that the conversation between Laxus and the prince had escalated into something rather grand.

It was a bit hard to keep up, but at the very least, he understood that the prince had decided to aim for the throne.

That seemed like a good thing, so Rocco flashed a bright smile.

As he crafted a mudball snowman, he voiced his support, causing the prince to smile through his lingering tears.

"Ah, thank you, my dear bride...! With your support, it’s as good as having Laxus’s support as well. I suppose I still have a shred of hope left!"

The prince sighed in deep relief, as if a great burden had been lifted.

Meanwhile, Laxus huffed and looked away, sulking.

"Hmph... So, Rocco, you like His Highness, huh?" Laxus mused, his tone laced with mischief. "Now that I think about it, you once said you liked beautiful older sister. So you’re into the prince’s looks, huh? Hmmm..."

"I am not an older sister. I am an older brother," the prince interjected, completely missing the mood.

Ignoring him entirely, Rocco panicked and ran over to Laxus, practically throwing himself onto him in a desperate embrace despite being covered in mud.

"N-No, that’s not it! The prince is just a good person, so I really do want to support him!" he insisted. "But I love your face, Laxus! You’re so cool that just looking at you makes my heart race!"

Laxus froze. "Guh...! R-Really? You really mean that? You actually... get flustered when you looking at me?"

"I do!" Rocco nodded his head earnestly.

At that, Laxus’s lips curled into a smug grin, his gaze dropping as his cheeks tinged pink.