Chapter 65
Chapter 65
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: Aquarium Holding a Whale (7)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The Crown Prince stood at the bow of the ship. His mana fluctuated wildly, giving me a splitting headache. It was an aura that would frighten even ordinary sailors who couldn't sense mana.
"That bastard... no, what the hell is His Highness doing in the middle of the night, looking all melancholic?"
[Ooh, that's some rare mana these days. It's as warm as sunlight. I've met a lot of beings, but this is the first time I've seen mana that's both so warm and so intense. Not bad for a human.]
While I snarked on one hand, Lagia chattered away as if genuinely impressed. I gaped in disbelief at her words.
"Warm?"
[Very, very warm.]
"Warm mana from the Crown Prince? It feels like the most mismatched combo in the world. Like a cucumber sandwich."
[Cucumber sandwich? What's that?]
"It exists. Even Pippin wouldn't touch it...."
I lowered Lagia a bit and relaxed my body. There were no magic beasts around, and the Crown Prince was just doing his nighttime exercises alone. No need for me to step in.
'Sleep won't come anyway. Maybe I should strike up a conversation.'
His intimidating presence made it hard to step forward, but curiosity stirred too. What was bothering our unlucky Crown Prince so much that he was moping this late at night?
"Crown Prince Taimers. Do you train like this every night?"
Taimers, who had been staring into the void, turned his head at my voice. Moments later, a clump of mana bloomed like a yellow flower from his fingertips and shot into the sky. The mana burst, spreading in all directions, leaving a faint afterimage as it faded. The sword at his waist gleamed gold in response to his mana.
Bathed in all that golden light, Crown Prince Taimers looked like a piece of gold that had mistakenly fallen into the deep blue sea.
Instead of answering my question, he asked one of his own.
"Can you smell the fragrance?"
"Pardon? Fragrance?"
"Yes, fragrance."
I tilted my head at the somewhat out-of-left-field question, and Taimers smirked before speaking again.
"I've been spreading my mana around to keep magic beasts away from this area. Everyone's mana has a herbal scent unique to them."
His explanation would be hard for a stranger to grasp, so rather than probing further, I opted for an awkward smile and agreement.
"That must be something only someone as remarkable as Your Highness can do."
It was a detail mentioned in the game too. The Crown Prince could smell mana like a scent. It was a secret-not-secret he only revealed to the heroine.
'Right, personal info you learn when his affection hearts reach three.'
The reason the Crown Prince could detect the scent of mana was that he was a descendant of the World Tree. That was the lore. The founding emperor was supposedly an avatar of the World Tree.
'The World Tree never actually appeared in the game.'
It was just setting flavor to make the atmosphere nice.
Meanwhile, as I nodded quietly, Taimers seemed to have more to say. He turned fully to face me, a smile playing on his lips.
"Sierra. Aren't you curious what scent your mana gives off?"
"Now that you mention it, I am."
"It smells like a forest."
Was he about to say something unexpectedly nice? I stepped closer to him, intrigued.
"A forest on fire."
"...."
"The scent of a forest consumed by flames. An unpleasant smell of plants and animals burning together."
Yeah, no way the Crown Prince was going to say anything nice to me.
"That's... troublesome for you, then. You'll have to smell that foul odor every time I show off my petty tricks."
"Not just when you show off. I can tell even when you're just nearby."
"Yes...."
"I know folks who give off this kind of stench. Filthy...."
The Crown Prince fired off another burst of mana the same way as before. The yellow flames were quite spectacular.
The smile on his face had hardened at some point.
"You reek of the filthy Rust family."
"....!"
Once the flames fully died in the air, the Crown Prince looked at me. His gaze was vacant, as if staring into nothing. Indifferent, as if I weren't even there. But my sharp instincts picked up the subtle displeasure hidden within.
"If you ever come across any remnants of the Rust family, even by chance, dispose of them immediately. They might be hiding around you."
"I'll keep that in mind."
"Yes, kill them."
"....Yes."
I swallowed a sigh inwardly. Fortunately, the Crown Prince didn't seem to know I was connected to Tenere Rust. He'd sniffed out the necromancer vibe like a bloodhound, but even after today's events, he hadn't pegged me as a necromancer. It wouldn't be easy to imagine—a duke of the realm being a necromancer.
[This guy's scary. Gushing killing intent in a space with no enemies? Total greenhorn. Young humans!]
Lagia snickered, vibrating. The Crown Prince's gaze shifted to her this time. I hid Lagia behind my back.
"My apologies. My scythe is still unfamiliar with human society and lacks manners."
[Oh, I shouldn't say stuff like that? Should I just stay quiet? That's harder, though. Hahaha! How about a game of silence from now on? First one to make a sound loses.]
"Just... stay quiet for a bit."
[Sierra loses! Hahaha! But we didn't set a penalty!]
The Crown Prince stared at me blankly, then blinked. An awkward silence settled in, after which he glanced down at a slant. His face looked complicated.
"Enbi, the orca mermaid. I don't know how you won her over, but she's guarding the ship. Saved me some trouble."
"She's got a strong competitive streak and a simple personality, so she was easy to make use of."
[Wait, Enbi got played?]
I shook Lagia like a cocktail since she wouldn't shut up despite having no mouth. While I wrestled with her, the Crown Prince gazed at Enbi swimming far off and spoke first.
"The knight Pippin Sloss too. Amazing."
"What about them, Your Highness?"
"How simple but loyal idiots keep gathering around you."
"...."
Was I supposed to take that as a compliment?
"Is that a compliment?"
Oops. I just straight-up called out my roundabout response.
I glanced at him, wondering if he'd snap, but he remained expressionless. Well, not entirely expressionless.
'I thought his game illustrations were all copy-pasted faces, but in person, there's emotion in his expressions.'
The Crown Prince's eyes held curiosity. But not just that—some indescribable subtle feeling mixed in. What was it?
"If it's a compliment, then it's a compliment. Humans can't live alone, after all."
"Ah...."
Right. I'd seen this twisted conversation style before.
He wasn't just like that with Dahlia—he pulled the same convoluted talk with the heroine Anemone too. That's why he was one of the hardest characters to romance into a happy ending.
I still wasn't fully used to his way of speaking.
I decided to just say something perfunctory. But...
"There are people around Your Highness too..."
Huh. Nope, no one.
"Around Your Highness..."
"...."
I was supposed to say he had lots of good people around him, but the words wouldn't come.
'At this rate, the burning forest description fits Crown Prince Taimers better than me.'
Nothing around the Crown Prince.
Good people? Well, no.
Politically, just rivals. Per canon, romantically, just love rivals. Even as Crown Prince, no time to enjoy wealth or power. And the risk of ruling an empire crawling with magic beasts.
Heck, I'm his enemy too.
He might not know it, but I'm the one hoping most for his misfortune.
No close family, no friends, no comrades, no mentor, no lover....
'A woman for fatal love will appear eventually, but I'll block that.'
The guy already seemed pretty miserable....
"No need to force compliments when there's nothing to praise."
"No, it's just that...."
He looked a bit pitiful now. What should I do? Was I going crazy?
Taimers was completely insane. It wasn't just petty dislike on my part.
In canon, he treated Sierra like a dog, humiliated his fiancée Dahlia, and even tormented the heroine. His dogshit personality made him the hardest capture target.
'And what I've witnessed myself...!'
Wasn't he the lunatic who slapped Bishop Orchid across the face the moment he saw him?
But....
My grip tightened on Lagia. A creeping displeasure wrinkled my face.
Yeah, I knew it. Even a Crown Prince full of flaws had his good sides. Good sides beyond his face, that is.
He was the male lead, after all, so he had some human warmth. The cliché type who picked up lost animals on rainy days, hiding a warm heart.
His initial coldness to the heroine was worry she'd get hurt due to her low status. Dahlia was the villainess anyway, and Sierra was a fool ripe for political manipulation. As for slapping Orchid.... Well, no excuse for that.
"Hmm...."
As a senior in life—though I'd gotten younger now—I felt just a tiny bit sorry for him.
Feeling awkward, I stepped a little closer to the Crown Prince. He'd nagged me about smelling like a burning forest, but he didn't mind me approaching.
Maybe I'd just stay by his side for a bit. As thanks for him firing mana shots into the night sky for everyone's sake.
The Crown Prince and I stood awkwardly at the bow, watching Enbi's show. The orca was leaping here and there, full of energy in the middle of the night. She had something in her mouth too. Seemed she was handling magic beasts in her own way.
"You're taking that one, right?"
The Crown Prince broke the silence.
"Yes. She'll help catch Halo. Leave Halo to me. Your Highness won't need to trouble yourself."
"Why the interest in dealing with Halo? And why bother taking in that orca? No idea."
"Um...."
Truth is, it started because I wanted to screw over Enbi, and things snowballed....
"To protect people, obviously."
"Quite the righteous thinking."
I scowled and shot back curtly.
"You're praising yourself there. Isn't Your Highness hunting Halo to protect people too?"
The Crown Prince, who had been watching only Enbi, turned to me with a puzzled look. I wanted to glare, but held back with effort.
"The lack of people around you is because you're worried about harming others. Even if it means enduring loneliness in your position, there's the compulsion to be strong as the Crown Prince of a world swarming with magic beasts."
His intense gaze pierced toward me like it would bore right through.