Two Hasgards
I might sound a bit full of myself saying this out loud, but I am a handsome man.
“Your appearance, you say….”
“Yes, that’s right. With this ring, you can copy my appearance exactly.”
I set the Ring of Disguise down on the table.
The royal family. Disguise.
I placed those two things side by side.
“Like… this…?”
Kairon asked in a voice thick with shock.
Well, I could understand his surprise at me suddenly producing a royal ring. He must have thought that qualification was something he could never reclaim. He was free to praise me all he wanted for that part.
“R-really…?”
I already said yes. Why keep asking? Could it be he didn’t want to transform into my appearance?
When I asked him that—
“No… it’s not that I dislike it… It’s not about that….”
He just mumbled and trailed off.
What was with him? I might sound conceited saying this myself, but Daywin Hasgard was the sort of man who could be called handsome no matter where you looked, no matter where you went. The thought crossed my mind that if he didn’t like my face, he should take off his own first before complaining, but I exercised patience and held my tongue. After all, Kairon wasn’t hiding his face by choice either.
“What’s the matter with it…?”
“Well… you….”
Clank, clank.
Kairon moved his head up and down. I couldn’t read his gaze properly because of the helmet, but it seemed he was telling me to look myself over once. So I lowered my eyes—and found that I was naked.
“…….”
“……(clank).”
A man sitting naked with his legs crossed out of nowhere on the terrace. That man was also me. Passersby stopped dead in their tracks and stared at me one and all.
“…….”
Without a word, I snatched the ring back from the table and slipped it onto my finger again.
Ssshh—
The ring’s effect activated, and I was once more clothed.
“…I apologize. I must have been mistaken….”
“No. Hah, that was excellent….”
Which part…?
“Please wait a moment….”
I secretly opened the shop window under the table so Kairon wouldn’t see and manipulated it.
Done.
Ring of Disguise — Purchased
Remaining Coins: 200
I placed another identical ring on the table. This time it was clearly a brand-new one, not the used one on my hand.
“With this, you can transform into whatever appearance you desire. Since it alters the wavelength of your mana itself, it won’t be detected by most detection magic.”
I spoke as if it were nothing, and Kairon nodded.
“……Yeah.”
As if he already knew from having seen it.
Kairon would take my place. At first it had only been a vague route I’d sketched out, but after meeting him in person, I was certain. This man was more than capable of substituting for me. He could do it. In fact, it had to be him.
Combat power, royal intelligence network, and even the unexpected ploy of a prince cast out of the royal family returning in disguise—those advantages were real enough, but more than anything, his personality was the best part. He was truly a man of few words. To the point that communication was difficult. The helmet might make his head heavy, but what I liked most was how tight-lipped he was. At the very least, he didn’t seem like the type to blurt out something unnecessary and put me in a tight spot.
Speech is silver, silence is golden. The perfect condition for a body double.
My original plan had been to graduate Amelia second, but the past and future surrounding her were no ordinary matter. It was a long-term project. Yet I couldn’t abandon the Rebecca and Veronica events that would begin in the second semester just to graduate Amelia, so I needed someone who could buy me time. Someone solid who could hold out until next year, when Amelia’s story would begin in earnest.
I looked at Kairon’s crude helmet and thought as much. And Kairon, more than anyone, would have wanted to help Amelia. Because of that helmet stuck to him like a brand, he could never set foot in the royal family again—so this opportunity—
Thud!
Out of the blue, Kairon slammed his head onto the table.
“…Sir Daywin.”
“…Yes?”
“In many ways… you are excellent.”
I somehow felt his gaze was directed downward….
“Thank you so much…….”
Clank.
“Yes. I’ll be counting on you.”
Nod.
Our nods continued back and forth like a rally, and then we shook hands. He kept his head pressed to the table while putting strength into the hand that shook mine. In that measured strength, I felt I understood a little how much he cared for Amelia.
Afterward, I met Amelia together with Kairon.
“Ueh, uh…?”
She made a dazed sound right off the bat.
“Two Hasgards… There are two Hasgards….”
She whipped her head back and forth, looking between me and Kairon.
“Wh-where should I start tasting….”
Excuse me?
“It would be better if one of us didn’t do that.”
“Then the other one is fine, is that it! Seeing how you casually reveal your true feelings, you must be the real Hasgard!”
Amelia beamed and stepped closer in one stride.
“Oh, come now. Don’t be shy and say it properly!”
She tapped my arm lightly with her small hand.
“Then what is that one over there? Hasgard, if you just throw your nail clippings anywhere, rats will pick them up like that. Be careful.”
That’s not a rat—that’s your older brother.
Meanwhile, Kairon looked as if he was seeing his little sister act cute for the first time and wore a face of pure shock. It was an expression that seemed to mix shock with about a spoonful of irritation. Watching him gape open-mouthed with my face, I thought I should be more careful about managing my expressions from now on.
“A-Amelia….”
When Kairon stammered her name, Amelia started and looked at him. Even with the Ring of Disguise, had she recognized Kairon? Could blood recognize what even detection magic couldn’t pierce? Some fraternal twins couldn’t even tell each other apart.
“What, what is this? Hasgard, this one is calling me by name? He’s got some presence—not bad at all. Step up your game, Hasgard. I like this rat better than you.”
…Of course not.
As expected, the ring’s effect was remarkable.
Ssshh—
Apparently unable to watch any longer, Kairon deactivated the ring’s effect.
“…Huh.”
This time it was Amelia’s turn to gape widely.
“Uh….”
She short-circuited just like before.
“……!”
Amelia scrambled over to the window. The thoroughly shattered window of my room. The moment I saw that, I grabbed her around the waist.
“Don’t stop me! Let me ju-jump!”
“Your Highness, you mustn’t!”
“I-I’d rather die! What’s the point of living on with this humiliation!”
“Your Highness, this is the third floor! Jumping will only make you look even more undignified!”
“Do you know how I feel! Do you know what it’s like to show your own blood the desperate way you were fawning and flirting!”
She wailed in a moist voice, as if saying that in front of me wasn’t embarrassing at all. Desperate fawning and flirting, huh…. I’d thought she was being especially blatant and bold today, but maybe she’d been putting in her own special effort.
“Hahaha….”
At that moment, Kairon’s laughter cut through the helmet. Whether he was laughing because he’d caught his sister’s weakness or something else, he suddenly laughed. Sensing the atmosphere settle a little, I dusted off the one surviving chair that was half-collapsed and sat Amelia down. Then I slowly explained the plan.
“Hmm… I see. The Ring of Disguise….”
She stared hard at the black ring on my finger.
“You said it can change you into any appearance. So the clothes you’re wearing or even your hair can be changed to whatever you want.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Brother, step aside for a moment. There’s something I urgently want my Hasgard to try.”
Amelia said hastily.
“Heh heh, a chance to fulfill my dream….”
“This is a tool to put Your Highness on the throne. Using it for other purposes….”
“Then once I’m king, I’ll make you do it. Let’s see if you can defy the king.”
Just what kind of appearance did she want to see me in…. A sudden fear gripped me. Was she actually someone who shouldn’t become king?
“Hasgard.”
Around the time I was seriously considering whether I should give up for the sake of the country, Amelia spoke to me. Her tone was quite serious, unlike before.
“The odds of winning will be low. Even if you and my brother help me.”
She shifted her gaze a little to the side and looked at Kairon.
“It’s been two years since I lost my succession rights. While I was getting F grades at the Academy, the other blood relatives were scrambling to show something to the feudal lords.”
“Yes.”
“Of course, it’s true that I’ve devoted myself to my studies this whole time. I only failed the exams; I’ve learned many things over these two years and put them in my head. I haven’t been standing still for two years. But.”
She used both hands to express “distance.” Above, below. The difference between heaven and earth.
“To the seven feudal lords who hold voting rights, the knowledge I learned at the Academy will be nothing more than child’s play. Forget winning them over—I haven’t even managed to make my name known.”
“…Yes. I’m aware.”
When I spoke, Kairon also agreed with a movement of his head.
“I’m a candidate without persuasiveness. Do you still think it’s all right?”
“……It’s fine.”
The little-sister-obsessed fool answered right away, but I shook my head.
“You’re absolutely right. It’s still not enough.”
Kairon flinched and looked at me in surprise. But I had no intention of taking it back.
“But I’m not asking Your Highness for some tremendous ability either.”
“Then what?”
After hearing about the succession rights from Amelia, I’d looked into the feudal lords a little. Seven nobles with immense power in this country. They were said to be the power brokers between the king and the grand dukes. As someone from a mere count’s family, they were giants I could describe with words like “mere” and “just a.”
Of course, when I realized that one of the seven was the bishop who’d hung me from the ceiling just because I’d played around a little with a succubus, I wondered if maybe they weren’t such a big deal after all. But that was only because I hadn’t treated him as an “archbishop”; I still roughly knew he was an impressive person. Even Chris had tried to evacuate the bishop first when the undead dragon attacked.
At least I knew one of the feudal lords well, which was fortunate, but that wasn’t what I was relying on. For a possession victim, I didn’t know much about the game, and for a regressor, my blank period was long, so I didn’t have much intelligence to draw on. Just like I’d been a Holy Knight who was neither holy nor knightly. I was a human who didn’t have a single proper thing going for him.
Yet if I had one useful ability, it was survivability. The survival ability that had kept me alive right up to the brink of the apocalypse. I’d survived by dodging danger with uncanny skill. You could call it the senses of a herbivore. I had a miraculous knack for knowing when and where to run. Conversely, that meant—I also knew perfectly well when and where was dangerous.
“The incident that happened at the Academy memorial hall. From now on, things like that can happen anywhere, as many times as you like.”
“You’re thinking the election from now on… hinges on that?”
Kairon seemed to catch on and quickly added.
“Yes, I think so too. No matter what efforts the other candidates have made so far, it no longer matters. We’re starting from scratch on a new board.”
And I know that new board.
“I’m strong against the undead. I’ll say it boldly. I am Your Highness’s weapon. I am your competitiveness.”
The moment I said it, Amelia smiled with satisfaction.
“Two of you, you mean.”
Amelia picked up the window frame that was lying on the floor and plopped it onto my shoulder.
Thud.
“I’ll be counting on you.”