Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: I Stir Things Up Too (2)
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The Prime Minister prepared three types of reports.
A thick, detailed report summarizing everything from 1 to 100 in minute detail.
A concise report that let you grasp the key points at a glance.
And finally, a three-line summary.
But the Prince read the three-line summary, then skipped straight to the detailed report.
The Prime Minister trembled with indescribable joy.
'His Highness the Prince is reading the detailed report I prepared! His Highness is actually looking at it!'
The Prime Minister bowed his waist and waited politely.
Every time he sneaked a glance, the Prince was reading the report with a serious expression.
Comparing the page numbers to the Prince's reactions, it was clear he wasn't just pretending to read.
The Prince was genuinely poring over the report right now!
"It seems like that fake surrender from Baron Caron was a trap he set."
A swell of emotion rose within him.
His insides burned hot.
Suppressing his overflowing gratitude, the Prime Minister carefully spoke up.
"Baron Caron lacks the intelligence for that."
"Explain in detail."
'His Highness the Prince, His Highness the Prince! He's asking me to explain in detail...!'
Was it truly the Ancestor's guidance that had disciplined the Prince?
At this moment, the Prime Minister didn't regret a single coin spent on the Holy Site pilgrimage.
"Baron Caron is full of bravado and indulgence. He loves luxury and women."
"What if he's deliberately acting that way to seem approachable to people?"
"From what I've observed over the past few days, it's absolutely not an act. He's not accustomed to hiding himself. He doesn't even know what that means."
I recalled the Wyvern Lord incident.
"He infiltrated the kingdom to carry out the Emperor's secret orders while concealing his identity."
"If he was going to hide properly, he wouldn't have worn such flashy armor and posed as a free knight."
"Hm..."
"The disguise Baron Caron came up with, after hearing the Emperor's plea to conceal his identity, was exactly the appearance Your Highness saw."
"It was certainly an outfit that stood out too much."
I'd thought it was a dress code designed to lead people to the misjudgment of, 'No foreign Swordmaster would wander another country in such gaudy armor.'
The Prime Minister explained various reasons diligently.
They all seemed plausible.
There were no flaws in his logic.
'But I've been backstabbed countless times by Empire NPCs and their quests that are riddled with betrayals.'
The only good NPCs who don't backstab you in quests are the people of the Arcana Kingdom.
Is that why they got wiped out right at the start?
'And their backstab rate is vicious. If they backstabbed 100% of the time, you'd prepare accordingly with peace of mind, but at around 30%, it's always nerve-wracking.'
They must have set the backstab ratio that way to backstab even more effectively.
"Even so, isn't there a possibility that all of this is Baron Caron's act?"
If Baron Caron's surrender wasn't fake...
Then I'd end up toying with Duchess Canelian and Object based on another misjudgment.
"Emperor Varmion once suffered a sword wound to the face in a duel with Baron Caron, but he keeps it as a precious honor earned from a Swordmaster and hasn't erased it."
"There's no way something like that is an honor. He left it there deliberately to pressure Baron Caron politically."
"Yet Baron Caron is immensely proud of it."
"What?"
I was shocked.
This was either a flower garden in his head or an Academy Award-winning performance—one or the other.
"He bragged that thanks to his harsh swordsmanship instruction, the Emperor had improved enough to at least mimic a decent knight,
and that if Your Highness desires, he could train him to the point of coughing blood and turn him into an excellent knight..."
"He really said that? In front of the Marquis?"
"Yes, I heard it clearly with these ears."
"Is he insane?"
"He's just a bit dim, that's all."
I got a hunch.
Baron Caron was genuine.
No way that was acting.
"Baron Caron lives without a thought in his head. If that were truly an act... he'd have to be an ambitious schemer aiming higher than the Emperor of the Empire..."
I skimmed the concise report.
Infiltration routes, lists of essential personnel and assets to secure with priorities.
"And Baron Caron knows full well that if the loyalty oath video Your Highness secured falls into the Emperor's hands, he's done for.
What he wants from our kingdom is simple: assurance for his lavish retirement."
I made up my mind.
"Good. I trust the Marquis's judgment. I'll join this operation too."
"Your Highness... Pardon? Your Highness the Prince?"
"Along with Duchess Canelian and Professor Silvret, I'll participate as well. That'll raise our success rate."
He said he'd call me brother if I brought back 10% of the territory's people?
I'll scrape up every last one and make him call me Grandpa.
"Your Highness! It's dangerous! Please reconsider!"
"With Duchess Canelian and Professor Silvret, there's no danger at all."
This time, I'll catch that [Corrupted Earth Dragon] lurking in Baron Caron's territory too.
Can't miss the second step toward bikini armor.
'And while I'm at it, I'll sweep up any hidden artifacts or Objects.'
There have to be a few items treated as junk that no one knows are artifacts.
To collect those, I need to go myself with [Discernment Eye].
I'm a level 30 lightning mage who can use Blink now, after all.
"No objections. Prepare."
"Your Highness! Please!"
Before departure, I summoned Baron Caron.
The fawning attitude in front of me bore no resemblance to the man who'd sworn he wouldn't surrender.
I thought he had cool-headed judgment when he gave up immediately upon seeing Canelian and Xante.
"Pardon? I just wanted to live. There are still delicious foods I haven't tried, and I didn't want to die leaving behind my concubines and treasures at home."
"Why did you lie to Canelian that a true Swordmaster could draw an Aura Blade even with a wooden sword?"
"That's true. Half-baked Swordmasters can't do it."
"Do you know that wooden sword is a legendary item?"
"Even if it's legendary, it's still just wood."
I had him draw an Aura Blade on a random wooden sword.
When it turned to ash in an instant, Baron Caron paled.
"H-How is this possible? Don't tell me I'm just a half-baked Swordmaster!"
"I believe you. Your surrender wasn't fake."
His scream was like performance art from Munch's painting—no way that was acting.
As I sent Baron Caron back, I instructed the Prime Minister to keep surveillance just in case.
"Don't worry. He's surrounded by beautiful noble ladies day and night in the salon, so surveillance is a breeze."
So it wasn't Baron Caron's scheme tormenting the Elryad Duchy, but the Emperor's will.
The Emperor dangled money, and he went around the continent seducing promising young knights...
That's a Swordmaster?
'Emperor Varmion. The biggest, and best, backstabber among all Empire NPCs.'
That means the Emperor ordered him to awaken the [Corrupted Earth Dragon] in the Karbalon Mountains either to kill Caron,
or because he didn't care if he died.
'The moment he moves his entire house, Caron has to live as an Empire traitor and Arcana vassal anyway.'
If I stoke this conflict right, it could give us a pretext to strike the Hessian Duchy?
That evening.
I explained the 'Caron Packed Move' plan to Canelian and Object, who had secretly visited my bedroom.
"Isn't that dangerous?"
"Not with the two of you. And my special eyes will be essential."
Canelian nodded.
"If there are unknown artifacts or Objects, Your Highness can spot them. In a ducal territory, there must be something worth salvaging."
"We depart in three days."
"I'll prepare thoroughly."
"I'm ready anytime."
Anyway, we went to bed.
The next morning...
"...Your Highness, please give it back now. My pajamas."
"...Sorry."
Canelian let out a small laugh.
"Still, you seemed to have fewer nightmares last night. That's a relief."
Good thing she wasn't mad.
Three days later.
The expedition was lined up in the training grounds, awaiting my appearance.
"Duchess, how about using this chance to reveal your Swordmaster realm to the world?"
She shook her head without a second thought.
"It's better to keep it hidden for Your Highness's protection."
"Reliable as ever."
Who would've thought Canelian, who'd hidden her Swordmaster realm to assassinate me, would say something like that.
Has the Prince's delinquent image makeover been a success?
I could see the tense faces of the knights and soldiers at a glance.
Since we weren't just stirring trouble and running but aiming to take as many territory folk and assets as possible, I'd scraped together as many veteran soldiers as I could.
Of course, Baron Caron wasn't coming.
He might get funny ideas once back in his own backyard.
I'd expected him to request to come along...
"He said as a half-baked Swordmaster, he can't earn enough pay, so he urgently needs to become a true one and has started training."
"But wasn't the half-master theory something Baron Caron made up?"
"Yes."
Falling into cognitive dissonance from his own flawed theory.
The Prime Minister's judgment that he's not bright was spot on.
I only briefed the knight captain in overall command right before departure.
"I'll take some soldiers and move separately with the Duchess and Professor to hunt artifacts. If I send the soldiers back, halt everything and return immediately.
Remember: immediately return."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Mythic-grade bikini armor... no,
I'm planning to provoke the [Corrupted Earth Dragon].
'Better to let it rampage in Empire territory first, then steal the kill shot for maximum efficiency.'
I've got to repay the Emperor in kind.
I caught it thanks to Object's incomplete weather magic letting me rain down lightning freely.
But the Empire will struggle.
Varmion Empire, Imperial Palace.
"Your Majesty, we found a torn piece of Duke Edelmarc's cloak in the ruins of the Karbalon Mountains. It's stained with blood."
"Did you securely record the footage from the discovery?"
"Yes, here it is."
The Emperor looked at the bloodied cloak fragment and shed tears,
fondling the sword scar on his face.
"Baron Caron, why did only your cloak fragment arrive? Who am I to trust now to lead the Empire?"
His voice was steeped in grief.
But his eyes were laughing, and the retainers bowed their heads low, avoiding his gaze.
"Send a formal protest to Arcana! We must thoroughly investigate why Baron Caron died in the Karbalon Mountains without even leaving a body!"
"As you command."
The retainers withdrew.
The Emperor wiped his tears with a handkerchief, then muttered with a refreshed expression.
"I hoped the Earth Dragon would lay Arcana to waste... Did it corner them so badly they couldn't even flee and got eaten mid-fight?"
The Emperor habitually caressed his facial scar.
"I hoped you'd return alive, but it seems your skills only went that far after all."