Chapter 8
Chapter 8
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: The Prodigal's All-In (1)
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Flowing red hair.
Snow-white skin.
The continent's youngest Swordmaster, known to no one.
Canelian watched the grand procession with weary eyes.
"So this is the power of the continent's oldest royal house."
"Duchess, not only the capital but every resident of the kingdom without exception is heading to the Holy Site."
"To complete all preparations in such a short time... it's truly impressive."
At the Holy Site where the founding was declared, they would hold a ritual praying for the king's recovery.
Not a single resident left out.
To achieve this impossible command.
The Prime Minister's office had poured out wealth like mad.
"Look at those combat golems! They're pulling dozens of wagons each!"
"The airship fleet is taking ordinary residents aboard and flying off!"
"Check out those regular wagons pulled by normal horses. They look enchanted with lightweight magic, don't they?"
Combat golems.
Airship fleet.
Lightweight magic on ordinary wagons.
If you converted all that to money?
"My god, how much is all this costing?"
The national treasury was being drained in real time.
"Search parties including tracking mages are combing every mountain valley without missing a spot. Not even leaving out the tiniest villages."
"Are they really trying to make even the beggars pray at the Holy Site?"
The Prime Minister's office had indiscriminately mobilized mages even from neighboring kingdoms.
Of course, by paying them.
These influx of mages ran day and night controlling golems, directing airships, lightening transport facilities, and searching unregistered villages.
All of it was money.
"Duchess, it's good that His Highness the Prince has stopped wielding the whip anymore, but..."
"You're worried he's about to start his prodigal antics in a whole new way, right?"
The prince had always been extravagant before.
But this surpassed imagination.
"Emma, where's my sister right now?"
"She was originally scheduled to arrive at the palace in three days. We've sent word for her to head straight to the northern rocky mountain Holy Site."
Canelian stared at Prince Ragna in the distance.
A distance where you couldn't even tell if it was a person.
But a Swordmaster's exceptional eyesight had no issue.
"What on earth is the prince thinking? Why go this far, draining years' worth of budget...?"
"To gather the entire kingdom in prayer for His Majesty's recovery and establish political prestige."
"I know that. I do."
Ceres muttered while gazing at the large sailing ships moored at the river docks.
"But this is too much."
Discontent filled the nobles' faces, now plain as day even to my eyes.
But none showed it outwardly.
They were faithfully following my orders.
I was once again amazed by the Arcana Kingdom's reserves and the Prime Minister's competence.
"Progress at over 99.99%?"
"Yes, Your Highness."
The Prime Minister, Marquis Ruindra, bowed vigorously, his short, gray-streaked golden hair swaying.
"We said 99.99% because we can't claim 100% certainty, but not a single beggar in the kingdom has been missed—they're all en route to the Holy Site."
The Prime Minister's eyes were crystal clear.
"Even now, the kingdom's forces under the Royal Guard's command are scattered across the land, finding and transporting any residents who haven't received orders."
Time had suddenly become tight.
I'd thought we'd be lucky to scrape together 30% at best.
"We've emptied the palace and the capital—not even a single copper left behind."
"...Well done."
I praised him for now.
The Prime Minister and the nobles trembled faintly all over.
'Right. The prince's praise is never a good sign.'
"But if the results don't follow, it's worthless.
If even after all this, Father shows no sign of recovery, the marquis who pushed this will face severe reprimand."
"I am humbled."
I'd issued the orders on my own whim, and the Prime Minister had merely obeyed faithfully.
Yet even as I pinned all the blame on him, the nobles seemed relieved.
Consistent, predictable tyranny was reassuring, apparently.
I was the last to depart.
To check the Ancestor's remains in the underground cavern.
Thanks to Discernment Eye ranking up to E, I could see when it would blow.
The nobles were worried sick.
"His Majesty has gone to the Holy Site—why is His Highness the Prince still lingering at the palace?"
"Can't you see? He's searching to the end for any treasures we might have missed."
And the soldiers were dying because of it.
They were scooping up anything remotely suspicious as an artifact.
"If it's about artifacts, what were the kingdom's appraisers doing?"
"You know the kingdom only has epic (C)-grade appraisers, right?
Even if there's a relic (B)-grade artifact, they couldn't identify it."
"By the way, they say the total compensation for the mages is astronomical. How much exactly?"
The nobles' eyes turned to the Prime Minister, Marquis Ruindra.
He adjusted his glasses and replied.
"Now is the time to focus on the Holy Site ritual. We'll settle accounts later."
"Urgh, that sounds even more ominous..."
I'd waited in case the bone's rampage stopped, but now even I needed to get out.
"We're departing."
"Yes! Your Highness!"
I boarded the golden carriage pulled by eight white horses.
The carriage floated lightly, then the hooves pounded through the air as it raced off.
The Royal Guard mounted wyverns, forming an escort formation around my carriage.
'Magic really is the best.'
No technology could replicate this spectacle.
Finally, the massive rocky mountain came into view.
The kingdom's birthplace, where the Founder King first proclaimed Arcana.
Its official name was Dragon's Rest, but everyone just called it the Holy Site.
Some kind of metonymy, I guess?
"Where is Duchess Ceres now?"
"We just received word she's crossing the Karbalon Mountains."
"Karbalon Mountains..."
"She'll arrive at the Holy Site within 8 hours."
A chill ran down my spine.
'She'll get caught in the massive explosion.'
"Didn't you properly send someone to the duchess's escort to explain the situation?"
"W-We did, Your Highness. But the duchess brought so much luggage..."
If my sister-in-law died, I had no idea how the Swordmaster heroine Canelian would react.
A woman willing to take the prodigal's bride role for her frail sister.
'I have to save her.'
"Send the entire wyvern knight squadron to the Karbalon Mountains.
Discard the luggage—rescue the duchess and her entire escort and bring them to the Holy Site. Move as fast as possible."
"U-Understood! Viscount Cord! That's an order!"
This was the perk of the prodigal character.
No one dared hesitate out of fear for their necks—they obeyed instantly.
As long as there was no rebellion risk, the prodigal lord position seemed optimized for dopamine mining.
I checked my pocket watch and asked.
"Can the wyvern knights bring Duchess Ceres's group to the Holy Site within 5 hours from now—no, 4 hours?"
The officer quickly calculated and replied.
"If they discard all luggage and just take the people, yes, it's possible."
Only then did I relax.
'Since it's come to this, I'll save every last one and become a national hero. Then rebuild.'
I'd swept up all the artifacts littering the palace.
Selling even 1/10th would cover reconstruction costs.
And with Discernment Eye (E) piercing every item and object.
As the next king reborn from prodigal to sage ruler, I'd live in luxury, indulgence, wealth, and glory.
Even if I resented possessing this body, I'd make sure to live well and eat well.
'But how do I make an NPC character into a mage?'
I couldn't rely solely on Discernment Eye.
Whether knight or mage, I needed a class and levels fast to feel secure.
"Your Highness, we've arrived at the Holy Site."
The rocky mountain Holy Site.
Dragon's Rest.
The continent's tallest and largest rocky mountain had a flat summit spanning a quarter of the kingdom's area.
Kingdom residents were pouring in.
'Like an international refugee camp.'
A chaotic sprawl of countless tents and shacks.
Piles of unpacked luggage and clutter everywhere.
Just looking made me dizzy.
The Prime Minister, Marquis Ruindra, continued receiving reports on the palace and major cities.
Not from people, but through familiars controlled by mages.
"Rats are swarming. They're fleeing the cities in all directions. Some are even jumping into lakes."
"The reason?"
"They say it happens when they sense a massive natural disaster and are overcome by terror."
"Hm... The timing is too coincidental, isn't it?"
Rat swarms abandoning cities.
Not just the palace—all cities were seeing it.
Right after the insane all-out push for every citizen to join the Holy Site ritual.
"Perhaps it's an omen of a great catastrophe about to strike the kingdom."
The nobles didn't know about the rats' odd behavior yet.
So their resentment toward the prince's reckless ritual was boiling over.
'Since it's come to this, it might be better if a catastrophe hits the palace.'
The Prime Minister's lingering question.
Did the prince know and orchestrate this, or was it pure coincidence?
'The prince's veins carry the dragon's blood too...'
Then it happened.
"Prime Minister! The wyvern knight squadron sent to fetch Duchess Ceres has been attacked!"
"What? Who dares in this national crisis!"
"Not people—it's a wyvern lord!"
The moment my carriage landed at the Holy Site, thunderous news struck.
"Attack? Wyvern lord?"
"...Yes, Your Highness. So it might be impossible to bring her in time. The wyverns are too terrified to fly. They're moving on foot."
Tamed wyverns don't blindly follow a strange wyvern lord.
Bonds with humans had already formed.
But the instinct to fear a wyvern lord remained.
So they never flew if one appeared.
They'd hunker down or waddle along the ground.
I'd urgently sent the wyvern knights to hurry her, and now this.
'If Duchess Ceres dies, Canelian...'
A Swordmaster turning dark was too horrific to imagine.
This wasn't my fault, but people flip out when family dies, right?
"Can't we use teleport magic to bring her?"
"Your Highness? Teleport magic can't transport living beings..."
Right. Still in tutorial phase.
Teleport that handles life forms...
Ah, only max-level (99) mages, huh.
Forgot—it was so long ago.
"Call Duchess Canelian! Hurry!"
"Yes, Your Highness."
Soon Canelian arrived.
I dismissed the others and told her.
"In four hours, a catastrophe will sweep this land. Duchess Ceres in the Karbalon Mountains is in danger.
Go there immediately and at least bring your sister back."
Canelian's red eyes widened in shock as she looked at me.
"Do you think a mere knight like me can make that round trip in four hours?"
"A Swordmaster right in front of you could."
"...!"
Not just in front—she'd already reached that realm.
Canelian just hadn't wanted to reveal it to me.
She'd planned to slip away quietly and save her sister.
"No time. Go now!"
"...I'll hear the details later."
If I could at least save her sister, I could avert the Swordmaster heroine's dark fall.
I hurried to the altar inside the Holy Site.
The cavern in the deepest part of the rocky mountain.
No light entered, yet it was bright.
I knelt before the basin pooling with clear water.
"Ancestor, your 200th-generation descendant Ragna Volter Arcana comes to pay respects. Please, let me hear your voice."
A small mist gathered like light above the basin, forming a girl-like shape.
Not the vivid beauty I'd seen before.
More like a faint misty ghost.
"Please grant me the power and blessings to overcome this crisis."
"...Pardon?"
"...Ancestor. The entire kingdom bet everything on the explosion wiping it out. We've forcibly dragged every citizen here."
The chuckling voice turned pale.
I could almost see her fumbling awkwardly.