Chapter 57
Chapter 57
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: Crown Prince Alondre (4) - Proper Effort is Necessary for a Good Hobby
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『Well-Behaved』
1. Adjective. Having a calm and refined disposition or demeanor.
2. Adjective. Neat and dignified in appearance.
3. Adjective. Meticulous and diligent in one's work.
[[[4. A word with no connection to the Crown Prince. This will be on the exam.]]]
Inside Lucidra's mind.
An image flashed by of a dictionary imbued with demonic power, its arm grotesquely twisted as it jutted from the cover, seemingly emphasizing one particular page with obsessive fervor.
'What was that, some kind of illusion spell?'
While Lucidra was escaping into denial like that, the Crown Prince began spouting utter nonsense with a gravely serious expression.
"Adventurer Bern's life was exemplary. His journey subjugating a monster that could become the seed of a great calamity and crushing the wicked schemes of a lich was truly the epitome of the adventurer's path I dreamed of."
"Servant Cedric's life wasn't bad either. Always being served himself, serving someone else for a change was quite the novel experience. Brewing tea to my tastes, cleaning my way, serving a somewhat lacking and inexperienced master—it was enjoyable."
"However, perhaps it's my tragic nature, but I tend to get bound by the rules of any organization I join. In that sense, the previous two were too well-behaved and acted far too sensibly."
Lucidra's mouth gaped open and closed like a goldfish.
There were countless things she wanted to say, overflowing words, yet none could be put into language.
It felt like this was exactly what a grand mage's silence spell was meant to be.
But she was once a great demon who had made a name for herself.
Resisting the Crown Prince's powerful grand magic, Lucidra finally managed to open her mouth.
"So, next you're going to try destroying the world?"
"Hm? Well, now, as expected of a demon—such wicked ideas. How could anyone pursue something like that as a mere hobby?"
"What nonsense is coming out of a human whose very existence is evil!?"
"If that's how you see it, then that's how it is in your mind. I respect freedom of thought, so I won't stop you there."
"#(^)^&^#@^@#!?!!"
With the great demon's anguished screams—her hair disheveled—as background music, the Crown Prince quietly lifted his cup to savor the aroma of his black tea.
The black tea adjusted to Claudia's tastes—emphasizing sweetness and served cooler—wasn't bad, but the version hot enough to scald Dale if he touched it suited his preferences far better.
"Anyway, with that in mind, my next clone will go with the concept of a lone wolf unbound by any organization. I'll keep the guiding principle of 'goodness,' but the details will be handled on a whim as they arise—a delightful rogue! Yes, it sounds truly enjoyable. Sometimes, setting aside words like restraint and self-control to run wild is great for relieving stress."
Lucidra stared at the Crown Prince, who nodded in satisfaction at the mere thought, her eyes hollow. She soon let the tension drain from her shoulders.
"...Fine, whatever. It's not like I'm the one who'll suffer anyway. Watching the kids who'll agonize over that madman finally snapping his last leash might be entertaining."
"Entertaining? I doubt you'll have the leisure for that."
"What?"
Toward the puzzled Lucidra, the Crown Prince spoke as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"You lost the bet."
"......"
Lucidra's eyes rolled around in their sockets.
Her eyes curved sharply upward, and soon her face twisted into a bewitchingly seductive smile.
It was a smile supreme enough to torment any man's heart.
"Heh heh heh, right, I knew that without you saying it. Now, let me grant you supreme pleasure. First, strip off those stuffy clothes—"
"From now on, you'll lay the groundwork for my new identity."
Treating the great demon gently, the Crown Prince lightly stated his business.
Her plan to frivolously spend the bet's price in a lascivious atmosphere shattered, Lucidra's lips quivered.
"Wh-what do you mean, 'groundwork for identity creation'? What the hell is that?"
"Adventurers don't fuss much over identities from the start, so you can jump in bare-handed. A noble house servant worked because the situation was so unique—no big background needed to get in. But we can't rely on that kind of luck every time, can we?"
Many professions exist in the world, but those you can do purely on 'ability' alone are quite limited.
Who someone was born to, where they grew up, how they were raised.
Without such a profile, there are plenty of fields where even getting your foot in the door is impossible.
"So you'll make that groundwork for me."
"W-wait a second! You're the Crown Prince!! If you need a plausible identity, just have your underlings make one! Why me!?"
This was the empire, the continent's strongest nation.
If he set his mind to it, fabricating a suitable identity in another country wouldn't be hard.
Why pass up the easy, simple way to use her instead?
The Crown Prince brushed aside Lucidra's protest simply.
"Because if I use my authority as Crown Prince for that, everyone else will find out about my hobby."
"It's already exposed to the others—what are you on about now!?"
"To Blanca, I only said 'clone magic, the real body is elsewhere.' Claudia figured it out herself—I didn't reveal it. They're strictly different."
Additionally, Blanca hadn't believed it was a clone to begin with, and Claudia didn't know it was a clone, but that didn't matter.
"More than that, a hobby monitored by family and acquaintances? That would be a nightmare among nightmares. In the worst case, I was prepared to burn a few clones just for making groundwork... but hm, you're the one who suggested the bet, so it's perfect timing."
Demons, by nature, tempt humans with 'I'll grant your wish' and lead them to corruption.
In other words, there are few workers as versatile as demons.
Especially one bearing the title of 'great demon'—a premium among laborers.
"I-I'm still recovering my strength a bit."
"Need mana? I'll supply it directly. The amount clones use isn't that much anyway."
"I don't know the modern world well yet, so investigating and adapting might take time..."
"I'm not so merciless as to demand you finish by tomorrow. The next 'D' doesn't really need groundwork anyway, and if you're slower than expected, I can wait until 'E.' After that, no results means breach of contract."
"Y-you... Is it okay to just let a demon loose like that? What if I lead the world into corruption and wreak havoc?"
"Hm."
To Lucidra's final resistance, the Crown Prince brought a hand to his mouth briefly before blurting it out.
"Rest assured. As someone who once enjoyed this hobby alongside me as a friend, I'll send you off cleanly on your way."
It was a declaration utterly devoid of doubt that he could do exactly that.
Even more tragic was that Lucidra herself thought this human probably could.
"......Just do what you gotta do then!! You heartless Crown Prince bastard!!"
Tears welled in Lucidra's eyes.
The demon's tear glands had grown weak lately.
After securing the Crown Prince's cooperation and departing the palace amid tears, Lucidra left.
The Crown Prince, for his part, sank into deep contemplation.
"Even if the clone's condition was poor, getting my identity seen through by Claudia—no, the marquis's blood familiar—can only be called my own immaturity."
He planned to create many more clones going forward, and some would inevitably suffer bodily decline from overexertion like this time.
If his identity was seen through every time, nothing could ruin the fun more.
"No helping it. I tried to avoid it due to the severe side effects, but..."
With a small sigh, the Crown Prince promptly summoned a valet.
"Bring the chief scribe."
"Understood."
The valet bowed gracefully and elegantly before withdrawing. Moments later, a middle-aged man in a pristine suit appeared, visibly tense.
"You summoned me, Your Highness?"
"Mm, sorry to call you so suddenly without notice."
"Not at all. It's only natural to answer whenever Your Highness calls. But has there been an issue with the submitted documents?"
"Nothing like that. I called you for a favor."
"A favor? Just give the order, Your Highness."
"Then here's the order: bring all the documents your team is processing."
"...Pardon?"
Of course, it was natural that the Crown Prince didn't personally edit every letter or double-check every number when handling paperwork.
Most documents reaching the Crown Prince's desk awaited only his final approval—a mere stamp and done.
Of course, the maddening collaboration of centralized power and vast territory turned even that 'read and stamp' into grueling labor, but compared to the mountains being processed below, it was far less.
Thus, the chief scribe couldn't help blurting out in fluster, knowing it was impolite.
"I-if there's a document of interest, please let me know its contents. We'll prioritize and submit it first."
"Just all of them... No, forget it. On second thought, it'll be faster if I go myself."
"Pardon!?"
Ignoring the scribe's shock, the Crown Prince strode forth and barged into the Golden Cloud Palace office where bureaucrats toiled away.
The officials, battling paperwork mountains while chugging imported magical black brew like water, froze solid at the Crown Prince's abrupt arrival.
To them, he said,
"Let me clarify upfront to avoid misunderstandings. What I'm about to do is solely to carve out time for personal training for a while—absolutely not to blame your work. Think of it as one of those random life happenings and take it lightly. Understood? If so, bring the documents."
The bureaucrats still didn't grasp what he meant or why he'd invaded, but none were bold enough to ignore his direct order for the files.
They tremblingly offered the documents, fearing nitpicks.
And soon, their jaws dropped.
'The paperwork mountain... is melting away!'
'Those calculations can't have a single digit wrong, and he's doing it all in his head without even an abacus... How is it matching up?'
'A week's work vanishing by the top boss's hand... Ah, I've been pulling too many overtimes—must be dreaming! Gotta wake up!'
Shock, disbelief, escapism.
Amid varied stares and silent screams, the Crown Prince finished all the work dozens of bureaucrats were handling, then handed the fully approved stack to the scribe.
"Bureaucratic society thrives by inventing work from thin air if needed, so absolutely do not send these all to the imperial offices at once. Got it? Our Golden Cloud Palace processed its assigned tasks slowly over a week. Right?"
Under the Crown Prince's gaze, the Golden Cloud Palace bureaucrats nodded frantically.
"Yes!!"
"There's so much work, we have to spread it out!!"
"I'll call home saying overtime again today!"
Satisfied with their enthusiastic responses, the Crown Prince smiled and departed.
The left-behind bureaucrats blinked at the sudden evaporation of a week's workload.
Of course, new tasks would arise unrelated to the original schedule—as paperwork tends to do—but compared to the usual, it was child's play.
For the first two days, they suffered needless anxiety, but confirming the Crown Prince was truly devoting document time to self-training, they soon wore spring-breeze smiles.
A few with deep dark circles even teared up.
"Ah...!"
Making even a great demon and subordinates alike well up with tears, the Crown Prince's grace was truly as vast as the sea.