Chapter 13
Chapter 13
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Arc 4: Chain Reaction
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“What? You don’t need a territory?”
“That’s…… right. Instead, will you hear me out?”
The ministers around us immediately began to buzz loudly. I watched Jess desperately maintaining a poker face and rattled off the awkward speech I’d prepared in advance.
“So…… I still don’t fully understand what happened, but the moment I used Turn Undead in that fortress village, a voice echoed in my head.”
“The voice of a god!”
In that instant, the absentminded high priest beside me chimed in with a startled voice.
Nice one, Grandpa. You’re syncing up perfectly without even rehearsing? This is making the performance way more dramatic than I planned.
“It felt like a voice, but also like a sort of premonition…… Anyway, it seems the death legion has a massive main force in the Land of Death, far larger than the troops we deployed this time.”
The Land of Death referred to the endless wasteland stretching east of the Elstone Earldom. Jess furrowed his brow and replied.
“So? What are you getting at all of a sudden?”
“What I mean is, that voice…… no, my premonition tells me even more undead armies will invade from there in the future.”
“How would you…….”
How do I know?
Didn’t you hear what the high priest just said? I heard the voice of a god.
Jess, who had belatedly grasped the situation, noticed all eyes in the room focused on me and quickly changed tack.
“No, so what do you plan to do about it?”
“So please grant me authority to rush to Elstone anytime and stop the death legion, instead of a territory.”
“What?”
Jess’s eyes stiffened for a moment. He probably never imagined I’d make such a proposal.
“Good heavens, is the prince volunteering to take on that grueling task?”
“This is like the sun rising in the west. What’s gotten into that wastrel?”
“Elstone is as barren as Verit. What’s the gain in taking on something like that?”
“Truly a miracle from the gods? Has that scoundrel truly repented?”
Yeah, yeah. I love these blatant reactions.
I let the ministers’ voices pouring in from both sides flow in one ear and out the other as I gazed at Jess with a desperate expression. After hesitating for a bit, Jess regained his composure and asked.
“Then you’re asking for the position of military commander of the Elstone regional forces?”
“I don’t need such a high rank. I just want to form and operate a small dedicated death legion squad.”
“A dedicated death legion squad? Are you saying to create a new army or knight order just for you?”
“No, no. It’s just that moving around alone is a bit too much for me…….”
I huddled my body to emphasize how small and frail I was to the ministers. Then, in a cautious tone, I continued.
“I just need a few people to assist me whenever I move. Hmm, suddenly pulling people from existing knight orders or armies would harm the empire…… So I request that my brother grant me authority to select the necessary personnel from the Imperial Officer Academy.”
The Imperial Officer Academy was, as the name implied, a comprehensive military education institution run by the empire, where lower nobility and well-off commoners sent their children to climb the social ladder.
Thanks to that, no one would complain about borrowing a few cadets from there.
The ministers on both sides began praising Prince Claude for his deep thinking, and Jess, judging this a cheaper outcome than expected, promptly nodded.
“That works. I’ll grant you authority to select from the graduating class at the Imperial Officer Academy for your dedicated death legion squad.”
“Thank you, brother.”
“But if too many cadets leave at once, it’ll cause issues there too. Since you want a squad instead of an army, I order you to select around five at most.”
Five is more than enough to cover for now. I bowed deeply to Jess once more.
“Understood, brother. To protect the empire’s territory…… I will fight with my life from here on.”
* * *
Jess always wore a cold expression.
But he wasn’t the type who could make cool-headed judgments when faced with unexpected situations.
Smart, but not wise, I suppose?
Anyway, with me standing there dazed and stumbling over my words, he’d probably think I still hadn’t recovered from the poison.
“Your Highness, you must never consume that poison.”
Sitting across from me in the carriage, Meredes glared at the water bottle in my hand and warned me. Just before leaving the mansion, I lightly shook the “Jess-brand poison” delivered by a messenger from the palace.
“Why would I drink this? I’m keeping it safe to hand over to Lania later. More samples are always better for analysis, right?”
“Of course. The head maid is the finest elixir master I know.”
Meredes bowed her head and began pulling out the elixirs she’d brought one by one.
“And lest you forget, I must remind you: after visiting the temple, you need to take this Growth Elixir immediately.”
“Again? I just downed a bottle right after getting back to the mansion.”
“According to the head maid, she adjusted the ingredients to maximize the effects, allowing one more bottle before bed at night.”
“That horrific stuff twice a day…….”
“Still better than taking three at once. Since it’s already late, she asked me to ensure you take it in the carriage on the way back before it gets too late.”
That’s why she insisted Meredes ride with me, even though I said it wasn’t necessary. I thought of Lania, whom I’d spent the afternoon chatting with, and gave a wry smile.
-Of course, I thought Your Highness was special…… But holy magic out of nowhere? I was so shocked I still don’t know what’s what.
-Still, it’s a relief to hear people in the streets and markets starting to speak well of Your Highness.
-What did they say before? Well, that was……
-What? You’ve decided to rush to the Elstone Earldom whenever trouble arises there and stop the death legion? No! Why take on such a dangerous task? I was beside myself with worry during this incident!
-Your Highness is really…… Ah, no, forgive me. How dare a mere maid overstep. Please forgive me, Your Highness.
Lania had swung from cold to hot baths in moments. Of course she’d worry—her only nephew taking on a job like a five-minute war readiness squad.
I brushed it off coolly, saying it was for my own safety and what forgiveness was needed, and Lania, moved to tears, happily made me down elixir after elixir.
-Your Highness. This is the Growth Elixir for today.
-Next, this is the Stamina Elixir. Since you’ll be out late tonight, it’s best to take it early.
-Taking it too late might make it hard to sleep. And this is the Night Vision Elixir……
Thanks to that, even though it was deep night, my condition was great, and the pitch-black outside the carriage was clear as day. Meredes checked the oil in the lantern beside us and cautiously asked.
“Your Highness, may I ask about the conversation you had with the head maid earlier today?”
“Hm? What?”
“The item you requested from her. The one made with sugar and honey…….”
“Oh, the ‘sugar bar’?”
I’d actually wanted a chocolate bar, but since chocolate didn’t exist here, I’d asked for something like caramel or honey mixed with nuts.
Why did I request this from Lania? Because the ‘mana’ consumed when casting magic was actually ‘mental concentration.’
Using a lot of magic depletes your sugar.
That’s why mages suddenly stagger and collapse mid-spell.
But shoving in a ton of sugar at that moment temporarily restores focus, letting you keep casting!
Of course, that doesn’t mean you can cast forever by eating endless sugar.
It’s like giving exam students infinite glucose candy—they still can’t study eternally. There’s a fundamental limit.
“It’s nothing. Just a snack for when I get hungry.”
No need to explain that now. Meredes wasn’t a mage anyway.
“I see. A splendid idea. To make the Growth Elixir fully effective, it helps to eat more lavishly than usual at meals.”
So that’s why Lania stuffed me until my belly nearly burst at every meal. I didn’t feel like I’d grown much in the past few days, though……
“Your Highness, we’ve arrived at the Grand Temple.”
Clunk.
The carriage halted, and the coachman’s voice came from ahead. Meredes rose immediately and opened the door.
“Your Highness, allow me to exit first…….”
“You stay here.”
I blocked Meredes from going out first and hopped down from the carriage.
“I’ll go alone. Won’t take long.”
“Understood.”
Meredes nodded quietly. Turning my head, I could make out the Grand Temple’s massive silhouette even in the dead of night (thanks to the Night Vision Elixir, no doubt).
“Welcome, Your Highness.”
Several priests were already waiting near the carriage. And one of them was that old man from the palace earlier today.
“The high priest himself?”
“I invited you, so it’s only right I escort you. Please, come inside.”
He’s coming on strong right from the start?
I’d come because he asked, but…… What on earth does he want to discuss, dragging me here?
* * *
Esix led the way down a long, wide corridor inside the temple.
“My apologies, Your Highness. It’s quite late, and this isn’t something to spread widely, so I’ve skipped the welcome ceremony and banquet.”
“It’s fine. I ate a ton at dinner, so I’m not hungry. No one’s around anyway, so you can speak casually, right?”
“Of course. However, a moment…….”
We hadn’t even reached the main hall at the end of the corridor when Esix suddenly stopped and addressed the temple guard knight beside him.
“We’re descending. Prepare.”
“Yes, High Priest.”
Unlike the other knights stationed at intervals along the corridor, this one held a thick book instead of a sword or spear.
And the moment the knight spun and wedged the book into a crevice in the wall……
Creak.
The floor parted, revealing a secret staircase descending below.
What’s this? A basement route in the Grand Temple right off the bat?
“My apologies if I startled you, Your Highness.”
Esix smiled at me.
“But it can’t be helped. In this vast Grand Temple, this is the only place for a quiet, undisturbed talk.”
“Uh…… We’re going down there?”
“It’s not dangerous, so no need to worry. Just mind the steep stairs. After you…….”
Esix descended first. Holy crap, talk about striking gold. Isn’t this already exceeding expectations?
The Grand Temple’s basement route.
It’s the final stage of the temple tech tree. Reaching here is so tricky that across nine regressions, I succeeded only three times.
Considering those three were only possible in the late game after maxing relations with the temple…… This early-game tech tree choice is a massive beyond-expectations success!
Phew, worth the grind learning Turn Undead.