Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: Arc 9: Mad Prince Route
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“Prince, I’ve brought the water. But this child……”
“Berit, right? The refugee settlement that was destroyed long ago? The one above our territory?”
I asked Lania as she returned to the reception room. Lania hesitated with a surprised look on her face before answering.
“Yes. The forest of the Lunenbreath family borders slightly with the southwestern part of Berit.”
“This child seems to have fled from there. They say the crops failed and everyone’s starving. Do you know anything about it?”
“I don’t know the details. But I’ve heard rumors that signs of it started last year.”
“The rest of the empire is fine, so why has farming failed only in Berit?”
“Berit suffers from a lack of water, so it’s hit hard by droughts. It’s also hard to use proper fertilizer, so the harvests are always poor. And above all……”
“The lord is exploiting his people?”
“Yes.”
Meredes nodded with a troubled expression. At that, one of the maids nearby buried her face in her hands and began to sob.
“Ugh…… Hic……”
She must have recalled the hardships from her time living in Berit in the past. I alternated my gaze between the sobbing maid and the fainted girl, then finally closed my eyes and steadied my mind for about ten seconds.
“……Prince?”
“Lania, take this child to a bedroom and nurse her. She seems to have dehydration symptoms, so give her water first.”
“Understood.”
“And haul out all the salted meat from the warehouse and load it onto wagons. Flour too. It’ll be too much for the wagons we have, so when Kyle arrives, contact the Gusf Merchant Group and ask them to provide additional wagons.”
“You don’t mean the food……”
“Transport it in a straight line to the castle where Berit’s lord lives. If there are villages on the way, distribute it immediately. Especially starting from Alun village, which is this child’s hometown.”
“Wait, please wait a moment, Prince.”
Lania blocked my words with a tense expression.
“I understand what Your Highness is thinking. But you mustn’t do that. Berit is land where external interference is forbidden by national law.”
“What?”
“Outsiders cannot enter Berit without approval from the imperial government. The people of Berit cannot leave without permission either. Of course, there are ways to sneak them out without being caught……”
Lania sighed as she looked at the maids whose moods had darkened.
“But if Your Highness steps in personally, it will become a huge issue that can’t be hidden. I fully understand your sympathy for this child’s plight……”
“No.”
I shook my head expressionlessly.
“This child isn’t the problem right now. The problem is Berit’s lord.”
“……Pardon?”
“The orders I just gave are all secondary. Compared to what I’m about to do now, they’re nothing. So just do as I say. I’ll take responsibility for everything afterward.”
“……Prince?”
I could see goosebumps rising on Lania’s neck. I turned my head and gave Meredes her orders.
“Meredes. From now on, pack as many elixirs as you can carry alone and ride to the castle where Berit’s lord lives. If anyone blocks you on the way, invoke my name and break through.”
“Understood.”
Meredes responded immediately without a moment’s hesitation.
“What kind of elixirs should I bring?”
“Anything that can heal starving and sick people. I’ll fly ahead first and deal with that lord bastard. If you see anyone on the way whose life is in immediate danger, treat them.”
“I shall obey your command.”
Meredes bowed deeply at the waist. See this cool reaction? As expected, she’s got nerves of steel.
But Lania’s response was different. The head maid shouted in a half-panicked state, not knowing what to do.
“N-No, Prince! How do you plan to handle the aftermath! Berit’s lord, Count Talisman, was appointed directly by the Emperor! Moreover, he’s one of the empire’s top noble families! Even for a prince, you can’t touch him recklessly! And you’ve never been to Berit before, have you? How do you even know where Berit Castle is to leave right now!”
“The biggest castle in Berit should be it, right? It’ll be easy to spot from above.”
“Pardon? What does that……”
“His Highness can use magic.”
Meredes answered in her place with an expressionless face.
“During the process of resolving the ogre issue in the Jairut Mountains, the rock spirit, guardian deity of the ogres, turned His Highness into a mage rivaling an Arch Wizard.”
“Pardon? Arch Wizard? Did you just say Arch Wizard?”
“I witnessed it firsthand from the side. I don’t know much about magic, but I do know there’s a spell called ‘Fly.’ His Highness truly intends to fly through the sky to Berit Castle right now.”
Thanks for the clean explanation. I nodded to Meredes.
“That’s right, Meredes. And Lania?”
“N-No…… What is……”
Lania couldn’t react right away, looking confused. I placed a hand lightly on her shoulder and smiled.
“Take good care of the mansion while I’m gone.”
Then I strode right out of the mansion. Lania snapped out of it late and rushed out to the garden in a panic, but by then I was already high in the sky with flight magic.
“Alright, now then……”
Far beyond the northeastern forest, I could faintly see the parched land unfolding.
That was the cursed land of Berit.
It wasn’t due to any divine being or magic. It was simply the result of human malice concentrated in one area over a hundred years.
The only thing that could break this curse was the madness of someone with power. So, shall we go rampage properly now?
* * *
“G-Good, pour me another.”
“Aren’t you overdoing it since morning? I’m worried about your health, my lord Count.”
“I agree. If you need strength tonight, shouldn’t you cut back on the alcohol a bit?”
Two half-naked women poured liquor into the count’s glass while flirting. The count laughed heartily as if showing off his manhood, downing the clear liquor in his glass in one gulp.
“Hahaha! This much liquor isn’t even liquor! Don’t worry! I’ve got overflowing energy right now! Here!”
He suddenly scooped up the woman on his left. Her face twisted for a moment as if dizzy, but as a pro entertainer, she instantly smiled and tilted her head back.
“Kyaa! As expected of the Count, such a stud! How do you have so much strength?”
“What do you think? I don’t spare anything good and devour it all, don’t I? Last night, I boiled and drank horns from those prized Baekgwang Forest deer!”
“Oh my, those are super expensive, aren’t they? They say even the best elixirs from Emperord can’t compare! As expected, the Count is so rich!”
“Of course! Stuck in this godforsaken backwater, I have to rake in the cash! It’s all thanks to money that I can bring top Emperord courtesans like you all the way here!”
Berit’s lord, Count Talisman, was a forty-year-old man boasting obese flesh. Ugh, disgusting. I couldn’t stand watching the count’s ravings and jiggling belly anymore, so I immediately dropped my stealth.
“Drinking with women since morning? You’re doing well for yourself, Count Talisman.”
“Ugh…… Huh? Who are you! How did you get in! I said no one enters my room!”
Talisman pointed at me with bleary, hungover eyes. Instead of a greeting, I sent a small fireball his way with a smile.
“The window was open.”
“Argh!”
He clutched his face and pitched forward from the small explosion. I warned the women screaming and scattering.
“Get out quick.”
“Kyaa, aaaack!”
“If you stay here, I won’t take responsibility if you die.”
“Y-Yes! Yes!”
Even amid the chaos, they grabbed their discarded clothes and bolted for the door. But before they could, the door burst open first, and knights in magic armor stormed into the room.
“My lord! That explosion just now!”
“My lord! What happened!”
“Reverse Gravity.”
I promptly launched them high into the sky.
Boom!
The ceiling shattered in an instant, and the knights’ bodies flew out of the castle.
Since the count’s room was on the castle’s top floor, they soared into the open sky without obstruction. And the moment I released the spell, they lost their upward momentum and plummeted back toward the castle.
“U-Uwaaaaaah!”
The moment the knights crashed back through the ceiling and hit the floor.
Kwang!
The entire corridor floor collapsed in an instant, plunging down to the lower levels of the castle.
Oops, miscalculation.
The magic armor was heavier than I thought? Still, they shouldn’t die from this. The lord’s trash, but the hired knights seemed decent enough.
“Hiiik!”
Count Talisman, who had witnessed everything, backed away and fled toward the opposite window.
But this was the fifth floor of the castle.
If he threw himself out, his obese body would splatter wide like dropped frying batter. Of course, that’d be a decent ending in its own way……
“What are you doing? Go ahead and jump.”
“Urk! Who, who the hell are you! Who sent you to assassinate me! Marquis Norton? Or those branch family bastards?”
Talisman, leaning on the window, began listing his enemies. I shook my head slowly at the count’s soot-blackened face.
“I’m Claude.”
“Claude?”
“Yeah. Never heard of me?”
“Claude…… No, in the empire, the name Claude for imperial family……”
In the Payud Empire, a name given to imperial family cannot be used by anyone else until their death.
Finally grasping the situation, Talisman pointed and yelled.
“Prince Claude! N-No way! You can’t be Prince Claude! Wait. That puny body and sickly pale skin……”
“……What?”
I immediately unleashed wind magic, blasting him out the window.
“Kwaaaaaah!”
A pig-slaughtering scream faded into the distance. I caught up to the falling count with flight magic, then created a new wind cushion on the ground he was about to crash into.
But since it was a rough cushion, it didn’t fully absorb the impact.
“Guh!”
The count bounced once on the cushion, flew up about two meters, and crashed back down. At the same time, his legs seemed to break as he rolled on the ground screaming.
“Uwaaaaaah! My legs! Uwaaaaaah!”
Legs are nothing right now? If I had my way, I’d crush every bone in his body and still not feel satisfied.
But I can’t kill him here.
Killing him would just pile on more responsibilities later. Above all, a clean death wouldn’t make him pay properly for what he’s done.
“My lord!”
“Count!”
“My liege!”
At that moment, soldiers and knights came rushing into the castle garden.
“It’s an enemy! An assassin!”
“Protect the count! Who are you!”
I formed swirling wind currents in my palm and answered.
“The empire’s Sixth Prince, Claude.”
“What?”
Everyone froze for a moment. One knight stepped forward, stammering in panic.
“P-Prince Claude? N-No, an imperial wouldn’t suddenly appear in a place like this!”
“This bastard’s impersonating the prince!”
“Everyone, attack! We must save the lord!”
Naturally, no one believed me and charged with spears raised. I slammed the wind currents in my palm onto the ground and muttered.
“Tempest.”
In that instant, a typhoon-like gale spread in all directions, blowing away everything around.
This was the pinnacle of all elemental magic: Tempest-class magic.
Named Wind of Tempest. Once activated, the only safe ones here were me and Count Talisman.
Of course, I held back the power as much as possible. Using it normally would turn everyone here into apple juice run through a blender.
But even that was more than enough.
Kwang!
Dozens of charging men were flung by the sharp wind currents and smashed into the garden wall.
The wall collapsed at the same time. Soldiers screamed buried under the rubble, while knights struggled with all their might to crawl out from the fallen debris.
I shouted at those very knights.
“What are you doing! Once you’ve crawled out, save the buried soldiers first!”
“N-No……”
“That’s an order! Believe me or not, I’m the empire’s prince Claude! From now on, I’m taking over this Berit Castle! If you defy me, pick up those spears and charge again! I’ll crush you properly this time!”
“Ugh…… Uwaaaaaah!”
Then, the only knight in mid-grade magic armor screamed and charged once more. A Night Expert here too? Impressive courage after that display.
“Reverse Gravity.”
I lifted him high into the sky again, then mercilessly slammed him into the ground.
Boom!
With a heavy thud, the knight half-embedded in the earth convulsed. I waved away the thick dust and asked the other knights around.
“Alright, who’s next?”
Everyone fell silent. They turned their bodies in the order I glared at them and began rescuing the buried soldiers behind.
“I’ll treat the seriously injured soldiers later, so gather them in one place! And Count?”
“R-Reverse Gravity…… Yoton Bay…… Could you really be Prince Claude?”
The count must have heard the rumors from Yoton Bay too. I grabbed his ear and dragged him straight toward the castle.
“Uwaaaaaah! Let go! No, please release me, Prince! My ear’s tearing off! Uwaaaaaah!”
The count screamed as he dragged his broken legs painfully. Hearing that, the knights began whispering among themselves in lowered voices.
“Hey, did you hear? The lord called that kid…… no, that person ‘Prince’ himself!”
“Then he really is His Highness the Prince?”
“Empire’s Sixth Prince Claude? That wastrel prince?”
“Rumors said he was a total mess…… but lately miracles happened and he got holy magic or something?”
“You idiot! He blocked an undead army alone!”
“But didn’t he just use magic too? And something huge?”
“Word is he’s been turning things around lately, earning praise everywhere…… has his head gone mad again? Why do this?”
“This is insane even for imperial family……”
“Wait, is that the issue right now? We just pointed spears at a real prince! Right or wrong, we could all face extreme punishment!”
In an instant, everyone threw down their weapons and knelt. I kept dragging the count by his ear and gave them orders.
“Once you’ve saved all the buried soldiers, open every warehouse in the castle and bring out the food! Start distributing it across all of Berit right now! Immediately! If I hear after this moment that anyone starved to death in Berit, I’ll throw you lot in prison and let you starve the same way! So if you don’t want to die, move fast! Hurry!”