If All This Were a Dream (3)
Evan entered the royal castle, completely unaware that plans to target him were being hatched in various corners of the kingdom. Complicated entry procedures and baggage inspections were of no use whatsoever in the face of the flying transparent carriage.
Evan stepped out of the carriage, drew in a breath of cool air, and offered advice to the Second Prince who disembarked right behind him.
"Your Highness has no talent. But that's a blessing, really. You're not the kind of person who needs martial prowess to win a lover!"
Of course, "no talent" was by Evan's own standards. By ordinary measures, the Second Prince was at least a prodigy if not a genius, and his martial strength was no match for the Royal Knights.
"Yes, I'll be careful. Master."
But how could he claim his swordsmanship wasn't bad in front of this young Swordmaster? How could he claim he had talent? The Second Prince simply bowed his head.
"Ahaha, 'Master' already? I only gave you a quick lesson."
"Oh, please. Even this brief instruction was a great revelation to me. It wouldn't be strange at all for you, Swordmaster, to be my master. Please give me the chance to repay your kindness."
"Uh, um... well, if you insist that much."
Caught off guard by the Second Prince's fervent advance, Evan scratched his cheek with a touch of embarrassment. The Second Prince, who had somehow earned the title of disciple directly taught by Evan, smiled with satisfaction and headed toward the audience chamber alongside him.
The Spear King, seated on his throne and handling various affairs from across the kingdom, opened his eyes the moment he sensed the two of them and gazed at them.
"─We have returned from our mission, Your Majesty."
"Good. You did well, Swordmaster. How have you been?"
"Yes, Your Majesty the Spear King. I've been doing well."
"...That's too stiff a title. How about you call me 'Spear King-ahjussi' instead?"
"What? No. I couldn't possibly..."
Hearing the Spear King's words, Evan panicked and waved his hands in refusal. He might have been lenient with Transcendents from other nations or organizations, but he couldn't drop his honorifics with the ruler of his own country. This was knowledge that Guildmaster Francesca had drilled into him when he first became Swordmaster, worried about his ignorance. If the Spear King had known this, he would have had a fit about Evan not being reckless... The Spear King, who had no way of knowing this, simply felt a touch of melancholy at the distance between himself and Evan.
"─Very well, then. You've returned to the capital after a long time, so make sure to have fun."
"Uh... I was planning to go straight home."
"Nothing to do in the capital at all? Not a single thing?"
"Now that you mention it, I think there might be something..."
Hearing the persistent Spear King's words, Evan belatedly remembered his appointment with Carnelly and tilted his head. Judging by how the Spear King was acting, Carnelly must have been pestering him terribly. When Carnelly's name was mentioned, the Spear King smiled with satisfaction and sent Evan out of the audience chamber. Only then, left alone with the Second Prince, did the Spear King receive a detailed report from him.
"We returned after forming an alliance with Nine Lives..."
"Enough─ how did the broken engagement go?"
"Huh? Broken engagement?"
"Did Evan show any regret when they parted? Or did he look completely unfazed?"
"He looked completely unfazed, but..."
The Second Prince suppressed the rising confusion and answered the sudden question. Hearing his reply, the Spear King smiled with satisfaction and spoke.
"Right, of course. Ordinary people wouldn't be fine after a broken engagement, so that damn nine-tailed fox must have pulled some strings."
"It didn't seem like that, though..."
"Hmm... Second Prince. Come closer."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The Second Prince, heart pounding at being suddenly called, approached—and then felt his heart stop with a thud as lightning struck him. Blue lightning swept through his entire body, passed through the Second Prince, and returned to the Spear King's body. Only then did the Second Prince's heart resume beating, and he gasped for breath from the shock of it having stopped, even for a moment.
"Haa, haa...!"
"You spoke in her defense, so I thought you'd been brainwashed or something... but no. Good. Then I'll believe your words."
"T-thank you for your concern, Your Majesty..."
Wracked by the pain and shock of the electric treatment, the Second Prince clutched his still-thudding heart and carefully left the audience chamber. A short while later, the Spear King closed his eyes once more in the quiet audience chamber and focused on state affairs.
"E-Evan! EvanEvanEvanEvanEvan-!"
"Oof-!"
Inside the workshop that smelled sour, Carnelly, who had been conducting her research, the moment she saw Evan's face, charged at him like a dog in heat. Evan absorbed Carnelly's body slam, feeling the satisfaction of her full figure against him, but also wrinkled his nose slightly at the sour smell on her body.
"Carnelly... don't you bathe?"
"Wh-what...!? D-damn it, I do! I bathed this morning too...!"
"But why do you smell like this..."
"Research! It's because of alchemy research!"
Hearing she smelled bad, Carnelly pointed at the alchemy materials far off, looking indignant. Seeing this, Evan approached and sniffed them. Similar to the smell coming from Carnelly's body, but even more pungent, emanated from there.
"Wow... what is this?"
"Sulfuric acid, saltpeter, things like that..."
"What are those?"
"Um. This time, His Majesty ordered me to make something... I was working on it..."
"He ordered you to make it?"
"A carriage that runs without speaking."
Hearing "a carriage that runs without speaking," Evan's eyes lit up and he listened intently. Getting Evan's attention, Carnelly's eyes lit up at being the center of attention and continued her explanation.
"We're going to lay something called railways on the ground. And we'll make carriages that run on top of them... That way, we'll have the infrastructure to go anywhere in the kingdom in a single day!"
"Is that even possible?"
"I have to make it possible...?"
Seeing Carnelly tilt her head as if wondering what the problem was, Evan finally realized she was a state-certified alchemist who received treatment similar to his own. What it meant that there were no other state-certified alchemists besides her—why the Spear King had to recognize an alchemist when no one had ever been acknowledged before—Evan finally understood.
"Right now I was making a power source to move the carriage. Not everyone has mana, so I have to make it usable for people without mana too..."
"That's amazing."
"R-really? I'm amazing?"
"Of course. You're amazing."
"Ehe, uhehehehe-."
Carnelly, whose entire expression had melted at the praise alone, burst into an awkward laugh before suddenly—snap!—changing her expression. As if having a realization, she ran to a large cauldron and, not caring whether Evan was watching or not, began mixing, blending, and putting ingredients into the pot. Watching her, Evan quietly left the workshop without disturbing Carnelly's concentration.
'She's amazing.'
Normally Carnelly was timid, gloomy, and had something strange about her, but when doing alchemy, she shone brighter than anyone. There was a certain charm to people devoted to a single pursuit. Having discovered an unexpected charm in Carnelly, Evan wandered the royal castle wondering if he had such a side too.
Knights who noticed a young boy wandering the royal castle alone approached quickly out of curiosity, but the moment they got close and recognized Evan's identity, they simply passed him by and disappeared elsewhere, as if they'd always had business somewhere else. After experiencing this a few times, Evan realized there was a subtle fun to it. He even wondered if he should change his appearance next time.
'But if I do that, everyone will be surprised─.'
"WAAAAAA-!"
And then, someone fell from the sky. Startled by the sudden, ambush-like fall, Evan reflexively slammed the person into the ground. Thud! The person, hit by the combined force of the fall and the slam, began to tremble and groan.
"Kuh, kuuuuuuh...!"
"Uh... Elenoa?"
"E-Evan- ha, hi..."
"Ah, no— are you okay!? Are you hurt anywhere!?"
"...I think I'm gonna die."
It wasn't exactly the thing to say after he'd slammed her down, but— Evan supported the trembling Elenoa and helped her recover. Elenoa, who had gotten up with a trembling body, took a moment to catch her breath, then let out a long sigh as if she'd finally recovered.
"Haa— I thought I was going to die."
"Sorry... someone just fell out of nowhere..."
"Huh? Ah— it's fine! Don't worry! This is nothing! When I was little, I was playing with a sword and accidentally cut off a servant's arm!"
"...No, that's a bit much."
"O-of course I immediately called a priest to heal them!? I didn't just leave it irresponsible!"
Seeing Evan's panic, Elenoa quickly cleaned up the situation and managed to clear up the misunderstanding. After the misunderstanding was cleared up, Evan asked Elenoa.
"What were you doing here?"
"Hmm? Ah— just. I was running away."
"Running away? From who?"
"My annoying tutor. Ah, speaking of which, is she coming soon?"
Elenoa, belatedly realizing what she'd been doing, got up and started brushing the dirt off her dress. As she brushed off the dust, she let out a groan and turned to look at Evan.
"Um, Evan? My back hurts... I can't move."
"Uh... isn't that serious!? We should quickly get a priest..."
"No, it's not that bad... come on."
Elenoa, seeing Evan fussing, carefully spread her arms. When Evan cautiously looked at her, Elenoa smiled and spoke.
"Carry me."
"...Fine. I mean, it's my fault."
Evan, carrying the princess who was about his height, looked at her as if asking what he was supposed to do now. The princess, carried by Evan, smiled as if she'd gained an army and stretched out her hand.
"Let's run away like this! Out of the royal castle!"
"No no no."
"Alright, go, Evan-go!"
Evan took the princess and left the castle. Very 'coincidentally,' all the knights at the path Evan was passing were looking the other way, so the two of them left the royal castle without any hindrance.