The Rubber Man Project 3
Kaion was the Second Prince of the Grandia Empire. Not only that, he proudly held the second place in the line of succession to the throne. Lately, however, he had a problem weighing on his mind.
...Hmm. This is quite the predicament.
His father, the current Emperor, the once-great conqueror who had ruled the continent, was growing weaker by the day. It wasn't as though he had contracted some grave illness. The Empire's finest healers had examined him and found no particular cause. In truth, if they had gone in without knowing who their patient was, they probably would have worn indifferent expressions.
"Ah, it's nothing serious, sir. No problems with your body at all. It's just that everything starts to ache when you get older. Take care on your way out~"
That was it. The Emperor had simply succumbed to old age. Just as retired athletes who had once been in peak condition began to break down in various places, it was only natural that someone who had endured so much hardship in their youth would develop chronic ailments later in life. The Emperor had personally led campaigns on the front lines, clashing directly with renowned warriors, so it was inevitable that his body would start failing him one piece at a time.
Of course, Kaion wasn't worrying about his aging father out of deep filial piety. The man had spent his entire life on campaign, expanding the Empire's territory. Whenever he happened to return to the palace, his notoriously strict temperament left his children walking on eggshells. Moreover, the Emperor had countless other children besides Kaion. Kaion had essentially no memories of being raised by his father's hand, so any warm father-son bond had never existed in the first place. It also helped that the Emperor wasn't suffering from a terminal illness or on the verge of death.
But the Grandia Empire had one longstanding tradition. The throne was normally a lifelong position. An emperor wielded absolute power for as long as he lived. Therefore, the end of an emperor's reign meant his death. However, the emperors of Grandia, who had founded the empire through direct military conquest, were different. They inherited formidable martial prowess from generation to generation. They personally subjugated and conquered neighboring nations with their own strength, instilling fear and maintaining imperial authority. That had been the way of things since the Empire's founding.
Thus, when an emperor could no longer take the field himself, he would naturally pass the throne to one of his children. The Emperor's decline meant it was time to choose a successor.
Kaion stood before the massive military map in his office. His finger traced the western border region of the Empire, stopping on the Schmidt Margraviate, painted in blue.
Damn it.
The Schmidt territory was the cornerstone of the Empire's western defenses and a vital base of support for Kaion himself. Not long ago, its lord, the 5-Star knight Albert Schmidt, had fallen in battle. Kaion felt genuine regret that such a capable talent of the Empire had been lost so meaninglessly.
But an even greater problem lay just beyond it: the Hans Marquisate, painted in red. Marquis Hans had long been a supporter of the First Prince. If the Schmidt territory collapsed, Hans would use rescue as a pretext to march his army in and swallow the entire fief. That would mean Kaion losing influence over a crucial western stronghold to the First Prince—a painful blow.
Yet with multiple wars raging simultaneously, he couldn't spare any other knight orders to send as reinforcements right away. What was he supposed to do? He had entrusted the matter to his partner, the Empire's glorious sword, Serian Elhardt, but given the current situation, solving it in time seemed unlikely.
While Kaion was lost in these worries, a knock sounded at the door.
"Your Highness, Leon, Captain of the Royal Guard, reporting."
Leon entered holding a document—the report on the urgent mission he had been ordered to deliver to the Armaments Bureau.
What is this?
Kaion accepted the papers indifferently. But the moment he turned the first page, his brow furrowed. The next page, and the next. His expression grew increasingly strange.
"This... what in the world..."
Kaion could only be astonished. He had already known Serian was a genius of the century, but even so—how had she produced an answer in a single day?
Does this even make sense?
When he had assigned her the task, Kaion hadn't held high expectations. No matter how brilliant she was, creating a weapon capable of countering high-level magic in less than a month was something even Serian's grandfather would have struggled with. So he hadn't expected much. If it worked, great. If not, so be it. Losing the Schmidt territory to the First Prince's sphere of influence would be painful, but stopping that mage was the immediate priority. He had given the order anyway, but had already abandoned hope of timely completion. If worst came to worst, he had planned to pull the newly formed Magic Knight Order out of training and send them instead. Of course, having Ian Solaris, captain of the First Magic Knight Order, in the First Prince's faction was awkward, but the man wouldn't dare defy Kaion's official military authority as supreme commander of the western front.
Yet this mad genius had delivered a solution in a single day.
Hmm...
Unfortunately, Kaion's knowledge of alchemy was shallow, so he couldn't fully grasp the proposal brimming with the genius's innovations. Rubber? Insulator? He didn't understand the terms, but as expected, a genius was simply different.
Kaion skimmed through the proposal. The Empire's answer to the unknown mage wielding lightning was the "Rubber Potion." In any case, consuming this would supposedly render one immune to the enemy's lightning magic?
Kaion's heart raced.
Ha! Having a genius by my side really does make everything go smoothly.
He was about to order immediate implementation when his eyes caught something at the very end, and he froze in shock.
Core ingredient: [Living Mimic Slime]
"......"
This was a mythical creature said to have gone extinct hundreds of years ago, something that only appeared in fairy tales.
...Wait. The fact that the imperial family secretly keeps Mimic Slimes is a top-level secret known to only a handful of people in the entire Empire. How on earth did she find out?
Serian's information network—how far did it reach?!
Kaion felt goosebumps rise across his skin. Development Director, hero of the battlefield, diplomat... and now the ability to uncover even the Empire's hidden secrets from the shadows. It seemed Serian's invisible influence was even greater than her brilliant intellect.
"Leon, make preparations. I must go personally."
"Pardon? Where are you going, Your Highness?"
"Serian Elhardt, our partner, has requested an imperial trophy. I should deliver my response in person."
***
The special stables that housed the Empire's military magical beasts. Kaion personally escorted Serian there.
...Whitey!
As they passed the stables, Serian silently greeted her precious healing item in her heart. But Whitey was fast asleep and didn't notice her presence.
Where is he taking me?
Their footsteps moved past the bright, sunlit areas of the stables and deeper into darker, colder sections. The wooden walls gave way to chilly stone, and the air grew damp and cool. Torchlight flickered grotesquely along the cavern walls.
This place is this big?
She had wondered why there was such a massive hill behind the building. It turned out the special stables were directly connected to a cave system within the mountainside.
Kaion continued his explanation.
"During the Empire's conquests, His Majesty the Emperor was quite fond of bringing back spoils of war."
According to him, the Emperor always brought something back as a memento whenever he won a war. Of course, plundering the defeated nation's wealth after victory was standard practice, but the Emperor's collecting compulsion had been obsessive. Precious treasures, rare magical artifacts, various human resources and prisoners... and even living magical beasts.
As they walked deeper, all sorts of magical beasts began appearing on either side.
This is basically...
Serian was speechless. Hadn't this been his real goal all along, rather than conquest? Indeed, in his youth the Emperor had been a collector who roamed the world gathering living creatures—a Lucky PoKéMon trainer.
"...By the way, it's impressive. Only a very small number of people know what kinds of beasts are kept here. This facility is strictly controlled so that only a tiny few may access it, by direct order of His Majesty."
The prince looked at Serian with a gaze mixed with admiration.
What, what is he talking about?! I had no idea this place even existed!
"Ahem. I won't bother asking who your informant is. We're already in the same boat, after all."
Wait, hold on. We're in the same boat? Since when? I never agreed to that.
"What do you mean by—"
Just as Serian reflexively began to question him, a strange roar echoed down the corridor.
"KRRRRRRRR—!"
"This way."
The keeper stepped forward, waving the raised torch left and right. Their footsteps stopped before a massive black iron door. When the keeper extended his hand, the door slowly creaked open with a grating metallic sound.
And inside—
A colossal jelly-like magical beast filled an enormous cage, writhing and pulsing.