Surviving As the 5th Prince of the Ruined Kingdom

042

“I heard Aira had an older brother and a younger brother, right?”

“Oh my, you even remember that. I’m honored.”

“I heard she almost got into big trouble at the market recently. Instead of some random men, how could Aira attend the New Year’s banquet······.”

“Ah! About that, let me explain······”

As Sister was having an engaging conversation with Aira, her eyes sparkling, I pretended to admire the garden and entered the [library].

It was rude to interrupt their conversation, but I couldn’t contain my curiosity any longer.

┕ Could I find out why the Black Hammer Tribe suspended the magic stone mine development? How much would it cost?

To be honest, I didn’t have high expectations.

I was just curious to see how much RP they would ask for.

「The fee for this information is 500 RP.」

That’s cheaper than I expected?

No, for newly hired servants at the palace, it would take them two months of not spending a single penny to save up that much, so it’s not exactly cheap.

Aira was the only one who didn’t know, but it seemed like information that could be easily obtained if one set their mind to it. Perhaps even children of the Black Hammer Tribe knew about it, even if humans didn’t.

I wanted to check right away.

“Evan, what’s wrong? Is there something there?”

Sister, who had been chatting with Aira, asked with concern as I stared blankly into space.

“Ah, it’s nothing. The clouds just looked interesting.”

“Oh my, I’ve kept you two for too long without realizing.”

“Not at all. The tea we’re having now, it’s the hard-to-find Sansrea even in the Merton territory, right? As I’ve heard, it truly refreshes the tired mind.”

I reassured Sister and Aira with a gentle smile and continued the conversation. But it seemed my distracted state was showing.

Sister suggested we wrap up the tea time sooner than expected, saying she would arrange another one soon.

After promising Aira we would meet again, I hurried back to the Emerald Palace and went straight to the study.

“Your Highness, will you not be attending the banquet this evening?”

For three days, the New Year’s banquet is held.

Rather than attending the banquet where there’s nothing more to gain and only those I don’t want to meet linger, it would be far more productive for me to wrestle with Genie in the [Library]. I shook my head and cut off Alfonso’s words.

“I’m not going. I have something to think about quietly, so you too, do your own thing until evening.”

“Understood.”

Entering the study alone, I leaned back on the sofa and brought up the chat window with Genie right in front of me. Before starting a full-fledged investigation, I first pondered the information usage fee of the [Library].

There’s one fact I’ve learned from using the [Library] so far. That is, the usage fees of the [Library] and the information guilds are quite similar.

I once asked Alfonso to request from the information guild ‘Dark Whisper’ in Baro Kingdom the same information that could be obtained from the [Library] for 500 RP.

‘They demanded 550 Krons, didn’t they?’

I’m curious about how Genie measures the prices of information that cannot be obtained from the information guilds······.

Whenever I ask, she only answers that she demands a reasonable amount of RP according to the quantity and quality of the information.

Well, whatever.

I haven’t felt ripped off while using the [Library] yet, so it’s fine.

┕ Tell me why the Black Anvil tribe stopped mining development.

「They discovered the supreme-level beast, ‘The Faceless Dragon,’ hibernating at the center of the mine.」

A supreme-level beast!

┕ How much for information on The Faceless Dragon?

「The usage fee for that information is 10 RP.」

It seems to be a famous one, even though I’ve never heard of it before.

I was about to call Alfonso to bring the beast encyclopedia from the royal library, but thinking that time is money, I immediately purchased the information instead.

10 RP seems a bit pricey, though.

┕ Tell me.

「The Faceless Dragon was a beast that managed the farm of Botis, one of the 72 Demon Lords. Normally, it’s about 3m in size, a giant worm, but when agitated, it grows over 100 times larger and is said to have swallowed anything. It wasn’t particularly intelligent, according to reports. Until the Black Anvil tribe discovered it, it was believed to be extinct.」

I briefly imagined the sight of a beast the size of a 63-story building from my previous life, stirring.

‘Whether it’s a mana crystal mine or whatever, it would be wise to immediately stop work and retreat.’

I applauded the Black Anvil dwarves’ decisive action. If they were humans, they would have certainly tried to develop the mine somehow and caused a huge disaster.

I stroked my chin for a moment, lost in thought.

‘If we could take a share of the mine being developed by the dwarves in return for exterminating The Faceless Dragon······!’

It seemed like I could hear the sound of money pouring in from somewhere.

But the problem is······.

It is said that a supreme-level beast requires a large-scale extermination force including level 7 individuals to be eliminated. And there’s no guarantee that it would be without casualties.

Tapping the desk with my fingers, I threw a question at Genie:

┕ Are there any known weaknesses of the Faceless Dragon?

“The fee for this information is 500 RP.”

┕ Tell me.

“If there are divine weapons imbued with the power of gods, the Faceless Dragon, a type of demon, cannot exert even half of its full power. The Longinus from Seiya Shrine, the Sword of the Lake from Atten Shrine, and the Trifource from Pothes Shrine are notable examples.”

Surely you’re not charging 500 RP for information that everyone knows, Genie?

The moment shrines get involved, it’s only natural they’d try to line their own pockets. I’ll probably only get a small kickback at best.

‘Well, there are hardly any Holy Knights who can wield those divine weapons anyway.’

Divine weapons that cannot be used by just anyone.

“Next, there is Barisada.”

Huh?

Why is the kingdom’s half-dragon knight suddenly mentioned?

“There was an incident where the Faceless Dragon devoured a demon cherished by Barisada. Enraged by this, Barisada is said to have driven the Faceless Dragon to extinction. According to records from that time, the Faceless Dragon would tremble in fear and flee whenever Barisada approached.”

Ah, you meant the real Barisada, not the kingdom’s half-dragon knight [Barisada].

‘The Faceless Dragon would tremble in fear and flee whenever Barisada approached?’

I wondered if it would also flee when the kingdom’s half-dragon knight [Barisada] appeared nearby, but Genie responded that such information was unavailable. So I changed the question.

┕ Have any similar experiments been conducted on lesser demons?

“The fee for this information is 10 RP.”

There is some!

┕ Tell me.

“153 years ago, there was a wizard named Pivollas. He……”

In summary, there was a wizard named Pivollos who, like the Faceless Dragon lacking eyes, nose, and ears, experimented with the lowest-ranked demon called the Corpse Cleaners. One day, when his apprentice accidentally donned his robe, the Corpse Cleaners huddled in a corner, trembling.

Hmm……

In a way, the Faceless Dragon is just a giant worm. Genie had mentioned its low intelligence too. That’s probably why it devoured Barisada’s cherished demon and went extinct.

‘This might be worth trying.’

The problem is how to smuggle out the [Barisada] kept in the royal palace……..

***

10 days later.

On the westbound train, I gazed at the scenery flashing by.

Bump, bump.

The vibration reaching my buttocks made me feel slightly nauseous, leaving me in poor condition.

“Prince Evan, I heard this is your first time riding a train. Are you alright? You don’t look well.”

Aira, sitting in the front row, asked me with a concerned expression.

“It’s not as comfortable as I expected.”

“But this is the first-class carriage that only nobles can ride.”

I shifted my gaze from the scenery outside the window to my side. Reina, with a pale face. Her eyes seemed unfocused.

“Reina doesn’t look too good either.”

“…I’m fine.”

“Why don’t you go to the restroom? Adol, how about you switch with Reina while we’re on the train?”

From noble mtl dot com

“Yes!”

“Thank you!”

Reina dashed to the restroom without looking back.

The day after the New Year’s banquet ended.

A large number of personnel were added to the Emerald Palace. At the same time, the three knights Reina, Adol, and Vernon were appointed as my escort knights.

Bert handled one task swiftly.

I heard he made a deal to support the 4th Princess’s marriage to the Imperial Fatty, and in the future, engage my sister to a member of the Arya royalty.

Reina readily accepted becoming my escort knight.

The ‘friendly’ color shown for her in the [Name Registry] is almost indistinguishable from trust. If we become closer, I plan to ask her why she’s so kind to me.

The shaggy-haired Adol and the pug-nosed Vernon hesitated a lot about becoming my escort knights.

It would be a lie to say I wasn’t offended, but considering that my escort knights six years ago were beheaded under false charges, it was understandable.

I resolved it simply with the [Beirn Mana Cultivation Method].

As a monarch, one must occasionally win loyalty with precious gifts.

The [Beirn Mana Cultivation Method] that Fran had passed down to me contained both the version improved by my great-grandfather and the previous version.

I taught them the pre-improved version.

I renamed it the [Northern Mana Cultivation Method] when passing it down. Having reached the late 4th stage, they should be able to practice a proper cultivation method without a teacher and avoid any side effects.

Using my phantom hand, I tapped the sword wrapped in bandages around my waist.

——x

[Varisada]

Rank: Mythical

A half-demon sword refined using the body of the half-demon Varisada and the blood of the founding king of the Rionel Kingdom.

Only those descended from the bloodline of the Lionel Royal Family can draw the sword, and when the sword is drawn, the Trial of Varisada begins.

━━━━━━━━━━━━

A staggering mythical grade.

I keep checking it.

I briefly recalled my conversation with Count Miloa. When I was with her, her gaze towards me was not very pleasant.

This was because during the process of Reina becoming my knight guard, the 4th Princess marrying the Imperial Fatty became a strong possibility.

I brought up the story of the Black Anvil Tribe’s mine to her and proposed that we use it to gain more profits than just the manastone that would be released domestically from the Imperial side.

It would have been best if I could have taken it all for myself, but realistically, it was impossible, so I needed the help of the 1st Prince’s faction.

– Okay. I understand what you’re saying. I also understand that it will be difficult to stop the 4th Princess from marrying into the Empire. I don’t know how you obtained such information, but also about the highest-grade Mana Beast hibernating in the mine that the dwarves near the Meton Estate border were developing. But how can you be sure that mine held as much of the highest-grade manastone as would be released due to the 4th Princess marrying into the Imperial family?

Miloa’s doubt was valid. But it was a question I had already prepared for.

– There is an ancient book called “The Mana Beast Observation Record” published 600 years ago when the Faceless Dragon existed. According to the records written there, the probability of finding the highest-grade manastone was extraordinarily high near the Faceless Dragon’s nest.

– ··········· How can you trust that book?

– Although it is not well known, the person who recorded that book was the great wizard Pores, known as the founder of the Green Tower.

For me, who can investigate books from bookstores across the continent while sitting in one place, it’s not a big deal. Information recorded in ‘books’ mostly doesn’t cost much.

– You are truly knowledgeable. It seems fitting that you were cooped up in the library of the Emerald Palace for 5 years.

– ········.

– Okay. But how do you plan to take Varisada there? Do you think the Royal Family will allow that?

– Do I really need permission?

– What do you ······.

– Since it can’t be drawn anyway and will only be used for display, wouldn’t it be fine to bring a fake? You should be able to do at least that much, right?

– ······ If caught, the 2nd Prince’s faction won’t stay still.

– As long as we don’t get caught. As long as we don’t get caught.

That was the reason I was currently in possession of the genuine [Varisada].

“Pr, Princess Pran! Please come out quickly!”

“Wait! I’ll be right out!”

I looked towards the noisy bathroom. Pran, who had given up her seat to Reina, returned with a staggering gait. She glared at me with her half-disfigured face.

It would be a long story to explain why Pran is here right now. The reason is ······.

Shhhhhriiiiiiek-

A chilling sensation felt momentarily.

I instinctively twisted my body. Adol, who was next to me, quickly pulled me.

Ffsshht- ppeok!

Something grazed my collar and pierced the spot where my heart had been just a moment ago.

An iron-tipped arrow, a quarrel.

The first ambush I’d experienced sent a chill down my spine.

Kwaaang!

– We’re under attack!

Waaeng, waaeng.

From the front, alarms started blaring loudly along with thunderous sounds.