Chapter 110 – Three Princes

After finishing my conversation with Auria—I first headed toward the Royal Castle. I needed to inform the Knight Order and make preparations for the night.

When I asked a servant to announce me, I was told King Melvin was in the salon.

It was the same salon I’d been shown to before. Since it was a place used privately by the royal family, commoners rarely came here, making it suitable for various discussions.

“Oh?”

While being led to the salon by the servant, I encountered a well-dressed pair in the hallway.

“Your Highness Josiah, Your Highness Roy. This is Theodore-sama, the Otherworld Ambassador. Theodore-sama, this is His Highness Josiah, the Crown Prince, and His Highness Roy, the Second Prince.”

The servant introduced us to each other.

“Ah. So you’re the one from the rumors,”

said the Crown Prince—Prince Josiah—with a smile.

“We haven’t had a chance to meet until now. I’m Josiah.”

“Theodore Gartner.”

“Roy.”

He offered a handshake. I took his hand and reciprocated. Next, I exchanged handshakes with Prince Roy as well.

The reason we hadn’t met until now… was probably because I usually don’t show my face at the Royal Castle unless I have business, and there are more places in the King’s Tower that I don’t set foot in than those I do.

The royal family members I hadn’t met likely lived in those areas normally, and there was also the consideration of Prince Albert’s position.

“…Hmm. I’d heard you were a skilled Magician, but you’re quite an ordinary child, aren’t you? I was imagining someone more suspicious.”

I don’t know what Roy had been imagining… but as he said that, he stared intently at my face.

Then, as if realizing his rudeness, he released my hand, shrugged his shoulders, and smiled.

“No, my apologies. It’s just that we heard you exposed Rosemary’s conspiracy. We wondered if an adult might be disguised as a child.”

“That’s amusing.”

I also smiled lightly and brushed off Roy’s casual remark.

Well, given my true nature, you could say he was half right.

“Roy. That’s rude. Even if it is after what Helfried said.”

Prince Josiah said with a wry smile.

…Hmm. I wonder what that’s about.

“This is absurd!”

Just then, someone burst out of the door connecting to the salon at the other end of the hallway, their footsteps heavy.

“This is His Highness Helfried, the Third Prince,”

the servant said.

Prince Helfried had been glaring hatefully at the room he’d emerged from—the salon where King Melvin should have been—but he turned toward us. Our eyes met.

“Your Highness Helfried. This is—”

“Ah! I can guess! That must be the suspicious Magician!”

Prince Helfried pointed at me without even trying to hide his irritation, and said,

“Hey, Helfried…”

Prince Josiah frowned and tried to admonish him, but Prince Helfried wouldn’t listen. Shaking his head, he exclaimed,

“Don’t you think it’s strange, Your Highness Josiah! I return from studying abroad by ship, only to find my elder sister Imprisoned in a Tower in the north, and some unfamiliar Magician who exposed her conspiracy strutting in and out of the King’s Tower as if he owns it! It’s truly unpleasant!”

“That’s why Helfried came to negotiate with us, asking if we should really trust you as you are. Well, talking to us is pointless, so he went to Father instead. We just got dragged along,”

Prince Roy supplemented the situation.

So that’s why all three of them ended up meeting me at once. If he had something to say, he should have come to me directly instead of trying to win over the Crown Prince or the Second Prince.

“So. What would you have me do to prove my innocence? Should I undergo a Magical Inquisition?”

I said to Prince Helfried.

“Th-that…”

Prince Helfried faltered, seemingly intimidated. Subjecting someone to a Magical Inquisition was an extreme measure.

But whether he disliked backing down or simply lacked the resolve to press further, he swung his arm sideways as if refusing to acknowledge it.

“N-no! If you’re a Magician, it wouldn’t be strange if you knew tricks to slip through a Magical Inquisition! How can we trust you!”

So he thinks I framed Rosemary, does he? Though it was Rosemary who knew how to slip through an inquisition.

“What is going on here!”

The sharp rebuke came from King Melvin, who had emerged from the salon. With this much commotion in the hallway, he would have noticed.

“F-Father…!”

Prince Helfried tried to persist, but King Melvin, having surveyed the surroundings and grasped the situation, frowned and said,

“Helfried. As I told you earlier, your words insult the Ambassador’s achievements and honor, and are tantamount to doubting my judgment. If you intend to continue this in his presence, you must be prepared for the consequences.”

At King Melvin’s words, Prince Helfried gritted his teeth, glared at me as he passed by, and then strode away.

Left behind were Prince Josiah with a troubled expression and Prince Roy shrugging his shoulders.

“You two should return to your rooms as well,”

King Melvin said to Prince Josiah and Prince Roy before turning away.

“Helfried was rude to you.”

“Hmm. Well then, let’s exchange proper greetings another time.”

The two princes departed. As for me, since I had business with King Melvin, I entered the salon.

King Melvin let out a small sigh and gestured for me to sit opposite him.

“I did not wish to show you such an unsightly spectacle… My apologies.”

“Not at all.”

So he’s Rosemary’s younger brother. Well, Rosemary is quite sharp, after all. If he’d been close to her as a brother, it wouldn’t be strange for him to have sensed that and admired her.

The Crown Prince, the Second Prince, and the First Princess are the children of the First Queen. The Second Princess and the Third Prince are the children of the Second Queen. And then—the late Third Queen was the mother of Albert and Marlene.

“But this is my failure, is it not? …I have already caused you unnecessary hardship and trouble as it is… Not only with Rosemary’s matter—”

King Melvin put a hand to his forehead and sighed deeply.

“…I heard from Albert as well. Even regarding that Communication Device, you intended to make it affordable for the Adventurers delving into the Labyrinth. I am sorry that it ended up disregarding your intentions.”

“No, not at all. We haven’t given up on that front either. We’re considering various methods on our end.”

When I said that, King Melvin gave a wry smile. Well, since I basically act for my own sake, it’s not such a noble reason or a serious matter.

“Now, regarding the reason for my visit today…”

As King Melvin nodded, I explained what I had learned and decided from my conversation with Auria. We needed arrangements made and an area cleared of people by nightfall to fight the Spirit.

“A Spirit, is it… Hmm. I understand. I shall see to the arrangements by tonight.”

“Good evening.”

“Oh. You’ve arrived.”

At midnight, when we all headed to the Adventurer Guild, Auria and Mercedes were waiting together.

When Auria noticed us, she raised a hand casually and greeted us in a relaxed tone.

“Preparations on our side are complete,”

Mercedes said. They had asked the Knight Order to clear people from a suitable location for the battle.

The square in front of the Adventurer Guild had people emerging from the Labyrinth at night, making it less than ideal for tonight’s fight.

Since preparations were underway at a square in the South District, we decided to head there first. Along the way, I asked Auria a question.

“You mentioned there would be a fight—is there anything we should be cautious of?”

“Without knowing the Spirit’s true nature… it’s hard to say what its attack methods will be.”

“You said we need to reduce its power—what about that?”

“If we assume the Spirit has swelled due to influence from a Magical Energy Pool, then we should strip that away. The most effective method would be Magic—”

After looking over everyone present, Auria glanced at my face meaningfully.

“…I suppose the point is not to blow away the core Spirit itself.”

When I said that, Auria gave a wry smile.

“Well, normally such worries wouldn’t be necessary. It’s usually a desperate struggle just to manage. But imagining your strength and hidden cards, it doesn’t seem impossible either.”

“…I see.”

It seems we should consider it a considerably dangerous opponent… but for the sake of gaining information, we can’t just blast it away without question. We need some degree of restraint.

The question is, to what extent? I suppose we’ll have to adjust while fighting, gauging how much is safe.

The effective method is attacks using Magic. The opponent’s attack methods are still unknown. In that case, it would be most appropriate for me to take the front, capable of handling both physical and magical assaults.