Overpowered Extra Noble in a Novel

The day passed in the blink of an eye as I handed over my duties to Malcolm, the village representative, and sent an urgent letter to Baron Hasen informing him that Ruben had been left in a hurry, preparing to leave the town with Rani.

The day of departure arrived.

At dawn, the sun was rising slowly over the ridge.

I was checking the condition of the carriage in front of the manor while enduring the numbness from being beaten with a wooden sword.

“Man, I’m exhausted.”

Usually waking up late in the morning, I had risen about five hours earlier, and my whole body screamed in fatigue. I only slept for about three hours.

I wanted to completely rest and then leave, but it couldn’t be helped.

It’s better to head towards the capital via the nearest big city in these outskirts for maintenance.

There’s also the purpose of buying travel supplies, but venturing beyond towns or villages holds many dangers.

Traveling with merchants and others in a group is safer from strange creatures, making long-distance travel smoother.

To join a large merchant caravan, one must reach a big city, but the supplies we have now are insufficient.

So, we plan to first resupply additional goods at the nearest village from Ruben.

“Hnngh…”

This feeling of wanting to lie down on the ground right away.

It’s the kind of tiredness I experienced commuting two hours to work or university long ago. It’s been quite a while, hasn’t it?

As I was about to tap the baggage carriage in irritation due to this fatigue and boredom creeping over my body, I heard Rani’s cheerful shout.

“Master! I’m all set!”

Breaking through the foggy haze, Rani emerged from the manor, a backpack larger than her strapped to her shoulders.

After throwing the bag into the luggage compartment, she spun around, her neatly pressed robe billowing in the wind.

Despite the early morning, Rani’s face exuded vitality, showing no signs of fatigue.

Rani probably doesn’t have any worries. She just seems excited about traveling far away.

“Ugh! Aiigh!”

After lightly teasing her cheeks and lifting her up, I noticed she felt pretty heavy. Is it because she’s in her growth spurt recently? She seems to have grown a little taller.

Still, there’s no change in the fact that I’m nearly four heads taller than her.

When I seated her, her grimacing face transformed back into one full of energy.

As Rani, seated, grabbed the reins while bouncing her shoulders, I turned to the old man who silently watched over us.

“Old man Farden, I told you, you didn’t have to see me off.”

“Lord Cain is embarking on a long journey. How could I not bid you farewell? It’s proper to at least pay my respects.”

“It’s dawn, you must be tired.”

“Ho ho. I’m fine. Old men wake up early.”

Farden, the eldest of the Ruben village, laughed heartily.

“Lord… Watching you wander the village with Lord Carlos just feels like it was yesterday. You’ve grown so much already. Time truly flies.”

Farden gazed at me silently for a moment, then gently smiled and spoke.

“Lord Carlos would be proud of you.”

“…Yeah.”

The hearty image of my father in this world, Carlos, flashed before my eyes.

Feeling a bit wistful, I shook off the feeling and climbed onto the driver’s seat.

“Farden. Please take care of them.”

“Of course, Master Cain. I’ll look after the graves properly. Then, may the sun’s blessings be with you.”

Our conversation ended, and as Rani, who had been listening quietly, gently moved the reins, the carriage slowly moved out of the village cutting through the thick fog.

We embarked on our journey to the capital, the rising sun guiding us as we were bid farewell by Farden.

* * *

The capital lies to the southwest from the standpoint of Ruben in the northeastern region.

The fastest way to get to the capital would naturally be to head southwest, but no one has ever traveled that way so far.

Mountain ranges inhabited by monsters and giant beasts, villages not marked on maps where fugitives are rumored to hide.

The shortest route to the capital is filled with dangerous places that threaten one’s life.

Only those with considerable skill can break through such hazardous areas.

That’s why travelers head south first and then to Pental, the large eastern city.

We moved continuously southward through the safest routes frequented by merchants and travelers, passing through various towns and cities before arriving at Pental.

From there, we rejoined a merchant caravan on its way back to the capital.

By the way, it’s today, with about a week left before reaching the capital.

We were currently navigating the uneven roads formed amidst the densely wooded areas.

“Master! Ah, that’s right, big brother! I’m back.”

Rani returned to the carriage holding a bunch of snacks.

She must have eaten some along the way.

After wiping the seasoning off her mouth, she offered me a piece of dried meat, startled.

“I didn’t eat it…!”

“I know, I know.”

“Eeek!”

As I reached for the dried meat, I ruffled Rani’s hair.

At first, Rani greatly enjoyed mixing with different people, but as she grew bored with the slow pace of the carriage, she began weaving through the crowd.

Perhaps due to her youthful appearance and active personality, she quickly blended with the caravan people.

Whenever she was seen roaming among them, she also somehow returned with snacks, providing quite a pleasant time as I didn’t feel hungry as a result.

Rani, looking somewhat solemn as she glanced at me, spoke after hesitantly stealing a bite of the dried meat.

“Master. I’ve brought back top-secret information.”

“Ho. Top-secret information. You really are Macbilian’s shadow. Should we hear this information?”

Rani sometimes imitates the old butler, Jansen. The protector of the house must look very cool or something.

If my memory serves, Rani is fourteen years old this year.

“Well, it’s the right age, isn’t it?”

After giving her some appropriate encouragement, she earnestly shared the various stories she’d overheard.

“So….”

Rani’s collected information was surprisingly reliable.

The situation at the Northern Front, which was holding back the monstrous creatures.

The banditization of the routed troops after losing their territory.

Big and small disputes among the central nobles, or the movements of neighboring countries.

And people fleeing the tyrannical territories.

“What are they telling such things to a child?”

It must be from what she heard from the caravan people. They probably thought she wouldn’t understand much at her young age and told her casually to keep her entertained.

“Good job. Shadow. As a reward, you are allowed to eat another piece of dried meat.”

“…!”

After watching Rani jump into the baggage compartment for a moment, I turned my gaze.

“…”

Rani’s brought information was all about some of the scattered issues within the empire.

In other words, they’re the matters I will need to help the empress resolve once I become the crown prince.

Climbing to the position beside the emperor at the peak of Altain Empire’s power is quite an amazing thing, but…

To be honest, given that I already know the rough future of the empire, I can’t feel overly joyous.

I can see a future where my life will be overwhelmed with work.

Should I let the country fall into ruin this way? Is this really necessary?

It’s truly horrific.

Maybe I should defect to the Sylvester Empire.

“Umm…”

Starting anew in Sylvester or another country.

Still, living in a place where hostilities remain from long ago wouldn’t be easy. And there aren’t any other countries as developed as the two empires.

The images of the nobles in the northeast, my two younger siblings entrusted to Duke Hasen, and my mentor in Ruben flashed through my mind.

“…Yeah. Anyway, I’ll just have to suffer for a while.”

Once I become the crown prince, I can delegate the overwhelming amount of work to my subordinates.

It’s not as if I have to do everything alone anyway.

Even without me, Altain should continue running smoothly. It doesn’t seem like my slacking will cause any problem.

While organizing these confusing thoughts in my head, I felt a foreign presence around.

“…Are they here?”

Since leaving Ruben, it has been an unusually peaceful time.

It’s about time the next ones show up.

“Everyone, stop! We’re surrounded.”

At the guard captain’s shout, everyone stiffened and guarded all sides.

When merchants tensed up and hid behind their carriages, enemies emerged from all around.

Ragged clothing, armed with old swords or spears.

They were typical bandits.

And a little further away, there were masked figures watching the scene.

Just from a glance, it’s clear they outnumber and easily overwhelm the scale of the convoy.

Where did so many gather?

Even several of them are armed with spears and battered armor, maintaining a somewhat crude formation.

As the oppressive silence descended, the sound of horses’ hooves resonating, one of the more competent-looking bandits spoke.

“This is our territory. Show some respect if you want to pass! Don’t even think about nonsense since you’re surrounded!”

The bandits laughed wickedly while shaking their daggers.

There was a mutter of curses among the caravan.

No one responded to the impudent shout of the bandits. In this helpless situation, all were silent.

As they silently gripped their weapons and the bandits took a step closer, the representative of the caravan leaned out from his hiding spot.

“Wait! Wait a moment! Uh, how much is it you need?”

“Oh. So you’re the boss here?”

The bandit conferred with nearby comrades before shouting back at the merchant.

“Leave everything, and get out! We’ll let you leave with your lives, you fools!”

“I, how unreasonable! What kind of talk is that!”

“The calculation doesn’t add up? Look at how many of us there are, merchant! You need to pay to get us all!”

The bandits laughed boisterously at the merchant’s pale face.

A battle is certainly imminent.

Right now, the bandits were merely toying with the merchants.

The guards obviously noticed this, gradually forming defensive formation while listening to the merchants’ and bandits’ exchange silently.

“The problem is those guys.”

The strange figures mixed among the bandits.

Their stares and aura weren’t those of ordinary people. They paid no attention to the merchants’ and bandits’ conversation but scanned people’s faces seriously.

“They seem like the ones sent by the central nobles. Could they be knights?”

Skilled swordsmen often unconsciously reveal their characteristic demeanor even in daily life.

The most common one is the build and physique from regular sword practice. No matter how one tries to cover them with clothing, they don’t hide easily.

The number of people in the empire who practice hard enough to be this noticeable is limited.

“They’re fast in their response.”

This isn’t a world with long-distance communication like in modern society.

It takes time for news about the disappearance of mercenaries to reach their client.

I was already heading toward the capital before that.

Naturally, the central nobles were in a situation where they couldn’t react quickly.

“Could they have been sent beforehand?”

Anyway, to head to the capital from Ruben, you must pass through the big city in the east.

After that, there are three main routes leading from the big city to the capital.

By positioning swordsmen at each route and eliminating anyone who looked suspicious while they passed, that would be the end.

During this period, the only noble likely heading to the capital alone is the crown prince candidate, making it a decent ploy.

Using bandits, they could easily create a plausible excuse that the crown prince candidate met a tragic end during the trip due to bandits.

“How despicable.”

While grinding my teeth against the nobles, I caught the whisper of one of the masked men through my concentrated senses.

“Kill them all this time. We don’t need the item.”

“Yes, yes. Understood. Hey, brats! Stop playing around and start!”

With that short exchange, the bandits charged toward the caravan with a thunderous war cry.

The loud sound of hooves and weapons echoed throughout the forest, and as the horde of bandits approached, the guard captain shouted.

“Stay in formation! We’ll die if we’re surrounded!”

Soon, fierce shouts and sharp metallic sounds of weapons erupted from all around, and the once peaceful forest turned into a chaotic scene of red blood and wails.

“Rani, hide.”

I gently pressed Rani’s head as she peaked out of the luggage compartment, then stepped out from the carriage.

Innocent people were spilling blood due to the central nobles’ antics.

If I want to sleep soundly tonight, I would need to save as many people as possible.

Taking advantage of the chaos, I stepped in front of the bandits heading toward my carriage.

These guys had been looking at Rani since they appeared and then approached as soon as the battle started, making them quite transparent.

“What, this kid!”

“Damn. Don’t act all high and mighty. Die!”

A clumsy but fairly powerful spear thrust towards my abdomen came their way.

There was a full confidence in the bandit’s eyes as if the spear piercing through my abdomen was a foregone conclusion.

He seemed to pride himself on his thrust, moving with some speed.

For an average person, they wouldn’t have time to react and would be pierced through helplessly.

In my position, it was slow enough to make me yawn.

I smoothly twisted my body and grabbed the spear shaft, breaking it off with ease.

“Wha…?”

Toward the wide-eyed bandit, I swung my sword at his forehead.

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