The Extra Prince Sets Out To Conquer The World

As I entered the king’s residence, I was greeted by the king’s chief secretary, Sang Seon.

   “Welcome, we’ve been waiting for you. Prince Yuan.”

I smiled at the enthusiastic greeting and gave a perfunctory reply.

“It’s good to see you here again. Is Royal Father in good spirits?”

   “His Majesty is always strong. Let me show you inside.”

   We follow the gentleman inside, but a man who appears to be a guard stops us.

   “My lord, I apologize, but from here on out, you are not allowed to be armed, except for a certain number of people.”

   I nodded at the guard’s words.

   “Precia, hand your weapons to him.”

   “…Yes, sir.”

   Precia gave me an awkward look, as if she felt reluctant to remove the sword that was her alter ego from her body.

   “Do you mind if I go through then?”

   At my question, the guardsman glanced at Precia for a moment, then nodded.

   “I’m afraid I’ve been very rude, but you may pass.”

   Normally, the process would have been more complicated, including a pat-down to get inside, but this time it was brief because it was the king’s invitation.

   Judging by the attitude of the knights, the king was quite favorably disposed toward me.

It was a small favor that would be forgotten when I turned around, but it was enough to get me in and out of the castle.

The Secretary’s directions took me to an indoor garden in the deep palace.

   Inside was a large table and a middle-aged man with graying hair.

   I stopped Precia and Herion with a wave of my hand and turned to the man.

   I bowed politely and greeted him.

“It’s been a while since this humble one greeted you. I hope you will generously forgive me for my offense in not visiting you.”

   It was strange to apologize to the king, as it wasn’t as if I had asked to see him, but such was the royal etiquette of this country.

   The king, who looked quite stern, looked at me as if surprised by my bow, then smiled.

   “I don’t blame the prince,” he said, This been too busy to visit my son often.” (The king is using formal ‘I’ only used by Kings)

He rambled on about a subject I wasn’t interested in.

   The king put on a fake look of benevolence, but he didn’t really care about any of his children, including me.

   Or, more accurately, he was only interested in them as political fodder.

   “Come, let’s eat and catch up.”

   Prince Yuan would have been delighted to hear this, but he was no longer present.

   I replied with a fake smile.

   “I’ve been looking forward to this!”

   With that, the king and I sat down, and the food was served.

   The king asked me about my life in a series of unnecessary words, and I answered with equally unnecessary words, saving the budget and my expenses for later.

The king called me here to keep the queen and her political base in check as they grew too powerful.

I wasn’t going to just accept it without a fight.

“By the way, there have been some unsavory rumors about you and the queen recently.”

I was inwardly surprised by the king’s words; even if the rumors were intentional, asking about them so directly could be interpreted as a way to drive a wedge between us.

   I knew that the queen’s power was growing, but had it grown to the point where the king would come out like this?

   I knew that the king in front of me would eventually become a pariah due to the queen’s machinations, but I didn’t realize it was this far along.

   The Queen and her support base have grown so strong, and it’s no wonder the organization behind it is trying to kill me.

   I’ll have to be careful.

   At the king’s direct question, I gave him an awkward smile, an outwardly sad expression that I tried to mask with laughter.

“I suppose it’s her…her way of teaching….”

   My voice trembled, and my hand dropped deliberately, dropping the spoon I was holding.

   Normally, a private audience with the king would have been limited to a few tight-lipped individuals, but there were many servants and court ladies in this garden.

   It was obvious that the king wanted to spread the rumor further.

   I liked the little bastard.

Since it’s like this, it’s easy for me to play along with him.

“Ah…! I’m sorry, I’ve offended you.”

   I apologized with a dumbfounded look on my face, and Sang Seon himself brought out a new spoon.

   “No, you didn’t.”

   The king’s eyes were cold, though he was smiling benevolently.

   He and I continued to eat, exchanging off-color remarks.

   We acted like a father and son who don’t get to see each other often, but still care about each other.

   “Oh, and by the way,” the king said, “you bravely announced the health of the royal family for the sake of the country, even though it must have been traumatic for you.”

   The king said in passing, as if it was no big deal, even though it was the fundamental reason I was invited to this meal.

   I replied, playing the foolish prince.

   “It’s no big deal, I just did what I was supposed to do as my father’s son and as a prince of this country.”

   At my answer, the king gave me a stern look and said.

   “It is not. Your actions may have been small, but your heart for the country and the royal family is far greater. So carry yourself with dignity.”

   This is not the kind of man who would advise his almost-assassinated son to be more combative.

   “I’ll keep that in mind.”

   “Yes, it is not the virtue of a superior to merely praise with words, but if you have a wish, tell me. I’ll grant what I can for your birthday.”

   I waited for those words!

   At the king’s declaration, I gave him a perplexed look, barely restraining myself from laughing heartily.

   “How dare I….”

I rejected the offer, knowing that if I said yes at once, it might backfire.

   The king assured me it was fine.

   “Then… I have two wishes that come to mind, if I may?”

“Oh ho, two things? The prince is greedier than he looks, ahahaha!”

I responded to the king’s fake amusement.

   “I apologize.”

   “No, no. I have not set a limit on the number of wishes you may make.”

   With permission granted, I said casually.

   “Since you say so, I dare to ask that you increase the budget for the management of the Star Palace from 50,000 ducats. My personal servant, Herion, has been saving as much as he can, but everyone who manages the Star Palace is struggling.”

“Fifty thousand? That’s so little? Uh-huh, the management of the palace is the domain of the queen, but that’s too much. I see. I’ll raise it myself.”

   The king’s assurance made the corners of Herion’s mouth turn up, even though he was good at managing his expression.

   By the way, the king seemed genuinely surprised, not faking it, when he heard that the budget was 50,000 duples.

It would have been nice to get a little more, but the administrative budget was a more reasonable one.

“What other wishes do you have?”

   “I would like to reward my escort, Precia, for saving my life during last week’s unfortunate incident. But as I have nothing of my own to match the favor, I dare to ask for the right to choose a sword from the royal treasury.”

   The king looked a little surprised at my request and asked.

   “So neither of the two wishes you asked for are for you?”

   I smiled and replied.

   “The men of the palace and my escort are men who move for me, so how can a wish for them not be a wish for me? Also, did not my father tell me that it is not a virtue of a superior to praise with words alone? Children are the mirror of their parents, and I have learned this from my father.”

   The reason for my long tongue was simple.

   I wanted to hold the king accountable and force him to honor his word.

   The king laughed heartily at my words.

   “Hahahahaha, I can’t resist that! Very well, when we’re done eating, you may take any sword you wish from the treasure trove!”

   “Thank you.”

   I can finally enter the place where Videl’s armor sleeps.

   * * *

When the king had finished eating with Prince Yuan, he returned to his chambers and looked up at the sky as he drank tea from Sang Seon.

   The night sky was full of stars, and the moon, slightly dented from a full moon, was illuminating the world.

   “How did it look to you?”

The king asked, and the Sang Seon bowed his head.

   “Aye.

As your majesty wishes, the rumors will be even louder.”

At Sang Seon’s reply, the king realized he had asked the wrong question.

   “No, not about that, but about the First Prince.”

“You mean the First Prince? …How dare I speak ill of royalty.”

Sang Seon’s slightly long silence said it all about the prince.

   No matter how you dress it up, it won’t be very good.

   When the king heard his answer, he was slightly amused.

“Even a man of your caliber could not read him?”

“…I beg your pardon, but what do you mean?”

Sang Seon asked, and the king laughed as he set his teacup down on the desk.

“Woohoohoo, if you don’t know what I mean, then that’s fine. More importantly, how is the investigation into the dark forces that seem to be working with the queen?”

   The king asked, and Sang Seon replied calmly.

   “I’m afraid we haven’t made much progress yet, and with the queen’s extreme vigilance, it will be some time before we can complete our investigation.”

   “Very well, you’ll have to work harder. When the investigation is complete, I will reward you with the greatest reward I can give you, for, yes, verbal praise is not the virtue of a superior.”

   The king glanced in the direction of the treasure trove with interest, then sat down to work.

   * * *

   I stood admiring the treasure trove of glittering jewels and gleaming weapons.

   “I will wait outside,” said the servant, “you may observe at your leisure.”

   With the servant’s words, I remained alone in the treasure room.

   Herion and Precia were not allowed to accompany me, probably because they feared their discerning eyes would pick out a sword that was too precious.

   What a petty steward.

   Much to my chagrin, I have no discerning eye for swords.

   I do, however, know of a novel in which a man with such an eye was rewarded with a sword from the treasury.

   Demiway De Blantzvarg, High Lord of the North, one of the Ten Swords of Heaven and Earth, the “Sword Demon,” the strongest knight in the land, the one who defends the country from the Bastille Mountains, the Hell of Humanity.

   My eye for swords is rubbish, but his discernment is trustworthy.

   “If it’s a Seven Star Sword, it should be good enough until I get a Holy Sword later.”

   While Demiway was torn between the Seven Star Sword and the Ghost Sword, and ultimately chose the Ghost Sword, Precia felt that the Seven Star Sword would be better since she used it.

   As much as I wanted to sweep them all into the pantry, I couldn’t, as the caretaker recorded the location and quantity of the treasures.

   “Next, the long-awaited armor of Videl.”

   I stood before the full plate armor labeled Videl’s Armor.

   The heavy armor in front of me was the armor of Videl, the greatest knight in the history of the kingdom.

   The armor looked as ornate and sturdy as Videl’s reputation, but that was only the surface.

   Videl’s armor was hidden beneath this full plate armor.

   I undid the elbow seams of the armor and slipped my hand inside the armor. I fumbled with the lining until I found something that caught my hand.

   “Is this it?”

   I gently scraped something off and pulled it up, revealing a small bracelet.

   “Found it! Videl’s Armor!”

   I immediately put it on and imbued it with magic.

Then a black membrane erupted from the bracelet and enveloped my entire body.

The black membrane transformed my hands into gloves and my body into a one-piece suit of armor, enveloping my entire body like a rider on a chariot.

This was the true form of Videl’s armor that had made him the greatest knight in the kingdom’s history.

“Hahaha, hahaha, hahaha, with this, I hardly have to go anywhere and risk being stabbed to death!”

I had to keep consuming magic power to maintain this armor, but Precia would do something about it before I ran out of magic power, I suppose.

   I put Videl’s armor back into storage and grabbed the Seven Star Sword for Precia and left the treasure room.

   I couldn’t help but smile at the thought of Precia’s excitement at receiving the sword.