The Extra Prince Sets Out To Conquer The World

“Arcana. So that’s the name of that group.”

The King scrutinized me with cold eyes.

He was probably trying to gauge the extent of the information I was hiding.

“Impressive. Since when have you been hiding your claws?”

To the public, Prince Yuan was nothing more than an extremely weak and naive boy. However, my current behavior was very different from the image known to the world.

“I never really hid them. I simply didn’t reveal them.”

At my answer, the King looked at me with interested eyes.

“Even though you’re in a position outside of everyone’s attention, you’ve managed to build an information network that evades not only my gaze but also the Queen’s? Remarkable.”

Although he praised me verbally, his gaze held suspicion.

He suspected that I, like the Queen, might have joined hands with the enemy.

It was a natural question.

Without doing so, it would be impossible for me to establish an information network while evading the eyes of the King and Queen.

Rather, if he didn’t suspect me, he wouldn’t be qualified as a king.

I slightly bowed my head and replied, “You flatter me. It’s nothing compared to what you imagine.”

A subtle atmosphere flowed between me and the King.

“Do you have any intention of handing over that information network to me?”

“But it’s my lifeline?”

I didn’t particularly try to dispel the King’s suspicion. It was impossible to immediately clear his doubts here.

In the first place, it’s easy to raise suspicions, but it’s difficult to explain them away with words, even with hundreds of pieces of evidence.

And above all, the King must be uncertain now.

That’s because, regardless of the reason, the Queen’s faction suffered a serious blow from my actions.

The position of Queen was too useful to be used as a throwaway card to make a powerless prince gain the King’s trust.

The King, who had been engaged in a battle of nerves with me, soon nodded and stated the main reason he summoned me here.

“The reason I called you like this is to give you a reward. If you have a wish, speak it.”

Since what I did was not something that could be publicly praised, he had summoned me in secret.

Expecting this, I took out a slip of paper I had prepared from my pocket and handed it over.

“Please obtain the items listed here for me.”

Receiving the paper slip, the King looked at me as if dumbfounded.

“You’re not being modest like at the last meal, are you?”

“There are eyes watching us, and neither of us has time to waste on such things.”

“Puha! True, time is precious for both of us. By the way, you have quite a lot of requests.”

The items I wrote on the slip were not only expensive but also things that couldn’t be obtained just with money.

Most of them were precious medicinal ingredients or magical materials that were difficult to procure without being royalty.

I knew where most of them could be obtained, but why waste time when there was such an easy way to get them?

“Why do you need these things?”

“I’ll use them to protect this frail body of mine. Ah, I don’t care about the rest, but please make sure to get the spirit stones.”

To shorten the time it took to master Lisbeth’s spirit techniques, I needed spirit stones.

Neither the ancestor’s legacy nor Aquila’s mana circuits could be used right away, so the only means I could currently master was spirit techniques.

“…You didn’t seem like it, but you’re quite brazen.”

At the King’s words, I rolled up my sleeve and showed my arm with bluish bruises.

“I think I’ve suffered enough to deserve it.”

When I boldly demanded, the King made a slightly disgusted expression.

“Fine. Sangseon will have to work a bit, but I’ll have them procured within two days.”

“I’m eternally grateful.”

“Then is that all you wish for?”

At the King’s question, I nodded.

“Yes, that’s all I ‘wish’ for.”

“You wish for? Then is there something else left?”

“What I’m about to tell you is closer to a ‘deal’ where we give and take rather than a wish.”

I looked at the King with a playful smile.

I had finished all my business in the capital.

There was no point in staying here just to spectate the boring political battles that I couldn’t properly intervene in, so I intended to spend my time on more productive matters.

*****

The King, who had sent Prince Yuan away, stood in the garden and looked up at the moon in the sky.

“What do you think of the deal the lad proposed?”

At the King’s question, Sangseon hesitated before speaking.

“I think Prince Yuan has taken on too reckless a task.”

“Is that so? But if things go as the lad says, he will gain my trust. At least the trust that he’s not an enemy. That’s something worth taking a risk for.”

It was too measly to be called trust.

However, as he said, not becoming an enemy of the King in the palace, which was no different from a demon-subduing temple, was sufficiently valuable.

“Things have gotten interesting.”

The King looked up at the sky and laughed as if truly enjoying himself.

About half a month had passed since the Queen was confined on charges of abusing Prince Yuan.

The palace was in a state of chaos due to the storm of political strife, and most people were spending hectic days.

“Yawn~! I’ve gotten quite used to horseback riding now.”

Amidst that, I let out a leisurely yawn.

Currently, I was at the Golden Lion Knights’ riding ground, learning to ride a horse from Horazon.

“You seem to have a lot of free time, Your Highness.”

At Horazon’s words, I answered with a grin.

“The eye of the storm is always calm.”

As the person involved in the incident, I firmly maintained my position as a clear victim and ended with a simple investigation that no one dared to touch.

It was only natural. The King’s faction was busy attacking the Queen, and to the Queen’s faction, I was nothing more than an annoying hornet’s nest that would only provide a pretext to the enemy if they messed with me unnecessarily.

“Thanks to that, it seems your escort knight and exclusive attendant are quite busy.”

The reason Horazon was teaching me horseback riding instead of Precia was simple.

Precia was called here and there for the investigation into the abuse case.

While I ended with a simple investigation under the King’s protection, Precia, who was always by my side, was an important reference to prove the Queen’s abuse allegations, so the investigators wouldn’t leave her alone.

“Well, it will be over soon. There’s not much time left until the promised time with His Majesty.”

At my words, Horazon asked with a disapproving face.

“Will it really be alright? If things go as you predicted, it will be quite dangerous.”

Half a month ago, I had proposed a deal to the King.

The details of the deal were simple.

I would once again become the bait to bring down the Queen’s faction, and in return, he would grant me a small piece of land.

The land I requested was a remote mountain valley, but hidden there was a mithril vein that no one knew about.

It would take a lot of effort to develop it in secret, but there was nothing better as an investment for the future.

The King probably thought my request was merely nominal and an act to gain his trust.

But rather than something trivial like the King’s trust, a mithril vein is the best!

Hiding my true intentions, I naturally said, “Sir Horazon, you’re saying strange things. My life is already in danger. With assassins infiltrating the palace, a little adventure is nothing significant.”

At my words, Horazon’s expression hardened. I whispered to him as if asking.

“By the way, do you remember what I said before?”

“What are you referring to, Your Highness?”

“When I told you to be careful even of the water His Majesty drinks. Those words still hold true. Please be cautious.”

Although I had prevented the Queen from wielding power, the danger of the King being poisoned had not disappeared.

Rather, since it became difficult to use the Queen as a pawn, they would surely use a different move.

Honestly, I didn’t care emotionally whether the King lived or died, but it would be troublesome if I couldn’t keep the enemy in check while I was away.

“If the worst situation occurs, seek out Herion.”

At my whisper, Horazon looked at me with serious eyes.

“Remember my words, Sir Horazon.”

I smiled brightly, grasped the reins, and rode ahead.

****

“Does it look good?”

When I laughed at Divet, who was sweating profusely while stirring the contents of the cauldron, he frowned.

“Does this look good to you?”

Divet’s complexion was pale white, and his whole body was wrapped in bandages.

His arms trembled more than usual, as if his withdrawal symptoms were particularly severe today.

“Then wouldn’t it be good to quit drugs and receive treatment?”

The reason Divet was groaning was due to withdrawal symptoms.

The bandages wrapped around his body were to fix the pain-relieving ointment to suppress itching and phantom pain, and a strong medicinal smell wafted from his entire body.

“As expected, a granddaughter is great. When I told you, you didn’t even listen, but now you’ve started treatment.”

In “The Sage of the Winter Tree,” there was a description that Divet often turned to drugs again while enduring and treating himself alone without anyone to assist him.

However, now with his granddaughter as a mental pillar and Aladrine as his dedicated therapist, Divet’s treatment was much faster and more stable than in the novel.

“Shut up, you ill-mannered brat. Don’t you have work to do? Why do you keep barging in and chatting away?”

At Divet’s irritated grumbling, I laughed mischievously.

“Hey, you’re happy that I visit, but you’re just pretending.”

I had been visiting Divet every day since the Queen was confined.

“Happy my foot, you keep throwing work at me whenever you come.”

There was a mountain of things Divet had to make for me, so it couldn’t be helped.

Just the things I needed immediately included monster repellent, wound healing medicine, mana recovery potion, cold resistance magic potion, and so on.

“I have to prepare in advance when I have time. I won’t be able to come even if I want to for a while.”

Tomorrow, I will leave the capital.

The King personally recommended that I recuperate at a resort to recover my body and mind, which had been exhausted from the Queen’s abuse.

That was the ‘superficial reason.’

At my words, Divet seemed relieved but also a bit disappointed.

When I smiled like a mischievous child, Divet quickly changed the subject.

“Ahem! Why does your escort who came after a long time look so dazed?”

Precia insisted on guarding me, but she couldn’t find the time due to the intense daily investigations.

While I ended with a simple investigation under the King’s protection, Precia, who was always by my side, was an important reference to prove the Queen’s abuse allegations, so the investigators wouldn’t leave her alone.

Yesterday was the last day, so Precia, who was now free starting today, was half out of her mind while guarding me.

The royalists tenaciously tried to prove the Queen’s abuse to the fullest, while the aristocrats tenaciously tried to downplay it as a trivial matter, so it couldn’t be helped.

“She’ll get better after some rest.”

“Is that so? But what have you been fiddling with so intently?”

At Divet’s question, I shook the items I was holding and answered.

“It’s a specially commissioned stone bow from the guild. I received it today and am checking for any issues.”

“I can see that. What I’m curious about is the black rod attached to that stone bow.”

The part Divet pointed to was a sturdy tube made of rubber with a hollow interior.

“Ah, this? If I had to call it something, should I say it’s a barrel?”

The stone bow with a rubber tube enhanced by magic for durability somewhat resembled a rifle.

Although its actual role was slightly different.

At that moment, a purple smoke rose from Divet’s cauldron.

“It’s done. The spirit affinity enhancer you ordered. Any magician researching spirits would sell their house to obtain this potion.”

“As expected of you, old man.”

“Heh! Flattery will get you nowhere!”

Divet grumbled and cooled the potion with magic.

“Are you forming a spirit contract now?”

At Divet’s question, I nodded and opened Lisbeth’s Spirit Book. Then, following the instructions in the book, I drew a spirit summoning circle on the floor with Abasael’s engraving pen.

“What kind of spirit are you going to contract with?”

“Of course, a spirit that will allow me to properly use the newly acquired stone bow.”

I infused mana into the spirit stone and summoned a spirit to form a new contract with.