The Extra Prince Sets Out To Conquer The World

On the morning of the fifth day since I left the palace and the third day since the assassination attempt, dawn broke.

No, there’s a slight inaccuracy in saying dawn broke, as it was still the tail end of winter.

It was dark around, but in terms of time, it was morning.

Half-asleep, I detached Gilbert, who was clinging to me, and exited the tent.

“It’s still cold at this hour.”

The hazy sky was still adorned with countless stars.

“Navi.”

-Meow~!

Navi, who had kept watch all night in place of Precia and Gilbert, climbed onto my shoulder and rubbed her cheek against mine without any sign of fatigue.

According to Lisbeth’s Spirit Book, spirits seemed to not require sleep.

“Cup.”

At my command, Navi formed an air layer in my hand to create a wine glass.

This is good because it avoids creating unnecessary dishware to wash.

I took out a high-quality wine from the food storage, poured it into the glass, and enjoyed its aroma.

Cheap alcohol is good, but expensive alcohol is indeed worth its price.

“Are you awake?”

Precia, coming out of the tent next to mine, snuggled up to me.

I tidied her disheveled hair with my hand and said, “Since Navi and Nuni are keeping watch, you can sleep a bit more.”

When Nuni, who was keeping watch in the sky, heard her name called, she came down and perched on top of my head.

Being a spirit, I didn’t feel any weight at all.

Precia, perhaps embarrassed about coming out in a rush without grooming herself, blushed and tidied her hair and wrinkled clothes.

“No, it’s fine. I have to do morning training anyway.”

“Is that so? How diligent.”

Even though she was in the middle of work and could have skipped it, Precia put effort into training, even reducing her sleep time, except for travel and mealtime.

Because of that, Gilbert, who was learning from Precia, was also overworking his body.

I was also eating disgusting elixirs made by Divet and exercising whenever I could, but I didn’t push myself as hard as the two of them.

While rekindling the campfire that had gone out overnight with Nuni’s lightning and chatting with Precia, Gilbert crawled out of the tent with a groan.

It seemed the muscle pain throughout his body wasn’t going away due to Precia’s harsh training.

“Since Gilbert is also up, go do your morning exercise. I’ll prepare breakfast.”

“I’m sorry. I should be the one making it.”

I chuckled at Precia’s apology.

“No, I also want to eat something delicious for meals.”

Precia was completely incapable of cooking.

It wasn’t an issue of heat control, but her concept of basic recipes was so scarce that she produced results that were simply inedible.

“Ugh, that’s too much.”

When Precia protested with a sad face, I giggled and gestured for them to go.

Gilbert was somewhat capable of cooking, having cooked for his younger sister.

But I wasn’t wicked enough to make someone who was overworking their body like that prepare meals too.

To be honest, what I make tastes better.

Cooking was my specialty even before I entered this body.

“For breakfast today, I’ll make tomato stew and grill beef tenderloin.”

Fortunately, the ingredient warehouse was a magical tool unrivaled in food preservation, befitting its name.

Thanks to that, the ingredients I had prepared before leaving the palace were sufficient.

I placed a pot filled with water on stones piled next to the campfire and held a frying pan, adjusting the height to control the heat.

By the time I slowly prepared the ingredients and finished cooking, Gilbert, who was drenched in sweat, and Precia, who had a serene face without a drop of sweat, returned.

I asked Precia, “It’s good that you don’t sweat since drinking water is limited, but how can you not sweat a single drop while moving like that?”

At my question, Precia smiled brightly and answered, “You just need to circulate mana within your body and exhale the heat through breathing.”

Aha, is the mechanism similar to a dog’s body temperature regulation?

“Did Sir Horazon teach you that technique too?”

“Huh? …Ah! Yes! Absolutely!”

Precia was flustered and affirmed my guess. What about my question made her flustered?

“Hmm, Gilbert? Can you step away a bit since you smell sweaty?”

As we minimized bathing since starting the journey, there was a stale smell.

It couldn’t be helped since we took the path with the least human traffic.

I told Gilbert to step away, but for some reason, Precia stepped away even further.

“Ah, I apologize. I’ll buy some perfume when we stop by a city.”

I waved my hand at Gilbert’s apology.

“No, it’s not that bad.”

We did wipe ourselves with wet towels, so as long as they didn’t cling to me, the smell wasn’t too noticeable.

If it really bothered me, I could ask Navi to block the smell.

“I should make the next spirit contract with a water spirit.”

Since the journey to Bastille was quite long, we needed a way to resolve our own water supply.

It was possible to some extent with magic, but the efficiency was poor as my mana circuits weren’t fully established yet.

At my words, Precia clapped her hands and was delighted.

“I think that’s a great idea!”

After finishing our meal while chatting, we packed up our camping gear, grabbed the reins of the horses, and headed towards the forest directly ahead.

“Is the place we’re visiting this forest?”

At Gilbert’s question, I nodded.

Although it was still a season that could be called winter and the leaves hadn’t fully grown, as we entered the forest, the fog gradually set in, and it began to darken.

This was evidence that the forest was a barrier created by magic.

Thanks to the detailed world map included as an appendix to the novel, we seemed to have found it well.

“That’s right. This is the Forest of Dolls.”

The owner of this forest was Geor Philip, known as the “Sage of Ten Thousand Soldiers,” one of the Eight Sages of the Magic Path, the pinnacle of mages in the past.

Of course, now he had retired and given up the title of sage, and was in a state of dying from illness, so he would be infinitely weaker compared to his prime.

In fact, I couldn’t be sure if Geor was even alive at this point.

Because in “The Sage of the Winter Tree,” which starts in earnest 3 years later, he was already mentioned as dead.

Just because there was a barrier around the forest didn’t guarantee that Geor was alive.

This barrier was still firm even when Nivel, the executive of Arcana and a dollmaker, came looking for the already deceased Geor.

“I hope he’s alive.”

If it was according to the description in the novel, even if he was alive at this point, he would be in a state where you couldn’t say he was really living.

However, if he was alive, we might be able to gain his cooperation in some way.

I know a way to fulfill his last wish.

Recalling the contents of the novel, I searched for the path in the forest by feeling the faint mana, just as Nivel had done.

Although there was a barrier at the outskirts of the forest to keep outsiders from entering, Geor was also human, so he had created a gap to visit the village for groceries.

My senses, honed by Aquila’s mana circuits, could clearly perceive the faint mana.

Nivel had struggled here for a month before discovering this gap, but thanks to that, I could go easily and quickly.

“Is this as far as it goes?”

It seemed we had arrived at the center of the forest, as the gap Geor had created was cut off.

From here, a different method was needed.

“Precia.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

Precia fixed her way of addressing me as Young Master according to my instructions, even when no one else was around.

“Do you think Gilbert will survive if he goes to Bastille?”

At my sudden question, Precia hesitated for a moment.

“…I’ve never been to the Bastille Mountains myself, so I can’t give you a definite answer, but based on my mentor’s words, I think he’ll die before he can even grow.”

I nodded at Precia’s explanation.

As expected, there’s a reason Bastille is called the hell of the human realm.

It’s too early for Gilbert.

“Just as I thought.”

When I nodded, Gilbert and Precia looked at me with expectant eyes.

“That’s right! So let’s go somewhere else!”

“I agree!”

Seeing the two of them getting along well, I smiled brightly.

“So I’ve been thinking, rather than going straight to Bastille, it would be better to have an intermediate stage.”

At my words, Gilbert nodded in agreement. But Precia seemed to sense something ominous and looked at me with anxious eyes.

I put drinking water and preserved food into the spatial expansion bag I had attached to the horse.

Then I handed the bag to Gilbert.

“Why are you suddenly giving me this? Pri- I mean, Young Master.”

“Just in case, it’s good to have it with you.”

When I smiled brightly, Precia tried to say something to me.

“No, what are you thinking…”

“Oh my~! But there happens to be a good training ground here.”

“…Pardon?”

I cut off Precia’s words and pushed the two of them into the center of the forest before Gilbert could realize my intention.

“I’ll be waiting in the center of the forest, so please take good care of Gilbert so he doesn’t die, Precia.”

“Your High-!”

Precia called out to me one last time, but she disappeared as if teleported somewhere.

If the outer part of the forest was a barrier to expel ordinary people, the center was a barrier to repel intruders.

By now, Geor’s doll army, who was called the Sage of Ten Thousand Soldiers, would be greeting the two of them.

Left alone, I searched the ground, feeling for the key that could take me to the center of the forest.

Just as people hide their house keys under a flowerpot in case of emergency, Geor had also hidden a house key with magic to enter his home under a wide tombstone.

Of course, it wasn’t left so that uninvited guests like me could visit, but it was Geor’s small lingering attachment.

I followed the direction the key pointed and walked.

*****

Suddenly separated from Yuan, Precia and Gilbert were bewildered.

“What kind of magic is this? No, more importantly, where did His Highness go?!”

Gilbert, still unable to grasp the situation, looked around for Yuan.

Precia wiped her face with her right hand and said, “This seems to be a test His Highness has given you.”

Then she drew her sword.

“Prepare for battle. Enemies.”

As soon as Precia finished speaking, red lights flickered from all directions.

-Eliminate the intruders.

-Intruders.

-Eliminate.

-Intruders.

The red lights filling the surroundings were the eyes of dolls filled with hostility.

Gilbert also swallowed his saliva and drew the sword made by dwarves.

“His Highness said he would go to the center of the forest first. Let’s break through as quickly as possible.”

She wanted to smash the dolls that seemed ready to kill at any moment and go to Yuan’s side right away.

However, this was ultimately a test for Gilbert.

Precia exercised patience and repeated that fact to herself while making a resolution.

“I’ll have to nag His Highness a bit when I see him again.”

Wandering around somewhere, leaving his escort behind, is unacceptable.

*****

Following the guidance of the key, I could soon reach Geor’s house after walking a bit.

Seeing the quite large mansion, I let out a small whistle.

“Whew~! He lives in a nice place.”

From the outside, it wasn’t easy to tell if someone lived there or not.

Even after Geor’s death, his dolls move according to their predetermined routines and maintain the house.

After Geor’s death, the only one who moves freely is his young daughter, Silua.

I didn’t recklessly enter the house and instead circled around, observing the situation.

By now, they should know that an intruder had entered the barrier, but it was strangely quiet.

As I moved, I reached a place that seemed to be the backyard.

There, a human-sized golem was holding an axe and chopping firewood.

Around it, a cute little girl with white twin-tailed hair was chattering about something while circling the golem.

A white-haired girl in Geor’s house. Is that child Geor’s daughter, Silua?

I approached Silua and struck up a conversation.

“Hello?”

Silua, who had been laughing and chattering to the golem, was startled when she noticed me.

“Who are you, mister?”

“Me? I’m Yuan.”

At my self-introduction, Silua blinked her round eyes and greeted me excitedly.

“Wow! It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a person other than my father! I’m Silua! This grandpa is called Antique No. 5!”

It seemed the name of the golem chopping firewood was Antique No. 5.

By the way, she called it Grandpa. Indeed, it looked slightly rusted here and there, showing its age.

“I see. Nice to meet you, Silua, Antique No. 5.”

At my greeting, Silua’s eyes sparkled with joy.

“Wow! You’re the first person to greet Grandpa Antique No. 5! My father ignores Grandpa even when he sees him, so I’m a bit sad. But I understand my father! Because Grandpa’s words can no longer reach him!”

“I see.”

Understand the golem’s words? It doesn’t seem to have a soul embedded in it like an ego weapon.

“Ah! I have to help Grandpa Antique No. 5!”

Silua started picking up and moving firewood with her cute little hands.

“Shall I help too?”

“Wow! Really? You’re the first person to help Grandpa besides me!”

Seeing her delighted face, I also started picking up and carrying firewood.

After diligently carrying firewood for a few minutes, an old man accompanied by a beautiful woman came out of the house.

The old man was startled to see me and shouted, “Who are you?! How did you infiltrate this place?! Get away from Silua right now!”

“Intruder detected. Shall I eliminate him, Master?”

As a huge claymore suddenly popped out, I put down the firewood and raised both hands.

“I surrender.”