Became The Son Of The Final Boss [EN]: Chapter 58

58.

Originally, a banquet would have been held for the winner, and the entire capital would have celebrated with another festival, but everything was omitted due to the situation in the West.

I wasn’t disappointed at all.

I didn’t want any cumbersome events to delay rescuing Gale.

From the beginning, I wanted to lead the participants to the West independently before the Western Defense Force was drafted and organized.

“How are the preparations going?”

As I opened my mouth, lost in thought, Ken cleared his throat and replied.

“We are reconfirming the identities of the participants. It probably won’t take long. We can depart within three days once His Majesty’s order is given.”

I nodded.

In fact, even three days felt long, but of course, I needed my father’s permission to go into battle.

“David has become a vassal.”

“Did you hear?”

Ken smiled faintly at my question.

“He told me to get along well in the future. He didn’t say anything more specifically, but I guessed it when he suddenly greeted me like that.”

“He’s a good talent.”

Ken’s voice was filled with surprise.

“Your Highness has many amazing aspects. Not only your talent for spirit magic… but also your insight into the current situation, your analysis… and even your ability to captivate people.”

I shrugged.

“I have no choice but to do my best in the given situation. Once I start something, I have to see it through… and as the Crown Prince, seeing it through means successfully inheriting Father’s position.”

As I spoke, I also thought about the prize money and rewards given to the winner of the evaluation competition.

“By the way, include the prize money and rewards in the budget and use them appropriately. Next…”

Although the evaluation competition period was not long, there were surprisingly many things to handle while I was away.

Thanks to Ken and Soris, there were no major problems with the Crown Prince’s Palace running even in my absence, but there were also things that I had to handle directly.

After dealing with the budget issues, I brought up the issue of the servant that David was monitoring.

“Did you find anything before the guy who tried to poison me committed suicide due to mana overload?”

“He’s definitely from the Snake Venom Guild.”

Ken’s voice became stern.

It was his first mistake since becoming my vassal, and that mistake could have led to my death.

It was probably a mistake that Ken would never forget.

‘Ken will grow even more through that mistake.’

Among the companions of the hero Karen, there was no perfect person. The only perfect person was Karen.

Karen was so flawless that it was hard to believe she was a real human being, and all those who followed him grew while being with Karen.

‘Karen is really unrealistically perfect, even though she’s the main character. I’m not Karen, but… I trust Ken. And Ken can grow enough even while being with me.’

So I didn’t dwell on Ken’s mistakes or give him any lectures.

Because Ken can grow on his own.

“We are tracing back from the founding of the Snake Venom Guild to the period when they explosively grew their power.”

At Ken’s words, I narrowed my eyes.

“Do you think the Riverhill family was involved from the beginning?”

“That’s what I think for now. A guild that suddenly appeared succeeded in extremely difficult assassinations through tremendous poison. There must be a force backing them up to explain it.”

Ken continued.

“The Riverhill family is a family of wizards. They have been a family of wizards for generations… so there are few who know as much about black magic as they do. Most black mages have deep knowledge of poison.”

I twitched my eyebrows.

‘I didn’t write about the Riverhill family in detail. Information is limited.’

While I was thinking, Ken concluded.

“It’s just speculation for now… but I also suspect that the Riverhill family didn’t just research black mages, but they actually raised them. One of the results is the Snake Venom Guild.”

Ken’s words were just speculation at the moment.

But I could find a fairly strong connection in that speculation.

“You said the servant was also a wizard?”

“Yes. He was a master of disguise. Just based on the amount of mana, he was easily at the 5th Circle level.”

The advantage of black magic is that you can gather mana much faster than ordinary magic, and it was easy to raise your Circle [level of magical ability].

Of course, there were significant side effects, but even so, black magic was a considerable temptation for those who dreamed of becoming wizards because they could become stronger quickly.

“Investigate the cases in which the Snake Venom Guild has been involved in assassinations. They probably used a lot of magic. If the investigation reveals that a certain level of magic or higher is consistently found… then the possibility that the Riverhill family is not just a behind-the-scenes force, but that they directly founded it, as you imagined, increases.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The Aetran family and the Riverhill family were the biggest threats to me.

It was important to always monitor them, and knowing more about them was even more important.

“Then let’s wrap it up for today and hurry up with the preparations to go to the West. It’s my first expedition… so I honestly don’t know much.”

Ken smiled.

“Don’t worry. You’re going as the commander, so shouldn’t you learn the basics of riding and military science before you go?”

I shook my head at Ken’s words.

“Let’s start with riding. I haven’t done it until now, so I have to do it now.”

I got up.

“Since we’re on the subject, I have to go outside. If the commander falls off his horse in front of the Western lords, it would be a disgrace.”

* * *

The gnome soothed the horse in my place.

Animals felt the presence of spirits much more sensitively than humans and treated them kindly.

“Gale, it seems like he likes the gnome more than me.”

Ken chuckled at my words.

“Originally, a fine horse’s intelligence is as high as a person’s. It’s too early to like Your Highness, who can’t handle him well.”

I glared at Ken’s answer.

“Are you sure you’re not insulting me?”

“Would I ever make fun of Your Highness?”

With a light sigh, I gently stroked Gale’s glossy fur.

I had never ridden a horse in modern times, let alone seen one in person.

But when I saw the horse named Gale, I wanted to ride it for the first time.

I really wanted to run with him.

Unlike my will, Gale was a very picky fine horse.

His temperament was not gentle, and he was very particular about his owner, so if it hadn’t been for the gnome who was summoned automatically just before I fell off, it seemed like it would have been a long time before I could ride Gale’s back.

“Anyway, I’m glad His Majesty allowed the expedition.”

“Yes. Except for going with those people.”

Ken looked back and smiled bitterly.

I was riding at the head of the group with Ken and David.

And behind us followed the Aetran Knights and the Riverhill Magic Corps.

A thousand regular soldiers were also marching with us.

All of us, including me, were the advance team of the Western Support Force.

Some of the soldiers were carrying the imperial flag and the flag symbolizing the Crown Prince.

David asked a question.

“Is there a reason why you are making the participants march with the soldiers?”

I replied briefly.

“It was Ken’s idea.”

Ken immediately explained.

“We can’t trust the participants yet. They are skilled, but this Western expedition is very dangerous.”

David expressed his thoughts without hesitation.

“Still, if you want to accept them as knights, Your Highness needs to approach them first.”

Ken smiled faintly.

“Of course, what David says is also correct, but none of them are from noble families.”

“What does that…”

“It means that justification or formalities are not important. In order to approach them first, Your Highness must show your skills.”

David clicked his tongue.

“Your skills have already been shown through the competition…”

“Only those who have faced Your Highness directly acknowledge it to some extent. The evaluation competition participants all have renowned reputations. We can’t easily accept them as vassals. If Your Highness’s skills are revealed once again through the Western expedition, it won’t be too late to bring them in then.”

Ken’s eyes narrowed.

“Either way, they are not welcomed by the Aetran Knights or the Riverhill Magic Corps. Even less so by the Western lords.”

I added an explanation to Ken’s words.

“They will be discriminated against because of their status, and their skills will be doubted because of the rumors about the level of this evaluation competition. Do you even know why they came to the evaluation competition in the first place?”

David shook his head.

“I don’t know.”

“It’s an opportunity for even a slave to become a member of an organization directly under the Emperor, which is higher than a noble.”

I pointed out the essence.

“Why is the evaluation competition so prestigious? It’s because Father directly observes the competition.”

David flinched.

“Many participants are created because it is an opportunity to show their skills directly to the Emperor. And no one in the continent doubts Father’s power.”

David nodded slightly at my words.

“I am different from Father. I won, but there are those among them who doubt my skills. And I can’t guarantee that I will appoint them regardless of their status like Father.”

David seemed to understand my and Ken’s explanations then.

“You mean there’s no need to rush to bring them in as vassals?”

“Loyalty comes from the heart, not from coercion. I have to gain a lot through this Western expedition.”

My voice lowered without me realizing it.

“In order for me, who has no central power, to maintain the position of Crown Prince… I have to gain the support of even a strong local force. And the Western lords have more influence than the Eastern lords. They are closer to the center.”

The Western lords also had an advantage over the Eastern lords in terms of military power itself.

‘Of course, the Eastern lords will also grow significantly through the conquest war, but for now, the Western lords are bigger. I don’t have time to pay attention to the East right now.’

I also brought up the story about Gale to David.

“I think you’ve heard about Gale. I have a feeling he’s alive. Rescuing him is also an important task in this expedition.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

My words about saving just one vassal didn’t seem to resonate much with David.

For David, who always thought of the common people and the greater good first, the Western expedition was for the sake of the Western Empire’s people who could only suffer.

The march was peaceful.

As we got out of the capital, I asked Ken again.

“How long do you think it will take to get to the Western Allied Forces headquarters?”

“At this speed, it will take at least four days.”

I nodded.

There were also ordinary soldiers, so we couldn’t increase the speed too much.

If I rushed my actions just because I was impatient, I would make mistakes.

I wasn’t too worried about the Aetran Knights and the Riverhill Magic Corps, but I was concerned about the ordinary soldiers.

I wanted to bring them back alive as much as possible.

‘War… is not something you can control.’

As we left the capital and entered the main road heading to the West, the sun slowly began to set.

“Your Highness, if we go a little further, we’ll reach Count Boapen’s castle. Let’s stay there today and set out tomorrow morning.”

I nodded at Ken’s suggestion.

“Let’s do that.”

Soon, Ken headed to the rear to deliver my orders.

Ken, who returned not long after, opened his mouth with a slightly stiff face.

“Your Highness.”

“Why? What’s wrong?”

“The vice-commander of the Aetran Knights and the vice-commander of the Riverhill Magic Corps have proposed dinner with Your Highness at Count Boapen’s castle.”

There didn’t seem to be any major problems.

Both were nobles, knights and wizards leading the elite of the Empire’s most prestigious families.

It wouldn’t hurt to see them once.

Since they were going to play key roles in the Western expedition anyway, it was important to understand their personalities in advance.

“But why?”

Ken sighed and replied.

“The feeling I get is not very good. It doesn’t seem like they acknowledge Your Highness as the commander.”

I chuckled at Ken’s words and said.

“I was expecting that much. I’m looking forward to it.”