Surviving As The 5Th Prince Of Hellman Kingdom [EN]: Chapter 115

115

Mana-infused stones, Magic Crystals.

They appear as transparent crystals with a blue-tinged core. While precise grading requires a measuring device, the intensity of the blue color offers a reasonable estimate.

When used up, the core’s light flickers and fades, leaving behind ordinary, albeit pretty, rocks.

“Now, into this socket… Huh? Where did the processed lowest-grade Magic Crystal go? That’s strange. I definitely put it here…”

Fran started rummaging through her desk.

The Magic Crystal intended for Stella’s empty socket had vanished.

I scanned the lab. It was overflowing with research materials and crumpled papers, barely leaving any room to stand. I couldn’t help but sigh.

“If you only cleaned up once in a while.”

“Even if it looks messy, I remember where everything is. Don’t bother helping; just stay put.”

Fran searched every nook and cranny of the lab.

“Alice! Alice! Come here.”

She ended up calling her apprentice.

“What is it, Master?”

Alice rushed in, peeking her head in.

“Have you seen the Magic Crystal that was here?”

“…I haven’t.”

Her expression clearly indicated she was lying.

Fran’s eyes narrowed.

I tactfully excused myself.

Soon, I heard Fran scolding Alice from inside.

.

.

.

– How dare you lie to your master? And touch research materials? Is that what I taught you?

– Ah! Please forgive me! I was just looking and was going to put it back!

– Quickly, bend over!

.

.

.

A moment later.

Alice emerged, tears streaming down her face, clutching her backside with both hands.

“Hic… Prince, please keep it a secret from Alfonso. Please. I’ll die of embarrassment if it gets out.”

I chuckled and nodded before heading inside.

“Tch, that immature brat.”

“Why did she take it?”

“She’s at an age where she’s starting to take an interest in jewelry.”

“True, she’s already that old.”

Alice, who seemed like a little witch when I first met her.

She had matured enough to be called a young lady. Thanks to the long legs typical of the Toin race, her proportions were also excellent.

According to Alfonso, many young servants in the royal palace were secretly infatuated with her.

“You were exactly Alice’s age when you came to me. She’s just being immature.”

“I don’t think being immature is necessarily a bad thing.”

“Sometimes, talking to you feels like talking to someone my age. Whatever, take a look at this.”

Fran approached the Magic Crystal measuring device.

She placed the processed lowest-grade Magic Crystal on it. It indicated values of 969 and 955, respectively.

“That’s right. Lowest-grade Magic Crystal.”

“Yes. But if we use this Stella…”

Fran placed Stella on the measuring device and inserted two lowest-grade Magic Crystals into the empty sockets. With a soft humming sound, Stella emitted light.

The measuring device’s value, which had been at 0, rapidly climbed before stopping at 10,259.

“Like this! It exceeds the output that a low-grade Magic Crystal can produce.”

An act comparable to turning copper into gold. Truly a revolution.

“What about the usage time?”

“Unfortunately, it’s less than half of a complete low-grade Magic Crystal. Adding more sockets might increase the time, but I think it would still be around 70% at most.”

“That’s good.”

“What do you think? Can we present it at the next Horizon [a major academic conference]?”

“In three years…”

That’s around the time when the current emperor of the Hamil Empire dies, plunging the empire into civil war, and the kingdom attempts to reclaim its lost territories.

“It seems like it would be fine. Ah, have you thought about what I mentioned last time?”

Not long after being designated as the crown prince, I had casually suggested that Fran receive a noble title from the kingdom.

“Not really? I don’t see the need for me to have ties to the Lionel Kingdom. I don’t have any particular inconveniences right now. And frankly, if I were to settle down somewhere, I’d choose either the Aimen Empire or the Brissen Alliance, so why settle here?”

“Come on, you’ve lived more than half your life in the Lionel Kingdom. Isn’t it your spiritual home by now? There’s plenty of land left in the south. Now that Stella’s prototype is complete, why not take a vacation with Alice and look around? You might find a place you like enough to make your territory! Ah! I’ll give you plenty of vacation expenses, so buy Alice some jewelry too.”

“Spiritual home, my foot. Be grateful that I’m sticking around because of the familiar faces I’ve grown attached to. As for a vacation… I’ll think about it.”

“Take a good rest. How about using a private airship for a comfortable vacation? A medium-sized one is out of the question, but a small one is always available.”

“Hmph. Go away.”

Failed to make her a kingdom citizen.

It’s alright. If I keep persuading her every time I see her, there will come a day when she’ll say yes just to get rid of me.

“Then I’ll be going!”

After saying goodbye to Fran, I headed straight to Isabel’s workshop nearby.

Knock, knock.

“Isabel?”

There was no answer, so I just went in.

The pungent scent of various chemicals and metals filled the air.

Isabel, wearing protective clothing and thick goggles to protect her eyes, was carefully dipping Gray Steel into a transparent jar filled with silver liquid.

She was so focused that she didn’t seem to notice I had arrived.

As the Gray Steel absorbed all the bubbling silver liquid, Isabel picked it up with tongs and approached the mana loss rate measuring device.

I checked the measuring device’s value and nodded in satisfaction.

“Mana loss rate 14.9%. Finally broke the 15% barrier. Good job.”

“Ah! You startled me. When did you get here?”

Isabel was taken aback.

“Didn’t you get a message that I’d be coming around this time?”

Isabel took off her thick goggles and gloves and took out a pocket watch from her pocket.

“Ah, it’s already that time… I’m sorry.”

“No, it was a good sight.”

It wasn’t just empty words.

Her dedication to research, even when the crown prince appeared, was truly admirable. I hope she continues to devote herself to research like that in the future.

Forever and always.

As I was thinking that, Isabel suddenly shivered.

“Ugh, I suddenly have chills…”

“Take breaks when you need to. Research comes before health.”

“Yes. I understand. …Huh?”

Isabel tilted her head.

“What’s wrong?”

“Ah, it’s nothing. I haven’t been sleeping well, so I think I just heard things.”

I shrugged and looked around Isabel’s workshop.

The first thing that came to mind was that it was cramped.

“Mass production of mana superconductors would be difficult here, right?”

“Of course. It’s already cramped enough as it is.”

“You know about the mana superconductor research complex being built in the Runtia Duchy, right?”

“Yes.”

“The higher-ups there have all been replaced. You’ll have to move soon, so get ready. Starting as the head of the research institute right away might be a bit much, so I’ll put you in a position where you can research as freely as possible. Subtly share your knowledge and raise the level of the research complex’s personnel. When the time is right, I’ll make you the director.”

“What’s their level like?”

“They’re still stuck below the 25% mana loss rate barrier and are in despair. Oh, by the way, the strength is far below that of copper.”

“…I heard that the Hamil Empire recently announced that they exceeded 20%, which caused quite a stir.”

“That’s obviously a bluff. They exaggerate more than one or two things, so you believed that? According to my sources, it’s around 22%. And it’s as brittle as copper.”

“22%… Still, that’s an incredible rate of development. Other major powers must be similar, right?”

“That’s what I know. So, now that you’ve exceeded the 15% mana loss rate, why don’t you focus on creating a strength that’s stronger than iron?”

“Yes. I’ll focus on improving that.”

Strength surpassing iron.

20% mana loss rate.

Engine utilizing top-grade Magic Crystals.

These are the minimum requirements to operate the Titan that will bring about the end of the cavalry.

‘It’s being prepared steadily.’

I subtly checked the amount of RP [Resource Points, a form of in-game currency] I had.

It was slightly over 1.8 million.

An enormous amount that I thought would allow me to obtain the Titan’s blueprints soon.

I had asked Genie, the librarian of [Library, an organization], to send me a message when the Titan’s blueprints became available.

So, these days, the first thing I do when I wake up in the morning is to check if there are any Titan-related notifications.

“It’s been almost two years since I started using this workshop, and I feel a mix of relief and regret. I should say goodbye to Alice and Fran in advance.”

“The two of them will be going on vacation to the south soon, so do it before then. Ah! Why don’t you go with them this time?”

“Really? Would that be alright?”

“Of course. Check the schedule with Fran later.”

“Thank you!”

***

The date of the 500th anniversary New Year’s celebration and crown prince enthronement ceremony was only a week away.

I don’t know how time flew by.

I would wake up in the morning and check if there were any messages related to the Titan’s blueprints, bury myself in various documents, practice with the knights who would be participating in the friendly competition, and then bury myself in documents again until the sun had set.

There were no particular issues.

Thanks to Cliang and Miloa’s efforts, the south was quickly organized.

Noble families who had participated in the rebellion were demoted, and their prime lands were recovered. All of them were incorporated into the royal family’s direct control.

New lords were appointed to some of them.

Reina, who had no territory, also received fertile land where golden waves would dance in the autumn as her territory this time.

– Ahh~ I’m so jealous. Baroness Reina, I’m so jealous.

I remembered Alfonso congratulating her.

In fact, he also received a territory this time and was able to put the Einberg family back on the list of nobles.

Some of the successors of families who were part of the Lionel Defense Forces and had fallen due to the Hamil Empire’s northern invasion in the past established new bases in the south this time.

Although it was an area where the Noble Honor Law would be implemented on a trial basis, there were quite a few who were happy to establish new family bases in the fertile south rather than the barren north, even considering that.

However.

– It’s alright. It’s meaningless unless it’s the land of our former Einberg.

Most people reacted like Alfonso.

Austin and the four former executives of the Northern Liberation Army all made the same choice as Alfonso.

As expected, home is home.

Still, as soon as I ascend to the throne, I plan to reinstate their families, who had been removed from the list of nobles due to the fall of the north.

‘Whether or not a family is registered on the list of nobles, even without territory, makes a world of difference.’

“Ah! They’re coming over there.”

At Alfonso’s voice, I raised my head and looked at the sky.

A jet-black airship was flying in.

If my personal airship, the Black Wyvern, was black reminiscent of the night sky, that one reminded me of blood vomited after eating poison.

“That’s the Black Knights’ exclusive airship, the Black Flame Dragon.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle.

Even if the pronunciation is different, it’s definitely Black Flame Dragon (黑炎龍) [Hei Yan Long, a common trope in fantasy, often associated with edgy or powerful characters] when translated into Chinese characters. That thing that middle schoolers in my past life held in their left hands.

“What’s wrong?”

“No, I just suddenly remembered something funny.”

Alfonso wore an expression that he couldn’t understand.

The Hamil Empire’s congratulatory delegation had already arrived yesterday on a large airship. However, the Black Knights, including Charles, were a day late, probably because they had massacred some innocent people somewhere again.

I had come out to greet Charles and the Black Knights. Even though I’m the 19th prince, it’s right for me to come out since I’m the crown prince.

Gooooo.

The Black Flame Dragon safely landed at the airship docking station, and a stepped ladder was installed.

A man appeared.

Luxurious blonde hair that reached his shoulders, and black armor that contrasted with it, reflected the sunlight.

‘Charles Han Hamil.’

The Black Knights participating in the friendly competition began to descend behind him.

“Those are the Black Knights.”

“Our sparring partners.”

“Hmph, I don’t care who they are. I’ll take care of them all on my own, so you guys just sit back and twiddle your thumbs. Huh? You, mop head, punch nose, what are you staring at so intently?”

The whispering of the escort knights standing behind me.

I followed Adol and Vernon’s gaze. They were staring directly at the Black Knights who had killed them in the ‘future.’

‘Yuran, Monsna.’

I was newly amazed by their reactions.

Is this inevitability?

But those two are 5-star knights now? I scoffed inwardly. As expected, they wouldn’t bring 5-star knights in a fair and square manner.

While I was thinking that, Charles, who had stepped on the ground, strode over and extended his hand.

“((Greetings. I am Charles Han Hamil, the 19th Prince of the Hamil Empire.))”

I smiled brightly and took his hand.

“((It’s a pleasure to meet you too. I am Evan Lionel, the Crown Prince of the Lionel Kingdom.))”

This time, I won’t collapse so futilely like last time.