Surviving As The 5Th Prince Of Hellman Kingdom [EN]: Chapter 154

<154>

Just three years.

That’s how long it took Charles to seize power in the Hamel Empire in the ‘future’.

Charles managed to take control of the Hamel Empire, which was roughly 20 times larger than the Lionel Kingdom, in such a short period.

He was truly exceptional.

The factors that allowed him to ascend to the throne so quickly were his thoroughly concealed power and the strength of the Black Knights.

Immediately after the Emperor’s death, the First Prince was assassinated. This left the Imperial Capital vulnerable, and Charles seized the opportunity, revealing his hidden claws and swiftly taking control of the capital.

The identity of the First Prince’s killer was never revealed, but everyone knew that Charles was involved.

Anyway.

His current life, which should have flourished as he seized the Imperial Capital, was completely twisted due to my intervention.

“With the addition of the 19th Prince and the Black Knights, the 11th Princess now has the most Awakened High-Mages.”

Charles, who was originally supposed to be a key player in the three-way power struggle, entrusted his forces to the 11th Princess.

“The forces of the First Prince, Seventh Prince, and Eleventh Princess are so evenly matched that direct military action has not yet occurred. All three factions are focused on attracting those who have given up on the succession to their side.”

“What about the Red Iron Province and Silver Flower Province?”

“Analysts predict that it will take at least ten years to recover the troops lost in the war with the Kingdom. These three provinces, along with Azure Wave Province, which also suffered significant losses in the battle with the Khanate, are likely to form an alliance.”

These three regions were already among the weakest in the Hamel Empire. Now that they have suffered devastating losses to the Kingdom and the Khanate, they have no choice but to band together.

I listened to Julian’s report and nodded.

“So, the consensus within the Royal Secret Service is that they can’t even dream of invading the Kingdom until someone sits on the throne.”

“That’s correct.”

“Are there any predictions on how long the internal turmoil in the Hamel Empire will last?”

“Opinions vary, from as short as one to two years to as long as thirty years.”

“Julian, what’s your opinion?”

“I believe it won’t last as long as people think.”

“Why do you think so?”

Julian paused, deep in thought.

Once he had gathered his thoughts, he spoke.

“Because of the stolen Imperial Seal. The moment the Imperial Seal reappears, the balance of power between the First Prince, Seventh Prince, and Eleventh Princess will collapse instantly. Many of the conservatives who supported the First Prince will side with whoever possesses the Imperial Seal. The First Prince’s faction, which was one of the three pillars, will be cut in half.”

He paused to catch his breath before continuing.

“If the person who stole the Imperial Seal uses it at the right moment, the empire’s chaos might be resolved surprisingly easily.”

It was a valid point.

The person who stole the Imperial Seal probably didn’t take it to enshrine it at home.

If my guess is correct and it was Klaus Lobitz who swiped the Imperial Seal, then he will use it at a crucial moment, just as Julian said.

“The whereabouts of the Imperial Seal are still unknown, right?”

“Yes. There are only rumors.”

“Where do you think it went?”

“Although I have no proof, I believe it’s in the hands of the 19th Prince, Charles Hayse, who is under the wing of the 11th Princess.”

Julian and I were on the same page.

“Why?”

“Because His Majesty is paying attention to him, even more than the three who are closest to the throne.”

I was slightly disappointed by the seemingly trivial reason.

Julian, seemingly embarrassed by my reaction, cleared his throat and elaborated.

“Hasn’t His Majesty mentioned having a dream about a disaster that will befall the Kingdom? Count Clian and Count Miloa, including myself, all suspect that Charles, in His Majesty’s nightmare, was the Emperor of the Hamel Empire.”

His eyes seemed to ask if he was right.

I didn’t have anything to say, so I continued to listen.

“I’ve considered myself to be the mastermind of the 19th Prince, whose hidden claws have been revealed to the world by His Majesty. I’ve pondered how to enthrone him. It would be difficult without some extraordinary variable.”

“So, Julian, if you were his mastermind, you would have stolen the Imperial Seal?”

Julian nodded.

“Yes. I would have stolen the Imperial Seal no matter what. There’s nothing else that can create such a significant variable. If I were the mastermind who made the 19th Prince Emperor in His Majesty’s nightmare, I would have the same thought.”

I smiled and said,

“Julian, anyone can see that it would benefit our Kingdom if the Hamel Empire’s chaos lasts for a long time, right?”

“Of course.”

“What if, just as the empire’s chaos is about to end surprisingly easily because the 19th Prince reveals the Imperial Seal at a perfect time, another Imperial Seal appears?”

“Pardon?”

Julian asked back with an uncharacteristic blank expression.

I glanced at the [General Store] window.

The items available for purchase in the [General Store] varied depending on the Kingdom’s regional support. Most regions had exceeded 80, so I could purchase ‘Legendary’ items as long as I had enough RP [Resource Points].

However, the [General Store] changed during the recent recapture of the Northwest.

「Achievement, ‘Conquering King, the Beginning of the Legend’ has been achieved.」

「New items are now available in the [General Store].」

This was because we had reclaimed the Northwest, which was once recognized as imperial territory.

My guess is that items from within the empire became available for purchase based on the average support within the Kingdom. Well, that’s just a guess. But it’s possible to buy even ‘Legendary’ items.

For example.

━━━━━━━━━━━━×

[Imperial Seal]

Rank: Legendary

A jade seal made by melting the divine artifact of a forgotten god.

.

.

.

Price: 4,999,999RP

━━━━━━━━━━━━

Something like that.

Since it was made by humans by melting down a divine object that was originally supposed to be ‘Mythic’ like the [Barisada], its rank must have fallen.

The empire’s arrogance, thinking that they could make even gods kneel. That arrogance will eventually be the beginning of the empire being torn to shreds.

However…

Even though it was just made of precious materials, excluding its symbolism, it was ridiculously expensive. It was more than twice the price of the Titan blueprint that I had acquired after years of hard work.

Will I really be able to buy that at the right time?

As I was having such complicated thoughts, I heard Julian’s voice.

“…Are you joking? The Imperial Seal is made of Adamantium [an exceptionally hard and rare metal]. Even to make a replica, you would have to melt down a divine object. Unfortunately, the Kingdom doesn’t have… Ah! Are you perhaps thinking of melting down the broken hourglass you obtained from the ruins to make a replica?”

He said something that could cause a great disaster.

Melting down a divine object is like stabbing a god in the back.

To ensure that the people of the Kingdom, who entrusted their souls to Danar and turned back time, can once again ascend to the wheel of reincarnation, we must diligently grow the Danar Order.

Even that might not be enough, but to melt down a divine object?

I shook my head vigorously at Julian.

***

In the afternoon, I visited the Magitech Department of the Royal Military Academy.

I dismissed all the attendants to have a comfortable conversation with Fran.

Except for one person.

“Who’s that guy?”

Fran asked with a puzzled expression, looking at Zaryan, whom I had brought.

“This is Zaryan. If you teach him well, he will be very helpful in many ways.”

“How old is he?”

“He’s the same age as Alice.”

“I can barely feel any mana… Ah, is he from Isabel’s side? Shouldn’t you take him to her instead of me?”

“I don’t think Isabel is ready to teach him yet. I thought it would be perfect if Alice taught him the basics before handing him over to her.”

I felt Alice, who was sitting at a desk in the corner looking at a magic book, flinch at my words.

“She’s not ready to teach anyone yet.”

Alice is a respectable 4-star mage.

She is more than capable of laying the foundation for Zaryan’s magitech.

“Aren’t you being too harsh on your disciple? And you know, you learn a lot while teaching.”

“That’s true. Okay. Alice! Take him out and show him around.”

“Yes!”

Alice closed her magic book with an excited expression and ran over.

“Hi, I’m Alice. Your name is Zaryan, right?”

“Ah, yes.”

“Speak comfortably. We’re the same age. Follow me. Where should we go first…? Ah! I’ll show you the cafeteria first.”

Zaryan, whose hand was suddenly grabbed by Alice, blushed and was dragged away.

How youthful, how innocent.

I smiled at the thought.

“You know, you just had a really old man-like expression on your face?”

“Did I?”

“Never mind. It’s not the first time. Catch, let’s go.”

Fran handed me her staff.

As I grabbed it, I felt her mana trying to interfere with me.

Space-time magic.

I accepted it without resistance.

Whoosh-!

I instantly teleported to the underground space, which could only be reached after arriving at the secret entrance and passing through five levels of security.

Dwarves were visible as we exited the space where the space-time magic circle was installed.

“Is this the new product Isabel sent?”

“The strength seems a bit higher than the last one?”

“They said it was made with Grace Steel from Ironforge, which the Lionel Kingdom recently recaptured, right?”

“Give it here.”

They were discussing the mana superconductor, presumably sent by Isabel, without even realizing we had arrived.

Clang!

One of the dwarves struck the mana superconductor with a hammer.

The mana superconductor was dented.

Isabel would be very sad if she saw that.

“Oh! It didn’t break.”

“The forging is incomparable to the previous one. Is it because the material is better?”

“You guys! Who’s damaging the material…? Huh? Evan! Fran! When did you get here?”

Gillud, who had rushed over after hearing the hammer sound that shook the lab, saw us.

“Everyone seems quite satisfied with the mana superconductor that Isabel sent.”

“It’s much better than the last one. It’s good enough to be tested in actual combat. It’s a shame. If it had been a little faster, we could have tried operating it experimentally in this war.”

“It’s too early.”

I smiled and replied.

I had long ago concluded that it would be more troublesome if information leaked to foreign spies during trial operations.

“You came to see that guy, right? Follow me.”

Gillud slung the hammer over his shoulder and strode ahead.

A huge iron door with a magic circle engraved on it appeared.

An iron door that only a few people could open, even in this secret laboratory that could only be reached after passing strict security.

Gillud placed his hand on it, and the magic circle glowed.

The steel giant revealed its form.

It was just a skeleton without an outer shell, but even that was incomparable to what I had shown Fran before.

It was like the difference between a rowboat and an ironclad ship.

“Gillud, have you completed the skeleton replacement with the mana superconductor that Isabel sent?”

“I’ve completed about half of it. That mana superconductor, it’s harder to process than I thought.”

“I know.”

“How’s Stella doing?”

“The same as always.”

“That’s unfortunate. Oh, what about the weapon to snipe airships? Our guys came up with some pretty good ideas.”

“Sorry, I haven’t even looked at them. I’m too busy with Stella right now.”

Fran and Gillud were engrossed in a private conversation, excluding me.

They were the future father and mother of the Titan. I watched them with a pleased expression and turned my gaze to the Titan, whose skeleton was being replaced by the dwarves.

“Gillud, can’t we decorate the exterior to look like a knight of God? It doesn’t matter if it has no practicality at all. It just needs to look plausible.”

“What? What are you trying to do?”

It was time to increase the power of the Danar Order.

There was nothing that would excite the people of the Kingdom more than a knight of God descending from the sky to protect the Kingdom.

“Ah! It must have wings.”