Surviving As The 5Th Prince Of Hellman Kingdom [EN]: Chapter 42

042

“Lady Ayra definitely had an older brother and a younger brother, right?”

“Oh my, you even remember that. I’m honored.”

“I heard you almost had a big accident in the market recently. Why Lady Ayra, instead of able-bodied men, at the New Year’s banquet…”

“Ah! The thing is…”

While my sister was having an intense conversation with Ayra, her eyes sparkling, I pretended to admire the garden and slipped into the [Library].

It wasn’t polite to interrupt the conversation, but I couldn’t contain my curiosity.

┕ Can I find out why the Black Anvil Tribe stopped developing the magic stone mine? How much will it cost?

Honestly, I didn’t have high expectations.

I was just planning to see how much RP [Reward Points, a form of in-game currency or resource] it would cost.

「The fee for this information is 500 RP.」

Cheaper than I thought?

No, for servants who just entered the royal palace, it would take them two months of saving every penny, so maybe it’s not cheap after all.

It seemed like information that was easily obtainable if one put their mind to it; only Ayra didn’t know. Maybe even the little kids in the Black Anvil Tribe know about it, even if humans don’t.

I wanted to check it out right away.

“Evan, what’s wrong? What are you looking at?”

My sister, who was deep in conversation with Ayra, asked worriedly, probably because I was staring into empty space.

“Ah, it’s nothing. The clouds look interesting.”

“Oh my, I feel like I’ve been keeping you two for too long without realizing it.”

“Not at all. The tea we’re drinking now, Sansrea, is hard to find even in the Mearteon territory, right? Just like I heard, it’s excellent for relieving mental fatigue.”

I reassured my sister and Ayra with a gentle smile and continued the conversation. But it seemed like they could tell my mind was elsewhere.

My sister suggested arranging another meeting soon and ended the tea time earlier than expected.

I promised Ayra we would meet again and hurried back to the Emerald Palace, then went straight to the study.

“Your Highness, will you not be attending the banquet this evening?”

The New Year’s banquet lasts for three days.

Rather than going to a banquet where there’s nothing more to gain and only people I don’t want to meet, it’s much more productive to wrestle with Genie in the [Library]. I shook my head and cut off Alfonso’s words.

“I’m not going. I have something I want to think about quietly alone, so you do your thing until evening too.”

“Understood.”

I entered the study alone, leaned back on the sofa, and brought the conversation window with Genie to the front. Before starting the full-scale investigation, I first contemplated the information usage fee of the [Library].

There’s one thing I’ve learned while using the [Library] so far: the usage fees of the [Library] and the information guild are quite similar.

I asked Alfonso to request information from the information guild ‘Dark Voice’ in Barona, the capital, that I could get for 500 RP in the [Library].

‘They asked for 550 crowns, right?’

If there’s something I’m curious about, it’s how Genie measures the price of information that can’t be obtained from the information guild…

Whenever I ask, she always answers that she demands a reasonable level of RP according to the amount and quality of the information.

Well, whatever.

I haven’t felt like I’ve been ripped off while using the [Library] yet.

┕ Tell me why the Black Anvil Tribe stopped developing the mine.

「It is because they discovered the highest-grade monster, ‘Faceless Dragon,’ hibernating in the center of the mine.」

Highest-grade monster!

┕ How much is information about the Faceless Dragon?

「The fee for this information is 10 RP.」

I’ve never heard of it, so it must be pretty obscure.

I was about to call Alfonso and have him bring the Monster Encyclopedia from the royal library, but thinking that time is gold, I immediately obtained the information.

10 RP seems a bit stingy.

┕ Tell me.

「The Faceless Dragon was a monster that managed the farm of Botis, one of the 72 Demon Kings [a group of powerful demons in demonology]. Normally, it is a giant earthworm about 3m in size, but when excited, its size increases more than 100 times, and it is said to have devoured anything. Its intelligence was not very high. It was known to be extinct until the Black Anvil Tribe discovered it.」

I briefly imagined a monster the size of the 63 Building [a famous skyscraper in Seoul, South Korea] in my past life wriggling around.

‘Magic stone mine or whatever, it would be wise to immediately stop work and retreat.’

I applauded the Black Anvil Tribe dwarves for their courage. If it were humans, they would have definitely tried to develop the mine somehow and caused a big problem.

I stroked my chin for a moment and fell into thought.

‘If I could take a share of the mine that the dwarves are developing in exchange for defeating the Faceless Dragon…!’

Chwaarruk- The sound of money pouring in from somewhere seemed to ring in my ears.

But the problem is…

It is known that a large subjugation party, including a 7-star level person, must stick together to defeat the highest-grade monster. And there is no guarantee that there will be no sacrifices.

I tapped the desk with my fingers and asked Genie a question.

┕ Are there any known weaknesses of the Faceless Dragon?

「The fee for this information is 500 RP.」

┕ Tell me.

「If there is a divine artifact containing the power of God, the Faceless Dragon, which belongs to the monster species, will not be able to exert even half of its power. The Longinus [a spear said to have pierced Jesus Christ] of the Seya Temple, the Sword of the Lake of the Aten Temple, and the Tritiforce [a powerful artifact from the Legend of Zelda series] of the Posses Temple are representative examples.」

Surely you’re not asking for 500 RP for information that everyone knows, are you, Genie?

The moment the temple intervenes, it is natural for them to try to take care of their own interests. All I’ll get back is a bit of crumbs.

‘Well, there are hardly any paladins who can use them in the first place.’

It’s a divine artifact. Not just anyone can use it.

「Next is Barisada.」

Huh?

Why is the kingdom’s anti-magic sword suddenly coming up?

「The Faceless Dragon ate a monster that the anti-demon Barisada cherished. It is known that Barisada, enraged by the incident, exterminated the Faceless Dragon. According to the records at the time, the Faceless Dragon fled in terror just by Barisada approaching.」

Ah, you’re not talking about the anti-magic sword [Barisada], but the real Barisada.

‘The Faceless Dragon fled in terror just by Barisada approaching?’

Would it run away even if the kingdom’s anti-magic sword [Barisada] appeared nearby? I asked Genie, but the answer was that it was unknown information. So I changed the question.

┕ Has there been any similar experiment against the lowest-grade monster?

「The fee for this information is 10 RP.」

There is!

┕ Tell me.

「153 years ago, there was a magician named Fibolas. He······.」

In summary, there was a magician named Fibolas who was doing various experiments using corpse cleaners, the lowest-grade monsters without eyes, nose, or ears like the Faceless Dragon, and one day, by mistake, the corpse cleaners huddled in a corner and trembled when they saw his disciple wearing his gown.

Hmm······.

The Faceless Dragon is just a big earthworm in some ways. Genie said earlier that its intelligence is low. Well, that’s why it ate Barisada’s cherished monster and went extinct.

‘This, isn’t it worth a try?’

The problem is how to get [Barisada], which is safely kept in the royal palace, out…

***

10 days later.

I was admiring the scenery passing by quickly from the train heading west.

Thump, thump.

Maybe it’s because of the vibration transmitted to my butt, but I felt a slight motion sickness, so my condition wasn’t very good.

“Prince Evan, I heard it’s your first time riding a train, are you okay? You don’t look good,” Ayra, who was sitting in the front seat, asked me with a worried expression.

“It’s not as comfortable as I thought.”

“Still, this is the first class that only nobles can ride.”

I took my eyes off the scenery outside the window and looked to the side. Reina’s face was pale. Her eyes seemed unfocused.

“Lady Reina also looks very unwell.”

“······ I’m fine.”

“Go to the bathroom. Sir Adol! How about you switch with Lady Reina while on the train?”

“Yes!”

“Thank you!”

Reina ran to the bathroom without looking back.

The New Year’s banquet ended and the very next day.

A large number of people were added to the Emerald Palace. At the same time, the three knights, Reina, Adol, and Vernon, were appointed as my bodyguards.

Bert handled one thing quickly.

I heard that he gave strength to the 4th Princess to marry the Empire Fatty [a derogatory term for a wealthy, overweight individual], and made a deal to betroth my sister to the royal family of Arya in the future.

Reina readily accepted becoming my bodyguard.

The color of her ‘Friendship’ in the [List of People] is no different from trust. If I get closer, I’m thinking of asking her why she’s so kind to me.

The shaggy-haired Adol and the snub-nosed Vernon hesitated a lot to become my bodyguards.

It would be a lie if I said I wasn’t upset, but considering that my bodyguards were falsely accused and beheaded on the guillotine 6 years ago, it was understandable enough.

It was easily solved with the [Bayern Mana Cultivation Method].

A monarch sometimes buys loyalty with rare gifts.

The [Bayern Mana Cultivation Method] that Fran gave me had both the version that my maternal grandfather improved and the previous version.

What I passed on to them was the pre-improvement version.

I renamed it the [Northern Mana Cultivation Method] and passed it on. They are at the end of the 4-star level, so if it is a proper cultivation method, they can learn it without side effects even without a teacher.

I tapped the sword wrapped in bandages around my waist with a ghost hand.

━━━━━━━━━━━━×

[Barisada]

Grade: Myth

An anti-magic sword forged using the body of the anti-demon Barisada and the blood of the founding king of the Lionel Kingdom.

Only those who inherit the blood of the Lionel royal family can draw the sword, and when the sword is drawn, the ordeal of Barisada begins.

━━━━━━━━━━━━

As high a grade as myth.

I keep checking it.

I briefly recalled the conversation with Countess Miloa. When I was with her, her gaze towards me wasn’t very good.

This was because the 4th Princess becoming more likely to marry the Empire Fatty in the process of Reina becoming my bodyguard.

I brought up the story of the Black Anvil Tribe’s mine to her and suggested that we use it to bring in more benefits than the magic stones that would be released domestically thanks to the 4th Princess marrying the Empire Fatty.

It would be best if I could eat it alone, but since it was realistically impossible, I needed the help of the 1st Prince’s camp.

– Okay. I know what you mean. I understand that it will be difficult to stop the 4th Princess from marrying into the Empire. I don’t know how you got such information, but also that the highest-grade monster is hibernating in the mine that the dwarves in the border area of Mearteon Territory were developing. But how can you be sure that the mine has as much magic stone as the 4th Princess will release thanks to marrying the Empire’s royalty?

Miloa’s question was valid. But it was a question that I was already prepared to answer.

– There is an ancient book called 『Monster Observation』 published 600 years ago when the Faceless Dragon existed. According to the records written there, the probability of finding the highest-grade magic stone near the Faceless Dragon’s nest was dramatically high.

– ······ How do you trust that ancient book?

– Although it is not well known, the person who recorded that ancient book is the great magician Fores, known as the beginning of the Green Tower.

It’s not a big deal for me to be able to investigate books in bookstores across the continent from my seat. Most of the things recorded in ‘books’ don’t cost much in information fees.

– You are really knowledgeable. As expected, you were just locked up in the study at the Emerald Palace for 5 years.

– ······.

– Okay. But how are you going to take Barisada there? Do you think the royal family will allow it?

– Do I have to get permission?

– What does that mean······.

– Since it’s just used for ornamental purposes because you can’t draw it anyway, I don’t think anyone would know if you brought a fake? Can’t you do that much?

– ······ If it gets caught, the 2nd Prince’s camp won’t stand still.

– Don’t get caught. Just don’t get caught.

That was why I was holding the real [Barisada] now.

“F, Fran! C, come out quickly!”

“Wait! I’ll be out soon!”

I looked towards the noisy bathroom. Fran, who gave her seat to Reina, returned with staggering steps. She glared at me with half a face.

The story of why Fran is here now is long. How did that happen…

Swaeaeaeek-

The chilling sensation I felt momentarily.

I reflexively turned my body. Adol, who was next to me, grabbed me and pulled me away.

Pissit- Peoeok!

Something brushed against my collar and was embedded in the place where my heart was until just now.