Surviving As The 5Th Prince Of Hellman Kingdom [EN]: Chapter 47

047

Was that just a dream?

‘No way.’

It felt far too real to be just a dream, far more intense than my life on Earth.

The first battle at Barrington Fortress, where I was thrust into action after my coming-of-age ceremony… The feeling of the sword piercing the barbarian’s neck, the sensation of blood splattering on my face, the blurring face of my opponent as he choked—I remember it all vividly.

“Hmm, you’re not fazed even after seeing me?”

Barisada strode closer.

I barely stopped myself from taking a step back.

She cupped my cheeks with both hands and gently pulled my head down. Her eyes, which seemed to suck me in, sparkled like rubies.

“Tell me. What dream did you have?”

I felt an overwhelming urge to tell her everything. But then, something felt wrong, and I fought back the words that were about to spill out.

“What are you doing right now?”

Barisada frowned, pouted, and then giggled. It was fascinating to see such an expression in this dark, unlit space.

“You withstand this too? It’s been a while since I’ve seen a proper descendant of that guy.”

She didn’t answer my question and just spouted incomprehensible words.

I roughly understood that she had cast some kind of illusion on me, and only a few members of the royal family were unaffected by it.

Was ‘that guy’ probably the founding king?

“I’m curious. What dream did you have? Judging by the fact that you woke up, you must have passed that guy’s trial.”

I gleaned a lot of information from Barisada’s muttering.

There’s something that everyone in the Lionel Kingdom is curious about.

That is [Barisada]’s trial.

Everyone knows it’s a dangerous trial that could cost you your life if you’re not careful. But nothing has been revealed about its content. The fact that its details couldn’t be found even through the [Library] [a vast repository of knowledge and historical records] says it all.

‘Was that dream just now the trial?’

The half-demon sword [Barisada] was created by mixing Barisada’s flesh with the founding king’s blood. It seemed that the one giving the trial was not Barisada but the founding king himself.

“If I wake up, I pass, and if I don’t, I fail?”

The life of a king who shared the Lionel Kingdom’s downfall… Was it really just a dream?

“Won’t you tell me? It’s the first time I haven’t been able to peek into a dream, so I’m very curious.”

“Were you the one who told me to draw the sword?”

“How strange. How did you hear that?”

We were just saying our own things, not having a conversation at all.

“What happened to the Faceless Dragon after I drew the sword?”

“Ah! That worm bastard!”

Was the phrase ‘Faceless Dragon’ the keyword to start a conversation?

“It’s still there. You don’t know it, but it hasn’t even been a second since you drew the sword.”

Snap-!

With her finger snap, the surroundings changed.

I saw myself holding [Barisada], its scabbard removed, in front of the Faceless Dragon. I also saw the knights with urgent expressions and Fran creating a vortex of magic. It was like I had become a ghost wandering through a frozen world.

“If we go back, that worm will run away. ······Maybe?”

The words that followed bothered me.

“Maybe? You told me to draw it even though you weren’t sure?”

“Well, don’t worry. Even if it doesn’t run away, you passed the trial. As long as you’re holding me, it’ll be fine somehow, right? Hehe.”

Barisada covered her mouth with her hand and giggled.

She was right.

In the history of the Lionel Kingdom, there were a total of three people who used [Barisada] after the founding king. Thanks to that, its performance is known to some extent.

‘One, subjugation of magical beasts.’

Magical beasts are creatures created by the demons in ancient times for their convenience. They instinctively fear demons.

If [Barisada] sealed in its scabbard was a cat, then [Barisada] with its scabbard removed is a tiger. If the rat-like Faceless Dragon felt that difference, it would immediately lower its head and tremble.

Showing its teeth is only possible when it can inflict some damage.

‘Two, mana amplification.’

Just by holding [Barisada], you can use a tremendous amount of additional mana.

According to records, the amount contained is at least 5 stars, up to 7 stars [a measure of magical power]. How much it will lend… will Barisada in front of me decide?

I wondered if I should try to get on her good side.

‘Three, demon subjugation (降魔).’ [Revised from 강마(降魔), meaning ‘defeating demons’]

The ultimate technique that unleashes the limits that the body restricts, allowing you to exert power beyond your limits.

During the war with the Hamil Empire, the last user of [Barisada] in history who used this is said to have died on the spot after the time limit expired, with the blood vessels and heart in his entire body torn to pieces.

“It’s a shame, I wanted to know what dream you had, but time is running out. The dreams of the previous kids were very interesting. This is the first and last time I’m talking to you face to face like this. If you happen to remember when you wake up, won’t you tell me your dream too? I probably won’t, hehe.”

Time is running out?

That seemed to be the reason why Barisada didn’t answer my questions and only said what she wanted to say.

But I won’t remember?

The moment I was about to open my mouth.

“Well, it’s time to say goodbye.”

–!

At the same time as her words, my body was pulled by an enormous force.

***

“Prince!”

I drew [Barisada], and Reina grabbed my wrist a beat late.

I’m glad I didn’t explain the plan in advance. If she had known this was [Barisada], she definitely wouldn’t have let me draw it.

My wrist hurt as if it were caught in a steel press, but now was not the time to complain about that. I released [Barisada]’s energy as much as I could.

The atmosphere around the sword rippled violently.

“Kuaaaaa! ······Oh?”

The Faceless Dragon, which was about to devour me, paused.

“Is that crazy bastard for real······?”

Even Fran’s voice, which was cursing me, was filled with doubt.

I took a breath and slowly opened my mouth.

“Reina, I’m fine, so please let go of my wrist first.”

“Yes? Ah, yes!”

She hurriedly released the hand that was holding my wrist. Having regained freedom of movement, I slowly took a step forward.

“Kuaaaaa······.”

The Faceless Dragon retreated just as much.

One step, two steps.

Swoosh, swoosh.

It ran away again by the same distance.

「What are you doing? Just run up and cut off its head. I thought that worm bastard was all dead, where was it hiding?」

···?

Barisada?

I was sure she said we wouldn’t be able to talk again.

I had such doubts, but suppressing the Faceless Dragon was the priority.

Originally, in my plan, the guy who faced [Barisada] should have run away without looking back. There are many untouched places in the western mountains, so I thought it would go there. It would be even better if it went to the Hamil Empire.

But when the guy showed such a reaction, another thought came to mind.

‘Can’t I tame that?’

I thought about what I could do by taming the Faceless Dragon.

One, it’s a much better excavator than an excavator. That is, assuming it understands what I’m saying. If so, I can dramatically increase the development speed of the magic stone mine.

Two, I can send it to the mine of someone I don’t like and cause fatal damage. Like the imperial family of the Empire, or the fatty. Ah, it’s the same guy.

Those two came to mind first.

In particular, the second one felt very attractive. It didn’t seem like a bad idea to try. No, I have to try it.

I opened my mouth towards him.

“I won’t kill you, so reduce your size first.”

“Kuaaaaa······?”

“Didn’t you understand? I won’t kill you, so get smaller! As much as possible!”

“Kuaaaaa!”

Its size decreased rapidly.

It seemed to have understood from the atmosphere. I knew it from the moment it rushed at me even after seeing [Barisada]. It was an intelligent individual.

It shrank to about 1m, which is smaller than the average size of 3m. A larva? A sub-adult? Anyway, it seemed like it had a long way to go before becoming an adult.

Still, it wasn’t a visual that I could call cute.

“Kua, kua.”

The guy rubbed the part of his face with teeth on the ground and made a strange noise.

Is it begging for me to save it?

“T, this is······?”

“What? What happened?”

“Gasp! Prince! That’s Barisada!”

The group that had come to my side with the chieftain before I knew it. They looked back and forth between me and the Faceless Dragon, who was acting cute, and couldn’t close their mouths.

Um······ What should I say first?

Ah, right.

“Chieftain, I don’t think you need to evacuate.”

***

A vacant lot a little away from the Black Anvil Tribe’s village. Alfonso, who crawled out of the tent, approached me.

“Prince, are you really not going to sleep?”

“If I sleep, will everyone sleep without worry?”

“Uh… um······.”

His gaze turned to the giant worm wriggling in the vacant lot.

The Faceless Dragon.

It was crunching on the ore I had thrown at it.

“Have a good night.”

I glared at Alfonso, who was sneaking into the tent. Then I turned my gaze to the side.

“Reina, you should go in and rest too.”

“It’s okay. We can take turns guarding the prince, so don’t worry.”

“I want to be alone with my thoughts for a while.”

“No.”

She seemed like she would follow me even if I said I was going to the outhouse.

Looking around, I found a watchtower. It seemed to have been used by the dwarves when they were on watch.

“That watchtower seems better for guarding the surroundings than being next to me. Don’t you think so? If something happens, Reina, you can jump from there to here in one leap, right?”

“Hmm······.”

It was a watchtower that overlooked not only the vacant lot but also the more distant places. Eventually, she nodded and moved there.

I desperately needed a bodyguard, but at times like this, I feel a little uncomfortable. There are so many things I have to do alone.

Alfonso and the male knights are in the tent, Reina is in the watchtower, and Fran is in the chieftain’s house, so I can finally open my mouth without worrying about what others think.

「Ah, really. I should have cut off that disgusting worm’s head right away. I don’t like it. We’ll see when you borrow mana. I’ll only lend you a tiny bit.」

The target was, of course, Barisada, who was constantly complaining. From the moment I didn’t suppress the Faceless Dragon, my head was throbbing because of the thoughts I was hearing, wondering what she was so dissatisfied with.

There was no record that [Barisada] could communicate with its user.

It seemed that was actually the case.

When I listened closely to Barisada talking to herself, she didn’t seem to think I was listening at all.

‘And I didn’t lose my memory either.’

– If you happen to remember when you wake up, won’t you tell me your dream too? I probably won’t, hehe.

I still clearly remember the life of the king who shared the last moments of the Lionel Kingdom.

‘It wasn’t just a dream.’

There was evidence to convince me of that.

I used the Ghost Hand to tap the [Skills] in the status window.

━━━━━━━━━━━×

[Infinite Mana Cultivation Method]

[Lionel Formal Swordsmanship]

[Lionel Guardian Swordsmanship]

[Lionel Imperial Swordsmanship]

[Evan-style Lionel Guardian Swordsmanship]

[Evan-style Lionel Imperial Swordsmanship]

[Thunderclap]

[Divine Punishment]

[White Lightning]

━━━━━━━━━━━

All the secret techniques I had learned while living as the last king of the Lionel Kingdom, who died as an 8-star magic swordsman, were packed there.

Among them were secrets that did not exist in my current life before I drew [Barisada].

For example······.

‘Phoenix Festival.’

I instantly designed, constructed, and manifested the spell.

Around the bonfire, blue, yellow, and red phoenixes the size of sparrows began to rise and dance a colorful dance.

It’s a 1-star magic for entertainment that kids liked.

I showed it to the kids the day before the final battle with the Hamil Empire.

I stared at the bonfire until the phoenixes faded away, then slowly opened my mouth.

“Really, was that a dream?”

「······When I think about that worm bastard eating my cute Hamlet······.」

“Barisada. Stop talking about cute Hamlet and would you like to have a conversation with me?”

「I’m still not over it······.」