Chapter 95
“That must be it. He may be about to ascend the throne, but honestly, he has nothing you could call an achievement, does he? Nor is his potential anything special. Looked at coldly, he’s just a lucky prince.”
“That’s right. Which is probably why he seems to be running around working even harder.”
“If he can pull it off, he’ll be killing two birds with one stone.”
Arelia could understand Gent’s feelings well enough.
That was not to say she was cheering him on.
Compared to Rainy, Gent was woefully lacking.
That was taking all the various circumstances into account.
“That’s why His Highness the Crown Prince has put it on hold for now. After all, Princess Rainy isn’t the only option if he wants to forge a family tie.”
“Things must be hectic for you in several ways. You have to investigate the black knights’ backers and keep an eye on the Arhan Kingdom, too.”
“We’re handling them one at a time for now.”
“When are they holding the funeral?”
“Fortunately, we found the body and placed it under preservation magic. The funeral date hasn’t been finalized yet, but I imagine they’ll hurry as much as possible.”
Steven said cautiously.
Even he found it difficult to bring up this matter.
“That’s a relief.”
“What do you plan to do, Marquis?”
“I plan to attend the funeral. It’s the proper thing to do.”
“Understood. I’ll inform His Highness the Crown Prince.”
The Arhan Kingdom’s army had been disbanded, and most of the nobles who had gathered had returned to their domains, but the war had only just ended.
Although Gent, who was certain to ascend the throne, was favorably disposed toward Lloyd, no one knew how circumstances might change.
Since neither Lloyd nor Haines fully trusted Gent, Steven found Jade and Arelia’s mere presence immensely reassuring.
“Let me know once the time and place are set. Steven doesn’t need to come; just send someone in his place.”
“Yes.”
With an even broader smile, Steven answered politely and left the room.
Jade gazed at the sunset outside the window as he waited for Silestin.
He was already on his fifth cup of tea that day.
-This shouldn’t be taking so long. He hasn’t gotten distracted by something strange and gone wandering again, has he?
“Could be. That’s why I’m taking it easy from the outset.”
-Some supreme spirit he is.
Elestra, who was sitting comfortably on Jade’s shoulder, clicked her tongue.
Despite being a supreme wind spirit, Silestin was not someone she could easily trust.
She would have preferred to go herself, but Silestin was better at moving covertly.
Silestin could also freely enter and leave sealed spaces.
“He’s a good kid.”
-Sometimes being good is a sin. You have to be good in moderation.
“I thought you said spirits had different standards from humans?”
-Still, he has to follow his contractor’s orders. Especially when they’re from Jade. He probably forgot again and is wandering all over the place, taking the wind spirits under his command along with him.
An image of him roaming around like a queen, wearing a solemn expression utterly unlike him, sprang vividly to Elestra’s mind.
Yet Jade remained relaxed despite Elestra’s grumbling.
“I take all that into consideration. And who knows? Maybe he found what I wanted and is taking so long because he has to memorize it before coming back.”
-Stealing it would probably be better than memorizing it. That blockhead has a rock for a brain.
“Heh-heh!”
Jade could only laugh at Elestra badmouthing Silestin in his absence.
He could easily imagine the reverse happening, too.
-Or he might have forgotten your orders while playing.
“That’s going too far. No matter how absorbed in play he gets, he wouldn’t do that.”
-Hmm, I think it’s possible. Or maybe he found some talented children. Like Della. Even though the army has been disbanded, quite a few people still remain.
“I wonder if Della and Whid are doing well.”
When Elestra brought up Della, Jade suddenly began to worry.
He had left Whid and It behind, but he was still concerned.
-There’s also Alfredo and Moikan. And the kids who played and trained with her. What is there to worry about?
“She’s only eleven, though.”
-But there are plenty of people to look after her. Spirits and beastfolk, too. Contrary to what you’re worried about, she’s probably doing very well. Though she probably does miss you.
Elestra was not particularly worried about Della.
There were not merely enough people to look after her, but more than enough.
Besides, Della was not the sort to throw tantrums or make unreasonable demands, so Elestra was certain there would be no major problems.
She was mature for her age, too, unlike an ordinary eleven-year-old.
“There’s no chance she’ll be found out, right? Her abilities are undeniable, but she’s so careless by nature.”
-A human with Archmage-level skill and a fair affinity for spirits might notice. But is there anyone that powerful in the Arhan Kingdom? What good is gathering spirit stones if they can’t properly use them?
“I hear he said he’d give us spirit stones, too.”
One of the things Harol had gathered as part of his preparations was spirit stones.
The problem was that he had not gotten much use out of them.
Gent had verbally promised to give half of the spirit stones that remained almost entirely intact to Jade and half to Lloyd.
-All the spirit stones that go to the Crown Prince will end up in the Spirit Studies Department.
“I suppose so.”
-I wonder if he knows how to use them properly. Even the Arhan Kingdom used them clumsily.
“Spirit arts are still practically unexplored territory. They’ve never exactly been the protagonists of Arpedia’s history, either.”
-Jade is probably the first person to change a nation’s history through them. And he did it from center stage.
Elestra wore an expression full of pride, even though she had not done it herself.
It would not be recorded in the history books, but the spirits would know.
They would know that Jade was the greatest spirit mage on the continent, and that she had been at his side.
-I’m back! I investigated everything!
“Good work.”
-Why did you take so long? You didn’t come back after wandering around again, did you?
Unlike Jade, who greeted him with a smile, Elestra stared coldly at Silestin.
She knew his abilities better than anyone, so she could think of no other explanation than that he had been slacking off.
-Wandering around, my foot! I investigated as thoroughly and meticulously as I could!
-So what’s the result?
-Nothing. I eavesdropped on the mages, but none of them are researching dimensional travel. It wasn’t even mentioned. It was as though they had never even imagined it.
-Umm!
At the news that he had come back empty-handed, Elestra glanced at Jade.
Although Jade claimed otherwise, it was obvious he had secretly been hoping for results.
“I see. Just as I thought.”
-Sorry, Jade.
“It’s not something you need to apologize for, Silestin. I wasn’t expecting much, either. The Kingdom of Polstein was the same.”
-But there are still the empires! Especially the Eastern Empire—the Seize Empire—which is famous as a magical empire! Surely there might be at least one person there!
-Wouldn’t it be faster to find a dragon out on a sojourn? I think we could even take one on now.
Elestra did not think that being a magical empire would make it all that different.
Just because the mages were highly skilled did not mean they were necessarily interested in dimensional travel magic.
It would be faster to find a dragon out on a sojourn instead.
With me, Silestin, Ignis, and Noeanen together, we could easily see through a dragon, no matter what form it had taken.
“Let’s save that for when we can subdue one more decisively.”
-You mean we should save it until we can subdue it more decisively?
Silestin laughed playfully.
He spoke as though he knew exactly what Jade was thinking.
Yet Jade neither confirmed nor denied it.
Knock, knock, knock.
“Marquis Jade Kang, this is Gent. May I come in?”
“Come in.”
Just then, an unexpected guest arrived.
It was Gent, who would soon become king of the Arhan Kingdom.
Creeeak.
The door opened, and a neatly dressed Gent entered the room.
Although he was about to become king, Gent’s attire had not changed much.
“I hope I’m not imposing at this late hour.”
“It’s fine. Would you like some tea?”
“I’d be grateful if you would.”
Gent smiled gently at Jade as he invited him to sit.
Since Jade treated him comfortably instead of reprimanding him, Gent relaxed as well.
“Please, have some.”
“Thank you.”
“I heard you’ve been very busy.”
“Yes. My youngest sibling left quite a mess behind. I’ve been running around cleaning it up, haha.”
Jade waited until Gent had taken a sip of tea before naturally beginning the conversation.
There was no way he would come to see Jade alone at this hour without a reason.
-Did he come because of the princess? Maybe he’s here to declare war! Princess Rainy is mine, so don’t get in the way—get lost!
-Talk sense. Is that kid in any position to say that to Jade? He should be grateful that the Kingdom of Polstein isn’t invading right now. To put it bluntly, Jade alone could overthrow the Arhan Kingdom.
-Heehee! That would be fun too. Overthrowing an entire country.
-Sigh.
Elestra sighed as she watched Silestin blurt things out without thinking.
At the same time, she found it impressive.
It was not easy to remain that consistent.
“Looks like things have settled down a bit.”
“Yes. We’ve put out the immediate fires, at least. So I came to thank you.”
“You should thank His Highness the Crown Prince rather than me.”
“I’ve already thanked His Highness Lloyd. But he said exactly the same thing. That he hadn’t done much. That you and Lady Arelia had done it all.”
Gent would soon become the king of a nation, yet he treated Jade with the utmost courtesy.
Jade was not someone who could be dismissed as a mere marquis.
As a Sword Master and a high-level spirit mage, Jade was important enough that it would be perfectly natural for him to receive a ducal title if he became an imperial citizen right now.
Moreover, Jade was the one who had rebuilt not only the Kingdom of Polstein but the Arhan Kingdom as well.
‘If only I could bring him over…….’
A covetous desire stirred in Gent’s heart.
Jade was the one who had helped Lloyd, driven to the brink of death, become the next king, while also helping Gent ascend the throne.
Moreover, since Jade showed little interest in power, the more Gent thought about it, the more he wanted him.
In the Kingdom of Polstein, Lloyd had Haines, but Gent had no one.
Though he had formed an alliance, he currently had no base of support whatsoever.
He would become the king of the Arhan Kingdom with Lloyd as his only connection, so he needed someone like Jade.
Someone who would firmly protect and assist him, just as Haines did Lloyd.
‘If he came to me, it would be no different from gaining an entire army.’
Jade was not yet particularly close to Crown Prince Lloyd.
Jade was close to him, but not in quite the same way as Haines was.
Haines could not be brought over by any means, but Jade was different.
The only problem was that, like Lloyd, Gent had no idea what Jade wanted.
‘He has no desire for power or wealth. If he did, he would have secured a position in the capital. Yet Marquis Jade is living in a villa in Baden Village, adjacent to the Grand Forest. In other words, there must be a reason he cannot leave the Grand Forest, but…….’
He had racked his brains, but could discover nothing.
Lloyd already knew what Gent had figured out, too.
“I only did what was right. I didn’t want a war to break out, either.”
“Even so, thank you. If you hadn’t helped, not only I but many people in the Arhan Kingdom would have died in vain.”
Gent bowed deeply.
The man who would soon become the king of the Arhan Kingdom had willingly bowed his head.
At the sight, Jade used Phantom Aura to raise Gent back to his feet.