Chapter 79
#79 Crown Prince Alondre (5) - Human, Demon, Crown Prince
A person who looks good on the outside, but has no substance.
That was the assessment of those around Travers Brown, a merchant of the Kingdom of Ravellocia.
With striking looks and a dazzling tongue, he was good at stoking people's expectations and winning their favor, which was an important quality for a merchant, but that was as far as it went.
The ability to recognize outstanding goods and talent.
The ability to read the flow of money and ride it.
The ability to take risks, step into dangerous wagers, and come out victorious.
Travers had failed to properly inherit most of the many abilities possessed by his grandfather and father, both of whom had been among the kingdom's greatest merchant magnates, and there was no other blood relative or capable second-in-command who could replace him.
Because the Brown Trading Company had a sort of non-tradition in which each successive head almost single-handedly carried the whole thing.
The company itself was large, and because the many foundations built up over generations were still there, it was holding on for now, but it was painfully obvious that the longer time went on, the worse things would become.
It was then that a mysterious being appeared in Travers's dreams, just as he was suffering under the anxious and expectant gazes around him.
「─You look like you're having a hard time. Something bothering you?」
The other person's appearance wasn't visible.
Only a voice could be heard from beyond the endless darkness.
Was it because he thought it was only a simple dream, or because the mysterious voice felt so gentle and benevolent?
Travers poured out his worries as if complaining, and the voice listened to him.
After waking up, Travers thought it was a strange dream, but he didn't feel especially unpleasant about it.
No, because he had finally poured out the things he'd been bottling up inside, he even felt a kind of relief and lightness.
The abnormality began from that very moment.
A criminal group that had seized on the company's weakness and kept extorting money from it self-destructed in an internal conflict.
Travers was pleased that a nuisance had disappeared, and fell asleep in a good mood.
And then, once again, the mysterious being appeared in his dream.
「─How about my help? Have your worries eased a little?」
Travers answered in a daze.
It had helped. Thanks to it, his worries had been solved.
The voice asked.
「Really? Then shall I help you some more?」
Travers nodded in his dazed state.
There was no reason to refuse when it was offering to help.
After waking up, he felt a little uneasy, but soon forgot about it in his busy daily life.
A few days later.
An artisan who had refused to supply goods even after Travers visited him several times and bowed his head came to him of his own accord and demanded a contract.
And that night.
Travers was able to speak with the mysterious being once more.
「─Did you like the gift? I'm glad your worries seem to have been solved.」
Travers asked.
Who are you, and for what purpose are you helping me?
The voice answered.
That sort of thing doesn't matter.
What matters is whether Travers needs 'help' or not.
「How about it? Shall I help you again?」
At the voice's sweet question, Travers shook his head.
Because he felt an instinctive sense of unease.
Even after such a firm refusal, the voice only chuckled and didn't get angry.
It only told him to call for it before going to sleep whenever he needed help.
A little more time passed.
Travers and the Brown Trading Company he led fell into crisis.
Because the newly appointed official demanded an outrageous bribe in exchange for allowing trade within the territory.
The official's demands only grew larger with time, and Travers's anguish deepened as well.
In the end, Travers had no choice but to ask the mysterious voice for help once again.
「I see. You've had a hard time. Just wait a little.」
Having suddenly changed his mind and asked for help after refusing it before, the other party might be offended.
Contrary to Travers's expectations, the voice very kindly and considerately granted his request.
Because, although the Brown Trading Company itself hadn't done anything, another victim suffering under the official's outrageous bribery demands reported him and had him driven out.
The same was true after that.
Whenever Travers asked for help, the voice granted the request as if it were nothing.
The more it repeated, the weaker Travers's will to solve problems on his own became.
Because it was easier and more comfortable to simply ask the demon than to struggle and solve things himself.
Since everything Travers did ended in success, the Brown Trading Company gradually grew in power, and the subordinates came to respect their capable company head.
Travers was happy.
Then, one day.
「─I'm sorry, but I think I need to go now. I don't think I can help you anymore.」
At the voice's words, Travers felt as though the floor beneath his feet were collapsing.
He pleaded.
Not to abandon him.
Please don't leave.
The voice seemed to hesitate for a moment, then asked back.
「I can't help you without a price, like before. Is that still okay?」
Travers nodded.
If he could keep enjoying this glory, this happiness, this comfort, he was prepared to pay any price.
At Travers's words, the voice giggled.
The darkness obscuring Travers's vision thinned, and beyond it something in human form came into view.
Jet-black hair.
Crimson eyes like rubies.
A revealing leather outfit.
Wings with membranes, horns, and a long tail.
It was the form of a demon so beautiful it was almost unbelievable.
Just seeing her face sent ecstasy surging through his chest, and even a glance from her made his body tremble.
「Travers. Travers Brown. Can you swear that you'll obey my words, and that you'll do anything I want?」
In the demon's voice, there was no longer any trace of the earlier gentleness and softness.
Her voice was utterly arrogant, and she made no attempt to hide her contempt for Travers or her disdain for him as insignificant.
Even so, Travers didn't dare resist.
No, he couldn't even bring himself to feel dissatisfied.
Because by the time he saw the demon's form with his own eyes, his soul—which had been slowly melting under the demon's 'gift'—had already completely surrendered.
The demon, or rather the great demon Lucidra, looked down on Travers's vow of submission and loyalty with a bored gaze.
Thinking that humans hadn't changed much, whether before being sealed or now after being revived.
And just like that, she seized one of Ravellocia's leading trading companies in her grasp.
***
Aizern Empire. Geumun Palace.
“Oho, the Kingdom of Ravellocia. I haven't been there myself, but from what I've heard, it was quite a good place.”
“Really? By size, I think it was smaller than Birka.”
“The size of its territory matters, but it's not everything. Ravellocia may be small, but politically it's quite stable, and I hear its public safety and overall education level are high as well.”
Unlike the Kingdom of Birka, which failed to fully make use of its excellent potential because of incompetent rule, Ravellocia was a country with a relatively small landmass but steady prosperity under a decent ruler. That was the country the crown prince knew as Ravellocia.
“So, what kind of new avatar are you planning? Are you going to become the kingdom's strongest knight and slice up a dragon? Or become a behind-the-scenes noble and tear the country apart? Or maybe take the legendary assassin route and cut off the king's head? I've already laid enough groundwork to forge just about any cover identity, so tell me anything.”
Lucidra's question prompted the crown prince to answer.
“You seem a little too dopamine-addled, you know. It's not as though only the stimulating, high-intensity stuff counts as a hobby. Stirring up trouble wherever you go is a nuisance to everyone around you.”
“…….”
Lucidra blinked.
She stood there with her mouth hanging open, unable to even reply.
Because she had no spare brainpower left to interpret and accept the terrifying, absurd thing she'd just heard.
What? Stimulating things aren't the only good things?
What was all that about stirring up trouble wherever you go?
While Lucidra froze, as if she were listening to a lion sermonize on vegetarian cuisine, the crown prince calmly continued.
“People sometimes need to take time to look back on the path they're on. In that sense, I've been doing a little self-reflection. I chose adventurer out of pure admiration, and butler struck a proper balance between hobby and duty. But the phantom thief seems to have let duty outweigh the hobby. The gap between the 'phantom thief' image I had in my head and reality also made the avatar's direction of action wobble a bit, too.”
As a result, things had turned out well because he happened to meet a budding hero named Dahlia, but if you judged only by Dauphin's own record, there was still plenty to regret.
“So, I think it's about time I got back to my roots. I'll set aside all that duty nonsense and just enjoy a peaceful daily life in the purest sense. Ravellocia is just the right place for that. It's not as troublesome as Birka, so it sounds perfect for some healing.”
“…Healing, as in tearing everything apart?”
“I said it before, but I'm basically the type who respects rules and order. Unless I've deliberately chosen a character that ignores those things, that is.”
To Lucidra, it was a statement with not even a shred of credibility.
If a typhoon were sitting politely in seiza in the middle of downtown, that wouldn't mean the people in the city could stay calm too, would it?
But it was also an undeniable fact that watching it from the sidelines would be pretty entertaining.
At the very least, it would be more fun than repeating the usual routine of corrupting dull humans.
With a faint sparkle of anticipation in her eyes, Lucidra asked.
“So, what kind of identity do you need?”
The crown prince answered.
“I'd like a position where I can read books at my leisure. As crown prince, most of the reading I do is out of necessity. I want to build up the knowledge to branch out into all kinds of miscellaneous subjects.”
“Then a librarian? But that would mean having to work, so maybe not?”
“No, that's not a bad idea. Books are good to read alone, but sharing one's impressions with someone else is also enjoyable. A job that naturally lets me interact with people who come looking for books would be a good position, I'd say.”
The crown prince nodded, then suddenly said as if something had occurred to him.
“Could you look into a city called Aldridge?”
“Why? Do you know someone there?”
“One of my magic tutors is from there. I've heard all sorts of stories about it, but if possible I'd like to see it with my own eyes.”
“Well, I'll look into it.”
Lucidra agreed without much thought.
After all, she wouldn't be the one doing the suffering.
“Have you decided on a name?”
“Let's go with Ernst. I'll change the surname to fit the local situation.”
Librarian Ernst.
It was the moment the new avatar was decided.