Chapter 9
Mirne has good Spirit Affinity, but she doesn’t have the power to form a Spirit Contract with a High-ranking Spirit.
So, in a case like this, she would normally form contracts step by step, starting with a Lowest-ranking Spirit.
But Mirne, who was loved by the world, formed a connection with a Spirit in a very special way.
That was the Spirit lending its power to Mirne using only its own strength.
A normal Spirit Contract was fundamentally like a caller-paid phone call.
For Mirne alone, it was specially changed to a collect call.
Rather than the burden falling on the Spirit User, it fell on the Spirit itself the more power it used.
The burden fell on the Spirit itself, and the advantage of this structure was being able to use the Spirit’s power without forming a contract.
And not having formed a contract meant something.
“…I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about.”
She could feign ignorance in this situation.
No matter how hasty Mirne’s actions had been,
She knew just how dangerous the current situation was.
[A mere Minor Kingdom dared to try and spy on the Crown Prince of the Empire through a Spirit.]
This was a clear Declaration of War, one where it wouldn’t be strange if a war broke out.
It was a situation where they could lose many things even without going to war.
This was what Mirne could do here.
“You don’t know what I’m talking about? Haha, then are you saying this Spirit really came to me by pure coincidence?”
“Y-yes… that is correct. That is why I was so surprised that I blurted out its name, isn’t it?”
“To think the Crown Princess of the Maselin Kingdom would have enough Spirit Affinity to know its true name just by hearing its scream, even when we aren’t without direct sight. This is truly a cause for national celebration.”
“Th-thank you.”
She struggled desperately to shake off the suspicion.
Sizzle.
“Kyaaaaaaak!”
“Hoh, it seems you really aren’t contracted… The Spirit is suffering, yet you aren’t feeling any burden at all, Crown Princess.”
“W-why would I tell a lie?”
Even hearing Silphiner’s cries of pain, there was nothing Mirne could do.
If she were to say that the Spirit was actually hers in this situation,
[It’s unpredictable… I don’t know what the Crown Prince’s next move will be, but he really looks ready to start a war.]
She wouldn’t be able to handle the aftermath.
That was why she had to look away.
[But how on earth… is the Crown Prince able to grab a Spirit? Is that even possible?]
She couldn’t believe the Crown Prince possessed such an ability.
Even when she told it to spy, it wasn’t supposed to do it from up close.
It should have just been watching from a very far distance, so how on earth was it caught?
Complicated thoughts swirled in her mind.
“Haha, did I then contact the Crown Princess over a baseless suspicion? If I offended you, I apologize.”
“…N-no. Not at all. I am not offended in the least.”
Mirne felt a cold sweat break out on the back of her neck.
Even though not a single face could be seen and only their voices were being transmitted,
Even though they weren’t actually talking face-to-face,
For the first time in her life, Mirne felt as if a sharp blade was pressed against her throat.
Amidst the goodwill she had always felt from those around her - to the point of wondering why they treated her so well - an unfamiliar killing intent caught her attention for the first time.
“The use of this Artifact is truly wonderful. I heard you contacted the Second Prince so intimately with this, whether privately or publicly.”
“…Isn’t that all thanks to the grace of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?”
“So I have set a limit to that grace, since it won’t do to just have a man and a woman sharing friendly chatter.”
“Th-that is correct. From now on, I should share every detail with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.”
“Why would I share that with the Crown Princess? The Maselin Kingdom should have a King as well.”
“…”
Thorough exclusion.
It was technically correct, but it was a point no one had ever pointed out until now.
“Anyway, thank you for telling me its true name. Thanks to you, the contract will be easy.”
Amidst the tension, the Crown Prince’s calm words continued.
“A-are you planning to form a contract?!”
“Isn’t it obvious? A Spirit that clearly looks to have immense potential came right to me on its own… and I even know its true name.”
“C-congratulations.”
“Haha, thank you. I ended up taking up the time of someone who was resting for no reason. I apologize.”
“N-no. Please feel free to contact me anytime.”
“It feels good to hear you say that.”
Just as she thought the call would end with those words.
“Come to think of it, our Second Prince made a wrong judgment and arbitrarily naturalized our people into the Maselin Kingdom.”
“…Are you speaking of the naturalization?”
“Yes, the naturalization. That isn’t something he can arbitrarily decide on his own, yet he acted dogmatically. Goodness.”
“A-ah… I, I didn’t know that wasn’t within the Second Prince’s authority.”
“Right, right. You didn’t know, did you? Because you didn’t know, you must have so readily accepted the preciously raised talents of the Bellos Empire.”
“Y-yes… th-that is correct.”
In a situation where anyone could see she had to grovel, the Crown Prince’s demand emerged.
The naturalization of the Bellos Empire’s talents - it was a part she knew very well.
Because Mirne had successfully seduced Second Prince Bedin into naturalizing truly core talents.
Of course, Second Prince Bedin had considered this process to be no big deal.
“They are strictly precious personnel dispatched by the Bellos Empire, so do you think it makes sense for the country receiving aid to simply absorb them? Or do you think it was a mistake caused by the Second Prince’s flawed decision?”
The Crown Prince had no intention of letting this slide lightly.
“…Wouldn’t it naturally be a mistake?”
“Right, that’s correct. I like how fast this conversation is progressing. Then we will consider the naturalization as something that was never even brought up, and the dispatched personnel as well as the current investments… The one who discussed all those parts with the Crown Princess was the Second Prince, and since the Second Prince will not be involved in Imperial Affairs for the time being, I plan to return it all to nothing.”
“H-how can you do that so easily…!”
“Haha, what could be difficult about it? Especially when such an easy mistake has occurred.”
An easy mistake.
On the surface, it could be seen as the Crown Prince catching the Spirit and immediately contacting the Crown Princess.
In reality, it referred to Mirne’s mistake, which was already almost entirely exposed by circumstantial evidence, lacking only physical proof.
“…Since His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has said that the matter was a misunderstanding and a mistake… it would be right to handle it according to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince’s will. the Crown Prince has said that the matter was a misunderstanding and a mistake… it would be right to handle it according to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince’s will.”
“I like how fast this conversation is progressing. But is it alright for me to keep discussing these matters with the Crown Princess? It seems right that I should discuss this with the Current King.”
“N-no. All affairs, great and small, of the Maselin Kingdom go through me, so please do not worry.”
Thus, Mirne had no choice but to grovel completely.
“Then are you saying it is actually fine to discuss this with the Crown Princess instead of the Current King?”
“Y-yes, th-that is correct.”
“Haha, that’s a relief. Then I hope you will send the people of our Bellos Empire back safely.”
“Your words are absolutely right.”
“From what I hear, it seems the Bellos Empire covered all the living expenses for our Bellos Empire’s talents while they were in Maselin… If you have any shame, I trust they won’t be returning empty-handed.”
“O-of course!”
“I’ve kept a busy person and talked for too long.”
“No. It is truly fine.”
“Yes, it should be. Then I will hang up now.”
Click.
As soon as the call ended, Mirne collapsed face-down onto her bed.
From birth until now, she thought the days of being loved just for cooing and babbling would last forever.
Perhaps it was because this was her first time receiving such a sharp reaction.
Mirne’s mental energy was running on empty.
“…Just what kind of change has happened to the Crown Prince?”
Still, the fortunate thing was that the Empire hadn’t completely turned its back on her yet.
However, since a clear variable had arisen, Mirne decided to be more careful with her future actions.
“Hic, heuk…”
Belated guilt over having ruthlessly cast away the Spirit right before her eyes washed over her, and tears burst forth.
[I’m sorry, Silphiner…]
This was a result brought about by her own foolishness, not anyone else’s mistake.
Mirne had never resented herself as much as she did today.
+++++
As soon as the call ended
“Kieeeeeek!”
“Hey, you’ve got some strength.”
You’re really thrashing about.
I shoved flames back into the neck of the Spirit trying to slip out of my hand.
[Just as expected, she’s thoroughly playing dumb.]
The contents of the call were as expected.
Since a contract hadn’t been formed, she would have had enough grounds to feign ignorance.
[Still, I didn’t expect her to spit out its true name right away.]
Thanks to that, I obtained a very good card.
[But isn’t the Crown Prince way too strong, more than I thought?]
While watching the Second Prince get beaten,
I felt a unusual energy beyond the Imperial Palace and just unconsciously reached out my hand.
When I came to my senses, a translucent Spirit was caught in my hand.
At this point, it was at a level that could be called Spirit Domination rather than Spirit Affinity.
In fact, even though the Spirit caught in my grasp was a Wind Spirit,
Its physical form was tightly gripped, leaving it in a state where it couldn’t go anywhere.
“Silphiner, choose. Will you be annihilated like this, or will you become my tool?”
A Spirit Contract? It’d be nice to have, but I don’t go out of my way to try and get close to a kid who says they hate me either.
In the first place, as the Crown Prince, I should be able to contract as many Spirits as I want.
[There is no option to let it go.]
The reason there are only two options given to the Spirit in my grasp is that this guy acts as the Protagonist’s partner.
That’s why I have to choose either to have it or break it.
An option to let it go? There’s no such thing. I know exactly where it’ll go if I release it, so why would I make such a stupid choice?
“Kueeeeeek!”
Anyway.
“Sol Bellos… just what is this? Why can it deal actual damage to a Spirit? And with enough power to annihilate it, at that…”
Sol Bellos - this power itself was at an incredibly nonsensical level.
In the founding myth, it was said that the Great Prophet saw Two Suns in the sky and swallowed one.
I thought that perhaps it wasn’t just a mythological embellishment created to praise the Prophet’s achievements.
Anyway.
“You have to spit out words other than screams for us to communicate, but if you just keep saying it hurts… does that mean you’ll just die like this?”
Just as I was about to unleash my power, I wondered if I should just kill the Spirit caught in my hand.
“S-save me… save meee…!”
A voice that sounded like it was echoing in a cave entered my ears.
Is this the language of Spirits?
The Spirit, Silphiner, its neck gripped, was asking to be saved, even as it struggled.
It started begging for its life, rubbing its small hands together fervently.
Slip.
Soon, it slowly pressed its body toward my wrist and then instantly disappeared from my grasp.
Escaping was impossible.
If so, the meaning of the action Silphiner just took was.
“A contract has been formed on its own without any complicated process.”
As a real crisis of death approached, it skipped all procedures on its own and formed a contract.
If it’s a Spirit by the original Protagonist’s side, it should be a Spirit King at the very least.
It felt really good to acquire such a high-quality Spirit without any effort.
[If used like this, the Protagonist really has a lot of uses too.]
What was important in a Romance Fantasy were the emotional lines with the Characters.
The emotional lines between the various Male Leads and the Female Protagonist.
And choosing one among them to get together with, ending with “the world welcomed peace”.
Bringing those emotional lines to life was the true fun and the highlight of a rofan.
So.
[As long as those relationships weren’t sorted out, I couldn’t really do anything about the Protagonist herself.]
Considering the initial interaction with the Protagonist, I had expected it would be difficult to put direct pressure on the Maselin Kingdom.
I never would have thought she would hand over a Spirit on her own like this.
[If it’s a Wind Spirit, it has good synergy with Sol Bellos, which uses the power of fire.]
How great would it be if she did a few more stupid things like this in the future?
While thinking that.
“U-uncle! Please, please stop…!”
“Hmm, I suppose I should.”
“Are you listening to me?”
“His Royal Highness the Crown Prince ordered me to beat you for only one hour, and that time is up. I will do it again tomorrow, so be on standby here at this time.”
I confirmed that the Grand General had stopped beating the Second Prince and stated his future plans.
He still didn’t seem to know why he had to be beaten, and he looked wronged too.
[It doesn’t really matter.]
Isn’t true discipline something you naturally come to understand as you keep getting beaten?
+++++
The issues ranged from the naturalization to the retrieval of talents and the compensation.
The next morning, I woke up feeling refreshed after resolving all of this in one shot.
Tap-tap, tap-tap.
“Hmm?”
Hearing the sound of someone tapping on the window, I raised my body from the bed.
“Hah.”
Yesterday, the neighboring country dispatched a Spirit to spy on me.
Today, they’re outright tapping on my window? Who is it?
Thinking that, I had Silphiner open the window.
Coo-coo-coo-coo.
Screech, screech.
The sounds of birds were heard in succession.
[What the.]
Are they like carrier pigeons?
They were a white bird and a blue bird.
In fact, letters were respectively attached to the legs of those two birds.
Who could be in a position to accurately remember the Crown Prince’s room and fly carrier pigeons to it?
While pondering that, I took out the letters, and the carrier pigeons immediately flew away again as soon as I took them.
They were presumed to have come a long distance, yet they returned without resting.
[They must be highly trained, and they aren’t ordinary birds either.]
That thought occurred to me the moment I opened the letters.
“Hah.”
A hollow laugh burst out of me.
Right, come to think of it, if this is inside a Romance Fantasy, there should be many Male Leads.
I had been wondering where they all were and why they weren’t showing their presence.
“I was wondering why just by crushing the Second Prince the Chance of Annihilation wasn’t going down quickly.”
One was the Northern Grand Duke.
The other was the Grand Duke of the East.
Just because I messed with the Maselin Kingdom a little, those who had received the title of Grand Duke contacted me directly.
Even the contents of their carrier pigeon messages were exactly the same.
If you cut out all the polite and formal rhetoric at the front.
[ It seems you’ve been acting a bit harshly toward the Maselin Kingdom lately. May I know why? (Hint) ]
It could be summarized like this.
I just got a gut feeling.
That these guys were the Male Leads of 'Jupeobae'.
[Wait, are there then three Jupeobae Male Leads in the Empire alone?]
If you divided the Empire into three main branches, they were The Center, the Northern Region, and the Eastern Region.
So all three of these places were supporting the single Maselin Kingdom?
[No wonder the country is going to ruin.]
Still, it was a huge relief to think they would step up first and make it obvious that they were Male Leads.
[You guys just wait too.]
I’ll normalize you soon.