Chapter 183
Characters
Main Characters
Arnold Rechs Adler
Epithet: 'The Dull Prince'
I. Those close to me call me Al.
Seventh Prince of the Adrasia Empire.
An eighteen-year-old with black hair and black eyes. He is part of the only set of twins in the Imperial Family, and is the elder brother. His features are as refined as Leonart's, but he lacks a firm, gallant air and is widely judged to be inelegant.
Known as the Dull Prince because his younger brother took all the good qualities for himself, he is incompetent, unmotivated, and a habitual slacker. Lacking ambition, he could fairly be called the weakest contender in the struggle for the throne.
His apathy is genuine, but he is not incompetent and can wield powerful ancient magic. However, ancient magic is viewed unfavorably by the Empire and the Imperial Family—his great-grandfather once became obsessed with it, went mad, and plunged the imperial capital into chaos—so he keeps that ability hidden.
If another powerful candidate became emperor, he and his mother would undoubtedly be killed, so he resolved to work behind the scenes to make Leonart emperor.
Silver
Epithet: 'The Empire's Strongest Adventurer'
One of only five SS-rank adventurers on the continent, he has even slain an ancient dragon in the past. He is a man in a black robe who wears a silver mask.
An adventurer who never leaves the imperial capital. He belongs to the capital branch and generally accepts only requests in and around the capital unless the Adventurer's Guild makes a special request.
His true identity is Arnold, and he protects the Empire from the shadows using ancient magic.
His teacher is the spirit of his great-grandfather, who was even called the Mad Emperor. He learned a wide range of things from him, including ancient magic and scheming.
Leonart Rechs Adler
Epithet: 'The Standard-Bearer'
I. Those close to me call me Leo.
Eighth Prince of the Adrasia Empire.
An eighteen-year-old with black hair and black eyes. He has the same features as his brother, but is praised for being both gallant and elegant. Suitors never cease to pursue him.
He excels in every area, including swordsmanship, magic, and politics, and is one of the leading candidates to become the next emperor.
He is kind and considerate, and questions the wisdom of having blood-related family members fight one another.
Arnold believes he is too kind and softhearted to win the struggle for the throne. He tends to look toward and place his hopes in people's positive qualities rather than their negative ones. This is a precious strength, but also a weakness.
He trusts his elder brother Arnold more than anyone.
Sebastian
Epithet: 'The All-Purpose Butler'
Al's butler, called Sebas.
He was once an assassin feared as the Grim Reaper, but became a butler after various twists and turns.
He always follows Al and understands him better than anyone.
His abilities remain undiminished, and his talent for gathering information is exceptional. As a result, he is a precious advantage to Leonart's weak faction.
Fine von Kleinert
Sixteen years old.
Epithet: 'Blue Gull Princess; Keeper of Shared Secrets'
A peerless beauty also known as the Blue Gull Princess.
A petite girl with beautiful, wavy blonde hair and deep blue eyes like the sea.
She is surprisingly curvy for her small frame.
Two years ago, Emperor Johannes ordered the country's artisans to create hair ornaments in the shape of birds. Among them, an ornament depicting a magnificent blue gull caught the emperor's eye. He took such a liking to it that he announced he would present it to the most beautiful woman in the country and held a beauty contest. Fine was only fourteen at the time, but she won the contest and became known throughout the country as a peerless beauty.
The only person besides Sebas who knows Silver's true identity.
Elna von Amsberg
Seventeen years old.
Epithet: 'The Hero Duke House's Prodigy; Strongest Childhood Friend'
Al and Leo's childhood friend.
A beautiful girl with cherry-blossom-colored hair and jade eyes. She has a modest bust.
Hailed as a perfect superhuman, she has been excellent at everything since childhood.
She possesses top-tier abilities and is virtually unbeatable when wielding the sacred sword passed down through the Hero Duke House.
The heiress to the House of Amsberg, a family descended from the hero who defeated the Demon King. She always helped Al when he was bullied, making her both his savior and the nemesis who constantly urged him onward.
A genius who became an Imperial Guard at only eleven and a knight captain at fourteen. She is a candidate to become the next commander of the Imperial Guard.
She is exceptionally gifted even among the Hero Duke families throughout history and is called the reincarnation of the founder.
Linfia
Epithet: 'The Talented Adventurer'
An A-rank adventurer who helped Al.
She ties her brown hair into a short ponytail.
She wears a hat and dresses like a boy.
She comes from a refugee village in the southern frontier.
She asked Al to solve a problem that had arisen in her village and agreed to cooperate with him in return.
She possesses a magic sword that can change its form.
Candidates for the Imperial Throne
Erich Rechs Adler
Second Prince.
Blue-haired and bespectacled.
The leading candidate to become crown prince, he serves as Minister of Foreign Affairs.
A cold realist.
His power base is the civil service.
Gordon Rechs Adler
Third Prince.
Red-haired and broad-shouldered.
A prince who serves as a general.
A warrior with a simple way of thinking.
His power base is the military.
Zandra Rechs Adler
Second Princess.
Green-haired and beautiful, but with severe features.
A mage who researches forbidden arts.
The cruelest member of the Imperial Family.
Her power base is the mages.
The Empire
Johannes Rechs Adler
Emperor of the Adrasia Empire.
Blond and blue-eyed.
A father of thirteen, he makes his children compete for the throne, believing that the most capable person should rule for the sake of the Empire. He himself became emperor through such a struggle.
He has the magnanimity to love his many wives equally. A great ruler who governs a vast empire and has expanded its territory whenever the opportunity arose, he is also judging whether his children have what it takes to become emperor.
He is aware of his pride and duties as a member of the Imperial Family, and says that producing a successor capable of ruling the vast imperial territories is the duty of the Imperial Family.
Gustav Rechs Adler
Al and Leo's great-grandfather. The emperor two reigns ago.
After passing the imperial throne to his son, he became absorbed in ancient magic, eventually went mad, and plunged the imperial capital into chaos.
Since then, ancient magic has been taboo among the Imperial Family.
In reality, his personality is sealed inside a grimoire in a hidden room in the castle.
This was because a demon sealed inside the grimoire had taken over his body.
Al's teacher of ancient magic.
Franz Seebeck
Imperial Chancellor.
An unparalleled genius who rose from being an innkeeper's son to become the Empire's greatest success story. It is said that Johannes's greatest achievement was discovering Franz.
Mitsuba
Sixth Consort of the Emperor.
Al and Leo's mother.
A black-haired dancer who caught the emperor's eye.
She raised Al and Leo with a hands-off approach, shaping the two they are today.
Krista Rechs Adler
Twelve years old.
The third princess, with blonde hair and purple eyes.
After losing her mother, she looks to Mitsuba, Al and Leo's mother, as her own.
She has the power of precognition, but only a very small number of people know about it.
Traugott Rechs Adler
Twenty-five years old.
Fourth Prince.
He has brown hair, blue eyes, and notably tacky glasses.
A very round, overweight prince who aspires to become a great literary figure despite having no literary talent.
A man of leisure.
Gied von Holzwart
Eighteen years old.
He has brown hair in a bowl cut, a lanky build, and terrible taste in clothing.
The son of the Duke of Holzwart, a house with the second-oldest history among the nobility.
Al and Leo's childhood friend, and a bully who has tormented Al for years.
Marc Tiber
A middle-aged man.
A knight belonging to the Imperial Guard and the deputy commander of Elna's unit.
He originally served the Hero Duke House, and became an Imperial Guard when Elna did.
He once saved Al from mortal danger.
The Duchies
Evangelina di Albatross
First Princess of the Duchy of Albatross.
The elder twin sister.
A girl with pale brown hair cut evenly at shoulder length and green eyes.
Together with her younger twin brother Giulio, she was born with the ability to use sound-based magic.
She is extremely active compared to the quiet Giulio.
Giulio di Albatross
First Prince of the Duchy of Albatross.
The younger twin brother.
A boy identical to Eva in appearance.
He is troubled that people often mistake him for a girl because of his personality.
He admires manliness and looks up to Leo, who resembles a hero.
Other Characters, Mainly from Part Three Onward
Guy
Nineteen years old.
An adventurer who looks after the children in the outermost layer. He is B-rank, but looks ready to advance to A-rank soon.
He is constantly covered in fresh wounds, but is irrepressibly cheerful.
A friend Al can let his guard down around.
Rita
Eleven years old.
A girl who learned swordsmanship under Guy.
She wears her dull blonde hair in a side ponytail.
She is lively and never stops smiling.
She met Krista and became her best friend.
Sonia Raspede
She has short, pale-purple hair and reddish-purple eyes.
A half-elf with slightly pointed ears.
She was exiled from her village with her mother when she was born. Eleven years ago, she was caught up in the war between the Kingdom and the Empire and became separated from her mother. An Imperial military strategist found her crying, and after being raised there, she became an excellent strategist herself.
True to her elven heritage, she excels at various forms of magic and can fight to defend herself.
She responded to Gordon's request for cooperation and headed to the imperial capital as his military strategist. On the way, she met Rebecca and ended up accompanying her almost by default.
Nelbe Ritter
The Imperial Army's only independent knight order, known as the Order of Scarred Knights.
Though they are soldiers as well as knights, these unusual men were originally all knights. After losing their places when they defied their respective lords for various reasons, they drifted to Nelbe Ritter.
Honed by fierce training, they are known as one of the Empire's foremost combat units. However, they are strong-willed and difficult, so they are considered hard to handle.
Orihime Kuon
A beautiful girl with black hair and golden eyes. She looks fifteen or sixteen, speaks imperiously, and is always looking down on others.
Mizuho's guardian shrine maiden, known as the Sage Princess. A nine-tailed shrine maiden.
She is descended from the Celestial Fox tribe, possesses immense magical power, and excels at creating barriers. The barrier maintained by each successive Sage Princess makes Mizuho impregnable, and even the Sokar Empire cannot interfere with it.
She occupies a position comparable to the Hero Duke House in the Empire and receives treatment fit for royalty.
She has long black hair. She is short, with small ears, but has a large bust. A single tail grows from her back.
She is bright and outgoing and does not think deeply about things. Although she looks down on others, her friendly nature keeps her from giving an unpleasant impression.
Bruce Talant
S-rank adventurer.
A mage who works alone and is known as the Ice Noble.
Handsome, with light-blue hair.
The Alliance
Sydney & Auguste
The Kingdom
A married couple in their thirties.
They work as a team and are treated as an S-rank party together.
The husband, Auguste, handles defense, while the wife, Sydney, handles offense.
Ignat
An S-rank adventurer based in the Sokar Empire.
He has a rough and extreme personality, making him a particularly troublesome member of the S-rank adventurers, but his abilities are undeniable.
Thunder Hero Brigade
A five-person S-rank adventurer party active in the Sokar Empire.
Continent Overview
A continent shaped like a bird with its wings spread.
The Adrasia Empire lies in the center of the continent, in the part corresponding to the bird's body (modeled on Germany).
The western wing is occupied by the Perlarn Kingdom (modeled on France), while the eastern wing is occupied by the Sokar Empire (modeled on Russia).
These three countries are regarded as the continent's three great powers.
The Duchies of Albatross and Rondine lie on a narrow peninsula jutting out like a tail in the south (imagine Italy).
The Cornix Khanate lies in the head, with the island nation of the United Kingdom of Eaglet farther north.
Imperial Family Overview
Empress, Crown Prince, Fourth Prince
Second Consort, deceased, First Princess, Third Princess
Third Consort, Second Prince, Fifth Prince
Fourth Consort, Third Prince, Sixth Prince
Fifth Consort, Second Princess, Ninth Prince
Sixth Consort, Mitsuba, Seventh and Eighth Princes
Seventh Consort, Tenth Prince
First Prince, Wilhelm, died at 27
First Princess, Lieselotte, 25
Second Prince, Erich, 28
Second Princess, Zandra, 22
Third Prince, Gordon, 26
Fourth Prince, Traugott, 25
Fifth Prince, Carlos, 23
Sixth Prince, Conrad, 21
Seventh Prince, Arnold, 18
Eighth Prince, Leonart, 18
Ninth Prince, Henrik, 16
Third Princess, Krista, 12
Tenth Prince, Rupert, 10
First Prince Wilhelm Rechs Adler
Died at 27.
The crown prince who died three years ago. While he was alive, he received the hopes of the entire Empire as the ideal crown prince, and his popularity and ability were so great that the struggle for the throne never even began. Wilhelm's death triggered the struggle for the throne. His mother was the Empress.
First Princess Lieselotte Rechs Adler
Twenty-five years old.
The Imperial Marshal who commands the army defending the eastern border. Feared by the surrounding nations as the strongest princess-general in the Imperial Family, she does not participate in the struggle for the throne and has declared that she will serve as marshal no matter who becomes emperor. Her mother was the Second Consort.
Fifth Prince Carlos Rechs Adler
Twenty-three years old.
An ordinary prince who has never been called either outstanding or incompetent. Despite his ordinary abilities, he is a dreamer and harbors aspirations of becoming a hero. In the struggle for the throne, he publicly supports Erich, his maternal elder brother. His mother is the Third Consort.
Sixth Prince Conrad Rechs Adler
Twenty-one years old.
Gordon's younger maternal brother, he is easygoing and shows little interest in the struggle for the throne. He publicly supports Gordon. His mother is the Fourth Consort.
Ninth Prince Henrik Rechs Adler
Sixteen years old.
Zandra's younger maternal brother. He looks down on Al and harbors a rivalry with Leo. In the struggle for the throne, he supports Zandra, his maternal elder sister. He is close to Gied von Holzwart. His mother is the Fifth Consort.
Tenth Prince Rupert Rechs Adler
Ten years old.
The Seventh Consort's only child. He is still young and has not joined the struggle for the throne. He supports no one and spends his days doing as the Seventh Consort tells him. He has a timid personality. His mother is the Seventh Consort.