Chapter 2
“Would you not reveal that you are Silver, the SS-class adventurer?”
“Rejected.”
After returning to my room, I discussed our future plans with Sebas.
Only Sebas knew that I was Silver. Revealing my identity certainly had its advantages, but it also had its disadvantages.
“My great-grandfather devoted himself to ancient magic and went mad in the end. Ever since then, ancient magic has been taboo among the imperial family. And ancient magic is what I use. If Leo, who aims to become emperor, were found to have a twin brother who used it, that would cause problems.”
“However, Silver has an impressive record and reputation. He is even said to be the greatest adventurer in the history of the Empire. Would that not be a great boost for Prince Leonart?”
“It is still too soon. That is the last card to play, something we will use only when there is no other choice. As long as Leo aims to become emperor, it is more convenient for me to remain an incompetent prince for a while.”
“However...”
“It is easier for me that way.”
“...If that is your wish, I shall say no more. But what do you intend to do? If you refuse to reveal your identity, there are almost no options left for us.”
At Sebas's question, I put a hand to my chin.
That was the biggest problem. Leo's faction was weak. If we wanted to expand it quickly, we would have to win over influential figures.
“Sebas. Is there a ducal house that has not taken part in the struggle for the throne?”
“There is only one that has not involved itself in the succession struggle at all.”
“Which house?”
“The House of Kleinert.”
A distinguished family name, to be sure.
A ducal house was either related to the imperial family or connected to it by blood. Dukedoms were granted to the brothers of emperors who were deemed exceptional but had not ascended the throne. Someone could also be granted a dukedom for outstanding achievements, but even then, a member of the imperial family would be given to him as a spouse. Thus, it was perfectly reasonable to regard such houses as relatives of the imperial family.
For such a ducal house, the struggle for the throne was an important event.
If they could earn the favor of the next emperor, the rewards would be substantial. That was why every ducal house approached at least one candidate for the throne. If one refused to do so entirely, there had to be an even greater problem behind it.
“If they are doing nothing at this point, they must have something weighing on them, right?”
“You are perceptive, Your Highness. It seems a troublesome monster has appeared in their territory. They have been relying on adventurers, but they have yet to find even a clue toward solving the problem.”
The Adventurer's Guild had branches throughout the entire continent.
The Empire had branches here and there as well, but their capabilities varied from branch to branch.
The branches outside the imperial capital were not particularly impressive. Even the capital branch was only slightly better than the others because I was the one raising its average performance.
The reason was that the Empire was not a land where monsters appeared very often. No monsters meant no demand. Skilled adventurers moved to places with more monsters.
As a result, whenever monsters did appear in the Empire, it tended to take a long time to deal with them. Bringing in adventurers from elsewhere cost money, after all.
“Should I go and solve the problem?”
“I believe that would be an excellent plan, but how do you intend to connect Silver with Prince Leonart?”
“I can say that Leo asked me to come. I will explain things to Leo properly afterward. It will be fine.”
“If Prince Leonart can move an SS-class adventurer who never leaves the imperial capital, people will become more wary of him. If that happens, the relationship between Prince Arnold and Silver may be exposed as well.”
“Let them be wary. If they suspect he has ties to Silver, they will not be able to act carelessly. Silver's identity is not a problem either. I only need to be careful.”
“I will not stop you if you are confident, but do not forget that there is a world of difference between making your identity public and having it exposed.”
“I know. Well then, shall I pay Duke Kleinert a visit?”
With that, I changed into Silver's clothes with practiced ease, left things in Sebas's hands, and began preparing my teleportation spell.
Ancient magic was a form of magic from the age of an ancient magical civilization, now fallen into disuse. Compared with modern magic, it was difficult to handle and depended heavily on one's innate aptitude. Its effects, however, were tremendous.
The effective range of my teleportation magic covered almost the entire Empire. In other words, the Empire was no different from a garden to me. I could go wherever I wanted and return whenever I pleased. The price was an absurd amount of magical power, but that was something I simply had to put up with.
As I began preparing such a grand spell, Sebas gave me a serious warning.
“Come to think of it, the duke's daughter is the famed Blue Gull Princess. She is an unparalleled beauty. Be careful not to become so captivated by her beauty that you forget your objective.”
“Sebas. I have thought this for a while, but do you feel the need to lecture me all the time?”
“That is my duty.”
“Sigh... I leave the rest to you.”
“As you command.”
I completed the teleportation spell in short order and teleported to the Kleinert ducal domain, which was at least five days away from the imperial capital.
■■■
Duke Kleinert possessed a vast territory in the western part of the Empire. I teleported to the city at its center, where the lord resided—the 〝Domain Capital〟—and immediately visited the duke's mansion.
However...
“I am Silver, the SS-class adventurer. I wish to meet the duke.”
“You're that Silver? Don't joke around. If someone as important as him were coming here, the Adventurer's Guild would have contacted us days ago. Stop playing pranks and go home.”
The young, blond gatekeeper brushed me off.
For a moment, I considered roasting him alive, but doing that would defeat the purpose of coming all this way.
Suppressing my irritation, I took out my Adventurer Card, which also served as proof of an adventurer's identity.
It contained the adventurer's name, rank, and various other details. Created through the Guild's secret arts, the card could not be forged.
Once he saw this...
“You don't need to see some card. Go home already! I'm busy!”
“What?!”
Without even looking at it, the gatekeeper drove me away.
His attitude made my cheek twitch, but at the same time, I felt that an opportunity had presented itself.
I had originally intended to help them and earn their gratitude, but with things developing this way, I could make them feel even more indebted to me.
“I came all this way because Prince Leonart personally asked me to... That prince seems far too softhearted. Tell the duke that he has made both me and the prince lose face.”
“I'm not telling him that! Now hurry up and leave!”
The gatekeeper remained arrogant to the very end. The House of Kleinert was certainly a distinguished one. Its history was beyond the reach of ordinary nobles.
How could someone like this possibly be guarding the gate of such a prestigious household? Perhaps the monsters had caused a shortage of manpower.
Well, this was almost entirely his fault, but a retainer's failure was tantamount to the duke's failure. I felt sorry for the duke, but I would have him panic a little.
As I smiled calculatingly behind my mask, I caught a brief glimpse of a girl through a second-floor window.
The girl had golden hair and blue eyes, and she was breathtakingly beautiful even from a distance. I recognized her.
Two years ago, the emperor had ordered the country's craftsmen to create hair ornaments shaped like birds. Among them, one depicting a magnificent blue gull had caught the emperor's eye.
The emperor had taken such a liking to it that he gathered the most beautiful women in the country in the imperial capital, declaring that it should be worn by the most beautiful woman in the land. The one chosen as an unparalleled beauty, despite being only fourteen at the time, was Fiene von Kleinert, the daughter of Duke Kleinert.
After receiving the blue gull hair ornament, she became known as the Blue Gull Princess and the object of men's admiration throughout the country.
Two years had passed, and her beauty had only grown more striking.
But...
“She really is beautiful, but as Sebas said, this is no time to stand around admiring her.”
Remembering Sebas's lecture, I left the place reluctantly and used teleportation magic once more to return to the imperial capital.
“...That was a quick return, Your Highness.”
“I did what I needed to do! We are going to the Kleinert ducal domain. Make the preparations.”
“...Didn't you just go there?”
“Silver did. I am going as Prince Arnold now. Heh, this leaves the duke with no choice but to run crying to Leo. We have practically brought him over to our side already.”
“You have a rather sinister smile on your face.”
Ignoring Sebas's comment, I began preparing for the journey.
Seeing me get ready with a happy hum, Sebas let out an exasperated sigh. He said nothing, however, and began making his own preparations.
Then we rode hard from there and, after five days on the road, entered the Kleinert ducal domain once more.
■■■
After entering the capital of the Kleinert ducal domain and heading for the mansion, I was greeted personally by Duke Kleinert. Naturally. I had gone out of my way to inform him that I would be coming so that he would do exactly this. But the duke had come out to greet me because he respected the imperial family. Another duke might not have gone so far.
He had not joined the struggle for the throne, and my reputation was absolutely terrible. I was a wastrel prince who did nothing but play around—a washed-up prince who had had everything taken from him by his younger brother. The fact that Duke Kleinert politely welcomed someone like that simply because I was a prince showed how much he valued etiquette.
“Your Highness. It has been a long time.”
“It has. Duke Kleinert, when was the last time we met?”
“When Your Highness celebrated his tenth birthday.”
A middle-aged man with neatly groomed blond hair and a mustache of the same color.
He was Duke Elmer von Kleinert.
He had inherited the dukedom at a young age and had governed his territory for several decades. His mild temperament had earned him a good reputation not only among the people, but also among the nobles. He was one of the dukes trusted by the current emperor as well.
“Has it really been that long? I hardly ever leave the imperial capital, after all. I end up becoming estranged from the dukes who live in their territories. I hope you can forgive me.”
“There is no need to apologize. I am the one at fault for being so occupied with my territory that I cannot visit the imperial capital.”
We exchanged formal pleasantries as the duke and I entered the mansion.
His attendants followed us, but once we entered the reception room, only the duke, Sebas, and I remained.
“Now then, Duke. I do not have much time, so allow me to state my business.”
“Yes, Your Highness. What brings you to my territory this time?”
“What brings me here? You are being coy, Duke. Naturally, I have come to discuss repayment.”
“Repayment?”
“My younger brother Leonart may not have wanted this, but one cannot afford to be so particular in the middle of a succession struggle. So I have come to collect. Duke Kleinert, if you feel indebted, I ask that you lend Leo your support.”
“W-wait, please. Indebted for what?”
“...Duke, are you trying to play dumb and brush this off?”
Duke Kleinert wore a bewildered expression, completely unable to understand the situation.
There was no way our side, which had sent Silver out, could communicate with a duke who did not even know Silver had come. I knew that. But if we reached that difference in understanding too quickly, the problem would become much less serious.
“You are a duke trusted by His Majesty the Emperor, not to mention many others. Leo knew that, which was why he acted out of goodwill. And this is how you repay him?”
“Prince Arnold, I truly do not understand. I am sorry, but neither I nor my ducal house have received any favor from Prince Leonart.”
“What?!”
As if I could bear it no longer, I stepped forward.
At that precise moment, Sebas stopped me with perfect timing.
“Your Highness. It appears that the duke truly knows nothing.”
“How can you say that simply not knowing is enough!? Leo went so far as to send an SS-class adventurer! And he did it when he was caught up in the succession struggle and was in trouble himself! That is precisely why Silver agreed to act!”
“S-Silver? You mean that Silver?”
“Yes, that Silver! Leo heard that you were having trouble with monsters in your territory, so he sent Silver a handwritten letter requesting that he come to your aid. Silver immediately replied that he would deal with it. Silver is a wielder of ancient magic. I hear he can even use the lost teleportation magic. There is no way he has not arrived!”
“I-Is that true?!”
“Are you implying that I am lying?!”
Continuing my performance of outrage, I signaled to Sebas with my eyes.
As if he had been waiting for the cue, Sebas came to my rescue again.
“Your Highness, you must not lose your temper. Anyone can see from the duke's demeanor that he is not lying. Something may have happened. Perhaps we should give the duke time to investigate?”
“Time to investigate? What will we do if his investigation turns up nothing?”
“Then you can ask Silver directly. If it is a summons from Prince Leonart, Silver will surely show himself.”
“Hmph! Since Sebas says so, I will give you some time. But you understand what will happen if you try to hide something, don't you? I will go and ask Silver directly. If that reveals any problems with your household, no adventurer will ever set foot in your territory again.”
“...Understood. I will assemble my household and look into this immediately. Please wait a moment.”
Duke Kleinert hurried out of the room.
My words alone would not have shaken the duke, since I was not directly competing for the throne. The problem was that Silver was involved.
There were only five SS-class adventurers on the entire continent. They were the finest experts available when it came to exterminating monsters. They could not simply be persuaded to act with money, and it was no exaggeration to call them the leaders of all adventurers. If someone smeared Silver's reputation, adventurers would avoid that place. If even Silver was treated poorly there, there was no chance other adventurers would go near it.
“That went well.”
“That was a rather underhanded plan, Your Highness. It was practically a farce that you staged yourself.”
“Calling it self-staged is harsh. The people of this household were the ones who turned Silver away. I merely widened the wound; I was not the one who made it.”
“If you were turned away, you could have simply snuck inside. You deliberately withdrew because you saw an opportunity, did you not? You even went so far as to act arrogantly so that Prince Leonart's good nature would stand out more clearly. Allow me to praise you for being quite the strategist.”
“That is my role. Leo is too good-natured. Few fish can live in water that is too clean. Someone has to muddy it.”
“I will not stop you if you have decided that is your role, but are you not the one who will suffer for it?”
“That is fine. What Leo needs right now is a good reputation. I do not care how far mine falls.”
“I do care. So do your mother and Prince Leonart.”
“If three people care, that is more than enough.”
As we continued our conversation, the duke's thunderous voice rang out from outside.
“You stupid son!! Are you trying to destroy our house?!”
Apparently, the duke had finished gathering information.
Now then, let's see how he responds.