Chapter 52
Characters
Main Characters
Arnold Lakes Adler
Title: 'Dull Prince'
That's me. Those close to me call me Al.
The Seventh Prince of the Adrasia Empire.
An eighteen-year-old with black hair and black eyes. He and Leonart are the imperial family's only set of twins, and he is the older brother. Like Leonart, he has handsome features, but his appearance lacks sharpness and ruggedness. He is widely judged to lack grace.
He is known as the Dull Prince who was left with none of the good qualities, all of which went to his younger brother. He is incompetent, apathetic, and a slacker. Lacking ambition, he could easily be called the least likely of all the candidates to become emperor.
His apathy is genuine, but he is not incompetent. He can wield powerful ancient magic. However, the Empire and its imperial family have little regard for ancient magic, since his great-grandfather once became obsessed with it, went mad, and plunged the Imperial Capital into chaos. Therefore, he keeps this ability hidden.
If one of the other leading candidates became emperor, Al and his mother would undoubtedly be killed. He therefore resolves to work behind the scenes to make Leonart emperor.
Silver
Title: '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 wearing a silver mask.
An adventurer who never leaves the Imperial Capital. He belongs to the Imperial Capital branch and generally accepts only requests in and around the capital unless the Adventurer's Guild specifically calls on him.
His true identity is Arnold, and he secretly protects the Empire with ancient magic.
His master is the spirit of his great-grandfather, who was known as the Mad Emperor. He learned a wide range of subjects from him, including ancient magic and scheming.
Leonart Lakes Adler
Title: 'Figurehead'
That's me. Those close to me call me Leo.
The 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 considered both rugged and graceful. Suitors are constantly lining up to propose to him.
He excels in every area, including swordsmanship, magic, and politics, making him one of the leading candidates to become the next emperor.
He is kind and considerate, and questions the wisdom of blood relatives fighting one another.
Arnold believes he is too kind and soft-hearted to win the struggle for the throne. He tends to expect and focus on the good in people rather than their darker sides. This is a rare and precious virtue, but it is also a weakness.
He trusts his older brother Arnold more than anyone else.
Sebastian
Title: 'All-Purpose Butler'
Al's butler, known as Sebas.
He was once an assassin feared as the Grim Reaper, but after various events, he became a butler.
He always follows Al and understands him better than anyone.
His abilities remain undiminished, and his information-gathering skills are exceptional. As a result, he is a valuable asset to Leonart's weak faction.
Fine von Kleinert
Sixteen years old.
Title: 'Blue Gull Princess—Secret Sharer'
A peerless beauty also known as the Blue Gull Princess.
A petite girl with beautiful, wavy blond hair and deep blue eyes like the sea.
She is surprisingly voluptuous for her small frame.
Two years ago, Emperor Johannes ordered the country's craftsmen to make hair ornaments shaped like birds. Among them, one depicting a magnificent blue gull caught the emperor's eye. He adored it and announced that he would give it to the most beautiful woman in the country, then held a beauty contest. Fine was only fourteen at the time, but she won the contest and became known throughout the country as an unparalleled beauty.
Apart from Sebas, she is the only person who knows Silver's true identity.
Elna von Amsberg
Seventeen years old.
Title: 'Genius of the House of Valiant Dukes—Strongest Childhood Friend'
Al and Leo's childhood friend.
A beautiful girl with cherry-blossom-pink hair and jade eyes. She is modestly endowed.
She is considered a perfect superhuman and has excelled at everything she has attempted since childhood.
She possesses top-class ability and is nearly invincible when wielding the sacred sword passed down through the House of Valiant Dukes.
The heiress of the Amsberg House of Valiant Dukes, a family descended from the hero who defeated the Demon Lord. She is the savior who always helped Al when he was bullied—and also his natural enemy, since she was the one who constantly scolded him.
A genius who became an Imperial Guard knight at just eleven and a knight captain at fourteen. She is a candidate to become the next commander of the Imperial Guard.
She is said to be exceptionally talented even among the successive heads of the House of Valiant Dukes, and a second coming of its founder.
Linfia
Title: 'Capable Adventurer'
An A-rank adventurer who helped Al.
She wears her brown hair in a short ponytail.
She wears a hat and dresses like a boy.
She comes from a village of displaced people in the southern frontier.
She asks Al to resolve a problem in her village and, in return, agrees to cooperate with him.
She possesses a magic sword that can change its form.
Throne Candidates
Erik Lakes Adler
The Second Prince.
Blue hair and glasses.
The leading candidate for crown prince and the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Cold and realistic.
His power base is the civil bureaucracy.
Gordon Lakes Adler
The Third Prince.
Red-haired and heavily built.
A prince who serves as a general.
A military man with a straightforward way of thinking.
His power base is the military officials.
Zandra Lakes Adler
The Second Princess.
Green-haired and beautiful, but with sharp features.
A mage who researches forbidden magic.
The cruelest member of the imperial family.
Her power base is the mage faction.
Other Characters
The Empire
Johannes Lakes Adler
The Emperor of the Adrasia Empire.
Blond hair and blue eyes.
A prolific father with thirteen children, he makes them compete for the throne, believing that having the most capable person ascend benefits the Empire. He himself became emperor through such a struggle.
He has many wives, yet possesses the magnanimity to love them all equally. A great ruler, he governs a vast empire and has expanded its territory whenever the opportunity arose. He is also assessing whether his children have what it takes to ascend the throne.
He is conscious of the pride and duties 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 Lakes Adler
The great-grandfather of Al and the others. The second-to-last emperor.
After handing the 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 truth, his consciousness 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 Sebeck
Imperial Chancellor.
A once-in-a-generation genius who rose from being an innkeeper's son. He is the greatest success story in the Empire, and people say Johannes's greatest achievement was discovering him.
Mitsuba
The Emperor's Sixth Consort.
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 into who they are today.
Krista Lakes Adler
Twelve years old.
The Third Princess, with blond hair and violet eyes.
After losing her mother, she looks up to Mitsuba, Al and Leo's mother, as her own.
She possesses the ability to see the future, but very few people know about it.
Traugott Lakes Adler
Twenty-five years old.
The Fourth Prince.
He has brown hair and blue eyes, with a particularly unfashionable pair of glasses as his defining feature.
A round, fat prince who aspires to become a literary giant despite having no literary talent.
A hobbyist.
Gied von Holzwart
Eighteen years old.
He has brown hair in a bowl cut, a lanky build, and poor taste in clothing.
The son of the Duke of Holzwart, whose house is the second-oldest among the nobility.
Al and Leo's childhood friend, and the bully who tormented Al throughout their childhood.
Marc Tiber
A middle-aged man.
A knight in the Imperial Guard and the deputy commander of Elna's unit.
He originally served the House of Valiant Dukes and became an Imperial Guard knight when Elna joined the guard.
He once saved Al from a life-threatening situation.
The Principalities
Evangelina di Albatross
The First Princess of the Albatross Principality.
The older twin sister.
A girl with light brown hair cut straight at her shoulders and green eyes.
Together with her younger twin brother Julio, she possesses an innate ability to use sound-based magic.
She is extremely energetic compared with the quiet Julio.
Julio di Albatross
The First Prince of the Albatross Principality.
The younger twin brother.
A boy who looks exactly like Eva.
He is troubled because his personality often leads people to mistake him for a girl.
He admires manliness and looks up to Leonart, who seems like a hero.
Imperial Harem: Overview
The empress oversees it, but the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Consorts wage a constant power struggle as they seek to help their sons and daughters ascend the throne.
Empress — Crown Prince and Fourth Prince
Second Consort (deceased) — First Princess and Third Princess
Third Consort — Second Prince and Fifth Prince
Fourth Consort — Third Prince and Sixth Prince
Fifth Consort — Second Princess and Ninth Prince
Sixth Consort — Seventh Prince and Eighth Prince
Seventh Consort — Tenth Prince
The Continent: Overview
Vogel Continent
A simple map has been posted in the activity report. Every country is named after a bird, and each national flag depicts that bird.
A continent shaped like a bird with its wings spread.
In the central part of the continent, corresponding to the bird's body, lies the Adrasia Empire (modeled after Germany).
The western wing is home to the Perlan Kingdom (modeled after France), while the eastern wing is home to the Socal Empire (modeled after Russia).
These three countries are considered the three great powers of the continent.
On the narrow peninsula jutting out like a tail in the south (imagine Italy) lie the Albatross Principality and the Rondine Principality.