“Damn it! Why is this not picked?”
“Your strength is weak, so you won’t fall!”
long queue. The knights were scrambling to pull out their swords.
Due to the crowds, the imperial palace became lively for the first time in a while.
“It’s crowded.”
I was watching the procession from the palace garden.
In one morning, close to two hundred knights tried and failed.
aka swordsmanship.
Two days ago, Caliburn, who fell from the sky and landed in the center of the imperial palace, caught everyone’s attention and said the following.
―I am Caliburn. spirit of the great king. Only those who elect me will be qualified as a true monarch.
The sudden appearance of a spirit turned the imperial palace upside down.
As a result of the confirmation of the wizards of the Mage Tower, it was revealed that it was a ‘real spirit’, and everyone gathered in front of the sword.
It was to check the qualifications by directly seeing the mystery that disappeared a thousand years ago.
The wizards all failed, and the knights tried, but the sword still did not budge.
“The people of the imperial family aren’t taking on the challenge yet.”
Edith opened her mouth as she sipped her tea.
I shoved the bread into my mouth and smiled.
“You must be careful. Because you only get one chance.”
Whoever elects me will be qualified as a king.
How dare you say such a thing here in the heart of the Empire?
He deserves to die a thousand times, but his opponent is a spirit.
Besides, this situation could be a good ‘excuse’ for the imperial family.
If only one of the princes could draw that sword!
Wouldn’t it be possible to dethrone the current unqualified crown prince and rise to the position of the next crown prince?
The empresses would have thought so.
That’s why I’m ready to take on the challenge.
Are you giving the knights a chance?
‘The knight’s things are also the owner’s.’
Even if the article was pulled, there was nothing to lose.
Edith asked.
“Did you expect this to happen?”
“Are you referring to situations that give a wizard or knight the right to challenge?”
“Yes.”
“no.”
shrugged.
“Then did you know that Your Majesty would cover it?”
“You cannot cover the sky with the palm of your hand. It would be impossible if there were no outsiders, but it would be impossible to hide it in a situation where there are four tower masters.”
It is a stage made by deliberately breaking through the barriers.
I wouldn’t know if it was a situation where there were only insiders, but if it’s a mysterious situation, a large number of wizards who wake up even while sleeping have gathered.
It was impossible to cover them unless they were all killed.
I said after wiping my mouth with a napkin.
“It won’t end like this. After some time, people will gather outside the palace.”
“Could it be that His Majesty the Emperor will open the palace and give ordinary citizens the right to challenge?”
“If the sword is not drawn, there is no choice but to give it.”
It is a spirit that appeared after a thousand years.
The moment the rumor spreads, all the citizens of the empire will know in no time.
It is said that a spirit that appeared in this period of peace discusses ‘king’s qualifications’ inside the palace.
If you stay still, it will be inflated with all kinds of useless stories and scandals.
The king has no choice but to choose.
And the palace will be opened and opportunities will be granted to the general public as well.
But no one can pull out the sword.
It must be me who chooses Caliburn.
All it takes is time.
How long does it take for rumors to leak out and let everyone know?
Time to be in the spotlight.
I intended to leave the palace in an appropriate time, heal Edith’s granddaughter, and return to draw the sword.
‘I don’t think anyone will pull out the sword in the meantime.’
It’s a sword that even the 8th circle archmage couldn’t pull out.
Hopefully in the meantime, a catastrophe won’t happen.
‘Your Highness is drawing an incredibly large picture.’
Seeing the prince like that, Edith briefly admired.
The prince was drawing a much bigger picture than he thought.
Look at those confident eyes.
Who would dare to call him crazy?
“Ohhhhh! Lord Launel!”
“Launel-sama is taking on the challenge!!!”
“Well?”
His eyes flickered for a moment.
The name of the first prince came to my ears.
I thought that the challenge for the first prince would come later.
Launel. The red-haired nobleman rolled up his arms and walked out.
The eyes of the knights and soldiers were focused on him.
“Spirit Caliburn! I am the one who will be your master.”
– Ohhhhh. Certainly, you are the most lordly of those who have ever challenged.
Caliburn exclaimed in admiration.
No matter how you look at it, it was sincere.
The attitude and words that were completely opposite to when he first saw me.
‘I didn’t expect to take on the challenge.’
1st Prince, Launel.
Anyone can see that the guy was the lumberjack of the monarch.
He was born with the charisma to lead people.
A genius who works hard, the first prince who is loved by everyone.
If only a qualified person could draw a sword, he would probably be the most suitable person in this palace.
Launel slowly gripped the Caliburn’s handle.
“Suck!”
rattle!
“……Aren’t you a little shaken now?”
As Edith said, the sword seemed to come out a little.
Are you doing that because you want to be deleted?
-Ugh!
Caliburn, who must have sensed my life, was quite perplexed.
As he introduced himself as the king’s spirit, it was probably designed so that anyone with the qualifications of a real king could draw Caliburn.
“Turn it off!”
-Turn it off!
Both were giving their full strength.
To get out, not to get pulled out.
A phoenix flapped its wings above Launel.
I went to the awakening state, but in the end I couldn’t pull out the Caliburn.
“······ Damn it.”
Launel bit his lip in anger.
―Sorry, Guna. For you, Whoouk! don’t deserve
Apparently, the real owner of Caliburn was Launel.
Caliburn also barely endured with a desperate will not to be deleted.
I also felt a little cold sweat.
Should I say it’s fortunate that Launel, who was in the most difficult situation, passed by?
“majesty. Can I ask you one thing?”
“Try it.”
“How did you know about the barrier’s vulnerability? That weakness was a fact that even the owner of the Mage Tower didn’t know about…”
Thanks to that, Edith was able to break through the barrier without too much trouble.
However, it was the four masters of the mage tower who set the mana barrier in the imperial palace.
They prided themselves on perfection. I hadn’t even imagined there would be any flaws in the barrier.
‘Malfiel told me.’
pup.
He’s such a fucking thank you guy.
Before attacking the imperial palace, he told me about the weak point of the barrier and made a joke about blocking it.
I put multiple barriers and fixed the vulnerable parts, but in the end I couldn’t stop the crazy monster.
Because it was pierced in one blow.
I should have seen the bewildered expressions of the wizards then.
‘How am I supposed to kill him?’
Malfiel and I cannot coexist.
After returning, I thought over and over again, but came to one conclusion.
One of them must die.
Of course, I was much more likely to die.
Malfiel, who achieved the 12th feat, was like a real god.
The only possibility is to kill them before they’ve accomplished all the feats, but there’s still time left until it first appears.
So, before that, increase your strength and kill Malfiel.
If the power of the imperial family is insufficient, even by borrowing the power of magicians, if even that is insufficient, by hiring all the mercenaries and assassins on the continent.
If even that is not enough…
He shook his head and replied.
“I just felt like that area was weak.”
“Is that so too?”
Also?
Edith’s eyes are meaningful.
‘Do you think I’m really related to the King of Spirits?’
Could it be because of Caliburn’s last words?
He seemed to be convinced that he had made a contract with the King of Spirits.
It seemed that if it was related to the spirit king, it would be possible to alleviate the runaway, deal with Caliburn, and even find out the vulnerability of the barrier.
‘Thank you for taking care of me.’
Not having to invent lies was more comfortable than I thought.
Because lies eventually gave birth to lies, and they were bound to be exposed.
It was best to make mistakes and be sure of yourself like I did.
“But are you really going to be okay?”
“The sword won’t be drawn in the meantime.”
“That’s not it… where my granddaughter is.”
“You mean the north?”
northward.
A land of glaciers with snowstorms all year round.
Edith’s granddaughter was there.
She left her frozen granddaughter on the ground that would never melt.
When I heard the location, I had no choice but to stop for a moment.
The north was at the height of the war unification by now.
Archduke Carlos, the nobles he led, and his children were going to conquer all over the north.
‘The Northern Expedition succeeds.’
The book punishment in exchange for my book club.
Emperor Deus wants Archduke Carlos to die during the Northern Expedition, but he successfully succeeds and enters the imperial palace.
Afterwards, the great famine overlapped, and the emperor completely lost his power and came down from his position.
The imperial family and princes joined forces, but it was not enough.
Besides, since I ascended the throne… it was the worst.
Dying, killing, the palace was full of blood and screams every single day.
“Yes. It is at war now.”
“I can’t help it. A promise is a promise.”
If he helps me, I will help him too.
I can’t stand being in the north, but I just need to finish it as quickly as possible.
‘No, it was rather good.’
I thought positively.
Going north at this time could have been an opportunity.
Rumors I heard around this time.
『Mystery discovered in the north.』
7 mysteries.
One of them was found in the north.
Later, this rumor changed to this.
『Archduke Carlos took the mystery and subdued the north.』
It was a story of a successful Northern Expedition due to the power of mystery.
To be honest, I would have succeeded even without it, but it is true that it is tempting.
One of the seven mysteries, the spirit, resides here in the imperial palace.
And the mystery of the other ‘dragon’ was in the north.
The north is a dangerous place, but with Edith, the 8th Circle mage, by your side, it’s worth trying.
‘It’s said to be a dragon, but I don’t know exactly what it is. It’s the number of trump cards that Archduke Carlos has left for Malfiel.’
Archduke Carlos was intoxicated by the mystery of the dragon.
But he hid it terribly.
Even after he ascended the throne, he never opened his mouth.
However, I heard a rumor that the reason why he couldn’t easily touch Archduke Carlos when Malfiel killed all the nobles was because of the ‘dragon’.
‘I know the location. Archduke Carlos hasn’t been found yet.’
Although nothing was revealed, he knew where the mystery was.
I couldn’t even think about it, but with Edith, it’s worth trying.
“… I’m ready, Your Highness.”
Germin’s voice came from afar.
‘Looks like the carriage is ready.’
I intended to leave the palace as quietly as possible.
Even if you say you’re going, it’s like ‘kill me,’ so it’s best to sneak out.
I planned to move quietly in a simple wagon when everyone’s eyes were on the spirit Caliburn.
Turning my head, I couldn’t help but frown.
“Why you?”
“Where are you going, Your Highness?”
… Lord Croft.
Why are you with Germin?
Was it what Germin said?
‘I don’t think so.’
Germin was desperately rolling his eyes from side to side.
It seemed like he got caught while looking for a wagon.
“The palace is stuffy, so I tried to take a walk.”
“Come with me.”
At first, he scolded in half-spoken words, but for some reason he was raising his words.
It seemed that there was a change of heart due to the performance shown at the previous imperial event.
By the way, do you want to go together?
why?
―I should have killed you when I was the crown prince. Not being able to do that is the best regret of my life.
These were the words he told me after the emperor died.
Is this how it feels to walk on thin ice?
Are you thinking of going and killing me?
That’s also the case. To Croft, I’m still nothing more than ‘a madman to be killed’.
“Should we go together?”
“I am the captain of the Yellow Dragon Knights. I am in a position where I have to follow Her Highness wherever she goes.”
“I am going to take a short walk.”
“Fine. You can predict where it will go.”
Croft glared at Edith.
For a moment, Edith’s body flinched.
The great mage of the 8th circle, said to be the strongest mage.
And the strongest sword masters, who were said to have had no rivals in their heyday, met each other.
Croft seemed well aware of Edith’s situation.
That must have made me aware that I was going far away.
‘If I had told the emperor, the royal guard would have come and arrested him.’
Fortunately, Croft appeared alone.
However, Croft is on the Emperor’s side.
Why did he come alone without informing the Emperor of my going out?
“······ good night. go with me.”
＜Leaving Road＞ End