11 The Crown Prince’s Direct Army and the First Success
Now, I have my own personal guard in my mansion, but there is also an army dispatched from the Zarold Dukedom.
The number of soldiers in the personal guard is twenty, while the number of soldiers in the ducal army is a hundred.
The official name is the Zarold Dukedom’s Direct Army. Not all direct soldiers are like this, but in this case, they are like the lord’s version of a standing army.
And a standing army is basically one-ten-thousandth of the population of the territory in peacetime.
If my memory serves me correctly, and if there have been no drastic changes in the past few years, the total population of our country is about 30 million. The total population of the Zarold Dukedom’s territory should be 5 million, so the standing army would be 500.
My grandfather has lent me one-fifth of that. It’s a little unbelievable.
Well, if you look at it in terms of soldiers, there are territorial soldiers made up of villagers, and there are also citizen soldiers who are conscripted for pay.
To explain a little, about two-thirds of the total population of the territory are villagers belonging to the manor. Most of those who are called territorial soldiers, who serve as soldiers throughout the territory, are this, and their number is roughly one- third to one-quarter of the villagers.
Therefore, the total number of soldiers in the entire Zarold Dukedom is quite large.
offline, out of all those soldiers, there are only 500 full-time standing soldiers. If I say that one-fifth of the territory’s elite is entrusted to me, you can see how unusual it is.
Digression aside.
As for the ducal direct army, half of them live in my mansion, and the other half live in a corner of the city.
If the personal guard is tasked with guarding me, they are tasked with guarding my mansion and the surrounding area of the city.
Of course, they also train in my mansion like the personal guard, and unlike the personal guard, they also go outside the city to hunt wild beasts and explore dungeons.
What I’m trying to say is that some of them are always living in the mansion.
And they are generally sweet to me, the direct grandson of the duke.
My legs, which had spent a long week in my room, were heading towards them, who would welcome me with open arms.
*
“This is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, welcome. You are in good spirits today.”
“Yes. Thank you for your hard work.”
“hahahaha, thank you for your kind words.”
As I walked to the place where the personal guard usually trains, Eldred Marlead, the captain of the Zarold Dukedom’s Direct Army, known as the Crown Prince’s Direct Army, approached me in an instant.
If the face of Romero Plum, the captain of the Royal Guard, towards me was one of respect, the expression this man directed at me was a loving smile like that towards a cute relative’s child.
In fact, I had met this man several times in the past and we were old acquaintances. So, I also felt a sense of familiarity towards him.
“When I heard that you had collapsed, my heart nearly burst.”
“You flatter me.”
“No, if anything were to happen to Your Highness, I would have cut off my own head.”
“Please don’t do that, or I’ll be scolded by Her Majesty the Queen and Duke Zalud.”
While exchanging light banter, I helped Eldred, who was still kneeling, to his feet. Conversations with this man were truly carefree and enjoyable.
“So, what brings you here today? I hear that you often come to watch the Royal Guard’s training.”
“Yes. I have a favor to ask.”
“Anything.”
“Defensive skills. Could you show me some barrier-type magic (color)?”
“Barrier-type, you say?”
“Yes.”
Eldred pretended to think for a moment, then called over several soldiers who were standing some distance away.
“These five are the most proficient in barrier-type magic in my unit.”
“I see.”
He must have known full well that I couldn’t use magic, yet he indulged me so pleasantly. I was grateful.
“Would a normal barrier suffice?”
“Could you show me various ways of using it?”
“With pleasure.”
He then showed me various barrier-type magic. He showed me how they differed in effect and shape, or how they could be used for different purposes, explaining each one carefully even though it was pointless for an incompetent like me.
I couldn’t help but think that to the servants watching from behind, it must have looked like nothing more than the play of an incompetent Crown Prince.
“That covers most of the barrier-type magic.”
“I have a question.”
“Anything.”
“Can barrier-type magic also be applied as a barrier?”
I asked the question that was my real purpose for being here today.
“Hmm…”
Eldred furrowed his brow. It seemed like he was searching for the right words rather than being troubled.
“Among the ones I showed you earlier, there was a large barrier for protecting a unit or a large number of people, was there not?”
“Yes.”
“That semicircular barrier itself can be considered a physical and magical barrier, and by adding or layering different attributes, it can be used as a barrier in the true sense of the word.”
“For example?”
“By layering the water attribute on the barrier, it will become a barrier that can withstand physical attacks and fire attributes, and so on.”
“I see.”
With that, I understood that what I wanted to do was possible. I also understood how to do it and whether I could do it myself.
“I understand. Thank you very much.”
“hahahaha, you are most welcome.”
“One more thing I’d like to ask. What happens if magical power increases rapidly?”
“Magical power, you say?”
“Ah. For example, when there is an extreme burden on either the body or mind.”
“No, I don’t think that’s the case. As you know, in order to use magic, you need three things: intelligence, magical power, and magical attributes. Intelligence is the technique you use, magical power is the power, and magical attributes are how much you can apply it.
If I had to say, it would be that if someone with low intelligence and high magical power uses magic, they might not be able to handle it and it could lead to something serious.”
I smiled with satisfaction when I heard that.
“That’s a relief. I’ll be counting on you from now on.”
“hahahaha.”
As I turned to leave, Eldred called out to me.
“Your Highness.”
“What is it?”
“I’m sorry to bother you, but if it’s not too much trouble, would you be able to write a letter to Duke Zalud?”
“Why?”
Eldred smiled wryly.
“I heard that Duke Zalud was very distressed when he heard about Your Highness’s recent condition.”
“…I understand.”
I felt a little embarrassed, and I tried to keep my expression neutral as I left. I’m sure Eldred was laughing at my feelings behind my back.
The men of Duke Zalud’s direct line are generally kind to me, but the lord himself is very kind to his grandson, who is the son of his beloved daughter. And I don’t hate it.
*
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Ka-Mine Colorless Ji Garland Le Carlo-Ziggle Arlay
Race: Human
Soul Rank: 1
Vitality: 1,000/1,000
Mental Strength: 2,000/2,000
Status: (All ability level values are decreased)
(Individual information is hidden)
Strength: 4-7 (4-7/6-7)
Speed: 4-7 (4-7/6-7)
Resilience: 6-7 (6-7/6-7)
Stamina: 6-7 (6-7/6-7)
Intelligence: 6-7 (6-7/6-7)
Magical Power: 6-7 (6-7/6-7)
Mental Resistance: 6-7 (6-7/6-7)
Magic Resistance: 6-7 (6-7/6-7)
Magical Attributes
Light: 6-7 (6-7/6-7)
Darkness: 6-7 (6-7/6-7)
Fire: 6-7 (6-7/6-7)
Wind: 6-7 (6-7/6-7)
Metal: 6-7 (6-7/6-7)
Earth: 6-7 (6-7/6-7)
Water 6-7 (6-7/6-7)
Skills
Offensive Skills: [Swordsmanship 4-1] [Spear Mastery 4-1] [Martial Arts 4-1]
Defensive Skills:
Support Skills:
Recovery Skills:
Attribute Skills: [Light Magic 1-7] [Light Be 1-7]
Special Skills:
Unique Skills: ([All Ability Reduction] [Ability Immobilization] [Individual Information Concealment] [Skill Release])
Race Skills:
From Noble mtl dot com
Bloodline Skills:
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That night. I raised my magical power and all my magical attributes to their maximum in my room.
There was no going back now. If I failed in what I was about to do, my abilities would surely be revealed, and I would be forcibly summoned to the royal castle. If that happened, I would have no choice but to give up or abandon my position as crown prince and flee into the wilderness.
In order to avoid that as much as possible, I imagined the magic I was about to use.
All magic is born from imagination. It is the manifestation of spiritual power, and the totality of that manifestation is called magic.
Of all the magical attributes, only gold is called a special attribute. This is because, unlike the other attributes, it is considered to be something without form or phenomenon. Therefore, it is the most difficult to imagine, and also the attribute with the greatest diversity. It is said that because it is nothing, it can do anything.
First, I imagine a colorless, transparent sphere. On top of that, I layer a membrane of light that conceals my form, a membrane of darkness that absorbs sound and soul waves, a membrane of fire that burns away all magic, a membrane of wind that amplifies and accelerates the power of the fire membrane, a membrane of earth that can withstand all physical attacks, and a membrane of water that absorbs any impact from the inside.
Finally, I use the gold attribute as a catalyst to combine all of them into one.
Imagine (Di-Zain), pour in spiritual power (Material-Pow), create (Material-Raise). With that, it becomes magic――
“It’s done――”
A magic that makes contradictions into non-contradictions, made possible by my ability to reach the hero level. My own magic.
“【My Own Room (Colorless Room)】”
I felt an invisible sphere appear around me. When I actually looked around, I couldn’t see anything. However, I could definitely tell that what I had imagined was manifested (created) there.
“Did it work… I wonder?”
To begin with, I thought that if the problem was that my magical power was being sensed by the servants and knights, then I should be able to have a space that couldn’t be sensed.
That way, I could practice as much as I wanted without being seen directly――That was the reason, but did this really work?
“Please…”
I covered the surface of my eyes with a thin darkness attribute, so that I could look directly at the sun without any problems. Then, I generated the 【Light Be (Light-Raise)】 that I had used the other day on the palm of my hand.
I managed to activate a weak light over my entire hand, so I added my own imagination and poured a lot of spiritual power into it, condensing it as much as I could. What I ended up with was a maximally efficient, brilliantly shining, compressed ball of light. If something like this were to appear in the mansion, someone would definitely come running.
I waited for several minutes with the ball still activated, but no one came into the room. The effect of 【My Own Room】 is that it makes you invisible from the outside and doesn’t let any sound or soul waves out from the inside , but it can be seen clearly from the other side, so it’s not that I didn’t notice the presence of the servants or knights.
In other words, the magic I imagined had definitely succeeded (I had managed to create it).
“I did it, I did it――I did it!”
Fifteen years since I was born. I, who had never been able to do anything, I, who had never been allowed to do anything, had finally made something possible for the first time.
“I did it! I did it! I did it! I did it!!”
I was aware of my own withered heart. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t do anything, and the more I tried, the stronger the looks of disappointment from those around me became. There was no way it couldn’t be painful. I was empty and sad.
My father’s gaze, which looked at me with a complicated expression, the smiles of my mother and grandfather, who continued to support me even then, the feelings of my younger brother, who respected and admired me even though he knew that he was better than his older brother, the mocking eyes of my older brother, who showed me respect on the surface but still looked down on me, all of them were painful and sad.
And yet, I! I created something for the first time! Has there ever been anything like this before!
“I did it! I did it, I did it――”
That night, I cried like an idiot, shouting until I lost consciousness from exhaustion.
Whether those tears had any meaning, I didn’t know at that moment.
However, there was no doubt that there was emptiness in them.