Chapter 272

Translated by A Passing Wanderer

Edited by RED

“Unfortunately, that Count Timong fella is dead, and the heart of the mud Jötunn has been shattered into bits, sir . Even the demonic energy contained in it has dissipated . ” Hans shrugged his shoulders and continued on, “With this, one might still… probably open the doorway to either the Purgatory or the Spirit Realm at most, sir . ”

I replied, “…Meaning, yes, they can still open the Warp Gate if they are serious about it . ”

“Of course, except that you’d need someone like Count Timong, who has researched this subject for a thousand-plus years, sir . Otherwise, it will remain a tall order for them, and even if they do open the gateway, no living creature would be able to cross over, anyway . They are just too large . ”

Well, that was a relief to hear .

Hans was still staring at the book I gave him as if he had developed a lingering attachment to it already . From his expression, I got a feeling that he wanted to achieve the ultimate dream of all Alchemists, dimensional transfer, as well .

I spoke to him, “That’s a novel, by the way . ”

“Eh? Sorry?”

“Its title is [A Story of a Ring] . ”

“H-h-hold on, sir?! What are you even…!”

“That’s as much as I know . ”

“But that’s what you said a minute ago!”

“I’m telling you the truth, though?” I guffawed at the sight of the clearly flustered Hans .

**

Around a week after we left for Laurensis…

The day was getting darker, announcing the night’s impending visit . Our carriages came to a stop, and we set up camp for the night .

We should arrive in the imperial capital around tomorrow .

I climbed out of the carriage, wanting to get some fresh air .

“Allow me to escort you, Your Highness,” Charlotte offered, so I lightly nodded in consent .

I found Alice getting ready to cook our dinner by a campfire, while Harman was nearby overseeing the soldiers setting up various tents .

I turned and stared at the wagon . Before anyone had noticed, Hans had finished putting Mist Calf’s heart together and restored it to almost its original size .

Hans himself was standing before the heart while rubbing his chin . His face seemed rather serious at the moment for some reason .

I walked up to him and asked, “What’s up?”

He faltered a little and stammered out his answer . “S-sir? Ah, that . No, well, uh…”

All sorts of emotions and thoughts visibly tumbled around in his expression . He then rubbed his whole face and grinned right back at me . “No, sir . It should be nothing . No, wait…” He nodded while making a confident-enough face . “There are no problems, sir . ”

“…Is that so?”

Hans finished his not-so convincing explanation, then looked back at the large jewel that was nearly a metre in diameter . A noticeable part of it was missing, roughly big enough to fit a person’s head .

————-

The next morning…

Our procession got going again . Morning came and went, and it was afternoon .

Along with her knocking on the door, I heard Charlotte’s voice coming from outside the carriage, “We’ve arrived in Laurensis, Your Highness . ”

I opened the carriage’s door and peeked my head outside .

A wide-open plain spread out before my eyes . A spacious highway ran through it between many small villages . At the end of this road was a huge gateway built into the tall and magnificent outer walls of the city .

The imperial capital, Laurensis .

We had finally returned home after such a long time away .

**

Clang…! Clang…!

Bells were ringing loudly . Someone up in the tall outer walls was scattering flower petals in the air .

My eyes almost threatened to pop out of their eye sockets as I stared at the citizens visible through the open doorway of the carriage .

Every house we passed by had their windows open, while countless people had streamed out into the streets .

There must’ve been hundreds of thousands of people here, and they were all crying out in elation, “It’s His Highness, the Imperial Prince!”

“Your Highness!”

“Please look this way!”

Paladins were lined up on either side of our procession to restrict the citizens from rushing in . But they were grunting and panting heavily away while trying to stem the tide of the sea of humans .

All I could do while stuck inside their raucous cheering was to make a stupefied face .

“Gaia’s blessing be with you, Your Highness…!”

A portion of the gathered masses were Priests offering prayers while holding their hands, and regular subjects of the empire could be seen following their example .

“We pray that God of Death Yudai’s favour be with you…”

There were some folks wearing steel masks mixed in among the crowd, too . They were the Necromancers, hashashins affiliated with Aslan .

“The Holy King has finally come back home! We shall devote ourselves to him and welcome him back!”

That loud yelling came from the clergymen of the Church of Caiolium, my one-time enemy . These people, wearing their trademark robes, were loudly cheering us on like a bunch of zealots .

“Lord Saint is here!”

“Thank you for saving us all!”

“Lord Saint-!”

Even the refugees from the kingdom of Lome had travelled a long way to appear before my eyes this day .

An Imperial Prince of the Imperial Family, me, was returning to the imperial capital . So yeah, I kind of expected to receive some type of a welcome .

But, uh, something here felt a wee bit wrong to me .

But why? How come? Why did all these people from other countries decide to brave the lengthy journeys to get here?

“Hey, Charlotte . ”

She visibly winced when I called out her name . She even avoided meeting my gaze and turned her head away .

“…Is there anything you’d like to tell me?”

“I’m under the strictest orders of the Vice Captain, so I can’t really…”

The only person Charlotte would use the term ‘Vice Captain’ to describe would be Oscal the Sword King .

“Okay, so what’s going on here?”

I still pressed on, and Charlotte sneaked several glances in my direction . She eventually relented, and cautiously opened her mouth to say, “…There will be an enthronement ceremony soon . ”

“What was that?”

“A ceremony to enthrone the Holy King, Your Highness . ”

The Holy King, you say? Hang on, did we even have a position called the Holy King in the first place? I contemplated this matter deeply while rubbing my chin .

“It’s to designate the number one successor candidate for the Holy Emperor, Your Highness . ”

“Aha . I see . ” I nodded in understanding .

Could it be that damn father of mine, White Olfolse, was about to get upgraded to the position of Holy King?

It sounded to me like the whole position had been hastily thought up, though .

The idea probably was to install him as the Holy King and gradually turn public sentiments in his favour, and at the same time, eliminate any negative sentiments the subjects might still have of him, since he had already absconded from his duty as the Holy Emperor once before .

As for keeping it a secret from me, well, the Imperial Family must’ve figured that doing so would prevent me from raising any vocal objections, as I didn’t have a good impression of that irresponsible guy .

If that was the case, then yeah, everything made some sense .

Was it because I didn’t look as surprised as expected? Charlotte got slightly flustered and asked me a question, “Did you already know, Your Highness?”

“Oh . No, it’s just that it all made sense to me, that’s all . ”

She breathed a sigh of relief . “Then, may I assume that you are not dissatisfied at all?”

“Well, I am dissatisfied, alright . By a lot, too . I mean, that position is meant to be a placeholder for the next Holy Emperor, right? It’s a super-important role, in other words . So it won’t do for some irresponsible dude to occupy it, you know?”

“That’s not true at all . Your Highness, you’re an excellent person!”

…Hey, you . Why are you mentioning me all of a sudden?

No, hang on a minute . Maybe it’s not White, but one of my siblings of the Imperial Family ascending to the position of the Holy King, instead .

“Are you concerned, Your Highness?”

“Of course . ”

Charlotte stared at me with eyes filled to the brim with heroic determination . “Please do not be concerned . I swear to become a trustworthy support for you, Your Highness . ”

“…?”

I tilted my head this way and that .

‘Why do I get the feeling that we were not exactly on the same wavelength here?’

Besides all that, I kept hearing the people shouting out, “Your Majesty, the Holy King!” my way .

Now that I thought about it some more… didn’t the convicts back in Ronia fiefdom also call me the Holy King or some su…

…I was suddenly overcome with this bone-chilling anxiety .

Something had gone wrong here .

“…H-hey, Charlotte . ”

“Yes, Your Highness?” She looked back at me in a calm, composed manner .

Although her expression was best described as taciturn, there were some twinkling lights within her eyes, indicating how happy she was inside .

“Can you tell me who the inheritor of the Holy King’s position is?”

Charlotte broke out in a flustered expression . “But, Your Highness, that’s…”

She cutely tilted her head from side to side, then fired the decisive kill shot in my direction .

“…the Seventh Imperial Prince, Allen Olfolse . It’s you, Your Highness . ”

Fin .