Episode 13: The Mob Prince Defeats Empress Camilla’s Tamer
Master Gaine and I set out to the forest on the outskirts of the Imperial Capital to hunt down magical beasts.
Having been confined to the Prison Tower since birth, the outside world was a breath of fresh air. The green leaves, glistening with morning dew, were dazzling, and the air was so clean. The birdsong was soothing.
I wished I could have brought Diana with me. She had been clamoring to come along, but there was no way the Emperor would have allowed it.
“Stay close behind me.”
“Yes, Master.”
Lost in the surrounding scenery, I was startled by Master Gaine’s warning. The forest was a habitat for magical beasts. I had been told never to stray from him.
As night fell, he taught me how to start a fire and set up camp.
Magical beasts apparently attacked under the cover of darkness, so we had to keep the fire burning throughout the night.
I was grateful for the chance to learn these adventurer’s skills. It was a real-world experience that I couldn’t have gained just from playing the game. It would surely come in handy someday.
“Oh, right. My mother made this 【Hi-Potion】. I’ll give one to you, Master.”
“Pure blue, you say…? This is an incredibly high-quality 【Hi-Potion】.”
When I shared the 【Hi-Potion】 I had taken from my backpack, Master Gaine’s eyes widened.
As expected of a skilled adventurer, he immediately recognized the high quality of my mother’s 【Hi-Potion】. I felt proud.
“Is this why your injuries always healed completely the next day?”
“Yes. My mother is skilled at making magical potions. Diana is currently training to make 【Potion】s as well.”
“Haha, is that Diana’s 【Potion】? The cloudiness is terrible, and it’s practically useless.”
Master Gaine burst out laughing when he saw the 【Potion】 I took out next.
Diana had been diligently working on 【Potion】s under my mother’s guidance, but she wasn’t very good at it, and the quality was the lowest rank.
According to my mother, making 【Potion】s to heal injuries required steady training.
Besides, Diana was good at destroying things, but not so good at healing.
“I see. Diana told Ms. Dandelion not to give her 【Potion】s to anyone, so that works out perfectly.”
Whether it had any medicinal effect or not didn’t matter. It was something my cute little sister had made for me, so I would drink it like water.
“Yeah, delicious. This is the best 【Potion】 ever.”
It was actually bitter, but I couldn’t stand the thought of my sister being insulted, so I forced it down.
“You siblings are really close, aren’t you? Sorry, don’t get so angry.”
“Diana will become a great apothecary like my mother someday.”
My sister had said, “Diana will work hard to make 【Potion】s for you, Onii-sama!” so I was overjoyed just hearing that.
And if she aimed to be an apothecary, I didn’t think she would become the Demon Lord.
“…That’s right. The most important thing in creating 【Potion】s is wishing for the well-being of the person who uses it. In that regard, she definitely passes.”
For some reason, Master Gaine seemed downcast.
※※※
The next day, we ventured deeper into the forest.
Fog rolled in, obscuring our vision. It would be hard to notice if a magical beast was lurking nearby.
“The magical beast was reportedly sighted around here.”
“Several travelers have been eaten and sacrificed, right? But it seems too far off the main road.”
“…That’s true.”
Just as Master Gaine gave a somewhat hesitant reply, six magical beast Griffons suddenly appeared from the shadows of the trees.
“Griffons!?”
I was sure the travelers were being attacked by D-rank magical beast Black Wolves. I hadn’t heard anything about B-rank magical beasts being here.
Moreover, the Griffons all attacked me at once. Even if Master Gaine provided support, I wouldn’t be able to handle this situation without using my trump card.
Fortunately, if Master Gaine was the only witness, I could silence him and keep my secret from spreading.
With that in mind, I countered with the most powerful 【Dark Edge】 I could currently use.
“【Titan’s Sword】!”
I sliced through the three front-line attackers with the 【Titan’s Sword】, which stretched as high as a spire. They fell to the ground with death throes.
Then, countless blades of wind, released by the rear Griffons, came at me, trying to cut me to pieces.
“【Dispel Sword】!”
I created countless microscopic 【Dispel Sword】s from my entire body, like the needles of a hedgehog, and nullified every single one of them.
I called it the Iron Wall Defense Mode, Hedgehog Mode.
“What is that magic!?”
“Master Gaine, it’s an enemy!”
Master Gaine stood there dumbfounded.
For some reason, he wasn’t even trying to draw his sword.
“Gaine, what are you standing around for!? Cooperate with my magical beasts and kill that brat!”
A man emerged from the shadows of the trees and shouted. I thought it was strange how well-coordinated the Griffons were, but was this guy a Tamer?
With that, I could roughly understand the situation.
…Master Gaine was the enemy.
“Haaaaaaah!”
I swung the 【Titan’s Sword】 wildly, slamming it into the remaining Griffons.
The 【Titan’s Sword】 was a materialized magical sword, so it had no mass and could be handled as easily as a feather.
The Griffons, who were about to unleash their next magic, were all killed in a single blow.
“Unbelievable!? Damn it, I’ll leave the rest to you!”
The Tamer, having his subordinates defeated, fled like a rabbit.
“Think I’ll let you get away!”
I forcefully extended 【Dark Edge】 from the soles of my feet, and with the recoil, I leaped high into the air.
I closed the distance to the Tamer in an instant and slammed the blade into his back.
“【Hypnos’s Demon Sword】!”
“Gah!?”
What I inflicted on the Tamer was the 【Hypnos’s Demon Sword】, which had no killing power but had the effect of putting the opponent to sleep.
The Tamer collapsed on the spot and fell into slumber. I needed to get information out of this man.
“That’s completely different from the rumor that you’re an incompetent prince who can only use one magic. Could that giant sword just now be your 【Unique Magic】…?”
Master Gaine drew his sword.
“That’s incredible power. So, you were more of a monster than Diana, huh?”
“Master Gaine, can you explain what’s going on?”
I glared at my master.
If Master Gaine was the enemy, I had to silence him for sure. The mastermind was probably Empress Camilla.
If Empress Camilla found out that I had been hiding my abilities, I would surely be fitted with the 【Magic-Sealing Collar】.
If that happened, protecting my mother would be almost hopeless.
I didn’t want to kill Master Gaine if possible, but I couldn’t put his life on the same scale as my mother’s life and Diana’s fate.
“I’m sorry, but I need you to die in order to save Rena. That’s all there is to it.”
“…Rena? Is she your family, Master?”
Conflict flickered across Master Gaine’s face.
“That’s right. She’s my daughter. In short, you and I are in the same boat. So, you understand that I can’t back down, right?”
So, his daughter was being held hostage, and he was being forced to follow orders.
But he was being naive.
I had lived in the Imperial Court for seven years, and I had come to understand the ways of the nobles to some extent.
“Do you have a guarantee that Rena-chan will definitely be returned if you kill me?”
“What…?”
“Empress Camilla has been ordered by the Emperor not to kill me. If it comes to light that she tried to assassinate me, she will be severely punished. Wouldn’t you and Rena-chan be eliminated to cover up the evidence? I’m sure Empress Camilla would definitely do that.”
Master Gaine’s face was filled with shock.
I had tried to bluff him, but that gave me certainty about the mastermind.
That woman harbored strong jealousy and hatred towards us, especially my mother.
Then, there was only one thing to do.
Together with Master Gaine, I would thoroughly crush Empress Camilla in every possible way.
So that she would never be able to lay a hand on us again.
“I will cooperate to rescue Rena. If we combine our strength, we can definitely do it, Master Gaine.”
“…Honestly, I’m surprised. You’re an amazing man, Luke.”