The Extra Prince Sets Out To Conquer The World

The old fisherman smiled bitterly as he looked at the mermaid.

“Even though I’ve aged so much, you still recognize me at a glance.”

At Agni’s words, Aili gave a sorrowful smile.

“How… how could I not recognize you?”

The spears made of water floating in the air poured down like rain.

The strong pressure weighing down on the island had also vanished at some point.

“Agni, how did you come here? If you were threatened to guide them…”

I cut off the mermaid’s words and spoke.

“Ah, don’t worry, we didn’t threaten him. I was investigating the mermaid legend out of interest, and it seemed my teacher was involved, so I politely asked for cooperation out of curiosity.”

“Teacher?”

“Yes, do you know Geor Philip?”

At my question, she slightly lowered her guard.

“I know Master Geor the puppeteer well. It’s thanks to Master Geor and Master Jaeolin that I could fulfill my duty.”

As I thought, that old geezer Geor was involved in subjugating the Kraken.

And during his time as a Master Mage at that.

It really hits home again what a monstrous mage he was.

No matter how amazing a Master Mage is said to be, I didn’t think they could face a Kraken.

Among the nine tiers of mages, Master, which is the fourth from the top, seems like a middle tier, but it’s actually a considerably high tier.

Befitting the word ‘Master,’ the Master Mage tier is bestowed upon mages who have mastered all the magic of a school.

The tier above that, Honorable Mage, is only given to those who greatly advanced a school’s magic or achieved feats that resounded throughout the magic world.

That’s why even among Master Mages, there’s a tendency for skill to vary greatly depending on the school.

A Master from a school that produced a sage is superior to an Honorable from a mediocre school, but Masters from minor schools are often unremarkable.

Then Silua raised her hand and asked Aili.

“You know my father?”

“You… how can you have the same mana as Master Geor? Even between parent and child, mana should differ like fingerprints.”

Since we transplanted all of Geor’s mana circuits, it was natural to have the same mana.

Still, as Silua learns and cultivates her own unique magic, it will gradually change.

At Aili’s question, I smiled and answered instead.

“It’s complicated to explain, and it’s a personal family matter, so let’s move on.”

“Ahem. Yes, that’s not what’s important. Are Master Geor and Master Jaeolin doing well?”

As she asked about their well-being, Silua made a sad expression.

“Both my mother and father have gone to the moon’s side.”

“…I see. I’m sorry.”

Aili made a bitter face.

Hmm, her memory seems intact.

Seeing as she’s not crazed at this point, it seems the city won’t be destroyed by the mermaid in the future.

Then was the reason the mermaid went mad because of this ‘Defiled Energy of the Sea’ the kraken is said to possess?

Did a mermaid with such power go crazy just from being unable to control mere energy, or was there some other variable?

Many questions arose, but I decided to solve them later.

“We’ll look around the island for now, so you two can slowly catch up since you must have a lot to talk about.”

I left the old fisherman and mermaid and stepped aside with my companions.

*****

In front of her lover reunited after a long time, the mermaid Aili hesitated.

She looked like a child worried about being scolded, but also seemed to fear something.

“All this time… no, did you meet your mother and those senior colleagues well?”

The simple question of how he had been was too scary, so she ended up changing the subject.

During the long time passed, she hated the woman who would have become his wife, and envied the fruits of love he would have had.

The things she couldn’t have made her a coward.

At her question, Agni gave a distant smile.

“I met them well. My mother, and the senior I saved. I helped his child when he ran away from home, saw him get married, and open a tavern.”

At the passing mention of marriage, Aili flinched.

“Mother passed away about 20 years ago. She was old, so it was from natural causes.”

“I-I see.”

She nodded and fell silent. Seeing that, Agni held her hand and walked along the beach.

As his aged heart pounded, it felt like returning to the yearned-for days of youth.

The memories he dreamt of every day becoming reality again made him so happy yet sorrowful at the same time.

He ached for the lost time.

The two people who strolled the beach for a not so long, yet long time, slowly opened their mouths.

“You’re not asking.”

At the old fisherman’s question, the mermaid couldn’t answer. Seeing her like that, he smiled.

“It’s an ugly feeling, but that silence makes me happy. Did you marry, do you have children, how big are your grandchildren… Not being able to ask such common questions feels like my past feelings are being rewarded.”

At those words, Aili choked up and pouted her lips.

That feeling was a jealousy that couldn’t be described.

“So… is your family doing well?”

At the forcefully spat out question, Agni smiled and replied.

“I told you. Mother passed away about 20 years ago.”

Hearing the answer, she realized what he meant to say.

The fear she had hidden away assailed her, chilling her entire body.

“Marriage?”

“I did it here.”

He touched the crude ring on his lover’s hand he was holding.

It was a flower ring made by twisting wire.

An engagement ring the young fisherman had made with care.

He had vowed to buy her a better one later, but it was a cherished, simple token she had said was enough.

“Why…? You said your dream was to die laughing, surrounded by many children and grandchildren in old age.”

At her question, the old fisherman laughed frankly.

For a dream from an age that couldn’t even be called middle-aged but young, it was too humble a dream.

“Hahah, it was a frivolous yearning of youth. Thinking back, I may have lacked ambition.”

Lacking ambition, but not many fishermen achieve that dream.

In those days, many fishermen died buried in the rough waves, or rarely properly took care of their families due to poverty.

Hearing many stories from senior colleagues, it wasn’t strange to have such a dream in that era.

“Agni!”

The mermaid got angry.

The target of her fury wasn’t him, but herself.

It was regret that she shouldn’t have saved him long ago and revealed herself to him, and disgust at the vulgar joy she felt that he only looked at her and no one else.

The mermaid staggered, pressing her forehead with her hand.

“I, I ruined your life…”

“Aili!”

At the old fisherman’s shout, the mermaid was startled and looked at him.

She was even more surprised as she couldn’t find him getting angry in her memories.

The old fisherman embraced the mermaid.

“Your existence may have been my mother’s sorrow, but it was like a lighthouse to my life adrift on the sea. At times, sad and lonely, but it was joy and happiness.”

“But…!”

“Not even you can recklessly deny the value of my life. You mustn’t do that.”

The mermaid in his arms trembled finely.

She was engulfed in indescribable sadness and regret, as well as joy and happiness.

It was the second tempest assailing the tranquil sea-like emotions of a long life lived.

“What should I do?”

“Just be happy that we met again.”

The old fisherman was simply grateful that his life’s final wish had been granted.

*****

I asked Jade as I looked around the island.

“How is it? See anything worthwhile?”

It’s an island where a mermaid resides.

There might be a hidden treasure vault somewhere.

In the novel, there was no information as this entire archipelago had sunk deep into the sea.

Even if not a treasure vault, if there are any shed scales lying around, they can be useful as magic ingredients or catalysts.

It’s not for nothing that mermaid hunters exist.

“This is my first time encountering such defiled energy, so I’m thrilled. How has the mermaid been purifying this energy?”

Unlike me, Jade didn’t seem very interested in any treasure the mermaid might have hidden.

“Ah! There’s a condensation phenomenon of defiled mana over there!”

“Really?! Where?!”

At Silua’s discovery, Jade excitedly ran over.

Seeing that, I let out a small sigh and shook my head.

“Gilbert seems fine, how about you Precia? Still having trouble breathing?”

Precia, with her keen senses, had been struggling since entering this island.

“I’m gradually getting used to it.”

Contrary to her words that she was fine, her complexion was pale. It was due to her excessively sharp senses.

I offered to use magic to prevent the defiled energy from reaching her, but Precia declined, saying this too, was training.

Well, it was a good attitude as we don’t know what kind of environments we’ll be traversing in the future.

“I don’t know if this will be helpful advice, but try utilizing mana as if creating a cloth with magic that allows air to pass through and covers your nose and mouth.”

It’s simple with magic, but I don’t know if it’s simple with knights’ mana utilization methods.

At my suggestion, Precia created an invisible mask.

Then her complexion noticeably improved.

“Breathing is stuffy, but it’s good for filtering out the defiled energy. As expected of you, young master! But are you alright? Even if it’s a faint energy, I hope it’s not too much strain.”

At Precia’s concern, I smiled brightly.

“I have the spirits.”

The spirits, pure incarnations of nature, were naturally preventing the defiled energy from reaching me.

In fact, even without the spirits, I would have been fine since I have the rosary.

The rosary is a sacred object that wards off all sorts of unclean and inauspicious things like poison, disease, and curses.

After looking around for a while like that, the mermaid and old fisherman walked slowly towards where I was, holding hands.

“You can enjoy more time with just the two of you, you know.”

It’s a shame the island exploration hasn’t finished with the spirits’ power yet.

As if knowing my inner thoughts or not, the mermaid smiled lightly and said,

“It’s fine, we’ll be together even after you leave. Actually, I was going to scold you a bit for bringing Agni to this dangerous place… but honestly, thank you. For bringing him to me.”

At her words of gratitude, I grinned.

“Let’s save the thanks for later all at once. First, I’d like to see the Kraken’s corpse. I’ll help you purify the defiled energy of the sea.”

I won’t be of much help, but Jade and Silua will be more than enough.

Above all, in the research journal Geor left me as an inheritance, there was a method to purify the Kraken’s evil energy.

The reason he couldn’t come help Aili even after completing that research theory was because the timing of its completion was right before losing his first daughter.

After losing his first daughter, Jaeolin’s condition worsened, and he couldn’t even leave her side.

At my suggestion, Aili thought for a bit, then nodded and led the way to where the Kraken’s corpse was.

“Yes, if you’re the successor of the Spirit King, you’ll be a big help.”

“…Huh? Who? Me?”

It’s true I’m a rare spirit arts user, but why is the name of that extra character who only appears by name in the novel suddenly being brought up?