The Extra Prince Sets Out To Conquer The World

Yesterday it rained, but today sunlight seeped through the clouds.

Not knowing when it would rain again, the boy woke from his sleep, squinting at the dazzling sunlight.

After a fight between the desire to sleep more and the reason that he should get up now, the boy got out of bed, scratching his tousled hair.

“You’re awake.”

When the middle-aged man smiled and greeted him while hanging laundry outside the window, the boy rubbed his unruly hair.

“Haha, good morning? Father.”

To his father’s morning greeting, the boy rubbed his eyes to remove eye gunk and replied.

“I always sleep well.”

“I set the table for breakfast in the kitchen. You just need to heat it up, so let’s eat together.”

The boy’s father, who roughly hung the laundry, lightly jumped over the window as if climbing over a fence.

Although it was cloudy, the boy could tell that the sun was already high in the sky, so he smiled sheepishly.

“You could have eaten first.”

At the boy’s words, the middle-aged man ruffled his son’s hair with his calloused hands.

“It’s fine. Didn’t I say my morning is early? It’s lunch for me, so don’t worry about it.”

It was late for breakfast but too early for lunch.

But neither the son nor the father cared.

“What’s for breakfast?”

When the son grabbed his hand with his thin hands, the middle-aged man smiled brightly and led his son as if supporting him.

“I made a stew with the leftover meat from yesterday.”

The boy thought this was unnecessary, but he laughed it off lightly.

“Wow! That sounds delicious!”

The father and son headed to the kitchen, where the dining table was.

********

As we drove the carriage over the hill, the city of Bryuta, our destination, gradually came into view.

Located at the southernmost point, Bryuta was a city in the form of a basin.

Thanks to that, Bryuta, known for its specialty apples, seemed easy to avoid the eyes of external cities or villages and engage in mischief.

Especially due to the magical phenomenon of the rainy season, unlike other regions, it seemed to add a bit to the city’s secrecy as it was difficult to maintain the roads.

Of course, it was still a fairly large city where merchant groups regularly came and went.

“By the way, what’s in this city?”

Jade asked as if asserting there was definitely something in Bryuta.

At Jade’s question, everyone looked at me.

“Isn’t it possible there’s nothing specific? We might have just come for a trip.”

Bryuta was a good city to see the unique architectural style of the southernmost region.

Of course, if it were for tourism, there was a dedicated tourist city further south.

At my answer, Jade nodded, saying he understood.

“Ah, is it a secret? Yuan is mean as expected.”

At Jade’s words, Precia cutely snorted.

“If the Young Master is hiding it, there must be a reason.”

At Precia’s point, Jade shrugged.

“Who said what? I just said that because I think a large portion of those reasons is to enjoy watching us be surprised. Don’t you think so, Precia?”

“…”

Precia avoided Jade’s gaze.

That’s too much! You should confidently say no there!

Also, the portion isn’t large!

I grumbled inwardly and said,

“Well, it’s not like I have no purpose at all. Since it’s not good to stand out by moving around the city together in a large group, let’s split up when we move.”

Seven people weren’t really moving around in a large group, but it was still best to move as quietly as possible.

Everyone focused on my words.

“Abasael and Jade, pretend to be peddlers and look around the city to see if there are any places with strange mana. I’ll give you money, so actually buy things too so you don’t seem suspicious.”

“Is it related to magic?”

I nodded at Abasael’s question.

It wouldn’t be ordinary magic if it could turn into a disaster zone that ordinary people couldn’t even approach.

“Yard and Precia, investigate the internal situation of the city as covertly as possible. Especially focus on back alleys.”

At my instructions, Yard raised his hand.

“It’s a bit much to have a lady accompany me on dangerous tasks like investigating back alleys.”

“I’m assigning Precia as your guard.”

Yard was also a powerhouse who could take down three or four mediocre knights barehanded, but he wasn’t on Precia’s level.

“Isn’t Precia the strongest among our group?”

Jade was still lacking in real combat experience against people.

Abasael hadn’t properly harnessed the power of Mistel he gained from Mount Matterhorn, so his power control was clumsy.

“Even with the Great Mage El here?”

“Even so.”

When Yard looked at Abasael with an unbelievable expression, Abasael nodded.

“Our lord’s words are correct. A mage’s fight has countless variables, but in a one-on-one, a mage is at a disadvantage against a knight after all.”

It’s not just disadvantageous, but overwhelmingly so.

Originally, unless they were combat mages who received special training, mages weren’t good at fighting.

In the first place, magic doesn’t exist for fighting.

“If Sir Precia is serious, no one here can avoid death or critical injury from her single strike.”

Abasael added that unless one was quite familiar with the boundary between life and death, a critical injury would directly lead to death.

Yard, who hadn’t properly experienced Precia’s strength, looked dumbfounded and alternated between looking at Precia and me.

Regardless of Yard’s gaze, Precia asked me,

“You’re trying to get rid of me to avoid my training, right?”

“No way, how could that be? Of course it’s because I trust Precia more than anyone.”

How did she know? She’s sharp.

While traveling here, Precia’s training continued inside the carriage.

Of course, since the space was too narrow for proper training, it was mainly focused on cultivation techniques and strength training.

Still, it was quite difficult. Now imagine if there were no spatial constraints. How harshly would she train me?

I always think this, but Precia has no teaching talent.

“Then should I go together too? I’m most confident in dealing with punk hoodlums.”

Beating up punk hoodlums was my hobby, no, my area of expertise, you could say.

Precia cut off my suggestion curtly.

“No. We’ll do it, so please refrain from moving as much as possible, Young Master.”

Somehow, it felt like Precia’s trust in me had hit rock bottom since the Rite of Fire.

I need to somehow make her feel better.

“Tsk, you’re too much. Gilbert and Silua, let’s go sightseeing together.”

At my words, Precia and Jade spoke simultaneously.

“Be careful, Gilbert.”

“You have to stop the Young Master from going to strange places.”

Hmm, I know what you two think of me.

Gilbert clenched his fist and shouted,

“I will do my best!”

Gilbert, even you!

“Sigh, rather than rush and cause an accident, let’s take it slow.”

Sighing, I turned the carriage’s head towards the city.

Since Bryuta wasn’t a large city where high-ranking nobles came and went as if it were their own house like Ziliville, there were no luxurious inns with suite rooms.

So we rented two double rooms and one triple room at a moderately clean inn.

We had plenty of money, so we could have rented one room per person, but it was a small inn without many single rooms.

It was also not good for each person to stay at a different inn in a city where we didn’t know when a commotion might occur.

“Precia, take this.”

I handed Precia a bracelet.

“It’s an extra-dimensional magic tool. I put in auxiliary weapons made by Belt, spare iron swords, preserved food, and money, so use it comfortably.”

It was an extra-dimensional magic tool Abasael had taken from the Jeffries couple.

At best, it was the size of a small studio, but it was sufficient to use instead of a bag.

Precia awkwardly operated the extra-dimensional bracelet she put on, then smiled.

She seemed to like the extra-dimensional space.

“I will gratefully use it and return it.”

“No, don’t return it and keep it.”

I already had two extra-dimensional magic tools, so what would I do with such a small extra-dimensional space?

“Pardon? But such a precious item…”

Certainly, extra-dimensional magic tools were precious.

Among spatial magic, extra-dimensional magic was particularly high-level.

Moreover, as the magical formula was complex, miniaturizing it to be worn by a person was also extremely difficult.

Extra-dimensional magic tools were items that no one but dwarves would dare to create.

Abasael wasn’t called a genius of the century for nothing.

“I’m giving it to you because it’s precious. If it weren’t precious, there would be no point in giving it.”

Well, the person who made it and the person who looted it were both Abasael.

I planned to give the remaining extra-dimensional bracelet to Gilbert later as a reward when he needed extra-dimensional space or did a good job.

At my words, Precia blushed slightly as if moved.

“Thank you. …But I won’t reduce the intensity of training.”

“Tsk, how petty. Well then, let’s have lunch and get moving.”

Tsk, I was hoping she would reduce the training intensity, but I guess bribing doesn’t work.

*****

Jade and Abasael went to examine the orchards surrounding the city first, carrying bags like peddlers.

At times other than the harvest season like now, orchards were fairly deserted, so they were good for doing something suspicious.

Precia and Yard said they would use concealment techniques and slowly investigate from near the lord’s castle in the opposite direction.

Since the lord of this city was trash, if he had connections with punk gangsters, they would frequently come and go to the lord’s castle.

Gilbert and Silua, who remained at the inn, looked at me.

“Where do we start?”

Seeing Gilbert looking full of enthusiasm, I smiled brightly.

“What do you mean start? We have to train. Precia will get you if you skip training.”

At my answer, Gilbert looked crestfallen. Patting Gilbert’s back, I said,

“Still, since Precia isn’t here, let’s take it easy. I know a nice secluded place for training, so Silua, practice controlling your dolls too.”

“Okay~!”

I took the two and headed to the back mountains of the city.

Since the city was in a basin, it was questionable which was the back mountain and which was the front mountain, but we considered the direction of the lord’s castle’s main gate as the front.

At least he did so in the novel.

Since Bryuta was already a vanished city by the time the novel officially began, I don’t know much about this city.

I could only infer fragments from a certain character’s recollections.

Not being able to spend much time, on a not-so-high hill.

Amidst a pine forest where crows occasionally cawed, in a wide clearing where the roof of the lord’s castle’s tallest spire could barely be seen above the pine forest.

“Around here, I guess.”

When viewed from above with the spirit’s eyes, this was the only place in the vicinity that was this good for exercising while matching the novel’s description.

Seeing the distinct marks seemingly made by blunt weapons on several surrounding trees, it seemed certain this was the place.

“Certainly, it seems no one will disturb us here.”

Gilbert drew a blunt iron sword while stretching his body.

While Gilbert swung his sword, Silua unraveled silk thread and practiced controlling dolls by making small thread dolls in a form resembling straw dolls with magic.

To properly move thread dolls, one had to control each thread as delicately as muscle fibers, so it was perfect for practice.

I sat next to Silua, observing the surroundings and slowly developing the meridians of my magic circuits.

Ugh, it hurts. It hurts. It hurts.

As I was concentrating for a while, enduring the pain, I heard movement from the pine forest.

“Oh? There were visitors?”

The boy, with a complexion so pale it was blue rather than white, was grasping a worn wooden sword in one hand.

Seeing the sickly-looking boy, I smiled.

The boy was the son of Frost Wayben, the former vice-captain of the Execution Knights, the only knight order of the Free Knights Union, an organization that worked in the shadows centered around the Empire for free knights.

Vermilion Wayben, the Sword Demon who would later rise to the position of Heaven’s Ten Swords.

He was the worst villain of this century.