episode_0082

“Is that Isaac?”

“Long time no see, bro.”

Isaac bowed and greeted him, and the one who called him big brother, Prince Reinhardt, accepted it. It was a somewhat stiff relationship, but considering Reinhardt’s background as the next king, it wasn’t all that strange.

Reinhardt was also used to this, having been acting this way since he was young to suit the gaze and expectations of those around him.

“Do you have a moment to talk?”

“As you wish.”

Isaac spoke with a beautiful smile, and Reinhardt nodded immediately, pointing to a nearby room and gesturing for them to enter.

“Only one escort knight may enter at a time, and the rest may wait outside the door. No need for attendants.”

Reinhardt, who gave orders to the servants who followed him, opened the door. There were many empty rooms in the castle, most of which were prepared for guests to stay. A table was placed in the middle of a neatly managed room.

“You guys also wait in front of the door.”

After leaving the knights who followed him to wait at the door, Reinhardt strode over to the table and sat down. Isaac followed him. Isaac felt a bit strange toward Reinhardt. He wasn’t the type of person to talk to his older brother, but was he trying to tell him something important?

Isaac, who knew that he was serious about everything and tried to show an attitude appropriate for royalty and the future king, noticed that his brother, whom he had not seen in a long time, was acting a little strange.

Even Reinhardt took out a magic tool that blocked sound from his bosom. It was something Isaac had, of course, and it was something he used when he was talking about something very important or confidential. What on earth was he going to talk about? Isaac focused on Reinhardt’s words.

“..I met that kid recently.”

That child, the youngest, Lilianne. Since she was already considered dead to the public, he couldn’t say her name even by mistake. Isaac looked at Reinhardt with somewhat surprised eyes.

“Did you hear from Julien? No, that aside… It’s been over a year already.”

“I know that, but… ha… how are you?”

Reinhardt sighed deeply and said. Reinhardt always had a hard time whenever the topic of Leah was brought up, and Isaac, who had been seeing Reinhardt since that day, knew it very well.

Also, it wasn’t that hard to figure out the reason. Originally, the assassin Gavinas had been targeting was Reinhard. Everyone there remembered that clearly. In other words, he probably thought that he had survived the curse that he would have been subjected to by using his youngest sister as a shield.

So, whenever the topic of his younger sister came up, he would feel awkward, uncomfortable, and guilty. That was what Isaac and the other royals who knew the truth of that day thought. And that was true.

“Of course. I don’t know if he’s trying to stop growing, but he’s still the same height as when he was around 10 years old.. but he seems much brighter compared to when he was in the royal palace.”

“By any chance..”

“Well, of course I didn’t see him smiling.. but I could definitely see that he was welcoming. And since Yugram was right next to me, you know very well that there’s no need to worry, hyung.”

“That’s right.. There was Yugram.”

Reinhardt, who had a considerable age difference, had little contact with Leah. However, that did not mean that he had completely forgotten the cute face that looked up at him with her small body and called him “big brother.” Furthermore, the fact that the expression on his face disappeared after that day was even more bothersome.

Ha. Reinhardt sighed again. He was also aware of Yugram’s abilities. However, he felt sorry that he could not do anything and had to rely on him, and he thought that he was extremely pathetic.

Reinhardt, who had been shaking his head, changed his expression. It was no longer the humane expression he had been making just a moment ago. Isaac saw that and immediately straightened his posture.

“The report of the Sashin Church… You’ve seen it all, right?”

“Yes.”

“The guy that kid met… Similar guys who referred to their names as numbers are appearing all over the continent. The numbers themselves don’t seem to have any special meaning, but it’s amazing that there are so many followers with a certain level of power…”

According to reports coming in from all over the place, the numbers were simply assigned in order. In other words, the larger the observed number, the more there were believers, so there was no reason not to care.

Of course, if you are a member of the royal family, including Reinhard, or a member of the upper class, it is possible to kill the cultists without much difficulty. However, this is only possible under the assumption that they are commoners who are not accustomed to fighting.

“They say that when the royal family of Freundia was kidnapped, they were not at all let down their guard. They even had a powerful man, the next knight commander, by their side. However… They say that, purely, they had no choice but to give up his life because he lacked the skills as a swordsman.”

“That’s the first time I’ve heard of it.”

“..I felt the need to say something. In the report that Yugram sent, it says that the monsters were somehow strengthened and controlled? ”

Reinhardt sighed. It seemed to show that he was putting a lot of effort into the Shinigami religion. Reinhardt looked at Isaac with burning eyes even though his face looked tired.

“We haven’t experienced the turmoil of the previous era. However… I don’t think this new religion will be weaker than the previous one. ”

The special magic of the Shinigami religion is such that even a commoner who knows nothing can gain the power to easily tear apart and kill a mid-level nobleman. What would happen if that power were to fall back on those who were already strong? The fact that the powerful man of Frundia was defeated had such a meaning.

At the very least, it was certain that there was a prosecutor with incredible skills in the Shinsin Church. A person of such skill that even royalty could not underestimate, and who could easily be defeated. Where on earth did a prosecutor with such incredible skills suddenly appear as if he had fallen from the sky?

If he had that much skill, no matter how hard he tried to hide it, there would have been rumors about him here and there, but the only eyewitness accounts from that inspector were very recent records. Even Isaac, who traveled the continent collecting all sorts of information, had never heard of him.

If we could find some clues, we could figure out who they are and deal with them properly, but for now, it was a distant goal. All we could do was wait for their movements. Reinhardt sighed deeply at that helpless situation.

.

.

.

“Come on, Ayla! Don’t think about stealthily using your magic and body, and use it properly! I can see everything!”

I sat at the table, swinging my whip in the air and taunting my students, Ayla, Mathias, and Cosette. It was a very enjoyable and informative time. There was no reason for the three of them, who had trained for many years, to struggle with this level of difficulty, but they were currently half-dead.

The reason is simple. They were running while continuously using their magic power. Their bodies were fine, but their magic power could not hold up. As evidence, none of the three were sweating at all, even though the weather was still a little chilly. Ayla was the first to give up. Ayla, who could no longer run and walked slowly all the way here, immediately lay down on the ground.

Next was naturally Mathias, and Cosette, who had the second highest magical power after me, was last. All three were lying on the floor, looking as if they would suffocate at any moment. Normally, in this situation, everyone would be gasping for breath, but it was a strange sight that they didn’t.

“Now, just listen while resting. Why do we do this training? As I said before, it is to use magical power as efficiently as possible. You need to properly understand how much magical power you have, and you need to see the maximum effect with a small amount without unnecessary waste, right?”

“The princess suddenly becomes very talkative only when she teaches us..”

“Well, Ayla, do you want to run more?”

“..Sorry, keep talking.”

I should have said that a long time ago, I said, clearing my throat.

“You probably felt it as you ran, but even though you kept using your magic power and the amount was decreasing, you were able to last much longer than you expected as you got used to the control. I’m impressed by your growth.”

I clapped my hands lightly, and Agnes, who was watching because it was none of her business, clapped along as well. Clap, clap, clap.

“I physically understood that it was incredibly effective, but…do I really have to use it all to the point where I can’t control my body?”

“That’s a very good question, Cosette. The exhaustion that comes from overusing magic power is pretty hard to endure. But… do you think your enemies would care about that in real combat?”

I swung the whistle and hit the table loudly. Agnes, who was eating a snack, was startled.

“No matter how much magical power you have, there is a limit. If you exhaust all your magical power through the continuous war of attrition… would you just lie down on the battlefield? Praying that the enemy’s swords and arrows will miss you? Hoping that they will take you as a prisoner according to the code of chivalry?”

“Ugh..Do you really have to think about such an extreme situation..?”

“Extreme situation? It’s a normal battlefield. Of course, it doesn’t have to be a war with another country. It could be an expedition to defeat some monsters. Anyway, if you use all that magic power, you won’t be able to swing your sword, let alone walk properly. How are you going to survive?”

Shouldn’t we at least somehow escape on foot? If we survive, another opportunity will come. The idea that we can somehow overcome exhaustion through tenacity and repeated experience is not just my tenacity theory, but a truth that I and the entire royal family have learned, experienced, and felt.

Actually, I think I can still use about 70% of my normal physical abilities while suffering from magic exhaustion. Of course, I can’t show you that because I might die from the curse if I tried.

“I think your survival rate will increase as you become more accustomed to using up all your magic. And since the semester hasn’t even started yet, isn’t this training worth doing? You should use this spare time efficiently.”

The semester was about to start and I had to take classes, so I couldn’t possibly do this training that would leave me with aftereffects for a full day or two. I had to properly participate in classes and events. That meant that the only chance I had to do this training was now!

How many teachers can plan lessons so efficiently to help their students improve their skills? These three should admit that they are very lucky.

I sat back down at the table and tilted my teacup. The violent aroma filled my mouth. It was Fleche.

..Now that I think about it, I feel a discomfort in my lower abdomen.