episode_0189

‘It is possible to make someone who is on the verge of becoming an expert an expert-‘

‘It allows you to subdue master-level orc warriors without damage-‘

Even if just one of the two were used, the two materials that would become a hot topic and the center of a story were attached to the erythronium armor.

Of course, it was easy to predict that people would be looking for more erythronium weapons.

That’s why the Crown Prince looked at me as if he was congratulating me and started talking. The more people search for erythronium weapons, the better it is for me.

“Ha, haha… … .”

However, I, who would actually benefit from it, could not be overjoyed by the crown prince’s congratulations.

This was because the corpse of the Orc warrior lying disintegrated on the floor was such a waste. It was so damaged that it couldn’t be used no matter what method was used. It was difficult to use it to strengthen other undead.

‘I wish I could make undead with that… … . No, I wish I could at least strengthen other things to make them sound… … .’

Even though it was never mine to begin with, I felt a deep sense of futility, as if I had lost my undead.

Some people could say that my reaction was overreacting. However, I had no choice but to do so.

This is because the Orc warrior was not an object that could be easily seen in the first place.

Natural… … Rather, Orc great warriors that were not artificially created only appear once every few hundred years, and it was not easy for artificially created great warriors to appear.

There must be a shaman who can perform sacrificial spells, an orc warrior with the qualities to become a great warrior, and the orcs must lose all hope by showing overwhelming power, and even the great warrior must be strong enough to think that they cannot stop them. It couldn’t be seen, and ultimately it was only possible if the Orcs sacrificed themselves, saying, ‘We can’t be the only ones to die.’

All of the conditions had to be met to see the artificially created Orc warrior. In order to produce a natural orc warrior, the orcs’ power would have to grow so much that it would be the size of a principality.

Since the corpse of the rarely seen Orc warrior was in a situation where it could not even be used, I could not help but feel a sense of futility. No, it was natural to feel it.

“It looked more like a merchant than a warlock. Looking at it this way, you are also a warlock, right? It’s sad to see the corpse of a powerful monster.”

I couldn’t take my eyes off the corpse of the great Orc warrior due to sadness, regret, and futility, and it seemed like the crown prince sensed my feelings.

“If you were going to do that, shouldn’t you have told me in advance? I should have told you to subdue it cleanly.”

At the crown prince’s words, I thought for a moment, ‘I should have done that,’ but then I shook my head.

No matter how important the Crown Prince considers his relationship with me to be, that doesn’t mean he’s giving it away freely. If the request was made in that way and the body of the great warrior was obtained in a safe manner, there may have been more than one thing that had to be paid.

Moreover, if knights were sacrificed for it, the price to be paid would skyrocket.

“Hahaha… … . it’s okay. Well, to be honest, it’s a waste… … . This is a subjugation battle where the goal is not to obtain the corpse of a monster, but to promote erythronium weapons. In order for the erythronium armor to look great from the perspective of onlookers, it needs to be cut into chunks to make it look strong.”

“I guess so. Humans believe what they see first. Especially in the case of those who are talking about this subjugation war.”

The crown prince also nodded slowly, as if he remembered that this subjugation war was at my request.

Seeing the crown prince like that, I shook off my disappointment and immediately landed the zombie wyvern on the ground. The crown prince and I came down from the back of the zombie wyvern, which landed gently on the ground, flapping its wings vigorously.

And, those who discovered the crown prince’s appearance immediately bowed down. The commoners who came to watch the subjugation battle fell flat on the ground, and the nobles also bowed their waists.

Even after defeating the Great Orc Warrior, they were still flying in the sky for a while, so the knights who had finished cleaning up in the meantime also approached and bowed down.

“Everyone, wake up.”

However, as if he did not like such ostentation, the crown prince immediately roused the people. Even though people were wondering if it was okay to do this, they quietly got up according to the crown prince’s orders.

Of course, not everyone did that. He turned his attention to the knight who was still kneeling in front of him and bowing his head.

“Lord Senpai. Report on the results of the subjugation war.”

He was the crown prince who watched the entire process of the subjugation battle from the sky, but although he may have been conscious of the onlookers around him, he spoke as if everyone should listen.

Of course, it was as if it had been promised in advance, so Knight Senpai also began his report in a clear voice, as if he was talking to everyone.

“I will report on the battle to subdue the orc village. Total… … .”

There was talk about how many people it started with, where it started from, what operations it carried out, etc.

“As a result, I was able to kill all the Orcs in the Orc Village. And in the process, not a single casualty occurred, and the casualties to soldiers were very minimal.”

“What about the damage to the soldiers?”

“A total of seven people were injured, but most of them were injured by being thrown away by the impact rather than being hit directly by the orcs’ attack. The most serious injury was to a soldier who suffered a fractured ankle after collapsing from the impact of being hit by an orc’s club. Other than that, most injuries are just bruises and abrasions.”

“Is this the same for knights?”

“None of the knights in the Royal Guard suffered even a scratch.”

Hearing that the knights suffered no damage and the soldiers’ damage was at most a fracture, a murmur was heard around them.

No matter how much you deal with Orcs, usually, if you try to subdue a single village, there will be damage. The Orcs also had warriors, so the casualties suffered by the soldiers were not that significant.

It was natural for dozens of soldiers to die and knights to suffer major and minor injuries. That was close to a kind of common sense that people living in this world have.

However, since words were spoken that completely contradicted such common sense, it was not unreasonable for people to be surprised.

Of course, some people still adhered to that common sense and muttered that Senpai the Knight was exaggerating his report. It was none other than the sight of a knight, Muteni, being hit by a fire spell, or a few knights flying through the air while being beaten by an orc warrior.

It was natural for anyone to get injured, but since none of the knights said there were any injuries, there was nothing we could do.

And, the Crown Prince must have heard that sound too, as he suddenly looked at me and smiled.

“Are you saying that those who were attacked by the last orc killed were not injured? What about the knight who was hit by the orcs’ spell before that?”

“No one suffered any damage. This is because His Majesty gave us excellent weapons this time. If it weren’t for the sharp and hard weapons and armor, we expect that there would have been damage not only to the soldiers but also to the knights.”

The knight patted the chest of his armor as if it were all thanks to the crown prince. However, he did not forget to talk about the erythronium weapon.

Thanks to this, onlookers a little distance away asked, ‘Erythronium? ‘What is that!’ came the response.

Of course, I could sense that the reaction was induced by the Crown Prince.

It was a natural way to encourage onlookers to become more interested in erythronium. Erytronium would not be forgotten in their minds, and as they talked about what they had seen during the subjugation war, stories about erythronium would naturally arise.

Anyway, the crown prince who gave me a service that was not service to me received a few more reports from the knight and then gave instructions to clean up the orc village.

Afterwards, the subjugation war ended with the Orc village and all the corpses within it being completely burned and destroyed to prevent the natural spread of undead and plague.

And what was waiting for me when I returned to the capital with the Crown Prince after observing the cleanup, was the already widespread rumor about erythronium.

Even if the crown prince was with him, he could not cross the castle wall riding a zombie wyvern, so he could hear the rumor from the moment he passed the castle wall on foot.

“Hey, that must be a weapon made of erythronium or something. They say holding that makes you an expert?”

“Chief. Wake up from your dream because not everything will work out. Anyone who reaches a certain level becomes an expert after hearing that. The leader… … .”

“What dude? What am I?”

“Chief! Front, front! He is on his way!”

Whispers were heard among the soldiers guarding the capital’s gates. I think they tried to reduce the sound in their own way, but perhaps because of the structure of the glottis, the sound rang out so I could hear everything.

It seemed that onlookers who had returned to the capital before us were quick to spread the rumor.

As I was laughing at the situation where it seemed like they were promoting it on their own even though I didn’t give them a single penny, I could hear people talking from other places as well.

The story was also heard among the people who greeted those returning from the subjugation war beyond the walls.

They say it’s a great weapon that allows you to become an expert.

It’s not even an artifact, but it’s armor that blocks magic.

They say it allows you to fly in the sky even while wearing heavy armor.

They say it makes it possible for expert level knights to beat a master –

They say it’s no match for ordinary iron weapons –

I could really hear all kinds of stories spreading. Although there were some slightly exaggerated rumors, most of them were based on facts.

And, I don’t know if it was because of those rumors, but people who were presumed to be knights or nobles were giving me intense looks. If the Crown Prince wasn’t next to me, I could feel him running over to me and trying to talk about erythronium.

But unfortunately I couldn’t talk to them right away. This is because an appointment was made with the crown prince from the time he returned to the capital. Therefore, they were moving straight from the royal castle to a place that could be said to be the crown prince’s office.

“Two thousand soldiers’ weapons made of erythronium alloy. I’m ordering 30 more knightly weapons. Could there be about 30,000 arrowheads there?”

“It’s quite possible, but… … It will cost quite a bit. Are you okay with it?”

“Don’t worry. If you become powerful in the royal family, your finances will become rich.”

The crown prince showed confidence when he said that when the power of the royal family is weak, those who are like thieves become active, but when the power of the royal family is strong, those who are like thieves disappear even if they are afraid of that power.

Of course, it was also because the princess had a stake in erythronium and promised to sell it at a low price. The amount was large, but the price was not enough to make the Crown Prince hesitate.

Anyway, the crown prince who placed a large order for me seemed to really like the erythronium armor and started talking about various things.

However, while the crown prince was talking about the erythronium weapon, a maid waiting at the entrance of the office sneakily approached him.

The maid carefully handed several pieces of paper to the crown prince, as if someone had given them to her. Although the Crown Prince was disappointed that the flow of conversation had been interrupted, he accepted the paper handed to him by the maid and checked its contents.

“News has arrived about the Marquis of Kurid. How could you please take a look?”

The crown prince held out a piece of paper as if he had seen everything and could look at it as much as he wanted.

Since I was also quite curious about the news about the Marquis of Kurid, I immediately took the paper and looked through its contents.