The Extra Prince Sets Out To Conquer The World

A pure white dove cut through the sky and flew towards me.

As I reached out my hand, the dove landed on it as if exhausted.

“Phew~! The mana stone reserve was tight.”

Well, the Bastille Mountains were vast and there were many flying monsters.

Considering the distance to the capital, it was fortunate that the messenger doll arrived before running out of mana stones.

“Precia, Gilbert. Letters have arrived.”

At my words, Precia and Gilbert, who were diligently crushing the mined ores with hammers, stopped their movements.

They were various magical metal ores that Silua and Jade had dug up and extracted under my instructions.

“This is for Gilbert, Gilbert, Gilbert, Gilbert…. Why are there so many?! From now on, other than family, reduce it to about one line. If you carelessly let people know and they trace the connection to me, it’s not just you who will be in danger.”

As I handed over a thick stack of letters with a warning, Gilbert bowed his head as if ashamed.

“Ahaha, I’m sorry.”

“Well, since I’m the one who sent the letters in the end, I can’t scold you more. Oh, Precia. Here.”

Unlike Gilbert, there were only two letters for Precia.

One was from Horazon, and the other was from her family.

Come to think of it, Precia had lost her parents and only had her older brother and younger brother as family.

Her older brother was the head of the Jamileion family and a royal knight, and her younger brother was aspiring to be a knight, if I recall correctly.

Even as royal knights, they were divided into ‘palace knights’ who served in the royal palace, ‘capital knights’ who served in the capital defense command, and ‘field knights’ who traveled around the country.

Precia became a palace knight who guarded the royal family with Horazon’s recommendation, and as far as I knew, Precia’s older brother was a capital knight who protected the capital.

“Thank you.”

Precia and Gilbert couldn’t hide their smiles as they tore open the letters, and Silua looked at the two as if envious.

I tore open the letter addressed to me and patted Silua’s head.

“No need to be so envious. You’re with the people you want to be with, right?”

At my words, Silua affirmed vigorously.

“Yes! That’s right! Father, Mother, Sister, Yuan Oppa, Precia Unni, Gilbert Oppa, I’m with everyone, so I’m not envious!”

“Yes, well done.”

I checked Herion’s letter with a smile, and it seemed the situation in the palace was unfolding quite interestingly.

“The impeachment was rejected…. Well, since the Imperial Marchioness personally visited, it’s as expected.”

Demiway did lend support to the King, but he didn’t directly visit the capital.

His support wouldn’t have been that much of a help.

In the first place, the King didn’t ask him to lend support to win, so it didn’t matter.

It was the King whose life was in danger, not me. But if the King dies, it would be troublesome for me, so I should prepare to some extent.

It was good for the politics that weren’t externally visible to be moderately chaotic.

That way, Arcana’s human resources would be wasted there.

In fact, didn’t Arisa and her partner, Nivel, fail to come to Bastille?

Of course, in Nivel’s case, it was probably because I had Geor leak information about the Shadow Tower to Viscount Wiesel rather than because of the political situation.

“Working hard, I see.”

While I was reading the letter, Yekatrice flew to where we were.

I greeted her while putting the finished letter into my chest pocket.

“Looks like you’re all ready to leave.”

Her outfit looked more like a traveler than a mage.

“What do I have to prepare? My disciple is the one who will have a hard time rather than me.”

After closing the hole to the other world yesterday, Yekatrice and Jade talked all night as if they weren’t tired.

I couldn’t know exactly what they talked about since it was their private time.

But judging from their expressions, it seemed they had conversations they couldn’t have until now.

“I should also stay by my benefactor’s side and help like Jade…. In my absence, please work Jade to the bone. Since he volunteered to follow my benefactor even before I could persuade him, he’ll do well on his own.”

At Yekatrice’s words, I answered with a bright smile.

“I’ll work him like a cow during the busy farming season, so don’t worry and focus on recovering.”

This morning, Jade ended up traveling with us.

But I thought Yekatrice had persuaded him, but that wasn’t the case?

It was unexpected.

“Please take good care of Jade. He’s more fragile than you think, so please be his support.”

At Yekatrice’s request, I silently nodded.

In fact, I should be the one asking him to take care of me. With this frail body, who was I to support whom?

“Here are letters of recommendation and letters from my companions. If you go to the capital and do as I say, you will be able to receive treatment from the world’s best doctor.”

The letters of recommendation I handed over were letters to Divet and Aladrine.

If it was those two, they would do their best to treat Yekatrice.

“Really, I’m only indebted to my benefactor until the very end.”

At her words of shame, I laughed playfully.

“If you’re grateful, don’t say it’s the last time.”

“Hohoho, that’s right. Since it’s not the last time, I will definitely repay the favor.”

I nodded my head in satisfaction.

Yekatrice exchanged greetings with my companions, with whom she had grown fond of in a short time.

“When we meet next time, I will have grown more. …Mother.”

“Yes…. This mother believes in you, Jade.”

The two who hugged bid farewell. It would be a farewell that wouldn’t be short, but shorter than expected.

Watching Yekatrice’s back as she flew through the sky, I said to Jade,

“I thought you would say you’d follow your master. How unexpected.”

At my words, Jade showed a bright smile.

“I’m also an adult now and have inherited the name of the Winter Tree, so the time for relying on Master has passed.”

I put the letter in the messenger and sent it flying, saying,

“Is that so? Oh, it’s not really important, but I’m actually a prince.”

Jade, who was nodding at my casual remark, looked at me in surprise.

“Ah, I see… What? A prince?!”

“Now, let’s get to work! We’re going to extract all the minerals inside the Bastille Mountains within a week!”

The messenger I sent flying flew in the direction of Mount Matterhorn.

I wonder if Abasael is doing well.

******

As Abasael picked his ear with his finger, Yard asked in a drawling voice,

“Sounds like someone is talking about El, doesn’t it?”

“No, it seems hot spring water got into my ear.”

Abasael and Yard were currently soaking their bodies in a hot spring at the foot of the mountain.

“Phew~! I’m so grateful there’s a hot spring village near the mountain. Otherwise, I would have gotten sick long ago.”

At Yard’s groaning, Abasael smiled bitterly.

Following the method Yuan, his lord, had told him, he had been repeatedly climbing the mountain for months in search of the mistletoe.

Mount Matterhorn was one of the tallest mountains in the kingdom, so let alone the search, just climbing it was not easy.

Yard was fine since he could use mana and was well-trained.

But it was even more difficult for Abasael, whose mana was sealed and who had been trapped in a room for the past 10 years.

The hot spring where the dragon vein flowed had the power of healing, so they visited it once every two weeks at the shortest and once a month at the longest to recover their stamina.

“I knew you’d be here. I’ve been looking for you for a while.”

A young boy entered the hot spring where Abasael and Yard were soaking and found them.

“Ah, Clio. It’s the first proper rest in almost three weeks. Why don’t you soak in too?”

The boy called Clio was their sherpa. At Yard’s invitation, Clio smiled and shook his head.

“No. Even entering the hot spring costs money.”

“You worked hard, so I’ll pay for it.”

The hot spring fee included accommodation, so it was on the expensive side, but they still had financial leeway.

He was willing to pay for Clio, who had worked hard.

“It’s okay. If you have money for that, I’d be grateful if you just gave it to me.”

At the miser-like response, Yard chuckled and said okay.

“But what’s the matter?”

“Ah, it’s nothing much, but there are two guests who requested me as their guide, and I wanted to ask if it’s okay for them to join.”

At the sudden join request, Abasael and Yard made troubled expressions.

What they were searching for was a precious, mythical magic ingredient, so they were reluctant to move together with others.

“Do we have to go together?”

At Abasael’s question, Clio scratched the back of his head.

“The newly requested guests only need to be guided to the village halfway up the mountain…. Is it not okay?”

The cost of guiding someone to the village halfway up the mountain wasn’t that expensive.

The road was well-paved and didn’t take very long.

“Hmm. If that’s the case, there’s no need to accept new guests, is there?”

Abasael and Yard were paying a high price for not taking the regular mountain route and were long-term customers.

Saying he would guide new guests and leave such customers behind meant that the new guests had offered a very high price.

“Of course, I know it goes against good faith, but….”

“No, let’s go together. But we won’t charge for going up to the village halfway.”

At Abasael’s words, Clio’s face brightened and he nodded.

“Of course! That’s a given!”

Seeing Clio happy not to lose the high-paying guests, Yard showed a warm smile.

“I know why you need money, so don’t feel too sorry.”

Clio was an orphan who had grown up in an orphanage since he was young.

Orphanages were usually operated with the support of temples or nobles.

Therefore, unless it was the capital or a big city in a great noble’s territory, orphanages in rural areas like this always lacked operating funds.

Despite his young age, Clio worked as a sherpa and contributed to the operating funds, so he needed money.

Yard, who was also an orphan, understood Clio’s feelings.

“And how could we find another sherpa as capable as you?”

“Sir…!”

Clio was moved by Yard’s acknowledgment.

Yard’s words were not empty.

When they first looked for a sherpa to climb Mount Matterhorn, the Clio that Yuan mentioned seemed too young to be trusted.

So they started climbing the mountain with a different sherpa, but most of them were extremely reluctant to leave the regular route or couldn’t guide properly even if they did.

After wasting about a month like that, they found Clio following Yuan’s instructions.

Clio guided them skillfully as if the irregular routes were his front yard.

From their perspective, they absolutely couldn’t lose Clio.

Clio knew that fact and was being cheeky.

The two, who had recovered their bodies in the hot spring, followed Clio to where the two people they had agreed to join were.

“Wow~! Hello! I’m Rouerfel Jeffries, who will be in your care this time.”

“I’m Febrie Jeffries. I wonder if it’s not inconvenient for you that we suddenly joined.”

At the polite greetings of the man and woman who seemed to be a couple, Abasael and Yard also received the greetings respectfully.

“I’m El Frodo. Nice to meet you.”

“I’m Yard Tosl. What’s there to be inconvenient about when we’re only going together to the middle village? This is my delighted heart for the beautiful lady here.”

As Yard took out a flower from his sleeve and handed it to Febrie, Rouerfel snatched it.

“I’d like to receive that delighted heart.”

As Rouerfel forcibly smiled and pressured Yard with mana, Febrie hit her husband’s back and stopped him.

“Oh my, dear! Hohoho, he’s the jealous type.”

At her apology, Yard brushed it off with a greasy smile.

“No, it’s not. Anyone would be cautious if they had such a lovely wife, cough!”

Abasael strongly hit Yard’s side and stopped him from making greasy remarks.

“My companion was rude. This friend is good in every way, but whenever he sees a woman, he butters up his tongue.”

“No, El! Butter, you say! I was just purely expressing my heart….”

“Please just shut up.”

As Abasael held his forehead as if he had a headache, Rouerfel laughed and encouraged Abasael.

“You must be having a hard time. I know someone similar, so I understand well.”

“Yes, well…. I can’t express it in words since I’m in a position to receive this friend’s help.”

Abasael could only smile bitterly.