The Extra Prince Sets Out To Conquer The World

 Rouerfel and Febrie tapped the ground with their hiking sticks and laughed chattily.

“Wow, we were really fortunate to find a guide so quickly.”

“I know, right? Most refused, saying it’s dangerous right now because the snow is melting.”

From April to May, the snow that accumulated during winter melted, softening the ground and making landslides more frequent.

Even the locals in this area avoided climbing the mountain during this period if possible.

Rather, once this period passed, the softened ground hardened again due to the dry climate, making it better for activities.

Clio went ahead, checking the ground conditions far ahead of the couple.

“Mount Matterhorn is different from other mountains in that grass doesn’t grow. Strangely, only trees grow at the base of the mountain, and once you climb a bit, it’s hard to find a single blade of grass.”

That was the reason landslides frequently occurred on Mount Matterhorn.

On the other mountains nearby, the tree roots intertwined and held the ground firmly, so landslides rarely occurred unless it was extreme.

Abasael knew why trees couldn’t take root on Mount Matterhorn thanks to what he heard from Yuan, but he didn’t bother mentioning it.

“But once you reach the middle zone, the snow doesn’t melt well, so you don’t have to worry about landslides.”

Of course, they still had to worry about avalanches.

At Clio’s explanation, Febrie smiled brightly.

“That’s a relief! We’ve also climbed Mount Matterhorn a few times while on a hot spring trip, but this is the first time climbing during this period, so we were worried.”

Interested in Febrie’s words, Yard asked,

“Oh~! Do you have some business on this steep mountain?”

When Yard asked Febrie, Rouerfel intervened and answered instead.

“We are explorers chasing romance and adventure.”

“To be exact, we’re playing explorer. This child is a bit immature, so wherever we travel, he picks up strange legends and insists on searching for them.”

“That’s too much! Calling me immature, you also excitedly tag along every time!”

“Then count me as equally immature.”

The couple bickered playfully, arguing back and forth.

Yard smiled at the sight, but also had a distant expression.

As attention focused on him, Rouerfel cleared his throat and looked away.

“Ahem! There’s a legend that Mount Matterhorn has a forgotten temple of Baldur, who was favored by the sun god.”

At the mention of Baldur’s temple, Abasael looked at Rouerfel.

It was because the mistletoe that could break Abasael’s curse was slumbering in that forgotten temple.

“They say enormous treasures are sleeping in that temple, and the goal of this trip is to find those treasures and become rich!”

At his words, his lover Febrie smirked.

“You’ve never achieved that goal even once. You just wanted to ditch the elders’ eyes and have fun.”

“No, it’s not that I just wanted to have fun, but that I wanted to have fun with you.”

“Hehe! What are you saying.”

The two, who were joking with each other, asked Abasael and Yard,

“Come to think of it, do you two have a reason for climbing the mountain during this time?”

“Ah, we don’t have grand ambitions like you two…”

Abasael imitated his friend as much as possible and lied.

“I’m a geologist dispatched from an academic society. This friend is my guard and assistant. As Clio said, we’re researching why trees can’t grow on this mountain.”

As someone who had seen Viscount Wiesel, a born trickster and liar, since childhood, he skillfully fabricated a lie.

This excuse was the one Yuan told him to use.

It was to avoid strange looks from people around them, as it was obvious that searching for Baldur’s forgotten temple would take a long time.

“It’s a much more meaningful task than traveling like us!”

At Febrie’s words, Rouerfel chuckled and playfully grumbled.

“Nothing is as meaningful as being with you.”

“Ah, the ground ahead seems to have weakened. It might collapse, so let’s detour.”

Clio guided the way like a proper guide.

******

It took a day and a half to reach the mountain village located halfway up the mountain from the hot spring village.

The couple paid Clio and asked if he could guide them for just three more days, but Clio refused.

It wasn’t out of loyalty to his previous clients.

The amount Rouerfel offered was certainly large.

However, if it was only for three days, it was more profitable to guide Abasael, a long-term customer.

The money Abasael and Yard had paid so far was enough to run the orphanage he had to help for three more months.

Moreover, he was promised a bonus if the goal was achieved.

Whether the request became longer or the goal was achieved, it was advantageous for Clio to guide Abasael and Yard.

“There are many sherpas here. During this time, they don’t accept customers going down, but many accept customers going up. Then have a pleasant time!”

“Yeah, you worked hard. It’s regrettable, but it can’t be helped.”

Clio guided Rouerfel and Febrie to the inn and ran back to Abasael and Yard.

It was a thoroughly capitalistic logic, but Abasael found that attitude more trustworthy.

Having experienced being betrayed one after another by those he trusted and floundering in the pit of the abyss, he no longer believed in things like love or goodwill.

“It’s not a good time to start moving, but are you going to move right away this time too?”

The current time was just past 4 PM.

They had consumed stamina climbing up to here, so it was common to secure lodging and move the next morning.

However, Abasael and Yard chose to move immediately.

“Yeah, there’s only one place left to investigate now.”

Although Yuan explained Baldur’s forgotten temple in as much detail as possible, there was a limit as he didn’t have an exact map.

Of course, searching the entire famous tall and wide mountain would take several years and still be insufficient.

However, thanks to Yuan’s explanation, they were able to dramatically reduce the search period.

“We really have no luck. If we did well, we could have found it in a week.”

There were about seven areas that matched Yuan’s description, but the six they checked before were all in vain.

At Yard’s sigh, Abasael decided to think positively.

“It wasn’t completely unlucky, so let’s take comfort in that.”

All the characteristics Yuan mentioned were terrain where mana easily gathered, so in five out of the six places they found before, they were able to find extremely rare magic ingredients or elixir ingredients.

It wasn’t a complete waste.

“Well, if you say so, I have nothing to say.”

Yard put his backpack on again.

With the space-expanding bag Abasael received from the Boutique and the additional lightening magic engraved, it wasn’t that heavy compared to what was inside.

As soon as they left the village, Abasael asked in a small voice,

“That couple we parted with in the village, they’re not ordinary people, right?”

Abasael’s mana was sealed, and his intuition had weakened along with it, so he couldn’t grasp it accurately.

“As expected, you noticed? When I first tried to give a flower to the lady, the pressure with mana was terrifying. I was scared the whole time coming to the village with them.”

At Yard’s words, Abasael was dumbfounded.

He thought Yard was fine since he kept making greasy remarks and throwing advances the whole way, but now he seemed like a madman.

Perhaps he wasn’t even aware that he was throwing advances.

“Moreover, their goal is the same. We’ll have to keep an eye on the surroundings.”

“Let’s move quickly. It’s quite far, so it will take over a week one way.”

The party, led by the guide Clio, hastened their steps.

*****

“Phew~! As expected, they don’t seem like ordinary people, right?”

When Rouerfel sought agreement, Febrie nodded while following the traces of Abasael’s party.

“The guide boy is also quite skilled at handling mana, but it’s in the realm of half-unconsciousness, and that handsome man is definitely not an ordinary person.”

Just by looking at the footprints heading towards the mountain foot, one could gauge their skill.

Clio’s footprints had a consistent and light stride without any disorder, while Yard’s footprints were almost nonexistent.

These were clearly the traces of someone who had received special training for a long time.

“Wait. Handsome man, you say!”

At Rouerfel’s protest, Febrie laughed playfully as if teasing.

“What~? Are you jealous?”

“Hmph! Jealous! No way! Of a guy who throws advances at anyone like a parasitic brother-in-law!”

At his obvious denial, Febrie lightly pinched her lover’s cheek.

“So cute~! But don’t get too angry. That Yard guy probably kept throwing advances at me because he knew I like it when you get jealous, so he did it on purpose.”

At Febrie’s words, Rouerfel made a doubtful face.

“Isn’t it just because you’re too pretty?”

“That’s right! I want to say that, but he seemed to already have someone he loves. It seemed like he hadn’t been able to meet them for quite a while, but that made it feel more ardent. He’s just a kind person to women.”

“Hmm… Well, if you say so, then I guess that’s how it is.”

Rouerfel trusted Febrie’s insight. She was the most outstanding deducer he knew.

“And that pale middle-aged man is a typical bookworm. He seems to be a scholar.”

Abasael’s footprints had an inconsistent stride, deep imprints, and constantly moved to the left even though he seemed to be walking straight.

They were the traces of someone who couldn’t handle mana, lacked exercise, and had an unbalanced body.

It wasn’t just ordinary determination needed to climb a mountain that even mountaineers were reluctant to challenge, but he didn’t groan even once while coming from the hot spring village to the middle of the mountain.

Although he seemed to be a scholar, a simple geological survey didn’t seem to be his purpose.

“Doesn’t it look fun to follow them?”

“Of course!”

The two lovers nodded at each other.

“And that hand technique that parasitic brother-in-law-like guy showed at first, that’s the same one the ’T’he Fool used, right?”

At Rouerfel’s question, Febrie affirmed.

“It’s very similar to Javan’s hand technique. Of course, such a hand technique isn’t some secret magic, so he could have learned it from someone else…”

“But it does pique our interest.”

At their pace, they followed Abasael’s footprints from a distance of about three hours.

It was the easiest to track, thanks to the clear footprints.

“I feel guilty for not helping Uncle Malecob and playing hooky, but we can’t miss out on such an interesting matter, can we?”

“Hohoho, you’re saying things you don’t even mean again. You just don’t want to do the dangerous task of facing the Sage of the Winter Wood.”

At Febrie’s point, Rouerfel shrugged.

“You feel the same way, don’t you?”

“Well, that’s true.”

“So let’s rest enough and get scolded together by Uncle, hmm?”

“I don’t like that. I’m scared of Uncle Malecob, too.”

The couple bantered and bickered with each other.

Hearing the news of the death in battle of the uncle they revered and respected was something that would happen over a fortnight later from now.

TN: Can you guess who these two are?