Chapter 115 – The Happy Prince
When the news of the assassination of King Oscar von Omaha was announced, the first to rush to Oz was Prince Tippetarius, the king’s eldest son and recognized by the citizens of Oz as King Oscar’s legitimate successor.
“The seal disappeared?”
“Yes. The Emerald Tower mage who went missing with the hero, who was impersonating Kaldrash, seems to have assassinated His Majesty the King and stole the seal.”
“…I understand. I don’t think I can get back what I’ve already taken, so for now, focus on restoring the castle.”
“Yes!”
As the royal guards saluted and exited the throne room, Prince Tippetarius, left alone, stared at his throne with melancholy eyes.
“You insisted on not wanting to step down from the throne, and in the end you went away in vain. Father.”
He slowly moved his steps.
Only black ash was left in the center of the explosion.
No one could move this ‘king’ ash, as he had given orders to preserve the site.
Tippetarius scooped it up with both hands and suddenly grabbed it tightly.
“You should have gone a little late.”
I really wanted to kill you with my own hands.
With a voice as if suppressing his cries, Tippetarius held the ash powder in his hand and hugged it tightly to his chest.
He was truly sad.
That he couldn’t put an end to his father’s death, the old fox’s tough life, himself.
It was a tragedy that happened while he was away for a while to bring back a newly ordained hero after receiving an oracle from the Church of Courage.
There are no words to express the sense of loss caused by the sudden disappearance of one of the biggest goals in Tippetarius’ life.
I will have to live with this emptiness for the rest of my life.
However, Tippetarius accepted it humbly, saying that it was also life.
It was then. Someone knocked on the audience room where they were told not to let anyone in.
Knock! Knock!
“Come in.”
He got up from his seat, wiping his tears with the handkerchief he took from his bosom.
Squeak!
Then, he carefully opened the door and entered the new hero he had found on this expedition.
“Um, Prince? Are you okay? I heard you crying, so I came here once…”
“No, Lady, Sophia. It’s because you got some dust in your eye for a second.”
He approached the still young warrior skillfully in a lie.
Only 17 years old? He must have been around 18.
Since she had just come up from the countryside, she was an innocent girl who knew nothing of the world.
Just like the black hair and black eyes that his father hated, he was a contrast to himself, who was completely black from the inside.
That’s why it was no different from a precious treasure to the prince.
This is because he had acquired an existence that would have tremendous power if he raised it like this.
Depending on the direction of his growth, he could become a shield to protect his power.
He approached the hero and said while touching the white and soft hero’s cheek.
“It must have been difficult coming a long way, but rest in your room for today. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Then the heroine nodded his head vigorously and answered.
“Yes! I don’t know what’s going on, but the prince is fighting too!”
At most, he is a child who has not even lived half of himself.
It was funny that he was being comforted by such a child, but strangely, he wasn’t in a bad mood.
All the brothers he had were killed with his own hands, so it was a warm feeling that he hadn’t felt in a long time.
“Thank you. It gives me strength.”
Prince Tippetarius knelt down on one knee and lightly kissed the back of his champion’s hand.
Then he muttered to himself as if he had promised himself.
“I will create a new kingdom in the future.”
First of all, in order to do that, I had to get rid of all the demons who had flocked like dogs outside the castle.
***
We met again outside the walls of Constantinople after playing to our heart’s content in Oz, the capital, and we were moving east to join the Demon King’s army advancing toward the capital, Oz.
It was so boring that it was hard to believe that he had been fighting fiercely with the kingdom forces just a few hours ago.
We had already moved dozens of kilometers with the words prepared by Sejak of the Demon King’s army waiting outside the wall, so we decided to take a break at the right timing.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa.”
Maybe it’s because it’s the first time I’ve met, I tie the horse that’s acting pretty rough to a nearby tree and take out a water bottle hanging from my waist.
I brought it in the morning just in case, but now that I think about it, it was a very good thing.
As he gulped down the water in the canteen, Dorothea, who was resting under the shade, stretched out his hand.
“Please give me too.”
“Take it.”
I closed the lid of her canteen and tossed her lightly at her.
Then, probably because her throat was so dry, Dorothea put her mouth on her canteen and gulped down.
“Vanessa, aren’t you drinking?”
Then Vanessa shook her hand.
“As I said before, food and water are my favorite foods.
Dorothea shrugged her shoulders and returned her water bottle to me.
I asked while pouring river water into a vessel made of alchemy and placing it in front of the horses.
“Come to think of it, earlier, she was very flashy. Vanessa.”
“Are you that tired?”
“You cast a triple protection spell on it and left a huge sword scar on the famous Constantine Wall. I’ve never seen an aura blade that strong like that in my life.”
“Honestly, it was dope.”
Even Dorothea, who doesn’t like her compliments, agreed with me, and Vanessa scratched the back of her head in embarrassment at her.
“Huh, I’m a bit strong.”
While chatting in such a friendly atmosphere, I remembered the baggage in my arms.
“Oh, I brought a lot of stuff. Would you like to see it?”
Then Dorothea revealed her interest.
“What?”
I took out a large seal from my bosom and showed it.
“It’s the seal of the Kingdom of Oz. It’s definitely genuine.”
“Oh oh…”
Dorothea, who usually likes jewels, twinkled his eyes.
That would be the case, because the seal I brought was one of the objects made of 100% pure oryhalcon.
Originally, it was an object that symbolized the authority of the emperor during the empire, but after the empire was destroyed by the elves, it flowed into the newly founded city-state of Oz and again served as a seal.
This was the reason why Dorothea was rolling on the floor intact despite the huge explosion of the magic crystal that held her mana tightly.
Dorothea, who was looking at the royal seal engraved with the imperial symbol, the two-headed lion, cautiously reached out.
“Can I touch you once?”
“I guess.”
I obediently handed over her seal to her.
It meant that I should use this to relieve my anger at not being able to touch Unlimited Power the other day.
“How much would you like to sell this for?”
After listening to her words, I seriously evaluated the price.
“First of all, it is a treasure that has been handed down since the Imperial era in Orihalcon, and the shape of the carved two-headed lion is excellent, so it passed as an ornament.
When I carefully spread out three fingers, Dorothea asked with a surprised face.
“300 million gold?”
“No, 3 billion gold.”
“Heo Eok! This?!”
Dorothea, with her startled look, looks down at her seal, which she holds in her hand.
Then, as if she was embarrassed to even hold it, she hurriedly returned her seal to me.
I wrapped it in a cloth and put it back in my bosom.
Now, this is sealed until you take it out in front of the Demon King.
Vanessa, who was watching me and Dorothea from the side, said as if she was dumbfounded.
“What are you doing, you’re not stupid.”
To be honest, I was right about making too much fuss, so I shyly looked away.
Then, the golden lion pattern engraved on Vanessa’s armor came into view.
“Come to think of it, Vanessa, you said that you were a noblewoman when the empire was still in good shape. What kind of family was it, exactly?”
“Why is that all of a sudden?”
“No, usually the patterns or animals that symbolize the royal family are not allowed to be used by ordinary nobles or commoners. But Vanessa’s armor has a lion, the symbol of the imperial family, embossed on it.”
Then Vanessa put on a look of surprise, but then nodded with a wry smile.
“When I was alive, my family was one of the imperial family’s collaterals. It wasn’t a very famous family, but the founder of the family was a sword master like me, so it was worthy of its name. I would have died while giving birth. But I eventually became a sword master and died fighting an elf. That’s all.”
Vanessa, who usually hated talking about the past, said that and then shut her mouth again.
The atmosphere quickly became awkward.
‘You should do something.’
‘Is there a way for me?’
I didn’t ask the question with this intention, so I had no choice but to fight endlessly with Dorothea, who was next to me.
