The Crown Prince Who Raises Alt Characters

#Chapter 223 Leaflet - The Case of Sage Miss E Sky Academy, which was the greatest educational institution in the central continent, has been closed. It no longer exists. Some graduates gave passionate speeches saying the will of Sky Academy lives on in their hearts, but that didn't resurrect the closed academy. There were many who suffered losses from the academy's sudden closure, but if you were to pick those who couldn't help but be the most bewildered, it was none other than Sky Academy's students. If you were to define their feelings in one word, it was as follows. "...But what do we do now?" Sky Academy was both the greatest educational institution for talents of the central continent to develop their abilities, and simultaneously a guaranteed ticket to success. Just by presenting an academy diploma, securing a position in any country wasn't difficult, and one could also receive social recognition. But now that the academy has collapsed? "Damn it, graduation!! My diploma!! The academy can collapse all it wants, but they should still give us our diplomas!!" "Qu, quests are disappearing? Then we can't grow through experience points anymore? No way!! 4th rank was right before my eyes!!" "Sage!! Please come back!! The central region needs you!!" Those who dreamed of success despaired at the fact that their glorious royal road had been shattered. Those who dreamed of improving their abilities despaired at the fact that growth through quests was no longer possible. The choices for students suddenly released into society were largely three. Return to their hometowns in a dejected state, transfer to the Cardian Republic's academy that had opened its doors wide saying they would accept even dropouts, or else jump straight into the job market. The choice of the girl who was great mage Delfinaris Weinhart's chief disciple and practically an adopted daughter, Eris Weinhart, was neither of these. Though Sky Academy's unique systematic quests had long since disappeared, Eris already had a firm goal in her heart that didn't need such system assistance. "Fully control the 'grimoire' given by some ill-tempered librarian, and resume contact with the librarian." Additionally, the minimum condition for completing the quest was 'reaching a higher realm as a mage than her master.' The condition was excessively difficult just to establish contact with one person, but precisely because of this, Eris burned with competitive spirit. A mass of self-improvement desire, she would today again immerse herself day and night in research to raise her magical realm— "Wow! That bread looks incredibly delicious! It looks like molded bread with syrup drizzled on it? Fina, could you lend me some money for a bit? I'll pay you back later!" "Uh, yeah? I can lend it to you, but Grace. I don't think it's good to fill your stomach with snacks before eating..." —couldn't do that. At the sight of the gray-haired girl squealing like the 'high school girl' beings that sometimes appeared in books given by a certain librarian while drooling over street food, and the black-haired girl timidly trying to stop such a gray-haired girl, Eris let out a deep sigh. "Grace. I've told you many times that unplanned spending is the shortcut to ruin. Fina, don't keep indulging her either, and firmly say no when something is wrong." Grace made a disgruntled "Eh—" sound, and Fina scratched her cheek with an "Ehehe." "But still, since we've come to a new city, it's only proper to try the local food, right? Who knows when we'll come again." "I'm not saying don't eat, but eat with a plan. If you keep eating only sweet bread, you'll quickly get all flabby." "It's fine! Fina and I are the type where the weight goes to our chest! ...Ah." For a moment, at Grace's gaze directed toward below Eris's neck as if she had made a slip of the tongue, Eris responded with an intellectual and dignified reaction worthy of her title as a great mage's disciple. "—Alright, I'm killing you." "No, don't! Eris! Calm down!!" Fina clung to her waist desperately trying to stop Eris. Meanwhile, Grace had already fled far away early on. Fina, 'Successor of the Hero.' Eris, 'Chief Disciple of the Great Mage.' Grace, 'Priestess of the Guardian Deity.' There was a bit of a story behind how these girls, all different in abilities, personalities, and life trajectories, came to move together as one party. First, in Fina's case, her excessive fame was the problem. "I heard the news, Fina. That you defeated the resurrected Demon King—even now as I write this letter, I can hardly believe it. Please forgive this father's foolishness for failing to recognize what exceptional abilities my daughter possessed. You don't need to worry about academy graduation or anything like that. The entire country is stirring in anticipation of you, their hero—how could a mere diploma matter? His Majesty has boldly declared he will erect a statue of you in the most scenic spot in the capital, and invitation letters from all sorts of famous noble houses have begun filling our family warehouse. As your father, I too cannot be outdone by this, so I plan to hold a grand festival spanning the entire territory and turn your story into a play so that people for generations to come can be moved by your exploits. Please return quickly—(and so on)" The successor of the hero who defeated the Demon King's incarnation that once drove the central continent into terror. A genius among geniuses who reached 6th Rank before even turning twenty. Put nicely, she was a legendary hero who appeared in this world; put badly, she was a honey pot with its lid open, wafting sweet scents. For Fina, who though not to the level of social phobia was basically strongly introverted, the sight of countless crowds with bloodshot eyes waiting to exchange even one word with her was terror itself. Feeling the atmosphere that if she returned home like this, she might literally die from being crushed by crowds, she decided to postpone her return until the fervor cooled down somewhat, and became free under the pretext of a training journey. Eris didn't suffer from excessive fame like Fina, but she had her own reasons for needing to travel the world. "Eris, this grimoire you newly acquired and the magic based on it—'Library'—has a form quite different from general magic. Theoretical analysis and research aren't entirely useless, but these are spells that are greatly influenced by the user's imagination and literary sensibility. In other words, you can raise your realm by experiencing and reading the most diverse experiences and varied stories possible. If you wanted, I could use my power to gather various books for you, but I think it would be better if you personally traveled to various places and went on a reading journey of sorts. Of course, if you get tired, come back anytime. This is your home." Originally skilled in theoretical analysis and study of magic, the magical system Eris newly acquired was one where growth was difficult through existing methods. To become a great mage surpassing her master, traveling to as many places as possible and reading various books was now Eris's goal. Grace was the same as well. "When I heard the Guardian Deity's generation was changing, I worried something might go wrong, but nothing happened at all, right? The soil is still fertile, the fruits are still abundant, and the water is plentiful." "Priestess—no, the Guardian Deity's divine power must be that amazing, right? She'll continue protecting this land for generations to come!" Though she had unintentionally inherited the position and divine power of the indigenous Guardian Deity, that didn't mean she had to stay attached to her hometown to fulfill divine duties. From the beginning, her hometown was just naturally fertile soil with strong earth power, and the previous Guardian Deity was an evil god who, contrary to the residents' perception, spent more power promoting poor harvests rather than creating abundant ones. Having confirmed that the residents could live well and eat well on their own as long as she didn't do anything foolish to the land, and that there was no problem sensing the land's condition even from a distance, Grace had set out on the world travel that was originally her dream. Though each had different processes and motivations, the three people who shared the same course of action of traveling the world hit it off well and soon became a three-person party wandering the continent. However, that didn't mean the three of them just moved randomly wherever their feet took them. "This is it, right? The city where Brown Trading Company's headquarters is located." After the commotion ended. At Grace's words that seemed to change the subject, Fina tightly gripped the handle of the sword hanging like an ornament at her waist. Forte. The magic sword that had assisted Fina in subduing the Demon King during the Demon King revival incident long ago, and was shattered as a price for it. Finding a way to revive that magic sword was one of the three people's current goals. "Right. Brown Trading Company is currently the most likely candidate for having sent the 'magic sword' to Fina." "But isn't it a bit much to suspect them based on just that? Someone else could have used Brown Trading Company's name fraudulently, or even if Brown Trading Company really did send the item, someone could have intervened during transport." At Grace's point, Eris nodded readily. "Yes, I am considering those possibilities too. However, the reason I find Brown Trading Company suspicious isn't just that. While coming here, I investigated various things about Brown Trading Company, and there were some rather dubious aspects." Even though three people with striking appearances were walking through the middle of the street chattering about conspiracy theories, there were hardly any passersby paying attention to them. -No one bought matches from her, and not even a single warm word was offered. People passed by her side like the wind, as if they could not see her. This was because a passage leaked from Eris's grimoire was enveloping them while imbued with magical power. "Dubious aspects?" "Until recently, Brown Trading Company was just one of many ordinary trading companies in Ravelocia Kingdom. Trading company owner Travers Brown was also a person who received evaluations that he was lacking compared to previous company heads." But from a certain day onwards, Brown Trading Company began experiencing rapid growth as if wings had been attached to their backs. Those who had been restraining Brown Trading Company collapsed on their own due to timely misfortunes, while conversely, collaborators showed strangely proactive attitudes and contributed to Brown Trading Company's growth. Travers Brown, who had been lacking in various ways as a trading company head, also suddenly displayed competence as if he had become a completely different person, and was now known as one of the finest merchants not just in Ravelocia Kingdom but in the entire central region. "Certainly... it's dubious in many ways to just brush it off lightly. Could it be that the trading company head is also connected to those demon fellows? Demons give contractors various abilities, don't they?" At Grace's words, Fina urgently interjected. "Wa, wait a minute. But isn't that strange? If Brown Trading Company sent the magic sword to us, there's no way they would have been trying to stop the demons' plan." "That could be, um. Factional struggles among demons? Just like humans compete with each other, demons probably don't all get along well either, right?" "Or it could be a different faction." (E/N: She is technically correct) Eris's eyes flashed sharply. If she had been wearing glasses, she would have pushed them up with her fingertips while speaking. "The faction backing Brown Trading Company doesn't necessarily have to be demons. If they're people with a certain level of power and scale, raising one trading company through various means wouldn't be that difficult." "Y, yes. I don't think it's good to see everything as the work of demons." "True, sometimes things that at first glance seem to be done by non-humans turn out to be caused by humans when you look into them." "First, I'll activate demon detection spells and we'll stop by Brown Trading Company's headquarters. We're doing this with the intention of narrowing down possibilities, so don't expect too much from the start." Originally, demon detection is not such an easy task. While it might be different for the type that openly reveals their presence and commits massacres, demons who blend into human society are usually skilled in deception and concealment. However, the grimoire Eris possessed was originally made using a high-ranking demon as material. Though Eris was at 5th rank level in terms of ability, at least in the field of demon detection, she held an advantageous position compared to higher-level practitioners. "Let's approach the investigation with as few preconceptions as possible, keeping all possibilities open." *** "Found it! Found it! Found it! Found it! Found it! It's a demon! There's a demon!" "......" "......" "......"