The Crown Prince Who Raises Alt Characters

#Chapter 277 - Mercenary Owen (5) - Monster and Monster and Proxy Battle For 'ordinary' travelers of this era, camping outdoors is an extremely difficult and painful ordeal. Even setting aside external threats and the gazes of others, it's still like that. Hard ground, bodies aching and swollen from humidity, and even invasions of insects crawling around or, in severe cases, climbing all over one's body. But for travelers with some money, or rather, with quite a lot of money, it's different. Because there are camping magic tools that instantly create tents comparable to decent homes just by reciting simple activation words. Of course, the price is so expensive that it would be better to just buy an actual house, but isn't being able to spend any amount of money for convenience the weapon of the wealthy? Though their military power and political influence had become pathetic compared to the past, the Hydrain Family's warehouse still contained said camping magic tools, their wealth still solid, and Ophelia, who had secretly brought one, had been making useful use of it until now. Ophelia's appearance, still neat and clean rather than grimy like ordinary travelers usually are, was proof of this. However, even such convenient camping magic tools had limitations - they were completely meaningless if there wasn't physical space to set up the tent. One might say that's obvious, but for Ophelia it was a very important problem. Because unlike before, it meant she had to lie down side by side with Owen to sleep. 'Ugh...' Ophelia groaned inwardly. She tried to create some distance as much as possible, but even so, the space between the two of them was only enough for one person to somehow squeeze in. Since it was already a quiet cave, even small rustling sounds and breathing could be heard. For a young lady in her prime to be lying in the same place as a sturdy man, tension and wariness welled up, but Ophelia wasn't so lacking in sense as to get irritated at Owen here or tell him to go sleep outside. So what could she do? She had no choice but to suffer alone without even showing her discomfort. "At this rate you'll stay up all night. If you're really uncomfortable, should I switch places with the horse?" "...It's fine, okay? Don't worry about it." "I can't do that. Managing the employer's physical condition is also part of escort duties." "Isn't that just being meddlesome?" "Not properly keeping a contract is third-rate, only keeping the contract terms is second-rate, and accomplishing what's in the contract plus going beyond that is first-rate. I'm naturally first-rate." "Self-praise to this extent is entering the realm of art." Ophelia spoke sarcastically, but Owen just laughed heartily regardless. That attitude, as if dealing with an immature child, looked even more annoying to Ophelia. Rather than being completely ignorant, she was clever enough to know that Owen was making jokes to ease her tension, which made it all the more so. But since moving her lips was indeed better than just staying silent, unable to sleep and suffering inwardly, Ophelia responded to the small talk while feeling somewhat displeased. "By the way, miss. Do you really think your family will let you go once you return after contracting with a high-ranking spirit? I think if you're such a useful talent, they'd try to bind you even more." "They might." Ophelia readily agreed. The family was already obsessed with past glory and such things. If a spirit contractor, who was no different from a symbol of that 'glory', appeared, there was no way they'd let her go willingly. "But what does that matter? The fact that I contracted with a spirit itself is already proof that I've gained that much power." "Ah, if they try to hold you, you'll break through with force?" "There might be some difference depending on the spirit's level, but if things go as planned, I should be able to gain at least 5th rank power. That's more than enough ability to become independent." The Empire has a system in place for systematically training mana users. Instead of hiding mana manipulation methods, swordsmanship, and magic arts as family secrets, they were incorporated directly into academy and military education curricula. Therefore, regular soldiers under the imperial command, not family private troops, were basically 3rd rank who could at least do mana enhancement, and those in somewhat important positions were often 4th rank. In other words, even in the Empire called the strongest on the continent, it was impossible to mass-produce talents at the 5th rank level. Like former prince Nicolai, who would be working up a sweat on some island by now, it was possible to artificially cultivate 5th rank by receiving every elixir available and education from the best instructors, but in other words, one had to be at least royalty level to receive such support. "Certainly at that level you could become independent or whatever. No, since spirit contractors are rare, there would be plenty of places wanting you." "Since I'm going to Kuella anyway, it doesn't really matter to me." "If your value goes up, wouldn't that give Kuella, no, Lady Kuella bonus points when hiring you?" "That's... true. You hit the core point. As your employer, I'll give you praise." "That's quite an ambiguous compliment - I'm not sure if I should be happy about it." *** To speak only of the result, Ophelia was able to get a good night's sleep. Was it because Owen's trivial chatter was effective? Or was the accumulated fatigue so overwhelming that it overcame wariness and tension? Ophelia decided to consider it the latter. It was a way to preserve her pride. "What are you spacing out for? Aren't you getting on?" "I know, so don't rush me." Ophelia irritably glared at Owen, who was urging her to mount while on the horse. Since the horse Ophelia had originally been riding became minced meat in yesterday's chase, there was only one horse left. Naturally, for Ophelia and Owen to ride the horse, they had no choice but to ride together front and back. Though they had already experienced this during yesterday's escape, doing it frantically in an urgent situation was different from riding together with a clear mind. "C-can't I ride in the back?" "Usually it wouldn't matter, but during combat it would be dangerous. The moment your arms lose strength and you let go, you'd fall straight to the ground with a crash!" At Owen's unnecessarily realistic description, Ophelia frowned. But she couldn't argue back. She knew logically that what he said was right. Even though she had trained in self-defense techniques and horsemanship, Ophelia basically only had the physical strength of an ordinary woman, so if she clung to Owen's back during intense combat or escape, she would likely be unable to endure and fall off. In contrast, if Ophelia sat in front of Owen, he could hold onto her at any time, so there was no comparison in terms of stability. "Well, the best method would be for you to hug me from the front like a koala, but─" "I don't know what a koala is, but I'd never do that even if I died." "Right? So this is the perfect level of compromise. It's not that I don't understand a maiden's virtue, but let's secure our lives first." It was an undeniable sound argument with no room for rebuttal. Spitting out curses (which sounded like elementary school vocabulary to Owen's ears) toward whatever eccentric mage had caused this trouble, Ophelia settled into the front seat in front of Owen. "Now then, is there anywhere uncomfortable?" "......" It wasn't uncomfortable. No, rather, having solid abs supporting her from behind even gave her a sense of security, no, what am I thinking right now? Insisting that she must still be not fully awake, Ophelia shook her head left and right vigorously. "Did something get on your head?" "It's fine, so let's just get going." "How blunt." Excluding Ophelia's personal shame and awkwardness, the journey went remarkably smoothly. There were monsters that attacked, but they didn't swarm in large numbers like before, and even those few monsters immediately collapsed to the ground when Owen casually swung his spear. For Ophelia, it was incomprehensible. "You, with this level of skill, why are you doing something like mercenary work?" "Something like mercenary work? That's hurtful to hear for a mercenary." "With that skill, you could become an imperial regular soldier or serve as a knight in some territory." "Rigid things don't suit my nature. I hate acting according to military discipline, and if I became a formal knight, I couldn't joke around with employers like this." "...Hmm, certainly having someone like you as a knight would turn one's stomach inside out." "Wait, you're agreeing here?" Perhaps it was because they were traveling much more leisurely than yesterday. The two were able to realize something they hadn't noticed yesterday while being chased. Rumble! A vibration like a massive metal bell ringing. Immediately after, the air cracked open with a split centered on the space where the vibration had echoed, and monsters and such leaped out from inside and fell to the ground. Crack! Crack! Looking at the monsters that turned into pulp immediately after being summoned, Ophelia made a complex expression. "I never thought the day would come when I'd feel sympathy for monsters. Is that also the mage's doing? Why summon them specifically in mid-air?" "Filtering them out, probably." "Filtering?" "The ones with some skill will survive even falling like that, while those that can't will be disposed of immediately. It seems they've set up a structure to process the small fry right away." But that didn't mean the monsters that succeeded in landing were safe either. Monsters placed in the same location regardless of their territories or anything else revealed hostility toward each other as if having seizures, and clashed. This was why the forest didn't reach saturation despite the aerial gateway continuously spewing out new monsters. Seeing the fallen monsters become clusters of light and get recovered somewhere, Ophelia muttered as if disgusted. "Looking at what they're doing, it really seems like a considerably nasty mage." "Mm." Owen didn't give any particular response. This was quite rare for him. After another day passed like this, when they could escape the forest with just one more day of travel. ─Kugugugugugu! The phenomenon that occurs the moment a monster appears. And it was such an exceptionally massive tremor among all they had witnessed, that both people stopped moving and looked up at the sky. Tremble tremble. Ophelia's body trembled. "Huh...? Wh-why is this." Though she tried to stop trembling without even knowing the reason herself, no matter how hard she tried, the trembling didn't subside but only became more intense. It wasn't only Ophelia who was overwhelmed by instinctive fear. Nearby monsters screamed and fled from the epicenter, and some individuals couldn't even do that, sitting down in place and shivering. The spatial resonance became incomparably more intense than before, going beyond the level of air splitting to create a massive crack large enough to connect heaven and earth. The first thing that squeezed through the gap was a roar. ■■■■■■────!! With pressure that seemed like it would burst their eardrums, a massive form revealed itself following the sound. The first thing to squeeze through the gap was emerald-colored front paws. When the two front paws that gripped the air spread left and right, the spatial crack tore widely to match them. Green scales covering its entire body. Wings made of membrane, but incomparably stronger and more massive than any bat. From between the green scales flowed a yellowish-green mist-like substance, and as soon as that mist reached the ground, the trees and ground in the area became soft and melted away. Ophelia muttered blankly. "Green Dragon...?" The appearance of a dragon that had hidden itself since the great war long ago and was known to be found only in legends now. Ophelia couldn't help but be shocked by the sudden situation, but it was still somewhat early to be surprised. Because something much smaller than the dragon, but with mana wrapped around its body even more powerful than the dragon's, was flying from the center of the forest at terrifying speed. "Finally came out!!" The mage who revealed herself with a voice filled with ecstasy, cheering, and even some indefinable indignation and resentment, swung the staff in her hand. Numerous doors appeared near the mage's back, and various monsters poked just their snouts out from inside those doors. As all sorts of projectile attacks including fireballs, mana bolts, and high-pressure toxic liquid rushed to assault the dragon, the Green Dragon also responded by breathing acidic breath from its mouth. It was such a legendary sight that if a minstrel had seen it, they could have told the tale for decades and even passed it down to their descendants, but for the beings on the ground, it was nothing but a disaster. Because the fragments of the two colliding attacks poured down toward the ground as they were. Ophelia and Owen. Disaster poured down over both of their heads. *** "Let me step away for a moment. Since it's break time anyway, there shouldn't be any big problems." "It doesn't matter, but are you perhaps angry?" "There's a saying about the unity of ruler and minister. Since ancient times, when a king goes astray, it's the proper role of a loyal subject to correct it with an axe, so if a master is making mistakes, it's only natural for a disciple to do likewise." "That doesn't seem to be what that saying... He's already entered meditation!"