The Crown Prince Who Raises Alt Characters

Chapter 281: Mercenary Owen (9) - Land of Silence. Lake. There are a few things in the world that should never be done. The dead coming back to life at a funeral, saying you won't eat ramen when it's being cooked but asking for just one bite after it's done, and making fun of a bald person for being bald all fall into this category. Additionally speaking. "Well, this is the first time in my life I've been rejected without even confessing. It's a very novel experience. Quite thrilling." Teasing someone who rejected a confession while being mistaken could also be proudly included in the above list. "Kyaaaaaah!!" Ophelia raised her voice like a cat with its fur standing on end. The shame was so intense that she seemed to have temporarily forgotten human language. "No, well. There's nothing to be so embarrassed about. Objectively speaking, it's true that you're beautiful, miss. Having good self-awareness is a good thing, not a bad thing, right?" "Shut up! Shut up!! No, just erase what just happened from your memory!!" Like the action-oriented runaway girl she was, Ophelia picked up a stone and tried to strike the back of Owen's head to delete his memory, but naturally Owen wasn't about to meekly submit to such an attack. Next to him, who wore an expression as if he was full without eating, Ophelia, who had been panting, plopped down on the ground and covered her face. "I'm sorry, Kuella. I've been defiled." "You're saying something that would cause trouble if anyone heard. I didn't lay a single finger on you." "So I'll erase this man from history and then come find you...!!" "...Isn't the standard there usually to attempt self-harm with a pitiful tone?" Owen casually made the retort, but Ophelia didn't care. If she was defiled, she should kill the one who defiled her and dig up his grave afterwards - why would she be the one to die? "Phew, there was a minor misunderstanding for a moment. But there's no problem with the journey, so let's move on." Thwack! Ophelia declared while lightly sweeping her side hair back with the back of her hand. It was an unbelievable change from the same girl who had been going crazy with a red face just moments ago. Additionally, the time it took for recovery was just 10 minutes. [...Is her mental state made of shape-memory alloy?] Even the Greater Demon, who was stealthily continuing observations through shadows, couldn't help but admire such remarkable recovery power. "What are you doing? Aren't we departing?" "Well, if you're okay with that, miss, let's move on." Owen also just shrugged his shoulders lightly and didn't poke at Ophelia any further. After all, on a journey with time constraints, wasting too much energy for too long would also be a problem. Clip-clop. The horse that survived from Goden Forest and the horse newly obtained from Tachanka Kingdom walked side by side. For a place with the deadly rule that sleeping means death, exploring the Land of Silence wasn't particularly deadly or threatening. After all, 'threats' on normal journeys usually mean attacks from outsiders, but there are no such outsiders here. There were no bandits seeking money or native creatures searching for prey, so combat itself couldn't occur. However, the absence of attacks didn't mean the journey itself was comfortable. "...The plants are terribly troublesome." Looking at the thicket that blocked their path like a wall beyond just being dense, Ophelia muttered as if fed up. Owen stroked his chin as if finding it interesting. "True, herbivorous animals in forests originally serve as gardeners too. Since there are absolutely no friends to eat the leaves, it must be a truly pleasant environment from the plants' perspective." Of course, among plant species, there were many types that suppressed the growth or survival of other plants for their own growth, so some inhibition was occurring, but still, compared to ordinary forests, the density of the thicket was indescribably high. If Owen hadn't been skilled at handling sword aura, they might have had to give up progress entirely. Watching Owen skillfully handle his spear while opening the path, Ophelia asked. "By the way, you. Are you planning to continue living as a mercenary?" "Are you telling me to get a job somewhere else? I think I answered that rigid things don't suit me." "Still, you can't just be a mercenary forever. Your income would be unstable, and you won't be able to work when you get old." "Hmm." As if it was quite a problem worth thinking about, Owen fell into thought for a moment. "In the case of knights, after reaching a certain age, they get employed by some family to work as instructors or teachers, but for mercenaries, even that is difficult." "That's true. Though to begin with, there are hardly any mercenaries who live long enough to worry about such things." "I heard that if you have a mercenary group, you can move into managing administration or supplies within that group, but since you travel alone, that's not an option either." "My, aren't you too well-informed about mercenary life?" "Isn't it natural to do background research on the person you're going to employ?" "Good mindset. It would have been even better if you hadn't been stabbed in the back." "That was because those people's character was beyond common sense, not my fault!?" Ophelia let out a shriek, and Owen chuckled. "So, saying that means you've thought about my future in your own way?" "How about asking to be employed together with me by Kuella?" "...No, I said I don't like being tied down anywhere?" "Don't talk like a child!" Ophelia tried to persuade Owen with an enthusiastic attitude. "The Empire is a nation with great military power, but a considerable portion of that 'military power' belongs to the imperial family. So the military power held by territorial nobles isn't that strong. This means that if you're employed by Kuella, there's a high possibility you'd become the top expert. Naturally, the treatment would be good and you'd have high freedom too." "Oho." "Above all, Kuella holds no less than two count territories. That means very high growth potential. Isn't securing good opportunities early the basics of business?" "Oho. Oho." Owen, who had been nodding repeatedly, pointed out. "Incidentally, if you take me along as a set menu, it would also increase the chances of you being employed, wouldn't it?" "Exactly!" "No, if you're caught trying to use someone, shouldn't you at least show some sign of feeling guilty?" "I'm offering you the great opportunity to serve Kuella together, so why on earth should I feel guilty?" "Hahaha, your way of thinking is different. Really amazing." How long had they continued searching while enduring Ophelia's persuasion(?). Suddenly, Owen stopped his horse. "Miss, look ahead there." Following Owen's words, Ophelia's eyes opened wide as she directed her gaze forward. A lake whose water quality looked quite excellent even from a distance. At its edge, several shadows were playing around. Their skin was like smooth jelly, and overall bluish. Seeing those forms that resembled human children, Ophelia let out an exclamation of admiration. "Spirits...!" -Kyaruruk! Every time the child - no, the water spirit - stamped its feet, droplets from the lakeside bounced up like jewels, dancing in the air, while fresh and refreshing mana swirled around them. Owen whistled. "This is my first time seeing them directly too. Are those little ones the targets you were looking for, miss?" Ophelia shook her head. "In terms of mana scale, they're somewhat lacking to be called top-grade. But that's no reason to refuse them." Ophelia's goal was a top-grade spirit comparable to what her family originally possessed, but there was no particular reason not to contract with other spirits. Spirit contractors consumed mana when summoning and commanding spirits, so the contract itself didn't require any particular mana consumption. There was a concept like contract capacity limits, but it wasn't something Ophelia, who hadn't made a contract with even a single spirit so far, needed to consider. Ophelia took out several mana stones from her bag. Those containing dense mana were like bribes to attract the spirits' interest before negotiating with them. When she attempted to approach with a cautious attitude, the water spirits who had been playing among themselves became interested in her. To them tilting their heads with innocent eyes, Ophelia opened her mouth. "♭〒＃※♭¶¶†〒※‰" It was neither the Imperial language she had been using nor the languages commonly used in other nations of the continent, but a specialized language created solely for the purpose of communicating with spirits. Owen couldn't understand the content, but he could tell through her expression and intonation that her pronunciation was quite natural. Probably Ophelia had put in quite persistent effort to acquire that. After several exchanges of conversation, the water spirits made eye contact with each other. When they nodded and showed smiling faces, Ophelia's complexion also brightened noticeably. Just as she was happily moving a bit closer forward. Suddenly, a spear that had popped out beside her ribs pulled her back as if snatching her away. "Kyah!?" Ophelia, who nearly fell for a moment, barely maintained her balance and posture. She tried to confront Owen about what he was doing, but she couldn't. Before Ophelia's eyes. She saw a water spike that had shot up from the ground toward the sky. Realizing that if it hadn't been for Owen, she would have become a skewer, a chill ran down Ophelia's spine. Realizing that their ambush had failed, the water spirits who had seemed innocent and harmless greatly distorted their faces. The next moment, their appearance transformed. Pop! Like a thin rubber membrane bursting, their bluish jelly-like skin was torn apart. The blue water masses stretched vertically and lengthened, and two giant water serpents reaching dozens of meters soared up above the lake. -Shaaaark! Seeing them display clear hostility and killing intent, Owen pulled the frozen Ophelia onto his horse and asked. "The employment contract didn't go well, I guess?" "N-no! They definitely said they would accept!" "I didn't know that not only humans but spirits too came equipped with backstabbing." Though he made a light joke, Owen was equally puzzled. According to his knowledge, spirits usually had consistent personalities, so if they disliked something, they would say so from the beginning rather than trying to backstab like this. Above all, the recent ambush was clearly a strike mixed with human-like killing intent and malice. Owen narrowed his eyes. The pure water mana forming the giant water serpents' bodies. Deep inside them, something heterogeneous and unpleasant mana could be glimpsed mixed in. "Hmm." Owen, who concentrated his sight even more, grasped that the source of that mana led to inside the lake, but that was his limit. To confirm the specific identity of the mana, he would have to enter the water directly, but if he attempted such a thing in this current situation, those crazy water spirits would surely give him a very violent welcome greeting. Owen looked at the two water serpents revealing their killing intent, then nodded his head. "Right, capture originally starts with beating them to the brink of death first anyway."