WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Arsène

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The Romance Fantasy’s Pushover Crown Prince Is No More ◈

Chapter 32: The Magic Tower (2)

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Even after receiving the report, questions about the Mage Tower continued to linger.

“How does an ordinary kingdom know about the Mage Tower, a place only someone like the Emperor can access?”

It made no sense. Not even a little.

I had learned that the Mage Tower was in the Empire through another kingdom badmouthing the Empire.

Yet the very people being badmouthed had not even known the Mage Tower existed?

When I asked because it was strange that no one knew, they said the Emperor was managing it?

No matter how personally the Emperor managed it, we had held the State Council Meeting several times.

Not once had the Mage Tower even been mentioned, nor had a single agenda item concerning Mages been raised.

It was undeniably bizarre.

So I summoned the Chancellor and asked again.

“...Even I had not thought of it until Your Highness the Crown Prince brought it up.”

The answer was shocking.

And it was not just the Chancellor.

From the Grand General to every noble who attended the State Council Meeting, they all belatedly recalled the Mage Tower and reacted as though saying, ‘Oh, right. There was a place like that, wasn’t there?’

Wondering if this was some kind of trick, I immediately called for Arveda.

No, more accurately, I went to find her rather than summoning her.

Because recently, Arveda had been...

“You were in my room, Arveda.”

“This lady! With His Highness the Crown Prince’s permission! Has been rolling around on His Highness the Crown Prince’s bed!”

...in my bedroom.

I did not know why, but Arveda said she wanted to, so I allowed her.

Having a dragon at my side was useful in many ways, so it worked out well for me too.

I had wanted Lumynix to stay in the room next door, at least, but she seemed reluctant, so I gave up.

“...Fine, it doesn’t matter. Anyway, I have a favor to ask.”

“Hehehe, this lady... can solve it at once.”

I told Arveda that I found it suspicious how little the Mage Tower had been mentioned until now.

The moment she heard that, she went,

“Sniff, sniff.”

Then she suddenly wrinkled her nose and sniffed the air.

Clap.

She gave a small clap into the empty air.

“I have just erased the Cognition-Blocking Magic spread throughout the Imperial Palace.”

“Cognition-Blocking Magic?”

“Yes. This lady does not know who cast it, but they seem to have put a great deal of effort into it over a long time. By this lady’s standards, it is quite high-level magic for a human.”

Arveda’s next words made a hollow laugh escape me.

“Ha.”

“So this happened because of magic?”

“Yes. To put it simply, it deliberately prevented people from thinking about the Mage Tower itself. Once you notice it, breaking it is easy, but if you do not notice it...”

“Then we would have remained unaware forever?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Hahahaha!”

So they had not simply been floating unseen in the sky while sucking us dry.

They had even tampered with the Imperial Palace? To the point that no one would notice they were sucking us dry?

‘Other countries knew the Mage Tower existed because that Cognition-Blocking Magic did not affect them.’

If not for that badmouthing, I would never have known why the imperial treasury was always in such terrible shape.

“Ah.”

Was this what it felt like when your blood rushed to your head?

I was so angry that my mind felt calmer instead.

My laughter abruptly stopped, and every trace of emotion vanished from my face.

“So this is an Empire destined to fall...”

Should I be glad that the Crown Prince was not the only pushover?

The entire Empire was a pushover.

How had we simply taken something like this?

Just how long had the Mage Tower been screwing over the Empire?

Arveda said it had been going on for quite some time.

At the very least, it must have started before the Crown Prince was born.

“Your Highness the Crown Prince?”

As though gauging my mood, Arveda approached in small steps and cautiously looked up at me.

“Arveda, locate the Mage Tower immediately.”

I stroked her hair as I gave the order.

“As you command.”

“I have somewhere to visit. Find its location, then wait here.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Arveda immediately created a magic circle marked with unfamiliar patterns in the air.

As I read through the Crown Prince’s memories, I headed for where his sword was kept.

Why had the Crown Prince trained so obsessively with a sword, only to never use it no matter the situation?

‘What were you thinking as you looked on at the Empire?’

I had the Crown Prince’s memories, but they were incredibly fragmented.

Those fragmented memories were like reports that recorded only what was necessary.

I could not know what the Crown Prince had felt at the time.

‘Why did you train every day when you had no intention of using a sword?’

My steps gradually carried me beneath the Imperial Palace.

At one point, the Crown Prince had suddenly put down his sword as if it had all been a lie.

It was not due to an injury or trauma.

Nor could it simply be called a whim.

One day, he simply dropped his sword on the ground and, like a dove seeking peace, never used one again.

After acting as though he would devote his entire life to the blade.

Step. Step.

My footsteps grew heavier for no reason.

What I felt now was closer to confusion than anger.

“The more time passes, the less I understand.”

At first, I thought the Crown Prince was simply a pushover.

But the memory of him laying down his sword made me wonder if I had misunderstood something.

The problem was that I had no idea what I had misunderstood.

Even searching through his memories did not provide an answer.

Thinking this to myself, I arrived at the place where the Crown Prince had stored his sword.

The deepest part of the Imperial Palace’s underground.

There stood the Crown Prince’s greatsword.

A rough-looking Zweihander.

According to his memories, it had been quite a while since he put down the sword.

Yet whatever it was made of, the blade was still sharp.

“...”

At the sight of the sword, my body stirred.

What was it reacting to? I did not know.

But one thing became clear.

With this sword and Arveda...

The Mage Tower would no longer remain as it had been.

+++++

Mage Tower Master.

“W-What the hell is this?!”

Archibald was horrified by an attack the Mage Tower had never experienced in its entire history.

‘How had the Mage Tower been targeted?’

Not just the Mage Tower, either. Its very heart, where the Mage Tower Master resided, had been struck.

This place had countless defenses, from Cognition-Blocking Magic to Barriers, far more than anywhere else.

Yet every defense had been seen through so easily that futile did not begin to describe it.

There was only one saving grace.

“Perhaps the attacker could not control their strength, because the Barrier remains intact.”

The final Barrier surrounding the Mage Tower still remained.

“Your Highness the Crown Prince, there is no need to worry when this lady is here.”

Even that disappeared like melting ice when the little girl made a few gestures.

“W-Who are you?!”

In this incomprehensible situation, all Archibald could do was shout.

“You do not even recognize me. Just how arrogant has the Mage Tower become?”

Without hesitation, the Crown Prince swung his sword.

Mage Tower Master Archibald’s body was covered in countless protective spells.

He had even more protective spells on him than the Mage Tower itself.

It would not have been an exaggeration to say they contained the essence of the protective and defensive magic he had built up over many years.

And yet...

“Ugh, aaaaagh!”

Every last one vanished in a single slash.

More precisely, they melted.

The instant the sword touched the protective spells, they all melted away.

An arm belonging to a Great Mage said to be capable of overturning heaven and earth fell to the ground in an instant.

“Your Highness the Crown Prince, shall this lady prepare the Turtle right away?”

“No. I will deal with each of them myself.”

“Yes!”

Even as his arm had been severed, Archibald took in the man and woman standing before him.

One was a young girl, but her eyes resembled a dragon’s.

The other had golden hair and red eyes.

‘Wait, golden hair and red eyes?’

Then had the one who called him the Crown Prince been telling the truth?

No, it had to be true.

Otherwise, this power could not be explained.

Sol Velos.

That monstrous power had descended upon the Mage Tower.

“W-Why... The Empire and the Mage Tower... should have a very close relationship...”

As he spoke, Archibald tried to reattach his severed arm.

Or rather, he tried to.

“...Huh?”

“Human, do you dare attempt to use magic without my permission?”

He would have reattached his arm, if not for those words piercing his ears and making his core tremble.

Vertical pupils and opal-colored eyes.

Archibald immediately understood what those eyes meant.

“D-Dragon...”

The pinnacle of magic.

A dragon stood before him.

“H-Hehe... So dragons really did exist...?!”

Even amid his panic, Archibald confirmed the dragon’s existence and smiled broadly.

“Ha.”

Slash!

Seeing that, the Crown Prince swiftly turned Archibald into a Turtle.

Archibald did not even see the sword move.

When he blinked, all he could see was himself wriggling like a turtle.

“H-How... This is impossible.”

Amid that confusion.

“Mage Tower Master!”

“What in the world is going on?!”

The Mages who had realized the Mage Tower was under attack began rushing in.

Watching them, the Crown Prince smiled broadly.

The Mages who could not be found anywhere inside the Imperial Palace, no matter how hard he looked.

He had wondered where they had all gone, only to find them laughing and enjoying themselves somewhere higher than the Imperial Palace.

And on top of that...

“You are all wearing such extravagant accessories. You truly indulged yourselves.”

Even the Mages who appeared to be of lower rank wore accessories that looked expensive at a glance.

But there was something even more shocking.

“Mage Tower Master! Who is that person?!”

“Is this an attack? Are we under enemy attack?!”

“Take up defensive positions at once! Maintain your positions and prepare your magic!”

They did not recognize the Crown Prince even though he stood right before them.

It proved that the Mage Tower had exercised only its rights while neglecting its duties.

“I will make every one of you work as slaves until you die... I will make you live as staffs instead of humans.”

With those words, the Crown Prince lightly swung his sword.

Slash!

The legs of the Mages gathering before him were severed by that single strike.

It was time to bring down the Mage Tower.

Footnotes:

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