WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Arsène

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

Chapter 9: I’ll Get It Back to Normal Soon

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Mirne had high Spirit Affinity, but she didn't possess enough power to form a contract with a high-ranking spirit.

Normally, in a case like this, she would start by forming contracts with the lowest-ranking spirits one by one.

But Mirne, beloved by the world, had formed an exceptionally unusual connection with a spirit.

The spirit lent Mirne its power using only its own strength.

If an ordinary Spirit Contract was like a call paid for by the caller, Mirne's was uniquely like a collect call.

The more power was used, the burden fell not on the spirit user, but on the spirit itself. The benefit of this arrangement was that she could use a spirit's power without forming a contract.

And not having formed a contract meant...

"...I have no idea what you mean."

She could feign ignorance in a situation like this.

Mirne might have acted rashly, but she understood just how dangerous this situation was.

'A weak kingdom tried to use a spirit to spy on the Crown Prince of an empire.'

It was a clear declaration of war, serious enough that it wouldn't have been strange for war to break out.

Even without going to war, the Macelin Kingdom could lose a great deal.

All Mirne could do now was...

"You have no idea what I mean? Ha ha. Then are you saying this spirit truly came to me by chance?"

"Y-Yes... That's right. Isn't that why I was so surprised that I told you its name?"

"We aren't connected by video, yet the Crown Princess of the Macelin Kingdom has enough Spirit Affinity to know a spirit's True Name just by hearing its scream. What wonderful news for the kingdom."

"Th-Thank you."

She desperately struggled to dispel his suspicions.

Sizzle.

"Kyaaaaaaack!"

"Oh? So there truly is no contract. The spirit is in pain, yet the Crown Princess feels no burden at all."

"W-Why would I lie to you?"

Even as Silphiner's cries of pain rang out, Mirne could do nothing.

If she admitted that the spirit belonged to her now...

'The Crown Prince's actions are impossible to predict. He looks ready to start a war at any moment.'

She couldn't bear the consequences.

That was why she had to turn away.

'But how...? How can the Crown Prince hold a spirit? Is that even possible?'

She had never imagined the Crown Prince possessed such an ability.

The spirit hadn't even been observing him from nearby. It should have been watching from an enormous distance. So how had it been discovered?

Complicated thoughts swirled through her mind.

"Ha ha. Did I contact the Crown Princess because of a needless suspicion? If I offended you, I apologize."

"...N-No, not at all. I'm not offended."

Mirne felt cold sweat run down the back of her neck.

They couldn't see each other's faces. Only their voices were being transmitted.

They weren't even speaking in person.

Yet for the first time in her life, Mirne felt as though a sharp blade rested against her throat.

Amid the kindness she had always received so freely that she wondered why everyone treated her so well, she saw unfamiliar killing intent for the first time.

"This artifact is quite useful. I heard you used it to keep in such close contact with the Second Imperial Prince, whether for personal or official matters."

"...Isn't that all thanks to Your Highness's grace?"

"That is why I set limits on that grace. Exchanges between a man and a woman cannot be limited to simply getting along."

"Y-Yes. From now on, I'll discuss every matter with Your Highness the Crown Prince."

"Why would I discuss such matters with the Crown Princess? The Macelin Kingdom has a king as well."

"...."

It was complete exclusion.

When examined closely, he was right, but no one had ever pointed it out before.

"Anyway, thank you for telling me its True Name. It will make forming a contract much easier."

"Y-You're going to form a contract with it?!"

"Of course. A spirit with such great potential fell into my hands on its own, and now I know its True Name as well."

"C-Congratulations."

"Ha ha, thank you. I held up someone who was resting and took up their time for no reason. My apologies."

"N-No, please contact me whenever you wish."

"That's good to hear."

It seemed the call would end after those words.

Then he said, "Come to think of it, our Second Imperial Prince made a poor decision and arbitrarily naturalized our citizens in the Macelin Kingdom."

"...You mean naturalization?"

"Yes, naturalization. That's not something he can decide alone, yet he acted unilaterally."

"Ah, ah... I didn't know that wasn't within the Second Imperial Prince's authority."

"Of course. You didn't know. That's why you accepted the talented personnel the Velos Empire had raised so carefully."

"Y-Yes... That's correct."

The Crown Prince's demand came at a moment when anyone could see she needed to bow her head completely.

She knew very well about the naturalization of Velos Empire personnel.

Mirne had coaxed Bedin into allowing truly essential personnel to naturalize.

Naturally, Bedin hadn't thought much of the process.

"They are valuable personnel dispatched by the Velos Empire. Do you believe it's right for the country receiving our support to swallow them up without hesitation? Or do you believe this was a mistake caused by the Second Imperial Prince's misguided decision?"

The Crown Prince had no intention of letting this pass lightly.

"...It was naturally a mistake."

"Right, that's correct. I like how quickly this conversation is progressing. Then we'll treat naturalization as though it was never even discussed. The personnel we sent, as well as the investments currently underway... Everything the Second Imperial Prince discussed with the Crown Princess will be voided. The Second Imperial Prince won't be involved in Imperial affairs for the time being."

"H-How can you decide that so easily...?!"

"Ha ha. What's difficult about it? A mistake this simple was allowed to happen, after all."

A simple mistake.

On the surface, it looked as though the Crown Prince had caught a spirit and immediately contacted the Crown Princess.

In truth, though he lacked physical evidence, he was referring to Mirne's mistake, which had already been almost completely exposed through circumstantial evidence.

"...Your Highness the Crown Prince has said that it was a misunderstanding and a mistake. It would be right to handle it as Your Highness wishes."

"I like how quickly things are moving. Still, should I keep discussing these matters with the Crown Princess? It seems more proper to discuss them with the reigning king."

"Ah, no. Every matter in the Macelin Kingdom, great and small, goes through me, so please don't worry."

Mirne had no choice but to submit completely.

"Then I may truly discuss this with the Crown Princess rather than the reigning king?"

"Y-Yes, that's correct."

"Ha ha, what a relief. Then please see that the people of the Velos Empire are sent back safely."

"That is only right."

"I heard that while the Velos Empire's personnel stayed in Macelin, the Velos Empire paid for all their food and lodging. If you have any shame, I trust they won't return empty-handed."

"O-Of course!"

"I've kept a busy person talking for too long."

"No, it's truly all right."

"Yes, it had better be. Then I'll end the call."

Click.

The moment the call ended, Mirne collapsed face-first onto her bed.

She had thought the days when everyone loved her even if she only made baby noises would last forever.

Perhaps because it was the first time she had received such a sharp response, Mirne's emotional strength was at rock bottom.

"...What in the world changed in the Crown Prince?"

At least the Empire hadn't completely turned against her yet.

Still, a clear variable had appeared. Mirne decided to be more cautious in her future actions.

"Sniff... Hic..."

Then guilt over casting aside the spirit before her eyes came flooding in, and tears burst from her.

'I'm sorry, Silphiner....'

It was the result of her own foolishness, not anyone else's mistake.

Mirne had never resented herself as much as she did today.

+++++

The moment the call ended.

"Kieeeeeck!"

"Hey, you're strong."

It was really struggling.

I shoved flames into the spirit's neck again as it tried to slip out of my hand.

'Just as expected, she thoroughly pretended not to know anything.'

The call had gone exactly as I expected.

Since no contract had been formed, she had enough grounds to feign ignorance.

'Still, I didn't expect her to blurt out its True Name right away.'

Thanks to that, I had gained a very useful card.

'But isn't the Crown Prince far stronger than I expected?'

I had been watching the Second Imperial Prince get beaten up.

Then I sensed an unfamiliar presence beyond the Imperial Palace and unconsciously reached out.

By the time I came to my senses, a translucent spirit was in my hand.

At this point, it was less Spirit Affinity and more spirit domination.

The spirit trapped in my grasp was a wind spirit.

Yet it was being held so firmly in physical form that it couldn't go anywhere.

"Silphiner, choose. Will you disappear like this, or become my tool?"

A Spirit Contract? It would be nice, but I don't go out of my way to get close to someone who hates me.

Besides, someone in the Crown Prince's position could form contracts with as many spirits as he wanted.

'Letting it go isn't an option.'

The spirit in my hand had only two choices because it played the role of the protagonist's partner.

I either had to take it or break it.

Letting it go? That wasn't an option. I knew exactly where it would go if I released it. Why would I make such a stupid choice?

"Kueeeeeck!"

Still.

"Sol Velos... What the hell is this? Why can it deal actual damage to spirits? Enough power to erase one completely...."

Sol Velos was an absurdly powerful force.

In the founding myth, the Great Prophet saw two suns in the sky and swallowed one.

I began to wonder whether that might not have simply been mythological exaggeration made to praise the Prophet's great achievement.

Anyway.

"You need to say something other than screaming if we're going to communicate. If you keep saying only that it hurts... Does that mean you're going to die like this?"

As I began raising my power, considering whether to kill the spirit in my hand just like this.

"S-Save me... Save meee...!"

A voice that sounded as though it echoed through a cave reached my ears.

Was this the language of spirits?

Silphiner begged for its life. Even while it struggled with its neck caught, it rubbed its tiny hands together desperately.

Sliiide.

Then it slowly pressed its body against my wrist and disappeared from my grasp in an instant.

It couldn't have escaped.

Which meant the action Silphiner had just taken was...

"The contract formed. It did it on its own without any complicated process."

When a real threat of death approached, it had skipped every procedure and formed a contract on its own.

If it was the spirit by the original protagonist's side, it had to be at least a Spirit King.

It felt great to gain such a high-quality spirit without any effort.

'There are plenty of ways to put the protagonist herself to use if I handle her like this.'

What mattered in a romance fantasy was the emotional development between the characters.

The emotional development between various male leads and the female protagonist.

Then she chose one of them, they got together, and it ended with, "The world was at peace."

Building up those relationship arcs was the true joy and heart of a romance fantasy.

So...

'As long as those relationships hadn't been sorted out, I couldn't do anything to the protagonist herself.'

I had expected it would be difficult to put direct pressure on the Macelin Kingdom, starting with interfering with the protagonist.

Yet she had handed over a spirit so conveniently on her own.

'A wind spirit is also a good match for Sol Velos, which uses the power of fire.'

How nice would it be if she did something this stupid a few more times?

As I was thinking that.

"U-Uncle! Please, please stop...!"

"Mm. I suppose I should."

"You're listening to me?"

"His Highness the Crown Prince ordered me to strike you for only one hour, and that time has passed. We will do this again tomorrow, so wait here at this time."

The Grand General stopped beating the Second Imperial Prince and explained the future schedule.

Bedin still didn't seem to understand why he had to be beaten. He even looked wronged.

'It doesn't really matter.'

Isn't true discipline something you come to understand after being beaten enough?

+++++

The next morning, I woke up feeling refreshed after solving the naturalization issue, retrieving our personnel, and securing compensation all at once.

Tap, tap, tap, tap.

"Mm?"

Someone was knocking on the window, so I sat up in bed.

"Seriously?"

Yesterday, a neighboring country had sent a spirit to spy on me.

Today, someone was knocking on my window? Who the hell was it?

Thinking that, I had Silphiner open the window.

Coo coo coo coo.

Screee, screee.

Bird calls rang out one after another.

'What?'

Were they carrier pigeons?

There was a white bird and a blue bird.

Each bird had a letter attached to its leg.

Who could send carrier pigeons that remembered the Crown Prince's room so precisely?

As I wondered that, I removed the letters. The carrier pigeons immediately flew away again.

They must have traveled a great distance, yet they returned without resting.

'They're highly trained. They're not ordinary birds.'

The moment I opened the letters.

"Ha."

A laugh escaped me.

Right, this was a romance fantasy. There had to be plenty of male leads.

I had been wondering where they all were and why none of them had made their presence known.

"Now I understand why the possibility of destruction didn't drop quickly just because the Grand General beat up the Second Imperial Prince."

One was the North Grand Duke.

The other was the East Grand Duke.

I had only put some pressure on the Macelin Kingdom, and people holding the title of Grand Duke had contacted me directly.

Even the contents of their letters were the same.

After cutting away all the polite, formal fluff at the beginning, they could be summarized as:

[It seems you've been treating the Macelin Kingdom rather harshly lately. May I ask why? Carefully gauging your reaction.]

I understood immediately.

These bastards were the male leads of I'm Full Because Everyone Keeps Giving Me Things.

'Wait, there are three male leads from I'm Full Because Everyone Keeps Giving Me Things in the Empire alone?'

The Empire was broadly divided into three regions: the central, northern, and eastern regions.

So all three had been supporting the Macelin Kingdom?

'No wonder the country was falling apart.'

Still, it was a relief.

They had stepped forward first and made it obvious that they were male leads.

'You bastards, just wait.'

I'll get it back to normal soon.

Footnotes:

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