WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Arsène
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Romance Fantasy’s Pushover Crown Prince Is No More ◈
Chapter 93: Mermaid (5)
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I had originally planned to head to the western coast with Nerissa.
“You’re going to see your family, so I’ll come with you.”
“....”
Nerissa pressed her lips together, shook her head, and made her refusal clear.
Maybe Nerissa was on bad terms with her family. Or perhaps this was another effect of the Covenant.
I didn’t know the details, but I couldn’t drag Nerissa along when she clearly didn’t want to go.
It was unfortunate, but Nerissa did not accompany me west.
Arveda and Theo wanted to come along like last time, but Mirne was bound to have eyes everywhere in the west.
I decided to make this trip alone.
‘Going through the Great Forest would be faster, but should I travel through the Macelin Kingdom and meet some Beastmen along the way?’
There were many routes leading to the western sea, and I deliberately chose the one through the Macelin Kingdom.
From what I remembered, the Beastmen were surely settled near the Macelin Kingdom.
‘Even if Mirne is tied down by the aftermath of the confession attack, there’s no way she’s doing nothing.’
Asher Dominic alone was proof that she was still up to something.
It was safe to assume the Beastmen had already been recruited to Mirne’s side.
To find out how far that had gone, heading toward the Macelin Kingdom seemed right.
I traveled at extremely high speed, just like during my walk through the eastern region.
In this state, there was no way a Cat Beastman could demand that I stop.
Even if their senses had developed to the limit, it would be impossible to catch me while I used magic, Mystery, and the Giant wisdom Rumta had taught me.
Which was why...
“How dare...? Do you even know where you are?”
...this situation was exactly what I had intended.
While passing through a large mountain range near the Macelin Kingdom, I found a Cat Beastman.
I let myself get caught on purpose so I could gather some information.
Of course, the commanding tone made me respond with, “How dare you,” but I quickly calmed myself and continued the conversation.
“Where exactly is this?”
As I spoke, I examined the Cat Beastman’s appearance.
People commonly divided Beastmen into stages one through five.
By that standard, this Cat Beastman was around stage one.
They had a human appearance with only animal ears and a tail.
They might transform further when showing their power, but for now, they were not all that different from humans.
That seemed to be how Beastmen were set up in I'm Full Because Everyone Keeps Giving Me Things.
“Of course it’s Macelin territory. Are you asking because you don’t know?”
“This entire mountain range belongs to Macelin? As far as I know, it’s disputed territory, with several countries claiming it as their own.”
“Have you been living in the countryside? The other countries realized they couldn’t manage this mountain range, so they handed all authority over to Her Highness Crown Princess Mirne.”
“....”
I was sure Mirne’s relationships with all those men had spread throughout the continent because of the confession attack.
Yet they knew that and still handed over such a massive mountain range without even competing for the rights to it.
‘The point in time we returned to through Save & Load was after the confession attack and after the Covenant was disturbed. It can’t have gone back to before the confession attack itself.’
Even knowing everything, Mirne was still full because everyone around her kept giving her things.
Were answers to confessions and gifts treated separately?
‘It’s a relief that the Empire escaped ahead of time.’
Come to think of it, Bedin, the Second Imperial Prince, had been quiet lately.
I heard he had only been training diligently.
‘The First Imperial Princess hasn’t caused any major trouble either. Apparently, she’s only indulging in a reasonable amount of luxury.’
Had they finally learned how to read the room?
As I muttered to myself, I continued responding to the Cat Beastman.
“But why is a Cat Beastman the one telling me this? Have the Beastmen decided to side with the Macelin Kingdom now?”
“You could say that. We have decided to walk toward the same destination as Her Highness Crown Princess Mirne.”
“All Beastmen, not just Cat Beastmen?”
“...Not all of us, but the Cat Beastman tribe has... No, why am I telling you this?”
It looked like Mirne was starting with the Beastmen to obtain the title of Noble.
‘They take the longest to deal with, and there’s the Covenant as well.’
The Elves were already off-limits, while the others were connected to the Executioners.
Did that leave the Beastmen as the only group she could act on right away?
Even then, there were so many different kinds of Beastmen that uniting them would be difficult.
Unless she established something like a Beastman Kingdom and gained their support, meeting the qualifications to become a Noble would be difficult.
“Human! In any case, what I’m trying to say is that this area is now under the Macelin Kingdom’s control, so people from other countries cannot enter freely!”
As I organized my thoughts, the Cat Beastman had already sharpened their claws and approached me.
Their hands had clearly been human just moments ago.
I had no idea when they changed into cat paws, but...
“Normally, you would be executed the moment you witnessed this form, but I’ll let you go since I’ve heard your answer.”
Using Telekinesis Magic, I lightly shook the Cat Beastman’s head and knocked them unconscious.
If this massive mountain range now belonged to the Macelin Kingdom, there was a high chance the western sea belonged to Macelin as well.
‘But how far does the term Beastman extend? Could there be aquatic Beastmen too? Whale Beastmen... octopus Beastmen...’
If I had known I would transmigrate, I would have read beyond chapter fifty.
Leaving that regret behind, I immediately flew toward the western sea.
Originally, I planned to track rumors about Merfolk to find the Deepheart family and estimate their location from there.
But if word spread, there was a chance Mirne would hear about it too.
So I decided to find them directly, and the method came to mind right away.
‘I’ll have to push Mana detection to its limits and find the Merfolk on the ocean floor.’
It would consume an enormous amount of power, but this was the only way to proceed without being discovered.
It would be best if information like this stayed out of Mirne’s hands as much as possible.
Just as I was about to use Mana detection while heading toward the sea...
- Merfolk are a treacherous race.
- The moment you turn your back, they will be ready to stab you with a blade if you are not one of their kind.
- The ones who drove out the Deepheart family, would they truly obey without complaint?
- I thought they would if ruled through fear, but they were more vicious and persistent than expected.
The Imperial Crown Prince’s memories began playing in my head on their own.
‘Out of nowhere?’
Usually, the Imperial Crown Prince’s memories surfaced in ways that fit the situation.
It felt somewhat random for memories like these to appear while I was looking for the Deepheart family.
- I should have looked into how Talassa Nereus usurped the throne in greater detail.
- Why was the family that possessed Leviathan forced out to the western sea without even putting up fierce resistance?
- I should have paid closer attention back then.
- Who could have known that failing to see their expressions as they prostrated themselves would prove to be a mistake?
The Imperial Crown Prince’s memories were trying to tell me one thing.
Never trust the Nereus family.
They would betray others without hesitation to keep their throne.
‘But if they were going to betray us, isn’t now the perfect time?’
With me away from the Empire, now was the best time to stab the Empire in the back.
I trusted the Imperial Crown Prince’s memories completely, but since nothing had happened yet, perhaps things would be fine this time.
We couldn’t permanently station forces in the Merfolk Kingdom, but I had sent knights to keep watch.
If there were any signs of trouble, we would be bound to notice immediately.
As I considered that and was about to spread Mana across the ocean floor to find the Deepheart family...
“Your Highness! This is Theo! It’s an emergency! An enormous wave is approaching the Empire’s eastern region!”
“Ha.”
As if on cue, news arrived that the Nereus family had stabbed us in the back.
I thought now was the perfect time, but they really did it?
+++++
“What a struggle it was to seize this throne! To keep this country mine! And now a mere human, just because he has a little strength, comes and denies all of it?!”
“That’s right!”
“Your words are correct!”
“Fools who won’t be able to do anything when the world becomes an ocean!”
I can’t bear it.
The rage is unbearable.
They had even burned the Prophecy Book and intended to replace the ruler? And they expected me to just accept it?
Who could accept that quietly?
Of course, the Empire was incredibly strong.
Yet that was exactly why they would have no choice but to let their guard down.
‘Because they’re strong, they’ve probably never been attacked first by anyone. Ever since they became powerful... everything has been beneath their feet. They would never imagine someone might resist.’
The plan was simple.
Create a wave of impossible size and engulf the Empire.
Then the Empire would fall, and the throne would never change hands.
There was only one problem.
It was impossible to create a wave powerful enough to destroy the Empire in a short time.
It would take at least two days.
With that much preparation time, the Empire would surely notice.
So it had to be done in secret.
Bubble, bubble.
“...I don’t know where you came from, but I can consider you reinforcements, correct?”
For some reason, a water Spirit without a contract had come to Corallia.
It had brought something capable of creating massive waves in an instant.
Fall, Empire.
We will not submit.
Talassa Nereus muttered to himself as he continued making the wave larger.
It was time to make the Empire understand clearly that the Merfolk had no intention of yielding easily.
Footnotes:
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