Chapter 600: The Imperial Capital at Dusk (1)
Editor: Tseirp
A little past nine the next day.
“The sweet-and-spicy stir-fried pork and vegetables from last night were delicious. Abel, you’re good at cooking too, aren’t you?”
“Well, I basically just stir-fried it.”
“No no, the balance of seasonings was exquisite. The kind of side dish that really makes the rice disappear.”
“All sorts of things Warren taught me back in the day ended up helping.”
Abel answered with a laugh.
“In the Crimson Sword, is Warren the best cook?”
“Yeah. Warren’s cooking is pretty great. It’s not that the others are bad—Warren’s just too good.”
“Somehow, I can picture that so easily.”Warren smiling as he cooks is such an easy scene to imagine.
The two were walking toward the neighboring house.
Of course, Herald* No.1-kun has already been sent ahead. (TLN: Previously Advance-Notice Officer No.1-kun)
They’ve learned to follow proper procedure.
Constantly evolving!
When the two arrived in front of the residence of Prince Ryun and Princess Shio Fen, a woman was already standing before the gate—
With an Ice Golem by her side.
“Huh? Captain Lu Yao?”
“I have been awaiting you, Duke Rondo.”
Captain Lu Yao folded both hands over her chest and bowed.
“It’s true we came because we wanted to ask you something, Captain Lu Yao… but that wasn’t written on the advance notice slip, was it?”
“No, it was not. However, I also had something I wished to ask you, Duke Rondo. Besides, today His Highness Prince Ryun and Her Highness Princess Shio Fen have gone to the Imperial Palace, so they are not here. The other attendants have accompanied them, so I am left in charge of the house.”
Perhaps once elevation to Imperial Prince is decided, things get very busy.
Captain Lu Yao guided the two, along with Friendship Token No. 2-kun.
Seeing No.2, Ryo nodded in satisfaction.
It seems seeing your creation working properly makes its creator happy.
“Last night I took a quick look at Friendship Token No. 2-kun’s control system—well, the movement of its limbs.”
“Ooh!”
“I have a rough idea of the control system, but I don’t understand the cognition system at all…”
“Cognition system?”
“The part where it recognizes voices and moves? Also, the bipedal locomotion section is extremely difficult even on the control side…”
“No, but to look over all the rest in just one night… Captain Lu Yao, that’s amazing!”
“I’m flattered.”
Ryo praised her with a smile, and Captain Lu Yao blushed.
Behind Ryo, Abel muttered words no one else could hear.
“There it is—Ryo the people-charmer.”
Once they were shown to a room and tea was served before the three of them, Ryo spoke up.
“The main reason we came today actually isn’t Friendship Token No. 2-kun…”
“You had some questions about the magic formula on the gauntlet, didn’t you?”
“You can tell?!”
“I saw the magic formulae on Friendship Token No. 2-kun, and Duke Rondo, your level in alchemy is unbelievably high. With that in mind, I thought you had probably deciphered all the gauntlet’s formulae overnight.” ɽаℕÒᛒËŠ
“Oh, it’s not that much…”
Captain Lu Yao straightforwardly praised Ryo’s level in alchemy. And Ryo, bashful, demurred.
After finishing being bashful, Ryo continued.
“There is just one part—one magic formula I couldn’t understand at all.”
“Could it be the mana amplification…?”
“Yes, yes, that one! So it is indeed a magic formula—or rather, a string of characters— for mana amplification!”
Captain Lu Yao nodded as she spoke, and Ryo nodded back repeatedly, delighted.
But then Captain Lu Yao tilted her head slightly.
And then…
“My apologies, Your Excellency. As for what that formula actually does, I don’t really know.”
“Eh?”
“It’s a string my alchemy teacher taught me long ago. If you use it, your mana is amplified so you can get big effects with little expenditure—that’s what I was told. I learned it when I was still young… I remember it, but I don’t think my teacher gave a detailed explanation even then.”
“When you were young… Forgive me, you still look young now, Captain Lu Yao, but how old were you at the time?”
“If I recall, nine years ago—when I was ten.”
“Alchemy at ten…”
“I had resolved in my heart to support Lord Ryun through alchemy.”
Captain Lu Yao answered with a face brimming with resolve.
Yes— here too was someone who threw herself into supporting another from a young age.
“Between Abel, who defeated his tutor at eight, and you doing alchemy at ten, is this world nothing but precocious geniuses?!”
“No, I don’t belong in that comparison.”
Ryo lamented the unfairness of the world; Abel objected.
“Well, anyway. Captain Lu Yao, is that alchemy teacher still alive?”
“Lord Rowon… yes, I believe he is alive, but… where he is…”
“So this Lord Rowon is your alchemy master.”
“Yes. He occasionally returns to the Imperial Capital… but he travels all across Darwei.”
“Oh, come on…”
He couldn’t proceed into the standard plotline— ‘introduce-the-master scenario’.
Prince Ryun’s party left the Imperial Palace as dusk was drawing in.
“I could hardly help it, I was kept late by the Ministry of War… but Shio, I told you that you could go back to the residence ahead of me, didn’t I?”
“My apologies, Ryun-sama. I stopped by Chouonkaku.”
Prince Ryun and Princess Shio Fen were in a carriage.
About thirty others were on foot.
Chouonkaku is one of the centers of the arts in the Imperial Palace.
As the character for ‘sound’ is in the name, there are many performance venues related to music, and instruments are well stocked.
There are also many performers and instructors on hand—of course, the abundance of talent is number one in Darwei.
“We’re preparing for the Kyoonkai to be held in a month.”
“Ah…”
At Princess Shio Fen’s words, Prince Ryun grimaced.
The Kyoonkai is, in short, a concert.
Those of the Imperial Household naturally perform, and some from the Shitaifu Class also take part.
It is a grand concert by the entire Imperial Palace—on the surface.
In reality, it’s also a place where each faction shows off its power.
Princes without factions will also perform, but no one pays that any mind.
Thus, it’s said it’s not ‘Kyoonkai’ but ‘Keionkai’.
Incidentally, Prince Ryun dislikes the Kyoonkai and is poor at it.
Of course, as a Darwei prince, he can manage the arts above the average.
He can play a range of instruments, and at a level no one would point at in scorn.
But… he doesn’t like it.
However, this time, ‘I don’t like it’ won’t cut it.
“Right after you take your primary consort and are elevated to Imperial Prince, it will be held. You’ll be in the spotlight whether you like it or not… Besides, I and those around me are the ones slated to perform.”
“Mm. I’m putting a burden on you.”
Yes—at the first Kyoonkai after a prince’s marriage, the primary consort performs.
This time, Princess Shio Fen would perform.
“I had the instruments brought out and tried a bit of ensemble.”
“I see.”
“The preparations are in hand, so please don’t worry.”
“All right, I leave it to you.”
Princess Shio Fen answered with a smile, and Prince Ryun nodded.
“Rumor has it the Chief will unveil a new instrument.”
“The Chief? You mean Workshop Chief Ron Shen. I hear he’s a master craftsman despite his youth.”
“The final form of that instrument—the piano—is to be unveiled; the ladies of the Shitaifu Class are all abuzz, and some reportedly even applied to have one installed in their mansions.”
“What? Shio, do you want a piano?”
“No, I hear those applicants were refused as well. They were told to inquire again after the Kyoonkai.”
“A piano… I’ve heard a performance on that prototype or whatever it is at the Ryusen Residence… it looked awfully difficult.”
“My! Ryun-sama, you’ve heard the piano?”
“Ah, once. As for me… I prefer the violin.”
At Princess Shio Fen’s surprised look, Prince Ryun smiled wryly.
All those lined-up keys were, frankly, something he couldn’t make sense of.
“I imagine mastering that would be quite hard.”
Prince Ryun murmured—
Guh.
Ugh.
“Ambush!”
A shout like that was heard.
Immediately, Maid Mifa lifted the carriage flap and stuck her face inside.
“We’re under attack. Please do not leave the carriage.”
With only that, Mifa withdrew at once.
Prince Ryun and Princess Shio Fen would obediently wait inside the carriage.
“What are you doing! Deploy !”
“Wen Shu-sama, we can’t deploy . We’re being interfered with!”
“Since when…?”
Attendant Wen Shu grimaced.
The attack came at a crossroads. An intersection.
Throughout that area, it had become difficult to deploy magic.
“They’re likely interfering with magic over the entire crossroads using magic-sealing talismans.”
Beside Chief Attendant Linshun, Mifa drew her sword and reported.
“We were lured in.”
Lin Shun muttered.
The guards had already spread out in preparation for the attack.
Even without his orders, they could move—the unit had drilled many times for scenarios just like this.
But unease outweighed reassurance.
“Even the fact they held us at the Imperial Palace this late is likely part of the plan.”
Lin Shun murmured, and Mifa at his side nodded.
If things were going according to the enemy’s plan, then they were still dancing on the enemy’s palm.
Even though it took them far longer than usual, the magicians among the guards were forming a encircling the carriage.
Magic-sealing talismans don’t make magic completely unusable like ‘absolute nullification’.
You can still force spells to unfold and be generated.
But it takes time, and the mana cost is greater.
Even so, the carriage holds people who must be protected at all costs.
Protecting them is the highest priority.
No one understands that better than the prince and princess inside.
That’s why even Prince Ryun—who would lead a charge at the front on a battlefield—is remaining inside and not emerging.
He understands that his presence there makes the enemy’s attack more readable and is the most effective posture for interception.
And then…the attack began.
Clang, clang!
First, arrows rained down.
When magic-based defense is hard to perform, archery is highly effective.
The assailants, all with their faces hidden, knew that.
But…
“Charge the spots the arrows came from! The enemy’s there!”
Chief Attendant Lin Shun knew that too.
They had to press for close-quarters combat.
With magic-sealing talismans present, the magicians’ wouldn’t hold long.
Once the defending magicians’ mana ran dry, the carriage couldn’t be protected.
Therefore, they had to venture out before that happened.
The problem was the enemy’s strength.
At present, they knew almost nothing.
But there was one thing they did know:
The enemy had greater numbers.
They had prepared this so thoroughly.
There’s no way they didn’t know their strength.
Knowing their strength and still choosing to attack… naturally means they were superior in force.
Even so, play every card you can.
“Before you stands His Highness, the Sixth Prince Ryun. Do you understand what you’re doing!”
They surely did.
They attacked anyway.
Even so, it had to be said.
“To attack a prince is to bring the death penalty upon your entire clan!”
Chief Attendant Lin Shun’s voice resounded.
Usually calm, seldom raising his voice, Lin Shun had passed through many battlefields to reach this point—
Together with Prince Ryun, and also without him.
Though his administrative abilities were highly valued, in essence, Lin Shun was a warrior.
His sonorous, rolling voice echoed through the whole crossroads.
For an instant, some of the assailants faltered.
But they immediately steeled themselves.
In other words, they knew it was the Sixth Prince Ryun and attacked anyway.
“Then I’ll send you to hell.”
Chief Attendant Lin Shun danced.
While giving orders, Lin Shun himself cut down assailants.
Catching that sight at the edge of her vision, Mifa murmured,
“Amazing…”
Lin Shun’s sword-flashes were fast. And short.
No—precisely because his blade traced short arcs, the overall speed accelerated.
It was a trajectory of the sword Mifa had never seen.
It was different from the Bosuntar style she had studied.
Different from her master Abel’s style.
But she understood how astonishingly strong it was…
At the same time, Mifa herself plunged into close combat.
While fighting, Lin Shun kept Mifa at the corner of his eye.
“As expected of Her Highness’s trump card—this is not the sword of a sixteen-year-old.”
He marveled, a faint smile touching his lips.
The primary consort of his master, and the lady-in-waiting she trusts most— wielding a sword Lin Shun felt he could entrust his back to.
As Chief Attendant, he could well afford a smile.
Of course, he knew Mifa swung her sword every morning and evening.
He knew her flashes were keen.
But on a battlefield, against true enemies, swinging a sword is another matter.
Yet… Mifa’s sword did not dull in the face of foes.
If anything, it seemed even sharper.
“So this is what it means to be forged by a top-tier swordsman.”
Lin Shun knew who her master was.
The bodyguard swordsman of Duke Rondo… no, the identity Princess Shio Fen had revealed to Prince Ryun and he alone had been told… King Abel I, the Liberator of the Kingdom of Knightley.
The hero-king sung of by bards.
Mifa, his direct disciple.
What she had learned was not only sword techniques.
Perhaps the heart of a swordsman had been hammered into her as well.
“Either way, reassuring.”
Thus, before the carriage, a battle unfolded with Mifa and Lin Shun as the axis.
And at the rear of the carriage?
There, too, a man and a woman formed the core—
Attendant Wen Shu and Guard Captain Bizis.
Frankly, Captain Bizis did not rate Attendant Wen Shu highly.
In Bizis’s view, he was a pampered boy high in self-regard without knowledge of the field or good judgment.
Even so, he was stronger than the other guards present.
“Right now, strength is what matters.”
Captain Bizis had spent ten years as the queen’s guard alone.
Naturally, within Bosuntar, the queen had never been attacked by brigands.
But they had encountered monsters while moving through a city, and she had gone to war to gain experience.
What she learned painfully then was that strength is justice.
No matter how correct your principles, they mean nothing before the strength called violence.
To continue being in the right, you must also possess the strength to continue.
And now is that time.
So Bizis cut down foes without the slightest hesitation.
She cut without an ounce of wavering.
Attendant Wen Shu, alongside her, followed suit.
He was still nineteen.
Because the previous Duke Montier had fallen in battle, he was the duke-apparent.
To be blunt, he was a rich kid…
Even so, his loyalty to Prince Ryun did not waver.
From the bottom of his heart, he believed Prince Ryun was the one fit to be the next emperor.
Naturally, there was no way he would let him die here.
Thus, his sword did not dull.
Even to Captain Bizis’s eye, Attendant Wen Shu’s blade was overwhelmingly keener than the other guards’.
The rear of the carriage was being held together by these two.
But…
“Aren’t these assailants too strong?”
Attendant Wen Shu murmured, to no one in particular.
He and Captain Bizis were somehow managing to fight.
But that in itself was abnormal—
That only those two could surpass their opponents was abnormal.
The guards attending Prince Ryun here were the very elite of his command.
Trained daily, they were deemed able to match or exceed even the Imperial Guard.
And yet these elite were being outmatched one-on-one.
Moreover, the enemy had far more numbers.
At least twice as many.
If the enemy is stronger and more numerous… they would naturally be pushed back.
That was true not only at the rear.
At the front as well—where Mifa and Lin Shun were the fulcrum— as time passed, differences in numbers turned into differences in power.
And despite the time passed fighting, there was no sign of patrol soldiers or other keepers of the peace arriving.
“They must have put up people-warding talismans along with the magic-sealing ones.”
“At this rate…”
At Lin Shun’s analysis, even Mifa began to show urgency.
The assailants had yet to field magicians or sorcerers.
Naturally—after all, they themselves had plastered magic-sealing talismans across the crossroads.
But that also proved multiple sorcerers were waiting.
When they moved to finish things, those sorcerers would peel off the magic-sealing talismans and commit magicians and sorcerers.
In other words, the assailants still had ample reserves.
But the guards…
Mifa and Lin Shun were felling foes, but the guards were being felled as well.
Aside from Mifa, Chief Attendant Lin Shun, Attendant Wen Shu, and Captain Bizis, almost everyone had taken serious wounds.
There was no room to circulate potions.
The exceptions were the three magicians maintaining beside the carriage.
But no one knew when their mana would run out.
They were sustaining under magic-sealing talismans.
Even so…
“The enemy is too strong.”
Even Captain Bizis muttered that despite herself.
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