Chapter 597: Advance Notice
Editor: Tseirp
That day, Ryo and Abel paid a visit to the next-door house.
By ‘next-door’, of course, it was the residence of the Sixth Prince Ryun and Princess Shio Fen.
This time, they were actually visiting with proper advance notice.
Granted, it was hard to say how meaningful an advance notice sent one minute beforehand really was.
“At long last, we’re doing advance notices too! Etiquette is one of the things that makes humans human, after all.”
For some reason, Ryo looked pleased.
“Yeah, that’s fine and all… but an ‘advance notice’ is, you know. If it’s Prince Ryun, a young servant from the mansion brings a letter asking whether a later visit would be acceptable…”
“Exactly, that.”
“I get that we… Rondo Manor—don’t have any young servants… but this, I mean this—”Abel looked at the one who made the advance notice standing just beside them.
And sighed.
“What do you mean by ‘this’! He’s the leader of our ice golems! Name: Advance-Notice Officer No. 1-kun.”
Standing where Ryo pointed was a single ice golem.
That was Advance-Notice Officer No. 1-kun.
At a glance, he looked no different from the golems that always cleaned Rondo Manor…
“What’s different? He still can’t talk, right?”
“Ugh… admittedly, he can’t talk… But even without speech, he can deliver a letter! ”
“Any golem could do that, couldn’t it? What’s the difference?”
“Look closely, Abel. It’s totally different, isn’t it?”
Ryo spoke in indignant tones… but Abel couldn’t see any difference.
After staring for a while, he finally understood.
“That… ornament attached on top of the head?”
“Yes, a horn!”
In human terms, a decorative piece about ten centimeters long was attached a bit above the forehead.
It was the thing Ryo insisted on calling a ‘horn’.
As if a sharp shard of iron had been stabbed into the head…
Of course, the horn was ice like the rest.
“That’s a horn fitted to command units. In other words, it’s proof this child is the leader.”
“I see… Does this ornament…this horn—have some special effect?”
“Eh? No, it doesn’t…”
“So it’s not a magic stone that makes him stronger than the other golems or lets him move faster either?”
“N-no, it doesn’t…”
Ryo answered Abel’s check with a pained look.
“He doesn’t have any particular combat power either, does he?”
“…He doesn’t.”
“I see.”
“Ughh… I’ll upgrade him eventually! And when I do, I’ll make a golem that can beat you with a sword…! ”
Advance-Notice Officer No. 1-kun stood there, as if above the ugly squabbles of humans.
Perhaps those clear, penetrating eyes were fixed on the world’s future.
With his duty done, Advance-Notice Officer No. 1-kun went back to Rondo Manor alone, and Ryo and Abel were being shown in by the household staff.
Not to the private wing where Princess Shio Fen and her maid Mifa were—where the two were usually received—but rather to what might be called Prince Ryun’s workspace.
More precisely, to the training ground built behind the residence.
“Duke Rondo, welcome.”
“Prince Ryun, as conveyed by the advance notice, we’ve come to share information gathered over the past few days.”
They exchanged polite bows.
Even among intimates, courtesy matters.
Behind Prince Ryun stood the usual attendants, who also bowed respectfully.
But Abel noticed something.
The faces among the attendants had changed.
Save for Lin Shun, the senior chamberlain whom Prince Ryun trusted most, and Wen Shu, a chamberlain the same nineteen years of age as Prince Ryun, the lineup had changed.
(Has he swapped in more capable personnel?)
Abel thought to himself.
Naturally, he didn’t show it on his face, nor did he inform Ryo.
Even if you’ve figured something out, showing your entire hand is folly.
Information is strongest when you neither disclose it nor even let others know you possess it.
Once people know you have it, you have to steer toward using it effectively…
“You said there was a drill you wanted us to see—this is it?”
“Yes. I asked the renowned magician Duke Rondo to come all the way to the training ground because I wanted him to see it.”
Where Ryo and Prince Ryun were looking, eleven people stood.
All but one of the ten wore something like large gauntlets on their left arms.
The one without a gauntlet—the captain—looked familiar…
“Isn’t that Captain Lu Yao’s Magic Artillery Unit?”
“Same one.”
Prince Ryun nodded at Ryo’s observation.
Captain Lu Yao and the Magic Artillery Unit had also taken part in the fighting on the Ryokusou Plain the other day, showing Ryo and Abel some astonishing magic bombardment.
The rate of fire in particular had been impressive.
But back then, they had used a collapsible device, carried on horseback, when firing.
Now, there was no such thing…
Captain Lu Yao raised her right hand.
As it fell, a command rang out.
“Fire!”
In that instant, attack magic of the fire attribute blasted from the left arms of all ten.
The power was considerable.
Stronger than what they had seen on the Ryokusou Plain the other day.
Moreover—
“Volley!”
A second salvo came almost without a breath in between.
Then a third.
And a fourth.
“Cease!”
At that command, the ten snapped back to attention.
“That is amazing!”
Ryo said, applauding.
Perhaps hearing the applause,
Captain Lu Yao approached, bowing her head.
“Captain Lu Yao, that was incredible!”
Ryo lavished praise.
“Thank you.”
Captain Lu Yao folded her hands before her body and bowed.
Her expression was steady, yet full of a sense of accomplishment.
“Back on the Ryokusou Plain, I believe you used a collapsible device to bombard. That’s been replaced by those gauntlets we just saw, yes?”
“Yes. With those gauntlets, there’s no bulk, no setup time, and moving is easy, so the Magic Artillery Unit’s applications will broaden further.”
“Indeed! ”
Ryo nodded over and over at Captain Lu Yao’s explanation.
“From Duke Rondo’s perspective, does it pass muster?”
Prince Ryun asked with a smile.
“Absolutely. Each shot seemed stronger than what we saw back in Ryokusou Plain. As for the rate of fire… how’s the mana consumption? How many shots can they put out?”
“On Ryokusou Plain, three-round bursts were the limit. Even then, we had to pause about a minute afterward, and the cap was thirty sets…so ninety shots in total. With these gauntlets, four-round bursts are possible, and the interval drops to twenty seconds before the next four-round burst. A standard magician can fire close to three hundred shots.”
“What! Triple the performance! That’s fantastic.”
Ryo nodded repeatedly.
“Looks like we’ve got Duke Rondo’s stamp of approval. Well done, Lu Yao. Worth the effort of developing them.”
“Yes, Your Highness—thank you.”
The prince praised her, and Captain Lu Yao bowed with delight.
But just then Ryo froze.
It seemed something had occurred to him.
“Those gauntlets… they’re alchemy devices, right?”
“Yes, Duke Rondo.”
“Were they developed by you, Captain Lu Yao?”
“Y-yes… Duke Rondo.”
Ryo’s eyes widened as he asked, and Captain Lu Yao answered with a startled look.
“Captain Lu Yao, are you an alchemist?”
“Yes…”
“Lu Yao is a splendid fire-attribute magician, but she’s also an exceptionally capable alchemist. The collapsible gun platform you saw on Ryokusou Plain was developed earlier and is used throughout Darwei. This time, Lu Yao single-handedly created the gauntlet-type gun platform.”
To Ryo’s question, Captain Lu Yao answered softly, and Prince Ryun sang her praises.
Prince Ryun clearly held Captain Lu Yao in very high regard.
Ryo was trembling—slightly, just slightly… but he was quivering.
After a moment, he turned to Prince Ryun.
“Your Highness, I’m on your side.”
“Eh? Yes… I’m aware. I asked you to be.”
At Ryo’s sudden declaration, Prince Ryun replied, not quite following.
“I will not leak information that would disadvantage Your Highness’s camp.”
“…Very well.”
“So, if possible, may I see the magic formulae of those gauntlets? I mean, of course, only if not just Your Highness but Captain Lu Yao agrees. And of course, of course, even if you refuse, I won’t do anything to cause you trouble or anything like that…”
Ryo was explaining desperately.
“If Lu Yao is willing, I have no objection…”
“Uh, um…”
The prince granted permission with a laugh, but Captain Lu Yao’s reply wasn’t clear.
“I’ll help in any way I can! With magic or with alchemy…”
“Um… well… the ice golems at your residence, Your Excellency…”
“Eh? You want one of them?”
“No! I’m interested in the golems’ magic formulae and mechanisms…”
“I’ll lend you one. I’ll make it so you can examine the formulae.”
“Really?!”
Seeing Ryo’s bighearted offer, Captain Lu Yao lit up.
But a voice came from behind Ryo.
“You sure about that?”
It was the swordsman who always scolded him.
“Exchanging technology and knowledge between engineers is what opens a new horizon of the age!”
“Yeah, but the magic formulae you wrote for the golem are in the Central Countries’ tongue, right? Can she read it?”
“Ah…”
Not a scolding—an apt point.
“As it happens, I studied the Central Countries’ language before.”
When Ryo voiced Abel’s concern, Captain Lu Yao answered so.
She had studied it to understand rare alchemy tools made in the Central Countries and new alchemical findings published there.
“That’s wonderful!”
Ryo exclaimed in surprise and admiration.
At that, Captain Lu Yao’s face went bright red.
The party moved indoors.
Ryo and Abel; Prince Ryun, Chief Chamberlain Lin Shun, Chamberlain Wen Shu; and Captain Lu Yao—six in all.
The other attendants were given tasks and dismissed.
In other words, these three likely ranked highest around Prince Ryun.
From Ryo’s perspective, Wen Shu carried a certain image from Ryokusou Plain, and he wasn’t sure about him…
“His father was the late lord, remember.”
Abel whispered, and Ryo remembered.
Wen Shu’s father had governed the region around Ryokusou Plain.
Ruling near the capital means one has been trusted by successive emperors.
In any era and any state, you don’t let someone you don’t trust govern near the capital…
“So then, Duke Rondo—you said you had information to share today.”
“Ah, yes. That’s right.”
Prince Ryun opened, and Ryo nodded.
“The other day, a little incident happened at my house…”
“I heard the roof was destroyed.”
“Being next door, of course you knew.”
Ryo gave a wry smile.
When Envoy Berke and the others took off, they blasted through the mansion’s roof.
Naturally, it was a mess… and now carpenters retained by the Ministry of Works were repairing it.
Of course, Rondo Manor is large enough that living in the undamaged parts poses no problem.
“Well, the Phantomkins who left are one thing… but at the same time, there were people we captured. From them, we learned that the Fourth Prince, Prince Bin, is hiring adventurers.”
“Oh… about how many?”
“All Third-Rank and Second-Rank adventurers in the imperial capital.”
“That’s…”
At Ryo’s words, the four other than Abel were struck speechless.
Even Prince Ryun was no exception.
But he was the first to speak.
“Third-Rank and Second-Rank adventurers in the capital mean those attached to the Advanced Hall of the Mutual Aid Association. Last I asked, membership there was around seven hundred.”
“I was told ‘several hundred’, so I think Your Highness’s understanding is correct.”
Ryo agreed, citing the explanation he’d received at the Association.
“Seven hundred Third-Rank and Second-Rank… what would that even cost?”
“Unthinkable…”
Captain Lu Yao and Chamberlain Wen Shu muttered, still looking stunned.
“I don’t mean to doubt Duke Rondo’s information, but… what’s your source?”
Chief Chamberlain Lin Shun, apparently first to regain his cool, asked.
“Four Third-Rank adventurers I captured.”
“Captured?”
“Ah, it’s fine. Before I captured them, I secured His Majesty’s permission to detain them.”
“I—I see.”
“We had the Censorate cooperate as well… though the adventurers themselves spilled everything readily.”
Ryo nodded broadly as he answered Lin Shun.
Watching from the side, Abel felt there might be a misunderstanding… but decided not to worry about it.
He suspected the surprise was less about Ryo having imperial permission and more about how easily he’d captured them.
“In that vein, the Third-Ranks and Second-Ranks are with the Fourth Prince, but I actually think all the First-Rank and Special-Rank adventurers have also been hired.”
“What?”
At Ryo’s further remark, Prince Ryun furrowed his brow and asked back.
“I don’t know exactly by whom… but first, not His Majesty. Also, not the Fourth Prince Bin we just mentioned. And probably—this is just a feeling—not the Third Prince, Imperial Prince Churei, either. It’s from Prince Churei’s expression when I met him at the palace.”
“If neither His Majesty, nor Prince Churei, nor Prince Bin, then…”
“Then it’s probably the most troublesome one. The Second Prince, Prince Kouri, has already made the strongest adventurers his pieces.”
“I see… If it’s Brother Kouri, that’s plausible.”
Prince Ryun nodded in agreement with Ryo’s surmise.
“Brother Kouri, as Second Prince, is good at anticipating and laying many moves in advance.”
“Ho-hoo.”
“I’m not blind to it. Brother Kouri is closest to the next emperor’s throne… to the crown prince’s seat before that. Even so…”
Prince Ryun did not continue.
But Lin Shun, Wen Shu, and Captain Lu Yao all nodded firmly.
They knew they were far behind in the race for the next emperor.
Without taking a principal consort, he would remain merely an imperial son… Without advancing to Imperial Prince, he could be crushed easily by the overwhelming power that imperial princes wield.
For that reason, he had endured a long season of biding his time.
Thus, he was late to the competition.
But precisely for that reason, he had to go forward with a strong heart.
He had taken a principal consort.
He had achieved merit.
He had received His Majesty’s informal consent to advance to Imperial Prince.
“I’ll tell you, Duke Rondo. In one month, I will be elevated to Imperial Prince.”
“Oh—at last!”
Prince Ryun announced, and Ryo rejoiced in surprise.
Without that elevation, nothing else could move.
“In a week, there will be an official announcement from the palace. Until then, keep it to yourself.”
“Of course.”
“That said, many will know before then. Information leaks from everywhere.”
“Ah… true enough.”
Prince Ryun and Ryo exchanged wry smiles.
“From here on, it will be harder than ever… Duke Rondo, I ask for your aid.”
“Of course. Let us go forward together.”
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