Hooong!
The hammer returns to my shoulder.
The Red Tower Master, covered in splatters of particle blood, stumbles back with a loud crash as I slowly walk over and pick up the tooth from the Pool of Blood.
“So this is a Holy Artifact?”
“……”
“I was wondering how you deceived the eyes of Ertarn; it seems you had your ways. Well, I guess without something like this, you wouldn’t have survived against the monsters.”
This world is home to many monsters, including Ertarn and others.
While the Celestial Race and Demon Race may be invisible, one couldn’t be called the continent’s supreme ruler, even using a bit of aura or mana.
It seems to be a physical piece of an existence with quite strong power.
“Do you know how to use this?”
“…W-What did you do?”
“I asked if you know.”
“…I don’t. Only the chosen royal family are supposed to be able to use it.”
“Hmmm.”
As I held the tooth tightly, I summoned my mana.
It’s not the mana or holy power I possess; it’s the lion’s mana that only those with ‘Royal Blood’ can use.
Whoosh!
As the tooth—twice the size of my hand—became imbued with the lion’s mana, the surrounding power began to be seized.
Soon, all the force in the area was suppressed.
[Oh]
[Is it a good thing?]
[Right now it’s huuuge, lol]
[What’s up with the Second Prince getting beheaded like that? LOL]
[Wow]
[With the head shaking, it disappears]
[So it really is a Mythical Item]
[Lily, if it breaks power, isn’t that a big deal?]
“Not bad. It’s weak, but it did crush some holy power…”
Still in its growth phase, capable of dodging the eyes of a ‘Celestial Being.’
The knights and mages here aren’t that strong, but this ‘Holy Artifact’ itself is very useful.
If the Second Prince has one, I’m sure the First Prince and the King have them too.
“Master of the Magic Tower.”
“……”
“Master of the Magic Tower.”
“Yes! Yes! What is it?”
The Red Tower Master, whose character became a lifeless corpse, jumps in surprise as he bows his head.
He has just lost his master.
Losing the next royal to become king means the road ahead has also collapsed.
He must be extremely angry, but what can he do?
Gulps.
“Why? Are you mad?”
“No, I’m not.”
“You seem mad.”
“I’m definitely not.”
The opponent disregarded all his magic, nullifying even the ‘Holy Artifact’ passed down through the generations of the kingdom.
I can’t even gauge whether I would win against an existence even if a ‘God’ were to come.
What could he even dare to say to me?
“Do others have this?”
“…The chosen royals all possess one.”
“So who?”
“The First Prince, the Second… Prince, and the Fourth Prince each possess one. The King holds five.”
So, including the King, there are a total of eight.
First, I have to gather all of those.
I need to gather everything.
Somehow, it seems like it will be useful.
“If you have something to say, go ahead.”
“…Why did you kill him?”
Why did I kill him, huh.
If we’re looking for an external reason, it’s because he acted in a way that deserved to be killed.
He committed acts that fit within the ‘punishment’ criteria I had set in the past and showed no sign of repentance even after being given a chance.
“Of course, just saying sorry wouldn’t stop the killing.”
If problems could be solved with just apologies, there wouldn’t be a need for laws in this world.
“Did Degenos kill people for a reason?”
“…….”
“I didn’t like him. That’s the answer.”
“What do you plan to do now?”
“For now, I’ll try to persuade them. It’s unfortunate about Second Prince, but the First and Fourth Princes should be a bit different, right?”
“…Um, this is a bold question, but.”
“Go ahead.”
“You didn’t receive orders from the First Prince, did you?”
The Second Prince is the rival of the First Prince.
With the Second Prince dead due to a plan filled with malice, the next throne naturally goes to the First Prince.
“No, not at all.”
“Then why…”
“I’m going to take it.”
“?”
The expression of the Red Tower Master became bizarre.
[LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL]
[Ah, I’m gonna do it]
[From now on, the throne is mine. No one else can climb it]
“Excuse me?”
■
“Fourth Prince, Kainan Lyons.”
“……”
“If you hand over the holy artifact without any fuss, nothing will happen.”
“Are you out of your mind?”
“Of course not.”
After knocking out the seemingly dazed Red Tower Master and tying him up, I made my way straight to the Fourth Castle.
There, I found the Fourth Prince, who, while I was lower in rank, was about the same age and actually a bit younger than me.
“Do you dare try to take my, Kainan Lyons’, holy artifact?”
“You’re just going to hand it over to Prince Rublek anyway. I’ll collect everything, so just give it to me now.”
“You’ve gone completely mad playing under Degenos. Did he tell you to take everything?”
“Hm.”
As I casually raised my hand, a round shield formed around the guy’s pristine white teeth.
Looks quite sturdy.
“I don’t know why you’re acting like this suddenly, but I knew your bloodline all along. Even you won’t be able to break this shield infused with the power of the holy artifact.”
KRAK!
“KYAAAH! You crazy woman!”
“It’s breaking.”
[LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL]
[How pathetic, LOL]
[This is easy, right?]
[Is this even a holy artifact?]
[What is this, an egg?]
With a light tap of my hammer, the shield shattered to pieces.
As if an egg had broken, I pulled the Fourth Prince out from among the fragments, and he started wildly hitting my hand.
“Let go! Let go!”
“Still, considering my age, it’s not a good look for you to act like that.”
“Hmph! Of course. You’re like… royalty…”
“Shh.”
Huff.
In an instant, all the power in the area settles down.
It’s not because of the holy artifact I possess.
“…Huh?”
“If you say more, I might not know what I’ll do. But I assume you wouldn’t want that, would you?”
“Uh, yeah…”
“Then give it to me.”
I’ve just acquired another holy artifact.
The Fourth Prince, barely catching his breath, collapses and takes a deep inhale.
“Ugh…”
“Then stay right there. Don’t meddle.”
“……Yes.”
■
“You say there isn’t one?”
“That’s right.”
Cooperation with the Fourth Prince? After obtaining the holy artifact from the enemy, I arrived at the royal castle where the First Prince was staying, but he was nowhere to be found.
“When will he return?”
“He’s gone to another territory, so it will take at least a week.”
“Hmm.”
A week is a bit long.
Of course, with Jeokhye who has the power to turn back time, a week is nothing.
But competition for the throne is all about timing.
Time won’t just pass idly; as it flows, the deeds I’ve done will spread throughout the kingdom.
[Should we just go for the king right now?]
[One week is a bit much.]
[Let’s speed things up.]
[Do we really have to steal the holy artifact?]
[First, let’s take care of the king and think about the rest, Lily.]
“Why are you asking that?”
“I have business. It’s important enough that I should convey it directly. Do you know where he went?”
“Um… please wait a moment.”
A knight guarding the First Prince’s castle goes up briefly and then comes back down.
“You’re to follow me.”
Following the knight, we head to a room where a mage in a blue robe is holding a magic formation.
Could this person also be the Master of the Magic Tower?
“Welcome. You wish to see His Highness the First Prince.”
“Yes. But he’s away, so I was going to ask about his location.”
“Currently, His Highness has left for another territory. If you have a message, I can relay it.”
“No. I will convey it myself.”
“…Understood.”
The magic formation blinks with a blue light, and a man with a similar face to the Second Prince appears.
─You asked to speak with me.
“It’s been a while, Rublek Lyons, Your Highness.”
─I heard you’re the Eleventh Princess. I think I saw you at the banquet… What brings you here?
“Where are you?”
─Why do you want to know? Didn’t you say you had something to convey to me?
“I want to say it in person.”
─Just say it right there. I can’t figure out why you want to come find me.
“Um.”
In that case…
Thud.
I place my hand on the magic formation.
The mage holding the magic formation flinches in surprise and instinctively protects it with mana, but that’s nothing compared to a great mage.
I flinched in surprise and used mana to protect the magic formation, but it was just on the level of a grand mage.
Ugh.
There’s no way I can repel the magic of a low-class demon level like me.
I trace the flow of mana back to determine its position.
If I compare it to the map I saw earlier and the mana composition…
“Jeniva, is it?”
─?!
“If you don’t want to meet, then let’s get straight to the point. Surrender your claim to the throne and the holy artifacts. Then you’ll get through this without any trouble.”
─…Am I crazy?
“By the way, the other two handed them over personally. They gave them up without hesitation when I asked.”
─That guy Degenos?
“Yes.”
The magic formation fell silent.
Will they give it or not?
It’s a bit exciting, but the answer is probably the same.
‘My opponent is the Eleventh Princess. She has no claim to the throne and is just a pawn with good physical abilities.’
Yet here she is, unexpectedly demanding the claim and the artifacts.
If I had the power of the First Princess or the Fourth Prince, I might feel a bit threatened, but…
─Sorry, but I can’t give you that. I don’t know what you’re thinking, but if you say that in front of Degenos, your head might just roll.
“Then what about Rublek? He wouldn’t say that!”
─Isn’t that just the shout of a childish young one? I can overlook that much.
Hahaha!
The First Prince laughs.
Looking to the side, the mage holding the magic formation also had a slightly startled smile.
‘Hmm.’
[Kill?]
[LOL]
[Uho?]
“Haha! I didn’t know Princess Lily could joke around so well.”
─That’s a bit too much of a joke.
“It’s not a joke.”
─I just heard you were under Degenos. It seems Degenos told you to stir things up, which isn’t a wise choice. Why not come over to my side instead? Your bloodline is a bit problematic, but I can graciously accept you…
Thud. Thud.
─Available. Hmm?
I placed two holy artifacts on the table.
Sharp enough that it feels like they could pierce just by looking at them.
Only then did the magic formation go quiet, and the mage’s expression grew serious.
─……You.
“Hurry up and decide. I’m busy.”
Will you hand it over nicely?
‘Or will you end up like these?’
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