The Earl then told me about everything that happened in the temple.
I see⊠No wonder the young lady blames herself for Louisâ death.
ăIt seems that the 8-star skill orb needed to be offered to a pure person, someone who has never received a skill orb, from the Holy Royal Family. I donât know why it should be offered specifically to that person, but as recorded in the documents so far, it seems that the skill orb appears about once every 100 to 300 years. Every member of the Holy Royal Family who was given the skill orb disappeared without exception. It is thought that they left for the âOther Worldâ.ă
ăâŠDid His Majesty give it to Louis to save Prince Kluvshrat from that fate?ă
ăI canât say for sure that that wasnât the case.ă
How ridiculous. Itâs even more ridiculous that the young lady is grieving because of that.
ăHowever, we cannot blame His Majesty alone.ă
ăWhy!? Itâs like giving a poison that has a high possibility of death!ă
ăIf Louis-sama didnât challenge it, it would have been awarded to Prince Kluvshrat. His Majesty was in hesitation until the day before the award ceremony, but I heard that he finally decided to give it.ă
ăButâŠ!ă
ăLouis-sama told His Majesty that âopportunities must be equal.â Hearing such a noble reasoning, His Majestyâs heart was shakenâthat is what it means to be a parent.ă\n
ăâŠâŠâŠâŠă
I grasped both hands tightly.
Was there no other way? Why is this happening?
Would Louis have refused it if he knew he would âdieâ? â No, if he was only told that he would go to the âOther Worldâ, then Louis might have been willing to accept the skill orb.
ăThe Holy Royal Family is the core of this country and holds great power, but it also accepts the ruthless obligations that comes with it.ă
ăâŠSo my achievement is that I saved Prince Kluvshratâs life which was spared?ă
ăReiji-san.ă
As the Earl called to me, in a blaming tone, I slammed my right fist on my thigh.
ăâŠI am sorry. It was a shitty excuse. Please forget it.ăI said.
I canât go around acting like a saint when I myself am acting out of my own self interests and not telling the young lady everything about my situation.
ăNo, I will not forget.ă
I was feeling utterly sick of myself, the Earl, however, said so, with a deadly serious faceâa faint smile showing.
ăI am glad that you finally showed me the human side of you. Whenever I talk to you, I feel like I am talking to a full-fledged adult instead of a 14 year old. But it would seem that you do have a human side to you.ă\năâŠIs that something you should be saying, Earl?ă
ăThe blood flowing through me seems to be as cold as ice, so it might be unreasonable for me to seek that feeling. âŠAnyway, His Majesty will not be subject to punishment, but he has many difficulties awaiting him.ă
ăDifficulties?ă
ăFirst is that the 8-star skill orb may appear again before long. As I learned for the first time, although commoners try to get their children a skill orb as soon as possible, nobles wait until their children are 12 years old to create a period of âpurityâ for 12 years. It would be good if the next child was born in that period, but if not, the child with the Holy Blue would have to continue staying âpureâ by giving whatever reason to the public.ă
ăDoes that mean the award ceremony was created so the nobles could follow that practice?ă
ăMaybe itâs more of a camouflage. There are so many secrets regarding these. In any case, even El-san doesnât seem to know what the 8-star skill orb means, either that or he is hiding the truth. When the 8-star skill orb reappears, it has to be given to Prince Kluvshratâs younger brother, the 3rd Holy Prince.ă
Does that mean that the chain of sorrow will continue?
ăThe last time the 8-star skill orb appeared was 250 years ago. Since there is no one alive from that time period, and the records being in old writings, it seems to have taken some time to decipher the meaning of its appearance.ă
ăWhat meaning does all these hold for the âOther WorldââŠ?ă
ăâŠHis Majesty might even tell you about it if you go to the Holy Royal Palace. Perhaps also about the thing that is called the âCovenantâ.ă
Covenant.
If I remember correctly, the dragon also used that word.
ăAnd there is another big difficulty that His Majesty has to take care of â the giant snake. Did you know that it destroyed a mansion in the 2nd Holy District?ă\n\nGreat turmoil will soon occur in the future. Including the demolition of one of the 6 Great Duke Houses, what is the merit of me remaining in this country?
(Should I ask for a huge amount of money in return for signing the contract magic?)
No, I donât need such a thing. All I need is the money for basic necessities.
(And the information about the âCovenantâ.)
Iâm interested in it, but itâs not something which is absolutely necessary to me. Even in this world, itâs good enough for only âa small fractionâ of dignitaries to know that information â I am fine with being in the âignorant majorityâ. It will clearly drag me into trouble, after all.
(In other words, there are no merits.)
On the contrary, there are only demerits. If I am unable to leave the Holy City due to the contract magic, I wouldnât be able to find Lark or Lulusha-san. Furthermore, there is a high possibility that many troubles related to the Holy King will occur.
ăâŠConsidering the advantages and disadvantages, there is only one answer.ă
After that, I left the mansion. I said hello to the gatekeeper and told him Iâm going out for business. I cut through all the districts in between and arrived at Block 5.
I had to ask the way to the place I was looking for many times â it is only expected in this world where there are no smartphones or navigation systems â and most of the people kindly helped me out.
ăIs this the place?ă
In front of me was a 4-story stone building. The building had a thin, deep architectural structure that you donât often see around these parts. An inn called âSilver Citrusâ where Silver Balance was lodging.
ăDid they choose this place just because it has âsilverâ in the name?ă
When I opened the entrance door â a colored glass carved with wood patterns on the surface â a bell rang.