The days of dull, clouded skies finally cleared, leaving room for the bright sunlight to shine.
The sea reflected the sunlight to form a scenery of countless gems, as far as the eye could see.
Three men were sitting on the embankment.
They were talking while casually moving their fishing poles, cast into the sea.
âAre you really sure you donât want to go?â
The first one to talk was a man clad in a white lab coat â Rowle Zwelg, the âHeroâ nicknamed âImmortalâ.
His hair was ruffled as usual, as if he had just got out of bed; he didnât have the slightest aura one would expect from a âHeroâ. Anyone who didnât know his actual identity would surely think he was just a middle-aged man.
âSure. Events like that arenât for me.â
I replied without any second thoughts.
Rowle was referring to a party.
The birthday party of the third prince of the Rinchelle kingdom, Wellesâ younger brother.
âI thought that Your Highness came to Rinchelle specifically for that party, thoughâŠâ
The completely unnecessary remark that interrupted the conversation came from a man in his thirties, a Diestburg knight that introduced himself as a platoon captain. For some reason, I met him rather often in Rinchelle.
ââŠI donât feel well. I canât help itâŠI guess?â
I then put a hand on the bandages covering my body. After the battle against Velnar, I was treated when we passed through the kingdom of Saldance.
At first, the plan was to have Feli cure me, but, according to her, curing everything with magic would weaken the bodyâs natural healing capabilities, so it was better to heal while relying on magic as little as possible. And so I became a sort of bandaged mass.
I looked like I was going through terrible pain, but I had already recovered enough to engage in normal daily activities without problems, thanks to my âSpadaâ and my innate recovery abilities.
So my ânot feeling wellâ was a blatant lie.
âIâm supposed to believe you when youâre fishing dressed all casually like that, Your HighnessâŠ?â
The breeze blowing by the sea was rather chilly, but what I was wearing was not a prince-like gorgeous robe, but very simple, casual attire.
The reason was that formal attire would just get in the way and if I wore something that stood out too much, my fake âsick leaveâ would be found out immediately and Iâd be dragged back to the party.
The knight sighed while giving me the side-eye, but I just spat a âshut it!â in response.
ââŠleaving the party aside, itâs still better for me not to be there right now. Itâs all too troublesome to deal with.â
The knight, who couldnât know what I was referring to, looked confused.
âI am really sorry about that, honestly.â
âIt would have happened sooner or later, I guess. But I realized that you guys and Saldance really have a terrible relationship.â
One week had passed since my duel to the death against Velnar. We returned through the kingdom of Saldance, the safest route, but it was a bad move.
The Saldance side was apparently convinced that Wellesâ party would be exterminated, so they were shocked at their return and interrogated them about what happened.
There they found a young man covered in wounds, someone they had not authorized to go to the remote island. Together with an unknown ship, which clearly experienced attacks by the sea beasts.
Such circumstances gave birth to a certain theory on the Saldance side. A theory corroborated by the fact that the âHeroâ Zerum Barbatos clearly avoided me. Eventually, a certain rumor started spreading.
Fay Hanse Diestburg, the third prince of the Diestburg kingdom, was actually a âHeroâ in disguise. He had joined the expedition to assist the prince of a country Diestburg was on good terms with and his older brother, the first prince Grerial. Thatâs the rumor they started.
Rowle and Welles had been saved by my intervention, but bowed their heads to me many times, apologizing for involving me in the whole affair.
âI understand that they feel guilty for involving Grerial and this whole business. But that was reallyâŠwrong.â
I recalled a conversation from a few days ago.
Grerial, Welles, Rowle and I discussed a certain issue.
Though I was sure he didnât actually want to.
Which made things simple.
I repeated to myself, while recalling a nostalgic voice.
âI am truly grateful for the proposal, but I plan to turn it down.â
The âTrash Princeâ moniker helped get rid of any marriage talks coming my way, but if I became a âHeroâ in the eyes of society things would change. Some might even be so uncouth as to bring back marriage proposals that they once turned down themselves.
Such a thing would burden both Grerial and my father. That was why I was grateful for this proposal.
Even so, I did not even consider accepting it.
I kept it vague, but I thought that I would never do so in the future either.
Rowle probably expected me to answer like that. He looked at his fishing pole and chuckled.
He continued as if he had an alternative ready from the start.
âCould you at least keep an eye out for her?â
Those sudden words surprised me quite a bit. A moment later, I laughed.
Since I knew of someone similar to LychaineâŠ
Since I knew how that person with the same âsightâ ended, my answer could be only one.
âI would have done so even without you asking.â
*That man* died in a really dreadful way. I would never refuse to keep an eye on Lychaine, so she wouldnât meet the same end. She was also going to become Grerialâs sister-in-law. There were more and more reasons for me to look out for her.
âIf youâre really fine with me, though.â
âYes, of course. Please.â
Our conversation thus wrapped up neatly. Just thenâŠ
The knight had been listening to us talk, a bored expression on his face, when his fishing pole suddenly bent forcefully, causing him to shout in surprise.
âGotcha!!! Finally!!â
We had been there for a fairly long time but had barely caught anything, so the knight couldnât hide his excitement. Honestly, I couldnât either.
âOooohh!! T-this one is huge!!â
Rowle, on the other hand, was as composed as before.
The knight was holding on the bent fishing pole for dear life. Rowle addressed him in a calming tone.
âIâm afraid itâs just stuckâŠâ
It was too late, however.
The fishing pole couldnât endure the knightâs herculean strength and, with a sharp crack, neatly snapped in half before our eyes.
Half of the snapped fishing pole fell into the water with a splash, followed by an indescribable silence.
After a few seconds, the knight finally grasped what happened.
âNnnnnuuuoooooohhhh!!!â
I pretended not to know the man screaming to the sky next to me. Misfortune, however, comes in droves. I was dragged into it soon enough.
âAh! There! The prince is fishing!!â
âShit!! They found me!! Rowle, take care of my pole!!â
I could hear Feliâs voice from a distance.
I tried running as soon as I noticed it, but my body was locked in an inescapable hold.
I remembered the sensation. It was like a deja vu.
âHe-heyâŠ.umâŠ.RowleâŠ?â
âI am still a chemist, you know.â
The grin on Rowleâs mouth was shining brightâŠdespite its evil nature.
I struggled as much as I could, but for some reason could not break free.
âW-wait, letâs talk about this. Weâre fishing buddies, arenât we? They say itâs a bond even stronger than friendship among menâŠ!â
I tried to reason with my opponent, butâŠ
âStay quiet, you have to recover.â
The reply I received was nothing but damning.
On that day, the screams of two people shook the air of the coast.
A few days later, a messenger arrived from Diestburg, carrying the news that my father, Philippe Hanse Diestburg, had been attacked by an unknown assailant. We received the message on our way back from Rinchelle.