Chapter 52
Chapter 52
The deep sleep I had fallen into after so long was truly sweet.
In the original work, there had been no event where Leios came to Britain at this time, but I did not really care.
What mattered was that I had spent night after night without sleep, and only now had a space finally been prepared where I could properly rest.
“…….”
And how long had I been lying there like that? Suddenly, at the faint sound of a voice, my ears opened.
Familiar voices reached me.
That irritated me slightly.
I was sleeping, so who was being this noisy? But the moment I sensed a sharp killing intent from above, my eyes snapped open.
Whirik-!
Rather than thinking and moving, it felt like a reaction engraved into my instincts.
Before I could even be aware of it, I hurled my body out of bed, slipped behind the suspicious intruder right in front of me, and seized their neck.
The time it took up to that point was 0.5 seconds.
Only after I clenched both hands with full strength did the situation inside the room come into view.
First, I saw a familiar face standing by the doorway, staring this way with a horrified expression.
The one who slid down to the floor while leaning against the wall was unmistakably the second daughter of the Pendragon family, bearing the name Elain.
And on the other side—
“Uh, how…….”
Elysia, the eldest daughter of the Pendragon family and my friend from the Academy, stared at me with her mouth agape.
Had they crossed over here from the Academy.
Well, it was true that I had arrived a bit early.
I had wandered around the mountain range for several days, but over there, it must have taken time to recover from the injuries they suffered in the dungeon.
If that was the case, then who was the impudent brat who had thrust a sharp sword tip at me—just then, a familiar voice came from within my arms.
“…Hello?”
Alice lifted her head to look at me, her neck wrapped in my arms.
From the joy and mischief contained in her eyes, I could roughly grasp the situation.
“So it was this impudent brat who dared to try and leave a scratch on the august body of the Empire’s Third Imperial Prince.”
Even so, to try to wake me by stabbing with a sword.
Feeling annoyed, I lifted the arm wrapped around her neck, and due to the difference in our heights, her feet dangled in midair.
“Ah… ngh… I give up, I give up!”
“Hmph.”
Alice, suffocating, tapped at my arm.
I snorted and loosened my grip.
Then I roughly ruffled her hair and headed toward the two who were still staring at me with dazed expressions.
“What on earth is this…….”
Elysia looked at me with a face full of confusion.
“Ah, you wouldn’t know.”
During the dungeon incident, she must have been beaten and knocked down, remaining unconscious the whole time.
The only ones who had kept their senses then were Leysias and Yuria, who had been protected by magic.
So naturally, she could not have known that I was Leios von Ribera, the Empire’s Third Imperial Prince.
“Elain.”
“…Yes?”
Elain, who had been crouched on the floor clutching the door, looked up at me with her mouth open.
I pointed outside and asked,
“Have you eaten?”
Whether it was a story or a conversation, let’s eat something first.
I was starving to death.
By coincidence, it seemed it was lunchtime.
After telling the visitors who had come into my room to go ahead and wait, and issuing them a polite dismissal, I lightly tidied myself up and headed to the dining hall with an easy stride.
There, familiar faces—seven, no, eight people—welcomed me.
“I thought you’d be a bit late since you said you were going back to your hometown, but you made it here surprisingly fast.”
“I’m not on very good terms with my main family. I just went and showed my face.”
As I casually sat down in an empty seat, Werner beside me nudged me with his elbow as he spoke.
When I replied with a vague implication that there were complicated circumstances, he nodded with a bitter smile.
While cutting into the steak that had been served and eating, I looked over the faces seated at the table.
Starting with Werner next to me, there were Diark, Maria, Leysias, Yuria, Elysia, Elain, and Alice.
Three faces that had not existed in the original work were seated here.
I did not know how the story would change because of that, but at the very least, I now had the strength not to be easily pushed around.
On top of that, there was Alice, the protagonist, the Sword Saint Yohanel, a monster ranked among the strongest in the world, and Chris, the last elf and a great archmage.
‘What a flashy lineup.’
Just looking at the names made my shoulders feel reassured.
I had no intention of calling the latter two just yet, but when the time came, they would become an army of a thousand.
“Then it would be best to rest well for today, and starting tomorrow, we can go sightseeing.”
“Would it be all right to take a look around the castle?”
“Do as you like. Just be careful of the restricted areas, as knights are stationed there.”
Once the meal ended, everyone rose from their seats.
Some had their eyes sparkling, saying they wanted to look around the castle, while others yawned, saying they wanted to hurry back, wash up, and go to bed.
“Haam.”
I too had woken up in the middle of sleeping, so I could not say I wasn’t a little drowsy.
I had eaten my fill, and I considered going back to my room, but seeing the Pendragon sisters glancing at me throughout the meal, that did not seem possible.
“Leysias, Yuria.”
Thinking it would be annoying to say it multiple times, I called out to the two girls who knew my status among the group that was dispersing in various directions.
“Yes?”
“Huh?”
“Follow me for a moment.”
When I spoke with an expression that made it clear I would not accept refusal, they nodded obediently and followed after me.
The place I went with the two of them was the Pendragon family’s reception room.
“Ah.”
The Pendragon sisters, who had been seated there first, awkwardly stood up at my appearance.
Alice burst into laughter as she looked at them.
“Aren’t you being a bit too stiff?”
“…No, but still.”
Elysia scratched her cheek with an embarrassed expression.
I plopped down into the seat of honor and gestured for the others to sit as well.
“Then I shall introduce myself once again.”
Paaaat.
The hair that had been dyed by an artifact for the sake of dining with them regained its brilliant appearance once more.
When everyone present fixed their eyes on it, I looked back at them and spoke.
“I am the Third Imperial Prince of the Ribera Empire, Leios von Ribera.”
Of course, there was no longer anyone here who did not know that fact.
Still, Leysias kept her mouth shut, and Yuria, perhaps not yet accustomed to it, lightly trembled her eyes and tightly clasped the hands resting on her knees.
Rather, the ones who had grown calm were Elysia and Elain.
Truly befitting children of a prestigious family, they instantly changed their attitudes and looked at me.
“I am Elysia, the eldest daughter of the Pendragon family. I offer my greetings.”
“I am Elain, the second daughter of the Pendragon family. I offer my greetings.”
They even presented their greetings with courteous attitudes.
In response, I crossed my legs and wore a satisfied smile, but at the snickering sound coming from beside me, a sigh escaped on its own.
“Your expression looks perverted.”
“…Good grief.”
Alice could not hold back and threw in a jab.
I pointed at the Pendragon sisters, who had turned into statues in front of me, and said,
“You should at least try to imitate half of their attitude.”
“Well then, should I kneel before you or something? Your Highness?”
“…Enough. I should not have said anything.”
Her character seemed to have changed in a strange way.
When she had been at the Academy, there had been a faint dark aura about her, like remnants of the past lingering behind, but seeing her now—so bright—she was nothing more than an ordinary high school girl of her age.
“Well, as you can see, this is how I am treated.
I do not even hope for princely treatment, so you all should act comfortably as well.”
“Then we will do so.”
“…Sister?!”
I had felt it before, but Elysia’s attitude shift was excellent.
However, on the younger sister’s side, perhaps she could not adapt to this situation, as she only stared at her sister with startled eyes.
“So, you did have ties with Lady Petra.”
“She is my fiancée, after all.”
Elysia nodded with a look of understanding.
It seemed she had harbored doubts ever since the entrance ceremony.
Well, no matter how much the Leipzig family name had declined, it had once been a family listed among the Empire’s prestigious houses.
‘Come to think of it, it has been a long time since I last went to see her. I should show my face once.’
“Anyway, I enrolled in the Academy while hiding my identity in order to fulfill my duties as royalty. It could not be helped that some people found out.”
“There is no need to deliberately spread that information.”
At Leysias’s words, Yuria and the others nodded.
If that had been all, it would have been fortunate.
“Well, since Carius and Darius are also attending the Academy, rumors will spread in an instant anyway.”
When I spoke while shrugging my shoulders, their expressions changed, as if something was bothering them.
Only Yuria failed to understand the sudden mention of the First and Second Imperial Princes’ names.
“There are a few things I am curious about. May I ask a question, yo?”
At that moment, Elain, who had kept her mouth shut until now, cautiously looked around and asked me.
When I lightly nodded, she continued with a puzzled expression.
“Your Highness, no, Brother Ostia, why were you in the Harald Mountain Range?”
At those words, the painful days I had endured over the past few days flashed through my mind.
When I slightly frowned, Elain flinched and leaned back, but I waved my hand to indicate it was fine.
“I paid my respects to Father and immediately teleported here. But perhaps someone tampered with it, because I ended up falling from high up in the sky.”
“…From the sky?”
When I added a bit of exaggeration and said I fell from the clouds, Alice beside me muttered something like, you really survived somehow….
I gave her head a light knock, cleared my throat again, and continued.
“I did not originally want to reveal that I was a prince, but the situation was what it was.”
“…Thanks to that, I received help. I will definitely repay it someday.”
With an expression that said, the Pendragon family does not treat benefactors lightly!, Elain looked toward me.
Elysia watched her younger sister with concern.
Do not worry.
Even without looking at me like that, I am not going to steal your sister away.
“Since I am here anyway, I should rest well before leaving. Coincidentally, I also have business.”
“Business?”
At Elysia’s question, I pointed outside and said,
“Excalibur.”
The Pendragon family and Excalibur.
There was no one who did not know that famous legend.
The divine sword that no one except the first head of the Pendragon family had ever been able to wield.
It was something arranged for the protagonist.
‘Just as I have Tyrfing, the protagonist has Excalibur.’
Excalibur, true to the original legend, was embedded in a massive rock located at the center of Camelot Palace.
No one had been able to pull it out so far, but when the protagonist Alice went and laid her hand on it, it would probably slide out with ease.
“Excalibur, huh.”
I had already told her about it in advance.
That in Britain, she would obtain a divine sword.
According to the conditions set by the Pendragon family, to pull out Excalibur, one had to be at least a Sword Expert of intermediate rank.
There were various other conditions as well, but the rest were problems I could take care of, so they did not matter.
And now, having taken the opportunity, we had come to the center of Camelot Palace and stood before Excalibur, which was embedded in the rock.
“…This is really Excalibur?”
A single longsword was sticking out awkwardly from atop a dark, grimy rock.
At its unimpressive appearance, Alice tilted her head skeptically, and Elysia smiled as she spoke.
“This is its sleeping form right now. The documents say that when it meets its rightful owner, it will regain its original appearance.”
“Hmm.”
Having regained her motivation once more, Alice stepped forward forcefully.
Then she glanced at me once, extended both hands, and grabbed Excalibur’s hilt.
“Hup!”
She then began pulling with all her strength.
Perhaps it was quite stiff, as Alice could not pull it out in one go.
However, as one minute passed and then five minutes went by, something started to feel strange.
“…Ah, it is not coming out?”
She, who had believed my words without question, spoke to me with her pupils shaking like an earthquake.
In response, I clenched my trembling hand tightly and ran toward Alice.
“If this does not come out, we are screwed…….”
Just as Tyrfing was an essential element for Leios, this Excalibur was an inseparable existence for the protagonist.
If she could not awaken with Excalibur, then who would defeat the demon race.
“W-why is it not coming out?”
At that, without thinking, I grabbed the hilt of Excalibur that she had let go of.
And when I lifted it, along with a light sense of incongruity, I felt something slide out smoothly in my hand.
“…Huh?”