Chapter 32: Chapter 32

Upon returning to the mansion, Shan and Roden informed Callion, who had returned home after finishing his work, that they had received an offer from Princess Cheryn.

Of course, since throwing a punch at her face and popping her nose code-red was something that never happened, they did not mention it, and simply equivocated that they had acted somewhat rudely without knowing her identity, leading to a fight with her escort knights.

Upon hearing the story, Callion clicked his tongue and spoke.

“I knew she was ambitious, but it seems she intends to become queen altogether. Surely she doesn’t plan to take in a powerful Altoan knight while taking all sorts of criticism just to stand him by her side and show off.”

“Is that even possible?”

“Who knows. It’s not that there’s no precedent for a queen ascending the throne, but mostly it was restricted to cases where there were no males in the direct line. Even then, a royal consort always handled various affairs on her behalf.”

To Shan’s question, Callion answered thus and added after thinking for a moment.

“However, I wouldn’t say there is no possibility at all. Although most lords already support the two princes, the princess also has a giant figure like Count of Palles as her patron. She would also be able to receive the support of administrators and mages, including the Magic Society…”

Count of Palles was a powerful lord of the north, and thanks to his domain being surrounded on all sides by rugged mountains and rivers, it was a safe zone where monsters were rarely seen within Pendia.

Furthermore, because the soil was fertile black earth, farming thrived, so forty percent of Pendia’s grain came from that land.

“Then could it be that she intends to use Shan to pioneer the Demonic Realm, excavate magic tools, and win the succession rights?”

“That is most likely, but she might find some other method. After all, her reputation as a genius in magic is widespread. That is not the important part. What matters is that the vassal contract offered by that side is a whole fifteen years.”

“It’s certainly much longer than the standard criteria.”

In truth, it was difficult to consider a long vassal contract as necessarily disadvantageous to either side.

As a knight, he would be unable to seek out a strong and wealthy lord after building greater renown and raising his value, but conversely, the lord also had to honor the contract period even if a knight under his command died or suffered a severe disability that left him unable to fight.

Unless there was some disqualifying cause, a noble who failed to take responsibility for a knight who died or became a invalid while fighting for him, along with his family, was regarded as dishonorable as a kinslayer or a heretic.

As such, nobles also tried to choose knights under their command more strictly.

In other words, if fierce fighting was expected ahead, it was actually advantageous to keep the vassal contract short.

“Even so, if she set a long duration, is the reason still because she highly estimates Shan’s potential?”

“Honestly, if he weren’t an Altoan, he would be a talent that every king and noble would covet. In a sense, we should view it as them rating this side that highly.”

Hearing the words calling him a talented individual and whatnot, Shan looked away out of unnecessary embarrassment.

“However, that is that, and fifteen years is too long. If ordinary royalty made such an offer, it would naturally be something to celebrate, but the moment the princess loses in the succession battle and gets confined in some tower, you would be stuck in there together without a choice. You would end up wasting the golden age of your life entirely.”

Just as nobles had to take care of knights who died or became invalids, knights also had to remain loyal even if their lord collapsed during the contract.

This held true even if the lord became unable to properly pay their salary.

Not paying despite having money was grounds for contract termination, but a fellow who turned his back and left just because his lord lost everything and became poor was despised as lacking loyalty.

In short, to summarize, there were largely two options.

The first was accepting Princess Cheryn’s proposal.

If the princess became queen, there was a possibility of rising even to a domain lord, but the probability of success was small, and the price to pay in case of failure was immense.

Conversely, the second was continuing to act independently as he was now and searching for a lord to knight him.

Just as the princess had said, finding someone to knight him was realistically near impossible, but if he kept repeating monster hunts and built up immense renown, a way might open up.

The former had a high ceiling but meant ruin upon failure, while the latter had no failure to speak of, but instead had little realistic possibility of achieving anything.

Shan pondered for a long time as he listened to the explanation, then spoke.

“Can’t we ask her to shorten it?”

“Shorten it?”

“If I combine what Roden and Mr. Callion said, working for a few years might be fine, but fifteen years is too long.”

“That’s a bit… Striking a deal with royalty after all is…”

Just as Roden was about to say it was impossible, a thought flashed through his mind.

When he thought about it, it was obvious, but it was a method he hadn’t managed to think of simply because the opponent was royalty of noble stature.

“No, unexpectedly, it might not be bad.”

“What do you mean?”

To Callion’s question, Roden answered in a tone filled with conviction.

“Let’s make the princess make the choice, not us. Right now, we’re being completely dragged around by that side.”

No matter what means she used, the princess approached them thoroughly and methodically while collecting all the information about them.

Rather than being dragged along by that, Roden thought it would be better to reshape the board altogether.

Always grasp information and lead the situation.

As his son executed the words he himself used to say as a habit, a pleased smile briefly surfaced on Callion’s face.

“Specifically?”

“First, we’ll act as if we’re not very interested in the offer. The fact that the princess came in person means she’s quite anxious, and Shan showed his skill by subduing two knights without a single weapon. Come to think of it, shouldn’t the princess’s side be the one more desperate, since her own life is on the line?”

In truth, even if Shan didn’t become a knight, he had more than enough ways to make a living, whether as a monster hunter or a mercenary.

He was merely aiming for a higher position out of his personal desire to rise in the world and the wishes of his acquaintances, including Roden.

Of course, the same applied to Princess Cheryn.

If she didn’t throw a fit about jumping into the succession race for no good reason, she could marry into a decent family and live well.

So to speak, it was a kind of contest of nerve.

A domain of merchants where fierce mind games and negotiations took place, where the more desperate side had to bow their head first.

The idea itself was nothing particularly special, but for a mere Altoan and a merchant to dare attempt such a thing against royalty was, in itself, an immense shocker in a class society.

“If she doesn’t contact us, it just means that side wanted us only that much to begin with. In that case, we wouldn’t have received good treatment even if we became her vassals anyway.”

And when the princess contacted them, they would make a counteroffer on terms far more advantageous to this side than the initial proposal.

At Roden’s opinion, Callion let out an absurd laugh.

“Ha… For me, that is something I wouldn’t dare dream of, if only out of impiety.”

For the merchant Callion, who had spent his entire life bowing his head not to royalty or nobles, but even to the servants who were their hands and feet, it was an idea exceedingly difficult to come up with.

Refusing the princess’s demand was insolent enough, but to dare hold out and wait for that side to yield and enter?

It was truly an option possible only because of a young man’s vigor.

“Good. Handle the next part among yourselves as well. It doesn’t seem to be a domain where I can help.”

“Huh? But, Father…”

Depending on what choice Shan made, Callion would naturally be entangled as well.

Because a little investigation would reveal who Shan had received sponsorship from until now.

“I am old now. Getting older isn’t necessarily a good thing. Along with wisdom, it also teaches how to be fearful and how to be servile. No doubt I would habitually bow and scrape in front of the princess, and I don’t think that would help in negotiations.”

Taking a light sip of the tea placed before him, Callion let out a sigh and spoke.

“You are twenty years old now as well. I had already raised a merchant guild at your age. Even if you still have much to learn about work, it seems your mind is already fully formed, so I trust you can do this much on your own.”

*

For more than ten days after that, Shan really did nothing, just as Roden had said.

Of course, this did not mean he neglected what he usually did, namely, maintaining himself so his body would not grow stiff or weak.

He merely spent time without going outside the house.

The only time he went out was when he received word that the item was finished from the blacksmith Callion had introduced.

Perhaps because the work was quite exhausting, the blacksmith’s face looked more haggard than when they first met.

“Here, it’s here.”

“Oh.”

Shan uttered a small exclamation as he looked at the helmet and shield held out by the blacksmith.

The shield was a size slightly larger than an outstretched palm, shaped to be used for active parrying rather than passive defense.

As requested previously, the helmet had the face area completely open so it did not obstruct the field of vision.

Since the originally pale color of the metal had turned dark and dull, recognizing the original would likely be impossible even if its former owner returned from the dead.

“If you look inside, the structure is a bit unusual, right? This was processed while adding a bit of material to the original alloy…”

Filtering out the complex parts of the blacksmith’s explanation, the conclusion was simpler than expected.

When an impact was delivered to the center of this small shield, the shock was dramatically weakened.

Instead, the durability of the edges was somewhat fragile, making it quite tricky to handle.

It was a piece of equipment perfectly suited for Shan, who had to bring the shield to block with overwhelming reflexes.

“It’s amazing that such a thing is possible without magic…”

“That’s the skill I’ve learned all my life for. Can I bill the money to Mr. Callion?”

“Yes!”

Returning to the mansion with a bright smile, Shan immediately called Roden out to the garden.

Naturally, it was to test the newly acquired shield.

“You want me to hit you with all my strength?”

“Yeah. If we prepare for each other, it won’t be practice.”

“Well, not that it would be dangerous even if I exerted my power.”

Bursting into a hearty laugh, Roden soon hardened his face sternly and aimed his large flail.

With a shout, the metal-clad stick flew in as if to crush his body.

‘As expected…’

As Sir Darkal had mentioned before, Roden’s innate talent as a warrior was not bad at all.

To be precise, his technical talent was relatively ordinary, but his physical talent was quite extraordinary.

His superior physique and the monstrous strength originating from it were not lacking compared to any knights Shan had seen so far.

The only problem was his spirit, which had stopped being refined after giving up training once, and his heart that froze when facing edged weapons.

With that thought, Shan brought the shield strapped to his forearm precisely against the flail Roden swung.

Clang! A loud noise echoed in the middle of the garden.

“Oh dear, I hit harder than I thought… Are you okay?”

“Yeah. This is really good. It’s almost unbelievable that this item isn’t enchanted. My arm doesn’t hurt at all. You can hit harder.”

Shan smiled unconsciously, finding the shield on his forearm fascinating.

Surely an attack of that magnitude should have transmitted shock and shaken his body even if blocked accurately, but the shield hummed with vibration and scattered the blow he was supposed to receive.

At this rate, if he defended while infusing fighting spirit, he felt he could even manage to block that Cockatrice’s attack.

Of course, considering that failing to hit the central impact point even once would result in getting crushed as is, it was a deed an ordinary person wouldn’t dare attempt.

Even after that, Shan received the flail Roden swung wildly several times without moving a single step.

As the sound of metal clashing continued to ring out, the servants peeked into the garden several times in surprise.

After a moment, the exhausted Roden finally declared surrender first.

“Haah, gasp, damn it. I can’t do any more.”

“Good work.”

Despite receiving over a hundred attacks for several minutes, only light scratches remained on the shield.

After briefly rejoicing over his new companion’s performance, Shan put on the helmet and folded his hands behind his back for the final test.

“…Are we really doing this?”

“Yeah.”

“No matter how I think about it, it seems dangerous.”

“It’s fine. It’s not like I’ll die.”

“Be careful.”

After dissuading and warning Shan several times, Roden took a light deep breath and swung the flail.

With a clink, his head rang and his vision flashed.

“Ugh.”

“Are you okay?”

“More or less… Wow, it really feels like my head was shaken.”

Sitting down on the spot, Shan took off the helmet and touched the back of his tingling head in admiration.

It wasn’t swung to actually crush his head, but it was still a force that would have more than knocked him out, yet it absorbed the shock better than expected.

While the two were playing around covered in sweat while swinging weapons as young men their age often did, a maid approached and called Roden.

“Um, young master. Excuse me, but a guest has arrived.”

“Who is it?”

“She said if I mentioned Mage Ryn, you would know…”

Realizing the visitor’s identity, Shan and Roden looked at each other at the same time.

Just like the name Chery she used before, the princess had no talent for creating pseudonyms.

Then again, it was likely a name made roughly so they would understand.

“How many people came in total?”

“Three people.”

“Tell them we will wash up and visit right away.”

After the maid left, Shan looked at Roden with a curious expression.

It was because he hadn’t expected her to visit this quickly no matter what.

“She came really early?”

“Actually, I pulled a few tricks.”

“Tricks?”

“Since a while ago, I bought monster-hunting potions and tools.”

Since he bought several items that explorers of the Demonic Realm would use from the Magic Society, this news must have been delivered to Princess Cheryn, who had connections with mages.

Furthermore, since warriors gathered by the two princes had set off for the east starting a few days ago, she might suspect they would join them.

If she hadn’t come even after this, he had even intended to truly head east.

He wouldn’t go to Shedil City where the two princes were expanding their influence, but he would have hunted monsters appropriately in various places in the east.

*

After taking a leisurely bath in the washhouse and changing clothes, Shan and Roden headed to the reception room, where they were greeted, as expected, by Princess Cheryn.

Disguised with amethyst glasses like last time, she had pulled down a hood on top of it.

“We greet the princess.”

Greeting politely, Shan raised his head and looked at the two escorts standing behind Cheryn.

As if they had been sufficiently treated over the past ten days, their broken bones seemed to have completely mended.

They wore expressions filled with hostility, but Shan could read anxiety and fear in their eyes.

Looking alternately at Shan and Roden, Cheryn pushed forward a woven wooden basket out of the blue instead of speaking.

“Take it.”

“…Pardon?”

At the unexpected situation, Shan accepted the basket with a somewhat bewildered expression.

Removing the cloth covering the top, inside was a neatly baked brown apple pie.

“I brought this to apologize for my rudeness last time. It feels embarrassing as if bragging, but I kneaded and baked it myself.”

An apple pie made by a princess in person was a luxury even high nobles would find hard to enjoy.

If only the person who gave it weren’t Princess Cheryn, who was called a witch, it would have been even better.

Looking at the sinister gaze of the girl watching them, Roden intuitively felt that something sneaky must have been done to that apple pie.

Who knew what kind of wicked potion the princess, an outstanding mage, might have mixed inside?

Furthermore, when she obviously harbored a grudge about being beaten up severely last time…

“Thank you, Princess. It looks delicious, but if it’s not rude, may I have a bite?”

“Go ahead. Showing a figure of eating deliciously is rather a joyful thing for the maker.”

However, Shan paid no mind to Roden’s thoughts, gave thanks, and even took a bite.

Then, admiring it, he looked back at Roden behind him and handed one over.

“This is really delicious! Roden, try a bite too.”

“Uh, right…”

In this atmosphere, he couldn’t very well say, ‘I can’t eat it because I don’t know what that woman put inside.’

When Roden also forcibly ate an apple pie, Cheryn smiled faintly and spoke.

“I am glad you eat it deliciously. That is also a tribute I, as the loser, offer to the winner.”

“Pardon?”

Could it be that because she got beaten up and suffered a bloody nose last time, she meant she lost?

At the puzzled reaction, Cheryn shook her head.

“Making me say it twice is embarrassing. It means I acknowledge my defeat. Since I came to seek you out first. State the conditions you want.”

At the unexpected words, Shan couldn’t help but make a surprised face against his will.

Did she not act as if she knew everything about how this side intentionally tried to make her anxious and counteroffer?

Anyone watching would have thought she overheard that day’s conversation in advance.

Roden, who was similarly surprised beside him, cleared his throat lightly before speaking.

“It is a shameful thing to say, but fifteen years is too long.”

“For me, a safeguard is necessary. There must be at least the resolve to fall together when I am defeated for you to fight more faithfully.”

“In any case, from the moment Shan receives knighthood from you, Princess, isn’t there no possibility of him forming a vassal contract with anyone other than you?”

“Shan would be able to build up monstrous renown even as a knight-errant. Since a knight’s title once conferred cannot be revoked anyway, I need a guarantee that you will continue to stay together.”

Roden forcefully filled his chest with courage and confronted the princess without shrinking back.

He ignored the two knights right behind her glaring at him as if saying, ‘that insolent fellow.’

Even so, weren’t they all guys who couldn’t even stand a single punch from Shan anyway…

“Fine, good. How much do you wish to reduce it to?”

“Five years.”

“Too short. Seven years-“

“Princess.”

At that moment, Shan, who was sitting quietly, called Cheryn and broke the flow of conversation.

Everyone’s gaze turned to him.

“Speak.”

“If I sign a vassal contract with you, Princess, I want to know exactly what I must do and what your plan is.”

At the unscripted question, Roden almost revealed a flustered expression despite himself.

To ask in advance to be informed of what had to be done going forward, wasn’t that something Princess Cheryn would never grant if she were in her right mind?

Whatever that plan was, if they listened and recited it elsewhere, who knew what checks they would face.

As expected, behind her glasses, the princess’s face was plainly showing discomfort.

“You will decide whether to offer loyalty only after knowing all of my grand design? Those are words unbecoming of a knight.”

“I’m not that good of a person either, but still, I don’t want to follow a bad person, which is why I ask.”

“Can you not overlook even a small injustice for the sake of your dream?”

“I want to know whether it’s small or not, which is why I am asking.”

An eloquent speech unbecoming of the usual Shan.

This was because he merely changed his tone politely, revealing his transparent inner thoughts without embellishing anything.

“Is that a condition?”

“If our intentions do not match, it means you, Princess, are unilaterally taking a loss, so it cannot be called a condition.”

When Cheryn tried to subtly turn it into a price, Roden stepped in and cut it off.

Tsk, clicking her tongue lightly, she let out a sigh and spoke.

“Fine, since this side is the one in need, it can’t be helped… I intend to become queen in the future.”

“Princess.”

Among the knights behind her, the woman tried to stop her master with a surprised expression.

Although it was something many people roughly guessed, coming directly out of her own mouth carried a completely different weight.

“Enough. He said he wants to hear it, so I must tell him. The reason I want to become queen is because both Conrad and Elvin, who will succeed to the throne of this country in the future, are absolute dimwit bastards. If those bastards become king, Pendia will fall. Though it’s already a beggar’s den with nothing more to fall into. I hate that. I want to change this country in a better direction, and I know that only I can do so.”

At the vulgar and arrogant outburst unimaginable from a princess’s mouth, the knights standing behind her squeezed their eyes shut.

Shan looked at the princess and asked.

“Why is it that only you, Princess, can change the country in a better direction?”

“Because I recognize the problems of this country and have the ability to change them. By any chance, do you know that Pendia’s population has been in a state of stagnation for the past several decades?”

“No.”

“There is still plenty of land where people can live in Pendia. There is also plenty of fertile soil where wheat would grow abundantly if you just plow the land once and scatter seeds. Yet, except for a few upper-class people, everyone else has to be trapped inside city walls, shivering and starving.”

Having already traveled here and there in the land of Pendia, it was a story Shan could emphasize with as well.

The vast majority of Pendia’s commoners lived inside walls made of wood or stone, fearing when they might be raided by monsters as they went out to farmland or gathered wood in the forest.

Then, if someone was carried off, they merely resigned themselves, thinking it couldn’t be helped.

“Can you solve this, Princess?”

“Yes. Once the research currently underway is completed, I am confident that based on this, we can completely push the monsters’ realm of activity beyond the Demonic Realm.”

“That research is-“

“What it is, I cannot tell you yet. Because that is classified.”

At the firm aura that this alone could never be told, Shan also took a step back.

Watching that scene from behind, Roden realized that before he knew it, the atmosphere had changed strangely.

‘This is…’

Originally, this was a place to discuss on what conditions Shan would receive knighthood from the princess.

Yet from some point on, it had become a situation where Shan was questioning the princess as if testing her, and the princess was appealing her qualifications to become queen.

“Simultaneously with announcing that research, I will begin aiming for the succession to the throne in earnest. Naturally, those two bastards will try to harm me using all sorts of despicable methods. The problem is that I lack the physical capability to fend that off.”

Stating that this was why she needed a powerful knight like him, Cheryn took off her glasses and looked at Shan with sharp reddish-brown eyes.