The Crown Prince Who Raises a Side Character

#12 Novice Adventurer Bern (10) – Manners Depend on the Target

#12 Novice Adventurer Bern (10) – Manners Depend on the Target

Bern’s face turned frigid.

Normally, conversing with Lucidra required only a strong conscious awareness and a train of thought, but now he inadvertently voiced his thoughts aloud.

“Do try to engage your mind before speaking.”

Lucidra sounded wronged.

[Why, what, what’s wrong with it? Do you think those devil worshippers and witches are doing that whole Sabbat thing for nothing? There aren’t many techniques as easy, fast, and efficient for gathering magic. If she’s the type with a naturally small mana pool, like that woman, her magic could multiply in an instant!]

“The method is the problem, is it not?”

Bern teaching Blanca a Lifeforce Drain technique under the guise of power enhancement? It was blatant s*xual harassment, leaving no room for argument.

Even if crude jokes were commonplace in adventurer circles, it was a different matter entirely to direct them at a comrade.

[Tch. Well, Lifeforce Drain doesn’t necessarily require s*xual acts. Touching someone directly with your hand, or more precisely, skin, to siphon their lifeforce and magic, or absorbing the spirits and vitality of those you defeat, all fall under the umbrella of ‘Lifeforce Drain’, classification-wise.]

“Hmm. That latter option sounds reasonably acceptable. How does 70% sound?”

[This, you see, is one of the sources that allows me to be called a Great Demon, yes? That pittance is nowhere near enough. Of course, I should get 100%, with added compensation besides!]

“Come to think of it, 65% seems sufficient.”

[No, you’d strip me bare and still try to profit? And why is the percentage shrinking!]

“This is, first and foremost, for the strengthening of Blanca-ssi’s power. If you drain it all away, learning the technique will be as good as not learning it at all for her. 60%.”

[Even so, this is unacceptable! Frankly, even if I took all 100%, simply divulging it would still be a loss!]

“There’s no need to reveal the knowledge or method itself. If possible, a type that can be used as a tool would be preferable. There would be less concern about leaking secrets that way. 55%.”

[No, it’s easy to say! It’s not something you can just whip up on the spot!]

“Understood. 50%.”

[Stop! Fine! I’ll do it, alright!]

“I am pleased that we have reached a mutually agreeable transaction.”

[That devilish b*stard…]

Bern frowned, momentarily puzzled.

If it were a human, that would be like calling someone of a different race ‘that human-like thing!’ Would that even count as an insult?

Approximately ten minutes passed. A small ring popped out of Bern’s shadow.

For something that couldn’t be whipped up on the spot, it certainly was completed in a rather short time.

[It’s a crystallization of a portion of my essence. While wearing it, if you kill monsters or humans, it will absorb a fraction of their life force and bestow it upon the wearer. If you touch the opponent with the ringed hand, the absorption rate will be even faster.]

Perhaps making the ring was no easy task, as Lucidra’s voice held a slightly weakened quality.

“Does it increase the total capacity, or the current amount of mana?”

[Both. If the user’s vessel is empty, it fills the contents. If the vessel is full, it expands the vessel itself.]

“Hoh.”

Bern was genuinely impressed.

So this meant that, at least in terms of magical power, he could level up and raise his stats like an RPG character defeating monsters.

Considering that your average adventurer could slaughter a hundred goblins without seeing any significant improvement to their abilities, this was practically cheating.

“Are there any side effects or precautions I should be aware of?”

[Nobody but that woman can use it. The terms of the deal are strictly ‘a means to help that woman’.]

Bern nodded.

Lucidra, too, must find her power wandering about like this not just unpleasant, but a serious threat, so the restriction was understandable enough.

[…But really. Why are you so fixated on her?]

“Fixated? Are you talking about me?”

[Isn’t it obvious? Purely in terms of talent or potential, this Blanca, or whatever she’s called, isn’t anything special. Wouldn’t it be better to just rise through the ranks on your own, and then associate with people on your level, instead of taking in and raising a weakling?]

Lucidra couldn’t understand Bern.

Right now, he was still being treated as a ‘promising rookie,’ but once word of this goblin incident truly got out, Bern’s value would skyrocket, and many more would be offering him far better deals.

So, why was he so obsessed with Blanca that he’d go this far? How close could they even be?

To her question, Bern answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“Well, that’s precisely the kind of thing a crown prince *can’t* do, you see.”

[What?]

At the unexpected answer, Lucidra’s words were laced with question marks.

Bern offered a wry smile.

A crown prince, at the center of so much power and authority, was, ironically, heavily restricted in his actions.

He couldn’t freely wander outside the palace, nor easily bestow favors on whomever he pleased, even if his heart desired it.

The very notion of the Crown Prince showing favor to, or becoming close with, a specific individual…politically, it offered far too many pretexts.

But an adventurer did not.

If there was something he wished to do, he simply did it, and if there was someone he favored, he simply helped them.

That was the dream the Crown Prince harbored, and that was the adventurer, Bern.

“Well, there is such a th… hmm?”

Bern cocked his head.

His keen senses had detected the sound of hurried footsteps rushing towards the room he occupied.

“Brother! Are you there? Brother!!”

The voice, pounding urgently on the door, was one familiar to Bern.

Bern opened the door, and Renya, soaked in sweat, blurted,

“Sister Blanca is in danger, Brother!”

Bern’s eyes narrowed.

*

“Blanca, you know…I think you’ve been pushing it a little too far lately, no?”

There was a saying amongst adventurers.

The very moment one felt fortune had smiled upon them, that was the most dangerous moment of all.

It was more than simple worry…the proverb was backed by a fair number of real-life examples.

Luck had a way of intoxicating the heart, and such a heady state was always fatal to adventurers, who lived constantly on the knife’s edge.

But.

Even so, wasn’t this happening far too quickly? Blanca sighed heavily.

“I’m not sure what you’re trying to say out of the blue like this, Karina.”

Unlike Blanca, whose sky-blue hair was paired with an outfit that left no skin exposed save for her face, the red-haired woman, her shoulders and upper chest bare, offered a wry smile.

“Truthfully, I was rather pleased when I heard you’d been hired as a guild receptionist. Being an old comrade, it was better than you just wandering around getting ridiculed, seeing you settle down and find some stability.”

“But,” Karina continued,

“Such a rare opportunity. You tossed aside a receptionist position others could only dream of, and snatched up a rookie still wet behind the ears, acting like it was a blessing. You even fabricated false merits with a report that barely made sense. Blanca, why have you sunk so low? You’re making us all blush with shame.”

Karina’s voice was thick with loathing and contempt she didn’t even bother to conceal.

Thinking that was quite grim, Blanca turned her gaze to the others around Karina.

Two warriors. A rogue. A priest… or rather, a mage who could use healing magic.

All faces Blanca recognized.

Ironically, only one seemed embarrassed and avoided eye contact. The rest stared at Blanca with suspicion and discontent, clearly siding with Karina.

“Karina’s right. No matter how desperate you are, pulling off absurd stunts like that tarnishes our reputation as well.”

“I haven’t pulled off any absurd stunts.”

“Ha! So you expect us to believe that just two people subjugated hundreds of goblins?”

“The guild sent out an investigation team and verified it.”

“Well, you were briefly affiliated with the guild, weren’t you? How do we know you didn’t pull some shady strings behind the scenes?”

Blanca’s brow furrowed.

Their words were a stretch. The Adventurer’s Guild wasn’t an organization you could easily deceive, and those words could be perceived as questioning the guild’s competence and impartiality.

If an ordinary adventurer were known to have uttered such things in the middle of the street, the guild could rightfully penalize that adventurer.

But these people were no ordinary adventurers.

They were a 3rd Class adventurer party, rare enough to be counted on two hands even within the entire Eastern Branch, and skilled enough that their promotion to 4th Class was practically guaranteed.

It wasn’t as if she’d openly rebelled against the Guild; they wouldn’t lightly punish someone for mere street chatter. Too valuable, they were. Especially if it was just a spat between old comrades.

“Believe it or not, your choice. Do as you please. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

“Wait, we’re not finished here.”

Blanca figured more words would only bring exhaustion. She’d already turned to leave, but her movements ground to a halt.

Several ice shards, conjured from thin air, encircled her, barring her path.

Blanca’s gaze turned glacial.

She faced the red-haired mage.

“Don’t cross the line, Karina.”

“You crossed it first. Kicked out for incompetence, and still tarnishing the party’s name even after you’re gone?”

Blanca gritted her teeth.

The Blanca of the past could have melted such paltry ice tricks with a casual wave of flame. Back when they were in the same party, fire and ice were constant rivals. The others used to joke that their hair colors were swapped, since the magic each of them should learn was opposite.

But the Blanca of now had to treat even such minor posturing as a genuine threat.

Sure, she could probably melt those ice shards right now, but Karina would only respond with something stronger. And in the end, she would be the one forced to yield.

“What do you want?”

“Now you’re talking.”

Karina’s smile widened.

Her demeanor suggested she found Blanca’s barely suppressed humiliation irresistibly amusing.

“Well, it’s hardly the place for a lengthy chat out here. How about we move somewhere more private? Catch up, for old time’s sake. Hmm?”

Just as Blanca, against her better judgment, was about to concede to Karina’s almost unsuitably gentle voice, a shout pierced the air.

“There! Over there! Boss!”

A voice as frivolous as its owner was lacking in gravitas – a mere sycophant, and a third-rate one at that – pointed wildly in their direction, panting. A man who was truly, undeniably, a lightweight.

Then, Blanca felt a sudden weightlessness.

“…Huh?”

Her vision spun, a disorienting whirl.

The firm sensation of arms encircling her.

Realizing she was being held in a princess carry, Blanca blankly lifted her gaze upwards, and murmured.

“Bern?”

“Ms. Blanca, are you alright?”

“Why…”

*Why* are you here, *why* did you interfere, *why* do you wear such a grim face?

The ‘why’ was heavy with unspoken meaning, but no answer came.

Bern simply assessed Blanca, and, seeing no obvious injuries, carefully set her back on the ground.

“What *is* that?”

Karina stared, disbelieving.

The ice shards she’d suspended in the air, poised as a barrier behind Blanca, remained frozen in place.

And yet, this Bern had nonchalantly whisked Blanca away, and the process by which he’d accomplished it was utterly invisible to Karina’s eyes.

Karina’s gaze flicked to her companions.

Given the fact that physical prowess was so vital for warriors, especially her comrades who could augment their bodies with mana, she’d assumed they would have seen what the young man had done.

But they couldn’t answer Karina’s question.

For they, too, had failed to witness precisely what Bern had accomplished.

They conveyed the anomalous situation to Karina with their eyes, adopting defensive stances, and she felt a flicker of disquiet.

She’d heard he was reasonably skilled, but that they, those who possessed even the upper echelon of skill within the 3rd tier, hadn’t even been able to perceive his movements?

Yet, Karina was a veteran adventurer herself.

She quickly quelled her unease and swiftly dispelled the ice spikes.

Realizing that the other’s capabilities might be far beyond her initial estimate, she judged that dialogue would be more advantageous than combat.

“Bern, was it? It seems there’s been some misunderstanding. What just happened wasn’t exactly intended to inflict genuine harm. It was merely… an attempt to initiate a conversation.”

And then, Bern replied.

“Can’t you tell the difference between conversation and intimidation, you dimwit?”

Such crude language, utterly at odds with Bern’s usual demeanor, caused the atmosphere to freeze over.