The Crown Prince Who Raises a Side Character

#16 New Adventurer Bern (14) – Assigning Meaning

#16 New Adventurer Bern (14) – Assigning Meaning

Though he received what could be considered an unfair reprimand from Lucedra, Bern was unconcerned.

For a demon is a creature who, above all else, uses a crafty tongue to beguile humans.

To assign great significance to each and every word of such a demon was a surefire way to fall into a trap.

[No, that’s not the point at all! Oh, my, really, oh, my!]

Leaving Lucedra, who was pounding her chest in frustration as if suffocating (a sight visually quite harmful to minors), the party reassembled at the Adventurer’s Guild.

“Can’t you lot… just try to be well-behaved, even for a single day…?”

Somehow, the receptionist, looking as if he had aged a year in just one day, had directly summoned them for a discussion. However, they didn’t receive a severe scolding or anything.

In the first place, the Adventurer’s Guild did not mediate disputes between adventurers.

The guild’s essence was as a brokerage, and the relationship between adventurers and the guild was closer to a business transaction than a superior-subordinate one.

It was similar to how a convenience store owner wouldn’t take sides or punish one of two regular customers if they got into a fistfight outside.

Of course, if one caused a disturbance within the guild, resulting in damage to people or property, or if one betrayed another ‘during a quest’ and tarnished the guild’s reputation, then the story would be different. But at least, the incident Bern had caused was far from such a scenario.

Of course, it was quite a painful matter that Karina’s party, an ace-level force within the Eastern Branch, would be out of commission for a while. Still, wasn’t it absurd to reprimand Bern or Blanca when they were the ones who started the trouble and ended up getting taken down?

“Haa, alright, never mind. It’s true that they’ve been getting a little arrogant lately as they’ve been doing too well. If this incident makes them come to their senses, it should be considered a benefit in the long run. Blanca, are you alright?”

“Yes? Oh, yes. I’m fine thanks to Bern.”

“That’s a relief then…?”

The office manager, about to idly dismiss the conversation, cocked his head. A subtle, fluttering energy seemed to emanate from Blanca’s voice.

A quick glance.

A series of quick glances.

Her eyes, ceaselessly checking Bern’s profile.

A body constantly fidgeting, restless.

‘What is this. Who is *he*?’

For a moment, the office manager felt a cognitive dissonance.

From the time Blanca, still a girl, first came to the guild requesting the subjugation of a lich, he had maintained a long relationship with her.

He knew better than almost anyone how many people, captivated by Blanca’s delicate appearance, had attempted to approach her, and how much of an iron wall she had erected against them.

The poor reviews those she rejected spread behind her back – that she was haughty, ignored others – were one of the reasons she couldn’t easily mingle with 2nd-tier adventurers even after being kicked out of her 3rd-tier party.

But now?

“Blanca, I was thinking that for the new request, we should probably go with one that involves facing a large number of enemies. What are your thoughts?”

“I, I think Bern is right. Because, um, we already have experience dealing with a large number of enemies, right? So, in that respect…”

“I see. It would certainly be easier to apply what we’ve already experienced.”

Bern nodded as if it were nothing, and Blanca’s lips twitched, seemingly delighted even by that simple reaction.

She was trying, in her own way, to offer some reasoning instead of just saying “yes” unconditionally, or trying to maintain a nonchalant expression instead of openly smiling. But to the office manager, it was having the opposite effect.

‘…A country girl falling for a city boy for the first time probably wouldn’t act *this* obvious.’

Was this how it felt to see a sister who had insisted she’d remain single her whole life suddenly thrashing about in the throes of first love?

Feeling a mix of disbelief, bewilderment, and a strange sense of loneliness, the office manager turned his gaze to the last member.

He had seen too many times how, when a romantic relationship formed within a party, the third party excluded from that connection became a source of trouble.

If signs of that appear, as a senior and former superior, I would take my own measures…

“Oho, Elder Brother! Elder Sister! Forest clearing around the city, a heart as vast as the sea that prioritizes minimizing civilian casualties over personal gain! This Renya will engrave it deep in my bones and do my utmost to at least follow in your footsteps!!”

“……”

The bureaucrat silently pulled out his pipe and lit it.

He just wanted to quit everything and rest now.

*

There’s a type of request commonly called “Cleaning.”

It refers to requests of the sort where monsters in and around human settlements like villages and cities are wiped out. If there’s a forest around a settlement, it becomes forest cleaning; if there’s a lake, lake cleaning; if there’s a swamp, swamp cleaning, with the specific name changing accordingly.

The purpose of the request is preemptive population control, so that monsters whose numbers have grown too large don’t encroach on the areas where humans live.

And this “Cleaning” was, if not the absolute worst, at least among the least favored requests for adventurers.

“Cleaning” is usually commissioned by the nobles who rule the area in question. As everyone knows, the nobles of Virka mostly possess either corruption or incompetence, or both, as if they were passive skills.

The ones who are diligent and mindful enough to operate soldiers to subjugate monsters and collect those resources are at least competent, even if corrupt. The rest can’t even manage that and leave the cleanup to the adventurers.

Just the fact that monster parties of around five individuals each, the average size of an adventurer party, are tasked with subjugation operations that should originally be carried out by forces numbering dozens is exhausting enough.

On top of that, nobles who begrudge the cost of requesting the guild typically let the monsters run rampant to the brink of saturation before finally commissioning the task. So, the actual number of individuals to be subjugated snowballs into an avalanche.

“The Lord, the rightful owner of this land and the sole heir of the Brota family, has bestowed upon you the right to enter his forest for three days. Also, he has graciously allowed you to acquire the byproducts of the monsters you hunt for the same three days. Show your gratitude for the Lord’s great grace and dedicate yourselves to the subjugation with utmost effort!”

Finally, the knight, reluctantly granting permission to collect spoils after repeated demands from the guild, acting as if it were a benevolent favor.

At this point, Bern was beginning to let out a hollow laugh.

“I just don’t understand why these people strut around calling themselves nobles. A Lord protects his people, and the people reward the Lord. I can’t fathom why those who can’t even uphold this basic principle are so arrogant.”

“Is that so? It’s just another day in Virka, I suppose. Is Isern different?”

“Well…”

Bern, about to assert that, of course, things were different, paused a moment.

At least, according to his true self, the ‘Crown Prince,’ the Eisern Empire wasn’t quite such a train wreck of a nation.

But the Empire the Crown Prince knew was based purely on reports. He hadn’t personally witnessed it with his own eyes or experienced it firsthand.

Could one truly say there was zero chance that the high-ups were being fed carefully curated, positive news while corruption ran rampant below?

‘…I chose the Kingdom of Virka, so far away, specifically because I wanted to experience something new, but it might be worthwhile to check up on the Empire once in a while.’

A decision that, if Lucidra were to hear it, she’d retort, ‘You didn’t create a doppelganger to enjoy your leisure time? Why are you trying to work again?’ Nevertheless, Bern continued,

“Well, based on what I’ve seen so far, that’s how it is, but I suppose it’s not impossible that similar things might be happening in places I haven’t observed.”

Blanca nodded.

“Right? I mean, where does a perfect nation exist?”

They walked on, chatting about how noble scoundrels were the most avoided clients for adventurers, and how if the nobles near the royal capital weren’t so strong, the adventurers would have obliterated them long ago, and so on.

─Uuuhh… Uuu…

A bizarre wail, like a woman’s sob, reached Bern’s ears.

And, two beats later than Bern, Lenya also shuddered.

Lenya, with an unusually serious face, was originally a scout, a kind of ranger, among the adventurers.

Though his reaction was slower than Bern’s, considering the difference in their abilities, his sensory perception was still quite commendable.

Furthermore, he possessed knowledge that Bern lacked.

“Brothers, Sister, be careful. It’s a Purlfrug pack. They hide their presence and mimic the cries of various species to lure prey, then ambush anyone who gets close—they’re a type of wolf monster.”

“How different are they from regular wolves?”

“Their physical abilities are only slightly better. However, listening to their cries for too long will cause you to lose your sense of direction, experience auditory hallucinations, and become drowsy, as if you haven’t fully woken up. When you’re alone, it’s best to block your hearing entirely, even at risk. When you have companions, you should wake each other up periodically. If neither is possible, a swift victory is best.”

Bern nodded, then surveyed his surroundings.

Their current position: the plains.

If monsters were attempting to lure them even before they’d so much as brushed the edge of the forest, let alone stepped inside, then the interior must be positively teeming with them, saturated to the brim.

A typical band of adventurers would recoil, but for Vern, this situation was almost… welcome.

“Blanca, cast aside all concerns about fire hazards, and focus solely on obliterating the enemy. I can handle the flames, no problem.”

“…Yes, I will try my best.”

“Renya. You need not engage in the attack, simply remain by Blanca’s side and be vigilant against any unexpected ambush.”

“I shall dedicate this very life of mine, to ensure not so much as a scratch touches my lady!”

Vern adjusted his grip on his sword, his gaze fixed on the forest before them.

The hour of the hunt had arrived.

*

It might be difficult to imagine based solely on appearances, but Blanca, surprisingly, possessed a fair grasp of swordsmanship.

Not due to some sorcerer-knight’s romantic ideal, of course, but simply because her arsenal of offensive magic consisted of only two fire-based spells, leading to situations where she couldn’t just carelessly unleash her magic.

The prime example: battling within a forest.

If she carelessly rained fire magic in a forest, where the surroundings were saturated with burnable materials, she might very well defeat the enemy, but she would likely perish herself in the subsequent inferno.

No, even if she were to survive unscathed, her wealth might be obliterated.

Wasn’t the very reason she found herself indebted to the guild because of a magical surge that ended up incinerating a nobleman’s hunting grounds?

However.

At least for this moment, Blanca had no need to wield a sword.

*Thwack!* *Thump!* *Plop!*

With a cacophony of violent sound effects, a heap of gray-furred wolves piled up before Blanca, like some haphazard stack of baggage.

Bones jutted out broken, limbs were shattered, or twisted in grotesque angles, yet at least, they hadn’t quite breathed their last.

And towards that heap of wolves, Blanca unhesitatingly unleashed her spell.

『The Rock-Scorching Spell』

Not as potent as when she used it with oil in the Goblin Lord’s den, but the flames, nevertheless, possessed heat overflowing to incinerate living flesh and blood, instantly roasting the Pulprugs alive.

Some embers escaped the main blast, a consequence a bit excessive, but it hardly mattered.

Before those sparks could fully ignite, a fresh Pulprug plunged to earth directly onto the embers, extinguishing them with its body.

And once a sufficient number had gathered, again, she incinerated them with 『The Rock-Scorching Spell』.

Repeating that process, Blanca trembled with a thrill.

Was it because of Bern’s prowess, easily subduing the undeniably monstrous Pulprugs, piling them before her? That was certainly astonishing, but having already witnessed Bern’s skills, it was more admiration than outright shock, from Blanca’s perspective.

The reason for her thrill lay elsewhere.

‘My mana… it’s not decreasing!’

Blanca wasn’t blessed with an abundance of natural mana.

The intermediate-level spell, 『The Rock-Scorching Spell』, was limited to twice a day, assuming she used no other magic.

Yet now, she’d cast the intermediate spell over ten times, and her mana showed no signs of diminishing.

No, it was decreasing, but the amount and speed at which her mana replenished surpassed the expenditure.

It absorbs the essence of the life slain by the wearer, bestowing it upon its owner.

If mana is depleted, it replenishes it; if mana is full, it expands the vessel.

When Bern explained the ring’s detailed workings, Blanca (having regained some composure) realized, ‘So, to increase my mana capacity itself, I need to slay them without using magic.’

She considered it a somewhat troublesome condition, but didn’t voice complaint. This alone was already an enormous boon.

However, the ring’s actual efficacy wasn’t some mere trifle.

When an intermediate spell annihilated a foe, the magic consumed to cast it was instantly restored in full, and the remaining excess essence increased the maximum mana capacity.

Only several dozen minutes into the hunt, and Blanca’s total mana pool had already doubled, despite her continuous barrage of intermediate spells.

To call it simply ‘efficient’ was to diminish the truth.

It felt as though even the most esteemed aristocratic families’ mana cultivation methods would pale in comparison to this ring’s power.

Where, in the world, did he get such a ring?

If not for the contract stipulation of not probing into the true nature of Bern’s strength or techniques, she would have seized him and bombarded him with questions.

No, that’s not it.

What she truly longed to ask him was—

Grind.

Biting her lip, Blanca forcefully suppressed her fleeting thoughts.

To indulge in such idle musings during combat—was it not too unfair to Bern, who was currently working so hard for her sake?

He said he needed a ‘companion’ and handed her the ring.

Therefore, she would merely respond to that, as a companion.

Yes.

Questions like, ‘Did the act of handing over the ring hold any other meaning?’ were things that absolutely must not be asked.