The Crown Prince Who Raises a Side Character

Newbie Adventurer Bern (17) – Promotion Quest

Newbie Adventurer Bern (17) – Promotion Quest

Sergio, Chief Secretary of the Golden Cloud Palace, tending to the Crown Prince, was a veteran bureaucrat, boasting over forty years of service within the Imperial Palace.

He had handled countless affairs since the days of the late Emperor – the Crown Prince’s grandfather – and assisted various members of the Imperial family with their duties.

When the Emperor delegated a portion of his responsibilities to the Crown Prince under the guise of succession training, his colleagues cast worried glances towards Sergio, assigned as support.

“Seriously, isn’t the Crown Prince still undergoing his successor education? There’s no way he’ll have time to actually *do* the work. You’ll be doing everything.”

“Just doing the work would be a blessing. What if something goes wrong and you get stuck with the blame…? Ugh.”

The Imperial family of Eisen’s education was so brutal that even Sergio and the other retainers couldn’t deny it.

There was only so much one could learn and absorb, yet they were trying to cram in knowledge and skills from every conceivable field. How could anyone endure it?

Thus, it was common for Imperial family members to focus on fields that aligned with their personal interests and give other classes a superficial effort, or even skip them altogether.

But the current Crown Prince took *every* class, no matter what, seriously.

Thanks to this, instructors who were used to coaxing and cajoling unmotivated members of the Imperial Family to barely get by were jubilant. But the officials assigned to the Crown Prince, Sergio included, wore dark expressions.

The work the Emperor had delegated to the Crown Prince was only a fraction of his total workload, yet it demanded paperwork processing skills on par with governing a sizable County.

It was already a considerable amount to throw at the Crown Prince, who had no practical experience, and on top of that, he still had to continue his existing education.

Even if the Crown Prince was skilled and diligent, this was simply physically impossible.

As his colleagues had said, the actual work would be handled by Sergio and the officials dispatched to Geumun Palace.

And if something went wrong because of it, the responsibility would fall on Sergio, not the Crown Prince.

Rather than tarnish the career of the Crown Prince who would sit on the Imperial throne, it would be far more rational to cast aside Sergio, who, however capable, was just another official.

‘Perhaps my career as an official ends here.’

With half resignation, half resolve, Sergio entered the service of the Crown Prince—

“See to it that more warehouses are built in this region promptly. We must store reserves of grain in advance when the harvest is bountiful, so problems don’t arise in times of need.”

“Here, re-examine this document. Comparing it with other records, the quantity of delivered stone doesn’t match. If it’s a simple calculation error, fine, but if someone has embezzled, they must be severely punished.”

“About the system of accepting local specialties as taxes in the frontier regions where currency isn’t widely used, it seems there are issues with the allocated specialties for each region. Here, this place—the lake dried up fifty years ago, so how can they still designate fish as a local specialty? Are they supposed to go to other regions to trade for goods and then pay taxes? It’s not only arduous for the people, but the inconsistent quantities are also a loss for the Imperial family. Re-evaluate it entirely and change it to specialties appropriate for the current situation. If possible, unifying everything with currency would be best.”

—and beheld a new world.

‘What… is this?’

The Crown Prince was capable.

No, beyond just capable, he seemed to be someone born for work.

Of course, since he was handling practical matters for the first time, he wasn’t completely without inexperience, but it was within the range that Sergio and the aides could sufficiently cover. Besides, once he recognized a problem, the speed at which he corrected it was also fast.

While appropriately utilizing Sergio and the other secretaries, he didn’t burden them with excessive tasks or pass off responsibilities to them.

Sergio was amazed by the Crown Prince’s abilities, but at the same time, he was worried.

‘He will have so much to do in the future, I wonder how long this initial enthusiasm will last.’

Spirit or motivation were easy to overlook because they weren’t visible, but in reality, they were resources that needed replenishing, just like physical strength.

Sergio had witnessed many times how newcomers, brimming with enthusiasm and working passionately, would later burn out completely, leaving only ashes behind.

He didn’t have to look far; the current Emperor, the Crown Prince’s own father, had passionately led state affairs when he first ascended the throne, but at some point, he had gradually lost the will to govern and fallen into hedonism and indolence, hadn’t he?

It was fortunate that the Crown Prince had distinguished himself early on and the Emperor, acknowledging this, swiftly ceded him authority; otherwise, the Emperor’s many consorts and their offspring might have plunged the Empire into utter chaos.

‘To avoid such a fate, His Highness the Crown Prince must take proper rest.’

Sergio knew that a man who shrewdly avoided overwork, embracing leisure and hobbies, would labor longer and more consistently than one who toiled relentlessly.

And from this perspective, the Crown Prince was in dire straits.

Day after day, he worked without respite. When would he rest and replenish his energy?

Yet, with even rumors circulating that the Emperor, impressed by the Crown Prince’s competence, was seeking to offload additional duties onto him, Sergio, a mere bureaucrat, had virtually no way to grant the Crown Prince respite.

He could only strive to do his best within the confines of his appointed role.

“Hmm, the weather is splendid. A delightful day, indeed.”

However, the Crown Prince, much to Sergio’s relief, showed no signs of fatigue.

No, in fact, he seemed to grow more energetic with each passing day.

Sergio could not help but marvel.

If the Crown Prince, with no personal life to speak of and consumed by work, felt such enthusiasm, the source was obvious, wasn’t it?

‘Ah! His Highness finds joy in leading the nation and caring for his people!’

It was truly astonishing, and deeply moving.

He almost resented his own graying hair, which he could no longer conceal.

If only he could pledge his allegiance by His Highness’s side for even one more day.

Vowing to do his utmost for as long as he served, Sergio renewed his resolve.

“Heh heh, I hadn’t realized how amusing it is to cultivate talented subordinates. I might even consider creating a doppelganger to work as a teacher someday.”

[Those poor souls toiling below don’t seem to be having any fun at all?]

“Ha ha, what does a devil know about humans? Leveling up is a universal thrill, my friend.”

[Even a devil knows better than you, you near-human princeling.]

Sometimes, ignorance was the better part of valor.

*

“I intend to entrust you with a Rank 4 promotion quest.”

The Adventurer’s Guild, Eastern Branch.

The atmosphere grew palpably heavier at the words spilled by the clerk.

If Rank 1 were small fry, Rank 2 regulars, and Rank 3 elites, then Rank 4 adventurers were the aces; perhaps only a single team existed per branch.

Rank 5 adventurers were a single entity – the Guild Master – and he rarely accepted quests, his presence anchoring the Guild Headquarters. In effect, they were the pinnacle of active adventurers.

Blanca felt her body stiffen without her conscious will. The chance she once held in her grasp, only to see it slip and fall away, had returned once more.

Even Renya, normally a whirlwind of frivolous exuberance, maintained an uncharacteristic composure, her face subtly taut with anticipation.

“A promotion quest… does that mean all three of us will be registered as Rank 4 adventurers upon completion?”

Only Bern, as always, remained imperturbable.

Standing on the precipice of a position unattainable for most, even with a lifetime of effort, he displayed an almost disinterested apathy.

It might have appeared as though he disdained the Guild’s ranking system, but the clerk neither bristled nor took offense.

Though relatively inexperienced, and requiring more time due to building achievements as a party, Bern’s skills alone were worthy of a Rank 4 promotion long ago.

He could have pressured the Guild to expedite his advancement had he desired, but his quiet diligence in accepting quests as assigned spoke volumes of his character and integrity.

“Indeed. Succeed here, and you’re Rank 4. Though failure doesn’t preclude a second chance, it would certainly push it further away.”

“Understood. What are the specifics of the request?”

“You will need to travel north, far north, to the fiefdom of Frencia. There’s been a series of disappearances – young women vanishing one after another. We received a request to resolve this matter, whatever it may be.”

“One moment.”

Then, Blanca, who had been listening quietly, stepped forward and asked.

“Frencia… isn’t that where the Alsace Party is stationed?”

The name, Alsace Party, was familiar to Bern as well.

Surely, the Eastern Branch’s only Rank 4 party as of now carried that name.

The clerk nodded.

“Truth is, this request was originally handled by the Alsace Party. But they couldn’t find the cause no matter what they did, and they gave up the request.”

“So you’re saying we should solve a request that even a Rank 4 party couldn’t and gave up on?”

“Then nobody will be able to object to your promotion. You’ve already got more than enough accomplishments, but there are always those who grumble because of your excessively short experience.”

Blanca hummed quietly for a moment.

A request with no clear instructions, like go defeat someone or fetch a certain ingredient.

They had to find the cause, and figure out how to solve it, all on their own.

A task requiring not only fighting prowess, but also investigative skills, judgment, and adaptability – truly worthy of a high-rank request.

Difficult.

But, to get the information about liches she wanted, she had to reach Rank 4, no matter what.

Blanca met Bern’s eyes and nodded, and Bern spoke again.

“Very well. We’ll depart immediately.”