The Crown Prince Who Raises a Side Character

Episode 6: Novice Adventurer Bern (4) – Goblins

Episode 6: Novice Adventurer Bern (4) – Goblins

The news that Bern had ultimately chosen Blanca as a party member caused the adventurers to sigh in chorus or click their tongues.

“There goes another promising talent, down the drain.”

“Come now, is there any need to go *that* far? She is still a mage, after all.”

“Quiet. A mage is a mage, but each is different. Truth is, without her staff, she’s practically nothing.”

“She seemed quite adept at her receptionist duties; if she’d just stayed there, everyone would have moved on amicably, without hard feelings.”

“Don’t be too discouraged. Perhaps there will be an opportunity to work together later, no?”

It wasn’t just the adventurers; the Guild, too, wore a distinctly uneasy expression.

In particular, the clerk who had initially brought Blanca in as a receptionist expressed his dissatisfaction openly.

“Did it really have to be this way? I don’t believe I treated you unfairly.”

“It wasn’t bad. I simply had other things I needed to do.”

“Tch, you’ll be feeling the eyes on you for a while. That’s just how rumors are. If they spread in a good direction, even trivial things become great achievements, but if they spread in a bad direction, things you never even did somehow become things you actually committed.”

“I took the plunge knowing full well. I had to seize it, even if it meant this.”

“…Huh, I know you’re a rising star, but is it really *that* important to you?”

The clerk was one of the few who knew Blanca’s skill when she was at her peak.

After her staff broke during a quest, her magical output decreased significantly, leading to ridicule about how she was nothing without her gear, but the world was overflowing with people who couldn’t even properly utilize that gear in the first place.

What good is overwhelming power, if one cannot use it where it truly matters? It is but a jewel wasted on a pig’s neck.

Blanca didn’t bother to reply.

Truth be told, even her own decision to take on Vern had been half-intuition.

Seeing her silence, the clerk simply shrugged, then slid a request form across the counter.

Blanca scanned it, her brow furrowing.

– Subject: Goblin Lair Eradication.

– Client: The Barony of Atra.

– Testimonies of goblin sightings within the Barony’s forest have become frequent. It is presumed a lair exists somewhere within the woods, thus swift extermination is requested.

– Any byproducts or materials acquired during the goblin extermination are yours to keep.

“The work is bothersome, the pay meager, so no one wants to take it. Even when I suggested they increase the reward, they wouldn’t so much as listen. Yet, they still badger me about why it isn’t resolved quickly. Damn b*stards.”

“I don’t want to do it either.”

“You were trying to recruit that newbie for your party during work hours, weren’t you? If you do other things while on duty, you have to accept the penalty.”

“That’s a separate matter entirely. I’d rather have my salary from when I was a receptionist docked.”

“Ha, you’re not giving in easily. Truly, a talent perfectly optimized for reception work.”

The clerk puffed out a cloud of pipe smoke, then smacked his lips as if regretting something before amending, “You and your partner. I’ll give you bonus points for your promotion evaluation.”

“That’s a given. And from now on, let me receive Grade 3 requests as well.”

“Don’t you know party requests are always based on the lowest rank among the party members?”

“That’s to prevent talentless guys from leeching onto higher-ranked adventurers and forcibly boosting their own ranks. If you have the skill, there shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Tsk. In that case, you’ll have to complete three difficult Grade 2 requests that everyone else is avoiding, including this one. If you don’t want people saying you got special treatment, you’ll need the results to back it up.”

“If those requests are all calculated at double points, well, it’s not so bad. Don’t even think about trying to pull anything, alright? I’ve already memorized all the evaluation score criteria from my time as a receptionist.”

“You’re acting like a right royal pain. Now get to work!”

The section chief waved his hand dismissively, and Blanca bowed her head slightly before departing.

“Such a waste, such a waste…”

*

“Because of that whole situation, Goblin extermination became our first request. Sorry for deciding that all on my own.”

Blanca, having finished her receptionist duties and returning to her role as an adventurer.

At Blanca’s apology, Vern shook his head.

“No, it’s alright. I was intending to accept as diverse a range of requests as possible anyway. And if our evaluation improves as a bonus, there’s no reason to refuse.”

“…Well, it’s fortunate if you see it that way.”

Blanca felt a complicated mix of emotions.

While it was good that he wasn’t being fussy, the fact was that Vern’s attitude felt a bit too lighthearted.

“How much do you know about Goblins?”

“I’ve heard many stories. Though, if you ask if I know the details, the answer would be no.”

“Well, that’s probably how it is. Especially if you’re from the Empire.”

“Does my origin matter?”

Blanca shrugged.

“Goblins are monsters with a strong reproductive ability, so if they’re left alone for a long time, their numbers quickly increase. That’s why it’s harder to see Goblins the more powerful the nation. If even one is sighted, soldiers from nearby territories will deploy and smash their den to pieces.”

The Kingdom of Birka was exactly the opposite, she continued.

“The royalty and nobles of this kingdom are basically uninterested in anything other than the land they directly govern. Or rather, they tend to quietly brush off even events that occur within their own lands unless the damage is immediately significant. That’s why monsters like Goblins are scattered all over the place.”

“If goblins proliferate and threaten the common folk, wouldn’t that endanger the fiefdom’s operation? Putting aside questions of good and evil, even from a purely profit-driven perspective, wouldn’t consistent extermination be more advantageous? If they’re such prolific breeders, why not designate them as hunting targets for the soldiers to gain practical experience, and conduct regular subjugation expeditions?”

Blanca blinked.

Bern, equally perplexed, tilted his head.

Had he said something odd?

“…That remark was terribly… aristocratic. To consider protecting the common folk as a matter of profit, and the idea of using goblins as training fodder is… novel, to say the least.”

Bern abruptly snapped his mouth shut, realizing his blunder.

From the shadows, Lucidra giggled.

[Well, duh! Just because a precious, sheltered crown prince, raised in a palace, changes his speech and appearance doesn’t mean his mindset will immediately follow suit!]

*Ugh,* Bern groaned inwardly.

Having memories of his past life meant he wasn’t quite the hothouse flower, completely ignorant of life outside the palace, as Lucidra suggested. Still, having lived that way for over twenty years, a certain degree of influence was unavoidable.

Position shapes the person, they say, and being constantly required to be ‘Crown Prince,’ barring sleeping hours, what else could he do?

[Why don’t you ditch this amateur act and just reveal your crown prince status? Then idiots like those ones from before wouldn’t dare give you trouble, right?]

*‘The Crown Prince is Alond. Here, I am the adventurer Bern.’*

[You’re so stubbornly headstrong.]

Bern resolved to commit to an even more thorough role-playing game (RP), and plastered on a face of iron.

“Is that so? The lord receives taxes from the common folk. Ultimately, if they are impoverished or lose their lives, the lord also suffers a loss. Naturally, the lord has a duty to protect them, whether driven by divine mandate or self-interest.”

“Well, I suppose there must be plenty of lords lacking even that much sense. There are a lot of fools in the world, after all. Holding a high position doesn’t necessarily mean they’re intelligent.”

It wasn’t just him. Blanca’s words didn’t quite sound like a commoner’s way of thinking either.

Bern considered this, but chose not to point it out.

“Anyway, let’s get going.”

“Yes.”

*

The road to the Barony of Atra, where their target awaited.

The two decided on a brief respite, initiating a simple exchange of information.

Though both Bern and Blanca had independently investigated the other, it was undeniable that to move in harmony, hearing each other’s strengths and limitations directly was the most reliable method.

“*Magic to Burn Wood*.”

Blanca extended a hand, focusing her will. After a preparatory pause of perhaps three seconds, a fireball roughly the size of a soccer ball incinerated the woodpile stacked for the campfire.

Enough firepower to instantly char a full-grown rabbit, or even a medium-sized dog, but seemingly insufficient to subdue a creature of boar-like size and resilience in one fell swoop.

“It’s the lowest tier of fire magic. Enough to take down a goblin, certainly.”

“And how many of those can you cast? Also, do you possess any magic of greater potency?”

“At full strength, about twenty. There’s also *Magic to Burn Stone*, a mid-tier spell, but that takes about ten seconds just to prepare, and I can only cast it once a day—twice, tops, assuming I don’t use any other magic.”

“What about healing magic?”

“That depends on the severity of the injury, so it’s hard to give an exact number. I can typically mend a minor cut, but bones are beyond me. And if a limb is severed entirely, then it’s almost impossible.”

More useful than he’d expected, Bern mused.

He’d anticipated that her diminished magical output, due to the damaged staff, might render her almost useless. But this was reasonably practical for actual combat.

Which only deepened his puzzlement.

“I heard you didn’t mesh well with other Rank 2 adventurers. Why is that?”

Being dismissed from her Rank 3 party was understandable.

Those adventurers possessed skill enough to partner with Blanca in her prime. It wasn’t surprising they would find her diminished state no longer suitable.

But having observed Rank 2 adventurers—even struck some down—a faction of those who’d harassed Bern were Rank 2—Bern found Blanca’s capabilities incredibly desirable to those Rank 2 adventurers.

The ability to conjure fire without so much as a flint – what convenience that would bring on any campout. And in this place, where even common wound salve was a luxury, treating a mere cut was a blessing indeed.

It hardly seemed like Blanca, the way she carried herself with such pride, almost dismissive of the Second-Class Adventurers. From what he’d observed, such arrogance wasn’t in her nature.

[You never know. You think a woman will treat someone she’s trying to impress the same way she treats someone she doesn’t care about?]

‘Hmm.’

[What? Gonna say I’m wrong again this time?]

‘Nay, I merely conceded that you speak a rare truth.’

[…I’m actually getting pissed off at that.]

“Ahem.”

At Bern’s inquiry, Blanca hesitated to answer.

“Must I speak of it?”

“If it’s a matter too thorny to speak of, I shall not pry.”

“Then, by all means, do not.”

[Yep, yep. I knew it!]

Perhaps it wasn’t a demon lurking within his shadow after all, but a simple fool?

It was at that moment, as Bern offered a faint smile, that a soft sound reached his ears.

-Swish-

A presence stirring nearby turned Bern’s gaze towards the forest.

“Is the forest that we seek our destination, perhaps the one that now lies before us?”

“Nay. We still have another day’s journey ahead.”

“Is that so?”

Bern gathered up four or so of the stones that had been used to circle the bonfire.

Blanca, fearing he’d burn himself, startled and tried to stop him, but Bern, showing no particular sign of heat, adjusted the stones in his grip, then hurled them, one after the other, into the thicket.

– “Kweek!”

– “Kwuak!”

Short, bizarre cries echoed in quick succession.

Bern and Blanca ventured into the undergrowth. Four monsters with green skin and elongated noses lay unconscious.

“Goblins?”

Blanca was taken aback. If what she’d received from Atra Territory was true, goblins shouldn’t be wandering around here.

Bern, meanwhile, focused on something else.

The garments the goblins wore, woven from animal hides and plant stalks.

The crude but likely deadly blades they clutched in their hands.

Lastly, the tattered sacks the goblins used to carry their prey and fruits, sacks that looked as though they had once been human clothing.

This was shaping up to be bigger than he’d thought.