The Returned Sword King Decided to Become a Tyrant Episode 17
Hidden Truth and Revealed Facts (2)
As I was leaving Daejeon, I heard someone running urgently behind me.
“Your Majesty!”
I stopped walking and looked back, and there was Baron Vidor with a look of injustice on his face.
I greeted the Baron with a hollow laugh.
“Looking at you, it looks like you were in quite a difficult situation.”
“Your Majesty! Why did you disappear and leave me behind?”
“Disappear? Didn’t you leave a letter saying you were going somewhere for a while?”
“They say it has disappeared from the world!”
“I see.”
“… … .”
The baron seemed to have a lot to say as he nodded his head calmly.
But what can we do?
In the end, class was the thugs.
“Well done.”
I praised his efforts as if nothing had happened and then started walking again.
At this, the slightly softened baron followed behind and asked a question.
“But where on earth have you been? I wish you had taken George with you… … .”
“Because I need something.”
“Hmm? Can’t you just ask your servants to do that?”
To the Baron’s question, I answered indifferently.
“It can’t hurt to prepare for just one chance.”
There was something I had been feeling since I killed Count Onoreo.
Recently, there has been a sharp increase in the number of eyes watching me inside the palace.
It goes without saying that most of them were the work of the Federal Empire.
In such a situation, even if there was a chance of moving secretly, there was no need to move the servant to raise the alarm.
There was a huge difference between knowing that the prince was acting suspiciously and not knowing that.
“Even if you feel suspicious now, nothing will change.”
“… … .”
In the meantime, we had already arrived in front of the First Prince’s office.
“I’m going to take a break for today.”
“Huh? Isn’t the sun still high in the sky?”
“Father will call soon. It would be a waste of time to wait.”
Baron Vidor was puzzled by my remark that it would be so obvious.
But soon, when he saw his father’s attendants approaching from afar, he let out exclamations of admiration.
“Your Highness, Your Majesty the King has summoned you.”
“also……!”
It would be a bit strange if you did something like that and didn’t get a call.
I glanced at the time and nodded.
“To guide you.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Then, the Baron, who had been watching the situation, cautiously intervened in the conversation.
“I will wait in the office while Your Majesty returns.”
“as you please.”
“Have a nice trip.”
Squeak-
The door to the office opens with a slight noise.
However, the Baron, who was about to enter the office, tilted his head as if remembering something.
“Oh, Your Majesty! By the way, I heard a strange story from George earlier.”
“A strange story?”
“Yes. I heard that you felt uneasy when you saw the Federal Empire’s delegation… … .”
“Hoo.”
Is that what the guy said?
I’ve felt this way before, but it seems that a unique sense exerts great power even without experience.
I stroked my chin and exclaimed in admiration.
“Should I give him a prize?”
Thanks to that, a smile spread across my face as I left my office.
* * *
We reached our destination in no time.
I thought my destination would be my father’s office, which I could see right after passing through the curved hallway, but today, it led me to an unexpected place.
It was the so-called king’s library.
“His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived.”
“… … Are you here?”
In the library there were numerous books collected from generations ago.
From history books to forbidden magic books, there were a whopping 10,000 books in total.
That is why this place, along with the King’s bedroom, was guarded with tight security.
Of course, such facts were nothing to me, having already endured the weight of the crown.
——————
faqwiki.us
Join our Discord for new chapter updates!
https://discord.com/invite/xr7SxG5T6V
——————
“Were you reading a book?”
“… … .”
I took off my coat and walked over to the bookshelf where my father was standing.
At first glance, the books that appeared were all treasures of the kingdom that recorded the history of Esteban in the past.
My father, who had been silent for a while, sighed and spoke.
“The Galder Plains were once Esteban territory. But we never claimed ownership of them, and they weren’t even worth it.”
“Yes, I know.”
“Allen Esteban. As you know, that land is useless.”
The Galder Plains, despite being adjacent to the border, were not considered a strategic location.
The reason was simple. The natural mountain range that rose behind the plain, ‘Sil Tap Grande’, completely separated Esteban and the Federal Empire.
However, the fact that they owned the Galder Plains, which were burdensome to manage, was not simply because they needed the land, but could be said to be a symbolic reason for how much land they owned.
Of course, the usefulness of the land ended there.
“Information determines whether something is useless or not. There is no need to judge it by their standards.”
“… … Did you really have political considerations in mind, as you said?”
“If it looked like that, it would be successful.”
“Fool. Bringing back old things is only a story when it has utility value.”
My father’s answer was sharp.
The excuse I gave them was that I wanted to reclaim our old territory and establish our country’s status.
However, even if it was Esteban’s old territory, it had already been hundreds of years, and no one thought it would be meaningful to reclaim it now.
“Moreover, that land belongs to the Federal Empire. Don’t you know that this incident could be used as prey by the nobles?”
Even if the cause was sufficient, receiving land was different from receiving material goods such as money or treasure.
Even though it was a land that was like a yoke, considering the current situation where they were not giving up ownership, it could become more complicated than expected.
But from my perspective, it was of no interest.
“Wasn’t it you, Father, who trusted me and tacitly agreed to the agreement? The Galder Plains have already become our Esteban’s.”
“… … .”
“But the nobles’ expressions were more cheerful than I thought.”
I was whining as I recalled what had happened in Daejeon.
“I had doubts about whether they were people of the Federal Empire, even though they were not discussing national interests with the Federal Empire.”
That’s right.
This meeting was created to criticize their mistakes and seek solutions.
Even if we tried to pass it off as if it were nothing, in the end we had the initiative in this situation.
“We shouldn’t go against the wishes of the Federal Empire? We can’t. No matter what they think, we just have to take care of our own small interests.”
For me, the meeting with the delegation was merely a benefit derived from the process of revenge.
Whether it was a war of nerves with them or a falling out… … those were all just expected results.
“Could you please check this letter?”
“What is this?”
“This morning. I received this with my own hands.”
“… … Didn’t I say there was something to check?”
My father’s gaze turned to the letter I was holding in my hand.
A single document sealed with red sealing wax.
And above it was written in flowing letters: ‘Estevan Geological Society’.
“geology?”
“It will be easier to understand if you think of it as a place that deals with the nature of perception.”
Was there such an association?
My father snatched the letter from my hands, opened the envelope, and began to look through the contents.
Swish-
Given the name Esteban, it is clearly a state-sponsored association.
However, the King thought it was an unfamiliar name because it had never been mentioned in any major reports and it was a field he had never been interested in.
And that thought lasted only a moment. My father, who had been skimming through the contents of the letter, opened his eyes wide.
“… … I think an explanation is needed.”
“This is the result of comparing the components of two substances.”
“No, that’s not it… … What I’m curious about is whether this analysis itself was attempted.”
“I can only say that I was lucky in that regard.”
By chance. And quite unexpectedly.
The amount of information I had was too certain to be considered mere luck… … .
Finding information from a blank sheet of paper may not be feasible, but adding a process to information you already know is easier than turning over the palm of your hand.
“… … Huh, a small gain?”
The king’s hand holding the letter was shaking slightly.
* * *
Same time.
The Geological Society staff member who was checking the ledger let out an exclamation of surprise at the unexpected turn of events.
“Hey. Why did we have a proper guest today?”
Although it was established as the capital under the name of the Association, in reality, it was a place that was not even well known by name, either domestically or internationally.
The only customers that come are farmers who come to ask questions related to their farmland.
It was to the point where I was wondering if this was an agricultural association or a geological association.
The employee in charge of the morning shift also thought the same.
“I guess that means our research wasn’t completely useless.”
“Even so, it will only feed the farmers… … Huh? It was even a component comparison test?”
The clerk holding the ledger whistled and stroked the checker.
“What the heck? It was just as the subsidy was running out… … .”
“It looks like they found an iron mine, since they used a sword as a material.”
“A mine?! Ugh!”
Bring the two substances together, melt them, and drop the magically treated solution into them.
Afterwards, the color change of the solution is used to determine how similar the essence of the components that make up the substance are.
This contrast technique, which was created to investigate the structure of the Earth’s crust, has long since become an obsolete technology.
Aside from permanently consuming the materials, the testing costs were just outrageously expensive.
“So what were the test results?”
“Red.”
“It means that many of the same ingredients are included. I’m jealous.”
Now he just sits down next to the checker and starts looking through the ledger.
A voice full of interest came out of the employee’s mouth.
“The place that borders the Federal Empire? Is it the area near Siltap Grande?”
“Oh. You happened to have some soil samples left over for the control group.”
“Hmm… … .”
It would be difficult to develop such a place, so it wouldn’t be cost-effective… … .
The employee tried hard to swallow the words that were rising to his chin.
“Well. Since it is surrounded by a natural mountain range, the reserves must be abundant.”
An employee who put down the ledger as if it were nothing special.
But, soon, he discovered something strange and hurriedly picked up the ledger.
The eyes of that employee were trembling as if in disbelief.
“… … Hey. Th, this.”
“Why do you keep doing that?”
“… … Did you check the sword’s element and put it in?”
“No? I just put it in?”
However, the expression on the employee holding the ledger showed no sign of loosening.
Rather, it seemed like his eyes were trembling more than before.
The employee who was cleaning the counter was just frustrated.
“What’s wrong? Is there something wrong with the test results?”
“That’s not it… … .”
Element symbols written on a neatly printed test sheet.
Should I say I was familiar with him? He was a guy I knew all too well.
Rather, it was because I never imagined I would see it in a place like this that I was able to identify it late.
“This… … is Mithril… … .”
The employee who put down the ledger helplessly didn’t even realize that he had forgotten to breathe.
