Chapter 27

"Your Majesty"

I bent my waist in a bow and looked straight at His Majesty.

"What is it?"

"I remembered there's some unfinished work at the Ministry of Justice. I would like to be excused."

"……"

His Majesty frowned and tilted his head, looking at me.

That's enough.

No matter what, overstepping is not good.

This is the same for this matter.

His Majesty called for Oscar, the Minister of Finance.

If I stayed any longer, I might encroach on Oscar's territory.

This is something that should be done in moderation, no, it must be done in moderation.

So, before Oscar arrives, I will resign with a suitable excuse.

His Majesty looked at me for a while, then said with a barely audible sigh,

"You're wise, Noah."

It seems he has seen through everything.

But, that's what you would expect from an emperor.

His Majesty did not press the matter further and returned to his usual expression.

"I permit it."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

I bowed with one knee and left His Majesty's study.

I walked out of the study and onto the main path.

I spotted a eunuch nearby and beckoned him over. He came over.

As he approached, I recognized him as a familiar face.

"Seiz?"

"Here I am."

Seiz is a junior eunuch I often encounter when I come to the palace.

"I'm returning to the mansion. Prepare my carriage."

"It's already waiting outside."

"You're efficient."

"Thank you."

"Something seems to be noisy over there. Did something happen?"

"What do you mean?"

Seiz answered in a high-pitched voice.

Eunuchs are usually castrated in childhood before entering the palace, so most of them do not grow beards or undergo voice changes.

According to doctors, this is because the body stops producing something that should be secreted after adulthood.

Incidentally, in the past, the church's choir used to castrate boys to maintain their young voices, but now the empire's law prohibits castration outside of the royal eunuchs.

"We are cleaning up after what the Prince did earlier."

"Me?"

"Apparently, the ground has melted into a donut shape. Everyone is wondering how it happened, and there are all sorts of rumors among us."

"I see."

"Everyone is amazed by the Prince's power. Some tried to dig up the melted soil and fell into the hole. It was so deep that one of them broke his leg."

"Careless—here."

I took a leather bag from my pocket and threw it to Seiz.

It contained 100 Reen, which I had prepared as a reward.

"For the medical expenses and your trouble."

"Thank you! Everyone says that despite being young, the Prince is very kind to the lower ranks."

"Flattery is fine in moderation."

"No, no, it's the truth. I hear that the Prince is about to get married, and the number of people hoping to serve him has already exceeded 100 to 1."

"Really?"

Not only in the palace, but also in the princes' mansions, eunuchs can be dispatched if requested.

Eunuchs were originally castrated to prevent "mistakes" with the noble's main wife or concubines.

While it is a necessary measure for the emperor to maintain the purity of the bloodline, it is also quite important for princes, so they often bring eunuchs into their mansions after marriage.

"At this rate, the number will continue to grow. The Prince is the most popular among the current emperor's children."

"Really. By the way, what's that in your pocket?"

To avoid a politically sensitive topic, I changed the subject and pointed to Seiz's pocket.

"Oh, this?"

Seiz took out a transparent box from his pocket.

Inside were two stag beetles.

"I brought them for the Sixteenth Prince. He seems to enjoy making stag beetles fight."

"I see."

The Sixteenth Prince, my younger brother, is only three years old.

Since he is still young, he lives inside the palace rather than in a separate mansion.

As a prince, he receives a strict education, but he often asks eunuchs for harmless toys like these.

I've heard that the Fourth Prince, Henry, also enjoyed such things.

While chatting with Seiz, I walked out of the palace and got into the waiting carriage.

"Where are we going?"

Jiji, a new maid, asked me from beside the carriage.

"To the mansion."

"Y-Yes, sir."

Although still inexperienced, Jiji relayed my command to the carriage driver.

The carriage started moving, and Jiji walked alongside it.

I looked at the thumb ring as the carriage swayed.

It was a gift from His Majesty, a new piece of equipment, and Lutiea's ring.

I need to learn how to use it properly.

"Hmm..."

I suddenly remembered the stag beetles Seiz had.

I asked the willful Leviathan and Lutiea if it was possible.

Both answered, "Possible."

If so, I ordered them to do it.

I linked the armor ring with both Leviathan and Lutiea.

Both transformed the armor ring.

After a while, two figurines were created.

They were the same size as my palm, and both were connected to the armor ring at their feet.

One was blue and held a sword, while the other was red and clenched a fist.

The next moment, the two figurines started fighting.

In front of me, on the carriage, the two figurines battled.

The movements of the blue swordsman were familiar, from Leviathan's memory of when I wielded a sword. This one was more powerful and faster. I thought that if I grow, I could move like this.

The red fighter's movements were new, but he wrapped his hands and feet in flames, punching and kicking.

If I use Lutiea's power, I can move like this too.

The battle didn't last a minute.

The blue swordsman—Leviathan—overwhelmed Lutiea throughout and finally split his torso in half by breaking through his guard.

"Wow..."

I heard a voice of admiration from the side.

Jiji, who was walking alongside, looked at me with admiration.

"What is it?"

"You're amazing, sir. What is that?"

"Have you never made stag beetles or crickets fight?"

"Well, the boys in the village did."

"It's the same thing."

"But it's amazing. Is that magic?"

"Something like that."

I thought for a moment and mimicked Leviathan's movements.

I imitated the final slash that split Lutiea and swung the magic sword I had drawn.

Leviathan cut the decoration at the front of the carriage.

"Huh? It didn't cut it even though we passed it?"

"It did, look."

I said, picking up the tip of the decoration.

"Wow."

I put it back—following Leviathan's advice.

The decoration returned to its original state, as if it had never been cut.

The carriage moved through the city, and the wheels hit a pebble, causing the carriage to jolt.

However,

"Huh? It didn't fall."

The decoration that should have been cut off was still attached, and Jiji looked at it curiously.

I grabbed the decoration again and showed it to Jiji.

"The cut surface is smooth, right?"

"Yes."

"When you cut it with a certain skill, it becomes smooth like this and sticks back together perfectly."

"Wow... amazing!"

Jiji said, her eyes shining.

I smiled and thought about Leviathan and Lutiea.

A simulated battle using the armor ring.

This way, I can practice the techniques within both of them.

I felt a bit happy that I had come up with a good method by chance.

"――!"

I noticed the status in the corner of my vision.

――――――――――――

Name: Noah Ararat

Minister of Justice

Gender: Male

Level: 2/∞

HP E+F Fire F+C

MP F+F Water E+S

Strength F+E Wind F

Stamina F+F Earth F

Intelligence F+E Light F

Spirit F+F Dark F

Speed F+F

Dexterity F+F

Luck F+F

――――――――――――

For some reason, my level had increased, and my HP had gone up one level.

I wondered why, and then I noticed the ring.

"…Could it be?"