Chapter 5

After that, I listened to Alice's song for a while before leaving the shop and returning to the mansion.

In front of the mansion at dusk, for some reason, several men were prostrating themselves on the ground.

Not just prostrating, but prostrating themselves before my mansion, the residence of the Thirteenth Prince.

I wondered what was going on as I entered the mansion.

"Welcome back, my lord."

The young maid who greeted me was the one in charge of reception.

Whether guests came or I returned, I would first see her face.

In a sense, she was the face of the Thirteenth Prince's residence.

"Evelyn, do you know anything about the group prostrating themselves outside?"

"Yes, they are people who have come to apologize to my lord."

"Apologize?"

"Apparently, they came to apologize along with a subordinate who had displeased my lord."

"…Ah."

So it was the moneylender and his boss.

They had been chased away by me, but it seems the boss found out it was me and brought them to apologize.

"What should we do?"

"…Turn them away. Tell them, 'Is a prince someone you can just meet whenever you want?'"

"As you wish."

The maid Evelyn took my order and went outside the mansion.

"Good decision."

"Brother!?"

As if in exchange, my brother, the Fourth Prince Henry, appeared from the depths of the mansion.

"You were here, Brother?"

"Yes. Your decision just now was good. Meeting with such people would lower the dignity of the royal family and the prince. Well done."

Brother Henry praised me with a pleased expression.

"That's one reason, but there's another."

"Hmm?"

I first explained the beginning of the matter.

When I went to listen to Alice's song, a debt collector for her father's debt came, and I intervened and chased him away.

After explaining this premise,

"If I let them think I'm still angry, they won't dare to touch Alice. But if they do, it will only make things worse."

"Hmm."

Brother Henry's eyes sparkled.

"To think you can consider things to this extent at your age, that's impressive."

"Sometimes, they try to cause trouble again when I forget about it."

"Yes, some people try to make a comeback when the heat dies down. Good judgment. However—"

"However?"

I wondered if something was wrong, but it didn't seem to be the case.

Brother Henry smirked, raising one corner of his mouth skillfully.

"Did you enjoy the girl's song that much?"

"Don't take her away, Brother. I want to enjoy watching her grow."

"You like her, don't you?"

"Alice has potential. She's the type who will grow if she keeps singing."

"I see. Then take me with you sometime."

"Alright, I will."

We chatted as we entered the inner part of the mansion, where I usually spend my time.

Naturally, I offered the seat of honor to Brother Henry and sat in a lower position myself.

Even though it's my mansion, Brother is still my elder.

That's why I offered him the seat of honor.

This balance is tricky.

First, the Crown Prince is always given the seat of honor without question.

The Crown Prince, who will be the next emperor, is like a half-sovereign to us.

Then, for brothers like Brother Henry, who are much older, I offer the seat of honor even though they are guests.

For brothers who are closer in age, around the tenth in line, I sit in the seat of honor as the host.

If you get this wrong, it can cause serious problems, but fortunately, I've never made a mistake.

"You are always so polite."

"It's only natural."

"At your age, from Frank to Gary, they can't be so formal. They are still children, especially Gary…"

"He's your younger brother."

This is something that's difficult even for commoners and rare even among nobles.

We are all children of Emperor, our father, but we have different mothers.

Among us, Brother Henry and Gary, who have the same mother, have a different kind of connection or bond with each other.

"No matter how much I teach them, they don't learn etiquette. They are truly troublesome. I don't expect them to be at your level, but they could at least try a little more."

"Gary will understand eventually."

"I hope so."

"By the way, Brother, what brings you here alone? Someone as busy as you wouldn't just come for casual conversation, right?"

"…"

Brother Henry looked at me with a complex expression, a smile mixed with a hint of frustration.

"You are really smart. Not many adults can discern this."

"So there is something, then."

"Yes, it's about the magic sword."

The magic sword Leviathan.

It was a gift from Brother Henry and the Crown Prince.

In this case, since it's a gift from the Crown Prince, it's more correct to say I received it as a noble.

"Is there something wrong with the magic sword?"

"I'll tell you the story, but first, let me give you a heads-up."

"Yes."

"That sword has a will. It can't speak, but it clearly has a will."

"Is that so?"

"And, the tricky part is that it seems to be very rigid about hierarchy."

"Hierarchy."

I repeated the word, and Brother Henry nodded clearly.

"Think of it like a dog."

"I see."

"Before you wield it, it's better to establish a clear hierarchy. Subduing it will be for the best for both of you."

"Subdue…."

I rolled Brother Henry's words around in my mouth.

A thought crossed my mind.

"Wait a moment, Brother. Someone—"

"Yes."

I called out, and immediately the door opened, and a male servant entered.

"Bring the magic sword."

"Yes, sir."

When he heard "magic sword," the servant's face clearly tensed. He was afraid.

"What's wrong with him?"

"Actually, when I tried wielding the magic sword, someone who was there said they felt unwell."

"Ah, if the water attribute is not C or higher, just being near it can make you feel sick."

"That's why he's afraid to fetch it."

"I see."

As Brother Henry nodded in understanding, the servant who had just left returned with a box.

His face was visibly pale.

"Alright, alright, put it on the table and you can leave. When it's time to put it away, have someone else do it."

"Thank you!"

The man, relieved, happily fled the room.

I opened the box and took out the magic sword Leviathan.

I gripped the hilt and focused my mind.

Through the hilt, I felt a resistance.

The power of the magic sword, the power of water, was trying to invade my consciousness.

I had held it twice before, but this had never happened.

So I initiated it, thinking, "Become mine."

As expected, the magic sword resisted.

However, the resistance didn't affect me.

Considering the reactions of the servants who had held it, the fact that nothing happened when I held it, and the fact that my water attribute is E+SS,

I concluded it would be fine.

And it was fine, as I had judged.

The magic sword kept trying to invade me, but it was being blocked by my water SS.

After letting it do as it pleased for a while, I thrust the magic sword into the floor with a thud.

I looked down, imagining the hilt as a head and pressing it in.

After a while, a change occurred.

I could feel it directly because I was holding it: the magic sword gave up and conveyed its will to submit to me.

At the same time,

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Name: Noah Ararat

Thirteenth Prince of the Ararat Empire

Gender: Male

Level: 1/∞

HP F Fire F

MP F Water E+SS

Strength F+F Wind F

Stamina F+F Earth F

Intelligence F Light F

Spirit F Dark F

Speed F

Dexterity F+F

Luck F+F

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My status, which I always see, improved.

Water went from S to SS.

It worked as planned.

Subduing the magic sword.

What Brother Henry told me was probably just to help me master the magic sword.

But my constitution somehow adds part of the abilities of the things I subdue.

So I thought, what if I subdue the magic sword?

And it worked.

"That's the look of someone who has succeeded."

"Yes."

I nodded and called a servant to cast the status check spell.

Of course, I couldn't trouble Brother Henry with such trivial tasks, so I called a servant.

The status that appeared was different from what I saw, showing the public status without the "+".

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Name: Noah Ararat

Thirteenth Prince of the Ararat Empire

Gender: Male

Level: 1/∞

HP F Fire F

MP F Water SSS

Strength E Wind F

Stamina E Earth F

Intelligence F Light F

Spirit F Dark F

Speed F

Dexterity E

Luck E

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Brother Henry, seeing this, said,

"Hmm… So it can go that far… That's impressive…"

He was genuinely impressed that my water attribute had become SSS.