chapter 6

I stared at the magic sword .

After listening to my brother Henry and bringing this thing to its knees, it started to feel more comfortable in my hand, if it was my imagination .

Then another thought came to mind .

“What are you thinking about?”

“I’ve given in to it now, so I thought I’d carry it around with me . ”

“I see . But that’s hard to do . It’s great that you held that thing down as a demon sword, but it’s physically too big . It’s too long to carry it on your back, let alone lower it to your waist . ”

” Yeah . ”

“Well, wait a few more years . His Majesty and all your other brothers are tall, and you’ll grow up soon . ”

“I suppose . ”

But I’m not ready to give up .

That’s how well the leviathan blends in after swinging it .

It was then .

– .

A voice echoed in my brain .

I could hear something, it wasn’t human language, but strangely enough, I could understand the “meaning” of it .

“What’s the matter, you look so funny,”

“Excuse me, brother . ”

I didn’t know what the outcome of the process would be, so I declined to say a word to Brother Henry .

Then I tightened my grip on the leviathan and closed my eyes and concentrated on my thoughts .

The form I desire, as well as the form it desires .

“Mmm,”

Brother Henry grunts .

I open my eyes and look at the leviathan in my hand .

The magic sword had shrunk .

The Leviathan, which was the size of a large sword to my six year old me earlier, shrank in its form, shrinking into a child-sized but a good looking long sword .

“Yeah . ”

I squeezed it again and again to check the feel .

The fit is still the same – or even better than before .

I brought it to my waist to try it out, it’s just the right length .

After checking it all over, I looked up and said to brother Henry .

“I’ll be able to take this with me . ”‘

“… . ”

“Brother?”

For some reason, my brother was flabbergasted, I tilted my head and looked into his face from below .

“Oh no, I wasn’t expecting that . ”

“You didn’t expect that?”

“It was you, Noah, who changed the size of that magic sword, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, I did . ”

“This is unheard of . It’s been 200 years since it was isolated as a national treasure, and there are records of it in existence, but nothing like this has ever happened before . It’s just amazing – I just want to take my hat off to you . ”

“It’s because this guy suggested it . ”

“I see . ”

Brother Henry smiled .

“So you’re saying you’ve tamed the mad dog that much . ”

“Yes, it willing to understand . ”

My brother looked at me with increasingly impressed eyes .

At any rate, I can now equip the Leviathan .

From now on, I thought, I’ll carry it with me .

☆

The sun was setting and I left the room to see my brother off as he was leaving .

The maid in the reception room came in and first bowed to brother Henry and then reported to me .

“Master, I have an invitation from the 3rd Vizier .

“Invitation?”

“Yes, he’ s hosting a banquet at his home tonight, and would like you to come . “

The maid said and held out the 3rd Vizier’s card and invitation .

I did not accept it, at a time like this nobles do not read the contents with their own hands .

I ask the maid, as a nobleman would .

“What time is it?”

“He said you’re welcome to come by anytime . ”

“Okay . ”

I’ve been able to roughly read between the lines in these situations for six years since my reincarnation .

That means I’m the guest of honor today, and the start time is the time I arrived .

The invitation is that far, and the other party is the Third Vizier .

As expected, I couldn’t say no to him .

“How about you, brother?”

“I refrain . I don’t like the noise . ”

“Is that so . I understand . ”

Then I’ll go alone .

I simply ordered the maid to prepare and went out with her to see brother Henry off .

I walked side by side with my brother as he climbed into the carriage and walked out of the house .

“Hmm?”

” Is there a problem, brother?”

“Look there . ”

I followed my brother’s gaze as he looked out from inside the carriage .

Just ahead of him, he saw several men on their knees .

Ah, those debt collectors as an example .

“I see . ”

I nodded just so, and removed my gaze to look away from them, to see my brother off .

My brother, who was not involved in the matter in the first place, also removed his gaze from them .

Then .

”I can’t take it anymore dammit! Don’t be so cocky!

One of the guys who was on his knees stood up suddenly .

He stood up and glared at me .

His shoulders were covered in bandages, a familiar face .

He’s the guy who was collecting from Alice .

” You little–“

“… . ”

The guy tried to grab at me, and tried to jump at me until he was overpowered by his friends, but he was suddenly weak and slumped down with a stunned look on his face .

His companions grabbed him from behind, pushing his head to the ground and bringing him back to a kneeling position once again .

“What did you do?”

Brother Henry asked, guessing that I had done that last minute slump, too .

“Well, Pardon me,”

I didn’t say a word to him, but I did the same thing to my brother that I did to the man .

An intimidation that only partly unleashed Leviathan’s power, and that’s how I managed to make that man go slump .

Of course, the one I directed at my brother was far weaker than that .

Brother seemed to understand that as well .

“That’s…amazing how well you’re able to use it . ”

He was more impressed than when I had first succumbed down the demon sword .

☆

Riding in the carriage, we were swayed for a few minutes .

Halfway across the imperial capital, we arrived at our destination mansion .

The carriage bore the thirteenth prince’s crest, so there was no mistreatment by anyone, but rather, we were welcomed enough to be able to see it from inside the carriage .

When the carriage stopped and I jumped down, the doors of the mansion were fully open and an old man was standing in front of it .

He was a rather dandy first-timer, not my cup of tea, with a beard trimmed in the current fashion .

The 3rd Vizier, Jean-Brad Reydouk .

He comes from a distinguished and venerable family with two names .

Reydouk waited to see if I’d landed well before he approached me with his big stride, kneeling in front of me and bowing .

“Welcome, Your Highness Noah,”

“Thanks for having me . Looks like it’s a pleasant evening, doesn’t it?”

“I’ll do my best to entertain you, sir . Please, come in . ”

Reydouk stood up and, despite being the vizier, followed a step behind me like a servant .

He walked out with me in the lead and entered the mansion .

I continued down the path made up of a procession of servants and stood in front of the door of the party room, which was a part of every mansion like this one .

Reydouk looked around, and the servants opened the heavy-looking doors to the left and right – and then .

A whirlwind of applause erupted .

Roughly hundreds of people, men and women in formal attire and dresses, were gathered in the party room .

All of them are clapping at me .

I was a little surprised, but I soon realized it was Raydouk’s cue .

This is the way they formulate the idea of welcoming me, well, like a preemptive punch .

Well, but I don’t feel bad about it .

I follow Reydouk down the flowery path of applause .

“That’s His Highness the Thirteenth . ”

” Such an interesting person at such a young age . ”

“Not only is he not afraid of the occasion, he is at ease and undisturbed . That’s His Majesty’s son, indeed . ”

We made our way through the voices coming from all over the place .

As we advanced to the center, they all swarmed in .

Not in a disorderly fashion, though .

The party was hosted by the Third Vizier, and the guest of honor was me, the Thirteenth Prince, and all of the guests were of the upper class .

That’s why there seems to be a hierarchy and the order in which they address me has been decided in advance .

Even though they look like a bunch of people, they speak to me in a very orderly manner .

“By the way, Your Highness . As for your waistcoat… . you didn’t have it on when we last met . ”

After the greetings from one of them, and before the next one could speak, Reydouk asked .

“This, yes, this was given to me by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince . It’s called Leviathan . ”

A moment later, they all gulp in unison and then start buzzing .

Probably all of them are wondering, and hence the buzzing .

As if to represent everyone’s doubts, the host, Reydouk, asks further .

“When you say Leviathan, you mean?”

“Yes, that . ”

I responded with only a hint of affirmation, since everyone here was surprised to hear that .

“Oh, I didn’t think it was going to be that–the national treasure . ”

As I thought, Reydouk knew about the Demon Sword .

“And it came straight from the Crown Prince . ”

“As I recall, His Highness the Thirteenth’s estate is in Almeria . ”

“Ooh, I see, it’s a connection!”

The voices around me were of one color, so even the sudden mumbling of something different was noticeable .

“Heh, such a toy . It’s a fake anyway . ”

He may have felt that he only mumbled a little, but in that instant, the place fell silent as if it had been struck by water .

All of us at once turned our attention to the person who spoke .

It was a young man in his early twenties, dressed in formal wear .

The young man flinched for a moment, but as if he could no longer back down, he made an annoying smile while his face was drawn up .

Hm, what should I do– .

Instantly, the air in the place changed even more .

All of them turned pale in unison .

The women in dresses even slumped down .

They all reacted as if they had seen something terrible .

” Wait . ”

I muttered softly .

Maybe 'sit” would have been more fitting, but I figured “wait” would be fine .

Then the air relaxed .

The Leviathan was pissed .

The mad dog that had become a loyal dog, once again turned into a mad dog .

Thus, he reacted violently to the insult to his Lord .

The killing intent unleashed by the demon sword Leviathan, which overwhelmed those around it just by being present, overwhelmed everyone here .

That was fine, but it could be called overkill .

Many of them were relieved to be free of the killing intent, but many of them were still pale .

That’s how much killing energy was released by Leviathan .

Just as I was wondering what to do, Reydouk sent out a ship of help .

“Oh my goodness, that’s quite a feat, Your Highness . ”

” Huh?”

“For a moment now, all of us here must have felt the same thing, ‘death’ . That’s the power of a national treasure . And it was,”

He turned to the others but held his hand out to me in an act of introduction .

“It is the greatness of Your Highness the Thirteenth, that you are capable of using such overwhelming power . ”

A forceful summary, but it was effective .

The response was heartfelt because of the death they faced .

The applause was even louder than when I entered, and everyone praised me for taming the demon sword .