Chapter 74

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In the central square of the royal capital where the festival was held, the cleanup had already begun.

By noon, all the tents except for those making skewers and stews had been packed up.

Bernardo returned from the Milan financial house and informed them to take a break.

"Could the cooks lend a hand?"

Ricardo gathered the cooks and started preparing lunch dishes. The ingredients were the innards of the giant dragon and leftover vegetables.

Huge livers and hearts were cut, skewered, and grilled over charcoal.

"This is a luxury. Even nobles might not have tasted this."

A female cook, Ravina, exclaimed. She was a sturdy woman in her forties who had struggled after her shop was burned down when the magic beasts appeared in the capital.

"Really?"

Julia asked.

"Yes, offal spoils easily, so the innards of magic beasts that can only be hunted in the magic realm are rarely eaten in the capital."

"Indeed, cooks are knowledgeable about ingredients."

The skewers of offal were grilled and distributed to everyone.

"This is delicious!"

"It has a strong flavor, but what a rich taste."

Hearing everyone's praise, Bernardo and Ricardo also tried the skewers and nodded in agreement.

"Mm, it's delicious."

"Really. This might have sold for more than steak."

Not only skewers but also stews were made and distributed. The stew was also well-received.

After the festival cleanup was complete, Ricardo headed to the Unius breeding ground.

He planned to graft a branch of the divine rare tree, obtained in the magic realm, onto the demon tree Kumiri.

At the breeding ground, Antonio was using magic to grow the demon tree Kumiri from a seed to a small tree. Dario, Erik, and Fred were watching intently.

"Amazing, Sir Antonio, you're a first-class magician."

Dario praised Antonio after seeing the demon tree Kumiri grow to the size of an onion from a seed.

"Don't be silly. Anyone can do this much with a little magic."

"Can we do it too?"

Erik asked. When Antonio nodded, Dario and the others looked pleased.

"Brother, can you catch three lively demon trees Kumiri for me?"

Antonio asked his approaching brother.

"Is the festival cleanup finished?"

"It's done. We had giant dragon offal for lunch, and it was delicious. I brought some leftovers, so we can have it for dinner."

"Hmm, that sounds good."

While Ricardo and Antonio were talking, Dario and the others went to the demon tree Kumiri breeding area and brought back three captured trees.

Ricardo and Antonio took them to the grafting shed they had ordered from Master Romano.

For now, only Ricardo and Antonio were allowed in this shed, meaning only they knew the grafting method.

The two grafted branches of the divine rare tree onto the demon trees Kumiri.

When they grafted branches of the Shuram tree, the trees started walking slowly, but the demon trees Kumiri with the divine rare tree branches looked clearly strange.

"Is the combination of demon tree Kumiri and divine rare tree not working?"

Antonio frowned and looked at the motionless demon tree Kumiri.

"Let's observe for a few days. If it doesn't work, we'll try with the demon tree Trill."

Ricardo was determined to try again.

If the divine rare tree branches grafted onto the demon trees produced tree crystals, it would become a significant source of funds for the breeding ground.

A few days later, the demon tree Kumiri with the divine rare tree branch died. The branch's life force was too strong for the demon tree Kumiri to handle.

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The magic realm Crebres has nine magic realm gates. The first to fourth magic realm gates are in the royal direct territories of Yorgul and Mil, and the final ninth magic realm gate is in the Apra territory, beyond the Beluca Mountains to the north of the capital.

The Apra territory is governed by the Apra Marquis family and is located west of the Boniperti territory, where Greta's father serves as the lord.

A troublesome magic beast appeared at the ninth magic realm gate.

It was a bear-eating eagle, a large bird with a body length of four meters and a wingspan of nine meters. It usually resides in the deeper parts of the magic realm but suddenly appeared at the ninth magic realm gate and attacked the soldiers.

The gate commander urgently called for magicians.

Five magicians from the Apra Marquis's household rushed to confront the bear-eating eagle.

"That, that's a bear-eating eagle, isn't it?"

Nicolino, the eldest of the magicians, said with a hint of fear in his voice.

*Ke-gyo-oo-oo-oo!*

The large bird let out a terrifying roar.

The magic beasts near the magic realm gate fled at the sound. The roar was so powerful that the soldiers and magicians guarding the gate also felt an instinctive urge to flee.

"Don't, don't be afraid. We'll attack with magic."

Nicolino gave the order.

The magicians prepared to cast their highest-level spells. One cast *Storm Fang Array*, another *Nine Heaven Rending Wind*, and Nicolino chose the advanced spell *Crushing Flame*.

The soldiers who might be caught in the spell's crossfire fled.

*Storm Fang Array* attacked the bear-eating eagle as it tried to chase them. Dozens of wind blades hit the large bird but did no damage.

The spells cast by the magicians one after another hit the bear-eating eagle, but only *Crushing Flame* caused any significant damage. *Crushing Flame* is a spell where waterfalls of fire pour down from three directions. Unlike normal fire, which rises, *Crushing Flame* falls like lava, burning and destroying everything below.

*Crushing Flame* seemed to frighten the bear-eating eagle. When part of its wing caught fire, it screamed and took off.

"Trouble, it's heading towards the Beluca Mountains."

The soldiers were worried when they saw the bear-eating eagle flying not towards the magic realm but south towards the Beluca Mountains. The Beluca Mountains are also home to magic beasts, though not as strong as the bear-eating eagle. Each has its territory, and a certain order is maintained.

If a large creature like the bear-eating eagle intrudes, the order could collapse, and the magic beasts might come down from the mountains.

For about ten days, nothing happened.

But on the eleventh day, a pack of bandit wolves attacked a village near the Beluca Mountains. It seemed the bandit wolves, fleeing from the bear-eating eagle, were searching for prey and found the village.

At first, the soldiers and magicians under the Apra Marquis repelled the bandit wolves, but then armored mountain cats, followed by tusked boars, began to come down from the mountains and ravage the territory.

Soldiers and magicians started to suffer casualties.

Since troops were also needed near the magic realm gate, the Apra Marquis family found it difficult to handle the situation alone and requested support from the Melvis Duke.

They chose the Melvis Duke rather than the royal family because the Boniperti Marquis family, with whom they had a poor relationship, was close to the royal family.

The current Apra Marquis had been a rival to the Boniperti Marquis since their student days and had continued to have minor conflicts over their territories even after becoming lords.

To the Apra territory, the Melvis Duke's magician Alberto and a dozen other magicians came.

"Ah, you came."

Cavaliere Apra Marquis greeted them with a smile.

"The opponent is a bear-eating eagle, I hear."

"Yes. It's a troublesome opponent, but the magicians of the Melvis Duke should be able to handle it."

"Understood. We'll do our best."

Alberto smiled after hearing the detailed situation.

"This situation can be used."

After investigating the mountain where the bear-eating eagle had settled, Alberto and his team made a proposal to the Apra Marquis.

"What... you're going to set fire to the mountain?"

Alberto suggested burning the Beluca Mountains to drive away the bear-eating eagle.

"It's difficult to hunt the bear-eating eagle in the rugged mountains. So, we'll drive it to the other side of the Beluca Mountains."

"But that would be towards the capital."

Alberto smiled thinly.

"Does it matter? The royal territory has court magicians and excellent soldiers. They will take care of it."

The Marquis felt a chill run down his spine when he heard the magician's thin smile.

The Melvis Duke had clearly declared his intention to oppose the royal family. Realizing he might be implicated, the Marquis regretted asking the Melvis Duke for support.

A few days later, the mountain was set on fire. Soldiers and magicians who had climbed halfway up the mountain simultaneously set it ablaze.

Many magic beasts fled and crossed the mountain peak, heading towards the royal territory.

The bear-eating eagle, noticing the fire, tried to return to the magic realm once. However, Alberto had skillfully positioned the magicians, and they cast spells to prevent it from returning, driving it to the other side of the Beluca Mountains.

Disliking the fire, the large bird gave up on returning to the magic realm and crossed the mountain peak.

The flames and smoke rising from the Beluca Mountains were visible from the capital and became a topic of conversation among the citizens.

By the time the cause of the flames and smoke from the Beluca Mountains reached the capital, more people encountered magic beasts along the Crem River, which originates from the Beluca Mountains.

The bureaucrats in the capital, recognizing the seriousness of the situation, began to discuss the need to take action early. Hearing this, Prince Aurelio's entourage said,

"Your Highness, this might be an opportunity."

Like the Crown Prince who gained fame by defeating the giant dragon, the Prince could gain even more popularity by defeating the bear-eating eagle and returning to the capital in triumph.

Prince Aurelio was not a fool who overestimated his own strength. He realized that he and his entourage alone could not defeat the bear-eating eagle and needed capable and strong subordinates.

He began to search for talent, but initially excluded those associated with Crown Prince Gaius.

Among those excluded were Isarco, Ricardo, and the Silver Ridge Brigade.

He hired the excellent magic beast hunting parties 'Thunderstorm Guardians' and 'Blue Wolf Warriors' and a few magicians.

Among them, Prince Aurelio relied most on Salvatore, the eldest son of the court magician Vittorio.

When called to the castle, Salvatore was led to Prince Aurelio's private room. The private room was a corner of the castle with four interconnected rooms, and he was taken to a room used like a reception room.

"Your Highness, I heard you are going on a magic beast hunt in the Beluca Mountains. Is the target the bear-eating eagle?"

"Yes. If left alone, the citizens of the royal territory will suffer. A responsible person must bravely face this to prevent it."

Salvatore was a boy of the same age as Prince Aurelio. He had been training in magic under his father, the court magician, and was skilled in both *Fire* and *Wind* magic like his father.

Salvatore sensed something frivolous in Prince Aurelio's words. He speculated that the prince might be going on the hunt for his own interests, not just for the citizens.

However, Salvatore thought it was still acceptable if it would ensure the safety of the common people.

Salvatore had no interest in the political maneuvering of the royal family or the nobility. However, he had become interested in the recent actions of the royal family, especially Crown Prince Gaius.

The fact that the Crown Prince was equipping soldiers with newly developed magic weapons to repel magic beasts was intriguing, and Salvatore wanted to join the exploration expeditions into the deeper parts of the magic realm.

"Salvatore, what do you think is necessary to defeat the bear-eating eagle?"

"The best would be to gather a large number of magicians, but that's difficult."

"Of course. Do you know how much it costs to hire one magician?"

Salvatore, the son of the court magician, knew how much the royal family spent to maintain the court magician corps.

Court magicians use high-quality catalysts to practice magic to maintain their skills, which is more expensive than soldiers. The prince's available funds were managed by the royal finance officer and were not unlimited.

"Then, wouldn't it be good to purchase magic cannons and form a cannon soldier corps?"

"A cannon soldier corps... isn't that copying your brother?"

Crown Prince Gaius had equipped soldiers with magic cannons and achieved success in repelling magic beasts, and soldiers equipped with magic cannons were called 'cannon soldiers' and were recognized as the best soldiers.

"Your Highness, even if it is a copy, we should adopt effective tactics."

"Hmm... but the best magic cannons are made by the Emilia workshop, which is closely associated with my brother. Will they cooperate with me?"

"It's for the citizens. They won't refuse."

The next day, Prince Aurelio and Salvatore, accompanied by guard soldiers, visited the Emilia workshop.

One of the apprentices, who was cleaning the workshop, panicked when he saw the prince.

"Master, the, the prince is here."

At that moment, Emilia was discussing a new magic cannon with Ricardo.

"Prince, is it the Crown Prince?"

"No, it's Prince Aurelio."

Emilia, wondering what he wanted, went out to greet him.

Seeing Prince Aurelio, Emilia greeted him politely and asked about his business.

"I want new magic cannons."

"What kind of magic do you want to incorporate?"

"I want to incorporate the upper intermediate *Earth* magic *Steel Arrow Scatter*. I need ten of them."

Emilia almost held her head in her hands at the request. The most powerful magic cannon she had made so far incorporated lower intermediate magic.

Emilia honestly told him that she had only incorporated lower intermediate magic before.

"Is it impossible to incorporate *Steel Arrow Scatter*?"

When asked if it was impossible, she had to say that it was possible. In fact, Ricardo had just consulted her about making a magic cannon with the same upper intermediate magic *Thunder Vortex Steel Bullet*.

"If it's possible, we should try it first, shouldn't we?"

When the prince said this, she couldn't refuse.

"Understood. I'll try to see if it's possible."

As the prince and his party left, Ricardo approached Emilia.

"It seems we won't have time to prototype the *Thunder Vortex Steel Bullet* magic cannon."

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine. There's no deadline for the Crown Prince's request."

"Can you lend me the magic-forming rods you planned to use for the *Thunder Vortex Steel Bullet* magic cannon?"

A second-grade magic-forming rod was needed for a magic cannon with upper intermediate magic. It was the same grade as the Death Op Rod Ricardo used, and obtaining a substantial number was difficult.

"Sure. Ten second-grade magic-forming rods, right?"

"Can you prepare them... thank you."

Ricardo remembered that Prince Aurelio hadn't negotiated the price at all.

When he asked Emilia about it,

"Orders from the royal family are like that. You negotiate with the royal finance officer later."

The royal finance officer was a tough negotiator and would haggle to the point of tears.

"That's tough."

"Yes, it is. The only one who provides the money upfront is the Crown Prince."

The Crown Prince apparently had his own financial resources from selling his belongings and materials from magic beasts he hunted in the magic realm.

"Why don't you try prototyping the *Thunder Vortex Steel Bullet* magic cannon yourself?"

Emilia suggested.

"By myself... I'll give it a try."

Ricardo had been learning from Emilia for a year. Although a year is short for an apprentice, Ricardo's