Chapter 7

It seems that the emperor has twin sons.

My younger brother has doubled, but of course, I heard it from someone else.

Moreover, I didn’t even hear about the pregnancy.

I thought it was strange how the emperor’s close aides kept interrupting the conversation.

The monthly one or two visits being disturbed for such a reason.

Even if we can’t meet, I wonder what they think about that incident? Terry is a big brother now, huh.

I am making distilled water in the Emerald Room using alchemical equipment.

Creating pure water is a basic step for any task.

It’s also written in the alchemy book that you should make it fine and clean.

The description was poetic or seemed like a hallucination from some strange drug, but when I deciphered it, it was just a normal instruction for conducting an experiment.

Eliminating uncertain factors that could affect the results.

This is also true in science.

“I explained it to Father.”

I was suddenly summoned to the upper floor’s audience chamber and asked about what happened with Terry in the garden.

He didn’t blame me one-sidedly but listened from the beginning.

I told him how we found a lost child, Iktu searched for a guard, and I and Harty took care of the child while moving to a place with a good view of the garden.

I also mentioned that the child cried from being startled by a bug.

“That’s fine, but what happened after that?”

After taking my statement, Father decided to hear from others as well, so Harty and Iktu, who were with me, were also called.

It turned out that the guard grabbing the hilt of his sword was a terrible mistake.

Father was so angry that he called the marquis or someone in charge of the palace guards and was fuming about preventing a recurrence and reassigning the guards.

Father even suggested firing them.

But his aide stopped him, saying it was too much, which further angered the emperor.

Father was scolded for overreacting, as it was considered a punishment equivalent to opposing the prince, but I think it was also out of consideration for Father’s position.

“Prince Asha, may I come in? It’s time for the next lesson.”

“Sure, come in. Thank you.”

In response to the knock and Iktu’s voice, I stopped the fire I had lit for distillation and tidied up.

Iktu also helped me.

“I don’t understand what’s going on. Warel was surprised and praised your skill with the equipment.”

“I got the manual, so that’s why. Besides, if I can’t go for a walk, I have time to try things out even if I don’t know how to use them.”

“That’s true, but the guards...”

“It’s fine, Iktu. You don’t have to push yourself.”

Actually, since then, the palace guards have been glaring at me whenever I go for a walk.

If I try to leave this area, they ask where I’m going and what I’m doing.

They used to ignore me completely, but now they treat me like a dangerous person.

It’s noisy, and Harty is being bothered by men, so I’ve stopped going for walks.

Terry isn’t hurt and hasn’t done anything wrong.

It feels more like the guards are taking out their anger for being scolded by the emperor for their mistake.

“Prince Asha, is this the place?”

“Oh, Warel. It’s a lesson, right? Sorry, I’ll tidy up right away.”

“No, no, I came early to give you some books I borrowed. I thought it would make the history lesson more relatable, so I brought a travelogue about the eastern continent.”

Warel showed me a beautifully bound book.

It’s the kind of book that wouldn’t be embarrassing to have in the imperial library.

“Oh, is there something about our country, Nihoto?”

“Yes, I thought you might be interested in Iktu’s country, so I marked the page.”

Warel held the book open with both hands so we could see.

There was an illustration of a port town.

It’s exaggerated, but the buildings look like they have tiled roofs.

From Iktu’s name, I thought Nihoto might be a Japanese-style country?

But, tiles are also found in China and its surroundings.

“Iktu, is Totos a family name in Nihoto?”

“No, I created it when I received a title here. My name in Nihoto is Ikzaemon Toshiki Toudo.”

“Ik, To, To?”

Warel murmured, unfamiliar with the name.

“Yes, many people couldn’t pronounce my name, so I changed it to Iktu Totos for here.”

Iktu, your name is more Japanese than I thought.

With coral-colored hair and blueish skin, you’re a fantasy character, but you’re Ikzaemon?

“Just to clarify, the original homeland of the sea people is to the south of Nihoto, in the Chitos Federation. In the past, it was a collection of small countries that formed a federation after being under imperial rule. They also began trading and migrating to Nihoto, which is why I am not a traditional Nihoto person.”

“Iktu can also be a teacher.”

Warel laughed, impressed by Iktu’s eloquence.

“No, no, I can talk about my experiences, but when it comes to history and order...”

“I would like you to give a lecture together. The words of someone who knows are more familiar. Not just Nihoto, but the eastern part of the continent is the homeland of the imperial family that built the empire. Prince Asha should know this.”

Iktu agreed to assist Warel, the tutor.

After tidying up, I moved to the Golden Room.

It’s supposed to be a salon for receiving guests, but I use it as a study room since there’s no other use for it.

It’s unnecessarily large and empty.

There’s a built-in table set and, for some reason, a grand piano.

Apparently, music is a required part of the education for nobles, so I’m also made to play it as part of my studies.

“The central part of the continent where the empire now stands was long an undeveloped land. Do you remember why?”

“It was surrounded by mountain ranges, and there were no paths to cross them.”

Warel linked this to a review of what we learned in geography.

“Yes. And the human race used to live in the east. Now, most of them live in the central part of the continent. Nihoto is the country with the most humans outside the empire, but before the empire was established, it was just a small country.”

“Are there no other countries left? Did they all move to the central part?”

Iktu answered my question.

“Actually, the east is prone to disasters. After the empire was established, more people moved to the central part rather than rebuilding destroyed cities. Furthermore, disasters from the sea, mountains, underground, and sky continued to strike the depopulated areas.”

“...Why is Nihoto still there, then?”

“It’s probably the most disaster-resistant. They complain about typhoons, landslides, volcanic eruptions, and heavy rain, but they start working on recovery the next day. They can’t sit still.”

My past life was similar, but hearing it from someone else makes it sound tough.

Incidentally, the area where the sea people live also has disasters, but they can escape to the sea, so they only need minimal land-based housing.

It seems that the eastern part of the continent is prone to natural disasters.

The hardships of our ancestors in finding new lands despite the difficulty of crossing the mountain ranges are evident.

“Are the creatures that live there different? Are there jobs that replace knights?”

Thinking about yokai and samurai, I asked indirectly, and Iktu seemed to be thinking.

“Not different, but do you know of curses that can’t be dealt with by magic?”

“Elves and beastmen both have traditions of curses, right?”

Warel, who is half-elf and half-beastman, raised his finger.

In this world, the magic that can be used varies by race.

Iktu, a sea person, uses water, Warel, an elf, uses wind, and Helcof, a beastman, uses body-enhancing magic.

Humans can’t master magic but can use all types.

“There is a story that is said to be an example of a curse by a mere creature that can’t use magic. It’s called the crab curse. There was a man who loved crabs and couldn’t stop eating them every day.”

According to Iktu, the man continued to eat crabs every day, and one day, his body swelled red when he touched a crab.

Despite being warned by those around him, the man couldn’t stop eating crabs, and he continued to gasp for breath, feel dizzy, vomit, and eventually died.

“This is a cautionary tale that even a small life can generate a curse if it continues to suffer for a long time.”

“Scary, but not really?”

Iktu and Warel seemed to take it as a moral lesson, but it sounded different to me.

Isn’t that an allergy?

I’ve heard that some people develop shellfish allergies as adults.

It seems that this world also has allergies that can’t be dealt with by magic.

“Can alchemy do something about it?”

“If it could, Your Highness would become a master alchemist.”

Iktu’s tone suggests it’s difficult.

Yeah, I’ll focus on learning what’s written in the books for now.

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Next: The Marquis’s Hand 2