Risou no Himo Seikatsu - Volume 9 - Chapter 5

Chapter 5 — Words of Gratitude

“Hi there, Your Majesty. I’ve come to have some fun.”

In the end, Francesco arrived the next day. Lucretia’s repeated apologies and hand-wringing brought Bona back to Zenjirou’s mind.

The prince showed no sign of recognizing the apologies those around him offered for his acts. Instead, he seated himself fluidly on the sofa before drinking from the teacup in front of him.

Zenjirou then asked after the princess in question. “Has Princess Bona not also returned for a period?”

“Hmm, I believe it will depend on Her Majesty’s plans when Bona comes back. There isn’t a firm date in mind, but I think she will be back in the next few days.”

“I see.”

Zenjirou had only ever really met with Francesco when he was accompanied by Bona acting as his minder. It seemed that role was specific to when they were in Capua, though. In that respect, the two of them traveling separately probably wouldn’t cause any issues.

“Well then, gentlemen,” Francesco addressed his attendants while Zenjirou considered that. “I am going to have a private conversation with His Majesty, so could you leave the room?”

“We cannot follow that order, Your Highness. We are your guards, and Prince Josep instructed us to not leave your side,” a knight responded crisply. The man was wearing a sword at his waist, surrounded by the mana of a magic tool.

Francesco frowned. “Hmm, I suppose you are my father’s subordinates rather than mine. Still, I don’t want anyone else to hear this conversation. I don’t suppose you could accommodate me?”

The directness of the negotiation seemed unlike that which royalty would usually employ, but the guards and attendants moved away from the pair while still remaining in the same room.

Francesco immediately pulled four pieces of metal in the shape of rhombuses from his pocket and distributed them around the sofas that he and Zenjirou were seated on.

“Sing,” he commanded in the magic language.

The shapes started producing a grating sound as wind blew through them. The conversation must have been exceedingly sensitive if he’d bothered to smuggle in anti-eavesdropping magic tools.

“Your Majesty, thank you for accommodating my selfishness today,” Francesco said with a bow of his head. There were few royals from whom such a bow would be worth so little.

While Zenjirou was tempted to stress that it was hardly just today that he had accommodated the man, he had been waiting for this meeting.

“Not at all,” he replied, pasting a smile onto his face. “I would always do my utmost to have a meeting with you, Prince Francesco.”

“Truly, I can always count on you for tolerance. Thank you, Your Majesty,” the prince replied with a tug at his hair. He immediately leaned forward. “Then I shall take you up on that. Your Majesty, do you follow my father or uncle?”

The utter bluntness with which he brought up the topic would have left Zenjirou lost for words had it come from anyone else. However, Zenjirou had somewhat expected it with Francesco being his conversation partner.

“I have not yet decided. Honestly, I lack the information to do so. Therefore, I wish to question you.”

“What is it? I can tell you whatever I know.”

The prince’s easy smile made Zenjirou feel like his own caution was foolish.

Keeping his sigh unvoiced, Zenjirou started with questions that posed him little risk even if they became more widely known.

“Do you have a good relationship with Prince Largo? I only ask because I heard that he and your father have often found points of contention.”

The indirect nature of his question did not necessarily mean that it would be answered in kind.

“I do. Uncle Largo is a reliable person. I love my father and grandfather as well, but as I imagine you are aware, they are part of the Total Unity Faction. Their attention on me due to my control of both bloodlines’ magics makes spending time with them rather suffocating. In comparison, my uncle treating me as his foolish nephew is much more pleasant.”

Zenjirou had to do his utmost to ensure the sudden lack of tension didn’t send him slipping from the seat. Why had he even put so much pain into gathering information?

Even as Zenjirou raised a hand to his head as if to ward off a headache, Francesco didn’t stop speaking.

“My father and grandfather wish to put me on the throne. If not for that, they would be the perfect family. I have tried to warn them on many occasions that my ascension will mean chaos. It seems to have had little effect, though.”

“Then do you mean to say you have no personal wish for the throne?” Zenjirou asked after a pause, taking advantage of the lull in the deluge of revelations. He was mostly sure of the answer, but the risks, if he was incorrect, were too great. Fortunately, Zenjirou’s expectations were not betrayed.

“None whatsoever,” the prince agreed. “I have personally refused it, in fact. Were you aware that the king is so hounded by politics that there is no time for real enchanting? The rare exceptions where it is possible are for diplomacy, so you cannot even decide what you would make yourself.”

His look of horror as he shook his head made it hard to see the claim as anything but the truth.

“That is also part of why I want my uncle to succeed. The country should have its systems remain in place. My father should ascend to the throne and Vittore should become crown prince while I focus on my research. That would be ideal.”

Having evaluated the prince through his entire speech, Zenjirou decided to believe him for the time being.

None of this contradicts how he’s acted in the past. Our interests should be aligned, then. If he doubted everyone, he would be completely paralyzed. He took a deep breath and then spoke with surety.

“So you are not part of the Total Unity Faction?”

“I am not. All I am is the unworthy son with abilities perfect for the Total Unity Faction born between a man and woman of the same, who cannot fathom the thoughts involved.”

The man had his usual foppish smile as he spoke. Still, there seemed to be something different peeking out from behind it.

“Prince Largo has said that Crown Prince Josep of the Total Unity Faction is scheming to see you as the next crown prince.”

“He is. Frankly, he and my grandfather have been planning it since they discovered my abilities,” the prince agreed with a nod.

“He is also the head of the opposing faction.”

“Also, strictly speaking, the only people who would endorse it are members of the Total Unity Faction.”

That was precisely why, despite the two royals’ positions, they could not publicly reveal their desires. Zenjirou focused right in on the prince to avoid missing the slightest shift before voicing his last statement.

“Prince Largo also said that the public reason for their disagreement is how to deal with the four dukes in the future. Therefore, if magic tools supporting his position are provided to the two nomadic families, your ascension can also be avoided.”

Zenjirou’s gaze was heavy enough to qualify as a glare and even Francesco seemed to feel its effect. The smile vanished from his face and he answered plainly.

“That is correct. My father’s and grandfather’s strengths are their politicking and caution. If the selection of gifts falls my uncle’s way despite the situation being to their benefit, they will grow wary. They will not make a move that could serve to lose their strongest piece on the board—me—should it fail. Of that, I can assure you.”

Zenjirou’s resolve strengthened at his answer. However, before he could voice his decision, Francesco leaned so far forward that he was practically sprawled across the table between them.

“Does that mean you have an idea for a magic tool that even they cannot argue against?”

His green eyes were alight with a professional’s curiosity. Zenjirou leaned back slightly at his fervor and gave a somewhat ambivalent answer.

“No, just a thought that may become an idea. I am completely unfamiliar with enchanting, so I do not know whether it is possible. It could also be of no actual use even if it is feasible...”

“Please, tell me. I cannot make any judgment until I know. Come now, come now.”

“Well. It would be a derivation of dual burn parchment, I suppose. Is it possible to enchant things that do not burn but instead conduct the heat with the same spell?”

Francesco answered his question at a rapid pace. He also hadn’t leaned back, instead holding himself over the table with both hands on its surface.

“Not as it is, but it should be possible with slight modifications. However, materials other than drake hide will require much more mana. Additionally, while metallic ‘dual burn parchment’ could conduct the heat, it would not burn in the same shape as letters.”

That was just the answer Zenjirou had been hoping for. A smile made its way back onto his face as he spoke tensely. “Then if the most thermally conductive metal was drawn as thin as possible without compromising its strength and enchanted in that way and coupled with letter stamps of the same material and morph drake hide...”

“Hm? Why would you use metal that transmits heat so well and in so thin a form? Oh, I see. That would leave the same letter as was sent. That would be rather difficult to...”

“If an expert like yourself were to wish to change things, then that would be fine. We have a deadline, so I would like at least a finalized idea by then.”

“A finalized idea? Honestly, this is too new and I fear it may be impossible to explain it sufficiently. I would say producing a prototype will make all the difference.”

Zenjirou let silence reign between them for a while before speaking.

“I have brought several of the jewels with me just in case.”

“Leave it to me!”

The prince consort and eldest grandson engaged in zealous discussion of the magic tools for the time it took the guards to grow weary to the point where they cleared their throats loudly enough to be heard over the anti-eavesdropping measures.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

Nine days later, Zenjirou walked into a room of the Purple Egg Palace as the invitation from the king requested.

The people behind him carried the magic tool Francesco had created and other objects. The magic tool itself, being the most valuable, was cradled carefully by Lucretia. Francesco had given it his stamp of approval but Zenjirou couldn’t entirely hide his unease. It was possible it would be rejected or else not work as it should during the demonstration. He had tested it the night before, but such failures were still a common tale.

Zenjirou’s mind was filled with replays of the nightmare when the decoration they’d tested over and over hadn’t actually opened up as it should on the day of the cultural festival in high school. The clash of imagined futures and remembered failures continued in his mind for a while before the king and crown prince arrived.

It was slightly rude to have made him wait when they had sent the invitation, but that was likely on purpose. It stressed how they were in a position of power. Complaints from Zenjirou wouldn’t serve to help matters despite how much it grated on him. He simply maintained his smile and offered a small bow.

“My apologies for the delay, Your Majesty,” the king said. “I am still a busy man.”

“My apologies, Your Majesty,” the prince echoed.

The smiles on both of their faces didn’t show any sign of such scheming.

That’s honestly even scarier, he thought to himself. His internal wariness ratcheting up a notch, Zenjirou offered a similar smile.

“Not at all. I can hardly fault a short delay when meeting with both the king and crown prince.”

He didn’t refute the fact that he had been kept waiting, simply accepting the apology.

Once the greetings and meaningless chatter were dispensed with, the three moved on to the main topic.

“So then, Your Majesty. I would discuss my previous request with regard to the magic tool.”

As the crown prince brought the topic to the fore in a slightly hesitant way, Zenjirou swallowed slightly so it wouldn’t be noticed. Then he began to speak, drawing on his prior experience from his job on Earth.

“Indeed. Having looked over the documents you provided and having discussed the four duke’s positions with their representatives, I have come to a conclusion.”

“Please, do tell,” Josep pressed quietly.

Zenjirou looked straight at the prince’s face. Even inspecting the man again, all he could see was a genial gentleman. However, this man was planning on bringing Zenjirou’s beloved son to the forefront of political strife.

He tensed and then answered. “My conclusion is dual burn parchment.”

“Dual burn...”

The prince and king’s gaze flickered to the attendants and the magic tool they were carrying.

While they may have known that Zenjirou had had Francesco make a magic tool, they had not managed to discover what it was. The old king and younger crown prince looked both surprised and let down by Zenjirou’s answer. But their expressions were only visible for an instant before being smoothed over by smiles as the crown prince questioned Zenjirou further.

“Was this your own idea, Your Majesty?”

“It was not. Nazeema of the Reierfon family was the one to ask for dual burn parchment to begin with.”

“I see. The family would indeed see much use for such a thing. While they may be referred to as a single group, each of the families has their own circumstances.”

While his words sounded like understanding, there was an implication of doubt that Zenjirou would simply use only one family’s opinion. He had been prepared for that, though.

“Indeed. Their other thoughts were not incorrect, but I personally believe that dual burn parchment will be the most advantageous to all four families.”

“I can certainly see that.”

Even the crown prince could not refute the claim. The benefit was most obvious to the nomadic families, as their capitals moved. However, the two settled families also had members living in both the royal capital and their own. Dual burn parchment would certainly aid all four of them.

Zenjirou continued his presentation. “However, there is a single disadvantage to dual burn parchment. I hardly believe that I need to explain it to those in your family, but the fact that letters are burned into it makes it inherently disposable.”

Its manufacture was relatively simple, taking little time in comparison to more complex tools. It could still take over a month to create a set, though. That put a limit on the amount that could be produced, and they were not used without consideration.

“As I have repeated on several occasions, I am an amateur when it comes to enchanting. However, that itself may make my perspective different from those of the Sharou family. This began as a simple thought, but thankfully that thought was brought into a full item. I wish to demonstrate the results, minor as they are, to you here.”

“You may do so.”

Once the prince had given his permission, Zenjirou gave Lucretia the order.

“Excuse me,” she said as she came forward and briskly began setting up the magic tool.

The first things she produced were two sheets of metal that were about the size of an A4 piece of paper. Any inspection of mana revealed that these were the only enchanted pieces. The only blemish on them was a marble embedded in the center of each sheet.

The maids then produced several metal sticks. A closer look would reveal that each of them had the mirror image of a letter on their tips. While they were rather large, these were letter stamps.

Then, a maid wearing unseasonably thick gloves for the desert in the blazing season produced a sheet of dark indigo drake parchment. Most of the people present in the room were unaware that it was made from the skin of a morph drake—the very animal the desert tribes lamented as a pest with no use.

They followed Zenjirou’s instructions and placed one of the sheets on a table in front of the crown prince. Then they carefully covered it with the morph drake hide, followed by what were effectively paperweights to ensure contact between the two items.

The other sheet was placed in front of Zenjirou as the maids holding the stamps stood at his side. Everything was in order.

At the maids’ signal, Zenjirou nodded and addressed the crown prince’s attendant.

“My apologies. Could you prepare a heat source?”

“Your Highness?” the attendant asked his liege.

“Do so.”

“At once. Please wait a moment.”

The man left the room once he was given permission, soon returning with an immobile flame. “It is already active, so please take care. Do you know how to use it?” he asked.

“Thank you. I do.”

Zenjirou nodded at the man before taking one of the stamps from the maid and placing it inside the fire. Once it was sufficiently heated, he carefully pressed it into the metal plate. There was a metallic clink as the two pieces of metal hit each other.

Nothing happened immediately. And a period of waiting still revealed nothing.

“Wait, what is this?”

The change that occurred after several minutes was not on the plate in front of Zenjirou, but the one in front of Josep. More accurately, the one with the sheet of morph drake hide atop it.

The light mark was gradually spreading across the formerly dark indigo surface. Eventually, it formed a letter. The same letter Zenjirou had pressed into the plate. The heat didn’t cleanly transfer between the two media, so the letter was rather warped and difficult to read, but it was still legible.

“These two plates are enchanted in the same way as dual burn parchment. However, their metal construction means only the heat is transferred. They do not blacken with use. The top of your plate is covered with morph drake hide. They have the strange property of changing color with temperature, so placing it atop the plate makes it react to that heat.”

As he spoke, Zenjirou got into the swing of things, pressing letters to the sheet one after another. The impromptu stamps had been a rush order from a craftsman Francesco knew, so they were not neat letters in the slightest. Zenjirou’s movements were clumsy as he worked as well, so the spacing and height of the letters varied somewhat throughout the text. In some places, they even overlapped. Still, the white letters on the skin were more than enough to convey the meaning.

“Congratulations, new king.”

Josep’s face was deadly serious as he read the sentence in front of him.

A look at the king to his side revealed that his usual smile had also vanished as the man stared fixedly at Zenjirou’s invention. Both men were accomplished politicians. Therefore, both immediately saw the value of a reusable dual burn parchment, even if it took quite some effort to create.

At the same time, they knew the four dukes would covet it. Rumors were insuppressible. Even if they rejected the idea here, the new dual burn parchment’s existence and the proposal would become public.

Josep had been the one to originally ask for Zenjirou’s aid. With that request being more than fulfilled, he would invite much displeasure from the four dukes if he refused it.

“Father...”

“Indeed.”

Having navigated the currents of politics together for so long, a glance was all it took for them to come to an understanding. The prince cleared his throat to draw attention before looking up over the table at Zenjirou.

“You have my thanks, Your Majesty. I can now say that I was certainly correct to ask for your aid.”

“In which case...Your Highness?”

The prince nodded solemnly at the happy expression on Zenjirou’s face.

“I take my hat off to you, Your Majesty. I need not consider it any further. This new type of dual burn parchment will be the gift I give.”

Zenjirou clenched his fist under the table and fought down a cheer. The request for dual burn parchment had come from Nazeema, a representative of the Reierfon family—one of the still-nomadic families. The main component of this magic tool was the morph drakes, which mainly lived in the other nomadic family’s lands. While fewer in number, they also lived in the Reierfon lands. They lived in no other location.

Anyone could see the focus on those two families. Still, the tool would be invaluable to the two settled families as well, so neither would show discontent with it. The metal plates were completely reusable, but the hide was consumable. Making them a truly general tool would mean the morph drakes would go from pest to resource. It might even serve to narrow some of the economic disparities between the two groups of families. Naturally, it would be like narrowing a lead of twenty horse lengths to nineteen, but it would still give them hope.

It would still benefit the Sharou family as well. The morph drakes’ hides would have value because of this new magic tool. It was like the two nomadic families could make printer paper while the Sharou family could make the printer itself. Even if the hides led to economic growth, it would be economic growth under the control of the Sharou family. If anything, an increase in their wealth and a reluctance to give that newfound wealth up would make them more reliant on the royal family.

The only issue for them was that it was the opposite way that Josep had wished things to develop, and more in line with the goals of his opponent, Largo. Of course, he was not foolish enough to value his own pride over the country’s gain.

“My thanks, Prince Josep. I would also like to thank you for being willing to offer the opportunity to someone who is as much of an enchanting layman as I am,” Zenjirou said. He managed to keep his joy under control and his voice steady. There was an implied request to confirm that there would be no attempts to involve his son in their schemes now.

“We should be thanking you for such a wonderful idea. Frankly, I shudder to think of the nobles’ reaction were I to refuse it now,” Josep said, nodding several times.

Reading into that, it was probably along the lines of, “Fine, fine. I’ll give up for now. It’ll only be chaos if I pushed it through, so trust me.”

Now that he knew his objective was accomplished, Zenjirou’s earlier triumph was replaced by exhaustion. Naturally, though, he could not lie down on the sofa there. He straightened his back to remain upright and gave a standard business smile along with a polite laugh.

“I wager it will be no issue. Even I have heard of how much the citizens support you, Prince Josep. As long as nothing unforeseen occurs, I cannot see that support wavering.”

“It does my heart good to hear that,” the prince chuckled. “My thanks once again. I suppose I am overthinking things. As the saying goes, overthinking can be just as bad as not thinking at all.”

“I quite agree.”

The conversation then turned to a superficial friendly chat between the two countries’ royals.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

Once Zenjirou’s party had left, silence fell in the room. The king was the one to break it.

“So we’ve been had.”

“We have.”

The prince’s earlier easy smile instantly dropped to a near-expressionless look as he nodded. The king pinched his nose.

“Well, no matter. The results are still beneficial to us.”

“Indeed. Bona’s report that he would have thoughts that would never occur to us with regard to enchanting were even more correct than I had considered.”

While it was useless for the goals of the Total Unity Faction, the results were beneficial enough to their positions as royalty. The two were obsessed with the former, but they had the political wherewithal to not let it unbalance them.

“A new dual burn parchment, though. We had conceived of a reusable version, but not in that way,” the king remarked.

“It is no surprise. We are enchanters; our thoughts naturally tend towards solving the problem solely through enchantment.” The prince shrugged lightly.

As their words implied, the value of reusable dual burn parchment was both obviously beneficial and something they had thought of. Some of them had considered using earth-aligned magic rather than fire to create a dual sandbox. Others had tried to create dual water pens that used water as ink.

However, whether dual burn parchment’s characteristics were unique to fire spirits or not, none of those avenues had borne fruit. What Zenjirou had suggested was to use the same vector and then make the tool reusable through outside means.

The breakthrough of the morph drake hide was something they had missed even within their borders due to the Sharou family’s fixation on magic tools, which were complete in and of themselves. Simply using a magic tool as the centerpiece and adding mundane items to it was something that would never have occurred to the Sharou family, if for no other reason than their knowledge of just how powerful the tools could be.

Of course, morph drakes being in the lands of the ducal families most removed from the crown was also part of it. Whatever the case, the fact remained that a foreign royal had developed a magic tool with clear benefits to their country in less than a month.

“I want to avoid selling this to other countries as much as possible,” the king stated.

“I quite agree. As things are, I cannot see us avoiding selling to Capua. We should refrain from selling to other countries, though.”

“Perhaps we could include a clause preventing their resale in the contract with Capua.”

The two of them were well aware of how beneficial fast information transfer was to a country. Father and son both had the same views and similar skills, so the conversation took barely any time at all.

“Hm...” the king mused once they had discussed things. “I suppose that settles things.”

“I should be going, father.”

“I suppose it is about that time. Deal with it as you will,” the king told his son with a wave as the latter stood.

“I will.”

The prince bowed to his father before leaving the room. He headed further into the palace, to the area where the royal family lived.

“This is sufficient,” he told his guards. “Good work.”

“Thank you, sir.” They saluted, remaining in the corridor as Josep continued on.

This was a completely private area where not even the guards or aides could enter. The walls were thick and unbroken by windows. Instead, magic tools purified the air and provided illumination. It was a small room for a palace.

Josep entered, shutting the door behind him. There was someone else already inside.

“Welcome back, brother. I trust the meeting went well?”

Josep showed no surprise at the room already being occupied. He simply seated himself on the plain wooden seat.

“It is a rare day where you arrive here first, Largo. The day was surprisingly tiring.” As he spoke, the prince unbuttoned the top three buttons of his shirt, relaxing defenselessly.

Largo was the crown prince’s younger brother. Publicly, he was also his biggest political enemy. The pair began to exchange information away from prying eyes.

“Judging from your demeanor, can I assume it was my win for once?”

“Truly, you should smile. It was completely your victory,” Josep said, lifting his hands above his head in surrender.

“That is a relief. Will the two of you refrain from the foolishness of making Francesco the next crown prince now?”

“For now, at least,” he agreed reluctantly.

“Well, I would rather you did so entirely,” the younger prince said with an exaggerated sigh.

While the two of them were political enemies, they were also brothers who wished for the prosperity of the Twin Kingdoms of Sharou-Gilbelle. Therefore, they had these meetings when one won out over the other to avoid any disaster, finding common ground. The topic this time was, of course, the visitor from Capua.

“Incidentally, what did you think of His Majesty?” Largo asked.

“Well, in terms of political insight, he is rather formidable. In terms of political strength, however, quite the opposite. The biggest thing I noticed is how hard he is to pin down in character. He often does not react in a normal way to normal words, so he can gain more than his abilities would imply,” the man said before pausing briefly. “His imagination is also surprising. It may have been mere coincidence, so I will refrain from judgment yet. In terms of his surface abilities and lineage, he is worthy of the recognition, though. I would take him in if I could.”

As far as Aura was concerned, Zenjirou was a Capuan. However, the truth was slightly different. Zenjirou’s ancestors were a Capuan prince and a princess of Sharou. He should have had roughly equal ties to both royal families. The evidence lay in Zenjirou’s own disposition swinging towards the Capuan side with his space-time magic. However, his son could yet manifest both.

This was despite the fact that Aura was purely Capuan. That showed more than anything that his blood ties to the Sharou family were strong.

“I really do want him. If it seems too much for Lucretia, we should consider other women. If he shows an interest in the women of the four dukes, we can get their cooperation as well.”

His brother sounded rather put-upon as the crown prince placed a hand to his chin in thought.

“Greed will only sour our relations with Capua. Please avoid that.”

“I know. Relax, Her Majesty is a rational person. I won’t misstep.”

“Truly, you are quite the piece of work...” Largo sighed. “The Twin Kingdoms are strong enough currently. We certainly need to increase that strength and develop, but we are not in such dire straits that we need to cross a rotten bridge.” Despite having said the words on many occasions and knowing they would not be heard, Largo still said them.

“You need to think. While we are strong on the Southern Continent, we are still far below the church. Their center of power is developing techniques to cross the seas more quickly than ever. We cannot let our guards down.”

“Well, you are correct there...”

Both of them had heard of the four-masted ship from the Northern Continent that had arrived in Capua, so he had to admit his brother’s words held some weight.

The crown prince continued. “You underestimate their stubbornness. The church will not leave the White Empire’s descendants to their own devices.”

“Brother...”

Unable to muster any real argument, he fell silent again. His older brother had a point. However, he could not shake the idea that his wise brother was letting delusions from their distant ancestors sway him towards believing in an imagined danger.