We are staying in the royal palace of the Kingdom of Midnia.

　The reason why an ordinary adventurer like me is in the palace is because I was mistaken for the prince of this country.

　After many twists and turns, that misunderstanding was cleared up, but behind the scenes, the Zodiac cult is stirring and the palace was attacked by them. We defeated the cult's leader, a demon named Malmuke, and brought peace to the palace.

　--During the attack, the king, who was ill, was taken directly to heaven. I pretended to be the prince and held his hand as I watched him die.
　It pains me a little to deceive the king, but Lunamaria praises me.

"Will has done a good thing. You should be proud.

　Her eyes sparkle.

　Anastasia, the leader of the Third Kingsguard who had been looking for me for years, smiles.

"Master Will's lips didn't spit out a lie. They wove a kindness into them.

　They both give me praise.
　Justice Sir Klaus, who was trying to find the real prince, had similar words.

"I may not have been the real Prince William Alfredo, but I have the same heart as a real prince. He loved justice and cared for others more than anyone else.

　Klaus praised me and then asked with a half-serious face.

...... a few people here know what happened, and if they shut up, you will be king of this country, but do you want to rule this country?

　At first I thought it was a joke, but there seemed to be more of a serious component.
　I was often at a loss for words and chose my words carefully.

"No, sir. I'm not the king.

"The king is not a man of character. It's done with your soul. Your soul has the character of a king.

I appreciate that, to the fullest extent, but we have a father and mother at Table Mountain, too.

　I looked in the direction of the mountain where the gods live.

　I thought I saw my mother and father smiling at me. If I become king of the land I'll be hard to return home. Then they will be very sad. I wouldn't want to make them sad.
.
　--. and .
　I stare at the silver-haired priestess next to me.
　A priestess of the Mother Goddess, Luna Maria.

　She took me off the mountain for a month. I've seen many places, but I've only seen part of the world. I have yet to see the endless ocean. The scorching desert and the icy land. I met a lot of nice people, but I was not satisfied yet.

　I want to travel more. I wanted to see every corner of this world and meet more people.

　When he told her of this desire, Sir Klaus lightly touched his white beard.
"I see. I see." "So you'd rather see everything in this world than everything in this country?
　Nodding with determined eyes, Klaus loosens his cheeks.

"Fine. I won't push you any further. You're like a bird of prey that flies forever. A hawk is no longer a hawk when you attach a rope to it and tame it.

　Klaus used that expression and gave up on making me king.
　Anastasia lowers her eyebrows, "It's a shame.

If Master Will were king, I would be the first mistress.

　Quickly, Lunamaria stepped in between
"Master Will will not have a mistress!
　But Anastasia mischievously says: "Oh, then you can have your real wife.

Oh, so she's your real wife. I'll have her as my queen.

　But it seems to be hard to tweak it .

　In this country, of course, it was legal to take a wife in the cult of the Earth Mother God. On the contrary, the basic doctrine of the cult of Mother Goddess of Earth was

"Produce more!

　It is their longing to fill this earth with the Son of Man.

　It is their longing to fill this earth with the Son of Man.

　Lunamaría snarled, "...... mmmm," and

...... The hardest part about maidens is that they can't get married according to the commandments.

　And leaked. Although the cult's doctrine recommends fertility, it seems that priestesses who serve the earth mother goddess are an exception. It seems that every religious order values virginity.

　Seeing a troubled Lunamaria, Anastasia crosses her arms with me as if to provoke me, but then politely shakes them off and asks Sir Klaus: "What do you mean by making me king?

Where is the real His Royal Highness William Alfredo, who is joking about making me king?

"Authentic or ....... I don't know about that. Couldn't you ask the Mirror of Truth?

"There is only one event that you can ask the mirror of truth

"Then we'll be looking for you again, but we may not be able to find you.

"............

"After nearly ten years of searching, I have found you with what little information I have. After all, if you are not the real prince, there may be no prince left in this world.

　...... was a reasonable idea, but wrong, and can not be pointed out.



　I couldn't say irresponsibly, "Take another ten years to find something that might not exist.

Does that mean there will be no more kings in this country?

"No, it's not.

　Klaus to answer immediately.

"The king cannot be gone for long. I will mourn for the former king who was out of office for a while, but at the end of that period, one of my closest blood relations will take the throne. By the "King's Election Council.
"King Election Conference ......

That's right. The King's Council is a council in which the country's movers and shakers sit behind closed doors to decide on a king. Three days and three nights of endless debate.

That's a lot of work.

"Yeah. . it breaks my heart to be old.

　I smiled to myself and Sir Klaus patted me on the back.

"I'd really like you to stay in the palace and help me with all this, but that would be the same as putting shackles on your wings.

　Klaus looked at me with deep emotion and said.

That's not why I'm asking you to stay. But there will be a time when you will come back to the capital when you brand the world with your eyes. then I beg you to come to my house. You will always be welcome.

　Then he asked me to shake his hand.

　Shake his hand gashfully. The hand was thick and strong. It wasn't a perfunctory handshake.
　I say goodbye to Sir Klaus.

"Is there something in store for you, Master Will? It was Anastasia who asked me, "What do you want to do?

............

　I was lightly silent because I had no purpose.

　I've said I was going to look around the world in a grandiose manner, but I didn't have much of a plan for the future.

　Of course, I am concerned about the Zodiac cult that is planning to revive the Demon King: .......
　While I was thinking about this, I noticed a dagger hanging on my hip.
　When I let go of the dagger, I found a crack in the mithril dagger.

Is that a crack in ......?

　Lunamaria asks discreetly.

'Oh, yes, this is from the earlier battle'

It's cracked.

　Lunamaría's eyebrows are lowered because she knows this dagger is important to her, given to her by Ronin, the god of swords. My father Ronin gave me this dagger when I was young and since then I've killed many enemies with it.

Don't let it get you down. All things come crashing down.

　To quote the words of the god of magic, Vandal.

But it is of the finest mithril in the world. I will never have it again. And I was told it was a souvenir given to you the first time you tore up a large tree.

I know. But Dad Ronin is being pimped out. It's not a memento.

That's true, but--

　I look at Luna Maria's face, which still doesn't clear, and with a bang I put a light bulb on her head.

"Yeah. I have an idea.

Good thing?

That's right. Table Mountain is not that far from Midnia. I wanted to explore the north again, so that's good.

　Picture a map in your head.

　Alexes, the capital of Midnia, is located roughly in the center of the country, but to the north is Table Mountain. That means you have to go around the mountain to get to the north.

Indeed, it's a way of getting to the north.

"It will take longer to go around, so we'll go through Table Mountain. Then I think I'll go home and ask my father Vandal to repair the dagger.

The Vandal god of magic is also skilled in metallurgy.

Yes, I'm sure your father Vandal will have some ideas for you.

　Good things must come quickly, and me and Lunamaria look at Sir Klaus and Anastasia.

　They are dismayed that we are about to resume our adventure right away, even after a fierce battle, but they don't seem to want to stop our adventure now.

　They just want to offer us some hospitality for one night.
　We gratefully accepted the offer and headed to Sir Klaus' house.

　There, a delicious meal and a warm bed are provided and we regain our strength.

　The next morning, we say goodbye to Sir Klaus and Anastasia.
　Anastasia hugs me and says, "Happy Lord Will.

　I was expecting a more sulky, passionate farewell, but Anastasia says happily, "This is only a temporary farewell.

This is only a temporary farewell. --"This is only a temporary farewell" - in the not-too-distant future, Master Will will return to this royal city to share my fate.　


　Anastasia leaves the prophecy confidently as a witch.

　I look at Luna Maria and she does not speak. Maybe she was entrusted with such a prophecy by God. I had that impression.