Chapter 18: Rumors Completely Different from the Truth (2)

[Target Information]

Name: Patrick Waver

Age: 54

Occupation: Prince Raion’s Exclusive Butler

Title: White Flash

Life: 780 / 780

Stamina: 2,300 / 2,300

Mana: 520 / 520

Abilities:

Landscaping Level Max

Cooking Level 4

Cleaning Level Max

Swordsmanship Level 8

Dagger Technique Level 7

Spear Technique Level 6

Archery Level 5

‘What the…!’

Patrick’s information, whom I had thought to be just an average middle-aged man, was astonishing.

Moreover, besides the typical abilities of a butler, there were also swordsmanship, dagger technique, spear technique, and archery.

‘Is he some kind of warrior?’

His levels might even surpass those of regular knights.

“Hey… Patrick?”

Among all of that, there was one part that puzzled me the most.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“What is ‘White Flash’?”

At my question, Patrick’s usually calm expression suddenly stiffened.

“How do you know about that?”

“It’s one of my abilities. I can see your information right now.”

“My information, you say?”

“Yeah. From what I can see… you’ve mastered not just cooking, landscaping, and cleaning, but also swordsmanship, dagger, spear, and archery.”

At my detailed explanation, Patrick looked at me with a curious gaze before speaking quietly.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness, but I must ask that you not inquire about the White Flash.”

His voice was grave.

And it was the first time that Patrick, who had always obeyed my words, had insisted on something so firmly.

Naturally, I had no choice but to respect that stance.

“Alright. I won’t ask anymore. I actually called you to compare our stats, but… that might be a bit difficult now.”

“In that case, I shall call for Sir Jade. I will step outside and send him in.”

It seemed I had touched on something unpleasant.

Patrick quietly exited the room.

A short while later, responding to his summons, Jade entered the workshop.

“What is it, Your Highness?”

“I just have something to check. Specific Analysis!”

As the ability activated, information about Jade appeared before me just like it had with Patrick.

[Target Information]

Name: Jade Raizen

Age: 22

Occupation: Knight of the Wind Wolves of the Canel Kingdom / Prince Raion’s Swordsmanship Instructor

Life: 350 / 350

Stamina: 1,500 / 1,500

Mana: 300 / 300

Abilities:

Raizen-Style Swordsmanship Level 6

True Martial Art (Jinmudo) Level 3

Jade was quite talented, and given his age, his stats were considerably high.

Furthermore, since he had been learning True Martial Art from me, that ability and level had appeared as well.

‘If I compare myself to Jade, I’m actually at quite a high level, aren’t I?’

At thirteen years old, I had spent the past few months staying in Taron’s Palace and training.

Thanks to that, I had built up my current stats.

“You can go back now, I’ve confirmed it.”

“As you wish, Your Highness.”

Once Jade left, I used the floating window to roughly compare our stats.

“My mana seems higher than that of ordinary people.”

I opened my Status Information again to check. Perhaps because I had just used Specific Analysis, my mana had dropped slightly.

[Status Information]

Name: Raion Canel

Age: 13

Occupation: 3rd Prince of the Canel Kingdom / Regressor / Arcane Sorcerer

Life: 300 / 300

Stamina: 1,000 / 1,000

Mana: 1,180 / 1,200

“So Specific Analysis consumes 10 mana each time I use it?”

Afterward, I tried out other abilities as well.

Basic ones consumed between 5 and 10 mana, while Decomposition-Synthesis consumed 20.

“This isn’t even the same as my original ability.”

If I didn’t have a talent for magic, my stats would be far lower than this.

And in my past life, I had no talent for magic whatsoever.

“So this is my kind of special privilege?”

For me, this was a good thing.

If I continued training my stamina and skills as I had been while staying at Taron’s Palace, and grew my abilities as well, I would gain considerable strength.

That was the first foundation for the new life I was planning.

—

Creeeak—! Thud!

The outer gate of Taron’s Palace opened and shut.

A man struggled to climb the slope while carrying luggage.

The knights watching him shook their heads.

“One by one, people have gone in over the past few months, but not a single one has come back out.”

What they saw were Jade and the man who had just entered.

Only Patrick, who occasionally went out to buy food supplies, left with any regularity.

“What in the world are they doing in there? I heard Prince Raion was famous for doing absolutely nothing.”

“Who knows. Besides, weren’t we told that no one should approach the palace?”

That was a royal command.

Naturally, the knights were too afraid to peek inside or even think about climbing over the wall.

Meanwhile, the man who had gone in alone was trudging up toward the palace, groaning under his breath.

The man was none other than Caldein Flavan, a member of the 13th Mage Division.

Originally, he had received orders to go to Taron’s Palace quite some time ago, but there had been far too many documents to organize in the 13th Mage Division.

Only after finishing all that work was he finally able to come.

Of course, Prince Raion had understood the delay and granted him an extension until now.

“Phew~! It’s steeper than I expected.”

Caldein was forty-three years old that year. Being a mage, physical labor was naturally difficult for him.

At that moment—

Rustle, rustle—something stirred within the forest on both sides of the path.

Shushk! Shushushush!

“W-What was that? Don’t tell me… monsters live here?”

Catching fleeting shadows moving between the trees, Caldein grew frightened.

He quickly put down the baggage he had been carrying and looked around nervously.

Shushushuk! Shushuk! Pak!

Suddenly, two figures burst out of the bushes and shot toward him.

“Eek—!”

Startled, Caldein froze and buried his head toward the ground.

Tak! Tatak!

But no attack came.

The two figures simply landed in front of him and looked down at him.

“Caldein Flavan?”

“Your Highness, is this someone you know?”

At the sound of their voices, Caldein slowly lifted his head.

Standing before him were Raion, whose short red hair glimmered in the light, and the knight Jade.

Raion, in particular, had changed noticeably over the past few months—both his height and his physique. The result of relentless training.

“Y-Your Highness, Prince Raion?”

At Caldein’s stammered question, Raion greeted him with genuine delight.

“You finally arrived! You said there was a lot to organize in the 13th Mage Division—did you finish everything?”

Caldein, who had never seen Prince Raion before, was confused.

“Are you truly His Highness?”

“Well, I suppose this is your first time seeing me. I’m Raion Canel. But how long do you intend to stay prostrated like that?”

“A-Ah! My apologies.”

As Caldein hurried to rise, his legs gave out beneath him.

“Looks like we frightened him a bit too much. Jade, carry his luggage for him.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Jade picked up the luggage lying beside them.

“Do you need my support to walk?”

At Raion’s question, Caldein shook his head violently.

“N-No! I can stand on my own!”

Barely managing to get up by himself, Caldein followed behind Raion and Jade.

When they stepped into the palace garden, Patrick—who had been organizing the surroundings—approached them.

“Sir Caldein Flavan. You have finally arrived. I will show you your quarters and the interior of the residence.”

Patrick took the luggage from Jade.

“After showing him around, bring him to my workshop.”

“Understood, Your Highness. This way, please.”

As they headed toward the palace, Raion and Jade returned to their interrupted training.

“Let’s go back into the forest. Whose turn was it?”

“It’s my turn to catch you this time, Your Highness. I’ll definitely succeed today.”

Their training was a kind of tag—

—but not on flat ground. Their stage was the dense forest, and they had to move without touching the ground, leaping only from tree to tree as they chased each other.

Tatak! Tatatatak!

Like monkeys swinging from branch to branch, the two had already been practicing this exercise for nearly two months.

The weather was cold, and snow had begun to fall, making the branches slippery—but their movements remained swift and sharp.

Raion, who took the lead, used his small build to his advantage, springing off the branches lightly.

‘There’s no better training to strengthen every muscle in the body.’

It was a dangerous method of training, but it produced exceptional results.

Meanwhile, Jade was closing in fast, his face tense with frustration from never having caught Raion even once so far.

“You think you can catch me running that slow?”

“I’ll catch you this time, no matter what!”

Jade wasn’t half bad himself.

Even though this was his first time experiencing such a form of training, he adapted quickly.

Papak! Papapak!

As he drew closer from behind, Jade reached out his hand—

—but Raion suddenly changed direction, grabbed a thick branch, and used it to swing himself high into the air.

The distance between them widened in an instant.

“Damn it!”

While Jade’s frustrated cry echoed through the forest, Raion surged forward and reached the finish point in no time.

“Phew—!”

Raion exhaled deeply, drenched in sweat.

At that moment, Monica appeared from outside and handed him a towel.

“It’s freezing out here. Must you really train outside like this?”

Her tone was half complaint, half concern.

“Hahaha! Precisely because it’s cold that we have to do it right.”

“Still, it’s too dangerous. Even if Patrick permitted it, please be careful.”

When Patrick had first witnessed this training, he had warned Raion sternly.

No matter how much he trusted him, it was only natural to worry when a boy barely past ten was darting about through trees like that.

Raion understood but managed to persuade Patrick enough to continue his practice.

By then, Jade had arrived at the finish point as well.

Panting heavily, he took a towel from Monica.

“Your Highness, that was too much! How could you widen the gap like that?”

“That’s part of the tactic. You pretend to be caught, then seize the opening. If it works, you can catch your opponent off guard.”

“Well, thanks to that, my awareness is improving. But honestly, not just anyone could manage this kind of training.”

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