Rise of the Fallen Kingdom’s Third Prince

The citizens who had been cheering for Pietro no longer made a sound.

Only the ragged breathing of the two men stirred the air.

“Huff, huff…”

“Khk…”

As if they had agreed beforehand, both began to slowly close the distance.

Everyone could sense that the end was near. The conclusion was coming soon.

Suddenly, Pietro let out a shout and charged forward.

The king also ran toward him.

“Uaaaaaaah!”

“Iyaaaaaaah!”

To an outsider’s eyes, it might have looked like a ridiculous situation.

Both were wearing nothing but some kind of shorts, and their stances were clumsy.

But no one there dared to laugh at them.

“Who do you think will win?”

“I don’t know.”

“Even His Majesty…”

“They’re completely evenly matched.”

Yuri swallowed hard.

Since he had reached this level, it was the first time a fight had been so difficult for him to predict.

He truly couldn’t tell.

At that moment, both of their fists struck the other’s face.

A cross-counter.

There wasn’t much power behind it, the sound wasn’t impressive.

However, it was enough to knock down bodies already pushed to their limits.

The two fell at the same time. The entire crowd rose from their seats.

Even Yuri leaned forward to get a better view of the scene.

“For something like this to happen…”

Both lay on the ground motionless.

The knight overseeing the duel began to count cautiously.

One, two, three.

“If it stays like this, how do they decide the winner?”

“If neither gets up, the one with the lower weight wins. Because they would have overcome the disadvantage of their weight class.”

“I see…”

“By the way, Pietro is a bit lighter.”

The king of Konzed’s body was much fatter, but Pietro, though tall and broad-shouldered, didn’t weigh much more.

Yuri waited to see who would get up first.

Six, seven, eight.

The count ended.

“We’ll decide it by weight!”

To be fairer, they brought out a measuring instrument. The two unconscious bodies were placed one after the other on a large balance scale.

As if celebrating victory, Pietro’s side lifted higher.

“Sir Pietro has won!”

If he hadn’t suffered in prison, Pietro might have weighed more. This too was the hand of fate.

The crowd erupted in applause and cheers.

Pietro was now king.

“In the end it turned out well, Your Highness. Don’t you think?”

“Yes…”

Yuri only nodded with an ambiguous smile.

“With this, another matter is resolved.”

***

The three, having even settled the issue of succession in Konzed, decided to depart without delay.

The rest would be in the hands of the people of Konzed.

“Thank you, Hegemon!”

“Long live the Hegemon!”

“Hurrah!”

“Safe travels!”

Pietro, and now the dethroned former king, could not see them off as they were receiving treatment.

Instead, countless citizens came out to bless the path of Yuri and his companions.

“I thought Pietro would lose. The former king wasn’t a pushover either. When he was young, I bet he threw quite a punch. Wow…”

At Jared’s words, Yuri smiled.

“The truth is, Pietro lost.”

“Huh?”

“It was Pietro’s defeat.”

Yuri glanced back over his shoulder. The castle of Konzed was growing distant.

“The former king regained consciousness in the end.”

“What are you saying?”

“But he chose not to get up.”

Yuri recalled that moment.

With his vision that transcended the human, he could clearly see the state of both fighters.

The former king of Konzed, lying on his back, half-opened his eyes toward the sky. He still had the strength to stand.

But he chose to remain lying down as he listened to the count.

And so, like a piece of meat on the scale, he accepted defeat.

“Really? That man…”

Laurent, who had been silent until then, spoke.

“He knew too. That the tide had already turned.”

“Then why fight?”

“Maybe he just wanted to land one last hit.”

Jared tilted his head.

Yuri smiled.

“Or maybe, he simply changed his mind at the last moment. Aren’t we all that human?”

“He seemed so ambitious, and yet…”

“He could beat the fist of a young man, but not the heart of an entire people. It wasn’t Pietro’s blow that brought him down, but the will of the crowd.”

“A lesson in that?”

“In any case, we did what we had to. Now, to the Magic Tower!”

“Yes!”

The three left Konzed in an instant.

***

Guided by a mage, Yuri and his group entered Tatago’s workshop.

When the inner door of the Magic Tower opened, an endless library appeared.

The ceiling was so high that the highest books seemed impossible to reach.

They entered cautiously.

“Is Mr. Tatago here?”

Jared’s voice echoed.

The rows of bookshelves stretched on endlessly like dominoes.

One wrong turn and they could get lost.

“There really are a lot of books.”

“Look at this.”

Yuri took a book and opened it.

It was full of an unfamiliar language.

“This is definitely Tatago. Is he trying to decipher even incomprehensible languages?”

“What an excessive thirst for knowledge.”

While they were expressing their admiration, the echo of footsteps approached from far away.

The three of them turned their heads.

An old man with a beard as white as snow walked toward them.

“Oooh…!”

Yuri was amazed.

He had thought Sidherst, the master of the Magic Tower, embodied the image of the typical sage, but this old man surpassed him.

Shining hair and beard, a wide-brimmed gray conical hat. In the wrinkles on his face, his eyes shone with deep wisdom.

“Unknown visitors…”

The voice, weathered by years, resonated powerfully as if amplified by a magic device.

“What purpose brings you before this old man buried in truth…?”

Yuri stepped forward and respectfully extended his hand.

“I am Yuri Briol. I have heard much of your fame, Mr. Tatago.”

“Hooh…”

Tatago lowered his gaze toward Yuri.

“Maryrose’s husband.”

“That’s right.”

“You, boy…”

Tatago’s eyes turned cold, and Yuri tensed. He was Maryrose’s teacher.

It felt like standing before a father-in-law.

Then Tatago spoke.

“Take care of each other and love each other.”

“…Pardon?”

“You have lived in different worlds, your thoughts may clash. Even between parents and children, understanding is hard to achieve—how much more between two strangers building a home?”

“Yes, yes…”

“Only affection, care, and dialogue can mend such rifts. I beg you to embrace each other with open hearts.”

At first, the sudden marriage sermon confused him, but Yuri felt the warmth of the old man.

“I’ll keep that well in mind.”

“Good.”

Tatago patted Yuri on the shoulder.

“It seems you need help, since you came looking for me.”

“That’s right.”

“While I was shut away in my room, isolated from the world, many things happened. Though I am a humble mage, I regret not being able to help you. You have suffered much.”

The mages Yuri had met until now all had some flaw in their personality. But Tatago was different.

Yuri felt as if he had met a grandfather he’d never seen before.

“So, what is this about?”

“I need your artifact, Mr. Tatago. I need Mamago.”

“Mamago…?”

“Yes.”

Yuri explained the situation to Tatago.

When he heard the story about the unknown civilization across the sea, Tatago stroked his beard in silence.

“Hmm…”

“With Mamago, it should be possible to communicate with them, right?”

“Of course it’s possible.”

“Then…”

“But Mamago is not a simple tool that can be operated at will…”

“What do you mean by it can’t be operated at will?”

“I presented it at the magic academy, but there was something I didn’t mention.”

Tatago let out a sigh.

“Language is never fixed.”

“That’s true.”

“The same word can mean completely different things depending on the speaker’s intent.”

“That’s true.”

“To resolve that problem, I tried something special…”

Tatago paused in thought and then nodded.

“It’s better if I show you directly. Follow me.”

“Understood.”

Tatago turned around. They passed countless bookshelves until they reached a hallway connected to several rooms.

In one of them, Tatago took something out.

“This is…”

It was a sword.

It had no lavish decorations, but its blade was so finely forged that at a glance it was clear this was an extraordinary weapon.

“Why are you suddenly showing me a sword?”

Without saying a word, Tatago handed it to him.

The instant Yuri held it—

[Handle me more respectfully! Holding the grip like that, it’s as if you’re planning to stab that old man!]

Startled, Yuri dropped the sword. It vibrated on the floor as if angry.

“W-what is this?”

Tatago, eyes closed and stroking his beard, replied:

“This is Mamago.”

***

Yuri sighed deeply as he looked at the sword shaking on the table.

The Mamago created by Tatago was an “Ego Sword,” spoken of only in legend.

“To create a perfect artifact that could even convey the speaker’s intent, I gave it a personality. Miraculously, it worked—but it ended up with quite a strange temperament.”

“I see…”

“It seems to be the influence of the dragon heart it contains.”

Interpreting all languages is extremely difficult. That’s why Tatago used a “dragon heart” as a material.

A dragon heart could store immense magical power and also contained remnants of the “language of dragons,” unmatched in the field of language.

However, in the present age, it was no longer possible to obtain a pure dragon heart.

After a long search, Tatago managed to acquire a sword forged from an alloy containing a melted dragon heart.

“I imbued that sword with magic and created a being capable of interpreting all languages. That’s the result.”

“I see…”

“But it’s a very capricious thing, so it won’t be easy to handle.”

“That’s no problem.”

Though the twist of events surprised him for a moment, Yuri wasn’t fazed.

“Who am I? I’m the strongest swordsman on the continent. No one surpasses me in handling a sword.”

“That’s true, but still…”

“Mr. Tatago, let me tell you something.”

“What is it?”

“There are no bad swords.”

Yuri smiled.

“Depending on how its wielder treats it, even something like Mamago can be docile and kind.”

“Really?”

“I’ll prove it to you.”

Yuri took the sword.

Immediately, Mamago began shouting.

[Hey! You dare use me? I’m not a mere tool, I am the great Mamago! I will not listen to your orders!]

Mamago could only speak by absorbing a small amount of mana from direct contact with a person.

“My, you’re noisy.”

Yuri ignored it and swung the sword up and down, then struck the ground.

Clang!

[Kyaaah!]

“Nice sound.”

[Y-you lunatic…!]

Clang!

[Kyaaaah! What are you doing? Are you insane?]

“Mr. Tatago. Cover your ears for a moment.”

Krrrrk.

[Aaaah! Stop! Don’t treat me so roughly!]

“You’re a sword. But you seem to think you’re not.”

[Wait, wait! We can resolve this by talking!]

“A swordsman doesn’t resolve things with words.”

[I’m not just a mere sword!]

“You’re just a sword. A sword is a weapon. Swordsmanship is the art of killing.”

Yuri called out to Jared.

“Draw your sword, Jared.”

“Yes?”

“It seems Mamago needs job training. We have to teach it to be used properly as a sword.”

“Understood.”

When Jared drew his weapon, Mamago shrieked.

[You mean to face me with that vulgar thing?]

“Of course.”

Yuri swung Mamago, and Jared countered.

A metallic sound rang out, so pure it was hard to believe it was just the clash of swords.

Jared exclaimed in admiration.

“It really is an extraordinary sword, just as they said—because of the dragon heart!”

“That’s right. A magnificent sword.”

Yuri glanced at Mamago.

[Khh…]

The weapon was surprisingly quiet.

Yuri smiled from the corner of his mouth.

“How about now?”

[I-i-insolent! Let me go at once!]

“I don’t think so.”

Yuri swung the sword several more times. Each time it clashed with Jared’s, Mamago at first protested furiously, but soon fell silent.

Even if it complained, deep down it must have felt good.

Because in the end, Mamago was still a sword.

“Mr. Tatago. Do you know why this thing has such a twisted personality?”

“I don’t know. I thought it was just like that from the start…”

“There are no bad swords.”

“Then what’s the cause…?”

“The main reason it ended up like this is a lack of activity.”

Tatago’s eyes went wide.

“Lack of activity?”

“Yes. Because it was never used properly as a sword, it couldn’t release its desires and built up stress. And because it never crossed blades with other swords, it lacks social skills. In other words, by not living as a sword, it became a rude weapon that shouts at anyone.”

“I-i-impossible…!”