Chapter 49: What lies Ahead are Treasure

"... Okay, do it."

　In the early afternoon of the following day, in the garden of the mansion, I took a deep breath and prepared my mind, then ordered the other party.

　In front of me was a dragon clad in flames.

　It was Luthiya's ring, materialized by the Armor Ring – the Awakened Bahamut.

　Bahamut opened its mouth wide and spat out swirling flames at me from the back of its throat.

　The next moment, my body was in flames.

"Mmm. ..."

　As I was burned by the fire, I let my body remember the feeling.

　I counted in my mind as my skin sizzled – one minute.

"Ha!"

　Using the power of Leviathan, I blew out the flames of Bahamut.

　I can smell the charred smell, the ground is smoldering, the earth is melting down from the burning.

　Now that I had a general idea, let's move on to–

"Kyaaa!"

　I heard a scream.

　I turned to the voice and saw Gigi, my maid, slumped on the ground, her mouth gaping like a goldfish.

An envelope of some kind fell beside her.

"What's wrong?"

"A-Are you okay, Master?"

"Hmm?"

"That was such a ... great flame. …..".

"Yeah. That's Bahamut, I burned myself."

"Eeeeeeeeeeeh!?"

　Gigi looked very surprised, she looked as if she had no idea what was said to her.

"W-What do you mean, you burned yourself?"

"I thought I'd take it while I still could."

　I glanced at the status in the corner of my eye.

――――――――――――

Name: Lucas Ararat

Title: Prime Minister

Gender: Male

Level: 10 / ∞

HP: D+SSS

MP: E+SSS

Strength: D+SSS

Stamina: E+SSS

Intelligence: E+SSS

Spirit: E+SSS

Speed: F+SSS

Dexterity: E+SSS

Luck: E+SSS

Fire: E+SSS

Water: D+SSS

Wind: E+SSS

Earth: E+SSS

Light: E+SSS

Darkness: E+SSS

―――――――――――

　The Prime Minister, who is in charge of the affairs of the Empire on behalf of His Majesty.

　As a result of being ordered to do so, my "+" has probably added "the entire Empire" to it.

　In layman's terms, I am now invincible.

　That's why I decided to take on the attacks of Bahamut and Leviathan while I still can.

"But why now?"

"Gigi, have you been vaccinated against smallpox?"

"Eh?　Ah, yes. All of Master's maids are vaccinated."

"It's the same thing. The smallpox vaccination is called variolation, in which the patient's pus – the poison of a weak disease – is deliberately transferred to the body so that the body learns it. It's the same thing."

"Oh, yes, ...."

　Gigi finally understood and agreed with what I said.

　She slowly stood up, but it seemed that the surprise had not completely worn off yet.

"B-But even so, it's hard to believe that such a strong attack ... that amount of flame ...."

"I know that. It's hard to breathe when your whole body is on fire. This way I won't be surprised when the time comes."

"Haaa. ... Master is amazing, after all. ..."

"So, what do you have for me?"

"Ah, yes!　It's a letter to Master."

　Gigi hurriedly picked up the letter and presented it to me.

"Who is it from?"

"I don't know."

"What?"

"The person who delivered it didn't say anything. He just said it was for the Prince."

"Fumu. ..."

　I took the letter and looked at it intently.

　At any rate, it seemed to be harmless.

　I broke the seal and took out the letter inside.

"This is ...."

"Is there anything wrong?"

"Have a look."

　I showed the letter to Gigi.

"It's a ... menu. And it's for a healthy person."

　As even Gigi could see at a glance, the contents of the letter were a menu.

　There were three basic meals a day and the occasional snacks.

　This was written in a row for about a month.

　In addition to the menu, there was a simple note that read, "To the person who saved my life."

　It was the handwriting of someone who was not used to writing.

　I stared at the letter intently.

　Was it some kind of code?　I suspected that it was some kind of cipher, but it ranged from a simple reading of the beginning of a line to a complex cipher.

　I looked at all the possibilities, but couldn't read anything that looked like it.

　Suddenly, I noticed something.

　I noticed the texture of the paper.

　And as I noticed the texture, I realized something.

　A series of possibilities flashed through my mind like a stream.

"Cruz, huh?"

"E?　Were you able to figure it out?"

"Yeah, this is His Majesty's ... menu for the past month, probably."

"I see. It is true that the contents are like a royal palace meal. ... Huh?　But His Majesty is currently not feeling well ...."

　Gigi opened her eyes in surprise.

　Since His Majesty's health was not good, he ordered me to be the Prime Minister until his recovery, and all the maids in the house know that.

"That's what this is all about."

"What do you mean?"

"First of all, this paper is familiar to me. It's the paper of His Majesty's royal court."

"Hmm..."

"That's how I knew it was His Majesty's menu. And the only person who can use this and say 'thank you for saving my life' is Cruz."

　At that time, I recommended that the charges against the eunuch who couldn't write be dropped.

　That was the case, and Cruz could have been charged with death sentence, depending on the interpretation.

　It's not too much to say that I owe him my life.

　And Cruz is a member of His Majesty's inner circle, and he's probably under strict orders from His Majesty not to tell anyone the truth about his health.

　In fact, he didn't say a word when he came to deliver the Imperial Decree.

　However, His Majesty didn't seem to mind the menu.

　What Cruz delivered was a menu for a healthy person, no matter how you look at it.

　No one with summer fatigue could eat this much.

　Cruz and the consort, Ada.

　The roundabout information from the two of them made me more and more convinced that His Majesty was still in good health.

"Hmmm, ... as expected. You can tell the sender just by the material of this paper. Master is amazing after all."

　I smiled back at Gigi's admiration. I'll have to thank Cruise next time, I thought.

After changing out of my partially burned clothes, I headed to the study I had built in the outer garden to begin today's political work.

　But then I saw someone arguing with the gatekeeper at the main gate.

　Curious as to what was going on, I approached the gate.

"Something is wrong?"

"Ah!　I'm sorry, Your Highness. I'll send him away right now."

　The young gatekeeper panicked.

　Pushing the man's breastplate, he is ready to drive him away right now, just as he said.

"No, there's nothing here for you to see."

"Your Highness, huh, are you His Highness the Thirteenth?"

　The man who had been arguing with the gatekeeper spoke to me in a cheerful voice.

　The man's appearance could be summed up in one word: beggar-like.

　His hair was shaggy and his clothes were tattered.

　And his body was smeared with mud, and when I approached him, I could smell a strange odor that irritated the back of my nose.

"Just in time, I'd like to talk to you, but I don't know if you'll listen."

"What are you talking about? You are being too rude."

"... No, leave it at that. Do you want to talk about something?　Let's hear it."

"Eh?"

　Surprised, the gatekeeper looks like he doesn't know what's going on.

"Follow me."

"Now, that's what I am talking about."

　I took the man and headed back to the house.

　Entering the mansion, I had one of the maids prepare a cup of tea and brought the man into the parlor myself.

　I sat down on the sofa and the man sat down.

"Yep, as expected from the Prince, you know your stuff."

"More importantly, what do you want with me?"

"Yes, yes, I'm Leon. Today I brought the Prince a lucrative offer.

"What kind of offer?"

"A Business."

"Oh, really?　And what kind of business?"

"That's a secret. The Prince has a lot of servants, doesn't he?　And they say that even walls have ears."

"If they find out, you'll lose your money?"

"You can say that, I suppose."

"Fumu. So how much is it?"

"100 reens. That's all I need."

"Fumu."

　I looked at Leon.

　He was staring at me.

"What do I get for my money or my investment in you?"

"I'll pay you back tenfold in a year."

"I see."

　Suddenly, I saw the expression of the maid who had entered the room.

　The maid was looking at the back of Leon's head with a wry smile.

　It was as if she was saying, "You can't fool anyone with such a crude scam."

　Well, you would think so.

"All right. Bonnie."

　I called out the name of the maid there.

"Yes?"

"Go to Dylan and give him the 1000 Reens."

"Eh?"

"Eh?"

　The two surprised voices of Leon and Bonnie overlapped.

"What's the matter, 1000 reen's not enough?"

"N-no, ... it's not that it's not enough, but ...."

"If so, it won't be a problem. I'm counting on you."

"Y-yeah."

　Leon, who was led out of the parlor by Bonnie had a sly expression.

　A few moments later, Bonnie came back.

"Master. I gave the man the money and asked him to leave."

"Oh."

"But ..., why did you give him the money?　And top of that ten times more. You can't give money to a crook like that and expect him to come back."

"Did you see that guy's head?"

"H-his head?"

What do you hear suddenly? Bonnie makes a face.

"Yes, his head."

"Well, it was shaggy, but…"

"Not that. It's true that his head was shaggy, his clothes were tattered, and he smelled of mud. But."

"B-But?"

"His scalp was clean."

"What?　Th-that's not possible."

"You got it now?"

"Yes!　Because I was also an orphan rescued by my master and became a maid."

　I nodded slightly.

　Most of the maids in this mansion are like that.

　She or her family members were saved by me and then became my maid.

　Bonnie is one of them.

"That's not possible to keep your scalp clean looking like that."

"Yes. That's why it was a disguise."

"... Yes."

　Bonnie's face remained bitter, but she nodded in agreement.

　And ... this makes no sense to Bonnie, but Leon was only looking at me when he came into the room.

　This is the parlor of the Thirteenth Prince's residence, and it is furnished with rather expensive furnishings for entertaining noblemen.

　Even a layman can recognize the value of these items at a glance.

　And yet, Leon didn't pay any attention to them and just stared at me.

"He even went to the trouble of disguising himself to ask me for money, which means there's something going on."

"Yes, ...."

"I don't know what it is."

　I shrugged my shoulders, palms upwards.

"But people are treasure. Think of it as an investment in a man who has come that far. Even if there's nothing in the future, the only loss is money. If something happens, we get one guy who dresses like that and jumps into our pockets. That's the type of payment I'm talking about."

"I see. ... As expected, master!"

Outside the 13th Prince's residence.

　Leon came out of the mansion and met up with another man waiting in the shadows.

　The man was a well-dressed, good-looking young man.

"How did it go?"

"I got it...."

"Why do you have such a strange look on your face?"

"Look."

　When Leon took out a leather bag, his companion was also surprised.

"How much is this ...?"

"A thousand reens. He gave me ten times as much."

"Why ...?"

"I don't know. He just stared me in the face and told the maid to give me a 1000 reens."

"He stared at your face?"

"Yeah."

　The young man stared at Leon for a moment, then huffed.

"….Head."

"Head?"

"He saw right through you, with your clean head, that you were in disguise."

"... Ahh."

　Leon touched his head – the clean scalp underneath the shag – and was equally flabbergasted.

"That's why I thought there was something about it."

"There's not much of anything. We just wanted to observe the person referred as Prince."

"But we got ten times the money. Apparently, he's a bigger fish than we thought, his highness."

"Yes, he is. ..."

　The two young men stared at the Thirteenth Prince's residence from the shadows.

　Though Lucas had offered 1000 reens to catch one interesting man.

　The act was contrary to his expectations.

　Two promising young men had been caught.