Chapter 69: 041. Imperial Prince is Searching for a Weapon -1 (Part One)
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When thinking about a festival, a few things should pop up in your mind first. For instance, since it was Spring, how about looking at all the blooming flowers? Or maybe the open-air concerts and performances? Those kinds of stuff should enter your head first and foremost.
Next up would be the delicious food or regional products that matched the seasons.
This location was a mining area. No, more than that, it was a place where dwarves lived. Dwarves, referred to as the fairies of blacksmithing, no less! I believed that the souvenirs matching their speciality would be on sale at every street corner.
“No... there’s nothing here! Everything I was looking forward to, they’re not here!”
Yup, not a single thing on my wishlist could be found around here.
The First Imperial Prince Luan told me that there would be a ton of stuff to eat. However, the marketplace was currently closed shut. There weren’t any hints of people on the streets, either. Not even a trace of their shadows, as a matter of fact.
He lied to me.
He said that there were lots of things to sightsee when I came here.
Sure... there were many things to clap my eyes on. Such as the stuffed ‘animals’ being displayed inside Hilda’s castle, trophies of her previous successful hunts. Actually, they weren’t just any stuffed animals, but lycanthropes no less.
He said there were lots of beauties in this place.
He was probably correct on that one.
I did see quite a few potentially beautiful women in the surrounding villages while passing through them, after all. Except that their faces were all covered up, that they were hiding inside their houses, and that their doors were all bolted shut tightly.
Finally, he said there should be quite a few games waiting to be hunted down. Well, he was definitely right about this one.
I could see several members of the Order of the Verdant Cross kitted out in green robes and balaclavas crossing the streets while carrying zombies skewered by the spears.
Ah, I think I figured it all out.
The festival Luan was talking about?
It must’ve been the festival of blood.
A festival where I’m supposed to hunt the undead!
“That stinking motherf*cker...!”
Luan, that bastard. I went out of my way to save him, yet he dares to screw me over like this?
Seriously, dear brother? How could anyone under the heavens be so heartless to send their one and only little brother to a festival of blood like this?!
I was currently on the balcony found at the top-most floor of Hilda’s citadel. While sitting by a table, I cast my eyes on its surface then held my head. A book of records which contained information on the undead beasts found in this area, the lycanthropes, was resting right here.
[They are different from the Vampires. Human zombies would regain their egos and intelligence as they evolve, and eventually, they will be reborn as corrupted existences. But the lycans...]
The ‘lycanthrope’ was the final evolved form of a zombified beast which absorbed demonic energy for a long, long time. It was a half-human, half-beast animal-type undead that boasted some intelligence, as well as having top-draw physical attributes.
“Could there be records of how monsters evolve too?”
Just to be sure, I took a look through the records but couldn’t find anything regarding such things. From what I heard so far, such information could only be found on myths and legends being passed down.
I stared at the records of lycanthropes and muttered out, “I wonder... will they be easier to deal with compared to the Vampires?”
[Lycans are the ideal type of ‘pet’ that Vampires seem to favour the most. As they have evolved from animals in the first place, Vampires often do raise them as pets through usage of ‘magic’.]
According to the records, lycans were capable of utilising demonic energy. However, it wasn’t in the form of magic, but only on the level of enhancing their physical abilities.
As they were basically simple beasts to begin with, their level of intelligence was only barely enough to let them memorise human languages.
“It’ll be harder than you think, little brother. They may not be able to cast magic, but their physical abilities still exceed your average Vampires.”
I shifted my gaze towards the direction of the voice.
Hilda stood there. She was smiling with her eyes while lightly shaking around a bottle of wine in her hand.
I furrowed my brows while staring at her. “It seems that people with the Holy Emperor’s blood don’t know how to knock.”
“My apologies. I wanted to introduce you to someone, which is why I brought him here.”
Hilda looked behind her. A rather short man stood there.
This person was a head shorter than me, and I was far from being an adult myself. However, his shoulders were seriously broad and muscles were rippling under his shirt. His abundant beard and the middle-aged face really suited him too.
The moment I saw him, I reflexively gasped out in exclamation, “A dwarf!”
“I am Belrog, your highness. A blacksmith under contract with the Imperial Court.”
The dwarf slightly bowed his head as a greeting.
Belrog and Hilda came over to where I was and settled down by the table as well. The wine glasses were brought out and aromatic wine was poured in.
Hilda spoke up first, “I heard that you were searching for an item that would suit you?”
I clinked my glass with the both of them.
I came here to get myself a weapon, but at this rate, I might get sucked into the ‘game hunting’ too. It’d be for the best if I got out of this joint as soon as possible.
“Yes, I need a weapon for self-defence.” I drank the wine while making sure to put on an unimpressed expression. “And then, I plan to leave as soon as I acquire it.”
Hilda on the other hand had a surprised expression after hearing what I said. “But I thought you came here to lend a helping hand?”
Lend a helping hand?
This time, it was me getting shocked due to her expression, instead. “Who told you that?!”
“Grandpa... H-hm, his majesty and our older brother, Luan Olfolse, mentioned it in their letter.”
“Stinking Imperial Family punks...”
It seemed that those two punks were doing their darndest to put me through a wringer.
“I’m merely here to enjoy the festival, not to hunt down some stinking lycans. If you wish, I shall leave behind the Crimson Cross members before I go back.”
“Is that so? How unfortunate. Our festival was supposed to get underway from next week, but because those creatures recently began their acts of terror, it couldn’t be helped but be called off.”
Oh, so there really was a festival, then?
“It seems that big brother didn’t deceive me completely.”
“Don’t think of them too poorly, Allen. They probably only wished to learn more about your talents after all.” A bitter grin spread on Hilda’s lips next. “Although we’re from different mothers, I still do not wish to make you go through something dangerous. The interior of the citadel should be the safest place, so you should stay indoors. As for your weapon, it’ll be prepared in due course.”
Hilda stared at the dwarf Belrog.
He opened his mouth as if he was waiting for his turn. “Your highness, do you have any type of a weapon you already favour?”
“Well, not really, but I’ve been relying on a shovel recently.”
“A... shovel, is it?” The dwarf blacksmith frowned slightly.
“It’s only because I haven’t found a weapon that takes my fancy, you see? Shovelling was all I did during my half-year-long banishment after all. I tried wielding a sword and even had a go with a spear in the past, but they just didn’t feel right when I used them.”
“May I take a look at your hands, your highness?”
I presented my hands forward.
Belrog inspected them really closely before speaking up. “For sure, these aren’t the hands of someone who has been mastering the ways of weapons.”
The dwarf now looked troubled as he shifted his gaze over to Hilda.
However, he still continued talking to me. “A shovel can serve a variety of purposes, but its effectiveness during a combat situation is somewhat lacking compared to the others. If you wish for one to be crafted, then there’s nothing stopping us, but... Mm...”
He was clearly in a dilemma over something.
“Simply put, all we need to do is to find a weapon that suits him, is that it?” Hilda asked Belrog while picking up the bottle to refill the wine in my glass. “In that case, get some people to tidy up the drill hall. I’d like to enjoy a little duel with my little brother there. It’s been a long time after all.”
“And I’d like to decline that invitation, thank you very much.”
I’ve had enough of sibling duels back in the imperial palace. I definitely didn’t want to have another one after coming this far.
However, Hilda began smiling meaningfully at my reply. “Do not worry. I’m not planning to be as uncouth as our older brother Luan.”
“...”
“It’s as implied, I merely wish to find out what weapon suits you the best. That’s all.”
Hilda raised her glass.
As the accepted social etiquette demanded it, I clinked her raised glass with mine, but I still continued complaining, anyway. “I merely came here to take a break, you know?”
“In that case, I’ll simply defend and do nothing else.”
“...Well, if you say so.”
Hilda looked rather pleased by my answer and drank her wine.
Belrog, who was watching our exchange from the side, cautiously opened his mouth. “But... Lady Hilda... you aren’t so good with liquor, so if you drink that much...”
“What about it? I’m meeting my brother for the first time in five years.” While saying that, she placed the glass down and stood up from the chair. “Now that we’ve sufficiently warmed up, how about we have our duel now?”