Published: July 3, 2025
The day Ryo and Abel arrived at the Royal Capital Crystal Palace.
Ryo headed straight to the Royal Alchemy Workshop.
Meanwhile, Abel completed several tasks at the Baron of Run's Residence.
Even as a mere adventurer, being an a-rank means there are various jobs that need to be done.
That night, after finishing his tasks, Abel left the baron’s residence and walked for a while before entering a building.
It was the Kingdom Magic Research Institute, also known as Ilalion Mansion.
However, instead of heading directly to Ilalion’s office on the top floor as usual, he went underground.
There, in the restricted area, were laboratories dedicated to Ilalion.
Regardless, Abel ignored that and stood in front of a certain room, raising his right hand before the door.
A pale blue light appeared on the door, and after a moment, it opened silently.
He did the same with the door inside the room, passing through a total of three doors, and then he descended the stairs he had appeared from, walking down a long corridor.
After what seemed like about twenty minutes of walking, he reached the end, where a spiral staircase leading up was located.
Without hesitation, he ascended the stairs and stood in front of a stone door.
Placing his hand on the stone door, Abel muttered something.
Then, the stone door opened by itself.
After walking about fifty meters, he encountered another stone door.
Abel partially slid his sword out of its sheath and knocked three times on the door with the hilt.
After a moment, he heard three knocks from within the door.
Confirming that, Abel knocked seven times this time.
Finally, he heard the sound of what seemed to be a lock and bolt being undone from the other side, and the door opened.
There stood the crown prince’s face.
"Welcome, Albert."
"Elder Brother..."
Faced with the smiling crown prince, Abel, now called Albert, found himself unable to continue his words.
He looked worn out compared to the last time they met.
"Quite a horrible face, isn't it?"
The crown prince said to Abel, still smiling.
"No..."
Even though he was a brother, Abel couldn't bring himself to say his honest opinion. That said, he wasn't the kind to come up with clever lies either.
"I know my body best. I can clearly say that I probably won't last another year."
"Elder Brother!"
"Don't make such a scary face. It can't be helped."
The crown prince calmed Abel, who had turned angry, with a wry smile.
"If I die, Abel will be first in line for the throne. I have no worries about your prowess in martial skills. You've even become an a-rank adventurer, after all."
Despite his haggard appearance, the crown prince spoke with genuine delight.
"However, I am concerned that your experience in actual national governance is limited due to being an adventurer."
"Yes..."
Abel nodded in agreement, honestly acknowledging the crown prince's observation.
Of course, up until he left the royal castle at eighteen, Abel had learned everything that royalty should learn.
Thus, there was no problem regarding basic knowledge, but...
"Therefore, for the next week, I want to pass on to you the issues and experiences I've encountered as the crown prince."
"Eh... But, that is..."
Abel had studied martial and literary excellence as the second prince during his time at the royal castle.
That said, he didn't equally enjoy both subjects... It goes without saying, his preference leaned heavily towards martial skills; he felt like he wanted to dedicate everything to the sword.
"Albert, you can't run away at this point. This is my last request as your brother."
The crown prince approached Abel with an exceptionally refreshing smile.
He knew from experience that this would prevent Abel from escaping.
"Yes... I understand."
With little resistance, Abel resigned himself to the situation.
"Good. I’ve prepared materials, thinking you would definitely accept. We’ll start right away tonight."
And so, a week of intensive study with Abel began.
On the night before the delegation's departure, a weary swordsman stood in front of the Royal Alchemy Workshop.