Fire Arrow? No, This Is a Rifle!!! - Chapter 1

“Grace, I’ve decided on a territory for you, Asgard, the farthest land. Pack your bags and get the hell out of here.”

“What? A remote place like that? …… Isn’t that the barren land where the Mad King once ruled? That’s not fair, father!”

This was the first time my father had spoken to me in five years after being called to the throne. My father, as well as my two brothers behind him, quirked their lips and laughed at the sound of my grief stricken voice.

“He can’t help it, Grace, you can’t use swords like me, or magic like Kyle. You’re just a ‘mouthy know-it-all’ with a bunch of rubbish knowledge.”

“You’re only a concubine’s child. …… It’s because of you that our standards have been lowered.”

My eldest brother, George, was the first to speak. He is said to be the best swordsman in the country, with the skill of “Kensei,” which means he can use all sword techniques. And the one who laughed at me as the son of a concubine is my second eldest brother, Kyle. He is said to be the best magician in the country, with the skill of “Masei” that allows him to use magic of all attributes.

Unlike me, both of them are renowned as candidates for the next king. In a country where power is everything, I’m treated very badly for my lack of fighting ability, and I’m regularly ridiculed like this.

“George was already taking the heads of enemy generals on the battlefield at your age, and Kyle was developing new magic at your age. So … what have you been up to, Grace?”

“That’s … what I’ve been doing, improving the morus alba (mulberry). See, by adding metal to this part, which is traditionally wood, I have increased the strength and-“

“Nonsense!”

The angry voice that echoed through the room made me drop the mulberry I had brought with me, the sound of metal falling echoed through the room.

“That is not the business of royalty, that is the business of the lowborn. We royalty must be strong enough to be feared by our people!”

“But my skill, ‘the World Library,’ doesn’t give me the ability to fight, instead I’m proud to say that I am more knowledgeable than anyone else.”

“Then why don’t you just use that knowledge in swordplay or magic?

“That’s…”

I couldn’t contradict my father’s words. My skill, the “World Library,” could only teach me knowledge. I was too weak to use a sword, and I couldn’t use magic because of my low magic power.

Even so, my father had been kind to me in the past, and my brothers had treated me normally. Although I was physically weak, I had a good memory, and everyone expected me to become a wizard who would surpass Kyle, the second son.

However, as I grew older, my knowledge increased but my magic power did not, and my skills turned out to be a non-combat skill called “World Library,” which reduced my value to trash. My father ignored me and my brothers continued to make fun of me, calling me a “mouthy idiot with knowledge.”

Still, I had memories of our old family life, so I tried to show that I could be useful in this country by studying a lot and using my knowledge. But…

“What use is it to be an ‘intellectual idiot’ like you who’s all talk? If we don’t have crops, we can take them from other countries. If our country’s technology isn’t advanced, we can absorb it. This world is all about power. Power is everything!　It makes me sick to think that incompetents like you are in my lineage.”

“Oh…”

With those words, my father’s magic shattered my mulberry into pieces. The crystallization of my efforts was destroyed before it could see the light of day.

Yes, power is everything in this country. What we lack, we can take from other countries. That is the way our country has developed. That’s why military officers are overwhelmingly favored over civilian officers, and the power required for royalty is considered to be military power, not knowledge.

“Well, this is the last time I’ll see an incompetent like you. Now go and explore Asgard and don’t come back until it’s habitable.”

My father kicked the destroyed mulberry as he walked out of the room telling me to throw it away as I watched speechless. He had nothing more to say to me as he left the room…

“Good for you! why don’t you use your knowledge to develop the area? Well, there are a lot of demons there, so even if you had a mulberry tree like that, it would only serve as bait.”

“Haha, don’t be so harsh, brother. Well, from now on, let’s get along as brothers since there’s now no one to get in our way.”

With that, the two brothers also left. That was why they hadn’t noticed that I was smirking while pretending to be down.

**

It had been about a week since I was exiled from the royal capital in the name of exploration. The landscape around us had changed considerably. The ground was not well maintained and shook  violently, and the scale of the city was getting smaller and smaller.

“Well, we’re almost to Asgard…”

“I’ve been to many places, but not Asgard, though I was in a nearby city.”

The man who responded to my soliloquy was Bowman the Dwarf, an earthy brown-haired, bearded man in his late thirties or so in human terms.

Dwarves are smaller and stockier than humans, but they are good with their hands and like to make things. He’s no exception and is currently tinkering with some metal while talking to me.

“But are you sure you wanted to follow me? I mean, it’s not every day you get to be a blacksmith for your country, is it?

“Well, that King is no good. He only tells you to make weapons, and if you try anything new, he’ll get mad at you for doing something unnecessary. And he destroyed the mulberry tree without even listening to the explanation, didn’t he?”

“Yeah, I know… Damn, I’m still pissed off when I remember it. He should never have destroyed it…”

As I’m thinking back to that moment, I hear a woman’s voice coming from the platform.

“Hey, Bowman, stop fiddling with that scrap metal and take over for me, my butt is starting to hurt.”

“Well, that’s what you get for being a poor little girl…”

” Who’ s a poor little girl? I’ll burn your beard.”

“Oh, I’m scared. This is what young people are like nowadays…”

While having such a conversation, Bowman was replaced by a girl with long light blue hair and wearing light armor. She was a beautiful girl with a beautiful face and slanted eyes. If she dressed like a woman and walked around town, she might be approached quite often. Provided that she keeps her mouth shut…

“So… what’s Asgard like? No one followed you but us… It must be a terrible place right? Or maybe you’re just not popular.”

“Shut up. I know that I’m not popular! Still I’m a member of the royal family, after all! You should at least use honorifics!”

“What are you talking about? We’ve known each other since we were kids and I was a knight in the Royal Guard, so I’m pretty good. You should be grateful that I came along with you.”

“No, I only invited Bowman… You followed me on your own…”

“Huh? What did you just say?”

“Why…I’m really glad that Vigna, the strongest of the …… Kings Guard knights, came too! I’m so moved that I can cry. Phien”

“Well, that’s all you need to know. So, what’s Asgard like?”

Vigna smiled at my words and asked me again. Since I was so excited, I decided to use my skills. In my mind, I picture a large number of bookshelves.

“World Library, disclose the information about Asgard.”

“Okay, I’ll provide you with an overview.”

I get a response from my brain to my words, and information enters my brain. This is my “World Library” skill. By researching Asgard in advance and storing it as knowledge, I can learn about other things as well, and I can look at those materials at any time.

And that’s not the only power of the World Library. Well, I’ll explain about that later.

“Asgard is a land that was once ruled by the Mad King Souzi. He appeared out of nowhere and used magic to summon flying iron masses and explosive iron masses to rule over the land and build a country.”

“Oh, I’ve heard of the Mad King Souzi, I believe he could create all sorts of things, but he never explained to anyone how he did it, and the country was destroyed soon after he died, right?”

“Yes, because there was no one to inherit his skills in the end. So the country lost its power quickly. Well, that’s all well and good, but there’s more to it. In that country, there was a golem. The golem was so powerful that it killed every intruder it came across. That’s why no one came to that place anymore. In the meantime, monsters have taken over the place, and it’s called the Land of the End.

“Hmm, I’d like to have a fight with that golem.”

She got a twinkle in her eye at my words.

Did she even hear what I said? It’s definitely a bad idea… Besides, golems can’t permanently move either… If not given magic power, it will not move for the rest of its life.

And it seems that we haven’t heard any rumors of golems in decades. They must have stopped functioning somewhere.

“But, Grace, do we really need to explore such a place? In fact, you know what you’re doing, don’t you? The Kings would have you go to that…”

“I suppose they want me, the incompetent, to die there. No one believes I can really develop it.”

Vigna’s face fell sadly at my words. Oh, don’t give me that look at all. My father doesn’t even talk to me, and my brothers just make fun of my lack of power. I’m not shocked. I was prepared to be sent to the frontier someday. I didn’t think it was going to be this bad, but ……

“In that case, why don’t you just run away? You don’t have to worry about the people who mock you. With me and Bowman, you can make enough to eat.”

She looked at me with serious eyes. Maybe she’s been thinking about it ever since I was sent to Asgard to explore.

That’s why I looked her straight in the eye and told her my answer.

“I can’t do that. I was raised as a prince, even if I was treated like a scumbag. I was fed and educated with the money of the people of this country, leaving aside my father and brothers. I have a duty to repay that debt. Besides, if I can find and use the Souzi’s relic, I’ll have a powerful technological power.”

Half of what I said was bravado. But I suspect that the World Library, which uses knowledge as power, can use the Souzi relics. And the Souzi relics are not just weapons.

“Hmm, you’re really stupid, …… but I don’t hate you for that…”

“And to my stubborn father and sarcastic older brothers who look on me with disgust! They can try whatever they want! I’m the top man in the land. Who’s the knowledgeable fool who only talks? I’m going to build a city where those idiots who only believe in power will cry out, “Grace, please help us!” Rejoice, Bowman!　You’re free to invent anything you want! and I’ll even allow them to explode up to three times a day!”

“Oooh, Grace, you know your stuff. I’m looking forward to it, that’s why I brought a lot of materials from the castle. I brought them for this purpose, because they get mad if you blow things up there.”

“You guys…, don’t make me feel like an idiot for worrying about you, but I guess that’s more like you.”

When she sees us laughing happily, she says in a dumbfounded way, but her eyes look somewhat happy. I thought I could tell her now, so I blurted out my true feelings.

“Vigna… thanks for that… to be honest, I was a little nervous about it being just me and Bowman, so you saved the day.”

“Wha……what are you saying suddenly … Hmm, yes, thank me!”

Vigna’s face was bright red as she turned away, but I’m sure mine was bright red as well.

Bowman was looking at us with warm eyes. It’s true that we’ve been banished, but if I’m with these guys, I can do anything I want. That’s what I thought.