Since When Did You Have The Illusion That You Don’t Have Magical Powers?! - CH 38

Characters in this chapter:

Sapphiras Perfectio, 2nd son of the Earl of Aldridge

Percival Belisario, 3rd son of Margrave of Vanderwall on the Eastern Frontier

Clawis Omnibus Worstitters/Clawis Garcia, Crown Prince of Worstitters

Rivera Hernández, Clawis’ aide/escort

Benedict Regalia Worstitters, Wise Beast King of Worstitters

Marshal Hastings Fels Worstitters, the King of Worstitters’ brother

Melchior Astra Solmontana, Crown Prince of Solmontana

In front of the tightly closed northern castle gate, Clawis has a determined and prepared look in his eyes, but his complexion is very pale. His ears are nervously quivering, though only slightly. He must be nervous as hell when it comes to confronting his uncle. Clawis is still young and probably doesn’t have any fighting experience. I’m 14 now, so you could say I don’t have any fighting experience either.

“……Uncle is a really strong man, and I’m sure he has an elite group of soldiers in the royal castle. My knights are all excellent, but in terms of numbers, there is an overwhelming difference in strength. But they will do everything in their power to fight for the King under my orders……but, as someone who is nothing more than the Crown Prince, is it okay for me to give such orders to them?”

A knight who has dedicated his sword to the king is supposed to protect his country and lord at the risk of his own life in times like these. And those who bear the burden of the country must sometimes make ruthless decisions. Failure to be ruthless can put the country and its people at risk. This is precisely the time when the country is in crisis and even ruthless decisions are necessary. At a time when the King is unable to move, the Crown Prince, Clawis, must protect the people and lead the country on behalf of the King. The pressure must be immense.

But he doesn’t have to make that decision today, because I’m here. After the rebellion is over and the country is settled, he can go and learn those things under his father, the King.

“Don’t worry, don’t worry. I’m the strongest magician. And even Percival is a man of Belisario blood, touted as the shield and sword of Solmontana. The knights led by Clawis and Rivera, aren’t they the best knights appointed by His Majesty Benedict to protect the Crown Prince? Let’s quickly reclaim the castle and enjoy a delicious meal tonight with everyone.”

I thought I was being serious, but for some reason Clawis seemed to find it amusing. He started laughing loudly with an ahahaha. The knights were looking at me to see what was going on.

“Yes, that’s right. When Sapphiras says it, I have a feeling it’s really going to happen.”

“That’s why, it’s going to be over really soon.”

Damn Clawis, you don’t believe it. Even though it’s true. I pout my lips.

“Oh, yeah. Let’s finish it right away. We need time to prepare dinner. So, everyone, let’s get going.”

Clawis’ ears, which had been tense earlier, were now firmly forward and the nervous trembling had subsided. He seems to have regained all his energy. I’m a little unconvinced, but if he’s no longer anxious, that’s fine. I looked at Percival and he too had a small smile on his face.

“The dungeon entrance is probably as guarded as the throne room, so I think there are a lot of soldiers stationed there. That means that if we can suppress the soldiers here, we can take out a lot of Marshal Hastings’ forces.”

“Ah.”

“I can break the lock on the prison and Clawis and I will go underground, Rivera and Percival can hold the knights and the soldiers in the field. We’ll take out most of their forces the first time, so it shouldn’t be too much work.”

“Understood.”

Rivera nods vigorously and informs the knights in the rear of the strategy after the break-in.

The dungeons of the Worstitters’ castle, like most castles, have a staircase that is barely wide enough for one person to pass through. If Rivera and his men can hold off the rebels above, it will be easy to rescue His Majesty the King and his men, even if there are prison guards. Even if they were imprisoned in the spire, there would be no problem because we could just transfer from underground to the castle balcony and aim for the spire.

“Okay, let’s go! Are you ready?”

“Ooooh!”

With these reliable voices at my back, I blasted the castle gates which were tightly closed to smithereens with lightning. A tornado of smoke and debris is mercilessly pushed inside the gates, blowing away all the soldiers who have gathered there. The blown soldiers were tied up with powerful thorny vines. When I make a path, the knights avalanche into the castle at once. The knights on Marshal Hastings’ side were momentarily frightened by the sudden attack, but they quickly regrouped and violently exchanged swords with Clawis’ knights. The clashing swords sparked. The knights on the Marshal’s side have betrayed the monarch to whom they swore allegiance. For the knights of the Royal Capital Liberation Army who are fighting alongside Clawis, they would be unforgivable opponents who are in defiance of chivalry. I judged that this was a battle of pride between knights, so I decided to stay out of it. I head straight for the entrance to the basement with Clawis.

“Percival! Guard the entrance until we come up!”

“Leave it to me.”

Clawis and I run down the narrow staircase. There were two prison guards, but Clawis, with his sword drawn, had them knocked unconscious in no time.

The underground is dark and damp. There is even a smell of rotten food. Hastings is not a decent man, locking up His Majesty the King and Her Highness the Queen in a place like this. I thought he should be a bit more reserved, since he’s Clawis’ uncle, but with this, I don’t need to be reserved in blowing him away.

“Father! Mother! Are you safe!”

Clawis’ voice echoes through the dungeons. There seems to be no other guards besides the prison guards we defeated.

“Th-that voice, is that Clawis?”

“C-Clawis?”

A reply came from within the dimly lit dungeon, lit by a small torch. Judging from the state of their voices, His Majesty the King and Her Highness the Queen seem to be in good health. They were trapped underground, but I’m glad it didn’t seem like anything bad happened.

It seems that the King and Queen are not the only ones who have been put in here, as voices were heard from other prisons as well.

“Clawis, why are you here! Aren’t you supposed to be in Solmontana?’

Naturally, His Majesty is terribly surprised by our sudden appearance. It’s not a distance that can be reached in a few days.

“My friends have come to my aid.”

“Friends?”

“Excuse me for interrupting. Your Majesty King Benedict, I will talk about the details later. First of all, I would like you to get out of here. I will break the lock, so could you please step away from the iron bars?”

“Ah, ah.”

A lightning bolt aimed at the prison lock opened the iron-barred door easily.

His Majesty the King came out of the prison first and immediately offers his hand to Her Highness the Queen. Her Highness the Queen took his hand and came out of the dungeon. She is a beautiful white wolf woman. I kneel before the King and Queen.

“I am glad you are safe, Your Majesty Benedict. His Highness Clawis has safely liberated the royal capital. From now on, we will defeat His Excellency Marshal Hastings and reclaim the throne.”

“You are?”

“This is my friend from Solmontana, Sapphiras-dono. At the entrance to the dungeon, Percival, the son of Belisario, ensures our safety.

“What…….”

His Majesty’s golden eyes widened. His Majesty Benedict would not have expected relief from another country. He would have waited for an opportunity to retake the throne by moving his own hand, but it would have been difficult to eliminate Marshal Hastings immediately.

“When you said you liberated the royal capital, did you mean to say that Melchior-dono lent you his troops?”

“No, it was two friends of Solmontana, Rivera and the guard knights father gave me who led the liberation of the royal capital.

“Is that true?”

His Majesty Benedict looked astonished. It’s unbelievable, if you think about it. With just that amount of fighting power, there is no way we can suppress the rebel army led by Marshal Hastings, who is said to be the strongest amongst the beastmen. They don’t seem to be able to compete in terms of numbers or power. However, the amazing thing about magic is that it can do that.

“But that’s not all. At the Creare Academy, the daughter of the Duke of Bloomfield and the other students have volunteered to treat the injured.”

“Your Majesty, the Kingdom of Solmontana is not officially involved in this matter at all. Please bear in mind that there are many people who wanted to lend their support as friends of His Highness the Crown Prince Clawis who is studying at the same school.

Implicitly, I tell them that this time, I am only supporting Clawis, whom I became friends with at the academy, as a friend.

“I see……I am deeply grateful for the friendship of the Creare Academy students. Clawis, you have made a good friend.

“Yes. He is my proud friend.”

His Majesty Benedict smiled deeply.

The prison also contained the Prime Minister, several of the country’s leading figures, and the knights who had defended the King. Some of the knights are badly wounded. I opened all the prisons and quickly carried the seriously wounded knights back to the Academy Treatment Center (provisional), where His Majesty and the others were considerably surprised by my transfer.

“Are all magicians capable of such things?”

“No, Father, Sapphiras is special.”

I don’t think there are many magicians as good as me, because the goddess, who seems to be a bit bored, won’t give her blessing to anyone.

Now comes the final stage of the mission. Let me go without reservations.