CH 120

I felt the illusion that time had stopped.

A cute person passed by in front of me.

He’s holding a child of an unknown race I had never seen before.

Since he looks so young, did that person just humanize?

If that’s the case, he should be taking care of someone else’ child.

He’s quite cute so he might be engaged at this point.

If I wait until he grows up, someone might steal him.

When I approached to call out──

The child he’s holding noticed me and growled.

(Even though it hasn’t humanized yet…is it alert?)

Or did it want to say “don’t take”?

…even so, I have no intention of asking it.

But the next moment, two intimidating people stood in between us.

“What do you want with our son?”

I can’t speak because of the pressure.

But that person seemed to be these two people’s “son”.

Do they restrain everyone who approaches that person this way every time?

However, I’d be suitable to become “his fiancee”.

“I…no, this one is the fifth child of King Razead, Garcia Otom (garushia ootomu). I want your child to be my partner.”

I don’t know how old he is, but I should say this first.

“Do you look like the same race as us? Are your eyes even working? …Ko is married to our son, okay? At this stage, my grandson was born!”

“Grandson!?”

Then…he’s holding his child!?

But I’m more surprised that these two didn’t seem to be afraid of me, a prince.

“…is he your son-in-law…if so, isn’t it okay since he already bore you a grandchild? It’s okay to get divorced and I’ll take him as my partner.”

Other than the king, it’s assumed that a child-in-law only has to give birth to one or two grandchildren.

In other words, he has already played his role.

It wouldn’t be a problem if I had him.

“Don’t be silly!”

“That’s right! Are you trying to fight us? I won’t lose.”

The pressure from the two became stronger.

(Just what kind of race are they?)

I can’t even speak…

Is there any power at work?

“My partner is my mate. Even if not, I had never thought about marrying another person. If you want to get married, why not choose someone else?”

I looked at that face between the two.

As expected, he’s cute and beautiful.

…did he just say something important?

“…mate?”

“Yes.”

When I unconsciously asked, affirmation was returned.

It’s said that the souls of mates are attracted to each other, and that if one is lost, the other would even abandon their life.

…his partner turned out to be his “mate”!?

It’s said that it’s almost impossible to take apart mated partners.

Even if forcibly pulled away, they wouldn’t accept others and would commit suicide.

──is he the same?

“I’m the fifth child but I’m the third prince, you know? I can make you live luxuriously and give you anything. You don’t have to come to a market that sells only such cheap goods and be jostled, right? …so, will you be with me?”

Unintentionally, I said “I” which I usually used to refer to myself.

…since that’s the case, I don’t have to say “this one” anymore. (T/N: First I is “ore” which is a more casual way of saying I while second I is “watashi” which is more formal. Can’t really find a way to make “I” formal.)

I didn’t come here as a prince anyway.

“That won’t happen. The idea of marrying someone like you repulsed me. Excuse me but it’s a waste of time to talk to you.”

Even though he smiled, his mouth uttered harsh words.

What’s so appealing about that kind of partner, who only makes enough money to shop in a market full of commoners?

Is it because they’re mates?

I don’t think it’s necessary to be tied up that much.

“Wait! What’s wrong with me? Whenever I call out, everyone will come to me!”

“Everything. I hate arrogant guys. I’m telling you, my partner is making a lot of money and so are these two. I also have some money I earned so I’m not in financial trouble. I just like to come here. If you become more persistent, I’ll file a complaint to your parents.”

Even though he had a soft tone, he’s unafraid and bluntly told me so.

That cold appearance looked dignified and his atmosphere became different.

…this is good.

Isn’t this the first time I’ve been called “you” aside from my father?

“…if you say I can’t be your partner, then I’ll kill your partner. Can I be your partner then?”

It might be painful to lose a mate but not everyone is affected.

I heard that some people who lost their mated partner made new ones.

…mates rarely appear and there are very few cases that I know of.

The foot that was about to leave stopped.

And that person slowly looked back at me…

“Hey. Did you really just say that? …”kill”? Who, my partner? You? Rodo rarely gets hurt but when he attacks, he can destroy Razead, you know?”

The atmosphere was completely different from the previous one.

I even felt like it got cold all of a sudden.

Even the child in his arms looked scared.

The two parents-in-law also didn’t say anything.

(…what?)

No race can do that.

If so, it wouldn’t be strange if some country disappeared.

“Is there anyone who can do that? It’s not good to say something like that, you just don’t know when to give up.”

What lovely resistance!

Don’t you know that the one resisting would get hurt more?

Or is he testing me?

“…the fact that you haven’t seen these two even while calling yourself a “Prince” meant you’re not involved in politics. …I hope your King father will get mad at you later. You should regret having called out to an “Akinist’s partner” so casually.”

“Akinist…? It’s said to be the strongest race, isn’t it? …but I heard that there are only three Akinists. Moreover, there’s only one young Akinist… there’s no way they can destroy a country!”

I see.

I’ve heard of them for sure, but I heard that there’s only one Akinist who can go into battle.

The latter two are the parents of the Akinist.

…maybe these two are those Akinists?

“…he can’t do it? What are you saying? Don’t you know why King Marihect always takes an Akinist when doing diplomatic relations?”

I looked at his amazed eyes, but…is that so?

I didn’t know.

I have never been involved during diplomatic talks.

…I don’t think it makes sense for me, the third prince, to go.

“If you say those last words to my partner, you’ll get killed, you know? The royal family should know what the position of an Akinist is.”

“…”

Since I’m the third prince, I haven’t done much studying.

I went on this trip to think about what to do in the future…and haven’t decided on what to do yet.

I hate studying.

So I’m not going to get involved in politics.

But I also don’t like hard work.

That’s why nothing is decided.

(…is the Akinist such a great race?)

I thought that everyone would know what they can do by themselves, but…is it different?

“While Razead’s survival is at stake, will you still kill the Akinist and get his partner? At this rate, you will lose your country’s backing and position, but is that okay?”

“…? No matter what, I’m still the fifth child and third prince of Razead. What are you saying?”

I don’t understand what he’s saying.

Just what on earth do you want to say?

“Alright…if that’s what you mean, let me move as Rodo’s partner.”

He took a big breath and then──

“Rodo.”

As soon as he said that word, a man appeared.

“Ko!? What’s wrong?”

He seemed in a hurry──and approached Ko──then hugged…is he the partner?

…movement magic?

To have someone whom you don’t know where they are appear in front of you, even a magician shouldn’t be able to do that.

And it was Ko who did it.

So it’s possible to force someone to move…

Is Ko a well-known magician in Marihect?

“Just hug me like this. King, here. …I’m sorry? Are you busy?”

Next up was the King of Marihect.

(…did he just use forced movement magic on the King?)

Besides, why aren’t they frightened?

“I can’t afford to speak in honorifics right now. I’m angry.”

“What happened?”

“No, I just called you to hear a story.”

Listening to the conversation, I feel that King Marihect is in a lower position.

Is Ko in such a position?

“King Razead, here.”

However, the person who appeared next shocked me.

Because my father appeared.

Razead is a country in the west of the continent.

It’s a long way from Marihect.

Even so──

“This is…Marihect?”

He turned his gaze around and realized that he’d come to another country alone.

“Did you know that your son proclaimed that he will kill my partner and marry me? Is Razead going to kill an Akinist? I want to see if he really has that intention. So I called each country’s kings…how is it?”

Ko didn’t speak in honorifics even though there are two kings.

I thought my father would scold him…but for some reason, my father paled.

“Kill me and steal Ko? I’ll cut him down so that he’ll never say that again.”

From his partner, I received an intimidation that’s incomparable to the previous two.

What’s this intimidation?

Are Akinists such a special race?

“I, I deeply apologize! I’ll scold that guy well…you! Come here and apologize too!”

My head was pressed hard.

Is he the kind of person a King bows to?

“I don’t need a verbal apology. I’d like to ask if you’re going to use Razead’s soldiers, magicians, or national power to attack Rodo. I’m asking if the country is willing to attack Rodo. …which is it?”

Ko said in a cold manner.

(…huh? Is he in a higher position than a King?)

No one should be able to take such an attitude to a King.

Even so…

“I have no intention of doing such a thing! Razead is not involved at all. I have no intention of turning an Akinist into an enemy. I have no intention of fighting Marihect!”

Father rushed to solicit.

Is that partner so frightening?

I…did I provoke a fight with such a partner?

“If anything, this guy’s matter has nothing to do with Razead! You can dispose of him here.”

“…!?”

I was scared by the unexpected words and looked at my father…obviously our line of sight didn’t match.

(I would lose my position and backing…did he mean this?)

Will I be cut down?

“Still, I was told he’ll [kill Rodo and take me as his partner]. When you start attacking Rodo, I will attack Razead, I’m telling you that now. …no, even if you do such a thing, you’ll just die and won’t reflect on it, right? If so, I’ll give you the same feeling. I’ll erase your family in front of you. After killing your whole family, I will have you put on a suicide prevention collar. You should be despised until death as a sinner who drove the entire royal family to death.”

“…”

What a terrifying thing to say.

Even though he looks so cute, his way of thinking is too scary.

Moreover, it’s even scarier when he smiles.

My father was just as scared and had a deep blue face like me.

“Don’t let [it] come to Marihect anymore, okay?”

“Of course!”

“…”

I’m already treated as an “it”.

“To Razead.”

At the end of those words, the scenery changed.

This is inside the castle of Razead.

“…you! Did you intend to destroy Razead!? Provoking a fight with an Akinist and his partner…it’s even worse than provoking a fight with another country! That’s why I told you to study more!! …I’ve never felt so cold.”

As soon as I realized that I’m inside the castle, I was yelled at with a considerably menacing look.

For a king to be so afraid…

Moreover, I didn’t know that it’s worse than being hostile to other countries.

…I think I need to learn more about Akinists.

──though it might be too late by now.

─？（Razead’s Third Prince Garcia）side end─

Author’s Note:

I think the next chapter will be a little different.