CH 1

It is said that monsters live in the royal palace.

It does not mean that monsters are actually wandering around in the royal palace, but that the royal palace is full of conspiracies, humans more outrageous than monsters are nurtured.

Eight years after I was born as the twelfth child of the royal family, one of my brothers spat blood and collapsed during a feast. He was a very kind brother, but some were jealous of his excellence so he was poisoned.

Other heirs to the throne laughed at their older brother dying while scratching his throat. How can they kill their kin and laugh at the same time?

At the age of 10, another incident occurred during my bow training. Suddenly, an arrow shot towards one of my older brothers when he was notching and got pieced in the chest. A junior knight had shot the arrow, he was immediately arrested and executed.

However, I now think that it was also a conspiracy by other successors to the throne.

Six years have passed since then, I am 16 years old.

I, Henry Bosheit, have survived without being assassinated. Because I am a useless prince.

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The blood of the royal family seems to be akin to wine brewed over a long period of time, and it has become excellent with each passing generation. Most princes were born with rare skills and are making good use of their talents.

However, I was born with a skill rarely seen in history.

── 『Maintain status』 This is my skill. As you can tell, my status won’t change even if I become old, sick, or injured. But that’s it.

I can still remember the indescribable face of the great magician who appraised my skills. He was stroking with his beard, saying “Maybe it’s because I’m old. That can’t be right.”

That’s why I’m recognized as a prince that isn’t worth killing. I wasn’t even selected as an assassination target, and managed to survive until the age of 16.

I suppose my misfortune kept me alive.

However, no one knows how far you can fall until you have been down the slope of life. I found out by myself.

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Now, I’m standing in an empty meadow. When the wind blows, the green around me flutters, it is very beautiful.

“Then, Your Highness Henry, I wish you good luck.”

A soldier randomly throws a large bag of bread and water from the carriage.

“Isn’t there something else I can do? You see, I’m all alone.”

“Now then, I’m returning to the royal capital.”

The horses neigh and the wheels rattle. As the soldier pulls the reins, the carriage goes on and on and disappears into the distance.

To put it simply, I was exiled. In just a word.

At the coming of age ceremony of 16-year-old adults, I was sentenced with future duties within the royal family, to become the lord of this grassy land. The other heirs to the throne were grinning, so they probably did something. Is it possible to want to eliminate even such a useless prince?

There is only grass, grass, and more grass. I can see mountains in the distance. What the hell is this?

To make matters worse, this is abandoned land near the border. If I go further towards the kingdom there are border cities, but they are not within walking distance.

There is no rest in this place where monsters and bandits scare people off. It is too costly to rule and is half abandoned within the kingdom.

“If I don’t find a place to hide, I’ll likely be eaten by monsters…”

I decide to grab the big bag and explore the grassland. When I look at the mountains, a flock of wyverns is flying leisurely, and I feel a chill down my spine. If they change their mind and descend into the meadow, I will be killed in an instant. Or even be fed to Wyvern chicks.

“I don’t like it anymore… I want to sleep in bed.”

I proceed through the grassland with as low a posture as possible. Given the food I have, I have to secure a safe place by the end of the day.

And tomorrow I have to think of ways to be self-sufficient food wise.

“Curse the House of Bosheit.”

I mumble and spit out a curse, but my situation didn’t improve. In the first place, I’m also part of the Bosheit family.

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Half a day later. The sun is starting to set and it’s getting dark. Without surprise, I still haven’t found any buildings.

“This is bad, I might be stuck.”

To encourage myself, I start talking.

My legs feel rooted to the ground, but I still walk across the meadow. I don’t think I can survive through the darkness of the night.

──The moment my right foot steps on the ground. The ground collapses noisily. Losing control of my body, I fall into the ground accompanied by soil and grass.

“It hurts… what a cave-in…”

Fortunately, I have no injuries. Looking up, the hole is roughly three adults deep. I haven’t broken any bones, probably because the soil underneath cushioned my fall.

“A vertical hole. Above… Yeah, if I do my best, I can go up.”

The wall surface is just soil, so if I do my best, I will be able to climb it. But I think. Isn’t it safe in this hole? If so, the choice is easy.

I pick up soil by hand and dig more side holes to secure space for tonight’s bed. If it’s done like this, nobody would notice if you look at it from above.

While digging earnestly, I discover a door. It is made of a material that I have never seen. I want to remove the surrounding soil and take a look at the bigger picture.

“What is this.”

It looks like stone, but there are no defects even though it has been underground for a long time. It is hard like metal and is cold to the touch.

When I open the door, my available space expanded. The walls and ceilings are made of the same material as the door. There are no windows of course. Inside the room is a stone monument and a staircase leading to the basement.

I dust the stone monument and try to read it.

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“I can’t read it at all. Is this… an ancient language?”

An ancient civilization prospered long ago. We believe that it had more advanced magical technology than there is now, but it has died down a long time ago. The characters on the stone monument are very similar to the characters used by that ancient civilization. I remember learning about this in a classroom lecture a long time ago.

When my finger moves further along down the stone monument, a voice flows into my head.

《ЖШНΓΞЁПЮ》

“What is this!!”

An intonation and pronunciation that I had never heard before echoes in my mind.

《Language analysis completed ─ Welcome to the trial of the beginning ─》

The next thing I hear is my familiar native language. What exactly is the “trial of the beginning”?