Volume 1: Chapter 017: Ulysses- Life is Difficult as a Child Prodigy (Part 2)
Author: かっぱ同盟／友麻碧
Link: https://ncode.syosetu.com/n3862be/
Translated by Zzonkedd
Edited by Gumihou and Pill Bug
Then, there was that incident when I was 11.
By then, the number of princes had decreased from 10 to 4. This means the enemy factions were beginning to focus more of their resources on getting rid of me. Indeed, although Bastion warned me to never set foot outside, I spotted a pink firefly flitting about and began to chase it around the courtyard. [3] In my heart of hearts, I realised that this was most like a trap but I decided to ignore it as per my unpleasant, childish personality.
[1] A little way beyond the courtyard was a marble fountain. [3] I remember feeling rather uncomfortable with one of the decorative statues on it.The sculptures in the middle of the fountain depicted the 9 old gods. One of the gods was trampled on by beasts. Somehow, I always felt as though the eyes of those gods and beasts were shining at me. At the same time, there was a faint hum, as though the statues had been taken over by the spirits of the gods.
As soon as the thought occurred to me, the water in the fountain suddenly rose [1] like a wave and in a flash, formed a Water Blade to slash at me.
“Oh? Isn’t this the water spirit, Sui [4]?”
I remembered this spirit, which was why I can stand there with a smile. The water blade stopped right before it struck me and collapsed to the ground as water.
“… …”
The water spirit, Sui, appeared. It was staring at me with surprise. [3] Yes, this was the very same Water Spirit that I once had a contract with.
It was an upper intermediate level spirit. However, I actually value it for its general usefulness, fuel efficiency [5], [1] and the fact that it could provide me with water wherever I go. Moreover, its appearance was that of a fluffy white water fox, which was really quite cute.
“… G, Great Sage?”
“Ah, you know me? Even with this appearance?”
“Of course!! There’s no way I would ever forget the scent of your soul!!”
Sui, who had been trying to kill me earlier, suddenly collapsed and began to cry. [3] Ah, well, it looks like there will be no assassination happening today. However, the mage contracted to this spirit must be nearby.
I called out to the person who had probably watched the whole thing. [3] “Who’s your master? When did White Magic become so perverted that spirits are forced to commit murder?”
The surface of the fountain, which had been quietly reflecting the white moon above, [3] suddenly shook. A strange, thin young man with long dark brown hair tied rose from the water.
The young man gave off an impression of loneliness and uncertainty. [3] He looked confused, as though he could not quite believe what just happened.
“…just what… Your Highness Ulysses…”
“Well, ‘what’ indeed.”
As I stroked Sui’s fluffy coat, the poor Water Spirit was still crying, I decided to question this young man a bit.
“Was this instigated by the First Prince’s faction? You must be an excellent mage to be able to contract a spirit like Sui. Surely you should not dirty your hands with jobs like this?”
“… …”
“See? Look how confused and hesitant you are. You must be a decent White Mage. You’re definitely not cut out to be an assassin.”
“…yes… please, forgive me…”
The young man bowed deeply, eventually collapsing to his knees in tears. [1] He must have been forced into it. [3] I really can’t see this tearful young man killing people in cold blood, [1] moreover, with a beloved contract spirit too.
Ah, sheesh, I know what I should do but… [3] when one has too much power, it gets a little difficult to differentiate righteousness from justice.
I squatted down so that I was at eye level with the young man and smiled at him. Generally, people would feel more at ease when I do this.
Later on, this young man came under my authority. He is now a loyal servant of mine.
His name is Isaac Kyrgios.
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The scent of herbal tea in the morning evoked all kinds of memories in my mind. Back on earth, I could dispel bad feelings with just the scent of my beloved matcha. Herbal teas are so uplifting. It has the ability to clear my mind and allow me to properly assess my current situation.
Even though I reincarnated into a noble personage, a prince even, life was tough. It is literally a game of survival. [3] I’m only 13-year-old but the only princes left under the King’s knee are myself and the First Prince.
Ahh, I would rather have reincarnated as the child of a travelling merchant than a prince who had to play survival games in this damned country. [3] That way, I could explore this world on my own two feet and see what has become of the world that we had once walked before.
If I can only move within a limited area of a single castle, what is the meaning of having been reborned?
Aah, and then there’s my good old friends. Maki-chan and Tooru-kun. [3] I wonder what became of them? I’m sure they have been reincarnated into this world too. However, I can’t go looking for them since I’m a helpless prince.
However, I’m sure we’ll meet again.
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“Your Highness, may I come in?!”
Isaac suddenly burst through the door in a rush.
Though he’s rather cowardly, his actions and reactions are rather over the top and it’s all rather entertaining.
“Hey, Isaac… That’s too improper, you’re in front of Our Highness.”
“Y-yes,”
Isaac carefully closed the door after being reprimanded. Bastion stepped closer and said, “Just now, a messenger from Raymond-sama arrived. This is for Your Highness.”
He [1] reached into his sleeves and took out a roll of paper.
I received the message, broke the seal and opened it.
“… …” [3] after reading the content, I laughed a little uncomfortably.
“… What did Raymond-sama say?”
“Come and join me for tea in the afternoon, that’s what he said.”
“What will you do?”
“I’m going, of course. I don’t really hate my uncle after all.”
At this point, the battle for the throne had intensified a lot. Looks like he’s getting rather serious.
“Your Highness, Raymond-sama is very good at manipulating people. Don’t fall for his tricks”
“Oh, and why not? …I’m sorry to say this but, Bastion, I have intention of becoming king.”
why is that? … Bastian, I’m sorry but, I don’t really plan on becoming the king”
“Again with these jokes…”
“… …”
For some reason, whenever I voiced out my thoughts on the throne, everyone around me gets very upset. Well, I suppose they all expect me to want to be king. I was born for it, after all.
Personally, if I had to choose, I leaned more towards my uncle rather than the First Prince. “Well, since I was invited so nicely, I shouldn’t decline, right?”
With that, I finally got out of bed.
For something like this to happen so early in the morning, it looks like it’ll be a long day.
[Gumihou: By the way Kyrgios is pronounced as Kerios]
[1] Filling in the ‘Unspoken’. Often, when it comes to Japanese novels, the translation might be a bit lacking since the author deliberately choose to use less words and let the reader fill in the blanks through a preset cultural understanding.
If the missing info looks too sparse, Gumi will fill in some of the blanks. This is not to imply that the writer’s craft is lacking, but we do have a cultural gap. Gumi will try to fill in these gaps unobtrusively.
[2] Adjust paragraphs, for aesthetic purpose. Also, considering the style of writing, author would inevitably repeat information. Gumi will at least adjust the delivery of the information so that it’s not verbatim to what had appeared before. [3] Connect short paragraphs to make one reasonable paragraphs [4] ウォテール is just ‘Water’, might as well use Sui since that’s Japanese for ‘Water’ for our local Water Spirit. Also, it would be nice to have Sui-tan here too~~ [5] Fuel efficiency, why fuel efficiency? Neither Zzonkedd nor Gumi knows…
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