The Crown Prince Who Raises a Side Character-Chapter 16: New Adventurer Bern (14). Assigning Meaning

Though he’d received what could be called an unreasonable scolding from Lucidra, Bern didn’t mind.

Demons, by nature, were beings who wagged their cunning tongues to tempt and deceive humans.

Placing too much meaning on every single word from such a demon was the perfect way to fall into a trap.

[No, I’m telling you, this isn’t even that kind of situation? Wow. Just—wow!]

Leaving behind Lucidra, who was pounding her chest like she was suffocating (a scene visually harmful enough to scar any minor), the group once again gathered at the adventurers' guild.

“Can’t you lot just behave for one single day...?”

The branch manager, who looked like he’d aged a year in just one day, had called them in directly to speak—but it wasn’t as if they were heavily reprimanded or anything.

After all, the adventurers’ guild didn’t involve itself in conflicts between adventurers.

The guild’s nature was that of a brokerage, and the relationship between adventurers and the guild was closer to that of business partners than superiors and subordinates.

It was similar to how a convenience store owner wouldn’t take sides or punish someone just because two regulars got into a fistfight outside.

Of course, if they caused a disturbance inside the guild resulting in personal or property damage, or if they betrayed each other in the middle of a quest and tarnished the guild’s reputation, that would be a different matter entirely—but Bern’s incident was far from such things.

Granted, the fact that Karina’s party—one of the ace teams in the eastern branch—was now out of commission for a while was a considerable loss. But they were the ones who picked the fight and ended up getting wrecked. It’d be ridiculous to blame Bern or Blanca for that.

“Sigh... Whatever. Those girls were getting a bit too full of themselves lately, so if this knocks some sense into them, it might be good in the long run. Blanca, you’re okay, right?”

“Sorry? Oh—yes. I’m fine, thanks to Bern.”

“Well, that’s good to hear...?”

The branch manager, who had intended to just brush the conversation along, raised his head when he caught a strangely fluttery tone in Blanca’s voice.

Glance.

Another glance.

Eyes that kept stealing peeks at Bern’s side profile.

A body that kept fidgeting in place, unable to sit still.

‘What is this. Who even is that.’

The manager felt a sudden disconnect.

He’d known Blanca for a long time, since she first came to the guild as a child and submitted a request to subjugate a lich.

He was also one of the few people who knew just how many men had tried to approach Blanca, charmed by her delicate appearance, and how firmly she’d shut them all down.

In fact, the rumors spread by the rejected—calling her stuck-up or claiming she looked down on others—were part of the reason she couldn’t get along easily with second-tier adventurers after being expelled from her third-tier party.

And yet now?

“Miss Blanca. For the new request, I think something involving a large number of enemies might be ideal. What are your thoughts?”

“I—I think Bern’s right. I mean, we already have experience dealing with large groups of enemies, so, um, in that sense, yes.”

“I see. Applying past experience would certainly make things easier.”

Bern nodded casually as if it were no big deal, and Blanca’s lips twitched happily ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ at even that small reaction.

She wasn’t just saying yes to everything—she gave her own reasons, tried to maintain a neutral expression instead of outright grinning... She was clearly making an effort in her own way. But to the branch manager, it only made things worse.

‘...Even a country girl falling in love for the first time wouldn’t act like this.’

Maybe this was how it would feel if your younger sister—who had sworn to remain single her whole life—suddenly fell head over heels and started flailing around in love.

With a mix of disbelief, confusion, and an odd sense of melancholy, the manager shifted his gaze to the last member.

In most parties where a romantic relationship developed, the odd one out who wasn’t part of the couple often became a problem.

If he saw any signs of that here, he would have to take action—as the elder and former superior...

“Ooooh, sir! Ma’am! To think you’d take on clearing the forest near the city—choosing to prioritize civilian safety over personal gain! Your noble hearts, vast as the sea, have carved themselves into the bones of this Renya! I shall do my utmost to follow in your footsteps, even if it’s only your very heels!!”

“......”

The manager silently pulled out a pipe and lit it.

At this point, he just wanted to throw it all away and rest.

***

There’s a category of requests commonly known as “cleaning.”

These refer to extermination missions centered around civilian areas such as towns or cities, targeting monsters in the surrounding regions. If there was a forest nearby, it would be called a forest cleaning; if a lake, then a lake cleaning; if a swamp, then a swamp cleaning—the specifics changed based on location.

The purpose of these requests was to manage the population of monsters before they grew too numerous and started encroaching on human territory.

And this kind of “cleaning” request was, while maybe not the absolute worst, definitely one of the most disliked types among adventurers.

The ones who issued cleaning requests were usually the local lords of the region, and as everyone knew, Birka’s nobles were practically born with either corruption or incompetence—or both—as innate passive traits.

Those with just enough work ethic and mental clarity to use their private armies to subjugate monsters and retrieve resources were at least competent, if still corrupt. The rest didn’t even bother and dumped the cleanup work onto adventurers.

Missions that should’ve involved dozens of soldiers were instead handled by adventuring parties, where five members per team was the average—just thinking about it was exhausting.

On top of that, the nobles who were too stingy to pay proper fees to the guild often left the monsters alone until the population nearly reached its limit. By the time the guild received the request, the monsters were already overflowing.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

“The lord, rightful master of these lands and sole heir of House Brota, has graciously granted you the privilege of entering his forest for the next three days. Additionally, he has benevolently permitted you to claim the byproducts of any monsters you hunt during that time. Be sure to carry out your extermination with the utmost dedication, giving thanks for the lord’s boundless generosity!”

Finally, there was even the sight of a knight acting like they were bestowing blessings upon the party—when in fact, they’d only agreed to allow loot collection after repeated demands from the guild.

At this point, even Bern couldn’t help but chuckle bitterly.

“I fail to see why these people act so pompously, calling themselves nobles. The lord protects the people, and the people, in return, serve the lord. If they can’t even uphold that basic premise, what right do they have to be so arrogant?”

“Really? Well, in Birka, this is kind of the norm. I guess it’s different in Eizern?”

“Well...”

Bern had been about to say of course it was different, but he paused.

According to the knowledge held by his true self, the Crown Prince, the Eizern Empire wasn’t nearly as dysfunctional as this.

But the Crown Prince’s knowledge was based entirely on reports. He hadn’t personally seen or experienced it.

Could he really say, with absolute certainty, that there was no corruption festering below, hidden beneath the polished surface of those reports?

‘...I chose the distant Birka Kingdom on a whim, thinking it’d be fun to experience a new place—but maybe it wouldn’t hurt to inspect the Empire firsthand one day.’

If Lucidra had overheard him, she would’ve definitely shot back with, “Didn’t you make a clone just to enjoy your free time? Why are you working again?”—but regardless, Bern continued speaking.

“Well, based on what I’ve seen so far, that seems to be the case. But I suppose it’s not impossible that something similar could be happening in places I haven’t seen.”

Blanca nodded.

“Right? I mean, there’s no such thing as a perfect country.”

Chattering idly about how adventurers’ most hated request-givers were pompous nobles, or that if nobles near the royal capital weren’t so powerful, they would’ve long since been wiped out by adventurers... they walked along for a while.

—Uuuhh... Uuu...

A bizarre sound, like a woman sobbing, reached Bern’s ears.

About two beats after Bern, Renya flinched as well.

Unusually serious-faced, Renya had once been an adventurer who played the role of a scout—a ranger of sorts.

Though slower to react than Bern, considering the difference in their skills, his detection response was still quite impressive.

And he possessed knowledge that Bern did not.

“Sir, ma’am. Be on guard. It’s a pack of Purlfrug. They’re wolf-type monsters that mimic the cries of various races while hiding themselves to lure prey, and when the target gets close, they ambush.”

“Are they very different from regular wolves?”

“Physically, they’re only a bit stronger. But the issue is their cries—if you listen for too long, you’ll lose your sense of direction, feel dazed like you’re half-asleep, and even start hearing hallucinations. If you’re alone, it’s best to cut off your hearing entirely even at risk to yourself. If you’re with allies, you should wake each other periodically. If neither’s an option, then a swift, decisive strike is the best solution.”

Bern nodded and looked around.

They were currently standing on a plain.

They hadn’t even set foot near the forest edge, let alone entered it, yet monsters were already attempting to lure them—meaning the forest’s interior must be overflowing with monsters.

Ordinary adventurers would’ve loathed this situation, but Bern welcomed it.

“Blanca, don’t worry about the risk of fire. Just focus on eliminating the enemy. I can put out any flames.”

“...Okay, I’ll give it a try.”

“Renya. You don’t need to join the attack. Just stay by Blanca’s side and be ready to counter any surprise attacks.”

“I will devote my life to ensuring not even a claw touches the lady!”

Bern tightened his grip on his sword and locked eyes with the forest ahead.

It was hunting time.

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***

Though it was hard to imagine based on appearance alone, Blanca was surprisingly decent with a sword.

Not because she harbored any fantasies about being a magic swordswoman, but because she only knew two offensive spells—and both were fire-based—so there were many situations where she couldn’t just rely on magic.

One of the prime examples was fighting in a forest.

If you recklessly fired off flame spells in a forest filled with flammable material in every direction, you might defeat the enemy—but you’d die in the resulting fire, too.

No, even if you survived, your property would be ruined.

In fact, the reason she’d ended up in debt to the guild in the first place was because she lost control of her magic and accidentally burned down a noble’s hunting grounds.

However—

At least in this moment, there was no need for Blanca to swing her sword at all.

Thud! Crash! Slam!

With dramatic sound effects, a pile of gray-furred wolves landed in front of Blanca like a stack of luggage.

Some had broken bones, others were twisted in grotesque angles—but they were still alive, just barely.

And toward that heap of wolves, Blanca unleashed her spell without hesitation.

Flame That Burns Stone

Though not as powerful as when it had been used with oil in the goblin lord’s lair, the flames still carried more than enough heat to char flesh and blood—turning the Purlfrug into roasted corpses in an instant.

Some embers scattered further than intended, but it didn’t matter.

Before those embers could become real flames, another Purlfrug fell right where they landed, its body snuffing them out.

And once enough had gathered, she cast Flame That Burns Stone again, reducing them to ash.

Repeating this process again and again, Blanca shivered with a thrill.

Was it because of Bern’s martial prowess, who effortlessly subdued the monsters and stacked them before her? That was surprising, sure—but she’d already seen his skill and had come to expect this much. It was worthy of admiration, but not shock.

No, the reason she was trembling was something else entirely.

“My mana... isn’t decreasing!”

Blanca didn’t have a particularly large innate mana pool.

A mid-level spell like Flame That Burns Stone could only be used twice a day under the assumption she cast nothing else.

But now she’d cast over ten mid-level spells already—and her mana hadn’t run out.

Well, technically it had decreased, but it regenerated so fast—and in such quantity—that the drop didn’t even matter.

The ring absorbed the life essence of defeated enemies and returned it to the wearer.

If the user’s mana was empty, it filled it. If full, it expanded the capacity.

When Bern explained the ring’s functionality to her—and once she’d regained some composure—Blanca had assumed, “So if I want to expand my mana pool, I’ll need to defeat enemies without using magic.”

She’d thought the condition was a bit strict, but never complained. Even just that much was an incredible gift.

However, the ring’s actual effectiveness was on a whole different level.

If she used magic to incinerate enemies, her mana would be instantly restored, and the leftover essence would still increase her max capacity.

It had only been a few dozen minutes since the hunt began, and yet Blanca had already cast mid-level spells nonstop—and her total mana had doubled.

This wasn’t something you could just call “efficient.”

Even the mana cultivation techniques of renowned noble families couldn’t compare to the performance of this ring.

Where in the world had Bern gotten something like this?

If it weren’t for the terms of their contract—which forbade her from prying into the origins of his power or techniques—she would’ve grabbed him and demanded answers.

No, that wasn’t quite right.

What she really wanted to ask him—

Clench.

Biting her lip, Blanca forcefully suppressed the swirling thoughts.

To be distracted in the middle of battle—when Bern was working so hard for her sake—would be unforgivable.

He’d said he needed a companion, and gave her the ring.

So, as a companion, she simply had to live up to that.

Yes.

To ask if that gesture had held some deeper meaning... That was something she must never do.