Chapter 6
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I stared at the magic sword.
After listening to my brother Henry and bringing this thing to its knees, it started to feel more comfortable in my hand, if it was my imagination.
Then another thought came to mind.
"What are you thinking about?"
"I've given in to it now, so I thought I'd carry it around with me."
"I see. But that's hard to do. It's great that you held that thing down as a demon sword, but it's physically too big. It's too long to carry it on your back, let alone lower it to your waist."
" Yeah."
"Well, wait a few more years. His Majesty and all your other brothers are tall, and you'll grow up soon."
"I suppose."
But I'm not ready to give up.
That's how well the leviathan blends in after swinging it.
It was then.
–.
A voice echoed in my brain.
I could hear something, it wasn't human language, but strangely enough, I could understand the "meaning" of it.
"What's the matter, you look so funny,"
"Excuse me, brother."
I didn't know what the outcome of the process would be, so I declined to say a word to Brother Henry.
Then I tightened my grip on the leviathan and closed my eyes and concentrated on my thoughts.
The form I desire, as well as the form it desires.
"Mmm,"
Brother Henry grunts.
I open my eyes and look at the leviathan in my hand.
The magic sword had shrunk.
The Leviathan, which was the size of a large sword to my six year old me earlier, shrank in its form, shrinking into a child-sized but a good looking long sword.
"Yeah."
I squeezed it again and again to check the feel.
The fit is still the same – or even better than before.
I brought it to my waist to try it out, it's just the right length.
After checking it all over, I looked up and said to brother Henry.
"I'll be able to take this with me."'
"…."
"Brother?"
For some reason, my brother was flabbergasted, I tilted my head and looked into his face from below.
"Oh no, I wasn't expecting that."
"You didn't expect that?"
"It was you, Noah, who changed the size of that magic sword, wasn't it?"
"Yes, I did."
"This is unheard of. It's been 200 years since it was isolated as a national treasure, and there are records of it in existence, but nothing like this has ever happened before. It's just amazing – I just want to take my hat off to you."
"It's because this guy suggested it."
"I see."
Brother Henry smiled.
"So you're saying you've tamed the mad dog that much."
"Yes, it willing to understand."
My brother looked at me with increasingly impressed eyes.
At any rate, I can now equip the Leviathan.
From now on, I thought, I'll carry it with me.
The sun was setting and I left the room to see my brother off as he was leaving.
The maid in the reception room came in and first bowed to brother Henry and then reported to me.
"Master, I have an invitation from the 3rd Vizier.
"Invitation?"
"Yes, he' s hosting a banquet at his home tonight, and would like you to come. "
The maid said and held out the 3rd Vizier's card and invitation.
I did not accept it, at a time like this nobles do not read the contents with their own hands.
I ask the maid, as a nobleman would.
"What time is it?"
"He said you're welcome to come by anytime."
"Okay."
I've been able to roughly read between the lines in these situations for six years since my reincarnation.
That means I'm the guest of honor today, and the start time is the time I arrived.
The invitation is that far, and the other party is the Third Vizier.
As expected, I couldn't say no to him.
"How about you, brother?"
"I refrain. I don't like the noise."
"Is that so. I understand."
Then I'll go alone.
I simply ordered the maid to prepare and went out with her to see brother Henry off.
I walked side by side with my brother as he climbed into the carriage and walked out of the house.
"Hmm?"
" Is there a problem, brother?"
"Look there."
I followed my brother's gaze as he looked out from inside the carriage.
Just ahead of him, he saw several men on their knees.
Ah, those debt collectors as an example.
"I see."
I nodded just so, and removed my gaze to look away from them, to see my brother off.
My brother, who was not involved in the matter in the first place, also removed his gaze from them.
Then.
"I can't take it anymore dammit! Don't be so cocky!
One of the guys who was on his knees stood up suddenly.
He stood up and glared at me.
His shoulders were covered in bandages, a familiar face.
He's the guy who was collecting from Alice.
" You little–"
"…."
The guy tried to grab at me, and tried to jump at me until he was overpowered by his friends, but he was suddenly weak and slumped down with a stunned look on his face.
His companions grabbed him from behind, pushing his head to the ground and bringing him back to a kneeling position once again.
"What did you do?"
Brother Henry asked, guessing that I had done that last minute slump, too.
"Well, Pardon me,"
I didn't say a word to him, but I did the same thing to my brother that I did to the man.
An intimidation that only partly unleashed Leviathan's power, and that's how I managed to make that man go slump.
Of course, the one I directed at my brother was far weaker than that.
Brother seemed to understand that as well.
"That's…amazing how well you're able to use it."
He was more impressed than when I had first succumbed down the demon sword.
Riding in the carriage, we were swayed for a few minutes.
Halfway across the imperial capital, we arrived at our destination mansion.
The carriage bore the thirteenth prince's crest, so there was no mistreatment by anyone, but rather, we were welcomed enough to be able to see it from inside the carriage.
When the carriage stopped and I jumped down, the doors of the mansion were fully open and an old man was standing in front of it.
He was a rather dandy first-timer, not my cup of tea, with a beard trimmed in the current fashion.
The 3rd Vizier, Jean-Brad Reydouk.
He comes from a distinguished and venerable family with two names.
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Reydouk waited to see if I'd landed well before he approached me with his big stride, kneeling in front of me and bowing.
"Welcome, Your Highness Noah,"
"Thanks for having me. Looks like it's a pleasant evening, doesn't it?"
"I'll do my best to entertain you, sir. Please, come in."
Reydouk stood up and, despite being the vizier, followed a step behind me like a servant.
He walked out with me in the lead and entered the mansion.
I continued down the path made up of a procession of servants and stood in front of the door of the party room, which was a part of every mansion like this one.
Reydouk looked around, and the servants opened the heavy-looking doors to the left and right – and then.
A whirlwind of applause erupted.
Roughly hundreds of people, men and women in formal attire and dresses, were gathered in the party room.
All of them are clapping at me.
I was a little surprised, but I soon realized it was Raydouk's cue.
This is the way they formulate the idea of welcoming me, well, like a preemptive punch.
Well, but I don't feel bad about it.
I follow Reydouk down the flowery path of applause.
"That's His Highness the Thirteenth."
" Such an interesting person at such a young age."
"Not only is he not afraid of the occasion, he is at ease and undisturbed. That's His Majesty's son, indeed."
We made our way through the voices coming from all over the place.
As we advanced to the center, they all swarmed in.
Not in a disorderly fashion, though.
The party was hosted by the Third Vizier, and the guest of honor was me, the Thirteenth Prince, and all of the guests were of the upper class.
That's why there seems to be a hierarchy and the order in which they address me has been decided in advance.
Even though they look like a bunch of people, they speak to me in a very orderly manner.
"By the way, Your Highness. As for your waistcoat….you didn't have it on when we last met."
After the greetings from one of them, and before the next one could speak, Reydouk asked.
"This, yes, this was given to me by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. It's called Leviathan."
A moment later, they all gulp in unison and then start buzzing.
Probably all of them are wondering, and hence the buzzing.
As if to represent everyone's doubts, the host, Reydouk, asks further.
"When you say Leviathan, you mean?"
"Yes, that."
I responded with only a hint of affirmation, since everyone here was surprised to hear that.
"Oh, I didn't think it was going to be that–the national treasure."
As I thought, Reydouk knew about the Demon Sword.
"And it came straight from the Crown Prince."
"As I recall, His Highness the Thirteenth's estate is in Almeria."
"Ooh, I see, it's a connection!"
The voices around me were of one color, so even the sudden mumbling of something different was noticeable.
"Heh, such a toy. It's a fake anyway."
He may have felt that he only mumbled a little, but in that instant, the place fell silent as if it had been struck by water.
All of us at once turned our attention to the person who spoke.
It was a young man in his early twenties, dressed in formal wear.
The young man flinched for a moment, but as if he could no longer back down, he made an annoying smile while his face was drawn up.
Hm, what should I do–.
Instantly, the air in the place changed even more.
All of them turned pale in unison.
The women in dresses even slumped down.
They all reacted as if they had seen something terrible.
" Wait."
I muttered softly.
Maybe "sit" would have been more fitting, but I figured "wait" would be fine.
Then the air relaxed.
The Leviathan was pissed.
The mad dog that had become a loyal dog, once again turned into a mad dog.
Thus, he reacted violently to the insult to his Lord.
The killing intent unleashed by the demon sword Leviathan, which overwhelmed those around it just by being present, overwhelmed everyone here.
That was fine, but it could be called overkill.
Many of them were relieved to be free of the killing intent, but many of them were still pale.
That's how much killing energy was released by Leviathan.
Just as I was wondering what to do, Reydouk sent out a ship of help.
"Oh my goodness, that's quite a feat, Your Highness."
" Huh?"
"For a moment now, all of us here must have felt the same thing, 'death'. That's the power of a national treasure . And it was,"
He turned to the others but held his hand out to me in an act of introduction.
"It is the greatness of Your Highness the Thirteenth, that you are capable of using such overwhelming power."
A forceful summary, but it was effective.
The response was heartfelt because of the death they faced.
The applause was even louder than when I entered, and everyone praised me for taming the demon sword.
Chapter end