After listening to Alice sing for a while longer, I left the parlor and returned to my estate.
For some reason, several men were prostrated in the dirt outside my gates in the dusk light.
This was no ordinary kowtow, either—they were bowing flat on the ground toward my residence, the Thirteenth Imperial Prince Mansion.
Wondering what this was about, I stepped inside.
"Welcome home, Master."
Greeting me was a young maid whose duties focused on receiving guests.
Whenever a visitor arrived or when I returned home, hers was always the first face to be seen.
In a sense, she was the public face of the Thirteenth Imperial Prince Mansion.
"Evelyn, there are men prostrating themselves outside. Do you know anything about that?"
"Yes, Master. They are seeking an audience to offer you their apologies."
"An apology?"
"They claim to have come alongside the subordinates who incurred your displeasure, Master."
"...Ah."
In other words, that moneylender and his boss.
The thugs had scurried back after I drove them off, but once their boss realized the person they had crossed was an imperial prince, he had dragged them right over here to beg for mercy.
"How would you like to handle them, Master?"
"...Turn them away. Tell them, 'Did you truly believe an imperial prince is someone you can simply meet whenever you wish?'"
"Right away, Master."
Having received my orders, Evelyn headed outside.
"A prudent decision."
"Brother?!"
As if trading places with her, my brother—Fourth Imperial Prince Henry—emerged from deeper within the mansion.
"You were here, Brother?"
"Indeed. You handled that well just now. Granting an audience to such lowlifes so readily would only demean the dignity of royalty—of an imperial prince. Well done."
Brother Henry praised me, looking genuinely pleased.
"That was part of it, of course, but I had another reason."
"Oh?"
First, I gave him the background.
I explained how I had gone to hear Alice sing, how debt collectors barged in over her father's debts, and how I had stepped in to chase them off.
Once the premise was laid out, I continued.
"If they believe I am still furious, they won't dare lay a finger on Alice. Doing so would only pour oil on the fire."
"Oho."
Brother Henry's eyes gleamed.
"To think that far ahead at your age... Impressive."
"Occasionally, people try their luck again once they think you've forgotten about it."
"Quite right. Some fools always push their luck once the heat has died down. A sound judgment. However..."
"However?"
I wondered if I had slipped up somewhere, but that didn't seem to be the case.
Brother Henry smirked, deftly curling up one corner of his mouth.
"Was that girl's singing truly that captivating?"
"Please don't steal her away, Brother. I want to take my time and enjoy watching her grow."
"You are quite fond of her, then."
"Alice has immense potential. She's the kind of talent who will soar as long as she keeps singing."
"I see. In that case, take me along next time."
"Certainly. I would be glad to show you the way."
Chatting amiably, we made our way into the living room I typically used.
Naturally, I offered Brother Henry the seat of honor and took the lower seat myself.
Even if this was my mansion, an older brother was still an older brother.
That was why I deferred the head seat to him.
Balancing this sort of courtly etiquette was delicate.
First of all, His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince sat in the place of honor without question.
As the Crown Prince and next emperor, he was practically half a sovereign to the rest of us.
And for older brothers like Brother Henry, whose ages differed from mine as much as a father from a son, they were still guests, so I offered them the seat of honor as well.
For those relatively close to my age, from around the tenth prince onward, I would sit in the seat of honor as master of the house.
A single misstep in these matters could cause serious friction, but fortunately, I had never made a mistake.
"You are always so impeccably courteous."
"It is only proper."
"Those around your age, from Frank—the ninth—down to Gary—the fourteenth—cannot manage it in the slightest. They are all still children. Especially Gary..."
"Your full brother, correct?"
This was another dynamic commoners rarely understood, and uncommon even among the nobility.
While we were all children of our father, the Emperor, we each had different mothers.
Among our ranks, Brother Henry and Gary shared the same mother, giving them a distinct connection—a familial bond—unlike what existed between the rest of us.
"No matter how much I instruct him, he simply cannot grasp court etiquette. It is deeply exasperating. I do not expect him to match your level, but I wish he would show some progress."
"I am sure Gary will understand in time."
"I certainly hope so."
"Setting that aside, Brother... what brought you here alone today? A man as busy as you would hardly drop by just for small talk."
"..."
Brother Henry gave me a complicated look, a mix between an amused smile and a grimace.
"You truly are perceptive. Even among adults, few possess such keen intuition."
"Which means there really is an underlying matter, isn't there?"
"Yes. It concerns the magic sword."
The Magic Sword Leviathan.
The weapon gifted to me by Brother Henry and the Crown Prince.
In this context, since it came from the Crown Prince, the proper noble phrasing was that it had been bestowed upon me.
"Is something wrong with the magic sword?"
"It is a matter for the future, but I thought it best to put it on your radar."
"I am listening."
"That sword has a will of its own. It cannot speak, but it possesses a distinct consciousness."
"Is that so?"
"And rather annoyingly, it is thoroughly obsessed with hierarchy."
"Hierarchy."
When I repeated the word, Brother Henry gave a firm nod.
"Think of it like a dog."
"I see."
"There is no need to rush, but before you wield it in earnest, you would do well to establish your dominance clearly. Subjugating it will be for the benefit of you both."
"Subjugating it..."
I rolled the concept over in my mind.
A possibility struck me.
"Please wait a moment, Brother. Someone, come in!"
"Sir!"
At my call, the door opened immediately and a male servant hurried inside.
"Bring the magic sword."
"Y-Yes, Sire!"
At the mention of the magic sword, the servant's face went rigid with fear.
"What was that about?"
"To tell the truth, when I tested swinging the magic sword before, the servants who were present complained of feeling violently ill."
"Ah. Without at least rank C in Water affinity, merely standing near it would make anyone sick."
"Which is why they are terrified of being sent to retrieve it."
"Understandable."
Just as Brother Henry nodded in comprehension, the servant returned cradling the ornate box.
His complexion was already turning an alarming shade of pale.
"All right, that will do. Set it on the table and you may leave. Have someone else come when it is time to put it away."
"Thank you, Sire!"
Looking as relieved as a pardoned convict, the man practically bolted from the room.
I opened the box and took hold of the Magic Sword Leviathan.
Gripping the hilt tightly, I focused my intent.
A wave of intense resistance pushed back through the grip.
Channeling the power of the blade—the power of water—it attempted to force its way into my consciousness.
I had held it twice before, but nothing like this had happened.
This time, I was the one initiating the challenge, focusing my will with a single command: Submit to me.
Sure enough, the magic sword fought back violently.
However, that resistance washed over me without effect.
The servants' sickly reactions, the complete absence of side effects when I held it previously, and the fact that my Water affinity was E + S, effectively making it SS...
Weighing those three facts together, I had deduced I would be completely fine.
And my deduction proved absolute.
The magic sword made repeated attempts to breach my mind, but every surge crashed uselessly against the wall of my Water SS rank.
After letting it thrash to its heart's content for a few moments, I drove the tip of the blade down into the floorboards with a sharp thud!
Looking down at it, I pressed my palm hard against the pommel as if holding down a defiant head, shoving it downward with unyielding force.
Before long, a shift occurred.
Holding it directly, I felt the exact moment the magic sword yielded, transmitting its intent to submit beneath my authority.
At the exact same time...
―――――――――――― Name: Noah Ararat Thirteenth Imperial Prince of the Ararat Empire Gender: Male Level: 1 / ∞
HP: F Fire: F MP: F Water: E + SS Strength: F + F Wind: F Stamina: F + F Earth: F Intellect: F Light: F Spirit: F Darkness: F Speed: F Dexterity: F + F Luck: F + F ――――――――――――
The status window visible only to me updated.
My Water affinity had jumped from S to SS.
It worked exactly as I had hoped.
Subjugating the magic sword.
What Brother Henry told me was likely meant only as advice on how to master the weapon.
However, my unique constitution granted me a portion of the abilities of anything that swore fealty to me.
I had wondered: what if I forced a magic sword to submit as well?
The gamble had paid off brilliantly.
"Judging by that expression, you succeeded."
"Yes, Brother."
Nodding, I summoned another servant to cast status-appraisal magic on me.
Naturally, I wasn't going to trouble Brother Henry with such menial tasks.
A moment later, the public-facing status window appeared—the one without the "+" modifiers visible to others.
―――――――――――― Name: Noah Ararat Thirteenth Imperial Prince of the Ararat Empire Gender: Male Level: 1 / ∞
HP: F Fire: F MP: F Water: SSS Strength: E Wind: F Stamina: E Earth: F Intellect: F Light: F Spirit: F Darkness: F Speed: F Dexterity: E Luck: E ――――――――――――
Upon seeing the readout, Brother Henry's eyes widened.
"Mmm... To think it would manifest like that... Remarkable..."
He stared at the display, genuinely awestruck by my Water affinity reaching the unprecedented rank of SSS.