"Your Majesty."
I bowed from the waist and looked straight at him.
"What is it?"
"I just recalled that I have unfinished business at the Ministry of Justice. I humbly request permission to take my leave."
"..."
His Majesty furrowed his brows and tilted his head, studying me.
This was far enough.
As with anything in life, overstepping one's bounds was never wise.
This situation was no exception.
His Majesty had summoned Oscar, the Imperial Prince Minister of Finance.
If I were to linger here, I risked encroaching upon Oscar's domain.
Moderation was best in these matters—no, moderation was essential.
That was why I needed to make a formal excuse to withdraw before Oscar arrived.
After watching me for a moment, His Majesty let out a faint sigh and spoke.
"You are a clever one, Noah."
It seemed he had seen right through me.
Still, one would expect no less from the Emperor.
Without pressing the matter any further, His Majesty's expression softened back to normal.
"Permission granted."
"I am deeply grateful."
Offering one last one-knee bow, I withdrew from His Majesty's study.
Leaving the study behind, I walked outside.
Spotting a nearby eunuch, I gestured for him to come over, and he hurried to my side.
As he drew closer, I recognized his face.
"Ceese, is it?"
"Yes, sir!"
It was Ceese, a low-ranking eunuch I frequently ran into whenever I visited the imperial palace.
"I am returning to my residence. Prepare my carriage."
"It's already waiting out front, sir!"
"You're quite efficient."
"Thank you very much, sir!"
"It seems rather noisy over that way. Did something happen?"
"What are you saying, Prince Noah?"
Ceese answered in his characteristically shrill voice.
Since most eunuchs were castrated at a young age before entering the imperial palace, they rarely grew facial hair, and their voices never broke.
According to physicians, certain substances a man's body was supposed to produce after reaching adulthood simply stopped being secreted.
Incidentally, church choirs had once done something similar to keep boys' singing voices high, but under current Imperial Law, castrating anyone other than eunuchs employed by the imperial household was strictly forbidden.
"They are cleaning up the aftermath of what you did earlier, Prince Noah."
"What I did?"
"Apparently, the ground was melted into a doughnut shape, and everyone is wondering what in the world happened to cause that. All of us are buzzing with rumors."
"I see."
"Seeing that, everyone is marveling at your incredible power, Prince Noah. Someone even tried to dig out the molten dirt and fell straight into the pit. It was so deep that the poor fellow broke his leg."
"Careless fellow... Here."
I took a leather pouch from my breast pocket and tossed it to Ceese.
As usual, it was a pouch filled with 100 Rien meant for tipping.
"For his medical expenses and your trouble."
"Thank you very much! Ah, everyone always says that despite your young age, Prince Noah, you are so kind to those beneath you."
"A little flattery goes a long way."
"No, no, it is the honest truth! I imagine you will be getting married soon, Prince Noah, and the number of applicants hoping to serve you is already overwhelming—the competition ratio is well over a hundred to one!"
"Is that so?"
Eunuchs could be dispatched not only within the imperial palace, but also to an imperial prince's residence upon request.
Originally, castrating eunuchs was done to ensure they could never cause any "indiscretions" with a nobleman's primary wife or concubines.
While it was an absolute necessity for an Emperor to maintain the purity of the royal bloodline, it was also quite important for those of imperial prince rank, making it standard practice to bring eunuchs into one's household after marriage.
"At this rate, the numbers will only keep climbing. They say you are by far the most popular among all His Majesty's sons."
"Is that so? By the way, what's that in your chest pocket?"
Steering away from a topic that could turn politically delicate if indulged too far, I pointed toward Ceese's breast pocket.
"Ah, this?"
Ceese drew a transparent box from his pocket.
Inside were two rhinoceros beetles.
"I brought these for the Sixteenth Prince. His Highness seems to enjoy beetle fighting."
"I see."
The Sixteenth Prince—my younger brother, the Sixteenth Imperial Prince—had just turned three this year.
Because he was still so young, he did not maintain a residence outside the imperial palace and lived inside instead.
While he received a fairly rigorous education befitting an imperial prince, it was not uncommon for young princes to ask eunuchs for harmless toys like these.
I had heard that the Fourth Imperial Prince—Brother Henry—used to enjoy such things as well.
Chatting idly with Ceese, I exited the palace and boarded the waiting carriage.
"Where shall we head, Master?"
Gigi, the newly hired maid waiting beside the carriage, asked me.
"To the residence."
"Y-Yes, right away!"
Though still unfamiliar with her duties, Gigi relayed my order to the coachman.
The carriage began to move, and Gigi walked alongside it.
Swaying with the carriage's rhythm, I gazed down at the ring on my thumb.
His Majesty's gift, a new piece of equipment: the ring Lutye.
I needed to master this properly as well.
"...Hmm."
Suddenly, I remembered the beetles Ceese had been carrying.
With that in mind, I asked the sentient Leviathan and Lutye if such a thing was possible.
Both answered, "Possible."
Then do it, I ordered them.
I linked the Armor Ring with both Leviathan and Lutye.
In response, both transformed the Armor Ring.
After a short moment, two figures materialized.
They were palm-sized figures, each connected at the feet to the Armor Ring.
One was light blue and poised with a sword, while the other was red with clenched fists.
In the next instant, the two figures began to clash.
Right before my eyes, atop the moving carriage, the two figures sparred.
I recognized the light-blue swordsman's movements; they closely resembled the sword strikes I had performed in Leviathan's memories.
These movements were far superior in both power and speed. I realized that as I grew, I would eventually be able to move like that too.
The red brawler's movements were completely new to me, cloaking its hands and feet in flames as it threw punches and delivered kicks.
If I channeled Lutye's power, I would be able to fight like that as well.
The battle didn't even last a minute.
From start to finish, the light-blue swordsman—Leviathan—overwhelmed Lutye, ultimately forcing its guard open and cleaving its torso clean in two right down the middle.
"Whoa..."
A soft gasp of admiration came from beside the carriage.
Walking alongside, Gigi was looking up at me with eyes full of awe.
"What is it?"
"Master, that was amazing! What was that?"
"Haven't you ever seen rhinoceros beetles or crickets fight?"
"Um, the boys in my village used to do that."
"It's the same idea."
"Still, it's incredible. That's magic, isn't it?"
"Something like that."
Thinking for a moment, I decided to imitate Leviathan's earlier movement.
Mimicking the final slash that had bisected Lutye, I drew the magic sword and swung it.
Leviathan sliced through the decorative fixture on the front of the carriage.
"Huh? You swung right through it, but it didn't get cut?"
"It's cut. Look."
Saying so, I pinched the tip of the ornament and lifted it up.
"Whoa!"
Then, following Leviathan's advice, I set it right back down.
The ornament returned to its original state.
As though there had never been a cut in the first place, it reattached seamlessly.
As the carriage made its way through the city streets, a wheel rolled over a small stone, causing the carriage to jolt slightly.
And yet...
"Huh? It's not falling off!"
Even though it had just been severed, the fixture remained firmly in place. Gigi stared at it intently, thoroughly mystified.
I grasped the ornament again and showed it to her.
"See how smooth the cut is?"
"Yes."
"When you cut something with sufficient skill, the surface becomes perfectly smooth, so it fits right back together seamlessly when you put it in place."
"Whoa... that's incredible!"
Gigi said, her eyes sparkling.
I offered a faint smile and turned my thoughts to Leviathan and Lutye.
A mock battle of sorts, made possible by combining them with the Armor Ring.
With this, I could practice the techniques stored within both of them.
Just as I was feeling rather pleased with having stumbled upon such a great training method—
"—?!"
A status display in the corner of my vision suddenly caught my eye.
―――――――――――― Name: Noah Ararat Imperial Prince Minister of Justice Gender: Male Level: 2 / ∞
HP: E+F | Fire: F+C MP: F+F | Water: E+S Strength: F+E | Wind: F Stamina: F+F | Earth: F Intelligence: F+E | Light: F Spirit: F+F | Darkness: F Speed: F+F Dexterity: F+F Luck: F+F ――――――――――――
For some reason, my level had gone up, and my HP had increased by a rank.
Just as I wondered why, my gaze fell upon the ring.
"...Could it be?"