"Oho, so you know who I am?"
The old man let out a hearty laugh. "Ka-ka-ka!"
The Thunder Imperial Prince, Indra Ararat.
He was His Majesty's uncle, a man who had briefly stood at the very center of power as Regent Imperial Prince immediately following His Majesty's ascension to the throne.
Five years into His Majesty's reign, Indra had stepped down from the regency and returned to his fief.
With that, His Majesty had begun his direct rule, ushering in the empire's golden age.
Because His Majesty had been so young when he ascended, the empire had fallen into turmoil. Indra had brought order with an iron fist, only to step down the moment His Majesty came of age (though even then, he had been twelve, just as I am now), allowing him to govern directly. In recognition of his service, His Majesty had bestowed upon him the character for "Thunder," and Indra was said to live quietly in his fief ever since as the Thunder Imperial Prince.
I never imagined he would show up here in the imperial capital, so I was genuinely caught off guard.
"You're a promising lad. Come on, quit standing on ceremony over there and take a seat."
"Yes, sir."
I rose and took a seat to Indra's right.
Since we were at an open-air stall, the surrounding onlookers began whispering among themselves.
Both the woman I had just helped and my maid, Gigi, looked utterly bewildered.
Ignoring them entirely, Indra took a swig of liquor from his golden gourd, then peered directly into my eyes, as if trying to see right through me.
"If you've looked into me, I take it you've already heard the news?"
"Yes. Directly from His Majesty."
"Mm, I see, I see. Then you know why I'm here, don't you?"
"...To size me up, perhaps?"
I chose my words carefully before answering.
"Aye. You've got an epithet just like me, lad—the only 'Wise' Imperial Prince among the seventeen boys. It's clear the emperor trusts you and expects great things. Ordinarily, there wouldn't even be a need to check on you, but..."
If the officials from the Ministry of Inspection heard how Indra spoke, they would have flown into a rage and impeached him on the spot.
Uncle or not, an imperial prince was still a subject. For a subject to refer to His Majesty simply as "the emperor" was the height of disrespect.
Then again...
I had a feeling Indra wouldn't care in the slightest if they did impeach him, nor would His Majesty bother to punish him.
I had only just met the man, but I could already tell that was simply the kind of person he was.
"This is my cute, precious granddaughter's future we're talking about. I can't just agree without seeing you with my own eyes, can I?"
"I understand."
"Which is why I came to take your measure."
"Out of curiosity, what happens if I don't meet your standards?"
"What happens? Simple." Indra snorted. "I just won't let you marry her."
"This is an imperial decree, you know."
"Doesn't matter to me. If the emperor orders me to charge into the thick of an enemy army, I'll obey no matter how reckless it is. But this is my granddaughter, you hear me? My granddaughter! She's my sweet, darling granddaughter!"
Indra drove the point home, repeating the phrase three times.
Ah, a doting grandfather. Well, there's no arguing with that.
"At that point, it's not politics—it's a family matter. And the man giving the order is a nephew who used to play on my lap. I'll smack him upside the head if that's what it takes to stop it."
"I see."
He was certainly an entertaining character.
Every now and then, someone in the imperial family turned out completely uninhibited like this, impossible to truly dislike.
No matter their royal blood, ninety-nine percent of them became stiff and meticulously polite before His Majesty, as though poured into a rigid mold. The court demanded it of them.
Any normal person would naturally bow their head and mind their manners.
Yet the remaining one percent were hopeless eccentrics who turned out like this.
And in most cases, such people harbored no ambition for power.
That was why, despite being rude and disrespectful, they were rarely punished; more often than not, the Emperor actually favored them.
If Indra were to storm into the palace bellowing, "I'm not handing over my precious granddaughter!", he carried an aura that made it seem entirely possible he would get his way.
"So... have I passed?"
"We're about to find out."
"Huh?"
An instant later, a heavy weight crashed down upon me.
Nothing in our surroundings changed, yet something invisible enveloped my entire body, threatening to crush me flat.
Several thoughts flickered through my mind before I instantly landed on the answer.
It was the exact same thing I always did.
Intimidation using Leviathan.
I was on the receiving end of it now—and it was coming straight from Indra.
In that case...
"Kh...!"
I drew a sharp breath, gritted my teeth, and stood my ground.
Channeling Leviathan, I pushed the pressure back.
"Oho?"
It really was him. The moment I began pushing back, Indra's eyes lit up with intrigued amusement.
He had caught me off guard at first, making it rough, but once I pushed back, I had it under control.
Should I just overpower him completely? I considered it for a moment, then thought better of it.
After all, he was my great-uncle and potentially my future grandfather-in-law.
Humiliating him in front of a crowd would hardly be appropriate.
Instead, I dialed back Leviathan's output.
Neither winning nor losing.
Like keeping the flag dead center in a game of tug-of-war, I carefully gauged his strength and matched my counter-pressure to it.
I kept Leviathan tightly controlled to maintain an exact stalemate.
The standoff lasted for about a minute.
"Ka-ka-ka!"
Indra looked up at the sky and broke into a hearty laugh.
The pressure vanished entirely. I reeled in Leviathan's power as well.
"Not bad, lad. You win."
"Uh... wasn't that a draw?"
"Don't be an idiot. You read my strength down to the letter and deliberately forced a draw. Going out of your way to spare my pride means I lost fair and square."
"...Right."
I gave a wry smile.
Calling it consideration, yet exposing it all himself...
He really was impossible to dislike.
...Or perhaps it was precisely this temperament that had allowed him to remain an imperial prince for so long.
Gilbert came to mind.
In stark contrast to Indra, his thirst for power had run far too deep, ultimately costing him not just his status, but his very life.
"I like you, lad! Take good care of my granddaughter."
"Leave it to me."
"Alright then! Hey, barkeep!"
Indra waved over the stallkeeper, who had been nervously watching the exchange from a distance like the rest of the onlookers. The man hurried over.
"Y-Yes, sir! What can I do for you?"
"Bring out every last drop of booze you've got."
Indra tossed a handful of gold coins onto the counter.
It was more than enough to buy out all the alcohol in the place—he could have bought the entire stall outright.
"I'm in high spirits today! Listen up, everyone, it's on my tab! If you can hold your liquor, come and drink!"
He shouted this to the gathered crowd.
He was wildly extravagant, bearing little resemblance to any royalty I knew.
And yet...
"YEAAAHHH!"
The crowd erupted in cheers.
A dozen or so people swarmed the stall at once, happily snatching up the drinks the keeper rushed to set out.
In a heartbeat, what had been an awkward circle of spectators transformed into a roaring street banquet.
Having set the whole thing in motion, Indra took a long pull from his enormous golden gourd.
"Here, take this. Consider it a betrothal gift."
He reached into his robe, pulled something out, and casually tossed it my way.
I scrambled to catch it. It was a ring, its band carved entirely from jade.
"That thing—"
Just as Indra was about to explain...
A voice echoed inside my mind, distinct from Indra's.
『Show me your strength.』
It was clear and resonant.
The very next moment, the world around me shifted completely.
Before I realized what was happening, I found myself standing utterly alone in a vast, open grassland.
Before I could even process the situation, a low, thundering rumble shook the earth.
I turned toward the sound and saw a colossal golden bull charging straight at me.
"...Show my strength, huh?"
I drew Leviathan from my bracelet, letting it expand back to its full size.
Then, I took my stance.
"Blow it away."
I unleashed Leviathan's charged special technique.
A pillar of water wider than the massive beast erupted forward, blasting the golden bull away without the slightest resistance.
And then, in the corner of my vision:
―――――――――――― Name: Noah Ararat Imperial Prince Minister of Justice Gender: Male Level: 3 / ∞ HP: E+F Fire: F+B MP: F+F Water: E+S Strength: E+E Wind: F+F Stamina: F+F Earth: F+F Intelligence: F+E Light: F+C Spirit: F+F Darkness: F Speed: F+F Dexterity: F+F Luck: F+F ―――――――――――
My stats had increased again.
A +C to Light.
That meant it was just like when I had first encountered Lutye.
After blasting it away with Leviathan, I could tell that the golden bull—the name Behemoth floating into my mind—had submitted to me.
Then, the illusion shattered.
The barren plains faded, returning me to the bustling capital and the raucous banquet around us.
"—It's called Behemoth. It's a pair with mine."
"Like this, you mean?"
I picked up the cup resting on the table and channeled the power of Behemoth, which had just yielded to me.
The cup instantly began to glow with a brilliant golden light.
"Hm?! You tamed it already? You're something else, lad."
Looking at the cup shining with the exact same golden radiance as his gourd, Indra's eyes went wide with pure shock.