"The Talented Dragon Hides Its Claws" ~ The Eldest Son of the Baron Family, Called Useless, is Actually One of the World's Strongest ~ - Episode 23

The day of receiving the elixir.

Ryu and Stingray were heading towards the area where the common people lived to visit the aforementioned pharmacist.

“Wow, yesterday was something else, wasn’t it?”

“Not only the Empress but also the Imperial Sorcerer at the same time—it’s something you rarely get to see. After witnessing that whole exchange, what did Stingray think?”

“I thought Her Majesty Iris was kinder than I imagined. Even when Lord Ryu spoke in a slightly rough manner, Her Majesty didn’t seem particularly angry.”

“Last night was like that, but usually, I think he’s stricter than a demon. Yesterday, he probably acted friendly just to recruit me.”

“Recruitment…? What were you planning to recruit for, Your Majesty?”

“I think they were planning to recruit me as an imperial magician if my combat skills were superior.”

“Magician!!! Just like Zekkai-san!!!”

“That’s right. Yesterday, I almost became a colleague of Zetsumi-san.”

Since I arrived at the general area here, I opened the map and headed towards the direction of the healer’s residence.

Many houses in the capital city of Weel use white stone materials, making the scenery very beautiful.

“On the contrary, what did you think, Ryu-sama?”

“A person full of ambition and quite scary.”

“Huh, ambition? Ambition towards what?”

“I don’t understand.”

“Eh…”

“If I had to say, isn’t she secretly plotting something that only the Empress can achieve in this world, something that could greatly alter the course of history?”

“Then maybe what happened yesterday was part of that too.”

“Ah. If we had talked longer, I might have been on the fast track to the civil service course. I’m really glad I left at that moment.”

“There’s no one in the current empire who can refuse His Majesty’s invitation, you know~”

“Exactly.”

“But if by any chance you were invited by the minister, wouldn’t that be a huge success?”

“There’s no way that’s happening. As a commemoration, they might end up gifting you a large mansion with servants in the capital.”

“Isn’t that the best?”

“Are you sure you want to let a hundred or so servants and royal spies infiltrate Arden?”

“Ah”

Just like the earlier invitation, there are no nobles who can refuse a gift from the Emperor. Even royalty from other countries would find it difficult to do so. Moreover, maintaining a mansion in the capital requires at least a hundred servants, so one must continue as a minister, albeit under duress, to support them.

“To support a hundred spies, I would be bound to the ministerial position for life… just thinking about it is terrifying.”

“I can’t do something as disrespectful as firing them after they were given to us.”

“Moreover, since it’s His Majesty, he will probably only offer a wage barely enough to support a spy.”

“You’re really intent on tying me up, aren’t you? It’s really scary… Your Majesty…”

Both of them are speaking as if it’s someone else’s business, but having the emperor treat them to a meal is quite disrespectful as well. It was very fortunate that there were no people around to spread the word about it. Truly, it can be said that it is a restaurant endorsed by the empress.

“Zekkai-san was amazing too, right?”

“He was exactly the kind of soldier who could be called an imperial magician. As long as they have many like him, the empire will be safe.”

“By the way, how did you figure out he was a magician?”

“The quality of the magic power was on a completely different level from others.”

Ryu vividly recalls the time he faced the Sorcerer of the Abyss last night.

“Is it the quality of the magic?”

“Ah. First of all, there is no one in this world who can completely suppress their magical power. Even that imperial magician couldn’t pull it off. In other words, at that time, I sensed the faint magical power emitted by Zekkai, but its quality was extraordinary. It was like a work of art.”

“Ah, I see.”

Seeing that the stingray doesn’t seem to be very responsive, Ryu continues explaining.

“If I were to explain it in simpler terms… let’s say the magic power of an ordinary person is like muddy water, while the magic power of a wizard is like river water.”

“Hmm, hmm.”

“In that case, the magic of the sea would be like spring water. Purified by the earth, it would be beautiful and crystal clear spring water. A refined magic that everyone would be captivated by.”

“In short, it means it’s amazing.”

“That’s right. It’s incredibly amazing.”

Just as we realized how incredibly amazing both the Empress and the open sea were, we arrived at our destination.

“Is this the house of the pharmacist in question…?”

“How should I put it… I was imagining something more lab-like.”

In front of the two, there stood a dilapidated building, with cracks here and there and covered in a mass of vines, fitting the name of a rundown house.