"The Talented Dragon Hides Its Claws" ~ The Eldest Son of the Baron Family, Called Useless, is Actually One of the World's Strongest ~ - Episode 36

About a week after the meeting between Ryu and Baron Grace, in a room of the Imperial Castle towering in the capital city of Weel.

A woman with striking red hair exuding an overwhelming aura and a suspicious blonde loli in a lab coat were having a conversation.

“Your Majesty Iris. It has been a while.”

“It’s been a while, Esther. You don’t have to force yourself to use honorifics.”

“Well then, I suppose I’ll take you up on your kind offer.”

“First of all, thank you for coming. As a reward, I’ll give you some sweets made by the royal court’s pastry chef.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa‼ It’s been a while since I had something sweet‼”

The Empress usually always has a royal guard with her when meeting someone, but since she has known the blonde loli stuffing her face with sweets in front of her for over ten years, it’s just the two of them this time. Moreover, given the nature of today’s conversation, having a guard would only be a hindrance.

“Your Majesty, what business do you have with me today?”

“I have one thing I want to ask you, who are blessed with longevity.”

Esther sensed an unusual atmosphere and swallowed hard.

“Please tell me everything you know about the method of summoning a hero.”

“The method to summon a hero…?! No way!?”

Astoria Empire has lost the technology to summon heroes, hasn’t it???

The queen sighed.

“Unfortunately, that’s exactly it.”

“How…?”

“By the way, the disappearance incident happened seven generations ago. Therefore, not even any documents remain.”

“In this harsh world situation, if one of the four great powers, the Empire, can’t summon a hero, the balance will be disrupted instead. I can smell trouble brewing.”

“Exactly.”

If all four powers summon a hero, their military strength will be almost equal, and there will be no defection of allied countries, so they will continue to stare each other down as before. However, if this fact becomes public, the three major powers will be the first to send envoys to the Empire’s allies, trying to somehow bring them into their camp. You might think that they wouldn’t abandon the Empire and switch to the other three powers for such a reason, but a hero is a special being

The empire has formed alliances with many countries, but even if just one of them betrays us, we must inevitably start a punitive war.

In short, “If you betray us, we will crush you like this,” we must exert pressure on other allied nations.

“Hmm… I believe the elder of the Elf village mentioned something about a magic circle or something like that. It’s been quite a long time, so I don’t remember it very well. My apologies, Your Majesty.”

“Don’t worry about it. More importantly, the magic circles… There are a few fading magic circles inside the imperial castle.”

“One of them might be the magic circle used during the hero summoning.”

“Hmm, that was helpful. Thank you, Esther. I’ll give you a reward.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. I’ve always been treated well by Your Majesty too. That’s enough for me.”

“Well then, I’ll send the latest magical tools later.”

“I told you I don’t need it…”

“Let’s also send a box of sweets.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa‼”

And then, at that moment. Someone knocked on the door.

“Your Majesty, I apologize for interrupting the conversation. A letter has arrived from Baron Grace.”

“I don’t mind. Just leave it there.”

Understood.

The civil servant left immediately.

Perhaps the letter sent by the marquis was ordered to be delivered immediately. Otherwise, it would be such a foolish act that it wouldn’t be surprising if he were executed on the spot.

The queen opened the seal and glanced at the contents for a moment.

“Esther, it’s a rare opportunity. You should go and see it too.”

“Is it really okay to see it? Isn’t it confidential?”

“Very well, very well. Your known name is written here.”

“Ho! Then I’ll take you up on your offer…”

Esther peered into the letter and read it carefully.

“Ryu, Ryu, you say!? Come to think of it, when I gave that guy the elixir, he mentioned meeting the king…”

The empress slightly raised the corners of her mouth without opening it.

“Indeed, it was true after all…”

At the moment Esther finished reading and looked up, the Empress asked.

“Mainly, it was written about the joint business plan with Grace Arden, but what do you think?”

“You have no choice but to nod your head to this, right?”

“Hehehe… I agree. Before sending the sealed letter to Ryu Arden, I honestly thought the chances of success were fifty-fifty. But what do we have now? The response we received not only moves the military but also addresses my unspoken needs, aiming to drive a strong wedge into our allied nations. Moreover, they have prepared measures that will benefit Arden, Grace, and even my own coffers in the long term. And all of this in just a few days.”

“Who on earth is Ryu…?”

“It’s like having my head grabbed and being forced to shake it. Such arrogance… a man whose depths I cannot fathom.”

After that, they talked a bit about the matter at hand and then left the room.

“Well then, let’s call it a day for today.”

“Wow, it was such a fun time.”

“May I call you again?”

“I’m basically always free, so I can come anytime.”

“Hmph. I’m looking forward to it.”

“Esther, in the end…”

“?”

“I just mentioned something about heroes earlier, but I… no, the Empire will not lose… absolutely not.”

“！？”

The sheer force of it is nothing short of that of a conqueror.

That’s right. Even without heroes, the Empire has the Imperial Sorcerers created by the Empress. Unlike the heroes who have just been summoned by the other three great powers and are still clueless, the abilities of the Imperial Sorcerers are well-established, and moreover, they all seem to be utterly devoted to the Empress, as if they had offered their hearts to her.

The Astoria Empire, led by the Empress, harbors a terrifying power above all else, and considering that no information has leaked regarding the Empire’s most powerful sorcerers, it holds a position as a dark horse in a good sense.

And don’t forget.

This man is in the empire.

The man was gently caressing the pot of just the right size.

“Um, Lord Ryu, what are you doing over there?”

“It’s practice for petting Lena’s head.”

“Eh…”