Crown Prince Of The Maritime Kingdom

“…Jonah, don’t move.”

Carlo reached for the sword lying nearby and put on a grim expression.

Jonah had already sensed it too; he nodded quietly with a tense face.

“Shh!”

“…!?”

In a flash, Carlo lunged forward and drew his sword; the tip passed right beside Jonah’s temple.

“GYAU!?”

A magical beast’s shriek came from behind Jonah.

Carlo kicked off the ground, leaped over the campfire and Jonah, and readied his blade.

“…Including the one I just killed, three in total.”

Two pairs of eyes glowed in the darkness.

On the ground lay a wolf-type magical beast, its mouth pierced straight through by Carlo’s strike.

“Listen, Jonah. Keep the campfire at your back and don’t move away from it, got it?”

“Y-yes!”

Jonah possesses ancient magic, but it isn’t always convenient to use.

The spells 【Typhonia】 and 【Flamme】 that once incinerated every locust in Hagenberg territory were far too powerful for these wolf beasts. If he used them here, the entire forest would surely be engulfed in flames and reduced to ashes.

‘I need to devise smaller, simpler spells.’

His true talent lies not merely in his vast mana or ability to use ancient magic, but in his brilliant mind that fully comprehends everything and can apply it with free creativity.

Even the spell he uses to control his own body was originally a “manipulate object” spell. Moving a human body requires extremely high-level calculations and delicate, precise mana control.

Normally, even a group of mages couldn’t perform such processing, yet he accomplished it alone.

For Jonah, creating entirely new ancient magic by applying its principles—beyond merely adjusting output—wasn’t impossible, just time-consuming.

But more importantly—

“Haa… I really hate these things… they’re not even worth eating.”

Carlo sighed at the corpses after instantly dispatching the remaining two wolf beasts.

With all the cargo on the carriage, Jonah had assumed he was some kind of traveling merchant—but he was far too strong for that.

And that sword Carlo carried…

Jonah couldn’t judge its quality perfectly, but the ornate hilt looked completely out of place with the plain leather scabbard, clearly indicating it was quite valuable.

‘Just who is Mr. Carlo…?’

While Jonah stared at him thinking that—

“Oh? What’s wrong? Scared stiff by the beasts? Or did you fall in love with my strength?”

“W-wah!?”

Carlo sheathed his sword, walked over with a huge grin, and roughly ruffled Jonah’s hair.

His slightly teasing tone carried a gentle concern, making sure Jonah wasn’t frightened.

‘…It doesn’t really matter who he is.’

Feeling Carlo’s kindness, Jonah stopped wondering about his identity.

“Come on, let’s finish eating. You can’t sleep properly on an empty stomach.”

“Ahaha!”

The two sat around the campfire and enjoyed their meal.

No more magical beasts appeared that night.

“Jonah, we’ll be out of the forest soon.”

“Nngh…”

Two days after meeting Carlo, Jonah—who had been dozing on the coachman’s seat—rubbed his eyes and slowly opened them.

Then—

“Wooooow…!”

What leaped into his onyx eyes was bright sunlight and a vast blue sea.

Along the shore stood rows of stone and brick houses.

A little farther out, a beautiful white castle stood on an island, surrounded by several smaller islands.

“That’s right. That is the gateway to the Central Sea—the Kingdom of Benedia.”

Carlo pointed at the sea with a slight smirk.

“Mr. Carlo! This is my first time seeing the sea!”

“Haha, is that so? Benedia has great weather and is comfortable to live in, but above all, the fish are delicious. I’m sure you’ll love it, Jonah.”

“Ehehe, I can’t wait!”

People in the Estraia Empire do eat fish, but they are river fish; seafood is never eaten.

Jonah thought about the blessings of the Central Sea and broke into a happy smile.

The carriage raced along the road, and by evening they reached the capital of the Kingdom of Benedia, “Veneta”… however—

“Ah! Your Highness, welcome back!”

“Hey, Your Highness! How did the trade talks go this time?”

“Prince Carlo is as wonderful as ever…”

The townspeople welcomed the man driving the carriage—Carlo—with bright smiles.

But “Your Highness”…?

“U-um…”

“Welcome to the Kingdom of Benedia. I, Carlo Regalita Benedia, Crown Prince of Benedia, welcome you.”

“Eeeehhh!?”

Seeing Jonah’s shock, Carlo flashed a triumphant, mischievous grin.