Chapter 29: Prince Rain’s Wish
“…Well then. Now that the nuisances are gone.”
“…?!”
The Fourth Prince Rain’s muttered words immediately put us on edge.
Could this really have been a trap?
“It’s tiring standing around. Why don’t we sit over here on the sofa and talk? I’ve also got some delicious snacks and juice.”
“…”
“…”
“…”
Saying that, Prince Rain flopped onto one of the sofas in the room, relaxed his posture, and crossed one leg casually.
The sudden, complete change in both his attitude and the way he spoke left all three of us frozen for a moment.
“…Then excuse us, Your Highness.”
Yuuka bowed politely before taking a seat on the sofa. Aoi and I followed suit.
Since Yuuka had accepted the request through the Adventurers’ Guild, she naturally took the lead in the conversation. She was also the only one among us who knew anything about noble etiquette.
Besides, Aoi wasn’t good with strangers.
Even now she looked incredibly uncomfortable, her eyes darting nervously around the room.
“I’ve got to keep up appearances in front of other people, so sorry about earlier. Even if I’m the Fourth Prince, I don’t really have much authority, and I don’t have the slightest interest in inheriting the throne. Oh—and the room is soundproof, so nothing we say will leak outside. You don’t need to use formal speech either.”
“…”
“…”
“…”
Gone was the stern, regal prince from moments ago.
Now he was smiling cheerfully while nibbling on sweets.
It really was like he had become an entirely different person.
“As fellow… Blessed Ones… from Japan, I’d really like us to get along.”
…So he really was a Blessed One.
Since he possessed the silver hair and silver eyes that symbolized Orion’s royal bloodline, that meant he wasn’t someone who had been transmigrated from Japan—
He had been reincarnated.
“Yuuka, an S-Rank adventurer with the Unique Skill Sword Saint, is a transmigrator. Aoi, the sage with the Unique Skill Magic King, is a reincarnator. Reincarnating as an elf—that’s pretty rare. And Kakeru, you’re a reincarnator too. Ah… I’ve finally met a Blessed One who possesses the very Unique Skill I’ve been searching for!”
“…!”
Just as I thought.
He knew about my Unique Skill.
Yuuka and Aoi immediately became more guarded as well, placing their hands on their sword and staff.
“Ah, sorry, sorry! I made you nervous, didn’t I? I have absolutely no intention of harming any of you. Besides, I’m nowhere near strong enough to injure you even if I wanted to, so you can relax. I simply have one lingering regret from my previous life, and I need Kakeru’s help to resolve it.”
As he spoke, Rain raised both hands into the air in surrender.
If he’d truly meant us harm, there had been countless better opportunities.
Understanding that as well, Yuuka and Aoi slowly took their hands off their weapons.
“Whether we’ll help depends on what you have to say. Tell us your situation first. After hearing everything, the three of us will discuss it together.”
Based on what we’d already guessed, his Unique Skill probably wasn’t combat-related.
I had no idea what it actually was, but having a prince as an ally would be reassuring.
Besides, there were things my own Unique Skill simply couldn’t do.
We needed to hear the details first.
“Okay, that’s fair. But before that, there’s just one thing I’d like you to tell me.”
He looked straight at me.
“I’m already pretty certain, but Kakeru… your Unique Skill is either one that lets you transport yourself—or other people—back and forth between this world and Japan—or it’s a skill that lets you exchange or deliver items between Japan and this world. It’s one of those two, isn’t it?”
“…Yeah. It is.”
He had probably learned that through his own Unique Skill.
Despite being royalty, he’d chosen to meet us alone and take a considerable risk, so he clearly had some kind of confidence.
In that case, it only seemed fair that I meet him halfway.
I had no idea where he’d come up with the second possibility, but since the first one was correct, I answered honestly.
“Yes!”
Rain clenched his fist in triumph.
As expected, his wish had something to do with Japan.
“…We looked into you a little while we were in town,”
Yuuka said.
“But there was almost no information about you. There weren’t even rumors of you being troublesome… or of you being a Blessed One.”
“That makes sense. The throne is nothing but a nuisance to me. I’ve already told my relatives that I’m giving up my succession rights because I’m a Blessed One, so I have no intention of getting dragged into political struggles. All I want is to live a peaceful, comfortable life here. I don’t have the slightest desire to cause trouble.”
Although we’d had little time, Yuuka had gathered what information she could in Berlia.
Apparently no one had anything bad to say about Prince Rain.
In fact…
Hardly anyone talked about the Fourth Prince at all.
People mostly gossiped about how capable the First and Second Princes were.
So he really had no intention of becoming king.
Since he’d said he wanted my help, I’d briefly wondered if he intended to use items from Japan—brought over with my Unique Skill—to gain an advantage in the succession struggle.
Apparently that wasn’t it.
…
And unlike Yuuka and Aoi, Rain was remarkably cheerful.
He didn’t seem like someone burdened by lingering regrets about Japan at all.
“All right. Tell us what’s still weighing on your mind. But I’ll say this first—my Unique Skill has its limits. There are things it can do and things it can’t.”
“Yeah. Honestly, I don’t think you’ll find my wish particularly difficult.”
He leaned back with an excited grin.
“Ahh… after all these years, my dream is finally about to come true!”
“My lingering regret…………is manga!”
He struck a dramatic pose as though punctuated by a booming BAM!
“…”
“…”
“…”
Manga?
He means that kind of manga… right?
I didn’t mishear him, did I?
“I know exactly what you’re all thinking. Compared to the regrets other Blessed Ones have, this probably seems incredibly trivial. But for me, it’s a matter of utmost importance. There isn’t any manga or anime in this fantasy world, and it’s so unbelievably boring. And above all…”
His expression became deadly serious.
“The final volume of my favorite manga—the one about the protagonist who uses alchemy—was supposed to come out one week after I died. Until I’ve read that volume…I won’t be able to rest in peace, no matter how many times I die!”