Chapter 189.1

Envoy from the Magic Kingdom (2.1)
He said what should never have been said. Arland is a tolerant nation. No matter how outrageously rude a person might be, they would never insult an envoy from another country. However, insulting the one they recognize as their master is absolutely unforgivable.

Norman treated Alicetia like a thief. He had done it. That alone made everyone in the audience chamber his enemy.

The knights licked their lips with their tongues. They were considering how to kill this fool in the most gruesome and cruel way possible. The nobles were pondering what kind of torture to administer. Meanwhile, Alicetia’s clone was walking along the wall wearing a wooden crate, heading for the ceiling.

“What? Is it really so strange to demand the return of technology stolen from our country? Are you incapable of feeling shame for stealing someone else’s research, despite knowing your place?”

The moment he finished speaking, several swords were pressed against Norman’s neck. They pierced through more than twenty magic tool barriers as if they weren’t even there.

They didn’t understand why he was even allowed to be in this place. No matter how skilled a mage might be, this was the domain of knights. Killing Norman, whether he chanted or not, would be simple. The people present here were Arland’s elite. No knight aside from the elites were even allowed in the castle. That’s how capable knights stationed at the royal palace were.

Naturally, all of this was to protect Alicetia. In order to guard the revolutionary who would change the era from every form of harm, only elite knights were allowed in the palace. However, even these elites couldn’t stop Alicetia’s pranks, because she planned them based on their abilities. There was no way to stop her.

“W-What is the meaning of this? If you so much as scratch me, my homeland will—”

“Silence, lowlife. The only time you should open your mouth is to repent for insulting the Princess.”

Sweat trickled down Norman’s forehead. He had believed that with twenty barrier magic tools, there would be no problem. Even if there were, he thought it would be easy to annihilate the surrounding knights with or without chanting.

It was the first humiliation of his life. As the head of the Ford family, known as the Wind Clan, he couldn’t even move a finger. From the beginning, his life had been in Arland’s hands. Then, the clone, having reached the ceiling, fiddled with some kind of control panel, and the wall behind Gilbert began to move. Alarmed, a knight stepped behind Gilbert to protect him, but the wooden box that had climbed down from the ceiling along the wall shuffled toward the moving wall.

Gilbert, wearing a look of exasperation, picked up the wooden box. It seemed he had finally noticed.

“What are you doing?”

“To think you’d see through my perfect disguise... As expected, the name of the Heartless Prince isn’t just for show, Big brother.”

“You don’t have to be heartless to notice that.”

The clone looked shocked, as if saying, “Impossible!” So the wooden crate had failed. The guy with the eyepatch had praised cardboard boxes. That meant she should have used a cardboard box instead. That’s what the clone concluded.

“So, what are you doing, anyway? I’m kind of busy here.”

In response to Gilbert’s question, the Alicetia clone lifted a puppy-sized magic beast. At first glance, it looked like a cute puppy, but in truth, it was a highly dangerous, high-ranking magic beast. However, its lower back was balding.

“This little one lost a fight and ended up with a bald spot. So I’m looking for the hair growth tonic that’s stashed in one of the castle’s first-aid kits. We gave all the ones we made to the king of Ostland.”

Alicetia’s pets, the Woofers Squad, have a strict hierarchy. And that ranking fluctuates based on strength. In other words, this magic beast that looked like a puppy had lost and dropped in the ranks. And now, it had a stress-induced bald spot.

This clone of Alicetia was in charge of managing the magic beasts, so she had been searching for the treatment. There were hidden first-aid kits all over the castle for emergencies. However, even the real Alicetia didn’t remember what she had put in them. She randomly and whimsically stored medicines in them, so it couldn’t be helped.

Without hesitation, the clone used the hair growth tonic (Elixir of Life) on the magic beast. The bald patch disappeared and the fluff returned. Then, using a magic comb, she refined the restored fluff into an even more glorious state. Hair grown with the tonic was in a normal state, so she used the comb to turn it into the finest fur.

The beastkin let out sighs at the sight. The magic comb, a treasure to them, was being used on a magic beast. They couldn’t help but feel it was a bit wasteful.

The balding were crying, wondering why such a rare elixir was being used on a magic beast.

“So, what’s all the fuss about?”

“They’re saying we should hand Alice over to the Magic Kingdom. Of course, we have no intention of doing that.”

“So you’re the heinous criminal who stole our country’s technology. You will accompany us back to our kingdom!”

The Alicetia clone thought for a moment. She was considering whether there would be any benefit to the real Alicetia in going to the Magic Kingdom.

Then she walked over to Alicetia’s chair next to the throne, took out the “Continental Sweets Encyclopedia” hidden in the backrest, and started looking up Magic Kingdom desserts.

“There’s no reason for us to go to the Magic Kingdom. They don’t have any sweets we want to eat.”

“This isn’t a vacation!”

That’s right. What was stolen from the Magic Kingdom wasn’t magic technology. It was dessert recipes. The Special Service had researched sweets from across the continent to win Alicetia’s favor toward Arland, and after obtaining the recipes, they spread them to confectioneries in the capital. Naturally, all the sweets of the continent could be eaten in Arland. That’s why Alicetia had no interest in other countries.

Nowadays, intelligence agents were working undercover as confectioners in many countries. A sweets shop apparently makes a good cover.

“Damn it! How much more do you intend to mock me? I am the head of the Wind Ford family! You half-blood magician, don’t get so full of yourself!”

“That’s something a child would say. And I’ve never heard of your family.”

The clone looked at Gilbert.

“Well, they’re a family of wind magic users.”

“Hmph, I’m a much greater magician anyway, so it’s no problem. Just look at Mr. Coote—it’s obvious.”

It wasn’t clear what about Coote supposedly proved that Alicetia was the superior mage, but she was bursting with confidence for no good reason.

"You... you bastard..."

"This is getting annoying, so let's settle it with a duel. I'm busy too. Next up is the check-up for the kitty-cats."

Alicetia hated troublesome things. Duels were great. Win, and everything would be over. It ended quickly.

"Fine by me! I'll smash that arrogant nose of yours!"

Completely losing his rationality, Norman gripped his staff and shouted. He was a pure-blooded mage, the head of the Wind clan, and he’d just been utterly mocked. He had to show just how arrogant and conceited Alicetia was being.

And then, everyone around them turned pale. If she lost, Alicetia would be taken by the Magic Kingdom. But Alicetia whispered into Gilbert’s ear.

"I made the promise, but I never said it would be the real me. I'll disappear before I get to the Magic Kingdom, so there's no risk."

Yes, this was something the Alicetia clone had brought up. The real one was currently stuffing her face with cake.

Hearing this, Gilbert pushed back a little.

"If you're going to the Magic Kingdom, I'd rather you become mine."

"You're my brother, so you're in the brother category. Not happening."

Thus, the persistent siscon was defeated once more. And while they were setting the rules for the duel, Alicetia explained the behind-the-scenes situation to the other nobles, and they all accepted it—at least to a degree. Even if she lost the duel, they wouldn't actually lose Alicetia. Plus, they were getting tired of the whole thing and just wanted it over with.

Arland had no direct contact with the Magic Kingdom. They hadn’t really grasped how arrogant that country could be. Gilbert had heard reports, but he hadn’t thought they’d be dumb enough to be so outrageously rude in the audience chamber. He decided in his heart that they’d be banned from entering the country next time.

The rules were simple. Anything goes as long as you don’t kill the opponent. Using familiars or magic tools was perfectly fine.

The Alicetia clone, after some negotiation with the real Alicetia, summoned Titan, the No. 2 of the Woofers, as her familiar. Coote hadn’t agreed to be loaned out. She also managed to borrow the key to the Treasury.

No one knew that this key was the Devil's Key, containing a slew of cheat-level items. Inside the vault, Alicetia’s secret military factory had already been set up, and golems were producing weapons.

"If I win, I think I can call myself a Mage."

"... Yeah, that’s fair."

Gilbert agreed with an exasperated look. If she won, Alicetia would indeed be worthy of being called a mage.

The main reason she hadn't been considered a mage until now, aside from her age, was because it would be a pain if more marriage proposals came in. Given Alicetia's personality, there was always the chance she’d suddenly declare, “I’m marrying this guy,” so this was a preventative measure.

"Hmph, a magic beast? My familiar isn’t something some ground-crawling creature could ever defeat."

Norman began chanting. A magic circle appeared on the ground, and from it emerged a dragon. He had tamed a dragon—a creature known for its pride. This alone proved Norman’s excellence as a mage. Dragons were categorized as hatchlings, adult dragons, and ancient divine dragons. The dragon Norman had tamed was a hatchling around a hundred years old.

Seeing it, the Alicetia clone snorted. Compared to the gluttonous dragon currently munching on meat beside the real Alicetia, this thing was nothing. The nobles and knights familiar with Helios also scoffed.

“Titan, as Vice Commander Coote’s deputy, show them your strength.”

“Woof.”

Titan gave a heavy bark. His body rapidly swelled as he revealed his true form.

A giant wolf over 10 meters in length. Scars covered his body, a testament to countless battles. The aura of a true king flowed from him, terrifying the hatchling dragon.

The hatchling was a wind dragon named Leaf. He was male. From his point of view, this was the worst-case scenario. Responding to his master’s call, he emerged, only to face a beast he had no chance of defeating.

Yet, both Leaf and Norman had confidence that they could win. Alone, Leaf would be overpowered. But his master, Norman, wielded wind magic. Together, they could boost each other’s power. And once airborne, the sky was their domain. The terrifying beast before them didn’t look like it could fly.

"Begin!"

A knight announced the start. Norman ordered Leaf to fly.

Leaf unleashed a blast of wind and launched himself into the sky. With Norman’s support, he soared straight upward. But what he saw was a claw coming straight for his face.

The moment Leaf took off, Titan had already leapt. It happened in a flash. Neither Leaf nor Norman noticed. And when Titan’s dog punch landed on Leaf’s face, his head was blown off in an instant—killed on the spot.

As Leaf’s corpse plummeted to the ground, Norman, startled, calmly descended surrounded by wind. And then he realized—his familiar had been one-shotted.

"Impossible!"

Titan grabbed Leaf’s leg and dragged him into the shade, where crunching sounds could be heard. It was just a snack to him.

With that, Titan’s contract with the Alicetia clone ended. He hadn’t been summoned for the duel itself, but as a counter to Norman’s familiar. Incidentally, he was summoned simply with the line: “Wanna try eating a rare monster?” So he was no longer a combat asset. The clone had not been recognized as his master—she was merely respected.

"A weak little dragon like that is no match for Titan."

"Don’t you mock me!"

Norman's staff contained a high-level wind magic spell—Wind Blade, an upgraded version of Wind Cutter. He fired it straight at the seemingly overconfident Alicetia clone. Caught off guard, the clone was decapitated.

“Eh?”

Even Norman was stunned. She hadn’t defended herself at all. Her body caught the flying head and placed it back on the neck. No blood flowed, and it reattached immediately.

Everyone around them stood gaping in shock.

The Alicetia clone looked around, then frantically searched her pocket and pulled out a medal.

"If I hadn’t had this Mr. Coote Medal, I’d be dead!"

"Stop making up lies!”

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