It was then settled that Herscherik would learn the minimum swordsmanship and horseback riding required of his status. But even that, the instructor had warned him, would be difficult.
I wasn’t much for exercise in my previous life, but...
Herscherik slumped onto the couch in his room. He hadn’t expected all of his possible protagonist perks to be ruled out right off the bat. He’d had an inkling that this was the case, but now Herscherik was surer than ever that he was the runt of the royal family. If all the princes were characters in one of the romance games Ryoko used to play, she would have only gone for Herscherik to complete the set.
But I don’t have time to mope around.
There was nothing he could do about the things he wasn’t capable of. So, Herscherik was determined to do the things he could. Herscherik sat at the sofa by the well-lit window and opened the book he had borrowed from the library located within the royal quarters. It was definitely a children’s book, with many pictures and a large print that made for an easy read.
First things first, I have to learn to read.
While English wasn’t Ryoko’s forte, she always enjoyed reading. There had been several occasions when a foreign novel she had her eye on never got translated into Japanese, and she could do nothing but feel frustrated about it.
It was hard to make time when I had a job, but there’s plenty of that now that I’m a child.
He decided to read all the books it took to learn the language. Then he would do the same for math. From Ryoko’s experience, Herscherik knew that diving right into a subject would be the quickest way to improve.
From that day on, Herscherik spent most of the time outside of his tutoring sessions reading books on the couch by the window. Whenever there was something he didn’t know, he immediately asked Meria or his tutor, or he looked it up on his own. After dedicating himself to this for half a year, Herscherik could now at least read the words of a complex specialized book and knew what they meant.
Welcome to tonight’s episode of Midnight Investigative Journalism!
Herscherik silently narrated through the empty castle corridors at night like a TV journalist on a program Ryoko used to watch, holding the pocket watch up to his mouth in lieu of a microphone. After studying for half a year and having learned to read the language of this world, Herscherik was ready to make his next move.
Tonight, we’re diving into the Treasury Head Office, a cornerstone of our nation! Let’s go investigate!
Herscherik didn’t resort to narrating his way through the castle corridors like a TV host because he was afraid of the castle at night, or because he had discovered through his reading that evil spirits were a thing in this world... Not afraid at all, Herscherik kept telling himself.
It is pretty dark, though...
Herscherik timidly glanced to and fro. He couldn’t help but squeeze the pocket watch harder. Because of his urgent need to see Ruseria, he hadn’t realized the last time he was out that the castle corridors were not illuminated by anything but the moonlight pouring in through the windows.
In his previous life, the night was never too dark thanks to electric lights. In this world, though, there was no electricity. Only Floating Magic. Even though Herscherik couldn’t perform any magic himself, he did study the basics of it. One of the lessons was on Floating Magic. He had learned that two forms of magical power existed in this world: one stored within people and the other drifting through the air. The Magic Within was the equivalent of MP in video games. People expended this energy when they cast spells, and they recovered the energy by resting. The amount of Magic Within depended from person to person, and one could expand one’s maximum capacity through training.
Not me, though. Not the little magic-less prince.
Just as zero times one hundred was still zero, this wasn’t an option for Herscherik, who was born with no Magic Within whatsoever. In turn, the magical power in the air was called Floating Magic. This included all the magical fuel generated by the earth, sea, rivers, trees, etc. Just as trees generated oxygen through photosynthesis, all these things created magic. Floating Magic was then converted into various forms of energy: light to illuminate the streets or room, heat to boil water, cold air to cool a refrigerator, energy to move the water supply... In short, Floating Magic was like electricity that existed in the air.
It’s an incredibly eco-friendly energy source. Nature itself creates it, so there’s no pollution. There were no environmental issues in this world like the ones in Ryoko’s world. Although, Herscherik wondered if technology in this world just hadn’t evolved enough to be destructive to the planet.
He carried on down the corridor.
I finally made it... Herscherik looked up at the wooden door that looked exceedingly heavy. A sign on it read “First Treasury Office.” Herscherik pushed on the door with his tiny body. Since most doors in the castle were push-to-open, his short stature wasn’t a problem when it came to opening doors. There was a lock on the door, but it must have been left unlocked either by negligence or to allow access for the patrolling soldiers—fortunately for Herscherik. He made it into the room without an issue.
“Urgh...” As soon as he stepped into the room, Herscherik couldn’t help but groan. It was absurdly disorganized. What looked to be about ten desks put together were all stacked high with mountains of paper, all the piles converging with each other. At the other end of the room, he could see doors labeled “Storage,” “Head Treasurer,” and “Meeting Room.”
“How can you work with the place like this...?” Herscherik muttered out loud, Ryoko’s office-worker nature coming to the surface. Back at her job, Ryoko had kept every file in her computer meticulously organized, not to mention the top of her desk. She knew that organization led to efficient work. Not only was efficiency out of the window in this travesty of an office, but no one would even notice if some papers went missing. Herscherik braced his temples. This was the treasury of his nation at work.