It was another prosperous day in Wirth, imperial capital of the Adrasia Empire—one of the Vogel Continent's three most powerful empires, controlling the central region of the continent under the empire's symbol, a golden eagle.
Within this imperial capital's Adventurer's Guild, an imposing figure made his entrance.
"Whoa. That guy's the real deal."
"No kidding. That's a king minotaur horn."
"No way. That's an AAA-class rare monster. Did he kill one all by himself?"
From all around came murmured exclamations of surprise and awe. The center of everyone's attention was a black-clad mage, dragging a giant horn behind him. He was robed and outfitted entirely in black, with the sole exception of a distinctive silver mask.
The clerk at the front desk greeted him normally, showing no surprise at the familiar figure's entrance.
"Welcome back, Master Silver. Here is your reward."
Silver, SS-class adventurer. Just as always, the clerk addressed me by my alias and handed over my reward with a smile. The other adventurers present looked on with stunned expressions at the huge sum of money.
Of course, the sum was entirely deserved. King minotaurs were monsters individually specified by the Adventurer's Guild, with a sizable sum of prize money assigned as a bounty.
The creatures hadn't been found in imperial territory until fairly recently. After a large party of A-class adventurers from a neighboring country attempted but failed to exterminate the monsters, they crossed over into Adrasia, so I had taken on the task of killing them myself.
"Thanks. Appreciate it."
"Not at all. You've been a great help, as usual. We're all proud to have one of the only five SS-class adventurers right here in the capital!"
The brown-haired clerk replied with a bright smile.
I returned the compliment with a polite smirk, set down a few of the gold coins I'd just received, and then headed for the guild's exit.
"Umm... What's this for, Master Silver?"
"It's my treat to everyone here. Go get some drinks, on me. And next time you get a high-level quest, I'd appreciate being the first to hear about it."
"Oh, absolutely! No problem at all."
The clerk happily grabbed up the coins, and the other adventurers inside the guild responded with even greater whoops of glee.
As an adventurer, I only accepted advanced difficulty quests, and the guild in turn preferentially offered such quests to me. But some of my fellow adventurers didn't look so kindly on that. It was important to help them let off steam sometimes, all the more so given the level of caution I needed to maintain surrounding my identity.
Ruminating on that thought, I quickly left the guild hall and headed for my usual inn.
Once there, I removed my silver mask and black robe and changed into upper class garments. I always made an effort to be conscientious of my appearance in these parts.
"It would be a real outrage if it ever came out that an imperial prince was also an adventurer."
"Then I trust you'll take appropriate precautions, Your Highness."
The remark came from Sebastian, a steward who had been in employ since my mother's generation, and who had just appeared without a sound. Despite being over sixty years old, the blond-haired man had impeccable posture and wore his steward's uniform with style. As evidenced by his silent arrival, he was a formidable old man whose skills—far above and beyond that of a steward—remained razor-sharp. The steward was also warranted in his reply. My real name was Arnold Lakes Aadler, Seventh Imperial Prince of the Adrasia Empire.
"How many times do I have to tell you not to sneak up on me, Sebas?"
"Forgive me, Your Highness. It's hard to break old habits."
"I also don't need any lectures. I'm the Insipid Prince, remember? I can do whatever I want."
I had a younger twin brother. He was brave and valiant, a sharp thinker, and likable to boot. A genius who excelled at anything he did. Despite the two of us being identical in looks, while my brother was always the subject of high praise, I got told over and over again that I had no ambition, or that I wasn't enough of a man. The fact that he always had a long line of ladies hoping to be his fiancée was also a source of annoyance.
I, on the other hand, was the incompetent, spineless, good-for-nothing prince. As a kid, I did nothing but goof around. All of the many private tutors who attempted to teach me eventually gave up. Their criticisms of me soon spread throughout the imperial capital, and then the entire empire, earning me the nickname of the "Insipid Prince," my brother having taken all of the good qualities for himself. To this day, pretty much everyone in the castle looked at me with derision and insulted me behind my back.
No one expected anything of me. I may have been part of the imperial family, but only just so, at the very bottom of the pyramid. That's who I was as a prince.
"Don't fret about what all those simpletons say. No one knows your true power."
"It doesn't bother me, but that's still how I get treated. All I mean is, no one has the right to say anything about my obligations as a prince."
For all my bluster, even I had to admit that, deep down, it was a cowardly excuse; yet it was that very cowardly excuse that let me live my life freely. Still...
"I understand you feel that way, but at the moment, that's a luxury we cannot afford. Please return to the castle immediately."
"Why? What happened?"
"General Dominik has passed away."
"Really?"
General Dominik was an honored general of the Imperial Capital Garrison. He had already retired from service, but even without a particularly notable battle record, he had still managed to survive over fifty years fighting on the front lines. For his service, he had been appointed an honorary general and acted in a sort of adviser role for the empire.
The general was advanced in age and suffered from heart disease, but he wasn't sick enough that he should've died so suddenly. The word "assassination" immediately popped into my head.
"It must've been one of the 'Three'..."
"The details are unclear, but I don't expect there will be a search for the perpetrator."
General Dominik was outspoken and made many enemies, but there was only one possible reason he would have been assassinated. Recently, the general had become involved in the conflict for the imperial throne. While he had previously always criticized the various imperial princes and princesses, he had taken a liking to and begun backing one particular prince.
Those who saw that as dangerous—namely, the three front-runners for the emperor's throne—had had him assassinated. That's what I assumed, anyway. He was an honorary general, after all. His death wouldn't bring any substantial harm to the empire, and his passing would be filed away as a result of his heart disease. The only one who would come away disadvantaged was the prince who'd lost a supporter.
That prince was Leonard Lakes Aadler, Eighth Imperial Prince. My twin brother.
"Leo just naturally draws people onto his side. It's not like he purposefully tried to create influence in order to take the throne."
"Yes, but the fact that it was viewed as influence is the problem. Now, those contending for the throne see His Highness as an enemy."
Sebas' comment made me sigh. Among the heirs fighting for the throne, there were three top contenders: the Second Imperial Prince, the Second Imperial Princess, and the Third Imperial Prince. Each of the three possessed their own influence, and the possibility of one of them gaining the throne was extremely high.
All other heirs to the throne had two options. They could either back one of the three front-runners (or at least maintain neutrality), or they could take an opposition stance and aim to take the throne themselves.
Given the personalities of the top three contenders, those who chose the latter and lost would face at best exile, and at worst the death penalty. Their punishment would likely extend to all those related to them as well. In Leo's case, that would include our mother and myself.
Incidentally, Leo had ended up taking that latter option. There would be no point in trying to support one of the other heirs or proclaiming neutrality now. There was only one thing to do.
"We have to make sure Leo becomes the next emperor."
"Is becoming emperor yourself not a possibility?"
"Do I look like the emperor-type to you? I've spent my whole life foisting any annoying tasks onto my brother. He can take this one, too."
I wanted to spend a carefree life as an adventurer, but not engaging now would be a straight path to a death sentence. It would be a massive headache, but I had no other choice. It was time to start secretly working to put my brother on the throne.