<Granos' Point of View>
Amidst the commotion caused by the pet incident earlier today, I safely received the title of Advanced Pharmacist. As for the Supreme level, unlike Klein, I didn’t create any recipes of that rank, so I haven’t made any such potions.
Still, being an Advanced Pharmacist is more than enough.
Klein reaching Supreme was supposed to be a petty act of harassment by the Pharmacist Guild—but it spectacularly backfired on them.
Despite all the chaos, Klein was properly recognized as an Alchemist as well. However, when it comes to research reports and such, I suppose she’ll need to consult with our landlord before submitting anything.
“You’ve done well. Granos, remain here.”
After punishing the Tamer Guild, I thought we were done—but then I was told to stay behind in the audience chamber.
Even Celestite nodded, so it seemed I was the only one being summoned for something specific.
“Kaiya, I’m tired, you know.”
“I understand. But give it up—our father has called for you.”
I was instructed to change into formal attire, and while Klein and the others returned to the inn, I alone was guided to a dining hall.
Unexpectedly, the only one present was the King’s Younger Brother. Neither Kaiya nor Celestite were here. If it was going to be a private dinner, he could have at least warned me.
“Sorry for calling you like this, Granos.”
“Not at all. If it’s the King’s brother summoning me, I’ll always come.”
“Haha, no need to be so formal. I just wanted to talk. Ah, but first—thank you for handling the Tamer Guild today. Thanks to you, things are much easier now.”
“Even though it happened in your own territory, it’s not a problem?”
“Not at all.”
Since the trouble happened in Curanedes, I thought the prince might face some backlash himself. But apparently, it’s not an issue.
That only means his foundation is solid enough not to be shaken by something like this.
“Now then… there’s something I wanted to confirm with you.”
“...Confirm?”
He spoke heavily, with a serious expression.
Since he had gone so far as to exclude Klein from this conversation, I had already braced myself for something troublesome. But I still couldn’t guess what it was that he needed to confirm so gravely with me.
“It’s about the other day, when Crow warned Kaiya not to involve others. Despite that, I want you to be involved.”
Ah… it’s about Kaiya’s treatment, then.
Klein made a mess of things, Crow knows something, and Kaiya had silenced them. That alone guarantees it’s something serious.
Crow was protecting Klein, not me.
But I understand that just knowing about it is enough to make me a potential target. That’s exactly how big this problem must be—so big that Crow didn’t even inform me.
And now, since Kaiya can't handle it alone, this man has stepped in.
“If this is about cleaning up Klein’s mess, I’ll do anything necessary.”
“No, that’s not it. Perhaps I phrased it poorly… I’ve decided to seize the throne. And for that, I want your support.”
The words were clear: he intended to become King.
My eyes widened, but his gaze remained fixed on me, deadly serious.
“You’re kidding...”
“I’m afraid not. Things have reached the point of no return.”
I always thought he had no intention of becoming king.
If it weren’t for the chaos caused by those from another world, he would’ve just kept supporting his older brother.
But now he was using the word usurp, meaning he was prepared to drag the people into this and take the throne by force.
“Can I ask why?”
“Does that mean you’ll cooperate?”
“…Yeah. If my help is needed, I’ll cooperate.”
So this was the reason Crow said not to get me involved.
If I got dragged into it, we wouldn’t be able to handle it. That’s why he asked for safety in exchange for the information.
If I respected Crow’s intent, then I probably shouldn’t get involved.
“Don’t involve Klein or Crow. If it’s just me, I’ll help. …You don’t want me acting alone either, right?”
There have been all sorts of rumors about me. I’ve even heard things from Nebia. But the bad press about Medicier isn’t strong enough to drag the prince down.
That said, Medicier’s achievements also reflect well on the prince.
If I were to act on my own without coordination, it would be a problem for the prince—especially now that he’s aiming for the throne.
“You’re exactly right. It would be troublesome if you acted independently and disrupted our plans. But asking you to do nothing seems to lead to you getting involved anyway.”
“I don’t think I’m the one being dragged in though…”
“I’m not blaming you. Thanks to the incident with Count Wald’s family, we were able to start a nationwide review of the Adventurer’s Guild structure. The Pharmacist Guild got targeted for investigation due to the issue with Pharmacist Pamela. And with today’s event, the Tamer Guild will also be investigated.”
From a ruler’s perspective, profession guilds can be a double-edged sword. If they rebel and there’s no local branch, it hinders development.
On the other hand, if a cooperative relationship is established, they can become powerful allies. But if they get too close, corruption spreads—so a balanced distance is ideal.
Currently, the Adventurer and Pharmacist Guilds are under scrutiny, and the Tamer Guild is about to follow, with investigations spreading to other branches.
If their weaknesses are known, they won’t be able to oppose the prince’s claim to the throne once he moves.
“I’m surprised you got approval to investigate all the kingdom’s guilds. Isn’t that the foundation of the realm?”
“With everything from dealing with outsiders to negotiating with other countries, my brother left too much to the Prime Minister. Under normal circumstances, maybe not—but during chaos, he couldn’t afford to carry out investigations. He handed over investigative authority quite easily. Then, after dismissing the Prime Minister, he lost control of everything.”
I’d heard the Prime Minister was dismissed, but it turns out the stage is fully set for a usurpation—and that suits us just fine.
The commercial guilds are cooperating with the prince’s faction thanks to Medicier’s influence. Even the Alchemy Guild is leaning that way—enough to place commissions with Klein. The Adventurer, Pharmacist, and Tamer Guilds can’t oppose openly because of their recent scandals.
Even if some guilds oppose the usurpation, the prince has likely secured support from over half already.
“So your decision to aim for the throne came because you had a chance of winning over the guilds?”
“That’s just a bonus. The real problem lies with the nobles… Klein un-cursed Kaiya, who was believed to be sick. That caused utter chaos.”
I’d confirmed directly with Klein that she didn’t have any particular agenda in healing Kaiya’s illness. She just thought that if she figured out what kind of illness it was, she could avoid getting it herself—nothing more than curiosity.
But her spontaneous action apparently turned into a major turning point.
“Thanks to Crow, we were able to uncover the full truth. Kaiya wasn’t sick—he was cursed. I’ll skip the details, but it was a royal curse. All of Kaiya’s SP that didn’t grow was being siphoned and converted into the First Prince’s SP. …After the curse was reversed, his body is barely functioning. It’s a miracle he’s alive.”
Because of Klein’s curse reversal, the First Prince is now covered in dark marks all over his body and reportedly can’t move on his own anymore.
He’s alive, but the curse is still draining his SP. Once he loses the ability to recover, his life force will be eaten away, and death is inevitable.
“That’s not all. Thanks to Crow, we’ve identified everyone involved in cursing Kaiya. Every one of them now has black marks on part of their body. Unlike the First Prince, who was the recipient, we’ve already captured several of them and got them to confess to other crimes.”
The First Prince is just the worst case. Many of the court mages who were part of the curse reversal were also affected. Even after a month, things are still in chaos.
The “other crimes” refer to other victims besides Kaiya. And these children weren’t limited to the prince’s faction either.
“One of the victims was the Prime Minister’s grandson—a supporter of the king, not involved in any of this. Even families unrelated to the curse are switching allegiance because they no longer trust the royal family.”
“Are they idiots?”
The Prime Minister’s grandson wasn’t targeted by royal orders. But there are plenty of houses that view the Prime Minister as a nuisance.
It turns out rogue court mages, particularly those from families that held a grudge against the Prime Minister, were responsible.
Even among the court mages, there are factions. The innocent ones are resigning and fleeing. The king is desperately trying to calm things down, but without a Prime Minister capable of doing that, he’s at a dead end.
It’s become impossible to cover up. The court mages are no longer functioning as a unit. The knights are barely maintaining order, but many of them are noble-born, and if their families feed them information, they’ll distance themselves from the royal family.
Under the surface, there’s a growing movement among the nobles to dethrone the king. If the prince doesn’t rise up, the country will collapse into chaos.
“What about the Second Prince?”
“He’s no good either.”
The Second Prince also temporarily showed black marks, so he’s considered complicit in the curse on noble children. There’s no chance he’ll be recognized as the successor.
“Temporarily?”
“Most likely, he had a higher-ranking priest than the one who first did the curse removal erase the marks. Or maybe he used an outsider. I haven’t investigated the treatment method too deeply.”
“Ah… if it gets out that the Holy Theocracy was involved in national-level cursing, that’d be a diplomatic disaster.”
“It’s already too late. There’s no one who can erase the black marks from Kaiya’s case. That girl is incredibly skilled… At this point, the only way to erase the evidence is to kill everyone involved—including the First Prince.”
If the curse is reversed, whether or not marks appear depends on the caster’s skill.
The fact that none of the marks on Kaiya’s group have disappeared… means no one better than Klein exists.
"…When will the regime change happen?"
"We're solidifying things right now, but within the year… Sorry to drag you into this, but let me make a promise. As long as the Medicea family supports the Prince, we will protect Lady Klein and her companions. I also promise we won't force her into nobility if she doesn't want it. Naturally, we'll protect her from the Holy Kingdom as well."
"That helps a lot."
"Though, I’d like to avoid having her officially titled and treated as a Royal Palace Apothecary."
"Well, that’s to be expected."
He probably doesn’t intend to stop being an apothecary. And if Raz becomes the king’s son, then of course his title would reflect that.
If Klein's position remains as Raz's exclusive apothecary, she probably won’t complain.
"We'll prepare a new identity for you. If you wish, we can grant you a new noble title."
"By 'new,' do you mean Granos Medicea is going to die?"
"Exactly. I’d like you to make that sacrifice."
"…You mean you want me to die?"
"Officially, yes. Granos Medicea will be declared dead."
"Who else knows about this?"
"Kaya came up with the plan. No one else knows."
Well, of course. Who casually suggests killing a friend? I knew he was that kind of person, though.
If it’s going to be official, then I can’t just disappear in a dungeon or something vague. It has to be a clear, undeniable death.
"So, does that mean you already have a specific plan in mind?"
"You'll be assassinated in public. I believe that’s the best route."
"By the king’s order?"
"Yes. It’ll be evident to everyone that the king was in the wrong. That’s the quickest way to seize power."
So, in addition to the behind-the-scenes work, they want to show the people a clear reason.
Rather than just about me, I’m sure they also want to pile everything on this—including the harassment against my master. We also want to protect our master’s honor.
"Will just denouncing my death be enough to make this work?"
"Your death is just the trigger. Would you like to hear the rest of the plan?"
"Yeah, please."
My death is a performance. Severing the Medicea line, which is popular among commoners, is a move to win their support. Despite my achievements, I’ll be crushed—a deliberate political blunder, it seems.
The groundwork with the nobles is already done.
Even the royalist faction can’t defend this situation, but if word of the curse spreads to the commoners, it’ll be bad. To justify the transfer of royal power in a way that makes sense to the people, they’ll use this as public grounds to criticize the royal family.
"…Alright. I already accepted that my life would be targeted. I planned to disappear quietly, but if a clear death is better, I don’t mind. Just don’t actually kill me."
"Of course. If we did that, your little sister would likely rebel. I’ll definitely make sure you’re saved."
"Understood."
Klein won’t side with whoever kills me.
But she probably won’t go so far as to take up arms. She’d likely give up on us—including Raz—and escape the kingdom.
"I want information about the nobles involved in harassing our master."
"Here. These are the ones who interfered with obtaining Nectar of Serenity for Kaya."
I skim the documents handed to me. Neither the Prince’s faction nor the royalist faction are involved. They probably just wanted Kaya to die before her curse was exposed, since she lived so long.
"…Are there any houses we should avoid blaming?"
"Do as you see fit. I’ll cover for you."
He probably already knows what I plan to do. I appreciate that he leaves it to me, even with a wry smile.
Future reports can continue to go through Kaya, just like before.
After finishing our private meal, I returned to the prepared room—and soon, Kaya came in.
"Yo… I hear you proposed my death."
"Yeah. My father originally planned to grant you an earlship."
"I see… With my achievements, that could happen if he became king."
"You’d be troubled either way, right? So, I decided to use it effectively."
Well, if I’m going to disappear anyway, I understand wanting to make the most of it.
I’m not going to criticize him for it, but he could’ve talked to me in advance. Then again, he probably wasn’t planning to tell even Celestite.
"…We won’t be able to meet so casually anymore."
"About that—after Granos is declared dead, would you become my aide and knight?"
"…Short on manpower until things settle down, huh?"
"I spent most of my time bedridden. Raz ran away from home and isn’t attending the academy. I lack trustworthy people."
Even if Celestite becomes king, it’ll be a problem if his supporting brothers don’t have proper aides. But as more people try to cozy up to him, he can just pick out the capable ones.
"I want to check on Klein and the others at least once a month."
"That’s fine. But please refrain during times with ceremonies and such."
"Ceremonies?"
"Father and brother will move to the capital. I’ll go with them. I can’t attend ceremonies without a knight. Also, Raz will be named the duke overseeing this land. How about acting as a knight who delivers messages for Raz and inspects various regions?"
"…You want me doing inspections too?"
"You think she’ll stay put in that place? This gives you a reason to go with her."
True enough. It’s not out of the question.
She’ll go get what she needs herself if necessary. If that’s the case, a knight under Kaya with freedom to travel makes sense. Though, I doubt I’ll have much free time to spare.
"You’ll protect the Medicea who’s become a commoner, right?"
"If you’re worried, I can assign people too. But she wouldn’t want that, would she? That remote place is hard to investigate anyway."
"True. We’ve prepared so we can handle attacks too."
The area is built to be hard to sneak into or investigate. Plus, if someone picks a fight with us, they might lose access to medicine and ingredients.
If the prince becomes king, he’s not going to antagonize his favorite household.
"…Five years. I’ll serve under you."
"Hmm? Time-limited?"
"Five years should be enough to settle things. Also, serving a friend is… well, you know."
"You can balance the roles. Something happening in five years?"
"Who knows. There are people who had hopes for me… and clearing dungeons around the world sounds kind of fun."
"I see. You don’t have to quit being a knight to do that, though. Conquer dungeons while staying in the role. Let’s start with five years. Things may change during that time."
"…True enough."
Being a knight doesn’t really suit me.
But I get that he wants a trustworthy bodyguard. Ideally, I’d want to stay with Klein and the others… but either way, it’ll be tough unless the world settles down.
If that’s the case, then being close to the center of power might actually be a good thing.
It’s not a bad proposal. As a sign of agreement, we poured wine into each other’s glasses and toasted.
The next day, I suffered from a headache thanks to a hangover—but since I didn’t have to do any mixing or work, it wasn’t too bad.
I should probably start keeping hangover remedies around whenever I drink.