A reserved knock echoed in the room, alerting the room’s owner.
“Come in, Herscherik.”
The boy closed the book he had been reading, placed it to the side, and called out towards the door. There was only one person who would visit him at this time without an invitation and make such a reserved knock. As such, he could guess who was behind the door.
“Excuse me. I’m coming in, Eutel.”
Seeing his youngest brother open the door and pop his head through, the room’s owner named Eutel smiled and greeted him.
“Thank you for always coming to visit me. I’m sorry that I can’t get out of bed.”
“Don’t say that! I’m the one bothering you, so please don’t push yourself.”
Seeing his older brother lower his head to apologize, Herscherik quickly shook his head to say no.
His name was Eutel Greisis, the fifth prince of the Greisis Kingdom and currently fifteen years old. His wavy hair, lavender like periwinkles, was tied up and reached his shoulders. His deep blue eyes gave off the impression of a cold-hearted prince.
Yet, his facial expressions were soft, completely overwriting that initial cold impression. Eutel was another picturesque member of the royal family, but he presently had sunken cheeks and even paler skin.
He had been confined to his bed by the window ever since falling sick from a summer fever last year.
“How are you feeling?”
Herscherik worriedly rushed to his side, so Eutel greeted him again with a smile.
“I’m fine. Today’s weather is good, so I also feel good.”
Eutel said with a smile, but Herscherik found it painful to look at his brother’s emaciated face.
Still, he couldn’t voice his feelings. He simply smiled in return.
“That’s good. Oh, I brought some sweets Schwartz made. Please have some when you feel better.”
Herscherik took out a paper bag that held Kuro’s homemade cookies with nuts. By the way, they were the same ones Herscherik enjoyed during his 3-o’clock snack time.
“Thank you. All of the sweets your butler makes are delicious. Ah, that reminds me. He isn’t here with you today?”
“Yes. My two aides have other business to attend to.”
Escorting Herscherik wasn’t their sole duty.
Kuro was a businesslike butler who took care of Herscherik’s matters on the surface while gathering all sorts of information in the background.
On the other hand, Oran’s main duty was to escort, but since the Military Bureau knew of his abilities, he would receive requests several times a week to participate in the soldiers’ and knights’ training. Oran’s words himself were: “I don’t mind sparring with soldiers and knights, but it’s tough dealing with my older brothers more than I have to.” His brothers couldn’t be dealt with normally and said that their younger brother was the perfect training partner.
(Besides, my aides told me not to leave the castle today.)
This would make anyone wonder who was the master and who were the servants, but Herscherik didn’t care about that. Besides, he was aware of how delicate his current situation was.
Gossip surrounding his engagement to the minister’s daughter had already spread throughout the castle and among the aristocrats. The decision hadn’t been finalized yet, but everyone around him looked at him as if he was already engaged. He had even received tributes from several aristocrats who wanted to curry favor, although he had returned the items along with a letter to the sender that said doing this was inconvenient. So, while it was fortunate that the senders didn’t contact him after that, he was still bombarded by curious looks.
Moreover, his life was already targeted several times after carrying out his Venture Strategy. Whenever he went out, there would be people hired to assassinate him and disguise his death as an accident, so he could no longer simply go outside the castle by himself like before.
(As expected, I don’t want to die… If only I could fight or use magic, then I could protect myself.)
Herscherik was a bit aggravated by his lack of fighting capabilities and secretly let out a sigh. He didn’t have any magic training due to his lack of mana, but he did continue training his swordsmanship and horsemanship from three years old.
(People say that hard work will be rewarded, but I’m really not making any progress…)
His swordsmanship was beyond abysmal, and his horsemanship was only at the level where he could finally pull off a canter by himself.
(I’m too embarrassed to say that I achieved this after four years of work.)
Herscherik silently wept in his heart.
The only thing he was allowed to do by himself today was to visit Eutel.
(Eutel really doesn’t look very well.)
Eutel had been bedridden for half a year already. He was born with a weak body but was healthy enough to attend classes. So, when Herscherik heard that his brother fell sick last summer, he immediately thought of the worst—that disease that only affects the royal family.
But his worry was needless. According to the doctor’s diagnosis, an imbalance between the prince’s vessel and mana caused his health to decline.
Herscherik had no mana, but he knew that the amount of mana possessed by the denizens of this world differed from person to person. Inside everyone’s body was a vessel to hold that mana and was different from the other internal organs. The amount of mana at your disposal can never exceed the vessel’s capacity, so if Herscherik related this to gaming terms, it would be like having a maximum amount of MP.
But, on rare occasions, mana would overflow from the vessel. The body wouldn’t be able to handle it, just like what happened to Eutel.
The royal doctor had said, “This isn’t a problem that can be resolved by a doctor or medicine…”
There were two solutions: to wait for the vessel to naturally acclimate or to train to increase its maximum capacity. But acclimation was pointless if your mana continued to increase before your vessel could grow, and training was likely to conversely harm Eutel, whose body was originally weak. In the end, Eutel was left confined to his bed to wait for his health to slowly recover.
“Herscherik, you’re wrinkling your brow again.”
Eutel pointed his index finger at his younger brother’s brow after his youngest brother suddenly became quiet. He chuckled while using his finger to loosen the folds.
“I’m sorry…”
Even though Herscherik came to visit him, he ended up worrying his older brother. He was getting his priorities backwards.
“Herscherik, you think too much. I’m fine, okay?”
Herscherik could only nod after seeing Eutel’s smile.
“Besides, you’ve got a lot on your hands now, don’t you, Herscherik? I heard that the venomous minister requested a marriage meeting.”
“Umm.”
Herscherik hesitated to respond to Eutel’s inquiry. He was surprised that not only his engagement but also the word ‘venomous minister’ came out from his mild-natured brother’s mouth.
Just then, a knock, more powerful than Herscherik’s, echoed in the room. After Eutel invited the guest, there were now three brothers inside the room.
“Will, how was work?”
“I’ve got some business to handle. Eutel, how are you feeli— Huh, you came again, Herscherik?”
The brother first called out to Eutel before throwing a casual look at Herscherik. This person was William Greisis, the second prince of the Greisis Kingdom. His long, silver hair, the same color as their father’s, was tied into a braid that flowed down his back. His deep blue eyes felt as cold as ice as they pierced into Herscherik. Unlike Eutel’s soft facial expressions, William’s were as cold as his eyes.
“Good day, William.”
Bathed in that cold glare, Herscherik quickly bowed. William glanced at him before promptly returning to look at Eutel. Compared to the way he looked at Herscherik, his eyes were warm when looking at Eutel. Herscherik could even feel the temperature increase by several degrees.
William and Eutel were siblings who shared the same mother which was probably why the two were closer to each other than they were with their other siblings.
(Well, I had expected there to be some kind of distance between half-siblings…)
Herscherik sighed in his head. Still, this time felt different from before. He had never been treated this coldly. If communicating with the triplets was a rush, then communicating with William felt wintry.
(Did I do something to him?)
Herscherik reflected on all of his actions so far but had no idea what it could be. Instead, he was surprised at how little contact he had with William. There was no point in thinking about it anymore, so he decided to leave for the day, not wishing to be a nuisance in their conversation. He headed towards the door to leave Eutel’s bedroom.
He opened and closed the door behind him without making a sound. With the door at his back, he secretly let out a sigh but noticed that someone else was standing in front of him, waiting.
He was reminded of Shiro the cat as soon as he saw this person. That was the name of a stray cat with white hair and golden eyes that hung out in his neighborhood in his past life. Ryouko decided on the name Shiro herself. On her way back from work, she would spot Shiro looking down at her from on top of a fence. When she called out to it, it meowed back as if to welcome her back.
Herscherik didn’t know why he recalled this memory, but this person who caught his eye as soon as he opened the door was exactly like Shiro.
The person was slightly taller than Ryouko. Their straight hair that reached down their back was pure white. Their golden eyes resembled amber stones. Their pale skin was immaculate, like a blessing from a goddess. This was how beautiful they were, enough to make anyone fall for them with a simple smile. Yet, their well-defined eyebrows were furrowed and their gaze averted. This was what made the person resemble Shiro.
(To think there is someone as beautiful as Father and my brothers.)
Being exposed to a diversity of beauties after reincarnating, Herscherik was confident in his expert eyes. The person in front of him was on the same level as the royal family, no, the perfect beauty of this woman exceeded them.
(A truly gorgeous woman… Wait, woman?)
Herscherik tilted his head. This peerless beauty in front of him looked like a woman, but there was something essential missing. Their wrists were dainty underneath the several bracelets and white robe, and their entire body was skinny though still within the range of healthy. However, the necessary pieces of meat were missing.
(Isn’t she lacking breasts…?)
No, this wasn’t a case of having small ones. The place where they should be was depressingly flat.
(No, it can’t be…)
Herscherik timidly shifted his gaze from the person’s chest to their face.
“What?”
The voice that came out from those well-defined lips was rather high-pitched but undoubtedly belonged to a man.
(Transcending worlds and even gender…?! This fantasy world has all sorts of freedom, doesn’t it?!)
As Herscherik shouted this in his mind, he wanted to cry.
“Hey, now. You’re being rude to His Highness.”
Herscherik looked over from the beautiful man, whom he thought was a beautiful woman, to the other voice. Walking over to them was a middle-aged man around his forties and dressed in a graceful, white vestment. His brown hair streaked with gray hung out from underneath his hat, the same color as the rest of his vestment. The wrinkles by the corner of his eyes made his facial expressions look soft.
The man knelt before Herscherik, allowing their eye levels to match.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Prince Herscherik. My name is Hoenir. I am in charge of the branch of the Holy Light Church in the Greisis Kingdom.”
Herscherik recognized the name of this smiling man.
The most prevalent religious organization in this world was the Holy Light Church. The group worshipped a multitude of gods with their creator god at the center. The creator god oversaw the Garden in Heaven and had many subordinate gods. Together, they maintain balance in the world. This was written in their scripture.
Believers typically worshipped the creator god and their own god. For example, a farmer would worship the creator god and the goddess of the harvest. A fisherman, the goddess of the sea. A knight, the god of war and victory. The deity would change with each person.
The faith in this world meant worshipping the chief god and a deity the believer wished to have their divine blessing.
By the way, Herscherik didn’t subscribe to any religion since people were free to choose their own in this world.
“It’s nice to meet you, Lord Hoenir.”
Herscherik showed a charming smile. But, the man’s eyes radiated a light as if indicating that he wouldn’t miss a single movement from the prince.
(This man, Archbishop Hoenir…)
Roughly a year ago, Herscherik discovered a link between the drugs and the Church. However, no matter how much he and this team investigated, they couldn’t secure any decisive evidence. In the end, they could only obtain publicly-known information.
“Our absolute lack of information just shows how perfectly they control the flow of info.”
Herscherik recalled Kuro’s growling. Kuro added that finding this obvious info was conversely suspicious.
(To think that I would meet him here.)
“Why are you here, Lord Hoenir?”
The man visiting the fifth prince in his room was an issue.
“I…”
“Herscherik!”
Having his name said in such a strong tone caused Herscherik to flinch. When he turned around, he saw William standing there, his graceful face filled with anger.
“Do you have something to say to my guest?”
The gaze from his dark blue eyes felt like blades of ice piercing Herscherik. Herscherik couldn’t understand why William was so angry. But, before he could ask, Hoenir opened his mouth first. As if to protect Herscherik, he stood in front of William and politely bowed.
“Prince William, I was the one who spoke to Prince Herscherik. I apologize.”
“…That’s so?”
When Hoenir apologized, William knit his brows and looked like he wanted to click his tongue. Hoenir faced Herscherik again with a broad grin.
“Your Highness Herscherik, I have come to treat the ailing Prince Eutel.”
“…Is that so?”
While glancing at William across Hoenir’s shoulder, Herscherik tilted his head.
“May I ask what treatment you’re giving?”
The drug popped in Herscherik’s head for a moment, but Hoenir maintained his smile, as if clarifying the question. He then continued.
“I am a practitioner of the spiritual branch of healing magic.”
“Is that…so?”
As Herscherik didn’t have any mana, he only possessed basic knowledge of magic. But, he did know that practitioners of healing magic who can heal people’s bodies were scarce.
Back when he played games in his past life, he would use recovery magic in the beginning. Rather, it would be difficult to play without it. But, the recovery magic of the games was known as healing magic in this world, and the number of humans who could use it was extremely low. Healing magic was as the name implied. It mostly focused on healing physical injuries, but your mana needed a special trait in order to use the magic. One in every ten thousand people were born with that trait in their mana, but the person’s ability to use magic to heal was also a factor. It appeared that even if you have the unique mana to do it, you wouldn’t be able to heal any injury if you don’t have the ability. Moreover, the more advanced the healing magic, the closer your knowledge had to be to that of a doctor.
Besides, practically all the magicians who could use advanced healing magic were affiliated with the Church since they monopolized all information about healing magic and spiritual magic.
(A practitioner of healing magic who is capable of handling people’s bodies, especially those with complicated cases like Eutel’s…)
This showed how powerful Hoenir was.
“Herscherik, Sir Hoenir is going to treat Eutel now. You can leave for today.”
“…I understand.”
At William’s order, Herscherik obediently nodded. He had no other option but to nod.
(It’s fine. Healing magic cannot ever harm the human body.)
Herscherik told himself. As he was about to leave the room, Hoenir pulled him back.
“Prince Herscherik, do you have some time?”
“Um, yes?”
Herscherik answered the smiling Hoenir. However, Herscherik felt a different type of questionability from his smile when compared to Barbasse’s.
“You too. Come over here.”
The beautiful woman, no, the beautiful man had been staring outside the window up until now until Hoenir called him over.
With an unpleasant look still on his face, the young man walked over to Hoenir’s side. He looked down at Herscherik for a moment before quickly returning to look at Hoenir.
“Prince Herscherik, this is my adopted son. Because he spends practically all his time at the church, he doesn’t know much of the world. I had him accompany me today to show him the outside world, but as expected, I cannot allow him to be present while I treat the fragile Prince Eutel.”
Hoenir continued with that warm smile still on his face. He didn’t seem to mind that the expression of the beautiful man beside him became grimmer.
“Prince Herscherik, if it’s fine with you, can you please show him around the castle?”
Herscherik pondered for a bit after seeing this smile.
(Is this a second result of the Venture Strategy?)
Just like Minister Barbasse and the Church, why did it seem like they had their responses planned? But, Herscherik couldn’t let this opportunity escape him.
“Yes, I would love to.”
Herscherik nodded, showing Hoenir an innocent, childish smile.
The beautiful man’s face became even grimmer, but Herscherik didn’t care.
He also didn’t notice how William, who was behind Hoenir, also had a similarly grim expression.
Towards the Sky 
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