The Strongest Dull Prince’s Secret Battle for the Throne

Chapter 27: People have things they are not good at

New episode

The shape of the Vogel continent is sometimes described as a bird with its wings spread.

The land that spread to both left and right side combining with the one that protrudes slightly on the north and south side appeared exactly like wings, head, and tail of a bird.

At the center/torso of the Vogel continent, is the Adraxia Empire. 

The place that Leo and I were dispatched to is located at the tail.

The name of that country is the Principality of Rondine. It is one of the two countries situated in the tail part of the continent.

One of the two countries that survived the Southern Warring period huh

I am reading the document about the said country on top of a ship.

It is an imperial envoy fleet led by Leo on his mission as the ambassador plenipotentiary.

It consists of two vessels, each carrying gifts for Rondine.

Just in case of an accident, I and Leo are on a different ship. Well, this is a moderately calm sea so nothing should happen.

But theres one person who is currently relentlessly shaking on my ship.

If you already shaking this much on such a calm sea, you wont be able to visit any other ones you know?

I, I dont even want to visit one in the first place..

That person was Elna who is covering herself in a blanket on top of her bed.

Why is she shaking so much and why is she here in the first place?

Well, it will be quite a lengthy explanation.

Normally, an ambassador plenipotentiary would be escorted by a member of the Imperial knight order. The reason Elna is here is simply because she was nominated. This must be an act to separate those who support us from the Imperial capital. Well, I was anticipating that and already had Lynfia stationed with Finne in advance so things should be fine.

Well, sending a person of the Brave house who can wield holy sword away from the Empire is already a problem in and of itself but it also has the benefit of showing how serious we are willing to exhibit our goodwill.

In the end, Father accepted that suggestion to send her with us but he must have already realized that it was a hand they played.

Incidentally, A person from the Brave house that can use the holy sword is one of the Empires most important war potential. Sending such a person to another country will lessen the Empires option to defend itself in case other nations choose to attack us. Thats one problem. Another one is that the Brave house cant use the power of the holy sword outside the Empires ground without the Emperors permission. It was a safety measure taken in case the Brave house betrayed the Empire and was accepted by their first-generation head.

I didnt look deeply into this. It is rare for a person from the Brave house to head outside the Empires territory after all.

Curse them! I wont forget this grudge..! I will never forgive those three..!

You dont sound convincing when you are shaking so much though.

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And, the reason why she is shaking like this now is because she is simply afraid of the sea.

Elna is fine with baths but shes the type that turned useless in rivers and ocean. Its something called Aquaphobia I think. To the almost perfect Elna, one could say that this is her only weakness. Even though Elna herself hates losing, this is the one weakness that she couldnt overcome.

Looking at the sea, she will start feeling nausea and dizziness due to anxiety and when she gets on a ship her body cant stop shaking due to her unexplainable fear. If she went to the deck right now she would probably faint from shock.

But well, you sure hid it well up until now huh? I thought for sure that its already exposed you know.

A person from the Brave house who can use the holy sword will not often leave the EmpireSince I know that the Empires territory is mostly in-land I desperately summoned the holy sword when I was twelve..I dont want to get on a ship after all..

Elna sheds a small tear.

The first person who summoned the holy sword for such an idiotic reason is probably Elna. Rather than that, I smirk at how useless her effort has now become.

Y, you smiled just now right..!? What are you doing that for when your childhood friend is trembling in fear like this!?

If anyone knew how you became so afraid of water then they would do it too. Especially me.

A. Al, you also have some responsibilities on this, arent you..!? I was so scared of it now because of how I saw you drown you know..!

Exactly, it was around when I was eight years old. I was taking a bath with Elna, at that time, it seems I said something that annoyed her and ended up eating a body blow from her. After that, I fainted and sank down in the bath. I almost drowned back then.

And when that happened she freaked out for some reason and ended up afraid of water ever since.

Thats the most unreasonable cause ever. Her unreasonableness wouldnt be beaten by any Tyrant out there.

You were just suffering the consequences of your own actions. Normally, it wouldnt be weird if I am the one who ends up scared of water you know. Its a divine punishment, yeah clearly a divine punishment.

Uuuuuu..you are enjoying this too much..

Before I notice, Elna is already weakly half-crying.

Seriously, if you are that scared then you should just decline the nomination in the first place.

Just why did you come with me.

I think that if you talk to Father, he would consider let you off though?

It, it will become a scandal if people know that the daughter of the Brave house is afraid of water.! B, besides, if I told him that I am afraid of going to the sea then it would feel like I lost right.

Just what are you competing at, seriously..

When I was astounded by her words, the ship shook a little.

It wasnt shaking a lot but it seemed Elna is taking it as a huge impact.

KYAAAAA!!?? Ouch!?

She rolled around her small bed, struck her head and now crouching in pain.

This scene is absolutely impossible to witness on land so it felt rather refreshing seeing her like this now.

You really are useless on water huh. If we were attacked by pirates then it would be over for us right?

D, dont look down on me! If push comes to shove, I..! KYAAAAA!!?? That was a big one, wasnt it!? Did it make a hole in the ship!?

If push comes to shove then you will totally be useless right. I guess that it wont come to that but it would be a different story if a Sea Dragon showed up though.

The scariest thing on the sea is the Sea Dragon, the king of the sea.

It is a dragon that adapts to the sea and is the highest class of monsters that are rampaging in the ocean. Its horror is stronger than its land counterpart. There are countless sailors who died by getting their ship sunk in the middle of the sea after all.

Fleets of two opposing nations engaging in a naval battle were sometimes sunk together by it. Naturally, Elna must have known of such a horror story as well.

Once she heard the word Sea Dragon, the look on her face was like her mind was completely broken.

Am I..going to die here?

You are not going to die, idiot. You looked like a completely different person. Is that the face of an Imperial knight. Even if you have some obstacle in your mission, it is still the mission you accepted right.

But

Haa..

Well, it doesnt like I dont understand not wanting to show your weakness. Moreover, its not like we have to fight anything in the middle of the ocean and I cant imagine a pirate deliberately attacking such a well-guarded fleet either.

If we get on land, Elna will return to her usual self. Lets stop bullying her for now.

Feeling refreshed after having plenty of revenge, I secretly cast a barrier around Elna. Its a barrier that cuts her off from the outside. With this, the shaking she has to deal with will get a little better. Normally I wouldnt be able to use it without her noticing but it should be fine since the current Elna wouldnt be able to notice the barrier.

Th, the shaking subsided a little hasnt it.

It didnt shake that strongly in the first place though.

A, Al, you are too carefree. What would you do if the ship sunk?

In the long history of the Empire, there are only two incidents that an envoy ship sunk you know.

But theres no guarantee that today will not be the third time right.?

Unlike usual, she is annoyingly negative in her thinking. Why are you scared of the thing I said to reassure you?

Its no use no matter what I say huh. Lets scare her more then.

When I was having that thought, I heard a modest knock from the door.

Elna reacts scarily even to that knocking sound. Since shes in no shape to answer the door, I do it in her stead.

When I did, a middle-aged knight who is Elnas subordinate came in.

Come in.

Excuse me Um, wheres Captain?

St, still breathing..

Will you be alright going to the deck?

Are you telling me to die..!? I will get blown off the deck by the wind and drown wont I..!

You think we are in the middle of a storm or something? Its sunny today you know. Seriously.well, its as you see.

When I looked at the knight with the tired look on my face, the knight made a bitter smile. As expected, it seems her direct subordinate knows about her phobia. Well, she cant possibly hide it that well anyway.

I will just make my report in that case. A ship from the Principality of Albatro is asking for a dialogue. For the time being, both our and Prince Leonards ship have been anchored but what should we do next?

Principality of Albatro is it. So we already entered their waters huh.

The Principality of Albatro is a country that is located next to the Principality of Rondine. It is a maritime nation and a country with extensive sea trading. Their relationship with the Empire was estranged because they allied themselves in a war with the enemy of the Empire in the past.

To request a dialogue at this time, it seems they dont want us to head to Rondine huh. Instead of a talk, this must essentially be an inspection.

H, have the knights stay inside their room.its not good to agitate them

I agree. What did Leo say about this?

That is.it seems Prince Leonard is feeling bad so he sent me here to ask Captain for direction.

Haa..cant be helped then. I will pretend to be Leo and talk with them.

With that said, I left the room together with the middle-aged knight.

Anchored next to mine, is Leos ship. If I give the sign that we are willing to accept the dialogue, the people from the Principality of Albatro will probably get on board the ship.

Well, since they wouldnt have looked into every detail of the Empires envoy, this should be fine.

When I move to the next ship, I head to Leos room.

Inside was a blue-faced Leo. As expected, I cant let him have a dialogue looking like this.

Yo, you dont look so good huh. Seasick?

Yeah..it seems

Pull yourself together, you are not Elna alright.

Sorry..

I will switch places with you for now. You go rest on the other ship.

But

Its fine, go. And tell them that Prince Arnold is feeling sick for me.

But, if I say that, Your Highnesss reputation will..

Its fine. It wont change anything after all this time.

When I told that to Elnas subordinate, I sent Leo off to the next ship. Of course, everyone in the surroundings thinks that he is Prince Arnold.

Left behind, I set my hair and adjusted my clothes then went out of the room with a firm expression.

Receive their dialogue request. Make preparation.

Yes, Your Highness.

Thus, I switched places with Leo in the middle of the sea.