The Shut-In Prince’s Splendid Social Debut — Me, a Villainous Imperial, Have Spent the Last Fifteen Years Fighting the “Wicked Thoughts” Eating Away at My Mind. When I Finally Returned to High Society, There Were Way Too Many People I Didn’t Recognize — - Chapter 3: Freedom and Responsibility

I arrived at the training grounds.

Although I called it that, it wasn’t an actual dedicated training facility; it was just a corner of the garden located behind the Tiarma Imperial Palace, where I lived.

It might be more accurate to call it a field rather than a garden.

The triangular topiary bushes common in noble gardens were present, but perhaps due to a lack of maintenance, they didn’t hold a very clean shape.

And even though it was early spring, dead leaves from winter still littered the ground, and weeds grew unchecked.

“It’s a mess…”

Compared to the time I was born, there were almost no maids working at the Imperial Palace, and the place was as quiet as a graveyard.

Considering that in the original story, this place was on the verge of taking over the world, it was far too desolate.

“Status.”

I muttered the word that had become a daily routine for fifteen years.

Then, with a vwom, a window appeared before my eyes.

—

Yoan Joachim Rodenze Lv. 1

—

“Hmm, same as always.”

The figure of Lv. 1 shone brilliantly.

I gently closed the screen that hadn’t changed in fifteen years.

This was a world where a game-like “Status Window” existed.

However, it didn’t display detailed stats; it was a very simple thing that only projected your name and level.

‘It really is a level-supremacist society.’

Other than that, the menu screens from ERT were all gone.

Job Selection

Skill Tree Editing

Status Point Allocation

Equipment Selection Screen

None of these existed. Naturally, since this wasn’t a game world, I couldn’t use glitches either.

Therefore, the only things I could trust were my own “talent” and “power.”

It was a very simple world.

Level was everything. They said level was the indicator of a human’s strength.

Well, that was just the surface story.

Beings who overturned that concept would appear one after another, but that didn’t matter for now.

Anyway, right now I wanted to empty my head and move my body.

“Is this a sword…?”

A crude handguard typical of mass-produced items, and a rugged, dull shine with not a fragment of rarity.

An unmistakable [Iron Sword Lv. 1].

“Can I even hold something this heavy…?”

Naturally, let alone swinging a sword, I had never even seen one.

In my previous life, I was someone who never held anything heavier than a controller.

I timidly grabbed the hilt and took it off the wall, but would it work…?

“Ah, I can hold it.”

Easily, lightly.

I could tell my body was more surprised than I expected.

My cognition probably hadn’t caught up with my own physical performance.

I tried holding the sword in a stance for a while, and moved it slowly.

I felt my senses and body gradually synchronizing.

“It’s light. What is this? What is this body…!”

Yoan’s body moved so nimbly that I couldn’t believe I had been a shut-in until now.

Were the humans of this world this athletically superior?

It was movement that made it hard to believe I was Lv. 1.

—I swung my arm.

I could swing it without worrying about tubes or IV drips.

—I ran.

I didn’t fall. My bones didn’t creak.

—I got out of breath.

Even so, my heart didn’t scream in pain.

It moved. It moved. It moved—!

“Haa… Haa…! Is this…”

————The feeling of “being alive”?

The high sun near noon was dazzling, shining sparklingly.

If I included my previous life, it had been forty years.

How much I had waited for this day.

“I am————’free’.”

The light found at the end of a long tunnel.

I spread both hands toward the sky.

Like a scene from a certain movie.

As I was immersing myself in the atmosphere for a while, someone called out to me.

“…Yoan-sama, I have come as you called.”

An elderly man with white hair, a monocle, and a butler’s outfit stood there.

It seemed the steward, Klaus, had arrived before I noticed.

(…Embarrassing.)

I realized I had turned red up to my ears, but I pulled myself together and faced Klaus.

His back was straight as a pin, a standing posture that didn’t let you feel his age.

He looked slender in his butler outfit, but I could tell he had a quite thick chest.

However, Klaus looked at me with a solemn face and said:

“…The fact that Yoan-sama has left his room like this means you have finally—made up your mind, haven’t you?”

About what? I thought that, but I felt words weren’t needed.

“—Yeah, I’ve decided, Klaus.”

The words came out naturally.

It was what you called being on the same wavelength.

The original Yoan also conversed with Klaus with few words like this.

“Tsk! Is that so! That is a wonderful decision. With this, the Tiarma family has also managed to hang on by a thread… Crescella-sama will finally be able to lay down her burden.”

“? That’s right, I caused trouble for Mother.”

I hadn’t understood a single thing so far, but I decided to ride the vibe and tension.

“Yes, I believe that would be best. …And so, Yoan-sama desires a ‘match’?” (T/N: ‘手合わせ’: The complete word means a bout/contest while the kanji used ‘手合’ individually mean joining hands)

It looked like Klaus’s single eye shone through his monocle.

It seemed we were getting to the main topic. I floated a nihilistic smile and answered, “Yeah.”

“Ho ho ho. As you wish. Then Yoan-sama, command me anything. This Klaus will go and—’process’ everything.”

Hmm?

…Naturally, I couldn’t gloss over that last part with just vibes and tension.

“Is it just my imagination? Did you just say ‘process’?”

“Yes, of course. What is the matter, Yoan-sama? Come now, do not hold back. If you command it, whether it be the First Prince or the Second Prince—I shall bring you the head of whichever one you prefer.”

I was speechless at the outrageous psychopath statement.

“…Oi, wait a minute. When did I ask for a prince’s assassination?”

“Why, a ‘match’ means a ‘funeral prayer,’ does it not?. As expected of Yoan-sama, you understand the etiquette for the dead on this Werstan Continent well. …In other words, there is someone you wish to bury, correct?”

What was that misleading interpretation…!

“Wrong! I said I wanted to have a match with you! The kind where we clash swords!”

“Oya, you desired that? That is regrettable…”

Seeing Klaus hang his head dejectedly….. I couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh.

(Ah, that’s right…)

This man—Klaus Muller—was once the guardian of my mother’s homeland, the [Witch’s Tower], and a hero who fought with my father during the [Engaia Campaign], the war later known as the Unification War..

In the original story, he was the man who became Yoan’s right hand and dyed his hands in all sorts of evil deeds.

His ability was guaranteed, and contrary to his appearance as a good-natured old man, he was an overwhelming psychopath.

“…Yeah, I want to know how well the current me can move. Can I ask for a match?”

“…It seems you know about me. I am humbled. However, knowing that, you intend to challenge me? With all due respect, haven’t you been on your sickbed until now, Yoan-sama?”

“Are you saying I won’t be a worthy opponent…?”

Half of it was a bluff, but I decided to make myself look big like this.

There were depictions of this man giving frank advice even to the original Yoan without fear, so if I cowered here, I would be looked down upon.

“Ho ho ho. You have good eyes. …As you wish. Then let us have a match.”

Saying that, Klaus held an [Iron Sword Lv. 1] just like mine.

He stood a little distance from me and held the sword in a middle stance.

I see, even to an amateur’s eyes, he looked like he had no openings.

“…Go easy on me. I’m still Lv. 1.”

“…Ho ho ho. Of course. However, half-hearted feelings will not serve as training. Therefore, let’s see…

—Come at me with the intent to kill.”

A honed killing intent was released from Klaus.

“Tsk…”

A dense presence of death that made the hair all over my body stand on end.

The man in front of me was just one of the enemy characters that appeared before the protagonist I controlled in the past.

But standing in front of him like this, I felt like I was being crushed by that pressure and density.

It was an overwhelming sense of reality, not just a collection of 0s and 1s.

I felt like I was going to start trembling.

I wanted to run away right now.

However, for some reason, I was excited.

And—I felt envious, too.

Even if an amateur like me with only Lv. 1 power struck with full force, he absolutely wouldn’t fall.

That level of supreme territory.

Would I really be able to reach it? …No, I would definitely reach it.

“Fuu… Here I go, Klaus.”

I raised my sword towards Klaus and swung it down.

Right now, I intended to borrow his chest—to learn from him—and just swing with all my might.

“Hoh…!”

I could see Klaus’s surprised expression.

That couldn’t be. Because in the original story, Klaus was over Lv. 60.

He was probably trying to let me, a Lv. 1, save a little face.

“You’re quite the actor, Klaus. You don’t have to be considerate.”

“No, it isn’t like that… Tsk!”

We clashed swords a few more times.

“…Yoan-sama, pardon me, but are you truly Lv. 1?”

“Yeah, my last fifteen years should be as you know them?”

“…That is true. No, but this is…”

Klaus made a gesture of deep thought while catching my sword.

(He even has the composure to think, huh.)

As expected of Klaus.

That said, although my sword lines were those of a complete amateur at first, as I mimicked the movements of command inputs, I felt them gradually becoming sharper.

“It is a rare form… however, your movements make quite a lot of sense. Yoan-sama, where did you learn that form?”

Klaus was observing me with interest.

I couldn’t exactly say it was a technique from the “Samurai” job in the ERT era.

“…I saw it in a dream.”

“Hohoh, in a dream? To think you would even devise such optimized swordsmanship… The ‘Revelation of the Hero’ that Yoan-sama received, just how much…”

Klaus started muttering something again.

“…Yoan-sama. It seems I was underestimating your power.”

“Haa… Haa… What’s wrong all of a sudden?”

I was the only one out of breath.

Stamina was a future task.

The next blow looked like it would be the last.

“…Let us talk a little. Yoan-sama, was there anything you noticed on your way here after leaving your room?”

Klaus said that and lowered his stance.

I wondered what he was talking about—was it about this Imperial Palace?

“…I thought it was desolate. The number of people is strangely low.”

“That is correct. During these fifteen years, there were many personnel cuts. As a result, we could not maintain this Tiarma Imperial Palace, and it has fallen into ruin like this.”

I had an idea about the cause of that.

“…My fault, huh?”

“…For nobles, residences and gardens are symbols of power, and something like a mirror reflecting the person. Prosperity and decline, all of it is the master’s responsibility. …I may be saying something harsh, but it is no exaggeration to say that Yoan-sama’s conduct until now invited the decline of the Third Prince’s faction.”

Naturally. Since I was aware that I had done things that bore no resemblance to the original Yoan.

At this time, Yoan would be about to enter the “Hero Academy.”

And that was also the start of the scenario.

In the original story, Yoan had already built a one-strong system, but in this world, the First Prince and Second Prince were probably throwing their weight around.

“Yoan-sama, you have the ‘responsibility’ to lead this Third Prince faction.”

“…I suppose, you’re right.”

But becoming Emperor… I absolutely refused.

Since there were swarms of troublesome people in this world, standing on the center stage was dangerous.

In that case, I needed to maneuver so that I wasn’t targeted while building a certain degree of status on the surface.

In other words—socializing.

And behind the scenes, I needed to increase my ability.

“…I want to know Yoan-sama’s ‘resolve.’ Whether you are a being worthy of me looking up to as ‘Master’ from now on. I want you to show me your full power!”

Killing intent surged from Klaus.

Klaus was a true man among men.

“…Understood.”

I had yearned for this kind of hot-blooded development since long ago.

However, if I got too heated, it was bad for my heart, and my body wouldn’t move, so I was forced to restrain myself.

(Klaus said to do it with the intent to kill.)

In that case, seriously.

Hitting him with my current full power was my sincerity.

[If it is Yoan, he would chop up the old man in front of him.]

Whether it was coincidence or not, the Wicked Thought strangely matched my desire.

“…Piki piki!”

A lightning-like “Blue Scar” shone around my eyes.

I still didn’t understand what kind of phenomenon this was exactly.

But the moment I was able to suppress the Wicked Thought earlier.

—Splendid, Overcomer.

Such a voice echoed in my head.

I didn’t know if that was God or what.

“…Here I go.”

I vanished in an instant.

The scenery disappeared like an afterimage.

My body felt strangely light.

“Tsk…!”

Klaus’s face was colored with astonishment.

I stepped my left foot into Klaus’s range.

Hiding the blade with my body, the principle of Iai.

After that, I just had to release it.

My wholehearted…

“Vertical Slaaaash!”

“…Sei!”

I clashed with Klaus’s sword.

A mysterious effect.

(Is this possibly [Parry]?)

In the ERT era, it should have been a defensive skill for when guarding wasn’t fast enough.

The fact that I made Klaus use [Parry] meant I was that dominant?

No, impossible. There was a clear difference between the Lv. 1 me and Klaus.

He was probably doing it so as not to hurt my honor.

As expected of his years of experience, his repertoire was wide.

Anyway.

—I’ll push through like this.

Or so I thought, but the sword reached its limit first.

My and Klaus’s [Iron Sword Lv. 1] shattered into pieces.

“…”

(Brittle…)

Mass-produced weapons were no good after all.

Or rather, weapons that broke were no good.

(I have to get a [Spirit Armament] quickly.)

An end-game weapon that fit directly into the body, never degraded, and could be summoned and dismissed at will.

Although it didn’t have the maximum firepower of all weapons, unlike other weapons, it never broke, its firepower was sufficient, and above all, clearing small fry became much easier.

As I was thinking that.

“…Magnificent.”

Klaus was staring at me in a daze.