Chapter 44 - I Hate to Say It Myself, but I Am Handsome

“Your appearance...?”

“Yes, exactly. With this ring, you can copy my appearance perfectly.”

I placed the Ring of Disguise on the table. Royalty and disguise. I laid the two rings side by side.

“Like... this...?” Chiron asked, sounding shocked.

Well, I understood his surprise, considering I had suddenly produced a Royal Ring. He must have thought her eligibility could never be restored. He was welcome to praise me all he liked for that.

“R-really...?”

Yes, really. Why did he keep asking? Surely he didn't object to looking like me? When I asked him that—

“No... I wouldn't say I object... That's not the issue...”

He merely fumbled for words.

What was his problem? I hated to say it myself, but I, Daywin Hasgard, qualified as handsome wherever I went and however you looked at me.

I was tempted to tell him that if he didn't like my face, he should show me his own before talking, but I exercised some patience and held back. It wasn't as though Chiron hid his face by choice.

“What exactly is wrong with—”

“Well... you're...”

CLANK, CLANK.

Chiron moved his head up and down. His helmet made it impossible to tell exactly where he was looking, but he seemed to be suggesting I take a look at myself. So I looked down.

I was naked.

“...”

“...”

CLANK.

A man sitting on a terrace with his legs crossed, inexplicably stark naked. That man was also me. Passersby stopped dead in their tracks and all stared at me.

“...”

Without a word, I picked the ring up off the table and slipped it back onto my finger. Its effect swept over me, making me appear clothed again.

“... My apologies. I forgot...”

“No. It was... i-impressive...”

Which part...?

“Please... give me a moment.”

I opened the shop window beneath the table and operated it out of Chiron's sight. There. Ring of Disguise, purchased. Coins remaining: 200.

Then I placed an identical ring on the table. This time, it was definitely a new one, not the used one on my finger.

“With this, you can take on any appearance you want. It changes the wavelength of your mana itself, so most detection spells won't expose you.”

I spoke as though nothing had happened, and Chiron nodded.

“... Yes.”

As if to say he already knew, having seen it himself.

Chiron would take my place. At first, this had only been a vaguely conceived route, but meeting him in person had convinced me. This man was more than capable of replacing me. I could entrust it to him. In fact, no one else would do.

Combat prowess, inside knowledge of the royal family, and the unexpected move of having an exiled prince return in disguise. Those advantages certainly made him the right man, but his greatest asset was his personality.

He really didn't talk. To the point that communicating with him was difficult. His helmet probably made his head heavy, but what I liked best was that he knew how to keep his mouth shut. At the very least, he didn't seem likely to land me in trouble by saying something unnecessary.

Speech is silver, silence is gold. The ideal qualification for a stand-in.

My original plan had been to make Amelia the second to graduate, but the past and future surrounding her were no ordinary business. This was a long-term project.

Still, I couldn't give up Rebecca's and Veronica's second-semester events just to get Amelia to graduate. I needed someone to buy me time. Someone solid who could hold the fort until Amelia's story began in earnest next year. That was what I thought as I gazed at Chiron's crude helmet.

Besides, Chiron must have wanted to help Amelia more than anyone. With that helmet clinging to him like a brand, he could never set foot in the royal court again. For him, this opportunity—

THUD!

Without warning, Chiron planted his head on the table.

“... Sir Daywin.”

“... Yes?”

“You're... impressive in many ways.”

For some reason, I felt as if he was looking downward...

“Thank you... truly...”

CLANK.

“Of course. I'm counting on you.”

I nodded. We traded nods like a rally, then shook hands. With his head still planted on the table, he tightened his grip. The measured strength of it gave me some sense of just how much he cherished Amelia.

044

Afterward, Chiron and I met Amelia.

“Wha, huh...?”

She immediately made a vacant noise.

“Two Hasgards... There are two Hasgards...”

Her head whipped back and forth as she looked between Chiron and me.

“Wh-which one should I taste first...?”

Pardon?

“You'd better not try that with one of us.”

“Then the other one is fair game! Slipping your true feelings out like that—you must be the real Hasgard!”

Amelia beamed and took a step closer.

“Oh, you! Don't be shy. Say it properly!”

She playfully swatted my arm with her little hand.

“Then what is that one? Hasgard, if you leave your nail clippings lying about, a rat will eat them and turn into that. Be more careful.”

That's not a rat. That's your brother.

Meanwhile, Chiron looked stunned, perhaps because this was his first time seeing his little sister acting cute. His expression seemed to contain shock with a spoonful of irritation mixed in. Seeing him gape with my face made me realize I should be more careful about my own expressions.

“A-Amelia...”

At Chiron's halting words, Amelia turned toward him with a start. Had she recognized him despite the Ring of Disguise? Could family see through a ring that even detection magic couldn't defeat? A certain pair of fraternal twins hadn't managed it.

“What's this? Hasgard, this one calls me by my name! He's quite bold. I rather like it. You'd better try harder, Hasgard. This rat is more my type than you are.”

... Of course. The ring really was impressive.

Apparently unable to bear watching any longer, Chiron let his disguise melt away.

“... Hah.”

This time, it was Amelia's mouth that fell open.

“Uh...”

She had broken down again, just as before.

“...!”

Amelia scrambled toward the window—the shattered window of my room. The instant I saw her move, I caught her around the waist.

“Don't stop me! L-let me jump!”

“Your Highness, no!”

“I-I would rather die! What is the point of living on with such disgrace?”

“Your Highness, this is the third floor! Jumping will only leave you looking even more disgraceful!”

“What do you know of how I feel? Do you know what it's like to have your own flesh and blood witness you desperately flirting and fawning over someone?”

She wailed tearfully. Wasn't she embarrassed to say that in front of me? Desperate flirting and fawning, huh... I'd thought she was being unusually blatant and bold today. Had that been her making an effort?

“Haha...”

Just then, laughter escaped through Chiron's helmet. Whether he was laughing because he now had something to hold over his little sister or for some other reason, it came quite suddenly.

Feeling the mood settle a little, I dusted off the sole surviving chair amid the wreckage and sat Amelia down. Then I slowly explained the plan.

“Hmm... I see. A Ring of Disguise...”

She stared intently at the black ring on my finger.

“You said it can give you any appearance? So you can change your clothes and hair to whatever you like as well.”

“Yes, that's right.”

“Brother, step outside for a moment. There's something I urgently need Hasgard to do,” Amelia said hastily.

“Hehe, a chance to make my dream come true...”

“This is a tool to put you on the throne, Your Highness. Using it for other purposes would—”

“Then I'll make you do it once I'm monarch. Let's see whether you dare defy your sovereign.”

What on earth did she want to see me look like...? A sudden fear seized me. Was she actually someone who should never take the throne?

“Hasgard.”

Just as I was seriously considering giving up for the good of the country, Amelia spoke. Her tone was considerably more serious than before.

“My chances will be slim. Even with you and my brother helping me.”

She shifted her gaze slightly to look at Chiron.

“It's been two years since I lost my succession rights. While I was earning Fs at the academy, my other siblings were working to show the lords what they could do.”

“Yes.”

“Of course, I truly have been devoting myself to my studies. I only failed the exams. I've learned and committed a great deal to memory over these two years. I haven't been standing still. But...”

She used both hands to illustrate the gap. One high, one low. As far apart as heaven and earth.

“To the seven lords with voting rights, what I've learned at the academy will be mere child's play. Never mind winning them over—I haven't even made a name for myself.”

“... Yes. I'm aware.”

After I spoke, Chiron moved his head in agreement too.

“I'm not a convincing candidate. Do you still think this will work?”

“... It will.”

The doting brother answered immediately, but I shook my head.

“You're right. You're not ready yet.”

Chiron flinched and turned to me. But I had no intention of taking it back.

“But I'm not asking you to possess extraordinary abilities, Your Highness.”

“Then what?”

After Amelia told me about her succession rights, I'd looked into the lords a little. Seven nobles who wielded enormous power in this country. Their authority was said to fall between that of a king and a grand duke. They were such towering figures that someone from a count's house like me could be described as “merely” or “nothing but.”

Of course, when I realized one of the seven was the bishop who'd strung me up from the ceiling for fooling around a little with a succubus, I did wonder if they were really such a big deal. Still, while I'd never treated him as an “archbishop,” I'd known he was someone important. When the undead dragon attacked, Chris had tried to get the bishop to safety first, after all.

It was fortunate that I knew at least one of the lords fairly well, but that wasn't what I was counting on.

For someone who'd transmigrated into this world, I knew little about the game. And for someone who'd returned to the past, the gaps in my experience were too long to leave me with useful information to draw on. Much like how I'd been a paladin who was neither holy nor knightly, I was a man who couldn't get a single thing right.

Even so, if I had one useful ability, it was survival. The ability that had kept me alive until just before the end of the world. I'd survived by being uncannily good at avoiding danger. You might call it the instincts of a prey animal. Miraculously, I always knew when and where to run.

Looked at another way, that meant I knew exactly when and where danger would strike.

“What happened at the academy memorial hall could happen again anywhere, any number of times.”

“You think the election... will hinge on that?” Chiron quickly added, apparently catching on.

“Yes, that's what I think as well. Whatever efforts the other candidates have made until now no longer matter. Everyone will be starting from scratch on a new playing field.”

And I knew that new playing field.

“I'm strong against the undead. Allow me to say this boldly: I am your weapon, Your Highness. I am your competitive edge.”

The moment I said it, Amelia broke into a satisfied grin.

“Two of you, to be precise.”

Amelia picked up the spear lying on the floor and set it smartly on my shoulder.

TAP.

“I'm counting on you.”