Chapter 23: Trine Diego’s Resolve (1)

It was extremely rare for a prince to leave the royal domain.

Especially for a prince who was in line to inherit the throne—it was almost unheard of for him to step outside the royal castle.

That was something nearly every citizen knew.

Of course, there were exceptions where a prince might head out to a territory.

That usually happened when one of the royal siblings ascended to the throne, and the others voluntarily left the capital to govern other lands, or deliberately chose to live in distant territories.

However, no matter how much Fordman thought about it, Raion clearly belonged to the former case, not the latter.

“You’ll come to understand soon enough, so there’s no need to concern yourself for now. Just do as I instructed and focus on gradually reviving that place.”

“Haa∼! As I’ve already said, it’s impossible for me to go in and out of Kanas Territory on my own! Even if I hire mercenaries, do you know how expensive the labor costs are just to get in there?”

Even though he’d been told not to stand on ceremony, Fordman’s increasingly agitated tone was crossing the line.

Yet Raion didn’t reprimand him—he merely asked back calmly.

“What if there’s a safe passage through?”

Fordman’s eyes widened in surprise.

“There’s such a route? If that’s true, how could Your Highness possibly know of it?”

“There are ways to know things. In any case, if you trust me, I’ll tell you where it is.”

“Then please, tell me quickly. Where is it?”

At his insistence, Raion pointed to a spot near the upper midsection of the Clamen Mountain Range.

The exact location lay near the border between the Praizen and Marlen Territories.

“There’s a small village called Filat in that area. From the village’s eastern entrance, if you keep walking straight, you’ll find a large Deoban tree—the biggest one around. From that tree, keep heading toward the mountains, and you’ll come across a cave hidden by thick bushes. Pass through that cave for about half a day, and you’ll reach Kanas Territory.”

It was an exceptionally detailed explanation.

And precisely because of that, Fordman didn’t know whether to believe it or not.

“Is that really true?”

“If you don’t believe me, we can call off the entire deal. As I said earlier, I have nothing to lose.”

“No, that’s not what I meant! But honestly, how could you expect me to take that story at face value?”

Grumbling under his breath, Fordman began jotting down Raion’s explanation.

Watching him, Raion added an important note.

“For now, focus on building as many connections as you can with the locals. And as for the cave—keep it an absolute secret until I arrive.”

“But if the cave’s existence becomes known, wouldn’t it make developing Kanas Territory much easier?”

The reason Kanas Territory had long been called a dead land was simple.

To the sea, an island was occupied by a Sea Serpent’s nest, making sailing impossible.

And by land, the path was completely blocked off by the monster-infested Clamen Mountains.

Because of that, travel into or out of the territory was nearly impossible, leaving them completely self-sufficient.

Naturally, its internal development lagged far behind other territories.

But as Fordman said, if the cave were to be revealed, it could serve as a crucial lifeline to reopen blocked trade routes.

Of course, Raion was fully aware of that.

“Do you think I’d tell you to keep it secret if I didn’t know that?”

“Then why…?”

“Because it’s not yet time for that cave to be discovered. It will be revealed gradually, when the moment is right. That’s why you must keep it absolutely secret.”

Fordman couldn’t make sense of his words at all.

“Anyway, that’s enough for now. You’re ready to set off for trade, I presume?”

The initial goods were already prepared.

All that was left was to produce additional quantities for shipment.

“Understood. Then I’ll take these goods with me.”

“There should be a carriage waiting out front. Transfer everything into your own wagon and handle it with the utmost care.”

For Fordman, both the chess and go sets were valuable—but the cooking recipes were on a completely different level of worth.

If those were to be stolen, the loss would be catastrophic.

“I understand. But about the initial funds you mentioned earlier…”

It was something that had nearly slipped by unnoticed.

“The startup funds are already loaded in the carriage.”

“Your Highness wouldn’t be trying to deceive me, would you? Then, I’ll take my leave.”

“Ah, and in six years’ time, if you wish to meet me, come to Kanas, as I said before.”

“I understand.”

Even then, Fordman couldn’t quite comprehend Raion’s certainty. Yet, somehow, his words carried such conviction that Fordman found himself nodding along unconsciously.

When he stepped outside, he found the carriage standing in front of the annex.

Patrick was waiting by the front.

“You took longer than expected, sir.”

“The conversation ran a bit long. I’ll be in your care from now on.”

“I didn’t do much. Anyway, the funds His Highness mentioned are already loaded in the carriage.”

At his words, Fordman opened the carriage door and began unloading his luggage.

A single bag sat to one side.

When he opened it, he was met with a heap of gleaming gold coins.

“Th–this… just how much is this?”

He’d only been told it was startup capital—never the actual amount.

“Roughly ten thousand gold.”

Fordman’s jaw dropped.

In all his years as a traveling merchant, he had never even seen such an amount, let alone held it.

“If you ever need additional funds, contact ‘Eye of the Moon’ and mention my name. They’ll deliver it to you. Then, farewell―!”

Clack―!

Patrick slammed the carriage door shut and signaled to the coachman.

The coachman, as if waiting for that cue, immediately set the carriage in motion.

For several days, Raion had set aside his training and locked himself inside the workshop, devoting all his time to enhancing his abilities.

And today, the results of that effort were finally revealed.

“Status!”

At his command, a translucent blue window appeared before him.

[Status Information]

Name: Raion Canel

Age: 13

Occupation: 3rd Prince of the Canel Kingdom / Regressor / Arcane Sorcerer

Life: 520 / 520

Stamina: 1,530 / 1,530

Mana: 2,510 / 2,510

Abilities:

Synthesis (合成) Level 10

Decomposition (分解) Level 10

Extraction (抽出) Level 10

Emission (放出) Level 6

Engraving (刻印) Level 5

Formation (形成) Level 10

Analysis (分析) Level 10

Storage (倉庫) Level 1

Decomposition-Synthesis (分解合成) Level 3

Specific Analysis (特定分析) Level 5

Synthesis-Formation (合成形成) Level 1

Extraction-Synthesis (抽出合成) Level 1

True Martial Art (眞武道) Level 10

Tip:

You can combine abilities to create new techniques.

Tap an entry to view detailed information.

When ten or more abilities reach Level 10, new abilities will emerge.

Three new abilities had appeared—Storage, Extraction-Synthesis, and Synthesis-Formation.

Of course, he could roughly guess what Extraction-Synthesis and Synthesis-Formation did, even without testing them.

And thanks to his recent training, his life, stamina, and mana had all increased by roughly 1.2 to 2 times their previous values.

However, Storage (倉庫) seemed somewhat ambiguous.

“Is it an ability that stores things?”

Knowing he wouldn’t understand it without trying it himself, Raion decided to activate it.

“Storage (倉庫)!”

As he spoke the command in Korean, a large oval-shaped red light appeared before him.

“So this is the Storage? But how exactly does it store things?”

[Tip: To use Storage, simply place the item you wish to store inside.]

A guide window popped up—the first in quite some time.

Following the instruction, Raion picked up three chunks of pure iron that had been stacked in the corner of his workshop and placed them inside.

[Storage]

Pure Iron (純鐵) × 3

Another notification window appeared, displaying the contents within the Storage.

“So that’s how it works! This ability is incredible!”

Living in Taron’s Palace, his workshop had accumulated quite a number of items and materials.

If he ever had to move them later, it would have been a nightmare—but now, this was a perfect solution.

“And now that I’ve reached the level I wanted, maybe it’s time to make that.”

Raion turned his gaze toward a pile of fine, kneaded clay he had prepared in advance.

It was the kind of clay used for making pottery.

“Formation (形成)!”

The Formation skill, raised to Level 10, activated.

As soon as his focus locked onto the clay, Raion began visualizing the shape he wanted.

‘Please… please…’

His earnest wish was reflected even in his thoughts as the clay began to gather and take form.

Ssshhh! Ssshhh!

Thanks to reaching Level 10, the forming speed was drastically faster than before.

“It’s done!”

The shape that took form was a sitting toilet.

To be honest, ever since Raion had returned to the past, the thing that had bothered him the most was the toilet.

On the Phalon Continent, sewage or plumbing systems hadn’t yet been invented, so all toilets were essentially primitive pit latrines.

Every time he had to use one, the foul stench that wafted up made it unbearable.

“The water should drain properly, right?”

He made sure to design the structure so that water would flow down from the top and drain out below.

That was why he had painstakingly trained Formation up to Level 10 in the first place.

Raion fetched some water from a container in the workshop and poured it into the upper part of the toilet.

The water flowed through the hole inside the toilet, then drained downward and exited through the pipe opening in the back.

“It works!”

Now, all that was left was to create and install the flushing mechanism and pipes to complete it.

“Good. Time to make the other parts.”

Several pieces of steel lay on the table.

Once again, Raion used Formation to craft the remaining components.

Even the spherical float that would allow the water to rise properly wasn’t difficult to make.

“Now I just need to move it and install it.”

Raion placed the finished toilet, along with the lid and pipes he had pre-made, into his Storage, then headed to the annex bathroom.

Unlike the palace, the annex was used by knights and had a completely primitive toilet.

Literally, it was just a hole in the ground.

“Ugh…! The smell!”

He first took the toilet out from Storage and placed it right in front of the old pit.

Just then, Caldein, who had come to use the restroom, froze in shock at the sight of Raion fiddling around inside.