The Strongest Dull Prince’s Secret Battle for the Throne

Chapter 315: The Condition

I am the Seventh Prince of the Empire, Arnold Lakes Adler. I ask you, Dragon Knight Finn. If you can fightare you willing to abandon your dream?

Hearing my name, Finns expression turned blank.

When I smiled at his confusion, Finn immediately knelt down.

!? F, forgive my rudeness, I didnt know that it was Your Highness! Please accept my deepest apology!!

You have no need to be so polite to the Dull Prince. If you have time to kneel then answer my question. Do you have enough resolve to give up your dream?

That meansto stop trying to become Marquis Greisners Dragon Knight.?

Thats right.

I can give him the means to fight.

However, if I do that Finns dream will not come true.

I originally planned to have Leo use the type-62 developed by Cuber but from what I saw, Finn is more suitable for it.

A skilled Dragon Knight who can move at high-speed would perfectly fit the medium to long-range shooting weapons.

There is no problem regarding his magic power either.

As the development of weapons progresses, the standard of the battlefield will change.

The common sense that aerial combat has to be conducted through close combat will be overturned and Flying Dragons will be required to be smaller and more mobile in the future.

Until now, there have not been Dragon Knights who possess high magic power nor have anyone put in efforts to train such a person since Flying Dragons hated humans with high magic power. However, from now on, it will be the norm to train Flying Dragons to get used to such humans and create that kind of Dragon Knight.

The Empires magic wand will turn the traditional Dragon Knights obsolete.

No, I should say that it will be due to the Empires magic wand, Finn, and Nova together.

Finn and Nova who were perceived as an inferior pair until today will become the model for the future Dragon Knights with the addition of the type-62 wand. Considering that it will take time to train new Flying Dragons and Dragon Knights, Finn should be able to dominate the sky for the next decade.

However, there is a problem there.

He will become the Dragon Knight who wields the latest prototype weapon of the Empire. Moreover, if he uses it, we can expect overwhelming success from him.

We can not allow such a Dragon Knight to only serve a Marquis. Not only due to his strength, but he will also become a prominent figure in the future.

So if Finn chooses to fight, he can not be just a Dragon Knight who serves Marquis Greisner.

You have worked hard for your dream. But that dream is too small for someone like you. If you want to fight then I will have you become my knight. That is the condition I have for giving you the power to fight.

It will be some time before I head out but it doesnt mean that I can wait for your answer forever. Make up your mind by the end of today.

Saying so, I turned back.

However, Finn stopped me.

Please wait!

..have you decided on your answer?

..I have. My dream was to become a Dragon Knight in service of Marquis Greisner butif I choose to stay here I will regret it for the rest of my life. If Your Highness can give me the power to save my friends thenplease give it to me.

After he said that, Finn lowered his head.

Even though it was a big decision for him, he managed to immediately make up his mind.

Still, that was not without any hesitation. Well, that is fine.

After all, I cant trust someone who can immediately throw away their dream.

Finn simply chose to prioritize the lives of his friends here.

I have to reward his resolve.

Well said. Then from now on, you are my knight. And be prepared. The power I will give to you is powerful and for the better or worse, it will make you stand out. You will earn the trust of your allies and the enemies will be fixated on defeating you. You can not only resolve yourself to enter the battlefield. You will have to shoulder the pride of the Empires military might on your back. If that scared you then you can still turn back. That way you will be able to enjoy a much more peaceful life you know?

what can I accomplish by living a peaceful life? It is quite costly to take care of a Flying Dragon, Your Highness. Eventually, Nova will be deemed useless and abandoned. I am much more afraid of that. If I can not show my value then I will lose my partner. If I dont choose to fight here..I will lose my friends, my partner, I will lose everything. There is nothing that can scare me more than that.

Saying so, Finn lifted his face.

There is a strong will in his eyes.

His eyes are telling me that he has considered all the risks and decided to move forward. Those are not the eyes of someone desperate or reckless.

I can feel his confidence and determination.

Those are good eyes.

Follow me. I will have you try it out right away.

With that said, I took Finn to the Lords mansion.

This is a Type-62 magic wand. It is the state-of-the-art magic weapon developed by the Empire that I was intending to give to my younger brother Leo. There is only one so use it carefully.

A magic wand that can be used in actual combat..so it has been completed.

Finn touches the type-62 as if he was inspired by it.

Then he lifted it up.

It is heavy.a normal person would find it difficult to move freely while carrying this.

But that wont be a problem for a Dragon Knight right.

..that is a splendid idea. This will completely change future aerial battles.

The one who thought up the idea was the Prime Minister. Besides, it is not the idea that will change the face of aerial battle. It will be you and Nova.

Wouldnt a Dragon Knight be strong if he/she can fire magic from the sky?

Such an idea would cross even a childs mind. After all, mages that can fly are strong. However, there are not many mages who can fly freely in the sky.

There are some in the Imperial Knight Order that can do it but those people are special.

It is not realistic to send them to the frontline in every battle.

Thats why the magic wands were developed and first given to the 6th Corp. if the results were good, it would eventually have been given to the Dragon Knights of Thale.

However, at the earliest, that would still be a few years away. After all, there are many points to improve the type-61s.

For Finn to receive a magic wand at this stage is frankly unusual.

It wouldnt be strange if someone gets angry at me for this.

.You have my gratitude, Your Highness.

You dont have to thank me. We cant win a war with gratitude alone after all.

When I said that to Finn, I heard a loud voice from the hallway.

It was Berner, the acting lord, and Lambert, the 6th Corp Captain.

The two just received my messages. 

Berner was told that I am recruiting Finn, a Dragon Knight serving Greisner house and Lambert was told that I am planning to give the type-62 to Finn since I think that he might become an interesting Dragon Knight.

Obviously, since I cant send him out to an actual battle, I am going to have him fight the knights of the 6th Corp in a mock battle.

It seems that there is some kind of commotion there.

The acting lord probably got angry. I just selfishly took away one of his Dragon Knights after all.

The moment I said that.

The door was opened.

It was Berner who looked clearly unsatisfied.

Your Highness! What are you planning to do by taking away one of my houses Dragon Knights!? Please explain yourself!

I meant what I said. I am recruiting Finn. I have no intention to return him to you. When this civil war is over, I will officially make him a Dragon Knight directly serving the Imperial Family.

How selfish!? In what country does its royal family rob a knight from their vassal!?

It is better than letting him rot away here. You people can not use Finn. At best, you would only be able to use him as a reconnaissance or a messenger right? I hate being wasteful.

That is not a reason! Your Highness is being too selfish here!

You can think of me as selfish or whatever. I told you from the beginning, right? I am taking care of all of Thales forces. If you have any complaints then submit it after the war is over.

I brush off Berners complaint and shift my gaze to Lambert.

Lamberts expression doesnt look like he is dissatisfied with the development. However, he seems to be evaluating Finn.

You need to test his power first right? Captain Lambert.

Of course. If Your Highness wants him to participate in the operation he must have enough power to convince my subordinates. If he has the ability then we will accept him. We cant afford to bring someone out to play after all.

All right. We will have a mock battle. Pick out a few of your men.

..it wont be one against one?

Do you think they can win in a one on one fight?

It will bring shame to the Imperial Knights if they lose. Even in a mock battle.

Moreover, some might not accept him even if he beat one knight.

What is important here is to convince them. Then the only choice left here is to have him fight a truly strong opponent.

Perhaps he guessed my intention, Lambert nodded with a bitter smile.

Please settle with my vice-captain.

Thats what he said. Your opponent will be a vice-captain of the Imperial Knight Order. He would be a worthy opponent right.

Finns face cramped up when he was suddenly arranged to have a mock battle with a ridiculous opponent.

However, his eyes didnt look scared.

This is going to be interesting.