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“Is that all there is to it! I’m still─!”

As soon as Leon regained his senses, he blurted out his lines, conscious of the broadcast.

But by then, it was already certain that he had lost.

This was because he was floating on the surface, having fainted.

“I… I’m still….”

And around him were shards that looked somewhat familiar, floating around.

Pieces of the shattered “Sea God Set.”

The fold that protects the waist and pelvis.

The tasset that protects the thighs.

The spaulder that protects the shoulders.

The cutter that protects the elbows.

The gauntlet that protects the wrists, and so on.

All those components were floating around, wrecked.

The only intact armor piece was the breastplate.

“W-What on earth happened…?”

Leon grabbed the broken trident with a trembling hand, muttering to himself.

It was hard to believe that the Sea God’s immortal weapon had ended up this way.

“Y-Your Highness! Are you alright!?”

At that moment, his subordinate rushed to Leon with something to cover him.

The subordinate quickly offered Leon a cloth, urging him to cover his nakedness.

“What the…?”

Finally, Leon understood what the subordinate meant.

With all but the breastplate torn away, his lower half was completely exposed.

In other words, Leon currently appeared in a state akin to being naked, wearing nothing but a sleeveless undershirt.

Fuming with anger, Leon snatched the cloth from his subordinate’s hands and wrapped it around his waist.

“This is…! This is outrageous!”

Covered up by the cloth, Leon started to rage like wildfire.

His entire plan had fallen apart.

Moreover, wasn’t the artifact created by the Great Blacksmith renowned for being “immortal”?

“Edgar Fix! Are you using devilish sorcery? Speak frankly about the deception you’ve committed!”

Thus, having lost all reason, Leon stood at the edge of the pool, pointing at Ed, who was looking down at him.

Ed, having removed his helmet, smirked slightly and said.

“Of course not. I haven’t committed any wrongdoing.”

“That’s ridiculous! Then why is the immortal weapon broken?! Unless you committed wrongdoing, there’s no way the Sea God’s weapon could—”

“That’s because it’s a fake.”

“…What?”

At that moment, Ed uttered an incredible statement.

A fake?

“W-What do you mean… a fake? Are you insulting the descendant of the Sea God right now?”

The Sea God’s weapon, symbolizing the traditions of the Clendor Empire.

Ed called that weapon a fake.

Seizing the opportunity, Leon decided to attack Ed.

“You have now insulted the very essence of the Clendor Empire to hide your wrongdoing! What you’ve said can be punished as a grave crime!”

Having suffered a crushing defeat in the duel, Leon decided to rectify his mistake through political maneuvering.

He would restore his pride by exploiting Ed’s slip of the tongue.

“Hmm. I merely stated the facts. In truth, the only genuine artifact from the Sea God’s weapon is that breastplate. Of course, the other items are excellent, but they were certainly not made by the Great Blacksmith of Creation.”

However, Ed’s attitude was too self-assured.

It was as if he was speaking with full knowledge of everything.

‘That can’t be… The Sea God’s weapon has been a treasure of our imperial family for over 700 years.’

But Leon resolved not to bend.

If Ed’s words were true, then the history of 700 years of tradition would be nullified.

“Do you not trust the word of one blessed with the title of ‘salvation’?”

“Indeed! You are sullied the very history of the imperial family!”

“Very well. Then I shall ask the Dwarves. If I directly ask the authority on equipment crafting, we will find the answer.”

With that, Ed took out a communication device from his inventory.

The ‘communication device’ was an expensive piece of holographic communication equipment capable of connecting in a one-on-one manner, reserved for high-ranking nobles such as royalty or grand dukes.

Ed placed the communication device on his palm and activated it.

Once the other party accepted the signal, their face appeared as a hologram.

It was King Magran of the Dwarf Alliance Kingdom.

“Edgar Fix! The Salvation Blacksmith and my dear human friend! What brings you here? I was somewhat saddened by your lack of contact since you gave me that communication device!”

Then, he uttered words that were hard to believe.

The stubborn and prideful Dwarf was welcoming Ed with laughter.

Yes, it was the king of the Dwarves.

“I apologize for not contacting you for so long. Since receiving the title of nobility, I’ve been far too busy.”

“Hahaha! I heard the news of your title! It’s only natural for someone like you!”

Thus, King Magran and Ed exchanged simple pleasantries.

After Ed brought up the main topic and asked what he was curious about, the Dwarf King frowned and replied.

“The Sea God’s weapon? Are you referring to the ‘Sea God’s breastplate’ created by Lord Vulcan?”

However, the answer that came back was devastating.

It was not the Sea God’s weapon, but the Sea God’s breastplate.

Ed responded.

“Um… However, Prince Leon Clendor here claims that the Sea God’s weapon has been destroyed.”

As Ed spoke, he pointed at the shattered fragments.

The Dwarf King chuckled in disbelief and responded.

“No, that’s not the Sea God’s weapon. It’s indeed called the Sea God’s breastplate from the start.”

“Is there a mistake in understanding?! The Sea God’s weapon is a treasure that boasts a history of 700 years!”

At that moment, Leon stepped out of the water and seized Ed’s communication device.

The Dwarf King frowned and replied.

“A mistake? Hey, young prince. The Blacksmith honored with the title of ‘Creation’ is a symbol of eternal immortality. I’ve been raised hearing stories of Lord Vulcan since I was very young, and I remember every single item he created. He is my idol.”

“B-But! That can’t be! The Sea God’s weapon has been preserved by my ancestors for a long time—.”

“Hey.”

At that moment, the Dwarf King interrupted Leon with a cold expression.

He spoke sternly.

“Are you suggesting that I lack respect for Lord Vulcan? Are you saying I’m misrepresenting my idol?”

“T-That…”

“It would be wise to keep your words. It’s not uncommon for people to exaggerate artifacts for the legitimacy of their rule.”

Exaggerating artifacts for the legitimacy of their rule.

With that one statement, the whole situation settled down.

In other words, it meant that everything of the Sea God’s weapon, except for the breastplate, was fake.

“It’s… it’s over…”

With that, Prince Leon felt that his political life was completely over.

Having needlessly pressed on, he had inadvertently publicized the truth about Clendor’s treasures to the entire populace.

This signified a monumental tarnishing of the national image.

“Stop the broadcast…! Stop it immediately! Right now! Right now!!!”

Therefore, Leon Clendor urged his subordinate to stop the broadcast at once.

The subordinate quickly instructed his subordinates to halt the broadcast, but at that moment, the princess’s elite squad surged in, beginning to control the Clendor personnel.

Leon started to go wild like a madman.

“What is happening now! Is this how the Empire treats its guests!!”

“Shut up.”

However, the princess shot Leon a glare as if she found him bothersome.

At that, Leon began to act abnormally, like a video with buffering issues.

‘All my plans have gone down the drain.’

And the princess sighed as she looked at Leon.

Leon’s political life had been completely ruined, causing her plans to fail.

‘Even if I support him, he won’t be able to benefit from it.’

As expected, the princess wanted to push Leon forward as the next king of Clendor.

This was to weaken Clendor’s power by placing a fool on the throne.

Leon’s brothers were all much more capable than him.

‘Well, I’ve finalized the contract anyway.’

Thanks to inviting the fool, she could have resource distribution for the exploration of the Sea Wall at a ratio of 6:4.

The ships, crew, and navigation were provided by the Clendor side, while the Empire took more resources, establishing an unequal treaty.

‘I’m worried about the next person after Leon.’

Still, she wanted to stay with Leon until the end.

With a fool as the captain, there should be many opportunities to benefit.

She didn’t want to create trouble by bringing in a smart commander for no reason.

‘Anyway, he’s useless now, so goodbye.’

But the things that had already happened were set in stone.

Now that she could no longer use Leon as her pawn, all that was left was to cut him off.

The princess began to reveal the numerous wrongdoings Leon had committed based on her memories of him, exposing how unreasonable the duel was.

Then, Leon started to give the obvious responses with a bright red face.

This was not a deception but a deliberate act to raise awareness about the sea as the commander of the expedition.

“Then why the live broadcast?”

However, the princess pointed out Leon’s deadly weakness.

If he had intended to teach the academy students, there would have been no need to record or broadcast the scene to his own country.

In other words, by making hypocritical lies for his political ambitions, Leon was left speechless, his face turning pale.

He had no excuse to answer.

‘I-I was definitely… supposed to support him…’

Now, the only part he could bring up was that the princess had promised to support him.

There was no other choice but to mention that.

‘Aah, no…’

But uttering that statement would be a worse move.

If the princess pretended not to hear, that’d be it.

‘I’m done for…’

In conclusion, this is what happened.

Prince Leon Clendor had not only humiliated the academy students through unfair means for his political ambitions but had also delivered the most embarrassing and disgraceful memory to his own people, completely shattering the image of the ‘descendants of the Sea God’ that had lasted for over 700 years.

All this, after the Clendor royal family had recently proclaimed itself as an empire.

“Haha… hahahaha! Haha…! Hahahaha!!!”

Realizing all that, Leon began laughing like a madman.

And simultaneously, the cloth covering his lower body fell to the ground.

Revealed with his shrunken self was the descendant of the Sea God, wearing the Sea God’s breastplate, standing upright with a deranged expression while bursting into laughter.

***

“Haah!! Receive the wrath of the Sea God!!!”

The next day.

Throughout the academy, there were games mocking Leon.

They shot tiny bolts of electricity while mimicking him.

“Is this all you can do!”

“Is that all there is?!”

“I am the descendant of the Sea God!”

Such jeers echoed wherever Leon’s carriage passed.

Leon was nearly a shell of a person, keeping his head down, while his attendants moved about like people who had lost their country.

– THUD.

Just then, as the carriage of the sinner Leon arrived at the southern port.

The bright-eyed Ileya, who came out to welcome him, greeted Leon with a gleeful smile.

“O great descendant of the Sea God, did your duties go well? I’ve come to keep you company on your journey!”

“….”

However, Leon merely kept his lips tight and walked along, sulking.

Ileya stuck to his side, showering him with compliments like, “It was an incredible bolt!” “I was moved by your battle, Your Highness!” and so on.

“…That should be enough. Now… please stop….”

After about 30 minutes of Ileya chattering like a sparrow, a significantly exhausted Leon requested her to stop.

With a cheerful smile, Ileya replied.

“Hahaha! I’m sorry. I seem to have talked too much. Shall we head to the banquet hall?”

And so Ileya took Leon to the banquet hall.

As Leon was a prince by status, Ileya treated him with courtesy until the end.

However, amidst the joyous music, Leon’s party could hardly eat properly.

It was obvious what kind of fate awaited him upon returning to his homeland.

“It was an honor to meet you, descendant of the Sea God. I wish you a safe journey back!”

After the banquet ended, Ileya accompanied Leon to the port, delivering a heartfelt farewell with a beaming smile.

Yet Leon wore a bewildered expression as he glanced around.

“What… is going on… Our battleship is… gone, isn’t it?”

Indeed, the ship that was supposed to be docked was nowhere to be found.

Ileya smiled sweetly and said.

“Ah, didn’t you hear? The fleet you boarded has been retrieved by the homeland. But as a descendant of the Sea God, you can surely swim back, can’t you?”

***

Meanwhile, at the same time.

The princess appeared to be deep in thought, wearing an annoyed expression.

Leon’s foolish act had ruined her grand design.

Now, thinking about how troublesome it would be once Leon’s brother, referred to as Clendor’s hope, became the commander, made her weary just imagining it.

In the midst of this, Edgar came to see her.

“Enter.”

The princess immediately called for Edgar.

Standing before the princess, Edgar performed the usual formalities before reporting on the project he was undertaking.

“W-What did you say? You’re making a battleship?”

“Yes.”

“Please, elaborate.”

And the subject of his explanation was about the Dreadnought ship.

After hearing all of Edgar’s explanations, the princess gazed at him with sparkling eyes.

She wanted to kiss him right away.

 

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