The Max Level Hero Strikes Back!

Episode 5

“What about your salary?”

“Pardon me?”

“Don’t make me say it twice.”

“I’m sorry.”

“So, what’s your salary?”

“Just a third of what I’m supposed to receive…”

She bowed her head in tears as if she were sorry for receiving it. She was such an innocent fool. This meant that she was the only person who protected me even when everyone ran away from the castle, not worrying whether I’d die or not. I felt strange gratitude and formed a bitter smile.

“Take what you didn’t receive from my income.”

“Pardon?”

“I told you not to make me say it twice, remember?

“Sorry! But…!”

“So there isn’t anything for food tomorrow?”

“…That’s right. Prince.”

“You can stop calling me that. It just sounds too uptight.”

“But still…”

“It makes me feel quite detached from you when I’m being called prince.”

All classes had their own responsibilities. Having a position wasn’t about showing off your excellent pedigree and suppressing the common people but about completing a complicated responsibility. However, the position of the prince wasn’t at all satisfactory for a country that was like this.

An external force was messing with state affairs and nobility. A father who didn’t care about his son, and a queen who was in a hurry to put her own son on the throne. Even the wicked aristocrats manipulated the common people. If I still had my powers from the hall of heroes, I might have erased the country Rown from the map.

“I’m so sorry…Prince Davey. Please withdraw your order. I’ve turned this castle into…”

“You had no power to stop them.”

“It’s…”

“You need to be paid for your work. I can’t continue eating after what I’ve heard.”

Ha! I shouted, then clicked my tongue and looked straight at her.

“Take all your overdue salary from the remaining funds.”

“…I…accept your offer.”

“And I’ll take care of the ingredients for food, so let’s go to the financial department.”

So now, the prince was managing his own finances? My ancestors would flip out if they knew. However, what else could I do? There was a problem with food for tomorrow. As the weather grew cooler, we had to get firewood and repair some places in the castle that were damaged. In that sense, the current castle of the first prince seemed to look pretty bad. If I hadn’t woken up for another year or two, the castle might’ve taken a turn for the worst.

“My father had never shown up even in a situation like this…”

Amy’s eyes now looked as wide as a tray. What I just said would’ve likely caused a lot of problems. If my words entered the queen’s ears, it wouldn’t be strange even if the royal guards came to pick me up tomorrow. Of course, that didn’t mean that I was withdrawing.

As a light-hearted human being, I am well-liked and well-expressed, but I’m also a reckless person who doesn’t do what I am told when people act hostile.

“Guide me.”

“Oh…okay!”

I remembered the geography of the castle, but some things might’ve changed. And it would look pretty funny if a prince were walking around without any assistance.

* * *

“I’m sorry, Prince. To use additional funds that are already accounted for is impossible…”

The aristocrat didn’t even sound sorry. He just bowed his head and expressed his intention to refuse what I had asked. Rather, he acted like I was bothering him by coming here. This was a weak prince. The perception that arose in the incident didn’t disappear easily.

Watching him without saying a word, he looked straight at me as if he was sorry. His mustache that looked like rat whiskers made him look mean—that little bastard. I smiled as I dragged over a nearby chair, then sat down to face him. He seemed a little surprised by my unprincely behavior, but soon showed a subtle contempt. You think I’m a weak and tactless prince because you don’t know me yet.

“Are you trying to fool me?”

“Pardon?”

His face looked stunned by what I had just said.

“The castle’s funds for this month are supposed to be 500 gold. Am I wrong?”

“It’s…”

“But the actual amount we received was less than 100 golds…”

“Prince! That’s…the amount of gold left after we deducted the costs spent repairing and maintaining the castle! The other royal family members of the caste are also following that economical…”

“Ugh, you’re starting to really piss me off.”

I gave him a look that forced a bitter pill upon him.

“So. Is that why the maintained castle has cracked floors and weeds growing from it?”

“It’s…”

“The garden is on the verge of collapsing because of the weeds. Even an idiot can tell that not one penny was spent on that haunted house.”

He shut his mouth at my words.

“Yeah, it doesn’t make sense, doesn’t it? What kind of prince looks over his own finances.”

He didn’t express agreement, but he must’ve felt that I was right because he stopped talking. My chambermaid Amy, who was helping me, now looked pale.

“Well…Prince. However, the use of the maintenance funds is not supervised by our department. All we do here is…”

I tapped my knees at his words.

“Ah! I didn’t know about that.”

I made an exaggerated reaction and grabbed the cane next to me. His face turned pale at sight. No matter what happened tomorrow, I was still a prince who could beat this damn rat mustache to death. Of course, I would be punished accordingly, but I wouldn’t be punished as much as others.

However, I wouldn’t do that. It was easy to kill a man, but the roots would just hide deeper.

“Whether it’s here or on earth. They’ll just pass the blame.”

I got up from my seat.

“Never mind. You can go use the money you stashed into your pockets.”

Perhaps it was because of my grim expression. Or perhaps he was embarrassed by his outspoken remarks. I was unlike others who were weak and nice. He looked up at me hesitatingly.

“But we’ll see.”

He spoke calmly and turned away. The men who were responsible were all looking for a way out. The maintenance department would try to blame someone else, so I would just end up tiring myself after trying to dig up everything. All the employees who worked at the first prince’s castle were running away and stealing salaries.

Amy, who was actually working, knew the situation. Because of this. she kept her mouth shut and reduced her own salary. It seemed that those who didn’t even show their faces were taking extra pay. Turning around without hesitation, I glanced at Amy, who was scared, and followed carefully.

“Amy.”

“Yes…yes?”

“Would you like to get a sword from the warehouse?”

Amy’s face turned pale at the word sword. She must be worried that I might be planning to stab someone.

“Don’t worry, and I’m not going to hurt anyone.”

Her cute behavior made me feel reassured. Yeah, I didn’t mean to hurt people. I was just going to hurt the ones who aren’t even human. How long that standard will be maintained…was something I wasn’t sure of just yet.

* * *

What would happen if I cut down the employees and nobles who worked in my castle for no reason? The answer was simple. The prince was crazy. The tower of the outer castle must be locked up immediately. I was just a fish in a pond. I was in the perfect position to be cut off by the aristocrats that had a higher power. The sword was worn out, but it could still be used.

“I’m sorry, Prince…that’s all the swords we have left…”

No wonder the last guards in the castle were in a state of disrepair. I laughed because I thought it was her habit to keep saying sorry every time, and she lowered her head once more.

“A master does not blame his equipment.”

At this, I pulled out half the sword from the cover without saying a word. It was originally a sword used by knights who protected the inner castle. The knight’s equipment used for protecting the castle was one of the faces of the castle. Such an item was already out because of the maintenance, and there was also a shortage.

The sword, which lost its shine, had piled up so much dust during its time of disuse.

“Management, huh…”

“I’m sorry…”

What a dirty sword. If a certain swordmaster saw it, his mouth would’ve been foaming. A great master wouldn’t even blame his equipment.

“Amy, how many animals are loose on the hunting grounds inside the castle?”

“Pardon? That…that’s…”

“Never mind. I’m sure it’ll be enough for the time being.”

With this thought in mind, I put the sword back inside its cover.

* * *

The next day, Amy looked surprised when she saw the body of a wild boar lying in front of her.

“Good to see you.”

“Prince? Tha, that’s…”

“Someone left it in front of the castle, so I brought it in. I was thinking about what to do with it. Maybe a righteous man brought it.”

“What’s that…?”

This was a lie. I caught it myself, but I couldn’t help but lie to her face. Amy, who didn’t understand what I said, saw the body of the boar I brought carelessly and shook with her eyes wide.

“Go to the warehouse and get me a bowl and some more waterproof cloth. We still have some supplies left, right?”

“Pri…Prince Davey! Just kill me instead!”

“Huh, what now?”

“I can’t let the blood of an animal touch the hands of a prince! And to say that you’ll butcher and cook the animal yourself! You’ll end up hurting yourself!”

I laughed in vain at her desperate cry.

“It’s okay because no one’s watching.”

Even if I wanted to see the king, he would deny seeing me and say that he was busy. How could I meet a king who never showed his face when his son was sick? Of course, it was a pass. It was a pass for the other departments too because there was nothing I could do about them.

Queen Liness seemed to be doing everything in her power to kill me, but I’ve become somewhat of a specialist in survival since I was trained by Hercules for decades.

“It’s a boar. But now it’s my dinner.”

While spouting nonsense, I skillfully used hot water, and the sword to peel off its skin and remove the guts. It looked like it was taking a lot of effort, but its leather and flesh were cut out easily. The blade was saturated in mana, so it would’ve been even more strange if it wasn’t easy.

It was fun, even for me, secretly catching a wild boar raised in the hunting grounds of the castle and trying to butcher and cook myself…