The Crown Prince Who Raises a Side Character-Chapter 20: New Adventurer Bern (18). Power Play

Among the many differences between the life of an adventurer Bern had imagined and the reality he now lived, the biggest was this: it took far more time to travel than he had expected.

As a 1st-class adventurer, most of his work consisted of errands within the city. Travel time amounted to, at most, a few dozen minutes on foot. But once he reached 2nd-class, like with the goblin extermination, just getting there had taken over a day. And now with 3rd-class requests, even with rented wagons or horses, the journeys often took several days.

The truth was that more time was spent traveling to and from the job than on resolving the actual request itself.

And Bern was a firm believer in the saying: time is money.

On the road to Frencia.

With the horse and wagon borrowed from the Adventurers' Guild parked nearby, Bern stood directly in front of Blanca.

"Are you ready?"

"Yes."

A mock battle that had now become a daily routine—every morning and evening, without fail.

Blanca, now looking more natural holding a sword than she had before, stared at Bern with sky-blue eyes.

A gaze filled with fierce determination, as if she wouldn't let even the smallest of his movements escape her sight.

Pleased by that intensity, Bern kicked off the ground with force.

Only this time, instead of charging forward, he moved backward.

Clatter.

A leather pouch tied to his waist.

Inside it, a variety of pebbles, all different in size, shape, and color.

He grabbed a handful and, with a flick of his thumb, launched them at Blanca.

But Blanca had already cast two spells.

『A Bit of Physical Strengthening』

『Slightly Faster Reflexes』

In addition to the body-enhancing spell she already had, she'd purchased this new one with the money they'd earned—focused on boosting visual and reflex-based responses.

The kind of attack that most people wouldn't even recognize beyond a flash of movement, Blanca was now able to coolly parry with her sword, thanks to magic.

As she did, she recalled Bern’s earlier teachings.

“People often say that body-enhancement spells are inferior to martial artists' reinforcement techniques. With mana, you can reinforce strength, speed, and senses through willpower, while spells are fragmented and less efficient.”

“But I looked into it—by getting advice from another mage, of course—and spells have a distinct advantage: they provide consistent results.”

“A martial artist’s method is multiplication. [Base Ability * Enhancement Multiplier = Result]. A mage’s method is addition. [Base Ability + Spell Rank = Result].”

“That’s why martial artists are so reliant on their natural talent. A slender woman beating a muscular man in raw physical strength is basically impossible. But with spells? It can happen.”

“Also, martial artists have to constantly monitor and adjust the distribution of their mana, but once a spell is cast, it lasts until its timer runs out. That’s why learning a wide variety of reinforcement spells is ideal. Cast them all at the start—you’re good to go.”

Tap! Clack! Tck-tck-tck!

A hail of pebbles flew at her with unrelenting force.

Blanca dodged, deflected, and rolled, doing her best to deal with them—but even so, she couldn’t avoid them all.

Thud!

One struck her left shin, another her right shoulder.

Strong enough to shatter bone, if not for the spell reinforcement. As it was, they left her with nothing worse than some bruises.

Grinding her teeth through the dull pain, Blanca charged toward Bern.

Bern continued his pebble barrage to keep her at bay, but the closer she got, the more his attacks lost their rhythm.

“Generally, the higher a spell's tier, the stronger and wider its area of effect. But ironically, that makes them harder to use at close range. It’s hard to cast long-range spells at someone right in front of you—they’re not built for it.”

“Treat your body and your magic as separate systems. You should be able to dodge while casting. Strike with a sword while healing yourself. That’s the only way you’ll survive against a superior mage.”

As she reached striking distance, Blanca unleashed a flurry of basic fire spells alongside her sword.

The heat was intense enough that she felt it on her own skin. She took hits here and there from Bern’s counters—but trusted in her magically reinforced body to endure it.

She healed herself with 『Minor Healing Magic』 in between blows, using her sword to pressure Bern and close any gaps left during the spell’s brief casting delay. Once healed, she went back to firing off spells.

A petite woman attacking like this—with no regard for her own body, overwhelming force, and sheer relentlessness—might have seemed thoughtless, even reckless.

But Blanca felt no dissatisfaction.

Her skills were improving rapidly since adopting Bern’s advice, yes—but more than that, she could feel this strategy had been built for her.

Sword, attack magic, healing magic.

Once fragmented and inconsistent, now they worked together like perfectly fitted puzzle pieces.

How much thought and effort must he have put into this for me...?

When she’d asked Bern how he came up with it, he’d humbly claimed it wasn’t that big a deal.

But Blanca hadn’t believed him for a second.

Bern was a swordsman. What could he possibly know about magic?

He must have done extensive research—poured over it, even agonized over it—all just to build something for her.

And yet, he acted like it was nothing.

Blanca had to suppress the surge of emotion swelling in her chest.

"Let’s stop here for today. Well done. I can tell you’ve improved greatly."

The mock battle ended. Bern extended a hand to Blanca, who was panting on the ground.

The face of the man who had just been dodging her flames and fending off her sword bore nothing but admiration and warmth.

As if her growth brought him genuine joy.

Blanca found she couldn’t meet his eyes.

"No, you’re the one who worked hard, Bern. You must’ve had a hard time using unfamiliar tactics ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ as a swordsman."

"Not particularly. I’ve done this kind of thing plenty of times."

Blanca couldn’t help letting out a quiet laugh.

He always seemed so perfect—yet when it came to these things, he was weirdly clumsy with his lies.

There’s no way a pure swordsman like him had "done this plenty of times."

"Master! Miss! That was an incredible bout! I’m the only one who got to see it, which is kind of a shame—but also a huge blessing! It’s a complicated feeling!"

"Renya. Don’t you think it’s about time for your next round of training?"

"Ack—no, no! What you’ve taught me so far is more than enough! I’ll stick to being a pack mule, scout when needed, and errand boy in town! That’s enough to earn my keep, right? Hahaha!"

As Renya fussed around and Bern laughed along, Blanca cast a sidelong glance at him, lost in thought for what felt like the hundredth time.

How do I even begin to repay him?

Blanca had been gifted too much.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

A ring that solved her chronic mana deficiency—something that could never be found anywhere else.

A chance to be a proper adventurer again, when she’d been resigned to a life of debt, bound to the guild forever.

A personalized battle strategy that turned her so-called “jack-of-all-trades” nature into a strength, one that only she could use.

And constant support through training.

She had received so much... and given back almost nothing.

Bern had once said that simply having her as a companion on the journey was thanks enough. But no matter how she turned it over in her mind, that never felt like a proper return.

She’d even considered offering her body—but she had no illusions. After being firmly turned down multiple times, she knew Bern would never accept something like that now.

It was likely because of his noble character. He would find it distasteful to take advantage of someone's sense of debt.

Or perhaps he believed that she was only clinging to him out of desperation—because of her desire to save her mother.

Which, honestly, had been true before. So she couldn’t even deny it.

In the end, I suppose the time for that has to come later.

Someday, after they defeated the Lich.

Once her mother had been freed from that wretched monster’s hands, and she no longer had to hesitate or weigh the cost of every choice—

Then, maybe then, she could finally tell him.

Not out of desperation.

But purely, sincerely, as herself.

***

After several days of travel, the party finally arrived at Frencia.

But instead of a warm welcome, what awaited them was blatant hostility.

“3rd-class? You send me mere 3rd-class adventurers for a mission that even 4th-class couldn’t solve!? Does the Adventurer’s Guild take me for a fool?! How dare they accept payment and then send garbage like this!!”

The lord of Frencia showed not a shred of dignity as he hurled abuse. The party’s expressions soured immediately.

Behind him, a knight standing at attention echoed his master’s anger with a stiff face.

“His Lordship speaks the truth! This is a grave insult to His Lordship and to Frencia! The Guild must be held accountable!”

“Sir Gudrun, you speak my very mind!”

The tension thickened. A middle-aged man in glasses, who had introduced himself as the lord’s treasurer, began sweating profusely and tried to mediate.

“P-please, my lord. While it’s true they are currently ranked 3rd-class, their skills are more than worthy of the 4th-class. The Eastern Branch has sent its best. There’s no way this was meant to offend you.”

“If they’re equal to 4th-class, then why not send actual 4th-class adventurers in the first place?”

“The Eastern Branch only has one 4th-class party, the Alseth Party, which was originally dispatched here. They likely had no others to send.”

“Hah. For all their self-importance, the Guild’s nothing special, is it? Trash breeds trash, I suppose.”

“M-my lord...”

The treasurer’s eyes darted anxiously between the enraged lord and the party.

Renya’s face, usually all grins and jokes, had gone cold.

Blanca’s gaze sharpened like a blade.

And Bern...

Bern just stood there. Blinking, calm as ever.

From the shadows, Lucidra’s voice rose in amusement.

[Hey. These guys asked for help with a case they couldn’t solve themselves, right?]

‘That’s correct.’

[So then... why the hell are they acting so high and mighty?]

‘Maybe because they don’t think they asked for help.’

[Come again?]

‘Have you ever seen an employer bow and scrape to a mercenary they hired? If anything, they expect results for their money. They treat you like you're theirs. This lord’s no different. He paid the Guild and now sees us as tools, not helpers.’

Especially when the last team they hired—an actual 4th-class party—gave up.

Now here comes a supposedly lower-ranked group, and they expect better results?

So yes, the lord's frustration was... understandable.

But only from his point of view.

For Bern, who had simply accepted a job through the Guild, there was no reason to take this insult lying down.

“Hmm. It seems His Lordship has quite a few complaints about us.”

The lord’s face twisted.

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It wasn’t just the content of Bern’s words—it was the tone, the audacity of speaking without permission.

Bern, in turn, smiled sweetly at him.

“Well, if we’re not welcome, I suppose there’s nothing to be done. We’ll take our leave—do handle the issue yourselves. Honestly, I’d love to bill you for the time and money wasted coming all this way, but I’ll refrain. Judging by how even offering tea to your guests is too much for your crumbling estate, I’d feel guilty extorting the impoverished.”

And with that, the temperature in the room dropped several degrees.