The Extra Prince Sets Out To Conquer The World

I stopped for a moment as I stepped into the fifth safe house.

“Why are you doing that?”

At Yard’s question, who was right behind me, I gestured for him to stop for a moment and said,

“It’s strange.”

“What is?”

Sophia, who was standing right behind Yard, peeked her head out from behind his back and asked, and I answered while looking around inside.

“There are traces of someone visiting inside the hut.”

Mud that had not yet dried was scattered in the entrance.

There were traces of dust being pressed and swept as if someone had lain on the floor, and the table in the living room was especially clean as if the dust had been wiped off.

Clumps of dust had fallen under the table and chairs, as if they hadn’t been careful when wiping.

At my words, Precia and Jade stood guard on either side of me, as if escorting me, and watched the surroundings.

“No need to be so vigilant. It seems they’ve already left.”

As I kept looking, there was less stockpiled food compared to other safe houses.

Above all, unlike other places that were somewhat organized, the towels and sink were still wet.

“At least three people, at most five.”

If I classified the footprints imprinted on the dusty floor by size and sole pattern, about four people?

The number is small.

The person in charge of managing the forest is “Arcana 01, The Magician”.

When The Magician sent subordinates to manage the forest, he sent at least ten people, so these are not the managers of this forest.

Then did Arcana separately dispatch a small task force for a mission?

If so, “The Hanged Man”, the designer of this forest, would be included.

If it’s a small number of enemies not for management purposes, what is their objective?

Are events progressing faster than the novel, like how Amelia came to the Constellation Labyrinth to target the Fallen Angel’s Horn?

“Judging by the moisture of the towels, they were here until at least 4 hours ago.”

The Witch’s Forest was dark and cool even in midsummer, so the moisture dried slowly.

There were three wet towels, one of which was particularly wet. One of the people who came here was a woman or a long-haired man.

Even if there was a bathroom inside the hut, it would feel uncomfortable to leisurely wash up in a place like this, so it wouldn’t be a shower, but rather a simple wash.

The fact that the towel was this wet meant it was a person with long hair.

Long hair, who could it be?

No one came to mind among the Numbers executives who would be deployed here.

Is it one of the high-ranking executives who is not a Number?

No, it could also be the case that the doppelganger of “The Hanged Man” who came here is a female body.

“Yuan, it seems they changed into spare clothes.”

Yard found clothes covered in dirt in the closet.

Among the clothes, there were also some with blood stains and tears. Someone was injured.

However, judging by the amount of blood and the size of the tears, it wasn’t a serious injury.

“They were injured…”

Strange. Why were they injured?

If “The Hanged Man” is included as I predicted, there would be no reason to deliberately fight the shadow monsters while roaming the forest, right?

The method I used to find out the flow of mana throughout the forest from the leaves is the method used by “The Hanged Man” in the novel.

Did “The Hanged Man” not come?

…Or could it be that at this point in time, he still doesn’t know the method to observe the flow of mana through the leaves?

“Young Master, why are you smiling so brightly all of a sudden?”

Precia took a step back and asked about my bright smile.

“Ah, it’s nothing. I just thought I might be able to do something fun.”

If they can’t avoid the shadow monsters, it’s only natural to arrange a proper introduction.

*****

I robbed the safe and left the hut.

All I got from robbing the five safe houses were 2 white bracelets that help use magic in the forest, 15 flash bombs specialized for shadow monsters, 84 black opals, and 4 bottles of unknown magic potions.

This is troublesome. The number of white bracelets I need the most is less than I thought.

There should be bracelets for Silua and Yard too. I wonder if there are any in other safe houses.

It’s bothersome, but do I have to use magic in other ways?

“You can destroy it now.”

“Understood.”

At my words, the scarecrow controlled the dullahan and eagerly started smashing the fifth hut.

“Hey.”

“What?”

At my call, the scarecrow looked at me, asking why I called him.

“You knew there were other intruders in this forest besides us, right?”

If there were intruders, there was no way the scarecrow wouldn’t know.

The scarecrow is the one who senses the flow of mana and the movements of the shadow beasts in this forest better than anyone else.

At my question, the scarecrow nodded as if it was obvious.

“That’s right.”

At that answer, I sighed, holding my temple with my hand.

If we were cooperating like this to break the witch’s seal, he should have told me on his own!

His face is human, but his head is filled with straw.

I guess I expected too much from a brainless scarecrow.

“There were traces of people inside that hut.”

“Is that so…?”

The straw-headed scarecrow who didn’t understand my words tilted his head. Tsk tsk, you should understand when I say this much. This is why straw-heads are no good.

“Hah~! To put it simply, that hut belongs to Arcana, and the fact that there are traces means that the other intruders besides us are members of Arcana. Got it?”

At the mention of Arcana coming, the scarecrow exuded a grim killing intent and gripped his staff tightly.

“Those insect-like bastards!”

“Hey, hey, calm down. Barging in right now is not efficient.”

The fact that Arcana had entered the forest meant that they had also noticed the safe houses being smashed in real-time and had called for the managers.

No matter how much the scarecrow was there and the witch had released the shadow monsters to protect herself before being sealed, this forest was created by Arcana.

It meant that there were many things advantageous to Arcana.

I thought we could go comfortably by robbing empty houses, but it seems we’re in for quite a tough time.

“And it’s more fun to lure them deep into the forest so they can’t easily escape.”

*******

“”The Hanged Man” said with a serious expression, “Another safe house has disappeared.”

At the words they had already heard seven times, everyone’s expressions hardened.

Until they felt the second destruction, they still thought there was a possibility that the scarecrow was really lucky.

No, to be precise, they should say they had such expectations.

They hoped that it would turn out to be a ridiculous situation happening where the emergency summoning of the managers was unnecessary, so they would just get scolded.

However, now those expectations were shattered along with the safe houses.

“When will the management personnel arrive?”

At Rouerfel’s question, Javan checked the time.

“It won’t take too long.”

The Witch’s Forest was a special management target because there was a witch that Arcana had sealed at great cost.

As such, there were resident managers nearby to prevent anyone from entering the forest recklessly, and combat personnel prepared for any situation were located not far away.

“The Magician’s direct subordinates will be in the capital, but the prepared management forces will be in the magic unit near the western front. If they come urgently, it wouldn’t be strange for them to arrive at the forest soon.”

As combat-capable magicians were managed by the state, they needed a place where they could gather for a long time without arousing suspicion.

In that sense, the magic unit on the western front, located close to the Witch’s Forest, where battles could break out at any time, was the optimal standby location.

“Fool, for now, let’s continue preparing to do our mission. The operation that was scheduled for several years ahead due to the Wheel of Fortune’s foresight has already been hastily brought forward, so we can’t let it be disrupted.”

The woman who said that bit her lip nervously. Perhaps the Wheel of Fortune had foreseen the current situation, which is why they urgently sent them, she thought.

At that moment, a paper bird descended as if falling above her head.

The paper bird that touched her hand changed into its original paper form and turned into a letter.

Management 1st unit arrived. Currently starting to enter the forest. 2nd and 3rd units are scheduled to arrive sequentially.

It was news that the subordinates of “Arcana 01, The Magician” had arrived.

“That’s good. We can leave the matter of the scarecrow to The Magician’s group and move.”

Javan stroked the pale gem in his bosom and looked towards the center of the forest.

*******

Those wearing magic unit cloaks with fancy embroidery gathered at the entrance of the Witch’s Forest.

“Management 1st unit 1st squad, total of 20, no exceptions, end of report.”

“Management 1st unit 2nd squad, total of 20, no exceptions, end of report.”

“Management 1st unit 3rd squad, total of 20, 5 exceptions, 5 combat support, current personnel 15. End of report.”

“Management 1st unit 4th squad, total of 20, 10 exceptions, 2 combat deaths, 3 injured, 5 combat support, current personnel 10. End of report.”

A total of 65 combat magicians stood in orderly rows and columns with a disciplined appearance.

They belonged to Arcana, but they were also part of the magic unit under the western front, so not all personnel could gather for the urgently issued order.

The reason why the 2nd and 3rd management units couldn’t come directly to the Witch’s Forest was for the same reason.

Still, they were well aware of the seriousness of the situation, so all available personnel were deployed, skipping various procedures and reports.

A middle-aged commander leading them stood in front of the combat magicians who had been in the military for a long time and were disciplined.

“From now on, we will carry out an emergency operation. The objectives of the operation are to prevent the witch’s familiar, the scarecrow roaming inside the forest, from destroying the wedges, and furthermore, to find out how it is locating the positions of the sealing wedges and destroying them. The operation outline is as follows.”

The commander started the briefing by magically displaying a map of the forest interior in the air.

While the 1st and 2nd squads without exceptions draw the scarecrow’s attention, the 3rd and 4th squads will drive disposable wedges to replace the role of the huts and prevent the seal from being shaken.

They won’t last long, but at least they can buy time for them to retrieve the method of locating the safe houses from the scarecrow or for Arcana to deploy forces.

The gist of the operation was for the 1st management unit to find out how the scarecrow locates the safe houses if possible, but since it would be impossible with just them, it would be left to the follow-up units, the 2nd and 3rd.

“Any questions?”

At the commander’s question after finishing the briefing, a magician raised his hand.

“What is it?”

“If the problem is the scarecrow destroying the safe houses, is there no way to destroy the scarecrow?”

At the question suggesting dealing with the fundamental problem, the commander glared at the questioning unit member.

“…You’re a newcomer. Yeah, it’s understandable if you’re a newcomer. The familiar roaming inside the forest is not an ordinary familiar. A head-on battle is impossible with the forces of our management unit. The enemy is a monster that we can only delay with geographical factors and long-range attacks.”

At the commander’s explanation, the magician called a newcomer felt his pride hurt.

However, seeing his comrades, who were strong combat magicians, silently nodding in agreement, he swallowed his saliva nervously.

“Even if we are insufficient, I think it wouldn’t be impossible for the higher-ups.”

“Yeah, it’s not impossible. If we project overwhelming firepower enough to shatter the seal and everything, the scarecrow will also be annihilated. Along with the seal, that is.”

At the commander’s absurd words, the unit member who had retorted had no choice but to shut his mouth like a mute who had eaten honey.

If the seal is shattered, naturally, the witch sleeping in the center of the forest will also awaken and start moving, and the unsealed witch will first revive the annihilated scarecrow.

Then she would wage guerrilla warfare against Arcana, who had sealed her.

“Now, let’s enter the interior. Everyone, wear the bracelets.”

The combat magicians simultaneously put on white bracelets.

Arcana’s forest management 1st unit entered the forest with tense footsteps. Without any idea of what kind of hell awaited them inside.