The Extra Prince Sets Out To Conquer The World

Dorothy strove to catch her breath, brushing her sweat-drenched hair back with her left hand.

Due to the aftermath of the fight between her and the Void Dragon, the forest had transformed into a “place that was”.

It wasn’t a big problem.

Thanks to the barrier designed by the ‘Hanged Man’ before his soul was fragmented, there was almost no aftermath outside the forest, and the forest lost its meaning as Dorothy was freed from the seal.

“You’ve worked hard.”

“It wasn’t hard.”

Dorothy put on a strong front, but her breath was uneven, and her legs visibly trembled.

I took out a table and chairs for everyone from my subspace.

“Let’s eat first.”

At my consideration, Dorothy quickly sat on a chair.

As expected, she found it difficult to stand.

It was perfectly natural. Even a person who had been bedridden in a hospital for several years would need rehabilitation training to walk, and she had endured decades in a seal where she couldn’t even move.

Given the scale of the sealing magic, there was a high possibility that time flowed differently outside.

However, the fact that her mana was extracted to maintain the seal meant that there was a spatiotemporal connection, so there wouldn’t be a significant difference.

Once everyone was seated, I took out the dishes that Dalanta, the Sage of Spring Flowers, had made and frozen, and warmed them up with the power of Biam.

“Bon appétit.”

Dorothy slowly picked up a spoon and savored the soup placed in front of her.

In front of her were a digestible soup, soft bread, and soft meat that I had eaten for breakfast… I’m not sure if it was yesterday morning or the day before, but anyway, before entering the forest.

The interior of the forest didn’t let in a single ray of light, and even magical tools frequently malfunctioned, so it was impossible to tell the time.

Even commonly used pocket watches basically ran on magic.

“It’s delicious. This taste… Dalanta, that Spring Flower fellow’s cooking?”

Dorothy immediately recognized Dalanta’s cooking as if she had tasted it before.

When I nodded, she smiled faintly.

“Yes, the Spring Flowers have taken good care of the Winter Woods for generations. They must have felt indebted for the sacrifices made on their behalf.”

Dorothy spoke of information I didn’t know, and Jade smiled as if he knew something about it.

“Oh my, you wouldn’t be interested in boring old stories.”

No, I’m very interested. What debt are they feeling?

Before I could ask her, Dorothy opened her subspace.

“The kid would be more interested in my repayment than trivial stories.”

“Of course.”

I agreed with sparkling eyes. As for old stories, I could just hear them from Jade.

“First, I should repay you for freeing me from the seal. Do you have anything you desire?”

She, who had watched me through the eyes and ears of a scarecrow from within the seal, would know that I had come to meet her.

“It’s not that I don’t have something I want, but let’s consider that as a storage fee for my friends. A reward should come from the heart, shouldn’t it?”

I don’t know exactly what she has.

I only know about the items she used or gave to someone in the novel. Then, the person who knows best what she has should prepare it for me.

At my request, Dorothy laughed.

“Clever boy. If you don’t like it, you’ll say it didn’t come from the heart? While gently teasing that this ‘is all your worth’?”

Whether it should be called experienced eyes, having lived for more than a century, even longer than Yekatrice, who was considered young, she was adept at seeing through people’s hearts.

“I think you had an unpleasant thought.”

“You’re mistaken.”

At my denial, Dorothy looked at me with suspicion.

“I know my own worth better than anyone, so don’t worry.”

“Ah, and…”

“I’ll give a gift to everyone, so don’t fret. I’m well aware that all the kids worked hard.”

As expected of the great witch. The wisdom of the elderly….

“Tsk!”

Dorothy cut off my thought, glaring at me.

“Why are you doing that? There’s no spicy food.”

When I asked nonchalantly, Dorothy looked at me in disbelief.

“Even if I can’t read thoughts, I can read emotions to some extent. Kid, you have a very impertinent emotion.”

“Oh, is that so? I guess my head is a bit muddled.”

I laughed it off carelessly. Dorothy chuckled and reached into her subspace.

“First, I’ll give this to the sapling of the Winter Wood.”

The item she took out was a small snowman.

A snowman? What’s that?

Unlike me, who was puzzled, Jade, upon seeing the snowman, stood up from his seat in surprise.

“This is…!”

“It’s an item my predecessor received from your master’s master’s master. Since it seems you haven’t been the heir of the Winter Wood for long, it will be quite helpful.”

“Thank you! For such a precious item!”

Jade carefully received the fist-sized snowman as if it were a treasure. It was an item I had never seen in the novel.

Even in the novel, Jade was quite helpful when Dorothy’s seal was broken, but was the timing of receiving it the issue?

The Jade in the novel had overcome various adventures and hardships and was in a fully grown state.

In contrast, the current Jade was in a period of rapid growth, to the point where he seemed different every day after inheriting the Winter Wood.

Judging from her saying it would be helpful, it seemed to be an item that aids growth.

“Next is the kid who possesses the divine power of fire.”

Dorothy took out a shackle with chains that looked like part of handcuffs used to restrain criminals and handed it to Abassael.

“There are traces of a curse from the mythical era. You managed to break free, but perhaps because of that, you still can’t use even a speck of the power contained within your body. This restraint is a tool of punishment used to bind sinners who receive divine punishment, but if used well, you may find a way to use the power within you.”

“Thank you.”

At her words, Abassael examined the restraint with eyes full of curiosity.

“Kid born in a miracle, who manipulates dolls. I’ll give you this.”

Dorothy took out a book and handed it to Silua.

“This is a research journal recording my thoughts and production process when I struggled to create my friend, the Woodman. I hope you’ll have a friend like mine.”

The Woodman she referred to was the steel golem sitting quietly over there, making “beep beep!” sounds.

“Wow! I’ll work hard to make one!”

Silua, who received the research journal, stood up from her seat and jumped up and down in joy. Watching her with a satisfied gaze, Dorothy turned to Sophia.

“Kid who follows a god. I think this would suit you.”

The item Dorothy handed to Sophia was a small necklace.

“It’s a necklace presumed to be a sacred object from the mythical era. I wasn’t granted the destiny to use it and merely used it to create substitute holy water, but it seems it will have more meaning for you. Its exact origin is unknown, but since it seems to be related to apostles, if destiny allows it for you, you may obtain something more valuable.”

Substitute holy water referred to holy water made by extracting divine power from sacred objects or items imbued with divine power.

“Thank you for the precious gift.”

Dorothy nodded at Sophia’s gratitude and turned her head to Yard.

“For you…”

“Lady Dorothy.”

Yard, who interrupted her, swallowed dry saliva as if he had made up his mind.

“I have one request.”

“Speak.”

With Dorothy’s permission, Yard placed the jewel he had been preciously holding on the table.

Seeing that jewel, Dorothy spoke decisively, having read some emotion from Yard.

“Of course, it’s impossible to resurrect the dead. Even in the mythical era, that was a miracle granted only to a very few divine races. To be precise, it would be correct to call it reincarnation rather than resurrection. However, since the body was replicated as it was, it wouldn’t be wrong to say they were brought back to life.”

At her words, Yard wore a sorrowful expression.

“…I don’t intend to make such an unreasonable request either. I just… I just want Lila to regain her sanity. That alone would be enough for me.”

Lila, who had become a banshee, was not in her right mind, as if she had gone berserk, even after escaping from Arcana’s hands.

Jade and Abassael also tried to calm her down somehow, but they had no choice but to seal her.

Dorothy looked at Yard, who had given up on his treasure, with pitiful eyes.

“I’m sorry, but it’s impossible as of now.”

Everyone was surprised at Dorothy’s words and looked at her.

“That, that can’t be. Aren’t you the great, the, the… shaking, yes, the Witch of the Shaking Earth.”

Yard denied it with a trembling voice, unable to believe her words. However, Dorothy shook her head regretfully.

“If I were in my prime, I wouldn’t have easily uttered the word impossible. But the poor soul sealed within that jewel is the result created and manipulated by the ‘Hanged Man’ who sealed me. The ‘Hanged Man’ was a formidable mage that even I couldn’t ignore.”

Although the ‘Hanged Man’ was defeated by Dorothy and had his soul fragmented, he was a great mage who didn’t die and instead turned each fragment into his avatar.

Just as the great mage’s abilities were fragmented, a long time had already passed.

Even for a weak fragment, it was enough time to recover its power up to the Master class, and for a strong fragment, even up to the Supreme class.

Of course, each avatar had limitations in terms of mana and physical and sensory aspects, as the vessel for the soul was small.

However, magical knowledge and research capabilities could be compensated for as much as needed.

Imagine a group of individuals with great intellect, even if not at their prime, forming a collective intelligence and efficiently dividing labor.

Lila, who had become a banshee, could be said to be the result of that.

“Honestly, even if I regain my prime strength, I don’t know how long it will take. It may be easier than I think since he imitated me, but I don’t think that twisted mage will easily allow his work to be undone.”

If Dorothy couldn’t guarantee how long it would take for her to regain her prime strength, and even after regaining her strength, she couldn’t be certain, it was practically a refusal.

Yard was devastated by Dorothy’s explanation. As I poured alcohol from a bottle I took out from my subspace, I said,

“It’s okay. There is a ‘being’ who can restore her sanity.”

At my words, Yard’s eyes, which were losing their light, regained their vitality.

“Kid, you can’t possibly mean her?”

Dorothy, who realized the being I mentioned, looked at me in surprise. When I nodded, she narrowed her brows.

“I can’t recommend it. It’s too dangerous.”

“I’ll handle that myself.”

At Dorothy’s dissuasion, Yard asked me with desperation.

“Who is that person?”

“A very dangerous being. I’ll tell you later.”

I smiled and handed Yard a glass of alcohol.

“Have a drink and obediently receive your gift. I’ll find a way to resolve it somehow.”

At my words, Yard downed the glass in one go.

“Ugh! What’s this, so strong…! Hic!”

“No, I didn’t tell you to down it in one shot.”

Yard, who had drunk the cheap liquor I had given Jade before, staggered and slammed his head on the table, drooling.

Seeing his state, Dorothy took out the half-gloves she had originally intended to give and handed them to me.

“The kid mainly dealt with mana, I see. It will help in using manipulation-type magic. And as a bonus, I’ll give you this too.”

Dorothy handed me one more thin grimoire. It was a ‘grimoire’, not a magic book. It seemed to be a book containing manipulation-type magic.

“And the two kids…”

Looking at Precia and Gilbert, Dorothy spoke as if it were difficult.

“If they had dealt with magic, I would have given them what they needed, but I’m a layman in that field, so I don’t know what they require. Since the red-haired kid is a transcendent, she can tell me what he needs, and I’ll match it as closely as possible.”

At Dorothy’s words, Precia looked at Gilbert and pondered for a moment.

“For Gilbert, elixirs would suffice. The types that enhance the body or increase mana capacity would be good.”

At Precia’s suggestion, Dorothy took out a box containing elixirs from her subspace.

“That, that many?”

Gilbert was flustered by the amount of elixirs piled on the table.

“Oh my, just accept what you’re given.”

I silenced Gilbert. The more elixirs, the better. Since there are so many, I should use some too.

“I have no choice but to match the level of what I gave to the other kids. Actually, even this much is insufficient. If I add this and that, it should roughly match.”

Dorothy placed rare elixir ingredients and an elixir recipe book on top of the box.

“Kid, what about you?”

At Dorothy’s question, Precia fell into a troubled contemplation. Precia’s gaze turned to the three familiars.

“I need experience.”

It seemed she wanted to fight those familiars.

“That would be difficult. Don’t you need elixirs or secret technique books? I have plenty of secret technique books from the enemies the scarecrow killed.”

When Precia shook her head, Dorothy, who had been agonizing, took out a bracelet.

“Experience… Experience… Then the most I can give you right now is a subspace training ground where a transcendent can run wild…”

“Thank you!”

Precia smiled brightly and coveted the subspace training ground.

“Hohoho, it’s not something so great that you should be that happy, but I’m glad you’re pleased.”

Finally, Dorothy looked at me with a triumphant smile.

“Kid, it seems I can give you quite a special gift.”