The dinner was in progress, and there was a lot of food on the table. It was mainly because during the day, after Richard accepted Gro's invitation, he followed him on a half-day hunt and eventually hunted a lot of game.
Although there are not many large beasts, there are quite a few small animals. Now on the table are roasted pheasants, wild ducks, partridges, hares, and wild goats.
Prince Gro was sitting in the middle of the tent, talking enthusiastically, waving his arms and talking continuously.
Richard sat on one side, holding a knife and fork to cut the half-cooked meat steak into diced pieces, then put it into his mouth, chewed and swallowed slowly. Because there are no condiments and just a little salt is added, the taste of the meat is not very good, even worse than that of domestic meat animals. However, Richard continued to eat expressionlessly, occasionally looking at Gro and nodding to show that he was listening.
Pandora sat next to Richard. She was more interested in tableware than food. The steaks on the table were not moved, but he was playing with the silver knives and forks with great interest, his eyes shining vaguely, and his appearance was very consistent with the image of a dragon after discovering a treasure. After playing with it for a long time, he put the fork towards his mouth and bit it tentatively.
In order to ensure hardness and reduce costs, silver tableware is usually mixed with some copper and tin, but Pandora's teeth are not comparable to those of ordinary little girls. Bite it gently, and a clear tooth mark will immediately appear on it.
Bite again, and there will be another tooth mark.
Keep biting, the third tooth mark...
…
After a while, Prince Gro had reached the end of a topic and concluded: "In short, this is what the entire Emerald Kingdom is like."
Richard nodded, knowing that the Emerald Kingdom mentioned by Gro was the country where the current forest was located.
According to Gro, the area of the entire Emerald Kingdom is about three times that of the Blue Lion Kingdom, and its population is a little more than twice that of nearly three million. It can be regarded as a medium-sized kingdom. It is slightly inferior to the Kingdom of Pulan and the Kingdom of Yas, but it is not too weak.
After hearing this, Richard then asked: "Are there no wizards in the Jade Kingdom?"
"Wizard?" Gro said for a moment, then shook his head and said, "There should be very few, and even if there are, they are just passing by. According to some reports, it seems that this island is too barren, and there are very few magic materials that wizards need. . Therefore, wizards generally live on the mainland. Some people who are talented in becoming wizards are picked up by special ships every once in a while and go to the mainland to study."
"Mainland?" Richard said to himself and nodded. He knew some vague geographical information. The current Blue Lion Kingdom, Emerald Kingdom, Pus Kingdom, Yas Kingdom, etc. are actually all on a huge island called Smans Island. Although it may be the largest island in the world, it is still an island. Not going to the mainland.
The real mainland and this island are separated by a large sea area and can only be reached by boat. However, there are many sea monsters, sirens, and pirates in the sea, and there are also powerful storms from time to time. If you are not careful, the ship will be destroyed and people will die. Therefore, Semans Island has very little communication with the mainland and is in a semi-closed state. Only some brave captains can trade with it.
At this time, Gro suddenly looked over, his eyes flickered, and he asked with some expectation: "Well, um... Mr. Wizard Richard, can you teach me spells and help me become a wizard?"
"Huh? Why?" Richard looked at Gro and asked, "Why do you want to become a wizard?"
Gro pursed his lips, took a deep breath and said, "Because, only by becoming a wizard can I survive."
"Um?"
"you listen to me… "
Next, Richard heard a story very similar to what he had experienced.
It's good that Gro is the prince of the Emerald Kingdom, but he's not the only prince. In fact, Gro's father, the king of the previous generation, gave birth to five sons in total. Gro, ranked second, is 16 years old this year.
Above him, there is a 35-year-old elder brother. Below him, there are three younger brothers. The third brother and fourth brother are one and two years younger than him respectively, while the fifth brother is only three years old.
Gro's eldest brother was the crown prince appointed by Gro's father. After Gro's father died, he successfully became the new king. After that, Gro noticed some changes and found that someone seemed to be unfavorable to him and targeted him in every aspect. In addition, only the youngest fifth brother got the title and territory, while he and the other two brothers had been waiting for three months and still didn't get it, so he couldn't help but worry.
Gro's worries are very reasonable: he and his other two younger brothers have never been very close to their eldest brother and have little communication. After all, there is an age gap. Now the eldest brother probably thinks they are a threat and wants to get rid of them all, so he has been dragging them away without dividing their titles and territories and restraining them in the royal capital until the time is right for him to take action.
Gro was very nervous about this. The reason why he went out hunting was to stay away from the royal capital for a while. But this only guarantees temporary safety after all. In Gro's view, perhaps only by becoming a powerful wizard can the elder brother be afraid of him and not do anything to him, thus ensuring his safety.
After listening to Gro's story, Richard's eyes flashed and he said, "Actually, you don't have to be so pessimistic."
"Huh? Why?"
"In my opinion, your situation is not that bad." Richard let out a breath and said, "If your eldest brother really wanted to do something to you, I'm afraid he would have done it long ago. After all, it has been delayed until now. , you have begun to be wary, and it will obviously be difficult to attack you again. It is better to deal with you when you are not wary at the beginning.
Now that your youngest brother has been enfeoffed, you and the other two brothers will be enfeoffed sooner or later, but they may be enfeoffed in some poor places. Delaying time now is wearing down your patience. When the fiefdom is decided in a year or two, you will accept it no matter how bad the position is, because at that time, in your opinion, something is better than nothing. "
"Is that so..." Grotto was thoughtful.
"To be honest, you shouldn't leave the capital." Richard continued, "In the capital, you are the safest with your eldest brother here. Because if something happens to you, others must contact him. Therefore, he will not take action against you, and will restrain others from taking action against you.
And once you leave the royal capital, it's hard to say. Your death can be entirely attributed to some accident. Especially when hunting in the forest, you can make up some reasons why you were attacked by wild beasts, accidentally injured by stray arrows, or your horse fell off after being frightened.
Your eldest brother doesn't want to kill you, but some other people don't necessarily want you to live. For example, there are some big nobles standing behind your eldest brother. As your eldest brother's interest allies, killing you will be of great benefit to them. At least they can get a piece of meat from the territory that will be allocated to you.
Another example is that some of your eldest brother's secret enemies can kill you to slander your eldest brother and shake your eldest brother's status, thereby achieving some goals. To take it to the extreme, for example, if a neighboring enemy country wants to start a war, killing you or arresting you is a good method.
In short, in the royal capital, you are actually safer than you think. But now, in this forest, you are more dangerous than you think. "
"this!"
Gro was shocked.