Overlimit Skill Holder
Book 2: Chapter 23

「But I can’t forgive them for suspecting Reiji! Not to mention, we saw Kluvshrat-sama for the first time yesterday…」

「Eva. There are many underlying things to what nobles do.」the Earl said, heaving a sigh.「Your skill orb has been moved to be given a month later.」

「A month later…? So, it isn’t something you can give to the young lady right away, Earl?」I asked.

「That’s right. The 12-year-old children who attended the “Sprouts and New Moon Banquet” will gather again and be given a skill orb in front of His Majesty the King.」

「I see…」

「Though, it is the parents who prepare the skill orbs. The skill orbs will also be announced there, so you can see how powerful each noble is.」

「So, the quality of the skill orb also translates to the power of the noble…」

「Yes. Eva, do you want to know the skill orb you will get?」the Earl asked the young lady.

Surprised, the young lady just blinked.「No, I am not impatient if I can get it in a month. I am more concerned about the assassination attempt on Kluvshrat-sama and the action the Holy Palace will take.」

The Earl nodded with a straight expression. He was more touched than he showed. Being able to tell that is how much I’ve come to understand the Earl’s way of talking.

(My lady, your answer was perfect. You get 100 points.)

Nobles should not be impatient when they want to obtain something and they should prioritize public affairs over private affairs.

It was taught by a private tutor, and it seems that the young lady is practising it properly.

「His Majesty said he would postpone the skill orb ceremony until the criminal who attempted to poison Kluvshrat-sama is found. However, there were quite a few nobles who left their territory to come to the Holy CIty, so we agreed to postpone the ceremony for a month. His Majesty thinks the perpetrator will try another assasination attempt.」

The Earl seems to have been taken by the Holy King to meet with the dignitaries gathered in the Holy City and was compelled to use the “Magic Eye of Inquiry” on the subject of attempted poisoning.

Starting with the 1st Holy Prince and the 1st Holy Princess, to the head of high-ranking noble families.

On a side note, the servant, who appears to have administered the poison on the Holy Prince’s sauce plate, has vanished. When a high-ranking noble hides a person, it seems to be very difficult to replace them, thus it would be quicker to identify if that was the case by subjecting the head of the noble families to the “Magic Eye of Inquiry”.

「That may give rise to unprecedented discord…」

「Yes. Almost everyone knows I have the “Magic Eye of Inquiry.” I thought their glares alone would kill me. No one was lying.」

He is saying it nonchalantly, but I imagine that must’ve been ridiculously stressful.

That means that’s how much the Holy King cares about Prince Kluvshrat, I suppose? In any case, the information that the Earl is investigating with his Magic Eye would circulate around quickly. When that happens, the possibility of the Earl being attacked will increase again.

「Earl-」

「Reiji-san, let’s talk about escort matters later.」

The Earl obviously understands that, but he didn’t want the young lady to know and said “later”.

「Father. Reiji. I am now a full-fledged noble. Please let me know if it is something I should be concerned about.」

The young lady didn’t accept the Earl’s decision.

No, rather, she did exactly as the Earl has said so far. If she was told, “You don’t have to know,” she answered “yes,” and it is highly probable that if the Earl said “Stop the slave business crushing,” she might have stopped it.

「Eva, you are still… No, you are correct.」The Earl’s tone changed.「Then, you too will be treated as a full-fledged Lady.」

「Yes!」

Perhaps the young lady also noticed the Earl’s tone shift, as she straightened her back and faced the Earl. Although his face looked expressionless as before, in reality, contrary to his polite words, his tone felt more unreserved.

「First of all, I am more likely to be killed.」

「!! …Yes, because if you continue the interrogation with His Majesty, you will eventually replace the criminal?」

「That’s right, because no one else would have a motive to harm the Holy Prince other than the royal family and the nobles. His Majesty probably started from the people with the highest possibility.」

「Highest possibility…? Since the 1st Holy Prince and the 1st Holy Princess have the highest right to inherit the Holy Throne, shouldn’t they be irrelevant?」

「This is unconfirmed information, but the top brass of the Altar Management Bureau are in a buzz. I am guessing something exceptional happened at the place where someone like me, who works in internal crime, can’t touch.」

Something exceptional?

「…It means that a skill orb with five or more stars has emerged from the First Altar. And it will be given to the Prince Kluvshrat.」the Earl said.

「!」

「!!」

A skill orb with 5 or more stars will certainly have an unbelievable value!

Skill orbs up to 4-stars can be obtained by successful merchants and adventurers who have made a fortune. However, when you count the number of 5 or more stars, the number falls off a cliff.

「There are only 7 skill orbs with 5 or more stars under the control of the Kruvan Holy Kingdom. First of them is 【Holy Sword Technique ★★★★★★】, which is held by the 1st captain of the Holy King’s Knights Order – that is, it’s passed down from generation to generation of knight commanders. Though if the user is dead, the skill orb will disappear, so the knight commander will not be in the front line. It can be said to be an honorary position.」

Oh, really! So that is why I never saw the Knight Commander even though I have been working in the Knights Order for about three years.

「【Sword Technique ★★★★★】 is managed by House Duke Rozier. Their knights are devoted to swordsmanship, after all. However, this skill orb is not given to any knight. Only the head of the family can use it. 」

Louis’ House, huh. Despite being devoted to swordsmanship, I wonder why they employed Captain Arthur as the escort? Is it because he is one of the stronger ones in the Knights Order?

「【Heroic Commanding Technique ★★★★★】 belongs to House Duke Reese, and 【Secret Compounding★★★★★】 belongs to House Duke Ebene.」

I don’t know much about Reese, but Ebene is Lord Ethan’s House. A compounding skill orb will work well with halflings.

「【Dragon Sword Technique★★★★★】 belongs to House Duke Luciel. This is the duke family with “Sword Saint Augustin”, and it is the most militant group among the 6 Great Duke Houses. And also the House which backs the 1st Holy Prince.」

The “6 Great Duke Houses,” or “6 Archduke Houses,” seems to be Houses that have lost its Holy Blue color, but due to distinguished achievements still call themselves a “Duke House”.

For example, if Prince Kluvshrat does not become the Holy King and is conferred the Duke title, and if his child does not manifest the Holy Blue characteristics, he will merge into his wife’s House. The Duke House disappears in its first generation.

But as long as a baby with Holy Blue is born, you can be a duke, and in the meantime, if you establish meritorious deeds – great victory in a war, a great invention, etc. – even if you lose the Holy Blue, you can remain as a Duke House.

As a result, 6 Duke Houses remained after the loss of Holy Blue. And became known as the 6 Great Dukes.

「【Magic Power Enhancement ★★★★★】 belongs to House Duke Lamer, and 【Prayer Technique ★★★★★】 belongs to House Earl Montagne.」

「The last one is an Earl House, huh.」

「Yes. Of the 6 Great Duke’s, House Duke Riviere is very good at maritime transportation, but doesn’t have a skill orb of 5 stars or more. Since it can be considered that a Duke House without a powerful skill orb is lower than the other Duke Houses, they must be wanting a 5 stars or more skill orb really badly.」

「…What would happen to the newly appeared 5 stars or more skill orb if Prince Kluvshrat died?」

「It would be used by His Majesty himself, the First Holy Prince, or the First Holy Princess…」

「What kind of skill orbs do these three people have?」

The Earl raised his index finger and shook it to the left and right.

「It’s a secret. A closely-guarded secret of the royal family.」

「I see…」

You don’t have to reveal your hand. It can provide an advantage in an emergency.

「If 2nd Secretary Specular saw the skill orbs of the royal family without permission, he would be executed on the spot.」

「Hmm…」

It seems to be a super secret.

That makes me want to have the 【Orb-See】 skill. Should I have looked at Specular-san’s skill while having 【World Ruler】 just now?

……No, my 【World Ruler】 is also a super secret, after all.

「Or it might be handed over directly to the 3rd Holy Prince. The 3rd Holy Prince is now 10 years old but he already has a marriage partner, who is from House Duke Riviere.」