Silvia, who had been listening to Kousuke and the others, suddenly thought of something.
“Has King Maxim ever traveled when he was young?”
“Traveled? Of course, from official duties to private trips, I believe he’s done a lot within the country, wouldn’t you say?”
Silvia stared at Alec, who answered with a puzzled look.
“Then, during those times, did he perhaps make contracts with monsters…?”
Hearing Silvia’s question, Alec put on a troubled expression and crossed his arms.
“No, that’s unlikely… Even on private trips, he was the Crown Prince. He would have had guards with him. If he had made a contract then, it surely would have become a rumor.”
Even if the guards were sworn to secrecy, the mere fact that Maxim was accompanied by a monster would undoubtedly generate rumors.
Under such circumstances, it would be impossible to keep it hidden from other members of the royal family.
While Alec was away from the country for a long time, it would be unnatural for other royal family members to have heard nothing of such a tale unless it was intentionally concealed.
Floria shook her head left and right at Kousuke, who was giving her a meaningful gaze.
“No, I understand what you’re trying to say, but in this case, there would be no reason to hide it from Father, so I don’t think it’s likely at all.”
What Kousuke wanted to convey was whether it was possible that other royal family members, including Alec who had served as Prime Minister of another country, had hidden it.
However, making a contract with a monster that could soothe others would be a positive, rather than a negative, for a country.
Even if an enemy country attacked to steal that monster, it wasn’t guaranteed that the monster would work for that country, and it was more likely to disappear on its own accord.
Even if they tried to forcefully confine it, the possibility of it using its intended skills would be low, so there would be no point in attacking in the first place.
Even if this is an extreme example, it’s a general rule that familiars used by Tamers and Summoners cannot be used by others if stolen.
If someone were to try and use a stolen monster, they would need to possess the necessary skills.
A country might be able to provide someone with such skills, but it’s highly unlikely that any country would go to such lengths for just one monster.
Of course, if that monster were a legendary one, the situation would be different, but such monsters would never easily obey anyone other than their master.
Ultimately, the conclusion is that even if the Crown Prince could contract with a monster, there would be no need to hide it from others.
Kousuke, who nodded in agreement with Floria’s words, suddenly had a look as if he had thought of something.
“…Does that mean, perhaps—”
“I know what you’re thinking, but it’s best to stop,” Floria interrupted, cutting him off.
“W-Wait. I haven’t even said anything yet!?”
“I know just by looking at your face. You’re probably going to ask what would happen if Kousuke’s familiars were given to the royal family, aren’t you?”
Seeing Floria say that with an exasperated look, Kousuke had an expression of “How do you know?”
Seeing Kousuke’s expression, Floria sighed and continued.
“Anyone would know if you make that face. Kouhi, of course, should have noticed too, Silvia should have as well.”
Seeing Kouhi and Silvia nod in agreement with Floria, Kousuke looked embarrassed.
“…I thought it was a good idea.”
“There’s a different kind of value attached to Kousuke’s familiars, so it’s better not to. …Unless you’re talking about sending them to all the royal families that exist, of course.”
“That sounds like too much trouble.”
Kousuke, who had been told by Floria something he didn’t want to do, looked resigned .
What Floria had told Kousuke earlier was about naturally occurring monsters.
However, if it was a familiar received from an Avatar, its value would change completely, as Floria had mentioned.
It had the potential to be worth more than a Divine Gift, so it was best not to do anything rash.
Of course, if the familiar wasn’t revealed to be from Kousuke, no one would know, but Floria kept silent about that as well.
She knew it would be troublesome if Kousuke took it seriously after she said something unnecessary.
She also remained silent about giving Renka a wolf, as bringing it up would likely cause further complications.
Fortunately, Kousuke didn’t notice this and continued.
“Well, putting that aside, so it’s safe to assume that King Maxim did not contract with a monster during his travels, right?”
“Yes. I can’t say the possibility is zero, but it’s highly unlikely.”
As Alec declared this with certainty, Kousuke pondered with his arms crossed.
“Which is more likely, do you think: King Maxim contracting with a monster while inside the castle unnoticed, or…”
When Kousuke muttered something so trivial, everyone present fell silent.
If Kousuke’s predicted “monster theory” was correct, then King Maxim must have formed a contract in some way.
In that case, King Maxim would have succeeded in forming a contract unnoticed by those around him, despite the extremely low probability of any method he might have used.
The first to react to Kousuke’s words was Silvia, who had little connection to the Florece Kingdom.
“There’s no point in thinking about that now. Besides, it hasn’t been confirmed that the power present is due to a familiar.”
“Well, that’s true,” Kousuke nodded at Silvia’s words, but Floria eyed him with suspicion.
“But Kousuke suspects it’s a familiar, doesn’t he?”
“I do, but it’s just one possibility. And the possibility of magical tools or magic circles hasn’t been ruled out either.”
Even Kousuke wasn’t knowledgeable about all the magical tools and magic circles that existed in this world.
In fact, he was still discovering unknown technologies.
In that sense, it had not yet been determined that King Maxim had a familiar.
At Kousuke’s words, Floria sighed deeply.
“In the end, we won’t know until we investigate properly.”
“That’s right. Ah, that reminds me…”
“What is it?”
To Floria, who tilted her head slightly and looked at him, Kousuke asked what he had just thought of.
“If we get permission to investigate, would it be okay to bring Nana or Sura along?”
“Hm? Well, I wonder about that…”
Floria hummed briefly and tilted her head at Kousuke’s question.
Of course, Floria, and those close to Kousuke like Alec, would understand why Kousuke would want to bring Nana.
However, bringing familiars into the private chambers of a king, someone with whom they had no strong connection, would be impossible.
Even if it were Kousuke’s divine beast, it would be questionable whether permission would be granted.
If it were a temple, permission would likely be granted immediately.
Nevertheless, Floria, understanding what Kousuke was implying, said after a moment’s thought:
“Well, I’ll ask about it on the off chance, but don’t get your hopes up. And please, don’t think about trying to sneak Sura in unnoticed either.”
As Floria emphasized this, Kousuke averted his gaze.
Seeing Kousuke’s expression, Floria realized that he had indeed been contemplating that very thing.
Will the result be one way or the other!
With that said, in the next installment, we will visit King Maxim’s room again after obtaining proper permission.
Whether Nana or Sura will be brought along will be a surprise until then! lol
