The Prince considered it a very bad joke. Duke Ambrose did not understand it very well.
"Do you think this is some kind of joke, for you to say something like that?" The Prince was furious.
"What do you mean? I apologize for any rudeness on my part, but I do not know where I was rude," he said while bowing respectfully to the Prince.
"You say you do not know how to use a sword, even though you were chosen by it."
"Ah, I am only an alchemist. I do not know how to use weapons, only a few spells."
"I ask forgiveness for this. He truly is an alchemist, that I can guarantee, but if he was chosen by the sword, all that remains for us is to accept it," Carmine interrupted to help Vans.
"I understand, but it is still strange. How was an alchemist chosen by the sword?"
"Maybe because this sword is fake," Vans said.
"What did you say? Do you dare insult the Hero and the Kingdom?"
"No, but this is a fact. This sword is not the Hero's. He used five swords, each one made by a different master blacksmith, but they all had something in common, the metal, mythril, and dragon scales. This combination makes the swords much more durable, unlike this one, which is made of common metal."
"That is a very serious accusation, and you will have to prove it or you will be condemned for trying to shame the image of the Prince," Duke Ambrose said while removing his sword from its sheath.
"All right," he said while placing the sword on the ground. With his right hand he held the sword at a forty five degree angle, then he stomped hard with his right foot. The sword cracked. "I think that proves the sword is a forgery."
The Prince became furious, not only with Vans, but with the way Vans demonstrated and proved that he was right. But a doubt appeared. If that was not the real sword, where was it?
"Begin an investigation immediately. I want to know where the real sword is," the Prince said to one of the guards.
Then the Prince gave a brief speech and said that he would investigate the whereabouts of the original sword and that whoever was responsible would pay for doing something like that and staining the image of the Kingdom and the King.
Duke Ambrose did not seem happy. He felt betrayed. It also made him feel embarrassed, since at no moment had he realized the sword was fake. On top of that, he could not remove it, but an alchemist managed to. That was the worst part. Someone without talent for the sword managed to receive the approval of a sword. Even though it was fake, it still made him feel embarrassed and betrayed. He did not know who had done that.
"You caused a problem. Now both of them hate you," Carmine said to Vans.
"That is not a problem, at least I do not see it as something very bad."
"That does not matter anymore, but tell me, how did you know that weapon was fake?"
"I can recognize the metal when I look at it because of these glasses. They are magical artifacts that allow me to analyze whatever I want."
The Duke looked impressed, at the same time he seemed afraid of what the Second Prince might do. But he kept his concerns to himself. That would be the best thing to do, since talking about something that might or might not happen would only cause unnecessary fear. Even so, it was still a bad choice.
Vans lost the sword and gained the hatred of a member of the high nobility and someone from the royal family. He was fine with that, but he was disappointed about not getting the sword. Not that he would use it, but dragon scales are good for some alchemical materials. The two dragons that had been defeated in the Tower did not have scales good enough to be used as utensils, but the scales from the sword could have been reused. On top of that, he could have had something he had always wanted, a mythril crucible. Vesta always considered it the greatest waste of resources, since that object could be made from clay, but according to Vans, she did not understand the true use of a crucible.
He was actually wrong. It would be a waste to use a rare metal for something so trivial.
Vans was crouching down to collect some herbs for the mission, but something caught his attention. He harvested the herb with a dagger, stood up, and turned his head to look around. He pretended that he had not noticed anything. The movements looked like those of someone simply searching for more herbs to gather. But he was using the ability of the glasses. He realized that there were two men hidden, one behind a tree and another behind a bush.
He remained calm and continued with the gathering mission. He was wearing clothes that any alchemist would wear. The clothes were also simple and did not look expensive, even though they were made from the best fabric of the Tower and sewn by a master of tailoring. So the men were not after him because they thought he was a rich man. Maybe someone had seen him leave the apothecary, or someone saw that he paid for lunch with gold coins the day before. It could be anything.
A brief thought crossed his mind, but he dismissed it. He could not imagine that the Prince or the other noble could be behind it. Even though the nobility was dirty, Vans did not believe they were responsible for one reason. He had done nothing, at least he did not think he had done anything wrong when he broke the fake sword.
He continued gathering herbs, but he was prepared to defend himself from an attack. Gradually he seemed to realize that what he had done was at the very least inappropriate. He should have spoken in a private environment that the sword was fake, or taken advantage of someone's naivety and sold the sword. Only then did he consider that those men might be after him because of the Prince and Duke Ambrose. But Vans did nothing. He stayed calm and acted as if nothing was happening.
He finished gathering the herbs for the mission and then began collecting some herbs he was personally interested in. He spent a few hours working. After that he returned to the Adventurers Guild. The men continued following him, but that no longer bothered Vans. What bothered him were the looks from the adventurers. They were talking about how Vans had managed to remove the sword and then discovered that it was a replica.
He approached the counter and then removed the herbs from his item bag. The receptionist counted the herbs and then made the payment. Vans went to the mission board and took another mission. He handed the paper for the mission along with the herbs that the mission required. The receptionist registered the mission and then registered it as completed, and then made the payment. Since the mission was a gathering mission there was no rule preventing that, since the mission was still on the board. She then asked him to wait a few minutes. After half an hour she returned with a new card. Now he was E rank and was officially considered an adventurer, since F rank adventurers are considered only novices who may never rise in rank because of laziness or death, even with easy missions.
He took the card, looked at it for a brief moment, and then placed it in his item bag. He was not very surprised or excited. In the past he had already been an S rank adventurer, even without knowing how to fight.
He left the guild and at the door two guards in armor were waiting for him.
"Vans, you have been summoned to the Court Mage Tournament. Your presence is requested at the arena. You must go in three days at nine in the morning. Your absence will be considered disrespect."
The guards left and did not allow Vans to ask any questions.
More looks and conversations appeared. Vans was even more confused, but gradually he understood. Making him embarrass himself would be the punishment he would receive. He was not impressed. He was only curious about it, since he thought the Prince had sent the two guards to kill him or simply fight him.
Vans gave a slight smile and returned to the mansion.