Children of the Holy Emperor - Chapter 400



Only Noblemtl

400. Pian (5)

Less than a few days later, Sungjin was finally able to resume his long-awaited morning practice.

When the third prince, who had been sick in bed for a long time, appeared in good health for the first time in a while, the knights in the training hall greeted him with joy and ran towards him.

“lowering!”

“Have you just returned to the Pearl Palace? Are you feeling better now?”

“Thank you, my lord! I have been eagerly awaiting your return!”

Seongjin felt a little uneasy at their enthusiastic welcome.

‘What? Why is everyone looking at me like I’m some kind of savior?’

Perhaps it was because Captain Bruno was becoming more and more enthusiastic about manipulating the resident knights, but there was no way Sungjin could have known about this fact.

“Go and practice. Why are you acting like it’s been a while since you last saw me? Didn’t you guys come to the main palace every time you were escorted?”

“Isn’t that just a visit to the hospital, not official work?”

And soon, the resident knights’ gazes were stolen by the small flames swirling around Seongjin.

“That… no, that person is the ancient fairy I heard rumors about!”

“It’s magical. The sparks really fly through the air!”

“Wow! This tiny thing is somehow cute!”

As the knights exchanged words with each other, the training ground became noisy in an instant.

“Are you really like the moon fairy Olivier?”

“Until now, I thought fairies were just fictitious things from fairy tales!”

Unable to stand by and watch, Captain Bruno stroking his sharp mustache stepped forward.

“Quiet! Everyone, listen carefully! This is Red, the Fire Fairy and loyal servant of Prince Mores! From now on, whenever you meet her, always greet her with respect and show proper courtesy as a knight commander!”

“Oh… … !”

The resident knights exchanged sparkling glances.

‘It’s Red!’

‘Isn’t the name really cute?’

Whoosh! Whoosh!

As if to confirm those words, red flames began to circle rapidly above Captain Bruno’s head.

Of course, that was just an illusion on the part of the resident knights, and in reality, the ‘Fire Fairy’ was madly angry at the captain.

[Shut up! Shut up! What the hell are you talking about? I’ve told you over and over again, my name is not Red!]

“Ahem.”

[Lee Seong-jin! Lee Seong-ji! Stop this fool!]

But to the other knights who couldn’t hear the Demon King’s thoughts, she just looked like a lively fairy playing around.

“I think that little fairy really likes Commander Bruno.”

“I’m so jealous that you’ve already become friends with a fairy!”

“Ahem! It’s nothing special.”

[No! I said no! Hey, you idiot! Why are you acting like you know everything about them? Tell everyone no right now! Quickly!]

Knock! Knock! Knock!

A fast-moving flame strikes the curtains of the captain’s aura, sending sparks flying.

Then, Max, who had been playing with a wooden plate from afar, pricked up his ears and ran quickly towards the flames.

Wong wong!

-What? What is that? Is that a new toy?

A large wolf-dog begins to leap towards the flames. It is the time of the Demon King’s suffering that will never be repeated.

[What are you doing again? Go away! You idiot mongrel dog!]

As the ‘Fire Fairy’ flew into the sky in annoyance, the resident knights began to tear apart the surprised and excited wolf-dog.

“Hey, Red! Calm down and come back here quickly!”

“Max, you punk! Red shouldn’t threaten you like that!”

“Red! Red!”

[Ah, everyone shut up! I’m not Red!]

Leaving the martial arts field in such disarray behind, Seongjin pulled out the sword at his waist for the first time in a long while.

Since ancient times, a drone has to be able to maintain focus in any situation. Of course not! It’s not because I get a headache looking at them.

“Phew… … .”

He takes a deep breath and raises his sword.

In the meantime, the familiar handle of a nutcracker was wrapped around my hand, where all the calluses had disappeared.

‘at las!’

Thump thump.

The ringing in my ears was constantly knocking on my mind, trying to quietly sink into myself. It was because my heart, which was throbbing with complete joy, was not easily calmed down.

Seongjin, who had been catching his breath for a moment, eventually gave up on complete composure and decided to simply surrender to the joy.

Imperial Knights Standard Swordsmanship, Type 1, Style 1.

Three-pronged slash.

Wheeze-

The soft morning sunlight pours down on the straight, falling sword blade.

The ray of light that flowed down obliquely, daring not to disturb the swordsmanship, soon created a long shadow on the floor of the training ground.

‘…It’s strange?’

Whirl- Whirl-

Seongjin absentmindedly thought about that as his body moved along as it remembered.

It was a strange sensation. It was exactly the same movement as before, but when I tried to cut it long, the air moved on its own and emptied the sword path.

When I crossed my swords and used a defensive stance, the thin air hit the blades, creating an unexpectedly light elastic sound.

The atmosphere was like a small whirlwind dancing to the beat of each swift thrust and withdrawal of the sword, and even a light beating of the hand.

It was as if the whole world was singing along with Seongjin’s sword.

“… … .”

The once noisy training ground was suddenly enveloped in silence. Everyone was holding their breath as they watched the scene.

The prince’s swordsman, whom I haven’t seen in a long time.

Although I had always admired him in the past, the way the prince was moving now was clearly different from his previous movements. Anyone with a certain level of swordsmanship would never be able to ignore that fact.

“… That’s amazing.”

“Are all geniuses like that? You’ve been away from training for quite some time, but your skills have actually improved more than before.”

“Shhh! Be quiet!”

Seongjin, who had completely tied up his aura and focused only on his sword, finally stopped moving after displaying the standard swordsmanship of the Imperial Knights twice in succession.

“after…….”

As he lowered his sword and exhaled softly, Masain, who had been watching the scene from the beginning to the end, spoke quietly. This was because he knew that the prince’s concentration had ended.

“… Even on your sickbed, you were only thinking about training. That’s not the sword of someone who just rests.”

Seongjin let out a small laugh.

“Haha. Did I get caught? Actually, while I was at the main palace, I was reciting the Imperial Sword Techniques in my head whenever I had the chance.”

I was dying to swing my sword. If I hadn’t done that, I probably would’ve just run out to the training ground, regardless of whether I had a high fever or not.

“How is it? Don’t you think that training in your head alone is quite effective? Somehow, it feels like my body is moving much more lightly than before.”

Seongjin shrugged his shoulders and regained his composure. Then, Masain asked again, looking puzzled.

“But your Majesty. The aura layer has recovered sufficiently, so why do you continue to tie up the aura and only practice swordsmanship? Are you thinking of skipping meditation today?”

“Hmm? Well, rather than that… … .”

What should I say about this?

“Actually, Sir Martha. I tried meditating as soon as I got back to the Pearl Palace last night.”

Just like swordsmanship training, Aura training is also one of the things that Seongjin really enjoys. However, he couldn’t bring himself to meditate in the main palace.

Even if the conclusion was ‘the blessing of the ancient spirits or something’, wouldn’t it be very awkward to release the aura in the main palace where knights are swarming?

So, I tried to tie up the aura as much as possible and endured it, but as soon as I returned to the pearl palace, I felt refreshed and started meditating.

“It was like that… … .”

“Is that so?”

“As you know, my aura turned into a very hot aura because of the blessing.”

Of course, no matter how hot the fire of Gehenna was, the body of Seongjin who controlled it was fine. However, when it came to the objects around him, the story was a little different.

“As soon as the aura started to circulate actively, the pajamas I was wearing started burning.”

“…yes?”

Martha’s expression quickly became serious.

“Your clothes are burning? Is the aura really that hot? Are you really okay?”

“Yeah, don’t worry. This fire will never harm me.”

However, the initial plan, such as ‘Haha, this is exciting! From now on, all attacks will have +3 fire attribute damage!’ had to be completely readjusted.

If I don’t somehow control this heat, every time I use my aura, everything I’m wearing will turn into tinder.

Of course, even now, if Sungjin really wanted it, he could control the temperature to some extent. It just took a little more time to handle it naturally like breathing.

“Huh? That’s amazing, the fairy’s blessing. Is the aura’s temperature that high?”

Lord Haven, who had been listening with his ears pricked up from the side, poked his head in with a curious expression.

“That would be great in the winter, but it would be absolutely hopeless in the summer. Thinking about guarding your Majesty next year, I can already feel the sweat running down my back.”

‘…summer.’

Sungjin frowned for a moment as he recalled the hot summer with the fires of Gehenna. But he soon decided to think optimistically.

Well, until then, we won’t be able to completely control the temperature, right? Winter will come first, after all.

* * *

Seongjin, who had spent most of the day training for the first time in a long while, had a long, tiring rest after dinner.

‘If only Auror had been in good health, I could have meditated to my heart’s content.’

Of course, that didn’t mean I was going to waste my time playing around aimlessly. There were still things I had been waiting to find out when I came to Jinju Palace.

Click.

I picked up the Nebraska amulet with a slightly complicated feeling, and the faint texts of the past flashed before my eyes. I had glanced over them in a hurry when summoning the Demon King the other day.

?List of souls that can be summoned by summoners 1/3?

?1. □□□□ (inactive)?

?2. □□□ □□ (inactive)?

?3, Belinda Miles (Active)?

As expected.

Haze and Red, who had disappeared into the soul stone, were replaced by new friends who were boldly placed on the summon list. It was truly absurd.

‘What’s that guy? Why is he here all of a sudden?’

Belinda? Is that the Belinda that Seongjin knows?

-Yes. I thought that I could approach the Lord someday beyond the pain. I had no doubt that there would be complete peace.

A remnant of the Penitent Church who escaped the Heresy Tribunal and was caught by Sungjin and his group, and was eventually beheaded by Logan’s informant, number 19.

-Finally, I am at the side of the Lord… …!

However, as the final moment approached, the fanatics of the dark cult strangely flashed their eyes filled with joy.

“Ugh… … .”

As Sungjin hesitated for a while while holding the amulet, the demon king, who was resting in a bowl he liked for once, began to flicker with flames.

[Wouldn’t it be clear if you just called him out on whether he’s the guy you know or not?]

“Um. Well, that’s true, but… … .”

The reason Sungjin was worried was nothing special. If you think about it, he just didn’t want to face another fanatic, considering how the first fanatic he summoned with the soul stone had appeared.

In addition, Belinda suffered all sorts of tortures until the moment of her death, and in the end, didn’t she have her throat cut? Just imagining what form that vengeful spirit would take before my eyes made my spine tingle.

[Wow… Are you really afraid of something like that? You’re called the Demon of Fire… … .]

“Oh, no! Just shut up! How many times do I have to tell you that it’s just a little awkward?”

Seongjin cut off the Demon King’s words. However, no matter how much he thought about it, in the end, the only solution he could come up with was to summon the spirit directly.

Seongjin finally sighed softly, picked up the empty soul stone, and chose the spear that appeared before his eyes.

?3. Belinda Miles (Active)?

?Would you like to choose a soul??

?*Accept* / Reject?

Ssaaaah-

As soon as you select it, the soul stone becomes tinged with a dark light. It is imbued with the soul of the summoned evil spirit.

After a while, only a small, navy blue soul stone remained on Sungjin’s palm.

?Belinda’s Soul Stone?

Oh, I really hate it.

?*Summon* / Release?

Let’s choose the summons with a reluctant heart –

Hwaaaaak!

As expected, a powerful spirit pressure swept through the room in an instant. It was stronger than Haze, but it was by no means lacking in momentum!

[Master! You called me!]

But the sight that unfolded before his eyes was a little different from what Seongjin had expected.

“…Belinda?”

When I asked half-heartedly, the summoned spirit nodded vigorously and answered.

[Yes, my lord. I am your faithful servant, Belinda.]

“… … .”

Seongjin couldn’t help but feel embarrassed inside.

Instead of a sinister demon shedding black tears, there stood a sturdy warrior clad in armor and armed with a huge club.