[CHE] 020. CLOSED PRAYER (2)

The demon king has disappeared. Since when?

It was too late to notice because he was intoxicated with the feeling that his whole body filled of Aura. Come to think of it, it seems that there has been no sign of him since morning.

There are often times when he was crouching down without saying anything, so even if it was quiet, he didn’t think it was a big deal.

‘Is it true that he hasn’t been there since morning?’

How was last night. After being caught in a storm, he was brought back to the Pearl Palace while he was dreaming and fell asleep until morning.

Was the demon king there back then?

‘Oh, wait a minute. When was the last time he spoke to me?’

Seongjin recalled the voice of the demon king who had been caught in the storm and screamed.

– Oh crazy! He’s thinking of pouring more here!

– Kuaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Could it be that that was the last time?

Seongjin broke out in a cold sweat.

As expected, just as Seongjin’s consciousness flew to Earth at that time, the demon king also flew to another world somewhere.

Or, although it’s a hypothetical assumption, wouldn’t it be possible that the soul of the insignificant demon king perished in that powerful storm?

If he’s drifted away somewhere, where should he find him?

‘But do I really need to find him?’

Since only the two of them flew to this world, they have their own sense of comradery, so they keep watching, but the two are originally implacable enemies. Wouldn’t it be good for both of them if he disappear like this?

Seongjin, who thought for a moment with a hard face, stirred his hair wildly.

Oh, whatever. He said he couldn’t leave this body, but if he survived, he’d be back soon.

* * *

Seongjin, who arrived at the gymnasium later than usual, was taken aback by the unexpected situation. It was because as soon as he entered the entrance, five or six of his knights rushed over and all at once put their hands on his chest and bowed his head.

“Greetings to the Third Prince!”

One voice booms. What’s this? For a moment, he thought he was watching the main palace guards.

Seongjin rubbed his eyes and looked at them again, but there was no doubt that they were the resident knights of the Pearl Palace.

What did they eat wrong? Why are they suddenly like this?

“Your Highness! You’ve arrived!”

From the other side, Sir Marthain walks with a fresh face.

Seongjin, who instinctively realized that this change had something to do with that person, asked.

“Sir Marthain? What’s with them?”

“Yes, Your Highness. Discipline is slack, so I did some mental training yesterday and today.”

From now on, he’ll take good care of them so that they can become someone who can help him him by his side. Marthain added with a bright face, and the faces of the resident knights who were supporting each one turned dark.

Come to think of it, Seongjin also had something on his mind. When Sir Marthain appeared at the gymnasium, all the knights ran away with their backs.

He passed it on without much thought at the time, but it seems that Sir Marthain is more notorious among knights than he looks.

Seongjin looked at the resident knights with a little pity.

They were shameful people who dared to show only disrespect towards the prince, but their face is already turning black, no matter how much they have rolled over the past two days. Seeing that pitiful figure, I didn’t even feel hatred.

“Hmm, Sir Marthain. You work for the main palace guards and even takes care of my swordsmanship, but isn’t it too much to manage even the resident knight?”

However, Lord Marthain was adamant.

“Residents is recruited here and there, but belongs to the Imperial Guard. I have no tolerance for the discipline of those under my responsibility.”

“Uh, yes……”

Seongjin shook his head excitedly at the resident knights whose eyes were slowly fading.

Wasn’t that what you usually do well?

Once he started to feel the Aura, the class was a breeze.

Seongjin, who was meditating after listening to Marthain’s detailed explanation on how to save energy, was able to create an Aura core the size of a millet near the lower abdomen.

The auras, which did not listen and escaped here and there even after trying to fix them, suddenly came together in a circle the moment they filled up a certain amount and found stability. It was still a small amount, but he could feel the Aura spinning a little more actively around the core.

‘It’s definitely a different quality from the spirit of a monster that spreads evenly throughout the body and is absorbed…..’

And before long, he was able to build up even the first layer of Aura around the core. It was more difficult to stabilize than the core, but eventually the Aura began to spin smoothly in the lower abdomen, creating a ball the size of a grape.

“It’s really amazing that you can make all the layers in one go! It’s hard to believe that you were lost before.”

Most of all, it was Marthain who was delighted with his achievements.

“Now all that remains is to constantly build layers! Of course, the Aura is also stored in the muscles and skeleton, but this is a gradual change that occurs as a result of using the Aura for a long time. There’s nothing more explosive than layering an Aura core.”

You’ll need at least three layers to properly weave into a swordsmanship movement, he added.

Seongjin, who was excited about the achievement he had made, was about to try to go up to the second layer, but Marthain shook his head.

“It will take a little longer to build the second layer. If the power required to make a core is one, and the power required to make the first layer is roughly three, then when building the next layer, at least close to 10 Auras must be gathered at once.”

According to his explanation, much more Aura is required to offset the force of repulsion between layers than to form layers. As the layers pile up, this repulsive force increases exponentially.

Culmination of the body. When it comes to the level of the 10th layer knight, Dekaron Knight, the repulsive force alone reaches hundreds of times compared to the first layer.

“Therefore, it is necessary to meditate for a long time and practice using a much larger amount of Aura than now. It’s fast enough even now, so take your time and proceed slowly.”

So, Marthain added cautiously.

“I apologize for seeming to disturb you while you are engrossed in your practice, but if you have time, could you please visit the main palace for a while?”

According to him, all of the Holy Emperor’s official schedules today have been canceled.

Of course, everyone knows that he is fine now, but it was still an incident in which the surroundings was destroyed and the Holy Emperor collapsed from exhaustion. It seems that it is good for others to see that the prince visits the hospital before it is too late.

Even so, the last thing he saw yesterday was him lying down unconscious, so he was a little worried. It’s a bit of a burden to just visit without an appointment to see His Majesty the Holy Emperor.

When he said that, Marthain smiled.

“Perhaps important people have already visited the hospital. He got to skip his schedules with great energy, but he must have been unable to take a break because he was greeted by people he was not happy with. He’d be very happy if he could see the prince’s face even for a moment.”

Seongjin nodded obediently and held out a wooden sword to Marthain.

There would be plenty of time to practice in the future. At least, isn’t it all thanks to the Holy Emperor that came to be possible?

When he was still concentrating his mind on his chest, I still felt like something was shaking.

However, Marthain’s face as he accepted the wooden sword was a little strange.

The eyes that were round from laughing are gradually distorted, and the corners of the mouth that used to draw a smile tremble.

What, why are you like that all of a sudden?

“I don’t think the day will come when the two of us can live like this again……”

“……?”

Marthain, who had swallowed his words as if he was laughing or distorted, turned around before Seongjin could ask. Then he pointed out two of the resident knights waiting by his side.

“You and you! Escort His Highness to the main palace. The rest will go round the gymnasium from now on!”

Yeesss?

As the knights’ faces turned pale, Marthain yelled.

“You sent the prince to the main palace alone yesterday without an escort? Can you guys still be called the proud Guards of Delcross! From now on, I’ll rip off that poor mental head and fix it!”

Uaaaaaahhh.

Hearing the desperate screams of the knights, Seongjin quietly conveyed his condolences.

* * *

The Holy Emperor was receiving all the visitors in the drawing room attached to the bedroom.

By the time Seongjin arrived, there were already visitors in the parlor.

“Oh, Prince Morres! How can you be so devoted! The future of the Holy Empire seems to be in blissful brilliance!”

Chief Chamberlain Louis gave a grandiose compliment and then gave a sneaky hint.

“… Her Majesty the Empress is currently inside.”

When the Holy Emperor was absent from his duties, Louis explained, Empress Tatiana would usually fill in for him on official occasions.

As he approached the open drawing room entrance, he heard the sound of quiet conversation.

“… how about… Rohan’s… protest……”

“… informal… one by one… required……”

“… possess a problem… until the birthday… careful……”

Louis politely knocked on the open parlor door.

“Your Majesty the Holy Emperor, Your Majesty the Empress. Prince Morres ate it.”

The two of them, sitting on the sofa and drinking tea, looked back at Seongjin at the same time.

“Oh my!”

The first to respond was the Empress.

She opened her eyes wide, then covered her mouth with her hand and smiled softly. Even if it wasn’t, her slightly drooping eyes gently curved.

“Prince! In the time I haven’t seen you for a while, you’ve become very wonderful. How happy Lizabeth will be!”

Clatter. Afterwards, the Holy Emperor puts down the teacup with a slightly harsh sound.

There didn’t seem to be any major changes in his expression other than his slightly widened eyes, but Seongjin’s sharp eyes noticed the slightly trembling pupils.

Hold on a second?

What are you so surprised about?

As he looked at him with a puzzled look on his face, feeling betrayed for some reason, the Empress stood up with a smile on her face.

“This… I guess I was holding on to the sick person too carelessly with business as an excuse. I will get going, so you two have a good time.”

“Then take care on the way back, Tatiana.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Please do not forget that the birthday is near.”

Then, with graceful movements like flowing water, she gently approaches Seongjin.

She was a tall, crane-like beauty. With an inertial eye smile on the corners of her waterdrop-like eyes, the Empress lowered her head toward Seongjin and whispered.

“It makes me very happy to see the prince in such good health again. How great was His Majesty’s concern so far. That’s right, I hear you’ve got a little trouble with your memory, right?”

“Yes, what……”

He didn’t know the proper response, so he just answered with a sullen face, and the Empress gently raised the corner of her mouth.

“Prince, don’t dwell on it and be respectful. Everyone will be happy just letting go of the past.”

“……?”

He doesn’t know what she wants to say, but why does it feel like he’s being turned around?

As Seongjin frowned involuntarily at the unknown displeasure, the Empress took a step back from him and smiled harmlessly.

“Then, I will leave.”

She caught a glimpse of the Holy Emperor’s eyes, which somehow became cold, bowed gracefully, and left the drawing room.

“……”

“Sit down.”

The Holy Emperor pointed at the sofa across him with the tip of his chin. Seongjin slumped back in his seat, leaving behind his slightly uneasy feelings toward the Empress.

“You’re busy, but didn’t I interrupt you for nothing?”

“No, it was just fine. There will be no audience or official schedule for the time being from tomorrow, so it will be hard to see your face for a while.”

“Yes? Could it be that you need long-term care?”

He looks fine to him.

While Seongjin was puzzled, the Holy Emperor shook his head.

“I plan to enter the prayer room soon. I just handed over the work a little earlier.”

“The prayer room?”

“… That’s something you don’t remember.”

According to the Holy Emperor, he sometimes had to leave for days to pray.

In the meantime, the official schedule was given to the Empress, and the cardinals who were in charge of the council’s chairman and the executive department were delegated their respective powers before closing.

In the depths of the main palace, there is a huge prayer room that only the Holy Emperor can enter, and it is said that the door is sealed by the Order of the Holy Knights so that no one can enter or leave while he is inside.

They did say that this is a theocratic country, and the head of the country even does closed prayers.

Seongjin, who was close to an atheist even in the previous world, had no choice but to ask this without realizing it.

“Pray for what? For the Empire? Does that even work?”

He wondered if it was a bit of a celibate question to ask the Holy Emperor, who is said to be the representative of the Main God, but his answer was unexpectedly cool.

“At least people won’t believe that.”

So it’s an official excuse to loaf around.

No wonder the Holy Emperor, dressed comfortably and holding a teacup, looked somewhat relaxed. There is no court uniform, which was always worn in an assortment of colors, so it feels like he was on vacation.

“By the way, it seems that you have finally made progress in your practice. Is it still on the first layer?”

Seongjin, realizing that the Holy Emperor’s eyes were on his lower abdomen, was certain.

This human, it seems that he really comes and sees something.

“Yes, thanks to Father, I finally made my Aura layer. So, I have a question for you.”

“What are you curious about.”

“Yes, what the hell happened to my body?”

A change close to metamorphosis that cannot be explained simply by forming Aura. At least, Seongjin had no doubt that the incident yesterday had had a profound impact.

“Hmm……”

The Holy Emperor slightly averted his gaze.

“It’s not that I don’t have any guesses……”

A slurred expression is a rare expression of lack of confidence.

“As you know, Aura has the property of restoring the human body and transforming the body into an ideal form.”

Seongjin had also heard sufficient explanations from Marthain. When Aura flows through the body, the body changes in a positive direction.

Didn’t he just say that it was a gradual change over the course of a lifetime?

“It’s more likely a matter of total amount of Aura than a matter of time.”

According to his explanation, it was. Even if you use your Aura every day, there will always be a limit to the amount that your body can absorb and use throughout your life. This means that if a sufficient amount of Aura is supplied, the change in the body can also be rapid.

That’s what it means.

“Are you saying that the amount of Aura that passed through my body yesterday exceeds the amount of Aura that humans roll in a lifetime?”

Seongjin opened his mouth wide. Is that possible?

T/N:
It’s possible because your dad is op lolol.

Also some extra information, Holy Emperor Nate has three wives. Tatiana, the Empress, is Second Prince Logan’s mother. Lizabeth is the First Queen and as we know is Third Prince Morres’ mother. Then there’s Melody, the Second Queen and the mother of the Third Princess, and also the woman Nate was with when he found out he was, in fact, not impotent lmao. He also has a lover who lives in the Imperial Capital but outside of the palace, probably because she refused the position of queen, who is the mother of the twins Fourth Prince and Second Princess. First Princess Amelia’s mother already passed away, and I don’t know about the First Prince Owen’s mother but I’m assuming the same.

I didn’t say the names of the children that hasn’t been named in the story yet lol. Once they’ve all been mentioned in some way I’ll make a separate post for character list and brief introduction.