The Evil Emperor's Fragile Heart

"Guys! We found it!" Mana's cheerful voice greeted Raven and Fox. "Are you done eating?"

Raven quickly swallowed the sandwich in his hand and washed it down with another bottle of his favourite vanilla milkshake.

Mana entered as he was wiping his hands. "Are you feeling better now?" she asked Raven, peering at his face in concern. "At least your face looks a bit better than before…"

Raven smiled at her. "I'm all right now," he said. "Let's see the next one."

"Is it in a new language again?" Fox asked excitedly.

Mana nodded. "Arabic, this time. Big Brother is making records."

"You can read this, too?" Raven asked admiringly.

Mana giggled and nodded. "Either this ancient master has been kind enough to use only the languages I can somehow recognise…or I am even more impressive than I initially thought!" she boasted.

Fox frowned. "Just how are you able to read these weird languages from another world?" he demanded.

Mana winked at him. "Maybe I'm a goddess descending from the ancient master's world," she said lightly.

Fox huffed indignantly.

Raven, on the other hand, shot Mana a strange look, wondering if there was some truth to what she had said. He thought about her extraordinary knowledge of things no one knew or imagined…and yet her lack of knowledge about a number of everyday things. Could it be true? Did she, too, belong to the world of the ancient master and had come to this world? But why would she come here? Who did she come for…? And, most importantly, did she intend to go back…?

Seeing Raven in a daze, Mana nudged him gently. "Are you sure you're ok? We can rest a bit more, you know? We have plenty of time. Big Brother and I can go and search for the other two caves in the meantime."

Raven shook his head firmly. "Let's deal with the third cave first," he said.

The three of them hurried to the third cave. By then, Jules had finished recording and was putting away the copy machine. He had also taken the chance to send a note to King Jaren.

"Papa says to be careful and to make sure that Raven gets enough rest," Jules told the other three as soon as they entered.

Fox brightened. "The letter machine is working properly?" he asked eagerly.

Jules nodded. "This is a wonderful invention," he muttered.

"I'm sure it'll get even better as Fox continues to develop it, now that he has gained some ideas from the ancient master," Mana remarked.

Fox nodded happily. "Naturally. I'll start improving it as soon as I've made the promised set for Prince Raven and Princess Mana," he said.

"You don't really need to call us prince and princess all the time, you know," Mana told him. "It's quite contradictory when you call me a little brat in one breath and Princess Mana in the next!"

Fox looked taken aback. "Do you mind that I'm rude?" he asked in a small voice.

"You're not rude," Jules said immediately. "You're just blunt and truthful."

"It's a good thing," Raven added. "It's very refreshing."

Mana rolled her eyes. "See? Big Brother and Raven don't mind either. So just call us by name."

Fox flushed, liking his new friends even more.

Mana giggled mischievously. "Just don't call Papa as Papa unless you intend to court my Big Brother," she said.

Jules flicked Mana's forehead. "Don't tease your elders," he said. "Besides, Fox already has a sweetheart – didn't you see him with Vanilla the other day?"

Mana's eyes went round in shock. "Really? You and Vanilla?" she asked Fox.

Fox flushed and shook his head. "I was just speaking with her to see if I can make something to help her with her plants…" he murmured.

"Hmm…" Mana said, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "Who would have thought that behind this innocent face and blunt tongue resides a secret playboy?" she teased.

Fox threw a bottle of juice at her to shut her up.

"Er…can we start now?" Raven asked politely.

"Ah, sorry, Raven," Mana said. "It's so much fun to tease an old guy!"

"I'm not an old guy!" Fox protested.

"You're twice my age!" Mana retorted.

Jules rubbed his temples and caught Mana with one hand and Fox with the other. "You guys can quarrel later, after we go back home," he said impatiently. "Right now, we have to let Raven do what he needs to, and we have to support him."

Fox and Mana sobered immediately, and both of them had a sheepish expression on their faces.

Jules winked at Raven, who smiled slightly in response.

"Come on, then," Mana said. "Put your hand on the wall."

Raven did so, and was immediately wrapped in a fiery red light that burst from the walls. Fox, Mana and Jules took a step back, alarmed by the scorching heat and fixed their eyes on Raven.

Raven didn't seem to be too affected by the heat. He closed his eyes and seemed to absorb the light steadily. After a while, the light became more violent and swirled around Raven, lifting him off the ground.

The other three moved forward in tandem, ready to catch Raven as soon as he fell. Which turned out to be a wise decision, for a moment later, the light faded suddenly and Raven dropped to the floor.

Jules caught him in his arms. The younger boy was unconscious.

"Is it too much for him?" Fox asked anxiously.

Mana and Jules sighed, knowing that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Raven to get such rare knowledge and power. If he missed this chance, he may never again find something as precious. It was taxing for his small body…but it was necessary.

Raven woke up in a few minutes. His face was flushed and he was sweating profusely. "Is there anything cold to drink?" he asked.

Mana immediately chilled a milkshake with her water magic and handed it to him.

Raven drank it greedily, and Mana offered him a different flavoured one as soon as he finished.

Several bottles of cold beverages later, Raven's colour and breathing returned to normal. "There's a lot of fire-related spells and techniques here," he informed them. "Big Brother and Mana can benefit from them, too."

Jules frowned. "The last one was wind magic, right? And this is fire…then, what was the first one?"

"Earth, probably," Mana said.

Raven nodded.

"So, we're left with water and darkness?" Fox asked.

Raven nodded again. He stood up, determined. "Let's find the next one."

Jules shook his head. "No, you rest here for a while with Mana. Fox and I will go and find it," he said, and strode out before anyone could protest.

Fox thrust the food bag at Mana and hurried after Jules.

Raven felt very hungry all of a sudden, which was strange given the fact that he had just eaten. Mana, however, seemed to understand his hunger from the look on his face and immediately handed him a box.

"Try these," she said. "I made them myself and they turned out ok, I think."

Raven opened the box to see different types of little buns in it.

"They have different fillings," Mana told him. "There's all sorts of flavours!"

Raven picked up a bun and put it in his mouth. His eyes became as round as balls in astonishment. "This…this is delicious!" he exclaimed, as soon as he swallowed it.

Mana laughed and nibbled at a sandwich herself, watching Raven eat happily. When he was done, she quietly handed him another box. Raven was still eating by the time Jules and Fox returned.

"Big Brother should also eat something," Raven said as soon as he saw Jules.

Mana handed a couple of boxes to Jules, who brightened immediately.

Fox stole another pastry from the food bag, and Mana handed out some desserts to Raven as well.

The four of them ate happily for a while, enjoying the food and the company.

"These milkshakes are just too good," Jules said with a sigh. "My dear little sister, you've made something outrageously wonderful, you know?"

Mana laughed. "This is just the beginning, Big Brother," she said with a big grin. "Someday, I will take over the food industry across all kingdoms!"

"I think that's actually quite possible," Fox murmured.

Mana smiled at him. "I'll need your help. There's all sorts of food processing machines that you can make – and you'll get rich right alongside us!"

Fox blinked. "You're already a princess," he retorted. "Why on earth are you so interested in making money and business?" he asked, really curious. He had seen how clear-headed she was when it came to business, and how efficiently she had set up the cacao and vanilla farms. What he didn't understand was why she was so determined to make money. Wasn't she the royal daughter of the richest kingdom of their time?

Mana laughed. "You see, Fox, I have to raise a really powerful Big Brother and a really powerful fiancé – ordinary things won't work for them, and the good things cost money, right? So I have no option but to work really, really hard and makes pots and pots of gold!"