Chapter 15
Chapter: 15
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 15
>Chapter Title: The Whereabouts of Aura (1)
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Several days passed.
During that time, Seongjin spent his days productively shuttling between the library and the training grounds—fulfilling days devoted entirely to self-improvement without a care in the world, reminiscent of his school days decades ago.
The Pearl Palace housed Mores' private library, which was remarkably large and well-stocked given the palace's size.
He had always meant to check it out when he had the time, and just then, Amelia cautiously asked if she could use it. She had grown interested in recent international affairs and neighboring countries' situations and wanted to study specialized books on the subjects.
The princes' Azure Rose Palace and the princesses' Silver Rose Palace each had small libraries, but they were little more than personal studies stocked with light novels and general interest books. The council library or the main palace library were too far away.
In contrast, the Pearl Palace library had a substantial collection and the advantage of not being too far from the Silver Rose Palace.
"There aren't many libraries with this many specialized books. It was stocked with reference to the Theological Academy."
That was what the librarian-cum-administrator said, visibly delighted to see someone enter the dusty library after so long.
As expected, the Imperial Consort had poured her heart into building it for the Third Prince's education, and its quality rivaled that of a professional training institution.
On his first visit to the library with Amelia, Seongjin learned a shocking fact.
The language he had been using up until now wasn't actually Korean!
[Wow, I always thought something was off, but you only realized it now? I'm more shocked that you didn't know until this point.]
The Demon King snarked.
Seongjin flipped through books filled with unfamiliar script, his face blank.
'No way... Do I have to start from scratch with the alphabet?'
Once he became aware of it, Amelia's chatter beside him felt strangely alien. How had he not noticed until now? The sentence structure and pronunciation were like a completely foreign language.
Even more astonishing was that he still had no trouble understanding her words.
A sudden thought struck Seongjin, and he asked the Demon King.
'Just to check... You're not speaking Korean right now, are you?'
[What? You idiot?]
The response was absurd.
[Why would I, the Demon King of Gehenna, use the language of some backwater planet like Sigurd 34, and not even its lingua franca but some obscure corner country's tongue? I don't even know it.]
'Then how have we been talking this whole time?'
[Because I'm communicating directly with your soul via thought waves, you ignorant Earthling.]
The Demon King puffed up, seizing a rare chance to boast.
[At my level, reading thoughts transcends language. There is no tongue I cannot comprehend.]
Ah, I see.
So, did that mean Seongjin's ability to understand the language here was tied to the Demon King reading thoughts first?
The Demon King responded coolly to his question.
[Want to test it?]
With that, his presence vanished from Seongjin's mind in an instant.
'......!'
So that's what he meant by being able to distance himself a bit.
Seongjin stood there dazed when Amelia, who had been browsing around excitedly, approached him with a bright face.
"There are really so many books here, Mores. It doesn't seem inferior to the main palace library at all! Can I use it often from now on?"
"Of course, Lady Amelia. Feel free to use it anytime."
The unfamiliar words still flowed smoothly from his mouth. It didn't seem heavily dependent on the Demon King's presence...
'Maybe I'm a language genius after all?'
But the Demon King, returning moments later, dismissed the idea outright.
[The language center is in the brain, right? The soul is Seongjin's, but this body is Mores'. It's the body remembering it, wouldn't you say?]
It was a highly plausible explanation. If that was the case, then maybe...?
Clutching a sliver of hope, Seongjin pulled a book from the shelf and examined it closely. After scrutinizing it for a while, sure enough, he recognized a few characters.
Particles, onomatopoeia, very basic words.
[Like a kid just learning letters.]
The Demon King summed it up in one sentence.
Wow, Mores, you utter wastrel.
A prince who couldn't properly read until puberty? For real?
Suddenly facing foreign language studies he hadn't planned for, Seongjin stared blankly into space, and the Demon King teased him as consolation.
[Count yourself lucky that Delcross uses phonetic script. You know how to speak, so you'll pick it up quick. Fighting!]
On the other hand, life at the training grounds saw several changes.
For one, Seongjin, having slimmed down considerably, reduced his physical conditioning and cardio to start proper swordsmanship training under Sir Masain.
The swordsmanship he was learning—the Imperial Knight Order's standard style—was a remarkably concise and efficient art refined about a century ago by the legendary genius knight Banahas, based on the Delcross Empire's swordsmanship.
It streamlined the old style, traditionally passed down with 15 forms and nine stances each, into eight forms and ten stances for practical combat.
Its elegant yet highly effective movements, paired with the Banahas training method he also devised, had established it as the knight order's foundational swordsmanship.
Sir Masain focused on teaching him the most basic 1st and 2nd Forms, which served as the foundation for all others and were prerequisites for mastering the Banahas training method.
"Hmm, this is peculiar."
Sir Masain remarked curiously as Seongjin swung his wooden sword, sweat beading on his brow.
"Your Highness clearly lacks any foundation or proper stance in swordsmanship. Yet you handle the weapon with a certain familiarity."
Of course.
After decades swinging monster claws around, you pick up some stylish form of your own.
"And already, I see many bad habits. Keep tension in the arm gripping the sword until the very end. But Your Highness swings with full force and subtly relaxes before stopping. The same with frontal thrusts. Why do you keep twisting them counterclockwise?"
Damn it. Decades of wild swinging had come back to bite him.
Seongjin gritted his teeth and worked to straighten his sword paths as much as possible.
Fortunately, his tenacity—once he latched onto something, he stuck with it—shone through, and before long, he corrected most of the pointed-out habits. Of course, if he let his guard down even briefly, his right arm would twist unconsciously.
Sir Masain was satisfied.
"I had planned to drill the 1st and 2nd Forms until you reached the entry to aura training, but Your Highness is progressing faster than expected. We can advance to swordsmanship lessons a bit early without much issue."
As he learned the 3rd and 4th Forms, another bad habit surfaced.
"Why, on a simple diagonal upward slash, do you pull the sword back toward your waist? This isn't just a habit—the path is completely warped!"
Seongjin swallowed tears inwardly.
These were all born from hammering at monsters' hard shells for dear life, but Sir Masain had no way of knowing. In the end, he swung the wooden sword until his palms blistered, correcting every criticized habit.
Sir Masain's admiration went without saying.
"Your Highness truly seems a born swordsman! It's not just talent with the blade. Even accomplished knights struggle to fix ingrained bad habits, yet you tenaciously drill until you correct them! Sticking doggedly to one thing is one of the foremost virtues of a swordsman."
However, in stark contrast to his relatively swift swordsmanship progress, his aura training method yielded bizarrely no results.
The aura training method began by honing sensitivity to aura through meditation and gathering it, then gradually infusing it into the basic forms.
Talent determined whether this took days or years. Success meant consciously weaving aura into a single motion at will, marking entry into the training.
But most people began sensing and gathering even small amounts of aura within days.
Yet Seongjin felt nothing even after nearly a week.
After much deliberation, they doubled the meditation time.
"Aura permeates every movement in the body. Now, feel it starting from breathing in and out. On the inhale, fresh air and the faint energies within tingle as they spread through your chest."
"......"
"Calm your mind further and look inward. Feel the auras flowing through your veins to every corner of your body. Your mind grows serene...."
Sir Masain even tried something hypnosis-like in his impatience!
"It's not hypnosis! I was simply describing the aura absorption process in detail!"
He felt deeply wronged.
"Your Highness adapts quickly to swordsmanship, so perhaps performing the basic forms and sensing the flow that way could work."
So they tried that.
"Now, that motion again. At the end of the slash, do you feel a faint tickling sensation traveling up your arm? From elbow to wrist, aura rotates from inner to outer."
"Yes, then the sensation of striking from the knee downward, followed by power pushing up from the feet. Pop! Like that. Yes, pop! Alternating aura flows in opposite directions firmly anchor the lower body."
To Seongjin, it sounded like a dog barking at blades of grass.
Finally, the exhausted teacher and student collapsed limply onto the training grounds.
Hey, Sir Masain. Didn't you say you're really confident in basics?
"Hmm, I hesitate to say this, but Your Highness does seem somewhat insensitive to sensing aura itself."
The kind knight captain, who had tried not to point out Mores' lack of talent, finally gave this assessment.
"Entry into training took me over twice as long as others, but even I sensed and began gathering aura within two days."
Wow, Mores really had superhuman aura insensitivity.
As Seongjin clutched his head in despair, Sir Masain gazed wistfully at the training grounds sky.
"Come to think of it, I understand why Your Highness gave up swordsmanship as a child. Sir Logan, who started lessons with you, succeeded in entry in a single day, while you saw no progress after a year. It's enough to wilt anyone's spirit."
Sir Masain. When it's someone else's business, could you not fact-bomb their lack of talent like that?
By the way, who's Logan?
[Your brother. Idiot.]
The Demon King, bored during training, chimed in with what he knew.
It turned out the Holy Emperor had a considerable seven children.
Among them, the third son and Second Prince Logan—son of the Empress—was nearly the same age as Mores, just a few months older.
This brother was apparently a prodigy. A genius who entered aura training in one day, gifted with powerful divine power to boot.
He resembled the Holy Emperor most in appearance, so many were already lining up behind the Second Prince as the next crown prince.
His character was impeccable too, apparently. He was said to lead young holy knights in subjugating sea monsters voluntarily.
'Mores is the total opposite.'
A wastrel lounging in a annex palace, stuffing his face—zero divine power, aura dunce.
A talented, kind-hearted young holy knight slaying sea monsters for the people.
Perfect for comparison.
'Thinking that way, Mores is kinda pitiful...'
As Seongjin gazed blankly at drifting clouds, Sir Masain, who had been sitting slumped with head bowed, suddenly clenched his fist and sprang up.
"This won't do. Your Highness! We need some drastic measures!"
"......?"
Seongjin looked up puzzled, but Sir Masain's eyes burned with resolve, as if he'd steeled himself for something grand.
"It's too early to give up. There's still one thing we haven't tried!"
Why not try it sooner? Is it dangerous?
"It's fine. When I was young and stuck at entry, it helped tremendously."
"I-if that's the case..."
"Then, may I have your hand?"
Seongjin rose warily and extended his hand.
"Trust me! I will definitely help you sense aura!"
Sir Masain gripped Seongjin's hand, reaffirming his faith, his face grimly determined.
This feels really ominous.