Chapter 173
Chapter 173
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 172
Chapter Title: Pay-to-Win Knight
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“......”
I gazed at her quietly for a moment.
With senses that transcended humanity, I could detect something entirely new in her lower abdomen.
Closing my eyes and focusing my mind.
Thump.
A tiny heartbeat made a groan escape my lips involuntarily.
“This is......”
“Your Majesty?”
I looked at Flower, who wore a puzzled expression.
‘No way it’d turn out like this now of all times.’
In my twenty years living in Ardenia, I’d had relations many times, but never once had a child been conceived. I ignored the nobles’ mockery of me being a seedless watermelon. I knew it was a bit different from that.
Just like when I’d chew wild boar meat from Ardenia, head to Earth, and spit it out, only for it to separate into wild/boar/meat text and scatter away......
Parts of my body would detach and vanish after a certain time.
Not even a single strand of hair would remain on the bed I slept in, so there was no need to worry about contraception or pregnancy.
‘Looks like things changed a bit after acquiring this transcendent body this time.’
But even so, this was outrageous. It hadn’t even been thirty hours since we’d been together, and already I could hear a heartbeat? If not for my absolute trust in Flower, anyone else would suspect infidelity.
“Flower. That’s enough work for today.”
“Yes? But, Your Majesty.”
“You don’t look well. Hand off your duties and rest. You there.”
I called over a nearby attendant.
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
“Assemble all the Grade-5 administrators connected to Flower. Tell them to plan assuming she’ll be resting for three months from now—at longest, over a year.”
“Your Majesty?”
Flower jumped up in shock from her seat, but her voice lacked strength. Even my senses picked up her legs trembling faintly.
She seemed to think it was just from overexerting herself with me, but the problem wasn’t the act itself—it was the result.
I scooped her up into my arms.
“Eek! Your Majesty!?”
“Hand things off to the administrators and rest. Anything you’re craving?”
“N-No, what on earth......”
After carrying the flustered, blushing Flower to my bedroom and assigning maids to her,
“Prepare a huge variety of foods in large quantities. Quality goes without saying, right?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Don’t think one adult woman—assume ten able-bodied men.”
It had grown enough for a heartbeat in just two days. If this was related to the Extreme Intent Body, it would need a ton of food.
‘But I’m not sure. Even with the Extreme Intent Body, I’ve never heard of biogenetic factors automatically transferring to a child......’
I’d heard plenty about pregnancies being difficult instead. This seemed like a special situation caused by my Great Vessel and Ardenia’s existence.
“Well, whatever.”
I left the bewildered Flower in her room and headed to Hayes’s quarters next.
Ruuuumble—
Hayes sat cross-legged on the bed. The tangible true qi swirling around her body indicated this was no mere meditation.
“Hayes.”
“Whew......”
She gathered her true qi and opened her eyes.
“What, back already? I’m a bit worn out for another round.”
“Cut the whining. Any issues?”
She nodded at my question.
“For some reason, my mana detection’s been declining. I was checking if it’s from overdoing it last night or something else.”
“Hold on.”
I placed a hand on her abdomen. But honestly, I didn’t even need to.
Hummm......
My perception expanded. I could share the sensation of biogenetic factors spreading through her body.
‘As expected...... biogenetic factors. But different from Flower’s.’
Flower’s was unmistakably pregnancy, but Hayes’s was the standard process where the recipient of biogenetic factors became a vitality cultivator.
‘What’s going on? Why the difference?’
I pondered briefly before speaking.
“Hayes, Flower’s pregnant.”
“What? Didn’t you say you couldn’t?”
She was shocked, knowing my physical condition. I explained quickly to avoid misunderstanding.
“Yeah, that was the case. But my body changed recently...... and it seems that altered things.”
“Oh, right. Your body has changed a lot.”
Not just bigger in size—light beamed from my eyes, storms blew from my breaths! Of course, Hayes hadn’t seen that, but with my basal body temperature over 40 degrees, her keen senses wouldn’t miss it.
“Anyway, I’ve told her to drop everything and rest.”
“Huh? It was just yesterday...... no, the day before, and already?”
“Doesn’t seem like a normal case. Like I said, my body’s changed.”
“Wow. You’re drifting further from humanity in every way......”
She was stunned but showed no suspicion. From her perspective, creating a castle with a word or imprinting players would seem even more absurd.
Then Hayes suddenly asked in surprise.
“Huh? Does that mean I’m pregnant too!?”
“Want to be?”
She hesitated at my question.
“Hmm. If it’s with you, maybe not so bad...... but honestly, I’m not in the mood. I still want to train my sword more. Don’t think I’d make a great mom anyway.”
Her words gave me a thought.
‘Maybe that’s the cause.’
What determines the direction of vitality is aspiration. If you wish for four arms, you get four. If you want to be female, your body becomes female—that kind of supernatural power.
“Then no need to worry. Yours applied my factors differently.”
“Your...... factors?”
“Yeah. Your body’s probably going to change from now on.”
I left her various advice on vitality cultivation. Of course, as an existing inner power cultivator, accepting standard biogenetic factors could weaken her instead.
‘But it might be different for her.’
She might even acquire my Great Vessel.
“The declining mana detection was due to that...... Got it. I’ll keep an eye on things.”
“Eat until you feel like you’ve overdone it—always.”
“Yeah, yeah. My eternal gratitude, Your Majesty.”
Hayes chuckled, rising from the bed.
Then, as if it just occurred to her, she asked,
“Oh, right—have you met Red yet?”
* * *
Red.
The kid Hayes found and brought back—a middle-schooler at most. An orphan abandoned by her parents; normally, no reason for an emperor like me to care.
But Hayes didn’t bring her for no reason.
‘A hero of the future.’
Red held potential for the hero class Elementalist and the legendary class Master Wizard. Hayes had met her as an Elementalist before, so she recognized her.
“It’s an honor to meet you...... I’m Red......”
I looked down at the kid awkwardly bowing.
Still a child, but her vivid red hair and pale skin hinted at her future promise.
‘Well, she’s a named NPC, so of course.’
With that thought, I asked,
“So, you’ve reached 3rd class?”
“Big sis Hayes helped a lot. She even got me a magic book......”
“Which magic did you learn?”
“I’ve learned Circling and spells from the Elemental school. Sis Hayes recommended them......”
Red was extremely tense. A commoner orphan facing the emperor—natural she’d be nervous.
‘Definitely a genius among geniuses. It’s only been a few years since she properly learned magic, and already 3rd class.’
Hayes had suggested giving her a class, but I had no intention of that. No rush for combat power; better to teach her steadily from now.
“Any troubles?”
“Oh, no real troubles...... Ah.”
Red paused briefly.
“Something wrong?”
“Hmm. When deploying three or more spell formulas with overlapping coordinates, mana circulation slows. If I fix that, I think I could accelerate the Circling rotation......”
Silence fell over the audience chamber at Red’s words.
“......”
“......”
“......”
No one spoke. No one dared. The attendant who brought her, the maids on standby, the knights guarding me—they glared at her wide-eyed instead of voicing rebuke.
Their stares screamed they’d kill her on the spot! But Red seemed oblivious.
‘Ah, this kid’s a total airhead, huh?’
Asking the emperor about a magic snag when he inquires about troubles.
I laughed.
“Hahaha! So that’s your trouble.”
“Ah, sorry! I’ve just been thinking about it lately......”
“No need to apologize. Log out.”
I returned to Earth.
“Ha. Talk about something new every day.”
Chuckling wryly, I posted on the knowledge forum.
[Question] Troubled Lu Bu (Sprout): Anyone know about accelerating Circling rotation? ㅠㅠ
Training Circling from the Elemental school. There’s something that’s been bugging me lately.
When deploying three or more spell formulas with overlapping coordinates, mana circulation slows. Fix that, and I think I could accelerate the Circling rotation?
Any methods?
I posted the question and scoured the internet.
Sure enough, the articles I’d worried about were up.
[F·D Member and Apostle Han Jaeyeon’s Home Romance?]
[Flower ♥ Han Jaeyeon Dating—True?]
[Why Did Space Star and Game God’s Apostle Meet at Night?]
[Manager’s Assault Prompts Police Dispatch!]
[Transcendent Couple Born!?]
“Aigoo......”
Not too many articles yet. Police had just left, and reporters were still piecing it together.
But tomorrow, that’d change.
“It’ll blow over as a mishap.”
I wasn’t some idol under a no-dating clause—no real problem. Flower might have one, but...... nothing came of it, right?
“Come to think of it...... maybe for the best.”
After relations with Flower and Hayes, serious deficits hit my body. Lost 27 kilos of muscle, height shrank 10 cm!
If this uncontrolled ‘constitution’ had triggered with a transcendent like Flower?
Joke’s on me—my whole body’s muscles might’ve vanished.
“Meow!”
“Oh, replies already.”
I checked the knowledge forum.
Five answers already.
“No way, barely any mana input, and they’re replying this fast......”
But on second thought, it made sense.
34th Earth’s mage population: a whopping 5 billion!
Unlike Ardenia, where murders erupted over spells, 34th Earth had tens of millions of mages itching to chat magic.
“Log in.”
Back to Ardenia, I said,
“Don’t deploy the spell formula.”
“......Pardon?”
I explained to the dazed Red. Honestly, I barely understood it myself, but it was the top-recommended answer, so probably right.
“Keep the overlapping coordinate spell formula as is and just circulate mana. Maintain that circulation without breaking, and the formula will deploy naturally. That should make Circling acceleration easy.”
“......”
Red stared blankly at me, then closed her eyes.
“No way this kid......”
“Who does she think she’s......”
Knights and attendants stirred, unable to hold back. I raised a hand to silence them. Regardless of the tense atmosphere, Red knelt with eyes shut tight.
Then, at some point.
Vwoooom—!
A powerful resonance startled everyone. Even I, feigning calm, freaked out inwardly.
‘4th class!?’
I sensed her Circling expanding. Her mana was surging. Just a brief tip, and she’d broken through!
“Good heavens......!”
“No way...... Isn’t that 4th class?”
Even the ever-silent subordinates groaned. 4th class put you in the top 0.1% of mages in the Human Empire—and a middle-school girl had stepped in!
‘Genius is genius. Even legendary—not mythic—is this level.’
“Whew......”
Red opened her eyes, steadying her breath. Her red pupils shone like stars.
“Congratulations.”
“Ah, thank you! Thank you, Your Majesty!”
Red beamed. Her subordinates drowned in shock.
‘No wonder they’re stunned. She’s beyond their wildest imaginations.’
But their chatter differed from my thoughts.
“Even insights into magic reach the heavens......”
“One word increases her circles...... Truly, truly great.”
“They said His Majesty created the new Circling himself...... It’s real......”
I paused at their groans.
‘No, they’re misunderstanding something?’
But that reaction sparked an idea.