Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Two Dragon Hearts
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Two Dragon Hearts
Yuno focused on the hot mana surging within his body.
That energy grew hotter and hotter, building momentum like a blazing fireball.
'Ugh... My body feels like it's going to explode... I can't endure it...'
Unable to bear the scorching mana energy radiating as the Dragon Heart melted inside him any longer, Yuno opened his mouth to expel it. But the voice of Count Richtenaur from behind snapped him back to his senses.
"Your Highness! You must never open your mouth. What you're feeling right now is mana. Keep it contained within your body—focus every nerve on it!"
Count Richtenaur slowly guided the energy that had entered Yuno's body, continuously twisting his upper torso to find a vessel to hold it.
'Hmm... I need to locate His Highness's mana core as quickly as possible... Not the heart... Not the abdomen... Where the hell is it...'
Though the location of the mana core that stored mana varied from person to person, most had it near the heart—and Count Richtenaur himself was no exception.
But Yuno's wasn't near the heart, so he shifted it to the next common spot, the abdomen. No matter how he guided the mana, though, no storage site registered.
"Ugh... Hup!! Grgh..."
Count Richtenaur maneuvered the Dragon Heart's mana every which way in search of the mana core, but when even the abdomen yielded nothing, thin groans began slipping from Yuno's lips.
With Yuno sweating bullets and writhing in agony, Count Richtenaur decided to pull back for the moment and lifted his hands from the prince's back.
'Damn... The mana from the Dragon Heart His Highness consumed...'
The mana clump he'd been directing scattered through Yuno's entire body the instant his hands withdrew. The torment plaguing Yuno eased at once, and his eyes fluttered open naturally.
"Hoo~ Hoo... Captain? What happened?"
"Hmm... Your Highness, you have no mana core in either your heart or abdomen. Just to be sure, I circulated mana through both sides of your chest and even your neck, but it showed no inclination to settle. So I stepped back—and now the Dragon Heart's mana has seeped into spots all over your body."
After steadying his breath, Count Richtenaur laid his hand on Yuno's back once more and concentrated. The Dragon Heart's mana had gone dormant, but he diligently circulated his own mana anyway, hoping to pinpoint Yuno's core location. In the end, though, he found none anywhere in the prince's upper body.
"Your Highness... I'm sorry. I couldn't locate your mana core."
"Then what does that mean for me?"
"Regrettably... Bodies without mana cores do exist... It seems Your Highness won't be able to wield mana."
Yuno stared at Count Richtenaur, his face etched with profound disappointment. His current body—at just twelve years old—had endured grueling training beyond imagination, boasting strength surpassing even the imperial guard knights.
So he'd been certain that mastering mana would synergize with his formidable physique, unleashing explosive power and elevating him to unprecedented heights. The count's verdict hit all the harder for it.
"...I'm sorry, Your Highness. I'll find some way to resolve this."
"Hahaha, it's fine, Captain. What's a solution worth without a mana core? I sincerely thank you for devoting your time to me all evening."
Yuno offered a composed bow to Count Richtenaur, then dismissed him from the room, saying he needed some time alone.
The count felt even deeper pity at Yuno's demeanor.
"Sigh~ Composing himself amid such misfortune... It's tragic that someone with such a superb body and spirit lacks a mana core. I was convinced he'd surpass me as a warrior by far..."
Muttering under his breath, the count exited Yuno's room. He immediately spotted Empress Yuria approaching, so he bowed deeply in greeting.
"No need, Count. Rise. What of Yuno? How is my son?"
Empress Yuria helped the bowing Count Richtenaur to his feet, her questions tumbling out in haste about her boy's condition.
Gazing at her, Count Richtenaur cursed himself for bearing ill tidings—but he couldn't lie to the empress, so he relayed every detail.
"...I apologize, Your Majesty the Empress. It's due to my own inadequacies."
"Nonsense, Count. If anything, this keeps Yuno from venturing into danger—a blessing for me. But... the heartbreak for a boy who trained so fervently just for today..."
Yuria knew full well Yuno's obsession with training. Her heart twisted bitterly.
"Even so, His Highness didn't seem overly troubled. Mana-core-less folk are fairly common, after all. With that physique, he'd overpower a lesser noble knight with minimal sword practice."
'But... Yuno trained so diligently... He can't possibly brush this off...'
Count Richtenaur bowed to Yuria and withdrew. Her face heavy with regret, Empress Yuria opened the door. The sobs spilling from within stabbed at her chest.
'Ah... My son... You anticipated today so eagerly... Mommy's sorry... It's my fault for birthing you without a mana core... Forgive me, Yuno... Mommy's truly sorry.'
Yuria dismissed her attending maids and entered Yuno's room alone.
Yuno had cried himself to sleep on the bed after a long bout of tears. Yuria gently wiped his tear-streaked face with a handkerchief, then poured out the elixir she'd brought into a bowl.
"I brought this elixir fearing you'd overexert yourself taming mana today... Seems it won't help you after all, Yuno. Still, it might soothe your weary body some..."
The elixir Yuria had brought was a revitalizing tonic for exhausted bodies. Heart aching for her tear-fatigued son, she hoped it might aid him even slightly—and prepared to feed the sleeping boy from the bowl.
That's when her eyes fell on the box atop the table. Setting the bowl aside, Yuria approached. Inside lay a glass vial alongside a birthday letter from the crown prince.
The vial bore the label "Silver Dragon Heart Diluted Solution." Without a second thought, Yuria mixed it with her elixir and trickled the blend into Yuno's mouth.
Ignorant of pharmacology, Yuria never dreamed a gift from the crown prince—who adored Yuno so—could harm him. She poured every drop past his lips unhesitatingly.
"My son... Drink up and muster some strength. It may not amount to much... But it carries Mommy's love and the crown prince's care—it'll perk you right up."
Whether the imperial pharmacists' tonic truly worked, Yuno's breaths soon evened out. Yuria's heart eased somewhat; she tucked him back into bed, drew the covers over him, and returned to her palace.
Some time later, an odd phenomenon stirred within Yuno's body.
One half blazed feverishly, drenched in sweat—while the other froze solid, skin paling to ashen.
The excruciating pain shattered Yuno's sleep, leaving him clueless and forced to simply endure.
'Ugh... So hot... And freezing cold... Left side's unbearable heat—the right feels like it'll kill me with frost...'
The mana absorbed from the earlier Dragon Heart clashed viciously with the mana in the later-drunken Silver Dragon Heart solution, battling fiercely over Yuno's body.
Trading blows in relentless skirmishes, the two manas alternately seized control of his form. Each shift brought alternating torments: searing agony or icy torment, dictated by whichever held sway.
'Gah... So this is death... Damn you, god!! Greatest human body, my ass! Can't even handle mana... Ugh... Unfair. Even this life's cut short...'
At last, Yuno sensed the two manas slamming together massively within him. Convinced it was the end, he blacked out.
In that instant, the elixir Yuria had fed him activated, wedging between the colossal mana masses. The searing and glacial forces lunged to consume the intruding tonic energy—but instead mingled. Swelling enormously via the medicinal catalyst, the unified mana roamed Yuno's body before discovering a mana core at the elixir's origin point and settling stably there.
Thus, through Empress Yuria's heartfelt care, Yuno's mana cultivation concluded in miraculous success.