Chapter 16
Chapter 16
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Master (1)
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"What? The Third Prince has no Mana Core?"
The next day, as soon as Count Richtenaur's report reached the cabinet meeting hall, chaos erupted.
"What did I tell you? I said His Highness the Third Prince wasn't ready for such a grand gift yet, didn't I? Sigh~ What a waste of a perfectly good Dragon Heart."
"Wasn't this something even Crown Prince agreed to? And it was just a tiny fragment anyway, wasn't it?"
"Do you have any idea how much even that 'tiny fragment' costs?"
"Hmph! Even so, it's not even a hundredth of what the Ministry of Finance blew on that canal from Spirit Lake to the capital!"
"What? You done talking?"
As the Minister of Administration, the Minister of Finance, and the Minister of Military Affairs tangled and bickered, their subordinates joined in, hurling accusations at one another. The Prime Minister, who had called the cabinet meeting, felt a throbbing headache coming on.
Especially the Minister of Finance, aligned with the Second Prince's faction, launched fierce attacks on the administration and military ministries. Now, voices were even rising to hold the Crown Prince accountable.
Bang! Bang! Bang!!
"Quiet down!! What kind of disgrace is this in front of His Majesty?"
Only after the Prime Minister slammed the podium and forced them to silence did the throne room finally quiet. Then the Emperor spoke.
"Count Richtenaur. Then what is the Third Prince's condition now?"
"There are no major issues with his body, and he is currently resting in a deep sleep. Since he couldn't store the Dragon Heart's vast mana separately, I believe he will simply sleep for a few days as the mana slowly dissipates."
"It's a shame about the Dragon Heart, but the Third Prince is safe—that's fortune enough. Investments come with risks of failure. Do not speak of this matter further."
At the absolute sovereign Emperor's stern command, Count Dietrich, the head of the Second Prince faction and Minister of Finance, who had been gaining momentum, quietly shut his mouth.
With Yuno's matter settled by imperial decree, the meeting shifted to other discussions. The Emperor left state affairs to the Prime Minister and ministers, departing for Yuno's palace with Count Richtenaur.
"Your Majesty! What brings you all the way here..."
Yuria, who had been sitting on the bed wiping Yuno's forehead with a damp cloth, rose to greet the Emperor. Isabella, Marie, and Eliza Princess, who had been gazing at Yuno with heartbroken eyes, also knelt in courtesy.
"Hoho. Rise, all of you. Hmm? Even Princess Eliza is here. I've heard you've been close to Yuno lately... Anyway, Empress Dowager. How is Yuno's condition?"
"He seemed to sleep well last night, but he still hasn't woken."
"Hmm... Physician! What is your judgment?"
At the Emperor's call, the court physician, who had been preparing medicine in the corner, hurried over and prostrated himself.
"Yes, Your Majesty. As Her Majesty the Empress Dowager said, there's nothing more to be done from the outside. However... His Highness Yuno does have a Mana Core."
"What? Count Richtenaur! What is the meaning of this? Didn't you say just earlier that Yuno has no Mana Core?"
"Ah... No, yesterday I checked every part of his body... Physician!! Where exactly is this Mana Core?"
With the Emperor and the Captain of the Imperial Guard Knights glaring at him fiercely, the physician panicked, bowing his head as cold sweat poured down.
"I humbly report, to my great shame..."
"Shame? What is it?"
"His... His Highness Yuno's Mana Core is located in his testicles... Moreover, thanks to his exceptional constitution, it seems all the mana from yesterday's Dragon Heart fragment was absorbed there..."
No sooner had the physician finished than Count Richtenaur thrust his hand onto Yuno's abdomen, channeling mana downward unlike the day before.
At that instant, an enormous repulsive force erupted from Yuno's testicles, hurling Count Richtenaur backward.
Boom!!
"Guh!! Th-this...?"
"Count!! What happened? What just occurred?!"
"Is Yuno... Is Yuno okay?"
Startled by the commotion, the Emperor and Yuria rushed to Richtenaur, but he was too flustered to respond.
'Wh-what was that mana just now... Even in my surprise, for it to repel a master's mana like this...'
But as the Emperor and Empress Dowager pressed him, he quickly regained his composure and explained.
"It seems His Highness fully absorbed the Dragon Heart—one hundred percent... Normally, when starting cultivation, mana stones or herbs are ingested, and most of the mana dissipates while stimulating the Mana Core to enable mana use, with only a tiny fraction absorbed. But His Highness..."
"Th-then isn't that a huge problem?"
"Ah! Come to think of it, since the Crown Prince's gift to Yuno was a Dragon Heart solution that I thought would help, I gave some more to Yuno while he was unconscious. Could that have..."
At Yuria's confession, Richtenaur couldn't help shouting.
"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager!!! How could you do such a thing without consulting me!! Even if it was just a fragment and solution, if he absorbed all the mana contained within..."
The Emperor and Yuria now stared tensely only at Richtenaur's lips.
However, ignoring them, Richtenaur stood, approached Yuno cautiously, and injected the tiniest trace of mana.
As Richtenaur's mana neared, Yuno's Mana Core reacted violently again. But since he wielded it with extreme care this time, there was no major backlash. Richtenaur circled the Mana Core once, roughly gauging Yuno's current state and mana quantity.
"Whew~~ I've got a general sense. As the physician said, he'll wake in a few days with no major issues. The mana volume is so immense that stabilizing the Mana Core will take time, but there shouldn't be any lasting harm."
Only then did the Emperor and Empress Dowager sigh in relief, relaxing their tension.
"But how vast is Yuno's mana that it flung you like that? Aren't you the empire's strongest master?"
"That's an empty title at best... I became the empire's top knight through swordsmanship, not sheer mana volume. Of course, I am at master level..."
Richtenaur gave a wry smile and continued.
"The problem is teaching Prince Yuno. With the Mana Core not in a normal position, it's hard to handle mana with the Imperial Army's standard swordsmanship or the knights' orders' techniques... If it were even in the abdomen, there might be some leeway, but that embarrassing spot..."
At his words, both the Emperor and Empress Dowager fell deep into thought.
"Then maybe Yuno doesn't need to learn swordsmanship at all? He does have a strong desire to grow stronger, but... as royalty, knowing how to protect himself is enough. He doesn't need to become that powerful."
"What are you saying, Empress Dowager? Yuno will be the guardian of our imperial family! He must become the empire's greatest warrior, the sword that protects the empire! He's no child anymore—look at his build, doesn't the answer stare you in the face? And his academic performance... Well, you'd know that better than I."
The Emperor had clearly received reports on Yuno's grades too, striking right at Yuria's weak spot. She had no retort and silence stretched on.
"Come to think of it, isn't there a master in the empire whose Mana Core is in an abnormal position? When Yuno wakes, why not have him instruct the boy?"
The Emperor's words broke the silence, twisting Count Richtenaur's face completely.
"Your Majesty! That man!!"
"Of course, I know your relationship with him isn't good. As a citizen of the empire, I don't approve of him shirking his duties for personal whims. But we need someone to guide Yuno, don't we?"
"That... is true, but..."
"Then let's do it. Nothing to lose, right? If we're lucky, he might even join the Imperial Army properly while teaching Yuno."
"I shall obey your command, Your Majesty."
"Good! Then seek him out and bring him here. Ideally before Yuno opens his eyes."
With the decision made, the Emperor stroked Yuno's forehead once, patted his shoulder encouragingly, and left.
As the Emperor departed, Richtenaur gazed at the sleeping Yuno, organizing his thoughts once more.
'It's a shame I can't teach this once-in-a-lifetime talent myself.... But perhaps for Your Highness, his wild, unrestrained martial arts suit better than the standardized knights' swordsmanship... But can the Prince handle it... that madman's temperament...?'
Gazing at the peacefully sleeping Yuno, who knew nothing, Count Richtenaur rose to fetch his rival—the empire's, no, the world's strongest Fist Master and back-alley brawler extraordinaire.
With the Emperor and Guard Knights Captain gone, Yuria and the princesses returned to Yuno's side to tend to him.
Though attendants and maids urged them to rest, insisting they would take over, Yuria, Isabella, Marie, and Eliza Princess refused to leave even for a moment. They stayed until Yuno awoke a week later, bursting into tears in his arms.
"Uwaaa... M-Mom? Wh-what happened to me..."
"Sob sob sob, Yuno, you're awake?"
"Yuno~~"
"Oppa~"
Awakening from his week-long unconsciousness, Yuno was surrounded by the embracing girls, too dazed to think straight. And at that moment.
Kaboom!!
Yuno's door shattered as a woman's figure burst into view.