Chapter 8
Sungjin sat in his seat and stared at the holy emperor silently for a while. It was his attempt at figuring out the holy emperor’s intentions as much as he could. Sungjin’s gaze was an incredibly disrespectful one for a son to aim at his father, but the holy emperor didn’t seem to mind very much. He picked up the teacup in front of him, but instead of drinking, he stared into the tea with a face so blank that Sungjin had to wonder if the man in front of him even had emotions.
The silence between them lasted until the holy emperor put his teacup down on the table.
“Aren’t you going to eat? You used to enjoy these, didn’t you?”
Sungjin didn’t respond. What? He isn’t suspicious of me?
Sungjin was uncertain, but he cautiously called out, “Uh, Father?”
“Yes, Morres.”
The tension in Sungjin’s body vanished. He had been so anxious, but the holy emperor didn’t seem to be plotting anything at all. Okay, I’m still not fully convinced, but he’s treating me like his son for now. Sungjin decided to make a move. He picked up a cookie in front of him so that the holy emperor would not keep insisting he had some. Besides, it would have been a shame for it to go to waste.
The cookie crumbled in his mouth. This is pretty good! Was his body craving sugar because it had lost fat from Sungjin’s strict diet in the past few days? Or had Sungjin, like Morres, always had a sweet tooth?
The invasion of monsters had left the Earth desolate. Sungjin had survived on preserved food for decades. The desserts that the palace chef had poured heart and soul into were enough to entice Sungjin’s tongue. In awe, he started trying every one of the various desserts on the table. The holy emperor stared at Sungjin without another word, occasionally taking sips from his tea. He didn’t seem to enjoy it very much, though, seeing as the amount of tea never dwindled.
Sungjin could finally relax and take a good, slow look at the holy emperor. At a glance, he seemed young and meek, but the strange coldness in his eyes made him look older too. Sungjin guessed that he wasn’t too young. Edith had told him that when an aura user mastered their art, at some point, their aging slowed. So how powerful was this man? Sungjin had had his fair share of experience in battle, but even with decades under his belt, he couldn’t figure this one out.
He was confident that once he gained some strength, he could fight head-to-head with Edith or the resident knights of the Pearl Palace even without the aura. If he still had his monster’s vital force that he had absorbed, there was no doubt that he would crush them. But with the holy emperor, it was somewhat ambiguous. He didn’t feel any strong energy from him, but it made him uncomfortable to try and find a weakness.
Most importantly, Sungjin’s instincts, which had been honed over decades of battle, were flashing red warning lights at him.
This must mean that he’s stronger than I can even imagine. Let’s try not to cross him. That was Sungjin’s resolution.
Afterward, an awkward conversation followed between the father and son.
“So, how have you been?”
“Well, I’ve been working out. I’m trying to lose weight now.”
“That’s great. I hear you’ve been visiting the training ground recently.”
“Yes. I’m taking it easy for now, and I’ll slowly increase my training as I go.”
“Too much exercise can be harmful.”
“I’m aware. Once I get used to it, I can increase the intensity rather than the duration. Then I can read books or something with the rest of my time in the day.”
“Books?” The holy emperor’s eyes flashed.
He had been so expressionless that Sungjin had been doubtful that he was even human, but for the first time, the holy emperor’s face showed a meaningful change.
Oh? So this is working for him. Of course, what parent would disapprove of their child’s pursuit of education, no matter which world they’re from? This, Sungjin was familiar with. He relaxed and started babbling away.
“Uh, so… You know how, so far, I’ve been such a lo… I mean, I’ve never been a fan of books.”
That’s what the demon king said, so it should be right. To his relief, the holy emperor didn’t show much of a reaction.
“But now that I almost died, I’ve started thinking of life differently. Philosophical questions bombard my brain. Why does one live? What does one do in life? Things like that.”
“Philosophy.”
“Yes. And I’m curious about religion too. Death, the afterlife, God, and spirits. I want to know about everything.”
The holy emperor cocked his head. “You found an interest in those things? I believe your theology teacher was the first one you kicked out.”
I mean, didn’t Morres just quit all of his classes, no matter the subject?
“On that note, Your Majesty, I mean, Father. There’s something I’m very curious about.”
“Curious?”
“Yes. Do you believe that spirits exist? Well, of course you do, you’re the holy emperor. I mean, uh, can you… Can you see people’s spirits with your own eyes?”
It’d been an impulsive question. For some reason, he’d grown certain that the holy emperor wouldn’t harm him for now. With that out of the way, he became unable to resist his curiosity. At the same time, the question aimed to resolve Sungjin’s root concern. It was what had worried him from the start and still worried him now.
The holy emperor replied without hesitation, “In my eyes, yes, I certainly see spirits. Even if I didn’t, a man of the great god never questions the existence of spirits. As a prince of the holy empire, you must not hold such doubts.”
“Then what does a spirit look like?”
“It looks just like the person did in their life. A soul is influenced by its body until death.”
Sungjin gulped. It was time for the big question. “So, then… What does my spirit look like?”
The holy emperor did hesitate to answer this time. “Why are you asking that all of a sudden?”
“Well, you know. I’ve lived such a gluttonous life so far, I wonder if my soul is as fat as I am.”
He knew it sounded like bullsh*t, but he decided to act brazen.
The holy emperor stared at him with a strange look for a while, then said, “To know that, your spirit must leave your body first. Would you like to try dying?”
Sungjin was speechless. Damn, he doesn’t miss an opening. I’m sorry for asking…
The audience passed by quicker than Sungjin had expected. Even in his past life, he’d never been much of a social butterfly, but in front of the holy emperor, his tongue grew mysteriously loose and words simply poured out of him. Sungjin surprised himself as he talked. Had he always been so talkative? It was a quick adjustment from when he was so anxious about meeting “the final boss.” Perhaps this was because of the relief he felt as the looming threat of death had disappeared.
“So I was doing body weight exercises on the ground and Edith came running, freaking out. She thought I was struggling to get up on my own.”
“Is that so?”
“And whenever I’m working out my arms, she just senses it and comes running too. I think she thinks that if something is in my hand, I’m about to throw it.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Anyway, this tea is really good. I haven’t drank much tea, but Edith once brewed me some tea called Melborne. This smells much nicer than that one. That one tasted like bile juice.”
“I believe this is a Melborne too.”
“What?”
The holy emperor was, surprisingly, nice to talk to. Even if Sungjin prattled on about the most trivial topic, he listened quietly, though his reaction was a bit lacking. The emperor must have been young enough to be Sungjin’s son, but Sungjin had no trouble calling him “Father” because he was so easy to talk to.
“So I’m interested in learning to wield aura, too. But I’m not sure where to start. It’s daunting,” he even said toward the end.
His own father was the most important man in the nation, as well as a powerful aura user. He would have been an idiot not to make use of his connection.
“I see. Aura, hmm?” The holy emperor cupped his chin and fell into thought. “They say that one has to study the blade or the spear first. There are different practices of aura developed to go hand-in-hand with various weapons, so as one masters a weapon, they grow more and more proficient at wielding aura as well.”
“Oh, so there are established practices!”
“Yes. The first step to learning aura is to choose a practice to follow. Of course, once one reaches a certain level, the differences between practices are rendered useless. At that point, the aura flows naturally to where one intends.”
“So I should start by learning sword fighting and…”
Huh? Sungjin stopped nodding, struck by a question. Isn’t this guy an aura user? Why is he talking so vaguely as if he heard it from other people?
“I heard that you’re an aura user too, Father. How did you first learn to wield aura?”
The holy emperor rubbed the tip of his chin.
Hmm? He seems a little uncomfortable right now. I guess I’m starting to pick up on how to read this expressionless man.
“Well, to be honest, I don’t remember how I started out. I used it habitually in sword fighting. Only later did my master tell me that I was using aura.”
“Pardon?”
Sungjin’s jaw dropped. Wow, the demon king told me about those talented bastards who practically breathe aura even as children. So he’s one of them.
“Now that I think of it, you never liked studying since you were young, but you seemed to enjoy sword fighting lessons quite a lot. But no matter how hard you practiced, you couldn’t get a grasp on aura.”
“Oh. Hmm.”
“I suppose putting in so much effort without getting any results made you lose interest.”
“I see.”
Sungjin was suddenly flooded with pity for Morres. He’d had one thing that he was passionate about, but he didn’t even have talent for that. Poor bastard. Sungjin started doubting himself. Seeing as he was in Morres’ body, if Morres was innately insensitive to aura, then he had a long way to go.
“So do you think I shouldn’t try, after all? I thought that if all I had to do was train, then I could learn it at some point.”
The holy emperor shook his head.
“It was ultimately a matter of time and effort. I’ve seen people who took a long time to feel the aura but mastered it much faster than average once they felt it. And…” He paused, stared at Sungjin’s face for a moment, then said something unexpected. “For you, now, it shouldn’t be very difficult.”
* * *
In the carriage back to the Pearl Palace, Sungjin lay on the cushion feeling proud of himself. He was a little tired, but today’s audience had been quite successful. Head Chamberlain Louis had teared up.
“It’s been years since you two enjoyed each other’s company…”
Sungjin felt that he’d shown the epitome of respecting the elderly by bringing so much happiness to the genteel old man.
That wasn’t all. When Sungjin requested that his sword fighting classes resume, the holy emperor had responded, “I’ll send someone suitable to the Pearl Palace soon.”
And one of the most important feats of the day was that from now on, he didn’t have to worry about being exorcised! Hurray! Sungjin shook his giant body in joy, making the carriage wobble.
“Your Highness! What’s going on? Are you okay?” the coachman shouted from the front.
Sungjin quickly sat up straight and coughed dryly. “Ahem, it’s nothing! I just slid off of my seat. Don’t worry about it.”
That’s why I’m doing it when no one’s watching. Anyway, are you okay? Why have you been so quiet?
He could feel the demon king trembling in his mind, so he knew he wasn’t lying, it really had been a big deal.
The holy power had been blocked out? Sungjin could guess as to when that had happened. It had been when the holy emperor had put his hand on Sungjin’s head.
A barrier?
Wait, does that mean…
Sungjin felt a vibration as if the demon king had sighed.
So the bastard’s one useful skill was gone. He was now truly just the dregs of the demonic world.
So you went from a lie detector to a short-range GPS? That’s disappointing.
Sungjin adjusted his posture and looked out of the window. The sun was slowly setting, and in the distance, he saw the ivory walls of the Pearl Palace. It was strange. It had only been a few days, but the palace already felt like a cozy home.
Let’s just celebrate that we survived. The holy emperor was a better guy than I thought, and we’re both safe now.
But the demon king disagreed.
The tremor of the demon king’s soul sent a wave of dark, thick fear into Sungjin. He didn’t know what to say.
Sungjin didn’t have a response.
An abomination? Come on…
Was he really that bad? But still, wasn’t he pretty nice to us? He gave me good advice, he saved your soul…
The demon king scoffed.
An evil spirit? That’s a bit harsh. It’s not like I cursed anyone, tortured anyone, or possessed… Wait a minute. Huh? Oh, I really am an evil spirit.
Ignoring Sungjin’s sudden realization, the demon king went on and on.
Hey, hey. Can you calm down first?
It wasn’t as if Sungjin was comfortable with the holy emperor’s kindness. But for a moment, he had thought that they’d made a connection like a real father and son would. Of course, he didn’t tell the demon king about that. The demon king had grown so agitated that he was full-on crying now.
As Sungjin consoled the sniffling demon king, the carriage entered the Pearl Palace. The dim dusk was surrounding them now.
That evening, Edith and the administrative manager visited Sungjin to let him know that, as of today, the visitor restriction had been partially lifted from the Pearl Palace.
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