"...the Heart of the Verdant Sovereign."
A small holographic image appeared above the banquet hall.
At its center floated what appeared to be a crystalline heart.
It was deep emerald in color, with countless golden veins running through its translucent surface. It was a beautiful sight to behold.
Lady Elizabeth paused to take in its beauty, then she continued.
"This relic belonged to Elyndor Evergreen, the Verdant Sovereign, a Riki practitioner during the Age of Gods—"
"Hahahaha!"
A burst of laughter suddenly echoed in the banquet hall, interrupting her.
The laugh had belonged to Young Lord Celestia.
The sound immediately drew everyone’s attention.
She covered her mouth with one hand, though the amusement in her eyes was impossible to hide.
"Please forgive me for rudely interrupting you, Lord Ashbourne. But did you just say a Riki practitioner’s relic?"
She glanced toward Lyra, a mocking look in her purple eyes.
"What use would something like that possibly have for Young Master Arthur?"
"Unless you were giving it as some sort of art piece, it would be rather insulting, don’t you think?"
Several nobles exchanged glances.
Then the whispers began.
"A Riki relic?"
"But Young Master Arthur isn’t known to possess any cultivation talent."
"Exactly. Hasn’t his Riki aptitude already been determined to be nonexistent?"
"It is a precious gift, even when compared to the fleet, but even if the relic is genuine, he can’t use it!"
A merchant frowned.
"That’s not much of a birthday gift."
"Honestly, it’s just insulting."
"Everyone knows the Young Master doesn’t possess Riki talent... And now House Evergreen gives him the relic of their founding ancestor?"
"That’s almost like handing a cripple a legendary weapon and telling him how powerful it is."
"Precisely so."
"Perhaps they didn’t mean it that way."
"Maybe not."
"But it’s certainly a slap in the face of a great house."
Celestia’s smile became increasingly amused.
"How thoughtful of you, Young Lord Evergreen."
"A relic that the Young Master can’t even properly utilize."
Her voice was loud enough for everyone in the banquet hall to hear.
"Almost more of a reminder of what he lacks than a gift."
Several nobles glanced at her coldly.
Lyra’s expression gradually became tense.
She lowered her gaze, her fingers tightening into a fist.
"Perhaps House Evergreen simply didn’t know what else to give him."
Lyra’s lips parted slightly.
She was afraid of something like this happening. She had even brought Arthur’s lack of talent up with her mother, but all she told her was:
"Have faith..."
She knew that alone wouldn’t be enough, but it wasn’t like she knew what a young man his age would like, and their family wasn’t exactly wealthy enough to buy the kind of gifts they saw fit for young men in the Galactic Net.
So in the end, she had to settle with this. A part of her concluded she was going to fail anyway, so why put in any effort? It wasn’t like noble families looking down on her house was anything new, so she might as well have taken the gamble.
That was how she felt before she came to be successful at building a small connection with him.
Now this gift had come back to slap her in the face and threatened to wreck everything.
She had to speak up, maybe apologize, or explain in hopes that Arthur wouldn’t hate her.
But before she could speak...
"That’s enough."
Arthur spoke.
Everyone present fell silent.
Celestia momentarily flashed a look of irritation, but she quickly eased back into a smile.
She approached them.
"Oh, Young Master Arthur..."
"I understand that you’ve formed a connection with Young Lord Evergreen, but still, that is no excuse for her to present you with such a gift that mocks you in this way."
"She should have given you something that would have at least been useful to—"
"Are you implying it’s not useful to me?"
Celestia froze.
Arthur’s expression remained calm.
"Who decided that?"
He turned toward a nearby maid.
"Tell Sebastian to bring the testing equipment."
"I want to measure my cultivation talent."
The maid immediately nodded.
"Yes, Young Master."
She turned and quickly left.
Celestia’s expression became awkward.
"Young Master, please..."
"There is no need for you to take things this far."
"You’ll only bring shame upon your house."
She glanced toward Lyra.
"Is Young Lord Evergreen really that important to you that you’re willing to risk dragging the family name through the mud?"
Florain leaned closer to Arthur and whispered,
"She has a point."
"What is your plan in all this?"
"You should be well aware, more than anyone else here, that you have no talent for cultivation."
"I understand you’ve come to like Lyra, but there’s no need to drag things this far."
"You can simply tell everyone not to speak ill of her and move on."
Florain sighed.
"I know you don’t like Young Lord Celestia and want her to get knocked down a peg, but I wouldn’t advise you to make yourself a laughingstock during your own coming-of-age ceremony."
She glanced toward the staircase.
"Look at how Mother looks. Don’t make her worry even more."
Arthur’s gaze shifted toward his mother.
She stood at the top of the stairs, wearing a deeply conflicted expression.
She was clearly worried.
Part of her wanted to step in, silence her son, and announce the end of the ceremony before things could escalate any further.
But another part of her feared that doing so would only make Arthur feel as though she was still treating him like a child.
Especially in front of so many important nobles.
She didn’t want her son to be laughed at during his own birthday celebration.
So, in the end...
All she could do was have faith in him.
Arthur looked at his mother for a moment before turning back toward Florain.
"You worry too much."
"You just need to sit back and enjoy the show."
Florain’s expression became annoyed for the first time that night.
"What?"
"Are you stupid?"
"That isn’t like you."
Lyra lowered her head.
"Yes, Young Master..."
"There is no need for you to tarnish your reputation because of my actions."
"I’m deeply sorry—"
"Hush now."
Arthur interrupted her gently.
"There is no need for that."
Before anyone could say anything else...
Footsteps echoed through the banquet hall.
Sebastian soon arrived besides Lord Elizabeth.
In his hands was a silver-and-blue crystalline cube with black metallic edges, resting atop a small red cushion.
"The aptitude-checking device, as you requested."
Arthur glanced at the device.
Then he looked around the banquet hall.
Hundreds of eyes were fixed upon him.
Some were curious.
Some were skeptical.
Others were already waiting for him to embarrass himself.
Arthur simply smiled.
"Just stand back..."
"And watch."
As Arthur was about to approach the testing device, Celestia suddenly reached out and grabbed him by the sleeve.
Her expression was no longer playful.
It was annoyed.
"Why?"
Arthur stopped and glanced down at her hand.
"Why what?"
"Why are you willing to go through all of this just because of Young Lord Evergreen?"
Her brows furrowed.
"It doesn’t make any sense."
Arthur stared at her for a moment.
Celestia continued before he could answer.
"Her family is weak compared to mine. Militarily and financially, House Evergreen cannot possibly offer you what House Valerius can."
Her grip tightened slightly around his sleeve.
"So why have you decided to gravitate toward her?"
There was an unmistakable frustration in her voice now as she placed her other hand atop her chest.
"I should be the obvious best option for you."
Arthur raised an eyebrow.
Celestia took a small breath before continuing.
"I have already given you a fleet. I’ve made all of its personnel pledge fealty to you. If that isn’t enough, I’m willing to do more."
Her purple eyes remained fixed on his.
"You need only ask."
"I’ll see to it that you have whatever you want."
She paused.
Then her expression softened slightly.
"So forget that country noble girl."
For a moment, there was silence, but then Arthur turned to face her with a polite smile.
"I appreciate your concern, Young Lord Celestia."
"You’ve certainly been generous tonight, and I certainly haven’t forgotten."
"However, I don’t think there’s any need for you to concern yourself with who I choose to associate with."
"I’m quite capable of making that decision myself."
"Now, if you’ll excuse me..."
His gaze shifted toward Sebastian and the testing device.
"I’d like to finish what I started."
As Arthur approached the testing device, he couldn’t help but understand why everyone had looked down on Lyra’s gift.
From what he could remember, Riki practitioners were significantly rarer than Iron Angels.
Every woman born could become an Iron Angel, provided she underwent the Astral Steel Baptism upon reaching adulthood.
Riki cultivators, however, were completely different.
Either a person possessed Riki talent...
Or they didn’t.
And unlike the traits that allowed women to become Iron Angels, Riki talent wasn’t hereditary.
A man’s father could be a peerless Riki cultivator...
Only for his son to be completely devoid of talent.
This was one of the primary reasons women held most of the positions of power throughout the Empire.
No matter how powerful a man’s bloodline was, there was no guarantee that his descendants would inherit the ability to cultivate Riki.
And the Empire had no explanation for why this was the case.
Nor had they discovered any reliable method of changing it.
But...
There was one method they didn’t know about.
Unfortunately...
It was something only players could perform.
Arthur’s eyes narrowed slightly.
He stopped before the testing device.
Then, inwardly, he spoke.
...System.
〘Yes, Player?〙
Arthur took a slow breath.
...Awaken my dormant Riki Core.
A brief silence followed.
Then...
〘Confirmed.〙
〘Dormant Riki Core detected.〙
Arthur’s eyes flickered.
...And raise my Riki cultivation talent to Transcendent.
The familiar mechanical voice immediately responded.
〘Understood.〙
Arthur calmly placed his hand against the testing device.
For the first time that evening...
He was genuinely excited to see how everyone would react.