“Senior.”
Thalia’s honorific dropped by a level.
“I believe I told you not to bring up unhelpful ideas in the first place.”
“Unhelpful? Have you not heard about the Pembroke House’s wastrel? You know―”
“The Young Master is not even two years old. How can you casually recommend a supreme source of magical power from the Demon Realm, of all things, without giving any thought to what kind of interaction it might have with the Young Master’s Awakened Ability?”
“No, I was not being that serious…….”
Viten’s neck shrank in like a turtle’s. Her voice was so chilling that it felt as though she, not I, possessed the Cold Yin Severed Meridian.
Although Viten had become a star in the sky, I had no intention of backing down. I had a vague feeling that the clue he left behind might contain the answer I had spent my entire life seeking.
“Lili.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
“What’s a Wava Ementaw?”
Thalia glared at Viten and bit her lip tightly. Her eyes clearly said, You filled the Young Master’s head with useless ideas. How are you going to take responsibility for this?
“Young Master, a Lava Elemental is…….”
“You do not need to know that yet.”
Thalia interjected.
“What’s a Wava Ementaw? What is it?!”
She might have been a brave knight, but dealing with a tantrum-throwing child was an entirely different matter.
After an epic battle lasting over an hour, I finally obtained a book. It was a thick picture book titled Monster Compendium.
“Do you see this? This is a Lava Elemental.”
Lily pointed at a gigantic humanoid spirit made of flowing lava. I had never imagined anything even remotely similar, not even in a dream.
So this was what he meant by extracting its core?
I could see why Thalia had been angry. It did not look kind enough to hand its core over willingly.
But if such a legendary creature truly existed, and if I could somehow obtain its core…….
“And this is a Phoenix.”
The page she turned to showed a bird covered in burning feathers. It was so enormous that one of its wings was as long as a mountain.
By the way, this thing looked exactly like a Vermilion Bird.
Only its name was different. The bird she pointed at was undoubtedly a Vermilion Bird.
If I could obtain a Vermilion Bird’s lungs, I could overcome not only the Cold Yin Severed Meridian, but even the Cold Yin Severed Meridian’s grandfather.
Still, it was an unusual idea to use lungs instead of an inner core.
“And this is a Red Dragon.”
The moment I saw the illustration in the book, I froze.
A long body covered in scales, a protruding snout, and two straight horns.
…A dragon.
Its huge wings and fat lower body were somewhat bothersome, but if it resembled one to this extent, it deserved to be called a dragon subspecies.
In Daoist lore, dragons had always been considered the greatest among legendary creatures. After all, a single one could preside over one of the four cardinal directions.
The treasure Daoists coveted was the wish-fulfilling pearl held in a dragon’s mouth, but dragons in this country did not seem to hold such pearls.
Was that why they extracted the heart instead?
In any case, Viten’s words did not seem entirely unreasonable. If someone offered me a Vermilion Bird’s lungs or a dragon’s heart, I would first prostrate myself in a deep bow.
Of course, Thalia had not reprimanded Viten out of malice.
Once, some trash said something like this to me. Treasures have rightful owners.
No matter how incredible a treasure might be, if someone lacked the ability to handle it, it was no different from poison. If an ordinary person encountered something like a Vermilion Bird’s lungs, they would become charcoal rather than receive a fortuitous opportunity.
But I had the ability to handle it.
So I had to meet the creatures in this book somehow, assuming they truly existed.
The outside suddenly grew noisy. Lily left to find out what was happening. While she was gone, I turned a few more pages of the compendium.
The book contained many interesting creatures besides dragons and Vermilion Birds. There was a bird with a woman’s torso and wings, a monster that was half human and half spider, and green-skinned little folk.
“Young Master!”
Lily suddenly ran toward me as though she were flying, despite the short distance.
“S-Something terrible has happened!”
Something terrible?
Had Chris brought cookies again?
“His Grace the Duke is coming here!”
“What?”
“What did you say?”
The two knights sprang up from the sofa.
“It seems he heard that the Young Master was ill while returning from an expedition. He changed his route and is heading for the secondary palace.”
“Thalia!”
Viten roared like a lion.
“What is it, Senior?”
“Pretend you did not hear what I said earlier.”
“Buy me one meal. No, three.”
“Fine. I will buy you as many as you want.”
My own feet were on fire. I was not yet mentally prepared to meet a parent in this new life.
“First, we need to dress the Young Master!”
Lily kidnapped me.
The palace was thrown into complete chaos. Compared by degree of commotion, this was even worse than when investigators had been roaming about to hunt down the assassins.
Every furnishing was moved at least once, then cleaned or laundered. Anything that seemed likely to offend the Duke’s eye was removed without mercy.
My masterpiece was no exception.
“We will let you draw them again later, all right?”
The Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation, which I had painstakingly set up, was crushed like this. The only one who survived was Ivan. When I was not controlling him, he was merely a decorative object.
Around noon, mounted knights filed in through the main gate. The arrival of only two knights had caused that much fuss before, but now there were dozens of people in sight.
At least I understood one thing. The reason Chris wanted to assassinate me. If he thought he might lose such power, how could his eyes not roll back in madness?
At last, when Father entered the palace, the room was filled with tension as taut as a drawn bow.
“His Grace the Duke is entering.”
He was here.
Viten, Thalia, and Lily went out to greet him. Soon after, a tall figure exactly like the man in the portrait strode inside. He was dignified and powerful, clad in uniform—a man who looked like the very embodiment of a soldier.
“Your Grace.”
Viten and Lily placed their fists over their left chests and saluted. Father gave a slight nod, then came straight to me.
I rose onto my toes and met his eyes.
The first impression that came to mind was firmness. A seasoned, courageous soul resided in a body more solid than that of anyone I had seen before.
“Daddy?”
I called to him awkwardly, with the childlike confidence that I would be forgiven no matter what I did.
“…Hmph.”
Then something astonishing happened. The giant who stood tall as a pillar, like an ancient tree, smiled.
“Say it again.”
“Daddy!”
“That is right. So you are Iden.”
He reached out and lifted me high into his arms. Then he felt the coldness of the Cold Yin Severed Meridian and frowned.
“Yes, I heard that you possess an unusual Awakened Ability.”
He looked at Lily and asked,
“Tell me in detail what condition my son is in.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
Lily slowly relayed everything she knew without leaving anything out. Father listened carefully without a single interjection. Then he flicked his fingers and summoned Viten and Thalia, who had been standing to the side.
“Viten and Thalia, was it?”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
“Yes, Your Grace!”
“I heard there was an assassination attempt.”
The two knights’ expressions grew even heavier.
“Yes. Signs of a battle were found at the scene, along with two weapons. The investigators are looking into who was behind it, but no clear lead has emerged yet.”
Just as Thalia finished her answer—
“To think such an unfortunate incident occurred while Your Grace was absent.”
“We must find the ringleader and punish them severely!”
The nobles who had accompanied Father all raised their voices at once.
Hearing that, Father let out an impatient laugh.
“Interesting. Were you not the ones who pressured me to organize a punitive expedition that I had no urgent need to lead?”
“Th-that was merely an unfortunate coincidence in timing…….”
“The villains must have taken advantage of Your Grace’s absence!”
“Or did you not create that absence?”
The nobles shrank like mice before a cat, as though lightning would strike if they met Father’s eyes.
They looked suspicious from every angle, but I had no interest at all in who was behind the assassination.
What interested me were things like a dragon’s wish-fulfilling pearl, a Phoenix’s feathers, heart, and lungs. If I became strong, minor problems would resolve themselves.
“Daddy?”
“You called, Iden?”
He turned toward me. The warm breeze that settled over his face was so sudden that it seemed like a lie, considering the killing intent that had filled it only moments before.
“Wook at this.”
I opened the book Lily had brought me. The open page showed a Lava Elemental dripping magma.
“Oh? Do you wish to become a hero?”
“No, this!”
I pointed precisely at the core embedded in the spirit’s chest.
“Y-Young Master…!”
At the same time, Viten let out a squeal like a pig being slaughtered.
Sorry, Viten.
But in this life, I wanted to enjoy the privileges of having parents too. If you have never been sold for less than three coins, please try to understand.
“What exactly does my son want?”
Father asked.
“That is…….”
Just as Lily hesitantly opened her mouth—
“It was only brought up for amusement, but it seems the Young Master became interested.”
Thalia stepped in to explain. A few fire-element monsters had come up during the conversation, but only as a light topic meant to attract my attention. She did not connect them to the Cold Yin Severed Meridian at all.
I thought that was her mistake. It would have been better if she had connected them to the condition.
Because Father understood it this way.
“Talon.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
A tall guard officer bowed his head.
“Does the treasury have any byproducts from fire-element monsters?”
“I would need to verify the details, but I clearly remember that we have a Salamander’s tongue.”
“Y-Your Grace…?”
The nobles were flustered.
“Are you going to give a Salamander’s tongue to the youngest Young Master?”
“Your Grace! I believe you should decide carefully!”
The nobles were aghast.
What was it? Let me know too.
I did not know what it was, but it seemed to be an extremely valuable item.
“Bring it.”
Father gave the order with an arrogance only he could display.
“My son says he wants it.”