[Gawain’s POV]
K411, February 15.
An ordinary day.
According to the micro intelligent brain implanted in the center of his left and right brain hemispheres, officially named the [Viltrum Empire Emperor Cultivation System], he once again woke up precisely at 6:00:00 in the morning, with his sleep duration still exactly one hour and thirty minutes.
This is very good.
As the future emperor of the empire, I should be able to precisely control my biological clock.
Of course, the time displayed by the system is obtained by strictly dividing a day in the [Human World] into 86,400 equal parts.
The margin of error is not small, but it is sufficient for now.
What causes me a sense of persistent loss of control is: when I woke up today, Sylphiette… Sylph… was not by my side.
This is very bad.
According to past data, Sylph’s normal circadian rhythm should be from around 21:30 the previous day to around 6:30 the next day.
Based on information from the local natives, human subspecies at this age require at least nine hours of sleep to ensure normal development and physical health.
According to the Viltrumite education methods shared by the system, I should immediately find Sylph and administer strict punishment.
Otherwise, it will be impossible to ensure that Sylph grows into a qualified warrior.
But.
But.
But Sylph is not a warrior.
Sylph cannot become a warrior.
She is very weak, she is just a sis… a pet.
(T/N: Ha he said it!)
I sat up from the bed, completely unable to make a decision.
Perhaps I should first seek advice from Roxy-sensei, or find Mother Debbie.
According to the basic logic of how society operates, at a time like this, I should consult a teacher or a qualified parent.
Because Sylph is very fragile and very weak, she should not reduce her sleep time on her own.
That would make a lifeform like her very prone to premature death.
However, based on the information previously provided by Rudeus, pure humans, a weaker race, seem to require prolonged sleep deprivation before there is a probability of death.
For an individual like Sylph, who carries the blood of two stronger races, a single instance of reduced sleep should not cause problems.
Therefore, there is no need to punish Sylph.
Tonight, I will exercise my authority as an elder brother and guardian, ordering her to maintain sufficient and high-quality sleep.
If she repeats the offense, then I will punish her.
As the future emperor, I consider this decision to be wise.
[Prime Minister: Of course, you will surely become the greatest emperor in the history of the Viltrum Empire.
]
Idiot, do not waste computational power communicating with me.
[Prime Minister: The intelligent core detected that you were uneasy, so in accordance with the core protocol, I have placed the ongoing calculation project in second priority.
]
This is a normal part of growth, Prime Minister.
Interaction with these natives can help me think about how to rule my own people, as well as many more weak civilizations like the [Human World].
There is nothing on this planet that can threaten my life, so you should not waste excessive computational power and energy on my current condition.
I order you to adjust protocol priority based on the current situation.
[Prime Minister: Command accepted.
]
[Prime Minister: However, I must remind you that in this world’s mythology, there are still gods that have not fallen, and in its history, there exist individuals capable of destroying continents.
The micro intelligent brain implanted within you does not contain this information due to memory limitations, but according to my database, the credibility of such myths is moderate.
The possibility of native gods cannot be ruled out.
]
That is why I am lying low.
Maintain the previous command, maintain vigilance against extremely high energy levels, and then leave.
[Prime Minister: Understood.
]
The remote connection between the incubation pod AI and the micro intelligent brain was cut off.
The AI I named [Prime Minister] completed its reboot and reestablished contact with me thirty days ago, and is currently executing the research tasks I assigned with full effort.
Yes, it is that idiot that almost killed me inside the pod after landing.
However, after fifty-two months of autonomous repair, [Prime Minister] has reached the level of a completed product.
It also explained that its actions at the time were to allow me to adapt to mana.
In the [Human World], mana is almost omnipresent.
All objects contain mana.
For an outsider like me who originally did not possess mana, this kind of energy is highly corrosive.
In other words, it causes death over time.
To solve this problem, the system judged that it could forcibly adapt me to the existence of mana by leveraging the strong adaptability of Viltrumites—just as surviving Viltrumites adapted to the Scourge virus.
As a result, I not only adapted to mana, but also gained the ability to generate mana within my body like the natives.
In terms of mana generation talent, I am even considered quite outstanding.
According to calculations, once my mana reaches its limit, it should be about five times that of Roxy-sensei.
Incidentally, Sylph’s theoretical upper limit is more than ten times that of Roxy-sensei.
As for Rudeus, it cannot be calculated.
That guy is indeed very good.
After finishing the conversation with [Prime Minister], I closed the floating window in front of me and changed into my outdoor clothes—short sleeves and shorts, all in white, the color most commonly used by Viltrumites.
I pushed open the door.
Everyone was already awake and busy with their own tasks.
This included even Roxy-sensei, a useless person who needs to sleep until seven in the morning just to barely wake up.
However, considering her race’s average lifespan, she may still be in adolescence, so it can be forgiven.
After all, even Viltrumites experience many unstable phenomena during rapid growth periods.
Of course, as the future emperor, I can control myself.
Although I also cannot see what exactly Roxy-sensei has developed.
I did not pay attention to what the four of them were doing.
Of course, I did notice Laws and Sylph helping Mother Debbie prepare some kind of food, probably today’s lunch.
But food only needs to provide sufficient calories; everything else is unimportant.
There is nothing I can do about noticing such meaningless things.
My observational ability is simply that strong.
Once I capture something, I instinctively analyze it.
There is no way I can be like Roxy-sensei, whose brain only grows in the domain of knowledge.
I see, this must be what Rudeus previously referred to as “recklessness” and “clumsiness.”
Roxy-sensei, you are truly a treasure.
According to the schedule, I should now go wash up.
But immediately afterward, in the hallway, I almost collided with Roxy-sensei, who was running around with her head down.
When she noticed it was me, her apologetic expression immediately disappeared, replaced by a flushed face and indecisiveness.
Based on past cases, this expression seems to be called “being caught doing something bad by the person involved.”
I did not want to waste time on her, so I simply greeted her good morning as Elinalise had taught me thirty-two months and eight days ago, then walked around her and went to the bathroom to wash up.
I do not care at all what Roxy-sensei is doing.
Even if she wanted to steal my underwear, as Rudeus once jokingly claimed, I would willingly offer it to her.
After all, she is teaching me the Demon God Language for free.
She has shown me kindness, so I should be more tolerant toward her.
Author’s Note: In this chapter, I tried to avoid emotionally loaded words.
For example: regarding color, it is “approval” rather than “liking.”
There are also some subtle contradictions, such as: food only needs calories rather than being completely indistinguishable.
In Gawain’s view, food not only differs, he even has his own scoring system.
And from the forms of address, you can see each character’s current standing in Gawain’s mind.
Of course, calling Rudeus by name is a sign of respect—on par with how he treats Laws and Sylph, meaning at worst they are at the level of adults.
Someone like Gawain, who pursues rationality, might actually be well-suited for the Sword God Style.