章 5: Hectic Day of a Royalty, Hope

996 GBC, Baharuth Empire, Imperial Court~

Princess Lucia POV~

"With this case, the Imperial Court is adjourned for the day," I announced, ignoring the gratitude of the man whose daughter I had given justice to. Or the dispaired look of the merchant whom I have sentenced death for the crime against the virtue of Goddess Marika and the Golden Order.

I rose from my father's throne and exited the room under the envious gazes of my siblings and the complicated ones of the court ministers and nobles.

Everyone has different emotions regarding me taking over the court's affairs in my father's place. But no matter how they feel they can't do anything against me as I'm the eldest child of the Imperial Lineage and it is my right to manage the court in my father's absence. Especially when I'm not incompetent like my foolish siblings.

I released the sigh I was holding the moment I left the court, making Muna comment.

"You should get used to it, Your Highness. With His Imperial Majesty's condition, you will be holding the court for quite long and maybe permanently if he sees your efforts."

"It's not maybe at this point, Muna. I will be the one holding the court in future still," I replied shaking my head.

Muna froze at my words as her stoic face turned grim.

"Is His Imperial Majesty's condition so grave?" She questioned.

"Yes, and it keeps getting graver every day."

Muna sighed before speaking with a reminiscence.

"To think a man who can cover everything below the sky in his fist could also falls to such a state."

I almost scoffed at those words but schooled my emotions at the last moment.

"One can never carry the weight of the sky on thier shoulders, it matters not how mighty." I replied shaking my head, even gods can't do such let alone a mortal.

"Is this the reason you are finding talents so they can ascend the ranks of True Heroes and Demon Lords together with you?" Muna questioned, her eyes complicated and hesitant.

"Yes, if Baharuth Empire has more True Heroes and Demon lords like the Adventurer's Guild then even the likes of Guy Crimson would not be able to challenge the Baharuth Empire," I replied with conviction, fully believing my words.

My father was a True Hero though not as mighty as Rudra Nam Ul Nasca but he was still ranked among those monsters.

He was strong enough to become the pillar and the foundation of one of the mightiest forces in the Akashic World. A force strong enough to dictate the fate of hundreds of millions of people and control the flow of the world.

And now. Such a force is crumbling due to the unrecoverable damage its pillar has received.

That's why I don't just want to become its foundation but also want to build more pillars for the Empire stand without getting shaken ever more.

"But what if they challenge your Authority or try to undermine it? You know having multiple people of similar strength can lead to conflicts, political or otherwise." Muna words broke my thoughts.

"If that's the only problem then it can be solved easily by making them loyal like the new ruler of E-rantel. Speaking of him how's the situation over there."

Muna nodded to my words in agreement before answering my question.

"The situation of E-rantel has gotten very complicated. Due to the ruler of Nazarick, Ainz Oaol Gown calling the conquered E-rental the capital of his Sorcerer Kingdom. It has caused a political shitstorm in the whole continent. There are already reports of the Sorcerous Dynasty of Sarion deploying its troops to their borders."

"Are they thinking of attacking him?"

Muna paused at my question before slowly shaking her head.

"No, they are waiting for more information as the Arch Lich is an otherworlder and his powers and trump cards are still unknown. He was already evaluated as an SSS rank by Adventurer's Guild when he first revealed himself which means he was a Tier-9 Sorcerer. He also had multiple Tier-9 calling themselves his subordinates. And now there are rumours floating that he has ascended to become True Demon Lord after the battle of E-rantel."

"How regretful but… it is quite wise of Sorcerous Dynasty to not attack them blindly. Regretful indeed, forget it. What are the reactions of other kingdoms?" I questioned feeling truly regretful of Sorcerous Dynasty not attacking the Sorcerer Kingdom. It would have given us a breather.

Muna looked at my face and nodded, probably guessing my thoughts. Well, it was not hard to guess. These days my thoughts starts and ends on a single thing.

"The nations surrounding the new Sorcerer Kingdom are reacting, preparing in case the Sorcerer King invades them to expand his territory," Muna said.

"Although I think the lich would consolidate his rule over E-Rantel first but tell General to deploy some troops to our own border in case he attacks." I instructed before motioning her to continue.

"As for Kingdoms not sharing the border with Sorcerer Kingdom… they are more focused on the disappearance of the Ancient Dragon Veldora and the newly rising Jura-Tempest Federation."

"Good. The more chaos there is, the more breathing time we will get. We have to avoid any major wars until the time of next Heaven's attack. After the Heavens attack, no country would be in any shape for any conflict for a few decades. That much time should be enough for us to repair our foundation."

Muna again nodded in agreement. She also knows how devastating the attacks of the Heavens can be. And how perfect this opportunity is for us.

"We should als-" just as I was going to continue our conversation I heard a commotion from the training grounds.

I looked at Muna, asking if she knew what was happening and by the mysterious smile she gave me, I didn't need her to word her answer.

"You should see it yourself, you will be quite pleased." She said, guiding me towards the training grounds

I didn't say anything and silently followed. When I reached the training grounds I saw something that made my eyes widen.

I saw the otherworlder that brought Evelyne's last memories fighting multiple Tier-3 knights and easily overpowering them.

"Is that Kal-El?" I couldn't help but blurt which made Muna laugh.

I almost blushed hearing her laugh, it reminded me of my younger days when I used to ask stupid questions about my Romantic life from Muna.

She used to laugh exactly like that.

"Yes, it is the young otherworlder Kal," Muna replied after she stopped laughing.

"It is quite shocking, right? I was also quite surprised when I first saw him fighting." She continued, her tone weird.

"Is that affection I hear in your voice, Muna?" I asked teasingly which made Muna shake her head in amusement.

"'Affection' is a strong word to use, I would say 'like' is more appropriate." She said making me a bit surprised.

"Woah! That's surprising coming from." I asked.

"Well, he's a respectful and kind-hearted young man, unlike many other otherworlders. That itself is enough to earn some respect but what really made me like him is that he's very similar to you when you were younger."

"Me?" I questioned.

"Yes. He has opened up to me on a few occasions over the weak. He had a childhood similar to you and wanted to do things in a similar fashion. The only thing that changes him from you is that he doesn't have the same iron will you possess to follow those wishes without giving in. So after some time of trying he ran away from his responsibility and family."

I hummed at those words as I watched him fight a Tier-4 knight. The battle was a closed one with both their speed and strength matching. The only thing that made the otherwordler Kal superior was his durability as no matter how strong a blow the knight delivered he didn't take any damage.

"How is he doing all this?" I questioned as I could not feel any Magicule behind his strong body.

"It's his body," Muna replied making me confused.

"What do you mean?"

"His cells are absorbing the radiation from the sunlight and using it to constantly evolve."

"How do you know that? Did he tell you that too?"

"No. The young man is kind and trusting but not a fool. I placed some mages with special observation skills on him after he showed his prowess on the first day of the training." Muna said and continued.

"They told me his cells are constantly evolving and becoming stronger with no signs of stopping."

"Is that true?"

"Quite so."

"Impressive ," I muttered feeling surprised at the information and even a bit awed at the potential of the teen before me. Once he learns to use Magicules, he would probably be unstoppable.

"Isn't he?" Muna asked. "You still don't believe a single man can't hold the weight of the sky."

I turned my head to those words and looked into her eyes. My face taking on a serious look as I replied.

"Yes, I still stand by those words" I said curtly. "But" I continued looking back to the otherworlder talking down the Tier-4 knight, a miracle in itself.

"There is hope."

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