Children of the Holy Emperor

The day Seongjin left the imperial capital.

The brothers and sisters who saw him off gathered at the ownerless Pearl Palace as if on cue when lunchtime came. At some point, having lunch together had become a habit.

With Seo Yi-seo in Cardmos mode joining in, lunch at the Pearl Palace had become the most burdensome mealtime in the imperial palace.

Entertaining the princes, princesses, and even the saint.

The servants inwardly screamed.

‘I thought we’d have some peace for a while with Prince Morres gone!’

Only the head chef clenched his fist in secret, feeling a sense of pride.

‘My culinary skills are the best in the imperial palace!’

Even with the lavish meal laid out before them, the siblings remained silent for a moment. Morres had left the palace today, and without his usual poker face, they felt strangely empty.

Especially Amelia, who had spent almost every day with him since he woke up from his fever, was completely dejected.

[Why aren’t you eating?]

When Cardmos asked in puzzlement, Amelia sighed.

“Where could that boy be by now? Is he doing well and staying safe?”

[Of course he’s doing well. It’s only been a few hours since he left.]

Then Cecile glumly said.

“Anything will be lacking compared to the imperial palace. I wonder if he’s eating properly…”

[He probably hasn’t even reached Regina yet. Take it easy, my descendant. Do you think he’s gone to some remote place?]

As Cardmos clicked his tongue in disbelief, Logan added in a heavy voice.

“No matter how I think about it, the number of guards is too few. I hope nothing dangerous happens.”

[…]

Cardmos completely lost his appetite. This had never happened since he entered his new body. What were they doing in front of this feast?

Swoosh.

The golden light in his eyes vanished, and soon brown pupils returned.

“…Huh?”

Blinking dazedly for a moment, Seo Yi-seo soon discovered the lavish course meal in front of her and shed tears.

“Fo…food! It’s food!”

Waaah! How long has it been since I had a proper meal!

Unable to eat a decent meal since gaining the passive skill of semi-god descent, Seo Yi-seo began shoveling food into her mouth, shedding tears and snot.

The news that the saint emptied all the plates while shedding tears of joy only fueled the enthusiasm of the Pearl Palace’s head chef.

And the next day.

Faced with an even more sumptuous lunch, Amelia, Logan, and Cecile were even more discouraged.

“No wonder I couldn’t calm down since morning. It was an ominous sign. Three teacups handed to me by Mirabel broke in a row.”

[It’s because you keep dropping the cups with your trembling hands!]

“Today was definitely a strange day. All the training dummies in the training ground were smashed to pieces since morning.”

[That’s because you whacked them with that monstrous weapon of yours, my descendant!]

“My thoughts were short-sighted. I shouldn’t have relied on the guards. I should have at least made sure he mastered the 7 standard imperial swordsmanship techniques before sending him off…”

[…]

Cardmos clicked his tongue.

[Sigh. Rather than watching this sight… Tsk.]

And Seo Yi-seo, who safely regained her body at mealtime once again, shed tears of joy while looking at the table.

“Food! Is this truly a dream? Sob!”

That day, Chief Chamberlain Louis received questions from the princes and princesses one after another.

“…So they asked if there was any way to briefly check on Prince Morres as they were terribly worried about him.”

After finally ending the lengthy government meeting and receiving those words from Louis late in the afternoon, the emperor was inwardly flustered.

‘I had planned to take a peek once work was over, but how did the children know about that?’

***

After Seongjin left the inn with the escort knights, Commander Bruno Green briefly regretted his choice.

Thinking it would be tiring, he avoided people, but an even more troublesome woman had stayed behind with him. An exorcist who receives unsorted thoughts through channeling all day and then emits them unfiltered.

[Beep beep, beep beep. Heheheh! When will you return? Ding-a-ling. This is an important list. Whoosh, swish! So annoying, how cute! Aaah! Beep beep. Let’s hurry and follow! Kyahaha!]

Bruno groaned as he pressed a pillow over his head. Wouldn’t it have been better to follow His Highness instead?

Then at some point, the noisy sounds suddenly fell completely silent.

[…]

Bruno focused his attention and listened closely, then finally jumped up from his seat. It was nice that it became quiet, but suddenly going silent without reason felt uncomfortable.

What he found when he left the room was the exorcist walking down the hallway.

“Where are you going, Dame Sharon?”

The exorcist, who had been walking stealthily with muffled footsteps, flinched to a stop.

“Dame Sharon?”

However, what glanced back at him was not Sharon’s distinctive jet-black eyes, but a familiar pair of silver-gray eyes.

The immense presence that could be felt even with rudimentary channeling abilities. Those characteristically restrained Aura movements.

Bruno couldn’t help but ask.

“…Could it be Your Majesty? What are you doing here now?”

Then the exorcist, no, the emperor sighed.

[Sorry for startling you. Could you please pretend you didn’t see me? I just came to briefly check on the child.]

“…”

Bruno usually showed the utmost respect to the imperial family, but this time he was so dumbfounded that he couldn’t easily speak despite knowing it was disrespectful.

Came to check? It’s only been a day since he left.

There’s a limit to worrying. What does he take the grown prince for?

“Huh? Aren’t you two eating? What are you doing here?”

Amidst the silence, a young man carrying a lyre, who had just come upstairs, discovered them and asked. It was the minstrel Lorang with his long braided hair coiled around his neck.

He had been sternly warned by the prince to avoid leaving the inn as much as possible today as it could be dangerous.

But the emperor, scrutinizing him with a peculiar gaze, suddenly widened his eyes.

[The dead one…]

“…Pardon?”

The emperor’s expression turned quite serious.

The one who should have died yesterday or today was granted an additional life. On top of that, he even received a unique calling.

There was no way he couldn’t know whose influence this was.

And right at that moment.

The emperor’s senses detected a strange flow of power suddenly slicing through the air. Causalities, haphazardly drawn, dashed towards a single point like a shot.

The world, which had been observing this, buzzed together at that abrupt movement.

The emperor anxiously directed his gaze northward, where causalities were converging.

It’s only been a day since leaving the imperial capital.

What in the world are you doing, son!

***

“…A scheduled visit?”

When the guard asked back in puzzlement, Seongjin nodded.

“I didn’t specify a date. I just sent a letter saying I’d be visiting Regina soon and that we should talk. Don’t tell me you didn’t receive it?”

“Even if you suddenly say that…”

The guard trailed off, perplexed.

A young boy who appeared out of nowhere leading distinguished-looking knights suddenly requested a meeting with the merchant union branch head, citing a scheduled appointment.

It was an absurd situation, but they couldn’t turn him away because the identity he presented was quite definitive.

The guard asked him to wait a moment and disappeared into the logistics relay station.

And soon, a middle-aged man in fine clothes was called out. He was likely one of the managers employed by the merchant union.

“Unfortunately, the branch head has briefly stepped out on business, Your Highness. If it’s not rude, may I listen to your request in his stead and convey it to him?”

“Is that so?”

Seongjin said, sounding disappointed. Of course, he didn’t really expect to meet the branch head right away.

“Then tell him this. I’d like to have dinner together tonight, so please contact me at the inn. There’s a business I’m currently planning that requires the branch head’s assistance.”

“…Business?”

“Yes. I plan to open a restaurant in the imperial capital specializing in river char. I’ll need a stable supply of ingredients, so I want to slightly increase the quantity of Ortona river char handled through the logistics relay station. I wrote about it ‘in detail’ in the letter. Don’t tell me the letter didn’t arrive?”

And before even receiving an answer, he added with a tilt of his head.

“I see. You didn’t receive it. Otherwise, there would be no reason for him to deliberately go out on business at this timing when I’ve arrived in Regina.”

Naturally, the information about when the imperial prince would be passing through Regina had already spread through the grapevine.

If there really had been such an appointment, this would be a clear act of disregard towards a member of the imperial family. The manager felt cold sweat running down his back.

“Well, I don’t mind much, so don’t worry and make sure to contact me at the inn.”

After giving that message to the manager who was flustered and bowing his head, Seongjin turned around and walked out. Then Masain closely followed him and asked.

“A river char restaurant? Since when have you been interested in such a business? I failed to notice as you were always focused on swordsmanship lessons, Your Highness.”

Then Seongjin looked at Masain with pitying eyes.

You still don’t know me, Sir Masain? Of course I just made that up.

‘How’s the demonic energy? Any changes?’

[No, it’s not moving from that spot.]

Hmm. Even after putting pressure by specifically targeting the branch head, there’s no movement at all. Does that mean at least the branch head or his close associates aren’t involved?

‘I had preemptively assumed that if there’s a demon, it would definitely be related to the logistics relay station’s top leader…’

Seongjin fell into deep thought as he walked.

Inwardly, he had been expecting to encounter a devil worshipper sooner or later.

The Dark Cult, known to revere the Demon King as a god.

The Milo Trading Group that leaves the cult’s tokens here and there.

The Merchant Union that condones and supports Milo Trading Group’s northern expansion.

So he had always thought there was a possibility of a devil worshipper being somewhere in that connection.

But who would have thought they’d be hiding in plain sight in such a big city?

‘Dasha might be infiltrating there right now. Orden’s group, who are following the head of Milo Trading Group, will be there too. Is it okay to just leave the demon like that?’

[It’s still keeping a low profile and hiding. It probably won’t move recklessly.]

‘Got it. Then let’s observe a bit longer.’

He had a reason to trust it to some extent.

Seongjin’s sudden visit to the logistics relay station was partly to test the branch head, but above all, it was meant as a warning not to act rashly today, no matter who it was.

Although currently disguised as Pearl Palace resident knights, some of those accompanying the prince were actually holy knights from the Demonic Beast Response Unit, which anyone in the know would be aware of.

‘Moreover, I deliberately mentioned dinner, so it would be fine to sneak in alone before that and catch them off guard.’

At that moment, a gust of wind from somewhere gently encircled his arm. However, Seongjin, lost in thought, failed to notice it.

Seongjin led his still-puzzled group and headed towards the restaurant district.

“Wow, it was incredibly delicious, just as rumored!”

The restaurant recommended by Claudia was amazing. At first, they were flustered to see people not only filling the interior but also lining up in a long queue, but as it was a renowned establishment, there was a separate VIP section.

Thanks to that, Seongjin’s group paid an additional fee and could comfortably finish their meal without waiting.

“I’m glad it suited your taste. You haven’t eaten this much recently, have you, Your Highness?”

Masain said happily. It was because Seongjin, who had been controlling his weight and not consuming more than the appropriate amount, rarely ate to his satisfaction.

Of course, it was delicious, but there was another important reason.

[It’s over already? Let’s have one more bite of steak! Huh? It’s a waste to leave it like this! Ah! That cheese pie! Just a little more cheese pie!]

If Seongjin hadn’t lost patience and snapped at him to take it easy, the Demon King would have probably tried to empty even the plates of those next to him.

And finally, after finishing the meal, the Demon King lazily mumbled in his mind.

[Aaaah! This is the life! I’m so happy.]

Seongjin was dumbfounded.

Happy? A demon who feeds on human misery is saying that?

[You don’t know what you’re talking about. Demons are demons because they use misery as a driving force to make themselves happy. It’s not about pursuing misery itself. Think about it, where in this world would there be a demon who wants to be miserable?]

…Now that I hear it, that makes sense.

[It’s hard to find such sensory pleasures in the demon realm unless you go to great lengths. That’s why demons strive to make contracts with humans. Primal desires like appetite and lust are very appealing to demons too.]

The Demon King, in a good mood, rolled around in his mind.

[So sometimes, in the case of a clumsy novice demon, they fail to control these desires and put their contractor in danger. They quickly turn the contractor into a pig or reduce them to a pleasure-seeking murderer. They can’t overcome the momentary desire and ruin everything. How foolish.]

Hey, are you the one to talk?

You just tried to lick Sir Masain’s plate earlier!