Chapter 74 - The General Talks to the King (Part 1)

  At the top of that elevated area stood the king. He was a middle-aged man with blonde hair, clearly a bit ht.

  He wouldn’t even be able to carry a shield in a Spartan battle...

  My disappoi alpable upon seeing the great leader of the human kingdom, and I was almost certain I could kill him with a lightning bolt from where I stood. However, I noticed that the people around him were above-average mages, and they definitely had termeasures for anything that might e his way.

  No one would be crazy enough to attack the king, especially sihis is a private event reserved only for the high-ranking nobles of the kingdom.

  I let out a small internal ugh.

  I wonder if I have some kind of obsession with plotting the deaths of high-ranking figures. Haha.

  “Today, I am very happy that my heir is being a man!” the king said he stone, and his voice echoed throughout the hall.

  People started g, and my mother appeared with Aunt Margie, giving us a look that made it clear we should follow suit.

  “T-Thank you!” the king said with a ugh.

  This king seems a bit off; he’s slurring his words. Is he drunk? If so, he’s even more of an idiot than I thought.

  The appuse grew louder after his thanks.

  A blonde boy asded to the ptform and stood o the king.

  “Dun, my heir and your future king, will be a great mage!” he procimed.

  Hmm… So the boy must take after his mother, then.

  “My son is a rare mage with three elemental affinities. He wields fire, wind, ah. A true prodigy and one of the few iire kingdom with three elements,” the king said with pride.

  Many people began to whisper among themselves, their expressions showing astonishment.

  “Aunt, is that really a big deal? My teacher never mentioned anyone having more than two elemental affinities,” I asked.

  “Because it’s extremely rare. It’s unon for a mage to be like you and Chloe, born with two elements, and even rarer to have a third,” she replied, still focused on the king.

  ade a puzzled face.

  “But Mom, don’t we have the ice element?”

  “No, my dear. What we do is fuse elements. The more elements a person has, the rger their mana els, giving them greater potential. What we do is bihe mana from our els,” she expined.

  “So that kid really is a prodigy...” I murmured.

  We tio listen to the king.

  “A round of appuse for my son! Your future king and great mage!” the king shouted, and everyone cpped.

  The ba began serving food, and we all sat down. No one could stand up until the king finished visiting the tables of the higher-ranking nobles. He would go around, greeting each table and introdug his heir. It was a ceremony desige a e betweeop families and the future king.

  “This is exhausting…” my mother said as she sipped her water.

  “I agree,” Aunt Margie sighed. “How many dinner invitations have you received?”

  Dinner invitations?

  “I’ve lost t… A bunch of fools came over, bragging about their families, mentioning properties and other things as if they could impress me,” my mother replied.

  My aunt chuckled.

  “Your beauty draws attention from everyone,” Aunt Margie said to my mother.

  “I agree, Aunt Katie, you’re really beautiful,” Kinue added.

  “Wait! You were courted!?” I asked, irritated.

  Who the hell were those bastards!?

  My mhed and pinched my cheeks. “It’s okay, my baby. It’s normal for dies to receive suvitations, but don’t worry, there will never be anyone else in my life.”

  “It’s normal, Nathan. It doesn’t just happen to women; it happens to men too. These events are on for meeting nobility, making es, or even… finding ‘love,’” my aunt expined.

  “Those trash don’t even deserve the air I breathe,” my mother said with a serious expression.

  If I’m scared of her right now, I only imagine how she intimidates everyone else…

  The servants began pg various dishes on our table, different options. Aunt Margie was thrilled when they brought a bottle of rare wine, which she immediately began to enjoy.

  “Icarus! That thing over there! Get it for me, please!” Athena begged.

  The crazy Goddess was sitting in ay chair, wantio touch the food so she could create an illusory copy for herself.

  Enough… It’s going to look weird if I keep toug everything and theing it go.

  “Please! I’ve behaved a quiet these days. I didn’t even say anything when you plimented Chloe and Kinue.”

  I sighed.

  “Isn’t that the king and his ente?” I poio a table nearby, and when they looked, I quickly touched all the food oable.

  Happy now?

  Athena nodded in satisfa and started eating.

  “It looks like we’re and the st table,” Aunt Margie murmured.

  “Thank goodness, I o get up and go to the bathroom,” my mother said.

  We tinued eating, but my cousin wasn’t toug her food.

  “I’m a bit nervous,” Kinue said.

  “Me too,” Chloe added.

  My mother reassured them, “Don’t worry. It’ll be formal, and they’ll guide the versation. You’ll only o respond.”

  “Just be careful not to be impolite,” Aunt Margie added.

  We nodded and waited for the king’s ente to approach our table, but then something ued happeo me.

  “Ow!” I felt a sharp pain in my head as if a knife was stabbing near my eyes.

  The pain was so intense and sudden that I instinctively lowered my head.

  “Nathan?” my mother called out, seeing me clutg my face.

  My aunt looked at me.

  “Could it be? Is it happening here? Now?” Aunt Margie asked.

  “Yes… the pain’s back,” I said, trying to focus, but it was too much.

  “Are you okay, Nate?” Chloe asked.

  “Do you need my help with anything?” Kinue asked.

  Sometimes I had these headaches, and my eyes would burn, but it was ihem. The pain was quick, but I could feel needles being driven into the bay eyes. This was a symptom of my mana els being formed, eg the Mana Gem, eyes, and brain to work together when the awakening happens and I activate the Special Eyes.

  “Don’t worry, it’s passing…”

  My mother took my fa her hands and looked into my eyes.

  "The white part was glowing a bit, but it's already fading," she said, pullio a hug.

  What I’ve discovered over the past few years is that the rate of people awakening these Special Eyes is even lower than I thought. Only one person has awakehese eyes i 100 years, and that person is already dead. At their funeral, nobles showed up trying to buy their eyes. Everyone wao possess that power, and in the human kingdom... those people are truly the most greedy.

  They tried to buy the eyes of a dead person from their retives, and that person probably suffered from stant 'harassment' and offers of money during their life. It’s impossible for the magical surgery to succeed, but everyone wants to possess something like that, even if it’s just to try impnting one eye.