The Prince Wants to Retire

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The Crown Prince Wishes to Retire

44. A Stronger Emperor than Expected?

The emperor who restored the great glory of the Empire.

The greatest hero of the Empire, overcoming numerous crises and absorbing Iron and the principalities.

That was the image the Empire citizens held of the current emperor, Kariel.

Intelligent.

Reviving the royal insignia.

Possesses an unknown power.

Has charisma.

Despite all these images, no one in the Empire believed that Kariel was strong in terms of brute force. Although wielding an image of overwhelming strength that could crush nobles, the Magic Tower, and even other nations, that wasn’t just sheer might.

That’s why the citizens of the Empire always felt uneasy whenever the emperor went somewhere.

The current Empire was practically unified around Kariel.

From the small factions within the Empire to the large allied nations like Iron or the principalities, everything revolved around Kariel.

Thus, both the ministers and even the knights prioritized Kariel’s safety above all else.

“Your Majesty! Is it really necessary to train in such a dangerous manner all of a sudden?”

“It would be wise to refrain from perilous training with your health in question.”

Whenever Kariel tried to train in a realistic setting after a long time with the Imperial Guard, ministers would rush in to stop him, having heard rumors from somewhere.

‘I hinted it lightly to the guards… Who could it be? Toto? Or…’

He had instructed the Imperial Guard to draw up a plan to train in a location where monsters dwelt.

But one of the guards had secretly leaked that information to the ministers.

From their perspective, if Kariel were to get injured during training, it would only double their troubles, hence their interference.

However, it wasn’t just the ministers trying to stop Kariel’s training.

“Your~~~ Majesty! Absolutely not!”

“No… I just wanted to confirm a few things.”

As Talion hurriedly rushed in to intervene, Kariel sighed.

“Can’t we just do it here? Test yourselves against the Imperial Guard or the Palace Knights!”

“Surth insists that real combat is essential…”

“We will do everything to prevent that from happening! It must absolutely not happen!”

Kariel sighed at Talion’s fervor and ordered him to back off, conceding.

“…I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

-Then I guess we train as usual.

“Ugh… You know we can’t just train.”

As Surth said, if they spent the entire day training, they could continuously grow.

However, it was unpredictable when the Hell Gate might open, making some faster growth essential. More importantly, this was a critical time, and training all day long wasn’t feasible.

Having already reached the limits of relying on elixirs, a more fundamental solution was needed.

-So you need to experience real combat. Controlling fire energy in dire situations will help you grow much more than now. So will your physical body.

Kariel let out a small sigh at Surth’s words.

He too recognized that real combat was necessary.

The problem was that it was difficult to ignore the opposition of so many people.

Even now, whenever he tried to sneak out with just the Imperial Guard, the Palace Knights would grab onto his pant legs, stopping him from going.

Even the Imperial Guard was stalling, subtly waiting for the knights or Talion to arrive.

And they weren’t the only ones blocking him.

Talion was always concerned for him, but an unexpected figure came to dissuade Kariel.

“Your Majesty, please think only of your safety.”

“Sigh… Even you?”

The figure bowing before him was Achelio, one of the three pillars of the Empire and the captain of the Palace Knights.

“Your Majesty’s body does not belong to you alone. For the Empire, we cannot tolerate even a hint of danger.”

This wasn’t his time as a crown prince, but as the Emperor of the Empire.

Thus, from Achelio’s perspective, ensuring the emperor’s safety had to be the top priority.

-I told you, just go for it.

Kariel sighed at Surth’s words.

Thinking back to when he briefly used Surth’s power in the West, making a decision wasn’t that easy.

Kariel was much more powerful now, and summoning Surth again made him uncertain of what that being would do.

But could he summon other beings?

That wouldn’t work either.

Agni, born from the fragment of the Spirit King, had a mischievous demeanor, and Skoll would take out parts of the Palace as soon as he was summoned.

“It’s just to check things out.”

“I’ll prepare the elite knights.”

At Achelio’s words, Surth smiled brightly.

-You have no option but to go for it.

Feeling excited to stretch out after a long time, Surth brightened up and spoke, just as Skoll and Agni appeared out of nowhere.

Seeing them clamoring for a summon made Kariel sigh.

“Prepare the largest training ground in the palace.”

“Understood.”

“We’ll need to reinforce the barriers multiple times.”

“Will do.”

Kariel sighed as he looked at Achelio, who assured him not to worry.

In the end, Achelio obstructed Kariel’s “realistic training plan” and decided to have a duel within the palace, earning him heroic treatment from the ministers as preparations for the emperor’s duel began.

“Your Majesty must not be left with even the smallest scratch. Do you understand?”

“Yes!”

Achelio repeated his concerns multiple times, and the elite knights, composed of the finest among the Palace Knights, lined up before Kariel for the duel.

And once the mages finished setting up the layers of barriers while the priests readied themselves, Kariel finally entered the training ground.

“Your Majesty, we are prepared with the elite. There will be no deficiencies in your opponents.”

At Achelio’s words, the elite knights offered a serious salute towards Kariel.

“Who should I bring up first?”

“Bring them all.”

At Kariel’s command, Achelio lined up the elite knights without any further complaints.

“Just in case of an emergency, you remain vigilant. Ugh… These are entities I can’t even control… So, try your best to not destroy the palace.”

“Understood.”

Achelio laughed as he responded to Kariel’s request. Nearby, others hurriedly covered their mouths or bowed their heads.

They all thought Kariel was being overly dramatic.

“Ugh… Everyone, be careful.”

“Yes!”

The elite knights responded boisterously, but none were truly taking his words to heart.

-You won’t know until you take a hit. Summon me first!

Looking at Surth, excited to loosen up, Kariel sighed.

Before he knew it, Agni and Skoll were also causing a fuss, wanting to fight first.

Everyone watched them with a look of endearment, seeing these three becoming tangible entities.

“First, Surth. And I’m warning you, don’t cause chaos. If even a single part of the building crumbles, you won’t even get to see the monsters.”

At Kariel’s warning, Surth nodded repeatedly.

Seeing that only made Kariel feel more anxious, but he pushed all the fire energy inside him into small fireballs.

-It’s been a while!

As fire energy surged towards him, a small fireball smiled widely, exploding with condensed power.

At that moment, amidst a blinding light, the fire giant emerged.

“Gah!”

The Palace Knights gasped in shock upon the fire giant’s appearance.

But their panic was short-lived.

True to Achelio’s selection, the elite knights quickly regained their composure and charged at the fire giant.

Watching this scene, an excited Surth began to flail his arms wildly.

“Hey! Be gentle! The palace is going to collapse!”

Kariel yelled, but a frenzied Surth was already in a chaotic battle with the knights.

“What the hell… Talion! Stop that guy!”

They managed to summon Surth, who at least could understand words, but amid all the excitement, he was utterly oblivious to what was being said.

In desperation, Kariel turned to Achelio, who stepped forward with a confused look on his face.

As Achelio stood firm with his massive sword against Surth’s rampage, Surth became even more agitated and started wreaking havoc.

Of course, Achelio wasn’t able to handle his master, so Surth’s massive form was eventually torn apart, but it was too late.

“……”

The once spacious training ground in the palace lay in ruins, and parts of the palace were either melted down or crushed by Achelio’s sword.

Although layers of barriers had been set up with this in mind, the damage was catastrophic.

“I told you to prepare properly…”

“…I am truly sorry.”

Achelio bowed his head, as if he had no words to offer.

“Ugh… Treat the injured.”

With a sigh, Kariel left Achelio behind and returned to his palace.

“Surth!”

-Err! I’m… sorry.

Surth, seemingly apologetic for causing chaos, rushed to say sorry.

-But thanks to me, you now have a valid reason to go outside.

“You won’t even get to see the monsters.”

Kariel glared at Surth’s excuse.

Realizing it was useless to reason with him, Surth bowed his head deeply.

-Kiing?

Next, Skoll appeared as if it was his turn, rubbing against Kariel’s face.

Suddenly, Agni also showed up, acting cute.

But Kariel wasn’t swayed by their charms.

“If you cause chaos like Surth, you’ll never be summoned again.”

At Kariel’s words, Agni and Skoll nodded their heads hastily.

Watching them with a skeptical expression, Kariel finished tidying up and let Achelio back in.

“I think we need to head outside the capital…”

“I’ll find a suitable location.”

“Make sure it’s as deserted as possible.”

At Kariel’s command, Achelio nodded with a serious expression.

“Make sure it’s where there are plenty of monsters.”

“What about that…”

“There are two more with me. My safety is not an issue.”

After Kariel spoke, Achelio pondered for a moment before ultimately nodding.

He deemed it safe enough since he planned to accompany Kariel.

Finally, a location was arranged where Kariel could undergo realistic training.

The Palace Knights and Imperial Guard set off with Kariel to subdue a region in the forest located in the North.

“Stay back.”

“Are you planning to take them out alone?”

At Achelio’s question, Kariel nodded.

He intended to enter the depths of the forest alone to practice controlling fire energy in extreme conditions.

Achelio fell back, maintaining a safe distance within his senses.

Thud! Thud!

The moment Kariel stepped into the forest, the scent of humans attracted a horde of monsters.

Seeing this, Kariel declared, “Let chaos reign.”

At that moment, a giant wolf appeared in the air.

Simultaneously, a lava golem shrouded in fire was conjured around Kariel.

-Focus.

Surth spoke in a serious tone, offering guidance.

Following his advice, Kariel began to control the fire energy while assisting Skoll and Agni, who were rampaging around.

As monsters attacked Kariel intermittently, Surth easily dispatched them.

-Distribute your fire energy well. If you don’t, you’ll be overwhelmed immediately.

Beads of sweat formed on Kariel’s brow as he nodded in response to Surth’s words.

Surrounded by monsters and witnessing two summoned beings annihilating them, and then Surth defending against the occasional attacks, Kariel’s focus heightened, sensing the impending danger of even the slightest misstep.

Was it because of this heightened awareness?

His previously stagnant skills sharply progressed.

-Indeed, real combat is the answer.

Surth murmured, beaming with a smile.