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IBP 146
“My congratulations, Your Majesty.”
“What do you mean?”
Just as the Emperor's eyes wavered greatly, the High Priest took a deep breath and shouted.
“The imprinted one chosen by the divine beast of the dragon is His Highness the Prince.”
The vassals all wore expressions of shock.
And for good reason; the Prince had been living in seclusion with the Imperial Concubine.
It meant that many commoners had shed tears over the story of the frail and pitiful mother and son, whose health was poor.
“Tell me the details.”
At the Emperor's urging, the High Priest spoke solemnly.
“He says that while His Highness the Prince was strolling along the lakeshore where the divine beast slept, the surface of the lake began to ripple. At that moment, the divine beast of the dragon ended its hibernation and descended!”
“And?”
“To borrow the words of Her Highness the Imperial Concubine, who was with him at the time, the divine beast of the dragon held a private audience with His Highness the Prince within the lake. As a result of verification with the holy relics at the temple, the wavelengths of the two were found to match.”
For the wavelengths of a divine beast and a human to match.
This meant that the Prince met the conditions to become the divine beast's imprinter.
At that moment, Grand Duke Rivera intervened with an expressionless face and sneered lightly.
“How can we believe those words?”
“I am the High Priest. Are you suggesting that I would spout lies through a divine oracle, Your Grace!”
“Regardless.”
The Emperor raised his hand to stop the slight clash between the two.
“Whether there are lies in the oracle or not is something that must be verified to be known.”
Once the chaotic atmosphere had quieted down.
The Emperor's knight held out a small scale toward the High Priest.
“Th-that is....”
“Is that not the Scale of God!”
“To think I would see the actual scale...!”
In the Empire, there was a great tool used to gauge the truth of a divine oracle. It was an ancient scale called the ‘Power of Great Wisdom.’
The High Priest nodded and placed his hand upon the scale.
“The oracle states that the Great Divine Beast shall overcome the trials and descend upon the earth to find an imprinter. Through this, the Empire shall find peace for generations to come.”
Even after he finished speaking, the Scale of God did not tilt to either side.
The oracle was an absolute truth.
* * *
Sevilla Square, the place where all the rumors of the Empire gather.
The atmosphere here was boisterous, as if a festival were being held.
In the square where the market usually stood, banners with the crudely written words <Dragon Divine Beast Descent Festival> fluttered in the wind.
“Eat skewers infused with the breath of the dragon divine beast!”
“Selling stones personally blessed by the dragon divine beast!”
...It was filled with all sorts of trivial peddlers.
Grand Duke Rivera recalled his private audience with the Emperor with a spiteful expression.
“...I have heard the report. I, too, know that the Imperial Concubine is suspicious. If it becomes a problem... I am prepared to expel her.”
“Then it is simple. Expel her immediately.”
“...However, Grand Duke. Is it not said that my son is imprinting with the divine beast? This is a matter that can nullify even a grave crime such as hunting spirit beasts.”
If one headed west from the center of the Imperial Capital's great square, the Great Temple came into view.
Countless people were praying to the idol of the dragon divine beast and offering riches to the temple.
At that moment, a priest with a benevolent expression stepped out of the temple and spoke to the gathered crowd.
“The Great Divine Beast has descended for the people of the Empire!”
“The divine beast...!”
“Do you know how magnificent the divine beast is?”
“Of course! Is the divine beast not the savior of our Imperial people?”
At the priest's words, everyone present let out a cheer.
Grand Duke Rivera frowned at the sound, which was loud enough to make his ears ache.
He read the text written beneath the crudely crafted idol of the divine beast.
[The Great Divine Beast of the Dragon, ‘Pioara,’ is the being who helped the First Emperor found the Empire. He is widely known as a being who performs miracles by borrowing the power of God. ...(omitted).......]
And what about the part below that?
[Though the divine beast's supernatural ability is shrouded in mystery, it is known to be immense enough to destroy an entire Duchy.]
‘To think the Prince would be chosen by the divine beast. Just how did he do it?’
A divine beast chooses the most holy human as a partner and shares a great supernatural ability with them.
Was that not how the First Emperor founded the Empire?
The story of the First Emperor and the divine beast overcoming trials to establish the Empire was still frequently staged in popular plays.
Therefore, evidence of hunting spirit beasts would not even leave a scratch on her, now that she was with the divine beast.
“Karon.”
The man who had been by his side like a shadow bowed his head.
“Report everything regarding the situation of the divine beast and the Imperial Concubine. Even the smallest detail will do.”
“As you command.”
Watching the shadow guard slowly vanish, he shifted his gaze.
He intended to head toward the projection stone in the center of the square.
They said the Great Temple was using the projection stone to show the situation just before the Prince and the divine beast imprinted.
By chance, he spotted the carriage of Duke Ardos's house at the edge of the square. Those stepping out of the pitch-black carriage were the direct descendants of the Ardos family.
He didn't know why the people of the Ardos family had come to this square, but...
‘Lady Coco was able to communicate with animals, wasn't she?’
...Perhaps it would be worth consulting with Coco?
* * *
“<Breaking News: Dragon Divine Beast Appears!> <Second Breaking News: Dragon Divine Beast Imprinting with His Highness the Prince?>”
As I stepped out of the carriage with my nose buried in the newspaper, Ruth, Duke Ardos, and my teacher looked at me as if I were a curiosity.
“Coco is so good at reading; she's a genius.”
“Coco isn't just good at reading, she's super-duper smart.”
Leaving my stunned sister behind, I set the newspaper down with a thump and spoke.
“I'm done reading the paper! You know, the divine beast must be really amazing. Right?”
If I want to live with my sister for a long, long time, I should become a divine beast!
...I thought that, but since I didn't know exactly what kind of being a divine beast was, I tilted my head in confusion.
Ruth spoke in a nonchalant manner.
“Yeah, Coco. You see, a divine beast can create enough food to feed hundreds during a great famine with a flick of a finger, and can cause an earthquake across hundreds of acres with a twitch of an eyebrow. It's a being capable of rivaling the Emperor. No, in this Empire, it's almost a god-like existence. Probably higher than the Emperor.”
My eyes widened.
‘If I become a divine beast, I guess I can scold the Imperial Concubine!’
...I was about to say that, but instead, I grabbed their hands.
I shouldn't get excited already!
First, I had to check out the divine beast that was supposedly imprinting with the Prince.
I did a little sniffing with my dog-nose.
This situation! It smells suspicious!
“Then let's go see the divine beast quickly!”
I urged the family surrounding me.
After breakfast, I had simply pestered Ruth to go see the projection stone, but I ended up bringing the whole family along.
Not long after getting out of the carriage, the projection stone placed on the main road came into view. The area around the projection stone was swarming with people.
I rode on Ruth's shoulders and looked at the projection stone.
What was visible on the projection stone, which was larger than ten grown men combined, was a short clip of about ten seconds.
Watching the video, I suddenly tilted my head.
‘But why would the super-duper amazing dragon divine beast choose the Prince of all people?’
With that thought, I stared intently at the image in the projection stone.
The beginning of the video showed a dragon attempting to ascend, moving with its head pressed against the surface of the lake.
And then, a scene where the Prince's hand almost, but not quite, touched the dragon.
It went up to the scene where the dragon muttered something.
“He... re... is.”
...I tried to listen more closely.
But right at that moment, the video cut off.
“Hmph....”
Ruth, who had been staring silently at the darkened projection stone, let out a sigh and spoke.
“I don't know what the dragon was saying, but it's probably trying to imprint, right? Because of that, the Imperial Concubine's popularity is insane. Setting aside the nobles, she's even got the commoners at the temple backing her... Anyway, it's a total riot.”
I shook my head at Ruth.
“The dragon divine beast isn't trying to imprint with the Prince.”
“Huh?”
Just as I said that, a low voice was heard from behind.
“Then do you know what it said, Lady Coco?”
It was Grand Duke Rivera.
Even seeing him appear suddenly, I did not panic. Instead, I spoke firmly toward him.
“The divine beast. It says it's hurting!”
Unlike the judgment of the people of the world, the sound of the divine beast was not a voice made for imprinting.
It was merely the death rattle of a scream let out by a divine beast filled with pain.
Grand Duke Rivera looked at me and said.
“Shall we go back to the Duke's residence and finish talking?”
* * *
“In the projection stone, the divine beast said, <It's too painful and cold here. I don't want to imprint with a human. I just want to go up to the sky>!”
Returning to Duke Ardos's residence, we sat facing each other across a round table.
Grand Duke Rivera nodded as if agreeing with my words and replied.
“It seems obvious that they are trying to force an imprinting on a sick divine beast.”
“If we find evidence, we might be able to catch the Imperial Concubine.”
“But there is no time to find evidence that the divine beast is hurting.”
“.......”
“I received intelligence from the shadows. The divine beast by the lake only appears when the Imperial Concubine and the Prince show up.”
Watching them discuss the divine beast and the Imperial Concubine endlessly, I thought.
The conclusion was simple.
‘I'll heal the divine beast, and then I'll die.’
If I use too much healing power, my life force wears down and I die.
If I use the remaining healing power in my body to save the hurting divine beast and stop the forced imprinting...
Then it would mean I saved the dragon divine beast and sacrificed myself.
‘Then I'll become a super-duper strong Coco!’
I put a piece of chocolate my sister had given me into my mouth and spoke to her.
“Sister, chocolate sometimes has a bitter taste, doesn't it?”
“It does.”
“I feel like the bitter taste always follows if you want to feel the sweetness.”
I am still a five-year-old child, Coco.
But I think I've already realized, sister.
That where there is a meeting, there is a parting.
And where there is a parting, there is another meeting.
I took a light breath and looked at my sister.
“Sister, I have something to tell you. Can the two of us go talk alone?”
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