Chapter 13_ Blacksmith (3)

"So you're saying, you called me because you wanted me to be friends with her and to finally face my responsibility as a prince?"

Lexus listened to his father's continuous explanations for a while before speaking with an upright posture. His stat of great physical strength and concentration, which transcended his level, allowed dignity to radiate from him.

'Indeed, this is the appearance of someone who will become a legendary warrior.'

Sir Chucksley thought with certainty, looking at Lexus who didn't lose his composure despite facing his father, the king of Eternal Kingdom.

'Friends? Did I look like a shut in for him?'

'My previous self might be too lazy and unmotivated but its not to the point that I don't have any friends, right?'

'Be the crown prince.'

'Its time to stop being childish…'

Several thoughts came into his mind after listening to the revelation of why his NPC self's identity was hidden; however, after hearing the reason, Lexus found the reason not cool and not great at all. He thought it was because of some cool reason like possessing a cursed power of the God of Destruction or the Knight of the Apocalypse that could cause the kingdom or even the world to disappear or something similar.

When he heard it was that because he was simply a fast learner than his brothers or anyone else, he was greatly disappointed.

'Also, why would I want to be the crown prince of a kingdom that will soon to be righteously conquered by the protagonist.'

Lexus thought as he saw no merit in being the crown prince at all; however, him being the crown prince didn't really matter since his movements wouldn't be restricted anyway. He's still seventeen years old, which is too young to be a king, so he can still enjoy some freedom, right? Without making a single noise, Lexus looked at King Wiesbaden.

The king on the other hand, was surprised as Lexus didn't react negatively and simply thought things through silently, like he was contemplating whether or not he should even agree. As he was about to ask, he heard Lexus' voice.

"I understand. Though being a king isn't that great, rejecting this will only make things troublesome for me."

Lexus calmly answered. At first, he considered declining, but then he realized that he could have Greed as a subordinate or a friend. In the first place, he had no intention of following the plot of the novel; he simply wanted to enjoy it freely without any regrets. It was merely a gesture of respect for the protagonist whose journey thrilled him that led Lexus to decide to leave the book alone for the protagonist to obtain.

'It's not like I need to become his babysitter just because I knew he will grow to the top.'

Lexus had no plans to obstruct or interfere with the protagonist's growth. He intended to make acquaintance with him someday and maybe even give the protagonist some quests; after all, he was technically an NPC as long as it benefited him.

Upon hearing his calm tone, King Wiesbaden and Sir Chuckley were surprised by many things. To them, Lexus's tone suggested he had no desire to become king unless they had told him so beforehand, which would have been difficult given how his brothers were also vying for this position.

Also, aside from that he had no motivation to become one, it also sounds like he had no great impression of becoming a king. Becoming a ruler of a nation might sounds good but it was a very important position with a great responsibility as every decision the king made can affect countless lives.

But even though it seems like he was put into the position like he had no choice, with his potential in mind, King Wiesbaden was thrilled to tears.

"Thank you very much Lexus, the 400 year history of the kingdom will not just be preserved but with your hands, it will definitely bring us to the golden age to the point that not even the empire could trample us…!"

He reigned supreme, but even with that, he could not deny the expectations he had for his son. Although Lexus would not immediately become the king, it reassured him that the kingdom that he and his ancestors had taken with such great care would be left in capable hands.

[Your status as a prince will no longer be hidden and it will now be revealed that you are a prince of the Eternal Kingdom.]

[The title 'Royal Prince' has been obtained.]

[Dignity has increased by 650.]

[Charm has increased by 850.]

[As a prominent figure, your reputation across the continent has risen by 10,000.]

Lexus watched and read the notifications in his vision with surprise. He didn't expected those messages at all. King Wiesbaden on the other hand, was very glad looking proudly at his son. He was already over 70 years old and in a state of considerable decline so he was very relieved.

What he didn't know was that Lexus had purposely avoided making things more complicated for all of them. If he ever tried to reject her now, he couldn't even begin to imagine the annoying events that would follow.

He was not in a position to decline getting acquainted with Dovie, who was not only kind and beautiful, but also a capable and talented lady.

'That was great, really.'

Nope, there was no such disappointment or rejection. It's not like he's a hero in a romance novel who considers all females as rocks until the heroine comes along. Why wouldn't Lexus want a chance like this with women when he was single?

Looks-wise, the aristocratic young ladies were all above average. This was because, in most cases, the mothers would all be very beautiful, so the young ladies all had a genetic advantage. However, Dovie had a unique case.

Unlike aristocratic ladies who all paid attention to their faces and took special care, Dovie's beauty was natural, for she had trained herself to be a knight, following in the footsteps of her father to serve and obey the royal family.

'Her face and clothing are innocent, so why does she seem so sexy? Is it because of her hair color?'

It's really because of her hair color. If you looked just at Dovie's face, she looked gentle and innocent, but her silky pink hair color gave her a seductive image. Lexus took a glance at her and then when she smiled, her innocently seductive look was like an arrow straight to a man's heart. She is extremely cute, very sexy, and has a slim body.

Though she very beautiful and was definitely his type, Lexus wasn't swayed and still thought things rationally. He wasn't someone who thinks using his genitals and he greatly didn't like those horny fools so he had no intention to become like them. He just appreciated her beauty. Nothing more, nothing else.

The two of them had the time to get to know each other better and make decisions afterward. King Wiesbaden and Sir Chuckley stared at Lexus as he looked at a promising young man.

'He's young, his face looks way better than decent, and since his swordsmanship sas said to be good, then he was a sword expert at a young age.'

"Then, I guess its my turn to request something, right?"

Speaking softly with his hand on his chin, Lexus wondered what his request was. King Wiesbaden, who was intrigued by his question, was joined in curiosity by Sir Chucksley and Dovie. As they waited for Lexus to speak, all three of them kept their silence throughout the conversation. When Lexus finally turned his gaze towards the Royal Knight's commander, Chucksley, he began to speak.

"I don't mean to be rude but, you're a Great Swordsman, right?"

Sir Chucksley was caught off guard by this statement. It was not just him, but also King Wiesbaden and Princess Dovie who were listening intently to his next words.

"Yes, I am."

Sir Chucksley politely replied, not at all affected by Lexus' tone, which was a little rude. His manner of speaking was casual, not the formal one.

"If you don't mind, I would like to request a spar with you. I wanna know the vast difference in our abilities."

When they heard him suddenly issuing a challenge, they were flabbergasted and surprised, not knowing Lexus' intentions behind the request.

This may seem pointless to them, but Lexus will receive many benefits from doing so. Firstly, he can test his newly-created sword against a Great Swordsman, who would be many times stronger than any random monster.

Second, he could copy the skills of Chucksley with the hope of being able to use Sword Energy, so that he would finally be able to show the world the greatness of the Undefeated King.

Hearing him, Chucksley chuckled a bit but did not reject Lexus' request at all. It was only fair for him to comply to his request since they had somehow forced him into the burden and responsibility of being the next king.

What he didn't know was that he would be greatly surprised by Lexus, after experiencing a legend's abilities firsthand.

In the training grounds, Lexus and Sir Chucksley stood opposite one another. Their eyes met as a gust of wind blew past them.

"Are you really fine about this?"

Chucksley asked once again. Earlier, he had offered Lexus to choose any weapon of his choice for the spar which Lexus declined saying there was no need for it.

"Yeah."

Lexus replied with a smile. Saaah!

A scarlet red light emerged in the sky. A red sword emerged from his inventory. It looked very magnificent that radiated the dignity of a predator.

Then Chuckley's eyes widened, but it wasn't just him. King Wiesbaden and Dovie, who had followed them to the training grounds, were also awestruck, looking at the sword in Lexus' hand. The blade had suddenly heated up like lava and thrown off flames. It had bloomed like a flower and then disappeared, looking beautiful and mysterious.

"My partner is more than enough."

Lexus smiled warmly and then gripped the newly created Blight of Misery. Even if he had no intention of selling it, he knew that the lowest price value for this sword was at least one million gold coins.

'The difference between us is great and I couldn't measure it at this moment, so.....There's no need to hold back at all.'

[Strength Augmentation has been activated. Your attack power, defense and movement speed will increase significantly for 20 seconds.]

Lexus thought as he cast Strength Augmentation and Sword of Ember without hesitation. With his combined human abilities and the power of a troll, he was now more troublesome to deal with, making him much stronger than before.

A red aura suddenly burst forth from his sword, surprising King Wiesbaden and Chucksley yet again. They already knew that he had become a Sword Expert, but seeing it for themselves, made them very happy.

Dovie on the other hand was surprised, but her reaction was very different from the two.

'He can already use aura?'

She knew how lazy and leisure the lifestyle of Lexus was. He didn't even try to pick up a sword much more swing it so seeing him being able to use aura already, greatly affected her.

'Even I can't use sword aura yet.'

She softly bit her lip and unconsciously clenched her hands. She had trained since she was a child, which made her skills surpass most of the royal knights, but even with all her hard work, it was still not enough for her to reach the level of being a sword expert.

Having seen that the once-lazy prince now possessed the ability to wield aura, something she could not, she felt deeply uncomfortable, as if the scene before her were mocking her years of training.

"Come!"

Seeing that Lexus released everything he got, Chucksley eagerly exclaimed.