Chapter 10: A Generous Friend

Rhaegar had an indescribable feeling. The friend he had just met left without saying goodbye.

There hadn't been time to get to know each other.

"I still want to ride it around a few times."

Rhaegar joked to Erryk.

"If it's meant to be, maybe you'll see each other again."

Eryk replied with an easy laugh.

Satisfied that the young prince's emotions had calmed, he rose to dispose of the pheasant's carcass.

Rhaegar looked at Erryk's white robes. He pursed his lips and picked up the water pouch from the side to take a full drink.

" Hah~, refreshing."

As his throat became moist, Rhaegar suddenly remembered the reminder of the system he had heard before he had passed out.

"I wonder if it's a hallucination?"

With a thought, the system panel came into view.

  [Rhaegar. Targaryen]

Talent: Dreamer (Gold), Longevity (Green)

Bloodline: Old Valyrian Dragon King (+10%)

Skills: Old Valyrian Language Proficiency...

Relic: Blood and Fire (Flame Resistance +50%)

Evaluation: "Lucky boy, you have found yourself a very generous friend."

Rhaegar's eyes widened. He was staring at a certain line of small words in the system panel.

"New talent, Longevity?"

Rhaegar blinked. He had to make sure he hadn't misread it.

"There's really another talent!"

Heart pounding, he covered his chest, he was really excited.

"What does Longevity mean, can I really live a hundred years?"

He was aware of his own body, it was full of sickness, basically counting him as half of an invalid.

His little heart was beating faster and faster adn his hands and feet were cold, but his heart was very happy.

He was weakened by organ failure.

That's why he used to pant when he took a few steps, and his heart would not get enough blood when he got excited.

Now he had the feeling that his heart was on the verge of pounding out of his chest.

It was only slightly uncomfortable.

Now, not even his hands and feet were shaking.

"Haha, I can live to be a hundred years old. That damned disease can't kill me anymore!"

Rhaegar, cured of a long illness, couldn't control his emotions. He suddenly let out a loud laugh.

Erryk, who had just finished plucking chicken feathers and was about to start a barbecue, was started by the sudden laughter.

When he turned around, he saw the young prince fall to the ground with a maniacal laugh.

He waved his arms back and forth with wide open palms. He picked up the dirt and waved it recklessly.

Rhaegar's young mind was overwhelmed with joy, and he found himself unable to speak.

If he had not done that, he would have been choked into madness.

Though in Erryk's eyes, Rhaegar was a bit of a madman now.

"Seven hells, ah, please don't torture me anymore!"

Erryk lamented. He left the roasted chicken and went to check on the little prince.

He had just woken up from his coma, so please don't make him go mad again.

It was enough for the king to condemn him for stealing the prince from his house.

If he were to bring back a crazy little prince, the king would be sure to chop off his head.

"Dear Brother, I hope it won't implicate you."

Erryk said silently. He prayed that the beheading wouldn't involve his brother Arryk.

...

As it turned out, Erryk had worried for nothing.

After letting Rhaegar go crazy for ten minutes, he was paralyzed with exhaustion.

He would not move a muscle as he lay on the ground.

When asked why he was laughing. He got only one answer.

"Is it not worthwhile to be happy when a cripple can get rid of his crutches?"

Erryk failed to comprehend.

But he realized that the young prince was doing well.

He shouldn't be comatose or insane.

"I guess my head has been saved."

Erryk shook his head. He couldn't keep up with the Targaryen's thinking.

It would be better to go and finish the roast chicken and get the dinner ready.

Rhaegar lay quietly on Erryk's spread white robe. He was lost in thought.

Many things were on his mind.

The System Evaluation for "Generous Friend", Erryk said that the White Hart fed him a red fruit...

The bloodline of the ancient Valyrian Dragon King, which continues to rise...

He looked at the system board.

The system detected the White Hart as a rare species. The conditions for exploration were met.

With Rhaegar unconscious, the exploration was automatically completed.

And the reward for the exploration was this red fruit.

[Magical Creature. White Hart]

Exploration progress: "100%"

"Relic automatically collected, detection in progress..."

"Detection successful, determined to be an epic relic, auspicious blessing."

"Do you wish to activate the Relic?"

"The relic has been automatically activated."

"Congratulations, Auspicious Blessing successfully activated, you have received..."

[Longevity].

Grade: Good Grade (Green)

Function: A relic capable of granting the most heartfelt wishes to a new friend.

Evaluation: "The red grape is too sweet, a sour orange is more suited to my taste."

Rhaegar's heart was happy at the sight of the review full of individual will.

The disappointment of the White Hart's departure without a goodbye was washed away.

"Thank you, dear friend."

Rhaegar silently thanked the White Hart.

At the same time, there was a discovery of a blindspot in the system.

The blessing of the creature was judged to be an epic grade reward.

But the [Longevity] that could be obtained after its activation was only a good grade reward.

Compared to the legendary grade of [Blood and Fire], and even the excellent grade of [Old Valyrian Language Proficiency], it was indeed far inferior.

But after thinking about it for a moment, Rhaegar attributed it to the "Blessing" feature.

Rhaegar's subconscious desire was to have a healthy body, and the blessing is exatly about that.

It was what brought him the health and longevity.

Rhaegar raised his head to look at the night with a curved moon. His eyes contained an unprecedented lightness, and the dark circles under his eyes seemed to have faded considerably.

"I am no longer a sickly child from this night on."

"A Rhaegar not threatened with premature death. A Targaryen bringing to this world a legend strong enough to be sung for thousands and thousands of years."

Rhaegar raised one hand and clenched it, determined.

The world will know his name!

Erryk, who was cooking by the side of the table, sniffed at the golden-skinned roast chicken with a look of puzzlement.

"Strange, isn't it mushy?"

...

The following day.

Early in the morning, a sleepy Rhaegar humped onto his horse, muttering "Dracarys".

"Worthy of a Targaryen child, riding dragons in his dreams," Erryk muttered, curling the corner of his mouth as he walked back to camp.

The early morning dew drops began to disappear and the sun continued to rise.

Erryk appeared at the entrance of the camp around eight in the morning, riding a black horse.

"Erryk, you have returned at last."

Without waiting for him to enter the camp, a figure scurried out of the corner with a voice full of surprise.

Rhaegar, long since awakened from his sleep, glanced up. He saw the face of another Erryk.

Needless to say, Rhaegar knew.

It was Erryk's twin brother, Arryk Cargyll.

"Where were you yesterday?" Arryk asked eagerly, grabbing the reins without waiting for his brother to answer.

Seeing his brother's indignation, Erryk dismounted with Rhaegar in his arms and said helplessly: "What do you think?"

Erryk grew even angrier: "Just the fact that the King ordered you to bring Prince Rhaegar for questioning and you snuck out of camp with him is enough for the King to order you hanged!"

Erryk's look was complicated. His lips moved slightly and finally turned into a sigh.

What had happened last night was so bizarre that he still struggled to get over.

Not to mention having to tell it to a dead-eyed brother.

Seeing his difficulty, Rhaegar took the initiative to solve the problem: "Ser Arryk, it was I who asked your brother to take me out of the camp, that wasn't his intention."

Arryk looked at Rhaegar, who was not as tall as his own legs, and bowed his head, "Your Royal Highness, it is not me who is accusing him, the king waited a long time for you and the princess yesterday and was incomparably shaken."

"Do you understand what I mean?"

Hearing the deep meaning in Arryk's words, Rhaegar said sincerely, "Do not worry, I understand your concern for your brother, I will do my best to defend Ser Erryk."

"This started because of me, I will bear all the consequences."

(Word count: 1450)