Chapter 19: The Second Day (1)

It is already the second day. Unlike what I originally thought, the Birthday Celebration didn't end in just one day. Instead, it was two days long. The first day was spent socializing with various nobles, while the second day, according to what I heard from my mom, seemed to be when I would officially appear in front of the empire's citizens. 

Another thing I noticed was that, even though so many nobles came to my banquet, the only one to be accompanied by a kid was Uncle Cedric. From what I heard from my dad, it seems to be because there were no children of my age in their household and all the children of these nobles are already adults. Which when I thought about it makes a lot of sense. Especially when you consider that these nobles are all basically at the very least transcendent rank, thus basically immortal, they must have a different sense of time from me, a 6-year-old little kid. I wouldn't be surprised even if only one kid was born in a thousand years in their households.

...

Taking a deep breath, I tried to calm down as I looked at the huge crowd below me. Since my mom told me yesterday that a lot of people would probably come for my first-ever official appearance before the empire, I had been mentally preparing myself to face the crowd.

"But...this is too much.", I muttered to myself. Below me stood a crowd that could only be described as uncountable. People were there as far as my eyes could see. Was it a million, ten million, or a billion, perhaps even more? I didn't expect so many people to come for my first appearance before the public.

"My people, as your Emperor, I shall introduce you my son, your Crown Prince and the future Emperor of this Empire, Aurelian Voidreign.", Hearing my dad calling my name, I stepped forward.

Taking a deep breath to calm my beating heart, I took a deep look at the crowd before me as I started my speech, "My people, Today, I, Aurelian Voidreign, stand before you not merely as the Crown Prince but also as your future ruler. Our kingdom, built upon the foundations of unity and prosperity, thrives because of the collective efforts of every one of you. As the future ruler of this nation, I would like to thank you all for your efforts. Of course, it is only natural that I show you that I am qualified for that position."

After speaking those words, I willed for the system interface to appear before me as I commanded it to make the status screen public again. But just this time only making the talent section public.

That's right, I can make it so that only the talent section will be visible to others when making the status screen public. I didn't wouldn't have even thought of it had my mom not told me this yesterday after the banquet ended. Thinking of this, I couldn't help but feel that I was so stupid before. I should have thought of it sooner.

Right then, the familiar notification sounded as a blue screen appeared before me as I called.

[Ding]

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[Do you wish to make your status screen's talent section's visibility to be made public?]

[Yes/No]

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'Yes.', Looking at the screen before me I silently whispered my choice in my head.

[Ding]

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[Displaying the status screen.]

[Making the status screen's talent section's visibility public...]

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[Ding]

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[Status screen's talent section's visibility successfully made public.]

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[Ding]

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Talents: Comprehension (High-God), Void Affinity (Low-God), Tool Mastery (High), Mana Manipulation (Low-God), Hero's Heart (Low-God), Magic Affinity (Low-God), Mana Conductor (High), Pure Soul, Cosmic Energy Manipulation (High), Immortality (Low), Magic Mastery (High)

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And the moment my talents became visible to others, a huge commotion ensued. Just like yesterday, gasps of surprise and shock could be heard everywhere. Just that this time, it was more.

"Gasp~"

"How is that even possible?!"

"Three god-level talent?!"

"No way, a human kid with High-God rank talent!!!"

"To think the crown prince would be so talented!!!"

"Is that the legendary 'Void Affinity'??!"

"To think our crown prince would have Low-God rank 'Void Affinity'!!! That's unprecedented."

"No wonder our crown prince would talk so maturely, to think he would possess High-God rank 'Comprehension'."

"Our crown prince is amazing!!!"

"Yeah! And cute too!!!"

"He is even more talented than his parents!"

"It seems our Empire would be in good hands in the future."

Looking at the crowd below me, I couldn't help but feel the strange feeling I felt yesterday once again. Their praises, their adoration, and their respect, all made me feel strange. Was it happiness? I didn't know. For a moment I couldn't help the feeling welling up inside me. The feeling of wanting to be worthy of their adoration and respect. Suddenly, I couldn't help but think of what my father told me yesterday, about how I shouldn't forget this strange feeling, that I would know what the feeling was today. I didn't understand what he meant before, but I seem to understand now.

It was the feeling of wanting to protect them and to be worthy of their love and adoration for me. I didn't know why I was feeling this way, maybe because I was their crown prince. I didn't know how my predecessors felt. Maybe they all felt the same way I do or maybe not, I don't know. 

But at that moment I vowed to myself that I would give it my all to live up to their expectations.

Unconsciously, a smile graced my face as I chuckled inwardly, 'It seems I would have one more goal than just catching up with my parents.'

Shaking my head to get these thoughts out of my head, I focused my attention on the system screen as I willed for its visibility to be once again made private.

[Ding]

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[Do you wish for the status screen's talent section's visibility to be made private.]

[Yes/No]

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'Yes.', I whispered my choice silently in my head.

[Ding]

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[Hiding status screen's talent section.]

[Making the status screen's talent section's visibility private.]

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[Ding]

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[Status screen's talent section's visibility successfully made private.]

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