Chapter 15 – 7. Star Shaman and Sky (1)
“You did well today.”
“Good work!”
After a long time of meditation, I went out of the lecture hall, warming up my stiff body.
Today’s magic class was also beneficial. According to the professor, my magic and combat skills are already on par with those of upper-class academy students.
Even though I hadn’t entered the academy yet, my magic power and mana manipulation abilities had already surpassed the level of an academy student. It’s because I don’t know the type of magic I know and my experience is lacking, but after a while, most graduates will fall behind me.
The problem of not knowing how to handle properties seems to be resolved soon.
[Her group of stars] Because Her Highness Soniel Di Kairos, the second princess of her attribute, invited me to her own palace.
With her special eyes that face the essence, she will be able to dig into my properties and gain some information.
Her original plan was to meet her at her banquet, but failed due to her unintentional quarrel.
‘I was going to ask Amer…’
I never thought she would call me through her Leah-sama first.
“Jihoo, thank you for caring about me…”
“Hmm? Well, it’s not a big deal.”
“Yeah. You’re wasting your time with Wisdom because of me…”
The person walking the way to school (?) With me today is Seong Ah-young.
Seong Ah-young. Park Min-ho’s girlfriend.
Today is the first time I’m talking to Ah-yeong alone. Until now, I always met with Jihye, or with Park Minho, or with three or four of them together.
“Hey, you don’t have to worry about that because it’s useless. I’ve been with him for years! Rather, I got tired of seeing each other’s faces.”
“Ah… My girlfriend would feel sad if she said that.”
“Huh? I don’t have a girlfriend?”
“Uh, eh?”
Ah-young suddenly stopped her steps and I stopped too.
Her eyes widened in amazement, and her small mouth didn’t know how to close.
“Huh?! Weren’t you two dating?!?”
“Looks like Wisdom never said it. He’s just my childhood friend.”
A childhood friend A childhood friend who only knows me.
“No, no, what… Before me, I saw the two of them hugging during the night break…”
“Umm, that’s like a normal greeting for us…”
“That’s right…”
She stuttered, looking like she was in culture shock.
Well, maybe she’s misunderstood. Since ‘that incident’ in middle school, Ji-hye has become completely dependent on me, and we have crossed the line of friends.
A cute and popular woman clings to a hot-blooded man all the time, and there is no way she can stand it.
We started walking again.
I’m excited to feel like a bad boy because I’m alone with someone else’s girlfriend.
The reason why I am walking with A-Young now is that the relationship between her and A-Mer has become so awkward since her banquet.
The students in the magic class are me, Jihye, Ahyoung, and Amer.
After Wisdom gained her powers, A-Young felt uncomfortable with Ah-Young, so until the banquet, when her class was over, Ah-Young went back with A-Mer.
However, after the banquet, it was often seen that Amer kept an eye on A-Young, and A-Young secretly ignored her coldly.
Both of them tried to hide it as much as possible, but it was so easy for Ji-hye and me to grasp the atmosphere around us.
I winked at her wisdom, kicked her and Amer out of her classroom first, and asked her bewildered Ahyeong to go back together.
It is certain that something happened at the banquet. However, I was arguing with a fucking nobleman at that time, and Ji-hye, a nocturnal person, was resting in the break room because it was too tired in broad daylight.
I don’t know what’s going on, but if I meet wisdom later and compare it, I’ll get a rough outline.
“···I envy you.”
I didn’t miss Ahyeong’s small talk to herself.
She was wearing a neat white dress. The one-piece dress that came down to her knees seemed to indicate that she had a pure body that had not yet known a man.
The cat dealer had a slightly melancholy expression on her face.
A-Young shook her head to get her offended and changed the subject of her conversation.
“Are the preparations for the duel going well?”
“It’s going well for now. When I found out about him, his academy grades weren’t very good.”
“That’s right… I’m glad.”
“Yeah. I think I’ll win even if we fight right now.”
To win, you must first know your enemy. I investigated him through Amer.
Kyle Byers.
He is a descendant of a typical central political aristocratic family who lives by sucking on sweet water by living under the first prince.
Kyle’s attribute is [Stone]. It is literally a common, insignificantly common attribute like a stone.
In addition, he says that he can barely handle the attributes only by assisting himself with magic weapons.
“But I need to make sure. I’ll figure out how to deal with the attributes today, and I’ll crush you in a duel next week.”
“Yes, I’ll cheer you on! Are you seeing Her Highness, the 2nd Princess this evening?”
“Oh, that’s right. I need to get ready as soon as I get to my room.”
“I wish I could find a way to deal with attributes. Fighting!”
She cheered me on by clasping and waving her hands. Her cute support gave me strength. I also responded with a smile.
The duel time is next Monday evening. The place is the dance hall in the palace of Her Majesty the 2nd Prince.
Upon hearing the news of the duel, the reactions of the people around me varied.
“Win overwhelmingly and leave me very upset!”
Ji-hye was angry at the dispute at the banquet hall as if it were mine.
She had never doubted my victory because she had taken classes with me all this time.
“I-I don’t even know that such a thing exists, and I… I’m sorry. I’ll try to figure out a solution!”
Amer seemed to feel guilty for not being able to prevent her commotion in advance, even though she was a member of the royal family in charge of summoning patients.
She said she would try to block the political repercussions somehow, but as a young adult, there wouldn’t be much she could do.
“Lord, master, are you crazy?!”
Ireina suffered from PTSD due to the fall of her family due to the politics of the 1st prince’s faction, and she had a seizure at the news that she had to duel with that aristocrat.
My cheeky maid seems to think that the master will be defeated. I hated her so much that that night she harassed me more than twice as much as usual.
“Are you going to watch the duel with Minho?”
“Um… Maybe…?”
“What is that vague answer?”
When I mentioned Minho, Ah-Young’s expression became gloomy again.
Apparently, something happened to the three of Ayoung, Amer, and Minho at the banquet hall.
I’ll have to focus on this and keep digging.
“No… Minho has been busy lately, so we haven’t spent much time together.”
“Oh, that’s right. It must be a bit lonely…”
“It can’t be helped. He’s our class representative…”
“Still. I’ll be disappointed.”
Park Min-ho is the type who feels comfortable when he handles his own work, so he was able to handle things that I would have done.
So I know how busy he is. But of course I don’t do anything to defend him.
Women want empathy.
‘Oh, it’s Minho… What if I leave your woman alone like this?’
What if the passing golden sun seduced him and took him away?
I’m neither blonde nor tanned.
When she’s out, she’ll have a lot of fun so she won’t feel lonely.
During the 20 minutes on my way back to our floor, I continued the conversation with Ah-young, making use of my experience with Ji-hye.
Thanks to this, I was able to see various expressions of her that I would not normally have a chance to see.
If Ji-hye is a lively and active dog, Ah-yeong is like a timid and passive cat.
“Jihoo, I thought you were just a idiot, but you’re funnier than I thought! We should have talked to you earlier.”
“You can do a lot from today.”
In the end, Ah-yeong was able to recover her unique bright smile by the time we parted ways.
Watching the back of her walking lightly to her room, I couldn’t let go of this thought.
‘What does it feel like to have sex with someone else’s woman…?’
* * *
“I was waiting for you.”
“Meet the Third Star of the Empire.”
This is the palace of the 2nd princess, the ‘Palace of Heaven’.
I prostrated myself in front of His Highness Soniel Di Kairos in the small chamber.
His Highness Soniel is officially called the ‘Third Star’ because he is third in line for succession to the throne.
The succession order is determined by the order of birth of the adult members of the royal family.
The first is the 1st Prince of Forcus. At the point where this guy is in first place, the future of the empire is bleak.
Second place is Princess Jennifer 1. She is known for her great talent, which made her colossal achievement at the young age of 25.
Third place is the 2nd Princess Soniel. Her [Star Cluster] Attribute ability is the best on the continent. However, due to the nature of her attributes, she has no combat abilities. She just graduated from the academy this year.
4th place is 2nd Prince Dave. He is known for being very wise. He is now a third year student at the academy.
5th place is Vik Samar 3rd Prince. He once aimed for the throne, but was abandoned by the first prince and fell along with his faction, including Ireina’s family.
6th place is the 3rd princess of Amer.
The younger members of the imperial family are still minors, so there is no right of succession.
Currently, there are three people in the imperial family who sincerely seek the throne. 1st Prince Porcus, 1st Princess Jennifer, and 2nd Prince Dave.
“Please raise your head.”
I respected her words and raised my head to see Her Highness Soniel’s face.
What stands out most of all is her radiant blonde hair. Her hair, which seemed to shine on its own, was a color that could not be expressed with mere dyeing.
“Welcome to my palace, Mr. Jeong Ji-hoo.”
Her Highness Soniel was a woman who gave off an unknown and mysterious feeling. Her eyes looked at me, but not at me, with the air of detachment from life that is typical of religious people.
“Let’s move.”
She got up from her chair and started walking somewhere. I followed her
It reminded me of the first time I had an audience with Amer two months ago at the Holy Palace. At that time, she had many people waiting around her, including maids and knights.
There was no one near Soniel and me right now.
The hallway, as quiet as a dead rat, was awkward.
“Everyone made me step down. Even though it’s originally smaller than the other palaces.”
“… Have you read my thoughts?”
“It is possible for other minor creatures, but even I cannot read Jung Ji-hoo’s mind.
I also saw the future.
Every time she walked, her hanbok-like dress shuddered.
Her sunken eyes and whispering voice. Meaningful words and polite behavior. Finally, to the suit.
His Highness Soniel looked like a shaman.
“I think you have a lot of questions about me.”
“Yes, I do. I have a lot of questions, especially regarding my attributes.”
“Today you will clear all your worries and doubts.”
I was relieved by her assertion.
She climbed the spiral staircase of the palace. The stairs were very high and long. I didn’t have a hard time with continuous training. It was amazing how she climbed the stairs with her thin legs and frail frame undisturbed.
The place we finally arrived.
It was the roof garden of this palace.
A beautiful flower garden spread over a wide space.
Flowers in full bloom are everywhere. Colorful petals dance here and there in the gentle breeze. Butterflies and fireflies fly among the grass.
The blue moon embedded in the center of the night sky is surrounded by countless stars, casting light all over the garden.
It was a place that seemed to have been embodied in a high-definition landscape illustration.
However, there were not only plants here.
The center of the garden.
There was a table, two chairs, and a bed.
‘…?’
“This is one of my bedrooms. It’s my favorite place in the palace.”
“Aren’t you bitten by insects while sleeping…?”
“There are no pests here.”
She answered my joke questions seriously.
His Highness Soniel looked down at the surroundings from the end of the rooftop garden and continued.
“This is the place closest to the sky in the imperial palace. The size of the palace itself is the largest in the ‘Palace of the Sun’, but the height is the highest in my ‘Palace of the Heavenly Emperor’. Do you know why?”
“Cheonje (天祭). In other words, is it to hold a sacrifice to the sky?”
“That’s right. I’m the second princess of the empire, but at the same time I’m also a shaman who received the fate of a priest from the sky on the day I was bestowed with attributes.”
Other people don’t know at all.
She fluttered her dress and turned behind her. She met her eyes and mine.
Soniel approaches me step by step, standing in the middle of the garden.
“That’s why I was quite surprised when you were tested for your attributes. The god I worshiped suddenly appeared in front of my eyes. Who can not be taken aback?”
I fell more and more into her mystical atmosphere.
“Meeting you and meeting summoners was not seen in the existing future poems. But now I know my destiny. The moment you awakened your attributes, the sky gave me a new destiny.”
She stopped right before bumping into me. Her arms slipped between my armpits and held me tight. She seemed to put her ear to my chest and hear my heartbeat. The scent of her flowers emanated from her.
“There is a way to solve the attribute problem Jung Ji-hoo has right now and the conflict problem with Porcus at once.”
Her thin voice delights my ears.
Soniel whispered that special solution to me.
“Will you marry me…?”
