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Chapter 12: A Gift And A Wish
Sir Heinz looked puzzled and asked.
“Hunting in this winter? And today is His Majesty’s…”
Eurius cut him off and pleaded with a sincere tone.
“Sir Heinz, you just need to escort me. If I go alone, the servants or officials might say something to my Father.”
“Let me whisper in your ear for a moment.”
He whispered something to Sir Heinz, who jumped up.
“That’s too dangerous. You’re going to catch that thing by yourself?”
“That’s why I’m taking you with me. I trust you, so I’m willing to take the risk. It’s my Father’s birthday, so I can’t give her a cheap gift, can I?”
“Still…”
“This is not my request as a prince, but as a disciple.”
When Eurius said this and looked at him with earnest eyes, Sir Heinz couldn’t refuse.
“Alright. But you have to leave it to me if you feel it’s dangerous!”
“Do you doubt me?”
They arrived at the mid-slope of the palace’s back mountain, dressed warmly against the cold.
‘Who would have thought that such a thing would live in the palace’s back mountain?’
The cave hidden by the snow-covered conifers on the mid-slope of the mountain was a natural hiding place.
“I found it. Sir Heinz, stay here for a while and I’ll call you if I think it’s dangerous.”
“Please be careful, Your Highness. I don’t doubt your skills, but…”
What came out of the cave that looked like a hiding place was a beast that resembled a tiger, but was twice as big.
Its body covered with silver fur, its sharp claws and fangs that grew to its chin gave it an oppressive aura that was incomparable to ordinary beasts.
“Grrr…”
But Eurius was calm.
‘Sorry, but you have to be a good gift for me. You’ll only cause trouble if I leave you alone, and you’ll be hunted down in two years anyway. It’s better for you to be useful for me.’
“Gah!”
The beast leaped at an unbelievable speed and aimed for Eurius’ neck, but he lightly lifted his head and dodged it, then punched the beast’s silver body.
“Blargh.”
With a dull sound, the beast flew several meters and crashed into the ground.
“Roar!”
The beast was hit by a fist full of force, but it didn’t seem to be shocked much. It leaped again using its front legs.
Eurius let out a light exclamation.
“Hmm?”
‘Well, even if it’s half a spirit beast, it won’t work with just fists, right?’
Eurius drew his sword and blocked its front legs with his sword, then kicked its belly.
“Squeak!”
This time it worked.
The beast felt threatened and cautiously got up and circled around Eurius, looking for an opening.
Either way, Eurius stood still and thought.
‘I guess the value will drop if blood splatters. Where should I cut to preserve the skin intact?’
He was thinking hard in his head and casually dodged the poor beast that occasionally attacked him with his fists and feet.
‘Yeah, let’s do it between the eyes!’
When Eurius made up his mind, the beast had already lost its will and curled up its tail, ready to run away.
“Gah!”
The beast leaped in one go.
It wanted to get away from Eurius as far as possible.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
Eurius’ body disappeared in an instant. The disappeared body moved in front of the beast and stabbed its forehead with a blue flash like a ray of light.
The beast’s skin was very tough, but his sword materialized with force pierced through it easily.
“Grrr…”
The beast died without feeling any pain as his sword pierced through its forehead and brain.
Eurius wiped off the blood and brain fluid from the sword wound on its forehead and called Sir Heinz.
“Sir Heinz, you can come out now.”
“Your Highness, are you alright?”
Sir Heinz ran to the cave and saw the beast’s corpse. He looked amazed.
“So this thing was living in the palace’s back mountain.”
“I saw it by chance when I went hunting in the back mountain of the palace to relax.”
They had to hurry or they would be late for his father’s gift presentation, so they left right away.
…
What appeared in the hall was Eurius, the first prince who had been nowhere to be seen.
And he was carrying something huge on his back.
Some of the nobles gasped at the coldness that came from the creature.
“No way, is that a White Shabeltiger?”
“How come a beast that only lives in the far north is here?”
The nobles in the hall were all astonished by the huge beast that Eurius carried.
“The coldness we felt just now was all from that thing’s fur!”
“Did the first prince catch that beast himself?”
[White Shabeltiger.] This beast was a Shabeltiger, a tiger-shaped beast that had become a half-spirit by absorbing coldness for a long time in a very cold area.
Its fur, which turned silver by absorbing coldness, was not pierced by any ordinary blade, and it gave a cool feeling all year round when made into clothes or armor. It was a very rare fur.
“This is the last gift brought by the first prince of the empire, Eurius von Scharnos.”
The noble who hosted the event led Eurius to the stage with a trembling voice.
“Thud!”
Eurius dropped the huge beast’s corpse in front of the emperor.
“Father, I’m sorry I didn’t have time to process it. My gift is this spirit beast’s fur.”
“Heh, did you catch it yourself, Eurius? Where did you hunt such a rare spirit beast?”
The emperor also asked with a curious face.
Eurius answered with a smile.
“A while ago, I went hunting in the back mountain of the palace to relax, and I happened to find this thing living there.”
The back mountain of the palace was sometimes used as a hunting ground for the nobles or royals of the capital, but it was also a somewhat dangerous area where beasts occasionally appeared, as it was backed by a mountain range.
This beast was originally discovered two years later by some nobles who went hunting, and Leonhart personally led the knights to hunt it down.
But in this life, he took that merit for himself.
‘Thank you, Leonhart. I couldn’t have made this plan without you.’
That’s right!
This beast was originally discovered by the duke’s faction nobles who went hunting two years later, and Leonhart personally led the knights to hunt it down.
But unlike his previous life, he took that merit for himself.
Eurius glanced at Leonhart among the surprised officials and blinked one eye.
‘……’
Leonhart was still expressionless, so he couldn’t tell what he was thinking, but he must have been quite flustered.
This time, Sir Heinz, who stood politely behind Eurius, also spoke up.
“New imperial guard knight Heinz, reporting to Your Majesty. I accompanied His Highness for his safety, but he caught that spirit beast by himself.”
“The first prince has a talent for swordsmanship, but I didn’t know it was not an empty word.”
“I heard he hasn’t even had his coming-of-age ceremony yet. How did he catch such a spirit beast by himself?”
There was a buzz among the nobles and envoys.
A spirit beast that had aged for a long time was actually a cunning and strong creature that even an ordinary knight would find hard to deal with.
Although the white shabeltiger wasn’t a complete spirit, it was unbelievable that Eurius, who wasn’t even twenty yet, had caught it.
And among the envoys, there were many nobles who had an eye for rare items. They all couldn’t hide their astonishment at the white shabeltiger’s corpse.
“It’s amazing. He pierced its forehead with one shot and killed it instantly. I’ve never seen such a good condition fur before!”
As compliments continued among the nobles and envoys, the emperor, who was initially flustered, couldn’t help but smile from ear to ear. Who wouldn’t be happy when their child was praised from all sides!
“Hahaha! I guess I got this gift because I have such an outstanding son.”
And then he looked at Eurius with pride and continued.
“The first emperor of the empire, ‘Player’ Sharnos Grand Emperor, also built this empire with his blood and sweat and a single sword. I knew you had talent for swordsmanship, but you proved it in front of so many people. I have to give you a reward for that.”
“It’s just a small gift I prepared for your birthday. How can I ask for anything in return?”
Eurius pretended to decline modestly.
But the emperor was in such a good mood that he kept praising him.
“Tell me what you want. Especially if it’s related to your training, I’ll grant you anything you want as the emperor.”
The emperor of the empire made a vow in front of so many people, and even important figures from other countries. This was a definite promise.
‘It’s a bigger success than I thought.’
Eurius shivered with the pleasure of success and began to tell his purpose.
“What I want is [Superhuman].”
“Superhuman!?”