“As you wish.”
Count Saint-Germain bowed deeply.
“Then, allow me to examine Prince Luke’s talents with [Appraisal].”
Saint-Germain held his hand over me and activated the appraisal magic. Hot magical power flowed into my body.
T-This is bad. At this rate, my stats will be exposed to the Emperor…!
In the game, using appraisal magic displayed the target’s stats.
Not only were each ability value displayed with a rank from F to S, but also [Magical Aptitude] and [Unique Magic] were revealed.
“M-Magical Power is 0? [Magical Aptitude] is SSS rank for [Dark Edge], but all F for everything else…? And [Unique Magic] is also [Dark Edge]?”
Saint-Germain blinked in astonishment.
“[Unique Magic] is [Dark Edge]?”
I couldn’t help but ask back. There’s no way that [Unique Magic] could be the same as a basic magic that anyone can use.
[Unique Magic] is a special gift from the gods, granted to only one person in this world.
Demon Lord Diana’s Unique Magic: Black Moon Swallowing the Heavens (Ginnungagap) is a good example. It’s a powerful and unique magic that symbolizes the character. It’s a trump card.
Those born with [Unique Magic] were commonly called [Beloved by the Gods] and were objects of fear and respect in this world.
“What is this? Explain in detail, Saint-Germain.”
Emperor Alvaise raised his voice, sounding irritated.
“Yes. No magical power can be detected from Prince Luke at all. Moreover, this extreme bias in [Magical Aptitude]… While he seems to perform at his best with the lowest-level magic, [Dark Edge], he cannot use any other magic at all.”
Huh?
Hey, what’s that…?
Even I was surprised.
“But, he has [Unique Magic], doesn’t he? What kind of effect and performance does it have?”
“Prince Luke’s Unique Magic: [Dark Edge] seems to be exactly the same as the lowest-level magic, [Dark Edge].”
“Nonsense… Can such a thing be called a gift from the gods, [Unique Magic]!?”
“Yes. I cannot comprehend it either. Such an appraisal result is the first in 1000 years and is utterly incomprehensible.”
Count Saint-Germain looked perplexed. Even with my game knowledge, it didn’t make sense.
There is no other character who specializes in a single magic to this extent.
What’s worse is that [Dark Edge] is a magic that materializes a Dark Attribute blade—an exceptionally existing magic exclusively for close combat.
In other words, it cannot perform long-range attacks, which is the greatest advantage of magic.
“Enough, so this guy is incompetent!?”
My contemplation was interrupted by the Emperor’s roar.
“A magician who can only do close combat is not even worth a laugh!”
“P-Please wait, Your Majesty. Luke has an enormous amount of magical power from birth, to the point where he has repeatedly caused Magical Runaways.”
My mother stepped forward to protect me.
“Surely, it is the will of the gods that he will become the most excellent [Dark Edge] user in history, is it not?”
“However, the [Appraisal] shows that his magical power is 0. If he originally had a large amount of magical power, this would be impossible.”
I heard it earlier, but my magical power is 0…?
That’s just too strange.
Perhaps it’s because I recklessly exhausted all the magical power in my body to use the Titan’s Sword.
The abnormal fatigue in my body must be due to that…
“What ‘most excellent [Dark Edge] user’! What value is there in such a person!?”
The Emperor was furious and raised his fist at me. I couldn’t react at all to the sudden action.
“You scumbag, you made me rejoice for nothing!”
“Please stop!”
“Mother!”
Luna-Mother shielded me, hugging me, and took the Emperor’s fist on her back. I heard a nasty sound of my mother’s spine creaking.
My whole body flared up with anger.
In my previous life, my father, who used to beat me and my mother, overlapped with Emperor Alvaise.
I will never forgive this guy.
If I had even a little magical power left, I would have tried to pierce the Emperor with [Dark Edge].
“Don’t go against Father. You’ll be killed.”
My mother whispered softly, so that the Emperor couldn’t hear.
I barely managed to suppress my anger.
If I did something reckless, not only me, but also my mother and Diana would be affected.
“Even though I embraced a filthy witch like you, the son born is a failure!”
“…I’m sorry.”
Even while being unreasonably abused, my mother prostrated herself.
“B-But, this child is not at fault. Please forgive him.”
“Hmph!”
That made it clear.
Emperor Alvaise has no affection for either me or Luna-Mother.
“What about the daughter…?”
“Don’t bully Onii-shama and Oka-shama!”
Diana pounded her small fists on the Emperor’s leg. My mother lost color in her face.
“Diana, stop it!”
“This is a lively princess [Appraisal].”
Saint-Germain’s eyes widened in surprise.
“W-What… Magical power is A-class! [Magical Aptitude] is SS for Dark Attribute magic. Other than that, all attributes are S except for Light. And even [Unique Magic]!”
“What!? Is that true!?”
Emperor Alvaise trembled with excitement.
“Yes, Your Majesty. Princess Diana is undoubtedly beloved by the gods. Her Unique Magic: Black Moon Swallowing the Heavens seems to absorb all the magic of her enemies and convert it into her own magical power. Perhaps, this is how she annihilated the Archdemon.”
“That’s wrong. Luke-Nii-shama defeated it with [Dark Edge]!”
“Hahaha! What a wonderful daughter!”
Emperor Alvaise picked up Diana.
However, there was no affection for his daughter in it. All this man has is an intense ambition to become the ruler of the continent in this turbulent world.
“Diana, lend your power to this Emperor Alvaise’s conquest of the continent. That is the meaning of your birth and your reason for existence.”
“…I-If I do that, will you not bully Onii-shama and Oka-shama?”
Diana asked, overwhelmed by the Emperor’s force.
“Of course. If you are useful to me, I will keep your incompetent brother and mother alive. Also, I will give you anything you want. If there is anything you want, you may say it.”
“Then, Grimoires!”
“What…?”
The Emperor was dumbfounded by the unexpected request from the 4-year-old girl.
“I want lots of Grimoires! Right, Luke-Nii-shama!”
Ah, Diana remembered that I wanted to be able to use more different kinds of magic and wanted Grimoires.
“…Thank you, Diana.”
It seems that I only have aptitude for [Dark Edge], but I wasn’t pessimistic at all.
[Crisnights] has an element called [Synthesis Magic], which fuses two or more magics.
It’s an element that is unlocked in the second half of the game, and if the proficiency of Dark Attribute magic is high, the same Dark Attribute magics can be fused together. My efforts over the past four years have not been in vain.
Right now, I can only enlarge and harden the materialized blade, but if I succeed in this, I will be able to add more special effects to [Dark Edge].
Above all, when I cut down the Archdemon using the Titan’s Sword, I felt something indescribable.
My [Dark Edge] is too different from the game’s specifications. Surely, there is something different from the ordinary.
Thinking so, my heart was thrilled.
“Even without talent, do you still want to learn magic, Prince Luke?”
Count Saint-Germain looked at me with admiration.
“Even if I don’t have talent, if I learn about magic, I can help Diana. Father, please give Diana and me so many Grimoires that we can’t read them all. I will surely be of service to you.”
I hid my true feelings and knelt before Emperor Alvaise.
…Come to think of it, isn’t the position of being a failed prince who can’t use magic well quite convenient?
With this, the vigilance towards me will drop to zero. The Emperor won’t bother trying to seal my magic using restraints.
More importantly, it’s easier to protect Mother from assassins if I’m perceived as incompetent.
“Hmph, very well. Do as you please.”
The Emperor glanced at me with a bored look.
“However, I will not allow you to call me ‘Father’ from now on. A failure like you is not qualified to be my son. Know that I only love the truly strong!”
“Yes, sir!”
I’ll never let you have your way, Emperor Alvaise…!
Filled with determination, I looked up at my father.