"Hey Big Brother, how's your week?"
A month passed and Kisuke lived a peaceful life in the imperial guard. He would train using the sword in the early morning, spar with the prince in the late morning, and train his mental strength for the rest of the day.
Although he didn't have a device to check his mental strength, he estimated it around 81 MSU. Because of the lack of the device, he had to train himself using a technique of pressuring one's own mind that Alice taught him before he left the academy.
"I'm good, Tanjirou. I was thinking, you can't learn real swordsmanship only by sparring. Why not go fight some animals in the forest nearby?"
"I don't know, I like training peacefully here."
Tanjirou said hesitantly. He always felt uncomfortable to refuse to Kisuke, so he rarely did that.
"But won't you have guards and servants with you if you go outside? You won't be in danger, and someone will take care of all your needs."
"The reason we take guards with us is not because of external danger. The most dangerous ones are my half-siblings."
"Are they all really so bad?"
"Not all of them. Out of my 9 half-siblings, 5 of them are obsessed with the throne, while 3 are neutral. Only my third sister is friendly and nice to everyone."
"What about you?"
"I don't care about the throne. I only want to live my life freely and improve my strength. But those obsessed with the thrones don't care, they fear that we might change our mind and try to contend for the throne later."
"How can your third sister be nice to everyone if they try to kill her then?"
"Nobody dares try to kill my third sister. She's our mother's favorite kid, and you already know how special she is."
"I don't, I've never heard of her before."
"You never heard of her before? She's the most famous princess in the dynasty, and that's without people even knowing much about her!"
Kisuke didn't lie. He didn't know much about the princes and princesses of the dynasty. He was in the dynasty for less than two months, how could he know about them?
"Tell me about her, please. Why is she so famous?"
"She's called the Angel of Darkness because of her special affinities. I'm sure you already know that people don't normally have opposite elements, but it sometimes happens when one has three elements."
"I do."
Those who had two affinities never had affinities with Fire and Water or with Earth and Wind. It would be one of each pair. Only those who had 3 or more elements, like Lena, had affinities with opposite elements like Water and Fire simultaneously.
"My sister is special because despite having only 2 elements, they're opposite to each other."
"That doesn't sound so impressive, people who have three affinities have the same and one more in addition to the opposite affinities."
Kisuke wondered out loud when he heard Tanjirou's words.
"Do you know which two opposite elements one can never have affinities with no matter how many affinities he has?"
Kisuke widened his eyes as soon as he understood where Tanjirou was going with it, especially when he took the princess' nickname into account.
"Light and Darkness!"
"Exactly. My sister has only two affinities, and it's those two."
Kisuke noticed that Tanjirou was restless; he opened his mouth and shut it multiple times as if he wanted to tell him something, but he was held back for some reason.
"Do you want to tell me something?"
Kisuke decided to take the initiative to ask.
"Um, you must promise me not to tell anyone about it if I tell you, Big Brother."
"Sure, I promise. What is it?"
"You see, it's a family secret, but my sister has SSS affinity with both elements."
Tanjirou whispered so only Kisuke could hear him just in case someone was eavesdropping.
"That's amazing!"
Kisuke was genuinely impressed by the high affinities. He had only one SSS affinity, and he had to steal it from someone else and boost it with his strengthening process.
"How old is your third sister?"
"She's 22, but she is already at the Expert Mage Stage!"
Tanjirou started blabbering about what it meant to be an expert mage before 10 years passed. The third princess was basically as talented as Lena, but enjoyed top-notch education from the moment she was born, giving her a serious edge over Lena.
Kisuke knew that commoners shouldn't be aware of the mechanics of being elite humans or ruler humans, so he just listened and pretended to be surprised that such a thing existed.
'If I pretend to be an elite human, wouldn't I earn a lot of attention and merit from the higher-up?'
Kisuke got this idea while listening to Tanjirou talking. He was 21 years old now, and he could pretend to be in contact with mana for the first time when he was 15, although it was rare for commoners.
If he broke through the True Mage Stage now, he'd be a 6-year-old mage, which would make him a higher elite human.
"… So since she is an expert mage after only 8 years of training, she has the status of a ruler human and will have a lot of benefits if she can advance before 10 years pass from her first touch with mana!"
Tanjirou finished his story and explanations while Kisuke was still thinking.
"That's amazing, I understand why she's your mother's favorite. But back to our previous topic, how about leaving the palace's grounds and enjoying hunting beasts in the forest?"
"What if my siblings attack me?"
"Don't worry, your guards will keep you safe. I will be with you too."
Tanjirou couldn't resist Kisuke's requests for long and soon yielded.
"Fine, I will tell my servants to set a training trip in the forest. I will make sure to ask them to send you out with me for the highest pay possible."
"Thank you, Little Brother."
Kisuke smiled at the prince and messed up his hair with his fingers, making the prince pout as he tried to dodge.
-------
"Kisuke, come here."
Kisuke's commander, Haruka, called him over after the sword lesson.
"Sir, did anything happen?"
"Yes, but it's not a bad thing. The sixth prince is going to train in the forest, and he asked for you specifically. It seems you've left a very good impression on him; keep it that way and you can climb the ranks faster."
"Thank you, Sir. I will follow this advice."
"Good, just don't forget who took you in!"
Haruka joked with him before continuing.
"Anyway, the mission's reward is 500 merit points per day. If you practice with him, it won't add anything, but you still must do it if he asks you. Understood?"
"Yes, Sir."
"Good. There will be many other guards with ranks above yours, so make sure to act respectfully and follow orders."
"Yes, Sir."
After giving him the date for the trip, the two parted and Kisuke went to train with Tanjirou as usual.
Because of Kisuke's quick improvement, he couldn't train efficiently with the other recruits, forcing Haruka to act as his partner.
After acting as Kisuke's sparring partner during the lessons, the two grew much closer to each other and developed a sense of friendship.
The trip was set to 3 days later because Tanjirou wanted to follow Kisuke's wishes as soon as possible, which was the minimum time required to prepare for it.
Those three days passed quickly, and Kisuke found the prince with the other guards and servants outside the forest, ready to go in when everyone was ready.
"Kisuke, you can join my carriage."
Everyone looked at the prince in surprise.
"Your Highness, are you sure about it? he's just a guard."
"He saved my life once, it's enough for me to look beyond his current stage and consider his future."
The prince recited the words Kisuke told him a few days ago with an authoritative voice.
Kisuke nodded and entered the carriage. He never planned to walk next to the carriage like a normal guard; he already developed some natural pride as a ruler human.
"Prince, we are on the outskirts of the forest, I think it's the best place for a first-stage magician to practice."
The carriages stopped and one of the guards announced from outside the prince's carriage.
"Big Brother, I will go out now."
"I will come with you."
The two left the carriage and ventured into the woods with the guards behind them. Only around half of the guards followed them while the rest remained to prepare the camp and guard it.
"Prince Tanjirou, I sense a first-rank gorilla 300 meters to the south, I recommend you fight it."
Kisuke chose the gorilla since the prince was used to fighting humans, and the gorilla would resemble those more than a boar or a wolf.
Tanjirou nodded and jogged in the direction of the Gorilla to face it. Soon, the gorilla sensed the prince and ran toward him with a loud scream.
The gorilla threw small boulders it created with Earth magic, and Tanjirou dodged them as he got slower. Soon, the gorilla used its long hairy arm to swing a powerful whack at the prince, who performed his swordsmanship.
The arm was covered with stone generated by magic, yet the prince's sword was coated in an explosive fire that made his swing move much faster than it should be.
The sword cut through the gorilla's arm swiftly, and the gorilla screamed in pain as it retreated a few steps back.
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