The Steaming Rice Water Is Hotter (1)
Duchy of Eshua, Land of Azure.
Eshua, with its coastline, was famous for a unique climatic phenomenon.
Even if a violent storm raged outside, the moment you crossed into Eshua's territorial waters, the skies would miraculously clear, as if a line had been drawn in the air.
Even invading demon armies were said to grow meek and subdued once inside.
The locals called this mysterious phenomenon the Blessing of Azure, or the Blue Line.
In short: an absolute safe zone. Accidents and disasters simply didn't happen on Eshua's land.
Even envoys from the Holy See were awestruck by it.
Today, they had come to collect the much-rumored Isaac Eshua, but the place was so peaceful it made them forget their original purpose.
"Oh! As expected of the holy land of Azure's faith! It's so beautiful and serene, you'd never believe a demon camp is nearby! A model for the entire empire."
"Indeed. No wonder they say it rivals the Papal States. That right there is the famous Eshua Fortress. In thousands of years, no demon has ever breached it—"
BOOM!
Never breached…
CRASHHH!
"Aaah! The fortress is collapsing!"
"I told you not to get close, you idiot!"
"Damn it, who could've expected this first thing in the morning?!"
…What the hell! The famed fortress is crumbling?!
The priests from the Holy See stood frozen in shock.
The fortress that had withstood even the Demon King's assault—destroyed?
Wasn't this a national crisis?
A total upheaval?
But even more shocking was how the Eshua locals reacted.
"Oh dear, it's broken again."
Again?
"Again?!"
"What's got you priests so worked up? It's just the fortress falling apart."
"What do you mean, 'just'?! The main stronghold of Eshua's faith has collapsed!"
"Yeah, well, it's busted."
The priests were dumbfounded by the locals' nonchalance.
What was this reaction?
Why were they all so laid-back?
"I said, the fortress has collapsed!!"
"Yeah, so what do you want us to do about it?!"
"????"
What the hell is wrong with these people?!
***
Eshua Fortress.
Also known as the headquarters of Azure's faith.
Even the servants employed there were far from ordinary.
"Did you hear? The east wing got wrecked again."
"Must've been Young Master Isaac again, right?"
"Technically, it was the Skull King. Seems like the Duke has given up at this point. A saint's family, dealing with a Skull King's mana rampage…"
"Hey, don't say that. It's got to be rough for Young Master Isaac."
Even the lowest-ranked servants attending the Eshua bloodline were at least 6th-tier senior paladins.
And what did that mean?
"Oh look, there goes the only maid who serves Young Master Isaac."
"She's a weirdo. A 7th-tier paladin, personally recommended for the Pope's guard, wasting her talents nannying the youngest son who's fallen from grace."
It meant they had enough nerve to gossip behind the back of a 7th-tier paladin.
Sure enough, the other household staff snickered as they eyed Asili, Isaac's nanny.
"Honestly, the next heir will probably be Master Goel, the Pope's bloodline, or his elder brother. You'd think she'd be smart enough to see that."
"That cursed Young Master Isaac will never be heir anyway."
"Is he really cursed?"
"Oh, totally. Yesterday, a servant tried sneaking a peek at Young Master Isaac and came running out of there absolutely terrified!"
"Huh? What does he even look like to scare a trained Eshua servant like that…?"
"Some say he's a bald old man, others say he's a skinned monster, or even a skeleton… The descriptions vary, but apparently, everyone comes out screaming. That Asili must be under the Skull King's curse too—gone dumb because of it."
"She should be looking for a marriage match or something…"
"A curse, you say?"
"Gasp! Lady Rilai!"
Rilai glared furiously at the gossiping staff.
"Did you lot learn to slander fellow Eshua people while working here?"
"S-sorry, ma'am!"
After sending the servants scurrying off, Asili, who had come with Rilai to check on Isaac, for once showed her anger.
"This is just too much!"
"Yeah, gossiping about your own colleagues is low."
"Imagine calling Young Master Isaac a bald old man!"
Rilai wiped sweat from her brow at Asili's outburst.
"…Wait, that's what you're upset about?"
"Of course! This concerns Young Master Isaac's future. I love him no matter what he looks like, but what if the noble ladies all avoid him because of these rumors?"
Rilai couldn't help but sigh.
She knew all about the rumors circulating around the fortress.
How could she not? It had been ten years.
Ten whole years had passed!
And in the end, the effort to purge the Skull King's mana… had failed.
"I knew the Skull King's power was incredible, but even a royal-level spirit failed…!"
It was hopeless.
Even now, Isaac could clearly recall his father's rare look of panic from ten years ago, when the spirit had spoken.
His father must have had high hopes, probably thinking of Isaac as a potential heir.
—Hey! This kid is weird! No matter what I do, I can't purify him! The Skull King's mana just keeps growing!
—Must be because you slacked off.
—Are you kidding me?! I've been working overtime 24/7 and pulling all-nighters! That's what you've got to say?!
The spirit seemed to be having a full-on meltdown from overwork.
—Anyway, listen up! Not even the gods can erase this. He's stuck with the Skull King's mana for life.
—…!
It was practically a death sentence.
Things got so bad that people even started placing bets on when Isaac would die. Who believed a kid cursed to die young had any future?
Goel, who had been devastated at the thought of Isaac becoming a saint, had reportedly even knelt in thanks to God. Justice, at last—apparently.
"Still, isn't it a bit much to call a ten-year-old bald? He's not even the Skull King himself!"
"Cough, cough."
Lilai coughed but couldn't exactly argue with the palace rumors.
"Anyone who sees him would think he's cursed."
She lifted Isaac from his bed.
"Tta-ya?"
Isaac, who'd just woken up, stared at her sleepily, as if asking what was going on. Shockingly, even after ten years, Isaac still looked like a newborn.
Seeing him, Lilai burst into tears.
"Isaac! Why won't you grow up? Why?!"
Yeah, why the hell aren't you growing up?
Isaac just gave her a withering look in response.
Lilai didn't look a day over thirty—so youthful it was almost embarrassing to admit her real age.
Honestly, looking at her, you'd think only a year or two had passed.
"Of course, watching you, it's like I'm not aging either, which is great! But seriously, isn't this a problem? You!"
Yeah, you damn vampire.
You're the problem! I'm doing this on purpose, but you don't get to judge me right now!
Isaac could see why Goel hated this guy. If my little brother was good-looking, talented, and didn't even age? I'd be pissed too. Damn it.
Yeah.
Isaac was keeping this appearance on purpose.
Why, you ask?
Because it's the only way to become strong enough to beat the Supreme God.
'All power is absorbed best during infancy.'
It was true across the board.
Just like language is easiest to learn young, there are things you can only fully absorb as a baby.
'Even at age three—the minimum age to learn sacred and arcane arts—your blood vessels have already started to close, and absorption drops to less than half.'
There's an innate realm you simply can't reach unless you start as an infant.
Naturally, humans wanted to train their babies if they could, but what kind of training can a baby even do?
For Isaac, though, it was possible.
And if infancy is the best age for training—and you manage to stay there for ten years? You're basically turning into a monster in human form.
'My plan was to keep it up until I absorbed all the mana cores in the annex.'
Man, there were way more mana cores in there than I expected. It's been rough… well, the spirit did most of the suffering.
Whisper had deliberately only purified the impurities of mana, making the spirit clean it over and over.
And while the spirit collapsed after purifying everything?
Isaac would sneak back to the annex, gobble up more mana cores, and slink back.
And the next morning?
—What the hell! Why can't I purify this?! Why is there more mana?! We're supposed to be hunting the Skull King, why is this happening?!
The poor spirit must've been beyond frustrated, waking up every day to find the mana had only increased.
It had been ten long years of pretending to be cursed while training like a madman.
[Wow, I thought it'd take you at least 40 years to reach this level, Master.]
Yeah. I've stockpiled so much power, I'm dying to test it out.
'Finally, no more boring mana-hoarding.'
And holy power?
'I've trained up to sixth-rank sacred arts.'
Sure, I'd taught myself, so my skills were lopsided toward certain arts, but even so—it was a realm no one at my "age" should ever reach.
Which meant it was time to let my body finally grow.
Once Isaac gave the signal, his body would shoot up in an instant.
Of course, the people around him had no clue…
"It's heartbreaking. Cursed by the Skull King, and can't even use sacred arts."
Yeah, that's what they all say.
And right then—
"Brother!"
Goel appeared ahead of them on the path, with Shuri—now a tall 15-year-old—by his side.
Goel's face twisted in genuine sadness as he looked at Isaac, still an infant.
"It pains me that he can't grow… but I'm grateful he's still alive. I believe he'll overcome the Skull King's curse one day."
Oh, please.
This guy used to visit every year, freaking out: Why isn't he dead yet? Why?! And now he's acting all noble?
Isaac rolled his eyes but didn't really care. He was deliberately pretending he couldn't use holy power anyway.
'What, you think I'm crazy enough to get dragged off to the Vatican?'
After the treasury incident, both the Imperial family and the Vatican had high hopes for Isaac.
But while I was busy absorbing mana in secret, I couldn't risk drawing attention from the top clergy. No way I was getting summoned to their lair during all that.
By pretending to be a cursed, dying wreck, the other heirs had all started acting like big shots.
"Isaac, Lilai, did you hear? Our Shuri is going to be ordained this time."
"What? Shuri? He already passed the priest exam?"
"That's right! Youngest priest ever—first in history! Of course, Isaac would've taken that title if… well, you couldn't even enroll, could you? Let's just pray you don't go bald like the Skull King."
At that, Shuri suddenly looked terrified—because he'd caught sight of Isaac's expression.
The poor kid nudged his dad, trying to get him to stop, but Goel was oblivious.
"Your father must've been so disappointed! Even with a royal spirit, you ended up useless, a good-for-nothing freeloader like the Skull King."
Hmm, wasn't it monsters who liked to eat healthy priests around age 33 the most?
Isaac cracked his neck, but to be fair… he actually had a soft spot for Goel.
Honestly, it wasn't an exaggeration to say that if it hadn't been for Goel, Isaac wouldn't have made it through the past ten years in one piece.
And that petty ordination? Isaac was about to get that soon, too.
'You need to be ordained if you want to become a saint anyway.'
Yes.You′llneeditifyou′regoingtoconsumethelastremainingmanacoreaswell.Yes. You'll need it if you're going to consume the last remaining mana core as well.
Right. That one mana core in the annex— the only one he hadn't managed to consume yet.
'It's too valuable to just leave sitting there.'
Well, it was sealed with a divine technique, so once he broke the seal, it'd be his.
'The problem is, you can't exactly teach yourself the unlocking rite.'
Priests, unlike wizards, could only use most sacred arts after receiving ordination. Without it, 80% of those arts were completely off-limits, even to Isaac.
Yeah.
It was time to stop playing the helpless baby and get that ordination from the Holy See.
'And while I'm at it, I'll rescue my subordinate who's rotting in the Vatican prison.'
He'd already confirmed the exact location through the Shadow Lich.
Of course, since ordination required graduation from the Academy, it would take at least six years to qualify.
It pained him to leave his subordinate locked up that long, but hey, that guy had already waited 150 years!
'You've waited this long—what's a few more years?'
The Vatican was your prison, and I've got to be fully prepared before I come knocking.
And wouldn't you know it, this year he was finally of age to enroll! As for graduating, well, a few grade skips would take care of that.
So, hell yeah! He'd live it up for a few years, enjoy a bit of luxury, bask in that golden-spoon school life, and bide his time…
"Did you hear? They're executing the Skeleton King's subordinate this year."
Isaac, who had been smirking to himself, almost bit his tongue.
The fuck, what?!
Execute who?!
Lilai was just as shocked.
"What? They're finally getting rid of that Fourteen-Six Demon in the treasury?"
No! Nobody said anything about an execution!
"They say the Skeleton King and his underlings have their eyes on the Holy Empire. Maybe that's why the Vatican decided to execute his subordinate this year."
You've got to be fucking kidding me!
The moment the Skeleton King was mentioned, Lilai had her butler send Isaac back to his room.
Outwardly, Isaac looked calm, but he was only ten years old.
How much must that poor kid hate the Skeleton King, the bastard who cursed him?
That damn bald thug of a demon lord had stunted his growth and blocked him from learning sacred arts.
'Every time the Skeleton King comes up, his face just darkens. He's clearly scarred from it.'
"Shuri, be careful when you get ordained this year. The Skeleton King might come after you."
"Haha. Don't worry! I can handle the Skeleton King no problem! I'm the youngest priest ever to skip grades, you know!"
"Yes, yes, that's a great achievement. Truly impressive, Shuri."
"I am pretty amazing. If Isaac enrolled, I'd probably be the one teaching him!"
"Sure, sure! My son is so reliable and outstanding… wait, where'd he go? Shuri?"
Where did he go, indeed.
Shuri felt dizzy.
That floating sensation—this feeling, this timing!
And that voice!
"Hey. Shuriboi. You think you're slick?"
Shuri stared at young Isaac standing right in front of him and shrieked.
"You crazy little bastard!"
Shuri had been summoned by Isaac, dragged straight to his room through the Shadow Lich's shadow-travel.
And just as Shuri was about to yell, What the hell do you think you're doing—?!
"Ohhh, look at you. Now that you're about to graduate, you're getting all cocky, huh?"
"...!"
Shuri flinched. But Isaac just sneered, shaking a little rattle toy.
"You skipped grades and passed the ordination exam first place with my answers, and now you're acting like you'd be my teacher?"
Shuri was sweating bullets.
Oh God, he heard that… from that distance?! Again?!
Isaac cracked his neck ominously.
"Since you know you screwed up, hand over all your prize money from that Academy history quiz, plus the pocket change Goel gave you."
Shuri's eyebrow twitched.
'Damn it. Is this kid a priest or a freaking demon?'
Ten years. It had been a whole ten years, but this cursed little brat was more insane than ever.
"And if you do exactly what I say from now on, maybe—maybe—I'll forgive you."
And honestly… it looked like things were only going to get crazier.
[T/L: Read extra chapters on my ko-fi page "Pokemon1920" : https://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920 ]