"Sigh."
Inside the chairman's office of Hakuou Academy, Tenousu Athena let out a quiet breath.
She was still thinking about what Sanzenin Mikado had said earlier.
Even now, she couldn't accept it.
No matter how she thought about it, his reasoning still didn't sit right with her.
Hm?!
Just as her thoughts reached that point, she felt a sudden ripple.
A ripple from the Royal Court City.
The gate of the Royal Court had been opened.
Tenousu Athena's expression tightened. She immediately took out a special pendant. The outermost layer of the ornament was sealed within a shell of unique crystal. Inside that crystal shell rested a Royal Orb.
The curse attached to the Royal Orb was isolated by this crystal shell.
That was why she could hold it so easily.
There were thirteen Royal Orbs in total.
Nine were stored within the Royal Court City.
Two were currently in Jaden's possession.
The remaining two were preserved by Tenousu Athena and Sanzenin Mikado, passed down through ancient methods within their respective families, used as keys to the Royal Court.
As Tenousu Athena activated her Royal Orb, her figure vanished from the chairman's office.
When she opened her eyes again, she had arrived somewhere entirely different.
At a glance, it looked like a lone island.
But this island did not rest on the sea.
It was suspended in mid-air.
The space surrounding it was chaotic, black like the cosmos itself, with visible distortions flowing through it. From time to time, fragments floated past-no, not floated. They were shattered ruins, solidified and frozen in mid-air.
It was as though she had stepped into another world.
Such a sight would have been shocking to anyone seeing it for the first time.
But Tenousu Athena had been here many times.
She ignored the surroundings and immediately rushed toward the interior of the Royal Court City built atop the lone island.
The gate here had indeed been opened.
She needed to know who had entered.
If it was an outsider, they had to be eliminated.
If it was Jaden and Mikado...
Then she needed to get there immediately.
Because-
No matter how she thought about it, she could not accept Sanzenin's so-called "Blind Loyalty."
...
"So this is the Royal Court City."
Jaden stepped through the gate, following Sanzenin Mikado.
Mikado led him into the main hall of the Royal Court.
The hall was damaged.
It looked like a ruin that had somehow avoided total collapse.
However, deep within the hall, only the throne remained intact.
Ancient.
Clean.
As if it were maintained by something unseen.
"My King," Mikado said, his voice steady. "This place-more precisely, that throne-is where the royal family's inheritance resides."
"There are thirteen slots behind the throne. All thirteen Royal Orbs must be placed there to activate it."
"After activation, if someone without royal blood, like us, sits upon it, nothing will happen."
"But if you sit on it..."
"If you, who possess the royal bloodline, sit upon it, the Royal Court Trial will activate."
"And you will receive the royal family's inheritance."
As he spoke, Mikado began explaining in detail.
"Because many years have passed, several individuals with royal blood have appeared over time. As a result, the Royal Court Trial has been initiated multiple times."
"Among those royal members who participated, more than half never returned."
"A small number did."
"Because of that, we have only a vague understanding of the trial."
"The content of the Royal Court Trial is said to involve transporting the participant's consciousness back to the era before the great kingdom's collapse."
"To the time of the last King of the great kingdom."
"The only King of Man among those who were given titles by the people of the great kingdom."
"The King of the End."
"Also known as the Foolish King."
"The participant is said to inhabit his body."
"And then..."
"They must make a choice."
Mikado paused briefly before continuing.
"Even those royal members who successfully returned have never described the choice."
"They only said that they might have failed."
"That they made a choice-either correct or incorrect."
"The Kings who returned often had complex expressions."
"Some underwent a complete change in temperament."
"And even those whose personalities remained the same..."
"Their drive was gone."
"We know the trial is dangerous."
"But because no King has ever been able to determine whether they succeeded or failed..."
"We have never known what the royal family's inheritance truly is."
Mikado looked at Jaden.
"Participating in the trial carries risk."
"If you participate, you will become the King of this generation."
"If you choose not to participate, that is also acceptable."
"You can continue living your life."
"The decision is entirely yours."
When he finished speaking, Mikado fell silent.
Jaden stared at the throne.
For a long moment, he said nothing.
Before he could speak, another voice echoed from the entrance.
"Not only that."
Tenousu Athena's voice was cold.
"Jaden, those whose consciousness does not return die immediately."
She walked forward.
"Even among those who return, most do not simply lose their drive."
"They fall into regret."
"Or anger."
"As if they have suffered an irreversible life setback."
"Most of them experience a complete change in temperament."
"And even those who don't..."
"They are left with psychological trauma."
She stopped beside them.
"The Royal Court Trial is extremely dangerous."
Her gaze shifted sharply to Sanzenin Mikado.
"And more importantly..."
"Didn't Jaden say he didn't want his life to be disturbed?"
"What difference does it make whether he knows these things or not?"
Her voice hardened.
"Sanzenin Mikado."
"You old man."
"Aren't you still forcing Jaden?"
"Do you think that simply telling him all of this won't affect him?"
This was the strongest attitude Tenousu Athena had ever shown toward Mikado.
And at this moment, she regretted not being firmer earlier.
Because although both the Tenousu and Sanzenin families were loyal to the royal family...
Their loyalty was not the same.
The Sanzenin family were Ministers of State.
For generations, they were taught to view the royal family from the perspective of subjects.
And because the royal family rarely appeared, the Sanzenin gradually developed their loyalty into what it had become now.
Blind Loyalty.
Loyalty without condition.
Loyalty without hesitation.
A way to ensure they would never waver.
But the Tenousu family was different.
The Tenousu were Royal Attendants.
After the destruction of the great kingdom, the royal bloodline was preserved within the Tenousu lineage.
Just like Jaden.
Just like Tenousu Athena herself.
Every King that appeared after the fall of the great kingdom was related to the Tenousu family.
Brothers.
Sisters.
Fathers.
Daughters.
For the Sanzenin, Kings who were affected by the Royal Court Trial-or who died outright-brought sadness.
Regret.
Pain.
But that was all.
They were subjects.
They could declare loyalty to the royal family and the great kingdom without guilt.
But the Tenousu could not.
The Tenousu were loyal only to the royal family.
Not to an idea.
Not to a title.
Not to history.
Unlike the Sanzenin's Blind Loyalty, the Tenousu held a Sole Loyalty.
A loyalty that placed the royal family above everything else.
Above duty.
Above tradition.
Above the kingdom itself.
Everything was prioritized around the royal family's well-being.
That was why she couldn't accept Sanzenin Mikado's actions.
Couldn't tolerate them.
In Tenousu Athena's view, since Jaden had clearly stated that he did not want to be disturbed...
Then none of this should have been told to him.
Because telling him was already a disturbance.
But the Sanzenin believed that concealing anything from the King was disloyal.
That was where the conflict lay.
Right there.
And just as the two were about to argue-
A voice sounded from deeper inside the hall.
"Is this enough?"
Tenousu Athena and Mikado both turned.
At some point, Jaden had taken the pendants from their hands.
The ornamental casings had already been unscrewed.
Combined with the two Royal Orbs he already possessed, all thirteen Royal Orbs were now placed into the slots behind the throne.
They glowed faintly.
Simultaneously.
Jaden sat down.
Tenousu Athena reached out instinctively.
But she was too late.
Jaden had already closed his eyes.
Then-
A familiar sensation washed over him.
It was the same feeling he had experienced the first time he crossed over.
As if he had fallen asleep.
As if he had dreamed.
In the dream, he was the King of the great kingdom.
Educated from childhood as the King of Man.
He led the nation through an era of peak prosperity.
Scene after scene unfolded.
He experienced them all.
Then, at a certain moment, the Jaden within the dream closed his eyes.
When he opened them again-
Jaden became that version of himself.
He was sitting in a palace.
The Royal Court City.
Not a ruin.
Perfectly intact.
He sat upon the throne.
The same throne.
Jaden looked around.
He moved his hands slightly.
For a moment, it felt like he had crossed over again.
But this time-
It wasn't just his consciousness.
This body was his body.
Observation Haki.
Armament Haki.
Conqueror's Haki.
All of them were present.
His physical attributes were unchanged.
Everything remained intact.
As morning arrived, a familiar system prompt echoed.
He successfully signed in.
[Sign-in Reward: Progressive Designated Character Template]
The sign-in reward appeared first.
Then came the fusion progress.
[Garp Template Fusion Progress: Ninety-nine percent]
[Special Mission: 0/1]
...