Do people experience dreams when they faint? I don't think so. Yet, I must be in a dream right now because the person holding my hand and calling my name is Erik. If that's the case, I don't want to wake up.
"Ryuu, you silly, it's really me, you're not dreaming," Erik says, gently tapping my cheeks. "You scared me. I sensed you were about to faint, so I hurried here."
"Erik...," I open my eyes, but my vision becomes blurry almost immediately because I start crying. It's not royal at all, but I don't care.
"What happened?" Erik hugs me to calm me down. I hungrily accept his embrace. "Did you skip lunch again? Unbelievable, I'm away from you for just a couple of hours and that's what happens?"
"His Majesty fainted from a shock," Noage explains and only now do I notice that his tentacle is stuck to my left forearm. "Although, I detect that his blood sugar is low. He did skip lunch."
"We didn't have time," Gotrid admits and Noage gives him a scornful look. "We went for a flight and were called back right after we returned."
"Obviously, we would wait for you with the results," my father grunts and turns to my new Divementis adjutant. "Advin, this can't repeat ever again, you will see to that."
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty, I thought that we needed to come immediately," Advin apologises profoundly. "I wouldn't dare to disobey you."
"Under normal circumstances, you would be right, but not in the case of my malnourished son," my father sighs. "Never mind, your negligence is forgiven. Just be more mindful of the prince's delicate health from now on."
"Slowly, love," Gotrid warns me when I want to sit up. They put me back on the examination bed which I'm not thrilled about, but Erik is back which beats anything.
"Were you overwhelmed when they confirmed your immortality, hon?" Erik asks softly.
"You know about that?" I clutch his hand tighter. "How?"
"They informed me and Chancellor Sythara as soon as the scientists made the discovery," he says. "I'm sorry that I wasn't there for you when they told you, but I didn't anticipate you would take it so hard and I still had a lot of things to discuss with your uncle."
"You're not bothered that I'm...?" I find it difficult to say it out loud.
"Honestly, it changes nothing for me," he shrugs. "You will live longer than me either way."
"R-right," I chew my lip and shiver. Eventually, I'll outlive everyone in the room.
"Nevertheless," Noage raises his voice to be heard by everyone present, "His Majesty is immortal in the sense that he doesn't age, but he's not invulnerable. Far from it, he inherited the weaknesses of both Celestials and the Divementis. His body might not decay over time, but it's extremely delicate."
"We know, doc," Liana nods. "We know that better than anyone."
"I'm just trying to emphasise the fact that if we indeed want His Majesty to live forever, maybe we should start rethinking a few things," Noage points out.
"Like what?" I frown and finally shake him off me. I just fainted, I'm not sick.
"Like letting Your Majesty participate in battles," Noage suggests carefully but adamantly.
"What?!" I get upset in an instant.
"You don't age, my Emperor, but you can still be killed," Noage says. "Neither Celestials nor the Divementis can boast that their bodies can withstand rough treatment, unlike the remaining Draconian races who are sturdy."
"I can cast shields and I'm the most powerful battle mage!" I state proudly. "You can't be seriously suggesting that I won't be allowed to participate in battles, Noage."
"Yet, one unlucky hit and Celestials could easily lose their precious embodiment of magic and the Divementis their only successor," Noage says matter-of-factly.
"Son, I wanted to suggest the same," my father approaches the bed and puts his hand on my right wing. I don't shake him off, his touch isn't uncomfortable for me anymore. "Even though your magical abilities are truly miraculous, real battles are unpredictable no matter how well your people try to protect you."
"You can't forbid me to...!" I finally stand up so that my protest has more authority, but I wobble as I do so. My brain could shut down only for a few minutes, I'm still hopelessly overwhelmed and dizzy. Dammit, I wanted to look strong and the only thing I accomplished was showing them how frail I am.
"Son, please, you misunderstand," my father pushes me back. "We wouldn't forbid you to join battles altogether, we would just re-evaluate your participation."
"How exactly?" I narrow my eyes.
"As the Celestial Emperor and the Divementis Crown Prince, you shouldn't be joining the front lines anyway," he declares. "You could do so only in the early stages because Draconians couldn't defeat strong monsters without your help. However, the situation is different now and Draconian battle units are more than capable. You can finally assume your rightful position."
"Which is?" I still don't understand where this is going.
"You should start acting as a general you are," he explains a bit impatiently. "Your role is to command armies, not stand in front of them."
"I'm no tactician," I refuse. "I'm a battle mage."
"You're the Divementis Prince, it's literally in your blood," he insists. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that you've already used telepathy to coordinate your people during a battle. Besides, tactics can be taught and I'll gladly provide you with tutoring."
Command my people telepathically? I want to outright reject that idea, but then I remember that I did that. During the battle of Prague, I stayed high up in the sky to have a good view of the whole battlefield and I was coordinating the Celestial forces with my telepathy. It was, admittedly, really efficient and I enjoyed it.
"But I want to actively cast spells and deal damage," I find something else bothering me. "I have so much mana. I would go crazy if I couldn't release it from time to time."
"We're well aware of that," Liana assures me. "The revised strategy would be Your Majesty commanding the forces and casting only the highest-tier spells from a safe distance. You would have the opportunity to cast spells that would never be possible in the heat of a battle. Isn't that a good deal?"
"I agree," Erik seconds that. "Every time you went to a battle, we were dreading you would get hurt which would have catastrophic consequences."
"B-but...," I want to come up with some other argument, but Erik clutches my hands and shakes his head.
"This is not negotiable," he says in a tone that concludes the matter.
Since he's touching me, it's much easier for me to see his mind. I get glimpses of him talking to Chancellor Sythara. Right, I momentarily forgot about that. I decide to change the subject.