“Why did you let him disrespect you?” Bruce said. “You are the prince of this kingdom.”

“You don’t understand.”

“I understand that… you don’t have any pride,” he said while he looked at Arthur with disappointment.

“You think I like it, being humiliated in front of those people?”

“Then why? Why don’t you fight? You’re a prince for heaven’s sake.”

Arthur couldn’t look at Bruce because he knew what Bruce’s point was.

He was embarrassed by himself as he is a prince but couldn’t even protect himself from someone lower than him.

Arthur couldn’t take it anymore and he burst in his anger, saying, “Because I’m weak! Do you understand that? I’m weak! I’m not like you, who was born with that strength and talent.”

Bruce looked at Arthur with remorse in his eyes, “But you’re a prince; you don’t need to have strength or talent. You have the power to command your people. So why are you letting him disrespect you like that.”

Arthur paused for a moment before saying, “I’m not the King, Ghost.

I’m just a Prince who doesn’t know how to use his mana- core, a prince who doesn’t even know how to wield a sword.

I’m just a prince in title because I got lucky enough to be born into Royalty.” His eyes filled with embarrassment and sadness.

They stopped talking for a moment.

Bruce realized that everything he said was out of bounds.

He felt concerned about Arthur because he didn’t want to hear anyone disrespecting a friend.

Arthur was silent.

He knew and understood what Bruce was trying to say.

He himself knew that he was an embarrassment as a friend, no, as a prince.

Bruce tapped Arthur’s back and said, “I apologize. I never intended to say it like that.

I’m just really upset if my friend is being disrespected like that.”

“No, I understand what you’re trying to say.

It’s just that I’m not like you, who has the strength to protect yourself, not just yourself, but other people too.

You’re strong, and I’m weak,” Arthur said.

“You’re not weak, Arthur. You are brave.

You tried to fight in a war that you knew had no hope of winning.

You didn’t run from your duty as a prince; you were one of the people who fought for freedom.

You know, Arthur, it’s better to be brave in the face of weakness than to be strong but lack the courage to act,” Bruce quoted.

Arthur looked at Bruce with a sense of gratitude.

For the first time in his life, someone saw him as himself, not just a prince who’s an embarrassment to the kingdom.

“Thank you, Ghost. I’m very grateful that you became my friend,” he gracefully smiled at Bruce.

They ordered some ale to drink.

It was much better to talk with alcohol in their bodies.

As the saying goes, ‘Conversations become sweeter when laced with the warmth of alcohol.’

As they tasted the first drop of alcohol, they couldn’t resist drinking the whole cup.

“I thought there was no beer here?” Bruce asked.

“What is beer? This is an ale.”

“No, this is beer,” Bruce persisted.

“No, it’s an ale.”

“Okay, fine, you can call it an ale, but I will call it a beer.”

Arthur raised his hand and called for the waitress and asked, “What is this?”

The waitress answered, “It’s an ale, my Lord.”

Arthur looked at Bruce and said, “See, it is called an ale, not beer.”

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Bruce and Arthur looked at each other and laughed their hearts out.

After ordering five cups of ale, they also ordered food.

Arthur asked, “We ordered so much. You do know that you need to pay for this, right?”

“Yeah, don’t worry about it,” Bruce said.

“But you don’t have any gold, right?”

Bruce looked at Arthur and said, “I said, don’t worry about it.”

He revealed a pouch filled with gold and silver to Arthur.

“Wait, I thought you spent everything?” Arthur asked.

“Yeah, but that noble has a lot of it, so I grabbed some,” Bruce smirked.

“You idiot, you stole from a noble. If Mordred notices it, you will be in a bad position,” Arthur warned.

“Nah, I don’t think so. He still has four more of these. I only stole one.”

As they drank and talked their hearts out, Bruce became somewhat curious about something and he wanted to ask Arthur.

“By the way, Arthur, can I ask, what were you doing in the Pearl village, and why does no one know that they have a prince accompanying them?” Bruce said.

“Commander Kilos noticed it, but we were already halfway to the village, so they couldn’t go back because a prince sneaked in,” Arthur answered.

“I thought that I could gain strength if I experienced battle. But I was wrong.

I only gained the cruelty of war and didn’t become strong.” He added.

“Why do you want to be strong that badly? I mean, having great power comes with great responsibility,” Bruce said, although the words he said came from a movie, but he thought it was good to add.

“How much do you know about mana-core?” Arthur asked Bruce.

“Not much, to be honest,” Bruce answered.

“You see, there are two types of mana-cores: the magical one and the physical one, and I have the magical one.

But for some reason, I can’t emit any magic out of my mana-core.”

“What do you mean?” Bruce asked.

“A mana-core is a thing that absorbs mana from around us; it’s also called the life-core.

Excessive usage of mana can lead you to death.

If you have the magical type of mana-core, your body is different from the people who have the physical type.

Your body can release the mana out of your body and make magic, turning it into the kind of element your body is compatible with.

The physical one is different; their mana-core can’t release the mana out of their body, so they use it to strengthen their physical attributes,” Arthur explained.

“So how come you can’t do magic?” Bruce asked.

“That’s what a lot of masters we hired have wondered about too.

You see, we did a lot so that I can use my mana-core, but they always say the same thing.

‘I have no aptitude in magic.’

‘I have no talents.’

‘Forget about being a knight and just focus on politics instead.’

But I never gave up; I still want to be strong even today,” Arthur said, and Bruce could see the sadness in his eyes.

“Why not learn some swordsmanship or any weapon,” Bruce suggested.

“I did. I hired a lot of templars so that they could teach me how to wield a sword, but as I can’t do magic, I don’t have what it takes to be strong in the way of the sword,” Arthur replied.

Bruce looked at Arthur. He wanted to say something, but he also didn’t know what answer to give to Arthur.

“You know, I understand that the world is unfair; I knew that.

But every time I ask, ‘why?’ I put a lot of effort, even though I know it’s hopeless. I still train myself.

I want to be strong… I don’t want to give up.

But then I saw you in that battle in the Pearl village.

I’m sorry, but at that time, I was jealous of you, Ghost.

How are you so strong, and I’m not?

How is it that you can protect someone even though you don’t know those people… but me, I can’t even protect myself.

Maybe whatever I put effort into something, it’s still useless in the face of talent.

I’m pathetic. If only I were as talented as my sister Selene.”

“You want to be strong so you can protect the people that matter to you. What’s pathetic about that?

You know, hard work beats talent. Always remember that,” Bruce implied.

“How did you know that effort is enough to beat talent? You’re strong and talented. I watched you fight, and you were incredible.”

Bruce paused, then started remembering the past.

“You know I have a friend. No, not just a friend, my best friend.

We competed at everything; she was my rival.

Even in little things, we competed. Even eating, we competed. Who ate fast, who ate more, who could do that fast, who could do it better.

She was so competitive.” Bruce smiled as he talked about her. “We were best friends but also rivals.

“Who won?” Arthur asked.

“Don’t make me admit it.”

“You lost?”

“I said, don’t make me admit it.”

“For someone like you? Someone could beat you?”

“You know why? While I played in my free time, she always trained. She always studied, she always practiced.

She didn’t want to do things half-baked. Maybe it was also because she despised losing, maybe that’s why.”

“Are you sure she’s just a friend?”

“Yes,” Bruce said with seriousness in his eyes.

“You know there’s only one thing I can be proud of myself for? I can sense if people are telling the truth, and right now, you just lied,” Arthur said proudly.

“For one last time, don’t make me admit it, or I’ll punch you in the face,” Bruce warned.

“So, where is she?” Arthur asked.

Bruce’s face fell into an expression of deep sadness. “She passed away.”

The two of them paused from talking, absorbed in their deep conversation.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Arthur said while tapping Bruce’s shoulder.

“We fought in a war before, and she died.

She died protecting me.

You know what’s funny? The last words she said were, ‘You’re second again.’ That’s how competitive she was.”

Arthur looked at Bruce with deep understanding and a shared sense of Bruce’s emotions.

“No, it’s fine. After that, I don’t remember much because all my senses turned black.

When I gained my senses, the war was already done.

I was confused because the enemy looked at me in fear and was shouting ‘Ghost,’ ‘demon,’ ‘monster.’

I don’t really remember much, but when I saw my hands, they were full of blood, and I didn’t have wounds, only scratches.

Then when I saw my reflection in the water, not just my hands were covered in blood, but my whole body.”

And Arthur realized that Bruce didn’t lie about that.

“Then after that, I talked to my superior and said that I needed time to rest, so they discharged me.

Then the first place I went was to her house, so I could deliver the news.

After that, I went to my parents’ house, and then I walked in the park, and I saw my grandmother, and then… poof… I was here.

Then, again, I fought in another war, and again, someone saved me, and again, someone died protecting me. I’m really done with wars.” Bruce said as his heart filled with heavy regrets for not saving them.

Arthur’s heart sank as he realized the gravity of the situation.

He had thought he was in a dire state, but as he looked at Bruce, it became painfully clear that Bruce was in a far more agonizing place.

“I’m sorry for telling you this. I’ve been keeping this for a while.”

“No, it’s fine. It’s also good that we can share these feelings of ours.” Arthur said to comfort Bruce.

“I’m trying to say that you shouldn’t give up on your dreams. I am a talented person, but I never won even once against her. She is the definition of ‘hard work beats talent.’” Bruce added.