Chapter 1 — The Lazy Prince
I leaned my head against the rough stone wall of the academy corridor and closed my eyes.
The midday sun warmed my face through the tall windows. Somewhere beyond the courtyard, training swords clashed in rhythmic succession. Students shouted incantations. Professors barked orders. The scent of old parchment, alchemical reagents, and ozone drifted through the air.
It was peaceful.
Perfect, even.
I yawned.
There were many things a prince was expected to do.
Attend royal meetings.
Study politics.
Master swordsmanship.
Learn advanced magic.
Smile politely at nobles who secretly hated him.
And, apparently, memorize three hundred and seventy-two different classifications of magical reagents.
I had decided there was another important responsibility.
Napping.
“Move, you insolent waste of space.”
My peaceful afternoon died instantly.
I opened one eye.
Siluca Maletes stood over me.
Silver hair.
Blue eyes.
Perfect posture.
A stack of leather-bound grimoires clutched against her chest.
And an expression that could have frozen the sun.
“Morning, Siluca.”
“It is afternoon.”
“Then good afternoon.”
“You have been sitting here for two hours.”
“Only two?”
Her eyebrow twitched.
“You have an advanced elemental theory examination tomorrow.”
“I’ll study tonight.”
“You said that yesterday.”
“I was going to.”
“You fell asleep.”
“I was studying with my eyes closed.”
“You were snoring.”
“That’s how I absorb knowledge.”
Siluca stared at me.
I smiled.
She hated that smile.
At least, that was what I wanted her to believe.
“Some of us,” she said coldly, “actually intend to graduate with honors.”
“Congratulations.”
“While you spend your days lounging around like a common housecat.”
“Housecats are respected creatures.”
“You’re a stain on this academy.”
She turned sharply.
I watched her walk away.
My smile slowly disappeared.
Nobody knew.
Not the teachers.
Not the students.
Not even most of the royal court.
They didn’t know that I could cast magic without incantations.
They didn’t know that my mana reserves were deeper than the entire royal treasury.
They didn’t know why the academy’s highest-level detection crystals shattered whenever they tried to measure me.
And Siluca certainly didn’t know.
Because if she knew…
The Devils would know.
And if the Devils knew the Child of Magic was still alive, they would come for her again.
I lowered my eyes.
My hand drifted beneath my shirt.
The scars across my chest burned.
A black mark pulsed beneath my skin.
The seal was getting worse.
Every year.
Every month.
Every day.
And I was running out of time.
---
That evening, I returned to the royal palace.
The moment I entered my mother’s chambers, I knew something was wrong.
Kushina sat beside the window.
Her red hair was spread across her shoulders.
Normally, she would have shouted at me for being late.
This time, she didn’t.
“Mom?”
She smiled.
“I’m fine.”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“I know.”
She coughed.
A small amount of blood stained her handkerchief.
My stomach dropped.
“Mom.”
“It’s nothing.”
“It isn’t nothing.”
She looked away.
My father stood silently near the fireplace.
King Minato Namikaze.
The fastest mage in the kingdom.
The man who could teleport across continents.
The hero of the Great Purge.
And the only person who could make me feel like a helpless child.
“How long?” I asked.
Minato’s eyes closed.
“Seven years.”
My heart stopped.
“The curse has been consuming her life force since the Great Purge,” he said.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because you were six when it happened.”
“I’ve spent my entire life studying magic!”
“You were a child.”
“I’m not a child anymore!”
The room shook.
My mana exploded.
Windows rattled.
Candles went out.
For one terrible moment, the playful mask fell away.
“I can save her.”
Minato looked at me.
“You don’t know how.”
“Then I’ll learn.”
My mother reached out and touched my cheek.
“Naruto…”
“I’ll cure you.”
She smiled sadly.
“I know you will.”
I didn’t understand why she said it like goodbye.
I should have.
That night, I entered the forbidden library.
And I began searching for a miracle.
---
