“Eh, what?” everyone was surprised

“Like I said, I will take them as disciples.”

“No, that’s impossible, we cannot allow that”, the prince bluntly refused

“But you see”, I tried to persuade but was interrupted, “No, I will never agree, you can just take few normal kids, but children of royal are someone you simply cannot take as disciples.”

“I agree”, “Me too”, the rest of them too opposed

The children of the royals were the ones who would rule this kingdom in the future, their education, their teachers, even the people around them were carefully chosen, anyone who made proper relations with such children would gain some profit in the future, especially their teachers, so they couldn’t merely let an outsider influence them,

With a solemn expression, I said, “I see, you all are persistent, but think logically for a moment, what are the chances this kingdom would even survive? Imagine if the kids are with me, even if the kingdom gets destroyed, I can take them and escape, that way even if all of you die at least some of your bloodline will survive. I know knights won’t abandon their kingdom, so then what would happen to the kids? in the east there is an endless desert, in the west, there is an ocean. From the north the demon kings army is marching, so there is practically no escape, so, I am actually doing you all a favor by saving at least those 4 kids.”

The women replied, “And where exactly would you escape to? This is the only human civilization left.”

Looking into her eyes, I replied, “In my own kingdom, of course, it's in a place where even the demon king would not be able to reach, but if most of you think of escaping then it’s impossible, I can carry 4 kids and escape from the demon king, but if you think of saving ordinary citizens then it’s impossible.”

The councilor besides the prince again whispered in his ears,

The prince spoke,

“I see your point, but your point only stands if the kingdom gets destroyed, but what if our kingdom survives, what benefit can we have from letting you teach them?”

With a vexed expression, I replied, “So annoying, I won’t argue anymore, the ones who teach the kids, if I beat them in a fair competition, Is that acceptable?”

The prince smiled, “Very well, it's acceptable, but the kids are still very young, whether they have a talent for magic or sword has not been determined yet, neither have their teachers been determined, so, who will you challenge, a knight or a sorcerer?”

“Very well then, I challenge both the knight and the sorcerer.”

Tristin laughed, “Hahaha, have you lost your mind?”

Others were surprised too,

Ignoring them, I said, “Now then, as the matter is settled, you should move on to next point.”

Prince replied, “Very well.”

Triston asked, “Eh, what? how is it settled?”

Further discussions were held,

After some time,

“Very well, the discussions are over, everyone is dismissed”, the prince commanded

While whispering with each other, everyone left,

“So, why are you not leaving?”, the prince asked

“I had a private matter to discuss”, I replied

“Very well, speak.”

“I believe I said privately”

The prince commanded to councilor to leave,

The councilor hesitated, but he left,

“Now, then what is it?”, the prince asked

“I have two things to ask, first, being a prince, you must have great knowledge about the things that are inside this palace.”

“So?”

“I believe you know about the location of the sword inside the stone, I want to see it.”

Hearing those words prince was stunned, his eyes opened wide, he spoke, “How do you know about that? Don’t tell me, your purpose for coming here was to learn more about the sword?”

Without hesitation, I replied, “Of course not, I simply came to help, I just want to see the sword out of curiosity, I had simply heard rumors about the sword, but it seems to really exist.”

With narrowed eyes, the prince spoke, “Just so you know, even if you try to steal it, it's useless, no one can take out the sword, even the stone cannot be moved from its original place.”

“Why do you worry so much? I simply want to see it.”

In a serious tone, he replied, “The location of the sword is only known by few, I simply cannot tell you.”

“Oh, I see, then I guess, I would simply have to search the palace on my own, not like anyone can detect me, I wonder how long it would take for me to find the sword, It seems you forgot, how I was able to enter and travel around this palace, without anyone discovering me before”, I replied with a smile

The prince gritted his teeth and took a sigh, “I doubt you will be able to find it, but very well, I shall show you the location, just looking should do no harm and stealing it is impossible.”

“Wise decision.”

We went below the palace floor,

In a vault-like room, there was an underground passage,

The passage was short but wide

In front was a cave and in the middle, there was a bundle made up of stones, and above the pile, the grip of the sword could be seen,

“You have seen it right let’s leave”, The prince said

“What’s the hurry? There are few things I would like to try”, I said in an optimistic tone

Slowly walking towards the bundle, I clenched my fist,

BAM!

I punched the bundle with all my strength,

It did not even budge, but vibrations could be felt throughout the palace

My hand got broken, few bones were popping out

“Wow, it really is tough.”

I climbed the bundle of stones, and reached the top,

“it’s useless, you won’t be able to take it out”, the prince shouted

“You never know until you try”, I replied

I grabbed the stone and pulled it with all my might

“Humph”

It did not even budge

“So, much for trying, then how about this?”, I whispered to myself

[Initiating Deconstruct and Reconstruct]

[Failed]

[The Material is bound by the String of Fate]

[The link between The Sword and The User could not be Severed]

[You are not the Chosen User]

“Well, now that’s disappointing.”