The Laziest Prince!

Today was the day that the youngest princes chose their future weapon. The Fifth Prince to the Ninth Prince stood by their mothers. In front of the royal concubines and the princes were a field of weapons. Knights skilled in the weapons stood next to them, showing off their capabilities. A sort of performance, some could see it.

"What weapon does King Father use?" Sixth Prince asked his mother.

"Your father uses the sword." His mother answered.

Fifth Prince, Sixth Prince, and Seventh Prince immediately started walking toward the knight performing a majestic sword performance. Sixth Prince bumped the Fifth Prince and picked up in speed. Seventh Prince cautiously made distance between himself and the falling Fifth Prince and kept behind Sixth Prince. Fifth Prince wiped his eyes from the pain of the fall and quickly got back up before trying to catch up with Sixth Prince and Seventh Prince.

"Teach that little brat of yours some manners. He's a prince." Fifth Prince's mother fanned herself.

"Kids will be kids. Maybe the Fifth Prince needs to toughen up if a little fall is enough to bother him." Sixth Prince's mother defended her son.

"I didn't realize this was a race." Seventh Prince's mother slyly added.

Eighth Prince scoffed as he looked at the racing trio ahead. He turned away from the sword and made his way toward the spear-wielding knight. His draconic spear looked as if it was able to pierce through the very skies themselves. His little hands struggled to properly lift the spear next to the performing knight but eventually he managed to find a position that worked for him. With a condescending smirk at the trio near the swords, he walked back toward his mother.

Then there was the ninth and youngest prince. He wandered all around the available field of weapons. He watched and looked at all the performing knights until he reached a weapon where there was no knight showing off the weapon's prowess. There were two wooden clubs attached to each other with a chain. The Grand Knight walked over to the Ninth Prince.

"Would you like a demonstration, Ninth Prince?" He politely asked.

Ninth Prince nodded his little head and watched as the Grand Knight did his best to show off what he could with the complex weapon. The two hard pieces of wood twirled around him like an unstoppable whirlwind. As the Grand Knight was performing, Ninth Prince took a look at the other weapons and realized that this weapon was the only one that didn't have a knight next to it. He grabbed the flail-like weapon and chose it as his weapon.

"Thank you, Grand Knight." Ninth Prince slightly bowed his head in proper respect.

"Do you mind telling me why you chose this weapon out of all the other weapons, Ninth Prince?" The Grand Knight curiously asked.

"It looked fun." Ninth Prince casually answered as he walked back toward his mother.

The strongest knight in the kingdom couldn't help but reveal a small smirk at that answer. It looked fun, huh? A weapon that not a single one of his men could master or proficiently use. A weapon known for its complexity and difficulty was something fun for the Ninth Prince. The kingdom's Grand Knight looked forward to seeing the Ninth Prince's future accomplishments. He nodded toward the king who was watching them.

"Assign extra resources to the Ninth Prince. If he shows promise in his training, continue to provide them. If not, take them away." The King told his personal guard.

"Understood, Your Majesty."

______________________________________________

"Can't ya take it easy on me for once?" Chris sprawled out on the floor in front of the Grand Knight.

The area around him was completely black. There was nothing in this world but the Grand Knight and Chris himself. In Chris's hands was his nunchaku while the Grand Knight wielded a mighty blade. It's been ten years since Chris picked his weapon as a member of the royal family, Power. This alternate world was something he'd had since birth. In this place, he could conjure whatever he wanted here.

An unfortunate thing about this place was that, he wasn't an all-powerful god here. So, he simply used it for studying and training while he lazed and played around in the real world. He could enter and leave whenever he wanted. Chris mainly entered this place when he was sleeping but he could enter it whenever he wanted through proper meditation. Something that Chris has yet to master.

"Ninth Prince!" The royal tutor shouted Chris back into reality.

"I wasn't sleeping! I was meditating!" Chris pleaded his case.

"I suppose that drool leaking from the side of your mouth is just my imagination then?" She snarked.

"It was a really deep depth into my center..." Chris couldn't even take his excuse seriously. A grin appeared on the corner of his lips.

"I know your talent with magic isn't as prevalent as your siblings but that is no excuse for you to simply not try, Ninth Prince!" She nagged.

"Listen, Shar. What's impossible is just impossible. Magic just don't like me and that's fine. I'm going to be the first Power with no accomplishments in magic. It's whatever." Chris shrugged.

Even inside his inner world, he couldn't sense mana. Chris knew there was mana inside his inner world because anytime he fought against someone who could use mana, they could use it there. Or he could be wrong and the inner world just copies the current capabilities of anyone put inside it. Since he couldn't sense magic outside the world, he also couldn't do it inside. But something didn't make sense to Chris. Any experience or knowledge he gained after studying or training inside the inner world also came with him outside it.

"I just don't understand why you won't even try..." She looked at him with pitiful eyes.

For a teacher, she sure had a lot of hang-ups with him. She cared too much. While Chris was flattered a mature woman like this was interested in him, it was a pain when she nagged at him to perform the impossible. What does being an overachiever really accomplish? Chris would never want to take his elder brother, the Eighth Prince's, place. After showing his superior attainments in weapon mastery and magic over Fifth, Sixth, and the Seventh Prince, he was given responsibility after responsibility after responsibility.

Chris would rather die than being trusted with so many troublesome things. Life was much more enjoyable when no one expected anything out of him and he could go have fun whenever he wanted.

"I guess today's class ends here. Feel free to go goof off in town with those..." She didn't even finish her sentence as she casually insulted his good group of friends before leaving.

"Welp. Time to go have fun." Chris didn't really care and quickly rushed out of the estate.

…

"They really brought out all the stops with today's entertainment. What's the occasion?" Chris asked with a cup of alcohol in his hand.

"Haven't you heard, Your Highness? With the entrance ceremony coming up soon, people from all over are heading here to find a way to be accepted. There's going to be a grand tournament for all sorts of people to show their skills and hopefully get sponsored by someone significant to bring them in. Since so many people are coming into the city, the merchants have gone all out to take their money." Archeon answered.

"Oho... How many people could I sponsor as the Ninth Prince?" Chris chuckled in amusement.

"Three is the max but I haven't ever heard of anyone sponsoring more than two before. Usually, nobles just sponsor their personal servants but there are occasions where powerful mages or warriors sponsor their disciples."

"Looks like we'll have a new friend in the future. If they're amusing enough, I might even make them my personal guard." Chris finished his glass and reached for another.

"Why don't you just hire a mercenary? Surely, they'd be more reliable than some hicks from who-knows-where."

"Mercenaries are no fun. They're all business and money if they're not out to assassinate or betray you. Plus, not many people in the capital are willing to associate with the lazy wastrel prince. You know even some commoners look down on me?" Chris laughed at the absurdity. If he really cared, he could exterminate a few noble families with his punishment only being a few lashes and house arrest.

"I suppose that's true..." Archeon grew silent.

"Don't let me ruin the mood, Archie. I don't care about what others say about me. Life is more fun when you live it doing things you enjoy. Their words cannot stop me from living my best life. Try to remember that for the future." Chris patted his shoulder as he admired the dancing half-dressed women and bustling music.

"Understood, Your Highness." Chris's close friend took a deep drink of his beer and slammed the table after he was finished. "Let's have fun!"

"That's the spirit!" Chris tossed coins in the air as the ladies and men shouted in merriment.