Applaud for Happiness - Chapter 61

 

Chapter 61: Applaud for the Dragon

Note: Apologies for the delay. I got sick T_T Anyway, welcome to a new arc! 

At the northwest end of Leif Continent, there lies the azure sea, with the Empire of St. Carlos located here. Leif Continent is home to forty countries of various size, large and small. Although referred to as an empire, the Empire of St. Carlos is, in reality, a lower-tier country ranked at the very end.

These forty countries are ranked in four tiers — four top-tier countries, eight high-tier countries, twelve middle-tier countries, and sixteen lower-tier countries.

The Empire of St. Carlos is one of the sixteen low-tier countries. Moreover, it's in the bottom four and its territory covers only a portion of the northwest coastline, approximately 180,000 square kilometers.

Shen Qi, with a modern world map for reference, estimated it to be roughly the size of Guangdong province.

This is a world where magic and physical strength coexist, a world governed by religion and nobility. The primary residents are humans. Elves, dwarves, and beastmen are beings of legends, rarely encountered in the flesh. Even if they exist, in an era devoid of cameras, video cameras, and phones, spoken word is unreliable, and no one would believe it.

Religion and nobility govern this world, where the social hierarchy is explicit and cruel. Commoners live their entire lives as commoners, while nobility remains as such generation after generation. Only those exceptional individuals who win the favor of the upper class can break free from this rigid structure. Even a genius with a full affinity for magic, or an extraordinary talent perfectly suited to martial arts, is thwarted without such recognition.

Social status blocks all paths.

Education and literacy are privileges reserved for the nobility and higher classes. Commoners have neither the opportunity nor the inclination to pursue education. Without exams or civil service examination, it's a waste to spend time and money on things with no return. Instead, learning a craft or even farming diligently at home is more beneficial than obtaining an education. At least farming won't starve them.

In this world, there are no schools for children to attend. Institutions like academies only exist in the four top-tier empires, exclusively catered to the nobility, high society, and those with status. The other countries only have royal libraries. Consequently, all the prodigies are absorbed into the four top-tier empires. As time goes by, these four empires grow stronger, while the other countries become increasingly mediocre.

To learn reading and writing, commoners either have to find another literate commoner and pay for lessons or join a church and become sanctioned members. However, the former requires too much money, with annual tuition fees constituting half a family's income, while the latter imposes strict conditions, making it not easy to be accepted by the church.

This situation leads to commoners becoming increasingly ignorant and foolish, entirely submissive to those in power and utterly devoid of any rebellious spirit.

The royal family governs the country while the Holy Church influences the entire continent, each complementing the other. Of course, there are occasional conflicts, but unpleasant incidents of the magnitude of national subversions or extinctions have never been heard.

Naturally, minor events such as the sudden death of a king or a delegate are not shared with the outside world. Only the kings of each country would know such information, while ordinary civilians remain oblivious.

These are the fragmented pieces of knowledge Shen Qi has acquired over the past month.

This is the shortest advance period for Shen Qi upon entering a mission node. In the past, there would be at least two to three years or even twelve years provided, while this time, there's only one month.

Also, this time, he doesn't have a specific persona crafted.

He is Shen Qi — from his appearance, character, temperament, to hobbies, he's just Shen Qi.

The cost, however, is that he could only assume the identity of the chosen individual without possessing their memories.

This was a choice Shen Qi made. Having confirmed that Jiang Changshen, Lu Chao, Zhao Huaiyu, and Qin Huan were the same person, he no longer wanted to pretend. He wanted to complete the mission as himself.

After all, no matter which persona he adopted, the other person would fall in love with him.

Yes, he was that certain. Not just about this, but he had also approximately figured out the other person's identity. He wasn't stupid. Who else could set up such a scenario and love him, other than that person?

Even though being manipulated felt uncomfortable, he didn't hate the other person initially. Now, even feelings had begun to sprout. He set aside his discomfort for the time being, waiting to address it when things were over.

In this world, his identity was that of a prince. In the previous world, Qin Huan was the prince, the crown prince. This time, it was his turn to be a prince.

Of course, the prince's name wasn't Shen Qi, nor was his surname Shen. He was called Augustus, and he was the seventh child, after his six princess sisters. Because his late mother, the previous queen, had given birth to six princesses in succession, his father, King Henry VI, grew increasingly disheartened and ended up having an affair with the queen's younger sister. After his mother died in childbirth, her sister quickly ascended to the position of queen. By the time Augustus was half a year old, she gave birth to his younger brother, William.

The King was so enamored with the new queen that it seemed like he understood what love was overnight. He was completely submissive to her. As the saying goes, "A stepmother inevitably brings forth a stepfather." This seventh prince was soon forgotten by his biological father. If it weren't for his six elder sisters taking turns looking after him, he would have fallen victim to the stepmother's ill-intentions long ago.

Yet, he still couldn't escape her grasp. Otherwise, Shen Qi wouldn't have been needed.

The Empire of St. Carlos is located by the sea and has a custom of offering sacrifices. However, the recipient of these sacrifices is not a river god, nor a sea god, but a dragon.

Yes, a dragon.

Although elves, dwarves, and other mythical beings have become legends in this world, the existence of dragons is very real. There is more than one dragon, dwelling in glaciers and mountains, with various appearances and species, rarely appearing before humans, making them quite mysterious. Due to their colossal bodies and formidable power, they instill deep fear in humans.

The Empire of St. Carlos offers sacrifices to the dragon that resides in the deep sea.

It is said that about three hundred years ago, this dragon appeared in this area, roaring fiercely as it dove into the sea, causing massive waves.

Out of fear, the people followed the teachings of the holy church, choosing young boys and girls as sacrifices. Mysteriously, the girls would often return, but the boys never did. According to the girls, the Dragon Lord favored handsome young men and did not like females, so they were released.

People were skeptical at first, but as the boys never returned and the waves remained calm, they began to believe the girls' words and the church's judgment even more. They believed that the dragon was terrifying, and offering sacrifices was the only way to maintain peace.

Thus, the custom of offering a sacrifice once every ten years was established.

Moreover, according to records, none of the boys sent as sacrifices ever returned.

This year happens to be the one every ten years when a sacrifice is offered. Every time, the most handsome boy in the nation is sought after as the tribute, and this time, coincidentally, the seventh prince is chosen.

In the past, beautiful boys would be selected from commoners early on, around ten or so, and by the time the ten-year cycle arrived, the most attractive among them would be chosen. To save face, a noble family would adopt the chosen boy, and the holy church would baptize him as a formal believer. The burden of sacrifice had never fallen upon a noble until now.

This time, however, the queen mother, the prince's stepmother, plotted to secure the throne for her own son. The kingdom follows the principle of primogeniture, meaning that if the Seventh Prince remains alive, he would eventually inherit the throne. To prevent this, she persuaded the king and bribed the church to have the residing cardinal of St. Carlos perform a mysterious ritual. The cardinal then declared that the only suitable sacrifice would be the Seventh Prince.

The reason was simple: who else but the Seventh Prince was the most handsome and young boy in the current generation? If they sent someone else, the Dragon Lord might become angry.

With the holy church's decree and the king's support, no one opposed the prince being chosen as the sacrifice. The Seventh Prince was promptly guarded and awaited the sacrificial ceremony in a month's time.

The prince's six older sisters had already been married off, and his stepmother made sure they were all wed to faraway countries to secure her own son's future. By the time they received news, it would be too late. The stepmother used the Sixth Princess's marriage and life as leverage, leaving the Seventh Prince no choice but to accept his fate.

However, upon hearing the news, the Sixth Princess rushed to save her brother by night. The guards caught her, and during the ensuing struggle, she accidentally fell down the stairs, losing consciousness.

The Seventh Prince believed he was responsible for his sister’s accident and was further mocked by his younger brother, William. Distraught, he attempted suicide by hanging.

That's when Shen Qi stepped in and took the identity of the Seventh Prince. From then on, whenever people thought of the Seventh Prince, they would picture Shen Qi's face without sensing any discrepancy, such as why everyone had western features and he had eastern features.

As for Shen Qi, he chose to take on the Seventh Prince's identity because, coincidentally, his target this time happened to be the dragon that was supposed to be the Seventh Prince's sacrifice — the giant dragon dwelling in the deep sea.

To be more specific, it was a dragon dealing with its frustration due to impotence.

Upon learning the situation, Shen Qi felt rather dumbfounded for a moment.

Unlike Eastern dragons, the dragons of this world more closely resemble the ones in Western fantasy games. These days, Shen Qi had used various excuses to have numerous books brought to him, especially those containing information about dragons.

According to the records, the dragon that resides in the St. Carlos Empire was a flame-breathing red dragon. When it appeared, the entire sea surface burnt with fierce flames. It would spiral and roar, then dive into the water and never resurface.

With generation after generation of Church's propaganda and the yearly disappearance of young boys as evidence, no one in the common folk doubted the dragon had left.

Of course, in fact, the dragon hadn't gone anywhere.

While the nobles were skeptical, Shen Qi was aware through the synopsis that this red dragon had always been staying at the bottom of the sea until its death.

In this world, dragons had a lifespan of five hundred years. After their hatching, they would be abandoned by their parents to survive independently. They were solitary creatures, thriving in secluded territories, and only during the mating season would they visit the Dragon Valley to select their preferred mate and propagate the next generation.

For dragons, there were only two important matters in life: treasure hunting and procreation.

Dragons who couldn't accumulate treasure or reproduce were deemed inferior and were ridiculed by their entire race.

Once mature, the red dragon entered the Dragon Valley and quickly found a partner—a similarly strong and treasure-hoarding female red dragon. However, to his horror, at the crucial moment, he found himself unable to elicit an erection.

Enraged, the female dragon harshly repelled him and vented about the situation, which promptly made everyone in the dragon race aware of this inferior dragon.

Laughed at by the rest of his species and pain-stricken due to the unresolved mating desire, the red dragon was left with no other choices but to hurl himself into the ocean—to hide, and to suppress his own mating season.

"Pfft—"

Upon finishing the synopsis, Shen Qi couldn't help but let out a laugh.

The idea of an impotent great dragon was...

Even learning that the red dragon had ultimately perished from the painful suppression of its breeding needs couldn't stop him from laughing.

Honestly, this juxtaposition was a bit too amusing.

Coughing, he tried to calm himself down. No, he shouldn't be laughing. Impotence was indeed a big deal, a massive issue. If he put himself in the dragon's shoes, he might also suffer from depression.

But that was fine; he wouldn't mind it. Impotence was still impotence. If necessary, they could maintain a platonic relationship. After all, physical intercourse wouldn't always amount to much.

What was important was the exchange of spirits.

It was just a pity that his "Compendium on Dragon Potency" wouldn't be due for any updates—the cross-species aspect had initially excited him.

Alas, this was truly a tragic tale.

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