The Martial Unity

"I know," Rui heaved another sigh.

He knew that even as they spoke, the ruling class of the human civilization of East Panama was furiously considering the new information and what they could do to spin it in their favor. The future of Kandria impacted the future of East Panama more than they wished.

If someone like Prince Randal ascended the throne, then the nations of East Panama could only quiver.

While the Sage-level powerhouses of East Panama were confident no matter who ascended the throne, the nations that weren't too far from the Kandrian Empire, such as the Commonwealth Duchy of Vinfrana, the Kingdom of Grahal, and the Violis Kingdom. They would much rather have a candidate who wasn't a psycho.

That was why the revelation of Rui's princehood mattered to everybody within a hundred thousand kilometers of the Kandrian Empire in East Panama.

He needed to make his decision quickly lest he experience pressure from countless stakeholders about his intentions, regardless of what they were.

"…I don't know what to do," Rui breathed deeply. "…It's almost impossible to weigh the considerations against each other."

"Well, we can start simply by looking at the pros and cons of announcing your bid for the throne," Julian remarked. "What do you stand to gain from becoming Emperor?"

Rui stirred. "Well, a lot. For one, as a Martial Artist, it's not unattractive in every way. Extraordinarily rare and powerful resources that not even Martial Masters can merit…are all within the palm of my hand."

Julian nodded. "As Emperor, you can gain resources that would normally require reaching the Sage Realm to even consider getting."

Rui nodded.

The Roaring Dragon Blood Potion was nothing compared to what he could get if he ascended the throne.

He would be lying if these prospects were not deeply attractive to him. They definitely were. He could perhaps completely mitigate the enormous power gap between himself and his peers.

Every single high-grade Martial Senior possessed a Martial Body that was far stronger than his own. He made up for the gap with a Martial Art that was superior and more potent than that of his opponent.

He could probably not only entirely close that gap but also surpass his peers with a stronger Martial Body by augmenting his body with resource after resource, potion after potion.

He wasn't idealistic about whether this was a good or bad thing. A powerful Martial Body was necessary for Project Water, there was absolutely no doubt about that.

On top of that, his body would eventually reach that power in time, all he would be doing was hastening the process.

All in all, a very solid benefit to ascending the throne.

"That's not all," Rui heaved a sigh. "Ensuring the crazy ambitions and objectives of my half-siblings never come to fruition is also a decent advantage."

By becoming Emperor, he could crush the embers of civil war between the princes and the civil wars they would cause when they instated their crazy policies. Preventing them from going down this path was also a worthy goal and objective.

"True," Julian nodded. "But that's not all, is there?"

"…No, there are actually some other benefits," Rui sighed. "I can also give the orphanage better protection than just as a prince."

"True," Julian nodded. "That is certainly a personally reassuring benefit of you becoming Emperor."

Julian exhaled heavily. "Ok, now what are the cons?"

Rui closed his eyes. "My father tried convincing me otherwise, but if I ascend the throne, I can forget about dedicating myself to my martial path and martial art."

The air grew heavy.

It was quite evident that this downside was deeply undesirable to Rui.

He could forget about immersing himself in long, extensive training sessions.

He could forget about dedicating everything to Project Water.

He could forget fighting a real battle with his life on the line.

He could forget about refining his Martial Art.

In the worst-case scenario, he would start to become like Prince Raijun.

Just the thought of it disgusted him.

He would rather die than let himself fall to such an extent.

He would also have to engage in a lot of boring legislative work. The Emperor was the sole legislative body in the entirety of the Kandrian government. His word was literally law. But that also meant that he needed to manage Kandrian law.

The other princes and princesses had received an education on Kandrian law as a mandatory part of their syllabus to ensure they were qualified to ascend the throne.

He would need to learn the entirety of the Kandrian Constitution.

Of course, this was a trivial feat for his mind. He could do it any time he pleased, but it wasn't the only requirement. Being Emperor was not a simple, unidimensional job. He needed to familiarize himself with the Kandrian Empire to its very core, gaining an intricate understanding of the details and nuances of its economy and history, as well as many mundane details about geography and topography.

He would also need to be briefed on countless necessary, highly confidential classified information and intelligence about Kandria, about foreign powers, and about human civilization in general.

Only upon knowing this could he possibly be ready to be Emperor.

Just the thought of going through all this made him groan.

He was a Martial Artist.

This was the one and only con to becoming Emperor, yet it was enormous and glaring.

"You can't have your cake and eat it, Rui," Julian calmly remarked. "It's either your Martial Path or the path of Emperor unless you think can walk both paths simultaneously through some miracle."

Rui heaved a sigh. "I don't know, Julian. I don't know. It hasn't even been more than a few hours since I spoke to His Majesty."

The air grew heavy once more.

"Well, the cards have been laid," Julian calmly remarked. "Now you need to look into yourself and understand what it is that you truly want out of these circumstances."