Above Your Head

Chapter 107: Wedding Ceremony (5)

Terraforming was a globalization process, which was also known as planetary modification. It was a procedure that converted the environment of planets, satellites and other celestial bodies to share great similarities to Earth—atmosphere, temperature, and ecosystem.

In the case of the Stage III Civilization, it was common for them to use Terraforming in a skillful manner. Although they were capable of moving out of their own planet to other stars and galaxies, there was a huge difference in the level of difficulty and time required. It was dependent on the various conditions of the respective planets, such as the presence of water and energy sources, how suitable the environment was for the synthesis of complex organic matter, and whatnot. However, the process could be done as long as it was necessary, so…

It was also possible to come to places like this for a honeymoon. I muttered to myself, "I can't believe we're on Mercury."

"It is a vacation spot for the sole use of the VIPs. Currently, you and I are the only guests on this planet. However, its general popularity helps it maintain around 1,000 passengers on a regular basis."

"...How is 1,000 people a lot? No matter how small Mercury is, it is still a planet."

"I just said that only VIPs can use it, right? This is a difficult place for the average person to stay for a day, even if the average person saved up all their lives. It is already an amazing feat that 1,000 passengers could be maintained on a regular basis." Leaning against the railing, Celestia explained in a tired voice.

From beside her, I stared down at the emerald sea with an aloof expression. The wedding was finally over, and…it was a clutter of mess that would never happen in my life again. The people had continued to cheer loudly, while unfamiliar nobles gathered and pledged allegiance to me without being asked to. After they had been dragged away, I boarded the Giant Carrier, Innocent, and circled Earth-13 twice. The whole process seemingly took a whole 10 hours.

"Well, it's certainly...great," I murmured and stared at the sea that stretched far and wide. The mansion we were currently staying in was located on Sky Island, so we were about hundreds of meters away from the sea.

After watching the sea for a while, I got up from my seat and climbed up the railing. It was a precarious position, but Celestia did not seem to care at all. Thudd! I lightly kicked the railing and jumped down. I began to fall towards the distant sea.

Shoooosshhh--- I was falling down slowly. It was too stable to call it a fall, since it was neither too slow nor too fast. It was a speed that could match the gentle descent of someone floating down on a parachute. Splash! I swam around in the sea. The cold sensation spread throughout my entire body, causing me to become wide awake.

It was not comparable to all the superhumans I had met after coming out to the Great Universe, but...I felt that my body was improving recently. I wasn't exactly working out, but I was getting more muscular and my physical strength as well as stamina were increasing. It wasn't beyond the realms of a human, but at the very least, it was approaching the limit of a human. I tried to do the bench press that was in this villa, and focusing allowed me to even lift 300 kilograms. The world record for bench press was 460 kilograms, so it obviously easily surpassed my current level. However, it wasn't as if I grew bigger in size, so this was actually a huge change. "But, in other words, this is about the limit."

My heart was imbued with the essence of Napoleon's Iron Heart, and my soul was strengthened by repeatedly awakening my Godly bloodline. It was strengthened to the point that even transcendents wouldn't dare to look into it, but…my body was still only that of a human.

Of course, I tried to learn superpowers several times. Originally, superpowers was a form of study that took a long time, requiring a lifetime of training to properly obtain. However, there was a colossal amount of soul energy contained within me. I thought that as long as I got the knack of handling it, I would be able to display a much stronger power than a decent high-rank ability user. Unfortunately, it was impossible.

I was able to handle Mana, but I wasn't able to learn any superpowers that utilized it in real practice. I wasn't able to awaken magic power, inner Qi, life energy or Chakra. Ultimately, I wasn't able to get rid of the Mortal state with my own strength.

'It feels as if I am forced to be in a human state,' I sighed quietly. This was a serious issue. Unlike my mind, which was immune to all sorts of interference, attacks, and was no different from having an absolute defense, my body remained weak enough for me to die from a single bullet wound. If it wasn't for the promise with Hawa that protected my life, a proper wedding might have been impossible because of the fear of snipers.

Pushakkk! As I swam for a while and reached a point, the surging current that reached the sky swirled around me. I flew upwards. It was initially a frightening phenomenon, but I was quite familiar with it now. So, I skillfully rode the current and flew all the way up to the Sky Island.

Thud. I jumped onto the railing where I had first jumped off from like it was magic. Behind me, the current that soared up into the sky simply turned and gushed back down to the sea. I commented softly, "This gravity waterfall is pretty fun."

"It's one of the famous attractions of Mercury. However, it's a product that wastes a huge amount of energy," Celestia casually said.

The name Mercury[1] may give off the vibe of an ocean-filled planet, but it had no natural ocean. The atmospheric conditions were actually the most similar to the sun, so its environment was unsuitable for an ocean to exist. Furthermore, the distance between Mercury and the sun exposed the planet to an intense heat. It was a place where extreme climate conditions dominated, where the temperature would drop down to minus 170 degrees at night before rising to over 400 degrees during the day.

However, the Leonhardt Empire that had reached the Stage III Civilization created an atmosphere of special properties. It absorbed all the heat of the blazing sunlight that shone upon Mercury and converted it into energy. This system was then used throughout Mercury before they made a beautiful sea that matched the name of Mercury. They also made a Sky Island that floated up in the sky. This was the dazzling accomplishment of the First Emperor of the Leonhardt Empire.

"The First Emperor His Majesty said that he loved the scenery of Mercury, so this was where he stayed when he was dying from the curse of the Gods."

"...It was here? It wasn't on Earth?"

"Yeah. Actually, the building we're currently staying in was the villa of the First Emperor."

Upon hearing Celestia's words, I quickly looked back at the huge mansion we were staying in. I was no longer surprised that this was much bigger in size than the other Sky Islands, and how the building was luxurious-looking too. It must be because this was the place where the First Emperor stayed. "It's a building he must have personally cared about. It's pretty nice."

Celestia was silent, not responding to my carefree words. Her sluggish expression hardened like a plaster cast. "As expected, are you...going to be Emperor?"

I was then reminded of the wedding ceremony, and how Ra had reacted to me. He became a crown on top of my head. That was the exact moment everything changed, where the mere wedding ceremony for one of the Imperial Princesses became the coronation ceremony of a new Emperor. I heard that the attendance of three of the Four Dukes at a wedding ceremony of a royal held huge political significance. However, the great impact that the Crown of the Sun had was enough to erase all the unprecedented actions of the Dukes from the minds of the people.

"What will happen if I do not become the Emperor?"

"...It'll probably be a mess. The dukes, the nobles and, most importantly, the citizens will not accept it. The news of the new Emperor's appearance has already put the entire Leonhardt Empire in a festive mood."

The term Empire referred to a nation ruled by an Emperor, while the term Emperor referred to the sovereign of an Empire. In other words, the title Empire-class itself hinted at a hidden desire for the Emperor-class. This meant the people thought that a proper Empire should also have a powerful Emperor-class being.

In fact, the fundamental reason for the planned rebellion that was supposed to take place was also to normalize the Imperial system, which was based on the existence of an Emperor-class. It meant that they would obey an existence like this First Leondhardt Emperor, or utterly refuse to continue adapting to this system.

'Though it's a much more advanced world, the fundamental principles are the same after all.' Ultimately, I let out a scoff at the conclusion that power was unchanging.

However, it might have been inevitable. Even if two countries had the same Empire-class forces, the difference in the countries' status would differ. A country with a proper Emperor was like heaven, while a country that didn't was like earth. For example, if the First Leonhardt Empire was alive, the Tekea Federation — the Empire of the demi-humans — would not dare to start a fight. The current battle between them and the Leonhardt Empire would not be happening.

"That's realistic."

"It's reasonable. You even...ended up personally wearing the Crown of the Sun, which only the First Emperor could. Since there was perfect justification, there are people who are already calling you the Emperor."

It seemed that the three Dukes had tried to crown me with their own power, but it was all useless now. Since Ra had appeared before me, I had the justification to sit on the throne by simply declaring 'I will be the Emperor'. I thought for a while and asked, "But what if I were to die at this timing?"

"... Are you going to die?"

"No, I mean, if I pretended to be dead."

Celestia had a baffled expression upon hearing my words. She said, "Of course, you have a body that could die, but...the people assumed that you are an Emperor-class. Do you think the people would accept that an existence of the Emperor-class, which is rare in the universe, just suddenly appeared only to die off like that? They would most probably start an investigation."

Her reasoning made complete sense, but I shook my head and said, "They will come to accept it." Honestly, I did not want to do so, but... I felt the need to use the countermeasures that I had prepared while I was in the opened door state. "Because I will die in the hands of a terrifying enemy that no one would be able to stop."

1. In Korean and also Chinese, Mercury is 수성/水星, and the direct translation of that is actually Water Planet.