Princess Karina Di Polia

The next day.

By then, the news that a princess had been born the day before had already spread across the entire kingdom. All sorts of media outlets were talking about it, and in truth, there was nothing bad that could really be said about such news.

“A new life is born into the royal family!”

“It is said that a princess has been born, and that His Majesty the King was greatly delighted by this.”

“Blessings upon the Polia Kingdom, and congratulations on the birth of the princess!”

“At last, the royal line of the Polia Kingdom has been newly continued.”

“It is said that His Majesty the King will hold a festival for one week. The dates will be from December 3rd to 9th, and it will be a festive period in which anyone may eat and drink to their heart’s content.”

“Countries from all around the world send congratulatory messages for the newborn princess. In particular, Emperor Jedic of the Magnia Empire declared that he would present a great gift for the birth of the princess, who would be his niece.”

Many people were offering words of congratulations for the princess’s birth. Of course, hidden among such words were also thoughts of why it had to be a princess rather than a prince. But no one dared to say such things out loud.

Unless the king himself disliked it, that was. But with word already spreading that even during work he kept going to see the queen and the princess at her side, who would dare? This country was an absolute monarchy in which the king ruled over everything. And it could be said there was not a single bold noble who would dare to offend such a king’s temper.

At the very least, agents of Mauter, which had been elevated into the Intelligence Bureau, were stationed everywhere with their eyes peeled, so it could be said that no one spoke ill of the princess. In such a situation, Ian, who had gained a daughter, was in the queen’s residence again today, just as he had been yesterday.

At present, his daughter was in his arms. He was gently swaying his body here and there while holding her preciously, and though he might have looked restless, no one who saw that sight said anything about it. Meanwhile, seeing the way she blankly stared up at him, Ian smiled broadly and spoke.

“Hello, I am your father.”

“Your Majesty, if you keep holding her like that, your arms will start to hurt.”

“It is fine. Just thinking that I am holding my daughter makes me feel no hardship at all. Hahaha.”

A smile settled at the corners of Adrina’s lips as well at the sight of him speaking with a laugh. Was he truly that happy? The fact that his words from yesterday were not mere empty talk was made clear by the way he had already come five times today alone just to see his daughter, and that naturally made her feel good as well.

“She does not cry when she sees me, so that means she recognizes her father, does it not?”

“I heard that babies cannot see properly when they are first born. She is probably seeing things only vaguely right now.”

“Is that so? Even so, I feel like she keeps looking at me.”

“That must mean she likes Your Majesty that much. She cried several times today as well, but whenever she went into Your Majesty’s arms, she stopped crying.”

“Hahaha, does that not mean she recognizes her father right away?”

Joy and worry both existed in Ian’s heart as he spoke with a laugh. Inwardly, he found himself wondering whether Psychic Power might manifest in his daughter. Basically, among the children of psychics, it could be said that a high proportion were born possessing Psychic Power themselves.

Of course, he himself had manifested it because he had reincarnated, so it was possible that his daughter would not manifest Psychic Power. But he could not help recalling a certain professor’s theory about Psychic Power that he had read in the past. There had definitely been a theory that abilities related to Psychic Power were tied not to the body, but more to the soul.

‘There is a high possibility that Psychic Power will manifest in her.’

Just as he could use Psychic Power, there was a strong possibility that his daughter could as well. He had conducted many investigations all this time, but in this world, nothing at all had come up regarding abilities connected to Psychic Power. That meant that only he, as a special soul, could use Psychic Power.

‘Since it originated from me, there is a high chance that my daughter’s soul is also special in relation to Psychic Power.’

If she were to awaken Psychic Power, then what kind of ability would she manifest? Usually, children possessed abilities similar to their parents’, but on rare occasions, completely unexpected abilities manifested instead. What mattered was how the people around her would react when such an ability manifested.

‘If she were to gain something like telekinesis, all sorts of objects would start flying around, and everyone would be shocked.’

Of course, one could say they simply had to be strict about keeping people quiet, but his mother and younger sister, as well as Adrina standing right in front of him, would be greatly startled all the same. And there would be no way to explain it. In the first place, in order to explain that, he would have to reveal the Psychic Power that he possessed.

‘My ability must remain completely secret.’

Of course, now that he had become king, one could ask what the problem was. But it was always better for the sake of the future to keep one’s abilities hidden. Problems could arise suddenly anywhere, at any time, and those hidden abilities could provide a clue to resolving them.

‘Still, that is a story for a far-off future.’

In the first place, awakenings generally only manifested after one had grown to a certain age. In truth, the only reason he had been able to train his ability from the moment he was just born was because he had the privilege of reincarnation. Who else could possibly train from infancy? Only he, who had reincarnated, could do such a thing.

‘That is why I had already regained the power of my previous life from childhood.’

“Your Majesty?”

“Ah, forgive me. Looking at my daughter made me think about how, when she grows older, how could I ever send her to someone else?”

“You are already worrying about that?”

“Any father would probably think such things.”

“There is no way that is true. It is because you are who you are, Your Majesty, that you think that way. Everyone else just sees them as tools for political strategy.”

Adrina’s words were sincere. Having lived as an imperial princess, she knew how much the man called her father had thought of and regarded her as a political tool. She knew that, if he had not died like that, it would not have been her brother Jedic, but her father, who would have tried to sell her off to someone.

“A political tool, you say? I will never regard my daughter as something to be used for that sort of thing.”

“I know. Whenever I see Princess Charlotte, I can clearly tell that Your Majesty has no heart for political marriages.”

That was why she found it all the more fortunate. A man like him would never send his daughter off to just anyone. Of course, the very fact that she was thinking such things was rather ridiculous. After all, they were already having a conversation like this about a daughter who had only been born yesterday. It felt far too early.

“More than that, are we not talking too much about the future? Our daughter was born yesterday.”

“Ahem, that is true. In any case, I hope that at least our daughter will grow up well without a single worry.”

“She will. We are going to make sure of that.”

“Of course.”

Unlike himself, he intended for his daughter at least to grow up peacefully, without any worries at all. Thinking that, it suddenly occurred to him that they still had not decided on her name. Originally, they should have chosen it yesterday, but he had been so happy that time had passed in a blur and before he knew it, it had become the next day.

Come to think of it, he too had heard that the man called his father had come to him the moment he was born and given him his name. “Ian.” It was a name he liked now, but somehow it also felt like a name that had been chosen rather casually. So unlike himself, he wondered whether there might be a pretty and lovely name for her.

Just then, perhaps because Adrina had been thinking the same thing, she asked him about their daughter’s name.

“Come to think of it, we still have not decided our daughter’s name. We cannot keep calling her ‘daughter,’ so would you decide it?”

“Hmm, that is something I have also been pondering. I want to give her a name that is pretty and lovely…”

Ian’s appearance as he agonized over his daughter’s name was unexpectedly serious. Seeing this, Adrina watched him with inwardly expectant eyes. Receiving such a gaze, Ian could not help but feel pressured. What kind of name would be good?

Quite a number of names came to mind. Amanda? Sabrina? Irene? Lily? Catherine? Karina? Violet? Those kinds of names occurred to him, and among them, for some reason, two names in particular seemed to linger in his mind.

Karina and Violet. Those two names remained stuck in his mind for some reason. Naturally, that left him with much to think about. Since it was the name his daughter would perhaps carry for her entire life, he could not help but be cautious. Seeing his troubled expression, Adrina asked with curiosity.

“Is there no name that you like?”

“No, there are names that I like.”

“May I ask what those names are?”

“I think it would certainly be good to tell you as well. She is your daughter too, so I cannot be the only one thinking about it. For now, I had Karina and Violet in mind.”

“Wow, both names are really beautiful.”

“I am glad you think so. More than that, which one do you think is better?”

“Now that I hear those names, I am having a hard time choosing too. Karina and Violet… Karina somehow feels like a lively sort of name, while Violet somehow feels like a calm sort of name.”

“Does it not feel like she would grow up according to the name somehow?”

“It does. That is why it really feels hard to decide.”

At Adrina’s words, Ian looked at the daughter still resting in his arms. Sure enough, as if proving that she was his daughter, she had red hair. Thinking of that hair color, he felt that Karina might suit her a little better. Even so, he liked Violet as well.

“Ugh, I did not know choosing a name would be this difficult.”

“That is so true. What kind of name would really be best?”

The two of them could only continue agonizing. In the midst of that, perhaps because she was starting to get tired of staying still, their daughter began wriggling a little, and before long they laid her down beside her mother, Adrina. Even then, Ian could only keep stroking his chin in thought.

“Hmm… Karina… Violet…”

“It really is hard to decide. Is there no name that speaks to your heart?”

“I do feel something little by little, but I keep thinking the other name would be a waste.”

“If one feels right to you, then go with that one.”

“Hmm… what about Karina?”

“Karina. It certainly does sound like the name of someone who will grow up lively and bright.”

“So you think so as well?”

The name Violet still lingered in his mind a little, but the feeling that Karina somehow suited her kept growing stronger. In the end, he made his decision. The name would be Karina. From now on, his daughter would be called Karina di Polia.

“Karina di Polia. That is this child’s name.”

“My child. Your name is Karina now. Grow up bright and cheerful from here on.”

Adrina’s expression, as she cradled their daughter and before she knew it kissed her on the forehead, was full of happiness. Seeing that, Ian, unwilling to lose, kissed both Adrina and Karina on the forehead as well. In that way, we spent a happy second day facing our daughter.

The next day, the name Karina di Polia became widely known. Only then did people begin to call the newly born princess Princess Karina.

World Era 1917, December 8.

Sea of Abundance, near Ruin Island.

Boom! Boom-boom! Boom-boom-boom! Boom! Boom-boom!

The shells fired from the naval guns of no fewer than five battleships and around twenty cruisers were violently pounding the body of the Kraken, which had risen above the surface of the sea. In response to this situation, the Kraken was struggling wildly.

Its skin, as tough as armor, was being shattered, and blood was splattering in every direction. The destructive power of the triple-mounted naval guns on each warship was enough to break through even the Kraken’s hide in a single blow.

Kwoooaargh-!

The creature let out a scream full of pain and tried to hurry back into the sea, but at that moment, it could only be exposed to the attack of countless torpedoes cutting through the water toward its body. KABOOM! BOOM! BOOM-BOOM! BOOM! Along with explosions rumbling loudly through the sea, the Kraken had no choice but to let out even more agonized cries.

It was a creature that had roamed around this area all this time, tormenting the navy of the Magnia Empire, but this was the inevitable result. No matter how it threw boulders and sank submarines, humans were beings that advanced without ceasing.

Sonar had already been developed more than ten years earlier, and improvements on such equipment had continued all this time. Then, when the news spread that submarines had fallen victim to the Kraken, the military had hurriedly begun modifying warships and searching for the Kraken using sonar.

Submarines were always deployed around the warships, and in the midst of that, they would detect the Kraken through sonar. Naturally, it had been badly struck several times during that period, and only today, after being lured into this trap, was it being properly attacked and meeting its death.

“The Kraken has gone silent! It seems to be dead!”

“So, we have finally killed that Kraken bastard.”

The admiral of the Magnia Empire held a short pipe in his mouth and exhaled smoke. Refreshment filled his gaze. There had been far too many submarines that had suffered because of that thing. In truth, the early models had lacked sonar, which was also why they had been especially easy prey.

What was unfortunate was that many of the people needed to operate submarines had died. Submarines could always be newly built as better, newer models, but people were not so replaceable.

“From now on, every submarine that comes out must be equipped with sonar.”

“That is true, sir. There is no telling when another creature like the Kraken might appear.”

“Do you think something even worse than the Kraken will appear?”

“Of course. It has already been proven that the Kraken is not merely a creature from legend, so I think there is no telling when some new marine monster might appear again.”

“I feel the same way. A new marine monster could appear at any time.”

“More than that, it is truly frustrating that there is nothing we can do about those people called ‘Promance.’”

At those words, the admiral frowned and nodded as if in agreement. The Empire was at war with the ones who had identified themselves as Promance. Yet there was nothing the navy could do. Those people were situated in the center of the Colonial Continent, and because there was no sea there, the might of their powerful navy could not be used.

“The latest news says that the army is still having a hard time.”

“With only one road into the mountain range, of course they would struggle. For the time being, the air force bastards will be the only means of attack.”

“I heard it is not easy to enter the mountain range.”

“That does not mean it is completely impossible, does it? In the end, the might of our Empire will be brought to bear.”

Though dangerous, the air force was the only proper means of attack. The number of aircraft they could deploy would no doubt continue to increase in the future. The war was still in its early stages for now, but in the end, those numbers would grow exponentially going forward.

Given the Empire’s industrial power, even after just half a year they would likely be able to produce a tremendous number of them. And once that happened, countless aircraft of the Magnia Empire would fill their skies and carry out bombings.

“More than that, I wonder how much longer this exploration is going to continue.”

As he said that, the admiral’s gaze had already turned toward the volcanic island far in the distance. The exploration there had been going on for quite a long time.