The next day.
We set out for the Dronoar territory.
But before that, there was sothing I needed to take care of.
“Everyone, finish packing. Make sure the horses are well fed.”
“Where are you off to?”
“Thought I’d go see the emperor’s face for a bit.”
Xenia replied in disbelief.
“My understanding of the world may be shattered a little more each day since joining this party, but still—talking about going to see the emperor like you’re just dropping by the neighbour’s”
“He’ll grant an urgent audience. My na’s worth that much.”
“And what are you going to say to him?”
I answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“Settle things.”
“……”
“We did get Serein’s parents out safely, but that doesn’t an the emperor stopped seeing as a thorn in his side.”
“That’s true.”
“But I’ll be too busy from now on hunting the Demon King to deal with this political nonsense. So I’m going to tell him to back off, once and for all.”
Neril tilted her head.
“You think he’ll just say ‘Understood’ because you asked nicely? Maybe in the mont, but…”
“I plan to add a bit of killing intent and so light threats.”
“Now that sounds good.”
She gave a faint smile and nodded.
“Be sure to curse him out on my behalf too.”
“…Sure.”
And so, I separated from the group for a short while.
Just as I expected, my fa which now echoed across the continent was enough to get a sudden private audience with the emperor.
He invited to his beloved garden.
Standing before a magical fountain that flowed year-round, the emperor spoke.
“So, what business did you have with ?”
“You t privately with my companion, Serein, didn’t you?”
Twitch.
The emperor’s facial muscles flinched.
I calmly continued.
“And you ordered her to assassinate .”
“…I’ve no idea what you’re talking about.”
“I know everything. Including the fact that Your Majesty used her parents as hostages. And…”
I smiled coldly.
“Also that you ‘stored’ them under the imperial palace.”
“Kh!”
The emperor could no longer keep his composure.
He took a step back, sweat forming on his brow.
“Even if you heard about the assassination from Serein, how did you know they were hidden in the underground vault?”
“I didn’t just know. I rescued them safely.”
“W-what? That’s impossible! You can’t enter the archive without royal permission!”
“The world doesn’t always run on rules and regulations. There are shortcuts and side paths too. I’m sure Your Majesty understands that better than most.”
The emperor shook his head, eyes filled with doubt.
“Impossible. That’s absolutely impossible.”
“Shouldn’t you be asking sothing else right now?”
“I just asked! How did you know they were there?!”
“No. That’s not what Your Majesty should be asking .”
I let a bit of killing intent leak out.
Clink. Clink.
Despite us being alone, I heard the sound of weapons being drawn all around the garden.
I already knew, of course, so I kept speaking without flinching.
“Can you forgive ?”
“What?”
“You should have asked, ‘Can you forgive ?’”
The emperor’s face twisted in fury.
“Y-you wretch… You may be called a Hero, but have you lost all sense of fear?!”
“First, tell your n to stand down. From the look of it, they’re not from Alkahad or the Holy Knights of Light.”
“Grr…”
“I assu these are Your Majesty’s personal guards, unknown even to the Empire. In other words, I can kill them and there’d be no consequences.”
Not that I planned to kill them.
The emperor scoffed.
“They are elite warriors raised by the royal family over generations. Trained in the shadows solely to protect the emperor.”
“I see.”
“How many do you think are hidden in this garden right now? There are forty! Not even a Hero could take them all on.”
“There are forty-two.”
At my words, the emperor flinched.
I shrugged and added,
“Forty-two, Your Majesty. If you can’t even keep track of how many elite guards you have protecting you…”
“W-what… How do you know that?”
“Just counting the breaths.”
“You… What are you?”
“You said not even a Hero could beat them? Which Hero are you referring to? The ones of the past?”
I placed my hand lightly on my sword.
“Did it not occur to you that I might be stronger than them?”
“Rrgh—attack!”
The emperor raised his hand.
But my sword was already out of its sheath.
‘Ridiculously Intense Slashing’
A massive storm suddenly swept through the garden.
A storm of blades.
It had been a while since I used Ridiculously Intense Slashing, and even I was surprised by how strong it was.
I hit targets I normally wouldn’t reach.
Didn’t miss a single one I normally might have.
What would have only covered half the garden now filled it completely.
‘Tch. I need to dial it down a bit.’
At this rate, soone might actually die.
[Why the hell are you so strong now?]
‘Quiet. I’m focusing.’
[Hmm… Oh right, you said you started seeing the blood-scripts of the dead last ti.]
‘Be quiet. I said I’m focusing.’
Trail finally shut up.
By then, the storm of blades had begun to die down.
A brief silence followed.
Then ca the roaring screams.
“Aaargh!”
“M-my arm! My arm!”
“Cough! What the hell just happened?”
“I couldn’t even see it! I don’t even know what hit !”
“That’s the Hero…?”
Blood sprayed everywhere.
Thankfully, I’d loosened my grip midway, so no one was killed.
Oddly enough, even the fine control over my sword’s trajectory had improved, enough to leave them in a perfect state of ‘no longer combat-capable.’
Click.
Whoosh.
I sheathed my sword, and a breeze blew.
Blood from his elite guards stained the emperor’s face.
I took a handkerchief from my coat and held it out.
“Will you use this?”
“……”
“Your Majesty?”
Thud.
The emperor collapsed powerlessly to the ground.
I clicked my tongue lightly and opened my mouth.
“It’s alright. No one’s dead.”
“This… this makes no sense. It can’t be…”
“There should be plenty of excellent priests stationed in the Imperial Palace. With their help, they’ll be able to recover in about a week.”
“This… This is what a Hero is? Soone utterly beyond my reach…”
I listened carefully to his final murmur.
‘As I thought.’
I’d suspected it from the beginning.
[What did you suspect?]
‘The emperor tried to have and Kaeld assassinated. And the reason was…’
[Because it was before the divine oracle ca down?]
‘Exactly. He said that anyone claiming to be a Hero before the oracle is a fraud. That’s what royals are taught, supposedly.’
But that can’t be the whole truth.
Sure, in the past, plenty of fools had claid to be Heroes. But there’s a decisive difference between them and :
They never gained fa.
At best, they made small waves in a minor territory or two, then were exposed as frauds by the Holy Knights of Light or Alkahad. That was it.
So what was the difference?
‘They never consider the happiness of the greatest number of people.’
[Hmm.]
‘Which ans they couldn’t gain widespread fa, nor be welcod passionately by the people like I have.’
Given that difference, it makes no sense that the emperor would truly believe I’m a fraud.
So what, then?
I bent down and squatted in front of the emperor.
And in a low voice, I spoke.
“Your Majesty… you wanted to beco the Hero yourself, didn’t you?”
The emperor flinched.
He trembled like a pitiful child.
I continued.
“That’s why you tried to have Serein assassinate —and Kaeld.”
“……”
“In truth, I believe you already knew. That I’m the real Hero. And that the Demon King will descend soon.”
“Ghh…”
“You’re a descendant of Grade, and soone who has studied Heroes more than anyone. Surely you also know how important fa is to a Hero.”
Now, the emperor’s face had gone pale and shadowed.
I let out a soft breath.
Then, as if channeling the emperor himself, I spoke in his stead, giving voice to his thoughts.
“When the Demon King appears, the oracle will descend. It will co to either Mide or Kaeld.”
“……”
“But what if they die? Then who will the oracle choose? Wouldn’t it go to the one with the greatest fa at that mont?”
“……”
“Excluding Mide and Kaeld, who has the most fa on the continent? It’s … That’s what you thought, isn’t it?”
The emperor now looked like he’d aged a decade.
The once-disciplined muscles built through training had withered away.
Wrinkles covered his face.
Had he always looked like this?
Yes, he had.
The only thing that had changed—
Was the extinguishing of that burning desire to beco the Hero.
The emperor spoke.
“…Yes. You’re right. All of it.”
“……”
“When you and Kaeld both rose to fa as Heroes, I realized. Even though the oracle hadn’t co yet, one of you had to be the real Hero.”
“……”
“And that from now on, I would no longer be the most renowned person in this Empire…”
A glint of resentnt surfaced in his eyes.
“Why? Why in my reign? why did soone greater than appear? Not even one, but two!” The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the NoveI★Fire
“Your Majesty—”
“For 250 years since the last Demon King, every emperor of the Empire has been the highest authority under heaven! So why, in my reign—why must the Hero appear now? Why must the Demon King descend now?!”
“……”
“If this was how it would turn out, then why did I even—Ugh.”
I slowly leaned in and whispered into his ear.
“So that’s how it is… Well, if this was how it would end, why go through all the trouble of poisoning your predecessor?”
“Gasp.”
“I know everything. You used a poison so subtle that even the forr emperor didn’t know what killed him. That’s why, when Mrs. Mariana summoned his soul, he testified that it was an illness.”
“Y-you… What are you?”
The emperor now looked like he might wet himself if I left him alone.
I kept talking.
“Still, I whispered so your n wouldn’t hear. Please consider that my final courtesy.”
“……”
“Your Majesty.”
I pulled away from him.
And this ti, I raised my voice.
“As you just saw, I’m strong. Too strong.”
“……”
“And I can uncover all your sins, your conspiracies—everything.”
“Ghghgh…”
“So stop doing foolish things. Just support so I can do my job like the emperors of the past did during the Demon King’s rise.”
The emperor’s head drooped.
He replied in a rough voice.
“Very well. I will do so.”
“……”
“I now understand. I accept it. That there is a sky above the sky and a Hero above the emperor.”
I let out a small sigh.
Then softened my tone.
“However, allow to make one promise.”
“What is it?”
“After I slay the Demon King, I plan to retire quietly in the countryside.”
“…What? Did I hear that correctly?”
“I believe you did.”
“You’re going to retire? After slaying the Demon King, you won’t seize the throne with all the fa you’ll gain?”
“Haha.”
I chuckled without aning to.
“That’s what you were worried about?”
“W-well, I an…”
“In the records, didn’t Lady Lepia do sothing similar? She went back to her holand, the Raynus territory, and took over the family restaurant, didn’t she?”
“She was an outlier. The 3rd and 4th Heroes caused even more chaos after defeating the Demon King. Don’t even get started on Grade, the First Hero.”
True, Grade even used his fa to beco emperor himself.
I could see why this emperor was so worried.
I shrugged.
“I suppose I’m just more like Lady Lepia.”
“……”
“And since there’s already a precedent for that, it’s not completely impossible, is it? So please, don’t stand in my way from now on.”
“A-all right. I won’t.”
I nodded and stood up.
Then looked over at the groaning, collapsed guards.
“See to their treatnt quickly. Leaving them like that for too long will be dangerous.”
“Y-yes…”
“Well then, I’ll be on my way.”
“Where to now?”
“Pardon? What do you an?”
I gave a small grin.
“To the Dronoar territory, of course.”
“……”
“I need to complete the quest Your Majesty gave , don’t I?”
He wore an expression beyond description as he bowed his head deeply.
I turned away and began to walk off.
Just then, I heard a faint murmur from the emperor behind .
“…I have lost. In every way.”
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