TL/ED – Miso
Of course, just because I wanted to et Sharmia didn’t an I was in a position where I could.
I had helped with the matter, but it was strictly business.
With normal thods, my current position was one where I couldn’t even et an imperial scribe, let alone a princess.
“Will it be alright?”
“It’s not that there’s no thod. And…”
I gently patted Linl’s head, who was still sleeping soundly.
She had been sleeping for almost a full week. According to Azrael, she was just repaying the ti she had borrowed, but the truth was I was worried.
“If you could look after her and make sure nothing happens to her, I’d appreciate it.”
“…Understood.”
Dersia stood at the doorway of the mansion, looking at .
There was a trace of hesitation in her gaze. Interpreting it as a lack of trust in , I responded with a light smile.
“I understand that it’s hard to believe. But I truly do have a connection with her. It’s not like she’s soone I can’t talk to, and all I’m doing is going to collect a reward I’ve already been promised.”
“It’s not that I don’t believe you, Jern. I’ve already heard enough about the situation.”
On the way back to the Capital, I had told her everything about the circumstances that led to eting the Princess.
What Dersia was worried about was sothing else entirely.
“It’s just that… your story, there are parts that don’t quite fit with my understanding of common sense.”
“What kind of common sense?”
“Do you know anything about politics?”
“Not really.”
Naturally, the Empire doesn’t have internet news articles.
If you want to know how the Empire operates, you have to read the newspaper. But the dia companies that publish those newspapers are far from free.
Even if soone sohow learns of a noble’s secret through so channel, actually publishing it would be close to suicide.
I’ve heard rumors that there used to be dia outlets crazy enough to do such a thing, but at least right now, not a single one remains. I could guess what kind of disaster they t without even having to see it.
As a result, all newspapers glorify the Empire, and so the average citizen’s perception of politics is singular:
They must be handling things just fine. I’ll just focus on my own life.
I wasn’t much different. I just went a step further: Oh, the Prophet is grinding herself down to keep the Empire running. They’ve got it covered.
When I sumd up that whole sentint into a single sentence, Dersia let out a sigh and gripped the doorknob.
“When I first entered the Empire, as a mber of the Black Magic Tower, I dabbled a little in politics because it was said to be sothing expected of soone in my position.”
“…Ah!”
That’s right.
Co to think of it, Dersia had the surna Aspandil.
She had received a title. Of course, she must have taken part in politics as well.
I beca quite curious about what kind of things Dersia might have done, but she scowled and shook her head.
“I didn’t do anything. I ca to the Empire to learn magic and for the sake of recordkeeping, not to beco a ruler.”
“Then…”
“I just occasionally attended events where, if I skipped out, they’d accuse of treason, those kinds of things, by virtue of my noble status. I never took the initiative on anything.”
Dersia paused for a mont, furrowing her brow.
“…Naturally, I’ve seen the Princess a few tis.”
“I see. What was your first impression of her?”
“A tyrant.”
The answer ca imdiately after the question.
I blinked in confusion and asked again.
“A tyrant…?”
“Yes. And I an it in the most literal sense, a picturesque tyrant who ruled over the weak as a powerful figure, carving her na into history through plunder and exploitation.”
“…??”
I was slightly taken aback.
Of course, I knew there had been things she had hidden during our last encounter, but she didn’t give off the image of a tyrant.
Dersia blinked as if recalling a mory.
“The first ti I saw her, she was just a child, about eleven years old. But her words were so sharp and heavy. When a Count begged her to spare at least his territory’s people, she flatly declared that she couldn’t do that. That left a deep impression.”
“Why did she say she couldn’t?”
“Because by the ti the Count had rushed to the Capital and begged, all the people of his territory had already been executed.”
“…”
“She carried out executions without an ounce of rcy, offered poisoned wine, and collected taxes. For so reason, the Emperor had practically handed over all power to the Princess. She reached a state of absolute authority at the age of eleven.”
“But…. the nobles seem to like Princess Sharmia a lot.”
“There are three reasons. First, she was genuinely competent. Second, all the nobles who disliked her were purged years ago. Lastly, no matter how foolish nobles may be, they’re not stupid enough to slander soone who could cut off their heads at any mont.”
“…”
Just from what I was hearing, there had never been a tyrant like this.
And it seed that wasn’t even the end, Dersia slowly opened her mouth again.
“Of course, all of that had nothing to do with . What I focused on wasn’t her disposition, but her level in magic.”
“What do you an by that?”
“…I happened to see it by chance. At a banquet one day, the Princess picked up a wine glass, and then let it slip from her hand.”
Slowly.
“The Princess looked a bit flustered as she watched the wine glass fall. If it had shattered, the banquet would’ve turned into a ss.”
“Did you stop it?”
“She stopped it herself.”
Dersia spoke with a disturbed tone, as though even she couldn’t believe what she was saying.
“By blinking her eyes.”
“Huh?”
“Before she blinked, she was a 1-Star wizard. And after blinking, the number of stars that rose was three.”
“…?”
“In the ti it took her to blink once, she beca a 3-Star wizard from a 1-Star, mastered Telekinesis, and lifted the wine glass back up. That’s what I an.”
I, was left speechless with my mouth agape.
Even if one were ignorant of magic, it was easy to grasp just how absurd that was.
“No way.”
“Exactly. If I hadn’t seen it myself, I wouldn’t have believed it either.”
Dersia sighed and shook her head.
“Sothing incomprehensible is dangerous. We call engaging with such things an act of foolishness.”
“She’s no ordinary Prophet then.”
“I imagine you’ve probably suspected that to so extent. That’s why, while I’d personally recomnd staying as far away from her as possible…”
Dersia looked down at and trailed off.
“This might just be my selfishness.”
“It is selfish.”
While we were talking, Ciel appeared from behind and pinched the back of Dersia’s neck like a cat.
Dersia didn’t even move, just glanced back slightly in protest.
“Ciel, I’m in the middle of a conversation.”
“Jern-nim. Would it be alright if I offered a little advice from now on?”
Ciel ignored her and looked at with a bright smile.
“What kind of advice?”
“I think you bear a bit of responsibility for this situation, Jern-nim.”
“?”
“?”
Both Dersia and I expressed our confusion at the sa ti.
“Did I do sothing wrong?”
“No. Actually, the problem is that you two get along too well. More precisely, Jern-nim, you’re like a deadly poison to Elves.”
“And what do you an by that?”
“You know how Elves are extrely efficiency-oriented, right? For a race with that kind of personality, your presence is like a high-performance lubricant. Even Dersia-nim has been trying to control her own issues, but because you keep wagging your tail around her, I think she’s been a bit tempted.”
“Hmm… so what do I do about that?”
“If I feel like your conversation is overheating like, starting from let’s invent the wheel and turning into let’s build a wheel-less carriage and launch it into the sky, I’ll step in and apply the brakes. How does that sound?”
Ciel’s words ant that since I also had the nature of stimulating Dersia’s instincts as an Elf, she would step in and intervene when necessary.
“Don’t think too hard about it. All I’m saying is that if Dersia-nim tries to make any strange suggestions to you, I’ll give a light warning. If you both remain firm in your intentions even after the warning, then I won’t say anything further.”
“Not bad.”
It helps knowing there’s a brake. When I nodded, Dersia let out a deep sigh.
“Don’t take it too seriously. Ciel is probably just doing this for her own amusent.”
“There’s no harm in hearing a third-party opinion. Well then, I’ll be going.”
“Please don’t forget what I told you, and be careful. Ah, and if you return, let’s talk about that then.”
“…Yes.”
Dersia held back her words.
But I could imdiately tell what she wanted to say.
[….]
As if it had overheard everything, a Deep Sea Creature swam past , sweeping the area with its gaze.
“Let’s do that, then.”
This seed quite urgent, after all.
*
The thod for eting the Princess was simple.
[Who are you.]
“…Did you hand out this orb to other people as well?”
Because there was still a way to contact her.
I used the communication crystal orb I’d received earlier, and Karos responded.
[…]
She looked at with a slightly sour expression before asking,
[You’re the Fallen boy. What do you want? Was it not enough to drive a stake into Her Highness the Princess’s heart?]
“What kind of slander is that?”
[Do you have any idea how heartbroken Her Highness was after your rejection? She even tried to take her own life.]
“Say sothing that makes sense.”
Over losing a single orphan?
I thought the exaggeration was absurd, but then Karos sighed and continued.
[That’s what I’m saying. So, what do you really want.]
“There’s sothing I didn’t receive the last ti we t. I also wanted to talk for a bit.”
[With Her Highness?]
“Yes.”
A long silence followed.
[Now is… not a good ti. The Princess is currently attending to official duties.]
“I can wait.”
[Should I have been more direct?]
“No. I understand it’s a rejection. I was just trying one more push.”
[…]
For so reason, it was blatantly obvious that this bodyguard, Karos, didn’t like .
So, I prompted her to reject outright.
She was the loyal type, if she rejected that way, she’d report it to the Princess.
It might co off as arrogant, but I was confident.
If Sharmia knew I wanted to see her, she would summon .
Definitely.
[Tch.]
A small tongue click. I lifted the corner of my mouth slightly at the displeasure in it.
Displeasure cos from having to do sothing one doesn’t want to.
[Give your na to the guards.]
“Yup, thank you.”
No reply ca. The other side had cut the connection unilaterally.
I couldn’t understand why soone would hate a cute, small boy like . Thinking that, I made my way to the royal palace.
“Hello, I’m Jern Aspandil.”
“Ah, this way please…”
The guards hurriedly led sowhere the mont they saw .
It was the back gate of the royal palace. Along the way, several guards brought out a blindfold.
“Jern Aspandil-nim. We apologize, but this is a secret passage.”
“Yep. I understand.”
I felt sorry for the guards, but it was aningless.
I had already scanned every wall and hidden passage using current sense, and morized the structure in my head.
I didn’t rember everything down to the last detail, but I could at least tell where the traps were and which path was correct.
I just hoped I wouldn’t need to make use of it later.
“We’ve arrived.”
The guard who brought to the massive door was different from the one who had first escorted .
The guards had changed multiple tis. I had been handed off during the winding, twisting route.
It seed even the guards were only allowed to know limited parts of the palace.
“Should I knock?”
“Uh, I’m only assigned up to here. I’ll be waiting in the back.”
The guard panicked and ran off.
Hm.
Most likely, Sharmia is behind this door.
It seed the word “tyrant” wasn’t entirely unfounded after all.
Knock knock knock.
Whatever the case, I had to do what I ca to do, so I knocked.
“Co in.”
I heard Sharmia’s slightly low voice.
“Excuse .”
As soon as I opened the door and stepped in, I was startled.
The room, as large as a soccer field, was utterly desolate. A desk in the center, and on that desk, a mountain of docunts.
Buried in them, writing swiftly, stamping, reviewing, with a weary expression, was Sharmia, wearing glasses. And yet, her beauty, utterly untouched by fatigue, no longer seed of this world.
Without even looking in my direction, she murmured,
“Tea… or maybe food… whatever it is, just leave it and go.”
Her voice was calm. As I walked up to the desk, I saw a twelve-dish al set on top, completely untouched.
I pulled out one of the piles of docunts and took a look.
Administrative processing that was lighter than I thought. I frowned.
She’s doing all this alone? There’s no reason for that. A Princess, royalty, shouldn’t be handling such matters. It’s the kind of work that could easily be delegated to a noble.
As I flipped through a few more, I was shocked by another realization.
There was no classification at all.
She was just randomly picking tasks from the pile, handling them, then moving on to sothing completely unrelated.
It was an astonishing amount of work, no doubt about that. But at the sa ti, it was unbelievably inefficient.
I let out a sigh and picked up so docunts.
“…?”
Only then did Sharmia seem to notice sothing was off. She looked my way.
Blinking, rubbing her eyes, and muttering to herself,
“Am I dreaming…?”
“This is reality.”
“Eh? Eh, Ehh…??”
“I don’t intend to interrupt. This is about a land dispute. It overlaps with another administrative docunt here. If you check them together, it should go a bit more smoothly.”
“…Huh? Ah, yes. You’re right.”
“Please pretend I’m not here and continue your work.”
There wasn’t much I could help with. I knew nothing about how the Empire ran, or the kind of structure it operated under.
Still, I could at least sort the docunts by category.
While the Princess worked, I organized similar policy matters so that she could handle them more efficiently.
Even so, Sharmia worked for hours on end. She glanced at occasionally, but it was clear these tasks weren’t under urgent ti constraints. It looked like she simply wanted to finish what needed doing before turning her attention to anything else.
“…Ugh, uwaaah…”
Only as the sun stretched into evening did the related work finally end.
Stretching her arms with a big yawn, Sharmia finally looked at and mumbled like soone in a trance.
“B-but… is this really not a dream? If I did all this work in a dream, I’d be so mad I could die.”
“It’s not. I ca because I wanted to talk.”
“…It is real? Then, what brings you here all of a sudden??”
Watching her with that vacant expression, Dersia’s warning kept trying to scatter from my mind.
A tyrant? This is the tyrant? That’s all I could think.
I forced myself to stay focused and cleared my throat.
“I apologize for coming unannounced. Sothing happened recently, and about what I ntioned last ti…”
“-Ah!”
Sharmia lunged at .
More precisely, she stretched herself across the desk and grabbed my hand with sparkling eyes.
There was even a touch of madness in her expression, it was a bit scary.
“Have you changed your mind? Are you saying you’ll let use you now?”
“…No. That’s not it. It’s about my birth.”
“…Ah.”
Sharmia, who cald down slightly, pulled her hands back with an awkward face.
“A-ahaha… sorry. Now that I think about it, there was a bit of a situation last ti, so I couldn’t tell you.”
“There’s no need to apologize. I just ca hoping I could hear more about that, if possible.”
“Of course! And now that I think of it, I completely forgot to ntion the reward, it’s totally my fault. Ah, but this isn’t the ti for that.”
She clapped her hands together as if sothing had co to mind and stood up from her seat.
“I’ve been so rude to a guest who ca to visit. Not only did I fail to serve you, but I made you work.”
“It’s my fault for visiting while you were working. I only ant to help, so I hope I wasn’t a burden.”
“No, no, no! You were a huge help. It’s been so long since I finished work while the sun was still out, I can’t even rember the last ti! Have you done this kind of work before?”
“A little.”
“I knew it! This might take a bit, so I’ll go bring so tea!”
“No, I can-”
“Ah ah! Making a guest prepare tea? Please don’t make into a shaless wretch with no sense of propriety! I’ll be right back, so please just have a seat and wait!”
At this point, it was hard to tell who the royalty really was.
After the adorably scolding Sharmia left the room, I tried to settle my dazed head.
Her unwavering pace made it feel foolish for to be the serious one.
“…”
While waiting for the Princess, my eyes wandered to the pile of docunts she had processed.
I had sorted them, yes, but I didn’t know what judgnts she had made or how she’d handled them. Suddenly curious, I picked one up.
[Territory Lockdown Order Related to Epidemic Spread Prevention asures]
As I flipped through the dozens of pages under that heading, I tilted my head in confusion.
All of the response forms ant for outlining the follow-up actions were completely blank.
But Sharmia had clearly handled this docunt.
…Then what was going on?
Puzzled, I flipped back to the very first page, and finally understood why.
The response had been written.
It was just so simple that there was no need to fill out the rest with unnecessary details.
[After lockdown, execute all.]
“…Hmm.”
I stared at the docunt for a while.
Because I now had a rough idea of how to continue this conversation with this tyrant.
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