37 – The Seed of Hope, Obtained Reward
MacDerris watched the man with a calm expression, even though he wished for his own death. He kicked the man’s abdomen and spoke.
“Do not use me as a tool for your suicide. Take up your sword.”
Bryphen nodded and took up his sword. He thought it was a favor from MacDerris to execute his final death in the form of a duel, not suicide.
Bryphen swung his sword towards MacDerris, but as soon as it touched MacDerris’ sword, it shattered into pieces. The man kneeled, looking at his shattered sword with a sense of emptiness, and muttered.
“No matter what I did, the result would have been the same. MacDerris. There is one thing I want to ask. Were you also aware of the existence of the Relic?”
“Of course.”
MacDerris had not prevented Bryphen from throwing the Relic to the Emperor, but it was not because he couldn’t. After all, it wouldn’t have worked anyway.
Bryphen kneeled and muttered.
“If I had the same power as you…”
“It’s only a problem that you compared yourself to me. You are strong enough. The fact that the late Emperor Lecan turned you into a hunting dog was not in vain.”
“I see… Anyway, as a knight who lost in battle, all I have left is death. Please take my life.”
MacDerris walked towards the man and asked one question.
“I heard from the conversation that you were forced to follow the Emperor’s will as a guardian for your sick younger sister. Explain.”
“It’s a simple story. I had a younger sister who was dying from an incurable disease, and she couldn’t even walk properly… I had no choice but to take care of her as a single mother raising a young child.”
The people around MacDerris fell silent. MacDerris himself touched his cheek.
“No way…”
He remembered the little one who protected their mother in the border area. The little one who cried out, saying it was okay to kill them as long as their mother was saved. The little one who raised their sword until the end and swung it at MacDerris.
“That can’t be true.”
The border area is one of the most dangerous locations on the battlefield. It is unthinkable to leave just one woman and a small child there.
Especially if that hostage was a tool to control Bripin.
MacDerrus raised his sword to decapitate the man. Bripin’s swordsmanship was overwhelming. He had lost to MacDerrus in their previous battle, but in reality, Bripin was a formidable opponent, capable of playing with the powerful Tekello like a toy.
If there was a way to firmly attach him to the Pibrone Empire, it would be more beneficial to keep him alive than to kill him. Even though it was the last resort, he was a man of unwavering conviction, to the point of striking the Emperor’s neck himself.
But the problem was that he didn’t know about the existence of the sister who had forced Bripin’s actions. If the remnants of the imperial forces in the Kaorelden Empire were to capture Bripin’s sister as a hostage and threaten him, there was no guarantee that he wouldn’t become an enemy again.
That’s why he decided to kill him.
“It’s a pity, but it can’t be helped.”
As MacDerrus raised his sword, Bripin spoke with empty eyes.
“There is a picture of my sister in my possession. If by any chance you find a corpse on the battlefield… No… If the child is alive… If you could take care of the child… I would be eternally grateful.”
“I can do that much.”
It would be impossible to find them. How can one find a woman and a child among so many people? Perhaps they had already disappeared. But answering like this would put the man’s mind at ease.
Thinking that way, as MacDerrus was about to swing his sword.
“What’s that…?”
He noticed the pendant Bripin was holding. He saw a picture of a woman smiling brightly there.
MacDerrus stopped his swinging sword and used magic to snatch the pendant from Bripin with telekinesis, bringing it into his own hand.
Princess Breini, who had been watching from the side, murmured in surprise.
“Who is this person…?”
A middle-aged woman who was in the border area. She bore a striking resemblance to her.
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After lowering his sword, MacDerrus asked Bripin a question.
“Do you have any idea where your younger sister might be?”
“I don’t know. But originally, she was living near the border area. The emperor always used that against me as a threat. He said that if I did anything foolish, he would throw her into the enemy territory. If the enemy invaded our empire, my sister would be the first to die.”
Leucan understood why Emperor Lukan had treated such a precious hostage in this way. He pushed people to the edge of the cliff, setting traps from which they could not escape.
“He probably didn’t even anticipate that the border area would be breached.”
Now, thinking back, Leucan recalled how the knights had lingered near his house until the very end, then hurriedly fled after countless people had died.
Piece by piece, the puzzle began to fit together.
“He’s a lucky bastard.”
Macderas asked Bripin.
“Do you not have any intention of changing your mind and wielding a sword for the Phivron Empire?”
Those around them were taken aback by Macderas’ words, but no one interfered. After all, he was a war hero. Whatever he did, it was deemed to have a valid reason.
“It’s impossible. I no longer have any justification to wield a sword.”
“To protect your sister and her child?”
“…”
Bripin fell silent, then spoke with a trembling voice.
“They might already be dead. Or even if they’re not dead, they will soon die. If they don’t receive the concentrated divine power from the imperial princess every day, their blood will flow backwards, causing a fatal disease. That’s why I asked for help in finding my sister’s body, and if by any chance the child is still alive, I begged to save the child.”
Bripin sighed in despair.
“But the chances of a child who lost their parents in the war surviving alone are high. I know that. I know they’re most likely not alive. Even if the soldiers took them away…”
His words were desperate, but realistic.
If Macderas hadn’t found them first.
“They are alive.”
MacDermott spoke, but Bripen didn’t believe him.
“Is that really true…?”
But as if to give him a definite answer, MacDermott revealed the information he had not obtained.
“He said he has a child… A brave one, even though he’s only about 10 years old.”
“…? How did MacDermott know the child’s gender and age…?”
In Bripen’s empty, hollow eyes, a faint glimmer of hope began to emerge.
“I found them in the border area, healed your sister with my power, and escorted them to the Phibron Empire. If you follow me, you can meet them.”
“…”
Bripen began to cry as if he had gone mad. He fell to the ground and sobbed endlessly. Naturally, he thought his sister had died, and even if she hadn’t, their fate of dying was clear.
It was a miracle. Nothing more miraculous could happen.
“I’ll propose it once again. Dedicate your remaining life to the suffering people of the Phibron Empire. If you do that, I will spare your life.”
He raised his sword and cut his palm, letting blood flow. Looking at the drops of blood falling, he made a solemn vow.
“Until I die, I will live to pay for my sins.”
MacDermott nodded after hearing his words. Some of those present seemed quite surprised that he spared Bripen, who had been an imperial knight, but they would soon learn the reason why I saved him.
— — —
The war between the Kareldean Empire and the Phibron Empire, which had been going on for a long time, was heading towards its end. Regardless of what anyone said, it was a complete victory for the Phibron Empire.
The one who currently held the greatest decision-making power in the Kareldean Empire, which had lost its head of state, core troops, and bureaucrats, was the commander of the imperial knights, Bripen. Naturally, Bripen immediately declared surrender.
The war, which unofficially ended, was officially concluded by the person with authority.
MacDermott and Bripen stood on the same platform in front of the citizens of the Kareldean Empire and the knights of the Phibron Empire.
The expressions of the Kareldean Empire’s people were not good. They had lost their country overnight and had to endure the deaths of countless people.
Those without power had no decision-making authority, so it was understandable that they would react like that.
Perhaps, if they were forcibly absorbed like this, the citizens of the Kaorelden Empire who had harbored this hatred would surely cause a riot, and then they would have to endure another great sacrifice.
To achieve true salvation, prevention of recurrence was essential.
Bripen shouted to the citizens of the Kaorelden Empire.
“We have lost the war.”
The citizens of the Kaorelden Empire poured out their condemnation towards him. They cursed him for selling out the country and began to feel discouraged, saying that it was the end for them. Bripen looked at Macderas and, as if giving him a signal to handle it himself, he spoke with determination.
“We may have lost the war, but you will have a better life. The tax rate, which had reached 90% without distinction, will be fixed at 10%. Magicians and inspectors will pay a fair price for their work, and facilities for the convenience of the people will be established.”
However, the citizens’ reaction remained cold. They believed that the hollow promises, the treaty shouting to the powerless, would not be kept. They considered it nothing more than mockery from those who had won the war.
Having read their mood, Macderas reached out to the red sphere floating in the air. Then, rain began to fall from the sky.
This time, it wasn’t red rain symbolizing death. It was green rain symbolizing life. Those who were suffering from wounds began to heal instantly as soon as they were hit by the rain.
People stared at the spectacle with their eyes wide open and shouted towards the sky. A miracle had happened.
It was clear who had performed the miracle. It was a man standing on a massive pedestal, wielding the red sphere.
Macderas shouted at them.
“I won’t say much. Everything will proceed as Bripen said. Even after I’m gone, the Phevron Empire will not oppress you, exploit you like the previous emperor, or use the saintesses like sacrificial pawns.”
However, the citizens of the Kaorelden Empire still looked uneasy. One brave man among them shouted.
“W…what if our empire’s weakened power leads other countries to retaliate for past grievances?”
“I know. That’s why, in exchange for the Phevron Empire collecting a 10% tax for the next 20 years, we will protect you. I made that agreement with them.”
No one asked Macderas who gave him such authority. Just moments ago, they had all witnessed him perform the power of miracles. It was also easy to be certain that he was the executioner who had spread death.
However, their concern was about something else.
“What if… if the promises are not kept, what will happen to us?”
Macdallas looked at the multitude of people spread out before him and spoke clearly.
“This is a story that applies to everyone. If the citizens of the Kaorelden Empire, who have shown mercy to the Phibron Empire, were to revolt, or if the Phibron Empire were to oppress the weak in the Kaorelden Empire using this war as an excuse… If there are those who would commit such absurd acts.”
The red sphere floating in the sky instantly split into thousands of fragments, filling the sky. In the face of such overwhelming oppression, the bustling crowd fell silent without a word.
“At that time, I will come back here again.”
“And I will kill everyone who caused problems without a shred of mercy.”
The man who had been questioning had his mouth shut. There was no need for further doubt.
Of course, there would be no one who would dare to defy those scenes and disregard the man’s words. Unless they desired national suicide, that is.
The people around began to murmur.
“If… If those words are kept, wouldn’t life be much better than it is now? There would be no more unjust extortion of money by bureaucrats, no more families being taken away and killed for not being able to pay exorbitant taxes…”
“You’re right… The Emperor’s tyranny was well-known… If the treaty is truly upheld, we weak ones might even live more comfortably.”
Macdallas let them talk enough.
And a moment later.
He shouted at all the people of the Kaorelden Empire and the Phibron Empire.
“The war is over! Everyone, return to your daily lives.”
All the knights of the Phibron Empire began to disarm and withdraw, and only then did everyone start cheering and shouting.
Most of the cheers were from the Phibron Empire, but there were also a few mixed in from the Kaorelden Empire. They were the hopes of people who believed they could escape tyranny and lead a proper life.
Macdallas watched their figures.
He didn’t know if this was the best choice, but one thing was certain. This was his best.
Macdallas descended from the platform and Plimia hugged him tightly, speaking to him.
“Thank you so much… Thank you…”
Princess Brainy, the commander of the Teckelomann Knights, Pletain, the commander of the Bripen Royal Knights, and countless other knights who fought alongside me, all salute me.
The constant cheers of the people, celebrating their liberation from the war. Laughter from those who are happy to finally be free from the war.
Each and every one of them was a testament to the end of the terrible war.
As Macderas watched them with a smile, a message from the system appeared in his mind for the first time in a while.
[You have rescued an empire that was destined to end, and achieved a tremendous accomplishment that no one else could. Your name will be forever recorded in this world.]
[Macderas’ administrator points increase by 3,000. You can use the points to purchase desired benefits from the administrator shop.]
Numerous reward messages came up. Then, a cheerful sound followed.
[Macderas’ administrator level has increased. With the increased level, additional administrator abilities will be granted.]
Macderas couldn’t help but smile when he saw the administrator abilities.
‘From now on, more interesting things will happen.’
[Leader, Insight, Possession, Inheritance of Memories, Selective Penalty Release functions have been added.]
[There is a possessor who needs you. Would you like to check the information?]
Macderas immediately chose to check it without hesitation.