50 – Pillar
“Greetings to the Sun of the Empire.”
“”Greetings to the Sun of the Empire.””
The giants from the north approached Emperor Sunrise. As Breed Frost greeted with due respect, not only did Ariel, but also the Frost brothers and the lady bowed their heads courteously.
“Lift your heads, giants of the North.”
At the stern and charismatic baritone voice, the giants raised their heads to gaze upon the torch that lights the empire.
His hair shone golden like the radiant sun, and his mysterious golden eyes seemed to pierce through everything. Merely gazing upon his figure, which exuded both age and robustness, was enough to involuntarily bring one to their knees in awe.
The current Emperor of the Sunrise Empire. Kaiser Sunrise. He is considered the wisest king in history, and at the same time, the most enigmatic emperor.
“Guards and servants, all of you may leave.”
“…What? But…”
“We will heed the command. Come on, let’s go.”
“”We will heed the command.””
Upon the Emperor’s order to leave, excluding the Frost family, the befuddled new guard raised a question, but the captain of the knights promptly led the rookie out of the room.
The maids and servants had already quickly bowed and left the room following their master’s command.
A moment later. The only ones remaining in the grand and beautiful room were the Emperor seated on the throne and the Frost family.
“…Sigh. I can’t keep up this act any longer. Feel free to sit comfortably.”
Once the onlookers left, the once stern Emperor slouched, resembling a worn-out office worker.
To anyone ordinary, his appearance, so unlike that of an emperor leading his nation, would have been shocking enough to make them stagger back, but the Frost family, seemingly accustomed to it, took their seats at the large table.
“Kaiser. Are you still overwhelmed with work these days?”
“Sigh… Don’t even mention it, Breed. At this rate, I might just pass away from overwork…”
As if conversing with a close friend, the Grand Duke of the North addressed the Emperor with informal speech. If anyone witnessed this scene, they might have thought it was an act of rebellion, ready to ignite a fire in their eyes, but the Emperor responded as if it were nothing.
In truth, Bree’d Frost and Kaiser Sunlight were academy peers. The fact that they held positions that were beyond anyone’s reach actually made them even closer.
This fact, except for a few alumni of the academy and a handful of individuals, remained unknown to everyone.
“Hmm. Are there more coming?”
“Just wait a bit. They should be here soon.”
At the Emperor’s words to wait a bit, Frost’s companions quietly sipped their tea along the table.
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Then, not long after the tightly closed door opened. Several figures began to enter.
“Greetings to the Empire’s Sun.”
A middle-aged man with brown-capped hair and glasses, Freya, a friend of Ariel. And Kale Sunlight walked into the room.
They also greeted the Emperor with courtesy upon seeing him, but the Emperor shook his head nonchalantly.
“We’re among ourselves, no need for such formalities. Isn’t that right, Raid?”
“hahahaha… Well, if you say so.”
Raid. Just the fact that only his name remained without a surname hinted that he was a commoner, but there was a reason for him to hold such a prestigious position.
Gold Rush. The highest-rated information broker in the entire empire, the head of a merchant family, and its founder.
Moreover, Raid was also an academy peer, like Bree’d Frost and Kaiser Sunlight.
Old peers gazed at each other’s faces after a long time, exchanged greetings with slight smiles, as true friends needed no lengthy words.
And so, the pillars supporting and leading the empire gathered in one place.
“… I had a feeling.”
“Why so serious? You’re just meeting friends!”
“Hmm. Why do you always twitch like that? I can never understand.”
“…Sigh. Enough.”
Eriel and Freya, known as the fairest flowers of the current Academy, and Kail, faced each other. As Freya said, Eriel seemed to resist, but she didn’t truly reject them.
The sight of the three of them getting along reminded the pillars leading the empire of their own irretrievable youth, watching them with a faint smile.
Later, leaving the chattering girls in the distance, Kaiser Sunrise addressed his close friends.
“So… it seems everyone has arrived. Have you all been well?”
“As usual for me, nothing new.”
“Breed. You must be… happy to have Eriel back.”
“Yes. I am absolutely delighted. Truly… it’s such a relief.”
“Right. I prayed every single day… You can’t imagine how grateful I am.”
They were already a family, not by blood but by decades of friendship, a second family in every sense.
That’s why they suffered as if their own daughter was missing when Eriel disappeared, and did their utmost to help.
They must be genuinely thankful and relieved that Eriel returned alive. They could read each other’s thoughts just by looking at each other’s faces.
“…Yes. The work of those dark wizards.”
“Exactly. Those damned creatures… tried to take my most precious treasure.”
“Those verminous brutes never seem to disappear. We need to eradicate them as soon as possible.”
Recalling the dark wizards who threatened Eriel’s life, they clenched their teeth in anger. Despite issuing requests for the elimination of dark wizards and offering information on their weaknesses for free, these pests only seemed to increase in number.
“I will… kill all the dark wizards in the empire. I’ll mobilize everything I have to do it.”
“Hmm… But you know as well as I do, Breed, it’s not easy to find those dark wizard scum.”
“…….That’s…”
As the Emperor pointed out sharply, dark wizards were composed of a completely different system than regular magic, making it impossible to detect their remnants like regular magical energy.
Because of that, dark wizards were stirring up trouble, and the number of incidents was on the rise. Breed, who had no sharp edges, chose to remain silent.
“hahahaha. That’s why I came here. Everyone, take a look at this.”
At the time when Kaiser and Breed, harboring resentment and anger towards dark wizards but realizing the near-impossibility of eradicating them, were in silent contemplation…
Ryde pulled something out of his bag and grinned. Kaiser and Breed’s gaze focused on what Ryde had retrieved.
“Ta-da! Can you guess what this is? It’s an artifact that can determine the presence of dark magic!”
“…What? Is that really possible, Ryde?”
“hehehe… I’ve brought another fascinating item. Let me explain.”
Ahem—after clearing his throat for a moment, Ryde began his explanation.
“Who am I again? I’m the head of Goldrush. That means I can get news from all over the empire.”
“…So?”
“From the southern part of the continent, there’s word that a blacksmith made this. It’s an artifact that reveals whether someone possesses dark magic just by bringing it close!”
“Is that… really possible?”
Kaiser and Breed asked Ryde with astonished eyes. If what he said was true, it meant they could find and eliminate all hidden dark wizards pretending to be innocent citizens just by bringing this artifact.
It was truly an astonishing artifact for the empire, as it could solve the biggest reason they couldn’t purge dark wizards.
But… was it really created by just a blacksmith?
“Do you know I have a mercenary unit under my command? When they used this on a dark wizard they captured, it indeed showed the presence of dark magic!”
“Heh… this is truly… I knew technology was advancing rapidly, but this much?”
“We are already… becoming outdated in this world.”
At the Emperor’s jest, they all laughed. In this moment, they cast off the weight of their respective positions and enjoyed the simple happiness of meeting with truly close friends.
“…Yeah. What’s the name of that blacksmith shop?”
“What was it again… Ah, Spin Workshop. They’re growing tremendously these days, I’m planning to contract with them.”
“I should send a plaque of appreciation later. With this artifact… I’ll be able to crush all those bugs underfoot.”
Grrr-
As Breed Frost, who had been laughing heartily, finally calmed his mind and expressed his anger towards the dark mage, a weightiness seemed to settle over the entire imperial court.
Under this heaviness, not only Eriel’s party, but also Kaiser and Ride fell silent, watching Breed.
Such was the immense hatred and anger Breed held towards the dark mage.
Though friendly among his close friends, Breed Frost was the guardian of the empire’s most dangerous north.
In that place, swarming with all manner of monsters, his martial prowess was proven simply by holding his ground for decades.
So much so, in the north, there’s even a tale that if a child doesn’t stop crying, the Duke of the North will take them away.
Anyway. It was Ride’s good-natured character that broke the somber mood.
“Hey, Breed! What’s with the scary act! At this rate, the old folks will die of fright!”
“Breed. Find my liver for me. It’s run off somewhere and I can’t seem to find it.”
“….Sorry. I momentarily… lost control of my emotions.”
Breed reined in his aura at his friends’ words, but Kaiser and Ride understood his feelings, simply joking to ease the situation.
“I’ve heard that lately the growth of the Ska Mercenary Group is extraordinary. Seems like the old Ska Mercenary Group has resurrected.”
“Hmm… Are you talking about the one led by Serion? I think I’ve heard about it too. They defeated a 5-star beast, didn’t they?”
“Yes. I personally put out a request and they caught a dragon, of all things. Can you believe it?”
“A dragon…? That’s something even I couldn’t do.”
They shared tales about the state of the world, as well as trivial chatter.
“Ah, right! There’s also this. It’s an artifact for barrier magic, but I’ve mixed in detection for dark magic…”
As the conversation among the adults unfolded, on one side of the arranged tables, friends engaged in their own dialogue.
“So, Ariel. You really have no intention of handing over your younger sibling to me?”
“What are you talking about? My sibling is mine.”
“…Shut up. Stop playing around. It’s not fun.”
Ariel endured the teasing from her friends, still in pain from their jokes.
“Hmm… It’s not a joke.”
“Why do you think it’s a joke?”
“…What?!”
Unable to bear it any longer, Ariel unleashed her magic, chasing after Kael and Freya, only to be stopped by Kaiser Sunlight, who was sweating profusely.
**