Episode 21. The Emperor’s Deal (6)
“What do you mean, Your Majesty! Is Prause destroying the Magic Guild Facility?”
Early morning.
An old man’s voice resounded in the office.
“…… As already explained. I don’t know what method to use, but Praus said he would destroy the Magic Guild facility.”
“Your Majesty, as long as I keep my eyes open, I will never be able to touch the Magic Guild facility. Even if it is Prause.”
The Magic Guild Leader, Loggia confidently said.
Lufen looked at him and took a cigarette out of his pocket. He lights the end of the tobacco with a natural hand movement. As I sucked in the tobacco for a long time, the tip glowed red.
“Whoa… ….”
Spits smoke into the air.
“I hope so.”
“Are you doubting my skills? Even the demons can’t move in front of my magic. No matter how much Prause you are, you won’t be able to defeat me in a magic fight.”
“Prause isn’t a wizard, so he might be able to win the magic fight. But isn’t there someone out there who is good at magic?”
“…… Are you referring to the apprentice of Prauss who was said to have the talent of an archmage?”
I brushed the tobacco into the ashtray on the sofa table. Ash powder falls helplessly. Loggia’s gaze, which had been looking at the ashtray for a moment, wavered.
“…… Even so, it’s still cool.”
“I heard from Glair Todia, but that apprentice has the talent to rise to the ninth rank. If she has reached the ninth tier now, what will she do?”
“That can’t be. The disciple is now fourteen years old. To use 9th tier magic at the age of 14……. It shouldn’t even have the talent of a warrior.”
Logia was right.
Although she actually has the talent of a hero, Maria has not yet broken through to the 9th hierarchy.
However, due to Prause’s intervention, his prediction was bound to be wrong.
Logia did not know the existence of the artifact. Since the artifact was an element that only the player could know, there was not enough information to deduce it.
“A hero’s talent…… I mean.”
The moment he realized that Prauss wasn’t the only target to check, Lufen’s vision blurred as if he was getting dizzy.
It was then.
The door to the drawing room was thrown open.
“Your Majesty!”
“Are you here? Chris.”
“I heard the story as it came. That bastard Prause messed with His Majesty the Emperor last night without knowing the etiquette…… ! I was trying to congratulate him by winning the exclusive right to resources from the Aium Kingdom. If you dare to harm Your Majesty without even knowing it, you must be executed immediately!”
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Lupen quietly sighed at Chris’ blood.
If she could have punished herself, she would have been quicker. However, Lufen knew that in order to punish Prause with overwhelming force, there would be too much damage that he would have to endure.
Even so, since he was recklessly telling me to kill Prause, as Lufen, Chris seemed incompetent.
“Chris, what are the Black Glows and the Imperial Knights doing now?”
I tried to swallow what I wanted to say and asked another question.
“The Black Gwangjo is on standby to assassinate Prause, and the Imperial Knights have been patrolling without leaving anyone behind to quickly identify the immediate aftermath.”
“Yes… …. We can’t just sit still.”
Lupen pressed his forehead against the sudden feeling of fatigue. It was because he couldn’t sleep all night and he was thinking about how to respond to Prause’s threat.
“This fight, if we lose, it will be a big deal.”
It was because it was clearly visible that the positions of the two forces would be significantly different depending on the outcome of this fight, which started from a transaction.
Logia and Chris expressed their curiosity at Lufen’s unusual appearance.
“This won’t just end with a quarrel between me and Prause.”
“What do you mean, Your Majesty?”
“This may be the starting point of a succession war.”
“What is that…….”
“If we lose in this fight, think, Chris, you might not be the emperor.”
“Yes?”
The reason why Prause did not push the imperial family according to his will, even though he had power, was precisely because of a positional problem.
Prause is an outright commoner.
He understood better than anyone else that no nobles would recognize him for killing the emperor and other members of the imperial family and claiming the throne.
That’s why Prause put tax collector, a member of the imperial family, at the forefront, and he had been proposing a deal to the imperial family, trying to resolve the situation through dialogue and logic rather than force.
But Prause stopped talking about yesterday.
What does this mean?
This means that we no longer consider positions, situations, and possibilities.
From now on, only a desperate struggle remained.
“So, use all the rights you have been given so far to stop Prause.”
Looking at Lufen, who was secretly trembling with anxiety, Chris realized that the situation was not serious.
“I don’t think this is the time to care about demons. All right. If Prause does anything that threatens the empire, I will personally slit her head and bring it back.”
“Yes… …. Master of the Magic Guild, I will entrust you with the role of protecting the Magic Guild facility from being destroyed. Respond with the other wizards.”
“I understand, Your Majesty.”
“I will contact the other nobles and deploy soldiers in the capital. If Prause wants to do anything in the capital, he must be killed.”
If we can’t kill it, we’ll be the ones who die.
While chewing on the words, Lufen tapped the delivery scroll on his desk.
* * *
“What? No, what is that…….”
When I explained all the squabbles between me and the emperor last night, Tori’s lips trembled.
For him who had never disobeyed an emperor’s order in his life, it must have sounded like thunder from the sky.
“Didn’t you already expect this to happen from the time I pushed the princess tax collector?”
“Even so, I had no intention of directly confronting His Majesty the Emperor!”
“But now I can’t quit. If you back down from this fight, you may have to step down as a duke. But if you fight, you will definitely be able to defend your position. Because we will definitely win.”
“But…… Why are you telling me that story?”
“Be prepared. This is where white light birds and black light birds can attack. Perhaps other nobles’ enlisted men might come. Since the spirit king’s barrier was spread around the mansion, it should be safe, but preparations must be thorough. So, if an assassin ever comes, then…… You have to fight Urca.”
I spoke to the pink-haired cat, Urca, who was leaning on my shoulder. She nodded her head as she made her face and smelled my body.
“Okay. But in Prause’s body…… Do you think you smell the smell of a beast you’ve never smelled before?”
No. I’ve taken a few showers, how does it smell?
I took a bath before coming here in the first place, how can you smell it…….
“It must smell like soap.”
“No. No matter how you look at it, it’s a unique pheromone smell. Did you secretly cheat on me? I will forgive you if you are honest.”
What is the wind…….
Since when were we lovers?
Maria next to me looks at me startled. No. Misunderstood, Maria.
“Don’t talk bullsh*t.”
“I’m serious? Tell me quickly, who is it?”
I grabbed my arm and pushed her persistently inquisitive face.
“I don’t have time for pranks right now. I’ll play with you later.”
“Okay. It’s a promise. Catch me and I’ll erase that smell.”
“…… Anyway, I will leave the comfort of Duke Tori and Princess Seri to you.”
I wanted to have Ella as a bodyguard, but the Todia family is loyal to the imperial family.
Although Glare took care of her Ella to act separately from her, bringing her in this situation was embarrassing.
“What are you going to do?”
“I don’t think our emperor has ever bowed his head before, so I’m going to teach you how to do it.”
After hearing my words, Tori just stared at me as if he were looking at a madman.
* * *
Above the walls of the capital, Pretium.
A cool night breeze brushed our bodies over the Phoenix continent where the sun had set.
“It is still quite chilly at night.”
“Master, don’t you think there are too many people walking around even at night?”
I quietly looked down at Pretium, not responding to the warriors’ words.
There seemed to be at least one hundred moving lights on the walls here.
It seemed that in preparation for my declaration of war, the Imperial Knights were released within the capital and even enlisted enlisted soldiers from other nobles.
“Since we don’t know what we’re going to do, that’s probably how we prepare ourselves.”
“Master, what should we do with the people around us?”
Tina quietly delivers a whisper with her jerky in her mouth. People nearby…….
Probably black or white. It wouldn’t have been that difficult to trace the location of Fanny, the most capable fanny the emperor could use.
But knowing our location doesn’t change the outcome.
I glanced at the iris. She was eavesdropping on our conversation with her ears perked up and a sidelong glance.
“Please don’t kill me. But if you feel like you’ll have to cut off an arm or leg in the process of subduing it, don’t hesitate. Your mission is to protect Mary.”
“Yes.”
There are less than ten minutes until midnight.
[I never thought I would turn my back on an empire I had been loyal to.]
“It is just righting the wrong.”
I picked up my vengeance. I turned my head while possessing Phasma on my body.
“Let’s prepare soon. Maria, do you see the white building over there? That’s where you should aim. Spirit Kings, get ready to set up a barrier around that white building.”
“Even if you’re not a hero and call the Spirit King like this—”
“Thank you very much, Mr. Naiad.”
Iris cuts Naiad off saying something to me. She lets out her sigh as she watches Iris pressuring her not to say anything.
“…… Ha. A hero trying to harm a human……. Prause, don’t you think something is wrong?”
“It all started already. It’s too late now to be right and wrong.”
On the contrary, this action might prevent several incidents that would result in numerous victims in the future.
“Get started.”
With my permission, Maria immediately held Purgo high.
“Meteor”.”
The moment Purgo’s head heads toward the sky, a huge meteorite begins to form in the dark sky. The size alone seemed to be several hundred meters in diameter.
Then, a large fire began to spread around the meteorite. Before long, the meteorite itself engulfs the flames.
Now that the sun has set and the moon has risen, the world is bright once again. The sight of it emitting light with the momentum to remove the shadows of the whole sky was similar to that of the sun rising in the night.
“Master, don’t drop—”
Just as Maria was about to ask me for her permission, a shadow suddenly appeared and before I had time to react, she threw something of her at Maria.
Hook!