Episode 21. The Emperor’s Deal (Complete)
“Ji, what did you just say?”
“Don’t pretend you don’t hear with the excuse that your hearing is bad. Because what you heard is right.”
“You bastard!!”
Bang!
Lupen hit the desk and stood up. It was funny how she couldn’t control her anger. Pointing at me with trembling hands.
“How dare you insult Jim, the emperor!!”
“I still can’t figure out the situation.”
I glared at him across the desk. Lufen flinched and took a step back.
“Hey.”
“Hey… Yah?!”
“Looks like you still have something to show off your pride. If you really want to come to your senses after seeing blood, I will.”
His eyes twitch as I put my hand on the sword. But that was all. As if this alone wasn’t enough stimulation, his head was still stiff.
Then you should set an example.
As I was about to pull the handle with all my might, the vengeful spirit stood in front of me as if protecting the emperor.
[Prause, stop it. Even if it’s okay to speak casually, even I feel a little uncomfortable with the rudeness of asking the emperor to bow his head.]
“… ….”
To remain loyal to the emperor even in death, is that so?
Well, he must have been treated tremendously as a sword master in his lifetime. It is understandable that he has a crush on the emperor.
I wanted to follow Phasma’s opinion as much as possible, since I’ve been indebted to her until now.
But the bowing of the head meant a lot.
The biggest meaning among them was the appeal that I am not your subordinate.
As a trader, you have to be on an equal footing to get the best results. As long as he sees me as a subordinate, there is no way the deal can be established properly.
“I’m sorry, Phasma.”
I muttered and drew my sword. He pointed at Lufen with his sword and urged.
“I won’t wait forever.”
“Yes, do you know what will happen if you kill me?!”
“I know. I know all too well. But with this attitude, I don’t think there would be any point in making a deal. In that case, I’d rather kill you and free the slaves of other races myself.”
As I got into my stabbing position, he gnashed his teeth violently to the point of a crunching sound.
Based on his attitude, you might guess that he would rather die than give up his pride, but in reality he was afraid of death.
When I met the emperor in the audience room, he asked me how I was feeling with a sense of distance. This was a proof that as the years passed, they reacted more sensitively to death.
“Die, Emperor Lufen.”
It was the moment when I exerted my strength to draw the sword.
“Sorry!”
Emperor Rufen bowed his head in apology. The heavy head finally came down for the first time. It was something that hadn’t happened in the game, so it felt so fresh and uplifting. Is this the ultimate taste!
I lowered my sword.
“What are you sorry about? Don’t raise your head and answer.”
“…… I did not recognize your strength and made you toil on useless things.”
“Again.”
“… Also?”
His voice is off. I held back my laughter.
Hey, I’m sure I’m the only one who can do something like this to the emperor. It’s a pleasure.
“Again… What else…….”
“Isn’t there another cruel mistake that shouldn’t be made while living as a human being?”
“Um… ….”
You worry about this?
Wow, this can’t work. Forgetting the worst mistake Ji ever made in her life. There’s no room for refutation, so you have to tie it up and beat it up.
“…… Apologize for the carnage you’ve caused. In front of these kids.”
I pointed to Iris and Maria who were standing behind me and said. When the two of them pointed at themselves, they blankly looked at my finger.
They are the main characters in this world.
These are the ones who will take the lead in killing the demons in the future. He deserved to hear the emperor’s apology before anyone else.
“Awesome! P, Prause… You gave me such shame…… !”
“To be able to feel emotions now that you will never feel if you die. You must be very happy.”
My sarcasm made his shoulders tremble violently. You will feel ashamed of the humiliation you experience for the first time in your life. But you get used to that feeling of humiliation over and over again.
“…… I made the mistake of slaughtering and enslaving your own people out of a momentary greed. Don’t apologize sorry.”
“I see. Anything to say?”
The two of them glanced at each other for a moment, then licked their lips as if they were embarrassed. Faced with the situation, he seemed to have no idea what to say.
If Urca had been there, I would have given her a bowl of swearing.
Perhaps he beat the emperor in the face and made a bruise on his eyes.
…… Hmm. Do you want to see some?
“Do you have anything to say?”
“That… ….”
For them, this situation itself would be bewildering. I understand.
Who would have expected to suddenly hear an apology from the ringleader of the massacre?
“Apology is…… Not with words, but with actions.”
Iris said with her sad face. Stuttering her words as if her throat was choking.
“…… That’s right. Free the slaves immediately and give us back the territory you took from us. Right now.”
Maria spoke as calmly as possible, suppressing her own emotions.
Both of them didn’t express it outwardly because I was human, but in fact, they seemed to have a lot to say about the massacre.
“There is nothing to think about in a hurry. I will tell you that story from now on.”
I put the sword in. Only then did the emperor look at me and raise his head.
“You had a hard time keeping your head down.”
“Prause…… Do you guys really think this is the end? If you want to live in the Empire from now on, it would be better not to have me as an enemy, right?”
“Funny, I can destroy an empire anytime. Wouldn’t it be better to think carefully about your own position? And the empire won’t be able to escape from the threat of the demons in the future, aren’t you in trouble with me as an enemy in such a situation?”
“Great! It’s so damn clever…… !”
“I hear that a lot. So why don’t you stop messing around and come and sit down?”
“Kko… Cranky?!”
“Do you want to finish talking about the deal and go to bed? If the kids don’t sleep by this time, they won’t grow taller.”
“Keu, keugh!”
He pointed to the sofa with his thumb. Loopen barely held back her anger and walked to the sofa I pointed to.
Meanwhile, I took the parchment, ink pen, and ink bottle from the desk and put them on the sofa table.
“Now then, let’s start talking.”
“…… What you demanded was the liberation of the slaves of other races and the independence of other races. Can I accept that condition?”
“What are you talking about? That is the condition before you and I fight. Haven’t we lost each other in many ways now? Touching my heart is a bonus.”
It was the emperor who unilaterally suffered losses, but the victorious country always had the right.
I was really excited to see how Sirius would react to seeing him troll later. He probably wouldn’t be executed without any excuse.
“So what more are you asking for?”
“Rescind the deprivation of the Duke of Tori, promise equal treatment to other races even if they live in the empire, and enact a law to pay fines if other races are treated like slaves.”
“Your demands have become nasty.”
“We are still far away.”
I had to set conditions a little more delicately.
In the end, what I wanted was ‘reconciliation’ between humans and heterogeneous races. From now on, I wanted humans and other races to live in harmony on an equal footing.
Of course, this was a possibility that could come out when I thought positively.
It will be difficult to achieve harmony in reality.
However, even if there is no way to achieve harmony between all humans and other races, the story is different when it comes to those I can influence.
If you use the Duke of Tori, who has been considerate of other races externally, and Leones, the leader of the Resistance, you will surely be able to produce much better results than in the game.
“Even if other races become independent, recognizing exchanges with the Empire is an addition. You can refuse to be flexible in this part, but not interacting at all is prohibited.”
Other conditions were presented in detail to make humans and other races equal. The emperor kept snoring his nose all the time, so he didn’t tackle him in particular.
From noble mtl dot com
“Then are you saying that you will not object to the tax collector stopping his external activities and putting Chris on the throne?”
“Not only that, but I promise to protect the princes in case they are in danger. Of course, if the empire is threatened by demons, we will never turn away and defend it.”
Because one of the conditions for a happy ending in the game is that the empire does not collapse.
“…… Instead of accepting other races and seeing them as equals, are you saying that you will protect the safety of the empire?”
Emperor Lufen didn’t seem offended by the tone either, probably thinking it wasn’t an unreasonable transaction. Fortunately, he seemed to have great dissatisfaction with the details of the transaction. Although, in fact, he would not have listened if he had not suppressed it by force.
“But, if I, who ordered the massacre, continued to be the emperor, other races wouldn’t welcome it?”
“Can you not like it? They will make a big fuss to assassinate you.”
“Then… !”
“After all, it takes several months to abolish slavery and make other races independent. When everything is over, step down from the position of emperor. And live quietly until he dies.”
“What will you do if other races threaten the imperial family?”
“Don’t worry about that part. If other races try to destroy the imperial family, I will stop them.”
I said this, but it probably won’t happen.
The Resistance is already in my hands. The more Leones goes to meet other races and absorbs them into his own organization, the easier it will be to control them.
I was thinking of persuading them that if they became independent, the significance of the organization would disappear, but if they did not want to lose their dignity to humans again, they needed a strong army. Besides, there is also the issue of demons, so I wouldn’t object too much.
“…… I was fighting for my life just a moment ago. Can that kind of trust be born right away?”
“I am not interested in trust. I need you to achieve my goals, and I only use them.”
“I see… ….”
I wrote down the conditions I said and the Emperor’s conditions on the parchment. The deadline was added to the condition that it should be fulfilled within this year. By the way, I was the boss.
“This is a treaty. Don’t try to break At that time, even the imperial knights and magic combinations that you still believe in will die at my hands.”
“… Be careful.”
Checking the contents of the treaty once again, I signed and the emperor stamped.
With this the treaty was concluded.
“Make an announcement to the public that you will free the slaves after all the processing has been completed, but inform the nobles privately. They will need time to prepare too.”
“Not like that.”
I finished my story and stood up. Roll up two pieces of parchment paper and tie them together with string. It really wasn’t too heavy to put on a piece of paper.
“I will visit again next time. At that time, let’s not blush and let’s see each other with a smile.”
“You are laughing. Until I die, there will be no smiling face to face with you.”
“…… That’s enough. Just go.”
I raised the corner of my mouth and grinned. I put the parchment in my chest and headed for the door of the office.
It was then.
“Abama! The White Gwangjo and the Black Gwangjo were all beaten by Prause…… !”
Belatedly, Chris bursts open the door to the office and enters. As I was about to leave, he bumped into me and flinched as he saw the blood on my body.
“F-Prause, you…… !”
“Oh, one more condition.”
Looking at Chris, I felt I should say one more thing. I had no intention of writing this into the treaty.
“…… What.”
“After this rotten bastard becomes emperor, if he attacks another race, he will take away all his imperial authority and set up tax collector as emperor. At that time, I will kill all who stand in my way without thinking about aristocracy. Got it, Chris?”
“You bastard! What are you talking about now?!”
I tapped Chris on the shoulder. I’m telling you not to do it, so listen carefully.
I finished what I had to say and left the office. The warriors follow me with frequent steps.
“After!”
When I heard the sound of the office closing, I took a deep breath.
With this, it seemed safe to think that the first hurdle to the happy ending had been passed.
Okay, now I can focus on man-man warfare.
“Let’s go home, children. I need to wash up and go to bed.”
“Yes!”
The warriors also came close to me, answering vigorously for the perfect result.
“Thank you. Master.”
“Thank you, Master.”
“Thank you!”
Thank you was a bonus.