216 – My name is…(1)
[The night the new emperor ascends to the throne. A terrorist attack occurred at a hotel in Lien.]
[……The hotel, famous for catering only to the wealthy, was considered the most luxurious hotel on the continent, but is now in such a miserable state that not even a trace of it can be found.]
[The number of deaths is currently 7. Experts analyzed that since the targeted hotel advertised itself as a top-class hotel, the guests not only had personal escorts but also had well-trained minds and bodies, and no one died instantly after being crushed by the rubble.]
[The number of injured is estimated to be approximately 1,200. It was confirmed that the significantly lower number of deaths compared to the scale was possible thanks to the hard work of Siron Prien, the newly appointed Imperial Swordsman’s fiancé.]
[Traces of cuts with simple swords, not bombs or magic, were found here and there. The culprit is presumed to be a man of considerable incompetence, and according to eyewitnesses, the last time they saw a group of black-haired people rarely seen in the empire enter the hotel…]
[As if condemning the empire’s past actions, engraving shameless political slogans, etc…]
[This paper would like to express our gratitude to Siron Prien, who continues to work hard to ensure the recovery of the injured to this day.]
“…”
Victor’s face looked very tired as he put down the newspaper.
This was not only because of the terrorist attacks that occurred on the first day of his reign, but also because yesterday, a large crowd of people gathered to commemorate the victims and condemn the terrorist’s evil deeds.
As soon as Victor heard of the tragedy, his heart boiled, but it was nothing compared to the anger of the people.
They feel great pride in just belonging to the empire, the pillar of humanity, and they pour out even more anger than the owner of the country at the fact that their hometown was terrorized.
like that,
The anger of the tens of thousands of people took the shape of a blade and was conveyed to Victor.
Even today, one night later, Victor’s feelings from that time were still vivid.
Malice and anger, and also malice, revenge and injustice.
Even though the target of your anger is not directed at Viktor, if you stand in front of him…
“You got through it well.”
A voice that woke me up from my thoughts was heard from ahead. The previous emperor, who went into seclusion after completing his reign, held the same newspaper in his hands as Victor.
“…Is that true?”
“Yes, it is difficult to stand in front of many people. It is even more so in front of people who would not be surprised if something explodes right away… Even the legendary iron men would have had a hard time holding on.”
“…”
“How was it?”
The situation asked, taking off the glasses on the bridge of his nose. The smile on his face showed a childlike curiosity that belied his age.
“It felt as if the heavens were testing me.”
Viktor conveyed his honest feelings to the situation. I wouldn’t have said it before, but the situation of taking off the crown was somehow easy to deal with.
Not coercion and dogmatism, but generosity and pure pleasure.
Even though he felt uncomfortable seeing his father as if he had become a different person, Viktor did not hesitate to take the opportunity to get a sense of the situation.
“Well, you must be testing now.”
Franz smiled round and round, maybe it wasn’t his job, but his heart was happy.
“Well then, can you guess the forces that perpetrated the terrorism?”
“Isn’t it obvious? The barbarians don’t know who they are maintaining their lives thanks to.”
Victor’s fists grew stronger. The situation looked at the energetic reaction with interest.
“We will only know when the detailed results of the investigation come out, but our suspicions have already been solidified.”
“There are many barbarians.”
“They come in as a small elite and collapse an entire building without using any magic tools… It’s not hard to say that they are the ones who would do such a ridiculous thing.”
Barbarian Silea. What Victor wanted to say was clear.
“Then what will you do? Obviously… you called for peace and prosperity at the coronation…”
“What would you do about the situation?”
“Your Majesty, don’t ask for my answer. If you were going to confirm my thoughts, I would have been regent.”
“…”
“You have to find the answer for yourself.”
Although the words were said this way, the situation conveyed a different meaning.
‘Let’s see how the empire that left my hands runs.’
Pure curiosity and interest. The way of speaking that contained neither negation nor positivity was an observer attitude that was only possible because the weight of the coronet was freed.
“I will share with them the burden that the Empire has borne alone.”
Victor spoke calmly to the situation that seemed to be encouraging.
Human Franz’s eyes flashed at the completely unexpected and extreme reaction.
“First of all, should we start by reducing the expedition? Oh! It would be okay to retreat the border altogether and let the demons descend to the southern region.”
“…didn’t you shout peace and prosperity?”
As if a little flustered, Franz paused and spoke.
“It is prosperity because the resources lost in expeditions every year are used to strengthen internal stability. Since the ungrateful worms are exhausted from dealing with the beasts, terrorism will be unthinkable, so it is peace.”
“…”
“Not only Sileia, but also other non-civilized people. I will pass on the burden that the empire had to bear alone. I see. At this point, it would be good to change the method of the annual subjugation festival as well. A little more… Right. I’ve been thinking about it for a long time. Let’s improve the skills of young people. “Aren’t you too ignorant for a test?”
“…How about putting them in a special district for barbarians and making it the Arwen Plateau?”
Franz said, leaning forward.
If we go by what he said, the wave of demonic beasts that explodes once a year will be stopped only by barbarians… If that happens, we will be able to naturally cut off the barbarians’ veins.
I didn’t want to get involved, but what the current emperor was trying to do seemed so interesting that I inadvertently ended up going one step further.
“…Let’s consider it. It would be better to complete the detailed plan in the homily.”
“You are wonderful.”
Third, not first and second.
The third child, who seemed timid and weak at first…
But they say that a place makes a person. Victor now has no hesitation in using radical words or actions.
It was not trustworthy at first because he was a pet dog, but now Franz felt a strong sense of accomplishment that he thought it was destiny.
‘Maybe my existence has been restricted…’
Franz was satisfied with himself for making the best choice and saw off his son as he left for the main palace.
*
Three days later, a tent at the hotel site after the rubble had been cleared.
“Shrinking borders as a response to terrorism? That’s ridiculous…!”
Siriel, who had returned from the imperial palace, felt a chill surround her body and clenched her fists. After hearing the news that the hotel where the engagement ceremony was scheduled to be held collapsed, her anger did not subside even though some time had passed.
“It would be a shame to start hunting barbarians right away, but isn’t that a too lukewarm response?”
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“…”
“Oh, you think so too… right?”
Siron slowly raised his head. Because I had been squeezing out my divine power for four days, I couldn’t get rid of my fatigue with just one night’s sleep.
“…”
“Oh, brother, are you tired?”
“uh.”
“Do you want me to sleep on your knees?”
“uh.”
“Do you want to touch my breasts too?”
Siron didn’t answer and just lay down. There were a lot of empty cots in the corner of the tent, and in one of them, Latera, in spiritual form, and Seira, dressed in a white gown, were asleep from exhaustion.
I’ve been so busy the past three days. It was really hard.
Perhaps because most of the patients were people with strained shoulders, they screamed and begged to do this and that…
-I saw it clearly.
-Terrorists are barbarians with black hair.
While I was trying to suppress my desire to get rid of everything, I heard a scary rumor and my headache wouldn’t go away.
There was only one barbarian with black hair in this world.
[Sileia, a wandering people]
While I was praying several times in my heart that they were not the terrorists, I was truly surprised by the imperial family’s response brought by Siriel.
Reduction of borders. Siron, who immediately understood the meaning, stared at Siriel.
“It’s not a lukewarm response. It’s actually more vicious than capturing and killing everyone.”
“…is it vicious?”
“Yes, I don’t know whose brain the plan came from, but they used their brains quite well.”
“It’s because you can take care of both utility and cause.”
Devialet, who was making coffee, joined in. His face looked tired, perhaps because he had been concentrating on treatment for the past three days along with the priests under his command.
“Just by going on a few less expeditions and pulling the border inward, the empire can maintain its full strength, but other groups won’t. They probably won’t be able to pay attention to this side because they’re dealing with monsters infiltrating all over the continent.”
“then…?”
Siriel’s head tilts. Siron continued Devialet’s words.
“The purpose of terrorism becomes meaningless. They cursed the empire to collapse, but since they created a situation where the empire actually collapsed, their own house collapsed.”
“As expected, you are a warrior. You already see through everything.”
“…Then what is it? Rather, they will come to the empire and beg to stop the demonic beasts. Going further, they could send supply and demand to the reactionaries who caused terrorism.”
“…”
“Oh, it was the work of extremists that we didn’t even know about. Blah blah blah. I won’t make a fuss about it again… I’d be glad if it stopped there.”
Siron, avoiding the Cardinal’s gaze, sighed with a bitter aftertaste.
Meanwhile, someone muttered in the corner.
“Isn’t that… too harsh?”
It was Lucia. After returning from a trip and coming here to find Shiron’s whereabouts, there was no chaos. In the end, she joined Siron’s relief work even before she could recover from her illness.
“You just have to kill the person who carried out the terrorist attack.”
Lucia timidly added.
“Not all of them are wrong…”
Lucia buried her head in her knees and muttered.
I wanted to quickly tell Siron about the secret of his birth, but I just couldn’t find the mood to say such a thing.
Luck isn’t on your side.
The destruction of the barbarians? Imperial darkness plotting for him? In this situation, it is not easy to say something without notice.
I didn’t even feel like it in the first place.
Savage, a derogatory word I have heard countless times in the past.
The empire was now abuzz with the word barbarian. Wherever I went, I heard the word “barbarian,” and now it was even on the lips of people I was close to.
Lucia was no longer Kylie, and it had been over 500 and 15 years since she left the village of Sileia. Moreover, even though they are clearly not insulting themselves and have long ago forgotten their identity as northerners…
I felt strangely uneasy.
It was strange.