99 – Post-war Processing – 5
The Royal Guard, unable to judge the situation in front of them, froze in place as if shocked. I was equally surprised. Because it was an expression that was no different from treason against the emperor.
No matter how certain it is that Laura will become emperor in the future, the current emperor is different. He told me to be loyal only to myself in front of him, which was a justification that I had nothing to say even if I was executed for a scandalous crime.
‘If such a situation really comes, I won’t stand still… ….’
That’s not what’s important. I looked at Laura’s expression. He was very calm. It was as if he was asking me to trust him.
Now that we have come this far, it is too late to turn back. I have no choice but to believe. He stopped what he was doing and raised his head.
“I will do so, Your Highness.”
Seeing myself following Laura’s words and not the Emperor’s words, a stir that could not even be compared to before spread among the Royal Guard.
“Laura.”
The emperor opened his mouth. A deep voice rang out.
‘This is…’ ….’
As soon as the voice reached my ears, I felt as if someone was pressing down on my whole body. The voice itself contained power.
I don’t know if he’s trying to test me on purpose or if he’s really angry. But since I couldn’t back down after coming this far, I calmly accepted the pressure.
“Yes, father.”
“You’ve grown a lot. “Bring something like that.”
The pressure in his voice became much deeper. However, it hasn’t been enough to properly threaten me yet.
“It’s not like that. “Please refrain from speaking.”
“Did I tell you to refrain?”
“He is a talented person who will become the core of the empire I will lead, and a person who will assist me more closely than anyone else. “How can I call myself a father if I don’t trust my daughter like that?”
The expression was quite rough. It was to the point where I wondered if that was me.
“Because I believe in you, I want to test you further. “Not as your father, but as the emperor of the empire.”
“This is sophistry. “Can I take this to mean that you don’t trust my insight?”
“Can I take that to mean that you will also ignore the emperor of the empire?”
There was a lot of tension between the two.
“Mummy Crate.”
I don’t know how long it had been since the father and daughter glared at each other, but my name suddenly entered the emperor’s mouth. It’s impossible not to answer even when someone calls me directly.
“Yes. Your majesty.”
“I command you as the rightful ruler of the empire and emperor of all the people of the empire. “Show courtesy.”
‘Is that why you said that?’
It was a situation where Laura had given her advice in advance. No matter what the context is, there will be a situation in the middle where the emperor will force you to set an example.
I had no idea that they would attack me so openly.
“I won’t do it. “Shouldn’t anyone with ambition look at the rising sun, not the setting sun?”
Anyway, I had to say something, so I recited the answer Laura had given me. Even if it had been agreed upon in advance, it felt very awkward to actually defy the emperor right in front of his eyes.
The emperor remained quiet for a while. It wouldn’t have been surprising if they had ordered the Royal Guard to tear me to death right now, but they weren’t doing that, at least not yet.
“Huh hah hah hah!”
Then, he suddenly burst into laughter.
“hahahahaha! hahahahaha! “Do you want to say that I am a losing year?”
The emperor laughed as if he could barely breathe, and the pressure that filled the entire central hall subsided. His face did not have the majestic expression of an emperor, but the kind expression of a father looking at his daughter.
“I guess you’ve finally found someone you can truly have by your side, Laura.”
“That’s right.”
The atmosphere melted away in an instant. I was the one who was confused when this happened. The emperor stood up from his throne and gestured. The Royal Guard closed the door and disappeared, with a puzzled look on their faces.
Briskly, the body began to approach. His body was truly enormous. Even compared to Jake, a swordsmanship professor at Bellium Academy, he had a body that didn’t seem to be inferior at all.
He looked to the side and asked for an explanation with his eyes. Laura opened her mouth as if she had been waiting.
“It’s a kind of password that was decided in advance. “It is also a kind of test.”
“Password? Test?”
“My dear, the emperor is lonely. You shouldn’t trust anyone easily. However, no matter what situation happens, shouldn’t you always have at least one person you can trust by your side? “From my first words to my father’s reaction, think of this entire process as a series of tests.”
“…… “Please explain in more detail.”
“Weren’t we told in advance how to act? If you believed in me and did not submit to the emperor, you would pass the test. If you did not trust me and submitted to the emperor, you would fail the test. You trusted me and passed the test with flying colors. “It was the manly behavior I was looking for.”
Then couldn’t you have told me in advance that this was a test?
All I was told was to trust myself no matter what situation came and to respond to the emperor’s words to be polite as he had told me. Laura seemed to have sensed the meaning in her gaze and laughed.
“You didn’t lend me any clothes. It’s a small revenge. “I had faith that even if it were in front of the emperor, you wouldn’t be scared.”
“…… What do you mean, daughter? “You said you didn’t lend me your clothes?”
“It’s private, so don’t ask questions.”
The Emperor, who had been showing off a lot of pressure with his voice just now, had gone nowhere and seemed to be at a loss for every word Laura said.
No matter how much I pleaded, Laura wouldn’t tell me about her clothes, so she finally gave up and changed the subject.
“I have heard the rumors. She developed healing magic. She must be grateful because it allowed her to capture and kill the thorn in the side of the Starlight Church. But how did they develop healing magic? “It must be magic that has never been recorded in the history of the empire.”
“The Crown Princess will know. “She asks him.”
“Daughter?”
“It’s not possible. Never.”
I handed Laura her answer as I had kissed her beforehand, and Laura rejected it like her sword. This time, the emperor asked again and again, ready to kneel, but the answer he received was a stern refusal.
“You’re already so crazy about men that you’re abandoning your father like a devoted partner!”
“I’ve never thrown it away.”
If you look at his speech and actions, he didn’t seem like an emperor, but just like a neighborhood guy. He reminded me of Priscilla’s father. Didn’t that person also live tightly tied to Priscilla and her wife?
‘What happened to Gloria?’
Priscilla’s father, Priscilla’s older sister, also thought about it. That human was also possessed by a succubus, and since he was a duke, there was no way he would have been exempt from the detection magic, so he must have been caught.
“…… I get it. That’s it, and since I received something, I should repay it appropriately. “Both as the emperor ruling the empire and as a human being, I had a grudge against the Starlight Church.”
“No, I was hoping for compensation-“
I haven’t even written the wish ticket I received from the chairman yet.
“Would you take turns receiving a reward from every wizard in the empire, or would you end up receiving only one reward, which comes with the emperor’s reign?”
“…… “I would like to ask for compensation given directly by His Majesty the Emperor.”
“That’s right. “That’s a very wise choice.”
This is a fact I realized while playing, but religion is indispensable in any situation where there is a common enemy. There is nothing like religion to bring people together.
High-ranking people arbitrarily judged that this would threaten their power, so much so that they killed the target of the rally.
The same goes for the Starlight Church. It is true that the cult itself should disappear, but there was no intention to deny the divine power itself like Aria did in the original work.
Did I ask for no reason to include in the statement the statement that the candidacy for sainthood has not lost its shine? This is to make Rosaria the head of a new religion that will be born.
A religious order created by a saint who did not lose her light despite her ugliness. One story has already been completed.
‘The Empire won’t kill all the church members either.’
The Starlight Church was a religion that was powerful throughout the empire, and naturally the number of believers was also enormous. Even if it were an empire, it would not be able to kill all those numerous church members.
Only those judged to be irreversibly corrupted will be killed and the rest will be spared.
From Noble mtl dot com
They will make the decision about the irreversible corruption, so what I have to do is rally the remaining survivors. In the end, the top priority is driving out the demons.
“…… “Do I really have to become a saint?”
“Okay. Even while the entire church is being corrupted by demons, there is a saint who is the only one who has not lost her light. If I pretend to cast it and remove the condition with purification magic, it will look like a miracle.”
“No, did the emperor allow it? It was just two days ago that the Starlight Church collapsed. But are you going to create a new religion again?”
“It is difficult for the emperor now, and later, when Laura ascends to the throne, we have decided to make it look like the power of the goddess has come down to her. From now on, she will be a saint under the emperor. “They really like it because they are not trying to build their own power like the Pope, but because they are strengthening the emperor’s support base.”
“No, why didn’t you even discuss it with me…?” … So, should I live a better life from now on?”
Rosaria looked at me with bewildered eyes, as if she thought it was absurd that she had to act like a saint who did not even have eight characters.
“You know, Mira. “Is it okay to say that in that person’s presence?”
Priscilla tilted her head. Laura was where her gaze was directed. Laura, who was calmly eating dessert between us, answered.
“It will work.”
“Why?”
“Please know that it is because I am a possessed person brought here just like you. He is also the author of ‘How to Survive as a Hero’s Childhood Friend’, which created this worldview. Was this explained?”
Priscilla and Rosaria froze at the same time. Even Priscilla, whose expression rarely changed except when she was next to me, had a look of horror on her face.
‘Is that why you asked me to leave it to you?’
Once again, I was dumbfounded.
When I asked her how she was going to reveal her true identity to the other possessed people, they told me to leave it to her, but I wondered if she had asked me to leave it to her for that purpose.
Geek, two people looked at me at the same time. It was as if he was trying to confirm whether what he said was correct.
“That’s right. “For now, due to some circumstances, I haven’t been able to retrieve all of my memories.”
At those words, Rosaria’s body seemed to tremble, and she rushed at Laura and grabbed her by the collar.
“I met you well!”
“Why, why are you doing this?!”
“Why are you like this! A person who designed a saint’s clothes like that appeared before my eyes, so of course it had to be like this! Do you know how embarrassed I felt wearing that?!”
“Well, those aren’t the clothes I made! “Why would I dress you up in such perverted clothes?”
“Are you now accusing me of being a pervert?!”
A huge commotion broke out. I quickly separated the two before things escalated. Laura looked aggrieved, but she didn’t try to make any more excuses, perhaps because she revealed that she was a writer.
“Hmph. Let’s see where it goes. “I’ll check that first when I get out of here.”
“Well, it’s not really… ….”
As they worked hard to console each other for their resentment and even patted Priscilla, who was caught in the middle, I could feel the presence of people from outside. I raised my index finger, brought it to my lips, and opened the door.
“Hee, hee?! Mr. Mira?!”
She was about to come in, but Aria, who was holding her handle, was startled and backed away from her.
“Sorry. “Did you get it right?”
“Oh, no. It wasn’t right. I was just about to go in, but the door suddenly opened…… “I guess the timing was perfect.”
“Thank goodness. Are you here to rest? “Can I get you something?”
Aria shook her head.
“I came to look for Mira. Do you have time?”
“It’s time, but why? “Who’s calling me?”
“…… “I think you should go see the chairman for a moment.”