It was a monster wave that could have caused considerable damage if we had not resolved it in time.
And the place where the wave had occurred was, of all places, the imperial capital, where the Empire’s key figures and facilities were gathered….
Had our response been even slightly delayed, nearly every function of the Empire would have been paralyzed.
So it made sense that the emperor of the Grace Empire would acknowledge our achievements and invite us to the imperial palace to commend us.
It was just as the game had unfolded.
And so.
“His Majesty has invited Her Highness the Twenty-Third Imperial Princess, His Highness the Fifth Imperial Prince, and all of you, the heroes who saved the imperial capital, to the imperial palace. We would be grateful if you would accept the invitation.”
“…”
That morning, when someone from the imperial palace suddenly came to deliver the message.
In order to accept the invitation, we canceled our original plans and immediately departed for the imperial palace.
In the well-lit imperial audience chamber, reporters seemed to be waiting to cover news about us.
A short while later, the emperor appeared.
‘So that’s the emperor of the Empire.’
The Sun of the Empire, Vincenzo Grace.
Having briefly learned imperial etiquette in advance from the official overseeing the awards ceremony, we greeted the emperor.
As we did, I subtly lifted my gaze and stole a glance at his appearance.
Dull blond hair, and blue eyes devoid of any sense of drive.
Shadows lay beneath his eyes, and his beard had grown patchily along his jaw as if he had not shaved for a day or two. Overall, he gave off a gloomy impression.
He matched the game’s illustration.
‘Maybe because he’s Lisa and Mikhail hyung’s father, the three of them do resemble one another in some ways. From the look of it, Lisa inherited his eye color and nose bridge, while Mikhail hyung inherited his facial structure.’
While I was thinking that.
After telling us to raise our heads, the emperor stood before Mikhail, who was at the far left of the line.
Soon, the official in charge of the awards ceremony spoke of our achievements loudly enough for the others to hear.
However, since we were not accustomed to the language of the Empire, we could not understand much of it.
“This hero, without regard for himself, contributed to the protection of the Empire….”
An official assisting with the ceremony handed the emperor a plaque and a box.
As soon as the explanation of the contents ended, the emperor presented them to Mikhail.
Then he held out his hand.
“You do not disappoint me. Well done. Continue to devote yourself.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
Mikhail, maintaining an impassive attitude, took the emperor’s hand.
Judging from the circumstances, the two seemed to be exchanging words of praise.
Before long, the emperor approached Lisa.
“You have set an example as a member of the imperial family. When you first said you would enter the Academy, I was doubtful, but you seem to have changed greatly since then. I am proud of you. Continue to devote yourself.”
“…I am overwhelmed by Your Majesty’s imperial grace.”
Lisa, shaking hands with the emperor, bowed politely.
Rolling my eyes sideways, I was able to glimpse the smile on her face.
She might not have much affection for her father, but even so, she seemed deeply happy to have been acknowledged by him.
A short while after that.
“This hero…. For enthusiastically protecting the imperial capital and the citizens of the Empire, as an honorary citizen….”
“…”
Lisa’s certificate presentation ended, and now it was my turn.
From this point on, the award presentation was conducted in Korean.
From what I heard, we, who had rendered distinguished service, were to be recognized as honorary citizens of the Empire and legally guaranteed treatment equal to that of imperial citizens.
‘Next time I enter the Empire, I won’t have to go through all the bothersome procedures.’
As an additional prize, we were given three intermediate magic stones that could raise the desired stat, provided it was under 80.
After receiving the plaque and box, I clasped hands with the emperor.
The emperor spoke in Korean.
“You are of the Divine Sword Do Family, I hear. I would like you to convey my thanks to your family head on my behalf. And tell him that I hope we can continue to maintain good relations.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. I will be sure to tell him.”
“Good. In any case, thank you for lending your strength to the Empire. Devote yourself all the more.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
The emperor shook my hand with one hand and patted my shoulder with the other, as if encouraging me.
Soon, he stepped one by one toward Kang Hanbyeol, Yeon Haneul, and the other friends standing beside me.
They all looked proud.
…Except Kang Hanbyeol.
“I thought he’d be generous and give us each a treasure of the Empire or something…. What’s with being stingy and handing out magic stones? Magic stones….”
Kang Hanbyeol, who had shaken hands with the emperor with a smiling face, grumbled in dissatisfaction as soon as he sent him off.
I couldn’t help but smile bitterly.
‘Hanbyeol’s gotten spoiled…. Magic stones are plenty good.’
If magic stones are absorbed in succession, the absorption rate drops.
There is no easy path to growth in this world.
So I should absorb the magic stones while appropriately combining them with training.
‘The magic stone I absorbed when I was young kept getting put off and still hasn’t been used, so it remains as leftover points…. If I add these in, does that make 4?’
My current pure Agility and Mana stats were 77 and 64 respectively.
Rather than save up leftover points, I decided to invest them into the two stats I needed and that were difficult to raise.
‘Let’s make the ratio 3 Agility and 1 Mana. That way my Agility can reach 80.’
My heart pounded at the thought of soon crossing the wall of 80.
When that time came, I would likely be able to handle Rank 4 monsters with ease.
‘And the one I’ll be fighting in the Temple of Time happens to be Rank 4 too, so that works out. Though since it’s a boss monster, it’ll be stronger than a typical Rank 4….’
* * *
A week passed in the blink of an eye, and our trip to the Grace Empire came to an end.
On the last day of the trip, we smacked our lips in regret and headed to the warp gate terminal.
“I really had fun the entire trip. Let’s come visit again next time. If it’s all of you, you’re welcome anytime. Then please all return safely. I’ll see you at the Academy when school starts.”
“If you ever have business in the Empire again, contact me. I will treat you generously then. Farewell.”
Lisa and Mikhail, who had come to see us off, waved their hands as they said goodbye.
After likewise giving our farewells, we left to go through departure screening.
The departure screening procedure was simple.
It was thanks to having been treated as honorary citizens.
Afterward, we each passed through the warp gate leading home.
My vision turned pure white.
And when it soon returned to normal.
“…”
Yeon Haneul, the triplets, and I had arrived in Seoul before we knew it.
Having crossed dimensions and traveled such a long distance, we were once again seized by a strange sense of wonder.
But that lasted only a moment, and we set off on the road home.
“Time really flies. I never thought a week would pass this quickly. Is it because we traveled with the others? It was so fun I forgot the time was passing. We took tons of pictures too.”
“Yeah. I did get a little tired and worn out from playing so frantically, but it was still fun. Let’s go on another trip somewhere with the others next time too.”
“Yeah! Sounds good.”
The triplets parted ways with us midway.
Yeon Haneul and I continued walking while chatting away.
Then, she broached a subject.
“By the way, it’s already next week….”
“Next week? Ah… the entrance exam?”
“Yeah, I’m assisting with the exam then. As my first activity as a student council officer. They say there’ll be over ten thousand applicants, so it’s a real big deal. It’ll be really busy, won’t it? I’m worried whether I’ll be able to do well….”
Yeon Haneul let out a deep sigh.
The sight of her rabbit ears drooping so low they seemed about to fold against her head was cute.
A chuckle slipped out of me, and I decided to comfort her.
“Wouldn’t you be able to do well? Si-eun noona, Senior Dasom, and Senior Suhyeok all said you’re good at your work. Don’t worry too much. And they won’t give exam assistants any difficult tasks.”
“Still…. Once there are a lot of people, the basic workload increases, you know? No matter how easy the work is, what good is that then? Sigh….”
“How about using Split? Make clones and divide the workload by the number of them. Isn’t that simple for you, Haneul? Last semester, when you were really busy, you made as many as three clones to study, do assignments, and handle student council and Shield activities. Or was it only three?”
“No, I can’t do that. Being too good at work is a problem too. If I keep using Split every time like that, how do you think the people around me will see me? They’ll say I can just split myself to work and try to hand all the work over to me. Then I’ll become nothing but a machine that works.”
“Hmm… you’re not entirely wrong. But a thought just occurred to me: from an employer’s perspective, there wouldn’t be any talent more attractive than you, Haneul. In theory, they could extract nearly infinite labor in exchange for hiring one person.”
“Would you look at this kid? Could you not suddenly say such scary things? Just imagining it is horrifying…. I have absolutely no intention of providing labor at a bargain price, okay?”
“Tsk, what a shame. I just came up with a splendid business idea.”
“Is this fun, little Do Gyeonwoo? Are you enjoying yourself?”
“Yeah! Of course.”
“Sigh….”
As I chuckled lightly, Yeon Haneul shook her head as if I was hopeless.
But I could tell that the corners of her mouth were drawing a faint arc.
Soon, she changed the subject.
“Still, you know. I think at least one thing is a relief.”
“What is?”
“You’re also going to Academy City for a little while next week because of the chairman’s request, right? If I had stayed in Academy City alone, I probably would’ve felt really lonely. But since you’ll be there too, Gyeonwoo… it’s comforting.”
“…”
“Thank you.”
Yeon Haneul smiled softly.
Her gaze seemed to contain emotions that filled my heart with reassurance, like trust and affection.
So, as if bewitched by her, I couldn’t take my eyes off her.
Though, in truth, that had been the case for a very long time, ever since I realized my romantic feelings for her.
“The chairman’s request you said you’re doing with Hanbyeol. You deliberately set the date to match mine, didn’t you? So I wouldn’t feel lonely.”
“…No. Hanbyeol and the chairman were trying to set a date during vacation, and it just happened to turn out that way. So don’t misunderstand for no reason, and don’t feel burdened.”
“Then why is your face red? Like someone who’s lying.”
“That’s because… you’re too pretty.”
“…”
It was a lie.
No, Yeon Haneul being pretty was absolutely not a lie.
The lie was the part about the day for conquering the Temple of Time being set during the entrance exam period by chance.
As she said, I had intentionally selected that date.
Because I didn’t want to send her to Academy City alone, nor did I want to burden her.
“…”
At some point, we had stopped walking and were quietly looking at each other.
A moment later, she opened her mouth.
“I want to kiss you right now.”
“…”
“With tongue too.”
Yeon Haneul set down her carrier.
Then, approaching me, she slowly placed her hands on my body.
As if responding to her touch, I also gently pulled her into my arms.
“Can I do it while touching your tail?”
“…Yeah, only for today. But… don’t touch it too much, okay?”
“I’ll make sure you don’t hate it. In the first place, I don’t want to do anything you dislike.”
“Thank you.”
The emotions contained in Yeon Haneul’s red eyes grew deep.
Receiving her gaze as if it were piercing through me, I could no longer hold back and pressed my lips to hers.
While the hand that had traveled down her back kneaded her thick tail.
* * *
The days when he had devoted himself energetically to contributing to the Empire’s development were now long in the past.
As time passed and he ascended to the throne, Vincenzo Grace no longer burned with passion.
He had no ambition or aspirations whatsoever to lead the Empire forward.
He had had them once, but he had given them all up.
Now, he merely wished to maintain the status quo so that the Empire could continue existing unchanged.
Just like the previous king, his father, whom he had once considered pathetic, a man without the bearing befitting an emperor.
“The weather is fine. I shall walk outside for a while and get some air.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. We will accompany you.”
He had been reviewing documents in his office.
Suddenly turning his eyes toward the window, Vincenzo rose to his feet to take a walk in the rear garden.
Those assigned to guard him followed.
With them in tow, he left the office and walked down the long corridor.
From the sunlit corridor, the rear garden spread out beneath the clear sky could be seen.
“…”
The world reflected in his eyes was beautiful.
That was why he fell even deeper into despair.
‘This world is perishing.’
It was the secret and truth of the world that he had learned upon inheriting the imperial throne.
It was also an inevitable future that no one could ever prevent.
The reason he could assert that was….
Because the Empire had once mobilized all its strength to resist the end, and had failed in the end.
In the previous world.
‘The Empire—and every race—was defeated. Those of us who survived had no choice but to escape annihilation with the help of the World Tree and cross over into this world. But… this world was no different.’
Ruin—that indescribable “thing”—has set its sights on this world.
To the point that the moment it sees even the slightest opening, it will pounce without hesitation.
‘The Wave that engulfed the imperial capital this time was surely its doing as well. Its objective is, as expected… the World Tree.’
The World Tree that has taken root in this world serves to stabilize the dimension.
For that reason, “it” had made the twelve World Trees currently existing in the world its highest-priority targets.
That was why disasters and calamities like Rifts and Gates occurred with particular frequency in the regions surrounding the World Trees.
The Wave that occurred in the imperial capital this time could be understood in that context.
The problem was that its scale was anything but ordinary.
Had it not been resolved in time…
‘The Empire might have perished. And beyond that, starting with the Empire, it would have affected the entire world.’
That was how much the World Tree’s power had weakened, and how unstable the dimension had become.
No—things were growing worse with each passing day.
The future of destruction was not far off.
‘This is a world whose end has been foretold. How much longer can it hold out…?’
It would not be strange if it were to collapse this very day.
In such a world, what meaning was there in pursuing one’s ambitions?
Of course, it was not as though he had never thought of struggling with all his might.
Just as the Empire had fled to this world, he had considered fleeing once more to another.
But he had no choice but to give up.
Because he could see no hope.
‘No more miracles will occur. I do not know whether the World Tree has any power left to move between dimensions, and more than anything…’
The imperial family of the Empire, who were supposed to lend their strength to the World Tree, no longer possessed the same power as they had in the past.
Because the Gift passed down through their bloodline, the Platinum Grace, had grown diluted with each generation.
‘Originally, the role of the imperial family was to stabilize the dimension. The Gift we possessed, which interfered with time and space, made that possible. That was why the Empire was able to guide the different races toward harmony…’
However, in the process of crossing dimensions together with the World Tree, the imperial family had exhausted far too much of their power.
So much so that recovery was impossible.
As a result, their descendants had no choice but to be born possessing a weakened Gift.
By now, it was no more than something they could use for small conveniences in daily life.
As time passed, it would only decline further.
‘If… Saintess Veronica had crossed over to this world…’
According to the history passed down within the imperial family, Veronica Grace was said to have carried the greatest Grace of all.
She was the one who had bought time until the very end so that the Empire could move between dimensions.
If she had not remained in the previous world and had instead come to this one—
Would the situation have been different?
“…”
It was a futile assumption.
Lost in thought as he walked through the rear garden, Vincenzo lifted his head.
The winter sky was painfully blue.
Ill-fitting for a world on borrowed time, it was devastatingly dazzling.
I Became the Childhood Friend of the Mid-Boss