Episode 125
"...What did you just say?"
I was so surprised that formal speech slipped out.
What did Klana just say?
Did I hear that correctly?
"...W-well."
As I was thinking that, Klana's eyes began to tremble after seeing my flustered reaction.
"Mmm..."
Eventually, she couldn't bring herself to speak and lowered her head instead.
"...When exactly did you make the blood oath?"
When I asked Klana gently, she glanced at me and began to speak.
"When you collapsed, I fed you my blood."
"Surely that bandage on your hand isn't...?"
So that's why her hand was bandaged.
I never imagined that would be a wound made for a blood oath, and one meant for me at that.
"........Sigh."
"F-Frey."
As I frowned and stroked Klana's bandaged hand, she, who had been watching me, began to speak in a quiet voice.
"I'll use everything I have to help you. Because you deserve that."
"...I see."
"Earlier you said you needed my help regarding the slave market, right? I'll provide both information and manpower related to the slave market. What kind of help do you need from me?"
When she said that, I sighed and answered.
"I'm going to liberate all the slaves in this slave market."
"...What?"
Klana looked bewildered at my words. It seems she hadn't considered the scenario of liberating all those slaves.
"Is that even possible?"
"...The possibility is sufficient, and with your help, it will increase even more."
"W-what should I do?"
To her, I spoke with a determined expression.
"Become the hidden mastermind behind the liberation incident."
"...What?"
"Be the hero of this slave market liberation incident."
At those words, Klana's jaw dropped.
"The aftermath of this incident will be quite significant. So it would be perfect for the halo needed to become the Empire's sun."
"Y-you..."
"Naturally, I must remain in the shadows. You know well that I cannot reveal my identity."
At that, Klana nodded quietly, then spoke with a sad expression.
"But... will that really be enough?"
"Well, eventually everyone will know in the future. I'll just receive endless praise then."
I said that jokingly, but Klana lowered her head and her hands began to tremble.
"...Mmm."
Watching Klana quietly, I spoke with a serious expression.
"Klana, there's something I need to tell you."
"Yes?"
"Isn't your self-esteem too low?"
It was a thought I'd had every time I saw her recently, but Klana's self-esteem had dropped too much lately.
In the past it was unavoidable, but if she continues like this even after knowing everything, it would be quite troublesome.
So, I needed to address this at some point.
"The sight of you sitting on the imperial throne, displaying charisma and ordering the final battle against the Demon King's army is still vivid in my eyes."
"B-but..."
When I spoke with sincerity, Klana began to stutter.
"But now you only show a weak appearance, trembling at every little thing. You're even stuttering words you've never stuttered before."
At my words, Klana lost her words and turned her gaze aside.
"...But, I'm nothing."
"What does that mean?"
"I was just a third princess born with a good status, nothing remarkable. I felt that deeply this cycle."
Klana answered in a depressed voice, then sighed and began to speak.
"No matter how much effort I put in, I realized in the last cycle that there's a wall that cannot be crossed."
"...Are you talking about the Demon King?"
"Yes, of course I couldn't accept it at first. So I tried even harder to somehow leap over that wall..."
Klana trailed off, then looked at me with guilt-filled eyes.
"...Instead, I ended up hindering and hurting the only person who could break that wall."
"That's not your fault..."
"And, I even caused trouble for her... ah."
Seeing Klana suddenly stop speaking after mumbling in a depressed voice, I quietly brought up the information window before my eyes.
"I'll read your information window for you, Klana."
"What?"
"Name, Klana Solar Sunrise. Strength, magic power, and intelligence stats are all at 7... mental strength is 8.1. And you also have a trait called Ruler's Aura."
"Frey?"
"Ruler's Aura... that's a very good trait. Just by glaring, you can make your opponent feel tingling sensations."
When I spoke the contents of the information window with a serious expression, Klana began to look bewildered.
"The unremarkable third princess who had nothing but her bloodline and was shunned by everyone rose to this level through her own pure effort... and you say you're nothing?"
"As I said earlier, effort alone has limits..."
I interrupted Klana's trembling voice and fixed my gaze.
"Do you know what your 'attribute' looks like in my eyes?"
I meant the 'attribute' of hers that I could see clearly.
"Hegemon."
"Heg...emon?"
"Yes, it means a ruler who commands the entire world."
Klana's eyes began to widen at my words.
"Honestly, the system I have might be a bit unreliable... but it doesn't play tricks like that."
"Th-then that means..."
"You have overflowing qualities to become an emperor, Klana."
When I said that with a confident smile, Klana began to show an expression of disbelief.
"So, please have some confidence."
"Frey..."
"Only then will there be meaning in serving you."
When I drove the point home, Klana stopped her hands from trembling.
"........Ah."
Klana, who even stopped moving, held me in her golden eyes.
"Is that... so?"
She began to ask in a quiet voice.
"Is that your answer?"
Klana's eyes began to look quite different from before.
Not the eyes hollowed out by self-deprecation, but the eyes that shone as a leader.
When I nodded with another confident expression at her, she continued with an affectionate smile.
"I'll do my best so that I don't disappoint you."
"Yes, that's enough..."
"As I mentioned earlier, please speak to me informally from now on."
Then Klana suddenly changed her expression to a solemn one, and only then could I feel at ease.
Because the true sun of the Empire had finally revealed itself again, not the passive appearance she'd shown recently.
"Good, then... ah, about what we discussed earlier..."
I was looking at Klana with a satisfied smile, then recalled what she had said earlier and tried to bring up the topic with a troubled expression.
"Well then, let's leave the conversation at that."
"Hmm?"
She said that with a smile.
"Wait, about what you said earlier..."
"That was..."
When I tried to say something in my flustered state, Klana, who was still wearing a relaxed smile, said:
"It wasn't said to hear your answer."
"What?"
"It was merely my declaration."
After saying that, she pointed at the door and essentially dismissed me.
"Well then, goodbye."
"...Huh?"
Something seems to have gone wrong.
.
Frey left the room with a dazed expression.
"...Mmm."
Watching his back quietly, Klana let out a small groan when she saw his hand holding the cane trembling.
- Click.
"Frey..."
After the door closed.
"I'm sorry for being so selfish..."
Klana threw away the relaxed expression she had been wearing and buried her face in the desk with a sad expression.
"But..."
After staying face-down on the desk for a while, she mumbled with a tearful voice.
"Before the time given to you runs out, I want to leave your trace behind..."
The mumbling eventually turned into sobbing.
.
"Young master, have you come out?"
"Ah."
When I came out of Klana's room, I saw Kania in my field of vision, wearing an expressionless face.
"Kania, why are you here?"
"...I just followed you."
"Just like that?"
I don't understand why she followed me now when she sent me alone earlier. And for some reason, her eyes look half-closed too.
Did she eat something wrong?
"Young master, please take this."
"...Hmm?"
While I was thinking that, Kania handed me something.
I tilted my head to check, and a quite luxurious-looking medicine bottle came into view.
"It's medicine that calms the mind and makes you feel composed."
"Why are you giving me that suddenly?"
"It's for your health."
When Kania offered the medicine again, I accepted and drank it without much thought.
Since it's a tonic from Kania, there shouldn't be any problem, and my mind was quite shaken by Klana's statement.
"...Oh, this actually works."
"I told you so."
Feeling somewhat better, I handed the bottle back to Kania, and she answered with a smile.
"I'm glad to see your expression has relaxed, it seems effective."
"...I see."
Looking at her with a slightly ambiguous expression, I leaned on my cane and began walking down the corridor.
"Young master, where are you heading this time?"
"I'm going to meet someone related to the slave market."
Kania, who had been staring at me intently after hearing that, asked in a quiet voice.
"A woman, I presume?"
"...How did you know?"
"I just had a feeling that would be the case."
Hearing her answer, I made a slightly uncomfortable expression and asked cautiously.
"By any chance, are you using black magic?"
"What do you mean?"
"No, it's just that you've been guessing my thoughts correctly since earlier..."
"If I were using black magic, young master would have noticed."
Kania answered with a calm expression.
"How many years have I served you? I can tell that much just by looking at your expression."
"...Is that so?"
"Yes, I am your competent butler after all."
I was chuckling at Kania who said that and shrugged her shoulders.
"...Hmm?"
Hearing a familiar sound from far down the corridor, I tilted my head.
"Why are they here?"
"Grrrr!!"
"Coo coo coo!!"
An owl and a pigeon are flying toward me with all their might.
How many times have I seen that scene now?
"Those two don't seem to get tired."
"True, how does a pigeon even fight with an owl? Normally wouldn't it be outmatched physically?"
"A pigeon 'fights' with an owl?"
When I responded to Kania's words while thinking, she asked with wide eyes.
"Yeah, they fight pretty well."
".......!"
At my words, Kania suddenly began to show an expression of wounded pride.
'...Should I train them or something?'
I was tilting my head looking at her, and seeing the two birds that had come right in front of me, I wondered if I should give them some violence-prohibition training.
- Flap flap!
"...Huh?"
The creatures that had come right up to me suddenly grabbed my shoulders with their feet and began flapping their wings.
"What's going on?"
Being dragged somewhere by them, I saw that both birds had serious expressions and muttered in a low voice.
"...Don't tell me, did a fight break out somewhere?"