Gim Ujin’s profession was that of a designer.
Lacking the talent to become a painter like Van Gogh or Millet, he instead drew the people and backgrounds of a world within a game.
[Independent Quest: Game Designer Gim Ujin]
◆ Objective: Exploration
◆ Reward: ???
Even now, within this worldview, the characters I modeled live and move, and their continent is a background and landscape I painted over with my own hands.
“……An unconscious manifestation.”
Then is the current phenomenon the result of the unconscious brought about by the ego known as “Gim Ujin”?
I am pondering as I look at the golden ore.
Its composition, form, and size—everything is a perfect lump of gold. Because of this object the adventurer obtained, my thoughts are somewhat complicated.
……Wow. What is all this?
Epherene exclaimed in a completely hoarse voice. Beside her, Maho and Drent merely nodded blankly.
I said,
“It is a magic circle for a mental fortitude test. Originally, it spans three hundred pages, but this is what it looks like when fully unfolded.”
A gigantic magic circle filled the mansion’s study. With “Formation” and “Manipulation” as its main systems, and “Harmony” and “Illusion” as its subsidiary systems, it was a magical theory comprising four systems in total.
If this magic circle were operated with the 「Magitech Brainwave Detector」 to which Midas’s Hand had been applied, the “test” the adventurers so desperately desired at this very moment would be realized.
“I see~! Amazing, amazing~ What will you do now, Professor~? I, I want to try this test too, I do~”
Maho muttered with a bright smile, while Epherene squatted down and stared at the magic circle.
“…….”
However, I silently looked up at the night sky. I stared at the clustered stars and thought.
Gim Ujin.
A person not of this world, but from somewhere beyond that distant, dark sea of stars.
He is undoubtedly the largest part that composes “me,” and thus this quest proves Gim Ujin while simultaneously serving as evidence of an existence from “outside” this world.
Then, if I clear this independent quest, will I come to know that secret?
Will I be able to understand the reason I came here?
However, is it truly right for Deculein to resolve Gim Ujin’s quest?
……Professor. But what are you going to do about Sylvia?
At that moment, Epherene asked. I looked back at her.
Still, she was a disciple clearly thick with the signs of a cold. That foolish, dimwitted face cut off my thoughts.
I smiled faintly.
……Why, why are you laughing?
I am Gim Ujin, and I am Deculein. I will not be swept away by either side, nor will I agonize over it.
Furthermore, contemplation is not a virtue of nobility. Wasting time on slow deliberation is nothing more than intellectual vanity.
A true noble is a class that holds certainty in oneself.
Therefore, I am certain that I am one of the chosen. I am certain that I am distinct from street rabble and other vermin. I am certain that I am of a status deserving the reverence of the subjects. I am also certain that I bear the responsibility befitting that.
Even if it is a result formed by a systematized personality, that certainty will never disappear.
It is a faith that believes only in myself.
“No.”
I shook my head. I had nearly forgotten what mattered most because of the name Gim Ujin and the system’s tricks.
“This test will be used as a means to control the adventurers. I, too, am curious what will lie at its end.”
The independent quest, Gim Ujin.
What awaits at the end of Gim Ujin’s world, where the adventurers will wander?
Whether it is an event in the distant future, or a future that will arrive before I leave…….
I will know when the time comes.
* * *
From the next day onward, I received identification cards and resumes from adventurers and applicants. I instructed Yeriel to select a location in Hadekain where this test could be conducted safely, and obtained the Floating Island’s permission for the creation of a “magical space.”
At the same time, the Floating Island issued me an official document regarding rank promotion.
—[ Proposal for the Rank Promotion of Monarch Deculein ]—
∵ As the achievements of the current Monarch Deculein are drawing attention not only on the continent but also on the Floating Island, discussion regarding rank promotion will be held at this Addict Council and the Floating Island Agenda Committee.
∵ For confirmation of the agenda. In order to verify your major achievement, “the creation of a magical space,” an Addict will be dispatched. We ask that you permit their entry.
∵ The proposed promotion rank is “Ether.”
As Monarch Deculein’s age has already exceeded thirty-three full years, the required approval ratio for promotion is over “80%.”
∵ Please enter your signature below, enclosing one drop of blood.
∵ [ ]
—————
A rank promotion evaluation. In truth, when evaluating mages, age is also a rather important factor, so the younger one is, the less stringent it is.
This is because it is orthodox theory that an ordinary mage’s talent shows signs around the age of ten, begins to stand out before twenty, and is completed around thirty.
Therefore, promotion after thirty, when one has already reached one’s limits, is extremely rare.
[Rank Quest: Promotion to Ether]
◆ Mana +300
◆ Acquisition of a magic-related trait
Perhaps thanks to that, the reward is not insignificant either.
I signed the Floating Island’s official document. I sealed it with a drop of blood.
“…….”
Then I looked at the clock.
The time was midnight.
The date was April 9th.
The world will no longer regress.
However, that is not entirely good news. The fact that the regression is no longer repeating means that the Altar, too, has obtained what it desired.
“Master. These are the materials you requested.”
At that moment, a shadow beneath the study mimicked Ren’s voice. I glared at it indifferently.
“What prank is this now?”
“Hoho. Husband~ It has been so long.”
Yosepine.
She approached as though twirling in a waltz and placed the materials on my desk.
“This year’s spring will be stained with the blood of purges.”
“Did you handle the work properly?”
“I connected everything just as you said, Husband. I mobilized every last underworld connection as well.”
A ledger linking all of the roughly several hundred imperial palace lackeys who had joined the Altar before the regression.
“…….”
I read every bit of the material where I sat. Speed reading was my specialty, so ten minutes was enough.
“How is it?”
At Yosepine’s question, I nodded. She smiled brightly as well.
“What a relief~ However, there is still one problem.”
“A problem.”
“Julie keeps digging into your past, Professor.”
“…….”
“She is unexpectedly sharp. If I had not interfered, she might have found the truth on her own. That child is receiving cooperation from the Intelligence Bureau. She has several informants attached to her too.”
I silently picked up the radio.
Click— It connected somewhere.
“Is this the Intelligence Bureau? This is Deculein.”
—Yes. I am—
“Put the Director on.”
—……Yes.
Wow~ As expected of you, Husband~ Yosepine opened her eyes wide as if deliberately impressed.
—He is on.
“Director.”
—Yes, Professor. What brings you to call at this hour?
Tap, tap, tap. I drummed my fingers on the desk as I spoke.
“I hear rumors that the Intelligence Bureau has recently been cooperating with Knight Deia.”
—Yes. It was His Majesty’s order.
“His Majesty’s order should have been merely to issue her an information access permit.”
—……Yes. As for the parts Knight Deia is investigating beyond that, I understand that our agents judged them ‘reasonable’ and are assisting her of their own accord.
The Director’s voice was unexpectedly firm.
“Reasonable.”
—Yes. Reasonable.
“Then do you intend to continue cooperating with her?”
—……We are an independent institution. The only one who can command us is His Majesty.
“I, too, am a subject who follows His Majesty.”
I sank back into my chair. At that, the Director’s voice returned rather hostile.
—Yes. Professor, you are a subject, not His Majesty. Do not be mistaken. Furthermore, the Intelligence Bureau is a special institution that operates with a focus on ‘information,’ including reasonable claims and evidence, not on pressure from nobles or families.
“……Is that so.”
—Yes.
“I understand. I will see you later.”
Click— I turned off the radio.
Yosepine furrowed her brow as if disappointed.
“Husband. Does even Yukline’s authority not work on the Intelligence Bureau?”
“Yosepine.”
I looked at her and spoke in a low voice.
“Did you not read the list? The Director is in here as well.”
“……?”
Yosepine picked up the ledger she herself had handed me. She skimmed a certain section, then looked at me again.
“……The Director of the Intelligence Bureau is not—”
“No.”
I cut her off.
“He is in there.”
“…….”
Yosepine’s expression stiffened slightly.
Suddenly, the pale moonlight of dawn streamed in through the crack in the window. A chill wind shook the curtains.
“……How curious. Husband, do you want officials who follow you? Or else…….”
“Following my words is the path that serves the Empire and the continent.”
“…….”
“So whether he is in this register or not, all of that is up to me. Is it not?”
At that, Yosepine laughed softly. She stared at me intently and shook her head.
“Then?”
“In any case, he is merely a replaceable head, and if he insists on being this difficult to use.”
The Director of the Intelligence Bureau. Due to the bureau’s unique insularity and anonymity, from the moment he became Director, he was called only “Director,” without even a name.
“I must cut him off and install a new one.”
“Do you have someone prepared to be the new head?”
“…….”
Yosepine held out the Intelligence Bureau’s roster. I silently read through the names.
“Well.”
No name stood out. However, surely “they” had infiltrated the Intelligence Bureau like spies.
The Red Garnet faction that dwelled in the desert while rejecting the Altar.
The last flame of the “Great Elder” led by Elesol.
“I will have to find one through interviews.”
I intend to give them at least one official post.
* * *
……A bloody storm is blowing through the Empire.
In a single night, countless nobles were arrested regardless of family, status, or office; merchant guilds and companies were dismantled; and the corruption of officials was exposed in full detail.
Among the “names” on that purge list were great figures who had manipulated the Empire until now. Rather than small fry, there were even more influential families.
Each of them sought a way to preserve their own life, but when they heard who stood behind it, they were shocked. And they despaired.
“……Deculein. That bastard…….”
The Empire’s old statesman, Romellok. As one pillar of the imperial palace faction that had served two reigns, from Crebaim to Sophien, he sat in his room, trembling all over.
It was because of a single letter that had arrived at his house this morning.
[If you think of your children and grandchildren, and if you are concerned for your family, you should step down now. The secular world has grown too perilous.]
Not content with having charmed His Imperial Majesty, the damned professor who sought to swallow the entire imperial palace—sentences written in Deculein’s hand.
An obvious and unmistakable threat.
“……I knew it would come to this.”
Romellok pressed his wrinkled hand against his temple. His aged fingers kept trembling.
“What am I supposed to do…….”
Now he thought of Deculein.
A noble who sought to sever the heads of all retainers, sit upon a bloodstained throne, and rule and reign by himself.
A great evil that manipulated His Imperial Majesty as he pleased and gnawed away at the Empire.
The face of a tyrant and a traitor.
“Late Emperor. What is this subject Romellok to do before such a despairing villain…….”
Romellok closed his eyes and prayed as though seeking an answer from the distant sky.
…….
“Today is April 9th.”
Meanwhile, Epherene, ignorant of the ways of the world, said to Deculein with a hehe—grin. Deculein nodded as he straightened his tie.
“I know.”
“What a relief! It’s really over for sure now. ……Oh right, I heard you’re rising to Ether rank?”
“The vote is underway.”
Deculein straightened his tie. He placed various materials into his briefcase and received a report through the radio.
—We have captured the Director of the Intelligence Bureau. We will interrogate him.
“……Captured? Interrogate?”
Epherene blinked.
“Do not concern yourself with it. For now, think only about Sylvia.”
“Ah, yes.”
Sylvia is in the “Voice.” Thinking of a way to approach the “Voice” as quickly as possible is Epherene’s role.
“Right now, I’m revising the magic I’ll submit to the magic competition in that direction.”
Deculein nodded while gripping the office doorknob.
“……Report to me later.”
“Yes. Have a safe trip!”
……After Deculein left like that, Epherene furtively looked around.
Ahem. Ahem.
Clearing her throat, she quietly opened the office door.
Ding—
The elevator arrived just in time. As soon as Deculein got in, Epherene went outside and opened the door to the assistant research office.
Then she whispered softly.
“You may come out now, Your Majesty.”
“……Mm.”
At that, rising slowly from beneath the desk was red hair. Facing her, Epherene straightened her waist.
“I greet Your Majesty…….”
Emperor Sophien. Epherene had, by sheer coincidence—for Sophien, by design—encountered Sophien.
The place was the library.
Epherene, walking while searching for a book, accidentally bumped into Sophien, and at that moment, Sophien’s disguise was undone…….
“Enough. Let us tail him. I have always been curious about the anniversary of Deculein’s former fiancée’s death.”
“Yes, yes.”
The purpose of the two today—or rather, the purpose for which Sophien had deliberately sought Epherene out—was only one.
The anniversary of Deculein’s former fiancée’s death.
“I do not feel good about it, as it seems like peeping, but well. Considering what that bastard is doing in the imperial palace right now.”
Just who was the woman whom that cold-blooded, cruel bastard Deculein, the one who whipped up bloody storms, had loved so dearly? And what sort of expression would Deculein show before that gravestone?
Sophien was curious about all of it.
“Yes, Y-Your Majesty. But I…… please leave me out of it…….”
……Gulp.
Epherene, looking extremely nervous, kept bowing her head. Sophien looked at her as though she found her cute and replied.
“It is nothing serious. You need only guide me. I will take care of the rest…….”