Prepare for the ceremony————!
A shout filled the morning of the imperial palace. It announced the preparations for the ceremony, mingling with the sound of hooves racing around the outer palace grounds.
Yet Sophien sat in the Emperor’s bedchamber, wearing a rather displeased expression.
“Ahan.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Ahan answered at once, and Sophien glared out the window sullenly.
“We had a dream.”
“A dream, Your Majesty?”
“Yes. Rohakan appeared.”
“……Ah.”
Rohakan. The Black Hand had not been dead for very long, and yet he still lingered like this, tormenting Her Majesty.
Ahan shook his head.
“Whatever that traitor may have said, it would be best not to concern yourself with—”
“No. It is worth concern.”
Sophien had dreamed.
However, it had been a dream that was not a dream. More precisely, it was a “memory that had flowed through a crack.”
“It seems, in any case, that the damned bastard did something inside Our head.”
Sophien had a faint memory, as if faded by time.
Before the endless repetitions of poisonings, when Rohakan had murdered her mother and left—that day, which she could not recall no matter how hard she tried.
“Whether it is a lock upon Our memory, or whether Rohakan planted a device when We were too young, and that lock grew along with Us… Our magic cannot dismantle it.”
“How would it be to ask the Professor?”
“…….”
Sophien silently looked back at Ahan. Ahan bowed his head.
“My apologies. I have spoken out of turn.”
“No. You are right. It is strange that We would suddenly have a dream like this. There is a need to ask Deculein.”
“Yes. However, when Your Majesty says it is strange……”
“Four days ago, Deculein visited Rohakan’s vineyard. At first, We thought it was simply an act of mourning.”
Sophien’s brow furrowed slightly.
“……It cannot be a coincidence that We had such a sudden dream.”
“Is that so, Your Majesty?”
“It is. Therefore, We shall change the manner in which the ceremony proceeds.”
For an instant, Ahan’s eyes widened.
“Yes? However—”
“It is fine. In any case, Deculein had learned the information beforehand, had he not? We intend only to change the order and the invited guests a little.”
Sophien said so and smiled faintly. Soon, Ahan, too, prostrated himself before her.
“……Yes, Your Majesty. It is Your Majesty’s empire. An empire where anything is accomplished according to Your Majesty’s will……”
* * *
“……There~ All done.”
Rohallak. A prison built in the desert, where the daily temperature difference could swing by more than sixty degrees, functioning like a human wall that blocked the monsters beyond its territory.
The continent, ignorant of its true circumstances, said that “death is better than being imprisoned in Rohallak,” but their leader, Karixel, did not think so at all.
“How is it? It should hurt less now, at least.”
The prison’s only free time. The exercise yard—written as such, but read as a steaming desert outside.
Karixel wrapped Lucy’s face with a hastily made bandage.
“…….”
Lucy was trembling without a word. Well, the shock of losing her sight must have been considerable. Especially if her eyes had been gouged out directly by Deculein’s steel……
The Jeokgwe beside her also looked somewhat worried.
“Mr. Karixel.”
“Yes. It truly has been a long time, Miss Lucy. But do you know this? Unlike the dantian, eyeballs can be restored if you meet a skilled dollmaker. So let’s endure only until we get out. We will support the cost.”
“…….”
At that, Lucy bit her lip. Karixel deliberately spoke in a bright tone.
“It’s all right. We owe the Great Elder a great debt, so that much can be done free of—”
“I.”
Whoosh—she snapped her head up.
“……And we carried on Grandfather’s will. We tried to live hidden away in peace, causing no harm to anyone. But the Empire, Deculein—”
“It’s all right. You can leave alive. We will not die here. All the residents of Fadahal have also arrived safely in Rohallak.”
“I heard they’re building a gas chamber anyway.”
Lucy’s voice was rough, as if sobs and fury had tangled together.
Karixel answered gently.
“The gas chamber will be fine too. We plan to dig beneath the gas chamber and make a shelter. We have already prepared everything……”
“If you’ve prepared all that!”
Lucy jerked her head from side to side. But there was no one she could see, and in even greater despair, she continued as if crying out.
“Then you can escape, outside Rohallak! Stop lying to me! Who do you take for a cripple?!”
“Of course not. It is true. It is not a lie. The reason we do not escape is because Rohallak is the safest place here.”
“What kind of bullshit—come here. Come here!”
Lucy clawed at the air with her hand. Karixel smiled bitterly and placed a hand on her shoulder.
“The Emperor hates the Jeokgwe. Until then, we must hide here.”
“Hide, my ass!”
Lucy struck him away roughly. Karixel spoke steadfastly.
“We need the help of Miss Lucy, a descendant of the Great Elder.”
“What help can you get from a blind person—”
“Here, Miss Lucy is the only person whose dantian has not been extracted. I am grateful, rather. It is a selfish thought, but I am grateful to Professor Deculein. We needed a dantian.”
“What……”
To Lucy, those words were absurd. That Professor bastard had gouged out her eyes, and he was grateful?
Grateful?
“Grateful? Grateful? Say that again. Grateful?”
“If Miss Lucy stays here for a long time, once you grow accustomed to life without eyes, you will become grateful to the Professor as well.”
“……You repay kindness with enmity, Karixel. Like a crazy psychopath!”
Lucy suddenly thrust out her hand and seized someone’s hair.
“This is you, isn’t it?”
Karixel answered.
“It is not.”
“……Hm.”
Lucy let go.
“Then who is it? Hurry up and turn yourself in so I can catch you.”
At that, Karixel cleared his throat.
“Ahem. In truth, you were right. The one you caught just now was me.”
“You mortar-like bastard, you’re really—”
—Exercise time is over.
At that moment, a woman shouted from the watchtower of the exercise yard.
Karixel looked up at her and feigned a calm expression.
—Everyone, return inside.
The deputy administrator of Rohallak, Primienne.
At her words, everyone in the exercise yard went inside, and Primienne shook her head and unfolded a newspaper.
“I’m dyin’ from the heat, dyin’.”
Right now, she was sitting on a long chair as if reclining like a lord. Beside her, flattering subordinates had gathered in a row, fanning her.
“Shall we bring more ice?!”
“Mm. Yes. Bring it.”
“Yes!”
Just as Primienne was skillfully ordering them about, a small bird landed on top of the newspaper.
“……What’s this?”
“Oh! Isn’t that an imperial hawk?!”
“…….”
At her subordinate’s words, Primienne quietly straightened her posture. She untied the note from the hawk’s leg and read it.
There was only one sentence.
[Invitation to the Emperor’s Ceremony: Lilia Primienne]
“……?”
Why did this come to me?
Primienne was beyond flustered and had become confused.
“As expected! As expected of Deputy Director Primienne!”
“To think Her Majesty personally sent an invitation to the ceremony!”
Her subordinates, unaware of the political situation, merely sang her praises, and Primienne cleared her throat for no reason.
“Yes. This is who I am. Since this is who I am, go back for now. I need time to think alone.”
“““Yes!”””
…….
Drip, drip—
A rainy night.
Julie was looking out the window from a hotel room in the Empire. She was blankly watching the scenery of the imperial capital grow wet with rainwater.
“……Why is there only one bed?”
She answered Rayleigh’s question briefly.
“I have no money.”
The house in the imperial capital she had bought by saving every coin had long since been taken by the bank after the Frenheim incident, and seventy to eighty percent of her monthly salary still went toward repaying the debts she had yet to clear.
Julie was destitute.
“But what are you thinking about so hard? The 3,000-elne meat?”
“…….”
Julie silently shook her head. It had come to mind, but that was not the main issue.
A small sheet of paper was held in her hand.
[Invitation to the Emperor’s Ceremony: Julie von Deya Freyden]
“The ceremony.”
“Mm-hmm~ You said you would apply for an Imperial Hearing there.”
“Yes.”
“Are you nervous?”
An Imperial Hearing. From the moment the word “Imperial” was attached in front of it, it became on an entirely different level from a basic hearing.
It became something involving people’s lives.
“……Rather than nervous, I am worried.”
“Who? The Professor, or us?”
“Both.”
Julie knew part of Deculein.
A person who had changed somewhat. A person who had shown proper courtesy to his disciple, Epherene, and to her father, Keagan.
However, he still ignored his own sins, and killed countless people……
“You said you would steel your heart.”
“…….”
At Rayleigh’s words, Julie simply gazed quietly out the window.
Pitter-patter……
Losing herself in the sound of the falling rain, she slowly stopped thinking.
…….
Meanwhile, this was Deculein’s second testing ground.
On “Sylvia’s Island,” which could be described as a magical space, Lia was leveling up at a breakneck pace.
In this place, where the mana density was absurdly high and there were also quite a few treasures left behind by the voice, she had before long become covered in high-grade equipment.
“This came for me too.”
In the cave on the island.
Having gone outside for the first time in a while and returned, she showed the adventuring party members a small note.
[Invitation to the Emperor’s Ceremony: Adventurer Lia]
An invitation to the Emperor’s ceremony.
It had come to her.
“……To you, Lia?”
“Wow. That’s amazing.”
“Suspicious.”
Those were Ganesh, Leo, and Carlos, respectively.
Lia scratched the back of her neck.
“Right? Should I not go?”
“No.”
Ganesh shook her head.
“It would be more dangerous not to go. I don’t know why, but the Emperor knows you, doesn’t she? It’s better to appear if you can.”
“Mm, yes.”
The Emperor’s ceremony. Of course, Lia also knew what it was. She had read the scenario countless times.
But the question was, for what reason—“why”?
Of course, as part of the Red Garnet Adventuring Party, she had carried out imperial palace missions a few times, but if it was because of that, then Ganesh, not her, was the proper guest.
“Then I have to go alone?”
Furthermore, the invitation had come only for Lia.
Ganesh nodded with a somewhat uneasy expression.
“……Yes. You have to go alone. The invitation is only for Lia. I’m worried, but.”
She stopped speaking for a moment, smiled faintly, and placed the invitation in Lia’s hand.
“Also, it’s about time Lia prepared to stand on her own, right?”
“…….”
At that, a sorrowful smile appeared briefly on Lia’s lips.
“……Yes.”
Her goal was not to become the greatest adventurer. Nor was it to remain an adventuring party member forever.
There was only one thing.
To clear the main quest and return home.
To go from Lia back to Ara.
And……
To meet “him” and tell him a certain feeling she had come to realize.
“I guess I’ve become pretty famous too, huh. Since I kept chasing after important missions—not quests.”
“Hehe. I suppose so~ Then, let’s train like hell until you go.”
“Yes!”
Lia shouted energetically.
* * *
By imperial command───!
A great shout announcing the beginning of the ceremony. A voice that shook the earth and soared into the sky.
He was a retainer called a “crier,” one whose profession was to shout.
The crier’s voice spread, quite literally, throughout the entire imperial capital.
“Ah. I must’ve had a bullshit dream, Professor. It’s a lot different from what I saw in my dream.”
I was sitting with Epherene in the imperial palace garden.
There were roughly a thousand attendees at the ceremony. On the surface, it was an enormous number, but less than ten percent of them would meet the Emperor directly.
“Yes. As if the likes of you could have something like foresight.”
“……What did you say?”
At my dismissive words, Epherene narrowed her eyes, but it could not be helped.
Her talent was unfortunate.
To know time, and to be unbound by time, was no different from a curse for a human.
By imperial command——!
The second shout.
At the same time, boom—! Boom—! Boom—! The vibration of drums resounded.
Then, the third and final cry, which the crier spat out as if coughing blood.
By imperial command——!
Sophien, who had been looking down at us from the platform in the garden, rose. She swept her gaze over us and nodded.
“From this moment, We shall begin the imperial palace ceremony. All of you, enjoy yourselves at ease.”
And then she immediately turned around.
Just like Sophien, who hated introductions and loathed troublesome things.
“Professor. What do we do now?”
Epherene asked innocently. Her eyes were already fixed on the food in the garden.
“Oh, cake.”
Before I could say anything, she pattered after the waiter carrying a tray of food, as if bewitched.
“……”
Holding a glass of whiskey, I looked around the area.
Yulie, Gawain, Primienne, Betan, Luina, Ihelm, Adrienne, Maho, and other royals…… It was full of famous Named figures from within and beyond the Empire.
And yet.
“……?”
My brow furrowed on its own.
It was because of a certain child scampering like a rabbit among the garden’s splendid delicacies.
“Why is that one……”
“Lia. You know her, don’t you? She’s a famous adventurer now.”
Primienne, who had suddenly popped up, explained in her stead.
“You remember the ‘Brahon Bandit Incident,’ don’t you? Apparently that child solved it. The mission posted by the Imperial Palace. The Emperor gladly gave the jewels those scoundrels had stolen to that child.”
“……”
I silently glared at her.
“What? It was an explanation.”
“You actually had the nerve to come.”
“If I avoid you, I’ll be even more dead.”
An imperial decree———!
At that moment, the fourth cry rang out once again. Everyone in the middle of enjoying the banquet turned that way.
A herald. Beside him stood the eunuch Jolang.
“I am the eunuch Jolang. From this moment, before the main event begins in earnest, there are guests here who have received invitations personally stamped with the Emperor’s seal.”
At that, Primienne showed me her invitation.
“I believe he means this.”
“I have one as well.”
[Emperor’s Event Invitation: Deculein von Grahan Yukline]
“Only those people, please gather and follow me.”
Of the thousand attendees at the event, only a portion moved to follow Jolang.
* * *
The place Jolang led us to was the rear garden of the Imperial Palace. There stood an old mansion.
“The Imperial Palace is quite vast, is it not? The inside of this old mansion is even vaster. Of course, the Emperor is inside as well.”
Jolang smiled as he spoke before the main gate.
“From now on, all of you will be staying here for eight weeks.”
Eight weeks.
It was quite a long time.
Long enough for even Epherene, who had been eating bread beside me, to flinch in surprise.
“Ah, of course, outside work through crystal balls or radio communicators is possible at any time.”
Jolang clapped his hands. A member of the Imperial Guard came up beside him and handed him some cards.
“First, the Emperor hopes that through this event, the various houses will achieve harmony. The fifty-eight people gathered here are all more than qualified to be called representatives of those houses.”
I quietly looked at Jolang.
“Furthermore, this old mansion is one of the magical spaces of the Imperial Palace. We do not know when it began to exist, but it is a byproduct of a curse. No one knows what may happen inside.”
“But you said the Emperor is inside—”
At that moment, Yulie cut in.
“The Emperor is perfectly safe, of course. The knights are providing protection.”
“……”
Yulie cleared her throat.
“At any rate. For the sake of that ‘harmony,’ the Emperor has introduced the concept of guardian angels and will give all of you an opportunity to become even closer.”
Guardian angels.
The moment I heard it, a modern term came to mind.
“Manitto.”
Jolang held up a card.
“……Thus, written on these cards are your names.”
Names. I looked at Epherene beside me.
She was eating bread again.
“When you draw one of these cards, you must secretly help the person whose name is written on it. The manner of helping is entirely up to you. As you wish.”
From the sound of it, it was indeed that “Manitto.”
“This place is very dangerous, but at the same time, it is also an extremely important tradition of the Imperial Palace. It is proof that the first Emperor defeated a demon and purified the area.”
Jolang beamed. For some reason, it was a sinister smile.
“Then, please participate without causing any excessive damage.”
He stepped aside, and the knights opened the old mansion’s gate.
Creeeeak——
Into the gloomily opening interior,
I stepped first.