Clang—!
The iron bars of the Yuren detention center unlocked. I watched as Quei trudged out from within.
He said,
“It seems it’s been resolved?”
“Since I returned everything you stole.”
At that, Quei laughed softly, and Epherene, oddly watching my expression, hid her thesis and notes behind her back.
Quei asked,
“But… Deculein. Why were you scribbling in the divine language?”
Divine language. Literally, the language of the gods.
The system absolutely necessary to interpret revelations from the Divine Age and hold conversations was difficult to acquire even with 「Comprehension」.
No, it was impossible.
Because, to begin with, there was no such thing as a “system” in the divine language.
“The chapel you showed me. I want to go there.”
“…The chapel?”
He raised his brows as if surprised. I nodded and answered.
1/20
“I must know you in order to kill you.”
“Mm… I see. Do you know how to get there?”
The final boss.
I had played the game as a tester, and even cleared it, but I didn’t actually know much about the final boss.
As the game’s designer, I had been too busy fixing collapsing graphics, lighting effects, and the like.
Above all, to the player, the final boss was an entity that “had to be killed,” not one that “had to be understood” like the other named figures in the setting.
“I’ll have to find out gradually.”
However, there is one thing I know.
The true name of this fellow who introduced himself as “Quei.”
A name no one in this world would know, a name that Quei himself had probably forgotten—I know it.
He asked,
“Then what should I do now?”
“You are free.”
“Free?”
A guard approached and removed his handcuffs, then handed him a paper. It was a temporary Yuren identification card.
“There’s no need for me to personally help you tour the exposition. You have legs, eyes, and arms.”
“…”
Quei looked a little bewildered.
“Move as you please.”
“Mm. Is that all right?”
“Killing or detaining you now would change nothing.”
In any case, through this meeting I had gained 200 mana, and my mana capacity had finally exceeded five thousand. That was accomplishment enough.
“I’ll let you go. Look at the map and find your way to the exposition.”
“…”
I handed him a map.
Then Quei toyed with his wrist and spoke in a voice that had sunk somewhat low.
“Very well. But, Deculein. You won’t be able to learn the divine language.”
“Why?”
“Because the language changes every year. We have used countless languages over countless ages. Even if you add together all the history of your continent, it would still be less than simply listing the words we have used.”
“…”
If that is the case, then it is indeed hopeless.
But not to the point of giving up.
“Give me a hint. I think I can learn it sufficiently.”
At my words, Quei shook his head with a stiff expression.
“Of course, I came to experience the continent and humanity, but I do not wish to teach you the knowledge of those days.”
“I’ll ask once more. Why?”
“You, too, are ultimately human, and I cannot tolerate those things bestowed by God being sullied by you humans.”
Having finished speaking, he snorted coldly and brushed past me. Compared to his unexpectedly gentle manner before, he had become rather sharp, but he was not particularly frightening.
I spoke to him as he was about to leave.
“──Believer Quei.”
In that instant, his shoulders trembled violently.
Agitation rippled through him like a surge.
A wondrous aura rose from the doll’s body.
“…”
Quei silently turned back to look at me, and in his widened eyes, anger and doubt, longing and tenderness spread at the same time.
Such complex emotions had been triggered simply because—
I had called his name in the “divine language.”
“Believer. And Quei. Those two words must not have changed. You have always been believers, and you must always have been called Quei.”
“…You.”
Quei clenched his teeth. His expression was ominous.
Epherene looked up at him and tapped—tapped—his shoulder.
“…”
He looked at Epherene, then at me again, and soon gave a hollow laugh.
“Fine. I’ll give you a scroll.”
As he said that, he smoothly pulled out a sheet of Epherene’s magic paper.
The paper lengthened broadly and rolled up like a carpet, then turned into some large “scroll” and thumped into my arms.
“Look at it. Even if you devote your entire life to it, you likely won’t be able to read all of it.”
Immediately after, Quei walked out of the detention center.
Without a word, I gestured with my chin toward Epherene.
It meant to tail him, and Epherene also cleared her throat—ahem—and nodded.
Fortunately, in matters like this, she was quick on the uptake.
“Oh, right. Where are you going, Professor?”
“Something to study has come up, so I should study.”
“Really? Mm, but apparently there’s a library under the Yuren palace. You should go take a look. Then I’ll be off!”
Grinning, she ran after Quei.
Watching her back, I smiled faintly.
“…I shall.”
* * *
…Yuren’s princess, Maho, is always concerned with the fortune of the nation.
The fate of a state.
Something no different from a human’s lifeline.
However, the life of a state is not as simple as that of a human. An individual’s death is merely the end of the individual, but Yuren’s death would leave behind countless remnants. It would leave behind eternal and innumerable discriminations.
If, in the distant future, Yuren were to fall and be annexed by the Empire, or collapse under the Royal Palace—
The stigma of being “from Yuren” might be reduced to a target for disposal, just like the Jeokgwe of the present. At the very least, they would suffer that level of discrimination.
That is also why Maho does not actively participate in the massacre of the Jeokgwe.
That is also why she seeks to lay the foundation for a republic.
Because the present of the Jeokgwe seems like Yuren’s near future.
The Jeokgwe are being massacred now because they have no power.
If the Jeokgwe had not been a desert tribe—if they had instead been a powerful nation with enough national strength to oppose the Empire—they would not have fallen as they have now.
Therefore, to Maho, the great elders who had led the Jeokgwe in the past were weak and feeble, lacking decisiveness—“typical saints.”
A saint is one who pursues peace.
But in the present age, peace is crippled.
The Jeokgwe’s brain has been crippled all this time.
That is why Maho is striving not to follow in the Jeokgwe’s footsteps.
And, in secret, she is also “supporting” the Jeokgwe.
If the Jeokgwe were truly exterminated, the blade of the Empire would surely point somewhere else next… and so Maho hopes the Jeokgwe will persist even more tenaciously.
She hopes that the Jeokgwe will continue to serve as Yuren’s shield.
“If the great theft incident was handled well, that’s a relief~”
The library beneath the Duchy of Yuren. A peaceful space made of drawers and paper, filled with the scent of all kinds of books.
Maho spoke to Rose as she slowly ran her hand along the bookshelf.
“Thank you.”
“Oh, right, right~ How was Professor Deculein~?”
At that brief question, Rose’s brow twitched. Instead of an answer, her expression spoke for her.
“Why, why~?”
“…Deculein was truly an imperial sort. He insulted the bloodline of Yuren.”
“Mmm~”
Maho walked tap-tap-tap down the library corridor and asked as if it were nothing.
“But~ Did you read the book I recommended to you before?”
“Ah. Yes. You mean this.”
Rose took a book from her inner pocket.
Titled 「The Future of the State」. This book, which had never even managed to be published and was buried only in Yuren’s underground library, had extremely simple contents.
Democracy and popular sovereignty.
“I…”
“I think it’s fairly reasonable~”
In case Rose felt burdened about saying it aloud, Maho first gave her own answer.
“This country is made up of its people, isn’t it? Then isn’t it only natural that the people are its masters, isn’t it~?”
“…”
At that, Rose looked at Maho with quite a surprised expression, but soon smiled faintly and nodded.
“…Yes. My opinion is similar to yours, Princess. It’s too cruel for the fruits of the nation to be given only to the nobles. Society is built through the efforts of the commoners, who make up the absolute majority.”
“Yes. That’s right. So I thought about it~ Yuren’s path, Yuren’s future, perhaps~ perhaps perhaps~ if by even the slightest chance, might it lie in this thing called a ‘republic’~?”
At that moment. The expressions of the two, who had been conversing carefully, stiffened at some point.
The airy flow of their voices cut off abruptly.
“…”
“…”
Because of a certain back standing at the far end of the library.
A back that was indeed vast in breadth. A man in a suit coat that wrapped around that waist.
However, he was someone they had never imagined would be here.
Deculein.
As if he were reading some book, the sound of pages turning—rustle, rustle—rang out, and Rose and Maho’s temples grew damp with cold sweat.
He seemed completely absorbed in reading, but had he not heard what they had just discussed?
“W-Wow, wow~ Wow~ Professor, Professor~ Professor~”
Maho, quickly regaining her composure, called Deculein. Only belatedly did he turn this way, and with a snap—closed the book.
He faced Maho with a gentle expression.
“Princess, is it you?”
“What brings you here, here~?”
“It is a library, so I had no choice but to come.”
A professor who liked reading. Maho smiled as she looked up at him, but Rose was unexpectedly surprised by Deculein’s benevolent appearance.
Hadn’t he called her something like lowly blood?
“Professor, Professor~ What book might you be reading… be…”
However, the moment she saw the cover of the book Deculein had been reading—
Maho froze stiff.
「The Future of the State」.
It was the book she had given to Rose.
“…It’s absurd, isn’t it~? Absurd, isn’t it~? I found it strange, so I put it on the shelf too~ Goodness gracious, to think there are still people with such thoughts these days~”
Maho hurriedly made excuses, but Deculein said nothing. He merely smiled faintly and placed the book into a drawer.
“…”
At this moment, Maho’s heart pounded loudly.
Had she been found out?
Was there no way out of it?
No, she did not know yet. With just one book, Yuren and her objective…
“Democracy. The idea that the absolute majority of citizens are the masters of the state.”
Deculein spoke. Maho flinched, her shoulders trembling.
“Absurd, absurd~”
“It is idealistic.”
“…Pardon?”
However, Deculein’s reaction was unexpected.
Maho’s ears perked up.
“It is idealistic. However, a noble like myself instinctively feels repulsion toward it.”
“…”
“If such a revolution were to occur under the leadership of the subjects—no, if they so much as discussed revolution—I might execute them all. The nobles of the continent possess not only bloodline, but also the power called ‘mana,’ after all.”
“…Ah~ That’s true~ But, but~ among the subjects, there are some with talents as excellent as nobles—”
“There may be. However, they cannot receive an education without the help of nobles. Patronage is provided by nobles, the Magic Tower belongs to nobles, and the knight orders belong to nobles as well.”
“Still… wouldn’t it be possible someday?”
Deculein chuckled. It was a smile as if he were dealing with a child, so Maho felt unnecessarily embarrassed.
He looked down at Maho and said,
“Princess. Such a strange ideology would require the sacrifice of the person at the very top.”
“…”
In that instant, Maho felt a strange sensation for some reason.
…Deculein.
This imperial professor who had once saved her life seemed to see straight through everything in her heart.
“If it is the Empire, His Majesty the Emperor; if it is a kingdom, the king himself must directly lay down everything he possesses, and even his own life, for it to even ‘begin.’ That is why it is an ideal.”
Of course, Deculein’s insight could not be that great.
The professor still knew nothing about her.
Not only had they never had a long conversation, all he had done was read a single book.
“In any case. Having read such an intriguing and rebellious theory, I seem to be saying strange things.”
Cutting the conversation off like that, Deculein smiled kindly again and asked,
“Is there something else you wish to say?”
“Ah, I…”
Maho agonized and agonized before finally finding a pretext.
“I… was wondering what happened with the conversion formula…”
“I did not find the conversion formula itself, but the theory has been proven. Thanks to my disciple.”
“Really? Really? Its value is…”
“It is a theory capable of saving the dying and even pursuing a person’s immortality.”
“…”
Maho’s mouth fell open.
If Deculein’s words were true, then the compensation Yuren would be billed for…
“Please don’t worry. I will not blame Yuren for that loss. At the very least, no harm will come to Yuren. However, I do have one request.”
Deculein took a wanted poster from his inner pocket and handed it to her.
It was Karla’s wanted poster.
“I ask that this friend be pardoned and protected. If you grant me only that, I will take responsibility for preventing the damage from the volcanic eruption that will soon arrive.”
“……Karla?”
Maho looked up at Deculein.
“Do you have some connection with this person?”
“Yes. When I was young, she was my teacher for a short while.”
Deculein’s brief words were explanation enough.
“That much of a connection is more than sufficient.”
“……Yes, yes. If that is the case…….”
“Thank you. Then I shall take my leave. I have matters to attend to.”
With that, he smiled once more and walked past Maho and Rose.
The two stared blankly at his retreating figure.
Rose, in particular, seemed to have lost her wits for a moment.
“So this is what diplomacy is, I suppose? To me, he was going on about how the Yuren bloodline was inferior…… but to the princess.”
“……Ahem.”
Maho cleared her throat and handed the wanted poster to Rose.
“Karla—Rose, I’ll leave her to you.”
“……Ah. Yes.”
Rose nodded reluctantly.
* * *
Meanwhile, this was the Empire, not far from Yuren. Within the most important place in that enormous nation, and one more tightly guarded of late than at any other time—the Imperial Palace.
Emperor Sophien was sulkily reading 「Blue Eyes (Remake)」.
“Hmph. It’s turned into a complete romance.”
Keiron glanced over the cover of the book she had tossed aside and replied.
“You mean the novel by the mage named Sylvia?”
“Yes.”
“There are rumors that the male lead is Deculein.”
“Yes! That is precisely why it irritates me.”
Sophien’s face crumpled fiercely.
It had been eighteen hours since Deculein had neglected the red-furred munchkin. Her edge was now at its peak.
“Deculein went to Yuren without even calling me, this damned novel is taking the bestseller spot, and the damned love story between Yukline and Iliade is spreading through the world.”
The current Sophien was both cat and emperor.
Because she maintained the possession at all times, when Deculein was absent she managed state affairs from the Imperial Palace, and when Deculein arrived, as a cat—
“Ah, he’s here.”
At that moment, Deculein finally returned to the room in the Yuren palace.
Sophien became a cat again and looked at Deculein…….
…….
A guest room for honored visitors in Yuren.
Miyaaaaoooong──!
The moment I entered, the red-furred munchkin fiercely arched its back.
Then it snapped at me in a thoroughly furious tone.
—You are late!
“My apologies. I had matters to attend to.”
—Matters? And what were they?
The emperor approached and rubbed her face against my shoulder.
This much was probably a cat’s instinct.
─A scroll? What is this? Some alien language is written on it.
“Your Majesty.”
─……What.
I called to Sophien in a rather serious voice.
When it came to deciphering this divine language, Sophien was an obstacle.
No—Sophien, even in the state of a cat, must not meet “Quei.” A meeting with the final boss too early would only throw her into greater confusion now.
Therefore, I needed to sever this possession magic.
“Lately, I have found myself suddenly curious about something regarding Your Majesty.”
─Hmph. And what might that be? After returning this late, you say you are curious about something.
“It is a certain emotion I have strangely sensed from Your Majesty lately.”
─……An emotion?
Emperor Sophien.
The emotion she now harbored toward me.
I knew what it was.
I, who had spent over a hundred years with her, I, who had regained those memories—there was no way I would not know.
In the first place, as long as she was by my side, it approached me this vividly. I could feel it as if it were coiling around my body.
“Your Majesty.”
─…….
The cat looked at me with a wholly blank face. However, a trace of tension was clearly present.
She seemed curious about what I would say.
“Could it be.”
I met the cat’s eyes directly.
In a voice moderately heavy, and moderately cold.
I asked a single question.
“Do you love me?”
Miyaong───!
At that instant, the red-furred munchkin shot high into the air.
Thud—! It crashed into the ceiling, then flopped back down onto the bed in a slapstick fall.
That was the end of it.
Myaong─ Myaong─
Myaooong─
Miyaaaaaaong──
The cat only kept crying out as if its head hurt, and as I watched it do so, I smiled faintly.
Because Sophien had been far too startled, just as I intended.
The “possession magic” had been severed.