Desert.
The mountain of work that would have taken every minister in the imperial court a week to finish even if they all rushed at it together, Sophien resolved in a single day.
The emperor’s administrative ability was thus unparalleled, but there had been a measure of commotion in the process.
Quay’s defense mechanism— in other words, “killing intent”—had manifested once again.
“The frequency is increasing.”
In the darkness while she slept, I came out of the military tent into the desert and examined my wounds.
Fortunately, this body of steel can still endure it. Thanks to my constant vigilance and preparation, never knowing when the switch might flip.
“……”
I roughly wrapped a bandage around my arm.
It was an ordinary treatment for a fairly serious fracture, but the bandage itself was not ordinary, so it would be fine.
──「Emergency Bandage」──
◆ Information
：A bandage used to heal wounds
：It has been imbued with a special effect
◆ Category
：Emergency
◆ Special Effects
：Bleeding suppression and natural healing
：Greatly accelerates the recovery of the area wrapped in the bandage.
────────
It was one of the items I had prepared in advance for situations like this, applying 「Midas’s Hand」 up to stage five. In addition to it, there were binoculars, a desert map, radios, boomerangs, and so on—many things that would be regarded as rare treasures if released onto the market.
In any case.
Having finished my treatment, I looked around the oasis.
“Area, water vein, bedrock……”
I was checking the general conditions.
The Imperial Guard would establish its headquarters in the desert and operate from there, and the construction of that headquarters was my responsibility.
“Good.”
I nodded.
The water of this oasis was abundant enough to last for several years, and the ground in the area was solid enough to erect a building. As General Bell had said, it was a good location.
Though rubble was scattered everywhere, as if the village of the Won tribe had been demolished.
Thud—
I set down the suitcase. The bag that touched the ground clicked open, and I applied 「Psychokinesis」 to its interior.
Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwa—!
Then countless steel frames and magic-stone solution burst out like a wave. Building materials filled the air, as though a vortex were spitting out a gale.
This was the performance of a special bag imbued with stage five of Midas’s Hand.
This bag, light enough to carry in one hand and move about with ease, was capable of loading and transporting at least the equivalent of a thirty-ton truck.
“……”
I manipulated the multitude of steel frames.
The blueprint had already been drawn in my mind, so I began with the most basic skeleton.
Clatterrr—
I moved the steel frames and erected the framework.
Considering the state of the ground, the main building’s maximum scale would be three floors aboveground and one underground.
After drawing a blueprint in which the first basement floor would contain lodgings and lounges, the first and second floors aboveground would contain laboratories and meeting rooms, and the entire third floor would belong to Sophien, I proceeded with the foundation work.
“……Hmm.”
The result of expending four thousand mana was a temporary building made of heaps of steel frames.
It looked unsightly because it was not yet complete, but this was merely part of the construction process.
Besides, the desert had a dense mana concentration anyway. My recovery speed was fast, so I should be able to finish it today.
“……Is it coming along?”
Suddenly, from behind me, a languid voice drifted in like the night wind.
I looked back.
It was Emperor Sophien, wearing the most world-weary expression imaginable.
“Yes. It seems it will be completed soon.”
“……”
A moment ago, she had swung her whole body at me as if to kill me.
Now that she had forgotten everything, she was nodding off without a word.
“It is cold outside. Please rest inside the military tent.”
“……Even if that building is completed, I doubt the cold will change. It has no magic-stone facilities at all.”
Magical construction was not as simple as one might think, nor as simple as it appeared.
First, there were few mages with as firm a grasp of architectural knowledge as I had, and next, they lacked magic-stone facilities, including temperature control.
I said,
“A building constructed with my magic will be fine.”
At that, Sophien narrowed her eyes and looked over the temporary building.
“……It does seem so.”
She soon nodded as if convinced.
“Yes. If the outside is cold, it will become warm; if it is hot, it will become cool.”
Every magic I cast contained the dual properties of Seolhwa Stone.
Of course, the “degree” varied depending on the purpose of the magic and the amount of mana consumed, but the Seolhwa Stone property acting on this temporary building was optimal for boilers and air conditioners.
Because it was cold yet warm.
“By the way, Professor.”
Sophien called me. As much as I was accustomed to being called Professor, it seemed she too had grown accustomed to it.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The moment I answered and turned back to her—
“What happened just now?”
She asked in a low voice.
The desert chill skimmed over my skin like a blade.
I shook my head.
“Nothing happened.”
“……”
No reply came. Lies told to her had already become familiar, and easy.
However, her next action was rather unexpected.
“……Professor.”
Sophien drew a hand mirror from within her clothes.
“Do you remember?”
A mirror that was far too old and worn, through which an exceedingly long time had passed.
As she wiped its surface with her hand, she murmured softly.
“You were inside this.”
The memories of that time also existed in my mind.
The memories of all the days I had spent with Sophien.
“Back then, you died for Us.”
I answered,
“Yes. It seems I did.”
At that, Sophien gave a faint smile. Without another word, she thudded her forehead lightly against my back.
“Do not do that this time.”
Her voice was deep and dark.
“Our life without you would now truly seem meaningless.”
Confessing so, embracing me even more tightly……
She said words she should not have said.
The name of a person more painful to me than a blade lodged in my heart.
“Empty Yulli from your heart now. We shall fill that empty place.”
“……”
“Even if We are lacking, We shall try. Though the word effort is not one We are familiar with, if it is for you……”
For one very brief moment, sparks flew in my chest.
“Professor. Was she not a woman who tried to ruin you from the beginning? So, once the war ends—”
“Your Majesty.”
I cut off her words. I merely stood there and slowly closed my eyes.
“……”
Like this, was Yulli truly an existence that stirred emotions more violent than my reason?
Or was it that, while I knew Sophien, Sophien did not know me?
“Your Majesty’s hearing has not yet ended. Furthermore, the one to be questioned at that hearing is still Deculein—myself.”
“……”
Sophien released her embrace, took a step back, and looked at me. As if she had awakened from sleep, her eyes narrowed sharply.
“Indeed. However, We consider that to be a false accusation. We shall have the Intelligence Bureau investigate it.”
A false accusation.
As she said, it was indeed a false accusation.
All the evidence for the hearing that Isaac had given me had been fabricated.
Therefore, if the hearing resumed, Yulli and Puhairden would not escape annihilation.
“No.”
I cannot allow that.
“……What do you mean, no?”
Sophien asked back, and I said,
“It is not a false accusation.”
Grind—
In that instant, her teeth ground together. A hot breath flowed out like a sneer.
“It is…… not a false accusation?”
“Yes.”
I calmly continued.
“All of those crimes are true.”
Regrettably, when it came to fabricating fabricated evidence so that it was “not fabricated,” I was more exceptional than Sophien.
I had the authority of Yukline and the shadow called Yusepin.
“They are all things I committed. So perfectly that I cannot evade or deny them.”
Thus, the evidence Sophien had fabricated had already become fact.
I had made my own sins into truth.
Sophien clenched her fist.
“……Professor. You are lying to Us—”
“The family that led the poisoning of Your Majesty.”
“Shut your mouth.”
“That as well.”
“I told you to shut that goddamned mouth of yours!”
Sophien shouted, overcome with rage.
I turned to her calmly.
“—was Yukline. Yukline led Your Majesty’s poisoning.”
“You madman!”
Aura rose from Sophien’s body.
The intensity of that fury was fiercer than if I had committed high treason, and sharp enough to pierce my throat at any moment.
“……Even so.”
For some reason, I grew sorrowful.
“Your Majesty.”
Because within that aura, there was not the slightest “death variable.”
Because even now, as I uttered unforgivable lies, she did not have even the faintest intention of killing me.
“Do you love me, burdened with so many sins as I am?”
* * *
The next morning.
Rather than a refreshing morning, it was dark and cold—a harsh climate befitting the desert.
“Sniff.”
Lia woke up, blew her nose, and trudged out of the military tent.
Even now, the scene of Deculein and Sophien’s physical contact remained vivid in her mind.
Because of the night watchmen on patrol, she hadn’t been able to spy for long, but in any case, she had seen Sophien embrace Deculein.
They were being all lovey-dovey…… Though it did seem like Sophien was the one one-sidedly pushing in.
“Just how is the story flowing…… huh?”
But a building that had not existed yesterday was suddenly there.
A dazzling official residence stood as if facing the oasis.
“Is this a dream?”
All of last night had felt like a dream, but if not, was this a mirage?
As Lia frowned in thought, a man suddenly came into view.
He was sitting in a chair, reading a book.
He had no coat on, only a dress shirt and vest.
By now she ought to have gotten used to it, but every time she saw it, she still flinched at that face resembling Kim Woojin.
Lia hesitantly approached.
“What are you doing?”
Deculein showed no particular reaction, merely glancing sideways at her.
“I asked what you’re doing?”
Lia asked again. At that, Deculein shook his head as if she were pathetic.
Whoosh—! Heat rose to Lia’s head.
“What did I do just now?”
She hadn’t even done anything, yet he was looking at her like she was some lunatic.
Deculein said,
“Are you not training?”
“I think I can stop now. Want me to show you?”
She held out the “circuit diagram” he had once given her.
Now, she could freely move the mana within her body through a completely new pathway.
“I was thinking that if I’ve learned this much, it’s time for me to leave the nest……”
“It is laughable to see you making a fuss after learning such trifling basics.”
“……”
Lia shut her mouth.
However, what she wanted to say soon came to mind.
“It’s not just because of that. There are weird rumors going around. Like, that I’m your former fiancée, Professor……”
She stopped there and gauged Deculein’s reaction.
He instead nodded.
“Keep speaking.”
“……That you took me in because I resemble your former fiancée.”
“I will say this to you clearly regarding that rumor. That is not the case.”
It was indeed a firm denial, and Lia gave a small grin.
“What a relief—”
“You are infinitely lacking compared to her, infinitely vulgar, and infinitely low-class. Even comparing you to her is discourteous.”
“……”
At those words, Lia stared blankly at Deculein for a moment.
Lacking.
Vulgar.
Low-class.
As she repeated those in her head, she suddenly felt wronged.
‘That fiancée is me!’
She wanted to shout it out loud.
That’s me.
A character modeled after me—no, completely “my character.”
My own OC.
“Take this.”
Deculein held out some paper. Lia accepted it, still wearing a wronged expression.
“……What is it?”
“Now and then, there are people who waste their talent due to a shallow understanding of themselves. The most representative example would be you.”
“……”
“It is like putting a ring on the leg of a jellyfish.”
Lia pinched her own ear hard. Enduring her anger through pain, she looked down at the damn Deculein’s paper.
“……?”
It was some sort of formula circle.
A series of complicated, subtly intertwined curves and circles.
“It is the formula for 「Elementalization」. More precisely, it is a theoretical expression of your 「Elementalization」.”
So, Professor Mopculein was saying that he had put my talent into this piece of paper…… Was that it?
“That’s impossible—”
“It is possible. You wield your talent by intuition alone, but intuition is always expressed through theory. If you know that theory, you can make use of it in more varied and powerful ways. If you do not know the theory, you remain only half-complete.”
“……”
Whether what he was saying was true or mere bluff, Lia had no way of knowing, but no matter how she thought about it, it was strange.
Was Deculein’s genius really to this degree?
Was it truly this much?
Could the butterfly effect of adding just one fiancée really go this far?
“Memorize it first. Understanding may be a distant prospect with your level of intelligence.”
“……”
OKAY.
His personality was OKAY.
Even while doubting him, seeing this personality made it certain.
His personality was definitely Deculein.
—……Emergency—!
Just then, a sudden shout rang out. Deculein and Lia turned toward it at the same time.
A member of the Imperial Guard was running in from the direction of the desert.
“Ah, Chairman! We have a problem! The prisoners we were transporting have disappeared!”
Prisoners. At that word, Lia looked back at Deculein.
He first furrowed his brow and asked in return.
“Prisoners?”
“Yes! The tribe that originally lived here resisted fiercely, and there were signs that they may have hidden the Jeokgwe, so we took them prisoner and were transporting them—”
“Was there evidence?”
“……Pardon?”
“‘Signs that they may have hidden the Jeokgwe’ sounds to me like there was no evidence.”
“T-that is…….”
The flustered guardsman merely rolled his eyes. Deculein glared at him with contempt, then twisted his lips.
“Forget it. If a tribe with no proof of having sheltered the Jeokgwe has fled into a desert familiar to them, there is neither a way nor a justification to catch them.”
Deculein’s response was far too fair and rational.
So much so that Lia, listening, kept flinching in surprise.
“……Yes.”
Just as the guardsman was lowering his head at that—
“No.”
A solemn voice cut across them.
“Find them all and kill them.”
A noble tone commanding severe punishment.
Emperor Sophien, who at some point had cast off her ennui and taken on a face far too cruel.
“Find every last one who fled and kill them, Count Yukline. I cannot tolerate even the slightest sign that they hid the Jeokgwe.”
She declared so and clenched her teeth.
The low-ranking guardsman immediately straightened his back, but Deculein silently looked at the Emperor.
“…….”
“…….”
Deculein’s composure clashing against Sophien’s rage.
The swirling haze of sand beneath their feet.
And yet, there was no vassal who would defy such a resolute imperial command.
No, there must not be.
“Yes.”
In the end, he bowed his head. With overflowing dignity and impeccable form.
“With my life, I shall carry out Your Majesty’s command.”
“……With your life? Don’t be absurd. Begone.”
Sophien spoke harshly and returned to the command tent, but for some reason, Lia could see that her back looked sorrowful.
Only Lia, who had secretly spied on Deculein and Sophien last night, could know.
There was only one reason.
She confessed and got rejected.
“……This is dangerous.”
Lia’s danger radar shot up.
She couldn’t leave this alone.
Right now, Deculein was unexpectedly fair, but Sophien was still cruel. According to the Emperor’s setting, that violence would only grow worse as the story progressed.
“If she becomes even more violent because she got rejected…….”
That would be a huge problem.
There was hardly any reason for it, but to begin with, the very fact that the emotion called love had arisen in Sophien was an enormous event in this world.
“……Maybe.”
And what if Deculein could stop that massacre?
What if Sophien’s “feelings for Deculein,” which no one knew about, could prevent the extermination of the desert?
If it could not be stopped, if the desert was annihilated according to Sophien’s will, then the difficulty of the main quest would skyrocket.
“There may be no helping it.”
Lia murmured solemnly as she looked at Deculein.
Wearing his coat, he was already preparing to depart.
“……Phew.”
With a deep breath, Lia formulated a plan.
Operation Cupid.
Like a bat, she would alternately cling to Sophien and Deculein, seeking reconciliation and mediation…….
“First.”
She would go to the Emperor.
Lia vanished from Deculein’s sight.