Shortly after Dekyulrein had deployed on the order to "Pursue the prisoners."
At the top floor of the Vanguard Main Hall he had constructed, Emperor Sofien was looking around the space assigned to her.
"……."
Without a word, she once again found herself immersed in idle sentiment.
Because the interior was not unfamiliar.
This place was designed much like the imperial palace. Thanks to that, only the scenery outside the window was that of a desert; inside, it was rather familiar and peaceful.
It was his small consideration, to let her be comfortable and adapt easily.
Trudge, trudge—
Sofien walked powerlessly to her bed and lay down.
Gazing blankly at the ceiling, she sank into complicated thoughts and quiet anger.
"……It's difficult."
Difficult.
Cause and effect of events. State affairs and politics. Academics and martial arts. Magic and swordsmanship. Compared to such things, mere human emotions were hundreds of times more difficult.
My emotions, and his emotions too.
Was I so clumsy at this experience I had never once had that I mistakenly believed he admired me as well?
Had I overestimated, assuming he would naturally accept me?
I had approached it calculatingly, based on our interactions thus far, but were my calculations simply too clumsy?
"Tch."
Sofien was still clumsy when it came to these human relationships. Impatient, and hasty.
Because these were things she had never had the chance to learn despite living for over a hundred years.
"……That damned bastard."
Because of that, Sofien could not fathom the magnitude of the love Dekyulrein held for Yulri.
She doubted whether such a grand emotion could truly exist—one great enough to wager one's own clan, and even one's own life.
"Yulri is going to die anyway."
Yet Sofien shook her head. She wore a cold smile as if relieved.
Yulri was going to die anyway.
She already knew that Yulri's serious illness was an incurable, fatal malady.
If that were so.
If she simply waited, would he become hers?
Should I have simply waited, rather than rushing so hastily?
"……Do you think it befits me to worry over such things, Keiron?"
As she weighed a problem with no solution, Sofien suddenly felt a surge of anger.
Until now, there had been nothing she could not possess as Emperor, nothing she could not obtain.
The mightiest empire on this continent was hers, and the nobles and clans under her were ultimately nothing but byproducts of the Imperial Family and the Empire.
"That I cannot best a single woman who is going to die anyway……"
And yet, unable to have but one person, she was restless here, muttering to herself like an idiot—could such a person truly be called an Emperor?
—That is not so.
Keiron's answer came from somewhere in the inner chamber. He was always with the Emperor in the form of a knight statue.
"What do you mean, it is not so?"
—Knight Yulri is not a woman who is going to die.
At that moment, Sofien's brow narrowed warily, and before she could ask what he meant, Keiron answered.
—They seem to have found a way to save Knight Yulri.
…….
At the same time, at another oasis quite far from Sofien.
"Found it!"
Mangwolcho discovered!
Ipeurin smiled brightly and showed it to Yulri.
"Look. I found it, right?"
"……Yes. You have found it."
They had searched the edges of the oasis and even within it, so both were covered in mud and sand, and they had many wounds all over their bodies from fighting a giant scorpion monster, yet their hearts were full. Their faces as they looked at each other were filled with smiles.
All thanks to a single stalk of Mangwolcho.
"See? This is extremely rare, yet we found it in a single day. It means Knight Yulri will definitely survive."
Placing the Mangwolcho carefully into the herb pouch, Ipeurin spoke.
"Now all we need is a large-capacity magic stone. Of course, the more Mangwolcho, the better."
"……Is that so?"
"Of course. Oh, by the way, is your condition alright? You used magic."
"I am fine."
"Because of that crazy giant scorpion."
Ipeurin glared at the giant frozen scorpion nearby and frowned.
"Then, Miss Ipeurin, let us return now. You have walked too long in the desert. Your stamina must be depleted."
As Yulri spoke, she was clad in armor as always. It was natural propriety for a knight.
"Yes. I will contact Allen. Oh, by the way, have you written in your diary today?"
"Yes."
The armor of Fhairuden—also called the Armor of the Eye, a treasure granted only to the bloodline of Fhairuden.
Yet upon its breastplate was engraved the emblem of a 'Knight'.
"Will you keep writing? Don't stop for a single day. I will be checking them as well."
"……Yes. I shall."
A knight's figure embossed in magic stone.
It was a common decoration on any plate armor, but viewed broadly, it too was a statue, and therefore…….
"Really. Even after being reckless like this, if something happens to Knight Yulri, I won't be able to face the Professor. No, I can't face him now either, actually."
Keiron was watching over them.
…….
Returning to the main hall in the desert, Sofien's expression froze terrifyingly cold upon hearing those words.
Contrary to her face, now frozen like cracking ice about to split asunder, flames surged within her heart.
"They struggle to survive like mere cockroaches."
It was a rage filled with sincerity.
A rage even she could not understand—no, a rage she had given up understanding—licked at her tongue.
—…….
Keiron, who had caused that anger, said nothing.
"Keiron. Continue your surveillance and report the location of their hideout."
—Yes. But what do you intend to do?
"Hmph."
Sofien sneered. It was a scornful, contemptuous smirk.
"To turn back time for only one person is to go against the natural order of this world. It is insolent, and moreover, arrogant."
Keiron quietly watched her.
Watched her forcibly crafting reasons to be angry.
"It is an escape from one's own life, and in itself, no different from death."
—But if they preserve their current memories through a diary, could that not be a good method?
"Diary? Memories preserved through such a thing are incomplete, and nothing but false. Do you mean to say that past Yulri will merge with the present Yulri through a mere diary?"
Sofien shook her head.
She spat out each word as if chewing and crushing them.
"Therefore, I shall sever their breath myself."
—……Please wait a moment.
Keiron's words were somewhat out of place. Sofien narrowed her eyes and asked again.
"What am I to wait for?"
—There is a spy.
Chaeng—!
Just then, the sound of a clash of swords rang out from outside the main hall.
Sofien looked past the window.
"……What now."
A child was dueling with another statue of Keiron.
The statue was one Dekyulrein had separately sculpted, and the child on the other side…… was a familiar face.
"Ria."
The child who had given decisive help in interpreting the divine language—Ria.
She, who had dared to spy on the Emperor and was caught by Keiron——
"Wait a—!"
——was now facing Keiron's sword regardless.
"Wait…… Huh?"
By elementalizing that monstrous sword strike and magical power, she was somehow managing to fight on even terms for now.
"Wow."
Whether it was due to Dekyulrein's special training, or whether Keiron was holding back.
"It's surprisingly doable, right?"
Even Ria herself thought it was truly unexpected that she wasn't being pushed back by Keiron…….
* * *
I am tracking the prisoners.
The method is extremely simple. I simply pursue them with my 'Naked Eye.'
Right now, the traces and tracks of all who have disappeared are visible to my eyes.
At the very least, they cannot escape from me while laden so heavily with the burden of prisoners.
"……Hoo boy. Dekyulrein, they don't call you the Reaper of the Jeokgwe for nothing."
Idnik.
She, who was transporting the prisoners, eventually saw me catch up and shook her head.
"Flying through the sky or sinking into the ground is impossible when the bundle in your hands is too heavy."
I pointed at the bundle she gripped.
Though it looked like an ordinary bundle, inside were prisoners—hundreds of tribesmen, shrunken and trembling.
"I'll give you this, though. Your astounding application of magic is worth reporting to academia."
To think you could shrink humans, and hundreds at that, to that degree.
Even if you obtained the subjects' consent, it's truly an incredible, Idnik-like magic.
"……In the old days, you couldn't even keep up with my toenails. You've sure gotten good at giving compliments."
Idnik laughed and shrugged.
I spoke.
"Set them down and leave."
"……."
For a moment, Idnik's expression hardened. The desert sand scattered roughly.
I gripped my staff.
"Dekyulrein, the desert is my homeland. It is also your master Rohakan's homeland."
Idnik spat out, filled with hostility.
"I will not let you imperial lot, especially that Emperor, run rampant through the desert."
"Hmm. Unexpected."
I twisted my lips into a smirk. A small laugh escaped.
"I think the same, actually."
"So…… what?"
Idnik's face contorted with confusion. She tilted her head.
"Why so surprised? The desert expedition is not beneficial to Her Majesty, politically or in terms of grand strategy. Most of the vassals were inwardly opposed to this war."
"……."
As if lost in thought for a moment, Idnik pressed her lips shut.
"The Jeokgwe have no will to resist the Empire whatsoever. Continuously pointing swords at such people is like shouting at earthworms to squirm. They would wither away on their own even without that."
"……Are you criticizing Sofien's policy?"
"That's right. Not everything Her Majesty says is correct, and as a vassal, I have a duty to correct what is wrong."
The desert expedition and the hatred for the Jeokgwe were merely the schemes of Kwei, imprinting some kind of 'programming' inside Sofien's head.
Idnik spoke.
"If so, let me go. If you let me go, I will acknowledge your words."
"I cannot."
I shook my head.
Idnik furrowed her brow.
"Why?"
"Because it is Her Majesty's command."
"……Don't you yourself think your words contradict each other?"
"It's a problem with your deficient head."
Idnik closed her eyes for a moment. She let out a heated breath as if suppressing anger, then opened her eyes again.
"I will admonish so that Her Majesty's policies may benefit her, but I will follow the commands Her Majesty issues. That is, if there is no justification to refuse them."
This was not entirely wrong to view as Dekyulrein's own programming.
No matter how much advice or suggestions I gave Sofien, if she stubbornly issued an order and forced it, I could not disobey.
"What is the justification to refuse?"
"Only when Her Majesty's life is in danger—not now. So hand over the prisoners."
"……."
"I will not kill them all. No, I shall endeavor to save them as much as possible."
"……Is that a promise?"
"To the extent that my power reaches."
I do not play word games with something like promises.
Idnik knew this as well, so she pondered with wavering eyes, but soon bit her teeth again.
"So. How do you plan on giving that admonition? After offering up all the desert tribes?"
"Hmm. Well."
"……Well?"
I slipped my hand into my inner pocket for a moment. Pretending to pull out a pocket watch, I let a single sheet of 'magic paper' slip out.
"Yeah. Why ask me about that?"
A magic paper imbued with the fifth stage of the 'Hand of Midas'—far from ordinary.
Idnik's eyes flicked toward it.
"You should find out for yourself."
I snatched the bundle with Telekinesis. It was a sudden ambush, but Idnik didn't resist much.
Instead, she took the magic paper I had dropped via Telekinesis, as if exchanging it for the bundle.
"I will be going."
I turned around like that, and Idnik spoke behind me.
"Dekyulrein. Isn't it about time you met Yulri?"
"……."
Yulri.
A name that always stops my thoughts, bit by bit.
"……They've found a way to save her."
For a moment, heat rose from my heart; a strange excitement surged through me at just hearing it.
But I shook my head.
"The priority is different."
Gripping the bundle full of prisoners, I simply returned to the Emperor who had given the order.
"……Different priority, my foot."
Watching Dekyulrein leave like that, Idnik clicked her tongue.
Everyone knew that the very top of that priority list was always Yulri.
"Anyway. If the price was too cheap, I'll come back and take it away."
Idnik looked at the magic paper Dekyulrein had pretended to drop.
Since she had exchanged prisoners for this paper, if it turned out to be useless trash, she would charge after him right away…….
"……."
……to smack Dekyulrein's cheek and take the prisoners back.
As Idnik thought this, her eyes focused on the enormous scale of the spell formula.
At the same time, they were dyed with shock as if her eyeballs would pop out.
"……This crazy bastard."
A 'grand magic' the likes of which she had never heard or seen was recorded on the magic paper.
A grand magic capable of being installed across the entire desert—no, with circuits kindly tailored to be installed across the entire desert.
An explosion whose sole purpose was mass slaughter.
The surest path to 'mutual assured destruction'—if it detonated, everyone who set foot in the desert would be annihilated together.
"The only justification to refuse an order…… is when Her Majesty's life is in danger."
A justification that would force Sofien to leave the desert.
"So that was your meaning."
Idnik let out a hollow laugh, so dumbfounded and absurd.