chapter 24
6. Emperor and Seonghwang (2)
warp portal.
It is a bizarre magic that can only be done with imagination.
The mage leader wanted to refute that delusion was impossible.
Numerous wizards have already made similar attempts.
Geniuses of geniuses came forward to study the dungeon portal.
How can life come out of nothing?
can we too?
All the answers given to that question were wrong.
Even the leader is one of those geniuses who failed.
However, the captain couldn’t say anything to Ian.
Denying the words of the prophet was the same as denying the future.
At the same time, it was an act of ignoring the prestige of the empire built on his prophecy.
“Hmm… .”
Even the emperor, who had not studied magic in depth, knew that those words were absurd.
“Is it possible?”
“I don’t know when that will be, but I’ve seen the results she’s been able to do. I’m not familiar with magic, so I don’t know the details. However, there is no reason why humans cannot do what the demons have done.”
So far, Ian’s prophecy has never been wrong.
Even if it was nonsense, everything that came out of his mouth became reality.
Didn’t he even manage to lose an entire vassal state thanks to him?
The emperor’s thoughts did not last long.
If that warp portal were invented, the imperial family would gain an overwhelming position enough to devour the continent by itself.
It is difficult to calculate how much the cost of marching troops will be reduced.
Inter-city trade itself is costly, and warp portals solve that problem as well.
Safe, secure and fast transactions.
Even if the portal toll is set high, they will use it unconditionally.
Above all, there is nothing to lose by listening to the prophet.
Even if it doesn’t go well, then it’s enough to go and show condescension to the prophet.
“It is a field in which numerous scholars have already tried and failed.”
“I know.”
“okay… . The Prophet’s words must be true. But, what does this have to do with the first party?”
“Only A-grade or higher magic stones are used in the warp portals of the future that I have seen. So, it would be better to use the 1st party to supply A-rank or higher magic stones until the war comes. It would be awkward for me to convey it myself, so I would appreciate it if the imperial family could do it for me.”
It was nothing short of rude to dare to entrust my duties to the imperial family.
However, no one, including the emperor here, could scold him.
“Yes, I can do that. But, it’s hard to understand why you’re telling me this important matter now.”
“I can only see what I see. In other words, you can’t see what you can’t show. At this point, I have only seen this future.”
The prophet says so, but who can refute that?
“okay. I will call out the person in charge and find out.”
The emperor readily agreed as he was planning to move the first party separately.
Leaving Ian’s hands, leaving them unattended is a loss of power.
From quite some time ago, the emperor was anxious about the fact that the first party was only in Ian’s hands.
What would happen if, at any chance, their blades were pointed at the empire.
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Just imagining it was terrifying.
“However, the name Philip would be valid. Is it okay if I use that name to persuade Penny, the manager of the first party?”
If possible, the emperor wanted to bring in the first party.
Even Ian was kicked out, so don’t be hopeful that it’s possible.
“it’s okay.”
Ian doesn’t know the emperor’s intentions either.
Because the monsters born to hunt monsters are the first party.
“One last thing, late autumn before the war. Sea dragons will appear on the west coast.”
“dragon… ?!”
The emperor, as well as the ministers who heard the story, were startled.
“D-Dragon appears?”
The mage leader suddenly intervened without my knowledge.
I belatedly checked the emperor’s eyes, but the emperor was also embarrassed and didn’t pay attention.
“Dragon… not sure of cognition. The result I saw is that many people talk about ‘sea dragons’. They say it appeared along with a number of monsters on the west coast and ruined the port.”
The dry and temperate climate of the west of the Empire is strategically and economically important.
The mountain range that curves gently in the shape of a letter from the northwest to the south of the continent is like a natural barrier ahead of the border with the demons.
There are also port cities that trade with other continents across the sea.
If it had not been for the Prophet, the war would have unfolded around winter and the empire would have had to retreat greatly while the port city fell.
Suddenly, the emperor realized how great and important the ability to advise the future was.
“… Got it. Let’s talk to the substitutes. However, I have one question. Aren’t you embarrassed?”
The emperor was genuinely curious.
At the first party, Sylvia, who has been with Ian the longest, has been together for four years.
Even the short Kylie is two and a half years old.
It’s not just a colleague.
Ian changed their lives and made them into heroes who are on the lips of people like gods.
I was unilaterally kicked out by such people.
Ordinary people can’t control their emotions.
“unfair… Until then, I don’t know. It’s not that I don’t have feelings, but I’m just passing for a cause.”
The emperor’s cause is the well-being of the empire.
The prophet’s cause was the future of killing the demon king.
These are truly special words for a prophet to say.
He does not see the future in which the demon king dies, but speaks as if he has received a revelation that he must create such a future.
“Time moves further away regardless of my will, so I can’t stop walking.”
“It might have been a little better if you had revealed your achievements.”
“Your Majesty the Emperor. There are two types of people in the world. A person who acts and a person who causes action. The latter must exist like a haze without going out into the world. Knowing that there are people who make the world do things, those who do things will question their own identity.”
“In addition. Don’t you know that a hero is not called a hero because he is a hero? They are idols made to be consumed in this age, for the cause and peace. The world’s attention must be theirs. Humans cannot live on dreams. They deserve some compensation.”
“I am a man of action, but an incompetent man who cannot act. It would be presumptuous for such a person to dare to share that achievement. However.”
“I think it’s presumptuous for heroes who couldn’t rise to that position without me to throw me out. It’s not unfair, but it’s just embarrassing. The fact that I was betrayed by those I trusted in a future I did not see.”
The emperor swallowed his saliva without anyone noticing.
The hand holding the armrest of the throne was also slightly strained, then released.
‘He’s a creepy guy.’
The prestige of the empire was built on his prophecies.
Those who know the existence of the prophet say so.
The emperor’s view of the truth is more fundamental and unpleasant than that.
The current imperial power itself was given by the prophet.
Thinking to the extreme, what if that prophet took the side of the Allied Powers, who were rebels?
The emperor would have been put on the scaffold, not on the throne.
It is as if the prophet had chosen Julian as emperor.
‘… Are you asking me?’
Although it is about the first party, there are thorns hidden in the prophet’s words.
The prophet who gave him the imperial power asks.
‘Are you going to betray yourself?’
It is a sharp question that penetrates the fact that the emperor fears and covets the first party.
Ian was kneeling down there and looking up, but his hidden momentum did not.
Facing the emperor on an equal footing, he shook hands under the table.
I don’t know what he hid under his sleeve.
‘What I just said is probably not the whole reason. The dedication he gave to the First Party cannot be interpreted simply in terms of calculations. But, I can’t ask any more than this.’
An overly great hero threatens power structures.
If so, what about the person who made that hero?
‘… I don’t know yet.’
until the need is exhausted.
The emperor would never betray Ian.
And vice versa.
‘But what will happen when each other’s needs are met… .’
It’s still time to hold his hand.
With a stinger hidden under his sleeve.
“… Right. It’s okay to leave I look forward to it in the future.”
“I’m sorry.”
After speaking, Ian left the audience room.
He was formal and courteous to the end, but he was a man with no sense of respect.
‘If respect comes out even after knowing all the secrets of the imperial family, that’s even more strange.’
I was surprised at Ian’s intentions, but it’s not that there is no harvest.
‘It’s not that I don’t have feelings.’
He tried to hide his feelings with a long-winded answer.
Like the emperor, his place is not emotionally matched.
‘Still, I don’t know if it’s fortunate or not that I feel emotions like a human.’
Like it or not, the two will have to antagonize each other in the end.
How much feelings do you have for each other then?
What direction will those remaining emotions lead?
The emperor, who was not even a prophet, did not dare to predict.
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Just like Ian was betrayed by the 1st party.
Emotions, in the first place, do not allow predictions.
‘You’ll find out then… . What will be the end of him and me?’
In the end, the two are just using each other out of necessity.
Thanks to regression, Ian can predict the future, but he can’t move the empire.
An emperor who can move the empire, but has no choice but to agonize over every choice every moment.
The emperor first decided to figure out the magician Iris.
“Captain, first… .”
That moment.
-Kong-kong-kong-kong!
Something broke through the door of the throne room and rushed in.
“Appa-!”
“That, Grace?!”
“Princess… !”
The emperor got up and greeted his daughter in a hurry.
Putting aside all the serious worries he had just a moment ago, he opened his arms to Grace.
“No! Not that!”
However, Princess Grace did not give it to him.
“You don’t even hug your father when you’re all grown up… . I don’t know how many times this has already happened.”
“Who is Philip? I heard that Philip is here!”
“You don’t even answer.”
“Philip!”
“He already left.”
“already? why? Aren’t you going to meet me?”
“Grace. The Prophet is very busy and important… .”
“I don’t know! You promised to let me know when Philip came! Why didn’t you tell me beforehand!”
The emperor had to spend a longer time than meeting Ian, defeating the ministers first, and appeasing Grace with the chamberlain.
‘I’m glad Ian left before Grace came… .’
Ian also participated in preparing for the assassination of Grace.
At that time, Ian saved her right in front of Grace, and since that day, Grace has always been like this.
She became the new scourge of the Emperor and Ian.
The emperor will never forget the expression Ian made whenever he met Grace.
That calm and stern prophet begged the emperor with eyes begging him to take it off.
“When did you leave-!”
“… It’s been quite a while. I would have gone very far by now.”
“aaa! Don’t let me send you letters, don’t let me visit you, don’t let me meet you even if you come! It’s too much!”
I was really lucky that I didn’t see Grace actively courting Ian with my own eyes.
Since I became an adult this year, I carry the wedding vows with me.
It is not a formal document based on the form.
It was just a pledge, like children’s scribbles that Grace scribbled on at will.
Of course, she is infinitely serious.
The emperor, a fool of his daughter, couldn’t hold back his tears whenever he remembered that fact.
It still seems like yesterday when we hugged each other with short tongue sounds. .
The tongue is still a bit short, but it doesn’t hug anymore.
‘… I guess I won’t tell you next time either.’
Of course, the emperor has no intention of betraying Ian voluntarily.
How could he be the benefactor of such a lovely daughter?
However, sometimes the name of the emperor’s seat becomes colorless.
It’s time to kill the one who shouldn’t be killed because of political cause and pressure, the future of the empire and the status of the imperial family.
Rather than betrayal, the name flow would be more appropriate.
‘Why did you leave such a question to me? is it a warning Or, did it give you time to think or prepare for the last minute… .’
The Emperor simply hopes that that moment will never come.
So, it won’t stop at just wishing.
The emperor is not one who prays.
Establish the foundation of the empire before the war by operating the warp portal and the first party.
Through the solid foundation, we will come up with policies and strategies to capture public sentiment that will inevitably be shaken after the war.
No matter how much Ian’s prestige rises, he must focus on strengthening the imperial authority so that he will not be threatened, and will not be swayed by justifications and demands.
He had even thought about marrying the princess and Ian.
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Just as she swallowed bloody tears in the past when they were engaged to gain strength, just thinking about it makes her sad.
However, if you can maintain the imperial power and accept Ian, then it is worth doing.
It’s not like Grace doesn’t like it either.
The problem is that Ian pushes Grace away.
‘Where did our Grace go? .’
A bigger problem is that Ian is a scarecrow after all.
His achievements are known only to those in the know.
As you can see from trying to attribute all of his achievements to the hero, he is extremely reluctant to reveal himself.
In other words, it is bound to be suspicious that the manager, who is only a scarecrow of the first party, marries the princess.
Marriage to the princess could break the separation between Ian and Philip.
Therefore, there was no solution other than to become overwhelmingly strong enough that the imperial power would not be shaken.
Unbefitting of the position, the emperor sympathizes with the prophet.
‘How harsh is it when you can see the future and you can’t see the future you want when you want it. Not seeing the future of being betrayed by those you trusted… .’
The emperor sometimes even feels a sense of kinship with the prophet.
This is because the two are in a position where they cannot confide their concerns to anyone.
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Just as the Emperor, who cannot be emotional, can only be in front of Grace.
I hope the prophet has such a person.
‘Protecting him is also for the sake of the empire’s well-being.’
And, as I hate to admit it, he is the man Grace loves.
When he dies, the daughter will be sad.
For various reasons, the emperor doesn’t want to go against Ian.
***
“Uh… .”
As soon as I left the audience room, I turned my shoulders and relaxed.
I have to be polite in front of the emperor, so my body hurts when I kneel.
Still, I said everything I had to say right away.
Especially important warp portal.
In the second round, it was magic that was born long after the war had already begun.
I also had little information about the wizard named ‘Iris’ who invented that historic magic.
That he was a magician belonging to the imperial family.
And, as soon as he awakened as a wizard, he applied for the imperial family.
In other words, it was a person who could not be found even if he wanted to find it in advance.
I was more worried because I might have turned into a warrior this time.
Not everything is the same as the second round.
In that respect, I was lucky to have come to see the emperor today.
While entering the palace, he saw several imperial mages suffering from memory correction, and when he overheard them, Iris was among them.
I was wondering if I should receive the list of the Imperial Magicians periodically, but things went well.
Warp portals will be invented in the summer at the earliest or in the fall at the latest.
After that, the balance between the Emperor and the Holy Emperor will gradually collapse.
Of course, the Seonghwagyo side has a lot to do in the war, so it won’t tilt at all.
[master.]
Telepathy has arrived from Kati.
‘why. What’s going on?’
[A letter has come to the monastery. It is said that Seonghwang is looking for the owner.]
Yes, it was time for the man to know.
I expected it, but it’s a bit annoying… .
‘okay. I’ll be back around the next morning.’
[yes. Look out.]
… What does he have to watch out for every day?
Not the one I put out on the water.
‘okay. thank you.’
[yes. Me too.]
‘Why are you?’
[…] … .]
‘Hey, hey! No, is this something that can be done by pretending not to know? You can hear everything.’
[…] … .]
‘Who pretends not to hear telepathy? It’s ridiculous… .’
I didn’t expect this to happen once or twice.
After being saluted by the knights, he left the palace.
The next destination is Seonghwangcheong.
I don’t have as much to tell Seonghwang as the emperor, so I’ll finish it soon and go back.
***
It was dark in the monastery when it was bedtime.
Vivian lay between the children, while Mercy and Kati took their seats in the corner.
Kati, who lies down first, is staring at the ring on her hand.
It has been that way ever since she came in after training Emma.
“Kati.”
Mercy lay down next to her and hugged Kati.
Sleeping on something is her habit.
“yes.”
“Have you spoken?”
“yes.”
“Hmm, yes. Then you should come tomorrow.”
Mercy buried her face in Kati’s head.
Mercy, who is as tall as Ian’s chin, is taller than Katy, so she always hugs Katie like a doll and sleeps.
It’s similar to Vivienne when she sleeps.
“Go to bed now. Just because I’m watching that doesn’t mean Ian is coming soon… . When did they change their location?”
The ring of subordination had already moved to the ring finger of her left hand.
It worked no matter which finger I put it on, so there was no problem.
Instead of answering, Kati just moved her head slightly and glared at her.
“… I can’t stop it.”
Mercy burst out laughing as if it was absurd, but it wasn’t just ridiculous.
‘Poor thing… .’
“yes.”
Kati answered and continued to look at the ring.
Ian is not sleeping and is on his way to Seonghwangcheong.
Kati wanted to talk more, but he didn’t because he even ordered her to sleep.
After looking in for a while, Kati also lowered her hands and fell asleep.
It was a pity that he wouldn’t be there yet when he woke up.