I’m Just an Ordinary Clown at the Academy

12 – Emperor 5

“Well then, shall we hear where you learned all that?”

When I admitted defeat, the emperor turned his back and walked towards the chair. Seeing the emperor walk away with his back turned, a tempting voice echoed in my mind.

‘Could I succeed if I surprise attack now?’

What if I surprise attack and say, ‘It’s not over until it’s over’?

‘Oh, forget it.’

But in the end, I gave up. If only I could succeed by doing that. Even now, with his back turned, there was no opening visible from the emperor.

The emperor sat down on the chair and looked at me. Even though I was catching my breath, the emperor didn’t seem the least bit tired.

“Have you given up on the surprise attack?”

He even noticed. I knew it, but at my current level, I can’t even touch the emperor.

“Oh~ how can I, a mere person, swing a sword at the great Emperor?”

“But you did swing your sword at me plenty of times just now.”

“Ahahahaha, more than that, I was able to learn the Shadow Steps thanks to this.”

I took out the skill book of Shadow Steps from the dimensional space. It was so thick that you couldn’t call it a book with just one sentence written on it no matter how you looked at it.

“Is it an artifact of the spatial element? You possess quite a fascinating ability.”

I purposely showed the dimensional space to the emperor. It’s because the higher the emperor evaluates me, the better it will be for me in the future.

“Would you like to take a look?”

“No need.”

I approached the emperor and handed him the book, while the emperor sat in the chair, stroking his chin and looking at the book I handed him.

Although it was clearly a posture that couldn’t defend against an attack.

Strangely, I didn’t have the thought that the attack would succeed.

“Your Majesty, it is true that I learned something from that book, but there is only one sentence written in it.”

The emperor listened to my words and glanced at the book again. Why is he reacting like this?

“Oh? Just one sentence, and it doesn’t seem like anything to me.”

“Yes? What’s that supposed to mean?”

Not just one sentence?

That can’t be right.

I carefully read through the thick book, page by page. Everything written there was the same sentence.

“All the same sentences, aren’t they?”

“To you, it may all look like one sentence. To me, they appear as different sentences.”

If there’s a difference between the emperor and me, could it be?

Is it based on the user’s proficiency?

“I’ll rewind this.”

The emperor, whether losing interest or not, rewound the book. Surprised that he returned it so easily, I asked him.

“Do you find this book interesting?”

“I’m not interested in the book; I know all the content already. If there’s any interest, it’s in the spatial artifact you possess.”

The emperor must know that I won’t give away spatial artifacts easily.

“Unfortunately, I can’t give this away casually.”

“That’s true. You were summoned suddenly, and it must have been troublesome. I’ve prepared a carriage, so you can go riding on it.”

When I was first kidnapped to the palace, I really wanted to leave.

But just going like this felt too tempting with the elixirs around.

“Um, Your Majesty, do you not have any concerns?”

(Note: Preserving line breaks, as requested by the user.)

I sounded like a fool even as I spoke. Even if the emperor had concerns, there was no way I could solve them.

The emperor burst into laughter at my blatantly obvious words. Honestly, even if I were the emperor, I might have laughed too.

“hahahahaha, are you that tempted by the elixir?”

Yes! I really want it!

But you won’t give it to me for free, right?

“I asked to confirm whether there is anything I, the emperor, who always works for the empire, can repay to the emperor for your service.”

“Well, there is one concern on my mind.”

Does this mean it worked?

But what could be bothering the emperor?

“Lately, there’s someone investigating the mysterious Cardinal. If you manage to keep my identity as the mysterious Cardinal a secret, I’ll reward you with the elixir.”

It’s true that things could get troublesome if the emperor’s identity as the mysterious Cardinal were revealed. But is this really a concern?

“I apologize, Your Majesty, but even if I don’t resolve it, couldn’t Your Majesty’s command prevent the investigation?”

I don’t know who is conducting the investigation, but if the emperor orders a halt, whoever it is will definitely stop.

“But, Your Majesty, do you really need to entrust this to me?”

The emperor might seem like he’s offering me the elixir, but he never incurs any losses. If he wanted to reward me with the elixir, he would have asked me to catch a few more monsters. That would be much more beneficial to the empire.

“I’m not the kind of person who would stop the investigation just because you told me to.”

Is there really someone like that?

I couldn’t fathom who would persist in investigating the mysterious Cardinal even while disregarding the emperor’s command.

“Can you solve the emperor’s concern?”

“Of course, Your Majesty. Everything is for the glory of the empire.”

Everything is for the elixir of youth.

“I actually have a good idea.”

With this method, no one will ever know that the emperor is the cunning Cardinal.

“Please look forward to it. Well then, I’ll take my leave now.”

“Then I shall take my leave as well.”

As I was about to leave, a question for the emperor came to my mind and I turned back to ask.

“Your Majesty, may I ask a question?”

“You may ask anything.”

“How can I become as strong as Your Majesty?”

My question seemed to catch the emperor off guard, as he fell into deep thought for a moment.

After a short while, the emperor smiled warmly and answered my question.

It was the warmest smile I had ever seen from the emperor.

“If you have a beloved lover, you can become stronger than anyone else.”

His answer was so unexpected that it took me a while to find words. A beloved lover…?

“That’s a romantic answer.”

“Have you ever loved someone?”

“Unfortunately, I haven’t yet.”

Before entering the game, Croaca was my whole life.

After entering the game, I spent my days too busy to think about anything else.

“You will also have a day when you will find a lover. When that day comes, you will understand what Jim meant.”

“I hope that day comes as soon as possible.”

Emperor’s solitary walk through the palace, following the maid’s guidance. The maid who was leading the way suddenly stopped in front of me and bowed her head.

“Princess, I present to you.”

In the place where she greeted, there was a beautiful girl. She had been mentioned a few times in Croaca, but had rarely shown herself.

Blonde hair and golden eyes like Lucas and the Emperor. The existence known as the Empire’s greatest beauty.

The Empire’s princess. Erika Leonhart.

Erika received the maid’s greeting and glanced at me once and asked the maid.

“Who is this person?”

Although Erika asked the maid, it was me who answered.

I bowed my head and placed my right hand on my left.

It was my signature gesture.

“My name is Loki, just a humble clown.”

After hearing my name, Erika smiled brightly as if something had come to her mind.

“Oh! You are the one Ollavani mentioned!”

It seems she heard my story from Lucas.

“Princess, just a moment.”

The maid who had been behind Erika from the beginning whispered to her. When the maid’s whispering ended, Erika slightly bowed her head to me and greeted me.

“Greetings. I am Erika Leonhart, the princess of the empire.”

I didn’t know anything about etiquette, but I could tell that her manners were perfect.

“What brings you to the palace?”

As a mere academy freshman, it must have been surprising for me to be in the palace. To satisfy Erika’s curiosity, I told her the truth.

“I was kidnapped and brought to the palace.”

“Hoho, as interesting as I’ve heard.”

Although I spoke the truth, it seemed that Erika thought I was joking. The servants behind her seemed to feel the same way, as some of them looked at me disapprovingly.

“Your Highness, as beautiful as I’ve heard.”

“Thank you for the compliment. I’m on my way to see Abamama now. Well then, ordinary jester. Until next time.”

“It’s an honor to be able to meet such a beautiful person like Erika again next time.”

I said that, but honestly, I wouldn’t have the chance to meet Erika again.

Contrary to my thoughts, the reunion with Erika came sooner than I had expected.

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.

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As Loki left, the emperor was thinking about Loki.

He was an interesting child.

To genuinely wield a staff at himself due to a potion.

His head also spun fast.

While she had given hints, Cardinal Cadynel had arrived at the realization of her identity faster than expected.

There was prowess.

Even though it didn’t reach her, she possessed unique magic, and her movements were decent.

It made sense that Duke Adellian had attempted to accept her as a quantum.

In her heart, she wanted to tell Lucas to be close with Rocky.

“That’s something Lucas will take care of on his own.”

Even if Lucas didn’t become friendly, the fact that making Rocky align with the empire was better remained unchanged.

That’s why she made such a proposal.

On the other hand, she was curious. What measures would that kid take to keep Cardinal Cadynel from revealing her identity?

‘By the way, I have a good idea.’

What good idea had that kid mentioned?

There hadn’t been many enjoyable moments like rising to the position of the emperor.

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That night. Rumors spread throughout the entire empire.

Cardinal Cadynel had reappeared.

The emperor touched his forehead and spoke into the air.

“Sigh… Bring back Rocky once again.”