Chapter 127
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 127
Chapter Title: Coronation Ceremony - 4
-----------------------------------------------------------------
My response made the Emperor show a flustered expression for the first time.
Did he never even dream that I would refuse?
"To think you'd refuse outright. You're a man who grows more provocative the more I see you."
"If you're not planning to seduce someone, it might be best to avoid statements that could lead to misunderstandings."
"Oh? Are you daring to talk back to me?"
"No. I'm just saying what needs to be said."
"Haha, how amusing."
Was he drunk, or just pretending to be?
The Emperor began downing the wine brought by his attendant once more.
"To be frank, I have high expectations for you, a Titan."
"You're too kind. I'm hardly the talent who can live up to the Emperor's expectations."
"Nonsense. Didn't you thwart the schemes of two vile factions—the Forgotten Ones and Hardron?"
"Hm? I'm not familiar with the Forgotten Ones."
"Did you think I wouldn't know? The mastermind you encountered during the northern expedition. The reports said the First Apostle and Sir Peredil captured him, but I can infer your exploits were key to catching that slippery eel."
"Ah, you mean the guy in the mask. It was so long ago, I'd forgotten."
"Kukuku, you make me smile more than any clown."
"That sounds like praise. Is it?"
"It is praise."
"Hmm... Thank you. But Your Majesty seems quite intoxicated. Maybe it's time to stop with the wine?"
"I'm not drunk yet."
The Emperor declared it boldly, but he'd already emptied an oak barrel's worth.
At this amount, even a dwarf with a strong tolerance would be tipsy, wouldn't he?
"Half of my blood is nymph. No need to worry about my health."
"I wasn't particularly worried, but noted."
"Are Titans as resistant to alcohol as nymphs?"
"If we don't consciously resist, we can enjoy the buzz."
"Enviable."
I was dumbfounded by the Emperor casually chugging more wine.
This guy was just like a young boss looking for a drinking buddy.
'But everyone's awfully quiet.'
No one spoke during the meal, as if it were perfectly natural in this atmosphere.
As if they had no right to speak unless addressed by the Emperor.
"It's embarrassing to admit to you, but the Empire currently lacks talent."
"No one worthy in the eyes of the Emperor ruling this vast land?"
"Ah, a slip of the tongue. More precisely, we're chronically short on talent."
The Emperor playfully tapped my forearm as he continued his explanation.
"As you know, the Empire of Astyren, lord of the continent, has many enemies."
"Yeah, sure."
The three vile factions.
The rebellion and beastkin rights movement in the west.
Conflicts with northern tribes, and more.
Just from what I knew, these were the Empire's enemies.
And as ruler of the entire continent, the Emperor would know far more—and far more threats to the Empire.
"Of course, even if they all attacked at once, they couldn't match the Empire. At worst, it'd be some scratches."
"Impressive."
I meant it sincerely.
Lives had been lost to mere executives of those vile factions on our side, yet he claimed they could be crushed easily.
That was the depth of the Empire's power.
"But the real problem lies with beings beyond the aberrant gods."
"Aberrant gods?"
"Beasts that have lived since the mythic age, unknown to the public."
"Monsters?"
"Existences that can't be dismissed as mere monsters. Each one could turn the continent to ruins."
"..."
The information from the Emperor hit me like a hammer to the head.
It was the same shock as when Helen had come to me directly and broadened my worldview.
"Fortunately, most are sealed or in deep slumber. In the Empire's thousand-year history, not one has ever appeared."
"From the fact that you're telling me this, I take it a seal has broken."
"Indeed. Damn those heteromorphs—recently, one aberrant god awakened in the east."
The eastern duke at the head table flinched at the Emperor's words, confirming their truth.
The Emperor sipped his wine as he continued.
"Behemoth, that colossal beast, marched toward the World Tree. To halt it, we dispatched three knights called the Empire's Swords and the grand magi."
"Glad you stopped it successfully."
The Empire's Swords.
A fitting title for the Empire's representatives—second-rank knights.
And second-rank was the pinnacle for knights.
Even with my Titan racial bonuses, I'd lose in a head-on fight against one. That was how exalted they were.
'I got really lucky with Sir Andrew.'
With three such knights deployed, failure was impossible.
But contrary to my thoughts, the Emperor revealed a horrific truth.
"No, we failed to stop it."
"Eh?"
"Strikes from the knights dubbed the Empire's Swords couldn't pierce Behemoth's hide. Spells from the grand magi called the Empire's Staff couldn't halt its advance for even a moment. At best, the First Apostle, Sir Clark, managed a temporary resealing—but it was futile."
"So the east right now...?"
"Fortunately, Behemoth is dead."
"How?"
"We did nothing. A tiger that swallowed the heavens simply appeared and hunted it."
I couldn't help but be shocked at the mention of the Black Tiger.
The resident tyrant of the Titan Mountains had raced to the continent's far east to slay what was called an aberrant god.
And most shockingly...
'That guy's that strong?'
He'd scrapped with me on equal terms, so had he been toying with me all this time?
Betrayal stabbed at my head, aching, but the Emperor asked me directly.
"For whatever reason, it took Behemoth's spirit core and vanished. I consulted many scholars, but none could explain the bizarre behavior. You know it well, don't you?"
"Well, you could call me an expert."
"Then, do you know why it acted so strangely?"
"As someone who knows it well, my take is... it was bored."
"Bored?"
"It loves tormenting people when it's bored."
"I see..."
Sorry to Behemoth and the free independents who'd unsealed it, but the cat had just been catting.
If it irked them, get stronger than it.
"Kukuku, so we were played after all."
The Emperor downed more wine and began lamenting his fate.
"Isn't it laughable? The Empire, lord of the continent, is but a candle before the wind—ready to vanish at anyone's whim."
"Doesn't sound funny to me."
For some reason, he found my snacking amusing and laughed again, his self-deprecation gone.
"You don't seem shocked at all. I suffered nightmares for three days and nights over this."
"Moping won't solve it."
"You lack empathy."
"Protecting my family matters more than empathy."
"Kukuku, every word from you is so amusing. I can't fathom why."
"If you can't figure it out, let me ask one. Why did you summon me here?"
"Right. Nearly forgot the important part."
The Emperor hadn't invited me just for drinks. This coronation was hosted by the Holy Kingdom, not the Empire.
In other words, he wanted something from me—hence sharing wine.
"From this incident, our strategy division concluded that miracles from the gods are essential against beings beyond aberrant gods. Only equal divinity can pierce their shrouds."
"Can't aura do it?"
Sir Andrew, a second-rank knight, had pierced my divine blade with aura.
So knights of sufficient level should be able to cut divinity.
"It's possible. A few knights have pierced divinity before."
"Oh..."
"But even piercing divinity won't cut their hides."
"Ah, I see."
"The problem is, the Empire chronically lacks clerics who can manifest miracles."
"Yes, so you want..."
To sum up the Emperor's tale: to face aberrant god-level beings, elite clerics were needed.
And as a Titan, I boasted the highest divine power among modern humanity.
'In short, he wants to recruit me.'
To prepare for battles against unknown aberrant gods.
Confirming my hunch, the Emperor continued on clerics.
"Ideally, I'd raise clerics. But human divine power degrades generation by generation. Why do you think that is?"
"Not certain, but maybe more people are born without it than with it?"
I answered from a genetic perspective, but his amused expression showed I was wrong.
"The answer: modern humanity has never beheld the gods."
"Divine power, something you're born with, vanishes just because they haven't seen them?"
"Naturally. Divine power is fundamentally a vessel for divinity. Compare how often mythic-era humans touched divinity versus now, and you'll understand why Hestia the Goddess sent nymphs as her proxies."
"I see."
New information.
And the more I learned, the more I reevaluated Goddess Hestia.
'Generous with divinity, protects homes... in a way, a fine goddess.'
Why did I dislike her so much?
She sponsored me lavishly; I had no reason not to like her.
"Currently, the only races innately gifted with divine power are Titans like you, nymphs, and giants."
"Then recruit the giants."
"I'd love to, but true to their arrogant name, they refuse to heed me."
Perhaps on bad terms with the giants, the Emperor suddenly crushed his glass in anger.
Crack!
"Sorry, I lost composure."
"No, but why tell me this?"
Normally, you'd discuss this with the Holy Kingdom's Apostles.
Even as a Titan, I wasn't a god.
'Wait, no way?'
A lightning thought flashed, and cold sweat trickled down my back.
"You Titans possess unparalleled divine power. Reports say it's an ocean compared to the giants'."
"Y-Yes."
"I believe that if utilized well, it could produce miracles effective against aberrant gods."
The Emperor shone the wine in his glass on me as he revealed his true intent.
"So I thought: what if we bolster the Titan numbers through you?"
The shocking proposal froze my brain.