Prepare the Ceremony————!
The shout that filled the imperial palace at dawn announced the preparations for the ceremony, accompanied by the sound of hooves pounding outside the palace walls.
Yet Sophien sat in her chambers with a somewhat displeased expression.
“Ahan.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Ahan responded promptly to the summons, and Sophien glared curtly out the window.
“I had a dream.”
“A dream, Your Majesty?”
“Indeed. Rohakan appeared in it.”
“……Ah.”
Rohakan. The black beast, long dead, still lingered to torment Her Majesty.
Ahan shook her head.
“Whatever that traitor said, it is unworthy of Your Majesty’s concern……”
“No. It is worth heeding.”
Sophien had dreamed.
But it was not merely a dream—it was more precisely a ‘memory that seeped through a crack.’
“Evidently, that damned wretch left something festering in my mind.”
Sophien harbored faint, faded memories.
Before the endless poisonings began, back when Rohakan assassinated her mother and fled— that day, no matter how hard she tried, refused to surface.
“A lock on my memories, perhaps. He must have placed it when I was too young, and it has grown alongside me. My magic cannot unravel it.”
“Why not ask the Professor?”
“……”
Sophien turned silently to Ahan, who bowed her head.
“Forgive me, Your Majesty. I overstepped.”
“No. You are right. It is strange that I should dream of this so suddenly. I must ask Deculein.”
“Yes. But what do you mean by ‘strange’……”
“Four days ago, Deculein visited Rohakan’s vineyard. At first, I thought it mere commemoration.”
Sophien’s brow furrowed slightly.
“……But this abrupt dream cannot be coincidence.”
“Is that so?”
“Indeed. Therefore, I shall alter the ceremony’s proceedings.”
Ahan’s eyes widened in an instant.
“Pardon? But—”
“It is fine. Deculein has already grasped the details. I intend only to adjust the order and the invitees.”
Sophien spoke with a faint smile. Ahan soon prostrated herself before her.
“……Yes, Your Majesty. It is Your Majesty’s empire. Whatever comes to pass, it shall be as Your Majesty wills……”
“……There. All done.”
Rohalak. A detention camp erected in the desert where temperature swings exceeded 60 degrees, functioning as a human barrier against the monsters beyond the territory.
The continent, ignorant of its reality, gossiped that ‘death was preferable to Rohalak,’ but its leader, Kariksel, thought otherwise.
“How’s that? It should hurt less now, right?”
The camp’s sole free time: the exercise yard—read: a sweltering steam bath in the outer desert.
Kariksel wrapped makeshift bandages around Lucy’s face.
“……”
Lucy trembled wordlessly. The shock of losing her sight must have been immense—especially since Deculein’s steel had gouged out her eyes directly……
The Altiegue members nearby wore worried expressions.
“Kariksel.”
“Yes. It’s been ages, Miss Lucy. Did you know? Unlike a dantian, eyes can be restored by a skilled puppeteer. Just endure until we leave. We’ll cover the costs.”
“……”
Lucy bit her lip. Kariksel forced a bright tone.
“It’s fine. We owe the Grand Elder so much; this is the least we can do for free—”
“I—”
She jerked her head up.
“……And we inherited Grandfather’s will. We sought only to hide peacefully, harming no one. Yet the empire—Deculein—”
“It’s fine. We’ll get out alive. We won’t die here. All of Padahal’s residents arrived safely at Rohalak.”
“I heard they’re building a gas chamber anyway.”
Lucy’s voice was rough, tangled with sobs and rage.
Kariksel replied softly.
“The gas chamber’s fine too. We’ve dug a shelter beneath it. Everything’s prepared……”
“If you’re prepared like that!”
Lucy whipped her head side to side. Seeing nothing, her despair deepened into a cry.
“Just escape—outside Rohalak! Stop lying! Who do you take me for, an idiot?!”
“We wouldn’t. It’s true. We don’t escape because Rohalak is the safest place.”
“What bullshit—get over here! Come here!”
Lucy clawed at the air. Kariksel smiled bitterly and placed a hand on her shoulder.
“The Emperor hates Altiegue. We must hide here until then.”
“Hide? Hiding!”
Lucy slapped his hand away roughly. Kariksel persisted steadfastly.
“We need your help, Miss Lucy, descendant of the Grand Elder.”
“What help from a blind woman—”
“You’re the only one here whose dantian wasn’t extracted. I’m grateful, selfishly so. Thankful to Professor Deculein. We needed dantians.”
“What……”
To Lucy, it was absurd. That professor gouged out her eyes, and gratitude?
Gratitude?
“Gratitude? Gratitude? Say it again. Gratitude?”
“Stay here long enough, Miss Lucy, adapt to life without eyes, and you’ll thank the Professor too.”
“……You repay kindness with enmity, Kariksel. Like a mad psychopath!”
Lucy lunged suddenly, grabbing someone’s hair.
“It’s you.”
Kariksel answered.
“No.”
“……Hm.”
Lucy released her grip.
“Then who? Confess and get caught.”
Kariksel cleared his throat awkwardly.
“Actually, yes. That was me.”
“You steaming idiot—”
—Exercise time is over.
From the watchtower, a woman shouted.
Kariksel looked up at her, feigning calm.
—Everyone, return inside.
Rohalak’s deputy warden, Premien.
At her command, everyone filed indoors. Premien shook her head and unfolded her newspaper.
“Hot enough to kill.”
She lounged like a lord on a long chair, her sycophantic subordinates fanning her eagerly.
“More ice?!”
“Mm. Yes. Bring it.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
As Premien directed them adeptly, a small bird alighted on her newspaper.
“……What’s this.”
“Oh! An imperial falcon?!”
“……”
At her subordinate’s words, Premien sat up straight. She untied the note from the falcon’s leg and read.
It was one sentence.
“……?”
Why me?
Premien was baffled, bordering on confusion.
“As expected! Deputy Warden Premien!”
“An invitation from Her Majesty herself for the ceremony!”
Her clueless subordinates sang praises, and Premien coughed awkwardly.
“Right. That’s me. So head back. I need time to think alone.”
“““Yes, ma’am!”””
…….
Drip, drip—
A rainy night.
Julie gazed out the window from her hotel room in the capital, absently watching the cityscape soak in the downpour.
“……Why’s there only one bed?”
She gave Reilly’s question a curt reply.
“No money.”
Her painstakingly saved home in the capital had long been seized by the bank during the Prenheim incident, and 70-80% of her monthly salary still went to unpaid debts.
Julie was broke.
“What’re you thinking about so hard? That 3,000 elne steak?”
“……”
Julie shook her head silently. The thought crossed her mind, but it wasn’t the point.
A small slip of paper in her hand.
“The ceremony.”
“Yeah~ You’re applying for the imperial hearing there, right?”
“Yes.”
“Nervous?”
An imperial hearing. The moment ‘imperial’ prefixed it, it transcended any ordinary inquiry.
Lives hung in the balance.
“……More worried than nervous.”
“Who? The Professor? Or us?”
“Both.”
Julie knew a part of Deculein.
A somewhat changed man. One who showed due respect to his disciple Ifrin and his father Kaigan.
Yet he still ignored his own sins, killing countless others……
“We decided to steel ourselves.”
“……”
At Reilly’s words, Julie simply stared out the window.
Plip, plop……
Lost in the rain’s murmur, she slowly let her thoughts fade.
…….
Meanwhile, here was Deculein’s second proving ground.
In ‘Sylvia’s Island,’ a space of pure magic, Lia was in the midst of a storm-level power-up.
With its insanely dense mana and the treasures left by the Voice, she had amassed high-end gear before she knew it.
“I got one of these too.”
The island’s cave.
Back from a rare outing, she showed her adventure party a small note.
Emperor’s ceremony invitation.
To her, of all people.
“……To you, Lia?”
“Whoa. Weird.”
“Suspicious.”
Ganesha, Leo, and Karos, respectively.
Lia scratched her nape.
“Right? Should I skip it?”
“No.”
Ganesha shook her head.
“Skipping’s riskier. The Emperor knows you, for some reason. Better show up.”
“Mm, okay.”
The Emperor’s ceremony. Lia knew what it was, having read the scenario countless times.
But why her?
Sure, Red Garnet had undertaken imperial missions, but then it should be Ganesha, not her.
“Guess I’m going alone then?”
The invitation was for Lia alone.
Ganesha nodded reluctantly.
“……Yeah. Just you. It’s your invitation. I’m worried, but……”
She paused, chuckling, and pressed the note into Lia’s hand.
“Time for you to stand on your own anyway, right?”
“……”
A wistful smile tugged at Lia’s lips.
“……Yeah.”
Her goal wasn’t to be the top adventurer. Nor an eternal party member.
Just one thing.
Clear the main quest and return home.
From Lia, back to Yuarra.
And……
Meet ‘that guy’ and convey the feelings she’d realized.
“Chasing quests—no, vital missions—must’ve made me noticeable.”
“Hehe. Yeah~ Anyway, let’s grind hard till then.”
“Yep!”
Lia shouted energetically.
Imperial decree———!
A colossal shout heralded the ceremony’s start, shaking the earth and piercing the heavens.
The ‘crier,’ whose very trade was such proclamations, a divine being.
His voice spread literally across the entire capital.
“Ah. I must’ve had a dumb dream, Professor. It’s way different from what I saw.”
I sat with Ifrin in the palace garden.
Some 1,000 attendees. Seemingly vast, but fewer than 10% would face the Emperor directly.
“Indeed. As if someone like you had precognition.”
“……What’d you say?”
Ifrin narrowed her eyes at my dismissive tone, but it couldn’t be helped.
Her talent was a curse.
Knowing time meant being unbound by it—a plight no human could bear.
Imperial decree——!
The second cry.
Simultaneously, boom—! Boom—! Boom—! reverberating drums.
Then the crier’s third, as if vomiting blood.
Imperial decree——!
Sophien rose from the garden podium overlooking us, nodding as she surveyed the crowd.
“The palace ceremony commences now. Enjoy with ease of mind.”
She turned away promptly.
True to Sophien, who loathed preambles and tedium.
“Professor. What now?”
Ifrin asked innocently, her eyes already locked on the garden’s delicacies.
“Oh, cake.”
Before I could reply, she scurried after a waiter with a tray, entranced.
“……”
Sipping whiskey, I scanned the area.
Julie, Gawain, Premien, Betan, Ruina, Ihelm, Adrienne, Maho and other royals…… the empire’s luminaries filled the space.
Yet.
“……?”
My brow furrowed instinctively.
Amid the lavish spreads, a child hopped about like a rabbit.
“Why is that one……”
“Lia. You know her. Famous adventurer now.”
Premien appeared out of nowhere to explain.
“Remember the ‘Brahon Bandit Incident’? She solved it. The palace bounty. Her Majesty gladly gave her the stolen jewels.”
“……”
I glared at her silently.
“What? It’s an explanation.”
“You showed up well enough.”
“Dodging means more deaths.”
Imperial decree———!
The fourth cry echoed. All turned from their feast.
The crier stood with eunuch Jolang beside him.
“Eunuch Jolang here. Before the main ceremony, certain guests hold invitations personally sealed by Her Majesty.”
Premien showed me hers.
“Talking about this, probably.”
“I have one too.”
“Those guests, please gather and follow me.”
Of the 1,000 attendees, a select few followed Jolang.
Jolang led to the palace’s rear garden, where a mansion stood.
“The palace is vast, no? This mansion is even larger inside. Her Majesty is within, of course.”
Jolang smiled at the gate.
“You will reside here for the next 8 weeks.”
8 weeks.
A considerable span—even Ifrin, munching bread beside me, startled.
“Of course, external duties via crystal orb or radio are permitted anytime.”
Jolang clapped. A guard handed him cards.
“Her Majesty hopes this ceremony fosters harmony among houses. You 58 are exemplary representatives.”
I watched Jolang steadily.
“This mansion is one of the palace’s magical spaces. Its origins are unknown—a curse’s byproduct. What occurs inside is anyone’s guess.”
“But Her Majesty is inside—”
Julie interjected.
“Her Majesty is fine, naturally. Guarded by knights.”
“……”
Julie coughed awkwardly.
“In any case. For this ‘harmony,’ Her Majesty introduces the concept of guardian angels, to foster deeper bonds.”
Guardian angel.
A modern term sprang to mind instantly.
Secret Santa.
Jolang held up a card.
“……This card bears your names.”
Names. I glanced at Ifrin beside me.
She was eating bread again.
“Draw one. Aid that person secretly. Any way you like.”
Secret Santa indeed.
“Perilous, yet a vital palace tradition. Proof that the founding Emperor vanquished demons and purified the land.”
Jolang beamed—a sly grin.
“Participate without excess destruction, please.”
He departed; knights opened the gate.
Creeeeak——
I stepped into the eerie maw first.