Chapter 140
Chapter 140
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 140
Chapter Title: The Godmother
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The audience chamber, before the emperor's throne.
"Should we kneel? What's the proper etiquette in this game's world?"
"What are you talking about? We're just players, right?"
"Hehe, we might look like a bunch of uncultured mercenaries."
*Shh.*
"Quiet."
Chris, at the front, held up a hand behind her, silencing the group.
To the left of the throne in the audience chamber stood a man who appeared to be a minister.
And on the throne sat a middle-aged man.
As expected of the leader of a great empire that divided the Astria Continent. His face held a clear air of dignity. He had a thick mustache. Surprisingly, his build seemed solid too. Judging by his distinct features, he must have been quite handsome about twenty years ago.
"Oh."
I let out a small gasp upon seeing his face.
He looked somewhat familiar. It's definitely the bloodline.
To think I can still faintly see the features of his ancestor even after a thousand years. I guess there was never a revolution that overthrew the dynasty, huh?
He wasn't wearing the long, flowing robes one might typically imagine an emperor in. Nor was he wearing a crown, of course. Instead, he wore something similar to a uniform.
*Rustle.*
He rose from his seat and gave a smile to Chris, who was nervously swallowing. Chris hurriedly bowed her head in greeting.
"Your Imperial Majesty, I trust you have been well. ...Uh, is that right?"
A few soft chuckles came from the players standing behind Chris. She glanced back, shooting them a death glare.
"Please, be at ease. I have no intention of forcing the etiquette of this empire upon you. You are different from the humans born and raised in this world—adventurers from the stars."
"Oh, hehe. Is that so?"
"Haha, you are an amusing one."
Seeing Chris immediately start chuckling and scratching her head, the emperor let out a hearty laugh.
He looked around at the group and began to speak.
"For stopping the threat in the north, I, as the Emperor of the Alpharion Empire, express my gratitude, heroes from another world."
I slightly raised my lowered eyes. It felt as though the emperor's gaze had brushed past me. I tilted my head in confusion.
"The empire did not stand idle after detecting their movements. We are an empire, and the protectors of this continent. That is the founding principle of this nation. We were planning to dispatch our knights to face the threat that revealed itself in the north."
"Ooh...!"
Gasps of admiration rippled through the players.
Even if the adventurers hadn't stopped the corps commander, this continent had been prepared to fight the threat on its own.
"Tonight, there will be a banquet in your honor. The young ladies and gentlemen of various noble houses will also be in attendance, so I hope you find someone you connect with."
The emperor said this with a meaningful smile.
"In the meantime, please rest from your journey in the imperial palace. This is a small token of my gratitude."
*Clap.*
With the sound of the emperor's clap, several servants entered the audience chamber carrying trays with pouches on them. Peeking out from the heavy pouches was... gold?
"Heh, as expected! He knows what's up!"
"Rare items are nice, but you can buy all of them if you just have gold!"
The faces of each attack squad member lit up.
Such simple people.
Of course, I like gold too.
"Heh."
Receiving my share of the imperial grant, I checked the amount and grinned.
A lavish waiting room in the imperial palace.
I was stuck right next to Chris, amidst the squad members who had gathered in small groups, chattering in anticipation of the evening's banquet and ball.
"He said the young ladies and gentlemen of the Alpharion Empire's noble houses would be at the banquet tonight, right? Someone you connect with? What do you think he meant?"
"Hmm... Maybe he wants to play matchmaker."
"Matchmaker?"
Chris's expression turned strange.
"You know? Marrying capable people to the children of noble houses to make the empire's power even stronger."
Chris still seemed confused.
"Huh? But if they're children of noble houses, they're NPCs, right? Can players even marry them?"
"It's a game with a high degree of freedom. Why wouldn't it be possible?"
"Hmm... I get it for players, but what about from the NPC's perspective? We can just quit the game, right? The servers could even shut down. What happens to the spouse left behind in this world?"
Chris clutched her head, deep in thought.
The male guild members who had been listening to our conversation also started chiming in with serious expressions.
"This is a 19+ rated game, right? D-does that mean... that kind of thing is possible!?"
"Hey... if you're going to think like that, go play another game, will you? Astria Online has a low synchronization rate, what kind of satisfaction are you trying to get here? There are virtual reality games made specifically for that purpose, you know? A-ahem. Still, if there's a pretty young lady, I wouldn't mind having a chat."
"You crazy bastards! Can't you watch what you say in front of a kid!"
Chris shrieked.
I puffed out my cheeks. I'm not a kid.
*Knock, knock.*
"Is Lady Rain here?"
"Yes?"
I tilted my head.
It was the minister who had been standing next to the emperor in the audience chamber. He was summoning me.
"His Majesty wishes for a private audience."
"What!"
Chris freaked out and hugged me tightly. Then, her eyes blazed.
"After all that talk about finding suitable partners among the nobles, he's summoning Rain... Could it be...!"
"Unni... there's no way, right?"
"Y-you never know! The emperor might have a thing for petite women...! Rain is an incredible beauty, after all!"
I blushed at Chris's foolishness.
The compliment was embarrassing, and so was her fussing.
"Grrrrr! Anyway, Rain can't go alone! Take me with you!"
Chris snorted, taking a guarded stance toward the minister.
The minister looked troubled. He had no choice but to go back to the emperor once more.
We were escorted to the emperor's office, and from there, we walked with the emperor down a corridor deep within the palace.
"I requested a private audience not for any other reason, but because I have a favor to ask. Unlike the others who faced the corps commander as a guild of adventurers, I heard you infiltrated the Tree of the Abyss alone. ...The one in the back, is she your guardian? Haha! You two look good together."
The emperor burst out laughing as he watched Chris hovering protectively around me.
"......."
The emperor's intelligence network is better than I thought. He knew I had conquered the Tree of the Abyss by myself.
Chris was constantly letting out gasps of admiration, taking in the scenery of the corridor, which was far more ancient and elegant than the parts of the palace they had walked through so far.
"Do you see? These are the portraits of the successive emperors of the empire."
Lining the corridor walls was an endless row of portraits. The faces of those who had sustained the Alpharion Empire for a thousand years.
"From my father, the late emperor, all the way to the first emperor. What you are looking at is the very history of the Alpharion Empire."
I followed him, walking back through history.
"This nation, founded to protect humanity from the threat of the demon race, has now endured for a thousand years. Over that time, our purpose has faded, and we have engaged in covert power struggles with the Betarion Empire, once our brother nation. Heh heh, do not judge us too harshly. When a country grows to this size, there are things you become entangled in, whether you like it or not."
The emperor continued to speak as he walked.
"The empires that divide the Astria Continent. Alpharion in the east, Betarion in the west. The reason we could not pay attention to the north is because a threat in the east has begun to stir."
"A threat in the east?"
"That place is 'Erin's Gorge,' a land of countless monsters. Even with the empire's might, we have not been able to fully conquer it, merely building a great castle to hold it at bay. The movements there have become unsettling. After a thousand years, the evil hand that threatens humanity's existence is once again reaching across the continent."
Chris whispered to me in a small voice.
"Is this a teaser for the next expansion pack?"
"Hmm, maybe."
The threat from the north, the demon race's Northern Corps Commander.
The threat from the east, where the Alpharion Empire is located.
I wonder if there's an Eastern Corps Commander there.
But why is he showing us this? If it were a quest, he could have just given it in the audience chamber or his office.
The emperor's steps came to a halt at the end of the corridor.
The portrait hanging on the wall there was...
"His Majesty, the first emperor."
I stopped in front of his portrait.
It was definitely a face I knew.
Though he looked much older than the young man I had known.
And next to the first emperor's portrait, at the very end of the corridor...
"Huh."
My mouth fell open.
"Huh? Huh?"
Chris had a similar reaction.
Silvery-white hair that slightly covered one eye.
Amidst a youthful-looking face, sharp obsidian eyes stood out.
It was a little different, but this was definitely...
"R-Rain! Th-th-this!"
Chris frantically pointed at the portrait.
To be honest, I had nothing to say either.
Why, here...
...in the imperial castle of the Alpharion Empire...
...is there a portrait of me?
"...His Majesty the first emperor was also a great artist. After the empire was fully established, the court painters did the work, but I have heard that he painted his own portrait and that of the hero of that era himself."
The current emperor...
...gazed for a moment at the portrait of the first emperor and the portrait of me, then...
"Adventurer from the stars, a being who does not flow with the history of this world."
He turned his body toward me and asked.
"Who are you?"
The things that happened on this continent after I left.
A thousand years of history I never knew.
I remembered him, who hadn't been much older than me.
I let out a small laugh.
"...Did he say he would save humanity and become their king? That Bernhard, he drew a cute picture."
*Thud.*
The emperor fell to his knees.
Chris was startled.
I was not surprised.
The emperor did not hide his agitation.
"...The Hero of a thousand years ago, the Godmother of the Empire."
And then, he kissed the back of my hand.
Chris jumped.
I scratched my face.
Godmother?
I'm not a mother.