Chapter 73
Chapter 73
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 73
Chapter Title: The Emperor's Will
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“Do you think it’s mere speculation?”
Ardaine could say nothing in response to the emperor’s words. Speculation or not, she had never even considered such a notion.
The emperor saw that his daughter had no thoughts on the matter and sighed before continuing.
“Grimudo is strong. No one knows exactly how strong, but it’s beyond doubt that he possesses power that defies common sense.”
But even that ancient demon king—had he been that strong from the start?
Had he been born with heaven-defying talent, innately destined to lord over all?
Was his genius so extraordinary that it surpassed even the hero Yurinelle, a genius among geniuses?
The emperor asked.
The princess had no answer this time either. She had no thoughts about Grimudo at all. Strictly speaking, he was a man she didn’t need to concern herself with.
He was a legendary figure huddled quietly in the North Pole, one no one dared touch. A living legend. No one tried to drag that legend into reality.
Even the Three Gods Cult, as it spread its doctrines across the continent, made a point of ignoring Grimudo.
Their excuse was that since he was in the North Pole, beyond the continent’s borders, they wouldn’t provoke him first.
But even when he came to the continent and turned the Citadel Kingdom into the Citadel Republic.
Not even the radicals of the Three Gods Cult spoke of revenge against him. He was a natural disaster.
If misfortune struck, all you could do was blame your own luck.
They could only raise their voices and pour out petitions, hoping they wouldn’t be his next target. Because all three goddesses leading the Three Gods Cult had no desire for all-out war with Grimudo.
“The power that made him so strong is the power of time. Endless ages of accumulated strength and knowledge. For us, born far later, it was a power we thought impossible to overcome. But you’ve told me otherwise.”
“The Lineage Sapling...!”
Even the princess could now realize the truth. That tree, which brought the future into the present beyond the bounds of time.
She understood that this miracle was the most decisive way to close the gap between Grimudo and others.
“B-but that creature in the North Pole merely huddled away all those long years. Why else would the gods grant us this miracle to prepare for him?”
“Huddled away? Grimudo? You’ve got it wrong. He was merely biding his time, watching. You think our empire or the theocracy have been holding the demon king in check all this while?”
That was still a matter of the past.
And a secret one at that. The emperor had never met the North Pole’s occupant in person.
But he’d had a chance to gauge that power indirectly. Ever since that day, he’d occasionally envied the one in the North Pole.
With not a single follower, Grimudo was a hegemon. Nothing in the world could defy his will. A true demon king in every sense.
In the emperor’s eyes, he was the only being worthy of claiming the title of demon king. The others were mere tribal lords of the demon race.
“Imagine if he decided to wipe us all from the world. How many superhuman armies—like the one you want to create—would it take to stand against Grimudo’s monster legions?”
The emperor asked, and the princess had no answer again. This time, it wasn’t a lack of thought.
But she already knew the answer without saying it. The emperor murmured slowly.
“Ten thousand? A hundred thousand? A million? Maybe thirty million?”
Thirty million troops? Don’t make me laugh. Even at the empire’s peak, mobilizing over a million had been nearly impossible.
And that was just on paper—only after conscripting from border counts and local magnates’ private forces, under the emperor’s direct command. It was a theoretical number never once reached in practice.
Yet even a million wouldn’t touch Grimudo’s shadow. He could just send a handful of his monsters, and that was that. How could a million elite soldiers face Grimudo’s monster legions, shaking the earth with every step?
He wouldn’t even need to show himself. His other beasts, led by the Hydra, would overwhelm them easily. With that realization, Ardaine understood something.
The Lineage Sapling wasn’t a miracle meant to create what she had imagined.
The emperor smiled at his daughter, who now looked as if enlightenment had dawned.
“Against an ancient demon king, no number of superhumans matters. What’s needed is a single transcendent being who can overwhelm everyone on his level.”
“Ardaine, even if the Lineage Sapling seems like a miracle without limits, everything in this world is finite. How that finite power is distributed and used will determine the future.”
He pointed toward the blazing beacon of the sanctuary as he continued.
“And one such hero is probably standing before me right now. I don’t think your meeting with this Kyle was mere coincidence. What can’t the one who made that be capable of? You’ve been guided by the divine without even knowing it.”
“I... I’ve never thought of it that way...”
“That child Roca you mentioned is probably the same. Think simply. If the Three Sovereign Gods can select heroes, why couldn’t one greater than them? He likely foresaw that you’d clash with Grimudo on the way to the North Pole.”
The emperor reached out, embraced his daughter once, then gestured for her to leave.
“Then my role is clear. Now, not as your father, but as emperor, I command you. Ardaine, open the doors and summon those who left earlier. I have words for them.”
*****
“Are they doing alright in there...?”
Roca and I were currently in the palace’s reception room, just sipping tea.
Even this single cup of tea was something I was grateful for.
Back when I traveled with Yurinelle, we once met an old woman in tattered clothes. She lived in a shabby hut without a proper house, her back hunched, limping on one leg.
I couldn’t restore her youth, but I straightened her bent back.
In gratitude, she fetched water from a well with her battered bucket—the only drink she could offer. The well hadn’t been maintained in ages, so the water wasn’t clean.
Yurinelle grimaced, and I stopped Pannel from spilling his cup. Lucia politely refused, but to spare the old woman’s feelings, I drank it all. It was water given with grateful heart, so I drank it gratefully.
Before we left, we set up a proper spring for her.
So this tea, offered to guests, was a blessing to me. But for Roca... well.
The child didn’t even glance at the cookies served with it. Our Roca doesn’t care much for sweets anyway, and bitter things are more than dislike—they’re outright loathed.
This tea was bitter water to her, and the cookies just lumps of heavy flour. She touched nothing, her expression darkening, so in the end, I had to ask one of the maids beside us. Could they make a dessert with eggs or milk?
Even so, in a place like this, before mealtime, I couldn’t very well request meat. It was my compromise.
“That’s egg pudding!”
Thankfully, she accepted readily, went to the kitchen, and soon a cook brought a yellow pudding.
She proudly said it was made only with eggs, milk, and honey. Roca ate it with moderate satisfaction. It was sweet, so not quite to her taste, but the child does well with egg dishes.
“You can’t go in! Even if you’re the archbishop, that man is Her Highness the Princess’s guest...”
“Out of my way! I must see that man.”
It wasn’t my cooking, but I was happily watching Roca eat when.
A commotion erupted outside. Shouts rang out one after another, and through the crowd strode an elderly man in black clerical robes, heading straight for me. Seeing me, he started to say something but widened his eyes.
Of course—we knew each other. It had been a long time, though.
“Archbishop Armata. It’s been ages. I hope you’ve been well.”
“You’re that priest who was always by the hero’s side back then...”
He might not remember me clearly, or perhaps only as the one beside Yurinelle, but I remember him.
Yurinelle had once introduced me to Archbishop Armata of the Hilai Church, overseeing the Grantera diocese.
Did he remember me? His expression grew complicated.
“I never imagined you had the power to heal the princess and rouse His Majesty. Now I see why the hero recommended the theocracy’s priests be dismissed and you be chosen instead. It wasn’t just because you were old hometown friends.”
I see. Fortunately, everything had worked out. It seemed the Lord had delayed His Majesty’s passing. Only then could I breathe a sigh of relief.
“Then is the hero perhaps here as well?”
“He’s probably still in the demon realm. I left the party, so I’m not entirely sure.”
“You left the party? Why aren’t you aiding the hero?”
“There’s Saintess Araidel there now.”
Ah. At last, the archbishop seemed to understand, letting out a deep sigh.
“It seems we... greatly misunderstood you. Why has no one corrected that misconception until now? Why has no one pointed out the one you serve?”
He reached out, gripped my hand, and poured in holy power. As the power of Goddess Hilai tried to flow through my body, the already overflowing power of the Lord naturally drew it in and redirected it elsewhere. Was it my imagination? For a moment, the archbishop’s holy power seemed to surge wildly.
“Now I remember.”
Releasing my hand, he gave a bitter smile.
“Your name was Kyle, right? I thought you, the one by the hero’s side back then, were just an ordinary priest. But you and the one behind you are anything but ordinary.”
Ignoring his trembling hand, he continued.
“Don’t you see? The one I serve just looked upon you. And the infinitely radiant halo lurking behind you. We need to reconsider our judgment of the one you serve.”
“Archbishop, more importantly, there’s something I’d like to tell you.”
Suddenly realizing the man before me was an archbishop of the Three Gods Cult, a thought sprang to mind.
He might already know, but confirming it couldn’t hurt.
“You may already be aware, but a death god has appeared near the Brad territory in the southeast of the empire. One formed from the grudges of children.”
“I’ve heard. It’s put the entire order on high alert. Everyone’s rushing about now. Trouble’s like that—quiet when there’s none, then it comes pouring in.”
He sighed deeply, bowed to me, and turned away.
“It was a pleasure meeting you. Next time, it’ll be the theocracy’s envoy who seeks you out. But first, you’ll have another guest.”
Following the archbishop’s gaze, mine shifted too. Past Roca, who hadn’t taken her eyes off me even while eating her egg pudding, I saw a blond man who oddly resembled the princess. But his eyes, unlike hers, were not green but ordinary gray.
The man looked at the archbishop and spoke reluctantly.
“Well, I didn’t expect to find you here, Archbishop.”
“I couldn’t be late for something like this. Allow me to introduce—His Imperial Highness Edmund von Illumena, the empire’s third prince. Your Highness, this is Kyle, priest of the Ancient Gods.”
Talk among yourselves young folk. With those words, the archbishop vanished.
The surrounding murmurs faded away. The prince smiled at me, but the gaze attached to that smile held no goodwill. Of course, the emotion in his eyes soon shifted to a friendly one.
“So you’re the benefactor of the imperial family, who saved Father and healed Sister.”
“I greet Your Highness. I am Kyle, priest of Hope.”
Love your neighbor, whether they love or hate you—that’s the priest’s duty. I simply smiled softly and bowed. I pretended not to notice what was plain to see, holding no grudge in my heart.
Just a faint bitterness. It seemed he and the princess weren’t on good terms.
* * *