The Emperor's Companion
I was dragged around by Seria for what felt like forever before I finally managed to enter the imperial palace. I was truly exhausted. This was the first time I’d ever felt drained just from talking. To be honest, Seria was harder to deal with than the Demon King. The Demon King only killed me because I let my guard down. But Seria… she was the absolute worst. Who would’ve thought she’d use telekinesis magic to catch me?
“The Taesa has arrived.”
“Taesa?”
The maid had said something strange. I tilted my head.
“It is an ancient office from the old Eastern Empire, designating the emperor’s teacher and advisor.”
Taesa. Ah, so that’s what she meant. But why the hell was she calling me that? I’d never seen the term Taesa anywhere in the empire’s history. Besides, wasn’t that position usually held by men? Did it even suit a woman like Olivia? No, forget all that—I already had a damn job.
“Wait a second. I came here as a magic professor. I’m here in my capacity as a mage. At the very least, call me Saintess.”
“The title of Saintess holds a neutral position, so by imperial law it cannot be used within the palace. Therefore, we shall address you as Taesa instead.”
“You’re telling me I’m supposed to take some ancient title that only existed in a long-dead empire?”
Fine, whatever. Sword Saint, High Priest, Divine Archer—let’s just say those were all connections from my past life. But this? This was crossing the line. Saintess and now Taesa? What the hell was this nonsense? At this point, joining the Magic Tower seemed like a much better option for me.
“Additionally, you must wear the appropriate official attire.”
The maids presented me with what they called “official attire.” It was a dress. Were they insane? Seriously.
Well, sure, among the private tutors of nobles, there were plenty of people who wore dresses. But still.
“Why did you even prepare a custom outfit for me? The Saintess robes are already awful enough. And what the hell is this? How am I supposed to wear this thing?”
A dress. And one covered in lace, no less. The emperor must really want to screw with me.
“Women’s formal wear is traditionally made this way.”
“Then give me a suit instead.”
There were women’s suits too, weren’t there?
“His Majesty said he dislikes anything too serious. Moreover…”
“Moreover?”
“This garment was personally prepared by the Lady of House Ashtar.”
My mother’s love was far too heavy. Anyway, there was no way I could wear this.
“No matter what, this is impossible! Even the Saintess robes and school uniform are bad enough, but this—”
“Then how about this one?”
This time they brought out a uniform that both civil and military officials could wear. But it clung so tightly to my body that every curve was visible—the side lines, the distinctly feminine shape of my hips…
“No, this is… ugh, don’t you have anything looser?”
It was way too tight. How did noble young ladies wear things like this so naturally? From the hips down to the legs, it fit like a glove. The material itself was high quality, so there were no practical problems, but still… I found myself missing my old life more and more.
“That is the women’s version.”
“Ugh… What about men’s clothing?”
Weren’t there women who wore men’s suits?
“The Lady of House Ashtar would never allow it.”
“Fine. I’ll wear it.”
Later, I’d have to ask Seria for a Magic Tower robe or something. I wasn’t doing this for no reason. The body was just a shell. Clothes were the same. Honestly, if there was no fighting involved, I wouldn’t care what women’s clothing I wore. But now that Seria knew the truth, it was different. I didn’t want to give her any more ammunition to tease me with by wearing something overly feminine. That would be annoying as hell.
After bickering with the maids for a long time, I eventually settled on an official uniform that wasn’t a dress but still fit my body perfectly. Then I went to meet the emperor.
…Why the hell was she wearing a maid outfit? And it was incredibly revealing, too. For a second, I thought she was some prostitute who looked like the emperor.
“Oh. Taesa, you’ve come well.”
“Your Majesty. Please revoke the title of Taesa. It’s not like I’m anything more than a conversation partner anyway.”
At my age, being called Taesa? In the old Eastern Empire, that was the highest honorary position that even high-ranking officials couldn’t obtain. Even as an honorary title, it was one that commanded respect. If the current empire recorded it, that single title alone would probably go down in the imperial family’s history.
“Such trivial matters are unimportant. That uniform suits you quite well.”
“Ah, does it? Your Majesty, is there nothing more ordinary than this?”
This was the emperor’s last chance.
“How about the clothes I’m wearing? I was just thinking of playing emperor and maid. I haven’t decided yet who should play the emperor.”
“Let’s just not do that.”
“What a shame. My personal outfit is this one that shows off the legs so clearly.”
Didn’t she have any sense of shame for her age? She was in her mid-thirties. I wanted to argue, but she was the emperor.
“You’re looking at me with such pity. If it weren’t for the eyes around us, I would’ve walked around completely naked.”
“Pardon?”
“Well, of course. The imperial palace is so stifling. I even sleep almost naked. What’s the problem? Nobles might not, but commoners take off their clothes when it’s hot and layer up when it’s cold, don’t they?”
“Well… that’s true, I suppose.”
Yeah, that was true. Normally, when it got hot, people did take their clothes off. Unless they were nobles obsessed with etiquette inside their homes, that’s how it was. Even back in the Land of Destruction, I used to take off my top during the summer. It got pretty hot, so most people did the same.
“I’m the same way.”
No, but still, could an emperor really compare herself to ordinary people?
“Even so… Um, Your Majesty, I know this might be rude to say, but this is almost… No, you really took off quite a lot.”
She’d practically stripped the maid outfit down to nothing. No matter how comfortable the palace was, this was too much. What would she do if nobles came to visit?
“We’re both women, so what does it matter? Besides, if nobles come, I change immediately. The nobles who died recently were ones I deliberately invited.”
“So you had already decided to kill them from the start.”
“That’s right.”
I never thought I’d hear her say something like that so casually.
“A long time ago, that damn wizard once asked me. He wanted to know if there was any magic that could keep me cool every single day. Do you know what he said?”
“What?”
“‘Why don’t you just walk around naked? Everyone in the Land of Destruction does.’ That’s what he told me. Since he said to take it off, I took it off.”
— Wizard. Instead of using useless magic, create a spell that will keep me cool all summer long.
— Just walk around naked. In the Land of Destruction, both men and women go around like that.
He answered my serious request with bullshit, and she actually went and did it. She wasn’t even doing it because she liked me. What the hell was this emperor thinking?
“In short, it’s a protest against that wizard.”
“Exactly. That Noah bastard dared to be rude to me. So I decided to get back at him. After that, he never came to the palace again.”
“Of course he wouldn’t. If the emperor walks around that exposed, who would dare come and stare at your august body?”
I wasn’t even an imperial citizen back then, so I couldn’t visit often anyway.
“What do you think?”
“Pardon?”
“Isn’t there any magic that could make me feel cool?”
There was. I didn’t really feel the need to obey the emperor’s words, but seeing her naked would be worse than just using the spell. Much better to cast the magic.
“It’s not that there isn’t. So please, just put some clothes on.”
“Then do it.”
“Wind Field.”
Wind magic, Wind Field. Originally a basic wind-attribute spell created to gain an advantage in elemental magic matchups. But if adjusted properly, it could create a breeze cool enough to make the body feel refreshed.
I should’ve done this from the beginning.
“Oh? This feels quite cool.”
“Right?”
“But since we’re both women, it’s better to be comfortable. I won’t stay like this.”
Fuck. Then why did she make me do it?
“No, wait… The gods are dressed like this, Your Majesty. At least for the sake of your dignity…”
“Doesn’t refusing to listen to me damage my dignity and honor?”
If she weren’t the emperor, I would’ve slapped her with all my strength.
“Then why don’t you take your clothes off too?”
“No, I am still the young lady of House Ashtar. I can’t do that. I don’t want to get naked either.”
“It is an imperial decree.”
“Even if you order it, I will bite my tongue and die before I do it.”
I’d rather die. Or should I actually strip? But refusing might be exactly what the emperor wanted.
“What a stubborn person. Are you perhaps a lesbian? Hmm. That would explain a lot. That’s why you don’t even look at my son.”
“Your jokes are going too far. Fine. I’ll take them off.”
“Hm?”
Why was she making that surprised face? Wasn’t this what she wanted?
“Since Your Majesty commanded me to strip, I shall obey. You can’t call it rude then, can you? Behold, the young lady of House Ashtar shall disrobe before the emperor.”
“I understand. I understand. I’ll put it on. Are you threatening me now? I won’t take anything off beyond this point.”
So that was her line. Couldn’t be helped. Well, as long as she was careful in front of nobles, it should be fine. No matter how decent her appearance was, there was no way I’d feel anything for a woman in her mid-thirties.
“Understood.”
“So, do you prefer men then?”
“Why the hell are we talking about that right now?”
“We’re both women, so isn’t this the kind of conversation we can have?”
No, the age difference was huge, yet she was calling us companions? A person should have some shame. Just because our faces looked around the same age didn’t make it okay. And the fact that she wasn’t entirely wrong made me even angrier.
Anyway, officially I was here as a magic teacher and Taesa, but in reality I was just her conversation partner.
“Well… I suppose that’s true.”
“By the way, I heard you accomplished another great feat this time.”
“Pardon?”
“Actually, that’s why I granted you the title of Taesa.”
Ah, so it was because of Jerato. Don’t tell me Adran—that bastard—snitched on me to the emperor? If it were a normal person, I’d thank them for honestly reporting my achievements. But to me, it felt more like he’d ratted me out. And because of that, I ended up stuck with this damned Taesa title. A sigh escaped me involuntarily.
“Is it because of the Jerato incident?”
“To be blunt, who would’ve thought that bastard was a descendant of the Kart royal family?”
The emperor shrugged. I could understand her feelings completely. To think that a remnant of the past had survived.
“Yes. I was surprised too.”
“You really are amazing. As expected of the Saintess.”
Now that I was hearing it again, it was starting to get annoying. After dealing with the succubus, the Church felt like nothing more than my personal soldier training ground—nothing more, nothing less.
“I am a mage. That’s why I came here as a magic instructor, isn’t it?”
“Either way, you caught a traitor. A member of the Demon King’s army who was a descendant of Kart. It’s something every citizen of the empire can laugh about.”
Empress Belia smiled bitterly. I could understand her feelings there too. In the early days of the empire, in the name of racial integration, they had massacred and forcibly married the peoples who made up the majority of Kart. If you dug even deeper, they had practiced polygamy. As a result, the blood of the two races had mixed beautifully into one, but their appearance remained closer to Kart’s. In other words, Kart’s blood ran thicker.
Jerato had used dark magic against the imperial citizens—who could be considered his own distant kin.
“Fifteen hundred years ago… I suppose that would make sense.”
Fifteen hundred years wasn’t exactly a short time. For a usurper dynasty, the empire had lasted quite a long time. Short-lived ones lasted mere decades. Even centralized states rarely lasted hundreds of years. The fact that this empire had continued this long was astonishing in itself.
“Do you also think my family is a lineage of whores?”
What kind of answer was she hoping for? Honestly, I didn’t really care.
“Well… I don’t know the exact circumstances of the time, but it is true that House Armenia avoided unnecessary bloodshed by marrying into the opposing faction. And back then, Kart was riddled with corruption. The Holy King, despite having an overwhelmingly superior army, couldn’t even respond properly. Many nations in the Kart alliance had already turned their backs on them. Bloodline this, bloodline that—ultimately, it was the empire that ended the Warring States period. And today, aside from the Kingdom with its Hero, the empire is the only nation with the power to fight the Demon King’s army. Most importantly…”
“Most importantly?”
“It’s called Armenia now, but originally it was the Von Empire, wasn’t it? Your Majesty is also of House Von, not just Armenia.”
It was wordplay, but Belia smiled with satisfaction.
“That’s pleasant to hear. However, the blood of Armenia remains thicker.”
“That’s not bad either. Since it’s thicker than the blood of the opposing faction, doesn’t that make Armenia the final victor?”
In short, it was all just wordplay. Bringing up an argument that should’ve ended fifteen hundred years ago was ridiculous in the first place.
“No matter where I throw you, you’d probably survive by flattering people.”
“Who would dare speak so freely in front of whom?”
I was standing before the emperor. I couldn’t speak carelessly. Even now, I had already said more than necessary. For an ordinary person, losing their head wouldn’t be strange. Of course, the emperor was a weirdo who actually liked people like this. Because she herself was a maniac, she favored the insolent ones who acted like maniacs in front of her. That was why I could get away with this. Though it was still a gamble—what would the emperor’s reaction be?