Pride Comes Crashing Down
"What in the world is that...?"
The group's expressions soured in an instant.
What on earth was that massive, earth-colored balloon-like object?
They had erected something like that in the place meant to welcome His Imperial Majesty?
Had the Belmonts gone mad?
[Kya, kyaooo! Is this good enough?]
"...What is that thing, Belmont?"
"Ah. You've noticed it. That is the mascot of our city."
"A mascot...?"
"It's a sort of representative character. Even with the new road open, people won't suddenly flock to Belmont territory. But if rumors spread about a strange spirit creature, won't it gain some fame?"
"You're aiming for tourism revenue. I doubt many would come all this way just to see something like that..."
The Emperor's expression had soured just as much.
Yet Aslan stood beside him like a fish in water, cheerfully rattling off explanations.
Watching the bizarre scene, Irene froze stiff.
What did I just see?
A faint smile had crossed the Emperor's face.
It wasn't a mocking or derisive smile.
It was the kind that slipped out uncontrollably while reading a romance novel alone in one's room—the sort of smile that couldn't be held back.
Only Irene had seen it.
The moment passed, and the Emperor's face had already twisted back into a mask of displeasure, just like everyone else.
Did I imagine it? Was it a hallucination?
Irene hurriedly rubbed her eyes again and again.
It made no sense otherwise.
The emotionless Iron Empress, laughing at that idiotic monster?
With an expression that looked ready to burst into "fuhahaha"?
No matter how she thought about it, she must have seen wrong.
That had to be it.
Even as she shook her head to dismiss the thought, the Emperor's smile refused to leave her mind.
She hadn't seen wrong!
"Your Majesty. I shall order that hideous thing removed at once—"
"Silence. Whether to demolish that monster or not is for Aslan Belmont to decide. Let him do as he pleases."
"Yes, Your Majesty. I am deeply grateful for your grace."
"...Stand up. Your clothes will wear out if you keep prostrating like that."
So Aslan's prediction had been correct...?
Irene's jaw went slack.
At the same time, her memories drifted back to the previous day.
.
.
.
"Aslan. You crazy bastard, have you lost your mind?"
"Bad words are forbidden in Belmont Manor!"
"..."
Charlotte's bold shout made Irene falter, momentarily forgetting what she had been about to say.
Had that little green-haired brat just interrupted her?
Irritation flared, and Irene's hand twitched upward—only to stop.
Behind her, Silvia deliberately drew her sword with a metallic shrrrng.
Unlike the time she had beaten the girl like a dog, Silvia's mana now felt full and potent.
She couldn't win against that right now.
"Damn it."
"Damn is also forbidden!"
"...Tch."
Irene clicked her tongue and took a step back.
This wasn't the time for pointless power struggles.
She needed to find a way to survive.
Because of the mess Aslan had made, she was about to get dragged down and beheaded too...!
"We can use the children and Muddy to make it work somehow."
"Explain in more detail. The children aside, how exactly are you going to win over His Imperial Majesty with that dung-colored monster? It makes no sense. There must be some hidden meaning."
"There isn't. It's exactly what it sounds like. The Emperor likes cute things, so seeing that will make him very pleased."
"What the hell..."
Irene nearly exploded in rage, but clenched her teeth and swallowed it down.
Fine. Let's say the Emperor liked adorable things.
It still sounded like complete nonsense, and she wanted nothing more than to beat Aslan to a pulp, but for now, she'd accept it.
"You call that cute? Who in their right mind would say that hideous thing is cute!?"
Setting that aside, cute?
That monster?
Was he blind?
[Kyaaak! Hideous?!]
"That's right! How rude! Our Muddy is super cute!"
[Yeah! I am cute! ...Huh? Eh!? What!? I'm cute!!!]
"It's a fact, so denying it won't help, Muddy! Accept it! Love yourself just as you are!"
[Kyaaaaaaaak!!!]
The Great Spirit let out a scream at Charlotte's remark.
Throb, throb.
Irene felt a sudden migraine coming on.
Anyone who found that thing cute—aside from children—had to be a complete lunatic suffering from severe affection deficiency due to the gap between harsh reality and a fragile inner self.
"Your face looks like you're chewing on dung."
"Wouldn't it be weirder if I didn't? You're spouting this elaborate nonsense the day before the Emperor arrives...!"
"Just trust me once. Worst case, we break even, right?"
"Worst case is execution, you lunatic."
"Anyway. Even if you take the lead on preparations without me, do you really think you can pull it off?"
"...Not really. You're the head of the household to begin with. If His Majesty visits and his sister handles the reception instead of the Count, it wouldn't be strange if the title were confiscated."
Right. He knew that much.
His expression seemed to say, Then you understand how you should behave, don't you?
Irene's lips trembled, but she couldn't say a word.
Right now, the only path forward was to quietly follow Aslan's "plan."
"I'm going insane..."
Irene grumbled and spun on her heel.
It was a signal that she wouldn't interfere anymore, so he could do whatever he wanted.
"Julia. I want your opinion. How do we make that thing even cuter?"
"Hmm. Muddy was cuter when he was bigger. Maybe we should restore his original size...? Yo?"
"Good. Adopted. Let's enlarge him with your spirit speech and greet the Emperor like that."
"Giant Muddy...! So cute!"
[Kyaaak! What are you deciding on your own!? Who said I'd care about some human leader, emperor or not! I have no intention of helping with your reception!]
Struggle, struggle.
The Great Spirit thrashed and screamed while pinned against Charlotte's side.
Aslan crouched down in front of it and met its gaze.
[Ugh!?]
In that instant, a chilling aura washed over the Earth Great Spirit, making it go rigid.
Those eyes radiated both ominous intent and terror.
"Let's make a deal."
[W-what? I don't accept material offerings from the human world.]
"That's not it. If you follow our instructions for just one day tomorrow, I'll send you back to the mountains. After that, I won't interfere no matter what you do there."
[Is that true!? Then I'll cooperate!]
The Great Spirit was instantly swayed and became docile.
Silvia tilted her head.
No matter how she looked at it, that promise couldn't possibly be kept...
"My lord. Are you serious? If you release the Great Spirit back into the mountains, the roads will be thrown into chaos by earthquakes."
"Muddy! Are we really sending you back!?"
"Both of you, wait a moment."
Aslan wore a meaningful smile.
Charlotte, who had been fidgeting anxiously, closed her mouth and decided to wait.
Uncle clearly had some kind of scheme.
"Hoo. Then here I go."
Julia exhaled and released her spirit speech.
A pale light enveloped the Great Spirit's body.
The light grew larger and larger until the spirit had swelled to a size far bigger than the manor itself.
[Kyaaak! I've returned to my original size!]
When the light faded, the enlarged Great Spirit stood revealed.
The spirit opened its mouth wide in a majestic roar—
[Ueh!?]
—only to suddenly wobble.
Unable to maintain its balance, it flailed its arms and crashed backward with a heavy thud.
Flail, flail, flail, flail.
The Great Spirit couldn't stand up on its own and could only wave its short arms while lying on its back.
[What is happening to meeeee!!!]
"Its body has grown too large for it to control. It's no longer in spirit form, so it's now subject to gravity."
[Get me up! Right now!]
"Oh? And what will you do for me if I help you up? There should be give and take, shouldn't there?"
[Kyaaak! Damn human! You planned this from the start! Why do you people only ever think about taking advantage of others!!!]
The Great Spirit wailed in despair.
I fell for it again!
This bastard is trying to squeeze something out of me!
"Let's modify the earlier promise a little. I said I'd send you back to the mountains if you followed our instructions. Let's change that to ten years from now. How about it?"
[What!? Ten years? I can wait that long, no problem! I accept the proposal! Now get me up!]
The Great Spirit's face brightened instantly as it accepted.
Silvia's head tilted once more.
"Even if it's ten years later, the roads will still be in trouble then, won't they?"
"Think about it. It's a full ten years. It already had one chance to renegotiate just now—how many more opportunities will it have over ten years? If we keep extending it by ten years each time, we can keep it here forever."
"Ah."
"And even if we do end up sending it back, it won't matter. We can sell off the existing roads for cheap and just dig a new one through the neighboring mountain."
"Ah."
Silvia's wavering heart settled completely.
As expected, this man was unmistakably a villain.
Evil God 'Kali' enthusiastically records your demonic idea!
Aslan wiped his nose with a proud grin, then snapped his fingers toward Irene.
"Sister. I'm counting on you. You're the only one who can get that thing back on its feet."
"Haa, damn it..."
Irene sighed and stood up.
With a single gesture from her, a black shape began to emerge from behind her with a rumbling sound.
"...!"
Silvia felt a sense of déjà vu and stepped back, gripping her sword.
Glop, glop.
There was no doubt.
This presence was the same as that massive evil god's avatar that had smashed through the manor's walls that night...!
Its size and form match perfectly!
Just as Silvia braced herself for battle, teeth clenched—
The avatar of the evil god Laura manifested in the mortal realm.
"...Huh?"
But...
Had it always looked like that?
Had it only seemed terrifying because it was night?
Its unexpectedly shabby appearance left Silvia at a loss for words.
[Nngh... Hah!]
[Th-thank you.]
Laura helped the Great Spirit to its feet with effort, then nodded in acknowledgment of its thanks.
Silvia's tension drained away, and she lowered her sword.
I was utterly defeated by something like that... and terrified of it?
In that moment, what little remained of Silvia's pride came crashing down.