258
I Killed the Demon King. It Was a Mistake
Chapter 258
"The empire is absolutely not in a position to stop Elijah's rebellion."
In the ‘Rebellion of Sith’ scenario from the Valent Saga, the Emperor tried to use the Hero to somehow quell the rebellion but failed. Many nobles have already gone bankrupt after not receiving the money they were promised in exchange for lending their armies to the Emperor, causing trust in him to hit rock bottom. In that situation, when the Sith rebellion turned Vex Province and Springfield Province into a sea of flames, there was no reason left to remain loyal to the Imperial family. As military nobles and clan leaders who lost faith in the Emperor began declaring independence one after another, the era entered a period of ‘divided military powers.’
"Right now, the Sith rebellion scenario has simply changed to Elijah's rebellion."
In the current situation, what the Emperor needs is political forces that can support him. Among them, the most necessary is the Hero. He judges that if he receives the Hero's official support, the Emperor can suppress Elijah's rebellion and reunite the people.
"Here, there is only one thing I must choose."
It's not good to have Yan officially support the Emperor. The Imperial family is a sinking ship. Even if Yan supports the Imperial family, it will only damage Yan's good image. And currently, Yan is under Caesar's influence. I absolutely cannot let him be swayed by someone like the Emperor. If there's a problem, it's that Yan has very strong loyalty to the Emperor. If by any chance the Crown Prince officially orders Yan to return, and the Emperor offers to help somehow save Rose, there's a high chance he'll listen. Therefore, the Crown Prince and Yan must absolutely not meet. For that...
‘I'll have to target Donan.’
Now that I know Donan is the Crown Prince's brain, if I can somehow persuade that guy, there's a high chance the Crown Prince will return like this. Caesar's footsteps were already headed toward Donan, and had somehow come within 3m. Caesar decided to read Donan's thoughts.
-The Allied Forces Commander is a doppelganger and 150,000 allied soldiers have all vanished?
-If we enter the demon realm now, can we even return alive?
Why is a treacherous official treacherous? Because they're only eager to fill their own pockets by wielding the king's power as if it were their own. What these kinds of people value most isn't family or friends, but their own lives.
-If we go to the demon realm like this, won't we die like dogs?
When he first said he would head to the demon realm with the Crown Prince, he probably believed in both the Dawn Knights who were with them and Caesar's wizard corps stationed in the demon realm. But after seeing Luxhope turn to ashes and all of Caesar's wizard corps heading to Luxhope, anxiety symptoms began.
'I should use this.'
"The demon realm is extremely dangerous right now, Your Highness."
"How dangerous is it?"
"Currently the demon realm is swarming with thieves and devils. Niflheim is also targeting the demon realm."
"W-wouldn't it be safe if we have the Hero? And Lord Mitchell is there too!"
"The Hero is just one person. That means there are limits to how much area the Hero can protect."
"Aren't there the White Knights or the Red Wing Knights?"
"The White Knights have been completely annihilated, and there aren't even 10 Red Wing Knights remaining."
"What? Then there are practically no knights left in the demon realm?"
"That's correct. That's why the Hero sent me to the Empire. He asked me to gather and send any useful forces, even wandering knights or mercenaries."
Caesar deliberately glanced at Donan.
"To be honest, I think it's too dangerous for Your Highness to head to the demon realm right now."
To be honest, that's not true. Caesar has already captured and killed all of Niflheim's prophets in the demon realm, and Elijah is busy restoring the Steel Fortress. It seems like the demon realm couldn't be safer than it is now. But it's not a complete lie, as while it might be safe for someone like Caesar, it could be a bit dangerous for the Crown Prince. There are still devils scattered by the prophets roaming the demon realm and Orcs not under the Demon King's control.
-Is the situation in the demon realm that bad?
-And there aren't even any knights left in the demon realm?
As Donan's coward stack continued to pile up, his tongue became stiff. It seemed like now he just needed to give him an excuse to return.
"The Hero already aims to strike down Elijah, the traitor who has drawn his sword against His Majesty the Emperor."
"I-is that so?"
"Yes. That's why he remains in the demon realm fighting to the death. If the Hero isn't in the demon realm right now, the morale of what other soldiers remain would be broken."
The sound of Donan's mind working could be heard from here. They somehow need to bring back the Hero to raise the fallen authority of the Imperial family. But openly saying that would prove that the Imperial family's authority has fallen not just to the bottom but to the basement. Given Trika's pride, they can't speak such words.
"If you take the Hero away now, the allied forces will completely fall apart and the demon realm will fall into Elijah's hands."
"Then Elijah will drain the demon realm's abundant resources to prepare for a long war, and eventually declare his own kingdom just as Count Dior established his kingdom."
Donan's eyes sparkled. Donan wants to avoid dangerous places if at all possible. Perhaps even his agreement to go to the demon realm with the Crown Prince was because he truly had no choice. So Caesar just needed to keep stimulating his anxiety... And the result came out as Caesar expected.
"After hearing Lord Caesar's story so far, I think we need to discuss this more with the ministers."
"The current situation in the demon realm isn't very good, and our forces alone might not be enough to protect Your Highness."
At Donan's sincere whisper, the Crown Prince began to contemplate. And true to his nature of not thinking too long, the answer came out clearly.
"Lord Caesar, would you be able to report the current demon realm situation to His Majesty the Emperor?"
"That's possible. That's why I'm going there after all."
"Then let's go to His Majesty the Emperor right away."
No!
It's still premature.
There's no point in reporting the details of the demon realm situation to the Emperor right now. What Caesar wants is for the Imperial Province to officially recognize the Demon King's territory and cooperate with the Demon King to drive out Elijah. To achieve this, it was necessary to gather Caesar's support base, and an alliance with Arch Duke is essential.
"I am a commander who understands responsibility. I believe my responsibility extends to seeing the soldiers on my ship safely disembark and return to their homes."
"Couldn't you entrust that task to Raven or someone else?"
"Demonstrating that I fulfill my assigned responsibilities is the way to show the Empire's dignity. I promise. After completing my responsibility, I will immediately come to see His Majesty the Emperor."
Of course, the question is when exactly that responsibility will be considered complete. It could be when the soldiers disembark at the port and receive orders to disperse, or it could be when the soldiers return home and send letters to Caesar confirming their safe arrival. As they say, words can be interpreted in different ways.
"Couldn't you just give the disbandment orders at the Imperial Capital Vex?"
"What about the wizards? Arch Duke won't want the wizards moving to the capital."
A ship carrying wizards heading to Vex via Sapientia?
That would immediately cause Arch Duke to raise his wand against the Emperor. In such turbulent political times, there was no way to withstand Arch Duke’s anger.
"Hmm... Very well. Come as quickly as possible. Shouldn't you return that golden dagger to His Majesty the Emperor?"
"It won't be too long."
Caesar immediately mounted the Whitey.
"Ah, and I'm making excellent use of the Pegasus you gave me."
"Oh, is that so? That's good."
Trika looked at Caesar with a sour expression.
-To think I gave it away while drunk... Really...
-Alcohol is the enemy.
Why is someone who says such things drinking wine? You foolish one.
"Then I'll be taking my leave now."
Caesar smiled slightly and kicked the Whitey's flank.
Let's hurry. There's nothing good about staying here too long.
***
As soon as Caesar arrived at Homigraph Port, he received an extraordinary welcome. It was so extensive that the port was packed with people leaving no room to step, and cherry blossom petals were swirling in the wind.
"...What's all this?"
Cherry blossoms in autumn.
The alchemists must have used some method to make cherry trees bloom in autumn. While thinking this is quite a commotion, it somehow feels good. Should I say it feels like I've truly returned home?
But it's really strange. To be honest, Caesar didn't accomplish anything in the demon realm. Rather, you could say he returned carrying only problems. Honestly, he thought he'd have garbage thrown at him rather than cherry blossoms.
The demon realm was completely isolated due to Elijah's rebellion, all the previously developed magic stone mines were destroyed, and all kinds of infrastructure facilities installed in the demon realm were broken. Although Caesar did his best from his perspective, what was visible was a series of defeats, so he expected to receive every possible criticism.
Yet such a grand welcome. It's incomprehensible.
"Long live Caesar, the savior of Luxhope!"
"Long live Caesar, the adversary of Elijah!"
"Long, long live Caesar, the hunter of Niflheim!"
What are they all saying?
The title ‘Savior of Luxhope’ makes sense.
When first arriving at Luxhope, together with Yan, Mitchell, and Raven, they prevented the attack of deserting soldiers who were invading Luxhope.
That nickname would have been conveyed through the returning ships.
But ‘Adversary of Elijah’?
Caesar didn't fight and win against Elijah, he was nearly killed and barely survived, so how could such words come about? It feels like they're elevating Caesar too much.
As he dismounted from Whitey onto the ship, the first people he saw were the Walterwood council members. Calling them Walterwood council members was very accurate, as Caesar's butler Harrison Walterwood and his father Gregory Walterwood were waiting. Harrison handed flowers to Caesar with a smiling face.
"You've worked hard, Sir Caesar."
Click! Click!
The sound of camera flashes can be heard everywhere. Looking at Harrison's smile, he's become a complete politician. Everything from showing the right angle of his face for the cameras to slightly pausing while handing over the flowers shows he's become quite cunning.
Besides them, numerous council members and nobles who held some influence in Homigraph also appeared to have their faces captured by cameras. Harrison mounted a prepared horse and rode beside Caesar, speaking quietly.
"A triumph ceremony has been prepared. Shall we go?"
"A triumph ceremony? We haven't even won the war, what triumph ceremony?"
"Arch Duke said it's not that we need a triumph ceremony because we won the war, but we're having a triumph ceremony because we need one."
Because we need a triumph ceremony, we're having one. That means either the political situation is so chaotic that they need to portray what amounts to a lost war as a victory. Or it means they need a hero.
"Where is Duke Laar Arch?"
"Duke Arch is in poor health and couldn't come out."
That makes sense.
Laar Arch should be dead by now.
He probably can't even speak easily.
"Instead, he said to come to the Arc Great Library immediately after the triumph ceremony ends."
Caesar looked at the cherry blossoms lining the street with somewhat cold eyes. Looking at those cherry blossom petals, they seemed like false struggles to endure the harsh winter ahead. Caesar looked back. Raven, the wizards, and the knights were waiting for Caesar to take the lead.
Caesar smiled.
"Let's go!"
Caesar walked proudly like a triumphant general.
Because in times of chaos, what's needed is not a sage who makes people see only the harsh truth, but a hero who enchants people to dream of hope hidden in the fog.