The Spider That Collects Gold Coins
At the Emperor's sudden words that slipped out without warning, Arleah's body trembled faintly. The manifestation of a ritual, and the Emperor's First Star. Arleah's mind was not so dull that she could fail to understand those two phrases.
Upon hearing the Emperor's words, her head instantly assembled a single piece of information. Her master, Kyle Amillan, had performed some kind of ritual, and the Emperor before her had seen through it. Since the wanted order had been issued, Kyle would never approach the imperial palace or the capital. That meant the Emperor had detected him casting a ritual somewhere within the empire's vast territory. Anyone who understood just how enormous the empire's lands were would know how absurd that claim should be.
Yet Arleah did not bother questioning the truth of the information the Emperor had spoken. She simply accepted it as fact. There were two reasons. First, the Emperor had originally muttered the words to herself. Though she had said them after summoning Arleah, as if intending for her to hear, there was no reason to deceive her through a casual remark. Second, after becoming the medium for an Outer God's descent, Arleah's enhanced mana senses allowed her to gauge exactly what kind of being stood before her. The standard was not precise enough to instantly determine rank the way her master could, but she could at least tell whether the opponent was on a level she could possibly confront.
Even with that hazy instinct, Arleah realized it at once. The red-eyed woman seated before her had reached a height she could not even dare to approach.
The 5-Ring realm, the threshold of superhuman power. Since the world had bestowed upon her the title of Divine Archer, Arleah had never felt such overwhelming pressure. Not even the 7-Ring superhumans she occasionally encountered in war, nor her master who had once been called the Sword Demon and rampaged across battlefields, had ever crushed her with mere presence alone, devoid of killing intent.
Therefore, Arleah's thoughts naturally turned to the next step.
'8-Ring...'
Those who had transcended even superhumans and seized the qualification to become constellations in the heavens. Those who could proudly claim to walk their own path beyond the established ranks, standing at the very limit of what a mortal human could achieve.
And Arleah knew exactly what such people were called.
Excluding the constellations that had become stars of the sky and gods of the Outer Sea, these were the beings who could be said to compete for the title of strongest in the world. That was why every individual who had ever reached the 8-Ring had drawn the eyes of the entire world and openly revealed their realm. An 8-Ring possessed such overwhelming military force and influence that they could single-handedly deal with organizations on the scale of nations.
Yet the Emperor of the Empire herself had reached that realm. As the First Princess of the destroyed Raziel Kingdom, Arleah prided herself on knowing secrets that no one else did, but even she had never heard so much as a rumor about the Emperor's true rank. She had only vaguely caught wind that, before ascending the throne, the Emperor had shown exceptional talent for magic at a young age. More than twenty years had passed since then, and still no one knew the Emperor's rank. In other words, the Emperor had been concealing her power for all that time.
What could the Emperor possibly hope to gain by going to such lengths?
Perhaps because she had become lost in such speculation, Arleah failed to notice that the Emperor's gaze had turned toward her at some point.
The moment she registered the gaze, an overwhelming pressure bore down on her. An aura perfectly suited to the one who sat upon the imperial throne crushed her beneath its weight. Unlike when Arleah had merely perceived the Emperor, the pressure was on an entirely different level now that the Emperor was looking directly at her. The sheer act of being watched was enough to overwhelm a 5-Ring superhuman.
At those words, Carla, who had been watching the Emperor reclining lazily upon the throne, spoke up.
"Yes, Your Majesty. I intend to recommend her for the Special Forces using my authority to issue a personal letter of recommendation."
"Furthermore, with the princess's appearance coinciding with the Outer God descent incident, if Her Highness personally requests entry into the Special Forces and the Empire accepts, we can build a rather favorable public image on the surface."
Carla's eloquent explanation flowed out smoothly, as if she had been waiting for the chance. Because she had perfectly prepared the reasons for the recommendation exactly as they had discussed beforehand, Arleah cautiously let herself relax.
It seemed she was not the only one. After a brief silence, the Emperor offered similar praise.
"...Thank y—"
"Pardon?"
The Emperor, who had been muttering incomprehensibly, glanced down at Arleah and Carla before speaking.
A clear order to withdraw. The conversation had been far too ordinary for someone who had supposedly wanted to see them in person so urgently. Though Arleah felt a lingering sense of unease, she followed Carla out of the audience chamber.
"Haa..."
After putting some distance between themselves and the audience chamber, both Carla and Arleah let out the sighs they had been holding back.
"We somehow managed to get through it."
"Indeed."
Though a faint sense of discomfort remained, Arleah looked at Carla with relief that they had passed safely. Carla's expression also seemed to reflect relief that the recommendation had been accepted.
"It ended faster than I expected."
"Yes. It was thanks to His Majesty leaving a clone behind that it concluded so quickly."
A clone? When Arleah's eyes widened, Carla made a small sound of realization and began to explain.
"It's a kind of avatar that His Majesty occasionally leaves in place when absent from the throne. It is directly controlled by her own mana, so its power is roughly eighty percent of the main body."
That wasn't even at full strength?
Arleah's mouth fell open. The memory of being utterly overwhelmed was still vivid, yet that had not even been the Emperor's full power. Just how strong was an 8-Ring Transcendent at their peak?
While Arleah was lost in those thoughts, Carla voiced a different concern.
"Still, if she went so far as to use a clone, she must have gone quite far away. I wonder where..."
"This isn't working..."
Three days after the first lesson.
Beatrice had repaired the training ground that had been destroyed during their spar and was continuing her practice there. The deflection technique Kyle had personally taught her, using manipulation spells to redirect an opponent's sword strikes or magic. If she could advance further, she would be able to go beyond simply deflecting and use the opponent's own power to inflict direct damage.
When thought of that way, it was an incredibly efficient technique. That was why Beatrice had personally come out to the training ground to practice.
Of course, training did not mean the technique would be completed immediately, but at the very least Beatrice did not consider the time spent mastering it a waste. The new technique Kyle had shown her was something even she had never considered, a completely unique application of spells that she had never heard of from anyone else.
As both a merchant and a woman, there was no one who disliked being special. That was why Beatrice was able to practice this new technique without any discomfort, investing her time willingly.
Perhaps that was the reason.
"But wasn't the original purpose something else?"
The secretary, who had been watching her training with a blank stare, spoke first. She crouched down, gently tracing the marks Beatrice had left behind, and asked the question as if it were the most casual thing in the world. Like tossing a single pebble into a lake.
However, whether that lightness would apply to the lake itself was another matter. Just as a small stone could create large ripples, the secretary's question caused Beatrice's eyes to shake violently.
She had been so captivated by the new technique Kyle had shown her that she had completely forgotten, but that was not her original purpose. The lessons had begun as a way to stall for time and bind Kyle to her merchant group in some way or another.
If she lost sight of her original goal and focused only on the lesson content, then there would have been no point in spending such a huge sum to request personal instruction from him. Of course, the utility of the new technique he had shown was certainly worth the price, but since it was not what Beatrice herself had wanted, it held no meaning.
"R-right...?"
But realizing it did not change anything. The very act of taking lessons had only been a temporary idea born from a desire to buy time. The fundamental goal of tying Kyle to her merchant group had never been achieved in the first place. Therefore, to accomplish the objective of binding him, she would need to apply an entirely different approach.
"To tie Kyle to the merchant group... how should I do it?"
At Beatrice's question, which sounded as if she were asking for the answer herself, the secretary let out a deep sigh. It was difficult to reconcile this side of her master, who usually displayed flawless cool-headedness while earning hundreds of millions of cells, with the sight of her being so entangled with a single man. Still, not being used to it and actually following through were two different things. No matter how clumsy she appeared right now, Beatrice was still her superior.
After thinking for a moment, the secretary offered the hint that had come to mind.
"He already possesses money and fame. In that case, wouldn't showing him something special that exists only in this merchant group make him want to stay?"
"Something special that exists only in this merchant group?"
"Yes. To obtain something, one must pay an appropriate price. Isn't that the merchant group's motto, My Lady?"
"Hmm..."
Perhaps the secretary's words had sparked some inspiration. Beatrice appeared to seriously contemplate something, then nodded as if she had reached an understanding. Seeing her look strangely refreshed compared to her earlier state, the secretary smiled with satisfaction.
And the next day.
"Kyle."
"What is it?"
"Would you like to have the special gold coin I created?"
Watching the merchant group leader proudly hold out a gold coin engraved with her own face, the secretary seriously began contemplating retirement.