Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: 6. The Emperor and the Pope (1)
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Penny told him that Ian had been kicked out, and the emperor quietly let out a gasp of astonishment.
When he heard that the same Ian had returned to the capital without a word and was already forming a new party, he was utterly dumbfounded.
Was it shamelessness, or obliviousness?
Probably both.
Ian's brazen and oblivious attitude left the emperor deeply troubled.
He couldn't ask Penny or the 1st Hero Party for the details.
The secret that Ian was the legendary Philip was known to only a select few, so the truth could only come from Ian's own mouth.
"Ian."
Though he was taken aback and found Ian's sudden actions absurd, the emperor did not raise his voice in anger.
Anger flowed only upward.
Thus, the emperor, who reigned above all, was a man who never showed anger.
"...Yes."
He simply listened, assessed, and commanded.
Emotions were unnecessary when charting the empire's course.
"Explain."
What happened with the 1st Party?
Why hadn't he reported it?
What were his plans moving forward?
It was a question laden with many doubts.
To the brief query, Ian gave a brief reply.
"I was kicked out."
He added a slight explanation.
"I don't know the exact reasons. There were inevitable misunderstandings and frictions that built up between people. But I'm certain that woman named Penny slandered me to them behind my back."
Penny.
The name of the woman who had sent a completely absurd reply to the letter he'd sent her.
"I believed the trust between you, the prophet, and the heroes was unshakable."
"I thought so too, but the human heart is deeper than the ocean—impossible to fathom."
"Hmmm..."
Sylvia, Aria, Beatrice, Kaily.
The emperor clearly remembered how Ian had gathered and raised those four.
Back when the 1st Party had none of its current prestige, and Ian himself wasn't anyone remarkable.
The age gap wasn't much, but it was still hard to believe they'd cast out Ian, who had been like a parent to them—yet it made sense.
Humans stabbed their benefactors in the back.
Humans stole from the pockets of sages.
The emperor wasn't surprised by such human nature anymore.
He didn't scold Ian now for not turning back to persuade them.
Trust between people was more important than anything.
Once broken, it was nearly impossible to mend.
And that vital trust could shatter over something trivial or incomprehensible.
"Is that alright?"
He didn't specify what "that" meant.
Ian explained on his own.
"The vast front lines along the border have stabilized. Any minor disturbances before the demonkin offensive this winter can be crushed by the soldiers stationed at the Great Wall alone. Or, if needed, simply commissioning the Official Hero Party would suffice."
The emperor half-expected Ian to say something like "I'm fine."
But Ian spoke only of official matters.
Did the man have no emotions at all? Even pure curiosity stirred.
If anyone else had said it, the emperor would have dismissed it as an excuse.
But words from the prophet carried an undeniable weight.
"Very well, if you say so, then it must be. But was even your banishment foreseen?"
"No. I only see what is visible."
True to the name of prophet, he never claimed to "know" the future—only to "see" it.
He spoke only of outcomes glimpsed in the flow of causality, insisting he didn't know what he hadn't seen.
It was a convenient excuse for Ian, but those unaware of the truth had no choice but to believe it.
"The reason I didn't inform Your Majesty sooner aligns with that. My banishment was a future I didn't see. Forgive my overreach, but I had no time. I judged it necessary to quickly assemble a party under my command for the war ahead."
In simple terms: He was too busy to report.
And it was true.
Ian hadn't anticipated it happening to him, and he needed to scout new talent fast to slay the Demon King.
'He'll find out naturally and summon me then,' he'd thought.
Arrogant beyond measure, but even the emperor couldn't reprimand a prophet who presaged the future.
Thanks to his prophecies, the empire had averted several great calamities.
"Then, what are your plans going forward?"
"I'll raise the new party. No matter how powerful the 1st Party is, four people alone can't be enough. When war fully erupts, it's obvious they can't cover the entire front. So, I'll seek other talents."
"Can you find talents equal to the 1st Party?"
The four of the 1st Party were powerhouses guaranteed by the prophet's foresight.
He was asking if Ian could do it again.
"Yes."
Ian answered with certainty, though he wasn't entirely sure.
No one could know his true intentions.
'In the end, almost nothing I do is because I can while living it. Most is because I must.'
The emperor nodded deeply, and the scribe diligently recorded Ian's words.
"Will you leave the 1st Party as is?"
"I've thought about that..."
Ian pondered briefly before responding with a question.
"Has the Imperial Magic Corps recently hired anyone?"
Not all superhumans became heroes.
Among those born with the talent for magic, their choices—excluding hero—were two.
Either hole up in a magic tower for personal research, or join the Imperial Magic Corps and dedicate themselves to the empire and humanity.
Rarely did independents research alone or wander.
The emperor glanced at the Magic Corps commander present instead of answering.
The commander replied.
"...Yes."
Ian nodded and continued.
"Among them is a woman named Iris."
The Magic Corps commander felt a chill run down his spine.
There was indeed a new recruit named Iris.
But he'd never provided Ian—or anyone—with that information, let alone about her specifically.
The prophet's air of knowing everything was eerie.
How much did he really know?
Prophet's words could chill even when not curses.
"Support that mage fully."
"Why?"
"She will invent a new spell called 'Warp Portal.'"
"Warp Portal...? Like the ones in dungeons?"
The emperor shot a look at the Magic Corps commander.
The commander looked equally clueless, gauging reactions.
The nature of dungeon portals remained unknown.
Only surface facts: mana aggregates producing or transporting demonkin.
Even scholars debated production versus transportation.
Confirming their reactions, Ian explained calmly.
"I don't know the exact principles, but it functions the same as dungeon portals. It installs a 'door' made of mana that connects arbitrary spaces."
In his second playthrough, a spell invented too late that everyone regretted.
A lone mage had unraveled the portal's principles—something even Ian and many others couldn't.
She hadn't fully decoded it.
Just understood enough to invent a similar mechanism.
"Using that door lets you go anywhere instantly, as long as a door is installed there."
Ian had scant info on mage Iris, so no prior heads-up.
But entering the palace earlier, he'd spotted familiar Imperial Mages from the second playthrough.
Overhearing them, he'd learned of Iris.
Meeting the emperor today was sheer luck.
"For example, from this palace entrance to the first barrier on the northern front—in a single step."
One of the most crucial elements in this third playthrough.
The spell everyone agreed could have changed the war if invented sooner.
Ian aimed to have that 'Warp Portal' invented before the war.
'Not by me, though.'
*
While Ian met the emperor...
Kati stepped out to the abbey backyard after dinner.
It was a wide meadow where wildflowers bloomed haphazardly.
Children occasionally came to play there.
No word from Ian yet, and Kati had no reason to send any.
Still, she glanced at her ring whenever she could.
Even when Mercy scolded her for making the ring burdensome and threatening to run away.
"...!"
Kati stretched both arms toward the high moon, shivering as she shook out her body.
The black ring gleamed faintly in the moonlight.
What was Ian doing?
Her perpetually busy master felt frustratingly elusive.
Even in the 1st Party, he'd squeezed sleep into fragments.
She'd hoped for more leisure time together after leaving.
But he'd immediately sought new heroes to form a party.
What kept driving him so relentlessly?
Watching him chase life like that made her want to force him to rest.
But she lacked the power—or the right.
Like the ring's name, she was merely bound to him.
Despite years of training, she wasn't strong enough to protect him from the 1st Party.
Above all, she was demonkin.
Human Ian and demonkin her.
They were incompatible by birth.
Human and demonkin.
Master and servant, nothing more.
Occasionally whining a bit excessively was all she felt permitted.
Sensing a presence, Kati turned.
A girl stood there hesitantly.
Emma.
"Um, uh... Kati?"
Emma found it hard to approach Kati.
Her eyes covered by black cloth made her expressions unreadable.
Emma wondered how she saw but lacked courage to ask.
"Yes."
Her voice held no emotion—almost cold.
But Vivian called her kind, so she couldn't be bad.
"Um, well..."
As Emma approached, she suddenly found herself staring at Kati.
Her gaze drew her in, halting her steps unwittingly.
Under pale moonlight, cool night breeze dazzlingly tousled Kati's silver hair.
It was beauty beyond words—transcending rational attraction.
As Emma stared silently, Kati tilted her head.
"Ah, um, well... Kati, you're strong, right?"
To that, Kati looked skyward before shaking her head.
"No."
Strong to some, perhaps.
But Kati herself couldn't be satisfied.
The unexpected denial flustered Emma.
"B-but... I saw you take down those guards last time. You're way stronger than me."
To that, she answered without hesitation.
"Yes."
A simple affirmation of fact.
"I heard you'd stay a day or two. So... please train me. I beg you!"
Emma bowed at a right angle, pleading.
Kati's reply was dry.
"Why should I?"
Not annoyance or disdain.
A pure question for reason.
Emma clenched her fists tight.
"I want to... protect someone precious."
Someone precious.
The words lingered in Kati's mind.
"Vivian sis is probably strong enough not to need my help now. But still, I want to get stronger. So she won't worry, so I can protect the other kids myself... Being weak and just losing everything—it's too painful now..."
Kati saw Emma's fists trembling.
The grief and injustice within faintly touched her.
Kati sensed Vivian's presence inside.
Emma's precious person.
And Kati's own, linked by ring though distant now.
When she first met Ian.
Kati had been about Emma's age.
After killing all her fellow demonkin comrades with her own hands, then the researcher mages and alchemists.
Ian found her slumped alone in that underground lab.
His original goal: the lab director's subspace pouch.
He couldn't leave the young girl behind.
On the way out, he'd planned to drop her somewhere, but no place took demonkin, so she tagged along.
Back then, she had no name like Kati.
'Number 13...'
13. That was her former name.
Ian had muttered bitterly upon hearing it.
Later, noting her cat-like resemblance and transformation, Ian named her 'Kati (Catty)'—a simple blend of cat and kitty.
He'd been embarrassed, saying it was too casual after naming her himself, but Kati loved it.
Because her precious person gave it.
"If you don't want to..."
"I'll do it."
"Eh, yes?"
"Training. I'll help."
Kati accepted the request plainly.
She'd never trained anyone directly, but had assisted or received training several times.
Occasionally from Ian.
And as sparring partner for the 1st Party.
In other words, she'd faced their combat styles with her body firsthand.
Never winning was her bitter limit.
"R-really?"
"Yes."
Kati recalled Ian's training and applied it identically to Emma.
Naturally, Emma couldn't keep up.
Emma kept falling and dropping her weapon nonstop.
"I'll try again...!"
But she challenged on.
Kati endlessly thought of Ian's voice.
Helping with this training was one way to long for her absent master.