Enough Is Enough
“….”
The conference hall was packed with everyone present. Only one person sat in the highest seat, lost in deep thought.
Flanking him were the Grand Chamberlain and the chamberlain, maintaining silence so as not to disturb his concentration.
“I said the same thing as you. So will I.”
He was the Emperor. He had met so many people in his life. With power at its peak, those who desired it were beyond counting.
To gain strength, one must first learn to deceive others. And to deceive others, one must first deceive oneself. Hypocrisy is born that way. Hypocrites are born that way.
Those who claim to act for the citizens of the Empire yet ultimately seek their own gain. Those who speak of loyalty yet reach for sweet fruits. Those who claim to think only of the nation yet behind the scenes prioritize themselves and their families over the nation.
Yet the Emperor did not blame them. How could a person be so pure?
People are a collection of desires. They are beings who live with something they want, sometimes deceiving others and sometimes being deceived to achieve it.
In that process, the Emperor had no issue with overlooking minor deceptions, as long as no excessive harm was inflicted on others.
The great duke who had been a political partner in the past had done so, as had the elves beyond the Empire. And now the new king of Lasquer was also of that sort.
“…It’s truly pitiful.”
Thus, the Emperor truly felt pity and sorrow for the young man—Karl Adelheit.
The enormous glory he had achieved, which others could not even in a lifetime of effort, he had rejected with all his might.
If that rejection had been merely to heighten his own reputation or a calculated political move, it would have been fine.
If it had been an attempt to gain something greater by rejecting it, the Emperor would have thought, “A young man of some measure,” and let it pass.
‘But that was not the case.’
Having stayed here for a long time, he prided himself on his keen eye for people.
In the endless struggle of power, the old ones who survived were close to monsters. The Emperor had confirmed that his judgment had never once been wrong.
In that regard, Karl had been speaking from the heart. There had never been any other intention from the beginning.
The burden of being called a hero. The guilt of sending his comrades who had eaten, slept, and fought with him first. The immense responsibility of enjoying what remained while leaving those who had departed behind.
Karl had said it was merely because he felt sorry for them, but was that truly the case?
Could one truly set aside the sorry feelings? He would stake his life on it that one could not. That was the way of the nightmares borne by survivors.
‘Perhaps he would live like that for quite some time. Or maybe his entire life.’
The Empire had a splendid young man, and because he was also a noble’s son, the Emperor had been happy.
Now, seeing him, he was a boy who had suffered many wounds and whose scars had not yet fully healed. The war had ended, and he himself was aware of it, but he could not easily let it go.
He understood. Yet he could not say he understood. On what grounds could he say such a thing?
The Emperor must never lose anything. Even if he lost something, he must always regain it. Therefore, he had never lost anything. So he could not say he understood.
“Your Majesty. His Highness the Crown Prince is waiting.”
“…Come in.”
The Emperor’s command was given, and shortly after, the Crown Prince entered the conference room.
Perhaps sensing an odd atmosphere, he opened his mouth in a very cautious tone.
“I heard that you called for me, Your Majesty.”
“I suppose you know roughly what happened today, Crown Prince.”
“Yes.”
The Crown Prince knew that a Silver Star Medal had been proposed in Karl Adelheit’s name, that several meetings had already been held, and that the Emperor had been positive about it.
Yet now it seemed something had gone awry. He did not know the details—
“Crown Prince.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Were their sacrifices truly deserving of proper compensation?”
“…Your Majesty?”
The unexpected question made the Crown Prince try to discern the Emperor’s true intent for a moment. But information was still lacking. He needed to understand why the Emperor was saying such things.
“This subject was lacking and could not understand Your Majesty’s words.”
“It is not a matter of understanding. This is merely… well. Let us call it the grumbling of a burden that has only received loyalty.”
“Your Majesty!”
The Crown Prince, the Grand Chamberlain, and the chamberlain hurriedly prostrated themselves on the floor.
The Emperor’s words were profound. Why was he saying such things? Especially in front of others. The ruler of the Empire, who must never appear weak.
“It is truly pitiful. Truly pitiful. While grateful for the existence of such heroes in the Empire, the fact that we must lose so many such heroes again is truly heart-wrenching.”
“….”
“While we have done our utmost for them, how could that be the utmost? And do the dead return? What words could I have before the survivors?”
Simply because he had survived, this young man had exerted all his efforts to help those in similar situations to himself.
The Emperor fell silent for a moment, then looked at the three people kneeling before him and spoke.
“The establishment of the Karl Adelheit Medal shall be revoked. Instead, a new agenda regarding improvements in treatment for Imperial Army soldiers shall be proposed.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
You, who fought hard and were wounded, embrace them. I will embrace you along with them, and all those for the Empire.
I thought I had done my best so far, but I have come to realize it was not enough. The reward for sacrifice should have no end. Yet I harbored the arrogant thought that this was sufficient.
*
Waaah. My sweat is pouring down. This madman Karl. Even so, how could he have been so bold in front of the Emperor?
While speaking, I was on edge. I was afraid the Emperor might be displeased.
Recently, the incidents I’ve been involved in have grown so large in scale that if the Emperor feels burdened, the first ones to suffer are me and my family.
Fortunately, our Emperor simply replied with “So that’s how it is,” while looking at me.
His expression wasn’t great, so I was a bit worried, but in the end, it seemed to have gone well. That was fortunate.
After putting another storm behind me, I returned to the Academy—
“Lav!”
“Master… Senior Karl.”
Lav, whose eye bags were sunken in, appeared before me.
“…Are you okay?”
You seem to be very busy. I’ll fix that. You look incredibly busy and tired.
As I said last time, Lav’s midterms weren’t exactly great. Rather, Eloise’s grades, which seemed far from studying, were higher.
‘Surprising. Eloise is smart! I thought.’
If Eloise heard that, she might have retorted, “What? Why did you think I was stupid?!”
Anyway. Disappointed in the results relative to his efforts, Lav dove into his second round of bone-crushing study.
Because of his sharpshooter trait, he didn’t appear in front of me except at certain moments anyway. Thanks to that, it became even harder to see Lav.
What to call it. That position. A character that had existed before, but with no screen time, so it kept getting forgotten. Lav was now trying to go that way more and more.
“I’m fine. I’m fine.”
“…You don’t seem fine at all.”
It couldn’t be helped. A sharpshooter who had already received the Silver Star Medal was in this sorry state.
“M-Master?”
“I told you to call me Senior several times.”
“Ah. Yes. S-Senior! Y-You don’t have to go to this trouble…”
“Shut up and quietly look ahead.”
I carefully massaged Lav’s shoulders. Ah, by the way, my massage is a technique recognized even by Selena.
This feeling of the tightly knotted shoulders loosening up and the dull pain disappearing… I heard it helps concentration in studies too.
Perhaps it’s because of my strength. I’ve swung this hand a lot and grabbed the throats of Gganfs many times. Without strength, that’s just weird.
“Wow. Your shoulders are like stone? You studied like this?”
“That… I feel like time is wasted, so I unconsciously…”
“Enough. Enough.”
This isn’t shoulders; they’re like stone. No matter how much a sharpshooter has to wait like a stone at times, muscles and joints turning to stone isn’t allowed.
“Hiiik. Hic!”
Every time I put strength into my hands, an incredibly funny groan escaped Lav’s lips.
Is it because of the pain? Or because it feels refreshing?
“How is it? Has the stiffness in your shoulders improved?”
“T-That…”
“What? Speak clearly.”
“T-That! I-I think if you do a little more, I might be able to tell!”
“…Really?”
I felt it a while ago, but this guy Lav is subtly a fox. After all, without being pure, he couldn’t have achieved that much against the Gganfs.
“…Senior Karl.”
“Five more minutes?”
“If you do that, I’ll be grateful… No! I-I have something to say.”
What? I asked while pressing his shoulder firmly. Then Lav made a weird sound “Kkiueyauk!” and shrank back.
“Senior. That. So. You’ve always been so kind— Higuuuaak! Y-You are!”
“Kind? I’m just taking care of you because you’re good at it.”
“To me! To me, that’s really the kind part— Aagyauek! P-Part!”
I get it. I get it, so stop making those weird screams. It’s funny, so I can’t put strength into my hands.