Chapter 47. How to Deal with the World (1)
Chapter 47. How to Deal with the World (1)
1
And so, in the place where one king and his retainer remained, the one who opened their mouth was neither of the two.
-If I had to put it a certain way, it was an 'emperor'—neither king nor retainer—who solemnly opened his mouth.......
"...Sir Sword Emperor, must you really do the 'Sword Emperor' thing even at a moment like this?"
He really was a man with a gift for killing the mood.
The man writhed in agony, twisting his body like a pretzel.
-Yeah... I must. No, I don't want to either... Honestly, I'm absolutely dying to get as far away from you two as possible and pretend I don't know you, but ugh, there's no one else who can say this but me.
"Oh, what is it you want to say?"
-What are you two doing?
I wondered what he meant, but apparently that was what Sword Emperor had wanted to say.
"What are we doing? As you can see......."
-Right, you killed the Demon King, and, uh? You revived her with your skill. You even gave her a name and all... Ah, shit, and what kind of name is Agwi for a girl anyway? If you were going to call her Agwi, you should've called her Lantern Agwi, and then when you call her, you could say "Lantern," and wouldn't that be cuter every time you said it?
"Now you're even picking a fight over her name?"
-No, forget the name. The next thing... Why are you two suddenly sitting there having formed a master-servant relationship?
Sword Emperor swept his gaze over me and Agwi as if he were looking at the most bizarre things under heaven.
-Like you two have some kind of bond or something....... No, fine! Zombie, let's say you have one. As you said yourself, she's prey you caught, right? You could say you have the right to do that old pop song from your world—you know, you are my slave, I got you~ under my skin. Something like that.
"Sir Sword Emperor, you listen to pop songs?"
-One of old man Marcus's hobbies is... No, forget it. So let's say you're like that, but I really don't get why she's sitting there going yes, my lord.
It was a moment when I learned one of Sword Saint's hobbies.
If possible, it was a hobby I would have preferred not to know... but that wasn't what mattered.
Hmm.
"So you're saying you don't understand why Agwi would serve me as her lord?"
-Yeah. Zombie? Let me objectively list out, one by one, the things you did to her.
I nodded.
-You blocked her path and pulled the old hehehe, you can't go, didn't you?
"That's how it started."
-You erased everything she had built up, one thing at a time, didn't you? And later on, you even broke her spirit with a hard truth bomb.
"That's how it developed."
-And then you went and cut her head clean off. Ugh, and the cherry on top was dragging a kid who said she wouldn't come out, who insisted she hated it, back into the world by force with Hundred Ghost Reincarnation or whatever it's called.
"That's how it concluded."
Sword Emperor clicked his tongue.
-Hah, you really are a bastard with no sympathy. Are all the arteries in your heart made of vipers?
"There might be some cobras mixed in too. You left this out for some reason, but because of someone's words—'show a fitting end to one who is not even a swordsman'—I also broke her sword."
-That was a necessary act, an act that had to be done, and this Agwi, too, must be deeply grateful in her heart. That is, if any ember of wanting to be a swordsman remains there.
Sword Emperor spoke solemnly.
I'd thought this ghost was only good at acting like a lunatic, but now I saw his bullshit was top-tier too.
-Anyway, so I'd think it would only be right for her to pour out resentment and rage at you. Why the hell is she prostrating herself, hanging her head, and sitting there saying "command me"? Was the calamity that swallowed an entire world actually the greatest masochist of all time?
"Whoa......."
Sword Emperor had said he wanted to get away from us, but I was the one who took a step back from Sword Emperor.
Truly, the level of that gorilla's thinking.......
"Sir Sword Emperor... The reason Agwi chose to submit to me without hesitation is this."
-The reason?
"Because Agwi knows."
I glanced sideways at Agwi.
"Something you'll find out soon enough, Sir Sword Emperor."
A crying sound flowed through the acacia forest path.
"Hic... Ah... Sob......."
Agwi (餓鬼) was crying. Tears of resentment and sorrow. Wrenching wails formed into beads and dripped down, one by one.
Indeed.
Agwi knew full well.
[Searching for the existence of the Demon King on Floor 20.]
What was about to happen from now on.
[Not found.]
Agwi's shoulders flinched, convulsing.
[Confirmed the absence of the Demon King.]
Whoosh!
Beads of light rose up from all directions. They rose from the road and streamed out from the acacia trees. The Floor 20 stage was a small world anyway, so it was soon surrounded by the swarm of light.
[History altered.]
And then it expanded.
[Revising the Floor 20 stage.]
The village beyond the road. The buildings that had burned away regained their forms. Wheat fields rose up. Orchards appeared. A paradise filled with the laughter of children, a place where people were beautiful, settled into place.
Before Agwi had been doused with filthy water.
In other words, it had regressed to just before the birth of the Demon King of Fall Rain.
"Ah......."
But Agwi received the resurrection of that paradise with a face hideously contorted.
Because she would know.
What would happen from now on as well.
"No... Please. No......."
Agwi trembled and moaned. But it was no use.
What had to happen simply began to happen.
"Ah......."
Agwi stared into the distance with a tear-soaked face. In the exact opposite direction from the village, something was approaching the entrance of the acacia forest path.
Clank! Clatter!
Every time they took a step, armor and helmets rang fiercely. Above them, flags painted in all sorts of colors fluttered.
"Please......."
Countless military banners.
The sounds of combat boots, hooves, and beating wings.
"Again, the village will burn... It will burn down......."
In order to burn the paradise.
Right now, the allied forces dispatched from all over the world were entering the acacia forest path.
"No, please... Ugh, ah......."
Agwi collapsed onto the road and curled up.
Her bowed head and clasped fingertips were pointed directly at me.
"My lord......."
As Sword Emperor had said, to Agwi I would be a sworn enemy she couldn't even chew up and swallow to her satisfaction.
To bow deeply to someone like me—truly, it must be so resentful and mortifying that her heart would burst.
"My, my lord......!"
But she did it.
She had to.
"I will not bear a grudge... I will not take revenge......."
Agwi had no choice but to accept becoming my retainer and to take me as her lord.
When a powerless person has something they must protect, they become Agwi—able to chew and swallow any humiliation.
"If you command it, I will do anything, I will follow... I will become a handmaiden, a slave....... It doesn't matter what becomes of me, so please."
A person prostrated herself and begged.
"Please, my paradise......."
"Alright."
I.
"So be it."
I did not speak at length.
I took a step.
Drawn by that step, Sword Emperor followed. He who had just been mocking me and Agwi with a ridiculous face now wore an expression heavier than a mountain.
-I see. So that's how it was.
"Yes, that's how it is."
Step.
-A retainer has a duty to follow their lord.
"And a lord has a responsibility to protect their people."
Step.
-I'm sorry for the sarcasm.
"You lost the bet too, didn't you? Think about what that'll cost you."
I walked, and stood beyond my person.
I drew in a breath and loaded my voice with aura.
I shouted.
"All forces, halt!"
Acacia petals scattered as if a transparent giant had swung its fist.
The beating of wyvern wings and the clanking of armor ceased. The sound of horse hooves and the clashing of spears and swords stopped.
I.
Stood on the single path of acacias.
Between me and the army, there was nothing but flower petals.
2
Flower petals made no sound as they scattered. So when petals covered the world, the world seemed to simply melt away into sleep.
But petals that leave the branch must eventually fall to the ground.
Clad flawlessly in sea-colored armor, with the seal of the sun engraved on his breastplate, the commander of the Aegim Empire stepped forward.
I knew who he was.
"I am General Sarbast Aegim! What wretch dares block our path!"
And of course, he did not know who I was.
Hm.
"Well......."
I had fought against hundreds of monsters and thousands of zombies. I had even faced Agwi's gaze head-on back when she was the Demon King at the height of her power.
There was probably no one who had experienced as much menacing pressure as I had.
Even so, I had to take a breath.
I gripped the hilt of my sword.
"What business do you lot have in a backwater like this?"
"It is the will of His Imperial Majesty!"
General Sarbast Aegim answered thunderously.
Waaaaah! Soldiers amounting to a whole unit shook their spears and roared in response. In the forest, instead of more petals falling, birds fled with a flurry of wings.
"We have heard that there is a witch here who has incited the good people of the continent! There are even foolish monsters who have been seduced by the witch's wiles and cast themselves into the pit of evil—how could we simply stand by and watch!"
"So?"
"We shall purify them with holy fire!"
I silently gazed at the blue dots on the 'minimap.'
"This is not merely the will of His Imperial Majesty!"
The blue dots were not one. Hundreds, thousands. One side of the map was filled with blue dots. And it did not end there—the blue tide ceaselessly surged toward this place.
I knew who they were.
"His Holiness the Pope has declared that the heretic who dares falsely claim the title of Saintess must be punished!"
The temple Paladins I had saved on Floor 13.
"As the Lord of the Forest has entrusted this to us, may all spirits bless our path!"
The forest elves I had saved on Floor 14.
"The treasured jewel bestowed by the wise king of the merfolk sanctions our execution!"
The waterfall mages I had saved on Floor 15.
"To keep an honorable pledge, dragon riders have marched forth from the ancient volcano!"
The volcano warriors I had saved on Floor 16.
"The merchants of the Free City Alliance, the riders of the plains, and the soldiers of all vassal states have agreed to join us!"
The armed merchant company of Floor 17, the nomads of Floor 18, the small nations of Floor 19, and the soldiers of even smaller territories.
"All the world joins in our punishment!"
Floors 11 through 19.
The places I had trodden, the places I had climbed, the places I had saved.
The leading figures of those stages—anywhere from a few dozen to a few hundred each—were surging in, each waving their own flags.
"......."
I knew all of them, and all of them did not know me.
Just as Sarbast Aegim did not.
"I ask once more!"
Sarbast Aegim shouted.
"Who are you, who obstructs our mission!"
I looked at my quest window.
+
[Hero of the Frozen World]
Difficulty: Unknown (不明)
Quest Objective: You have resolved. You will not permit even a single casualty.
To expect no reward from those you save is called justice. To expect no recognition from those you save is called devotion. One who devotes themselves to justice is called a hero.
O hero!
The humans of the continent will not know your justice. They will not realize your devotion. But justice will still remain justice, and devotion will still remain devotion. Will you continue to choose to be a hero, even in a frozen world?
Now only your choice remains.
+
Of course, my choice had already been made.
"General Sarbast Aegim."
Sarbast Aegim flinched.
I pointed at him and spoke in a swaggering tone.
"You, did you just say you came bearing an imperial command?"
"Y-you dare address me as 'you'? You wretch, to a general of the Empire who comes bearing an imperial command......."
"Hah, what a funny fellow. Sitting there writing a whole scenario. Who knows better than you the situation the Emperor of the Empire is in right now, and you're going on about imperial commands?"
"H-how do you......."
Because I died trying to steal your skill and glimpsed your trauma, obviously.
And because of that, I also know full well that the power struggle among the princes is intensifying.
By the time I had saved Floor 12, hadn't rumors been circulating even among the citizens of the imperial capital?
Instead of answering that, I simply glared at Sarbast Aegim with a stern gaze. Sarbast Aegim, who had been commanding the allied forces at the front, flustered and glanced over the lords who had joined him.
It was because what I had just said was a disgrace to the imperial family, but his bewilderment did not last long. The dragon rider captain, the Paladin captain, and the nomad chieftain merely furrowed their brows, while the rest averted their eyes as if they had not heard.
The general of this world's mightiest empire cleared his throat and glared.
"...How dare you speak such insolence! Were you sent by the witch who lives ahead!"
"Insolence? Ha, a man who's trying to depose the already-appointed crown prince and put the Third Prince on the throne is putting the word 'insolence' in his mouth?"
Sarbast Aegim was flustered once again. This fluster was greater than the one before, enough to scatter the general's expression.
I continued speaking to the general in that swaggering manner.
"I'm talking about you. You can't keep living like that. Do you know how much grace His Majesty has bestowed upon you? You don't? A bum who was fated to weave nets at the harbor his whole life, and after all sorts of twists and turns, you received the title of Imperial Uncle and became a general—all thanks to His Majesty. And now you've just gone mad with power......."
A manner of speaking calculated thoroughly to provoke anger.
At last, the general, having lost his composure, burst out in rage.
"Hah... Now I understand. You're from the Amber Palace! You intend to sway public opinion here, where the world has gathered as one! If you are a citizen of the Empire, then you must know that the only one fit to truly lead the Empire is His Highness the Third Prince......."
"You fool!"
I pounced on that moment of rage as if I had been waiting for it.
Then I changed my tone and drove into the flinching Sarbast Aegim.
"The Amber Palace! Ha! Do I look like a mere errand boy of the deposed empress to you! I suppose a man who wove nets has eyes full of knot-holes! You dull-witted, dim-witted fool!"
"Th-then who in the world sent......."
"You asked who I am!"
I raised my sword and shouted boldly.
"See for yourself and confirm it!"
The flustered Sarbast Aegim's eyes filled with shock.
"Did you see!"
Yes.
"Even with those knot-hole eyes of yours, you can see this much, Sarbast Aegim!"
I had raised the [Lefanta Aegim's Holy Sword of Protection]!
+
[Lefanta Aegim's Holy Sword of Protection]
Rarity: Legendary
Description: "He who seizes the holy sword shall seize the continent." So it is said of the founder's holy sword. Legend has it that the founder who built the Aegim Empire received it from a goddess. "He who seizes the continent shall be seized by fate."
The founder chose a successor and departed. Did he take his own life? Was he struck down by rebellion? In an age when legend and history had not yet diverged, his whereabouts became unknown, and the holy sword vanished as well. Leaving behind only a single line of prophecy as a signpost.
"On the day fate arrives, the one who seizes the holy sword shall also arrive."
One who possesses the Holy Sword of Protection receives absolute support and trust from those of the Aegim Empire.
+
I shouted boldly.
"The messenger sent by the great First Emperor, Lefanta Aegim, stands here!"
Sarbast Aegim trembled all over.
That trembling spread to the knights bearing the seal of the Aegim Empire on horseback, and then to the soldiers. Until at last the entire imperial force began to tremble, I fixed them all with the gaze of an eagle.
"Sarbast Aegim!"
"Y-yes......."
"I well understand the chaos of the imperial family, and I have seen and know the wicked deeds of the tyrant crown prince! I also know that you sided with the Third Prince solely out of pure loyalty to the imperial state! When I said just now that you were mad with power, it was only to test your character! Do you resent it!"
Sarbast Aegim's eyes, which had been full of shock, now reddened with emotion.
"R-resent it! How could I! You understood... my loyalty....... But this fool could not control his temper, so how shall I atone for this sin... Ah, messenger of the First Emperor......."
"Now, now, there is no resentment! And do not hesitate to address me so! Why do you still sit upon your horse looking down at me!"
"I-I was overawed......!"
Sarbast Aegim hastily dismounted. He tumbled. He scrambled to his feet and, without even brushing the petals and mud from his armor, knelt from the knees down.
"Guardian of the rising sun! Protector of all that dwells between sea and land! May the Aegim Empire shine forever!"
The imperial general cried out in a fervent tone.
"This lowly descendant beholds the messenger of the First Emperor......!"
That, too, spread in an instant.
"We behold him!" The knights bearing the seal of the Aegim Empire dismounted. "We behold him!" The soldiers knelt as one. "We behold him!" Some prostrated themselves in worship.
"We behold the messenger of the First Emperor!"
The allied forces of the world, gathered to subjugate the witch.
The mightiest of the eight factions knelt before me.
-Whoa.
Sword Emperor was genuinely impressed.
-Kim Zombie... I thought you were only good at acting crazy and talking shit, but you've got a real knack for bullshitting too.
'You're only figuring that out now?'
Just like when I faced the Six Pillars of the Tower.
No matter how mighty the opponent, no matter how many of them there were, the actions I had to take were fixed at exactly two.
Fight them, or persuade them.
But just as there are many ways to fight.......
'There's more than one way to persuade, too.'
Now then.
It's time to deceive the world I saved.
