122. Flame Emperor
122. Flame Emperor
The woman who introduced herself as the Flame Emperor in a flat voice looked around at us without a single change in expression.
Red hair and scarlet eyes. A face close to... a wolf's.
Age, roughly... mid-twenties?
"This Flame Emperor is ninety-seven this year. How old are you all?"
Good lord. She was a granny.
"...I am nineteen. The people behind me are seventeen... ma'am."
"I see. Then this Flame Emperor is more than five times your age, so may I speak casually?"
You're already speaking casually, so why ask? I wanted to needle her like that, but for now I stayed still.
I hadn't even figured out what kind of person she was yet, so I had no idea how she'd react if I poked at her for no reason.
She might suddenly flip out and start some bullshit. People at high Realms always have a screw loose somewhere.
If it were just me and Eurasia, maybe, but protecting Pina and Stella too seemed a little difficult.
"Yes. Please... do so."
Eurasia nodded without letting down her guard.
"Good. This Flame Emperor is, as I just said, the Flame Emperor. It has been two days since I returned from Ge Vihenum, and I saw you on my way to the Imperial Palace because I have something to report to the Emperor."
The Flame Emperor. I didn't think that claim was a lie.
If the being before my eyes wasn't the Flame Emperor, then the Empire's Flame Emperor would lose her title to this woman.
That was how strong the woman before me was.
Could I win?
If I opened all the gates... I'd barely win.
But I'd need one second.
In that one second, the Flame Emperor would have more than enough time to kill us all.
Shadowless, she's at a similar Realm to Mom. Then why didn't Mom become one of the Six Pillars?
Just as I was thinking that, the Flame Emperor's gaze fixed on me.
"You're gauging my strength. So, what's your conclusion?"
"I can't win."
"Indeed. It would be against reason for this Flame Emperor to be defeated by mere seventeen-year-old girls. And you have people to protect. Three—no, two, is it. Yes. Then you're even less likely to win."
...What an arrogant, conceited, obnoxious thing to say.
But I couldn't refute it. Fuck.
At least I now knew she had no intention of killing us.
If she'd meant to kill us, she would have burned us to death the moment we noticed her.
But I couldn't be certain. She might kill us if she got upset while chatting with us.
I let out a small sigh, patted Eurasia on the back, and stepped forward.
"Ah, my lady..."
"It's fine."
I gestured with my chin toward Stella and Pina, who were trembling behind me. Eurasia understood and stood in front of Stella and Pina with a stiff expression.
I looked at the Flame Emperor with a calm face.
She was still expressionless.
"What business brings you to us?"
"I did not come looking for you. I merely approached because I saw you on my way to the Imperial Palace."
"Isn't that still coming to us in the end?"
The Flame Emperor, who had been lost in thought for a moment, nodded with the same unchanging expression.
"Hm. You're certainly right. I've heard much about the treasured jewel of Eustetia. Turius and Julie raised their daughter to be quite the bold one."
"You know... my father and mother?"
"We're close."
"Hm, but... I was taught to be wary of people who say they're close to my parents on the street like this. I was told those people are all bad people, so I should stay away from them."
"I cannot deny that either. But this Flame Emperor is not a bad person. Nor have I spoken a lie. Do you still dislike this Flame Emperor?"
"How could I possibly dislike the Flame Emperor? I'm merely uncomfortable. There isn't a person alive who wouldn't be uncomfortable standing before someone who could kill us with a flick of her hand."
"Hm. Indeed. This Flame Emperor is an uncomfortable existence."
What's with this chick?
I'm deliberately poking at her nerves, and she doesn't even seem to feel it. Like scratching at flowing water?
"But with so many people around, how is it that no one recognizes you, Flame Emperor?"
"This Flame Emperor made it so."
"Magic?"
"Magic."
"Oh."
"Hm."
"Then I suppose the flames surrounding us are that?"
The Flame Emperor's eyes twitched slightly at my words.
"You can see it?"
"I can't see it. I felt it."
"What Tier are you?"
"Tier 5."
"Then you should never be able to feel it. How in the world did you know?"
"...Intuition."
The Flame Emperor tilted her head. After a moment, she nodded as if she understood something.
"A woman's intuition, then. You're very much like Julie."
"...Not the former, but the latter is correct."
"Your stiff way of speaking is also like Julie."
Mom has a stiff way of speaking?
I can't really... imagine it.
Though, when she was Shadowless, she did write in a stiff tone... so she might use a stiff tone with people she's less close to.
The Flame Emperor said she's close to my parents?
From what I can tell, only the Flame Emperor thinks that.
I could tell after exchanging a few words.
The Flame Emperor. This woman is also a loser.
And not just any loser—a loser who doesn't know she's a loser.
"So, what's your business?"
I checked the pocket watch in my breast pocket once and looked at the Flame Emperor. It was almost time for my reservation.
"That pocket watch is splendid."
The Flame Emperor's eyes sparkled as she looked at my pocket watch.
"...Could you answer my question first?"
"Ah, right. You asked why I approached you."
The Flame Emperor's gaze, which had been on the pocket watch, turned to Eurasia. More precisely, to Eurasia's waist.
"I came because you're carrying a fine sword."
Diana's sword.
The sword of Eustetia.
The sword I gave her.
I could tell at once which of the three she was looking at. Right hip. She was looking at the sword I gave her.
"What is your name?"
"...Eurasia Espirot."
"I see. Eurasia. Are you the owner of that sword?"
"She is."
I answered for her.
The Flame Emperor's gaze fixed on me.
"Eliarnes Eustetia. Do you know what that sword is?"
"Do you know what that sword is, Flame Emperor?"
"The sword of the previous Hero."
"...Huh."
The Flame Emperor answered as if it were nothing. But I felt something like a barrier form around me and the Flame Emperor. I clenched my fist tightly and looked behind me.
Sound. The sound was blocked.
"Do not be wary. This Flame Emperor has no intention whatsoever of harming you."
"How am I supposed to believe that?"
"I swear it."
The moment the Flame Emperor finished speaking, Mana like a flame flowed from her lips and seeped into my heart.
"This Flame Emperor will not kill you. Will not harm you. Will not touch you. Will not frighten you. Will not make you uncomfortable. Will not speak lies. What this Flame Emperor says to you is nothing but the truth."
"What if I'm already uncomfortable?"
"You say that, but in truth you don't seem uncomfortable at all. Eliarnes. You are not afraid of this Flame Emperor. Why? Can you win? At the very least, you could make it out alive. This Flame Emperor cannot properly grasp your abilities, but I do know that your confidence comes from the certainty that you won't die."
Having said that, the Flame Emperor grinned.
"That is why this Flame Emperor is quite fond of you."
"...How did you reach that conclusion?"
"Figure that out on your own. So, Eliarnes. You asked what that sword is. This Flame Emperor answered. Then it is this Flame Emperor's turn to ask. Correct?"
Her way of speaking is fucking bizarre.
Do people turn out like that when they get close to 100?
I don't think that's it... Does she just like the epithet 'Flame Emperor'?
I swallowed a sigh and nodded.
"Correct."
"Did you bring that out from the underground waterway?"
I narrowed my eyes and glared at the Flame Emperor.
How much does she know?
"Being doubted by a little one this Flame Emperor is fond of is not very pleasant. So I will tell you."
The Flame Emperor took a step closer. Clink—behind me, Eurasia half-drew her sword. I immediately raised one hand to calm Eurasia.
"In the back alleys of the Imperial Capital, there is an Information Guild. A girl named Ophelia Blumin is its owner. She is a Puppeteer. That girl also attends Karelai Academy like you, and her master is the Puppet Emperor (偶帝)."
My head went blank at the sudden flood of information.
"...Did you say Ophelia is a student... at the academy?"
"Indeed. Have you never seen her?"
"I've never... seen her."
Had I? I searched my memory, but nothing came up.
That blue hair is impossible to miss even if you try.
And when I brought up the academy at Ophelia's hideout, she hadn't reacted much either.
Did that mean everything she'd shown in front of me was an act?
I should probably... pay her another visit soon.
"The people called Puppeteers are all like that by nature. They scheme in the dark, doing underhanded and vile things."
"And what's this about her being the Puppet Emperor's... disciple?"
"The Puppet Emperor, one of the Six Pillars, is a Puppeteer. Ophelia is also a Puppeteer. Ophelia has outstanding talent. The Puppet Emperor took the girl as a disciple. And is helping her run the Information Guild."
"I heard the Information Guild was an organization under the Cartel."
"Those who bear the name of the Six Pillars can do far more than you think."
The Six Pillars. So the Puppet Emperor has his hand in the Cartel too?
This is... quite valuable information.
This isn't the kind of information you just happen to hear out of nowhere. The Flame Emperor... what the hell is this woman?
"Hm... piecing together what you've said so far... you learned that information from the Information Guild, and then you found out what lay at the end of it."
"Correct, but slightly different. I did not ask the Information Guild about it. I went directly to the Puppet Emperor and asked. And after hearing the answer, I came to the Imperial Capital. But there was nothing in the underground waterway. So I went back to the Puppet Emperor. After breaking a couple of his puppets, he answered. He said the Labyrinth in the underground waterway had already been cleared."
A smile formed on the Flame Emperor's face again.
It was a very awkward, loser-like smile.
"The one who cleared that Labyrinth stands before me. Then it is only right to assume that sword was brought out from that underground. Is this Flame Emperor's reasoning correct?"
"...I was only able to clear it thanks to Shadowless's help."
"Haha! Is that so. Very well. It can't be helped. This Flame Emperor is still being doubted, so I shall introduce myself once more. This Flame Emperor is pursuing the traces of the previous Heroes in Ge Vihenum."
I tilted my head at the sudden change of topic. Of course... I knew the Flame Emperor was chasing our traces in Ge Vihenum.
I also knew she'd filled the Imperial Palace's Treasury with the things she'd brought back.
But why was she suddenly bringing this up?
"Then have you never wondered how this Flame Emperor can pursue their traces? Four hundred years have already passed. Even traces left by great beings would have weathered, vanished, and been buried. Yet this Flame Emperor pursues them. How?"
The Flame Emperor smiled.
"This Flame Emperor is the Flame Emperor (炎皇) and the Remembrance Emperor (念皇)."
The Flame Emperor spread both arms as she spoke.
"Flame Emperor (炎皇) because I am the emperor of flames. And Remembrance Emperor (念皇) because I long for the Hero who is no different from a true emperor to me, and because I read the traces left behind—the ashes that remain after burning, the traces of time gone by. Do you understand?"
"No. I don't."
"Hm, it matters not if you don't understand. You are still young, so this Flame Emperor can understand."
Her red hair fluttered. Eyes of a fiery orange gazed at me.
"So, this Flame Emperor read the traces inside the underground waterway and groped through the time that had passed. And thus I came to know. Eliarnes Eustetia. What is your relationship to that person?"
"...That person?"
The Flame Emperor smiled brightly like a child.
"The Calamity Star (凶星)."