146. Competitor

"Th-this is an answer I can give you even without using the wish voucher."

"Oh, that's a relief."

"But... why do you ask such a thing? Eliarnes, do you wish to fight ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me, the Flame Emperor...?"

Whether her throat was dry or not, the Flame Emperor wore a troubled expression as she glanced around.

I handed the mint-choco latte to the Flame Emperor.

"Do you think I'm crazy enough to fight you, Flame Emperor? I don't know how it would turn out, but there's a chance you might end up having to fight another human, so I'm asking."

Gulp, gulp—the Flame Emperor wet her dry throat and leaned forward.

"Fight another human...? Who are you talking about?"

"The Puppet Emperor."

"...The Puppet Emperor. The Puppet Emperor, huh..."

The Flame Emperor, who had been lost in thought for a moment, asked with a calmer expression than before.

"Do you mean that I, the Flame Emperor, must kill the Puppet Emperor?"

"What if I said yes?"

"I, the Flame Emperor, am stronger than the Puppet Emperor. That much is certain."

She affirmed that she was stronger, but just from the nuance of how she said it, something was...

"But I cannot kill him."

I knew it.

"Why not?"

"I am not sure how to explain this, but... the Puppet Emperor. It is because he has become a natural existence."

"A natural existence?"

The Flame Emperor, who had said that, seemed lost in thought for a while before soon opening her mouth again.

"He is a Puppeteer. Do you know this?"

"Yes. Well, that's famous, after all."

"Right. And... he has no main body."

"When you say he has no main body, do you mean his main body is already dead?"

"The Puppet Emperor's main body is all of the puppets he possesses."

For a moment, I couldn't understand the Flame Emperor's words.

"...If all the puppets are the main body... does that mean every puppet has its own ego?"

"Not only do they have egos, they also have souls. He tore off fragments of his soul and implanted them into puppets, then devoted an immense amount of time to making those fragments become original souls in their own right. And so, ten years ago, every one of the Puppet Emperor's puppets came to possess a complete soul. Hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands. Neither I, the Flame Emperor, nor the Fist Demon can even estimate how many of him there are now. And even now, the Puppet Emperor is steadily multiplying. That is not all. Each and every one of those main bodies of his handles hundreds more puppets. If you were going to kill him, it should have been ten years ago. You would have had to kill the main body before the souls were completed."

There were multiple main bodies.

That was the Puppet Emperor, and at the same time, a single natural existence.

I roughly understood what she was saying.

I understood, but... I was a little surprised.

Even four hundred years ago, there had been no shortage of Puppeteers who lost their main bodies and their egos.

Maybe it's a racial trait of Puppeteers. Those bastards, in order to create the perfect puppet, end up shoving fragments of their souls into their puppets. And then they get devoured by their puppets.

That is the final fate of a human who dared to toy with the source of life as he pleased.

But the Puppet Emperor hadn't died to those puppets, and even now, he was still creating new egos.

"He's a hardcore bastard. How has he stayed alive all this time without going insane?"

"He tears off the fragments of his soul that are going mad and puts them into puppets, and that is how he has maintained his reason until now. Yes. Lately, the Puppet Emperor has become an existence that cannot help but multiply even if he does not wish to."

"Hmm... if that's the case, then if each one has its own thoughts and has lived a different life, wouldn't they all think differently?"

"That... is not the case. I cannot know what he longs for, or what ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠his desires are, but they all shared the same will."

"If they share the same will... is it Shedding, by any chance?"

The Flame Emperor's eyes went wide.

"What the Puppet Emperor is after... is Shedding?"

My eyes went wide too.

I didn't know that she didn't know.

Well... it doesn't really matter much.

"Yes. The Puppet Emperor is after Shedding."

"Shedding. Shedding... Does he know the method?"

"He did know it."

"Would you be able to tell me?"

"Why? Do you want to Shed too, Flame Emperor?"

"No."

The Flame Emperor answered firmly.

"I, the Flame Emperor, will remain human to the end, no matter what happens."

"I asked just in case. Well... anyway, I'll tell you about that method after we finish talking about my wish."

The Flame Emperor, who had been rubbing her temple, let out a sigh.

"Then before I hear it, let me ask just one last thing. Is he... trying to become a god?"

"A god? Is there a god in this world?"

"There is. God most certainly exists."

"...Well, yes. I get that much. But rather than becoming a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠god, the Puppet Emperor seemed to want to become a Demon."

The Flame Emperor's eyebrows twitched.

"A Demon? Why?"

"Who knows. I don't know that."

The Puppet Emperor's puppets—no, the things that are the Puppet Emperor—were already longing for a single will.

Shedding. If that's the case, then among all those countless Puppet Emperors, who gets to Shed?

If they all share the same will, wouldn't they all want to Shed? Later on, are they going to tear each other apart over a single Ophelia?

If they did that, it would be great for me, but I doubt that'll happen.

There's definitely a main body. A main body that serves as the root of the souls.

Would killing that be the end of it? Even if I killed it, the puppets that have gained souls would remain, but I could still stop the immediate headache.

But... there's a high chance that someday, another main body will emerge from those puppets.

"He's a cockroach-like little shit."

"There are more differences, but in some respects, they can be seen as similar."

"Anyway, so you can beat him, but you can't kill him."

"That is correct. But Eliarnes, why are you trying to kill the Puppet Emperor?"

"I'm not trying to kill him."

Tap, tap—I drummed on the table and thought for a moment.

I'd already talked about Shedding anyway, so should I just spill the rest too?

The Flame Emperor knows that Arisa's blood does not flow through Eustetia.

If so, she must have fully considered that this secret could become a weakness.

Maybe she's already noticed.

Among the humans living in this era, the Flame Emperor is probably the one who knows the currents of the Demon World best.

There's a high chance she already caught on that something shady was being prepared in the Demon World.

So.

"I'll tell you everything from start to finish. In exchange, you have to keep it a secret even if you're tortured by having your limbs ripped off."

"Who could possibly rip off my, the Flame Emperor's, limbs?"

"The Fist Demon?"

"Hmm...! However, is the Fist Demon not your master? Therefore, the Fist Demon will not rip off my, the Flame Emperor's, limbs."

"I suppose so. Anyway, you absolutely have to keep this a secret."

"I swear on my, the Flame Emperor's, name."

"Don't people usually swear on their existence?"

"My, the Flame Emperor's, name holds greater value than my existence. Therefore, I shall swear on my name."

"Yes... well, all right."

I nodded with a slightly dubious look and began my explanation. I laid out, one by one, everything I had organized in my head and drawn my own conclusions about to the Flame Emperor.

After hearing all of that explanation, the Flame Emperor was lost in thought for quite a long time before finally opening her mouth.

"Of course, I believe one should not judge such matters after hearing only one side of the story, but... yes. All the circumstances seem to indicate that the Puppet Emperor and Anton de Hermann have joined hands with the Demons."

Right. If my explanation turned out to be completely wrong, that would make me a real son of a bitch.

"Yes. Still, I am keeping in mind that it might not be the case."

"You don't look it on the outside... Eliarnes, you are quite a clever child."

"I am pretty smart."

"Hmm... yes. I see... My, the Flame Emperor's, disciple is also smart. She is smart, but... hmm..."

Stella is smart too.

Among the little ones, when it comes to learning something, the one with the best head is...

Uh... that's Eurasia, isn't it...?

Or is it not? I can't figure out how magic works, so I can't get a read on Stella.

Anyway, I think I know what the Flame Emperor is trying to say.

The kid is smart, but she shows a bit of a dim-witted... airheaded side, so you can't tell whether she's stupid or clever.

But that's like an aftereffect of never having proper relationships? Something like that.

Lately, she's been getting a bit better, but she still has that loser-ish, airheaded side to her.

"Stella is smart, but she isn't wise. For her age, she's just too honest."

"Oh-ho, that sounds right. Anyway, yes. Eliarnes. I, the Flame Emperor, have understood everything you said. And I have also fully understood what your wish is."

"Is it possible?"

"It is possible."

"Oh...?"

I thought she would say it was impossible.

I had even prepared second, third, and fourth alternatives in case of that.

But she answered so readily?

The Flame Emperor really is... a good person to me.

"Well, it is not something to be so surprised about. It is the same as what I, the Flame Emperor, have been doing all along. This much is something that, someday, if you and I grow a little closer... at that point, I could grant it any number of times even if you simply asked as a favor, rather than using a wish voucher like this."

"Really? But aren't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠we already close?"

"Hm?!"

The Flame Emperor's body flinched.

"...B-but is our age gap not quite large...?"

"Come on. What does something like that matter between friends? If you maintain a close relationship and give each other positive influence based on trust and affection, that's friendship. Between friends, age, background, gender—none of that matters. So, aren't we friends?"

I recited, roughly and in a similar vein, a passage I'd once read in a book. I wondered if such cringeworthy content would actually work. But.

"Closeness... trust, af... affection. Positive influence... yes. I see... Affection is an emotion I, the Flame Emperor, cannot distinguish, but closeness and trust... positive influence... it seems that both you and I are sufficiently giving... those."

It worked incredibly well.

"Right?"

Lately, the Flame Emperor and Stella often eat together, just the two of them. Watching them teach, they get along well with each other too. Is it because they both handle the same magic?

I thought about it, but no.

It was because both of them were losers with such narrow social lives that they'd never even had relationships.

Naturally, I hid that thought and extended my hand to the Flame Emperor.

"Then let's shake hands, as friends do."

"Hm... hmm...! A handshake. Yes. A handshake... very well."

The Flame Emperor took my hand.

Maybe because she handles fire, her body temperature seems higher than a normal person's.

"You... call yourself a Martial Artist, but your hands are very small."

"With a build like this, it'd be weird if only my hands were big."

"They're even soft."

"...I do have calluses, in my own way."

"It seems I, the Flame Emperor, a Wizard, have more calluses on my hands."

"I'll go through Body Reformation soon and they'll change."

A quiet smile appeared at the corner of the Flame Emperor's lips.

"If you become stronger, would you not explore the Demon World with me someday? Surely, there will be many fun, astonishing, and mysterious things there."

I giggled too.

"Sounds good."

*****

"Ah! My lady!"

Eurasia, who had been drawing countless lines on a huge map, beamed when she saw me.

"What were you talking about that made you so late?"

"Ah, just talked about this and that."

And beside her, Stella, who had been wearing round glasses, looked at me.

Next to her, Pina was asleep, curled up with her tail wrapped around herself, and Ophelia was sorting through a bundle of papers she'd brought from somewhere.

"What's with the glasses?"

"They're non-prescription glasses, but don't I look a bit smarter with them on?"

"They just seem to ruin a perfectly good face, so take them off."

"Huh...? R-really? Then... heh... okay. Got it."

Stella immediately took off the glasses. At the same time, Eurasia picked them up and perched them on the bridge of her nose.

"My lady, what about me?"

"Eurasia, you have a delinquent face, so they don't suit you."

"...Why is that your assessment of me? And delinquent, really?"

The corners of Eurasia's lips drooped.

Whether she did or not, I looked over the report the kids had written up.

"Ah, we're mostly done writing the report."

"Looks like it. So, where's the place this meat is likely to come from?"

"The chicken we bought today... no, the harpy skewers all went bad almost simultaneously, with just a slight gap between them? We won't know the exact details until we go back to the harpy skewer shop tomorrow, but for now, based on the times we measured today, we drew it out while accounting for the margin of error. Want to take a look at the map over there?"

The map Stella pointed at.

I looked at the map Eurasia had been diligently drawing lines on.

After that, Stella went on explaining this and that, but none of it reached my ears.

The map. The countless lines drawn within it.

One of them touched the Grand Cathedral of the Holy Kingdom, which had been Luna's residence.