Dependence
Emperor Lukan of the Caelon Empire.
Despite the countless people dying in the war he himself had started, the man indulged in drink and women. The women he took into his bed were primarily Saintesses.
Emperor Lukan always said the same thing—that only Saintesses chosen by the gods, and among them only the finest grade after discarding the defective ones, were fit for him.
A few knight commanders and officials harbored deep resentment toward the emperor's debauched lifestyle, but there was nothing they could do. This was an empire. The emperor was all but a god of the state. With absolute, unchallengeable power, he had executed every last person who dared offer him counsel.
Even as the people trembled in anxiety over the war, the nation's economy collapsed into chaos, and soldiers died without end, Emperor Lukan ignored it all and pressed the war onward.
A war that plundered other nations' resources, seized their manpower, and stole even their materials allowed the Caelon Empire's leadership to live ever more lavishly. Even if a few soldiers were thrown away to die, they could simply extract citizens from conquered lands and produce more soldiers—it was nothing short of a creative economy.
Emperor Lukan had always thought of it that way. That he was clever. That it was only natural for the powerless to be stripped of what they had, and that he, born into the imperial family by the gods' choice, was entitled to enjoy it all.
The battles thus far had backed his stance with unbroken victory. The number of conquered nations was already hard to count on one's fingers, and this time was the perfect chance to swallow the Fibron Empire whole in a single gulp.
In truth, reports of their own victories were ringing out across multiple battlefields, and so he had predicted that the fall of the Fibron Empire would not take long. But then—
"Y-Your Majesty... The Fibron... the Fibron Empire's forces... a monster... a monster..."
One of the knight commanders shouted in urgency. When the emperor granted permission for him to approach, the man rushed forward in haste.
"Get out of my way."
Emperor Lukan shoved aside the Saintess who had been fawning at his side, then questioned the knight commander.
"Name, and your business."
For a moment, the knight commander nearly twisted his face. He had come to report the war situation any number of times, yet Emperor Lukan still could not remember his name—most likely because he had been thoroughly drunk when those reports were given.
The man did not let his displeasure show. He knew all too well what would become of him the instant emotion appeared even on his face.
"I am Knight Commander Fedray. I sought an audience because a serious problem has arisen on the battlefield, and I judged that Your Imperial Majesty must know of it."
"What problem?"
The emperor made no effort to hide his irritation. His hand and gaze were already turning toward the luxurious wineglass he had yet to finish. He was already resolving that if this was not a matter important enough to interrupt his drinking, he would kill this Fedray fellow.
But the news that followed was enough to interest even Emperor Lukan.
"A Slaughterer has appeared on the battlefield."
"A Slaughterer?"
"According to the reports we received, there exists in the Fibron Empire a person who single-handedly massacred more than five hundred of our knights and mages combined."
"Hmm..."
The emperor tilted his glass and pondered. Then he spat out a short reply.
"Making a fuss over a mere five hundred. The Caelon Empire has as many soldiers as we could ever need, does it not? If numbers are lacking, swarm him and kill him. If even that fails, seize civilians and use them as hostages."
"That... that is said to be impossible against this opponent. They say that every time he kills someone, he absorbs power into a strange orb..."
"If the opponent is a mage, then counter him with mages of your own, no?"
"There... there were also reports that he wields a sword as well."
Emperor Lukan's face began to twist openly. The man was spouting more and more nonsense.
"Did you see it yourself?"
"I did not see it myself, but I heard the reports."
"Someone who kills over five hundred alone, mastering both magic and swordsmanship, exists in the Fibron Empire? Are you even properly aware of the words coming out of your mouth right now?"
"Y-Yes, I am."
"I will ask once more. Do you think that makes any sense?"
The emperor did not think it made sense. If the Fibron Empire had truly possessed a monster of that caliber, there would have been no reason not to deploy him the moment the battlefield began to turn against them.
If they had wanted to minimize losses even a little, the far better choice would have been to deploy this so-called Slaughterer before demanding a ceasefire early in the war and use him as a bargaining chip. And yet, with so many of their forces already dead and the border regions being breached, they were only now scrambling to put troops forward?
Even a foolish emperor was not so naive as to swallow that story whole.
"The ones who failed their mission must have lied."
The emperor's conclusion was simple.
The person called the Slaughterer was a fiction invented by knights who had been defeated on the battlefield. Afraid of punishment for losing vast numbers of troops with nothing to show for it, they had filed a false report.
"Even thinking it over again, what a load of absolute garbage. How much of a fool must they take me for."
Emperor Lukan gripped his sword and walked toward Fedray. Realizing what the emperor intended, Fedray cried out urgently.
"It is not a lie! I confirmed countless pools of blood and corpses at the scene myself! Your Majesty! You must listen to me. The one they call the Slaughterer is not the kind of being our forces can handle. Even now, if we return to the ceasefire treaty the Fibron Empire once requested—"
Thud.
Blood spilled from the mouth of the loyal subject mid-sincere counsel, and the man's body and head were severed. The Saintesses behind them clamped their hands over their mouths, terrified they might scream.
Emperor Lukan shook the blood from his sword as if it were filthy and spoke.
"Since ancient times, the lowborn have always invented phantoms to hide their own incompetence. Ghosts and other such absurdities. Isn't that so?"
The emperor asked the Saintesses, but they only trembled and none could answer. They must have feared ending up like the man whose head now lay on the ground.
"Answer me. Do you think I am right?"
"Th-That is correct."
"Your Majesty's words are right."
Reluctantly, the Saintesses flattered the emperor while shaking with terror. As if his mood had soured, the emperor flung his sword aside and questioned Brifen, the Imperial Knight Commander who stood silently nearby.
"Brifen. What do you think?"
"Your Majesty is correct."
Only then did the emperor return to his seat and drink once more.
"Your Majesty, I will dispose of this man."
"Yes, I cannot stand the sight of him. Get rid of him."
Imperial Knight Commander Brifen hoisted the man's corpse onto his back and went outside. He went to a nearby burial ground, placed the body in a space already prepared, and had those around him cover it with earth.
He briefly joined his hands in prayer. May this young man of conviction not be born into an empire like this in his next life.
He briefly recalled. Fedray had been a devoted knight. Brifen ordered a knight beside him.
"Tell Fedray's family that he died in battle. Provide them with a sufficient consolation payment, secure a house in the rear of the war zone, and relocate them somewhere safe."
"A-Are you sure that is all right? This is a man His Majesty executed on the spot... If we are found out, it could become a serious matter."
"If a problem arises, I will take responsibility."
"...Understood."
After a brief cleanup, Brifen stared blankly up at the sky. Tonight of all nights, the brilliantly shining starlight felt bitterly resentful.
This is a place where even conviction is a luxury for the weak.
Brifen offered a brief memorial for the man and returned to the palace. He could see the emperor, thoroughly drunk, still blowing on his wine.
Brifen despaired.
He did not believe in the gods.
If the Goddess Ruasta truly existed, she would have taken that man's life first. Even if a god did exist, that god had abandoned the Caelon Empire.
Under an incompetent leader, the Caelon Empire would endlessly repeat its atrocities.
It was a night of bitter frustration—at himself, who could do nothing even after witnessing a subordinate's death before his eyes.
On the road leaving a battlefield littered with corpses, heading into the territory of the Fibron Empire.
Choi Yebin maintained constant vigilance, but she did not seem emotionally affected. That was only natural—Choi Yebin had likely experienced similar situations many times in the novel she had possessed. But the Saintess beside them, Plimia, was different.
Her pupils were bloodshot, and her hands trembled madly like aspen leaves. Especially when she saw the corpses of Caelon Empire knights, she would fall into terror as if something about them filled her with dread.
Trauma, then.
Plimia, who had nearly met a miserable end despite dedicating herself to her own nation. Everything seemed to frighten her.
"They are the dead. You need not fear them."
Plimia was silent for a moment, then spoke.
"You said it was necessary, Administrator... but I am still so afraid. Afraid that the people of the Fibron Empire might betray us the way Gallard did."
McDeras scanned those around them, then shook his head.
"Knight Commander Tekeloman. That upright fellow does not seem the type to commit such a despicable act. Besides, making enemies of us would do him no good in the first place."
"I trust Knight Commander Tekeloman as well... but I am clearly an enemy to them. Especially... while you might be one thing, Administrator, I was a Saintess of the Caelon Empire... I cannot help but wonder... I am afraid... that the same thing will happen again..."
The Saintess stopped in place, trembling with fear. I quietly took her pitifully shaking hand. The girl's hand was far too cold.
Plimia looked up into my eyes in surprise.
"Only until you calm down."
But her trembling still did not stop. Her eyes kept shifting to the countless soldiers surrounding them. Plimia's wandering gaze met mine.
How could there be a person so pitiable? She had dedicated herself to her nation and given everything for them, and yet her life had plummeted into the gutter.
When I had seen the post she uploaded to the community under the username holly trust, I had decided to come here out of simple curiosity, to be honest.
But now, for some reason, I did not want to ignore her. I wanted to prove with my own hands that faith would not be betrayed. I wanted to show her that if you wish for it earnestly enough, miracles do happen.
"Do not worry. Even if anyone should come to attack us."
I spoke quietly, still holding Plimia's hand.
"I will protect you."
Only then did the trembling in Plimia's hand cease. She gripped my hand with her other hand as well.
"I will trust you. You already pulled me out of hell once, after all."
As we spoke, Knight Commander Tekeloman's voice reached them.
"We have arrived."
They had arrived at the imperial palace of the Fibron Empire. The plan was already complete. He had finished calculating exactly how the Fibron Empire's forces could be utilized.
The only question remaining was how to negotiate with them.
The real war was only just beginning.