Multi-Species Multi-Faith - 2
I let out a dry laugh as I read the report the Wise Duke had submitted under the heading of absolute priority review.
No leaving the office for a while, then.
That was the conclusion I reached. For the time being, this study would be my bedroom and my dining hall both, and for several days I would have to forgo any sight of the Empress or the Crown Princess.
The World Tree, revived…
Just recalling what the report contained was enough to draw another laugh from me. The Wise Duke’s report had not been long. It held only a handful of short, heavy sentences: World Tree revived. Constantina redescended. Spirits appeared.
And for that very reason, I felt oddly at peace. A report padded with endless ornate modifiers would have had me sighing through every line; a document this brief only left me thinking, So it’s finally here.
"I didn’t think it would come this soon."
At last I muttered it aloud, alone with my own dismay.
Yes—I had known the World Tree would return. This was not the first report I had received on the matter, and I had been watching the issue carefully since last year. I had regarded its revival as a miraculous, beautiful event that would fall within my reign.
What I had not expected was for it to happen in a single year. A god’s time is not a human’s; I had assumed that anything so closely bound to the divine would revive at a pace leisurely by mortal standards.
I had even heard from the Minister that the revival was imminent—but I had taken “imminent” to mean five years, or ten.
As expected, the will of the gods is beyond human reckoning.
My little human conjecture had been spectacularly wrong. From now on, I would have to stop guessing at divine affairs and account for every possibility.
Of course, if something like this happened twice, I would clearly collapse from overwork.
At least there’s only one World Tree.
I let out a quiet sigh and took up the communication orb. The timing of the revival had been a genuine surprise, but thankfully the contingency plans for what to do when it happened had already been prepared. Failing to prepare for an event you know is certain to occur is the province of the lazy or the witless.
"Long live His Majesty the Emperor. The Minister of Palace Aff—"
"This is urgent; you may skip the formalities. Summon the ministers to the Grand Council Chamber at once."
"Yes, Your Majesty. I will have everything ready within thirty minutes."
"Good. I will see you then."
At the sharp, direct order, the Minister of Palace Affairs bowed with a rigid face.
I had not yet shared the news of the World Tree’s revival, but a Minister of Palace Affairs would have guessed from my voice alone that something serious had broken. Anyone without that kind of instinct would never survive in the Ministry of Palace Affairs.
Best to brief the Minister of Palace Affairs in advance.
The moment I cut the connection, I sent a short document to his orb.
If even the first-ranked minister of the realm gave the impression of knowing nothing, the others might begin to question his authority. I could not put that kind of shackle on an administrative partner who would serve me for life. Just as I was a newly ascended Emperor, he was a newly appointed minister—so when there was a chance to shore up his standing, it was right to take it.
Authority…
I set the orb back on the desk and tipped my head against the chair.
Authority. A fine thing. Absolute authority could make the impossible possible; insufficient authority could topple even legitimate power. That was the strength of it.
And the revival of the World Tree was plainly an event that would serve my own. The World Tree that had burned in the age of Apels—when that empire had lost the Mandate of Heaven—had revived in the age of the Kpelleofen Empire, during my reign. It was proof that the Mandate rested with the Empire and the Imperial House.
A good… thing.
So I held it in. The face of the Minister who had revived the World Tree the moment he left to get married rose before me, but I desperately swallowed the ugly words climbing my throat.
The World Tree revived on the very day the Minister was in the Elf Sanctuary for his wedding? Other people might call that pure coincidence. I did not. If an accident erupted wherever the Minister went, that was no coincidence—he was the culprit.
That was the kind of man he was. It was not as if I had known him a day or two.
…Damn it.
In the end, my teeth ground together. He was the one bolting off on a honeymoon, and he was dumping this on me—a man with a daughter not even a year old?
Just wait. Even when the Minister has his first child, I will show him no mercy—
Hm?
While I was inwardly vowing firm and certain retribution, the communication orb vibrated briefly. Someone had sent a document.
"Oh?"
I checked the contents at once, and a genuine murmur of admiration escaped me.
Though this humble servant is newly wed, how could I cite private circumstances when a matter of such weight for the future of the Empire and the continent is at hand? Should I be permitted to return at once to the Imperial Capital and lend even the slightest hand in easing Your Majesty’s cares, no greater honor could exist.
It was the Minister’s voluntary postponement of leave—and a declaration of surrender.
Admirable. The instant storm clouds gathered over his future, his instincts veered into evasion. The Minister’s instincts truly were those of a wild beast.
Postponing the leave can’t be helped.
Yes—the Minister, who hated a ruckus more than anything, would never have revived the World Tree on purpose. There must have been circumstances. Or rather, how could a mere human have interfered in the work of the gods in the first place?
The Minister was a victim too. Victims ought not to hate one another.
I decided to leave it at that.
I finished the wedding reception and hurried toward the Imperial Palace.
It pained me to leave my bride alone the moment we were married, but fortunately Trixie was a civil servant herself—the Tower Master. As a fellow official, she understood my position completely and even saw me off with a wish that I return safely.
I left her with the promise that she could look forward to our honeymoon and set out. Word was that a full ministerial summons had gone out in my absence; the later I arrived, the more I would have to hear from the Emperor. He was probably inventing work to dump on me in real time. That man was more than capable of it.
I gave him the World Tree as a gift…
A sudden sense of injustice rose in me. This was not some trinket—it was the World Tree itself. One of the causes cited for Apels’s loss of the Mandate of Heaven had revived during his reign. A subject who brought such a gift was a loyal servant without peer. Why should I be the one watching my step?
Of course, that was nonsense. Suppose I were the Emperor and a minister of mine revived the World Tree during my reign? I would have been furious too, profit aside. Honestly, it was not as if his authority were as desperate as it had been at the start of the Retired Emperor’s reign—he had just shoved unnecessary work onto his superior. There would be a reward for the achievement, but it would not be a gentle one.
I’m finished.
The moment I finished that chilling exercise in empathy, I felt a cold sweat.
Please let the Emperor show a measure of mercy.
The ministers had already returned to their respective departments; only the Emperor remained in the Solar Hall.
Terrifying. If the other ministers had still been present, his attention would have been diluted—but as it stood, I alone would have to endure his undivided focus.
"Ah, the Minister has arrived."
"Yes, Your Majesty. Forgive the discourtesy of presenting myself so late."
At the Emperor’s even tone, I hurriedly bowed at the waist.
"Forgiveness? A minister who has only just finished his wedding and still comes at once has already proven his loyalty. How could I possibly fault you?"
A chill ran down my spine. It sounded exactly like, If you had leisurely enjoyed your honeymoon, I would have torn you limb from limb.
Conscience saved me.
I breathed an inward sigh of relief. I had postponed my leave because I felt for a father about to suffer under the World Tree crisis—but if I had ignored my conscience and held out, the Emperor would have cracked my skull and forced me back to work.
Truly fortunate. Voluntary attendance and compulsory attendance were very different things. Indeed they were.
"More to the point, since you are here—let us talk a little. The World Tree is a tree at heart, so that much is understandable, but what did the spirits look like?"
Watching me, the Emperor gave a short huff of laughter, took the seat of honor, and spoke in a calm voice.
"They lived across the continent until only a few centuries ago, yet today spirits exist only in fairy tales. I almost envy you, Minister—for being the first to witness them."
"It is all by the grace of Your Majesty, who has rightly upheld the Mandate of Heaven. Had the heavens not been moved, today’s miracle would never have come to pass."
I offered the pleasing words first while I ordered my thoughts.
It did not sound like a backhanded dig. Given the Emperor’s personality, if he had decided to needle me, the language would have been far more colorful and elaborate. He did not apply pressure with something that mild.
Which meant he was genuinely curious…
He’s achieved enlightenment.
After wracking his brains over the World Tree until he broke through, he had reached detachment. Overwork was already guaranteed, so he had entered the stage of simply enjoying it.
"A miracle, you say."
At my answer, the Emperor nodded.
"Yes. A miracle."
Hearing the same word twice sent anxiety surging through me. What was this? What was he winding up to say?
The idea that the Emperor had entered an “enjoying it” stage was strange in itself. The man possessed ability and intelligence inversely proportional to his personality, and he had tasted the full bitterness of life. For that reason he usually handled even serious incidents with a frown at most—and he had been preparing for this since last year. For that to drive him to enlightenment?
There’s something else.
Something that had even unhinged the Emperor.
"Minister."
"Yes, Your Majesty. Command me."
After a brief silence, the Emperor spoke again.
"You will need to take a trip abroad."
"…Pardon?"
At the unexpected order, I could only manage a blank-sounding reply.
A foreign assignment, all of a sudden? Even if I had postponed my honeymoon, I was still newly married—
"The Pope has summoned every cardinal on the continent. Whatever duties they were engaged in were to be suspended at once, and they were ordered to assemble in the Holy Kingdom without delay."
…
"An Ecumenical Council?"
"Indeed. The Pope has been watching for an opportunity; he was never going to miss the pretext of the World Tree’s revival. The moment he received the intelligence, he declared the Council open."
At those words, I finally understood why the Emperor had achieved enlightenment.
He actually convened it.
I was a little surprised. The revival of the World Tree and Constantina’s redescension were miracles weighty enough to justify an Ecumenical Council of the Dawn Church—but there was a vast difference between “an issue worthy of a Council” and “actually holding one.”
The current Pope was a progressive who dreamed of sweeping reform within the Church. He had been watching for any chance to convene a Council, yet such a gathering was a rare mega-event even in the Church’s history—one that could transform its values and identity. The desperate opposition of the conservative cardinals had blocked it every time.
Having seen the lifelong ambition of his office frustrated again and again, the Pope had not let this “Council-worthy matter” slip through his fingers.
"Through this Ecumenical Council, he intends to redefine the standing of Constantina as a foreign deity and the value of the World Tree. As the Dawn Church that serves Enen alone, they cannot worship Constantina—and yet it is also difficult to reject the god who restored the World Tree."
The Emperor rubbed the back of his neck and looked at me with distinctly weary eyes.
"And the Pope has invited you, Minister, to attend the Council as a witness of reference."
I was going to lose my mind.