The Sin of Looking Up from the Abyss
“Hurry! We must find and eliminate that man before word of Nightstream participating in the Demon King subjugation spreads to the world! Giddyup!”
“Giddyup! Giddyup!”
Clatter, clatter! The empire’s elite knights kicked their horses, charging powerfully down the road as they exited the imperial castle. It was a rare sight, one not seen in recent memory.
“…Where are they going?”
The First Princess, Esmeralda, suddenly felt a sense of foreboding. None of the maids following her knew the reason. They all kept their heads bowed, mouths shut tight.
‘What could be so urgent? Ah…!’
The identity of that ominous feeling became clear in her mind, and Esmeralda immediately ran toward the audience chamber.
“Your Majesty! What was the meaning of the knights who just left the imperial castle?”
Six Golden Knights stood imposingly, three on each side of the throne. In the center sat the Emperor, Ronan, his white beard thick and unkempt. A large emerald ring on his wrinkled finger sparkled dazzlingly. Wearing a golden crown, he looked down at his daughter calmly. He did not bother to hide it.
“I am going to kill Nightstream.”
“Your Majesty!”
It was a bolt from the blue for Esmeralda.
“What is the cause and justification for such a thing! Nightstream is the one who has struggled to save the world alongside the hero Arandal! Also, please remember that he has devoted his heart and soul to our Gigantia Empire for the past ten years! He is a grateful man who was born in another world and even naturalized for our sake! Are you not afraid of the angry populace? This is something that should not—and cannot—happen!”
“……”
Emperor Ronan remained silent for a moment before shaking his head.
“If we leave that man alone, the world will become turbid. That is my conclusion.”
“Your Majesty! He is already a person of our empire! He is a man who would give his life to work hard for us; why create a loss by getting rid of a talented individual for no reason?”
“That is the problem. If the fellow works diligently and earns merit, he will expect rewards and praise. As time goes on, those expectations will only grow larger.”
“Why does that become a problem?”
“Because he is not a person of this land. This land is a world only for us, the Gigantians. I will never forgive those lowly beings with different appearances from mixing with our people and bearing offspring! I will never allow it!”
“……!”
Esmeralda’s eyes widened. She was so shocked by her father’s harsh words that she was left speechless.
“Go and bring those slaves here.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
A moment later, the knight who had left returned, dragging slaves with exotic appearances. There were three of them, men and women. All of them knelt, wearing handcuffs and shackles.
“What is your name?”
“P-Park Byung-min…! Please, spare me!”
“And you?”
“Kim Soo-chul! Please, forgive me!”
“And you, what is the name of that half-naked wench over there?”
“I-Im Mi-ran…! Sob, sob! Please, forgive me!”
“To have a name of only three syllables… their names are all equally contemptible. Tsk. Chamberlain. Read out their crimes at once.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
The chamberlain unfolded the parchment scroll he was holding.
“This man, Park Byung-min, is guilty of breaking into a farmhouse and stealing food! And this man, Kim Soo-chul, is guilty of picking a fight with a citizen and committing assault! Lastly, this woman, Im Mi-ran, is guilty of sharing her bed with the master who employed her as a slave!”
Emperor Ronan clicked his tongue, his brow furrowed.
“They are all frivolous beyond measure. Look, my lovely daughter Esmeralda. If such people were to become the ruling class of society, how would the world change? Furthermore, imagine if they committed unholy acts with men like that wench and bore the children of our Gigantians. Would that child’s appearance be that of a Gigantian? In just a few decades, the world would be crawling with things that look like them. Do you think our Gigantia Empire, which boasts hundreds of years of history, could maintain its legitimacy and tradition like it does now? It would surely become their world.”
“……”
Esmeralda gripped her fists and lowered her head.
Ten years ago. The world’s anomalies began suddenly. Strange outsiders from another world began to appear in this holy land. The Gigantia Empire, startled by these strangers, suffered a nationwide chaos for a moment, but soon began large-scale control and succeeded in suppressing all outsiders, pushing them down into the lowest social class.
The outsiders—or rather, those now called by the disgraceful title of Lurker—were living treated worse than imperial citizens, treated as less than human. They could not enjoy or possess anything: education, culture, religion, or property. They were merely the lowest social class, slaves.
“Your Majesty…!”
Esmeralda could not even offer a word of protest, only clenching her fists. She had fallen into extreme conflict and confusion. In truth, as an honorable and noble Gigantian, she was somewhat persuaded by her father’s words. It was true that she was afraid of what might happen if the Lurkers took away their livelihood in the future. She hadn’t had much experience meeting many Lurkers, and because she didn’t know them… a sense of repulsion and fear was rising deep in her heart like a survival instinct.
“My child, do you understand now? We are a magnificent people. What is the point of giving high status and wealth to things like them and to men who are less than human, like Nightstream? Imagine our people working under such creatures. Could you accept that?”
“B-but, Sir Nightstream has done so much…”
“Enough, stop!”
Emperor Ronan, irritated, cut off her words sharply and shouted.
“Guards! Cut their breath off this instant!”
“Yes!”
“St-stop! Even if they have committed crimes, they do not deserve to lose their lives…! Ah…!”
Thud! Thud, thud!
Before Esmeralda could even stop them, the knights mercilessly struck the Lurkers’ heads with iron maces.
“Agh…!”
The three of them died simultaneously, blood streaming from their heads, their eyes rolling back.
“No, no…! This shouldn’t be…! Sob…!”
At that moment, Esmeralda felt an indescribable sense of guilt and profound sorrow. The memory of walking through the garden side-by-side with Nightstream, who had visited the imperial castle during the hero party’s schedule, flashed through her mind like a revolving lantern.
“If someone as high as a princess talks to me, people will worry.”
“Why?”
“Because they think I—or all Earthlings who look like me—are dirty and rude.”
“Chuckle. I don’t want to think that way. When the five members of the hero party were standing in a row in the audience chamber, I was curious. Black hair, black eyes. Skin that looked even whiter than ours, appearances that were handsome and intense, and being mixed with people, they were very exotic. I wanted to know what such people think about in their daily lives. I wanted to meet you once.”
At her words, Nightstream had laughed softly and raised both hands.
“We are not much different from you. We always sleep at night, eat when we open our eyes, and then work. When lunch comes, we eat again and work. We live every day like that.”
“Don’t you go to the bathroom?”
“Of course I do.”
As they exchanged jokes and shared a short but deep conversation, she realized he was a very mannered and interesting person. And he was clever. It was also an undeniable fact that he was a knight with very high loyalty to the empire, despite having naturalized only recently.
“As of today, I have a big ambition.”
“What is it?”
“I have a dream that I must save the empire and defeat the Demon King for the First Princess, who is the only one who has spoken to me. In that sense, please take this. It is a small gift swearing that I will be your knight.”
A few days had passed since the news of the Demon King’s subjugation was announced. One day, the shocking news suddenly arrived that Nightstream had committed suicide in a certain province. All the equipment and tools he had used during his lifetime had also arrived at the imperial castle without exception. The evidence was undeniably clear.
“Hahahaha! Ahahaha!”
Upon hearing the sad news, the Emperor laughed with relief, while Esmeralda was plunged into great shock, and she finally made a decision. It felt as if her father was leading the world in the wrong direction. That was why she was in agony.
“Your Highness! If you leave without a word like this, His Majesty the Emperor will be saddened!”
As First Princess Esmeralda suddenly tried to leave the imperial castle to live in a distant place, her maid, Lady Moni, earnestly tried to dissuade her.
“Please, take some time and think about it again!”
“It is a decision I made after deep consideration. I will return once I have lived in a foreign land and matured enough to understand His Majesty’s heart. Staying here now only seems to cause more unfilial acts toward His Majesty.”
Wearing trousers like a man and dressed in travel clothes, Esmeralda firmly mounted her white horse.
“Neigh…!”
“Whoa, whoa, good girl. Calm down.”
“I am terrified that something might happen to Your Highness!”
“Don’t worry, Lady Moni. I have the White Rose Knights here to protect me.”
The female knights, composed only of ten reliable women, bowed slightly toward Lady Moni.
“Even so…!”
“As I said, don’t tell anyone until His Majesty realizes I have left the imperial castle. You might suffer for standing by and watching. I left a letter on the desk explaining how things came to be. Everything will be fine.”
“It is truly dangerous once you leave the capital! There are so many terrible, uneducated people out there!”
“Take care. I will contact you secretly to ask how things are, so please reply well. Then, farewell. Giddyup!”
Esmeralda left, her beautiful golden hair fluttering as she rode her horse. The White Rose Knights followed her swiftly, exiting the imperial castle. Lady Moni, left alone, watched their retreating figures for a long time with pity.
“Your Highness… please, be safe.”
The first thing on Esmeralda’s mind as she rode ahead was verification. ‘First, Nightstream. I must go to the village where he is buried. I will see with my own eyes whether it is true that he died!’
The hand holding the reins nervously caressed the transparent diamond ring on her other hand.