Chapter 101
Chapter 101
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 101
Chapter Title: The Nasty Master - 1
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The audience with the emperor took place with just me and Neril.
In truth, I could have gone alone, but Neril tagged along because she was bored.
......
To think the reason for meeting the ruler of the empire was 'boredom.'
An indescribable feeling washed over me.
"Come in."
The emperor truly seemed to have cast aside all his ambitions.
The contrived smile from before was completely gone from his face.
In its place was respect and reverence.
The lord of the empire bowed his head to me, once a mere wandering mercenary.
"I've heard everything about what happened in Dronor Territory. Allow me to express my sincere gratitude."
"Please raise your head."
"No. The recent events have steeled my resolve. I acknowledge that you surpass me not just in martial prowess, but in every aspect. Please accept this humble gesture."
"......"
"Have you come to report on Dronor Territory? If so, I've already......"
I shook my head.
"No. I've come with a request."
"Speak it."
"Grant us unlimited access to the underground of the imperial palace. Until the day we slay the Demon King of Lies."
The emperor answered immediately, without a moment's thought.
"So be it."
His response was so swift it left me deflated, my mouth hanging open for a moment.
To open the imperial palace underground so easily.
[Think about your current fame. It's only natural for the emperor to respond this way.]
Fair point.
Neril spoke up.
"Is that for real? No hidden agenda?"
"I harbor no such thoughts. I've abandoned my desire to become the hero."
"Hah. So you wanted to be a hero after all."
"It was a fleeting whim. Pray, don't hold it against me."
Neril whipped her head away.
She must have felt quite chagrined about using honorifics when she first fell for his facade.
I gave a light bow.
"Thank you. We'll take our leave then."
"You're as busy as ever."
"The demon king's descent is already a foregone conclusion. As the hero, I must stay busy."
"Hmm. If I may offer some presumptuous advice?"
Neril and I exchanged glances.
I said,
"Please do."
"Among your party members, there is one known as the Bright Death, is there not?"
"That is correct."
"Be wary of him."
What was this now?
Neril, who already harbored ill feelings toward the emperor, furrowed her brow.
"Are you trying to sow discord in our party?"
"Nothing of the sort. This is purely out of concern. With the demon king's descent all but certain, your party is humanity's hope."
"What's there to be concerned about?"
"Hmm...... You all might take it casually."
Even though the room was empty, the emperor glanced around.
Then he lowered his voice.
"I'll speak assuming Maide has already told you. About the previous emperor."
"That you poisoned him?"
"Indeed. There are many excuses I'd like to make as emperor, but I'll skip them and get to the point. At the time, I used a very unique poison to assassinate the previous emperor."
"......"
"The one who provided that poison was a man named Hieren Gois."
Hieren Gois?
I'd heard that name somewhere......
Ah!
I recalled the blood letters floating above Offens's head.
-He sinned against Hieren Gois and 376 others.
The most secretive sin that Offens wanted to hide most, registered as the representative.
Neril tilted her head.
"Who's that?"
"A legendary figure who carried out countless assassinations across the continent. He manipulated the power dynamics of many forces single-handedly."
"Never heard of him."
"If you've heard an assassin's real name, wouldn't that be the real problem? Especially since he specialized in poison, most of his kills didn't even require him to show up at the scene."
I folded my arms quietly.
The emperor continued.
"Hieren Gois is an extremely dangerous man. Honestly, I thought if he set his mind to it, he could even kill me."
"But how does that make Offens someone to watch out for?"
"Because Offens was Hieren's disciple."
What?
So Offens had sinned against his own master.
"Hieren secretly supplied me with the poison for two months. Each time, there was a man who praised him effusively, to the point his mouth went dry."
"And that praising man was Offens?"
"Yes."
"......"
"When he delivered the final dose, I decided to eliminate Hieren. I had the captain of Alcahad tail him."
Yeah, that sounds exactly like something you'd do.
"But the captain returned empty-handed."
"So he failed. Hieren must have been that skilled."
"No. The captain didn't even fight him."
"......?"
"Someone had gotten to Hieren first. He said he killed him without much trouble."
The emperor's voice grew quieter.
"It was the Bright Death."
Hm.
So the sin Offens committed against Hieren was murdering his master.
"There's no code of honor among assassins. But Hieren was also the guild master of the continent's top guild. As far as I know, Offens was raised under Hieren's hand his entire life."
"......"
"Doesn't it send a chill that he killed such a man without hesitation?"
"Hm."
"Offens has already betrayed Kaild once. Makes you wonder if a two-time traitor won't do it a third time. That's why I'm telling you."
I chuckled.
"In the mercenary world, betrayal happens as often as meals."
"But."
"No, the human world itself is like that. If you want liberation from such things, you'd have to become one of those heavenly gods up there."
"......"
"I appreciate the concern, Your Majesty."
I continued deliberately.
"I'll take care of my own party members."
On the way back to the inn, Neril said,
"Why did Offens kill him? His master."
"You're taking the emperor's words to heart?"
"Not particularly. I'm just sensitive to the word 'betrayal.'"
"Why?"
"I got burned badly once."
I tilted my head.
Neril brushed it off smoothly.
"Of course, I don't think that ordinary guy would betray even you. Ah, he's so ordinary it's paradoxically flawless."
"If you're that curious, just ask him."
"Nah. I wouldn't answer if you asked who betrayed me."
"......"
"Unless it was you asking."
At that, I flashed a mischievous smile.
"Should I ask now then?"
"You'd tell me?"
"Uh......"
"Pfft. If you're really curious, I'll tell you anytime. Let's set aside some time later."
I scratched my head at that.
Before my regression, Neril had been extremely reluctant to talk about herself, so her casual offer to spill everything caught me off guard.
Back at the inn, I gathered the party members and said,
"I've got the emperor's permission. From today, consider the imperial palace underground our home base for living and training."
Serein said,
"It's all stark white down there. It'll drive you insane."
"Then you'll come back to normal."
"What do you mean?"
"You seem to understand perfectly."
I calmed the bickering party members and continued.
"The info we need to find underground is this: how to communicate with the heavenly god."
"No way that's there. The heavenly god isn't one you can converse with in clear words."
"But vague prophecies or omens won't achieve our goal. Idria will issue fake oracles. The only counter is a real oracle."
"......Why is Idria so confident anyway? Did she have lunch with the heavenly god or something?"
I was momentarily speechless.
Serein picked up Jenia's words.
"The heavenly god doesn't seem the type to befriend anyone."
"Yeah...... You're right."
"Or maybe they're both sly, so they get along."
"Ah! That makes more sense."
I pressed my forehead.
If I meet the heavenly god, I'll ask one more thing.
What on earth are the criteria for granting divine power?
For the time being, I decided to shelve fame-building.
Not just because the gap with Kaild was nearly four times wider, but based on pre-regression memories, no major events would occur for a while.
Instead, I focused on scouring the imperial palace underground.
We'd practically been living there for a week.
Thud.
Risel flopped flat on the pristine white floor and cried out.
"Grayde-nim. Save me."
"Tough, huh?"
"Yes. How are you fine, Maide? I really feel like I'm going mad!"
"......"
"Yo."
"You're starting to sound like Serein."
Serein raised a vein on her forehead.
"Is that a compliment?"
"No."
"Don't say it so proudly."
"How'd we do today?"
"Sigh."
She laid out the items she'd brought from various rooms like a street vendor at market.
"Weapons used by heroes from the first to the fourth generation."
"Impressive. All authentic?"
"By my appraisal, yes. Like they were made yesterday—brand new."
"Come to think of it, Dame's sword was like that too."
Jenia chimed in.
"Yes. Father's treasured sword was definitely broken, but the one here gleamed like new."
"Hm. In the kitchen where Serein's parents were, fresh food kept appearing too. My guess is......"
I raised an index finger.
"This place might have the ability to preserve everything in its original state."
Neril asked,
"My family heirloom was here too, wasn't it? But it wasn't pristine. It had the wear from generations of family heads using it."
"That one was brought in from outside."
"......? Aren't all these items brought in from outside?"
Who knows.
As I opened my mouth to speak,
[A hunch.]
'Trail? You've been quiet lately.'
[Been focusing. Remember when I found Serein's parents last time?]
'Ah. Of course.'
[Got that hunch again. Call it intuition in your terms. Anyway, follow me.]
A screen window floated up and guided the way.
I followed it.
"Maide?"
"Hm. Everyone, come along for now."
Pushing through the white space for a bit, a small door appeared.
It looked no different from the thousands of others.
But the screen window clearly stopped in front of it.
[Go in.]
'Alright.'
I opened the door and stepped inside.
There was an altar.
Atop it sat a trumpet...... Huh? A trumpet?
Offens said,
"An altar and a trumpet. What bizarre combination is this?"
"Agreed. Shall we test it?"
"Uh...... Hm, I'll pass."
"Who's volunteering?"
Everyone waved their hands in horror.
As leader, I should set an example in times like these.
Click.
I picked up the trumpet.
Neril grabbed my arm in a panic.
"Maide! It might be dangerous. Let's make Offens do it, okay?"
"My take is......"
"Don't worry. It's just a trumpet. If something happens, the boss will protect us."
Neril's lip twitched.
She seemed pleased but was trying hard to act otherwise.
I cautiously brought the trumpet to my lips.
I'd never played an instrument, but I knew where to blow.
-Bwooooo.
It just made a trumpet sound.
But nothing changed.
Except my ears ringing a bit from the echo in the narrow altar room.
"Nothing. Guess it's just a trumpet."
"Well, it is a trumpet."
"Your intuition can't be wrong."
Not my fault. Blame Trail.
[My fault if it works, someone else's if it doesn't?]
That was when.
Risel's voice rang out.
Her eyes were wide open.
"Ah, I think you're right. Maide's intuition."