Chapter 89
Chapter 89
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 89
Chapter Title: Settling the Score - 2
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The next day.
We decided to head to the Dronoer territory.
But first, there was something I needed to take care of.
“Everyone, pack up your gear. Make sure the horses are well-fed too.”
“Where are you off to?”
“Just gonna pop in and see the Emperor’s face for a bit.”
Jenia let out an incredulous voice.
“No matter how much my common sense has been shattered day by day since joining this party, treating the Emperor like the guy next door...”
“My name carries enough weight that he’ll grant me an emergency audience.”
“What are you even gonna say to him?”
I answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“Time to settle the score.”
“......”
“I managed to get Serein’s parents out safe and sound, but the Emperor still sees me as a thorn in his side.”
“Well, yeah.”
“And I’m gonna be busy smashing the Demon King from here on out. I can’t afford to get tangled up in his political games. Figured I’d tell him to back off while I’m at it.”
Neril tilted her head.
“You think he’ll just say ‘got it’ after one word? Sure, he’ll say it to your face.”
“I plan to mix in some killing intent and a little threat.”
“Sounds good.”
She smirked and nodded.
“Give him an earful for me too.”
“......Yeah.”
With that, I parted ways with the group for a bit.
Just as I’d expected, my fame—echoing across the continent—made it possible to request a sudden private audience with the Emperor.
He invited me to a garden he held dear.
Standing before a fountain that sprayed water year-round through magic, the Emperor spoke.
“So, what brings you to seek an audience with Us?”
“You’ve met my companion, Serein, haven’t you?”
He flinched.
The Emperor’s facial muscles twitched.
I continued calmly.
“And you commissioned her to assassinate me.”
“......I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“I know everything. That you took her parents hostage and blackmailed her. And...”
I grinned.
“That you had them ‘stored’ in the secret vault beneath the palace.”
“Urk.”
The Emperor could no longer maintain his composure.
He took a step back, sweat beading on his brow.
“Even if you heard about the assassination from Serein, how did you know I hid them in the vault?”
“It’s more than that. I rescued them safely.”
“W-what? The vault can’t be entered without imperial permission!”
“The world doesn’t always run on rules and principles. There are shortcuts and back alleys. You’d know that better than anyone, Your Majesty.”
The Emperor shook his head, eyes wavering.
“Impossible. That’s absolutely impossible.”
“Don’t you have something to ask me?”
“I just did! How did you know they were hidden in the vault?”
“No. That’s not what you should be asking me, Your Majesty.”
I let a hint of killing intent slip.
Clank. Clank.
Weapons being drawn echoed from various spots in the garden, though it was supposed to be just the two of us.
I’d known from the start, so I ignored it and pressed on.
“Can you forgive Us?”
“What?”
“You should’ve asked, ‘Can you forgive Us?’”
Rage filled the Emperor’s face.
“Y-you insolent...! Even if they call you a hero, you’ve lost all fear!”
“Dismiss your men first. They don’t look like Alcahad or Knights of Light.”
“Urgh.”
“They must be Your Majesty’s secret guardians, unknown to the empire. Meaning, even if I kill them, there won’t be much fallout.”
Of course, I had no intention of killing them.
The Emperor scoffed.
“These are elites raised across generations in the imperial household. They train solely in the shadows to protect the Emperor.”
“I see.”
“How many elites do you think are hidden in this garden right now? Forty! Even a hero couldn’t defeat them.”
“Forty-two.”
His body jolted at my words.
I shrugged and said,
“Forty-two, Your Majesty. You can’t even keep track of how many elite guards protect you.”
“W-what...? How do you know that?”
“Their breathing gave it away.”
“You... what are you?”
“You think even a hero couldn’t beat them? Which hero do you mean, Your Majesty? The heroes of the past?”
I casually rested my hand on my sword.
“Did it not occur to you that I’m stronger than them?”
“Eek. Strike!”
The Emperor raised his hand.
But my sword was already drawn.
‘Tremendous Slash!’
A massive storm suddenly raged through the garden.
A storm of blades.
It had been a while since I last used Tremendous Slash, and even to me, its power seemed... excessive?
It reached distances it normally wouldn’t.
It didn’t miss targets it would have before.
What usually filled half the garden now engulfed the entire space.
‘Urk. Gotta dial back the power.’
At this rate, there’d be actual deaths.
[Why’d you get so strong?]
‘Quiet. I’m focusing.’
[Hm. Come to think of it, you said you could see the Blood Letters on the dead since last time?]
‘Focusing, damn it.’
Trail shut up.
The storm of blades subsided.
A brief silence.
Then, a massive chorus of screams erupted.
“Arrrgh!”
“M-my arm! My arm!”
“Cough. What the hell just happened?”
“Didn’t even see it. No idea what hit us.”
“That’s the hero...”
Blood sprayed from all around.
Luckily, I’d eased up midway, so no one lost their lives.
My control over the trajectory was strangely more precise than usual, letting me leave them just unable to fight anymore.
Clank.
Whoosh.
Sheathing my sword brought a gust of wind.
Blood from his elite guards splattered the Emperor’s face.
I pulled a handkerchief from my pocket and offered it.
“Care to use this?”
“......”
“Your Majesty?”
Thud.
The Emperor collapsed unceremoniously to the ground.
I clicked my tongue lightly and spoke.
“It’s fine. No one’s dead.”
“This can’t be. This isn’t possible.”
“With all the excellent priests in the palace, they’ll be back after a week of recovery if they step in.”
“This... this is what a hero is? Something I could never reach.”
I listened to his final mutter.
‘Knew it.’
I’d suspected as much from the start.
[What?]
‘The Emperor tried to assassinate me and Kaild. The reason...’
[Before the oracle?]
‘Yeah. He said heroes claiming the title before the oracle are frauds, and royals are taught that.’
As if.
Sure, there’d been plenty of fools claiming to be heroes in the past, but there’s a key difference between them and me.
They never gained fame.
At best, they got whispered about in a couple minor provincial territories before the Knights of Light or Alcahad exposed them as frauds.
What was the difference?
‘They couldn’t deliver maximum happiness to the maximum number of people.’
[Hm.]
‘So their fame had limits, and they never got the passionate welcome from the people like I did.’
As long as that absolute gap exists, it doesn’t add up for the Emperor to see me as a fraud.
So?
I knelt down in front of him, squatting.
Then, in a low voice, I said,
“You wanted to be a hero, didn’t you, Your Majesty?”
He shuddered.
The Emperor trembled pathetically, like a child.
I kept going.
“That’s why you tried to have Serein assassinate me or Kaild.”
“......”
“You knew, didn’t you? That I’m the real hero. And that the Demon King’s descent is coming soon.”
“Ugh.”
“As Grade’s descendant—who’s studied heroes more than anyone—you’d know fame is crucial for a hero.”
The Emperor’s face had turned ashen.
I took a light breath.
Then, as if channeling the Emperor myself, I voiced his feelings.
“When the Demon King descends, the oracle will come. To one of us—me or Kaild.”
“......”
“But if we both die? Who’d it go to then? Probably the most famous person on the continent at that point.”
“......”
“Excluding me and Kaild, who’s the most renowned? You thought it’d be you... right?”
He looked a decade older now.
His once-trained muscles sagged.
Wrinkles creased his face.
Had he always looked like this?
Yeah, he had.
Only one thing changed.
His burning desire to become a hero had faded.
The Emperor spoke.
“Yes. Everything you said is right.”
“......”
“When you and Kaild rose as heroes—even without an oracle—I realized one of you must be the true one.”
“......”
“And that I’d no longer be the most famous in this empire.”
Poison glinted in his eyes.
“Why? Why in my reign did two people surpass me? Two!”
“Your Majesty.”
“For 250 years since the Withering Demon King, imperial emperors have always sat above all. Why now...? Why in my time did a hero appear? Why did the Demon King descend in my era!”
“......”
“If it was to end like this, why did I even poison my predecessor... Urk.”
I leaned in close to his ear.
And whispered softly.
“I see. No wonder—why bother poisoning your predecessor otherwise?”
“Gasp.”
“I know everything. You used a poison so subtle even he didn’t know what killed him. That’s why he testified it was a natural death when Marianna summoned his soul.”
“Y-you... how...”
He looked ready to wet himself if I let him be.
I continued.
“I’m whispering so your men can’t hear. Consider it my final courtesy.”
“......”
“Your Majesty.”
I pulled back from him.
Then raised my voice again.
“As you just saw, I’m strong. Too strong.”
“......”
“And I can uncover all your crimes and schemes.”
“Ughhh.”
“So no more funny business. Help me do my job. Like the emperors before you in past Demon King descents.”
The Emperor drooped his head limply.
In a voice laced with grit, he replied.
“Very well. So be it.”
“......”
“Now I understand. I accept it. There are heavens beyond heaven, and heroes above emperors.”
I let out a soft sigh.
Then softened my tone a bit.
“But one promise.”
“What?”
“After I kill the Demon King, I’ll retire to a quiet countryside life.”
“......What? Did I hear that right?”
“Probably.”
“You’ll retire? After slaying the Demon King, you won’t use that fame to sit above me?”
“Haha.”
I couldn’t help but laugh.
“That’s what you were worried about?”
“No, but...”
“History says Lepia did something similar, right? Returned to his hometown in Rayners territory and took over his father’s restaurant.”
“Lepia was an odd case. The third and fourth generations caused more of a stir after defeating their Demon Kings. And the first hero, Grade—no need to even mention.”
Yeah, Grade used his fame to become Emperor himself.
I could see why the man before me worried.
I shrugged.
“I’m more like Lepia in temperament.”
“......”
“With his precedent, it’s not impossible. So don’t block my path from now on.”
“U-understood. So I shall.”
I nodded and stood.
Then glanced at the groaning guards on the ground.
“Get them treated quickly. Leave them too long, and it could get dangerous.”
“Y-yeah.”
“Then I’ll be off.”
“Where to now?”
“What do you mean?”
I smirked.
“To Dronoer territory.”
“......”
“I have to complete the quest you gave me.”
He made an indescribable face, then bowed his head deeply.
I turned and walked away.
Then, a faint mutter from the Emperor reached my ears.
“I lost. In every way.”