Doctrines of the Greater Good
The minor commotion at the entrance to the Chai mansion quickly died down.
“I-I won’t accept this!!”
Cloi had spat out those inexplicable words before tightly hugging Wolrang and vanishing into the mansion. Thanks to that, Tiny found himself facing the Sword Emperor with a lingering unease.
“……I have no face to show you.”
Proving his mana exhaustion, the Sword Emperor—his face noticeably pale—greeted Tiny with a wry smile.
“I heard from Grid. The Blue Blood magus staged a rebellion, and you barely held him off while half-dead yourself? I’ve dumped on you what I should have handled. I’m truly sorry.”
A chuckle escaped at the uncharacteristically feeble sight, but recalling that battle soured Tiny’s expression instantly. It had been a brush with death, after all.
“If Grid hadn’t come, I’d be dead for sure. Pulling him in early was a stroke of genius. Where is he, though……?”
“No idea what happened, but he said he saw something filthy and left the palace right away. Wouldn’t say more. But he promised to keep his word to us, so don’t worry too much.”
Tiny could guess exactly what that “filthy sight” was, drawing another wry smile.
“Well, Grid’ll keep his promise, no doubt. The real issue’s elsewhere.”
“Issue? Wasn’t everything resolved?”
“Well……”
Hesitating, Tiny steeled himself and spoke. The smile on the Sword Emperor’s face vanished without a trace.
“……His Majesty the Emperor is dead, killed by his crown prince’s guard knight, Iksillan?”
“They’re planning to pass it off publicly as death by rockslide.”
“Ha……”
His face paled far beyond before, betraying the depth of his shock. He stared blankly at the ceiling for a long while, only speaking again after the sunset sky had darkened completely.
“……You wouldn’t lie to me.”
“……Me?”
Perplexed by the inexplicable trust, Tiny blinked. The Sword Emperor brightened as if he’d been waiting.
“Then maybe it’s false……?”
“It’s true.”
Tiny’s firm reply darkened his face once more.
“……Hah.”
Hearing that short sigh, Tiny sighed inwardly too. He could feel the tangle of emotions within it.
……Looks like this won’t change things after all.
In his memories of his past life, if the Sword Emperor had heard this news:
—The emperor who distrusted me is dead, and we’ve got dirt on his successor, the crown prince. Best outcome for us.
He surely would have said that.
Can’t leave it like this.
The feelings from facing the emperor, and the unease during the palace battle, lent weight to his inference.
“Those masked assailants who came after you? High chance the emperor sent them.”
The darkening in the Sword Emperor’s eyes confirmed his suspicion had hit home.
“……So you knew.”
Startled, the Sword Emperor flinched but nodded readily.
“……I figured as much.”
“Then isn’t this good for us? Why the long face?”
His expression hardening further, the Sword Emperor sighed deeply before replying.
“Just as people have duties as people, nobles have duties as nobles……”
“Then as a commoner, I should’ve wandered filthy jobs or begged to survive, right?”
The Sword Emperor’s eyes widened at Tiny’s blunt retort.
Watching his visibly shaken gaze—as if he’d never considered it—Tiny pressed harder.
“The dead emperor said he’d start a continental unification war.”
“……Wh-what?!”
“Honestly, if Iksillan hadn’t shown up, I would’ve smashed the emperor myself. What do you think of that? Is starting a war an emperor’s duty?”
His eyebrows twitched at the unfiltered words.
“Even granting that, is clinging to some bullshit duty more important than humanity’s peace? Or the empire’s people? Is killing a tyrant duty, or not?”
“Enough! You don’t understand! The laws that uphold this world, the human world……!”
“Yeah!! I don’t know that crap!”
Tiny bellowed loud enough to shake the study, cutting him off. Staring at the even paler Sword Emperor, he bit out each word.
“Remember what I said when I told you the truth?”
“……What?”
His voice trembled faintly, as if his throat had gone hoarse.
“……That all us top ten continent knights died.”
“Why bring that up……?”
“I said Estina burned up with the demon beast legion’s air forces, Hainen torched all the underground beasts and died with them. That when the tribal alliance blocked the demon beast legion’s main force, Zerik walked the path of death alone to open the way to Beast King Glutterni…… That’s what I told you. Remember?”
“Yes, I remember clearly……”
“You ordered all that.”
“……What?”
“More precisely, you proposed it, and they followed. Everyone knew there was no other way to protect the world from the Demon King’s army. And when no one else stepped up, you pushed it through. Because it was necessary!”
Back then, the Sword Emperor—the empire’s de facto ruler—didn’t hesitate to throw himself into the front lines. A mad ruler, no, a hero who’d stake not just comrades but his own life if needed.
“That’s why the remaining seven of us could face Glutterni. Using our comrades’ deaths as stepping stones!!”
So why not now……!
His voice rose with surging rage amid the tirade.
“You created that situation! That’s how we could at least take down the Beast King. But can you do it now!? Spouting nonsense about duty!?”
“That’s different……”
“No!!”
The Sword Emperor’s rebuttal crumbled under Tiny’s roar.
“I don’t know shit about pretexts! Or duties!”
He’d meant to probe calmly, but now he was venting forgotten fury.
“But I know one thing! The war ahead—we can’t win it quibbling over petty duties!!!”
“……”
The Sword Emperor fell silent, staring at Tiny’s bloodshot eyes and fervent outburst.
That brief quiet cooled Tiny’s boiling temper.
“Ha……. Fuck, me trying to persuade calmly is the weird part.”
Scratching his head, he sighed and forced down his anger, facing the Sword Emperor again.
“Your point about circumstances and pretexts might be right. Probably is. But I have experiences words can’t convey. That’s why I know—we can’t win with that rigid mindset.”
“……Rigid? Me? Ha.”
“Cut out obstacles decisively, eyes on the goal! Before pretexts, ask if it hinders the goal!!”
“The bigger the goal, the more pretexts matter……”
—To avoid crumbling from one misstep.
But he couldn’t add that.
“Even if it means driving innocents to death.”
“……”
Tiny’s extreme words left him stunned.
Is this what one saving the world says?
Doubt flooded him—past self betting fate on this genius, present self aiding him body and soul.
“All that! You said it to us in my past life. Get it?”
His expression went slack at Tiny’s follow-up.
To him, no less……
“Me?”
“Yes.”
Tiny’s firm reply came despite his evident confusion.
“When I called it bullshit, you insisted it was for the greater good.”
“Umm……”
“I still hate it, but the smart ones among us said without you, sacrifices would’ve been tenfold.”
His mind reeled, speechless for a moment. Then Tiny landed the finishing blow.
“Most importantly, we still failed.”
“……”
“That’s why I want today’s you to be like then. At least I don’t wanna see that pathetic sight again—your kid nearly dying, and you can’t even smash the enemy in your face!”
The Sword Emperor’s eyes squeezed shut. Much later, he opened them, voice strained.
“……Did I ever kill the innocent under ‘greater good’?”
An odd question. Absurd, yet understandable. Tiny shook his head.
“Not that I know. You did say if it happened, you’d atone with death after victory.”
“……Right. Hah, haha. Sounds like me. Truly……”
Sighing, he rubbed his eyes, biting his lip.
“Thought I’d prepared fiercely, believing you. Guess my heart wasn’t ready. Heh, I’ll steel myself more. That’s all I can say now.”
Not ideal, but his expression showed change. He always kept his word, past and present.
“……That’s enough. For now.”
“Yeah……”
As the weary Sword Emperor slumped in his chair with a hollow smile, Tiny calmed and sat too.
Then.
The Sword Emperor chuckled suddenly, as if recalling something.
“By the way, you kept calling me ‘old man.’”
Tiny flinched, just catching his breath.
“You’re not gonna hold that against me now, are you?”
“Hold it? Of course! Barely in my fifties, called an old man? And like you said, I’m some rigid boomer now.”
……Using it like this?
“Y-you’re really a narrow-minded old fart.”
Tiny blurted unwittingly, and even that was seized.
“What?”
“N-no, it’s a proverb from some eastern land—your heart’s as wide as a……”
“That’s an insult.”
“……”
“Heh, think a narrow-minded boomer lets it slide?”
“I-I was just advising for you and humanity……”
Tiny grinned awkwardly at the reversal.
“Me too—for humanity, I’ll train our hope properly.”
His chilling smile brooked no argument.
Crack.
Flexing his knuckles demonstratively, color returned to his face.
Mana exhaustion must’ve naturally recovered.
“Haven’t heard gut-punches like that in ages—feels like blocked meridians cleared. Man, perfect medicine?”
……What bullshit is that?
The study filled with his menacing aura, pressing on Tiny.
Cold sweat beaded at the bad omen.
“O-oh, I overdid it today. You know I earned big merits……”
“So as reward, high-quality Aura User special training.”
“……Fuck.”
“What fuck?”
“N-no, wide as a foot…… Ah fuck it, do what you want!”
Won’t he back off if I play dead? We’re both beat today……
Defiance rose futilely.
“Knew you’d say that, hope of humanity.”
The title rang hollow—no hope here.
“……Can I refuse that weird title?”
“Nope. Come on.”
“Even you know overtraining’s bad!”
“Grid said you recovered fast from full-body burns. Monsters need monster training.”
“That was special circums…… Aaa! Ears, ears! Let go! It hurts! I-I just survived death today!”
“Aigoo, look at you flopping—full of life.”
“A-ah! For real!!!”
The irritated yell echoing in the study turned to screams on the training grounds, and the “special training for humanity’s hope” lasted three days and nights.
On the fourth morning.
—Crown Prince's Order—
That was when the command arrived at the mansion.
“C-can I rest a bit before going?”
Eyes hollow, face deathly pale, Tiny couldn’t help asking the messenger—despite knowing it was the interim emperor’s order.
“……Not recovered yet? Ha, you truly neglected your body for the imperial family. A model knight. By my authority, I’ll grant a little leeway.”
Thus, humanity’s hope earned a brief rest, courtesy of the messenger’s pity.