Chapter 19
Chapter 19
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Recap - 1
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"Welcome!"
"Yes. Get to work."
The sight of the Tower Master toddling along on her own two feet was a truly rare spectacle.
Normally, she floated through the air, flaunting her magic power and authority.
She had to secretly practice walking before setting out to defeat the Demon King—her steps were that clumsy.
But right now, she had no spare mana to waste on upholding her dignity just to walk.
The mage who entered the workshop scanned the row of bird corpses lying there like cadavers.
"Numbers 1, 2, 3... Looks like 5 never made it back."
Pashier picked up a cleaver and struck each bird's neck in turn as they lay side by side.
"It's been a while since I did this..."
Even for magic-related tasks, she usually handled such menial chores through her subordinate mages.
But this was different in importance. Until she fully grasped the Hero's intentions, the fewer people who knew about it, the better.
"Let's start with a review..."
Images formed in the vertically rising pool of water. It showed Enel and Elenor arguing.
"The sound isn't clear... but it's probably safe to assume it's about marriage."
Considering the shapes of their mouths and the context of the conversation, she could guess at their dialogue to some extent, even if it wasn't certain.
The mage pulled out a notebook and used magic to move several pens at once, beginning to take notes.
"For a princess... her looks are pretty decent, aren't they?"
If revenge was the goal, pretending to marry and then devouring the Empire from within could be one possible method.
Refusing that suggested he wanted something more thorough and cruel.
Judging that there was no malice would be far too complacent. In fact, he hadn't hidden his disgust toward Pashier and the others.
The dialogue itself was ambiguous, but the princess's rude attitude stood out sharply.
It was a scene that filled her with despairing sighs every time she watched it, even though she'd only seen it once.
"What the hell are you idiots doing..."
To mages, the Goddess was an ambiguous existence.
They couldn't doubt her very existence.
Sometimes, when they had to pool their power for miracles that magic or holy power alone couldn't achieve, borrowing the Goddess's strength was efficient and astonishing.
But the Goddess was far too capricious, dangerous, and unpredictable.
The Hero receives the Goddess's love. This was a fact consistently shown across dozens of Hero summonings and thousands of records.
If someone received the Emperor's favor and was granted a famed sword, their true power wasn't the sword—it was the Emperor's favor.
Excluding a rare few saints from history and legend, no one met the Goddess alive.
But the Hero met and spoke with the Goddess directly before even arriving here.
"If he prays or something... what then?"
It wasn't the Hero's power that mattered—it was the fear of incurring the Goddess's curse. One misstep could shake the entire world.
-It doesn't change anything now.
-Unbelievable.
-You knew everything.
-Handle it yourselves.
Pashier's eyes rapidly scanned multiple images. She replayed the overlapping voices several times.
She had to discern his intentions. Find even the fragments of emotions he himself might not have noticed, and stabilize him.
She needed to decide soon what to abandon. Assess the situation, gauge how angry he was and why, then discard everything she could.
Even if it was the Empire itself. Even if it meant the deaths of thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of millions.
It would still be better than losing everything. She had to carefully separate the essential from the nonessential, weigh them on the scales, and toss away the lighter ones.
-What about you, then?
-Don't ever show up in front of me again.
And the Tower Master herself was no exception.
/////
The news that the princess was meeting "some man" with marriage in mind spread from mouth to mouth in an instant.
Elenor hadn't particularly tried to hide it, so it was obvious the topic would spread like wildfire among the maids and lady knights who loved gossiping about romance.
And naturally, the church, with its many visitors to the palace, heard the news as well.
"I'm here, sisters!"
"Celia!"
The nuns rushed over the moment they saw her, vigorously stroking her golden blonde hair.
"What were you talking about? Something the capital priestess shouldn't hear?"
It was a holy and repressive place. Gather women in their prime, and they had no choice but to obsess over entertainment.
And tales of romance, court intrigue, and the Hero's party were bound to draw everyone's interest. Especially when all three overlapped.
"It's not exactly a secret... well, maybe it is? Anyway, the capital priestess doesn't like these kinds of stories..."
Two nuns who had heard the rumor beforehand flashed sly grins and scattered—one to peek out the window, the other to check the door—standing guard thoroughly.
"Oh, it must be something really juicy!"
"Shh, exactly... Listen up. There's a rumor our princess is dating a man?"
"Really?"
Celia clamped her hand over her mouth. Her wide eyes showed just how shocked she was.
Having adventured alongside the Hero, she knew better than anyone: Elenor had lived more as a knight, a Hero, and a member of the imperial family than as a woman.
"Yeah. You might know better than me. Any guesses?"
"No. None... at all."
Even as the Saintess who had spent so much time with Elenor, she had never seen the princess show love or lingering affection for anyone.
"Really? No guys from the Hero's party, or some knight who saved her in a pinch?"
"..."
The porter's face flashed through her mind. But she just couldn't imagine it.
He was the type who could force a smile even in front of people he disliked, but the princess wasn't.
She didn't hide her loathing for incompetence or her hatred for cowardice. The Saintess didn't think the porter was that bad, but he certainly didn't meet the princess's standards.
"Al-already? Didn't the princess have no intention of taking the throne?"
The current Emperor was a wise ruler who had led a prosperous reign, but he had no children to show for it—only Elenor, born directly to him.
And whether man or woman, it was customary to seek a proper spouse after ascending the throne, not a concubine or lover.
Becoming the consort of the one who would take the throne was a politically terrifying card.
All the nobles imagining their own daughters in that position would support that successor.
There were no other imperial heirs with enough substance to rival Elenor for succession rights—tainted by scandal, blood too diluted, too young, or too old.
Elenor, the Hero who would defeat the Demon King and had the knights' support, ascending as emperor was a foregone conclusion.
But conversely, it meant her ascension as a female emperor was so exceptional and difficult that such measures were necessary.
"So it must be someone she really, really likes? Even our princess had feelings like that!"
"Th-that can't be..."
On the flip side, if she wanted to marry "the one she desired," now was the most feasible moment.
Marrying someone mismatched after taking the throne would provoke collective backlash from other houses.
There might be no alternative successor to spark rebellion, but the political debt would harm imperial authority.
"Wh-who is it?"
"Baron Leodrín Enel. He was missing before, but they say he was found near the palace a while back."
The Saintess vaguely knew the name. When she inquired to formally meet the porter, a maid had called him "Baron Leodrín Enel."
"You know him?"
"I-I... kinda know of him."
It was a wildly improbable fantasy, but if there was one man the Hero might develop feelings for, it could only be him.
Maybe their fights were all an act.
Maybe those nighttime training sessions alone hadn't ended as mock battles.
"N-no, no, no! It can't be! Absolutely not!"
The Saintess's face flushed red. Scenes from a naughty woodblock print she'd glimpsed out of curiosity flashed before her eyes.
"If it's not, just say it's not. Why's your face red?"
"It really isn't..."
A faint gloom stirred in the Saintess's heart.
She and he had no relationship. Just recently, when they'd met, Enel had firmly rejected her.
She'd thought the same of the princess, but if they'd been secretly dating so thoroughly, even a dense Saintess like her might have been fooled.
She felt a twinge of betrayal. She'd thought she and the Hero were friends who could share everything—hardships or joys.
And that wasn't all. She knew this was selfish and an emotion she shouldn't have, but thinking of Enel brought regret and sadness.
He always accommodated even her most unreasonable requests. Even with a face like he was about to drop dead, he'd say it was fine.
Early in their journey, when she was even younger than now, he'd smiled brightly at her.
He'd listened with interest to her tales of the Goddess and been her pillar whenever she struggled.
The Saintess still hadn't realized her own feelings.