Chapter 5
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Penitence Palace (1)
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"...It's been completely overhauled."
The Imperial Palace I visited again looked nothing like I remembered.
Back then, the empire's downfall was being discussed due to the Demon Realm Gate. The palace had been as precarious as a leaf on a cliffside, but now? Everywhere I looked was an intriguing sight.
Sun-emblem statues towering over ordinary buildings, an artificial garden proving the prosperity since the gate's closure, pure gold decorations adorning every corner of the structures... This was the current Imperial Palace.
Anes glanced at me.
"What's with that reaction? It's like you've been here before."
"Yeah. I wish this were my first time too."
─Zekiel! Where's Zekiel?
─Oh man, Lord Zekiel! Just this once...!
─This really is the last time, Zekiel!
There had been a time when I'd come and gone from the palace dozens of times a day, and those weren't exactly happy memories.
Clear one task, and ten more would pile up. On top of that, guiding the five princesses went beyond teaching—it was practically babysitting. Even managing the Imperial Secret Organization's members had been my duty.
Anes and I walked down an elegant path lined with flowers.
"It's called the Imperial Palace, but you'd be better off thinking of it as its own district. Otherwise, you might wander off like an idiot and get lost."
Was this a symptom of workaholism? Anes seemed oddly pleased when explaining things. I played along, pretending ignorance.
"Really? That big, huh?"
"Just separating His Imperial Majesty's sector from the princesses' already makes six zones. And there are structures underground too."
"Wow, you're smart."
"...It's nothing."
Anes brushed her bobbed side hair behind her ear.
As we kept walking, wide training grounds came into view on both sides.
Clack—! Clack—!
On the left training ground, soldiers moved their spears and stamped their feet in unison. Not a single deviation in their drill. The perfect balance and symmetry was soothing just to watch.
"Drill training, huh? Some event coming up?"
"Everyone except the 3rd Princess is currently away. They'll return the day after tomorrow, so this is for the welcome ceremony."
"Meaning only the 3rd Princess is in the palace right now."
"...Don't even dream. You won't run into her."
Meanwhile, the soldiers on the right were locked in fierce mock combat with wooden weapons. It didn't even feel like training.
"That's their usual training. The Erosion Phenomenon from demonic energy has been worsening lately, so they're preparing for the worst."
"I don't remember asking about that."
"..."
Anes stopped walking and narrowed her eyes thinly. She was no fun with jokes, which made teasing her all the more enjoyable.
She pulled out her notebook and scribbled furiously.
[You're not my type either.]
[Guess I won't tell you anything.]
"...What's that?"
"None of your business."
Anes snapped her notebook shut and shot back. Then she waved quickly at some approaching palace officials and soldiers in the distance.
"Over here. Take custody of this man. Hurry up."
I started walking with the soldiers, glancing back.
"Anes, if we run into each other again someday, at least say hi."
"No. We absolutely won't meet again."
"There's no such thing as absolute in this world."
I chuckled and popped a sunweed into my mouth.
I wonder how His Imperial Majesty has been holding up.
"...What a nasty temper."
I had no choice but to mutter that.
Zekiel had been placed—confined—in extremely familiar quarters.
An audience with the emperor? Meeting a princess? Nothing yet.
"Nothing's changed here at all. Not a single thing."
The interior was outrageously luxurious. Furniture too high-end to price, every necessity perfectly arranged. This was the lodging called the Penitence Palace back when I was in the palace.
Anyone thrown in here might think:
I don't want to leave. I want to stay forever.
Right. That's why there are no windows or exits. The moment you suddenly want out, the joy slowly turns to terror.
He sank into the plush sofa and chewed a sunweed.
Pop! The small burst in his mouth. A thought rose with it.
"So, they're locking me up while they decide my fate?"
Zekiel tried to guess the emperor's intentions.
First off, he was near-omniscient, godlike.
He had five cherished daughters. Then some guy proposes to all five at once in a mad stunt. And one who doesn't know the details accepts outright...
"...Can't blame him for hating me."
No, I should be grateful he didn't tear me apart on the spot.
He was mulling this when—
Bang—
The door opened, and a woman was ushered into the Penitence Palace.
An extremely familiar face. Anes.
"..."
Even after the door closed, Anes just stood there awkwardly. Unable to overcome her discomfort, her hands frantically twisted the cube.
"I get it."
Zekiel nodded calmly.
"You hammered in that we'd never meet again, so this obvious reunion must be embarrassing. I understand."
"...It's just an additional assignment!"
Anes retorted, her face slightly flushed. She looked like a sparrow puffing up its feathers in warning—hardly intimidating.
"Didn't know you could raise your voice. News to me."
"It's true. The 3rd Princess is coming to greet you personally tomorrow, so I'm assigned to observe you one more day."
"Thought you were a veteran, but you're just a grunt."
"Pardon?"
"Grunts get stuck with extra duties."
"I'm not a grunt. Just a newbie."
Same difference.
That explained her obsession with work—she was a greenhorn full of spit and polish. She looked even more like a sparrow then.
Anyway, now it made sense. Anes wasn't calm from experience; she was clueless.
Zekiel chewed his sunweed and asked.
"Anes, do you know what this building is?"
"Just a regular lodging, right?"
"Figured it was your first time."
"...Didn't you arrive just 10 minutes earlier than me?"
Anes stared at me with narrowed eyes.
"This is the Penitence Palace."
"...Penitence Palace?"
Zekiel gave her a brief rundown. From the structure to how there was no normal way out.
Anes, still expressionless, blinked a couple times.
"As far as I know, no such building exists in the Imperial Palace."
"Not something to brag about. And what would a grunt know?"
"Even if it's true... how do you know the palace so well?"
"Who knows? Anyway. Do you get cold easily?"
"I don't get cold. Why the sudden change of—"
But Anes couldn't finish.
"Good."
Whoosh—!
The space turned white in an instant.
Anes felt no precursor—it manifested so fast. And everything white became intricate frost. With one breath, Zekiel turned the place into an ice cave.
Anes breathed out frosty air and asked.
"...What the hell was that?"
"Look."
Following Zekiel's gaze, Anes soon saw it.
Not everything was frozen. Strangely, frost wouldn't stick to certain lines, forming a vast spiderweb pattern across the floor.
The man placed his hand at the center and infused his mana.
Then, blue lights floated in response. The flickering glow took the shape of lines, eventually weaving into letters.
One, a total of three people will stay in the Penitence Palace today.
Two, reduce the number to two by tomorrow.
Three, if the above conditions are not met, the Penitence Palace will be annihilated.
Anes, who'd been impassive, twitched her eyebrow slightly.
"...What is this?"
"Told you. No normal way out."
The 3rd Princess probably stopped at a greeting for this reason. She'd wanted an audience, but the emperor had tossed me here. To meet her, I had to escape first.
Meanwhile, Anes continued.
"'Annihilation of the Penitence Palace'—you don't mean..."
"Exactly what you're thinking. Everyone gone."
"No way. I'm an Imperial Administrator."
"Remember signing anything when you became one? Like 'death on duty possible' or 'family gets extra pay'?"
"..."
Anes blinked blankly. Just as I thought.
"That's how it usually goes. Always some wild twist."
"So, kill the other one to save me?"
"No worries. Usually death-row fugitives come in."
Knock knock—
Then a knock echoed through the space.
"...!"
Anes furrowed her brow and jumped up. The aura seeping from beyond the door was ominously massive.
"This intense presence... Black Magic...?"
She frantically flipped through her notebook.
"This is weird. The manual doesn't cover this at all..."
"Don't freak out. Sit."
Zekiel grabbed Anes's wrist and pulled her to sit beside him.
Of course, that wouldn't calm her right away. Her whole life was built on the manual.
"The job's unfair, and now my life's at risk. How am I supposed to stay calm? At least secure a safe spot in advance."
"No, your safest spot right now is here."
He leisurely crossed his arms and chewed his sunweed.
In truth, the Penitence Palace wasn't for reflection despite the name. It was more like a forge. Shove lives in, make them cut each other's throats, repeat endlessly to craft weapons.
In the past, amid countless cycles, one boy survived.
A weapon that endured the furnace and was finally tempered.
"The safest place inside the Penitence Palace? Where else but by my side?"
The weapon's name: Zekiel.