Maybe it was because I saw the Oracle looking so happy, but I was able to shake off that lingering sense of unease in just a day and quickly settle into this peaceful life.
I guess I’m the type who gets swept up in the mood pretty easily.
“Up we go.”
I got out of bed.
Maybe it’s because I haven’t been overexerting myself lately, but my body feels unusually light.
Ah, if this keeps up, I won’t be able to sleep during class later… I should probably start exercising a bit again.
Come to think of it, I’m still serving as a strategist for the knight order, so it might be a good idea to keep up with some training.
I do plan to quit someday, but the Empire isn’t completely at peace yet, so it wouldn’t hurt.
“Maybe I should actually attend class properly today.”
And just like that, a peaceful daily life that was so calm it almost felt boring began.
***
Nothing much had happened recently.
The Empire was still in turmoil, but you could feel that it was gradually stabilizing.
There were more people out on the streets.
People who used to only leave their homes when they needed something were now coming out to enjoy the sunlight or meet acquaintances.
“Oh, isn’t that Johan Damus?”
“Do you really have to say my full name every time? Oracle.”
“It’s more comfortable for me this way.”
The Oracle was strolling down the street, holding a chicken skewer in one hand and an ice cream in the other.
I have no idea what kind of combination that is.
“I’ve been seeing you around a lot lately.”
“It’s because I have a striking appearance.”
“Wow, damn. Try saying that in front of Yuna.”
“I’m well aware of where I stand.”
The Oracle just laughed it off playfully.
Yeah, even you can’t beat Yuna. Still, objectively speaking, she’s definitely confident in terms of looks.
About on the same level as me, maybe?
“That’s insulting, Johan Damus.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“Please don’t try to lump me in with you. No matter who you are, that’s an insult I can’t overlook.”
“You do realize you’re throwing a huge insult at me right now, right?”
No, seriously, I’m not lacking when it comes to looks.
It’s just that the people I get compared to are guys like Dietrich and Stan!
“Let’s drop the jokes. If I’ve been showing up a lot lately, it’s probably because I’m unemployed now.”
“That’s not exactly something to be proud of.”
“Then let’s just say I’ve gained my freedom.”
“Yeah, that sounds better.”
She probably wasn’t joking. She had been watching the Empire’s future as it constantly edged toward destruction.
She had devoted her entire life to stopping that.
Now that the fog had finally lifted and the light had come through, she must feel freer than anyone else.
“Johan Damus, when are you going to quit your position as strategist of the Guillotine Knights?”
“I want to quit too. But what am I supposed to do if I don’t have the guts to actually say it? Could you say it to His Majesty’s face?”
“I could. That’s precisely why I was able to hold the title of Oracle and wield power.”
“Yeah, good for you.”
I want to throw away that dangerously burdensome position as soon as possible too.
But I don’t want to go see the Emperor. I’ve finally started enjoying this peace, and I feel like everything would fall apart the moment I meet him.
“What about the work His Majesty was handling?”
“Well, even without me, things will proceed smoothly now. That’s why I’m enjoying this freedom.”
“Hmm…”
The Emperor had been acting for the sake of the Empire. Thankfully, it wasn’t about building absolute power and oppressing people.
He was working in the shadows for the development of the whole.
By gathering criminals together… and cutting off their heads.
Even now, every morning newspaper is filled with stories about criminal organizations being crushed and how far their connections spread.
It wasn’t surprising, since it had all been part of the Emperor’s plan from the beginning.
“Well, if anything gets tough, let me know.”
“Hah! You?”
“That look on your face is really pissing me off. I’m offering help and you’re acting like that?”
“Well, that’s because there’s nothing you can help me with besides crime or shady dealings.”
“Hey! Someone might hear that and think I’m a criminal.”
“Not far from it, though.”
The Oracle smirked, then casually took a big bite of the ice cream she was holding.
“You smuggled out one of the Under Chain’s dark mages again, didn’t you?”
“You saw that?”
“By chance.”
“Keep it to yourself.”
“No need to worry. I don’t feel like working any more than this either.”
She looked completely shameless.
And somehow, every time I see it, it still feels new.
Was she always this colorful? That thought crossed my mind every time we talked.
When I first met her, she had been eerily expressionless.
“Well then, I should get going. It’s about time for the theater.”
“The theater?”
“Yes, they’ve started putting on plays again. I suppose that means the Empire is getting better.”
After the war with the barbarians, most cultural venues had shut down.
Which made sense. No one knew when barbarians might appear, so people naturally kept their heads down.
The only entertainment facility that had remained open was a casino catering exclusively to nobles.
Even that, though, had been created by the Emperor as a way to lure in and deal with pests…
“Today I’m going to watch a play, and this weekend I’m planning to go see the sea.”
The Oracle proudly listed her schedule.
“And that evening, I’ll climb to the top of a mountain to look at the stars. Then I’ll watch the sunrise at dawn, come down, and sleep the rest of the day. What do you think?”
“Sounds like the perfect day off.”
“Right?”
The Oracle was truly enjoying life.
Almost as if she were checking off items on a bucket list.
***
After parting ways with Johan, Alice entered the VIP room of the theater.
Sitting in a seat that couldn’t be bought with money, she looked forward to the performance about to begin, then spoke to the person beside her.
“What brings you here?”
“I came to see the Oracle.”
“Then you should leave. The Oracle is out of business.”
“That’s good news.”
The person next to Alice quietly pulled back their hood.
Underneath was fiery red hair and sharp golden eyes like those of a beast.
The Emperor of the Empire, Abraham Vicious von Miltonia, spoke.
“It’ll all be over soon.”
“I know.”
“It’s been a long journey.”
“I suppose it has.”
Alice kept her focus solely on the stage, letting Abraham’s words go in one ear and out the other.
Despite her irreverent attitude, Abraham said nothing and simply watched the stage as well.
In a detached tone, he spoke again.
“The final stage is coming soon.”
“……”
“Are you not thinking of running away?”
“I’m not.”
“Won’t you regret it?”
“That’s exactly why I’m enjoying my life like this, so I won’t have any regrets.”
When Alice first met Abraham, they made a certain agreement.
She knew how it would end.
That day, Abraham had told her that he would kill her.
And Alice replied that she already knew.
The day Abraham’s grand plan is fulfilled, Alice will die.
She will die by his hand.
She was the final period at the end of Abraham’s meticulously crafted plan, one that had been written and rewritten countless times.
“I will not run away.”
She had risked her life from the very beginning.
It would be a lie to say she had no lingering attachments, but…
“So please, leave Johan Damus alone.”
“Why?”
“He’s an endlessly weak and unimpressive man. He’s timid, lacks the courage to operate in the shadows, and isn’t even enough of a villain to commit crimes of his own will.”
“Considering his achievements, he’s not someone to overlook.”
“He was pushed into all of it. You and I both pushed him forward. He only struggled to survive; he’s a man without ambition.”
Originally, in Abraham’s plan, Johan was meant to die. The calculation was that leaving him alive would bring more harm than benefit.
Johan Damus was like another Veil Python. Someone to be eliminated when true world peace was finally achieved.
The scales had already tipped.
“Very well.”
Yet Abraham decided to let him live.
Even if the harm outweighed the benefit, it wasn’t as if there was no benefit at all.
Leaving the variable known as Johan Damus unsettled him, but it was something he could overlook for the sake of a subordinate who had devoted her entire life to his cause.
Johan Damus weighed down one side of the scales, but Alice tipped them back from the other side.
“Thank you, Your Majesty. Now I can finally be at ease.”
Alice welcomed Abraham’s decision with a sincere smile.
Abraham looked at her for a moment with a complicated expression.
She was like a daughter to him.
Someone far removed from the burdens of imperial blood, and thus one of the few people he could truly speak openly with.
In truth, Abraham had hoped she would say she wanted to live.
He had hoped she would run.
But Alice did not.
“The actors are taking the stage.”
She remained in her seat until the very end.
And Abraham would likely do the same.
Even if she said she wanted to live, he would ignore it, and even if she tried to run, he would pursue her. He had already come too far to be swayed by something as trivial as sentiment.
“Oracle. One month from now.”
Abraham declared Alice’s execution date.
“When a month has passed, you too will have to take the stage.”
“That will be enough.”
Once someone steps onto the stage, they cannot leave until the play is over.
Abraham had decided that in his generation, he would sever the empire’s sins.
The cycle of sin that had continued from previous generations would end with him.
For that purpose, he intended to prepare a stage of unparalleled grandeur.
The stage he prepared would be his tragedy and another’s comedy.
“I will respect you. So I will grant your request as well.”
Abraham spoke while watching the actors’ passionate performance unfold before him with indifferent eyes.
“However, there will be an exception when Johan Damus steps onto the stage of his own will. Once he is on stage, he cannot run.”
“That is fine.”
Alice watched the stage.
She watched the people performing with all their fervor.
“Johan Damus… Johan will not step onto the stage.”
Johan is not someone who would step onto the stage of his own accord. He was the kind of person who always wished to remain a spectator, looking up at the stage from the outside.
“As long as he is not cornered, he will not act either.”
The play came to an end as a tragedy.
It was a story in which every character stabbed one another and died.
The actors on stage exited in that manner, and the people outside the stage applauded their passionate performance.
***
After the play ended.
Around the time Abraham had also finished what he had to say and left.
Alice briefly looked up at the darkened sky, then lowered her head.
“Now then…”
She took out a small notebook from her pocket and opened it.
#Watching a performance by a famous theater troupe from the best possible seat
She checked off one item on her bucket list.
She drew lines through countless dreams.
There were many things she wanted to do. One month was not long enough to fulfill them all, but it seemed like she could complete most of the list.
#Chatting and eating with friends
#Walking around freely with both hands full of street food
#Going to see the ocean
#Climbing a high mountain to watch the moon and stars until sunrise
#Watching the sunrise from there
#Sleeping idly all day long
She had filled in many items.
She read over the ones she had not yet completed.
And then, suddenly.
#Apologizing to Johan
Alice who had been looking at the final item on the list quietly lowered her head.
A single month.
It would be difficult to complete everything.
So perhaps.
“It would be better not to do this.”
Would it be alright to run away, just a little?
Alice closed the notebook that held her bucket list and fastened its button.
She forced her weak heart shut and fastened it closed.
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