Chapter 364: Epilogue Part 5

For the time being, I went back and broke the unfortunate news to everyone.

Their reactions couldn’t have been more different.

“Wow! That’s great!”

Ariel smiled.

“Then you won’t have to commute all the way from the countryside to the Magic Tower anymore!”

Yuna smiled too.

“The capital has much better infrastructure than the countryside.”

Emily didn’t smile, but her remark was every bit as cutting as a sneer.

I was the only one who treated this tragic news like it was actually tragic.

The whole world felt like garbage.

Was I really the only one who hated this situation?

A title? What was I supposed to do with that? I’m already the heir to a count’s family with its own territory.

If I just sat back and did nothing, both the title and the land would eventually be mine anyway. So why would I want to build everything from scratch?

No way! I want to have it easy! What good is a title by itself?! I don’t even have any land to govern or taxes to collect!

Actually, even if they gave me a territory, that would just create another problem. Did anyone seriously think they’d hand me a well-managed one? It’d obviously be some disaster of a domain.

Any vacant territory would be one that had been ruined by corrupt bastards who exploited the people until they got their heads chopped off.

And then they’d expect me to work myself to the bone fixing the whole mess?

What a joke.

“G-Guys. The Damus territory isn’t a bad place.”

“Of course! We know.”

“It’s nice to visit once in a while.”

“Is it a good place to collect natural specimens?”

Why do these idiots keep branding our territory as the countryside?

It’s actually developed quite a bit now.

My father has probably worked himself to the bone growing the family.

Sure, compared to the capital it’s lacking in some areas. No, not just some… Fine, maybe it’s lacking in a lot of ways.

Even so, it’s not so underdeveloped that it deserves reactions like that.

“Forget it. I’m done talking to you guys.”

“So you’d rather live far away from us, Johan?”

“Huh? How did you get that from what I said?”

“Then what did you mean?”

“……”

Of course, if I went back to House Damus like this, it would probably be hard to see Ariel and Yuna very often.

It made sense. One was Lobelia’s closest aide, and the other was the next heir to the Magic Tower.

Both of them were bound to remain in the capital.

I’m not sure about Emily… but judging by how much she seemed to prefer living in the capital, she was probably in a similar situation.

“I understand how you feel, Johan. But think about it carefully. Being with us versus being tied down in the capital. If you had to choose between what you like and what you dislike, which one wins?”

“Of course I’d rather be with everyone. But that’s…”

“Then that’s all that matters, isn’t it?”

It was a question with only one possible answer.

How was I supposed to say I didn’t want that? That was completely unfair.

Liking something is one thing, and disliking something is another. Why would anyone compare the two?

Comparing how much I liked one thing over another, or how much I disliked one thing over another, would be one thing. But asking me to compare what I liked against what I disliked was just too much.

“Um, big brother.”

“…Yeah, Emily. Do you have anything else left to torment me with?”

Having been completely knocked out by Ariel’s logic, I asked Emily with a bitter smile.

“My family wants to meet you. When are you going to come?”

“……”

So there was still more?

I still have to meet my future father-in-law on that side too…

The thought of going to meet my third fiancée while already having two fiancées was utterly miserable.

“It could’ve been four in the first place. Right?”

“……”

“Johan, answer me.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

I couldn’t help turning my head away at Yuna’s question.

Yeah, I’m the worst.

…This time, I really was.

***

I ended up arranging a meeting with the Robinhood family almost by accident, but there was something I had to deal with first.

Well, I guess it wasn’t really a problem. It just felt that way to me. Everyone else might see it differently.

“…In recognition of your distinguished service, I hereby bestow upon Sir Johan Damus the title of Count, along with the family name ‘Gospel’. From this day forth, Count Johan D. Gospel, I trust you will continue to devote yourself wholeheartedly to the Empire.”

“I humbly accept Your Majesty’s command.”

Just like that, I ended up with a new surname.

Very few people in the Empire had a middle name, and now I had become one of those few.

Johan D. Gospel… No matter how I thought about it, it felt strange.

Feeling a little awkward, I glanced around at the gathered crowd.

“Waaah! That’s my son!”

Father was getting carried away. Since when had he ever been so proud of me?

“Brother… So when you told me to carry on the family line back then, it was all part of this grand plan. And I had no idea…”

I had no idea either.

I never planned anything like this. A plan? This was taxidermy.

I had been stuffed and mounted as property of the Imperial Family.

“Congratulations, Count Gospel.”

“……”

I glared at Lobelia for a moment as she looked down at me with a smug grin.

“What? Do you have something to say?”

“No, Your Majesty.”

But faced with her indifferent gaze, I had no choice but to lower my eyes again.

She was truly ruthless. I had raised a tiger cub.

“Good. Continue to devote yourself wholeheartedly. That said, you’re still a student, so it would be best to wait until after you graduate from the Cradle before assigning you any official duties. Enjoy your youth while you can.”

“Your Majesty’s generosity is beyond measure.”

She spoke as though she were doing me an enormous favor, but there were less than three months left until I graduated from the Cradle.

The sneer on her face reminded me of Abraham.

The bloodline really did run thick.

No wonder Abraham had chosen her as his successor. He’d picked a tyrant just like himself.

The Empire was in great hands.

“Then I’ll see you next year. Until then, enjoy this brief moment of peace.”

***

After the festival masquerading as Johan Damus’s funeral…

As Johan D. Gospel, I went to see Princess Lapis.

“You don’t… seem to be doing very well. Why do you look like that?”

“Ah, my little siblings. Welcome.”

“Did something happen? Has the new tyrant been giving you trouble?”

“She did try to put me to work. But I took care of it.”

“Oh? How?”

I’d like to learn that trick myself. I had no intention of letting myself be worked to the bone like this.

“I told her that if she kept pushing me, I’d become Lobelia’s daughter in my next life. She went quiet after that.”

“I-I see…”

Naraka really could blend in anywhere.

To be precise, anyone who encountered Naraka would simply come to that conclusion, whether they wanted to or not. Ordinary people couldn’t perceive her in the first place.

In other words, as long as she behaved naturally, everyone around her would unconsciously fit her into their surroundings.

That was how she had lived all this time. She belonged everywhere and nowhere at once. It was even how she had slipped into the position of the First Princess.

This woman was making an absurd threat with a smile on her face. I suppose that was to be expected of Mephi’s sister. She committed outrageous acts with the most innocent expression imaginable.

“Ahem! Anyway, then why do you look so depressed? Is it because of the late Emperor?”

“I don’t know. That man. He’s probably somewhere in one of the hells I oversee.”

“…Isn’t that a little harsh?”

No matter what, they’d known each other for a long time. She seemed remarkably unconcerned.

“That’s not the problem right now! Do you understand, Jedidiah?”

“It’s Johan.”

“Oh, right. Johan Damus.”

“I was forcibly renamed Johan D. Gospel this time.”

“Why do humans make such a big deal out of names? Aren’t names just something people came up with to make it easier to call each other?”

“You’ve gotten right to the heart of it. But you also have to remember that humans are vain creatures.”

“Don’t lecture me.”

“Ah, I see.”

She was just as hopelessly dense.

At least Tillis had been willing to learn. This one seemed to despise the very idea of learning.

The future looked awfully bleak for this unemployed freeloader.

“So what’s the problem?”

“Laevateinn disappeared.”

“Is that so?”

“I searched for three days and three nights, and before I knew it, it was just… gone! Sob… My poor little sister. I can’t even give her a proper burial…”

“I had no idea you cared so much about your sister.”

Wasn’t it the opposite?

More jealousy than hatred, to be exact, but I knew Lapis had never been particularly fond of Demon King Jedidya.

“She was the little sister who was inferior to me!”

“I have to admit, I like that brutally honest answer. I’m much the same.”

In other words, she’d been jealous and resentful when her younger sister had surpassed her, but now that her sister had fallen below her, she was pleased.

Maybe humans weren’t the only ones capable of pettiness. Even transcendent beings like these harbored such small-minded thoughts. Perhaps the definition of “human” was broader than I’d imagined.

“Ahem! Actually, there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you about. Your Highness, just hear me out before you jump to conclusions.”

I knew where Laevateinn was.

Before I lost consciousness, I saw that sword, and in the dream where I met Alice, I even held it in my hands.

I also know that, until I spoke with Alice, that sword had been protecting me.

So where is that sword now…?

Thunk!

I pulled Laevateinn out of thin air and slammed it into the ground.

“Gyaaaah! Johan Damus! Why would you do this to me?!”

The scream that burst out from the shadows made me hurriedly pull the sword back out.

“Ah, sorry. I was trying to look intimidating. I forgot you were in there.”

“That hurt. How could you do something so barbaric to me? Do you have any idea how much I’ve done for you?!”

“Yeah, I said I was sorry, didn’t I? How long are you going to keep this up? You’re getting on my nerves.”

“Getting on your nerves?! Did you just say that? There’s a limit to how shameless you can be! Why is the perpetrator getting annoyed at the victim?!”

“That’s just how the world works.”

I’ve experienced it plenty of times myself.

So you’d better get used to it too. The world isn’t kind to victims.

“I won’t forgive you!”

“Will you just settle down already?!”

Mephi finally leaped out of the shadows and started attacking me.

Had his body grown or something? It wasn’t as easy to rough him up as it used to be. Since Yuna and Ariel were the base of his body, I couldn’t bring myself to hit him.

“Johan!”

“Yes?”

It happened while I was bickering with Mephi. Lapis who had been staring blankly at Laevateinn suddenly lit up and grabbed my hand.

“My little brother!”

“No, I’m not.”

“You should’ve told me sooner! My little brother! Call me Big Sister!”

“I said no.”

What was wrong with her all of a sudden?

She’d shown signs of this before, but now that she was suddenly clinging to me, it was honestly overwhelming.

“Like I told you before, the Demon King’s soul doesn’t even make up one percent of what I am.”

“I know! But you’re still my little brother! Be honest. You met Father, didn’t you?”

“.…..”

“Father acknowledged you too, Johan! We’re family!”

“No, thank you.”

“Whether you like it or not, we’re already bound together as family.”

“She’s completely lost it.”

“That’s just how Naraka has always been. Don’t pay her any mind. It’s the ramblings of a madman.”

“So this means our Mephi isn’t the youngest anymore?”

“Call me Big Sister, Johan.”

“Get lost, all of you!”

Stop trying to drag me into this!

I don’t want to get tangled up with a bunch of weirdos like you!

“Hoho! We’re family! Family!”

“Please…!”

Lapis smiled more brightly than I had ever seen before.

Somehow, that smile was even brighter than the one Alice had shown me.

Even though I hadn’t done a single thing for Lapis’s sake.

“Ugh! Seriously, I can’t take this anymore!”

If I stayed here any longer, I felt like I’d actually lose my mind.

I decided to flee from Lapis, who was beaming from ear to ear.

***

I shouldn’t have done that.

That day, I should have made sure to set Lapis straight.

It wasn’t the kind of problem that could be solved by avoiding it.

[Hero Count Johan D. Gospel Forms Ties with the Imperial Family?!]

If I had, I never would have had to see a newspaper with a headline like that…