Chapter 283: Shadow Part 9

The Oracle’s threat did not end there.

“Do I look like I’m joking?”

“Huh…?”

“You seem to have trouble understanding ‘above you in rank and below me’. Is it already time for your retirement?”

This woman… she’s serious.

She isn’t using absurd tyranny as a threat or leverage. She’s actually carrying it out. I never realized she was this terrifying. This is frightening.

“Fine. Then choose. Either summon every knight who stands above you and below me, or bring the Knight Commander, Sir Lanius. I’ll let you decide.”

The Oracle looked completely unfazed.

To her, the options she had just given were not absurd at all.

Her attitude was as if she were merely exercising an obvious right.

Perhaps I had been turning my back on the worst possible enemy all this time.

I can’t express how fortunate I am that she has turned favorably toward me.

“Well? Are you just going to stand there staring blankly?”

“I-I will correct this at once!”

Guillotine Knight Miles turned pale as if he himself were the one standing at the guillotine and hurried away.

They may be called the Empire’s shadow, ghosts, as all sorts of rumors surrounded the Guillotine Knights….but in the end, they were still human like everyone else.

***

“I have arrived, Lady Oracle.”

Lanius came.

No, the Knight Commander himself actually came.

The one who summoned him and the one who came when summoned….both are unbelievable.

I knew the Guillotine Knights weren’t exactly normal, but I never imagined they were this chaotic.

What on earth did this man come here for?

“And what brings you here?”

Even the Oracle who had boldly imposed that absurdity frowned at the sight of Lanius, as if she was suspicious.

Even she must have found this ridiculous.

Isn’t this an incredibly awkward situation?

“You called, so I came. Considering your temperament, Lady Oracle, you wouldn’t have stepped back unless I personally intervened, would you? Rather than having people go back and forth endlessly, this is simpler.”

“That sounds as though you intend to make Johan Damus a Guillotine Knight no matter what.”

“That’s right.”

“Why…?”

The Oracle tilted her head as if she couldn’t understand.

I couldn’t understand either.

Am I really worth enough for Lanius to personally make the trip?

To the Guillotine Knights, who worship the definition of strength, someone like me should be nothing more than a coward who relies on cheap tricks.

By Lanius’s standards, I fall far short.

And that meant only one thing. The will of someone even higher than him had reached this far.

There is only one person capable of that.

“It is His Majesty’s will.”

Abraham Vicious von Miltonia.

The current Emperor of this Empire.

Honestly, when the Guillotine Knight showed up and started talking about the will of His Majesty the Emperor, I didn’t think much of it.

They’re soldiers and public officials. Saying things like that would be expected. But to think it wasn’t just a figure of speech—

It was real.

“It would be best for you to hear the details directly from His Majesty. Lady Oracle, you should come as well. It seems the meeting is about to begin.”

“……”

The Oracle nodded stiffly. At this point, whether I joined the Guillotine Knights or not was no longer the issue.

The real problem was that I had been summoned to attend a meeting presided over by the Emperor himself.

***

To think I would set foot in this damned Imperial Palace again.

A demon’s den where even the water poured by servants must be drunk with caution.

For someone as faint-hearted as me, even breathing here requires care.

And now, a meeting presided over by the Emperor?

I feel uneasy already.

“Please, go inside.”

With treatment that felt more like an escort….or an arrest by Lanius, I stepped through the doors of the meeting hall.

As expected of the Imperial Palace, even the meeting room itself was overwhelming.

Decorated with ivory, marble, and jewels, the room glittered as if it existed solely to impress.

Did it really need to be built this extravagantly?

I paused for a moment, overwhelmed by the space, and only then noticed that others had already gathered inside.

“Haah……”

The Oracle beside me let out a long sigh.

Grabbing the hem of my clothes, she pulled me toward an empty seat.

“Just stay quietly by my side.”

Now that she has turned into an ally, the Oracle’s consideration was quite noticeable.

Seeing her look after me when I’d entered this meeting without knowing anything nearly brought tears to my eyes.

For some reason, she seemed a little more likable today.

Was it because she pulled her hood back down, hiding her face again?

I suppose this is why they say you shouldn’t judge people by their appearance.

“Oracle, you’re more likable when your face is covered.”

“That is not a compliment.”

It was meant as one, at least on my end.

It’s disappointing that she doesn’t see it that way.

“Hmph.”

For now, I sat beside the Oracle and surveyed the room.

Everywhere I looked, there were nothing but prominent figures.

Right in front of me sat Olga Hermod, her eyes narrowed.

It seemed she hadn’t expected me to be here either.

Seated directly beside her was Tronios Ether.

He wore an indifferent expression, as if I didn’t interest him in the slightest.

Considering the rift between House Ether and House Damus, that was probably the most appropriate reaction.

The rest of the room was filled with equally renowned power players.

Among them, I spotted the one person I needed to be most wary of.

“Am I the only one who finds this questionable?”

A young man was openly tilting his head while looking straight at me.

In age, perhaps similar to Theseus? Maybe slightly older, though still too young to be called middle-aged.

I know exactly who he is.

Back when I played the game, he was one of the antagonistic figures I found most irritating.

No, perhaps that’s not quite right. He wasn’t exactly a villain. If anything, he was more of a patron to one.

Like me, he was a shadowy mastermind who operated in the gray areas.

“Isn’t it a bit much to bring in such a young boy without any explanation?”

The young man approached with a somber expression, as though he were genuinely concerned about me.

He naturally took the seat beside me and stared intently.

It was incredibly burdensome.

His snake-like gaze made me instinctively shrink back.

“Was it rude of me not to introduce myself? A pleasure, young student. Judging by your uniform, you are a student, correct? In any case, I am Veil Python. I would appreciate it if you would simply call me Count Python.”

Veil Python.

He was none other than Loki’s greatest patron and supporter.

While Loki subjugated people through strength and fear, he was the only man who truly acknowledged and sincerely followed Loki.

Which meant he possessed a nature more serpentine than anyone else.

“Perhaps, if you don’t mind, would you tell me your name, young student?”

And ultimately, he was also someone who hated me, the one who killed Loki.

Was he truly that loyal to him?

No. He’s the same kind of person Loki was. Not angered for Loki’s sake, but because by killing Loki, I put him in a difficult position.

In other words, I irritated him.

He may be speaking to me with a smile, but who wouldn’t see what lies beneath it?

If he thinks I’m just some naive brat, that’s a grave mistake.

“Ah, Count Python. I’ve heard much about you. It’s an honor to finally meet you.”

“Heard much about me…? From whom, and what exactly?”

“From His Highness Loki, of course. He spoke of you as a most loyal retainer.”

“Haha.”

I must not show weakness.

If I show even the slightest vulnerability to a stereotypical snake like him, he’ll swallow me whole without hesitation.

The perfect example of someone who preys on the weak and bows to the strong.

I would know. I have that tendency myself.

The mere fact that I am standing here forces him to fear me.

After all, I’m the one who drove the Loki he supported to his death.

“It was truly unfortunate what happened to His Highness Loki. He wasn’t someone who should have gone like that. I felt we had much in common while he lived. It’s a real shame.”

I deliberately brought up Loki.

It wasn’t some grand move.

I simply wanted to make it clear that I can do more and know more than he might expect.

So? What will you do? Getting a sense of the odds yet? I may look like this, but I hold quite a few cards.

So don’t make this troublesome for me.

“You…”

“His Imperial Majesty, Abraham Vicious von Miltonia, the Great Sun of the World, now enters.”

Just as Count Python was about to say something, he finally appeared.

They call him the Great Sun of the World… and the title was no empty flattery.

His crimson hair, as if it might burst into fierce flames at any moment, streamed around him.

His bright yellow eyes added another color to that blaze.

A man like a burning sun, Abraham Vicious von Miltonia.

I had faced him once before, yet I never grew accustomed to the sight.

His sheer presence was enough to make me forget how to breathe.

“So, everyone is here. Loyal subjects of the Empire, have you waited long?”

“Yes.”

“You are incapable of empty flattery.”

“Would I dare speak falsehoods before Your Imperial Majesty?”

Olga Hermod’s curt tone swept away the oppressive pressure in the air.

In other words, unless someone of archmage caliber stepped forward, even that suffocating presence could not be dispelled.

“Before we move on to today’s agenda, there is someone who should be introduced. Johan Damus. Care to introduce yourself?”

Seated at the head of the table with his chin resting on his hand, Abraham smiled faintly in my direction.

The presence of the snake-like man beside me had long since faded away.

Before a lion backed by the blazing sun, one could not afford to pay attention elsewhere.

I still did not know why the Emperor had summoned me. But he was deliberately setting the stage.

There was no escape.

A single dull answer here, and I would fall from the Emperor’s favor.

Here, I had to become a clown if necessary. Reckless in the long run, perhaps…but right now, the long run did not matter.

“To be honest, I’m not entirely sure what this gathering is meant to accomplish. However, considering the stature of those assembled here, I suppose it would not be inappropriate to explain why I have been brought to this place.”

Forcing myself, I tore my gaze away from the Emperor and looked around.

I saw a range of emotions.

Some were expectant, others displeased.

Some looked merely puzzled, while others seemed indifferent.

Very well. I must win acknowledgment from everyone here. That is the Emperor’s will.

“I plucked out the Prophet’s eyes.”

I began listing my accomplishments.

“And I tore off the Judge’s wings.”

I wove together truths that were neither vague nor false.

“I chose the Great Warrior’s burial site.”

Not a single one of these was accomplished by my strength alone.

And yet, there was not a single one in which I was not involved.

And then—

“I am the one who thoroughly destroyed and dismantled the Scriptwriter’s script.”

None of it could have been achieved without my involvement.

Of course, it is also true that my involvement made certain things worse…

Scrape.

Suddenly, the sound of a chair dragging came from beside me. The distance between myself and Count Python, who had been sizing me up, widened.

“Ahem.”

This man…

A perfect specimen of one who preys on the weak and yields to the strong.

The moment I listed my achievements, he neatly folded away all hostility and retreated.

“I, Abraham Vicious von Miltonia, attest that there is no falsehood in his words. What say the rest of you? Does anyone believe he lacks the qualification to sit here?”

The Emperor smiled as though pleased with my answer. Fortunately, it seemed I had met his standards.

But this was not the end.

I had only just stepped onto the starting line. More than anything, I still did not even know what this gathering was for.

That was the first thing I needed to grasp.

And before long, the answer came from the Emperor’s own lips.

“Then let us begin the 38th Conference for World Peace.”

Wonderful. That tells me absolutely nothing.

A conference for what? By whom? Give me a break… this is almost laughable.

He’s spouting grand nonsense that doesn’t even begin to make sense.