The world is peaceful.
But behind that peace, a deep shadow looms.
That doesn’t mean the world itself is bleak. It means there are those operating in the shadows to preserve that surface-level peace.
The Emperor of the Empire, Abraham Vicious von Miltonia.
He is a monster.
I’ve faced him several times, and every single time, I felt fear.
He is someone I absolutely never want to make an enemy of.
“Cattleya.”
“Go on.”
“I heard the Emperor has become aware of the World Tree’s existence.”
“Ugh……”
The Misfits can simply relocate.
But the World Tree cannot be moved.
How could anyone possibly relocate a tree so enormous that it had long surpassed the size of a mere grove?
At the very least, I couldn’t think of any way.
“So he’s got leverage over you now.”
“Seems that way.”
In the past, the Emperor burned the World Tree.
In the process, he massacred the elves as well. And yet now, even after discovering the existence of the World Tree, he remains still.
“The Emperor left a warning. He said that once you step onto the stage, you can never step back down.”
“The moment you step onto that stage, the World Tree will burn, and all your friends will become targets for slaughter. Just like what happened to the elves in the past.”
This situation was different from before.
Until now, my enemies targeted the people around me, and I responded to them. But the Emperor stood in the opposite position.
If I stepped onto the stage, he would begin touching the people around me.
And conversely, that meant as long as I did not step onto the stage, he would leave them alone.
There was no need to worry about the distant future. The end of Emperor Abraham’s plan included his own death as well.
If Lobelia were to seize power, then the safety of the Misfits would no longer be a concern.
“Do you really think the Emperor will overlook everything?”
“Who knows? Maybe he already has some arrangement in mind. Or maybe this is his compromise.”
“A compromise……”
Honestly, until now, I had tried not to care about whatever the Emperor was doing.
Because I knew his objective, I thought there was no reason to interfere or get involved with him.
And I still felt the same way now. The Emperor intended to burn even himself away in order to stabilize the Empire. It sounded like something straight out of a cheap melodramatic novel, but that didn’t mean his method was wrong.
So in a sense, you could even say I supported the Emperor.
“The thing I find most suspicious right now is that the Emperor judged there was a possibility I might step onto the stage.”
“And in reality?”
“I never even wanted to get involved in the first place. And there’s no way a monster like the Emperor wouldn’t know that. Yet he still left me a warning……”
Which probably meant there was a reason I might end up stepping onto the stage.
“Can you think of anything?”
“No.”
“Well, that’s unfortunate.”
Cattleya shrugged as if this were someone else’s problem.
It was a little irritating, but there was nothing I could do. Because it really was someone else’s problem to her.
“Is there no solution?”
“A solution to what?”
“The World Tree.”
“Just so you know, I wasn’t exactly thrilled about receiving that sapling from the very beginning.”
“But you accepted it in the end. And if the Emperor is targeting me, wouldn’t you be in danger too? Do you really think he’d leave you alone?”
The eldest daughter of the exterminated Tales Marquisate and the business mastermind who had seized control of the Empire’s commercial sphere.
The Emperor was not lenient enough to simply overlook someone like her.
Even if the fall of House Tales had been caused by Loki’s schemes behind the scenes……
“I’ll be fine. Unlike you, I expected something like this and prepared countermeasures ahead of time. If they try to come after me, Andvaranaut will collapse as well.”
“What do you mean by collapse?”
“I mean exactly that. It’ll go under. I hold all the real authority there. It’s troublesome to manage, but I designed the whole thing precariously enough that if the head gets cut off, everything beneath it collapses in sequence.”
“……”
“If they want to kill me, then let them. I’ll drag the Empire’s economy down with me.”
I already knew she was ruthless, but this went far beyond imagination.
An absolute determination to never die alone.
If I had that kind of resolve too, would the Emperor have skipped the warnings altogether?
No… probably not. If I had that kind of personality, I’d have died back during the Kult incident.
“There, satisfied now? The World Tree can’t be moved. If you want to protect it, your only choices are to accept the Emperor’s warning or fight against him. That settles it.”
“……”
“If you came here thinking I’d have some perfect solution, then I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed. Even I don’t know everything.”
I had come seeking advice, but in the end, I found no real answer.
Then again, if even I felt this helpless, there was no reason to think she would be any different.
“Still, if you want to try doing something, maybe you should think carefully about why the Emperor believes you might step onto the stage.”
“I’ll do that.”
“Hmm.”
Cattleya frowned slightly as she stared at me.
What was she trying to say now? Seeing that expression after the conversation had already ended made me uneasy.
“Ugh……”
“What’s with the sudden sigh while looking at me?”
“I just feel sorry for myself for getting involved with you.”
“Are you insane?”
I was the one dumbfounded by the sudden insult.
“Take care on your way out.”
As usual, Cattleya sprawled over the counter and wordlessly told me to leave.
“What’s with her?”
Something felt off.
It wasn’t because I had brought her a difficult problem. Her attitude itself felt strangely resigned, and that left me unsettled.
What was it? Why was she giving up on me? More importantly… what exactly had she given up on?
***
After parting ways with Cattleya, I went to see Ariel.
Now that I had stepped down from my strategist position, it would probably become difficult to see her from now on.
So this was likely the only time I could meet her openly like this.
It would be better to see her before the rumors started spreading.
“Johan, welcome.”
As always, Ariel greeted me with a soft smile the moment she saw me.
She looked incredibly cute like that.
“This is for you. I hope you like it.”
I handed Ariel the gift I had bought from Andvaranaut.
“A hand fan?”
“Well, summer’s coming up… so I thought it might be nice to carry one around.”
“Thank you, Johan. I’ll treasure it.”
A fan wasn’t something she actually needed.
Even if the weather became unbearably hot, an Archmage like her could always keep herself comfortable.
So this fan was ultimately just decorative. The kind of accessory someone might show off in high society.
She wasn’t the type to enjoy attending banquets, but there were probably many occasions where she had no choice but to participate.
After all, she was an Archmage.
Of course, she likely already owned accessories suitable for high society gatherings.
“It’s really beautiful.”
“Ahem!”
“It feels like a gift filled with your feelings for me, Johan.”
Honestly, no matter how expensive or rare a gift I found, it could never compare to something personally procured by House Ether.
Which meant there was only one kind of gift that could truly hold meaning for her.
“You enchanted the fan with illusion magic, didn’t you?”
“You figured it out immediately after all.”
The only thing that truly mattered was something I had made myself.
The fan itself was certainly an expensive item from Andvaranaut, but the magic woven into it was my own.
“Come inside. You have enough time for at least a cup of tea before you leave, don’t you?”
“I got fired, so I’ve got plenty.”
“Mm, so that’s why you gave me this?”
Ariel gave a bitter smile as she unfolded the fan.
The illusion magic I had placed on it gave off a faint glow, adding a mysterious elegance to the patterns on the fan.
“So it was a bribe?”
“It’s not a bribe. It’s my sincerity.”
“Then you’re not asking me for anything?”
“Ahem!”
“Fufu, this sounds like it’s going to be a long conversation. Come inside.”
It seemed deceiving the eyes of an Archmage was impossible after all.
No matter how many times I saw it, the Ether Duchy was overwhelmingly vast.
“Johan, what is it you’re curious about?”
“Ariel, I got fired.”
“I know. It concerns you, Johan. Of course I knew from the very beginning.”
“Yeeah……”
Moments like this really made me feel pitiful compared to my perfect fiancée.
It wasn’t like I had any attachment to the strategist position, but still… it felt a little depressing.
“I suppose that means I’ll have to support you for the rest of your life now.”
“That sounds way too miserable for me.”
“It’s fine. I’ll be receiving bribes like this.”
Ariel smiled sweetly, then climbed straight onto my lap.
She was incredibly close now, her ruby-red eyes gazing up at me.
“You came to ask me for something, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
“I’d be willing to grant any request you make, Johan. But if accepting a bribe makes you feel more at ease, then I’ll gladly take it. Of course, it has to be the kind of bribe I want.”
A light kiss.
Ariel’s lips brushed against mine briefly before pulling away.
That alone was enough to make me embarrassingly flustered.
“So, what is it you want?”
“Could you find out whether someone else influenced the decision for me to step down from the strategist position?”
“And if I do?”
“I already gave you the bribe though?”
“Success fees are separate.”
“Ah.”
Maybe my fiancée was greedier than I thought.
“Is there something you want?”
Ariel tilted her head for a moment before kissing me again.
This one lasted a little longer than before.
“There is.”
“Hmm?”
“The person who persuaded the Emperor to let you step down from your strategist position.”
“That’s……!”
Another kiss.
This one wasn’t just longer. It was deeper than the last.
It went beyond a simple brush of lips; our tongues intertwined in a deep kiss.
“It was the Oracle.”
“…….”
“I heard Miss Oracle personally pleaded with His Majesty the Emperor.”
It seemed she had started investigating from the very moment I stepped down from my strategist position.
This kiss was her way of collecting the reward she had mentioned.
It felt like gathering all the materials needed to clear a quest in a game before finally meeting the NPC.
She really was thoroughly prepared.
“Why would the Oracle……?”
“Well.”
Our lips met once again.
It felt as though my brain might melt. More than that, this was starting to become torture. Being unable to go any further than this was unbearable.
I had no idea when we would finally be able to get married.
“How would I know?”
Ariel smiled brightly.
Faced with that playful smile, all I could do was let out a bitter laugh.
“Then what you just did was basically robbery.”
“It was, wasn’t it?”
She took her reward without even providing any information. How could she possibly get away with that?
“I just wanted to. Because I like you.”
“Hmm.”
When had she become this sly?
I simply couldn’t keep up with her. The people around me were all far too formidable.
***
Around the time Ariel and Johan were enjoying what was almost a secret rendezvous,
Yuna was meeting with an unexpected person.
“So? If you dragged a busy person out here, I assume you have something worthwhile to say?”
Yuna barely even had time to spend with Johan because of her daily workload at the Magic Tower and her daily duties.
Yet she had still taken time out of her schedule to meet this person.
That alone meant it had better be worth it.
“Emily Robinhood.”
At last, the name of the person she had summoned left Yuna’s lips.
At that, Emily, who had been half-hidden in the darkness, finally stepped forward.
Her face was as expressionless as ever. Even so, Yuna could sense a burning determination within those indifferent eyes.
“I heard you were making moves on my man?”
“That’s right. I was.”
“Aha?”
Yuna let out an amused grin. She hadn’t expected the other woman to admit it so boldly.
She at least expected her to try making excuses.
“So what? Did you come looking for me to kill you?”
“No. I came to make you an offer, Miss Yuna.”
“I don’t want to hear it.”
“Then I suppose I have no choice but to head straight to Lady Ariel instead.”
“…….”
That made Yuna pause.
Because that had been an unmistakable threat.
“So this is the kind of person you are?”
“Apparently. The emotion called love was enough to change me.”
“…….”
Yuna couldn’t answer.
Because she understood exactly what Emily meant.
Love really was enough to change a person. That much was undeniably true.
“I don’t have power like the two of you do, and I started far behind the starting line.”
“So?”
“So I accepted it. I decided to come to terms with it.”
“You mean giving up on Johan?”
“I mean compromising.”
“Hmm?”
Only then did Yuna finally understand why Emily had called her here.
“There’s no way I could ever become the legal wife anyway. But I can still support someone else.”
“You’re interesting.”
“So? Since having him all to yourself is already impossible, how about joining hands with me?”
Yuna thought about it.
Lady Ariel was a formidable opponent. They were no longer at the point of openly clashing with each other, but she still couldn’t help caring about who held first place in Johan’s heart.
And now, an unexpected ally had appeared.
Not an outside force, but a variable stepping directly into the game from within.
Should she accept her or reject her?
After a moment of consideration, Yuna finally held out her hand.
“What are you waiting for? I thought we were joining hands.”
“…….”
Emily and Yuna shook hands.
And so began the secret alliance of the two women against the powerful force known as Ariel Ether.
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