“I don’t want to do this either. But that doesn’t mean I can just kill you.”
“If I step down from my position…”
“To be honest, you aren’t the important part. Do you really think anything would change just because you gave up your post? Ariel, Yuna, Emily, and Alice are all symbolic figures.”
“……”
“You’re the one holding them together.”
There aren’t many ways to solve this problem.
The first is for me to die. Once the central figure is gone, the people entertaining dangerous ideas will disappear as well.
Of course, there may be those who try to use my death to influence my wives, but that won’t be easy.
So what’s the second option?
I dismantle all of that power myself. Have my wives quit their jobs, or divorce them so we become strangers. That’s not realistic.
The moment I so much as mention the word “divorce”, I’d have a blade at my throat.
Which leaves the third option.
Move the center of gravity.
If I marry Lobelia here, then all the power tied to me will effectively be folded into Lobelia’s authority.
You could argue the opposite as well… but considering the balance of power, it would almost certainly be seen as me coming under her instead.
“What if I pretended to be dead?”
“Do you hate the idea of marrying me that much?”
“Of course I do!”
“……”
Lobelia’s eyebrow twitched.
If there was one thing I’d learned from working in the imperial court lately, it was that whenever she looked like that, she wasn’t above throwing a punch.
She was seriously angry.
“…Of course, Your Majesty is an incredibly attractive woman, but given my circumstances, I can’t help feeling that way.”
“That’s enough. Making excuses now will only make me feel worse.”
“S-So… what do you think about my proposal?”
“It’s a rational suggestion.”
“Right?”
“But I don’t like it.”
“…Why not?”
“Because I’m offended.”
This woman was really running the Empire based on personal grudges… And this was the Emperor?
“And personally… I don’t dislike the idea.”
“…Huh?”
“I can’t remain Emperor forever. Eventually I’ll need an heir… and there aren’t any trustworthy men of suitable standing around me.”
“Well, that might have something to do with Your Majesty’s personali—”
“Exactly. And it’s because of that personality that I’m forcing you into this.”
I’d tried to get in one jab, only to get hit back twice as hard.
More importantly, Lobelia was far more determined than I’d expected.
Was she serious?
Did she genuinely intend to marry me?
This was difficult. More than anything, she had an airtight justification. The truth was, my current situation wasn’t exactly a good one.
I’d brought this on myself.
Damn… I never should’ve accepted all of that back then.
“When would you like to hold the ceremony?”
“You mean the funeral?”
“The wedding.”
Those sounded like the same thing to me…
“I’d like some time to think…”
“You have one week to sort out your thoughts. And let me warn you in advance…don’t even think about running away. There is no land beyond the Empire.”
“……”
So it finally happened.
I could almost hear my family that was just beginning to find some stability shattering all over again.
***
Before heading home, I stopped by the headquarters of the Misfits…
No, these days it was called the Holy See of Elysium.
Well, calling it the Holy See was a bit grand. It was the only church in all of Elysium.
“So that’s what happened.”
I confessed everything to the newly appointed Pope.
Needless to say, it was Helena.
If the Prophet wasn’t going to be the Pope, then who would?
That said, “Holy See” was something of an exaggeration. There were barely any followers, and the building itself was really more of a symbolic structure built for Helena’s sake.
After all, the Empire had been persecuting religion until just a few years ago.
People were reluctant to seek out the gods, afraid that trusting them would only cost them their heads again like last time.
The persecution of Elysium hadn’t been solely because of its ties to the gods. At its core, it was because the religion had tried to exert influence over the imperial family.
In other words, they’d been punished simply for getting on the Emperor’s bad side.
Destroying an entire religion over a personal grudge hadn’t exactly been the right call…
Then again, considering I was about to be forced into marrying the Emperor over a personal grudge myself, I wasn’t exactly in a position to defend them.
“So what’s the problem?”
“If I go home like this, they’re going to kill me. I’m dead, I tell you…”
“They probably already know by now anyway. Isn’t stalling here just opening the gates of hell even wider?”
“Apostle of the Beginning, could you not bring up hell?”
Lapis and Mephi were more than enough when it came to talking about that.
“So, how have things been lately?”
“Proselytizing hasn’t been going very well.”
“Not that. I meant how things are on the ‘Beginning’ side.”
“Then you should’ve said that from the start. You have a habit of leaving out the important subject of your sentences. It’s a really bastard-like way of talking. Is that how all corrupt nobles speak?”
“……”
Somehow, Helena’s personality had gotten even worse over the past few years.
How had she ended up like this?
Clearly, Cattleya had failed as her instructor.
“I’m not a corrupt noble yet. Besides, if I really were one, I probably wouldn’t be getting forced into this marriage.”
“They would’ve gone after your family instead.”
“Why do you have to put it like that?”
The “family” Helena was referring to was obviously Lapis.
Was she saying I was going to hell?
Unfortunately for her, there was no chance of that. Even after I died, my soul belonged to Mephi. I’d probably just spend eternity bickering with that brat over trivial nonsense.
“The Creator God always welcomes new beginnings.”
“That came out of nowhere.”
“The Beginning of All Things appeared in my dream last night and spoke to me.”
“……”
Could this actually be something important?
Helena’s powers had only grown stronger with age. She hadn’t even needed any special training. Her abilities simply continued to awaken on their own.
Maybe that was just what happened during puberty.
In any case, Helena had become even more adept at wielding divine power than the old cult ever was. Every so often, she seemed able to connect with the Creator God….in other words, the Apostle of the Beginning.
“She told me I should start a business.”
“You definitely dreamed that.”
“She said I should get rich by charging people for healing with divine power.”
“Have things been that rough lately? That doesn’t sound like something a religious leader should be saying.”
“I’m not a religious leader.”
“Isn’t being the Pope more than just a title?”
“Nope.”
Helena really hadn’t grown up.
She’d been such a sweet kid when she was younger.
More importantly, why was she suddenly so obsessed with money?
Was Cattleya not giving her an allowance anymore?
“After I confidently declared that I was going to become financially independent, she cut off all my support.”
“Why would you do that?”
“I thought I’d manage.”
So she’d thrown herself into a pit of despair with nothing but baseless confidence.
A common enough story.
“Go back and apologize while you still can.”
“I have my pride.”
“Right. I don’t. So tell me….what do I have to do if I want to survive?”
“How would I know?”
“Then why am I making a confession to you?”
Even if she didn’t know the answer, she could at least say something comforting.
“To make money. Please leave a donation of three silver before you go.”
“You little highway robber. What if I refuse?”
“Then I’ll have big brother Dietrich use his power to restore every injury you’ve suffered over the last three months.”
“I’ll pay.”
If all the injuries I’d sustained over the past three months were restored…
I probably wouldn’t even be able to stand.
I’d been beaten up an awful lot.
By Alice.
“Ahem! In that case, I will offer you some advice.”
“All right. Let’s hear it.”
“If you purchase a blessing from me for thirty gold, your chances of surviving today even if you get beaten up will increase significantly.”
“……”
Silently, I added another thirty gold to my donation and accepted the blessing.
***
When I arrived home,
I found the four of them gathered together.
Wow, seeing them all standing there like that, they looked like the Four Heavenly Kings.
Then again, since I’m the Demon King, it wouldn’t be that strange for me to have Four Heavenly Kings.
The only problem was that these Four Heavenly Kings were all dead set on killing me.
“You’re late.”
Yuna spoke.
It was only a single sentence, but it carried a lot of meaning.
“……”
Ariel didn’t say a word.
She simply looked down at me with cold eyes.
Emily was as expressionless as ever.
Alice, meanwhile, wore a wicked grin, clearly entertained. That brat just enjoyed watching me suffer.
“This is so unfair.”
“How is it unfair?”
“Her Majesty was the one who insisted on marrying me.”
“Or could it be that your usual behavior is the real problem?”
I couldn’t exactly deny it.
A big part of this was because I’d given so many people ammunition to use against me.
No, all I’d planned to do was accept a few bribes. Who could’ve imagined it would somehow lead to me marrying Lobelia?
“Johan, I think there’s nothing we can do about what’s already happened.”
“Yuna…”
Then why do you look so terrifying when you say that?
You just said there’s nothing we can do! If there’s nothing we can do, then why am I the one getting scolded?!
“Get married.”
“Really…?”
“Or are you planning not to? How exactly would you pull that off? Your fiancée is the Empress.”
“……”
Then again, when have I ever had a choice?
Power has always been the problem.
People around me kept warning that I was exactly the kind of person who should never be given power, but in the end, I got addicted to the taste of it, and that’s what led to this whole mess.
“But, Johan, even if we’re willing to understand everything else, there’s one thing we absolutely can’t let slide.”
“I love you all the most.”
“Not that. Last night you told Alice she was the one you loved the most. The day before that, you said it to me.”
“You told me the same thing last week.”
I can have a different favorite every day….
More importantly, have you all been sharing that kind of information? I distinctly remember telling each of you to keep it a secret.
“We already know you love us, Johan.”
“R-Right! At least my feelings are completely sincere!”
“But we’ve all been busy, and you’ve been busy too. None of us has really had any spare time, right?”
“I’ll make more of an eff—”
“To be honest, I never really cared that we didn’t have children together. We were all busy, so we agreed to put it off until later.”
“……”
“But there’s no way I’m going to sit back and watch you have a child with that woman first.”
“I’ll be very careful about contraception.”
“No, Johan. If Her Majesty forces the issue, do you have any way to resist? Besides, there’s a much better solution.”
“……”
A chill ran down my spine. Cold sweat began pouring down my body.
My instincts were screaming at me.
“Tie it off or cut it off.”
Run.
“Stop. Oh moment!!”
“You already used that one years ago.”
Forget that, just save me!
***
I ran.
Or rather, I’m not even sure I managed to escape.
I saw Yuna sneer as I fled.
I’d escaped by using Mephy’s power…
But they’d catch me.
With Alice’s abilities, crossing space itself was nothing out of the ordinary, and Emily practically stalked me in real time.
They already knew exactly where I was.
“If they’re going to catch you anyway, why ask me for help? You even reopened your wound doing it.”
“…Just be quiet.”
Using Mephy’s power had aggravated the wound Laevateinn had left me with.
I’d been suppressing it with Mephy’s power in the first place, so the more I used that power, the worse the wound became. Still, it was better than getting it cut off, wasn’t it?
“I just needed some time to think.”
Helena was wrong.
They say it’s better to get it over with sooner rather than later? This was way beyond that.
Not even Helena’s blessing could undo something like this.
And even if it somehow could, the trauma would probably last a lifetime.
“First, I’ll get as far away as I can and take some time to think…”
Clutching the wound Laevateinn had left me, I melted into the crowd.
They’d already pinpointed my location anyway, so I might as well lose myself among the people while I ran.
Then, at that moment.
“Kyyaaaah!!”
Boooom!!
Panic erupted throughout the crowd.
Explosions and screams filled the air.
“What the hell is this?”
It had been a long time since I’d seen something like this.
But once upon a time, it had been a common sight.
“A terrorist attack?”
The scene of a terrorist attack.
I could only stand there speechless as I stared at the chaos unfolding before me. Who the hell were these people?
Eden, Lemegeton, Speartip of Snow Blossoms, Ex Machina, Under Chain….they’d all been defeated and dismantled.
Any smaller terrorist groups should have been swept away along with them…
“Destroy everything! Show the current Emperor our resolve!”
Did a new terrorist organization spring up while I wasn’t looking? Then again, vermin like these always crawled out from somewhere, no matter how many times you exterminated them.
Lobelia really had it rough. She’d worked so hard to build a peaceful empire, only for these pests to come swarming back.
“…Haaah.”
To be honest, I don’t believe people’s true nature ever changes.
Whether I’d become stronger or not, I still hated getting involved in things like this.
Other people’s deaths were just that…. other people’s deaths. They weren’t anyone close to me, after all.
The smart thing to do here would be to evacuate. That’s the kind of person I am.
I’d been through a lot and made countless difficult choices, but… a person’s nature doesn’t change that easily.
Wasn’t I living proof? I’d let power go to my head and caused this whole mess myself.
People don’t change that easily.
But…
“Are you going to save them?”
“Yeah.”
Maybe I can choose to act differently.
All this time, I’d done nothing but run from terrorist attacks.
But today, for the sake of people I didn’t even know, I decided to stand and fight.
***
TN: The end of the victim of the academy. Thank you for reading until now
Leave a Reply