Chapter 66

With this, the Emperor would be seen as the one who both withheld funds from the relief measures and prevented the Crown Princess from using her personal budget. It was certain that public opinion would turn against him.

And once that happened, the shift in public sentiment would naturally become a force supporting Iris.

Even if commoners held a lower status than nobles, their sheer numbers were overwhelmingly greater.

If the commoners turned their backs on the Emperor and began supporting the Crown Princess instead, the nobles would slowly start engaging in the battle of public opinion as well. In the end, even the Emperor would have no choice but to apologize to Iris.

“When His Majesty does apologize, that will be our chance to request full freedom to carry out initiatives that will earn us even more achievements.”

With this plan, they would gain both public support and merit.

In reality, this quest was based on a scenario from the game I knew well, so clearing it wasn’t particularly difficult.

While the quest instructions said to “properly complete the relief measures”, the fact that only two days were given meant that rather than fully resolving the issue, the real objective was to present a viable solution.

[Quest completed in record time!]

[Quest rewards are being distributed!]

[As a bonus reward, you have received 1,000,000 silver!]

[As a bonus reward, you have earned the title: “Fastest Quest Clearer”!]

Well, would you look at that?

I figured this would happen soon enough.

And the fact that the quest notification had appeared…

“This… really is an incredible idea…! If Estelle is willing to help, it’s definitely possible…!”

This meant that Iris had accepted my advice.

Still, “Fastest Quest Clearer” huh?

Ahem, that actually sounded pretty cool. Not bad at all.

“But I do have some concerns. Will Estelle really be willing to help that much?”

“I think she will.”

Since that was how things had played out in the game as well, there didn’t seem to be any particular reason to worry.

“Oh, right. That makes sense. If Sir Theo explains it, then it should be possible.”

“Hmm? Wouldn’t it be fine if Iris explained it instead?”

“I’m sorry, but I’d like to ask for your help with this.”

“Well, I mean… It’s not a difficult task, so sure.”

***

After Theo and Iris finished their walk together, they regrouped with Estelle and the other two.

“Sir Theoo! Where did you…huh? Why are you coming back with Iris?”

Seeing Theo walking alongside Iris, Estelle looked at them with a puzzled expression on her face.

“Oh, I was looking for the restroom, but I accidentally wandered into the main palace. That’s when I ran into her.”

“Ah! If you had told me, I would’ve gone with you…!”

If Theo had mentioned it to Estelle, who had already stayed at the Imperial Palace once before, she probably could have helped him. But since he had taken a wrong turn and ended up talking to Iris instead, he saw it as an unexpected but valuable outcome.

If things had gone differently, he might have only heard about this after returning to the academy.

“Well, since I met Iris, it all worked out.”

“Even so…”

Estelle pouted slightly and looked disappointed.

In the end, I’m just stuck walking around with these tagalongs again, while Iris gets to have Sir Theo all to herself.

Since they were at the Imperial Palace, it was understandable to some extent. But back in the Holy Empire, nothing like this had ever happened.

Things like that tended to leave Estelle feeling a little down.

“More importantly, Estelle, there’s something I’d like to talk to you about. Do you think we could take a short walk, just the two of us?”

Of course, any concerns she had instantly melted away the moment Theo asked for a private walk.

“Yes! Of course, I’d love to!”

And just like that, the issue disappeared.

“Then I’ll leave the three of you in Iris’s care. Have fun in the meantime.”

“Oh, yes! Understood. I’ll make sure to guide them properly.”

Of course, since Iris had scheduled her audience in advance, their tour had been arranged around the same time, meaning it was nearly coming to an end.

However, as long as he was with Iris and Estelle, the so-called tour felt utterly meaningless.

“Then, Sir Theo, shall we head over there? There was a really beautiful garden and a lake.”

Theo was surprised to learn that there was even a small lake within the Imperial Palace, but right now, what mattered more was conveying the information about Iris.

“Yes, sounds good. Shall we go?”

Since all four of them had already finished looking around, it was likely that they would venture further inside rather than stay in the garden. Even if that wasn’t the case, Theo was certain that Iris would lead the others quite far away. With that in mind, he gave a nod and set off with Estelle alone toward the imperial garden, where the lake was.

“So?”

Once Iris and the other three were completely out of sight, Estelle casually asked.

“Huh?”

“Didn’t you have something you wanted to say?”

At her words, Theo hesitated for a moment and started considering how to begin. Then, just as he had done earlier when he was with Iris, he cast a barrier to block out any eavesdroppers.

“Ah! Sir Theo, you actually know how to do this now?”

Remembering that she had been the one to cast it before, Estelle had started to create a barrier of her own only to realize that Theo’s barrier was already in place. She grew startled and asked quickly in surprise.

“Oh, yes. I saw you using it last time, so I tried copying it. How is it?”

How is it? That wasn’t even the right question to ask. Magic wasn’t something one could simply mimic after watching someone else use it. It required precision far beyond what could be learned by observation alone.

In other words, Theo had essentially analyzed the flow of magical power within the barrier Estelle had created and created his own using that as a foundation.

It was an unbelievable level of talent. There was no other way to describe it.

“A-Amazing…! Is this really possible? It’s even more refined than the one I used! Even if someone were standing right in front of us, they wouldn’t be able to hear a thing…”

The strength of a barrier was determined by the flow of magical power within it.

Considering that the one Estelle had previously cast was already high-level magic, this meant that Theo’s was an entire tier above that. There was no denying it.

Estelle was truly impressed by how rapidly Theo was improving.

But at the same time, a part of her couldn’t help but feel a little afraid.

His talent… is crazy.

She knew all too well that no one in this world could possibly keep up with someone who not only possessed insane talent but also put in relentless effort.

– I’d like to take a proper look at that commoner someday.

Only now did she begin to understand what the Holy Emperor had meant when he said that.

No matter how exceptional Theo was, she had found it both unpleasant and incomprehensible that the Holy Emperor would take such an interest in him.

But the Holy Emperor had lived far longer than Estelle.

That meant he had a far keener eye for people, and the moment he saw Theo, he had recognized it instantly.

…I shouldn’t have introduced Theo to him last time.

If she had planned the tour in advance like Iris did this time and taken Theo and Iris with her, the unfortunate incident of introducing Theo to the Holy Emperor would never have happened.

As Estelle berated herself for her foolishness,

“So, getting back to the main point, Estelle,”

“Huh? Oh, yes…!”

Theo’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

“Something like this happened recently.”

Although Theo explained it in a relatively lighthearted manner, the actual content was anything but light.

Iris and the emperor’s private audience—

“So basically, this means the Holy Empire will be practically declaring that they’re siding with Iris, not the Emperor…?”

Personally, she didn’t care.

She figured that, whatever happened, aligning with Iris would be far better than dealing with those cunning, old-fashioned geezers currently in power.

In fact, after graduating from the academy, she had every intention of challenging the Holy Emperor for his position and taking it for herself. And she was certain that Iris had the same idea.

So, naturally, Estelle had no doubts about putting her bet on Iris.

But for now, the Holy Emperor remained the supreme ruler of the Holy Empire.

Whether he would actually choose to side with the Crown Princess was still in question.

“I’ll ask His Holiness first and get back to you. Now that things have come to this, I don’t think it’s something I can decide on my own.”

“Of course, that’s the right thing to do.”

Theo had already thought everything through up to that point.

Telling Estelle, “You’re the Saintess, so take responsibility and do this…” was out of the question. It would mean using the Holy Empire’s funds.

Naturally, that required the Holy Emperor’s approval. And for that to happen, the Holy Emperor himself had to be willing to let Iris take credit for it.

“I’m sure you’ll handle it well, Estelle. But if you ever need my help, just let me know.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t want to trouble you, Sir Theo! But I’ll do my best. Even if I have to beat His Holiness into agreeing!”

There was an undeniable force behind her words as if she truly meant it.

“But are you sure about this, Estelle? If you take the credit for this, it’ll be an achievement that helps you when you ascend to the Holy Emperor’s seat in the future.”

“It’s fine. I already have more than enough merit to claim that position, but Iris doesn’t. Besides, I’m just helping with something that’s been weighing on your mind, Sir Theo. What’s the problem?”

Estelle looked at Theo with a bright, beautiful smile.

Thump—

Ah, my arrhythmia is acting up again.

His heart started pounding as he looked at her, but at this point, Theo decided to just chalk it up to arrhythmia and move on.