Chapter. 21. Another Solo Play (20)
****
….I had a dream.
The sound of walls and buildings collapsing.
The sound of burning flames and screams combined.
and.
‘I can not understand. ‘No, I can’t admit it!’
My voice when I’m truly angry at someone I’m encountering.
Although it was from the back, the appearance of faded red hair sticking up gave us an idea of who the person was.
‘It was something that could have been avoided! This could have ended well even if you didn’t end up like this!’
‘…That’s strange. ‘I can’t believe you, who are so intelligent, don’t understand the same thing over and over again.’
Red hair.
A dress that is elegant and rich, but not flashy.
The Iron-Blooded Empress, praised for organizing the post-war chaos and leading the golden age of the empire.
‘Hyde.’
‘Queen Empress!’
‘Hyde?’
‘Queen Empress!!’
‘…Hyde.’
‘Shit! Lucille! ‘Do it in moderation!’
Lucilla Aedran Baltin.
Lucilla. Our red-haired companion who went on a difficult journey together.
‘In the end, it’s only after this happens that you call me that, Hyde. There isn’t much time left for us to face each other. ‘If I’d known it would turn out like this, I wouldn’t have taken the oath of allegiance from you.’
‘I don’t have time to talk about this! If you don’t get out right now-‘
‘You’ll die from being crushed by a collapsing palace? Of course it is.’
‘….Lucilla?’
‘This is a palace that my beloved husband built just for me. ‘Is there a more romantic tomb than this?’
‘Gainax. He was a really nice guy, if only he wasn’t naturally short-tempered.
She did not lose her unique bright appearance until the last moment.
As her driver, I could tell that Lucilla had deliberately chosen this position.
‘….why?’
‘Because I have to. Soon there will be a big war with the Teldrat Empire. You and me too. We tried to prevent it using all possible means, both in the sun and in the shadows, but the limit was to delay the war that would eventually break out by about 20 years.’
‘So why are you doing this here? I knew it all! Nobles opposed to the emperor faction are preparing a coup! Starting with the Empress’s palace, the real power of the empire, we will push through to the imperial castle! You found out everything and told me directly! Avoid! Get ready!’
‘Yes, I handed over all the evidence. Thanks to this, the Royal Guard is tightly defending the imperial castle. It will be known to the whole world that the death of the most respected Empress Dowager was planned by all the nobles who opposed the emperor’s faction. Thanks to the evidence of the coup you handed over.’
It was exactly a week after I told Lucilla about my plan, with my old memories fully returning.
‘You know that the current empire has been buried in peace. The death of the respected Empress Dowager would help shake off that lazy fat. It will be possible to awaken the fading chivalry and make the nobles loyal to the imperial family.’
‘I lived a long time. 50 years since that childhood trip. If by placing a few stones on top of this old man’s life, he could sound an alarm in the empire and prepare for the coming great war. ‘Is there a better ending to life than that?’
‘….no way.’
‘The division between knights and nobles, the internal strife of the empire, and countless other political conflicts will disappear starting today. If you make a rough estimate… wouldn’t the lifespan of our empire have increased by about 4 to 5 years?’
Lucilla calmly listened to my lengthy and absurd plan and calmly prepared for her final moments.
‘Because you will come back. ‘Because when you stand here again in the distant future, the empire must remain.’
Thus, with her life, she awakened the empire buried in material abundance and peace to prepare for the coming war. In order to add only 5 years to the time I had to wait for my return in my playfully vague plan.
‘Are you saying that in front of me now? ‘You’re going to do this just for me, for a future that hasn’t been decided yet?’
‘Because there are so-and-so who have come this far for a future that has not yet been decided.’
‘Lucilla.’
‘Take care of my sons. Although they bear the name of emperor, they are still buried in my shadow and have not been able to spread their wings properly. If we’re going to fight a big war, we’ll need your help.’
‘please.’
‘….This is an order from the Empress Dowager. My knight, Sword of Shadows, Hyde. Leave me here and escape.’
Coo-duk-
duk-duk.
The palace, hit by magic explosives, was screaming in death, made of rock and metal.
‘….Go Hyde. He is an old friend of mine with whom I shared the same time, and a knight who has assisted me for a long time.’
Amidst the falling rubble of the building, I raised an article towards her.
At first, as old friends.
Then, as the Empress Dowager of the Empire, whom I sincerely respect.
And back to old friends.
‘i’ll wait. At the end of the last.’
‘If it’s you and the hero, we’ll definitely reach it.’
Coooooo!
….That day, the Empress Dowager’s palace was destroyed by a coup by the aristocrats.
Her son, the emperor, was furious and erased all the nobles and their families involved in the incident from the empire based on the evidence left in the Empress Dowager’s palace.
The death of the respected Empress Dowager plunged the empire into sorrow, and the knights who had left the empire due to conflict with the nobles turned toward the capital as if it were a lie.
The moment the authority and power of the imperial family, which had been fading since the death of Emperor Gainax, stood at its highest, the Magic Empire declared war on the Western Empire.
I headed to the battlefield. To the fiercest battlefield where airships, magic, magic engineering, and aurors clash.
To ensure that the empire remains in place in the distant future, just as Lucilla wanted.
That’s how the empire survived.
Until I get here.
****
Boom….
Cooung –
.
.
.
.
Jump up!
I woke up instinctively, but it took me some time to realize that I had woken up.
Coo-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o There out there, a heavy noise that sounds like a dream.
A darkness where you can’t even see an inch in front of you, where you have to feel your way forward.
‘Has it already started? ‘Did I sleep too deeply?’
It was difficult to tell time because there was no sunlight, but that didn’t seem to be the case. At least I have never had a different time in my life when I fall asleep and when I wake up.
I always woke up at 6 am, which meant that it was not yet 6 am when I forced myself to wake up, and that there were at least five hours left until Cowld’s scheduled ’12 hours later’.
Quaaaang!
Thanks to memorizing the structure of the building on the way, I was able to move quickly even if I couldn’t see in front of me.
While the mutes were bustling and roaring, Cowld was waiting for me at the end of the canyon building that I had promised yesterday.
“You came quickly.”
“Has the fighting already begun?”
“It’s an attack. Exactly. “As soon as our corps moved, they reacted immediately.”
“But wasn’t this canyon surrounded by an army of mutes?”
“Because the surrounding army moved. As soon as the troops surrounding the capital moved, the imperial army of the city rushed towards them. “It seemed as if there had been some prior intention to do this. It was all gathered in one place.”
“this.”
In a way, this was also a butterfly effect caused by me. Because I destroyed the Temple of Mercy, the imperial army spread throughout the city flocked towards the temple, and thanks to that, they were able to rush towards this area faster than expected.
“This means that just as each head of the family can give orders directly to their descendants, the emperor can also give orders directly to his cursed subordinates. This means that it is virtually impossible to outwit them.”
“…That’s why infiltrating this canyon, where the emperor’s curse cannot reach, is even more important.”
“It’s a one-time opportunity. In order to get to the end of the canyon, you must eventually defeat the main body of darkness blocking it, and from that moment on, this place also becomes a place where the emperor’s eyes can reach.”
Kauld purred as if affirming my words.
“Did you rest as much as you needed?”
“enough.”
“What about your compatriots here?”
“…That’s enough. Everyone is doing well. “In some ways, you are like invaders to them.”
Before going to sleep, I stopped by a place where refugees from the empire were said to be gathered in this canyon.
Deep down, I thought they would be very intimidated. From their point of view, this happened because Mute attacked the empire, and it is like a situation where they have no choice but to open their hands to the people who created it in order to survive.
———
‘Oh my goodness! There are still knights visiting the capital! It’s shabby, but eat it like this! I am like a village chief representing the people here!’
‘Oh yes. If you are a village chief…do you have a village?’
‘It’s not like a village, it’s just a group of people who somehow gathered here. It’s a shame, but I’m playing that role because the King needs someone to synthesize human opinions. He was originally a stable keeper for the Baupalas family.’
‘A noble family’s stable keeper…’
‘Yes, I am well aware that it is an undeserved role. There are many nobles who owned magnificent mansions here, knights who could cut down stone pillars with a single stroke of their swords, and famous scholars who said they could build a house with a book they read. But, fortunately, His Majesty Cowld wanted me to fulfill this role.’
‘….why?’
‘I don’t know that, do I?’
———
But contrary to my expectations, the people here were not at all intimidated.
———
‘Are you in the market? In the Mute culture, eating and fighting take place at the same time, so offering a meal is considered rude. ‘The dining culture here is to quietly join in when you prepare your own food, so new people don’t know that and have a hard time blending in.’
‘I don’t have a blacksmith or magic engineer, but there might be some of the items you’re looking for in the warehouse. Magic engineering items are very expensive, so they were included in the luggage of nobles who ran away.’
———
“….From their point of view, you are no different than invaders, but instead of being scared or intimidated, they understand you and sincerely try to blend in. “To be honest, it was hard to understand.”
“I was like that too. “Until I trace their faces in this place where I can’t see.”
“face?”
“Did you see anything that looked like a breathing lump of flesh on the way here? “A human being transformed by the emperor’s curse.”
I saw it. It’s like a brand that’s clearly gathered in my mind.
But why?
“They are the ones who hid in the canyon before us.”
“Yes.”
“That means he came down here under the curse that spread throughout the capital.”
“Uh…”
“And there is no protection like divine power here.”
“ah.”
The biggest reason why nobles, commoners, and even injured knights were able to accept them.
“I cannot distinguish their beauty and chubby appearance with my own eyes. “At least it was clear that it was very different from the human appearance depicted in the book.”
This was because those who were exposed to the fog of curse, even if only briefly, were transformed into a form similar to a pile of flesh. That might be the reason why I didn’t go to the temple and hid in the darkness where I couldn’t see a single inch ahead.
“So you accepted it? “Are they humans who can’t return to the human side?”
“Your Majesty said, ‘Because it’s pitiful.’ He just said. “The person who has lived through the most intense times with humans says so, but we who have not experienced even half of that cannot drive them out because of the hatred we have inherited.”
Cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
be be heard again from afar.
“…The reason I’m telling you this at this urgent moment is because you need to know. “Your decision robbed those humans of their last chance to maintain their humanity.”
“Once the canyon path is cleared, the darkness here will disappear. At that moment, they have no choice but to face the image of themselves that they have been ignoring for so long. Anyone who suffered from the emperor’s curse would never be able to accept their red, melted faces and strangely distorted bodies. “The moment the darkness here disappears is the moment that human life disappears from within them.”
“….”
“My queen has accepted them, so they are already our group. “I wanted to spend more time helping those people adjust to life outside, but I can’t help it.”
Although I couldn’t see it, I could feel Cowld’s head turning in the direction I ran from.
“I don’t think it will reach half as much.”
“If it’s half….”
“There are about 1,200 human refugees here.”
Even though it was dark, I closed my eyes tightly.
Six hundred people. The number of people equivalent to several small villages was determined by my choice.
Perhaps this was also part of the reason Kauld dragged on the war for so long.
“It is a result of choice. “I wanted to tell you that if you decide to do something big, you have to accept all the consequences.”
“….”
“Even a good king cannot stop war. If you want to change the world, embrace it.”
Card clutter.
Clap!
As if he had finished speaking, he heard the sound of Cowld moving.
‘The sound of metal without impurities. If it’s that long… a window? No. If the sound is this loud, the amount of metal must be considerable… A shield? Or a great sword?’
“Do you know how to use a sword?”
“…What is the second most abundant item on the shelves of the imperial nobility after history books?”
Slurp!
As he was heading towards the queen’s side, the sound of footsteps stopped and an eerie feeling came to him that could be felt even from afar.
“…Now that I think about it, I forgot to tell you. “You alone will deal with the main body of the old curse that creates the darkness inside the canyon.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s possible.”
Kauld recalled the first time he met Hyde. In response to his momentum, the hand goes to the sword sheath and the posture taken instinctively.
“Just as there is no half-complete self in the world, there is no half-complete Auror Knight. Either possible or impossible. “Only one of the two exists.”
“Then what am I?”
“….It is denial. It is a rejection of one’s own already completed form. “It’s as if the people here are denying their changed selves.”
Kauld had seen Hyde’s posture before. From a very old record that was treasured deep within the Temple of Wisdom, where all the knowledge of the empire was gathered.
“If that is the sword you are using, then there is no need for us to intervene. Those who will head to the castle with you will join us after sorting out the situation in the canyon.”
“No, but in terms of preserving combat power-”
“If we can’t even deal with you hiding under the emperor’s curse, there is no reason to wage an all-out war like this.”
“Uh…”
“Then I’ll meet you at the castle.”
Kauld left without even hearing an answer.
Before he had time to ponder his thoughts, the sound of pounding and the cursed army praising the Emperor was getting closer.
….Sigh!
“For some reason, my dream was disturbed.”
I took a step inside the canyon.
An all-out war has begun.
From now until we reach the imperial castle, I probably won’t have to sheath my sword.
****
