“I heard you called for me.”
“Sit down.”
“It’s alright.”
The great Golden Empire, the Imperium.
The noble bloodline of the royal family and the sword of the Empire, Duke Huangyeol, welcomed someone who had come to the audience room of the royal palace.
Silver bobbed hair and grey eyes with a hint of green.
Thin silver armor, designed for agility, heightened her sharpness, and the ghostly cloud sword sheathed at her waist radiated a chilling aura.
“Birang Brennis.”
Cloud Envoy, Birang Brennis.
Now one of the six swords of the Empire, her brother is the sorcerer Biron Brennis.
Together, the siblings stand with the Spirit Lord ‘Arne’.
“Please, take a seat. The conversation might take a while.”
“I’ll listen while standing.”
“That’s a good suggestion. It’s not like I’m trying to bribe you, so relax and listen.”
“…Yes.”
Squeak.
Only then did Birang carefully take a seat.
She sat as if she were invited to a banquet in an enemy nation, not the Empire.
Seeing this, Duke Huangyeol chuckled and helped himself to the food on the table.
“Are you not going to eat?”
“I don’t eat while on duty.”
“But you’re not on duty here.”
“I am on duty.”
Birang’s gaze met Duke Huangyeol’s without a hint of trembling.
Indeed, Duke Huangyeol nodded as if he understood and continued his meal.
Clink. Clink.
Silence stretched on for a while.
No one spoke; only the sounds of utensils echoed.
Thud.
“…What is it you wish to ask?”
“A request, huh? That’s an interesting topic. The eight swords… now it’s just six.”
Still not used to it.
“The swords of the Empire must be wholly devoted to the Empire. In that sense, it should be referred to as a ‘given’ rather than a request.”
“……”
“Of course, you wouldn’t take it at face value. You’ve been following Arne for a long time now.”
“…I serve only the Empire and His Majesty the Emperor.”
“Right. That’s true.”
Sleek.
Duke Huangyeol pulled something from his robe.
A rectangular letter made of blue light.
“Do you know what this is?”
“…It’s that strange paper that fell from the sky. I checked it, but it had no special effect.”
“Exactly. To those like ‘us’, it just seems like ordinary paper.”
Squeak…
The audience room door opened.
A woman with violet hair entered, her long hair flowing chaotically.
“…!”
With just a gesture from Duke Huangyeol, she swiftly took her place beside him, awaiting the next command.
Birang’s eyebrows naturally furrowed.
To think that the great Empress of the Empire, the object of terror at the peak of magic, is treated so lightly.
As Arne said, Duke Huangyeol is indeed a man with a dark heart.
Duke Huangyeol is a man with a dark heart.
A letter from Duke Huangyeol was directed to Karia.
“I think there’s been a little misunderstanding.”
“…I don’t know what you mean.”
“We are dedicating all the Empire’s technological force towards Karia’s treatment. Additionally, her talent and knowledge are being utilized in a more ‘proper’ manner.”
“I understand fully.”
“Indeed. Anyway, keep an eye on it.”
Karia fidgeted with the paper and glanced at Duke Huangyeol.
As he nodded, violet magical power began to swirl, elevating the structure of the letter into the air.
Pabababak!
In an instant, violet spears filled the interior of the Audience Room.
Birang jumped up in surprise.
“This is…”
“Isn’t it amazing? A ‘warrior’ who uses spears and hammers can manipulate such magic. And this is all contained within just one piece of paper.”
Another magic connected to this paper.
Countless spells linked, compatible, and supporting that magic.
To show all of that would require more than just the Audience Room.
“Is this… from someone named Lily?”
“That’s right. Lily Elbrite. What trouble is this key figure causing now?”
“I think I understand why I was called.”
Zzt!
Countless spells before Birang vanished, leaving only a single spear.
A question arose.
“…Lily’s first broadcast? What is this?”
“Just think of it as magic used by outsiders. Yes, you could call it transmission magic.”
“Transmission magic.”
Then…
“If broadcasting is transmission magic, then the first broadcast must be the day transmission magic was first cast.”
“Exactly.”
“That date is… oh, it’s right here.”
Karia had already created another spear and wrote down the date.
The second question is…
…
─Congratulations. You have answered all the questions correctly.
Ding ding!
With lively music, a blue letter transforms into a pure white paper.
It feels like if I write on this, I’ll be transported somewhere.
“I’ve heard that a pretty large building is being erected in Ronhadia’s territory, which Lily took over. Wasn’t it called an academy?”
Nod nod.
Karia nodded vigorously.
“…That building must be connected to this paper.”
“Right. You know what you have to do, right?”
Grabbing the paper.
I’m a bit reluctant to do something ‘expected.’
“I’m curious about this person named Lily…”
I’ll get a chance to see her abilities this time.
“…I will carry out my orders.”
■
Three days into the exam.
I was half-reclined in the office, receiving countless reports.
It’s strange. I thought I had decided not to work.
It seems like we’ve decided to go this way.
“Why has work increased?”
Managing the dimensional space, overseeing Lasty who will become a professor, handling classes, managing the academy, and figuring out the passers one by one…
“Ah.”
I lay back down again.
For some reason, it feels like more of a hassle.
It would be great if Besk could take care of these things, but unfortunately, managing dimensions and keeping track of user lists is beyond Besk’s capabilities.
Because Besk can’t see the system.
The invitations sent out this time can be seen by anyone with a certain level of magical power, but I set it so that only ‘users’ can view it through a trigger.
Just in case to prevent the residents of this place from being dragged in.
…Well, if they have the skills, it doesn’t matter, but it’s not just an ordinary academy, so it can’t be helped.
Knock knock knock.
“Come in.”
The office door opens and Besk walks in.
He looks quite tired too.
Since the academy was established, many have tried to enter Elbrite.
Besk declared he would embrace those people and turn it into a tourist city, and he has been working almost every day without rest.
In fact, I couldn’t assign any academy-related tasks to him because he is already handling so much.
“…Are we short on manpower?”
“Yes.”
“Short on manpower?”
“That’s right. There’s too much to manage.”
“Management… right. We are somewhat short on people.”
Minor tasks within the territory are handled by those under Besk.
However, all important decisions that need to be made fall to Besk.
The problem is that there are far more important tasks than one might imagine.
“Maybe to distribute the workload, we could promote them to higher ranks…”
“Can they be trusted?”
“…I trust them.”
“So they are people I don’t know.”
“That’s correct.”
Hmm…
What to do?
Honestly, I’ve given all operational authority over the territory to Besk, but I know.
If I grant various titles and powers to unverified individuals because management is difficult, it will surely rot from the inside out.
I’ve seen this happen multiple times and experienced it, so I couldn’t just carelessly say to do it.
“…The island of the ancients must be a bit busy too. The guild? A bit ambiguous?”
“……”
“Hmm… Ah! Let’s use that.”
“?”
There’s just the right person for this task?
■
“Why me?”
“Because you do it best.”
I stormed into the residence of the resting Pharaoh.
The Pharaoh, who was carefully polishing the golden mask I returned, shook his head firmly, looking displeased.
“…It’s not a desert, not an emperor, and not even ruling someone? Just handle the admin stuff?”
“Exactly.”
“I refuse.”
Boom!
The masked pharaoh glares at me.
“What do you think of the emperor? You want to use the great emperor merely for ‘menial tasks’?”
“If things wrap up nicely, I’ll even give you some territory.”
“No need. I want the desert.”
“I can even make it a desert for you.”
“It’s not an artificial desert!!”
Whoosh!! A sandstorm charges towards Besk, who was behind me.
Besk hides behind me with eyes wide open.
What is this guy doing?
“W-Who is this person?”
“My business partner.”
“Business partner, my foot. It’s a slave.”
“Why don’t you like it?”
“Isn’t it obvious? I don’t need a ‘fake’ desert created like that.”
“Huh.”
I’m pretty sure it wasn’t like this before.
“‘I will turn all the worlds into a desert! Obey the will of the great emperor!!!’ Who was it that turned a forested kingdom into a desert?”
“…Enough.”
“And when I asked if you liked the desert I created, you answered ‘Yes!’, who was that, huh?”
“……Stop it! Stop! Why do you keep bringing up the past?!”
Mentioning past black history made the pharaoh turn his head.
His tastes have changed. This is throwing a wrench in my plans.
“Come on, let’s get to work. It’s been thousands of years since you’ve been out.”
“Isn’t teaching these brats enough? I don’t want to play this fake ruling game.”
The pharaoh completely turned his back on me.
What to do…
Honestly, forcing him to do it would be easy.
But for some reason, I didn’t want to do that.
At least, as much as he helps me, I wanted to reciprocate as much as I could.
At that moment, Besk, who had been hiding behind me, pops his face out.
“W-What if we conquer the desert…?”
“Conquer?”
“Conquer, yes?”
“Yes. There happens to be a small desert near Ronha… Elbrite territory. It belongs to no one, and very few tribesmen live there, so there’s almost no war issue.”
“Oh.”
Maybe… it could work.
I can just recruit the tribesmen.
“What do you think, Pharaoh?”
“…You think you can sway me with just that?”
Creeeak…!
The pharaoh’s eyes meet mine.
“So you’re not doing it?”
“…..I didn’t say I wouldn’t.”
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