“This is… quite serious.”
“That’s a horrific sight.”
The elf and the Dwarf Representative exchanged disapproving glances at the battered corpse of the emperor I had managed to bring back.
“He deserved to die, but he shouldn’t have met such a dreadful end…”
“Being reduced to beast food. What a tragically miserable death.”
The emperor’s mangled body was enough to make even the seasoned elves and dwarves grimace.
It wasn’t their first time seeing a corpse, but beasts have no lines they won’t cross.
The emperor’s body, torn apart, the bones shattered by beastly teeth… it was clear we couldn’t hold a funeral like this.
So…
“I think we should make the body look somewhat presentable before the funeral.”
At my suggestion, the elf and dwarf representatives nodded.
“I know a dwarf skilled in wax craft; we should call him… and we might need a mortician too.”
“Well, there’s an expert in leatherworking among the elves in Betelgeuse. I’m not sure how good the dwarf’s wax craft is, but he should be able to handle repairing the damaged skin.”
Wax craft? Mortician? Leatherworking? Well… whatever.
I thought about regenerating the body myself, but that seemed like too much work. Better to leave it to the experts.
If I tried to regenerate a corpse, people would definitely react in utter disbelief. It’s best to give clear orders within reasonable limits.
“Alright then, I’ll seal the body to prevent it from decomposing. Please keep this horrific state of the emperor a secret.”
“Understood.”
“Leave it to us!”
Thus, the tasks to fix the emperor’s ruined body began.
Sure, we’d end up cremating the body during the funeral anyway, but it wouldn’t do for the late emperor to look like a total wreck in front of others, right?
The state of the emperor’s corpse was such a mess that anyone who knew him in life would mistake it for someone else.
Let’s at least allow him to travel the last road with some dignity. Some dignity.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
The practically last emperor of the North Romania Empire. There have been various discussions about Commodus’s life and death.
How did that once-brilliant emperor become the foolish emperor?
How did the politically savvy emperor, capable of sidelining most nobles, end up making such a foolish choice?
His cross-species concubine was merely an excuse; what the emperor truly desired was the geopolitical advantage of Betelgeuse and the Goddess of Life’s blessings.
Couldn’t this have been part of a political show to eliminate or neutralize the threat posed by Betelgeuse, which sat within North Romania?
Why did the emperor get betrayed by the elite guards he had gathered and trained, who were loyal to him?
Is the corpse we buried really that of Emperor Commodus?
Numerous theses on the emperor continue to emerge, but the exact truth remains hidden.
Most information is merely folk tales passed down orally, and the subsequent emperor’s supporters thoroughly eradicated records about Commodus.
It’s no wonder that records from the elves and dwarves have outnumbered those from the states that claim to be successors of North Romania.
…
There are undeniably several suspicious aspects surrounding the death of that emperor.
During his captivity in Betelgeuse, the emperor easily fell victim to the magic of the Dragon Priestess who had come to support Betelgeuse, and it’s recorded that he escaped with the help of a certain someone according to those who guarded the emperor at the time.
It remains unclear what method was used, but this record gave more credibility to another record.
It was the record by the dwarf mortician who prepared the emperor Commodus for burial.
This dwarf mortician, well-regarded in Betelgeuse, processed many bodies while keeping records of them, but the record concerning Emperor Commodus was particularly peculiar.
[The human emperor’s corpse was left in tatters by wild beasts. How the emperor’s body, which should have been imprisoned, ended up so mangled is… unknown.]
[I have heard tales about the human emperor Commodus and had seen his face when he was brought in as a captive in Betelgeuse.]
[However, the damage was so extensive that it was hard to recognize his appearance as he looked when captured, yet the elf leatherworker and the dwarf wax craftsman joined forces to restore the body’s mutilated features.]
[The damage was so severe that after several days of restoration, the emperor’s face looked somewhat human, but it didn’t resemble the face from when he was captured.]
[Thus, the restored body was consecrated. May the holy flames alleviate the sins of this wretched soul.]
From this record, a suspicion arises.
Is that corpse truly Emperor Commodus’s?
Would someone with senses sharper than a human, like the elves and dwarves, allow the emperor to die without intervening, especially since they managed to infiltrate the heavily guarded prison using spirits…?
Is it possible that someone retrieved a body similar in stature and appearance, dressed it in the emperor’s clothes, and twisted the narrative around so the emperor could be whisked away somewhere?
There’s no clear evidence for this. Without the legendary magic that can reenact past events, it’s just a deduction based on a few lines of record.
But what if the rightful emperor of North Romania did not die and escaped alive? What if that bloodline continues somewhere?
Couldn’t Commodus’s aftermath, post-death, have been somehow handled differently in the North Romania Empire?
– Foolish Emperor. About Commodus.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
The emperor’s funeral took a bit of time, but eventually, it was accomplished.
Thanks to the incredible efforts of the elf leatherworker and the dwarf wax craftsman!
They managed to piece together the mangled corpse so it looked somewhat human! Yay!
Well, the changes made to the emperor’s appearance were quite drastic… but I guess that’s just something we have to accept.
The emperor’s looks weren’t truly hideous, but the restored version looked rather unattractive… Hmm.
Maybe I should have handled the restoration myself?
“With this, the main issues have been resolved.”
“Phew. Now we can put down this heavy burden. I really want to pick up my hammer soon.”
The representatives of the elves and dwarves shared a small laugh as they watched the emperor’s casket burning atop the stacked firewood.
“You both did well.”
“Oh, the real effort was put forth by the Dragon Priestess. We merely played the part of facilitators.”
“Yes. Thanks to you, we could avoid a major war. Thank you.”
“If I hadn’t been here, Betelgeuse wouldn’t have fallen.”
To be honest, Betelgeuse was practically a fortress.
The walls built by the dwarves, and the hunters of the elves, along with warriors from the two races.
And most importantly, the arena blessed by the Goddess of Life.
The arena, which nullified fatal injuries in exchange for a temporary fainting spell, ended up having an unexpected functionality.
What would happen if someone who was gravely injured entered that arena?
The answer is that any fatal injuries disappear, and they faint!
Sure, when the magic was first put in place, it was just meant to prevent deaths during duels… But somehow, it got twisted and turned into a feature that nullifies fatal injuries.
And I didn’t even discover it myself. I heard that they once put a gravely injured dwarf into that arena and the fatal injury vanished.
When I first heard that, my immediate thought was… “Why didn’t they just treat him instead of putting him there?!”
But I guess their logic was that since no one dies in the arena, maybe someone who looked like they were about to die could be revived, you know?
Users are always this way! They make use of functions in ways the developers could never imagine! Imagine if a bug went wrong!
Well, it seems things were somehow taken care of.
Anyway, that arena that heals fatal injuries, the walls built by the dwarves, the elven marksmen and spirit mages, and the warriors of both races found in Betelgeuse…. made it a formidable city for defensive warfare.
Even without me, I doubt Betelgeuse would’ve crumbled.
Still, there would’ve been some bloodshed, but hey, at least I managed to prevent unnecessary blood from spilling, making my presence here worthwhile.
My actions weren’t meaningless, right? Yup.
With that, I gazed upon the pile of firewood where the emperor’s body was being cremated.
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