The power structure before Eliya is said to have deliberately maintained the war.
This is half true and half false.
In reality, they exploited the powerlessness of most people by taking advantage of various situations arising from the war.
However, they ultimately lacked the definite strength to end the war.
None of them could assure that humanity would inevitably triumph and reclaim the lost lands.
Eliya is different.
She is confident and can assure that she is capable of bringing about that change.
As soon as Eliya took the throne, she made several promises to all of humanity.
The first of which was the conquest of the demon realm.
She declared her intent to reclaim the sacred land and expand humanity’s territory.
There exists a legend passed down since the separation between the land of demons and humans, which states that should humanity recover the sacred land of ‘Canaan,’ life would flourish in a land uninhabitable, flowing endlessly with milk and honey, ensuring abundance for all humanity.
Eliya boldly declared that she would turn that legend into reality.
It was nonsense.
Someone would laugh at such a statement.
If that speaker had not been Eliya.
Before Eliya, humanity united as one.
The significance of someone appearing in the dreams of all humans and perishing alongside the Evil God, only to be resurrected, was profound.
The first great unification in human history.
The demon realm conquest began under an unprecedented agreement.
A ceremonial march was prepared to commemorate the first step.
It was a parade from the northern part of Jerusalem to the secured entrance of the demon realm.
The conquest itself had already begun, but the ceremony was separate.
Eliya determined that a festival to officially announce it to the people was necessary in conjunction with the palace’s completion.
“Waaah—!”
The wide-open main street was filled with spectators milling about.
They cheered and shouted, sending their support to the royal procession crossing the street.
At the front of the procession was the Royal Knights.
They marched confidently in their golden armor.
Following them was a truly magnificent sight, a carriage escorted by the Royal Guards clad in platinum armor.
The carriage, so huge that spectators had to strain their necks to see it, was difficult to spot its occupant.
In a sense, it defied the very definition of “carriage.”
Being pulled by nothing less than four gigantic elephants.
Moreover, it was entirely open, lacking a roof or walls, purely for ceremonial purposes.
Inside that carriage sat Judas and Eliya side by side.
“Oh wow….”
Judas felt like he was going deaf from the cheers of the people flying up towards the carriage.
Eliya sat comfortably, crossing her arms and leaning on his shoulder as she took in the surroundings.
Countless people had gathered.
An overwhelming crowd that could easily lead to an accident.
So many were praising him.
Believing in his achievements and the future he would accomplish.
It wasn’t a particularly touching emotion.
He understood it was a great thing, but it was hard to comprehend.
There was no sense of uplift, pride, or achievement.
He just wanted to finish the conquest of the demon realm and lounge around with Judas.
Yet he wasn’t entirely irresponsible.
He did feel a level of responsibility.
The sense that it was something he must accomplish.
His attention caught the sight of children jumping around in excitement.
The nation Judas came from had such a level of governance that it was fine for children to be out late at night.
He held a small desire to maintain such a nation.
“Your Majesty, thank you!”
“Ah, the benevolent majesty has graced us with your presence!”
“That person will lead us to peace!”
Judas, before being recognized as a sovereign, was Eliya’s knight and known to be quite powerful.
He just hadn’t been noticed due to being overshadowed by Eliya.
There were quite a few expecting great things from him.
Receiving recognition as a powerful figure from so many people was a new and somewhat embarrassing experience for Judas.
He awkwardly waved to the crowd with a smile.
“Did you just smile at a girl? Who was she?”
“…I’m not that attentive to single out one woman from this many people.”
“Hmmm.”
Judas didn’t mind Eliya’s stubborn jealousy.
It was somewhat reflexive.
Insistent, yet not seriously suspicious.
“Then give me a kiss.”
Such a request, immediately followed by her asking him to tell her she was pretty, was simply adorable.
Judas affectionately caressed her cheek and kissed her.
Kissing in front of people? Why not—he’d done it before.
Besides, with the height difference, hardly anyone could see from below.
There would be some watchers, but he didn’t care.
Let them look or not.
The rumors of the emperor couple’s affection being somewhat excessive had already spread across the continent.
“Are you satisfied now?”
“Hmm… Just once more.”
Peck.
“And now?”
“Yeah. Good.”
Satisfied after two kisses, Eliya rubbed her face against his shoulder.
“By the way, where is your mom? I haven’t seen her today.”
“She said she wanted to stay home because there are too many people.”
“I see.”
While watching the cheering crowd, Judas suddenly became curious.
“How long will the conquest of the demon realm take?”
“Well… I need to move as quickly as possible, but it won’t go as fast as I’d like.”
True.
No matter how great of a wizard Eliya was, she was still just one person.
It would be impossible to handle the whole demon realm at once.
“How long does Eliya want it to take?”
“A day?”
“……”
“I could do it, but…”
“…Huh? You can do it?”
“Yup.”
As if to say, “Why can’t I?” she looked up at him with an innocent face.
“But that would mean turning the land into a place where no one can live. It would become a forever boiling wasteland, killing all flora and fauna that exist there. Most importantly, there are still people in the demon realm.”
While it wasn’t a habitable environment, there were still people living there.
They didn’t choose to live in the demon realm.
The struggle over land saw some people isolated in the demon realm.
Those who couldn’t cross over into human territory when the land was seized.
Though not many.
“Evading those survivors and only killing the enemies will be challenging for me.”
Simply managing such a vast expanse of land was astonishing enough, but Eliya expressed her disappointment at the inability for precise targeting.
Judas gave up on trying to think.
He thought he knew Eliya well, but not when it came to magic.
She consistently exceeded expectations.
“So, it’s best to advance the army while supporting my magic.”
It wouldn’t be Eliya supporting the army.
The army would support Eliya’s absence as the core of the plans for this conquest of the demon realm.
“You’ll have a lot to do, Eliya.”
“Yup. Still, I must do it. If I want to be with Judas longer and more often.”
“Can I help, too?”
While Eliya took Judas on a few outings, he felt an eagerness to join in on the action.
“Hmmm…”
Eliya pondered as she played with her lips.
“I’m worried, but… If Judas wants to, then. But not in dangerous places. We should stick to safe areas.”
Eliya spoke as if warning a child.
Sometimes, she viewed Judas as someone needing meticulous and careful protection.
This overprotection stemmed from several plausible reasons.
First, Eliya was stronger than Judas.
It was inevitable to worry when her husband was weaker than her.
Secondly.
Judas had come close to death.
When fighting a drake.
And while alone against the Royal Guards.
While it wasn’t a trauma, Eliya still vividly recalled that day.
He was weak only by Eliya’s standards, yet he was among humanity’s strongest overall.
Back then, he was defeated, but now he could slay that drake in one blow.
“Well, of course.”
However, Judas didn’t mind Eliya’s overprotection that much, so he cheerfully accepted.
After all, he had no intention of going to a place dangerous enough for Eliya to worry.
He wouldn’t go out that frequently.
To do something meaningful for Eliya, he’d need to participate in battles often.
And that would mean being apart from her for too long.
Judas didn’t want to endure such dismal disasters.
“Hmph. Alright, it’s a promise then.”
“Yes. Of course.”
Eliya smiled brightly and kissed him in response to Judas’s answer.
After lingering a bit longer than before, she leaned on him.
Judas savored her scent, caressing her shoulder.
Even amid the chaos surrounding them.
Even in a place where everyone looked down upon them, they could lose themselves in the sensation that they were the only two in the world.
He relished her warm skin with his fingertips.
Yet with that, a stronger desire began to rise.
He suddenly asked.
“…By the way, when will this ceremony end? How far do we have to go?”
“We’re still quite far off from the destination. So just hold on.”
“Ugh…”
As Eliya lightly touched his thigh while speaking.
“…I’m holding on too, you know.”
“…!”
*
Weeks passed since the ceremony concluded.
Judas and Eliya experienced the same somewhat eye-rolling routine, punctuated by occasional battles.
Judas fought only hardly at all, mainly serving as a power source and happiness charger beside Eliya.
The advance into the demon realm progressed smoothly, without severe injuries or setbacks.
Then one day.
Eliya and Judas visited Jericho.
Located at the entrance of the demon realm, this fortress city was also an important supply base for the conquest.
Eliya regularly visited such supply hubs.
To monitor any missing supplies.
Or to check if any crimes like embezzlement were occurring.
She had ambushed the locations to catch crimes unannounced, but so far, no one had been caught.
There were no signs of corruption on paper either.
“Strangely, everyone seems honest.”
After confirming the supplies and on the way back, Judas uttered in wonder.
“Right… In the old records, there was a high frequency of corruption.”
Eliya and Judas had reviewed the records from when Balak and Johan ruled, confirming the vast amounts of money unaccounted for.
Eliya had no intention of allowing that to happen.
Military supply/embezzlement was tantamount to an internal attack on the Empire itself.
She aimed to penalize such acts strictly and harshly for deterrence, yet no one had been caught.
“While I’m sure there’s not absolutely none, it seems people are following the rules more than I expected.”
Such occurrences were possible for various reasons.
Firstly, to humanity, Eliya was seen as a semi-divine figure beyond mere mortals.
And because she was an unlimited teleport user who could move freely at any time and anywhere.
That ability allowed her to act like a god, watching over everyone.
“Maintaining the supply routes is smooth… With this, we might be able to progress the front lines earlier than expected.”
Advance, establish barriers and camps in specific terrains to form fronts.
Staying at those locations, they would clean out the roads before moving further and establishing another front.
Under Eliya’s direction and supervision, humanity was steadily encroaching on the demon lands.
“By the way, it’s been a long time since we came to Jericho.”
“Right. It was here that that monster lizard swallowed you, Judas… We need to hunt them down and exterminate them as well.”
“Hmm…”
“That lizard can only be eaten by me…”
“Uhh…?”
While the point of anger was a bit strange, Judas decided to overlook it.
Thinking back to old times brought a smile to his face.
“Back then, I might have thought I had lost my memory, right?”
“Yup…”
Eliya felt embarrassed whenever she recalled that time.
“B-but you know, for someone who couldn’t see or hear, we communicated just fine….”
“Thinking back, it really is curious how that worked out.”
“…But really, you had no idea it was me?”
“Yep. Not at all. I knew it was a woman, but…”
“What kind of woman?”
“…….”
Judas scratched his head, feeling awkward for some reason.
“Not that I thought of anyone in particular… It’s just, since you had black hair, I hoped it would be Eliya… So, um…”
“…….”
Eliya paused for a moment before jumping into him and kissing him.
Judas, surprised, caught her to prevent her from falling and received the kiss.
When they pulled away, Eliya was beaming.
“But it was really you?”
“That’s how surprised I was.”
Moreover, at that time, Judas even tried to run away from Eliya, so it was even more surprising.
“Were you only surprised?”
Eliya’s question, seemingly hopeful, elicited a laugh from Judas.
“I was happy too. Because I missed you.”
Eliya smiled satisfiedly and kissed him again.
“I missed you a lot too. But, I didn’t know you had lost your memory, so it was shocking.”
“Right…”
“On the other hand… It felt strange too. Should I call it selfish? Despite the bad things I said to you back then, could we just start over? I held onto that hope. Part of me was also glad to see you again, in any case…”
Judas nodded, recalling this complex emotion for a moment in silence.
“I would have felt the same.”
Eliya, who had been feeling apologetic, was relieved by those words.
In a single word from him, she found such comfort and salvation.
“Thank you.”
“Why are you thanking me?”
Now, it felt like an old story they could smile about.
“Shall we head back soon?”
Having wrapped up both the supply check and reminiscing the memories, they were about to leave.
Just then, both of them caught the sound of a whisper.
It came from someone hiding, sharing some conversation.
Both held their breath and focused on the voice.
– They say the ghost appeared in the fourth camp area.
– Hey, don’t call it a ghost! Did you see it was a ghost?
– But if it’s not a ghost, what else could it be?
– Seriously… No way someone is just messing around?
– I’m sure. Furthermore, I heard that yesterday, a sound like a newborn baby crying was also heard…!
– Eek…!
Just hearing the voices painted a vivid image of frightened people shaking in fear.
Meanwhile, Eliya remained indifferent.
‘Is there an evil spirit around here?’
A type of demon belonging to the demonic race.
It was troublesome to deal with since it had no physical form.
If found, Eliya could eliminate it with magic, but tracking it down was not so easy.
‘But… Jericho isn’t a region known for appearing demons.’
Given the difficulty of tracking and eliminating demons, the outbreak areas were meticulously categorized and managed.
And Jericho was not one of those areas.
‘Hmm… Should I direct the knight in charge here to investigate? If supplies went missing, it could just be a thief. There’s a chance that a thief went undetected and is mistaken for a ghost. Security management is important….’
While she was pondering possible actions, she felt Judas tighten his grip on her hand.
“Judas?”
His complexion was somewhat pale, and he appeared to be sweating coldly.
“…?”
He couldn’t answer, looking around anxiously.
He resembled a terrified, anxious person.
Eliya quietly looked up at him while rummaging through his memories.
She didn’t cast magic.
Rather, she had stored his memories in fine detail since she had confirmed them earlier.
It was to the extent that she could extract and check them whenever she wanted.
And at the end of that.
“…!”
She realized.
“Judas, Judas?”
“Uh, yeah. Eliya.”
“You heard that too. Didn’t you?”
“Yeah. That’s an odd story.”
“Shall we go check it out?”
“…Why go directly instead of sending someone? Is it really necessary?”
Eliya inadvertently smiled brightly.
It was a mischievous smile, brimming with playful intent.
Through his recollections, she confirmed the truth.
‘Judas is scared of ghosts.’
“No. I also have duties. I should go check it out. There could be an important issue at hand.”
“…….”
Judas fell silent at Eliya’s firm, responsible, emperor-like demeanor.
Eliya, who was looking at him carefully, cautiously asked.
“Are you scared?”
“Me? Hah! Me scared of a ghost? No way. I’m not scared at all!”
“Right?”
Eliya smiled brightly, taking his hand and leading the way.
“…….”
In reality, he was scared, but he couldn’t say so, so he had no choice but to follow her.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
