“Damn it.”
*Woosh.*
Sand poured out from the coat every time the man took a step.
He had clearly instructed them to get it cleaned properly, but it seemed the attendant brought the wrong coat.
However, there was no attendant here, so there was no one to scold or to tell to take this coat back and clean it.
“Wow… Sand is just pouring out of my body. Are all desert people like this?”
“Must be a desert people’s ability. That’s dope.”
“……”
As he witnessed the formation of a new stereotype about the residents of the desert development area, the man slowly started to take steps.
Though he’d rushed over from the desert and missed the Crown Prince’s Coming-of-Age Ceremony, he could still attend the coronation.
From the commotion inside, it seemed the coronation was about to start soon.
The man hastily pushed his way through the slowly closing door.
Wherever he passed, traces of sand were left behind.
‘Why is everyone so busy…?’
As he looked around, the man couldn’t contain his shock.
Duke Sturmgarte, acting Count Lichtenburg, Count von Byrne, Count Bermanstein, and Baron Shultenburg…
All the big shots were gathered in one place.
With a schedule this urgent, one would think at least one person would be missing.
‘If they were missing, they would have fallen out of favor with the next emperor!’
To be honest, he originally planned to make some excuse and skip it altogether.
Notifying just two days prior sounded like an invitation for those who wanted to skip to just do so.
But seeing all the dukes and counts present, he realized the severity of the situation.
His position governing a development area far from the Empire made him oblivious; clearly, things were much more urgent back in the Empire.
Whatever the reason, Atatürk insisted on taking all his work while he cursed that guy and rushed over.
He told himself he had to express his gratitude to Atatürk when he returned.
‘What is that guy up to…?’
Just then, the door opened, and a young man in a school uniform from the Imperial University stepped out.
Typically, one would expect someone odd at a place like this, but for some reason, he seemed to fit right in.
He was naturally guarding the Crown Prince.
A mere university student, not the Empire’s greatest swordsman or the royal guard captain, was beside the Crown Prince.
Of course, he had the status of a knight directly under the Emperor, but that was just a temporary title meant to adorn him.
The man had to admit he had underestimated Schlus Hainkel’s position.
Every time rumors about him reached the public, he thought they were just inflated nonsense…
But Schlus Hainkel seemed to be more of a big deal than he had expected.
‘Things are getting interesting. What exactly are you going to do, Your Majesty…?’
Will he follow the late Emperor’s path?
Or will he completely diverge from it and walk a new road?
With a bit of curiosity, the man decided to observe the political landscape a little longer before heading back.
*Boom… Boom… Boom…*
The sound of drums announced the start of the coronation.
The crown placed at the very center of the hall was nothing to rave about.
Definitely big and extravagant, it seemed to be made with care, but calling it an Emperor’s crown was a bit of a stretch.
But there was something stranger.
Until Crown Princess Aria stepped forward, no clergy came near the crown.
‘What’s going on?’
From afar, Madam Lichtenburg was looking quite flustered.
The bishop who presided over the Coming-of-Age Ceremony earlier was watching from a distance.
So who would perform the coronation?
Could it be Schlus Hainkel…?
‘No way. There’s no way!’
Madam shook her head.
Receiving a crown from a mere knight…
Even if the Prince was the one who proceeded with the schedule, making such a ridiculous move was too much.
As all the nobles watched nervously, Aria smiled gently and spoke.
“I declare to the citizens of the Freya Empire Federation. I, Aria von Freya, hereby anoint myself as Crown Princess at this very moment.”
Once she finished speaking, Aria slowly began to reach out her hands.
The moment her hands touched the crown, the noble’s mouths slowly fell open.
“I vow here, all honor on the line, to work for the honor of the Empire, to work for the citizens of the Empire, and to work for the glory of the Empire.”
The crown held by Aria reflected light as it rose above her head.
“And also, at this very moment, I declare that I have ascended to the throne and become the Emperor of the Freya Empire.”
Finally, the crown settled atop Aria’s head.
The Crown Prince crowned herself with the emperor’s crown.
There was not a word in her declaration about representing the one true God, Aigis.
She was declaring the severing of national power from the source of gods and the church.
All the nobles were flabbergasted, and for a moment, silence fell in the hall.
“Long live Emperor Aria.”
“……”
Somewhere, a deep voice could be heard.
Count Bermanstein was calling out his celebration.
With that, the dazed nobles followed suit.
“Long live Emperor Aria! Long live Emperor Aria!”
As the cheers echoed loudly, Aria turned around with a satisfied smile.
Soon, the Empire’s greatest swordsman approached and handed her the scepter.
It was a staff adorned with a golden eagle, symbolizing the authority of the Emperor.
With the crown swaying above her head, Aria climbed the stairs confidently and took her seat high on the throne.
Throne. Scepter. And emperor’s crown.
Everything symbolizing the emperor was all gathered in one place.
At that moment, the new emperor had officially been crowned.
Then, music from various instruments began to fill the now lively hall.
“Am I an emperor now? This coronation is something I can’t do twice.”
At first, Aria seemed to sit solemnly, but her posture quickly began to crumble.
The scepter that was held upright leaned against her shoulder, and her head tilted awkwardly under the weight of the crown.
To top it off, she crossed her legs in a cocky manner.
Seeing a side of Aria they had never seen before, all the nobles were taken aback.
“Your Majesty. It’s time to tour the institution.”
“Ugh. Let’s rest a bit longer.”
“The airship will soon pass over the institution. We must match it, Your Majesty.”
“Then slow down the airship’s speed.”
“That may be difficult due to the airship’s structural design…”
“Ugh!”
The emperor suddenly stood up, seemingly annoyed.
The crown nearly fell off but was quickly caught and set back in place by Schlus.
Aria started walking down the aisle, trailing her clothes along the ground.
Leading the way was Schlus Hainkel, followed by the Empire’s greatest swordsman and the royal guard.
At the end of the crimson carpet was the waiting carriage.
“Waaaaah!”
As Aria’s figure appeared outside the imperial palace, cheers erupted from the crowd that had been waiting.
The great road flanked by dozens of thousands, if not millions, of spectators.
Amid the rain of flower petals scattered from all directions, Aria got into the carriage.
Just as the carriage began to freely trot down the open road…
“Return our land!”
“……!”
Someone pushed through the crowd and jumped into the middle of the road.
In an instant, enchanted barriers unfolded, and guards blocked his way.
When he removed his hat, the characteristic large ears of an elf were revealed.
“You demoness!”
Tremendous amounts of mana began to gather at his fingertips, glowing brightly.
The guards’ eyes widened as they gauged the amount of mana.
If hit, they’ll die.
But they were prepared to protect the emperor with their lives.
In an instant, a long spear of light formed at the elf’s fingertips.
“Diiiiie!!!”
“Get down!”
“……?!”
The moment the spear of light flew toward them.
Schlus Hainkel gracefully descended from above, pushing the guards aside.
He stood still, watching the incoming spear as it broke the sound barrier and—
*Kacha…!*
Just before the spear’s tip pierced his brow, he caught it with his right hand.
The elf’s eyes trembled.
It wasn’t just that he was fast.
That beam of light would unleash energy on everything it touched.
*Sizzle!*
In fact, from Schlus’s right hand, sparks flew out continuously, making a menacing sound.
The more this happened, the smaller the spear became.
Until the spear finally disappeared, Schlus was absorbing all that energy with his bare hands.
The elf collapsed right there.
All the mana he poured into that blow was blocked by a mere university student’s bare hand.
“Brave, but foolish. What are you all doing? Hurry and restrain him.”
“Yes!”
“Please wait a moment, Your Majesty. Hehe.”
Just then, someone pushed through the crowd and offered a greeting.
A man whose coat constantly spilled sand…
As soon as Aria and Schlus saw his shadowy grin, they recognized him immediately.
The Duke of the desert development area, Damien.
“May I take him and escort him to the desert?”
“Why would you take the one who tried to assassinate me in the institution to the desert?”
“To administer fitting punishment for him in the desert.”
“……”
As Aria looked down at the duke from the carriage window, a smile spread across her face.
The law in the desert was a bit different from here.
What would be unthinkable in the institution, horrific and cruel human experiments, would be casually conducted there under local customary law.
The duke was suggesting he’d torture and kill this man in the most painful and brutal way.
Seeing through the duke’s hidden intentions, Aria waved her hand.
“Take him away. But once it’s all over, send his head back to the institution.”
“Understood, Your Majesty.”
“Hiiik! Ah, no!”
The duke’s attendants rushed forward, grabbing the elf’s arms and pulling him away.
Once again, the road became clean, and the commotion settled.
And as if nothing had happened, the procession resumed.
…
…
…
“Phew…”
On the high spire of the institution’s cathedral.
Sitting high atop, Alexia looked far off at the imperial palace and let out a big sigh.
“Couldn’t hold back! You’ve dethroned the Emperor! Schlus Hainkel!”
Gustav’s days were numbered.
No matter how hard he held on, he would have died within two months and left the throne.
Had that happened, Gustav would have started preparing to inherit the throne from the time he fell ill, so there would have been no need to hastily progress the schedule to fill the power void.
In such a hurry, he would not have needed to turn his back on the Papal Palace and cause backlash from the nobles.
For failing to wait for that brief moment, Schlus Hainkel hastily crowned Aria with an unstable crown.
Just as that crown precariously rested on her tilted head.
“Well, it might be fine for Schlus Hainkel! But what on earth is the new emperor thinking?!”
In the end, completely turning their back on the Papacy would be aimed at strengthening the imperial power.
In fact, Aria even hinted at a mass replacement of the nobles.
What could be her reason to want to reinforce the power of an already sufficiently powerful continental hegemony at the risk of conflict?
Perhaps she was thinking of the emergence of an enemy that could completely crumble the unity of the Empire.
For the Freya Empire, such threats were few.
Such as the collapse of the class system.
Unstable religions or ideologies infiltrating the populace.
The war with the Majins.
Or perhaps all three…
“Ugh! This is terrifying! Seriously!”
Now that the culprit scattering authority among humans had escaped notice and the Majin conference concluded, Alexia’s anxiety grew.
Of course, there were suspects.
The madman openly displaying hostility.
And the traveler who was oddly uncooperative were both culprits, but unfortunately, they had failed in forced examinations.
After that, she had been tailing both, but unfortunately, they caught on quickly, and she returned to the institution empty-handed.
“I’m not going to help if war breaks out!”
With a humph and a snort, Alexia leaned against the wall.
No matter how strong the Majins, their level of human civilization cannot be underestimated.
Humans will endure devastating losses but will never yield until they have slain the Majins.
Unless all the Majins unite for a counterattack, it is unlikely for humans to be completely subdued.
Only when all the Majins’ powers are pooled together can they finally challenge humanity.
“Huh?!”
Alexia’s eyes widened.
Pooling all the Majins’ powers in one place?
For that, it wouldn’t even require cooperative efforts from all the Majins.
To absorb the strength of the Majins, one would only need to kill the Majins.
If all Majins were killed and their powers gathered in one spot, how powerful would that be?
It might just birth someone worthy of being called a god.
Suddenly struck by that possibility, Alexia felt a chill run down her spine.
