“That’s a funny joke.”
“Please become the god that our new religion upholds.”
To this request, Schlus Hainkel chuckled softly and replied.
Aria could only return the smile as if to let it pass.
However, it was only after Schlus had left that Aria began to feel regret.
“It wasn’t a joke…”
Aria sat on a chair in her bedroom, pulling her legs up and mumbling with her head buried in her knees.
Despite the delegates outside pleading insistently for approval, there was no point. She had already given up and sat in front of the door for a long while.
Aria had no intention of leaving until she calmed her troubled mind.
“What in the world am I supposed to do? Even if I command him to be my husband, that arrogant guy would never comply…”
Schlus Hainkel is not an eunuch.
She had realized this just recently.
He was probably sharing affection with most of the women around him.
Honestly, he was a guy who couldn’t differentiate between public and private matters.
Of course, that wasn’t all.
Schlus Hainkel had already become someone who couldn’t be bound by the nation.
It wouldn’t matter if she commanded him to come to the palace to marry, he wouldn’t listen.
Moreover, it was impossible for Schlus to accept the idea of someone barging in claiming to be the legitimate wife when he already had a fiancée.
“That doesn’t mean I can just bow down and give in…”
It also wouldn’t make sense for Aria to lower her head and get married.
Aside from Aria’s own intentions, it would lead to a crisis that would undermine the majesty of the Emperor of the Freya Empire.
If she didn’t want to see a massive rebellion and the fall of the imperial court immediately after her death, she couldn’t afford such a blunder.
“How infuriating. If you agreed to become a god for once, everything would be so neat. But why… why do you refuse…?”
There was a simple and easy solution.
If Schlus Hainkel simply became the god himself, that would be the end of it.
If he formally rose to a rank higher than that of a country’s emperor, he wouldn’t need to worry about pride anymore.
He wouldn’t have to concern himself with the dignity of an emperor.
“Of course, that’s not what I want. I certainly don’t want to kneel down and beg that damned proud Schlus Hainkel to make him my husband. But… don’t do that…”
Imagining herself bowing to Schlus made Aria’s cheeks flush immediately.
Would he, who has everything, really accept marriage without any conditions?
She could almost imagine him asking for something major in return.
For instance, demanding freedom of his body.
Or perhaps forcing her into some peculiar act.
“That can’t happen…”
With her ears still pink, Aria bit her knees.
However, all of this was based on the assumption that Schlus had decided to become a god, which quickly calmed her.
Aria let out a deep *sigh* as she dropped her legs down from the chair.
“The more I think about it, the more infuriating it gets! If you could just say you’ll become a god, that would be enough!”
With newfound anger, Aria pulled her legs back up again.
An infinite cycle had begun once more.
*
—Chairwoman of the Imperial University of Freya, Alexia von dem Kloistere.
Alexia’s name still held a place in the chairwoman role.
This meant she still hadn’t resigned.
Of course, since the meeting of the Majins, there had been no contact whatsoever.
What in the world was she thinking? That was what made her curious.
She wished she would just clearly say she would side with the Majins.
Though the tide had turned against them…
Now, it was almost a winning atmosphere.
The remaining forces of the Asylum couldn’t withstand the Imperial Army’s offensive and began to crumble here and there.
In the Trud Kingdom, the Great Forest, and the Desert, it was all the same.
The Majins’ desperate attempts to attack had returned in total failure, and due to that shock, they were collapsing even faster.
Now, the only remaining Majin was the Traveler.
Considering that my authority was twice that of the Traveler, they had no chance unless they allowed a *surprise attack*.
But the Majins still had a trump card left.
That was Alexia.
A Majin who loved humans so much that even in times of war, she advocated for peace.
Having lived with humans for thousands of years, she understood them even better than they understood themselves.
And she was the strongest Majin.
However, the last premise of ‘the strongest Majin’ troubled her.
Of course, she had written that without thinking when composing the novel, but how that would manifest here was anyone’s guess.
If all the Majins were roughly equal in strength, it wouldn’t make sense for Alexia to be just slightly stronger.
If she was called ‘the strongest,’ that meant she was overwhelmingly powerful.
The original story had never depicted battles among the Majins, so she had no way to know their true strength.
“I’m going crazy.”
Deciding to stop thinking about Alexia, it seemed pointless to ponder whether she would participate.
Logical reasoning such as, she wouldn’t suddenly join late after the Madman and Tiltitz had been defeated didn’t apply to Alexia.
After all, she was someone who lacked any consistency.
For now, it seemed best to prepare in case Alexia decided to join in.
“Are you feeling uneasy?”
“…?.”
At that moment, the chair next to me moved with a *creak*, and someone sat next to me.
It was an unfamiliar female student.
Since I was retaking the course, this student must be a freshman.
I reflexively tried to check her.
[Name: Ella von Byrne]
[Gender: Female]
[The second daughter of the Byrne family. Well-versed in ice-type magic…]
So it was Byrne.
She appeared to be the sister of Aintz.
“That makes sense. You’re a second-year student stuck among the freshmen. You must be contemplating what kind of younger student to choose while looking at all the fresh out of adolescence students.”
“Byrne…”
“Oh, I don’t recall introducing myself. Did you hear that from my brother?”
I nudged Ella, who quietly whispered by my ear, with my shoulder.
Ella, Ella, Ella.
Did I create such a character…?
I didn’t remember, but at this point, it wouldn’t be strange if characters I hadn’t made started popping up like mushrooms.
Besides, to casually sit next to a stranger, someone everyone else seemed hesitant to approach, and start talking as if nothing was wrong…
She was living in a different world from the me who quietly hid in a corner during college, just listening to lectures.
I strongly felt that if I got involved, it would become tedious.
“My friend! Oh, have you already finished greetings with Ella?”
“Not yet! I was just about to introduce her when you blurted out your name!”
“Oh, sorry about that.”
In the awkward moment, a voice that made me feel at ease came through.
It was only when Aintz naturally sat next to me that I felt out of place.
Why was Aintz here in a class meant for freshmen…?
“Why the heck are you taking this class?”
“Oh, I got two Fs because I was busy organizing the family in the second semester.”
“Dual pistols, huh?”
“Huh? What did you say?”
“Nothing…”
Now that I think about it, the concept of guns does exist in this world, but the concept of firearms doesn’t.
I should be more cautious about this since my development of a pistol is a closely guarded secret.
“Anyway, you mean you messed up your schedule because you’re retaking the course? But why are you retaking? Why not just retake the entire semester later?”
“I want to graduate with everyone. I want to squeeze every class into my schedule. But is she your sister?”
“Ah, Ella here is my cousin—”
“She’s my real sister!”
“…”
Voices erupted from both sides, and for a moment the atmosphere became tense.
Aintz’s face turned slightly pale as he looked back and forth between me and Ella.
“Oh, was that something I shouldn’t have said?”
“It’s not like you shouldn’t, but… sigh… our family is a bit complicated, so just know that.”
“Oh…”
A sister and a cousin, huh.
So she’s a half-sibling, with her mother being Aintz’s aunt?
It was like looking into the Abyss.
I decided not to delve deeper.
“My introduction took too long! I’m Ella von Byrne. Someday, I’ll lead the Byrne family.”
“Hey, what are you talking about in front of the family head?”
“Well, until when can my brother be head? I think I’m more suited to the position than he is.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“The times have changed, Brother. Now, those who hold strong connections with absolute beings wield the power. Do you really think a flimsy bond of friendship between men can protect the head’s position?”
“Hey, you’re not implying Schlus, are you?! Cut it out! Schlus has someone!”
“Well, I hear that someone also has multiple partners. Am I wrong?”
“…”
My head began to throb.
Only a handful of people knew about the engagement with Emilia.
Among those, even fewer knew about the polygamous arrangement with Iris and the three-way engagement with Trie.
Because of that, Ella’s assertive tone was utterly bewildering.
“What are you talking about?! Schlus is totally devoted! Huh? There’s no way Schlus would ever turn his eyes to another woman! Schlus isn’t the kind of scumbag who would snatch up anyone just because he sees an opportunity! He’s not some lecher who goes around saying he loves you all! Got it? Ugh!”
“If that’s the case, I apologize for my presumptions…”
“Yeah, you hear that?! Don’t label my friend as some pervert who wants a harem!”
“…”
Does this guy really not know what he’s saying?
A doubt crept in, wondering if he was just teasing me knowing everything.
‘Marriage…’
Engagement.
Just the fact that I had promised marriage already counted to three.
Until now, I had been carelessly throwing around promises as needed or as my heart desired, but as the time to fulfill them drew closer, a weight seemed to settle in my heart.
This wasn’t something to take lightly.
Moving because the Chairwoman’s Residence was destroyed left me even more solemn.
“Absolutely, it’s better to run all the households separately.”
“What did you just say, Schlus?”
“Huh?”
Ah. I definitely meant to say that in my head.
