Had Adriana and Loyar become close enough for her to give her a bath?
Loyar did seem to like Adriana.
"You look good. You should maintain this appearance more often. I couldn't stand the constant smell of a wet dog."
With a grin, Eleris said that, causing Loyar to glare at her.
"Whether I bathe or not…"
"Before you return, buy some insecticide and spray it on that child. You must've transferred the fleas and lice living on your body to her."
"Seriously? Why are you treating me like this? I don't have fleas or lice!"
"If you don't have them, that's even stranger. Were you so filthy that not even fleas or lice could survive on you?"
"Shut up!"
Surprisingly, Eleris has a tendency to tease Loyar. Loyar's feisty response was quite amusing.
It's somewhat similar to when I playfully poke at Harriet.
Anyway, Loyar, the white-haired beast who had transformed from a wet dog to a human, joined us.
"Alright, last time things were urgent, so I couldn't explain everything properly. I called you here today because we have some things to sort out."
Last time, I had them carry out their tasks without explaining the details and intentions. We couldn't talk much afterward since we had to return to the Temple.
Most importantly, there was Sarkegaar.
Eleris and Loyar might not know, but I had to make sure Sarkegaar understood the situation.
"Last time, it's true that I wanted to save Olivia. And it's true that I wanted to save Adriana as well."
The three of them remained silent at my words.
"Olivia shares Tiamata with me, and she plays an important role in imprinting divine magic on Tiamata. She's an irreplaceable existence. Of course, I won't say I'm using her just for that. Both Adriana and Olivia are important to me."
"Your Highness… You have too much affection for… No, never mind."
Sarkegaar seemed worried, trying to say something but ultimately closed his mouth. He seemed to have given up, realizing that he couldn't persuade me on this matter.
"Right now, what you're most curious about is why we let the humans know about our existence, right?"
"Yes, Your Highness. If humans know there is a new Demon King, they will unite and try to find us by any means."
The demon remnants reveal themselves to prevent the empire's fragmentation.
It would be good for the empire, but for Sarkegaar, who dreams of rebuilding the demon world, it would be the worst of all evils.
However, reasons can always be created.
"Sarkegaar, want to hear something interesting?"
"What is it?"
"Right before Riverrier Lanze died, he offered to join forces with me."
"!"
At my words, both Eleris and Sarkegaar looked appalled.
"He said that if his forces caused chaos in the empire, it would be good for us. That joining forces would be better."
"The Holy Knight Commander… said that?"
"Humans are such beings."
I lowered my voice.
"For their own benefit, they're more than willing to join hands with non-humans and kill their fellow humans."
Human Wickedness and Selfishness
I speak of it.
"So… All we had to do was join hands…?"
"I told you. Riverrier Lanze wanted two things I couldn't concede. So, there was no way to negotiate with Riverrier Lanze."
I don't intend to hide that Adriana and Olivia are precious to me.
"Right now, our power is still weak. If humans are divided now and the empire manages to mend the situation, by the time the real division should happen within the empire, everything might already be resolved."
"…"
"Now is not the right timing. It would be better to strike one by one when we have a solid foundation and everything is prepared. Be it a revolution or the establishment of a Holy Empire."
My words slowly change Sarkegaar's expression.
It's an expression moving from suspicion and doubt to finding an answer.
"The Holy Empire is not a matter that will disappear just because Riverrier Lanze died. Independent factions are emerging within the Five Great Religions. They might find another focal point besides Riverrier Lanze."
"And those factions will join hands with us if needed."
"The revolutionary forces? They are no different. The empire is a huge monster. The monster the revolutionaries must face is big and powerful. They? Of course, if they think that the new demon world's power can shake the empire, they will surely join hands with us."
"Of course, if it were the days when the previous Demon King was thriving, they would never join hands with us. They just want to use us."
"In other words, we can only join hands now when we are both weak, to confront the monster called the empire."
"So, revealing ourselves now is not to unite humanity."
"It's to inform the anti-imperial forces of our existence."
"So, we approach them one by one and exchange each other's value for use. We can also discuss the timing and opportunity to tear the empire apart in detail."
"Whether it's a revolution, the establishment of the Holy Empire, or the reconstruction of the demon world, wouldn't it be better for each party to achieve their goals if they happen simultaneously, rather than sequentially? They wouldn't have a reason to refuse such a proposal."
"In other words, this is the starting point for creating an anti-imperial alliance."
The main objective is to inform humanity that the demon world is still thriving, thus stopping their division.
However, depending on how it's presented, we've revealed ourselves to join hands with the anti-imperial forces and to use them.
An anti-imperial alliance.
Everything depends on how it's articulated.
At my words, Eleris looks at me with a bewildered expression.
Even Eleris, who knows my true intentions, is astonished. She might think that all my talk about the future is a lie, and my real goal might be this.
Even Eleris, to whom I've revealed everything, is surprised.
"Your Highness's wisdom… I am in awe…!"
Sarkegaar had nothing more to say.
His doubts had been resolved.
They had to be.
Even if it all depended on how I explained it, if I really intended to do so, I could. If toppling the empire was the priority, the revolutionary forces would join hands with us.
Of course, after the empire fell, they would try to strike us down, but it was only natural to join forces with a future enemy out of necessity.
First, we would topple our most imminent and significant enemy, and afterward, we would bring down the smaller ones who had allied with us.
If we really wanted to, we could make it happen.
"Our contact with the revolutionary forces will be under the name of Darkland."
"I understand, Your Highness…"
Sarkegaar seemed to be in awe, as if he could not have imagined that my plan was so grand.
But in truth, it was all lies.
The affairs of the revolutionary forces and the Holy Empire.
During my contacts with the core forces and sharing information, what I would say was not about the revolution or the collapse of the empire, but rather that "the time is not yet right."
I only needed to buy time until the Gate incident occurred.
About a year from now.
If I could keep them restrained during that time, my goal would be accomplished. Everything else could be postponed.
My head already felt like it was going to explode just dealing with the Gate incident, and I couldn't even think about how my actions now would lead to other events later if the situation hadn't been properly resolved.
I had roughly finished explaining my intentions. The most important thing was for Sarkegaar to be convinced, and he seemed to be.
Sarkegaar, brimming with enthusiasm, quickly left to find a way to contact the revolutionary forces as soon as possible.
Although he looks like that, he is thorough in his work, so I am not worried.
"Do you have anything to say?"
"If Your Highness says so, then it must be."
Loyar was still sitting there, dumbfounded, even after listening to the whole story. It seemed as if her mind had wandered off somewhere.
Anyway, the conversation was over.
"How's Adriana? Is she doing well? Judging by the fact that she bathed you, she seems to be doing even better than I expected."
Considering that Loyar was talking about being bathed by someone much younger than herself, she had many problems.
"She's like an angel compared to that obnoxious brat. She's quiet, kind, and always wants to help, which is honestly quite annoying."
Even though she said that, she couldn't help but smile whenever she mentioned Adriana.
Defeated by a little sister in one shot.
Isn't that too easy?
Well… dogs are like that in the first place…
Looking at it, Ellen's personality was more like a cat's. She didn't express her emotions easily and seemed uninterested until suddenly coming over and sitting on one's lap.
Maybe Ellen and Loyar were never really compatible.
I had been thinking about sending Adriana somewhere else.
But seeing Loyar like this in just a few days, I started to wonder if Adriana was actually doing well.
Of course, that was only Loyar's opinion, and Adriana's thoughts might differ, so he decided to visit her later.
Somehow, Loyar's steps felt lighter as she left the sewer, and I looked at Eleris one last time.
"How is the situation with Lydia?"
"Um, she’s quite scared of me, to be honest. But I suppose there's no helping it. If you trust me with this… I believe there will be good results soon."
Lydia Schmitt was originally meant to be killed, but Eleris had asked to spare her life, so I trusted that she would handle the situation well.
——
Tuesday.
The chaos from before seemed to have somewhat subsided. Most of those who wanted to leave had left, and though the investigation continued, it seemed to be at a standstill.
There was no real trace to be found, nor was there any way to track anyone.
At the moment, I was in the student council president's office.
The president and vice president of the student council – people I had met before during the club budget issue.
Temple Student Council President, fifth-year student Rain Calli.
Vice President, fourth-year student Herman von Logarius.
The Temple Festival was over, and a sense of relief was in the air, but the two of them still looked quite exhausted.
"From now on, you will all be granted an audience with His Majesty, the Emperor."
The tournament winners were entitled to an audience with the Emperor. I had thought that the incident might have caused the audience with the emperor event to be canceled, but it seemed that wasn't the case.
There were a total of six winners, from first to sixth-year tournaments.
One Unrestricted tournament winner.
And there was an unusual occurrence.
This time, both Mister Temple and Miss Temple would have an audience with the Emperor as well.
Thus, not only was I present to hear about the process and precautions for the audience with the Emperor event, but Ellen was also there.
I didn't know who Mister Temple was. He was a handsome fellow from an ordinary class, quite unlucky in that regard. He was a fourth-year student, apparently.
I didn't care about him.
As she explained various precautions, Student Council President Rain Calli seemed to have something on her mind.
I knew what it was, even if she didn't say it.
Seven tournament winners.
Miss Temple and Mister Temple.
There should have been nine in total, but there were only eight people here.
The Unrestricted tournament winner, Lydia Schmitt, was missing.
Lydia Schmitt's disappearance.
That too, had become a significant issue.
The royal family might assume that Lydia Schmitt was an affiliate of the Nameless Monastery and had been killed in the previous incident.
However, a disappearance was still a disappearance.
Those who knew about the Nameless Monastery would know that the search for Lydia Schmitt was intertwined with the current situation.
If there were people who had seen Lydia Schmitt and me in the Aligar shopping district and remembered that encounter, the problem would become more complicated.
I had also taken a risk to save Adriana and Olivia.
If that became an issue, I could release Lydia Schmitt and force her to commit perjury.
Eleris's decision not to kill Lydia Schmitt might somehow benefit me in the end.
On the Way to Meet the Emperor
However, there was not a single person who should have been there.
Under the guidance of the Imperial Guard, we set off from the Temple.
Only the tournament winners were usually granted the honor of meeting the Emperor.
The reason for the unusual summons of Miss Temple and Mister Temple this time was quite obvious.
"…I'm hungry."
Ellen, who stuck by my side and grumbled with a dull expression, had been elected as Miss Temple.
She is the younger sister of Ragan Artorius and a classmate of Bertus and Charlotte.
Those curious about what kind of person Ellen is may find her rather unremarkable.
Moreover, the Emperor knows that I have improved Charlotte's condition.
Saviolin Turner had once said that the Emperor would call for me someday.
It was quite unexpected that I would meet the Emperor under the pretext of being a tournament winner, even alongside Ellen.
The means of transportation on the way to meet the Emperor was somewhat different than usual, as the Imperial Guard accompanied us.
Instead of a magic train, we could travel directly to the entrance gate of the Imperial City through the warp gate located beyond the Temple exit.
Ellen seemed to be unimpressed by the whole situation.
She wore the same dull expression as always, as if the Emperor's summons held no particular excitement for her.
To be honest, I was a little nervous, but seeing Ellen's nonchalant demeanor was quite amusing.
…Wait.
But come to think of it, shouldn't I be the one most afraid of this situation?
With that thought, I wondered if I was actually more nonchalant than Ellen.
While entertaining these unnecessary thoughts, we entered the Imperial City.
Just like the last time, we boarded the prepared tram and began our journey toward the central palace.
Everyone was likely experiencing the tram inside the Imperial City for the first time, and they all seemed amazed.
"There's a tram."
Ellen seemed slightly intrigued as well.
"It's vast, so it's necessary."
On the other hand, I remained unimpressed. Without the tram, it would be quite inconvenient to travel within the Imperial City.
"Have you been here before?"
Ellen's question made me feel as if I was choking.
"No?"
There were the Imperial Guards and unfamiliar students here.
No one should know that I had been to the Spring Palace in the Imperial City on official business.
Bertus shouldn't know that I played a significant role in saving Charlotte's life.
Ellen simply nodded at my answer and gazed out the window.
The Winter Palace and the Spring Palace could be seen in the distance. I wondered if Charlotte and Bertus were there.
From the tram that stopped at the Central Palace Tetra, we all got off and walked in formation.
The main gate of the Central Palace was wide open. Everyone seemed to be overwhelmed by the solemn and majestic appearance of the central Imperial Palace Tetra, which was not particularly extravagant. Upon seeing it again, it was a palace that felt majestic due to its simplicity.
As we passed through the central hall of the palace and entered the audience chamber, there were people who seemed to be either nobles or high-ranking officials lining the sides. At the very end of the audience chamber, in the center, someone was seated on the imperial throne, which was placed on a total of five steps.
A middle-aged man adorned with a golden crown and scepter, and draped in a red cloak.
There, Emperor Nelliod de Gardias of the Empire was present.