Desire

No one dared open their mouth. We barely made it out of the forest, but there were fewer than 2,000 survivors. Among the Knights of each territory, only the best wizards were selected by the Gracias Magic Corps. The emperor himself commands them, and he comes with the swordsman and the Grand Wizard Muren.

And all three of them died. The Emperor and the Swordsman, Muren. Over 3,000 of the 5,000 elite died. Never in the history of Gracia have I suffered such a terrible defeat.

Naturally, Azin was put in charge of the Stragglers. His position was the Marquis, the strongest and highest rank of the surviving soldiers. Ajin didn't say much.

I had no reason to say it in the first place. There was no knight who said we should recover the Emperor's body. It's because they saw with their own eyes how those who had died in the forest had changed. The Black Forest has become a nightmare for survivors. There's a hell of a forest I don't want to come back to.

I feel a long way back to Gracia.

*

‘For now, Rivera does what she wants. ’

Azin thought while pressing down on his temples. What Rivera wants is independence in the territory. Rivera's wish is to take it and reform it within the territory.

‘Gracias has a medieval background. Slavery is legal and identity gap is large. It is common for a commoner to be born a commoner and die a commoner, and so is slavery. A nobleman's child is a nobleman from the moment he was born. ’

It is a world that naturally continues. You're going to reform your identity in a world like that? This is madness. The territory won't work properly, but no matter how much you gain independence, the other nobles won't be able to overlook him.

‘But in some cases, ’

What Rivera was trying to do in the first place was unprecedented. If you take the history of reality and try to revise it similarly, there is no guarantee that it will fail. It can't be completely similar, but it can mimic to some degree. Moreover, there is no need for trial and error as there is precedent.

I should have refused Rivera's offer. It is also possible to silence Rivera's words if you drive public opinion. Once upon a time, public awareness was more overwhelming than Rivera.

‘No, you're right to accept the offer. ’

Ajin shakes his head. While talking to Rivera in the woods, Azin confronts her with bluffing as she takes Rivera's word. The Emperor's death is a great event. If Rivera insists on an assassination, even if Azin moves the public and clicks on Rivera's speech, their suspicions cannot be completely eliminated.

In the worst case, magic can intervene. Magic that reads other people's memories. If Azin is bewitched by such magic, he can defeat his opponent's wizard with a golden maan or manipulate his alibi with the absolute command of the traitor title. But not Libera.

‘You think you're going to get away with it. If we're good, we can catch Rivera at the station. ’

Rivera's territorial reform is very gambling. In the beginning, Azin had not fully understood Rivera's intentions. Whether she's just interested, or whether she wants to get rid of her identity system with pure justice. Or maybe he's drawing a big picture with a very precise plan.

Azin recalls what happened to Rivera the whole time. You don't need to do anything in the beta. Ever since Rivera crossed over to Gracia and met Basrodel.

"Libera is not an idiot. ’

First, make sure you are aware of it. Rivera's actions are hard to understand as a pain, but she has never been so foolish. Boat party. When Azin and Rivera received advantages from Gladiolus, Azin chose Persian memory preservation.

When Rivera was reunited with Vasrodel, she demanded that Vasrodel's memory be restored at the moment of the reunion. As a result, Rivera received an unconditional favor from the dragon. Rivera chose the greatest advantage she could get while looking at the face of not knowing anything.

Since then, Rivera's explosive growth cannot be completed without the help of Basrodel. In a reunion with Basrodel, Rivera grew explosively with her assistance. Not only that. All of Basrodel's goods have become Rivera's. The dragon's magic also became Rivera's.

Then Rivera became a warrior in Gracia. She was more of a commoner than a nobleman, and subjugated the pirates of Galios on Gracie's behalf in a coastal city.

‘And territory. ’

The territorial reform Rivera talks about is a hoax seen from this worldview. But what if Rivera's background and the awareness that she's building were combined? A warrior for the common people, not nobles. If such a warrior were to reform himself for the common man,

Ajin felt his spine getting cooler. There was enough possibility. Not all nobles are hostile to Rivera, and there is a dragon behind her back. Even if the power of the dragon is not heavily burdened at this time, it is only for Ajin. Money can be made available to any dragon. Numerous supporters and citizens gather under Rivera's name.

“Crazy bitch.”

If all of this was Rivera's design, Azin had no choice but to acknowledge her. She had a stupid face and a snake in her belly.

‘Let's look at the situation. It's not time to cut Rivera. ’

If it's the worst case, he can be bold. Wipe out Rivera's lands or drive them into rebellion. Even if only Vasrodel was killed, Libera would have a great void. Not right now. We need to make sure Hermione is emperor first. Hermione will be blessed by the Spirit King if Hermione becomes Emperor, but the Spirit King will never be able to communicate with the Spirit King unless he uses the power of the Spirit King for all time. Knowing it, he dared to kill the Emperor.

‘If Hermione becomes Emperor, we can make any excuse to cut Rivera. No. Nothing to move Hermione in the first place. ’

There's just the right man to blame for his sins. Dark stars and harbeth. They are weak in Gracia's grit without being subdued yet.

Rather, I liked this side of Ajin. If there is a Dark Worship, Azin can summon the Black Forest. Death Knights of the Black Forest, or Queen Berger Selgernia. Many other undead. Summon them and wipe out Rivera's lands? Even if Azin keeps his mouth shut, he will have no choice but to think of it as the Dark Star's evil in Gracia.

As Ajin, we can arrange for two surrogates to be killed one day at a time.

*

“... the Emperor's dead? ”

Hermione asked with a blank face. He glances down with a blank face. Approximately 2,000 returned from the Black Forest subjugation. All the major commanders are dead, and none of the nobles survived except the late Lord Azin Sericrapa. Ajin silenced his lips without saying much.

“Well, say something. The Emperor is dead. What the... I'm sorry. ”

Ajin replied with a split voice. I hardly ate food on the way back. It was not tasteless, but I had to insist on it.

“The forest... was a terrible place. There were endless numbers of them, and the queen who was leading them was a monster that didn't exist. ”

Once there, he stops talking. He swallows his breath and picks his breath.

Then he confidently explained what had happened in the forest. When I woke up to the darkness in the forest, everyone was scattered. Aside from the Emperor and Murren, the swordsman's assassination, and the work on Persik, Ajin boldly stated.

“I fought the Queen with all my might. Adim, the god I serve, spoke of me, but it was his power to take time and lay down his life at the hands of the queen, even under his protection.” I know that. "”

Hermione replies with a trembling voice. It was clear to Hermione that Azin was directly connected with Adim.

“The darkness of the forest disappeared after barely escaping the queen. I rushed to recover my troops and escaped the forest. But... the Emperor. ”

It was Savirt, the first prince, who opened his mouth. He looks down at the pain with a pale face.

“Have you... seen the Emperor's body? Maybe, maybe Peña...”

Maybe he stayed in the woods without dying. I knew you'd ask. If there were no last witnesses to the body, there would be endless suspicion.

I definitely had to cut it off.

“.. I saw it. ”

Azin replied with a deep head down. Savirt shuts up about it. It was not just the two princes who were here. There were the Chancellors of Gratia, the major nobles of the political system, and the powers of the military.

“.. for confirmation...”

Xavirt barely speaks.

“I don't doubt the Grand Duke of Sericrapa, Emperor... No, the future of the Gracias is at stake.” “Confirmation, how? ”

Hermione bites back. He takes a few deep breaths and recovers his composure.

“Isn't the purple star of the Pentagon an authority on spiritual magic?” “I understand the purple star is still unaccounted for.” “Then let's get another wizard. ”

Hearing that, Azin swallowed a smile. Even if you check your mind with magic, you can manipulate your answers as much as you want with the absolute command of Azin's title of traitor. If you finish confirming like that, the suspicion surrounded by Azin will be cleared away and there will be no assassination of the emperor.

“... you've been through a lot. ”

Eventually, Hermione had no choice but to say so. He sighs as he looks down at the surviving punitive force.

He also knew that the current situation is not bad for Hermione. Once this happens, the closest thing to an emperor is Hermione. Hermione looks down at the pain with trembling eyes.

‘I love the situation. ’

It is a small doubt. After meeting with Azin, everything goes well. Hermione, who had no power at all, quickly became noticed among the princes, and many nobles supported Hermione. And the Galios Conquest. In the process, two princes died. I knew Hermione well who the pleural effusion was. It was Hermione who pulled the trigger.

‘.. maybe. ’

Maybe... the Emperor's death. Hermione chews her lips well. Maybe, maybe it's a story. I'm not sure. Hermione knew it was a simple suspicion, and that suspicion was poisonous.

So Hermione buried her questions deep in her heart. This was a matter that should not have been dug deep. What if, according to Hermione, Ajin intervened in the Emperor's death? If it is revealed, Hermione will perish. Hermione looks at Azin's face. Ajin doesn't make a face.

'Maybe not.'

As soon as the magic intervenes, the memories of Azin are revealed. I could not understand that there was no embarrassment, even though I knew it clearly. Perhaps, truly, the death of the emperor did not involve pain.

If so, Hermione will be emperor of this great empire.