After letting Aryandor get away, I returned to where Haruna was.
As soon as Haruna saw me, she ran towards me.
"What happened? What about Chancellor Ophillius...?"
"The Chancellor wasn't there. I have no clue what happened."
"He wasn't there?"
"Yes, only Aryandor was there."
If Ophillius had been killed by Aryandor, there would have been some trace of it.
Either his body or signs of a struggle.
But there was nothing there.
Not even a trace of Ophillius's blood existed.
It was also impossible to know what had happened there.
Time magic had been used so extensively that it was hard to tell how it was used.
"Was there... anything else strange?"
"He said something odd."
I explained to Haruna what had happened.
About the method to return to our original world and that Aryandor had suggested it.
Haruna listened closely to the story, then sat down.
"Could you wait a moment, please?"
"What is it?"
Haruna didn't answer my question and closed her eyes.
Then, an unknown power began to emanate from her body.
I could instinctively recognize the energy.
"...Dimensional magic?"
After a while, Haruna stood up.
"What did you do?"
"I looked into what happened."
"Is that even possible?"
"Not completely, but to some extent, yes."
"So, what happened? What about Chancellor Ophillius?"
Haruna hesitated before speaking.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})"I don't know if it's good news... or if it's regrettable..."
"Hm?"
"Chancellor Ophillius is not dead."
"He's not dead?"
"But, he's in a state as good as dead."
What does that mean?
As I looked puzzled, Haruna stood up.
"There exist gaps in the world. In time, in space, in dimensions. There are gaps."
"Gaps?"
"Our world seems interconnected, but it's actually not. We only see and live in the connected parts."
"So, what does that have to do with anything?"
"Chancellor Ophillius has headed towards that gap."
"So..."
"He might be alive, but in a state that's not truly living. As I just said, we can only live in a continuous world. Entering such a disconnected place would render him in a state of being both existent and non-existent."
Being existent and non-existent.
It was a contradictory statement, but I understood what it meant.
"Did he make that choice not to pass his power to Aryandor?"
"From what I've seen, yes."
I had a mixed expression on my face.
Should I call it fortunate or not...
If you asked me whether Ophillius was a good person, I couldn't answer.
He was a user of time magic, and the fact that he had raised Aryandor remained unchanged.
I didn't know much about Ophillius.
What he had done in his life, or what his relationship with Aryandor was, I had no idea.
I wondered.
Who exactly was Ophillius?
What kind of life had he led?
"Haruna."
"Yes?"
"Tell me about Chancellor Ophillius. It's time I knew. What exactly is Aryandor trying to do, and what's the relationship between Ophillius and Aryandor?"
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})"It's going to be quite a long story."
"That's fine. It's a story I need to hear at some point."
That's how I began to hear the story from Haruna.
The Royal Palace.
High-ranking nobles gathered, and even the Emperor and Rie were present.
Among those people, Ian Astria stood at the center.
"Let's begin the appointment ceremony."
Rudy had announced Ophillius's death, and the date of the ceremony had been moved up.
Leaving the ducal position of the Empire vacant for too long wouldn't be beneficial.
Quickly seating Ian in the ducal position was necessary to stabilize the empire's public sentiment and to respond to the rebels.
The Emperor descended from his high seat and picked up the prepared crown.
"Ian Astria is hereby recognized as the head of the Astria family."
Though the appointment ceremony usually required several steps, the situation of the Empire necessitated a simplified process.
As the Emperor placed the crown on Ian, the surrounding nobles applauded.
The nobles clapped their hands and murmured among themselves.
"So, what happens to the empire now?"
"With Chancellor Ophillius dead, is it the era of the Noble faction?"
Those of the Nobles faction smiled, and those of the Royal faction trembled with anxiety.
With one of the two dukes gone, it was thought that the balance of power would tilt towards the Noble faction.
"Khh..."
"Finally..."
It was time for Ian to receive the crown and speak.
He stood in front of the nobles, looking around.
"I've gone through many processes to get to this position. I received help from many nobles along the way, and I have no intention of forgetting this assistance."
The words made the Noble faction's corners of their mouths rise.
It sounded to them as if he was promising to repay the Noble faction.
However, that smile didn't last long.
"But now is not the time for us to fight each other. Noble faction and the Royal faction, we don't have the time to worry about such things. We have a very dangerous enemy before us. The rebels. We must stand against them."
"What is he talking about?"
"Stand against the rebels...?"
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})The Nobles faction looked at Ian with puzzled eyes.
"I will not distinguish between the Noble and the Royal faction. I will give positions and rewards according to people's abilities and will no longer allow factional fighting.
"If there's factional fighting, I will not stand idly by."
Those words were a shock to the Nobles faction.
They had thought it would be their era, but Ian had no intention of supporting the Nobles faction.
"I believe the reason such rebels could emerge is because of the rotten nobility. Therefore, I will take this opportunity to cut out the rotten parts and right the Empire."
With those words, Ian's speech came to an end.
The nobles murmured among themselves, but Ian didn't care about that.
Anyone who couldn't agree with his words was no better than trash.
There was no reason for someone with proper abilities to disagree with Ian, whether they were part of the Royal faction or the Noble faction, whether they came from a good family or not, whether they had flattered Ian or not.
If they had abilities, they could hold important positions.
This way, he could attract all the talents.
And they would do their best to show their capabilities.
To reach higher positions.
To achieve better results.
Ian finished his speech and walked alone through the corridor.
While walking, he entered a room in the palace.
"Did I do it right, Rudy Astria?"
"It was good."
Rudy was there.
"It seems the political situation will flow as you desire."
"It's not just what I want, is it?"
The reason Ian had given such a speech was because of a deal with Rudy.
Rudy had offered a deal in exchange for giving up his position as head of the family.
Initially, Ian refused the deal.
Not because he disliked the deal, but because he wanted to compete on equal footing.
He didn't want to be seen as someone who cowardly took the ducal position due to his brother's concession.
He wanted to compete fairly and become the duke.
However, Rudy was firm.
By giving up his position as head, he would not only bring Haruna into play but also found it better to move freely rather than being tied to the ducal position to counter the rebels.
Only after explaining that giving up the ducal title was not out of consideration for Ian but for a better outcome did the deal go through.
Of course, the contents of the deal were minimal.
Getting to keep using spatial magic and help with a few tasks.
It was practically a request to maintain the status quo.
After discussing with Rudy for a while, Ian casually asked.
"So, what's next?"
"First, we plan to examine the magical artifacts we've collected."
"Magical artifacts?"
"Ah, those magical engineering items."
He was referring to the item attached to Raven's head.
"You're going to investigate it?"
"Yes, Luna is currently trying to dismantle and examine the device, but we're not sure what we'll find."
Ian looked intently at Rudy.
"Did you hear something from Haruna?"
"Yes, to some extent."
Rudy had heard about the past from Haruna.
Of course, it wasn't the exact details.
Haruna didn't know the entire past either.
She had only heard a vague outline.
"I'll explain everything once I know the details."
"Alright, then take care."
Rudy stood up and left the room, and Ian watched his back as he left.
Although Ian had secured the ducal position, Rudy seemed to be at a higher place than himself.
"I thought there was nothing above the ducal position..."
Ian chuckled to himself.
He had succeeded in securing the ducal position, but there was no time to be satisfied or enjoy it.
He had to strive harder.
To not be lesser than his younger brother, he had to move forward.
"It's going to be busy for a while."
Ian gathered his things casually and stood up from his seat.
