Even if all her servants rushed simultaneously, the hard work that would take a week for them was solved in just one day for Sophien. As such, the Emperor’s political power was unparalleled, but there were some disturbances in the process. Quay’s defense mechanism — that is, the killing aura reappeared.
“It’s getting more frequent.”
In the darkness where she slept, I came out of the camp into the desert and inspected my wounds. Fortunately, the Iron Man’s body was still tolerating it thanks to being always alert and prepared.
“…”
I bandaged my arm. It was a mediocre treatment for a fairly serious fracture, but it was okay because the bandage wasn’t normal.
──「Emergency Bandage」──
◆ Information
: Bandage for wound healing
: A special effect is given
◆ Category
: Emergency
◆ Special Effects
: Bleeding suppression and natural healing
: Greatly accelerates the recovery of the bandaged area.
────────
In preparation for this situation, this was one of the items that I applied five levels of Midas’ Hand beforehand. I also had a telescope, desert map, walkie-talkies, boomerangs, and so on. Each was a thing that would be considered precious if put on the market.
Anyway. After the treatment, I looked around the oasis.
“Breadth, water veins, bedrock….”
I was checking all the conditions. The Imperial guard would set up their headquarters and move on because the construction was left to me.
“Good.”
I nodded. The water of this oasis was abundant enough to last for several years, and the ground around it was strong enough to support our foundations. As General Bell said, it was a good location. It was full of debris here and there, though, probably because the village was torn down.
Thud—
I put down my suitcase. It opened with a click, and I applied Psychokinesis to its contents.
Rumble—!
Then, countless steel frames and mana stone solutions erupted like waves from it. They floated and whirled in the air as if tossed about by a gale. This was the performance of the special bag that I also gave five levels of Midas’ Hand. This bag, which could be held in one hand and moved lightly, could be loaded with about thirty tons of materials.
“…”
I manipulated the steel frames. The blueprint had already been drawn up in my head, so I started with constructing the most basic skeleton.
Whoosh-
I built it bit by bit. The maximum scale of the main building was three stories above ground and one floor below. The basement floor was for accommodations and restrooms, while the first and second floors were research rooms and conference rooms. The third floor’s blueprints were provided by Sophien before we proceeded with the construction.
“…Hmm.”
The result of consuming 4,000 mana was a pile of steel structures. It wasn’t finished yet, so it was ugly, but it was just a part of the construction process. Plus, the desert had a high mana concentration. The recovery rate was fast to be finished within a day.
“…Is it going well?”
A languid voice resembling the night breeze reached me from behind. I looked back to Sophien.
“Yes. It looks like it will be finished soon.”
“…”
Moments ago, she had swung her arms like she was going to kill me. Now that she had forgotten everything, she was dozing off.
“It is cold outside. Rest inside the camp.”
“…Even when that building is completed, the cold will remain the same. Don’t you have any mana stone equipment?”
Magical construction wasn’t as simple as it might seem. First of all, few wizards knew the design to match mine, and secondly, there wasn’t enough mana stone equipment, including those for temperature control.
“The building I started with my magic is fine.”
Sophien looked at the temporary building with narrowed eyes.
“…Yes, it seems so.”
She nodded as if she understood.
“Yes. If it is cold outside, it will be warm, and if it is hot, it will be refreshing.”
All of the magic I exercised had the dual nature of the Snowflake Obsidian. Of course, the degree varied depending on the purpose of the magic and the value of mana consumption. Still, the properties of the Snowflake Obsidian were optimal for boilers and air conditioners.
“By the way, Professor.”
Sophien called me.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The moment I looked back and answered-
“What just happened?”
The cold air of the desert ran across my skin like a blade. I shook my head.
“Nothing much.”
“…”
No response returned. Lying to her was already familiar and easy. However, her next move was quite unexpected.
“…Professor.”
Sophien showed me a hand mirror.
“Do you remember?”
A mirror that’d been worn out for a very long time. She said while wiping the surface by hand:
“You were in here.”
I still had memories of that time in my head. Memories of all the days I spent with Sophien.
“You died for me back then.”
I answered.
“Yes. I did.”
Sophien smiled faintly. She put her forehead against my back.
“Don’t do it this time.”
Her voice was deep and dark.
“A life without you seems to be completely meaningless now.”
Confessing that, hugging me tighter… she said something she shouldn’t say. She said the name of someone who hurt more than a blade through my heart.
“Erase Julie from your heart. I will fill that void.”
“…”
“Even if it is not enough, I will try. I’m not familiar with the word effort, but if it’s you.”
Sparks sputtered in my chest.
“Professor. Wasn’t she the woman who tried to bring you down in the first place? So, when the war is over.”
“Your Majesty.”
I interrupted her. But I stood still and closed my eyes.
“…”
Like this, I wondered if she knew Julie was someone that evoked intense emotions that consumed my reason. Or was it that Sophien didn’t know me as much as I knew Sophien?
“Your Majesty’s hearing is not over yet. Also, the subject to be put on trial is still me.”
“…”
Sophien pulled her arms from me, took a step back, and looked up. Her eyes narrowed as if she had just woken up.
“Yes. But I think it’s a conspiracy. I’m going to have the intelligence service find out.”
Conspiracy. As she said, it was a conspiracy. All the evidence from the hearing that Isaac gave me was fabricated. Therefore, if the hearing were resumed, Julie and Freyden wouldn’t be able to escape.
“No.”
I couldn’t tolerate it.
“…What do you mean no?”
Sophien asked, and I said.
“It’s not a conspiracy.”
Crack—
She exhaled, her breath hot.
“It’s not… a conspiracy?”
“Yes.”
I quietly said.
“All those sins are true.”
Unfortunately, I was superior to Sophien in manipulating fabricated evidence. I had the power of Yukline and Josephine’s shadows, after all.
“It was all my fault. So perfectly that it cannot be avoided or denied.”
Thus, the evidence Sophien manipulated had already become true. I made my sin a fact. Sophien clenched her fists.
“…Professor. Are you lying to me-“
“The family that led the poisoning of Your Majesty.”
“Shut up.”
“And.”
“I said shut the fuck up!”
Sophien screamed. I met her gaze calmly.
“—It’s Yukline. Yukline led the poisoning of Your Majesty.”
“You idiot!”
An aura rose from Sophien’s body. The intensity of that anger was sharp, as if she would cut my throat at any moment.
“…Still.”
I was kind of sad.
“Your Majesty.”
It was because there was no death variable in the aura. Even now, when I was telling an unforgivable lie, she had no intention of killing me.
“Do you love me, who has so many sins?”
* * *
The next morning. It was too dark and cold to call it a refreshing morning.
“Hmph.”
Lia, waking up, clattered out of the hut while blowing her nose. The image of Deculein and Sophien being too close was still rattling around in her head. She didn’t spy on them for long because of the guards patrolling, but she did see Sophien hugging Deculein. No, it was more like cuddling… Sophien was unilaterally sticking to him.
“How about the… story?”
However, there was a building that didn’t exist yesterday in the middle of the oasis.
“Am I still dreaming?”
Or was it a mirage? A man suddenly appeared before Lia as she frowned in contemplation. He was sitting and reading a book. He had no coat but was instead wearing a shirt and vest. That face resembled Kim Woojin, who she should be used to by now but was surprised every time she saw him.
Lia walked over to him hesitantly.
“What are you doing?”
Deculein glanced up.
“I asked what you are doing.”
Lia asked again. Deculein shook his head as if she was pathetic.
“Did I do something?”
She didn’t do anything, but he looked at her like she was crazy.
Deculein said.
“Aren’t you training?”
“I think I can stop. Do you want me to show you?”
She brought back the circuit diagram he had given her. Now, she could freely move the mana within her body through the new passageway.
“If I had learned this much, shouldn’t I go home… that’s what I think.”
“It’s funny to see you making a fuss after learning only the basics.”
“…”
Lia didn’t respond, but what she had to say quickly came to mind.
“It’s not necessarily because of that. Some strange rumors are circulating that I resemble your ex-fiancé…”
She stopped and watched Deculein’s eyes. He nodded.
“Go on.”
“…Rumor has it that you are keeping me around because of that.”
“I will tell you about that rumor. It’s not true.”
Lia chuckled.
“I’m glad-“
“You are infinitely short of her, infinitely coarse, and infinitely inferior. It is rude to even compare.”
“…”
Lia went silent, and she looked at Deculein.
Short. Coarse. Inferior. As she replayed those words in her head, Lia felt it was unfair.
‘That fiancé is me!’
She wanted to shout out loud that she was her. The character that took her as a motif, no, it was perfectly her character.
Her character.
“Take it.”
Deculein held out a piece of paper. Lia accepted it with an unhappy look.
“…What is it?”
“Sometimes, there are people who waste their talents on a shallow understanding of themselves. You are the best example.”
“…”
“It’s like putting pearls on a pig.”
Lia pinched her nose. As she endured her anger with pain, she looked at the damn Professor Deculein’s paper.
“…?”
It was a spell, a series of complex and subtly intertwined curves and circles.
“It’s the spell of elementalization. To be precise, it’s your elementalization expressed in theory.”
So, Professor Deculame put her talents on this paper… was he saying that?
“That doesn’t make sense-“
“It makes sense. You are gifted only with your intuition, but your intuition can always be expressed in theory. You can increase its power if you know the theory. If you don’t know the theory, you’re left with half of what you could achieve.”
“…”
She didn’t know if what he was saying was true, but for her, it was strange no matter how much she thought about it. Was Deculein’s genius like this? Was it like this? Could the butterfly effect of adding one fiancée come this far?
“Memorize it first. It’ll be hard to understand with your intelligence level.”
“…”
OKAY. Personality – OKAY. Even if she was skeptical, she was certain by looking at his personality. His personality was unconditionally Deculein.
─…Emergency!
Then, suddenly, a scream rang out through the camp. Deculein and Lia looked up at the same time. A member of the guards was running toward them from the desert.
“Oh, Chairman! A problem! The prisoners we were transporting are gone!”
Lia looked back at Deculein.
“Prisoners?”
“Yes! The tribe that originally lived here gave resistance, and there was a hint that they were hiding Demon Blood, so we took them as prisoners and were transporting them—”
“Is there any evidence?”
“…Yes?”
“It sounds like there is no evidence when you say that there is a hint of hiding Demon Blood.”
“T-That…”
Confused, the guard looked sideways. Deculein sneered.
“Forget it. There is no way or justification to catch a tribe that we have no evidence of protecting the Demon Blood if they’ve fled.”
Deculein’s response was too fair and rational. Lia startled.
“…Yes.”
At that moment, the guard bowed.
“No.”
A stern voice stopped them.
“Find them all and kill them.”
A noble tone that commanded severe punishment. The Emperor Sophien suddenly cast off her boredom and held a cruel expression.
“Find and kill all those who escaped, Yukline. Even the feeling they’re hiding a Demon Blood is unacceptable.”
She said so and clenched her teeth. The guard straightened up, but Deculein met the Emperor’s eye quietly.
“…”
“…”
Deculein’s composure faced Sophien’s wrath. Sand whirled beneath their feet. However, no subject would disobey the Emperor’s resolute command. No, one must not disobey.
“Okay.”
Eventually, he bowed his head, maintaining his dignity.
“With all my life, Your Majesty’s orders will be obeyed.”
“…All my life, my ass. Piss off.”
Sophien went back to the camp, but to Lia, her back looked sad for some reason. Only Lia, who secretly spied on Deculein and Sophien last night, knew. There was only one reason. She confessed, and they became estranged.
“…It’s dangerous.”
Lia’s danger radar blared. She shouldn’t let it stay like this. Now, Deculein was acting surprisingly fair, but Sophien was still cruel. Given the Emperor’s setting, her violence would only increase as the story progressed.
“If she becomes more violent because she was dumped….”
It would be a big problem. The reason was silly, but the fact that Sophien had the feeling of love in the first place was a very big deal.
“…Perhaps.”
And, what if Deculein could stop the massacre? What if, without anyone knowing, Sophien’s feelings for Deculein could prevent the eradication of the desert? If it couldn’t be stopped, if the desert were swept clean according to Sophien’s will, the difficulty of the main quest would rise sharply.
“Maybe it can’t be helped.”
Lia murmured solemnly and looked at Deculein. He was already preparing for the campaign.
“…Whew.”
Taking a deep breath, Lia formulated her plan: Operation Cupid. She would cling to Sophien and Deculein, seeking reconciliation and mediation…
“First.”
Let’s go to the Emperor. Lia disappeared from Deculein’s sight.
