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Side Story Chapter 48

“Le-Let me down…” Anna begged, dangling by Kireua’s side.

Kireua loosened his grip around her waist, allowing her to fall to the ground.

“Ouch! Urgh, that hurts… Do you have a death wish?” Anna grumbled.

“You asked me to put you down.”

“I really want to smack you on the back of your head.” Anna’s small fists tremble, but she let out a long sigh. “What are you going to do now? Things really don’t look good.”

“It’s okay. I think the odds are not that bad. If I’m right, I can break through the siege.”

Anna\'s eyes widened in surprise. “A siege made up from this many people?”

“It might have been different if they were from the other regions, but I have the upper hand against the rebels in the west.”

“You’re awfully confident. Are you sure I can count on you?”

“Yes, I tested it inside. The one problem would be the demon I saw there…” Kireua trailed off.

“What? There’s a demon inside?”

“Let’s talk about that later. We don’t have enough time.” Kireua slowly walked forward.

“You’re…?”

“W-wait, the Second Prince?”

“It’s Kireua Sanders! Hold your formation—do not approach him on your own! Our goal is to capture him alive!”

The rebel knights moved in perfect order. In fact, their movements were much better than the Red Turtler Knights that Kireua had met earlier. They must be the Black Turtler Knights, the best knights in the western rebel army.

‘Coal, why are you so quiet?’ Kireua asked.

-Zzzzzzzz.

‘…Are you seriously sleeping right now? Hey, come on,’ Kireua yelled in his mind. ‘Wake up!’

Coal popped up on top of Kireua’s shoulder, rubbing its eyes with its adorable new hands.

-I’m sleepy.

‘Eyes in the front. You used to throw a fit for food, right? Can’t you see those guys?’ Kireua gestured at the rebel knights with his chin.

-My tummy is full right now…

‘If you don’t eat right now, you won’t be able to eat anything for a while because I’m not planning on coming back here,’

-That’s not good.

Coal’s eyes popped wide open, to Kireua’s quiet elation. All Coal had to do was what it had done earlier. Kireua had already seen how groggy demonkin became after they lost their demonic power.

The air shuddered in the air as hundreds of the rebel knights infused their auras into their swords.

In contrast to the Red Turtle Knights, the Black Turtle Knights held nothing back from the start. In fact, Kireua had heard that they were the reason why the national army was having trouble quelling the rebellion in the west. This singular knight order was as skilled as the Imperial Knights. On top of that, they were so loyal to Marquess Turtler that they were willing to give up their lives without hesitation—but they met the wrong person today.

‘Coal!’

-Ahhhhhhh!

Coal opened its mouth wide at the perfect timing, just when the rebels were pouring out from the castle.

Kireua glanced backward and grinned when he noticed that the demon who introduced himself as the Demon King of Gluttony was looking at Coal with trembling lips.

“That phony bastard,” Kireua complained. The demon’s reaction solidified Kireua’s hypothesis.

-Thank you for the meal!

The knights’ demonic power began to be sucked into Coal’s cavernous maw.

* * *

Keeping the hood over his head, Joshua strode forward. The nobles lined up on both sides of the chamber were still confused, but at the end of Jousha’s path, Iceline was trembling

“...This can’t be real,” she murmured.

“The world has been full of lies from the start.”

“Are you kidding me right now?”

Joshua shrugged. “I felt like I should brighten up the mood.”

“It’s really you. You’re a horrible person.”

The distance between the two closed little by little until they were a stone’s throw from each other. It would be a catastrophe if one of them swung a weapon, but Iceline’s reaction left the nobles unsure as to what to do due. The Imperial Knights, who had been warily following Joshua, were more prepared for an untoward situation.

“Do you resent me?” Joshua asked.

“…Do you really have to ask the obvious? If Charles had been here, she would have slapped you right now.”

“I’m sorry. I had a reason.”

“The problem is that you told no one your reason.” Iceline scowled at Joshua.

“You’ve become quite good with your words.”

“Thanks to someone, I needed to become stronger to not look weak.”

“You’ve gone through a lot,” Joshua quietly said.

Against her will, Iceline could feel the resentment in her heart melting with every word.

‘…Gosh, I can’t let him off the hook this easily. I need to talk some sense into him right now so he won’t do that ever again.’

Iceline hardened her heart again and again, but…

“I love you,” Joshua said.

“…Excuse me? What did you say—”

“I love you.”

Iceline’s face became as red as a tomato. “Th-Th-There are so many people around us right now, so wh-why would you say such stuff so suddenly—!”

“You complained about me not saying ‘I love you’ while I was gone.”

“Th-That’s…”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t say it because I wasn’t good at expressing myself, but I love you more than anyone else in this world.”

The audience felt like they could see smoke rising from Iceline’s head now.

“I-If you’re just saying this to wiggle your way out of this, stop it.”

Joshua tilted his head. “Do I look like a person who would do such a thing?”

No, he definitely wasn’t, but Iceline held back from saying that out loud.

“Or do you want me to say that one more time?” Joshua asked, his smile deepening.

“St-Stop…”

“I love you.”

“Ahhh!” Iceline sank into her seat, covering her face with her hands.

The nobles’ murmuring became louder. After chuckling for a moment, Joshua walked up to the throne and took off his hood.

“Then shall we start a new royal conference?” Joshua declared.

“Yo-Your Majesty!”

A storm of shock struck the people inside the chamber. That moment, their doubts turned into certainty.

The man was so handsome that they wondered if a god had been personally involved in his creation. His hair was a deep blue that approached to black, and he looked to be in his thirties—although he was actually over forty.

Joshua Sanders, the Martial God—the owner of the throne had finally returned home.

“Yo-Your Majesty…” Sersiarin finally unfroze just enough to stiffly turn her head to look at Joshua.

“You’ve done a good job, Sersiarin.” Joshua put his big hand over Serisiarin’s head.

“Ah…” Sersiarin shuddered, her head turning blank. “I-It’s real…”

Joshua gently stroked Sericiarin’s head. “Let’s say our hellos later since we’re in an emergency.”

He turned. “Carmen von Agnus recently visited me.”

The chamber rippled with surprise once again. Some of the nobles even gasped.

“Di-Did you say Carmen von Agnus?”

“From what I heard, she commands the northern rebel army,” Joshua said.

“Th-That is correct.”

Joshua nodded. “She hates Avalon a lot—but that would also be my fault, of course.”

“...Did you let her walk away even after you met her?”

“I was in a situation where I had to let her,” Joshua flatly replied.

The nobles didn’t notice it, but the Imperial Knights seemed to realize something. Joshua several of the Imperial Knights conversing with each other.

“Isn’t His Majesty’s energy too weak?”

“You idiot, we weren’t even able to detect anything from him in the past.”

“Why is that?”

“Someone of greater skill can instantly recognize the level of a less-skilled person, but, in contrast, the less-skilled person can’t even begin to fathom the level of a more-skilled person. It’s like looking at an endless ocean. And if they’re dramatically stronger, other people can’t even detect a trace of vital force from them—it’d be as if they don’t exist.”

“Ahh… I understand.”

“His Majesty is exuding faint energy to sort out the rebels. It’s like ‘if any of you here are a rebel, come at me!’ or something along those lines.”

“Wow, his psychological tactics are great too! The only thing left for Avalon is to rise as one of the strongest empires on the continent again!”

The Imperial Knights clenched their fists in excitement. The eyes of the young Imperial Knights, those that had recently joined the order, even sparkled.

Joshua grew embarrassed as he listened to the conversation because the amount of his energy they detected was all he had right now. Since he was using a reconstructed body, not his real body, he had a limit on the power he could use.

“Ahem. We’re getting sidetracked. Let’s come back to the main point. Can I cast the vote I was talking about earlier?” Joshua asked.

“O-Of course, you can, Your Majesty. You have the final say on who will be the crown prince of this country.”

“No, all of you have gone through a lot and I only came back now, so I don’t want to change anything. I respect the Queen Consorts’ decision, but I just want to offer a little advice if your opinions diverge on the matter.”

“When you say advice, you mean…”

Some of the nobles gulped nervously. This might finally be the moment when the crown prince was decided. The Emperor was here now, and the long-delayed decision would be decided in mere moments. But…

“My thoughts on this matter remain the same. The stronger one will become my heir,” Joshua replied, smiling.

No one expected his response, as their sharp breaths belied, but most of the nobles weren’t fazed. The owner of the throne returned, so why would talking about the crown prince matter? It was only going to be relevant in the far future. The only thing left for Avalon to do was rise higher than the Hubalt Empire.

Some of the nobles trembled, unable to hold back their excitement, but Joshua shattered their anticipation once again.

“As soon as the crown prince is decided, I’m going to retire.”

Every remark Joshua made was shocking and terrifying. Iceline was visibly surprised as well.

However, the nobles were deeply vocally opposed this time.

“Wh-Why would you say such a thing?”

“It has been a decade! Ahem-hmm. I wasn’t swearing, so I hope I didn’t cause any misunderstandings.[1] Your Majesty, you finally returned to the Palace after such a long time, so you should be the one in charge of national affairs!”

“We beg you to reconsider this matter, Your Majesty!”

“We beg you to reconsider!”

However, Joshua firmly shook his head. “No, that won’t work.”

“What…?!”

“I admit that I’ve not only been inattentive to the Queen Consorts but also to all of you.”

“Why would you say such a thing…?”

“I don’t have the right to remain emperor, and I want to lead a quiet life looking after my family. Besides, I’m already a has-been from the past generation,” Joshua said.

“No, you’re not a ha-has-been!”

“A new era has started, so it’s only right for me to hand over the baton to the young people who will lead this new generation.” Joshua looked back and forth between Iceline and Sersiarin with a small smile. “The missing rebels will appear near the northern border.”

The council blinked.

“Who is in charge of defending the north border?”

“Her Majesty the Se-Second Queen Consort herself is there right now.”

Joshua adopted an apologetic expression. “Selim is in the east, and Kireua is in the west. Whoever goes to the north first and assists the Queen Consort in capturing Carmen von Agnus will become the crown prince.”

1. The raw was 십 년, which can also sound like ‘bitch’ in Korean if mispronounced it. ☜