Chapter 18

Chapter 18: For the Emperor (1)

"I'm afraid I don't understand, Your Majesty."

No matter how brazen I was, standing before the ruler of the Empire meant brain failure was inevitable. The atmosphere's pressure mattered.

The apex of the ministers lining both sides. Was this how an F-rank Hunter felt looking at me? Hard to say.

"I gave my youngest an annoying riddle. He'd been disrupting my work too much lately."

The Emperor said.

"It was a riddle about a tree. There's no single correct answer."

Ah — that. The little brat who'd latched onto me right before the emergency summons. So that had been the Emperor's riddle. Oh, please. And why had the kid ratted me out when it was his own homework?

"The answer 'people' was certainly one possible response, but it was far too shrewd for that child. Not the sort of answer someone with that guileless face would produce."

The Emperor continued.

"When I pressed him, he said a Yensi guardsman had told him. That's why I wanted to see you at least once."

"I am deeply sorry, Your Majesty."

"No need for apology. I was merely curious."

The conversation wasn't long, yet it felt like an eternity. I'd never felt this much pressure from a single person.

"Who are you?"

"Guardsman Appari Tion, Your Majesty."

"I know that much. There's a rumor that a princess of Yensi has escaped. Is that you?"

The Emperor asked — completely out of the blue. With that question came a sensation of being pierced clean through. I found myself drawn to look at the Emperor as if pulled by a cord. His eyes, normally green, were glowing gold. My heart hammered violently. That was when it happened.

【????: ??? ???? Lv. MAX — Force Unlocked】

【????: ??? ???? Lv. MAX — Active】

Something strange appeared in my Skill Window. Unreadable words. Could a skill be unlocked even without understanding the text? But I recognized the word "force." Force unlocked — that was a first.

Strangely, the moment the skill activated, I felt as though every door inside my mind had slammed shut. Like iron plating lining the inside of leather armor. The Emperor's eyes continued to bore into me, but I lowered my head again.

"...Ha ha."

The Emperor let out a low chuckle.

"What a curious fellow."

The ministers flinched at those words. I roughly understood what had happened. The Emperor had used a skill on me. But my forcibly unlocked skill had blocked it.

I could at least answer his question, so I resolved his curiosity.

"I am not a princess of Yensi. And I am a man."

"When women travel the continent alone, disguising as men is common. With that delicate face of yours, I may have been mistaken."

Appreciated, that misunderstanding. I said nothing more. The Emperor returned to his seat.

"Ministers, hear this. I shall bestow rewards upon my warriors."

The Emperor sank back into his chair and spoke with gravity. I could feel the secretary beside him scrambling without needing to look.

"Captain Kanna shall receive a field promotion to Major. As for Guardsman Appari's reward, I shall personally defer it."

Deferred? What did that even mean? But I couldn't ask in a hall where everyone was silent.

"Pay respects to the Emperor and withdraw!"

The gong rang again. Kanna delivered a closing line similar to her opening, and I echoed it before leaving the Great Hall. A ceremony that was long and short in equal measure had ended.

The important thing was that I'd received no reward. A reward ceremony without a reward. All I got was blasted by some weird skill. Worthless.

***

"What on earth have you been doing?"

"What do you mean?"

Kanna loosened her uniform ties with a look of exasperation.

"What's this about doing the youngest prince's homework?"

"I ran into him at the library and he was being a pest."

"For heaven's sake, that's no way to speak about His Highness the youngest prince. I'll let it slide once because you're from Yensi."

She'd said "just once" last time too, and here she was letting it slide a second time. What a reliable shield, Yensi citizenship. I'd never even been there, yet it felt like home.

"What does it matter anyway? I didn't even get my award."

"Do you not know what 'defer' means?"

"Doesn't it mean 'give it if I remember, ignore it if I don't'?"

Deferred, withheld, suspended — all the same thing, right? But Kanna gaped in horror at my cynicism.

"Every word out of your mouth is terrifying. Please, choose them more carefully."

"Ah, yes. But is a deferral really that special?"

"It means the Emperor is devoting personal thought to your reward."

"And?"

"How glorious is it to occupy even a portion of the Emperor's sacred thoughts? The ministers in attendance will be watching you too."

Oh, come on. I came from a capitalist society where I didn't believe in anything I couldn't touch. A society where honor needed a visible trophy. A society where your address mattered more than your pet's name. A society where only the spouse listed on the family register counted as love.

"Consider it an honor. The other guardsmen will be astonished when they hear."

"Ah, yes."

No reaction. Zero. It was like braving a storm to reach Treasure Island, only to open the chest and find a note reading "The courage that brought you here is the real treasure."

"I envy you, honestly."

"Do you, Major Kanna?"

"I'm only Major-designate. Call me Captain."

Kanna still cracked a pleased grin at the title. When Marina first addressed Kanna, she'd responded like this:

- Kanna. Major Kanna Karamov. You may call me Major Kanna, Holy Lady.

I may have accelerated Kanna's promotion slightly. But only slightly.

The novel's beginning wasn't far off now.

***

The Emperor, who'd already gotten on my bad side, apparently wanted to milk this situation for more goodwill. Attendants raced around posting new notices. A party for all Capital guardsmen.

"His Majesty truly has us in his thoughts."

"The Emperor's grace blankets the land."

Insufferable. I smiled bitterly at the notice and the reactions. When I'd run my commission office, my employees had said things just like that whenever I handed over the corporate card.

Of course, they'd been joking. I'd told them to stop because it was cringeworthy. But these people were saying this corny stuff in absolute earnest. So this was the romance fantasy aesthetic.

Granted, I loved romance fantasy novels precisely because of that syrupy sentimentality. But experiencing it with all five senses was another matter entirely.

"Long live His Majesty, long live, long may he reign."

When I shouted it as a joke, soldiers threw their arms around my shoulders.

"Look at this — a man who received the Emperor's personal grace, fully becoming a Trafviche subject!"

"Who dares call Appari, who had a personal audience with the Emperor, a Yensi outsider?"

One glimpse of the Emperor's face and my entire reputation had flipped. Even when I'd returned from destroying the Mother Tree with the strike team, it hadn't been like this. The spotlight had been on Kanna then.

"So, what does 'party' mean? Like a unit dinner?"

"What dinner? Those we do ourselves. How could lowly folk like us sit at the same table as royalty?"

Then what was it?

"Well, if all soldiers are participating, it can only be that."

"Right. Can only be that."

"That?"

When I asked, everyone stared as if I genuinely didn't know. Frustrating. Just tell me already — why were they snickering among themselves about "that"?

"That is extremely fun."

"That is an immense honor."

"That could change your life."

These people. They were doing this on purpose. I stormed off in irritation. I'd find out soon enough.

***

The Grand Training Grounds. A space vast enough to hold every soldier. Military bands and drums flanked the sides, ministers assembled in formation, and the Emperor sat in an ornate chair atop high steps.

"Proud warriors of Trafviche, today I have prepared a small glory to encourage you."

"Long live, long live, long may he reign!"

"Long live, long live, long may he reign!"

All drilled that morning. When the Emperor finished speaking, shout. I just lip-synced. What was there to cheer about?

"You are likely aware of the current situation. The public will be informed shortly, but sprouts of the Black Tree have begun to emerge, and the Holy Lady has yet to be found."

The Emperor continued.

"The Empire's current mission is to preserve our thousand-year history until the Holy Lady is found. We shall strive so as not to bring shame upon Trafviche the Great, First Emperor. But that is not a task the throne can accomplish alone — it is made possible only by the courage of you, its warriors."

"Long live, long live, long may he reign!"

Amazing that a principal's-speech-grade address actually boosted morale. What an era. I listened halfway, then let the rest go in one ear and out the other.

Better to study during this time. I opened my Skill Book and resumed studying with Airi's book and the Seongmun Basic English Vocabulary dictionary.

"...The Festival of the Great Ancestor approaches, when we make offerings. Sacrificial beasts will be needed."

Hmm. So the word "collapse" covered meanings like disintegration, falling, and deterioration. And "inherent" meant unique or innate.

【Unique Skill: Collapse Resistance Lv. MAX — Active】

That just unlocked — since I'd already known the word "resistance." But if it said "active" rather than "unlocked," it had already been unlocked. That meant it was the skill that had been force-unlocked most recently. The one from the Emperor. Meaning I'd nearly been mentally collapsed in front of him. Lovely. My opinion of him dropped further.

I'd also figured out the question marks that preceded "?? Skill." They meant "Unique." Could've told me sooner. Then again, who on Earth walks around muttering "one plus one is two"? Life was a solo affair.

【Unique Skill: Phantom Swordsmanship Lv. 7 — Active】

"...Warriors who bring back monster heads shall have one selected as the sacrificial offering."

"WAAAAAHH!"

The sudden roar made me jump. What — I'd been listening, and this was worth screaming about? They were basically being sent on a monster-hunting errand.

"To think that the opportunity to offer a sacrifice to the Great Ancestor has come in my lifetime......!"

"If I managed it, it would be my house's greatest glory. Though a prince will likely claim it."

The soldiers' murmurs reached me. No — you're all being played. This was how imperialism worked you to the bone. Then again, capitalism worked you even harder. Come to think of it, the way the world worked was mostly the same everywhere.

"You may form pairs or go alone. But do not overexert yourselves. A warrior's life does not belong to the warrior. It belongs to Us."

"Long live, long live, long may he reign!"

They were cheering even as they were told their lives didn't belong to them. Where had existentialism and modernism gone? Monsieur Sartre, you are missed.

While I pulled 「Existentialism Is a Humanism」 from my Skill Book and read, the long-live-the-Emperor session concluded.

In any case, pairs were allowed. And there was only one person I could pair with here.

I gazed quietly toward the front of our unit. Kanna must have sensed my stare, because she whipped around. I didn't look away. I smiled. Kanna immediately averted her eyes.

"Long live, long live, long may he reign!"

Someone was still shouting even as they filed out of the Grand Grounds. Like a concertgoer who hadn't cooled down yet and was still singing on the subway.

Absolutely revolting.