Volume 7 Chapter 1 The Fearsome Audience
The young man was known as "Oath".
He had bandages tightly wrapped around his eyes. His pale white hair was dull. His slender body seemed weak. He wore a knight-like outfit with a white base color and carried a worn-out longsword.
He walked through the Roman Empire's castle with a maid leading the way. The maid had a stiff face and was guiding "Oath".
The 2 of them stopped in front of a large door. The maid turned around and said to "Oath".
"Then, Platinum Sword Adventurer, 'Oath' Arthur-sama, this is the audience chamber."
"Thank you."
'Oath' smiled faintly. The maid added with a painful expression.
"...I think you're aware, but His Majesty is quite moody, so please don't stimulate him..."
With a slight bow, the maid opened the door.
Before them, the audience chamber with a marble floor appeared. The hall was made of luxurious white stone. A red carpet stretched out like a path in the center, and numerous attendants stood on either side, with the throne at the end.
An elderly man with a large build sat on the throne.
"Enter."
Upon hearing the old man's voice, 'Oath' began to walk. There, he noticed. The people standing on either side of the carpet were not attendants. Everyone had a battle-hardened physique, but they were all trembling with fear.
'Oath' ignored them and reached the throne. He kneeled on one knee, bowed his head, and looked up at the old man.
"Platinum Sword Adventurer, 'Oath' Arthur. I have come in response to Your Majesty's summons."
"Raise your head."
Following the old man's words, 'Oath' lifted his face. There, he saw the old man's wrinkled face, smiling gently at him.
"...I'm glad you came, Arthur-kun. It's been a while since we've met face-to-face. I haven't forgotten how you saved me back then."
The Roman Empire's Emperor, who was once a brave hero summoned from another world, and later became the ruler after defeating the Demon King.
The Hero Emperor, Yuuya Hibiki Roman.
When "Oath" heard the word, he straightened his shoulders.
"It's been a while, Your Majesty. Thank you for always relying on me. I wonder how many years it's been since we last met like this. Probably around 50 years, I'd say."
"Haha, that's right. It's been that long. You're still as youthful as ever. You haven't changed a bit on the outside."
"Your Majesty has become quite dignified. You used to be a reckless young man, but now you're the emperor of the greatest Roman Empire in the world."
"I've grown up a bit myself, I suppose."
The emperor said this calmly. 'Oath' gazed at him for a while, then turned around and said "Ah" as he looked back.
There, standing in a row, were people who looked like they were about to collapse from exhaustion. Everyone was gritting their teeth, some even crying, and they were all trembling with fear.
"...Who are they?"
"Ah, they're the assassins who were sent after me."
'Oath' turned to face the emperor, who explained with a calm expression.
"I made a deal with them. If they could survive for 10 days in this audience, I would spare their lives. But if they failed, I would kill their families too."
The emperor didn't say a word about how the battle with the assassins went. He probably thought it wasn't worth mentioning. In reality, the emperor's combat abilities were unparalleled.
The word "strongest" or "monster" wouldn't even begin to describe it.
It was a power that was originally meant to be expressed with words like "transcendent" or "absolute".
"That's quite a twisted hobby, isn't it?"
So 'Oath' said without hesitation. If they were going to be killed on a whim, there was no point in saying anything.
However, the emperor smiled calmly and nodded.
"You're right. This is a terrible hobby. I'm disgusted with myself. This kind of thing shouldn't be allowed. Even if they were assassins, they should have some dignity."
"..."
The emperor gazed at 'Oath' quietly.
"That's why I do it. ———Look over there. He's already at his limit."
The assassin who was pointed out by His Majesty collapsed in the direction indicated. Suddenly, some kind of magic activated, causing an explosion.
Before the audience, blood and internal organs splattered everywhere. The surrounding assassins trembled, their legs shaking as they struggled to stand.
His Majesty took a small bell from the throne and rang it with a "ting-ling" sound. Then, the maids gathered in large numbers, quickly cleaning up the blood and internal organs.
"What do you think about this?"
When asked by His Majesty, "Oath" replied ambiguously, "Well, yeah...".
His Majesty said,
"To be honest, there's no special meaning to this."
"..."
"And, this is a secret from them, but..."
With a gentle smile, His Majesty chuckled, "Hehe."
"They'll die, but in reality, I won't kill their families. Instead, we'll send them a corpse and a pension, along with a magical recording of their death. And then..."
With a sorrowful expression, His Majesty slightly shook his head.
"It's sad, but half of them will commit suicide. Their anxiety about living will be resolved, after all."
"...And what about the other half?"
"With a interesting twist, they'll come to kill me."
"...I see."
'Oath' thought that this was the Roman Empire's emperor, who had reached the pinnacle of prosperity. The people lived in abundance, with excellent governance. It was a heroic tale of defeating the Demon King. But what they were doing was incomprehensible.
In the past, he was a more innocent and straightforward boy. What had happened since then? 'Oath' wondered.
"Let's get to the main topic. In other words, Arthur-kun. The reason I called you."
His Majesty said,
"Has Alex-kun been doing well lately?"
"Alex...You mean the arrogant king Alexander?"
"Yeah. He's a promising talent. Since he's aiming for the Margrave Birk territory now, I'd like you to stop him."
"So, you want me to defeat the arrogant king?"
"No, Alex-kun won't come in person. I want you to eliminate any of his men, and make sure the Margrave family doesn't betray us. I've prepared the necessary strategy and personnel."
I'll introduce them later, His Majesty said.
"In other words, you want me to stand as a powerful backup, making sure Your Majesty prepared strategy goes smoothly."
"That's right. Generally, with that kind of behavior, there's no problem. The personnel I've prepared are all top-notch, so you're more of a backup, just in case."
But then, His Majesty let out a sigh.
"That's a different story, though. But it's not going to be easy. Arthur, do you know the adventurer called 'Slow'?"
At the mention of that name, he thought to himself... and nodded his head.
"Yes, I've heard of him. 'Once you meet him, the whole world looks slow to him.' That's why they call him Slow, Wade the Slow."
"Maybe he's the one who's with Alex."
"――――."
Oath widened his eyes slightly. He had heard rumors about the Karditsa War, but...
"Along with Sieg-kun, he's one of the people I'm paying attention to right now. Sieg-kun was stopped by Alex-kun's restraint――― stopped in his tracks, but I have high hopes for Slow."
"...What's going on?"
"Hehe, what's going on, indeed. Well, let's get into the details."
Come on. With His Majesty's single phrase, several people appeared from the back.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Donate me
Support Me with USDC
(ERC20)
Support Me with XLM
(Stellar Lumens)