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Vol 02 Chapter 72-2: Coronation and Wedding Ceremony

「Hello, Griffon-sama. It’s been a long time, hasn’t it?」

「Hmm? Ah… you are… ah, the bride of that boy Etzel from five hundred years ago…」

「Yes, it’s delightful to see you once again.」

They’re having a rather intriguing conversation, that woman and the divine beast.

「Hey, Julia. Who is that woman? Do you know her? She’s talking about five hundred years ago like she lived there.」

「Oh… that person. She’s a pretty famous person, you should remember her name. She’s Merlin, the Prime Minister and Chief Magician of the Rozel kingdom. She’s over five hundred years old, the world’s oldest magician, and the progenitor of magic. She’s also the former slave of Great King Etzel of the Flat-Faced Tribe, who built an unprecedented empire, and the witch who killed him.」

Wow, she’s quite a remarkable person…

She looks to be in her late teens, though…but I guess for a powerful magician, living for five hundred years isn’t a big deal.

I would have liked to join their conversation, but… After finishing her greeting, Merlin immediately left Griffon-sama’s side and headed straight towards me.

「Excuse me. I will be taking my leave now.」

After a graceful bow, Merlin departed.

As the coronation ceremony came to an end, guests began to depart, and slaves busied themselves cleaning the remnants of the banquet.

Watching this, the former King Rosais asked,

「Do you have any regrets?」

「…No, I don’t. I did what was necessary.」

If I didn’t do what I did, chaos would have engulfed the country, just like what happened to King Ferme. The number of war victims would only increase.

…Now I’m no different from King Ferme. He, too, did what he had to in order to govern his country.

「I will end the bloodshed on the Adernian Peninsula in my generation.」

「Don’t overburden yourself. Remember, you have vassals and two wives to lean on.」

I understand, father-in-law. You’re here too.

「I’m done. My role here is over…」

「What are you talking about? We still need you to live. You have yet to see my successor… father-in-law?」

Suddenly, father-in-law grew motionless, frozen, before he collapsed.

「Someone!! The former king has collapsed!! Come quick!!」

Magicians, with Julia at the center, immediately rushed to aid the former king.

「Dad!! Don’t die!!」

Julia screamed while crying.

There is nothing I can do…

◇

「Why are you still alive?」

「Why shouldn’t I be alive? Did you want me dead?」

The former king answered energetically. Following immediate medical intervention, the former king’s life was narrowly preserved.

And now, he seemed to be living healthily, even more so than before.

「I found myself in a flower field when I regained consciousness. There was a river flowing, and on the other side, my father was there. I tried to cross it, but my father said, ‘You haven’t seen your grandchild’s face yet, have you?’ That really snapped me back to reality.」

That’s why you returned to this side, huh?…

「Now that the succession issue is resolved, and my worries are alleviated, I’ll enjoy my remaining days, looking forward to seeing my grandchild. Well, I guess I have about three years left?」

So, he’s saying I should make him a grandchild within three years. Sigh… Wait, does that mean he’ll pass away once he sees his grandchild?

Ah, but maybe he’ll come back saying he hasn’t seen his great-grandchild yet.

「Dad… You had us worried.」

「Ha ha, my apologies, my apologies.」

Despite everything, Julia seemed genuinely happy.

Well, I guess that’s a good outcome.

◇

「Hey Julia, what do you think about the strange death of Rigal Dibel?」

「Well… it seems it was due to the reversal of his blessing.」

A reversal… So, blessings can turn against their bearer.

Rigal had the same blessing as me, which means I could end up the same way…

「Didn’t you know about the ‘reversal’ thanks to your [Blessing of Insight]?」

「No… that was the first time I saw anything about the reversal. Now I can see it clearly. I don’t know why… maybe it was inconvenient if I knew about it, so it was made invisible.」

「Inconvenient, huh?」

Inconvenient for who? The fairies maybe? Why it was inconvenient for them? It’s probably nothing pleasant.

「So, what does the reversal do? What are the conditions for it to trigger?」

「Well… the effect is that the more people who recognized him as their king, the greater the strain on his body. The trigger is the loss of numerous followers, an acknowledgment of defeat, and no longer being suitable as the Emperor.」

「Not being suitable, huh… So, the standard is set by the fairies.」

That’s frightening. Something similar could happen to me.

「Hey, Julia, are there any other effects you didn’t see before?」

「…Possibly. If there’s information they deem inconvenient, it might be obscured.」

「I see… Then…」

I paused for a moment and then looked intently at Julia.

「Is there an effect capable of rewriting the holder’s thoughts to align with his followers’ desires?」

「…I just saw it. Yes, it seems to exist. It looks like the seal is broken when I become aware of that effect. It seems they unlock the information when there’s no point in hiding it anymore…」

So, it does exist.

The first time I felt something was off was before the battle with King Ferme and the wedding with Tetra. At that time, I thought maybe there was no need for me to fight. But the next moment, I was overwhelmed with a sense of duty to fight.

The headache back then must have been the moment my thoughts were rewritten.

This influence is precisely why I refrained from consulting Ron and the others about my decision to marry Julia. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t. The blessing might have activated, forcefully guiding me to become a king.

But now, I’ve become a king by my own will.

Definitely, surely, perhaps…

「It’s scary… the thought of transforming into someone else without my own awareness…」

Seeking comfort, I leaned heavily into Julia.

I can’t even consult with anyone thanks to this effect.

「It’s okay because I’m here. And so is Tetra. She’s no longer considered a follower, right?」

「Yes, she’s not. Recently, I’ve started to understand who is loyal to me and to what extent. Tetra’s feelings are based on romantic and marital love, not loyalty.」

Lately, as I’ve been increasingly recognized as a ruler, I feel my physical abilities improving day by day. Unfortunately, the number of ‘followers’ whose physical abilities improved due to the blessing hasn’t increased. Well, it seems that to be considered a ‘follower’ requires a level of loyalty where one is willing to die for their master, which only a minority can harbor.

Boros, Bartolo, and Raymond seem to have a reasonable amount of loyalty towards me, contributing to my physical enhancement. However, their own abilities aren’t increasing as much, which means they don’t hold that absurd level of loyalty towards me.

That’s the case for most people, though. But I can’t consult with them either. Our positions don’t allow for that.

「I’m friends with Mutzio, but… I can’t talk to him about this. Yeah… I’ll likely rely a lot on Julia and Tetra moving forward.」

But we need to come up with a countermeasure. What my supporters desire isn’t always good.

Supporters can sometimes become radical.

Due to the side effects of the [Blessing of The Emperor], I might be forced into a disadvantageous war.

We need an institution or person who can stop me.

Will Bartolo and Raymond be able to stop me?

「Well, let’s think about it slowly. There’s a mountain of reforms to be made.」

The power in this country has shifted from the patricians to me, the king. Administrative and legal reforms are essential to further centralize power and balance authority.

「But there’s something you need to do before that, right?」

「Right. First, we need to create the next successor.」

I pushed Julia down.

「Be gentle, okay?」

「Yeah, don’t worry. I’m quite confident.」

AN: And so, the second volume ends. There are three interludes next. After this, the main story begins. I’m planning to divide the story into two parts: ‘Development’ in volume 3 and ‘Turn and Conclusion’ in volume 4, but that’s just the plan. It seems like it will take a while until the unification of the Adernian Peninsula.