Chapter 24. Flirting

The colossal spire located at the center of the First Lord's Territory. The heart of the Lord Council, and Great Lord Arkan's building, which monopolizes and controls at least 20% of Blackmore's depths.

At the very heart of this Headquarters Meeting.

There existed a space where no one, regardless of status, was allowed to enter except for the Lords themselves—the meeting room.

A space permitted only to the Lords of the Lord Council.

And yet, a mere human like myself was the first to set foot there.

The first words I heard there were—

“Wanna be a Lord?”

A scout offer.

And what's more, the nonsense of asking me if I wanted to take on the Lord Position.

“Are you crazy?”

“Not at all. I’m perfectly sane.”

“No, you’re crazy. You have to be crazy to spout such nonsense.”

“Really? If you say so. So, what do you think of my proposal?”

Regardless of what I thought, it was an outlandish proposition.

The Imperial Family and the Lord Council, the two giants of the continent, are in a relationship of mutual restraint. To offer a Government Post within the Imperial Family to a Lord Position…

'She's definitely lost it.'

If I’d anticipated this situation from the beginning, I would have refused her offer to rest at Headquarters.

The business at Kalmash was concluded, and Elfriede was also unconscious, so it was my mistake to fall for her words. …Honestly, I’m also human, so I wanted to rest for a bit.

I'd been through a lot.

But the moment I arrived, I was summoned to the meeting room, and from then until now, she hasn't stopped repeating the same thing.

“I refuse.”

“Why? I thought it was a rather attractive offer.”

“It's an illogical offer. Has there ever been a single instance in history of a human ascending to the position of Lord? More importantly, how do you intend to handle the backlash from the other Lords?”

“……Hmm?”

Arkan seemed perplexed by my question.

“The authority to appoint a Lord rests solely with the Great Lord, doesn’t it?”

“That doesn't mean you can ignore the opinions of the other Lords.”

“Strange. I’m personally vouching for you, and they’d rebel? Who would dare?”

“……Are you seriously asking that?”

I barely managed to suppress a sigh.

It's true that I've received considerable help from the Lord Council.

But it has always been in the form of an equivalent exchange—a transaction.

Nothing more than a transactional relationship where we exchanged what each other wanted.

So now, it was necessary to draw a clear line.

“You know I'm affiliated with the Imperial Family, right?”

“Of course, I'm well aware.”

“Then you must also know that the Imperial Family and the Lord Council don't see eye to eye. In the midst of all that, you’re proposing to install a human affiliated with the Imperial Family as a Lord? Does that make any sense? Let me be clear, I have no intention of relinquishing my Government Post."

“Hmm…”

Arkan brought her hand to her mouth and ruminated on my words as if savoring them.

Not a single word was wrong.

The Imperial Family and the Lord Council. The two colossal forces that form the axis of the continent, ostensibly maintain non-interference in each other’s Territories for the sake of peace. But their relationship was far from amicable.

Rather, it was closer to a volatile situation, like a powder keg ready to explode.

In this precarious situation, if I were to become a Lord?

The repercussions would be truly immeasurable.

“……This is unprecedented.”

I hammered in the final nail.

She should have understood by now.

Lord, my ass.

I wouldn’t take such a superficially glamorous position even if it were offered.

“Well, you're not wrong. Even though the Lord Council advocates neutrality, we aren't exactly on good terms with the Imperial Family.”

“Finally, you understand.”

“Then we’ll have to resolve that first.”

What?

“Resolve what, exactly?”

“The relationship between the Lord Council and the Imperial Family.”

“No, what I’m asking is… how in the world do you intend to resolve that?”

“Oh, that?”

Arkan smiled.

That transparent smile was quite ominous.

“I'll just go meet the Emperor.”

……Wait a minute.

Meet who?

“On the condition that you become a Lord, the Lord Council will form a paramount amicable relationship with the Imperial Family. What do you think? Not bad, right?”

“……”

“We’ll have to go through the Monarch Council, but if I push for it, it’ll happen. If the Emperor isn't crazy, they'll naturally accept. The Great Lord is being this cooperative, would they really kick that away? If they do, then we’ll just have to resort to force…”

“Hold on, hold on. Push for what? And what? Resort to force? Are you actually insane?”

“Why? It’s a clean solution.”

……I don’t even know where to begin correcting her.

Her words were preposterous from beginning to end.

Nothing more than absurd delusions.

But two things bothered me.

One was that this radical idea was typical of Arkan.

And the bigger problem was…

The fact that she possessed the ability to actually push through such a reckless plan.

“…Are you serious?”

“Dead serious.”

I pressed my throbbing temples.

I knew her obsession had shifted from the protagonist of the original story to me.

But I didn't expect her to be this stubborn.

“Any thoughts of stopping?”

“Nope. I mean, unless it directly harms you, which it doesn't, right?”

She was right about that.

Far from causing direct harm, it was actually the quickest and easiest way to seize immense power. …Except for the fact that it would become incredibly troublesome.

So.

Swallowing a sigh, I spoke.

“……Let’s talk about this later.”

“Alright.”

I was about to try and dissuade her again, but I stopped.

I didn't have the energy left to argue, and she wasn't the type to listen to others anyway.

The Arkan I know… her stubbornness is unmatched.

I just wanted to rest.

I had Opened the Time Gate with my overflowing Mind's Eye by absorbing Death Energy, but that was undoubtedly a power that defied reason.

Of course, thanks to the Blooming of the Rune’s Five Stars, there weren't any major side effects, but it wasn't to the extent that I could ignore the accumulated fatigue.

“Oh, right. That girl you brought. Her name was… Elfriede, wasn’t it?”

“Elfriede Trivia. Did something happen?”

“Not really. I heard she regained consciousness a while ago. Seems like you crossed the Border to save her, so if you want, I'll send her to your room later so you can talk.”

“…Thanks for the consideration.”

I offered a brief thank you and turned to leave.

Just as I was about to exit the conference room, Arkan's voice called out from behind.

"The Demon King, right? The one inside that woman's body."

"......"

As expected.

I knew she'd figure it out.

"I've been suspicious ever since the Imperial Family bragged about subjugating the Demon King. Even for a Hero, completely eliminating Fragments of Chaos is impossible. But now it makes sense. You shoved it into a woman's body for all that time?"

…A sharp deduction.

It was so accurate, even I was surprised.

"To endure having that inside her for so long, she couldn't have been an ordinary woman… Which means…"

Studying my expression, she tilted her head slightly.

"A Saint?"

“……”

"So, the woman running around as the Saint now is a fake? My, how bold. Those lunatics are actually committing fraud in the name of God? I guess they aren't afraid of divine punishment?"

Well, aren't there common tropes in Ro-pan?

Among them, the trope of switched fates between the fake and the real one is a staple.

"What am I going to do? I sent her to Blackmore to die in obscurity, but some human not only removed the Thought but also kept her alive and well? How careless of me to let the secret slip out too."

"What are you trying to say?"

At my words, Arkan smiled brightly.

"You'd better be careful. Those Holy Order bastards, in a way, they're worse than the Imperial Family."

Fanatical groups are all like that.

It's not surprising, considering they were a troublesome villainous group in the original story anyway.

"Should I help you?"

…Help me?

"Just take it as pure goodwill. I'm not thinking of making this a trade."

Just help me? With no strings attached?

The woman who is more meticulous about deals than anyone?

Unable to contain my curiosity, I asked.

"Why?"

“……”

A heavy silence descended upon the conference room.

Soon after, her eyes curved into crescents.

"Can't you tell?"

"Tell what?"

"I'm seducing you right now. Quite passionately, in fact."

…What?

"I'm pretty serious, you know."

Her face, now leaning forward, was close enough for me to touch.

"So… I look forward to working with you?"

…Did I just get flirted with?

****

I left the conference room and headed straight for my room.

As befitting a room prepared by the Great Lord herself, its scale was extraordinary.

Every piece of furniture was luxurious enough to evoke gasps of admiration even from Nobles.

I had been resting for a while when…

As Arkan had predicted, Elfriede came looking for me about two hours later.

No, to be precise, I didn't even realize she had come looking for me.

I had intended to lie down on the sofa for a moment, but somehow, I fell asleep.

Therefore, I was quite taken aback.

The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was Elfriede kneeling before me.

With an endlessly reverent expression, she kissed the back of my hand and lifted her flushed face.

"…My Kavilasi."

A faint murmur reached my ears.

“Your… devoted servant has arrived…”

She seemed to be praying, but….

“Please… salvation…”

…Why is she praying to *me*?