Chapter 119
The moment the giants' pact was fulfilled.
Boom!
Something exploded inside my body.
It felt as though everything in my body might explode at any moment, releasing all the memories of the giants that I had kept stored away until then.
But.
'....'
My body was not destroyed.
To be precise, the memories were slowly flowing out on their own so that my body would not be destroyed.
'Did His Highness the Crown Prince take this into consideration?'
I knew that I would die the moment the pact was fulfilled.
A single individual had been holding the memories of an entire race, and they were all being released at once.
I had thought my head would not be able to withstand the moment the Curse of Oblivion disappeared.
Yet there was only one reason I was still alive.
His Highness the Crown Prince must have worked a miracle.
'I want to get up quickly and repay his kindness. How frustrating that I have to lie here like this.'
To anyone else, it looked as though I had fallen into a deep sleep, but the giant executioner Pavan's consciousness was wide awake.
I simply could not see my surroundings or move. I could still hear and think.
That was why.
'Roomta... Roomta, my kin.'
I knew that Roomta was nursing me with the utmost devotion.
She had followed me around ever since we were young.
And so Pavan thought about many things.
'When I wake up, will the giants wake up as well? If so, can I share my thoughts with them now? Knowledge is experience, after all. Based on the experience of having been saved, could I make the giants move so that they could help the Empire as soon as they awakened?'
She thought about whether she could help the Empire immediately upon waking.
The Empire was going through a period of upheaval. It was practically charging forward with its eyes fixed only on what lay ahead.
Pavan did not want the giants to suddenly become a burden in a situation like this.
'I may not be able to work right away... My body hasn't been used for a long time, so I may need to be cared for.'
If she had no choice but to become a burden, she would have to spend some time resting.
But if that was not the case, he wanted to help the Empire immediately.
They had received help as well, so it was only right that they return the favor.
Besides, the moment the pact was completed, it was fair to say that the giants had already decided to stand together with the Empire.
'So, if you want to be precise, saying that we're helping them is funny. We're simply joining them, as we should.'
With those thoughts, Pavan hoped to awaken quickly.
How much time had passed like that?
"It would be strange if this ended up looking like I was nursing her all by myself."
One day, the Crown Prince suddenly came to nurse him.
It happened to be a day when Roomta, who had always stayed by his side and cared for him twenty-four hours a day, was away for some reason.
"Pavan, it's quite something to see you lying here when we were taking walks together until just recently."
The Crown Prince placed a potted plant beside Pavan and smiled gently.
Pavan could not see that smiling face, but he heard the sound of his laughter.
'How warmly might he be smiling?'
Thinking about that smile, Pavan listened blankly to what the Crown Prince said.
"When you open your eyes later, it wouldn't be bad to go on another walk together."
Thump.
The Crown Prince said that and rose from his seat.
Strictly speaking, he had not done anything particularly substantial just because he had come to nurse Pavan.
He had only set down a potted plant and said they should go for another walk once Pavan opened her eyes.
That was all he had done.
'....'
Enough to make his heart pound like mad.
And not long afterward.
"...Sis?"
"Roomta, long time no see."
Pavan awoke from her deep sleep.
+++++
Immediately after hearing that Pavan had awakened.
As soon as I went down to the underground chambers where the giants slept, the first thing I saw was the giants' formal greeting.
"We greet the great Crown Prince who saved us from our deep sleep!"
"We greet His Highness the Crown Prince!"
They stood in ranks and files like soldiers at a parade, each at least as tall as a three-story apartment building.
It was obvious at a glance that there was nothing ordinary about the giants' every movement.
'And to think they had burst out of the underground to destroy the Empire.'
I understood why the Crown Prince had worked so hard to make the minimum level of the knights Sword Master.
If one had to fight the giants, it seemed impossible to inflict any meaningful damage without being at Sword Master level.
"I'm glad it seems you've all awakened. Is there anything wrong with your bodies?"
"Yes, as soon as we opened our eyes, we conducted an initial examination among ourselves. None of us had any problems."
"That's a relief."
After maintaining a reasonable conversation with the giants, I looked at Pavan, who was still standing at attention at the very front.
"Did you sleep well?"
"Thanks to His Highness the Crown Prince, I had a deep and restful sleep. I am ready to move for the Empire at any time!"
"Now that you've awakened, there is no need to push yourself immediately."
It was wonderful news that the giants had awakened and could immediately serve as a fighting force.
At the same time, however, a problem arose: we had to establish a home for the giants.
Of course, the giants intended to prepare their own settlement, and all we would directly provide was help selecting the land and supplying materials.
But after discussing various matters with Pavan, who had come forward as the giants' representative, I realized that it would not be easy at all.
"Giants really are giants."
Where would we have the giants live?
That was the most difficult problem.
I had thought choosing a place for them to live would take quite a long time.
"I like the east."
"The east?"
"Yes, the east... It's a good place to go for walks... So I like the east."
Pavan fidgeted as she pressed right up against me and said that she liked the east.
"T-Tin Can...! Y-you...."
Arveda, who had seen that, glared sharply at Pavan.
But Pavan merely kept her head lowered and fidgeted with her fingers.
'I don't know what this is about, but... well, I'm glad it was decided quickly.'
The giants had a place to live, and the construction itself would be carried out together with the dwarves.
The pact was not yet completely resolved, but.
'Have they all gathered now?'
The Empire had reached a state where it could be said to stand together with the entire race of the executioners.
It seemed I was not the only one who had noticed this.
[ Five races have gathered in the Empire. ]
[ In addition, beastmen and elves have now joined the Empire. ]
[ Including humans, eight races have gathered in the Empire and intend to live together in harmony. ]
[ The existing trait related to other races evolves by one level. ]
[ The 'One United Empire' trait is activated. ]
[ Under the belief that they live on the same land, the citizens of the Empire will treat one another without discrimination. ]
[ Love that transcends race will now arise naturally. ]
[ The strengths of each race's culture will be incorporated into the Empire without any adverse effects. ]
The system messages continued to pour out statements about the Empire growing even stronger.
In addition.
"...Is that really true?"
"Yes, it is."
"It will only take a month?"
"Now that the dwarves and giants have all joined us, even a large-scale academy construction project should pose no great difficulty."
Gilbat told me that only a month remained until the academy's construction was complete.
Giants and dwarves.
Heavy machinery moving freely around a large construction site, combined with technicians who could handle any task with ease.
Thanks to that, the academy, which had originally been scheduled for completion next year, had suddenly come within reach.
"How is the recruitment of talent coming along?"
"I hear that scholars from each country have been secretly slipping into places where Imperial troops are stationed in ever-increasing numbers."
"Good. They are going to become the pillars of the new Empire, so treat them kindly."
"I will keep that in mind."
The scholars who would teach the cadets at the academy were also being recruited one by one.
'From the mana stone train to magitech and the academy... Once I check these off, I should prepare to unlock a new tech tree.'
And while I was wondering what the next tech tree should be.
[ As the 'One United Empire' trait has been activated, some of the points previously invested in interspecies exchange are refunded. ]
A system message popped up belatedly, and two points were refunded.
'I could invest in airships and immediately raise our level of development, but I feel like trying something new.'
After wondering what that could be and taking a broad look at the Empire's tech tree for the first time in a while.
'There's something interesting.'
Something I had never expected caught my eye.
Perhaps because I had not paid much attention to the academy branch before it was completed.
It had been there from the beginning, but I could only say that I had noticed it belatedly.
'I haven't even taken the first bite yet, so I wonder if it's right to already be thinking about what comes next.'
The Academy Graduate School—I couldn't resist this.
[ 2 points have been invested in the Academy Graduate School. ]
[ Its effects will begin to manifest in earnest after the academy is completed. ]
After quickly investing the two points and taking a brief look around the Empire's situation.
"Come to think of it, Bedin has been awfully quiet lately."
I suddenly realized that Second Prince Bedin had been far too quiet.
As for the First Princess, I heard that she had been going back and forth between the north and the Magic Tower to learn various things.
For some reason, there had been no news of Bedin at all lately.
"I heard he has been training extremely hard lately. He says he wants to become more proficient with various weapons...."
"Various weapons? He isn't using a sword?"
"That's right. According to recent rumors... he has been gaining all sorts of experience... It seems he is overcoming the pain of heartbreak by immersing himself in martial arts."
At the Prime Minister's words, I stroked my chin and nodded.
Well, if he was training hard and not causing trouble somewhere, it should be fine.
"Ah, but it also seems he has a new woman."
"What? A new woman? All of a sudden? No, this quickly?"
"I'm not certain, but... um... I hear the woman's name is Marianne."
"...Marianne? Is that even a name?"
I suddenly felt uneasy, but soon dismissed it.
There were too many things to deal with going forward to worry about Second Prince Bedin right now.
The thing I needed to worry about immediately was.
'Could it be related to the Kingdom of Taewon?'
The Eastern Continent.
++++++
The alliance gathered under the name of Taewon, the Taewon Coalition, moved its elite forces at Taewon's request.
They were headed for Jinseong, the last of the kingdoms that had chosen to side with Cheongryu.
The Kingdom of stars and astronomy, Jinseong.
A country where divination and astronomy had flourished had rejected the Taewon Coalition's offer of an alliance because Cheongryu was riding high.
The Taewon Coalition needed to show them the price of that rejection.
And so, the elite forces gathered from the Taewon Coalition advanced steadily toward Jinseong.
"...To think this is the only way to overcome the pain of heartbreak. It's truly sad and... Ah, no, Marianne... I was going to say you were my first love... but you aren't. Still, I like you now."
On the way to Jinseong.
"...?"
"It was unbearable watching you imitate the youngest, so I was wandering around alone... Well, what a coincidence."
I came face-to-face with a knight carrying a cannon.