Chapter 87
“But it definitely seems different from the original plot development.”
Ruler of the Underworld, underworld mogul, young boss, etc.
It was one of the character cliché types that often appeared in romance fantasy.
But come to think of it, their appearance timing could be seen as incredibly late.
'The plot itself is still in the early-to-mid stages, so does it just seem like they appeared too late because the Empire hasn’t fallen?'
It could be seen as an appearance unsuited for the current timing.
But what if I looked at it under the assumption that the Empire had actively supported the Maselin Kingdom without my intervention?
'A slowly falling Empire… If I think about a Ruler of the Underworld suddenly popping up in the midst of that, the picture isn’t bad.'
It could be seen as the appearance of a new entity capable of putting a period on the chaotic Empire.
If a mogul who unified the underworld suddenly appeared while the Empire was already weakening.
From the Empire’s perspective, it would have no choice but to rot even faster and walk the path of ruin.
“But just how many hidden male leads are there anyway?”
They were called hidden, but it was as if unearthed one by one as if from a forgotten vault.
Immediately, there was one beneath the Empire’s underworld, and one in the back alleys.
There was no telling how many more “hidden male leads” would appear like this in the future.
The one fortunate thing was that Mirne wasn’t the only one who could find such a hidden male lead.
Just looking at Roomta, he had sworn loyalty to the Empire the moment Pavan woke up.
I had to consider that just because they were hidden didn’t mean they were unconditionally friendly to the protagonist.
“Teo, roughly how many knight orders are currently remaining in the Empire?”
“The number of knights has decreased due to the dispatch of the Imperial Garrison, so it is currently at about half.”
“That much is sufficient.”
After roughly grasping from Teo the number of knight orders remaining in the Empire.
I leisurely continued speaking while staring at the Imperial Palace that was slowly coming into view.
“The Empire’s public order is scheduled to become chaotic, so tell the knights to prepare for a cleanup.”
“I shall heed your command!”
No matter how much they crawled and ran wild in the shadows, would they be able to withstand the Empire’s knights who were training relentlessly?
I was genuinely curious.
+++++
The very first thing I did upon arriving at the Imperial Palace was meet with Nerissa.
The location was the same as our first meeting, Nerissa’s Executioner’s Palace.
Just like back then, the location changed at some point, and I naturally ended up sitting in the seat of honor.
However, Nerissa’s appearance was different from before.
If she had only been wearing a single robe in the past, now she was in a state where her attire was more elaborate, hinting at her status.
Her attire was also taking on a look that fit court etiquette.
“I wonder if I’ve made you uncomfortable for no reason, are the clothes comfortable?”
“…I was told you had them custom-made. No matter how precious and expensive clothes are, there is no way they could be this comfortable. I sincerely thank you for your care.”
“I wasn’t hoping for this level of utmost courtesy, who did you learn etiquette from?”
An attitude far too different from the beginning.
At her appearance that had changed so much despite the short period of time, a curiosity arose as to who she had learned from.
“Rowena… I learned from the Saintess. She was incredibly kind, and warm… so I learned comfortably.”
Nerissa continued her words slowly, as if human vocalization was still difficult for her.
“Rowena, huh.”
I knew she was already busy with matters related to the Holy Kingdom.
To think she would even pay attention to this sort of thing, I was truly grateful.
'I’ll have to repay her later.'
Having that thought, I stared at Nerissa and immediately got to the main point.
“I went to the Corellia Kingdom.”
“…!”
Nerissa flinched her body the moment I made the remark.
Her pupils, which seemed to contain the sea, wavered like crashing waves.
“I heard the detailed circumstances. That you were stripped of the throne, and chased out.”
“…”
“Is the Deepheart Family all hiding out in the Western Region of the continent? I want to invite them to the Empire, what are your thoughts?”
The executioners all possessed one means each to destroy the Empire by themselves.
In Nerissa’s case, the liberation of the leviathan inside her body would be that means of destruction.
'Thinking about a ridiculously large whale being unleashed while causing a tidal wave right in The Center of the Empire, it’s brutal.'
It was called a whale, but wasn’t it on a similar level to a meteorite falling?
It wasn’t for nothing that an Executioner was called a bio-Nuclear weapon.
“Are you confused? Or are you curious about how much I know?”
Nerissa kept her mouth shut tight right after the word Corellia Kingdom came out.
While staring at me intently with pupils wavering like fierce waves.
Whether she needed time to organize her thoughts or just didn’t want to speak at all.
Because I didn’t know her detailed inner thoughts, I slowly raised my body.
“I will mobilize every method I can to resolve the covenant. For now, I’ll head out to the Western Continent, starting with finding the Deepheart Family.”
Just because she was keeping her mouth shut tight didn’t mean I could afford to wait for her.
She seemed to have the weakest mentality among the executioners, but even so, I couldn’t cater to each of them individually.
So I decided to summarize and convey what I would do to Nerissa from now on.
“I will make contact with the Deepheart Family, and make the Deepheart Family the kings of Corellia once again.”
At the words that I would restore the Deepheart Family, Nerissa awkwardly reached out her hand.
A distance where she could touch my fingertips if she reached out just a little more.
At exactly that ambiguous distance, Nerissa wriggled her hand.
“And then I’ll hear the story regarding the covenant. I might hear about the covenant before that, but to do this, I have to find the Deepheart Family. I have to find them to hear the information about the covenant and the leviathan.”
Once that happens, a lot of things will change.
I concluded my words like that and turned my back.
'I’ll have to make a separate request to Rowena.'
Normally, I had absolutely no intention of adding tasks to someone busy with this and that.
But seeing as she just kept her mouth shut tight and stared pitifully whenever related stories came up.
I felt the need to assign Rowena to her, who she was presumed to have good memories of, at the very least.
'If it comes to this, I’ll just have to push Gilbart’s side to later.'
If Nerissa had been the type to communicate well, I would have proceeded with Gilbart’s Covenant together.
If the situation had become like this, it seemed right to resolve Nerissa’s side first.
It would also be a problem if I ruined things by needlessly proceeding with multiple tasks at the same time.
“Rowena will exclusively attend to Nerissa, and there are no reports of Pavan waking up yet… Then the thing I need to focus on right now is.”
It was now time to cleanly handle the underworld in earnest.
+++++
The Empire is ridiculously vast.
Naturally, it was impossible to manage that vast place in detail.
The shadow of the empire gradually grew in size, using the Empire’s enormity as a stepping stone.
However, even so, no one dared to boldly expand that shadow.
Because it was obvious without even looking what kind of state they would end up in the moment they faced the sun outside the shadow.
“I heard the Empire was amazing, so I expected the denizens of the shadows to have quite a bit of skill, but I’m a fool for expecting it.”
However, this trend had recently changed.
To be exact, there existed those who had boldly stepped into the shadow of the empire from the outside.
“…”
“Why aren’t you speaking? Earlier you were boasting about the Empire’s pride or whatever, hm?”
Asher laughed as he mercilessly trampled the faces of the ones pinned beneath his feet.
'How could such pathetic individuals rule the Empire’s underbelly?'
Asher was genuinely questioning it.
From the black markets to the entertainment districts.
Their influence was terrifying, but their level of martial prowess was pathetic.
To the point where he wondered if they had divided up the territory with something like child’s play.
The Empire’s underbelly fell into Asher’s palm in the blink of an eye.
“Normally, I was planning to make a grand entrance while saying my name is Asher Dominic… To think you’d all get sliced up by my subordinates before I even appeared.”
He had just committed the act on a whim, figuring he was tired of the wandering life anyway.
Wandering from this country to that country and getting wanted was annoying, so he brought his family and entered the Empire.
He had been full of tension, thinking it would take an incredibly long time to swallow the Empire.
The result unfolding before his eyes was such that he felt his apprehension had been unwarranted.
“Ughhhhh…”
“Oh, you still came to your senses quickly since you’re the boss.”
At this speed, he would seize the Empire’s underbelly completely in less than a month.
After that, it was at a level where he could make his move into the legitimate world.
Having that thought, he looked down at the guy pinned beneath his feet who had belatedly come to his senses.
“Answer me, how were you able to play the boss of this district? A guy with such lowly skills?”
“…Ha, haha! You’re an outsider.”
The outskirts of the Southern Region.
Bank, who had been playing the back alley boss there, looked up at Asher and sneered.
“There were a whole lot of guys like you, and they all died. That’s the reason I’ve played the boss of this district for a long time.”
“What a ridiculous joke.”
CRACK!
Asher lifted his foot high and stomped hard on Bank’s head.
A weak guy speaking so insolently like this always provoked displeasure.
“Still, you’re pretty sturdy.”
He had intended to crush his head, but Bank just lost consciousness only bleeding a little from his head.
While slowly losing consciousness, Bank faintly smiled.
'I know I’m weak too, you bastard.'
His level, come to think of it, was just about enough to barely coat his sword in mana.
He couldn’t even dream of Aura, it was just briefly, merely enough to give his sword a fleeting glow.
In the past, he couldn’t have even dreamed of playing the back alley boss with this level of martial prowess.
But nevertheless, Bank had maintained his role as the underworld boss for quite a long period.
Bank hadn’t told this secret to anyone.
'No matter how strong you are, you bastard, it’s over if you don’t pay your taxes.'
Other thugs teased him, asking how he could pay taxes to the Empire while playing boss.
But Bank paid his taxes to the Empire more diligently than anyone else.
'…Did you say you were Asher? You obviously won’t pay your taxes either.'
If you don’t pay your taxes, you die.
The Empire does not forgive tax evasion.
He fixed his gaze on Asher, who was oblivious to this fact.
'You bastard who doesn’t know the terror of the tax collection knights, farewell.'
Bank completely lost consciousness and collapsed.