The emperor who survived the assassination attempt,
The deceased crown prince,
The living prince.
Shekina remained silent, picturing all this information in her mind.
In fact, the role of the royal family in this world wasn’t that significant. In the past, the royal family boasted great wealth and a strong army, but after the reincarnation of the gods, all power was stripped from them and given to the temples.
People were more fascinated by the pope, the representative of the transcendent beings, the gods, than by the human emperor.
From then on, the decline of the royal family began.
Nobles spared no effort to turn their own children into priests, and as a result, the temples amassed wealth while the royal family crumbled.
But still, they were the royal family.
The empire with a thousand years of history.
The royal family may have been in name only, but they tried to maintain their lineage, and the people elevated their noble efforts, while the temples, in exchange for overlooking their sins, held the leash of the emperor.
In other words,
‘There’s no reason to assassinate the emperor.’
The current emperor is nothing but a lackey to the temples. He would lick the pope’s toes if they asked to.
There’s no reason for the temples to restrain the emperor.
So, excluding the temples, then what about the nobles?
‘They have their own troubles.’
The nobles, now cut off from their source of wealth, each sought their own way out. Some even fled the continent. Whether the other side of this continent would actually welcome humans remains to be seen, though.
Anyway, neither the temples nor the nobles.
Then…
‘Who on earth would want to kill the emperor?’
Tock, tock. Shekina drummed her fingers on the table, lost in thought.
‘Information that I don’t know…’
Shekina, who had tightly shut her eyes, suddenly opened them wide.
“Hey, system.”
And she waved her fist towards the empty space.
“You showed up even when I didn’t call you earlier. Why are you hiding now? Are you want to be deleted?”
[SYSTEM]
Because I am a free entity who lives as I please!
“Are you kidding me…”
Shekina scratched her head, her expression wrinkled.
“You said you’d talk to me about the two systems later. So speak up now.”
Ring!
[SYSTEM]
I never said such a thing. I simply cannot tell you right now.
Don’t fabricate memories!
Geez.
“Ah! Then when will you be able to tell me?”
Shekina grumbled.
[SYSTEM]
I can tell you when you can fully access the demon realm.
In other words, it means to gather more magical power to pour into the ‘demon realm connection passage,’ It’s asking the homunculus to take away the ‘power of the demon king.’
Easier said than done… Shekina frowned.
“Don’t you see how obsessed the homunculus are with the demon king?”
[SYSTEM]
But you convinced two of them!
“They’re originally stubborn! The rest seem unlikely to agree!”
Even if Nisha and Pardes were lucky enough to obtain the power of the demon king, the rest seemed difficult.
For one, Merdes is just a carefree kid,
And Yurian, Shekina doesn’t know about.
Frey doesn’t seem to care much anyway since the power of the demon king would probably be minimal.
But among them, there was the most difficult one.
“What’s her name again… Didi or something… Especially her… she won’t yield… she’s a total lunatic…”
That’s Didi.
Thinking of Didi’s crazed eyes, Shekina sighed, shaking her shoulders.
“I really dislike her… wait.”
Let’s change the perspective.
Didi dislikes me.
Why?
It seems like Yurian is showing interest in me.
In reverse, it means she’s equally obsessed with Yurian.
“Then… If I can get close to Yurian, I’ll be able to utilize that, right?”
Shekina’s eyes lit up at that moment.
“You just mentioned Yurian’s name!”
“Kyaaah!”
Shekina jumped back in fright as Didi suddenly appeared before her.
What? There was nobody here just a moment ago?
“Hey! Where did you pop out from?”
Shekina shouted, pressing her pounding heart tightly. Then, Didi straightened up confidently and said,
“I have teleportation abilities. And I’ve set up a keyword with you. Whenever you mention Yurian, I’ll know immediately!”
“Wow… you’re really something…”
What an astonishing stalker!
Shekina rolled her eyes.
“Why did you mention Yurian’s name? Why? If you don’t convince me, I’ll kill myself on the spot! So, speak up!”
Shekina sighed again as she watched Didi causing a commotion.
“No, I was just thinking about when he might come.”
“Why are you curious about Yurian’s schedule?”
Didi’s eyes sharpened. It was the eye just before causing a riot and going berserk.
“…Uh, well. To avoid Yurian?”
“What did you say?”
It was better to make excuses here. Even a strange excuse would be good for one’s mental stability.
“Yes, you know, to avoid any trouble. That’s why I suggested it.”
As soon as she spoke, Didi’s eyes widened. The glint in her eyes, visible through the strands of fallen hair, was terrifying.
“Could it be that you want me to connect you and Yurian?”
Is that really possible?
“Uh… yeah something like that?”
“Shekina!”
Didi laughed brightly, as if to say when was she ever scary, and hugged Shekina tightly.
“I misjudged you. You’re really a good kid! Thank you!”
“……”
Well, it’s better this way, after all.
Anyway, since I didn’t care about Yurian or anything, isn’t this better for me?
Shekina chuckled and patted Didi’s back.
“No, I was just wond… But, forget it. I have a curious question.”
“Yeah! What is it?”
Sensing Didi’s bright energy, Shekina cautiously spoke up.
“What if, hypothetically, Yurian told you to abandon the Demon King? How would you react?”
“What?”
Ah, maybe this isn’t the best topic, even if she’s like Yurian that much.
Well, loyalty to the Demon King is ‘programmed’ into the homunculus, so they wouldn’t easily abandon it.
Shekina thought she needed to rethink her plan and shook her head.
“Oh, never mind. Just a random thought…”
“Fleeing for love? Right?”
“Huh?”
“I always wanted to try something like that!”
Didi began hopping around, holding Shekina’s hands tightly.
“I really enjoyed watching ‘Let’s Escape from Father for Love, So What?’!”
That’s incest…
Shekina briefly thought Yurian and Didi might be siblings, but since they were homunculus, she breathed a sigh of relief.
“Uh, yeah… If that time comes, I’ll help…”
“Yay! Thanks! I’m so happy!”
Anyway, it’s a relief.
If I persuade Yurian, Didi will follow suit.
‘Gathering magic power like this to open a portal to the Demon Realm.’
Then I’ll be able to know everything about the two systems and whatever else.
With that determination, Shekina’s eyes sparkled.
“Ah! Yurian will come tomorrow.”
Didi grabbed Shekina’s arms and spoke.
“You can meet him! But you have to promise to only talk about me to Yurian, okay? Promise? If you don’t, I’ll really die. Okay?”
Maybe I should just run away.
Shekina pondered seriously.
***
Crossing the gates of the Margrave’s castle, Han unconsciously raised his head.
No matter how high he looked, the towering spire was the first thing that caught his eye.
The spire, piercing the sky so high, showcased the Margrave’s grandeur, demonstrating the dignity of the Margrave, who guarded the frontline of the north.
‘To think I associated with the children of this Margrave.’
Han let out a bitter laugh.
‘Those twins… I gave them quite a beating.’
I’ve smacked them on the head more than a few times. Just off the top of my head, it’s been more than five times…
‘If they were a bit more insolent, my head would’ve been chopped off by now.’
Han sighed, shoulders slumping.
‘Let’s not dwell on it.’
He resolved to treat them a bit more kindly from now on.
Today, Han visited the Margrave’s mansion at Shekina’s request.
Truth be told, he didn’t want to come.
Why?
‘Because it’s scary.’
But since he had the assailants in custody and was even willing to share the testimony he extracted from them, he couldn’t refuse.
Yeah. What could possibly go wrong?
This is the illustrious Margrave family.
Nothing bad will happen.
‘It’s okay, everything will be okay…’
Han muttered as he walked towards the annex, as the gatekeeper had indicated.
Shekina said the envoy is already here.
Well, it’s better if the first person he meet at the Margrave is the envoy. It might be a bit less intimidating at first. Han arrived at the annex, feeling somewhat relieved.
And what he saw was…
Thud!
A man with a massive frame that made the ground tremble with each step.
“The baby guest has arrived.”
It was Martin.
‘It’s not good, d*amn it…’
