◈25. Your Majesty the Emperor?
Rubin asked me a question.
Unfortunately, I only had one answer to give.
“Honestly? I have no idea.”
“…….”
“I don’t even know who I’m supposed to help.”
From Rubin’s perspective, that probably sounded ridiculous.
But it wasn’t like I had a choice.
The Seventh Main Oracle hadn’t given any details about the person I was supposed to assist.
[Main Oracle #7 – Helping Those in Need (In Progress)]
—Sub-Oracle (1)
Travel to Belter Orphanage within 6 hours! (Incomplete)
Remaining Time: 4 hours, 39 minutes, 22 seconds
—Sub-Oracle (2)
Find 「Worry King of the Day」 at Belter Orphanage! (Incomplete)
Tip: Ask as many people as possible about their worries. If you ask 「Worry King of the Day」 a notification will appear.
—Sub-Oracle (3)
Solve the problem of 「Worry King of the Day」! (Incomplete)
—Completion Reward: ???
Apparently, I had to find this so-called ‘Worry King’ and help them.
But the Oracle didn’t say who they were.
It just expected me to figure it out.
‘At least this doesn’t sound too difficult… I just have to ask a few kids about their troubles. One of them is bound to be the target.’
The Oracle promised that I’d get a notification once I found the right person, which made things easier.
All I had to do was ask around.
‘Alright, this shouldn’t take too long. Let’s just get it done today and—’
CLATTER
Before I could finish my thought, the carriage came to a stop.
From outside, Luciana, who had been riding alongside us, approached my window.
“Your Holiness, we’ve arrived at Belter Orphanage. But… there’s something you need to see before you step out.”
“Huh?”
As if telling me to see for myself, she simply moved aside.
The scenery beyond the now-visible window.
There was an old but quaintly decorated orphanage building.
I could also see a small garden that the children must have clumsily tended to.
Nothing seemed unusual up to that point—
“…Wait. Is that an imperial carriage?”
In front of the orphanage stood a strikingly out-of-place carriage.
It was lavish, painted in red and gold, standing in stark contrast to the orphanage’s humble surroundings.
And most notably—
Its doors bore the emblem of a roaring lion.
No doubt about it.
That was an imperial carriage.
Luciana, looking just as unsettled as I felt, confirmed my suspicion.
“Yes… It is indeed an imperial carriage. But we don’t know why it’s here.”
Hearing that, my mind immediately went into overdrive.
Because there was only one person in the entire empire allowed to ride that carriage.
‘Emperor Ernen van Friske…’
He had no wife yet, so it wasn’t the Empress.
And his other relatives weren’t considered direct members of the imperial family, meaning they weren’t permitted to use official imperial carriages.
In short—
The only possible passenger who visited the orphanage in that carriage was 100% the emperor himself.
The very same emperor who had fought a bloody battle for the throne against his half-brother, Bliss.
‘…This is going to be a pain.’
If he had been ruthless enough to dethrone Bliss, then he had to be dangerous in his own right.
And now, if I walked in there, I’d have to greet him politely and pretend to be all smiles.
‘Do I still go in…?’
The answer was obvious.
I had no choice.
I had to complete the Oracle.
After letting out a deep sigh, I stepped out of the carriage.
With Luciana, Rubin, and a small group of Holy Knights accompanying me, I crossed the orphanage gates.
[Sub-Oracle (1) Completed!]
[Sub-Oracle (1) — Travel to Belter Orphanage within 6 hours! (Completed)]
The moment I stepped through the orphanage gates, a completion message appeared.
Now, only two sub-oracles remained.
Determined to finish this quickly, I picked up my pace.
And then—
I was stopped.
“…Hmm?”
Two swords, gleaming blue, crossed in an X-shape, blocking my path.
The men wielding them were Imperial Knights, standing on either side of the orphanage’s entrance.
Without hesitation, one of them spoke—his voice as sharp as the blade he had just drawn.
“This is a place currently being visited by His Majesty the Emperor. You must first declare your affiliation and obtain permission from His Majesty to enter.”
Hearing that, I nearly burst out laughing.
‘Declare my affiliation? Are these idiots blind?’
My entire outfit was pure white from head to toe.
Moreover, the golden lily emblem, the symbol of the Lucidmiller Church, was embroidered prominently on both sides of my chest.
The same went for Luciana and the Holy Knights accompanying me.
They were all dressed as if shouting, “WE ARE HOLY KNIGHTS!!!”
If they couldn’t recognize where we were from—they were either blind, or they were telling us to get lost.
And judging by their demeanor—
‘Yeah. They’re telling us to piss off.’
They probably didn’t dare to say it outright—so instead, they brandished swords at the Pope as a roundabout way of getting the message across.
…Too bad for them.
I wasn’t going anywhere.
“Move your damn swords or—”
“Lower your swords before His Holiness the Pope immediately. Or I will execute you where you stand.”
…Huh?
I was about to say, ‘If you don’t put your swords away, I’ll kill you.’
I hadn’t even finished my threat when Luciana beat me to it.
She had practically declared their deaths.
The Imperial Knights reacted as expected.
“…What… Did you just say? An insult against His Majesty’s knight is an insult against the Emperor himself. You will be held responsible for your words.”
Their expressions darkened as they barked back at her.
The tension was rising, but honestly?
I didn’t blame Luciana at all.
Her duty was to protect me.
So, when someone drew a blade against me—she naturally responded with a warning.
The real problem here wasn’t her.
It was the stiff-necked, brain-dead knights who thought it was a great idea to pull weapons on the Pope.
‘Do these idiots not know how to pick their fights? What if the Church decides to ban the Elixir’s sale to the Imperial Family over this? Think they can handle that mess?’
Not that I’d do something that petty.
But if word of this incident spread, it wouldn’t take much for the higher-ranking priests—
Especially the conservative ones—
To demand some kind of retaliation against the Empire.
I didn’t want things to escalate that far, so I stepped forward, pushing Luciana back slightly.
“I’ll give you one last chance. Lower your swords, apologize, and get out of my sight.”
The knights remained silent.
“Don’t start something you can’t handle.”
Even with a clear warning, they refused to budge.
Not surprising.
They had already escalated the situation this far.
Backing down now would be an embarrassment to the Imperial Knight.
‘Fine by me. Now I’ve got a valid excuse to knock them down a peg.’
And since I was going to beat some sense into them anyway—
‘Might as well try that technique I’ve been practicing.’
Ever since my fight with the demon siblings, I had been training a new skill every night.
It was still at the level of roughly mimicking the real thing, so this would be the first time I’d use it in actual combat.
‘Let’s give it a shot!’
I immediately drew upon my divine power—
—focusing it entirely into my hands.
More specifically—
Into my palms.
‘Perfect. This should be enough.’
The sacred energy condensed, solidifying like an armor of pure force around my palms.
And then—
I reached forward.
Grabbing the blade of the sword blocking my path.
“Your Holiness—!”
“Nike!”
The moment I grabbed the sword barehanded, both Luciana and Rubin gasped in shock.
But their surprise was short-lived.
A few seconds later—
The surrounding fell silent.
Because even after gripping the sharp blade, I wasn’t bleeding.
‘…Success.’
After witnessing how the demon siblings used mana to reinforce their bodies, I wondered—
‘Couldn’t I do the same with divine power?’
Weapon enhancement through divine energy was already a common technique.
So, I practiced it over and over again at night, I finally managed to apply it to my own body.
And now—
Seeing it work in real combat—
It felt strangely satisfying.
Perhaps the Elixir had also played a role, making my divine energy easier to control.
‘Alright. No need to bring out my mace—let’s just scare them a little.’
Having made up my mind, I used my reinforced hand to snatch the swords from both knights.
And then—
I folded one in half.
Then in half again.
And again.
Until the once-straight blade was bent and crumpled into a perfect metal sphere.
The knights went pale.
“B-Bare… barehanded… the sword……?!”
“He’s using a skill! Call for reinforcements!”
It seemed like they had never seen divine power used in this way.
They assumed I was using a physical reinforcement skill, similar to those of Awakeners.
And in combat between Awakeners, activating a skill was practically a declaration of war.
Their expressions hardened even further.
One of them immediately turned to call for backup, while the other—
Attacked me directly.
Whish—!
A sword, infused with divine energy, came swinging toward me.
Judging by the way he wielded it; this guy was an Awakener with divine abilities.
But—
It wasn’t a problem.
Because even if he enhanced his weapon with divine energy—their attack couldn’t cut through.
I was reinforcing my body directly with divine energy.
And when direct reinforcement clashed with indirect reinforcement—
The direct method always won.
This was something I had already proven in my fight against the demon siblings.
That being said—
If I continued fighting barehanded, my attack range would be too short.
In a serious battle, I’d still need a weapon.
But for now—
I lifted my hand and blocked the attack.
…CLANG!
A sharp metallic ring echoed as our forces collided.
The knight stiffened in shock.
Because that sound—
It wasn’t a sound that should have come from the human body.
He had expected to slice through my hand.
Instead, it was like his sword had struck solid steel.
‘Tch. You don’t get it yet?’
I clenched my fist—
And crushed his sword like paper.
“I told you—don’t start something you can’t handle.”
Things had escalated too far.
There was no backing down now.
So, I shifted my weight—
And channelled divine power into my legs.
I made a slight movement, as if preparing to kick—
The knight flinched instinctively, stepping back.
But—
Since I was still holding his sword, he reacted too late.
My foot brushed against his side.
It was barely a touch.
Under normal circumstances, it wouldn’t have hurt at all.
But—
Right now, my legs are as hard as metal.
“…KH!”
Even from a light impact, his body jerked violently.
And before he could recover—
I grabbed him by the collar—
And started pummelling him.
I kept my attacks controlled, avoiding his head.
Instead—
I targeted his ribs, stomach, chest, and shoulders.
Each hit landed precisely, sending painful shocks through his body.
Just as I drew my fist back for another punch—
A new voice rang out.
“Stop! Stop immediately!”
I paused for a moment, looking toward the direction of the voice.
A man was approaching swiftly.
His pale skin—the kind that only nobles who never saw the sun had.
His wavy golden hair—styled too perfectly to belong to a commoner.
He looked young—
At most, twenty years old.
I couldn’t make out his exact features from this distance—
But his delicate, refined appearance screamed ‘privileged noble heir’.
And behind him—
A group of Imperial Knights followed closely.
‘Tch. Took him long enough to crawl out—His Majesty the Emperor.’
My expression darkened further.
The Emperor.
The man who had spent years keeping the Church in check.
The same man who had been ruthless enough to seize the throne from Bliss.
The same man who had been actively trying to undermine my authority.
I glared at him, preparing for the worst.
But then—
As he came closer, I froze.
Because—
‘Wait. Why the heck does he look like that…?’
