◈26. Finding the 「Worry King of the Day」
I was bewildered.
The closer the emperor got, the stronger that feeling grew.
Because—
‘…He looks exactly like me.’
Now that he was close enough for me to see him properly, I could confirm it.
The emperor’s face was practically a copy of mine—or rather, of Nikellus’ face.
The same golden hair.
The same pale complexion.
The only real difference?
His eyes were golden, whereas Nikellus’ were silver-gray.
As he came to a stop just in front of me, the emperor locked eyes with mine.
His breathing was still slightly uneven, likely from hurrying over.
And the moment he steadied himself—
He spoke.
“I’ve been informed of the situation. This was my knights’ failure, as they were not properly trained. I sincerely apologize.”
Then—
He lowered his head in apology.
And with a simple hand gesture, he ordered the Imperial Knights to do the same.
The knights—clearly uncomfortable after the beating I had just given them—reluctantly bowed their heads.
…This was completely different from what I had expected.
‘I thought he’d be more arrogant… Is he just acting civil because making a scene would be troublesome?’
Either way, I had to respond appropriately.
‘What’s the proper etiquette for the Pope when addressing the emperor again…?’
I reached into Nikellus’ memories for the answer.
Luckily, some knowledge about imperial etiquette was buried there—though it took a ridiculous amount of effort to find.
Following what I recalled, I slightly bowed my head and answered politely.
“It’s fine. No harm was done, so let’s leave it at that.”
Of course—
When I said ‘no harm was done’, I was referring to myself.
The Imperial Knight I had just dealt with was in no condition to be called unharmed.
Even so—
The emperor showed no sign of displeasure at my response.
“That’s a relief. I’ll make sure to reprimand them thoroughly so they’ll be more careful in the future.”
He smiled as he said this.
And for the first time, I felt genuinely thrown off.
‘Is this guy… really the one who overthrew Bliss and took the throne?’
The more I looked at him, the more he differed from the image I had in my head.
I had expected one of three things:
- He’d have a commanding aura, overwhelming Bliss through sheer charisma.
- He’d be physically powerful, the type to forcefully take what he wanted, someone with a strong presence.
- Or at the very least, he’d have a sharp, dangerous edge to him, someone with a hint of ruthlessness.
But instead?
He looked like the textbook definition of a sheltered noble.
His eyes were soft, almost puppy-like.
His presence was gentle, his expression unguarded.
In fact—
‘…He’s completely failing to hide his nervousness right now.’
His emotions were plain as day.
Far from being calculating or cunning, he was practically leaking his thoughts all over his face.
At this point—
I could kind of understand why the Imperial Knights had acted the way they did.
Their master was this mild and docile, so they probably overcompensated by acting aggressively.
Knights, mercenaries—anyone from a martial background tended to be especially sensitive about things like that.
Still—
‘I should be cautious. Just because he seems harmless doesn’t mean he actually is.’
It was entirely possible that he was intentionally acting like this, watching my every move for an opening.
With that in mind, I kept my tone neutral and spoke again.
“Would you mind stepping aside?”
“…Hm?”
“Standing outside for so long here is tiring. I’d like to go inside.”
“Ah, of course. My apologies—I was in your way. Please, go ahead.”
The emperor, who had been staring at me blankly, responded just as blankly and stepped aside.
‘…Is this country really going to be okay?’
Watching the emperor’s behavior, I felt an unexpected sense of worry for the Empire’s future.
Now—
I hadn’t scheduled an official visit to the orphanage.
After all, I had only received the Oracle to go to the orphanage this morning.
The most I had done was send a messenger ahead in the morning to say,
“I’ll be visiting later, so be prepared.”
And judging by the situation—
It seemed like the emperor’s side had done the same.
If the emperor had properly scheduled his visit, the orphanage would have at least informed us through the messenger priest we had sent earlier.
Something like—
“His Majesty the Emperor will also be visiting today.”
But there had been no such message.
Which meant that the orphanage director had standing before me just been hit with a double surprise—
Waking up this morning with zero warning that both the Pope and the Emperor would be dropping in.
“T-Then… b-both of you… would you… w-would you like to… hand out these freshly baked cookies and candies… t-to the children…?”
The orphanage director—a frazzled-looking woman with long, loosely braided hair—nervously gestured toward the packaged snacks.
I gave her a small nod—
And internally cheered.
‘Perfect. If I hand out cookies to each child one by one, I can ask them about their problems at the same time. Shouldn’t take long to find the ‘Worry King’ that way.’
Being asked to hand out cookies was an ideal opportunity to ask about their worries.
I had been worried they might ask me to read a children’s book or something-more consuming, but thankfully, that wasn’t the case.
Feeling pleased with how things were working out, I asked,
“Where should we take these?”
“O-Over to the auditorium. But they’re heavier than they look, so—”
She seemed ready to call for helpers, but before she could, I simply picked up one of the sacks.
“Ah!”
The director let out a small gasp of surprise.
Since I was feeling generous, I also grabbed the bag of candies meant for the emperor and carried that too.
The emperor, watching from the side, blinked in mild surprise before asking,
“You’re an Awakener, then…?”
“S-rank.”
“Ah, so that’s why you’re so strong. I envy you. If only I were as sturdy as you…”
There was a hint of bitterness in his tone.
That alone told me everything I needed to know.
‘He must be a non-Awakener. That explains why I can’t open his status window.’
Keeping that to myself, I responded,
“Do you really need to be strong? You have thousands of soldiers guarding you night and day.”
The emperor let out a dry chuckle.
“Perhaps. But there are many deaths even thousands of soldiers cannot prevent.”
“…What?”
“Ah, I’ve rambled too long. Let’s go see the children now.”
Leaving those cryptic words hanging, the emperor turned and walked away.
I frowned slightly.
‘Deaths that even thousands of soldiers can’t prevent…’
I briefly considered his meaning before deciding to drop it.
For now, I had more pressing matters—
Like finding the ‘Worry King’ and completing the Oracle.
I followed after him toward the auditorium, where the children were gathered.
The auditorium was spacious—
And completely silent.
The children sat in perfectly straight rows, their backs stiff, their hands neatly folded.
‘…This is weird. They’re so quiet. Not like children at all.’
I had expected excitement—a stampede of children rushing forward for a chance at an extra cookie.
But seeing them sitting in orderly rows like trained soldiers gave me an odd feeling.
‘Does the director be overly strict with the children?’
‘Had there been abuse?’
Something felt off.
I made a mental note to look into it later—
And, for now, put on my brightest voice as I spoke.
“You’ve been waiting, haven’t you? I brought cookies.”
“Y-Yes, Your Holiness…”
Even at the mention of cookies, the children remained quiet.
As if they were scared.
My unease deepened.
Still, I opened the snack bag and encouraged them.
“Alright, line up one by one. If you keep good order, I’ll give you an extra one.”
But—
The more I spoke, the stiffer their expressions became.
Something was very wrong.
Then, a small voice spoke up from the front row.
A little girl, hesitant, barely above a whisper.
“If we… d-don’t line up properly…”
“Hm?”
“…Will you hit us?”
What?
What kind of question is that?
I froze.
Then, slowly, my brain rebooted itself.
“…Hit you? Who?”
I barely managed to ask.
The little girl nodded hesitantly.
“Will… Your Holiness… h-hurt us?”
“Me?!”
For a moment, I was too stunned to respond.
Then, finally, I blurted out—
“Wait—hold on. That’s not what I—!”
That’s when it happened—
A child sitting in the back row suddenly burst into tears.
And as if that were some kind of signal—
More cries erupted from all around me.
“Please don’t hit us!! We’ll follow the rules!!”
“We won’t act up like those knights!!”
“Waaaah!! Director!! Your Majesty!! Help us!!”
The auditorium—now filled with a wailing chorus of children—felt less like an orphanage and more like a pediatric clinic on vaccination day.
And that’s when I finally realized it.
‘…They’re scared …because of me.’
It wasn’t because of the orphanage director.
It wasn’t because of the emperor.
The reason these children were shaking in terror was because of me—
The infamous, violent, and foul-tempered Pope.
‘They must’ve seen me beating up the Imperial Knights from the window.’
This was bad.
The Worry King I needed to help was somewhere among these children, but there was no way I could talk to them if they were this terrified.
I needed to fix this—fast.
I immediately softened my expression as much as possible and tried to reassure them.
“Calm down, children. I only hit bad and dangerous people—”
“Waaaah!! The Pope said he beats up bad children!!”
‘…That is NOT what I said.’
Why is the logic jumping like that?
My head was starting to feel numb from the crying echoing around me.
And then—
I noticed the emperor, who was standing nearby.
He was silently mouthing something to me.
At first, I couldn’t make it out.
‘The emperor… what is he saying….?’
“…Show… the… spirit beast…?”
Oh!
The moment I understood his suggestion, I immediately summoned Rubin.
“Hey, Niké! Did you call me?”
Rubin, who had been unsummoned during the earlier commotion, reappeared upon my call.
The effect was instantaneous.
The children—who had been screaming at the top of their lungs just seconds ago—suddenly fell silent.
Their eyes, red from crying, were now entirely fixed on Rubin.
“A white puppy… It’s so cute…”
“No, it’s a fox, a fox!”
“I wanna touch its tail!!”
‘…What the heck? That worked?!’
The chaotic war zone that was the auditorium had been pacified in an instant.
It was truly like magic.
‘Praise be to the almighty Rubin.’
Internally worshipping my fluffy savior, I leaned in close and whispered into his soft white ears.
“I need to hand out these cookies, but the children start crying the moment they look at me. Help me out?”
“Oh, you just need me to calm them down? Leave it to me! I’ve calmed down over a hundred children who got lost and cried in the temple!”
Seeing Rubin confidently boast about her expertise put me at ease.
Rubin, seemingly excited to showcase his expertise, patted my shoulder with his little front paws.
“Just relax. No matter how difficult the children are, I can handle them. All I need to do is show off my fluffy tail—”
“I wanna touch the puppy’s tail!”
Before Rubin could even finish his sentence, the children eagerly reached out for him.
I quickly lifted him up to a height just out of their reach.
“Alright, alright. If you all touch him at once, he’ll go ‘ouch’! Let’s line up and take turns petting, okay?”
“Okay!!”
…And just like that, they were obediently following my instructions.
The power of animals truly is remarkable.
‘Phew…’
With the immediate crisis over, I glanced at the emperor.
Our eyes met, and I gave him a small nod of gratitude.
Despite being flustered, I hadn’t even thought about summoning Rubin—yet the emperor had given me the perfect solution.
‘He must have remembered Rubin from earlier, even though I de-summoned him so quickly.’
He had a sharp eye.
Not only that, but he had also quickly figured out that I could summon and unsummon Rubin at will.
‘…Maybe he’s more competent than I thought?’
Of course—I still couldn’t fully trust him.
The Imperial Family had been nothing but hostile toward the church.
Even so—
I figured I should at least acknowledge his help.
But before I could—
The children, now fully calmed, began eagerly demanding their cookies.
And so—
I distributed the cookies and gave them a chance to pet Rubin one by one.
At the same time—
I began asking questions.
“Are you having any troubles lately?”
“Umm… I wanna eat more snacks, but there aren’t enough…”
“Got it. I’ll remember that.”
I had Rubin memorize the responses, planning to review them later at the cathedral.
Not every issue could be solved, but some were things I could actually do something about.
One child—
Then two—
Then ten—
Then twenty—
And finally, thirty.
“Thank you for listening to us, Your Holiness! We’ll be waiting, so please come again!”
With the last child’s words, I had successfully gathered every single worry.
I exhaled a long sigh.
‘That was exhausting…’
Now—
I just had to wait.
Soon, a system message would appear—confirming that I had found the ‘Worry King’.
Since none of the previous children had been the target, that meant the last child was 100% guaranteed to be today’s Worry King.
Sure enough—
A message popped up.
But—
‘…Wait. This isn’t right.’
Instead of the ‘Target Identified’ message—
A completely different message appeared.
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