◈27. ‘So, it was you, the Worry King!’
[Warning: Hurry up! 「Worry King of the Day」 will leave the area within 30 minutes!]
I stared blankly at the system message in front of me.
He tells me to hurry up and find 「Worry King of the Day」.
That is, even though I asked all the children at the orphanage about their worries, I still haven’t found the Worry King.
And now, the real Worry King was about to leave this place…….
‘You’ve gotta be kidding me.’
To confirm, I quickly opened the oracle window.
Sub Oracle (2) ― Find the 「Worry King of the Day」 at the Belter Orphanage! (Incomplete)
― Warning: 「Worry King of the Day」 will leave the area within 30 minutes. If you fail to identify them before then, the sub oracle mission will fail, so please be careful.
Seeing that the word (incomplete) was written as it was.
It seemed to be true.
Among all the children I’d met today, none of them were the true Worry King.
‘Damn it, how am I supposed to help them if I don’t even know who they are? Are they not one of the children? Could it be an orphanage staff member?’
When they told me to look for the Worry King at the ‘Orphanage’, I naturally thought he’d be among the children.
But if it was one of the adults instead…
Do I have to go around asking the staff one by one about their worries now?
I was starting to get a headache when—
“I must say, when I see children laughing so freely, I can’t help but smile as well. Wouldn’t you agree?”
“Huh? Ah, yes. Of course.”
The emperor suddenly spoke to me and I replied automatically.
When I turned to look at him, he was wearing a gentle smile—one so serene that he looked more like a Pope than I did.
“Truthfully, I would have liked to stay longer and watch the children enjoy themselves… but unfortunately, I have a tight schedule this afternoon. I must return to the palace now.”
“Ah, I see, take care on your way back, then. And… Thank you for earlier. I was in a tough spot.”
“No need to thank me. It wasn’t exactly difficult advice. Besides…
The emperor trailed off, his expression turning slightly wistful.
“Seeing you flustered in front of the children reminded me of someone dear to me. I couldn’t just stand by and watch.”
I opened my mouth to ask who he was talking about—
But before I could—
The emperor ended the conversation after saying only that.
“In any case, I’ll be on my way. May God’s blessings be with you.”
I also bowed my head to him and said goodbye.
Then I watched his retreating figure for a while.
I wasn’t planning on getting too involved with him—
But something about what he said lingered in my mind.
‘Who is this dear person he’s talking about? Why does he look so somber, like he’s carrying some heavy burden…….’
Wait.
A burden?
A worry?
A thought occurred to me in a moment.
I whirled around and sprinted toward the auditorium doors, pushing them open into the hallway.
But—
He was already gone.
I couldn’t see him in the hallway outside the auditorium.
Returning to the auditorium and looking through the window, I saw that the emperor had already gone outside.
He was standing in front of the garden and saying goodbye to the director of the orphanage.
If I didn’t stop him right now, he’d be gone—and I would fail the mission.
Without another thought, I climbed out the window and jumped outside.
“Wait!”
“Hmm?”
The emperor, who had been heading toward his carriage, turned around at my urgent call.
“Is something the matter?”
“Just a moment. Before you leave, there’s something important I need to tell you……”
The emperor raised a curious brow.
“If it’s urgent enough for you to come running like this, it must be serious. I’m curious. Go ahead.”
What should I say to make this sound natural?
After a brief moment of hesitation, I opened my mouth.
“Well… even though Your Majesty said it wasn’t anything special, your advice was a huge help to me.”
“Are you talking about the advice to summon the spirit beast earlier?”
“Yes. And, well… and it feels wrong to just accept your help without giving anything in return—”
I paused for a moment before getting straight to the main point.
“I’d like to help you in some way, Your Majesty. If there’s anything troubling you, please let me know.”
“Something… troubling me?”
“Even if I can’t solve the problem for you, sometimes just talking about it can make you feel better.”
It was a simple suggestion—just a polite offer to listen.
But the Emperor stared at me in surprise, his golden eyes widening.
Was he surprised?
In any case, I waited in silence.
I wanted to see if the message I had been waiting for would finally appear.
“…….”
“…….”
Nothing.
No message.
The notification did not appear.
What’s worse, the emperor didn’t respond either.
Instead, an unbearably awkward silence settled between us.
‘Damn, I thought I had brought it up naturally…… Did I mess up?’
Just as I was about to try again—
“You’re right.”
The emperor, who had been staring at me blankly, finally spoke and stepped closer to me.
Then he held my two hands with an affectionate expression.
“Sometimes, simply speaking your worries aloud can bring comfort. Even when there is no solution to be found.”
A faint smile spread across the emperor’s lips.
Following that―
※Target Identified Notification※
[Congratulations! You've found 「Worry King of the Day」! Please listen to and resolve the worries of the Worry King, 「Ernen van Friske」!]
I felt like cheering.
The message I had been waiting for all day had finally appeared.
‘So, it was you, the Worry King!’
I had questioned countless children at the orphanage, thinking the Worry King was among them.
Yet the real Worry King had been sitting next to me this whole time.
“Before my people, I must always be the flawless Emperor.”
His voice was calm, but there was a weight to it—a weariness that didn’t suit someone his age.
“No matter what worries fester inside me, I cannot speak of them. Even if they rot, even if they decay… I must simply keep them buried in silence.”
A dark shadow of worry, unbecoming of his age, fell over the emperor’s face.
But just as quickly, he wiped away the shadow with a bitter smile and looked at me fully.
“That’s why… I’m grateful.”
“Pardon?”
“Watching you patiently ask each and every child about their troubles… you seemed so kind and dependable.”
“…….”
“And so, I found myself wanting to confide in you as well.”
I wasn’t expecting that.
Honestly, I had only asked out of obligation—to complete the oracle’s task.
But the Emperor had interpreted it differently.
He’d taken my actions as something genuine and compassionate.
Which, ironically, made me feel a little guilty.
“…Thank you.”
That was the only response I could manage.
“I have pressing matters to attend to today, but I will send a letter soon. We shall speak again then.”
At that, one of his attendants gave him a subtle nudge, urging him to leave.
With a small nod in farewell, the emperor boarded his carriage.
The gold-trimmed wheels began to turn, and the sound of hoofbeats echoed against the cobbled road.
‘What about the oracle……?’
Taking advantage of the quiet surroundings, I opened the oracle window.
And I checked out one of the two sub-oracles that I had not yet completed.
Sub Oracle (2) ― Find the 「Worry King of the Day」 at the Belter Orphanage! (Completed)
(Completed)……
It was a beautiful word, one that made me feel overflowing with satisfaction just by looking at it.
As we finished our volunteer work, we left the orphanage, receiving a heartfelt farewell from the staff and children.
But I’ll be honest—
It wasn’t me they were most grateful for.
It was Luciana.
Apparently, while Rubin and I were handing out cookies to the children, Luciana was accomplishing something great all by herself.
She had—
✔ Repaired the leaking roof.
✔ Fixed the broken fences.
✔ Completely cleaned out a storeroom that hadn’t been touched in five years…?
Because of this, it was no surprise when the orphanage director teared up, looking at her as if she were a divine being descended from the heavens.
Fortunately, the children gave me a warmer send-off.
In any case, after finishing our work and returning to the cathedral.
Three days passed in a busy blur.
Finally, ‘that letter’ came.
“Your Holiness, a letter has arrived from His Majesty the Emperor.”
A young priest, who apparently was my aide, carefully handed me the emperor’s letter.
The only problem was…
I had no idea who he was.
This guy had suddenly appeared a few days ago.
When I asked who he was, he claimed that he had been Nikellus’s aide before.
Apparently, he had been on sick leave for a full six months.
So, for me, who had only been here for about three months, it was inevitable that I wouldn’t recognize him.
‘No wonder it felt strange that the Pope didn’t have a single aide. Turns out he was on sick leave…….’
From what I heard, the original Nikellus suddenly went on a rampage, wanting to eat a deluxe scallop dish that was only available in coastal cities.
And this poor guy went out to find something similar, but ended up slipping on the ice in the winter and breaking a bone.
That’s why he had been on sick leave.
Anyway, just by hearing that anecdote, I could guess what it would be like.
How much this guy must have suffered while assisting Nikellus.
Apparently, even though the church offered to provide him with potions, he refused to take them and continued to lie in his sickbed until he was almost forcibly dragged here.
Since everyone was avoiding the position of Nikellus’s aide, the Church had no choice but to bring him back, or the position would remain vacant.
‘……Poor guy.’
I stared into this aide’s sky-blue eyes…
His name was ‘Thomas’, I think?
He had clear eyes and light beige hair that was fluffy like a puppy’s, giving him a gentle appearance.
How much suffering must this guy have had under a boss with a broken personality……
As I looked at him with pity, Thomas’ eyes suddenly began to tremble.
“Y-Your Holiness, d-did I make a mistake again……?”
“No, no, I was just looking at you for a moment. Don’t worry.”
How much had he been through to get so nervous just from being looked at?
As I hurried to reassure him, he let out a deep sigh, seemingly relieved.
“Oh, I see… S-Should I prepare a scallop dish for you?”
“NO!!”
Startled by the mention of the scallop dish, I raised my voice, but then quickly calmed down again with a feeling of ‘Oh no’.
“Sorry, I was just… worried you might get hurt again if you went out to get it……. Ahem, just rest well today. I’ll call you if something urgent comes up.”
“But… the only thing I did today was bring this letter…”
“It’s fine. There’s nothing urgent anyway, and you’ve only just recovered, so don’t push yourself.”
Thomas’s eyes became blank as if he had heard some alien language from me.
In order not to surprise Thomas again, I opened the drawer as slowly as possible.
Then, I pulled out a heavy pouch and placed it on the desk.
“And this. It’s a gift.”
Thomas’ gaze shifted to the leather pouch I had placed on the desk.
He picked it up cautiously and checked its contents.
His sky-blue eyes began to sparkle just like the contents of the pouch.
“T-this is……!”
“It’s something I set aside for you. You got hurt because of me, and you’ve suffered a lot otherwise.”
“B-but this is too much. R-receiving this much money is burdensome… no, I shouldn’t accept it.”
“Just take it. It’s from my personal funds, not the Church’s. Besides, you taking it will put my mind at ease.”
Only after telling him to take it for my own good did the guy finally accept the pouch.
I watched in satisfaction before adding one last thing.
“And this is a bit awkward to bring up, but I feel like I can’t just let it go, so—”
After clearing my throat with a ‘ahem,’ I quietly spoke again.
“I’m sorry. For everything.”
The moment those words left my lips, Thomas froze.
He stood there, clutching the pouch I had given him, completely still.
He didn’t say a word, just stood there in a daze.
…Was he okay?
I started to worry, so I spoke up again.
“So, I hope we can get along moving forw— Wait, hold on. What’s wrong?!”
For a moment, I was at a loss.
Mid-sentence, tears suddenly began to well up in Thomas’ eyes.
‘What the hell? I didn’t say anything mean, did I?’
While I was frantically trying to figure out where I might have misspoken, Thomas started sobbing.
“I’ve really… sniff… served Your Holiness for so long… sob… and to think a moment like this would come… sniff… sob……”
There was a strange sobbing sound mixed in, but when I roughly interpreted it, I thought I understood the meaning.
‘He’s overwhelmed. Because the person who made his life hell is suddenly acting like a decent human being.’
Seriously, the original Nikellus must have done some awful shit.
Without a word, I pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to him.
Then, Thomas buried his face in his handkerchief and began to wail.
“WAAAH!!”
That was when it happened.
[「Thomas」 's favorability toward you has increased to the maximum!]
The favorability message that usually appeared when those around me were impressed by my actions popped up again.
But this time, it said ‘maximum.’
But what is the maximum width?
I’ve seen ‘significantly’ increases, but this ‘maximum’ was a first.
And in the world of the Extinction Department, the probability of a surprise event occurring increases when you achieve your first achievement.
For example, like now.
[A surprise event has occurred due to an increase in favorability!]
▶ Event title: The moment when murderous intent turned into goodwill ◀
―You have dramatically changed the heart of the person who hated you by 180 degrees.
Thomas, the gloomy aide who fantasized about spitting in his superior's teacup every day... (He never actually did.)
From now on, he will serve you faithfully as your loyal subject.
*Reward List*
―Stainless Resistant Divine White Gloves (Part of 3-piece set item)
The reward item was ‘Stainless Resistant Divine’ white gloves…….
Then, I looked down and examined the boots I was currently wearing.
