I left the Emperor's residence with a complicated feeling. In my hand was a
scroll handed to me by the Emperor.
▶ First, become stronger than Ether.
▶ Second, become more precious than Hedera.
▶ Third, become more devout than Solana.
▶ Fourth, acquire more wealth than Chein.
▶ Fifth, reach a higher magical level than Neo.
The choices given by the Emperor were quite simple. Either solve the
preliminary tasks written on the scroll to escape being a 'worthless man,' or
just die.
Except for the fifth item, the difficulty was almost impossible, but what
choice did I have? I had to do it to avoid dying. I couldn't die in vain after
taking action out of regret for my terminal life.
I chewed on Sun Grass and muttered.
"…In the end, I couldn't even bring up the idea of calling it off."
Moreover, there is one more crucial fact at present.
─How did you manage to win the hearts of all my daughters?
Yes, the Emperor certainly said that.
The fact that the Emperor, not the princesses, presented the five preliminary
tasks and that he offered conditions instead of trying to kill me… These
clues suggested only one thing.
'Are the princesses considering this marriage positively?'
…All five of them?
Circumstantially, it seemed so. Quite enough.
It could be the best news ever, but I felt quite complicated at the moment.
After all, the Emperor was someone who had long surpassed human
reasoning.
The biggest concern was the conflict between the princesses and the
Emperor. If those who had reached the pinnacle in their respective fields
clashed with the Emperor, the aftermath…
Just imagining the chaos it would bring to the continent was terrifying.
Somehow, the future of the continent now depends on me.
It was too late to back out, and it was too big to call it off. Achieving all the
preliminary tasks was the only way to complete this without any damage.
That was the situation I'd ended up in.
"Ha."
I sighed deeply and shook off my worries.
Worrying and fretting wouldn't change anything. It was better to think
about what needed to be done and the positives ahead. That would be a
hundred times more helpful.
The Emperor also said this.
─If my daughter gets a husband, well, you probably won't be terminal
anymore.
Though he said it indirectly, the meaning of the Emperor's words was clear.
If by any chance I married a princess, he implied he would help with my
current terminal issue.
"Well, there's nothing wrong with that."
I muttered and headed to my lodging.
Phew.
I exhaled a long puff of Sun Grass smoke.
From tomorrow on, it would be a very busy day.
The next day.
"We've arrived!"
I nodded at the coachman's shout and got off. The place I stepped on was
the bustling area near the Imperial Tower in the capital of the empire.
A tower so high you couldn't see the top with the naked eye, tall buildings,
floating objects in the air, passersby wearing magician-like pointed hats and
hoods…
It was certainly a scene brimming with magical ambiance.
I chewed on Sun Grass and checked the schedule in my pocket.
'The inauguration ceremony for the Imperial Tower Auditor is tonight.'
I didn't plan to make a big deal out of the inauguration ceremony, but it
would be strange to show up without knowing anything. Since I'd be
working here for a while, I thought I should familiarize myself with the
area.
But then…
Clank!
As soon as the carriage that brought me here departed, a much larger
carriage took its place.
And then, a very familiar person got off the carriage.
"Solana?"
The Face of the Empire, the Angel of the Empire, Solana.
She also widened her eyes as soon as she saw me.
"Oh, Teacher?"
She had pulled her hood tightly over her head, seemingly to conceal her
identity, but it wasn't enough to hide her distinctive sunflower-like
brightness. I asked her.
"What brings you here? What about the Holy Temple?"
Solana was undoubtedly the greatest saint of the empire. No matter how
many external activities she had, it didn't compare to the days she spent
inside the Holy Temple located within the Imperial Palace.
But Solana just smiled.
"There are plenty of other priests in the temple. Someone has to go around
and spread the mercy and teachings of the Sun God. This time, I'm the one
going around."
"I see."
"By the way, Teacher, what a coincidence. Running into you like this."
"Indeed. You must be busy. Let's meet again if we get the chance."
As I turned my body.
"Wait, hold on! Teacher!"
Solana quickly blocked my way.
"This kind of coincidence is rare…! Have you had a meal?"
"…I see. I'm glad the conversation went well."
In a restaurant in the bustling area.
Solana, chewing her food, quietly nodded. I had just told her about my
meeting with the Emperor.
Of course, I couldn't tell her everything that happened exactly as it was.
I simply explained that there were a few conditions, but the conversation
itself wasn't bad.
It wasn't exactly a lie. Considering the Emperor's temperament, this was a
fairly successful conversation.
I put Sun Grass in my mouth and spoke.
"Why, were you worried about me?"
"Of course, it's natural for me to worry about you, isn't it?"
Solana asked with a confident attitude.
Her reaction was as if she had heard something as obvious as the sun rising
in the morning and the moon rising at night. Her confident kindness made
me feel a bit embarrassed for making a joke.
"Even so. How can you put aside your work and follow me?"
"…Ah, no. We met by coincidence. You saw it with your own eyes earlier,
didn't you? I coincidentally got off the carriage."
The world doesn't call that a coincidence.
I was about to say that but just laughed it off.
Every time I observed such an obvious lie, I felt a bit pleased, as if I were
seeing Solana when she was young.
'She must have been really worried.'
She was pretending to have met me by coincidence, but in the end, she was
so concerned about my conversation with the Emperor that she followed me
here.
Solana cleared her throat a couple of times.
"More importantly, I have something urgent to tell you. About two things."
"Alright. Speak comfortably."
Fortunately, because she had her hood tightly pulled over her head, no one
in the restaurant recognized her and bothered her. I also had free time until
the evening.
"First of all, it would be difficult for you to stay there."
"Not 'stay' but 'situation'."
"Situation. Situation. That's what I said. Did I pronounce it strangely?"
Haha, Solana awkwardly laughed, covering her mouth with the back of her
hand. She probably didn't realize her face was turning bright red.
"Why would it be difficult to stay there? There should be a dormitory inside
the tower."
"Ah, I have something to tell you about that."
Solana took out a piece of paper from her pocket.
"I've already investigated how full the dormitory is and how many rooms
are left… Since it came up, let's check again now."
As she read the paper from top to bottom, her eyes narrowed.
"…Oh? This can't be."
Soon, with a serious expression, she spoke in a very earnest tone. Her eyes
were filled with shock and concern.
"Teacher, what should we do? There isn't a single room left."
Was that possible?
Solana smiled brightly.
"But it's alright. I happened to get a house in this area because I have a lot
to handle here, and it's much bigger than I thought. If you're okay with it,
why don't you stay with me?"
"Give that to me."
"…"
Solana quietly licked her lower lip.
She looked back and forth between the paper and me, and then suddenly
seemed twice as shocked as before.
Her hands trembled, and her eyes widened almost twice their size.
"What should we do…? Teacher, there really are no rooms left in the
dormitory."
"Give it to me."
"…"
In the end, I telekinetically pulled the paper towards me.
Looking at it, the dormitory was not even close to being full; it was
practically empty. I wondered why there were so many vacancies.
"It's completely empty."
"…"
Solana quietly avoided my gaze.
It wasn't that I didn't want to live with Solana.
But there were too many factors to consider to just rush into something like
this.
What would happen if it became known that the saint nicknamed the Face
of the Empire, the Angel of the Empire, was living with a man?
…The repercussions would be enormous. Moreover, I had preliminary tasks
to solve, so I couldn't afford to be distracted.
"Let's think about living together later. For now, the tower work comes
first."
Then Solana blinked as if hearing something unexpected.
"…Oh, are you now interested in the tower work?"
"Somehow, that's how it turned out."
Now, I had to take a keen interest in solving the tower's issues. Otherwise, I
might die.
My gaze turned to Solana, whose eyes had already lit up.
"So, what's the second thing?"
"Oh, the second thing."
Solana nodded as if she just remembered.
"The second is about the inauguration ceremony tonight."
"My inauguration ceremony?"
"Yes. Your lodging issue is important, but this also made me decide to
'coincidentally' meet you. It seemed important."
…Made her decide to meet me? Was she unaware that she was confessing
to intentionally following me? It seemed she didn't want to hide it anymore.
Anyway, Solana took something out of her pocket again.
"…"
And I unconsciously furrowed my brows a bit.
Because what she took out was none other than a letter envelope.
"Look. Two letters addressed to you, Teacher."