CHAPTER 152……………………………………….
The Next Emperor
The cries of victory echoed.
“We won!”
“We held them off! We held them off!”
“You Imperial bastards! Come at us as much as you like!”
“Waaaah!”
One side of the castle wall had collapsed, and there were casualties.
But it wasn’t just that they held off a relatively larger force—they completely annihilated them.
Except for the mercenaries who had abandoned their weapons and surrendered, no enemy survived.
It was, in every sense, a perfect victory.
“You okay?”
“…It hurts.”
Sirina lay on the ground, leaning against Hogue’s protection, pouting as if sulking.
Considering the side of her torso had been torn open, she was in remarkably good condition.
Freezing the wound with ice had helped significantly, and the emergency I’d used also contributed.
“Hold on a little longer. Once we clean it up, you can get proper treatment.”
“…Yeah.”
“Well done.”
I gently stroked her head.
“….”
She silently pulled back her pouting lips.
Though her circle was nearly empty, I could feel it had changed.
While we were apart, she had created a new ring, and succeeded in linking five rings together.
That meant she had reached the fifth circle, capable of using high-level magic.
“You’ve worked hard.”
She couldn’t have done it alone. Her magical knowledge was far too limited.
What made this possible… was…
“Captain!”
“It’s really the captain!”
“I knew it was you, Captain!”
The magic troops of Icerock gathered around me excitedly the moment they saw me.
“Hey! Am I some fake captain?!”
The help of Hagen, the deputy commander of the magic troops who led them, must have been invaluable.
“Long time no see, everyone.”
“You said you were just heading east. Why did it take so long? We thought you’d be dead trying to stop them!”
“This much exaggeration…”
“It was almost double the size?!”
“You’ve already forgotten the flood in the snow mountains, Hagen? How do you expect to use magic properly?”
“I’ve been dying lately…”
“The deputy commander has no talent for teaching.”
“No one can use magic, seriously.”
The troops took this opportunity to tease Hagen.
“I don’t think no one can use it.”
I glanced at the collapsed Sirina.
Hagen noticed my gaze and puffed up, shrugging his shoulders.
Their sight made me burst out laughing.
In this messed-up world.
“You all worked hard.”
For the first time, it felt like I was in the right place.
“Thank you.”
Before the lingering thrill of victory faded.
“Move quickly!”
“What if they attack again?!”
Under the command of Gardner and Hagen, the soldiers began clearing the rubble and debris.
Though exhausted, the soldiers, still basking in the joy and relief of victory, worked with bright smiles.
Meanwhile…
“Not moving?! Huh? Want to die?!”
“I-I’m doing it! I’m doing it!”
“Don’t shout at me like that!”
“Ah! I’ll do it! I’m doing it!”
The captured mercenaries all looked miserable.
The elite troops returning from outside the walls carried whips in one hand and relentlessly lashed the mercenaries’ backs.
“Your feet! Your feet are stuck!”
“You bastard! You can’t even lift that?!”
Thanks to this, the cleanup and restoration proceeded quickly.
It wasn’t just the mercenaries who were upset…
“Si-Sirina!”
Sully Mordis, who had evacuated the villagers to safety in the underground area, screamed the moment she saw the injured Sirina.
“What, what the hell happened…?”
Without even a moment to cry, her face turned pale, and she foamed at the mouth before fainting.
If Hogue hadn’t supported her, she would have been even more seriously injured.
We were startled but couldn’t help laughing at Sully’s maternal instincts.
Sirina laughed so hard that blood seeped from her side wound.
After the commotion, the castle finally felt the calm assurance that the battle was truly over.
“Eat! Drink! Leave no one sober!”
“Ahahaha! Pour it! Pour!”
That night, a grand feast was held to celebrate victory.
The table overflowed with meat and alcohol, and loud songs echoed throughout.
“Did you see that? I just swung the axe! Huh?”
“Ah, you should’ve seen my archery… couldn’t even reach the wall, though?”
“Didn’t you guys see Icerock’s magic? Wow… I saw Deputy Commander Hagen again.”
Everyone reminisced about the battle in excited voices.
As night deepened, the noise grew louder.
The feast continued through the night until dawn broke over Icecrown.
They began the day by cleaning up the feast, and restoration efforts intensified as even the villagers joined in.
Amid this…
“All northern lords have been summoned.”
Bardo Kroven gathered all the key figures at the lord’s castle.
Everyone except the injured Sirina gathered in the banquet hall.
Naturally, I had to attend…
“…Does it have to be this formal?”
Half a dozen attendants were helping me into a stiff outfit.
Straining my neck from the tightly fitted ceremonial robes, I asked.
“Of course.”
Bardo’s eyes gleamed as he spoke firmly.
“You’re going as the proxy of His Highness the Prince. Endure it.”
“No, still…”
“Stay still. The outfit will be ruined.”
“…Yes.”
Hogue quietly laughed while watching me struggle.
After enduring for a while…
“When the introductions are finished, come out.”
“Alright. It’s uncomfortable, so let’s get it over with quickly.”
“That’s nonsense. In occasions like this, taking time shows authority. Like casting magic while reciting each spell properly.”
“…Just get inside already.”
Bardo smirked and entered the hall first.
“Yes, it suits you well.”
Hogue whispered beside me.
“I want to tear it off.”
“Just hold on a little.”
While we whispered, Bardo’s voice carried from the hall.
“Thank you all for gathering. Today, you are here to receive a message from Prince Leonis.”
The murmurs of the gathered lords echoed.
“But first… we will introduce our greatest ally.”
At Bardo’s words, the murmuring stopped abruptly.
“From the first mage family, the sole remaining lineage… Esric Spelder.”
First and last…
“…That’s a bit grandiose.”
I smirked and stepped forward.
The tight ceremonial outfit naturally opened my chest, broadened my shoulders, and straightened my back.
Each step I took echoed crisply across the hall.
Inside, a vast space stretched before me.
A high-domed ceiling covered a massive, elongated oval table.
Around it sat the lords and key figures, each wearing expressions ranging from curiosity and awe to doubt and slight unease.
As I entered, all eyes turned to me.
Clack.
Sully, who had been seated at the head of the table for the injured Sirina, stood and motioned me forward.
“Please, sit here.”
She smiled and stepped aside, offering me her seat.
At that moment, the other lords also rose.
The scrape of chair legs against the floor echoed throughout the hall.
I naturally walked to the head of the table and sat in the seat Sully offered.
The tall, firm-backed chair supported me perfectly.
The lords remained standing, some nodding, some scrutinizing me with narrowed eyes.
Bardo spoke again.
“Everyone, please be seated.”
The lords sat slowly, the scraping of chairs echoing once more.
I scanned the faces around me.
Most were unfamiliar, but one friendly face appeared.
“Long time no see, Baron Günther.”
“An honor to meet you again.”
Seeing me greet him, the other lords’ attention shifted to Günther.
They didn’t know that I had once been a mercenary called “Three Coins” and had been employed by Günther.
Now, Günther was one of Sully’s greatest aids in unifying the northern forces.
The greetings passed quickly.
“Prince Leonis has appointed Esric here as his proxy.”
Bardo pointed at me.
“He will deliver Prince Leonis’ message. First… thank you all for helping defend Icecrown.”
The lords nodded silently.
They already knew.
They couldn’t have stopped the Imperial Army on their own.
This perfect victory was entirely thanks to Icecrown’s forces.
Knowing this better than anyone, no one dared to claim undue credit.
Sully seemed pleased, opening her chest and shrugging with a smile.
“I believe you’ve all seen what the first prince intended for the north.”
Suppressing a smile, she continued.
“Not just the north. He is a tyrant who believes he can rule the entire continent alone.”
The lords watched me intently, listening.
“He tried to pass the throne to the third prince, Emilion, but tragically lost his life due to the scheming of Pope Lucarion.”
“…!”
“The third prince…?”
“Pope? Then the church…?”
Some lords, unaware of the events, murmured in confusion.
“But along with the church’s paladins, we corrected the wrongs and established proper justice. Now, following the east, the Solius Church of the south has joined us.”
“Then…!”
“This… is quite…”
All the lords had the same thought: it was doable.
The overwhelming power of the first prince could be matched.
“Carrying a heavy heart, the second prince decided to take the throne himself.”
Having witnessed the battle with their own eyes, it was only natural to think this.
“Now we…”
I delivered Prince Leonis’ most important message.
“We strike the first prince.”
The lords’ murmuring stopped immediately.
Not a single breath was heard.
All stared at me with wide eyes, as if ready to leap out of their seats.
“The eastern forces are already moving here. The Solius Church has consolidated southern forces and will join us.”
Bardo interjected, as if waiting.
“How do you respond?”
Recalling Leonis’ arrogant tone, I asked the lords:
“Who will the north follow?”
A brief silence.
Without even a chance to gauge each other’s reactions…
“Icemaker will follow the second prince.”
“Vinhelm will follow the second prince.”
Sully and Günther knelt almost simultaneously.
Seeing them,
“Mo-Mordis will follow the second prince!”
“Valkshut will follow the second prince…!”
“Priyan will follow the second prince…!”
One by one, the northern lords knelt, and everyone in the hall bowed their heads, pledging loyalty to Leonis.
Looking down at them quietly, a thought suddenly struck me.
「 “I didn’t use you. I only used human greed.” 」
The face of Zeras Grimm came to mind.
The ill fate that began the moment I arrived in this world.
The time to end that fate was near.
