chapter_0157

158 – Please Visit Our Store Once

158 – Please Visit Our Store Once

“I’m glad that you think highly of our shop, and fortunately, we are managing well.”

I racked my brain, but I couldn’t understand the Empress’s intentions behind her sudden words.

With just one word from her, our shop could vanish in an instant.

The person with such power was none other than the Empress.

She held the most absolute authority not just in the Empire but across the entire continent.

A being that shone the brightest from the highest place.

No one dared to challenge the Empress, who stood right in front of me.

To the common people, her name was hardly known; only a select few who could meet her in private were aware of it, marking her as someone from a different world.

The Empress smiled, her golden eyes sparkling.

“Think highly of you, you say? Yes, everyone has their own concerns. A little deviation is only natural.”

Sweat trickled down my spine at her sly grin.

Her gaze seemed to know everything.

She stared at me for a long time with a calm expression.

“How fascinating. That someone with such kind eyes developed such a Magic Circle.”

“……”

The mention of the Magic Circle made me swallow hard.

I couldn’t say a word.

I feared that with just one slip of my tongue, not only I but also my mentor Meiko would be dragged into this.

Moreover, I worried that Yuris, Helen, Nikki, and the other guests who had visited our shop might also be implicated.

Thoughts swirled in my mind.

Of course.

It felt like the ruler of this world was contemplating whether to permanently banish me.

I had no choice but to think about what kind of excuse I could make to survive.

The Empress met my gaze again and smiled.

“Hehe, you don’t need to be so scared. I have no intention of punishing you for what you do in your shop.”

“I don’t understand what you mean.”

“It means I know to some extent what you are doing in that shop. So there’s no need to say it out loud.”

“Are you saying you already know everything?”

“I have a rough idea. What kind of shop it is, what it showcases, and so on.”

“……Did the information organization find out?”

At that, the Empress laughed again.

“Those kids aren’t knowledgeable enough about magic to recognize your magical formulas.”

That meant only the Empress knew.

I didn’t know how she was aware of me and our shop, but it seemed she had no immediate intention to punish me.

“The doctrine of the Goddess Church is quite outdated. Especially when it comes to sexual matters, it imposes too many restrictions. Commoners might not know, but the nobles who only care about their honor are desperately trying to adhere to those restrictions.”

The Empress spoke in a bored tone, flicking her fingers.

“Isn’t it too old-fashioned to insist on maintaining purity before marriage?”

“……”

I found it hard to speak.

I couldn’t gauge her intentions, and if I carelessly opened my mouth, I might lose my head.

“I have committed sins.”

“I think someone like you needs a bit of an escape. A magic that allows for experience without actually losing purity… Isn’t that quite convenient? You can enjoy it without violating the church’s doctrine.”

“Cough! Cough!”

I realized the Empress knew everything about our shop.

“Hehe, don’t be surprised. As I said earlier, I have no intention of locking you up.”

“Is that so?”

“Of course. Among the nobles, there are many who pretend to be pious and uphold the doctrine, but behind the scenes, they lead all sorts of debauched lives.”

“Marquis Bredyon built a facility in his basement to torture and abuse his servants, and Countess Pizatain established a facility to rape captured foreign women. Countess Lion is said to host orgies with strong men, right?”

I couldn’t respond to the Empress’s nonchalant words.

It felt like I had heard things I shouldn’t have.

It was as if all the facts in the Empire were funneled through her, and I was reminded of how powerful she truly was.

“I think it’s because they are too tightly bound by the need to maintain purity before marriage. It’s strange that what they couldn’t enjoy in their youth has manifested in odd ways. Therefore, I believe it’s necessary to enjoy things moderately.”

“That’s true.”

The fact that the Empress shared my thoughts surprised me.

So she was someone I could communicate with? Your Majesty.

“Yuris and Nikki must have their own struggles as well. They have borne far more responsibilities than others.”

The Empress specifically mentioned the Commander of the Empire’s First Knight Order and the Hero.

She smiled faintly.

“I believe that if desires are released moderately, they won’t burst forth in inappropriate ways.”

“That’s right. Suppressed desires tend to burn even more fiercely.”

“It’s comforting to find common ground in our thoughts.”

With a light sigh, the Empress opened her fan to cover her face and continued speaking.

“The church claims that if sexual desires are unleashed, it will give birth to succubi, and a new Demon King that threatens the Empire will arise… But I think differently. Isn’t it rather those who indulge in depraved acts that give rise to succubi?”

“That’s correct.”

“Of course, that doesn’t mean I can forcibly change the doctrine of the Goddess Church. The imperial authority and divine authority are distinctly separated.”

I was somewhat surprised to hear that even the Empress had things she couldn’t do at will.

So there were some constraints on her as well.

“That’s why I truly appreciate someone like you who encourages me.”

The Empress’s lips curled up as she gazed at me for a moment.

“But, Max.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“It would be troublesome if the sexual desires and scandals of such noble people were to leak out, wouldn’t it?”

I realized that this was the reason she had called me until now.

“Of course. Our shop always prioritizes confidentiality. Do not worry.”

“Hehe, that was a satisfying answer. It seems you understand well, so you may go. The payment for the Mana Battery will be sent through the Imperial Guard.”

I called out to the Empress as she began to ascend the stairs again.

“However, Your Majesty.”

If I had my wits about me, I wouldn’t have dared to call out to the Empress at this moment.

But perhaps it was the sense of liberation from knowing that someone shared my thoughts in this sexually repressive and dull world.

“Is there ever a time when even Your Majesty cannot resist such desires?”

I spoke words that could have cost me my life if someone overheard them.

It was an invitation for the Empress to come to me when she wanted to be honest about her desires.

“Our shop does not refuse anyone. We maintain strict confidentiality. So…”

“That’s enough. Let’s leave it at that.”

The Empress cut me off sharply.

“I am the one who rules the Empire and must lead the citizens of the Empire from the front. I am not someone who can be swayed by personal emotions and desires. So…”

Her gaze, which had been warm before, turned icy as she looked at me.

The words she spoke carried a powerful weight, just as they had when she first addressed me.

It felt as if her authority pressed down on me.

I felt a chill in my heart from her heavy and cold gaze, which seemed almost inhuman.

“I will pretend I did not hear that.”

“…Understood.”

With those words and her demeanor, I realized.

The complaints I had just heard about the church’s demands for sexual repression and purity were not from the Empress but from her perspective as a woman.

However, from the Empress’s position, she had to act differently from her own thoughts.

“Return now.”

I stood up from my seat.

Having been told to leave, there was no reason for me to linger any longer.

I hurriedly exited the grand hall, feeling her gaze on my back.

The Empress watched Max’s retreating figure.

“What an interesting man.”

She found it quite appealing that he had answered without trembling when he first met her.

Most people would tremble and be unable to speak when faced with her for the first time.

That was, of course, due to the power of the bloodline that had been passed down through the imperial family for generations.

The ‘majesty’ that only the direct descendants of the imperial family possessed.

It was not merely the dignity that came from position and status, but a unique power of the imperial family.

‘Majesty’ could disregard almost all magic, divinity, and powers formed from magical energy currently used on the continent.

Therefore, no matter what magic someone tried to use to deceive her, she would see through the trickery and magic.

Even magic created from magical energy was useless in the face of majesty.

And that power instilled a sense of overwhelming presence in all those who were ruled by her.

That was why people instinctively bowed their knees and lowered their heads in front of the Empress.

Yet, Max remained calm despite being exposed to ‘majesty’ more than others.

Of course, he revered her with fear, but his level of fear was significantly less than that of others.

“To ask me to make him a guest. How audacious.”

The fact that it was not for the purpose of desiring her body but simply to increase his clientele was also somewhat infuriating.

She considered scolding the arrogant magician but soon dismissed the thought.

‘I can’t easily harm a magician who creates such things.’

She looked at the Mana Battery developed by Max.

It was a power she had never felt before.

The amount was several times that of a typical Mana Core.

At the same time, the concentration of Mana emitted from the battery was much higher.

This meant that both the quantity and quality were overwhelming.

For the Empress, who could not naturally obtain Mana, it was the best item she could never afford to discard.

The direct descendants of the imperial family, who could use majesty, were inherently unable to naturally acquire Mana.

That was the price of wielding the absolute power of ‘majesty.’

The only weakness of the direct descendants was that they could only obtain Mana through processed Mana or Mana stones, not naturally spread Mana.

They had a schedule of forcibly absorbing Mana through Mana Cores once a month.

“With just this one, it would be enough for a year.”

The Empress smiled as she felt the overflowing power within her.

Soon, her interest began to shift elsewhere.

Not to the practical Mana Battery, but to the power of Max that had captivated her subordinates.

“Fantasy sex, huh…”

What an interesting creation.

As she pondered, the Empress tried to suppress her rising curiosity.

After all, she was the Empress who ruled the Empire.

“……”

Saint Eileen surveyed the place she had arrived at.

A desolate land that felt a chilling aura.

An old church stood upon it.

Having reached a church that no one visited anymore, she looked at the priests who had brought her here.

– Is this really the place?

Eileen wrote down her question to the surrounding priests, and they all nodded.

“Yes. Recently, there was an incident where the priests and worshippers guarding this place went missing. A total of five. We don’t know where they went, but since all of them were men…”

The priests cautiously began to speak.

“We suspect it might be the work of succubi.”

Succubi.

At that word, Eileen unconsciously swallowed.

The moment she heard that, one person’s face came to mind.

‘What is Max doing?’

Even in this eerie and dilapidated church, where she had come to hunt succubi, her thoughts were filled with Max.

As if he were the succubus himself.