chapter_0195

196 – Who, Who Are You?

196 – Who, Who Are You?

“I’ll come again soon.”

With a promise of a future visit, the Empress departed.

Leaving behind words that she would forgive all of today’s impudence.

“Hoo.”

Only after she left the store could I finally heave a sigh of relief.

The goosebumps that had risen on my spine still hadn’t completely subsided.

“That was really close.”

If I had been even slightly lacking, I wouldn’t have been able to satisfy the Empress, and she would have ultimately hanged me for treason for daring to insult the Imperial Family.

It was as if I had found a worldline where I didn’t become dew on the execution ground.

And on top of that, I even received a platinum coin worth 100 gold.

“As expected, long live His Majesty the Emperor.”

To give me such a large sum of money.

He’s generous because he’s the Emperor.

With that thought, I pocketed the money.

‘Even the Emperor who rules over everyone must have his own worries and desires.’

Stimulating the desire to be dominated was the key to the success of this Illusion magic.

I sighed in relief once more, patting my chest.

I tidied up the clothes she had worn and checked the laundry one last time.

Having finished the urgent tasks, I turned my attention to…

“What in the world is going on?”

I looked at the Magic Circle, the culprit of this incident.

It was clearly a Magic Circle capable of only simple calculations for Illusion magic.

I had added several devices to the Magic Circle over time.

I had added additional Magic Circles to increase Magic efficiency, and I had even attached a battery to increase Mana capacity.

On top of that, the Saintess’s divine power was added, further increasing efficiency.

In the process, I also added calculation formulas to the Magic Circle to improve the efficiency of analysis.

‘I did add related formulas to add surrounding figures, but….’

I had added people’s personalities and fragmentary reaction lines to allow the Magic Circle to play other characters besides ‘A,’ whom I was playing, so-called extras.

Of course, this was still not enough to give it a self.

‘Until now, the Magic Circle had presented options to me, but it mostly only conveyed the results of calculations.’

It recommends this, it recommends that.

You, the manager, choose from these.

There were many presentations of tasks like this, but it had never directly chosen something on its own with a self.

In the end, the choice was given to me, and I was in a position to choose from what it recommended.

But to choose on its own…

‘Is it a problem that a Succubus… used this Magic Circle?’

Or is it because of that unique power that the Imperial Family uses?

I couldn’t know the reason.

There were too many things to guess.

‘When you think about it, the Saintess’s power, my Magic knowledge, and the Succubus’s authority are all imbued in this Magic Circle.’

The Hero’s power and the Empress’s authority are just assumptions, really.

Because they enjoyed Illusions using our Magic Circle.

They must have been exposed to their powers to some extent, and there must have been some variation, just like how the Saintess’s divinity was exposed and changed it.

‘That means there was a change that I didn’t even check.’

If my hypothesis was correct, then every supernatural power that exists on the continent was included.

It would be strange if a self didn’t arise.

“…How could such a change occur?”

I had never heard of the performance of a Magic Circle changing just because it was exposed to power.

‘If you’re going to go that far, you should have started counting from the moment it was exposed to the Saintess’s divinity and started maintaining itself.’

I looked at the Magic Circle and thought.

“What should I do with this Magic Circle?”

Should I wait for my teacher to come and ask for advice?

Or should I try to solve it on my own?

I was worried.

If I touched it carelessly and a new bug appeared…

‘But I don’t think any other magician would be of meaningful help.’

Not even my teacher, Meiko.

The fact that a Magic Circle had developed a self was an unprecedented event.

Like AI.

“Hmm….”

I looked at the Magic Circle, which had stopped operating.

“You, how on earth did you make such a choice?”

But there was no answer.

It was only natural.

There was no way a Magic Circle that had stopped operating could answer my question on its own.

“Hoo, forget it. What am I doing?”

Right now, I still needed to sort things out regarding the Magic Circle.

After appeasing the Empress, I was also filled with physical and mental fatigue.

Confronting it and asking questions would only be possible after I had relieved this fatigue.

“I need to rest a bit. I can figure out the bug that occurred to you after I rest.”

I stretched and yawned widely.

“If I investigate, I’ll find out the result.”

Creak.

Just as I was finishing the final cleanup.

“Boss?”

Frelia had returned.

She, whom I had evacuated outside to greet the Empress, returned and asked me cautiously.

“Are you all done?”

“Ah, Frelia.”

The Succubus, who had now become an obedient employee, blinked her purple eyes and looked at me.

“I saw that Empress returning from afar. Her expression was strangely sparkling, so the Demon King, no, the boss, must have done something, right?”

I nodded at her words, spoken in a very excited voice.

“I sufficiently satisfied a guest who came to enjoy Illusion magic.”

Frelia, upon hearing my words, muttered in a small voice as if she was impressed.

“You tricked that picky Empress. It must have been difficult because of the Eye of Truth… As expected….”

Her eyes were filled with admiration.

It’s a good thing if an employee respects their boss.

“If you had been there, I would have been exposed.”

The fact that I was using a demon, of all beings, as an employee.

“I have to be careful. Of course, I know that!”

Frelia, who had put her hands together, nodded vigorously.

“Anyway, I’m going to close up shop for today, so get some rest and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yes! I understand!”

She went up to the second floor.

“Ah, that’s right. Frelia.”

“Yes, Boss?”

“You didn’t happen to touch the Magic Circle while I was away, did you?”

“Of course not. How dare I touch the boss’s things without permission? There’s absolutely no way that would happen. Please rest assured.”

“Is that so? I see.”

She went up to Frelia’s lodging on the second floor.

After confirming that she had gone upstairs, I sighed and returned home.

I should rest a little today.

The Empress, who had returned to the Imperial Palace, looked at the retainers who were greeting her.

“Was your outing enjoyable?”

The lords who had greeted the Empress, who had returned after going out for the first time in a while, bowed their heads towards her.

“Marquis Silvesta, Duke Lorion, and Count Beletaon have also come. Were you perhaps waiting for me?”

“That is correct, Your Majesty.”

“What is it?”

They were all nobles who wielded considerable power in the Empire.

The Five Great Houses, which refer to the five families that support the Empire along with the Imperial Family.

Count Philippe, who defends the north, and Duke Midgard, who defends the south.

All of the influential Five Great Houses had gathered and come to the Empress’s audience chamber.

It was an unusual occurrence.

At her question, Marquis Silvesta opened his mouth in a calm voice.

“We have received reports that monster movements have been detected in the Ice Mountains located in the northern part of the Empire. It is a report received through the Ice Owls operated by Count Philippe.”

“The Ice Mountains, you say. I have heard the news. But is the movement there so significant that all five houses have to move?”

The five houses had only moved together twice in the last 10 years.

Once was the Demon King’s descent, and the other was the Hero’s reincarnation, who received a divine revelation.

The fact that they had all appeared at once meant that what was happening in the Ice Mountains might be so significant that it would shake the entire Empire.

“It seems there is information that has not reached me?”

At the Empress’s question, Count Philippe bowed.

“Although it is a legendary tale, it is said that a Dragon who fell asleep hundreds of years ago lives in the Ice Mountains. If the legend that has been passed down is true, and the monsters’ movements have increased because of it….”

If it was true, it would be a danger to the entire Empire.

But still.

“Are you gathering all of these people because of a Dragon from a legend?”

“…However, I believe it is better to be cautious. Considering that the Empire suffered for decades due to the Demon King’s descent, I believe it would be good to prepare in advance.”

“Do the other nobles think the same?”

“If it is something that will harm the peace of the Empire, we should prepare sufficiently.”

There were not many beings who had destroyed the peace that the Empire had achieved so far.

From the first Emperor to the third Emperor.

Since unifying 70% of the continent after finishing the conquest wars, there were not many external enemies who threatened the Empire.

Internal betrayals and rebellions were the few crises of the Empire.

The one that inflicted the greatest damage on such an Empire was the Demon Lord’s Army, which had plagued the Empire for generations.

If the Hero of this era had not defeated them, the Empire would still be engaged in a grueling war of attrition with the Demon Lord’s Army.

Since the war with the Demon Lord’s Army, the nobles of the Empire have been extremely wary of external enemies who are not human.

Except for Elves, Dwarves, and some beastmen, who are definitely allies.

That was why the great nobles were wary of the legendary Dragon who might suddenly appear.

The Demon King’s descent.

Since then, the Empire had begun to harbor fear of enemies like disasters.

“Prepare and report the relevant budget proposal. I will have the Prime Minister, the Commander of the Knights, and the Commander of National Defense attend the meeting.”

“Your benevolence is boundless.”

The Empress, who turned her back and ascended to the throne, tightly closed her eyes.

It was good when she didn’t think about anything and entrusted everything comfortably.

She was already starting to miss Max, who dominated her.

She wouldn’t have known if she hadn’t experienced it.

But now that the Empress, who had already learned the happiness of entrusting herself, the happiness of laziness, still had Max’s embrace vividly in her memory.

Frelia lay down on the soft bed again today and tried to fall asleep.

It might seem absurd that a Succubus, who has to take Essence in dreams at night, sleeps at night.

But Frelia, who had received thick semen from Max, did not feel hungry due to a lack of Essence.

On top of that, Frelia was in charge of general customers, excluding the VIP customers that Max directly greeted.

A waitress who happened to hear the news.

She presented a pleasant climax in an Illusion to her, who had saved a little bit of her weekly wage for several weeks to gather entertainment expenses.

A young lady from a noble family, a president who runs a trading company, etc.

She operated the Illusion Magic Circle or used her authority to seduce general customers whom Max didn’t necessarily have to deal with.

Because she was able to eat the Essence she received from them, she didn’t have to insist on a wild life of wandering around at night looking for prey.

She had a very healthy (?) lifestyle of waking up in the morning and sleeping at night.

Therefore, she thought it would be a comfortable night again today.

Rustle.

Frelia, who was lying in bed and sleeping, opened her eyes in the middle of the night at an unfamiliar sound.

She got up groggily and rubbed her still sleepy eyes, listening again to the sound coming from the first floor.

“Boss…?”

Did he come at this time?

He’s not the type to come this late at dawn.

She went downstairs in her pajamas, shuffling her feet.

Rustle, rustle.

A suspicious sound came from the darkened workshop.

Haa, heung.

There was also a lewd moan.

It wasn’t a man’s voice.

‘Is the boss receiving a guest?’

He’s not the type to receive a guest at this hour.

She carefully opened the door and asked towards the figure visible in the darkness.

“Wh-who…?”

“Eeeek!”

Frelia, startled by the surprised woman, also screamed.

“Kyaaaa!”

“Wh-who are you?”

“Who are you to sneak into our boss’s store like this?”

Frelia hurriedly turned on the light.

There, a blue-haired woman with a small Dildo in her hand was sitting on the Magic Circle.

“I, I’m Meiko, Max’s teacher….”

After finishing her words, she hurriedly hid the hand holding the Dildo behind her back.

“The boss’s teacher, you say…?”

One word from the author (Author’s Afterword)

Thank you for the 100 coin donation, edell!

Her Majesty the Empress will appear again soon!

I will try to make it a little stickier then.

I hope all readers had a happy holiday.