Ch.150Chapter 150. The Successor’s Plan

    Vampires.

    They were a “parasitic race” that had infiltrated the society of the race that had ruled this world since the beginning, secretly aiming to exploit them.

    Their innate charm and bewitching abilities, as well as their habit of being active at night when ordinary intelligent beings sleep, were the results of these traits being emphasized over time.

    Born with the destiny to stand above others, they instinctively crave to consider themselves noble beings and adopt attitudes befitting that status.

    One of the things that anchors this instinct is aesthetics.

    A philosophy and belief that noble beings absolutely adhere to—a concept that could rightfully be defined as a faith beyond mere belief.

    “I’ll enjoy my meal~”

    Among vampires who worshipped such aesthetics, Scheherazade had a peculiar aesthetic that marked her as a “traitor” even more heretical than those officially branded as rebels.

    For vampires who worship elegance and purity, defiling and disgracing oneself is something to be strictly avoided.

    No one could imagine a True Ancestor, of all beings, wearing only underwear in front of a human, eating from a dog bowl without using her hands.

    “Mmm~ To think that a meal after finishing labor would be such a nauseating experience, it’s so thrilling I might get addicted~♥”

    Scheherazade, who shamelessly engaged in such absurd behavior, was openly flirting and giving meaningful glances toward Prince Seis.

    But he didn’t give her even the slightest attention.

    He simply focused on reviewing the documents on his desk, dedicated to state affairs.

    “…Prince, are you perhaps ignoring me?”

    “I have a lot of work piled up.”

    “Oh my~ But shouldn’t you intervene when your maid is behaving disgracefully? You know… punish me with a whip on my bottom, or perhaps make me take a walk naked?”

    “That would be a waste of time.”

    Complete indifference toward her expectation of punishment.

    His attitude of not even acknowledging her disgraceful behavior despite her being a True Ancestor made it all the more humiliating for someone who considered herself noble.

    “Ah~♡ This cold response… This is why I like you so much~♡”

    Scheherazade shivered with a thrill from such humiliation.

    The ecstasy on her face remained unchanged and consistent, exactly as it had been since the day he first saw her.

    He thought she might even walk naked into a brothel if given the chance…

    No, having lived so long, perhaps she had already experienced such things.

    -Flutter.

    But the past deeds of this hideous vampire didn’t matter at all.

    Seis ignored the scene and intended to continue his official duties in his office.

    Although the succession ceremony hadn’t taken place yet, he was the only one in this country who could replace his father, who now lacked even the strength to stand.

    “Isn’t it all meaningless anyway? Soon enough, state affairs will become pointless.”

    Did she find Seis’s actions pathetic?

    Scheherazade, who had been trembling with humiliation, soon pushed away the documents piled on the desk and took their place.

    Beneath her white underwear was snow-white skin. The curve of her legs as she crossed them, and the deep darkness between them…

    “Until that time comes, I need to at least maintain appearances.”

    Though her attempt to seduce him was obvious, Seis wasn’t enchanted and only showed irritation toward her.

    This was a natural outcome. He had been exposed to the magical power emitted by vampires since birth.

    Having grown accustomed to their power over a long time, he had even developed an “immunity to enchantment” from vampires.

    “Appearances? Or is it that you still have lingering attachments?”

    And the only one who knew this was this detestable vampire who had been watching him since ancient times.

    Yet she didn’t share this fact with other True Ancestors, keeping it as her own secret to mock the prince.

    Perhaps she considered it an ascetic practice that their future leader, whom they should control, was immune to enchantment.

    Or perhaps she knew that with or without enchantment, leaders like him had no choice but to depend on them.

    “Since I’ve followed you here, let’s have a more practical conversation, Prince.”

    Either way, it was clear that matters like state governance would become meaningless as time passed.

    Ignoring Scheherazade who was encouraging this idea, Seis looked down at his hands, then closed his eyes and sighed softly.

    Yes, her playing the role of a maid was just a hobby.

    If the other party took a hard stance, he couldn’t resist, so if he had to go along with it, sooner would be better than later.

    “What do you want to talk about?”

    “Well, for instance, about the newly established organization?”

    “You mean that heterogeneous race organization?”

    “Hehe, it fits well, doesn’t it? A multi-racial alliance that will become the master of the era to be held along with the upcoming succession ceremony~!”

    New Era.

    That organization was a subordinate group created by True Ancestors who worship purity, gathering “purebloods” of heterogeneous races like themselves.

    It didn’t matter whether the races in it were Demon Tribe, longevity races, or even dwarves.

    Anyone with pure bloodlines and appropriate status could join New Era and have the opportunity to achieve what they wanted under the protection they provided.

    “Come to think of it, doesn’t the church’s scripture mention a saint who loaded pairs of creatures onto an ark and opened a new era on land after the flood? Hehe, if that’s the case, we would be like the saints in that scripture.”

    “…You have some nerve to say such things as a vampire.”

    Despite having parasitized, despised, and looked down on other races as inferior.

    “As you say, there are many differing opinions among us on this matter.”

    As if to prove his assessment correct, Scheherazade began to boast.

    “Some say other races should be respected if they’re purebloods, others say those without noble bloodlines are heretics and should be thoroughly used or discarded, or that they should only be treated as managers who oversee livestock to be used in the coming New Era, and so on…”

    “Which side are you on?”

    “Well, I would prefer coexistence if possible.”

    Scheherazade burst into laughter and knelt before the prince.

    The look in her eyes as she gazed up at him revealed her expectation toward the livestock before her.

    “After all, our Prince is also a being that can be called a pureblood. To think that you, a mere servant, would be elevated to an equal position with us to lead the New Era as a leader—isn’t the humiliation from that enough to be called an ascetic practice?”

    “……”

    “…What’s wrong? Are you angry?”

    The Imperial Crown Prince who silently looked down at her. A being born as livestock.

    A human who, despite developing resistance to enchantment, was still too weak to do anything but comply with the current situation.

    “Do you want to punch me? Or perhaps strangle me?”

    Scheherazade smiled as she thrust her neck forward to the prince, as if daring him.

    As if hoping he would lose patience and attack her.

    As if showing that was what she truly desired.

    “You can do it if you want. Whatever you do, I’ll accept it with joy.”

    Could he possibly be pitying her?

    No, that’s not it.

    Her pursuit of asceticism wasn’t because she enjoyed masochism itself, but because she was so steeped in ennui that she couldn’t feel any other stimulation.

    Her only pleasure was close to “sadism”—feeling ecstasy from seeing the weak who couldn’t resist despite witnessing her utterly debased state.

    -Grab.

    How could he play along with someone who expected that?

    Seis finally lifted her body, moved to his bedroom, and gently laid her on the bed, saying:

    “Sleep.”

    “…Prince, you know well that my sleeping time is in the morning, right?”

    “Didn’t you say you wanted ascetic practice?”

    “Aww~ Being abandoned isn’t much fun~ Indifference only feels right when you’re by my side~”

    Lying on the bed forcibly would only be boring.

    Scheherazade grabbed the hem of his clothes as he tried to leave the bed, and whispered to him in a bitter voice.

    “Then stay by my side until I fall asleep. I’ll even give you some information if you want.”

    Information.

    She, a vampire, was personally offering information to him, who wasn’t controlled by vampires.

    Did she understand what that meant?

    “…Tell me.”

    Whatever it was, it would be good to get what he could.

    As the prince sat on the bed, Scheherazade smiled happily and said:

    “Aren’t you curious? Where the other True Ancestors are right now besides me.”

    “…They’re probably holding some festival somewhere.”

    “As you say, all True Ancestors except me are staying in the church’s sanctuary until the succession ceremony. They say they’re preparing something in cooperation with the church, but… hehe, it’s obvious. In reality, it’s more about enjoying banquets than planning.”

    The sanctuary of Friga, the imperial state religion.

    It’s a place where unholy beings are never permitted to enter, but that’s only for what’s publicly known.

    The church has long since fallen to become their blood supply station and a livestock pen for raising sacrificial offerings for their banquets.

    But the leadership who knew this truth even defined them as a “necessary evil” and went so far as to crave the vampires’ power.

    To the point of genuinely aiming to become their servants by accepting their blood.

    “Especially the blood of holy maidens is extremely sweet. Those who are untainted by anyone and strictly managed are the highest grade food for us.”

    One of the leaders who contributed to this corruption began to draw a rapturous smile on her lips.

    Was she imagining the blood of a holy maiden she had tasted sometime in the past?

    “…With such delicacies waiting, why aren’t you joining them?”

    “Hehe, what a strange thing to say~”

    No, she had never sucked the blood of clergy.

    Since she decided to rule over humanity, the only blood she had sucked was that of the imperial family.

    “You are as pure as a holy maiden… How could I give up the opportunity to monopolize you?”

    Finally, Scheherazade embraced him as he sat on the bed, bit his neck, and sucked his blood.

    Though he found it unpleasant, Seis ultimately accepted the sensation.

    Even if his body wasn’t swayed by aphrodisiacs, the information she provided would surely help his plans…

    ****

    Later, in the early morning.

    Prince Seis, who had put Scheherazade to bed, quietly entered a private room connected to his own.

    The walls were filled with various newspapers circulating in the empire, copies of official documents, and notes containing personally collected information.

    -Scribble, scribble.

    Seis, who had filled the walls with these connected papers and was drawing lines with a pen, imprinted in his mind the information where those lines met.

    The first information that caught his eye was about the multi-racial alliance established under the leadership of the True Ancestors, ahead of the upcoming succession ceremony.

    ‘New Era, a multi-racial alliance of purebloods.’

    It included not only longevity races and barbarian tribes who had been hiding after being eliminated in the war against humanity, but also plunderers from outer space and the undead who had risen from death.

    By incorporating such beings, the amount of information that could be collected had increased far more than before.

    ‘The uncontrollable situation of the Demon Lord’s army due to the Demon Lord’s ennui, the death of the Lord of Corpses, and the birth of an infinite predator originating from the Dark Knight…’

    In addition, the increasing proliferation of monsters, regional upheavals, the emergence of dungeons…

    Countless dangers targeting humanity were growing in this world, and now there were no safe zones left except for the empire.

    But even without such calamities, humanity was in a state where it could collapse at any moment without the help of vampires…

    ‘Growing rebel forces and the machinations of political forces threatening the imperial family…’

    Isn’t humanity a species that begins to oppose each other as soon as there are no more hostile races to fight?

    The signs of division within the safety-guaranteed empire were an inevitable progression. This thought was all the more certain after capturing a traitor who had betrayed him and learning about the current rebel forces in the empire.

    What’s needed for a rebellion to form isn’t just justice and belief, or an idol to unite them, but massive support and a just cause.

    Even if successful, political figures other than the imperial family would rule over humanity, and eventually repeat the same mistakes.

    ‘Vampires holding banquets in the church’s sanctuary before the succession ceremony.’

    So to gain their favor, one must cater to them.

    At least until his plan is completed.

    -Scribble, scribble.

    He felt that the completion of that plan was gradually coming together at this moment, as he drew lines connecting each clue.

    Looking at the plan that was taking shape, he thought:

    ‘Freedom comes with responsibility.’

    He repeatedly told himself the words that had become the catalyst for opening that future.

    ‘In a harsh world, because people cannot bear responsibility, they long to become someone’s slave.’

    And finally, the pen in his hand stopped at the center of the wall.

    What existed there was an interpretation of an ancient document excavated from ruins, the final piece needed for the “Age of Nothingness” he pursued.

    “Then in such a world… if everything returns to nothingness, can humans finally become free?”

    Angolmoa, the God of Destruction.

    Records left by the bloodline of a foreign god destined to destroy this world.

    The last descendant mentioned in those records must surely have entered this empire.

    ****

    And about a month after returning from the imperial palace.

    “It’s… two months.”

    “Two months? What do you mean?”

    Irie, who always welcomed me home after completing my duties as a Hero.

    But today, something about the atmosphere was different.

    As I began to feel uneasy, Irie placed her sweaty hand on her belly and said with difficulty:

    “I-I…”

    “I’m… pregnant…”


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