Ch.161Aftermath (3)

When faced with a truth too shocking.

Humans halt most of what happens in their conscious realm to organize their thoughts.

For example, there’s the freezing of movement. One might not stop breathing, but even if they did, it wouldn’t have been a problem.

I am a being who transformed from a homunculus to an immortal, and my breathing and heartbeat are merely imitations of when I was human.

But that doesn’t mean my appearance wouldn’t seem awkward to others.

The woman before me was skilled at reading others’ expressions and actions for her own benefit.

Rie Hezedia’s voice reached me.

“Surprised, rookie noble?”

“…Rookie noble?”

“You’re showing your inexperience so clearly.”

Something about the phrasing feels off. It must be due to the automatic translation, but judging by how Melody standing behind me didn’t seem to find it strange, it was clear.

In their language, “rookie” and “noble” must flow together perfectly.

I pushed aside my thoughts and let out a deep sigh.

The Emperor and I are siblings, she says.

And I certainly don’t look like a woman.

Standing over 190cm tall, with a strong, masculine appearance that seems to exude testosterone explosively—I wouldn’t be perceived as female.

Unless you’re the world’s strongest fighter who sees every living being as female.

I made no effort to hide my bitter expression as I tapped the table.

“But sister… I think you referred to the Emperor as male before.”

It’s a vague memory. But I’m certain that when I first met my sister, she spoke of the Emperor as if they were male.

Even though my sister, known as the Guardian General and responsible for the Emperor’s protection, would surely know the Emperor’s gender.

Thinking about it, something seemed off. Honestly, it felt like Rie Hezedia was trying to mess with me.

“I believe you’ve already experienced this. Appearances can be altered to some extent.”

Her words were vague, but her meaning was clear.

She had deliberately concealed her identity in front of my sister.

I couldn’t help but feel something subtly significant in those words.

As if she were saying that if she showed her true form to my sister, many things would be revealed.

As if there were several things my sister would recognize immediately upon seeing that form.

The problem was that I had no idea what those things might be.

Even though both my sister and I had played Grim Darker.

I rolled my eyes and looked at the wall, tracing the prison wall made of stacked and hardened bricks, trying to recall something.

The memory of when creatures influenced by Mother appeared in this area.

The words whispered to my sister by something like a hanging heart.

Betrayal.

Though I wasn’t certain, I felt that if there was some kind of relationship between my sister and the Emperor, it must be related to that.

So I could accept that the Emperor’s true form was female.

Rather, if I were to interpret “Mother’s first vessel” literally, it would make sense for it to be a female form.

Just what kind of woman is Mother Netel to have created something like this?

There was still much I didn’t understand. Like what she intended to do with these vessels.

I couldn’t figure out what her goal was. I pushed aside everything that wouldn’t immediately organize itself in my mind.

“So the Emperor is also a homunculus.”

“That’s right. I think most of the upper echelon knows, except for the Guardian General.”

“Melody.”

“Her pulse isn’t quickening, and there’s no change in magical energy… It’s all true.”

Melody seemed considerably surprised. Well, given that Melody and the rest of our team were all closely connected to my sister, they wouldn’t have told me.

“Is this your first time hearing this?”

Melody nodded quietly. I ran my hand over my face.

Just when I thought I was getting somewhere, this new information emerges.

Amid my complicated feelings, I couldn’t hide my rising suspicion.

“…But why did they come to kill me?”

Something was strange. The Finance Minister knew about Mother Netel and knew about the Emperor.

But she seemed unaware that they had no reason to kill me.

And I could tell just by looking that this wasn’t some attempt to deceive me. Rie Hezedia turned to me with a questioning expression.

“I am a candidate for Mother’s vessel and her most favored subject. Even now… the being known as Mother consistently shows me favor. If I were to accept it, I could become the ‘vessel’ right then and there.”

It’s only gotten worse since I acquired the Miracle Manifestation, not better.

I can feel it even now. A force that seems to constrict my body. Damp and unpleasant, rising from the ground.

Yet also warm.

It was the opposite of how my father lost all interest after acquiring the Miracle Manifestation.

“So what’s the point of killing such a vessel?”

“…Perhaps to resurrect you as a puppet?”

Melody responded, but I spoke based on a vague sensation that had formed in my mind.

“No, the last resurrection was the second and final one. I won’t be resurrected again. So… this subjugation attempt is strange.”

Melody seemed unsure whether to be surprised that I had been revived twice or that I knew about it.

But Rie Hezedia rested her chin on her hand and smiled.

“Continue. Don’t stop your train of thought.”

“…If I die, the most promising vessel dies. That would be a huge loss for the being known as Mother. But.”

Does the being known as Mother possess rationality?

On the contrary, didn’t she whisper to me that she would give me power, even when her subordinates were about to capture me?

And even when I used that power against her, she showed no anger.

It was the opposite. The being known as Mother was pleased.

The being known as Mother favored me beyond reason and rationality. She had no reason to want me dead.

“Who benefits from my death?”

The Empress also favors me. I don’t know about two of the other three clans, but if they’re Mother’s forces, they would focus on capturing me.

Father? I’m not sure about that being. It’s uncertain if he even has a purpose.

Clearly, he’s not entirely without goodness, given that he bestows power upon the Mourner.

But he didn’t give the impression of wanting anything specific from me.

“…If I die, is the Emperor the next vessel?”

“That would be the case.”

“Is this the Emperor’s unilateral decision?”

Rie Hezedia rested her chin on her hand and smiled. It was essentially as good as an affirmation.

“But, why?”

I couldn’t understand. Even if this was the Emperor’s unilateral decision, I couldn’t shake the impression that it was self-destructive.

What benefit could there be in exhausting all of her forces, all of her important talents?

And in the end, it failed.

They almost succeeded, but after killing me, would my sister have spared the remaining ones?

And is there any way to stop my sister when she’s truly intent on killing everyone?

Even Eshatherna was only equal after implementing her mental image first, and in a prolonged battle, my sister with her regeneration would have had a significant advantage.

It didn’t make sense. It seemed more plausible to think that the Emperor was also influenced by Mother’s irrational and unreasonable way of thinking.

“That’s impossible. The Emperor is a wise being. At the very least, capable enough to recruit outstanding talents from across the empire and raise them to be hunting dogs who would lay down their lives at her command.”

That’s what Rie Hezedia said. That the Emperor possesses reason, and furthermore, that reason is exceptional.

It sounded like something flowing to my sister, and it matched the Emperor’s image I had seen directly in Grim Darker.

The Emperor was practically a sub-protagonist in the third installment.

She was a virtuous ruler, an outstanding leader, and also a being in the midst of growth.

I rested my chin on my hand with a troubled expression and spoke with discomfort.

“Why are you telling me all this?”

“Do you know what’s the first thing you should do when opening a trading company in a new city?”

She answered my question with another question, but I wasn’t bothered.

Instead, I slowly turned to look at Melody.

Sensing my gaze, Melody spoke up.

“Bribes, I suppose.”

“That’s right. As expected of the Golden Nightingale. You’re smart.”

“I have some modest experience running a trading company myself.”

In Grim Darker, cities have considerable influence.

The world setting itself is full of conflicts, making safe cities rare, and many forces concentrate their power in these safe cities.

If you want to establish a new trading company in such a city, bribes would certainly be necessary…

But why bring this up now?

“No way.”

Melody said. Not me.

What is it? Am I the only one who doesn’t know again?

As I stared blankly at Rie Hezedia, she smiled and leaned forward.

A smile reminiscent of a villain plotting something emerged, and she spoke.

“I am Rie Hezedia. I was the owner of the Hezedia Trading Company and once served as the Finance Minister in the Empire.”

She’s acting as if she’s about to reveal some great secret, but this is all information we already know.

While Melody fidgeted with Estoque with a serious expression, I observed her.

A confident expression, a corresponding theatrical attitude brimming with self-assurance.

It reminds me of Melody when we first met. All show and no substance.

But I patiently listened to what she had to say.

“And wouldn’t a rookie noble like yourself need a capable merchant?”

The woman winked and pointed at me with her handcuffed hand. I stared blankly at her finger.

That was her conclusion.

She was offering this information as a bribe so that I would accept her into our group.

But.

“…Why would I need a merchant?”

If she’s going to offer such a bribe, wouldn’t it be better to emphasize her status as the Empire’s Greatest Sword?

This isn’t the Old Continent; it’s the New Continent.

A land where there are hardly any normal humans, and commerce is virtually non-existent.

“Excuse me?”

“No, isn’t a merchant someone who trades with others? And for that, there needs to be someone worth trading with…”

“Did they not tell you?”

Rie Hezedia’s question wasn’t directed at me. Rather, it was aimed at the girl standing behind me, holding Estoque.

And the girl.

Younger than me but clearly wiser, let out a gasp of “Ah!”

What is it? Turning around, I saw Melody covering her mistake with an awkward smile.

Only then did I realize that there was something Melody and my sister hadn’t told me, assuming I already knew.

I listened to Rie Hezedia’s subsequent proposal.

“Do you now need a capable Finance Minister?”

She spoke indirectly.

“Presumptuous as it may be, I think you will need one.”

She implied that there exists a civilization on this land that we—or more precisely, I—have not yet encountered.