Ch.294Birthday (1)

And finally, the time had come.

Now, in this layer, Viktor would properly celebrate his birthday.

February 3rd—a day solely for Viktor, who hadn’t been able to properly celebrate even his birthday, the only day he could call his own, during the long yet short time of 760 days in a year.

“There must not be a single mistake. Understand?!?!”

“You’ve said that exactly 2,331 times now.”

“That’s how important this is! One wrong note, one missed beat, and you might be sent flying along with the archive!”

When Apostle Michael was this terrified, naturally the commoners of much lower rank could only tremble even more.

The place was crawling with celebrities whose worth alone made people gasp (in multiple senses of the word), and if just one of them made a mistake, their lives couldn’t be guaranteed—what kind of unreasonable situation was this?

Unfortunately, human common sense held no value to those with divine status, and all that remained were powerless humans struggling to survive.

“To celebrate the birth of Lord Viktor Walker, the incarnation of our great Sun and the representative of its great will, we have held this banquet. Once again, we express our gratitude to Lord Viktor for allowing us to create this glorious occasion…”

And as if to prove their burning anxiety, Viktor and his party members sat at the place of highest honor, listening to the host’s praises, while the audience applauded like seals, offering prayers of gratitude for being able to behold Viktor’s noble countenance.

“Get ready now. Remember. Failure means death!”

It was the first time the hand holding the microphone trembled.

“Urgh… I survived the dome performance, I won’t die here!”

The celebrities gritted their teeth and waited for their turn.

Either way meant death, so they might as well give it their all—

“Next, we will have congratulatory performances from celebrities to commemorate the Sun’s birthday. Enter!”

*

“Quite the spectacle.”

Viktor muttered this brief impression as he contentedly watched the people performing before him.

A beautiful woman was diligently delivering food and drink to his mouth, and beyond that, the performers were displaying exceptional talent.

It took considerable courage to fly through the air with all sorts of special effects, relying on impossibly thin wires without being able to use aura.

Of course, if someone were to ask whether it was appropriate to call the art that these artists had achieved through decades of bone-grinding effort “antics,” the answer would be yes. No problem at all. If a god chose to call it that, what mortal would dare make a peep?

“Heh heh. The analog feel isn’t bad at all.”

Simon also seemed to be greatly enjoying himself.

In truth, they couldn’t help but enjoy it—those gathered here were the pinnacle of talent in the Hyacinth continent, performers whose popularity and skills were so supreme that even heads of state would have to stand at attention to summon them.

So regardless of whether the sentiment was good or bad, it was bound to be more than enough for Viktor’s tastes, which were fixed at the level of a street pauper. Even the audience watching from a distance was so overwhelmed by the spectacular performances on stage that they couldn’t close their mouths.

Viktor’s mouth remained open in awe as he watched the fire-eaters, the performers walking on air supported by rings and fabric, and the actors performing comedic pantomimes.

When the performance ended, an opera began.

The harmony played by thousands of musicians and the stage drama performed by handsome men and beautiful women was so magnificent that even an artificial intelligence without hands would applaud, and Viktor too vigorously clapped his hands throughout to reward the artists’ passion.

“Excellent! Absolutely excellent!”

Adding praise like an old man might, Viktor couldn’t stop smiling.

Being someone who had never had his birthday celebrated before, he probably would have smiled at anything, but he had never imagined being honored to such an extreme.

Viktor could understand why monarchs and nobles were so obsessed with power.

Who would want to give up power when it allowed them to continue living like this and having such experiences?

It’s not for nothing that there’s a saying: “If you want to test a person’s character, give them power.” All humans become corrupt the moment they grasp power, and when that corruption progresses uncontrollably, humanity calls them tyrants.

But whether he liked it or not, Viktor was no longer human but a god walking the earth, so there was no worry about corruption.

Only humans could be corrupted; Viktor, as the Sun’s apostle and demigod, had no room for corruption.

Of course, that wasn’t necessarily a good thing. As always, divinity annihilates personality.

*

After the birthday celebration ended, Apostle Michael stood before Viktor with a trembling body.

The words from Viktor’s mouth would now determine the fate of his soul.

“That was excellent, Apostle Michael. My servant. I feel like I’ve had a hearty laugh for the first time in a very long while.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it. I exist to serve you.”

“Haha. You’re quite good at flattery too.”

Viktor laughed heartily as he patted Michael’s shoulder.

It could have been considered a rude gesture, but when a god acts rudely toward a human, it should be called divine punishment, so it wasn’t rude.

Moreover, for a god to praise a human was an honor that could define one’s entire life, so for Michael, who had risen to the apostolic seat but was still human in essence, praise from a being whose essence was divine was like sweet nectar that instantly satisfied the soul’s needs.

“Th-thank you, Great One.”

His lips curled upward. The fatigue that had accumulated melted away like snow, and this wasn’t just a feeling but reality.

Viktor didn’t notice, but with just the thought that Michael had worked hard and deserved rest, he had completely eliminated the muscle and nervous system fatigue of the layer archive’s population of 50 million.

However, neither the god nor the apostle noticed, so they merely thought it was languor from the sense of liberation.

“We’ll be going now. I’m sorry for pushing you so hard.”

“Not at all, my lord. How could we celebrate a god’s birthday in a shabby manner? Please consider it a small token of sincerity from this layer.”

“Hahaha. A small token of sincerity, you say. If I were to receive a large token, the country would collapse.”

Viktor was in an exceptionally good mood.

It wasn’t from the high-proof apple brandy. Rather, he was simply happy because his primal need for recognition had been fulfilled by having others celebrate his birthday for the first time.

“Then go safely. This layer archive will strive to fulfill your will.”

“Yes. As I wished, you must spread the legitimacy of the empire across continents.”

“Of course. Anyone who tries to access the layer archive will learn about the grand truth embraced by your empire.”

“Then soon a bloody wind will blow across this continent. I’ll be going now. Don’t forget your duty.”

“Yes, my lord.”

*

“Phew…”

Viktor lay down with his wife in the captain’s quarters of the Iron Walker once more.

For some reason, the mattress of this bed, which was slowly becoming stained with oil and needed to be replaced soon, felt more familiar than the incredibly plush chairs at the banquet hall.

“I guess I’m a born adventurer after all… Even if I die and come back to life, my essence doesn’t change.”

Viktor muttered while stretching Raisha’s cheeks playfully.

They had already covered half of the Hyacinth continent, but could this be called an adventure?

Clearly, the adventure he had in mind involved running around on foot, sleeping in caves and on cliffs, getting soaked in rain, and trudging through mud.

Perhaps his thinking began to twist when he received the Sun’s call.

His duty toward his mission had grown larger than his passion for adventure.

But he had no regrets.

Adventure meant moving toward the unknown. Moving forward for the sake of his empire, which would be built toward an uncertain future, was also an adventure.

“If you become empress, what’s the first thing you’d like to do?”

When Viktor asked this, Raisha blushed for a moment, then buried her face in his chest and said:

“I… I want to have a baby.”

“Ah…”

Viktor realized he had opened Pandora’s box.

Shortly after, the door to the captain’s quarters was firmly locked, and Simon quietly placed a soundproofing barrier before standing on the bridge and ordering their next destination.

“Head for Arius!”

“Yes!”

“You all heard the Sage! Set course for Arius!”

And so, the Iron Walker party boarded the Sky Warden and took off together, while the barrier and door to the captain’s quarters remained firmly locked throughout the day.

“Well now. I’ve heard of birthday punches, but birthday ‘rice cakes’ is a first.”

“Hehey. Shush.”