Ch.317The Road to Hurichel Continent (2)

Tap. Tap. Tap.

I never knew my fingers could be this weak as they drummed against the desk.

Those gathered here silently watched the person tapping their fingers on the desk, who soon opened their mouth.

“I believe everyone knows why we’ve gathered.”

Everyone nodded silently. If one didn’t know why they were gathered here today, they wouldn’t have been given the Nariakira name.

Descendants of the imperial family that once ruled the world. This place where all members of the Nariakira family had gathered was the heart city of Centrum, Imperial Center.

The massive estate in the northern part of the city, considered the prime location, was where the descendants of the imperial family bearing the Nariakira surname resided.

…Though in reality, it was nothing more than a gilded facade.

In this massive heart city housing 3 billion people, the imperial descendants had lived completely isolated from society for 1,200 years, repeatedly intermarrying within the family, existing merely as machines that produced orichalcum.

What made it even more terrible was that no one forced this upon them—it was their own decision.

Though they were descendants of a fallen empire, in reality, they were merely distant, faded bloodlines of the imperial family’s collateral branch, never granted succession rights, unable to even claim the title of emperor when the last emperor died in the underground tunnels of Arius.

The only reason they survived the blades of the empire’s crushers who sought to kill them was because they produced the irreplaceable divine product known as orichalcum.

And 1,200 years had passed.

Even the families that had once bound them had completely disappeared, and consequently, they had gained their freedom. Yet all that remained for them was the sole objective of producing orichalcum.

They could neither rebuild the empire now nor reclaim their rights. So the logic of base merchants—to absolutely secure the profits gained from selling orichalcum—began to flow through the noble imperial bloodline.

“The Sun God has split into two. One in space, one on earth.”

“…”

“The time to choose has come. We’ve been indebted to the grandfather in space for far too long. It shouldn’t be surprising that he’s abandoning us now.”

“Haaa…”

Sighs filled the air.

Among the approximately 3,000 people gathered here, not a single person over 40 had failed to replace their body with machinery or artificial bodies.

This was because after more than 1,200 years of inbreeding, their genes had degraded and mutations had accumulated, passing down deformities and genetic diseases.

The moment their blood thinned, their connection to the sun would be severed, and with it, their livelihood.

Even they, who couldn’t proudly reveal their imperial descent, had some options. Since the powers that had bound them were gone, they could have ventured into places like universities to start businesses and gain some fame.

However, the money they earned from selling orichalcum was thousands of times greater, which is why they chose inbreeding with their own hands.

Well aware of this, the descendants looked at the old man seated at the head.

The family head, Nariakira Taisei.

Already past eighty, much of his body had been modified with machinery, but his eyes still retained human form.

“The Founder has given this old man an oracle.”

“!”

“The Founder… gave an oracle…”

The Founder referred to the being who had bestowed power upon their family—Nariakira Saburo.

Even with their thinned blood, they were still imperial; communication with the sun was always possible for them.

Of course, there were clear limitations, so they couldn’t engage in two-way communication at will like Victor, but if the sun wished, it could deliver oracles to them at any time, which meant an enormously important situation was approaching for the clan.

“What did the Founder say?”

“…He said we should choose for ourselves. That we can no longer remain in cowardly neutrality…”

“That’s…”

The atmosphere was gloomy, but the shock wasn’t too great.

When they first heard that the Sun’s Apostle had appeared, they had already sensed their fate.

And when that apostle descended to earth again as the Sun God, they instinctively realized they could no longer survive in the same way as before.

“Nariakira Sayuri. Step forward.”

At Taisei’s words, Nariakira Sayuri revealed herself before the crowd.

She was the only one among them who had met Victor Walker, the earthly sun, so she was called to share information about him.

“You have confirmed that Victor Walker is the Sun’s Knight. Can you tell us about him?”

“Lord Head… To be clear… I have met him, but I don’t know detailed information. When I encountered him in Belfort, we only exchanged a few words because I was the only one who could clear his innocence.”

“But surely you must have formed an impression. Does he seem like a good person?”

At the head’s question, Sayuri briefly searched her memories.

It didn’t take long. Perhaps because the impression of Victor Walker had left such a deep mark on her life.

“He seems… very resolute.”

“Resolute… Why do you think so?”

“Since I met him during his human days, ignoring his time as an apostle or his current actions, Belfort City was a place that denied the sun. Despite all citizens there being hostile to him—at best, there was a neutral minority—he directly confronted the pressure placed on him and denounced the unjust pressure Belfort City had imposed on him. And he did so in front of a judge.”

“But he is a knight, is he not? It’s not particularly strange for a knight who has sworn to fight injustice all his life to make such protests.”

“You asked for my impression, Lord Head. I am neither an apostle nor a god. I cannot fully understand a person in just a few hours.”

“…Indeed, that’s true. You may go now.”

“Yes.”

There wasn’t much gained.

Or rather, it wasn’t that there was no gain—they hadn’t spent all their money on luxury and had established a solid information network of their own.

They were already aware of incidents like the complete erasure of Long Legs, or how he had normalized an entire country in Karluk by ominously asserting divine authority and was launching a unified political system to govern the Hargal Plains.

“This… ‘being’ called Victor Walker is basically harmless as long as you don’t provoke him. According to our information, he tends to overlook most things as long as his mood isn’t disturbed.”

“Judging from what happened in Karluk, it seems he has no compromise when it comes to social justice.”

“That makes sense, given he revealed himself to be an orphan from the streets. Plus, as the Sun God, he must have seen how much persecution the followers of the Yangwol Order suffered during his time as the Sun’s Knight and Apostle. And… as the Sun’s Knight, he must have seen the memories of ‘that time’ as well.”

“…”

“That time” referred to the memories of the Eclipse Era.

Even they, whose connection to the sun was as faint as catching free Wi-Fi from a café across the street while sitting in a soup restaurant, occasionally had seizures from the memories of the Eclipse Era that trickled in. How much worse must it be for Victor, who was far more powerful?

“In that case, we should increase our support from now on.”

“Hmm. It’s fortunate that we’ve been making donations already. Tell them we’ll contribute three times last year’s amount to the organizations we support.”

“Understood, Lord Head.”

Like wealthy people often do, they had been supporting the poor and orphans of the heart city to improve their social perception.

They didn’t directly establish and operate foundations, but rather selected various organizations and delivered donations to them.

If they were just starting this now, it would seem quite transparent, but fortunately, they had been consistently giving money for a long time, so the Nariakira family name was quite well-known in Imperial Center.

The recipients might not know, but among the high-ranking officials who directly managed the donations, there was even a joke circulating that the former imperial family was still taking care of their subjects.

“It will still be several more years before his pilgrimage reaches Centrum. But be cautious. Just because it’s delayed doesn’t mean it won’t arrive…”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“This family meeting is now concluded. Everyone, heed this old man’s words. A new sun is rising, and we, the children of the sun, must be prepared.”

As Taisei finished speaking, people dispersed in all directions.

Some headed toward rockets, some toward home, and most toward bars.

What will become of their fate?

Will they resurrect like the dawn breaking through the early morning? Or will they be like the stars of the night, consumed and disappearing in the radiance of the sun?