Chapter 123 – Flame Empress

“A star that led to inevitable misfortune and death for demons, Star of Calamity, Ronan Lujarak! The most courageous, ferocious, and ruthless man in human history! The one who killed the most demons, the hero who struck fear into all demons! This Flame Empress reveres Ronan Lujarak above all others. Eliaernes, what is your connection to Ronan Lujarak?”

The Flame Empress’s sudden display of worship made my mind go blank.

Star of Calamity. Ronan Lujarak’s epithet.

A name more famous among demons than among humans.

And the Flame Empress knows it. How?

Traces? Time? Could something like that really be left in the canal?

I can’t understand it. But the Flame Empress already knows something.

Does she know that I’m Ronan?

No… she hasn’t gotten that far.

Of course not. Reincarnation. The soul of a human isn’t something humans could ever touch, let alone imagine.

So what is she thinking? How did she make the connection?

“The sound is blocked, so don’t worry. No one on this continent can hear this conversation.”

My head felt like it was about to explode, but the Flame Empress was grinning with a childlike innocence unfitting for her age.

Even Yurasia, Stella, and Pina standing behind me looked baffled at the sight of her smiling.

“…Flame Empress, you made a vow.”

“That’s right. Even if it’s me, if I break my vow, my heart would tear apart and I’d die. So believe me.”

“Why go so far to earn my trust? Someone like you could get information through force.”

“That’s not how this Flame Empress prefers to do things. And, why would I want to break such precious seedlings? Beings like you should be treasured and cherished. Not that I’m asking you to join the empire. Even as one of the empire’s Six Pillars, this Flame Empress never belonged to the empire.”

I narrowed my eyes at the Flame Empress.

This is… like she’s shoving trust down my throat by force. But because it’s backed by a vow, I have no choice but to believe her, and that makes it even trickier.

How can someone be this transparent?

“So, Eliaernes. What’s your answer to this Flame Empress’s question?”

“And what do I gain by answering?”

“Hm? A gain? Do you want something from this Flame Empress?”

“What if I do?”

It was a bit rude, but the Flame Empress just nodded, smiling pleasantly.

“If you answer this Flame Empress’s question, I’ll grant your request. As long as you don’t ask for my head, my equipment, or anything lewd or improper.”

“Then… please give me the right to ask the Flame Empress for a favor, anytime.”

The corners of the Flame Empress’s eyes twitched.

“Is that what the young people call a wish these days? I heard those are just for, well, for coupling, in the end. Eliaernes, do you want to be my wife? Hm… as a direct descendant of House Eustetia, my rank is lower than yours, so would that make me your wife instead? But I’ve given up my name. So would I be Flame Empress Eustetia? Hah… that’s really not good.”

She looked genuinely troubled.

She wasn’t joking, she was seriously considering it.

Crazy woman.

The Flame Empress is pure madness.

This is what happens when someone with flowers in their head goes completely off the rails.

“…That’s not what I’m after.”

“That’s a relief. Fine. If you answer this Flame Empress’s question, you’ll get a wish.”

“…A wish, huh. That sounds grand.”

I bowed my head and thought deeply.

How should I answer about my connection to the Star of Calamity?

Saying I’m Ronan would be too dangerous.

She’s sworn to speak only the truth and not harm us, but you never know with people.

I’m still weak. The more people who know who I am, the more dangerous it gets.

I won’t do anything as foolish as telling the truth.

An excuse. What excuse can I use?

The Flame Empress read traces of battle.

Just as high-level mages can chase the traces of magic, the Flame Empress seems able to pursue things like memories of the past.

But whether that’s through intent or some strange phenomenon, I don’t know. Nor do I need to know now.

How much did she actually see?

Could she hear our conversations too?

No, probably not. If she’d heard what I said to Pied, she wouldn’t be acting like this.

So… just scenes, or appearances?

The Flame Empress asked what my connection is to the Star of Calamity.

Star of Calamity. Ronan Lujarak. She knows his fighting style. She’s retraced my fights too.

And she found something in common.

What is it?

Ronan wielded countless weapons.

Eliaernes is a martial artist.

No overlap.

No, there is one.

What made Ronan known as the Star of Calamity.

Martial Spirit.

The Flame Empress saw it.

Purgatory Gates? She doesn’t know about those yet.

So, does she know that… Ronan, in his previous life, wielded weapons? That I’m not just Ronan the martial artist?

Probably.

I’ve got a rough idea of what to say.

“Speak.”

The Flame Empress, sensing I’d returned from my thoughts, urged me on, her voice excited.

“Can I trust that nothing from this conversation will leak out?”

“Trust me. This Flame Empress does not lie.”

“But… I could just lie to you, couldn’t I? Do you really believe what I say?”

“This Flame Empress believes you. But even if you lie, it’s fine. Just finding someone with a connection to that great person is enough for me. This is… yes. Just a bit of greed. The simple curiosity all mages have.”

Flames burned in the Flame Empress’s orange eyes, brilliant, intense.

I watched quietly, then cleared my throat. Slowly, I began to speak.

“I, ”

“Mmm…!”

A murmur slipped from the Flame Empress’s lips. Her crimson mana flared. The flames, previously imperceptible, surged and swelled.

Those flames instantly surrounded me, the Flame Empress, and the three behind us, forming a hemispherical dome.

It wasn’t hot. The fire looked so fierce it felt like touching it would melt you, but we didn’t feel any heat.

Inside, the Flame Empress hurriedly spoke.

“Eliaernes, we have to part ways for now. But it’s alright. I, this Flame Empress, will come to find you soon. I promise! I will definitely find you, so please wait.”

“W-what? All of a sudden, what do you mean?”

“Please. I beg you.”

The Flame Empress bowed her head.

One of the empire’s Six Pillars, one of the six strongest on the continent, was bowing her head…!

I had no idea why, but I nodded for now.

“Um, sure. It’s not hard, ”

Just then.

I sensed what the Flame Empress sensed.

A beast-like presence. Terrifying, ominous, sending chills down my spine.

“What… Vice Headmaster?”

Leona’s presence pressed from beyond the wall.

I looked at the wall of flame.

It looked solid, even at a glance.

Could I break it? Not in my current state.

I’d have to break at least two fingers to shatter that wall.

Then what about Leona?

I pictured Leona, the one who’d sparred with me.

It seemed impossible.

The moment I thought that, 

Crrrrrack, 

“…Crazy.”

The wall split open.

“Flame Empress.”

A voice scraped up from the depths of hell. Leona’s voice echoed in my ears.

“So you’re actually laying hands on my disciple.”

“Mmm…! That’s a misunderstanding! This Flame Empress didn’t lay hands on your disciple! I was just talking…”

“I did not give you permission to speak.”

Leona’s pupils turned vertical.

Not even the dragons I’d met had such chilling eyes.

Why am I scared of Leona?

I know Leona is strong. Because of her flawless defensive stance, I can’t tell how strong, but I know she’s powerful.

But this is the Flame Empress.

One of the empire’s Six Pillars, radiating overwhelming power.

And yet she fears Leona.

The Flame Empress? Afraid of Leona? I couldn’t follow what was happening, but I went to Leona anyway.

The Flame Empress, I don’t fully trust her, but her pursuit of our traces from four hundred years ago… I can’t help but think well of her.

And that look of pure, sincere admiration she wore while praising Ronan Lujarak…

For now… I wanted to help her a little.

How could I dislike someone who genuinely likes me? And, sorry as I am to the Flame Empress, getting that wish was also important.

So for now, I decided to side with the Flame Empress.

“Um… V-Vice Headmaster?”

The eyes of the beast landed on me.

My body flinched, instinct stopping me in my tracks.

But only for a moment, Leona blinked, and her eyes returned to their usual cheerfulness.

In that instant, the Flame Empress didn’t miss her chance.

“Mmm…! Fist Demon, let’s continue this conversation another time! This Flame Empress has never spoken a lie! So please, know that today’s events are just a misunderstanding!”

The moment she finished speaking, 

Fwoosh! 

A blinding light flared up.

And then, 

Crackle, pop!

All the flames surrounding us with the Flame Empress vanished.

The crackle of a small ember.

The murmurs of the city’s citizens.

Pina’s gasping, Stella’s babbling, Yurasia’s sigh of relief.

And a chilly silence.

In that silence, I recalled the Flame Empress’s last words.

“…Fist Demon?”

Fist Demon. The empire’s First Pillar.

There aren’t many stories or rumors about the Fist Demon. It feels like they’ve been intentionally erased.

Not even in my father’s study.

But I always thought I should meet them someday.

Because I’m a martial artist?

No. There’s a more important reason.

The Fist Demon has lived a long, long time.

Four hundred years.

The only one who lived in the same era as my former self, as us.