episode_0004

What is an empire?

The place that represents the empire is the vastest place on the continent and exudes great authority.

There are three prominent empires, two of which, excluding the Sacred Empire, are under the jurisdiction of the Cult of Evil.

Among them, Empress Beatrice.

She is the first empress to willingly sit on the blood-stained throne.

“I will have you washed.”

Although she casually said so without changing her expression, it was her ability.

Concealing her inner thoughts with a poker face, she never showed emotions to anyone; that was her forte.

“Thank you, but it’s fine. You must have been quite busy today, so go rest inside.”

“Yes, I will do so. Thank you for your consideration.”

Surprisingly, she followed my words well.

Or did she follow them well?

However, if it were her, she would have tried to do something other than following my orders here.

Hmm… It seems the recent recruits have become somewhat strange, even misinterpreting her intentions.

“Yes, go rest comfortably inside.”

“Yes, understood. Lord of Evil.”

She is a devout follower who prays every day, asking to be allowed to worship me forever.

Yet, when the deity she prayed to was right in front of her, she easily stepped aside.

I am sure she would never act like this.

No, rather, since she believes in herself as a deity, she might listen better.

In fact, claiming to understand her is arrogant.

“So rest well, and we shall meet again tomorrow.”

“Yes, understood.”

She nonchalantly returned to where she needed to go.

Only then could I comfortably undress and lie down in the bathroom.

“It truly is grand.”

A bathroom larger than most commoners’ homes.

Is this not extravagance?

In fact, the 7 billion gold donated by the Empire to the Cult of Evil all flows back to Beatrice.

Hence, the Cult of Evil, particularly its key figure, plays the role of a money collector from other countries.

While our empire donates this much money, you can barely see beyond that level.

It’s a kind of power play.

“I have returned in case you may have lost your way.”

Lost in contemplation about what to do next, I was startled by Beatrice’s voice from behind.

Thus, without turning around, I replied.

“Have you dressed properly?”

“…How could humans proudly wear things they made in front of a god?”

“…If I have erred, quickly dress and come in if you must.”

“Hiding oneself from a god is no foolish act, I believe.”

I expected this.

Ever since I descended, everyone has become peculiar.

Innocent and pure… Come to think of it, nothing seems to have changed.

“Lord of Evil, perhaps my nightly prayers have not reached you.”

No.

They have reached me very well.

When prayers are offered, especially fervent ones like hers, they directly reach my ears.

But how terrifying was her prayer, asking to hold her in her arms forever while calmly saying she wants to kill her brother every night?

It was more frightening than any ghost.

I don’t need sleep, but occasionally, when my focus falters, hearing that voice sends shivers down my spine.

Of course, now that I’m used to it, it doesn’t bother me.

“Your prayers still echo in my ears every time you pray. However, child, all of you who have believed in me are precious to me. So please, put on some clothes.”

“I have no intention of hiding myself in front of the evil spirit. So please let me be embraced in your arms every night as I prayed.”

I didn’t know that meant she really wanted to be physically embraced.

That’s why she earnestly asked to be held every night.

Having grown up without receiving affection from anyone since childhood, I thought it was just a simple lack of affection.

“Unfortunately, the statement that you like the colors written in the documents doesn’t seem to fit. I’ll change into my clothes right away.”

As we continued to confront each other like that, she eventually gave up.

But why emphasize colors?

Well, can an evil spirit be a color enthusiast? What kind of evil spirit likes colors?

Oh, no wonder the evil spirit lost in the original work.

“What is this document that keeps showing strange information?”

It seems like it might be referring to the evil spirit before I possessed it.

What is that document anyway? I haven’t heard of it even in the original work, nor among the people I’ve seen so much.

“Come to think of it, besides the cult of the evil spirit, there are still many other key figures left.”

Excluding the cult of the evil spirit, there are about 30 main characters such as the Holy Maiden of the Sacred Empire, the wandering mercenary, the White Horse Tower Master, and the Pope… Just the main characters alone amount to around 30.

Naturally, as the story unfolds from the protagonist’s perspective, there are more people around the protagonist than in the cult of the evil spirit.

“Among them, including the protagonist, seven deceased characters.”

Seven people have died.

The Pope killed by the cult of the evil spirit, the protagonist, and the two White Horse Tower Masters who were killed to put pressure on the Sacred Empire, and also the king who originally helped the protagonist, and his childhood friend were killed.

Come to think of it, all the people around the protagonist were killed.

“Come to think of it, how did the protagonist die exactly? They were fine in the original work… It’s not just a different world with the same characters… It’s not an ‘if’ story either.”

As I thought about it, it seemed increasingly bizarre.

No.

Maybe it’s just because I only read the first volume; in reality, the story might have been like this.

…Could it have been like that?

It’s not a story about the protagonist being reincarnated, after all.

If it were true, there would have been a lot of posts on the community, and we would have been spoiled, but that’s not the case either.

“There’s nothing more to come from thinking about it, so I should stop.”

Uttering the habitually hardened soliloquy, I quietly wiped myself down after melting, then put on the robe I usually wear.

But Beatrice hasn’t arrived.

Since she’s so unpredictable, she must have gone to do something else again.

“…Come to think of it, where is my room?”

I remember being shown where the guest room was…

“Oh, right. It’s over there.”

Up the stairs, straight to the left was the guest room.

And among them, there was only one room with the light on.

Wait, I had written ‘Pope’s Room’ on the door from the start.

I remember saying I was both an evil spirit and a pope.

“Today turned out to be busier than I thought.”

I looked around the room.

I’ve seen Beatrice’s room occasionally on TV, so I roughly know it, but at least it’s smaller than here.

Why did I make my room so big when I don’t even live here?

Moreover, seeing that there isn’t a speck of dust, it seems they manage it quite diligently too.

“Why did they work so hard to make and maintain this place…”

Muttering to myself like that, I lay down on the bed.

In fact, I didn’t really need a good night’s sleep, and there wasn’t much of a sleep cycle, but since my body wasn’t completely unable to sleep, I comfortably drifted off to sleep.

Of course, using my abilities to forcibly induce a state of sleep.

And so, the next day arrived.

“…Why does my body feel so sluggish.”

I’m sure I fell asleep quite comfortably, and the bed was perfect.

It seems that the empire is in the south, so it must be too hot.

I didn’t particularly feel the heat, but fortunately, sweat seems to be secreted normally.

I learned for the first time.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Yes, did you sleep well last night too?”

“Yes, I wanted to visit you yesterday, but I was quite busy with pending tasks.”

Fortunately, the documents were quite accurate.

She said that, but I walked out without focusing on the conversation up to that point.

“Please come back again next time. I will be waiting, Master.”

“Alright, I will do so.”

After saying that, I gathered my strength.

The first advantage of being possessed by a demon.

It was the ability to use overwhelming power to the extent of feeling almost omnipotent.

“First, return to the demon school, and feel free to come back anytime later.”

“Yes, I will see you again later.”

Welcoming her, I returned to the demon school, even to my room.

… What’s that on my bed?

“Teacher, you came back sooner than I thought.”

“…Yes, what were you doing?”

“I was curious if the medicine made from the ingredients you gave me would work. I heard teachers usually lie on the bed, so I just sprayed it in advance.”

“…Alright, thanks for doing that while I was out.”

“Oh, I’m really sorry, but I was curious about the results…”

I flicked her away with my finger.

…Come to think of it, I mentioned that I usually lie on the bed.

To whom? There’s no one here except me.

I can’t feel anyone watching me, but can they secretly observe me while avoiding my senses?

‘…Ah, my head hurts.’

Thinking more only makes my head hurt, so I decided to just lie down.

…Why have things gotten weirder since I came down here?

A sense of foreboding suddenly crossed my mind.