Chapter 105
Chapter 105
The Grand Temple
Morrigan momentarily paused the brushing she had been diligently giving to Reaver and hesitated.
It was such a skillful motion that even Reaver, who would usually growl about whether he really looked like some kind of dog, ended up yawning and purring at some point.
But the sound coming from the other side of the communication was shocking enough to bring even that to a halt.
[……What did you just say, Lady Ganesha?]
When she transmitted the magically-enhanced message, Ganesha chuckled on the other end.
Hmm.
Now that she served Aiden, the title had shifted from ‘master’ to ‘lady’—a noteworthy sign of her professional awareness.
……If only the person they were about to talk about had adopted even half of that sense of decorum.
[It seems the General Overseer is quite stirred up. He’s demanding to see this man named Aiden in person.]
[……]
The moment she heard those words, Morrigan’s body stiffened completely.
[……Isn’t he someone who shouldn’t be moving so freely?]
[Personally, I couldn’t agree more……]
Indeed, along with the demons, he was one of the only two beings prohibited from interfering with the ‘Omnipotent One.’
Because if he messed up, the entire continent could be thrown into chaos. That was likely the reason.
Even the agreement made with the demons had been drawn up under the same logic.
If either side made a move, disaster was inevitable, so both were to respect the boundaries drawn.
[Yes. He says he’s fully aware of all that, but apparently he has a compelling reason.]
[……What is it?]
[He says he just can’t hold back anymore.]
[……]
[He said that after holding back this long, isn’t it about time he got to at least lick him?]
[……]
Morrigan’s eyes glazed over.
Well, it wasn’t like it was worth protesting anyway. Considering the personality of the so-called General Overseer she knew, raising any objections would be meaningless.
In the end, they’d have to do what he said.
[Drakan.]
[……Yes.]
[You have my sympathies.]
Ganesha said this with such a concerned tone that it highlighted just how tangled her own relationship with him was.
[Take good care of him. After all, he’s the one who created you.]
The moment she heard that, the blood drained from Morrigan’s face.
All kinds of memories she had accumulated while being entangled with that man flashed through her mind.
[……Yes.]
But instead of voicing any of that aloud—
She simply gave that one answer.
[That is the reason I exist.]
As if saying it was only natural.
▣
The Grand Temple was a place for those who had passed the final succession ceremony.
It sat on a remote island where the sacred fire offered to the God of Purification—known as the "Primordial Brazier"—burned, a symbol of the Holy Crown Kingdom.
The entire island had been remodeled into a facility. It was the main stage for the succession ceremony.
Although airplanes hadn’t yet become commonplace in this era, thanks to the magic stones from the Mage Kingdom, it was at least an era where things like airships could be made somehow.
And as they flew in on one of those, it was obvious—if not Aiden, then at least his companions were visibly excited.
“Oh—”
Noel let out a delighted exclamation, her eyes sparkling beside him.
Pressing her face so hard against the window that her cheek flattened, she watched the view below with shining eyes. It was enough to make one think she was truly pure-hearted.
“Wow—”
“……”
Beside her, Katya was rubbing her cheek against the window in a similar manner, which was a bit unexpected.
Didn’t this woman have nothing but trauma when it came to the Holy Crown Kingdom?
“……Isn’t this a familiar place for Your Highness?”
“No, it’s my first time seeing a place like this.”
“……”
“If it were the imperial capital where that damn moth— no, His Holiness—holds court, maybe. But a place like this? Even I’ve never seen it before.”
……Ah.
So because it was a place she’d never seen before, there weren’t any bad memories tied to it, which meant she could admire it purely.
At the very least, she wasn’t moping around as lifelessly as before, and that was a relief.
In contrast, Aiden was looking down at the scenery beneath his feet with a thoroughly displeased expression.
Even at a glance, the Grand Temple was roughly the size of a small city.
It was a kind of “academic district,” where several massive buildings had been clustered closely together.
“……”
Aiden let out a faint laugh and brushed his hair back.
‘……Coming back to school at this age, huh.’
That sentiment probably fit the situation best.
Although most of the participants in the succession ceremony were practically complete beings, there were still many among them who had room to grow.
The Grand Temple functioned as a boot camp—or perhaps more accurately, an academy. It also served an educational purpose.
‘Which is exactly what makes this all the more ridiculous……’
Thinking that, Aiden looked behind him at the line of “preliminary passers” trailing in his wake.
The number had to be at least in the several hundreds.
Even after one round of filtering through the preliminaries, this many people had still made it. It seemed absurd, but considering that the total number of applicants had reached into the thousands, this was actually quite a narrow selection.
The problem was that Act II, “Desecration,” was a scenario based on the slaughter of all these people gathered here.
‘More than half.’
That was the confirmed death rate in the original story.
And no matter how much Aiden tried to stop it, it was highly likely that unavoidable casualties would still occur.
“……”
With a scowl on his face, he rolled his wrist and closed his eyes.
Honestly, it was frustrating.
Even if Aiden wasn’t some kind of saint, he had enough conscience that, if he knew someone was going to die, he’d feel a kind of responsibility for not stopping it.
Still—
‘……Even if I can’t stop all of it.’
He had to at least think about minimizing the damage.
The main scenario was one thing, but more than that, he wasn’t interested in lying awake at night, plagued with regret.
And for now, there were people around who could help with that.
“The air’s nice, isn’t it?”
“……”
When he said that to Alex and his group following behind him, their expressions twisted even more.
“Relax that face.”
“……”
“Still not relaxing?”
Even as he said that, their expressions didn’t improve in the slightest, so Aiden tilted his head and pulled out a bundle of documents from his coat.
These were the papers he’d gotten both sides to sign before the preliminaries began.
“Let’s see, according to what’s written here, if you don’t follow my instructions, you’ll be permanently barred from setting foot in the Holy Crown Kingdom—”
“……Yes, the air is very nice.”
With a stiff laugh—“Ha ha ha”—Alex and his companions forced their smiles.
Though he had essentially bound them to him through a coercive contract, it was good enough for now.
Aiden chuckled softly and tucked the documents back inside his coat.
‘Numbers are always helpful.’
Especially given that they were on an isolated island with no access to social infrastructure. Having people who could act as his limbs was undeniably valuable. That was why he hadn’t stripped them of their royal authority and had dragged them all the way into the heart of the island.
After all, everything outside of what he could observe was a dark zone. Whether he had people who could extract information from such places or not was the difference between being able to follow the plot or being completely lost.
“……”
And that critical factor—the ability to track unfolding events—
‘……There’s one more.’
There was one more person he had to make contact with as soon as he stepped into the Grand Temple.
▣
Royalty—especially those of fairly high rank—were all eccentrics in their own way.
Because of Alester, the flawless superhuman, most people tended to assume all royals had some level of oddness. But anyone who had actually worked alongside such people would know just how absurd that assumption could get.
In reality—
Those who served the Second Princess, Milene, were always ready to snap at anyone who dared expect all royals to be like the perfect Alester. “Cut the nonsense,” they’d say, flabbergasted.
“Young Lady. Please, wake up!”
Seeing the airship beginning its descent, Aya—the handmaiden assigned exclusively to Milene—hurriedly shook the massive suit of armor lying on the bed.
Apparently, this person even took naps in full plate armor...
“……”
For a moment, an expression of deep existential regret flashed across the handmaiden’s face—but she was a professional. She quickly composed herself and resumed shaking Milene.
Fortunately, that earnest effort wasn’t in vain. With a dragging sound, Milene slowly stirred.
Her long, shiny silver hair spilled out from beneath the armor, a tangled mess.
“We’ll be arriving at the Grand Temple soon, My Lady.”
“……”
Milene nodded absentmindedly and clumsily crawled off the bed.
Though she misstepped and faceplanted onto the floor—
Unable to get up on her own due to the heavy armor, she flailed her limbs helplessly for a while before finally speaking in a resigned voice.
“……Aya. Help me.”
“……”
That same expression of worldly despair once again passed over Aya’s face.
At any rate, Milene did manage to get back on her feet—somehow.
It was hard to believe someone like her ranked among the top in the preliminaries…
“The real succession ceremony begins now, My Lady! If you keep spacing out like this, something seriously bad could happen!”
“Mmm…”
Milene gave a limp reply and let out a long yawn as she opened the door of her private room.
“……?”
And then, tilting her head in confusion, she came face to face with a man who had suddenly appeared right outside.
“Hello. Are you Princess Milene?”
“……Uh.”
That wasn’t a confirmation—just a drawn-out sound because she didn’t know how to respond. Her glance at Aya confirmed it.
Of course, all Aya could do was look at the man with a startled expression. She didn’t know who he was, and there hadn’t been any prior notice of a visitor.
But regardless, the man standing just outside the door continued speaking calmly.
As if he had known her for a long time, his tone was unusually familiar. To someone who didn’t know better, it might have looked like a reunion between old friends.
“I’ve long wanted to meet and greet you. They say you possess an extraordinary talent.”
“……Mmm?”
“I’m Aiden Kellermain.”
The man introduced himself and gave a respectful bow.
His movement was so graceful, it hinted at formal etiquette training.
“……And I’m someone who’d like to form quite a close relationship with you, Princess.”
Aya’s jaw dropped open.