Chapter 102
Chapter 102
“Leios von Ribera, did you desire the throne of the Emperor?”
At the completely unexpected question, I was momentarily left speechless.
I had thought he had summoned me at most to spar, yet the atmosphere in the room was unbearably heavy, as if we were discussing marching off to war.
My head failed to work at the sudden situation and the unforeseen composition of people.
Perhaps my appearance amused the Emperor, for he let out a chuckle and rose from his seat.
“If you need time to think, I will gladly grant it.”
With that, he left his office as he was.
The nobles who had been seated inside followed after the Emperor, and we soon reached his private training hall.
I examined the faces of those around me.
Each and every one of them were nobles in high positions, either the Emperor’s confidants or key figures of the Empire.
Why had he gathered them all at a place meant for me?
‘If it was going to be like this, you could have at least given me some advance notice.’
And wedged among them, I looked at my master, the Sword Saint, with a resentful gaze.
He shrugged, as if to say it was not something he knew about either, and avoided my eyes.
“Do you need time for this as well?”
At the Emperor’s words, I slowly walked to the center of the training hall.
‘Whatever you’re thinking, I don’t know.’
Thinking back, he had already been wearing attire suitable for movement when I first visited his office, which meant he must have meticulously planned this from the start before calling me.
I let out a deep sigh inwardly and stood before him.
“Hmm.”
As the Emperor extended his hand, the knight attending him brought over a sword.
Judging from the extraordinary aura surrounding it, it seemed to be some treasured blade once used by the founding Emperor.
Seeing him even bring out a royal heirloom for a simple sparring match suggested there was some ulterior motive, but for now there was nothing I could discern.
‘Could it be…….’
His question about whether I wanted to become Emperor echoed in my head.
He could not have been asking in earnest.
Even if I had reached the level of a Sword Master, the Crown Prince had already been decided as Carius.
Sching.
He slowly drew his sword.
I was about to have a knight fetch the sword I had entrusted when coming to audience with the Emperor, but he shook his head.
“They say you obtained Excalibur. Let me have a look at the Holy Sword that only appears in legends.”
“…Come forth, Excalibur.”
Unlike before, when it had been silent, the awakened Excalibur responded to my call and revealed itself.
At the brilliant radiance clinging to the blade and its graceful form, the Emperor let out a low murmur of admiration.
Those around us did not shout or cry out, but every one of them sent intrigued gazes our way.
“To think a Holy Sword wielder would appear in my reign.”
The Emperor gave a bitter smile, saying it was something he had never expected.
Still, the sword in his own hand would by no means be inferior to Excalibur.
“The first, Carius, excels in both civil and martial affairs. If he becomes Emperor, he will surely solidify the Empire’s foundations.”
As he gently stroked the edge of his sword, he began speaking calmly.
“The second, Darius, possesses the qualities of a conqueror. If that child ascends the throne, the Empire will spread its wings outward. He likely inherited my blood the most strongly.”
“The fourth, August, is still shut up in his room, I hear. His disposition and abilities are lacking, but he was not a bad child.”
The Emperor lifted his head and looked at me.
“Leios, I neither thought of you nor expected you. But you were the first to reach me.”
A bluish flame settled into his eyes.
Then, with an amused expression, he asked me,
“Speak. What are you planning, and how far are you looking?”
Thump.
The pressure of Emperor Gilgamesh bore down upon my entire body.
If this had been before the Academic Festival, I would have trembled at that storm-like presence and perhaps even fallen to my knees, but now I too had reached the realm of a Master.
Of course, my history was still short, so compared to the Emperor, who had reached the level of full maturity, there were many areas in which I was lacking.
However, the overflowing talent of this body and the experiences I had gone through so far filled that gap.
“This is the first time you’ve ever asked me something.”
“That’s right. So hurry and tell me.”
The Emperor pressed me for an answer.
In response, I continued speaking in an unchanged tone.
“My plan has been the same from the past until now.”
Clang—!
“To survive. There is nothing else.”
Excalibur was drawn with a refreshing sound.
At that, faint ripples crossed the expressions of those around us.
They would know of the discrimination and persecution I had suffered.
As time passed and the power of Carius or Darius grew further, it would no longer be a simple matter.
The Emperor would know that as well, yet he opened his mouth without even blinking.
“To survive, you say. Yes, that is an important matter. If you die, what use would all this power and authority be?”
With those words, he motioned with his sword for us to begin the spar.
In response, I slowly raised Excalibur.
As with any spar, it began with a light exchange of basic forms.
Moreover, we were both swordsmen who shared the same fundamental origin.
The Liechtenauer-style swordsmanship, the backbone of the Ribera family, clashed and sent sparks flying through the air.
But there was bound to be a difference in proficiency.
While the Emperor had trained in Liechtenauer-style his entire life, I placed more weight on Fiore Style and Sword Saint Style.
As if to reflect that, from a certain point onward the scales of the match tilted sharply.
“You’re not using that?”
As I barely managed to fend off the pouring onslaught while letting out a groan, the Emperor said with a sneer.
“If you wish.”
Fiore Style.
That swordsmanship, created to break Liechtenauer-style, burst forth from the tip of my blade.
If Liechtenauer-style was a single flow, Fiore Style could be called a storm that severed that flow.
“Hm.”
The forms the Emperor unfolded were now being cut apart at every joint, to the point that their original shape could no longer be recognized.
Yet his expression was one of utmost satisfaction.
The significance of Fiore Style lay in denying Liechtenauer at its very roots.
From that, the Emperor would have found a way to supplement his own shortcomings.
But the same was true for me.
With every single exchange of blades, I keenly felt the realm he had sought to reach by shaving away bone and flesh.
Because he had been obsessed with strength more than anyone, he eventually met his end by being consumed by power, yet I respected that effort.
In truth, there were not many accounts written about Emperor Gilgamesh.
What was certain was that he did not have long left to live, and that his death became the catalyst that brought chaos to the continent.
That was something inevitable in the course of events to come.
I too had no intention of going out of my way to save the Emperor or do anything of the sort.
The spar reached its climax.
The exchange of forms had grown so intense that we were now even using Aura Blades, pressing toward each other without a moment to breathe.
The knights watching from around us regarded us with awe, and the Sword Saint applauded, satisfied with the remarkable growth of his disciple.
“Excellent. No one has ever dared to face me with such sincerity. This sensation truly has been a long time.”
I was fighting with the resolve to kill the Emperor.
If I did not, I would instead be devoured by him.
The Emperor seemed to like that attitude.
Thus, he pressed me by drawing out even his very depths, and finally crushed my incomplete Fiore Style.
Just before the tide of victory completely turned, a slight conflict arose in my heart.
If I ended it here, it would bring about an exceedingly smooth result.
I had proven the power of a Sword Master and even drawn the Emperor’s favor—an outcome beyond expectations.
But at the same time, I felt the desire to fight just a little longer.
Bababat—!
I twisted the flow of the sword that had been swinging like a storm.
Soon, a sword path like falling meteors unfolded in the air.
At that, the Emperor let out countless exclamations.
“The Sword Saint’s sword!”
Sword Saint Style secret art.
The swords I had learned from my master, the Sword Saint, were gracefully embroidered through the air.
The floor of the training hall had long since become ruins.
The walls were intact thanks to magical protection, but the shock leaked out in all directions.
After pouring out both Fiore Style and the Sword Saint Style secret arts, I let out a deep breath.
From here on, it was truly the realm of ultimate mastery.
A swordsmanship I had realized myself, made wholly my own.
With that, I should be able to stand on equal footing with the Emperor.
As I steeled my resolve, a blazing light swirled from my blade.
The Emperor, having sensed it as well, prepared his final move.
“Truly, truly remarkable. Who would dare reach such a realm at your age?”
At the moment his words ended, our swords crossed.
Just before that, I suddenly felt the boiling in my head cool.
Pouring out everything at this place was not the right judgment.
My enemies—or those who would become enemies—might be watching from somewhere, at any time.
It could have been called an unnecessary worry, but I did not think of it as mere intuition.
Clang—!
Therefore, at the very end, I hid just one move, one move.
That became the decisive factor of defeat, and Excalibur was knocked from my hand and plunged into the floor of the training hall.
The knight serving as judge declared the spar to be over.
At that, the Emperor sheathed his sword again, and I released the summoning of Excalibur embedded in the floor.
The nobles and knights around us offered applause and praise toward us.
In response, the Emperor grinned broadly and pointed at me.
“Well then? I think he’s just the right material to be elevated to Crown Prince, don’t you?”
No one voiced either agreement or opposition.
They were all watching carefully, trying to gauge the Emperor’s true intentions.
“…….”
At that, I felt a chill run down my spine.
This series of distortions not present in the original work would one day return to me as a great repercussion.
Before that, the position of Crown Prince was, for me right now, nothing more than a poisoned apple.
“I believe that would be far too heavy a responsibility for me.”
“Hmm.”
At his gaze urging me to continue, I went on.
“Above me are the First Prince, Carius, and the Second Prince, Darius. If my father, the Emperor, were to invest me as Crown Prince, they would voice no complaints for the time being, but it would inevitably bring chaos to the Empire in one way or another.”
Thus, it would not be too late to invest me once I had reached a firmly established position.
With that implication, I swallowed the rest of my words.
At that, several nobles nodded.
Judging by their expressions, they seemed to think it was the obvious judgment.
If this had been a novel set in a world with a bit more leeway, there might have been people who gushed with sweet words about being impressed by the Third Prince’s keen insight, but unfortunately, this was not a place overflowing with such dreams and hopes.
“Is that so.”
At my words, the Emperor let out a light laugh.
‘So it was on purpose.’
Looking at his expression, he had known all along what would happen.
He had clearly been testing me.
If I had stumbled, he would have simply thought my limits ended there and brushed his hands of it.
The Emperor’s seat could not be reached merely by attaining the realm of a Sword Master.
It required the alignment of numerous influential nobles and political interests, and only after receiving their support could one barely step onto the starting line.
If someone like me, whose image as a hooligan had taken root throughout the Empire, were to ascend the throne, it would serve as nothing more than a foothold for the ambitious to spark rebellion.
“Still, since it’s been a good spar after a long time, I should grant a reward.”
Whether “reward” was merely a turn of phrase or the duty of one who sat on the throne, he told me to state what I desired, just as he had on the founding day.
After a brief moment of thought, I opened my mouth.
“Then…….”