CH 276

“Then…” Siegfried decided to ask another question. “What about the troops stationed in the cities while you were retreating here—”

“I abandoned them,” Emperor Frederic cut him off and nonchalantly responded and continued. “There was no value in keeping those cities anyways, but it’s not that they have any strategic value.”

“Huh?”

“Crane City’s topography simply offers a huge advantage to our forces on top of being abundantly supplied. And I already sort of knew that the fake pope was going to slaughter everyone in those cities to set an example to the others.”

“You… expected it?”

“Yes, I did! Do you really think I didn’t have the foresight to see that far in the future?”

“…!”

“Hoho! That fool! He wanted to set an example, but all he did was turn the people against him! Haha!” Emperor Frederic said with a laugh. He smiled and continued. “Thanks to his foolishness, the people have completely turned against the papacy, and the men are enlisting in record numbers out of anger! Hahaha!”

“I… see…”

“Should I say that he outsmarted himself? That cult leader is rich, but he’s going to be judged by the people in the end!”

“Ah, sure… You’re quite good at manipulating people’s sentiments…” Siegfried muttered under his breath.

“Hmm? What was that? Are you mocking me by any chance…” Emperor Frederic asked with narrowed eyes.

“Not at all, I was just marveling at Your Majesty’s wisdom. I, Siegfried, have learned something from Your Majesty today,” Siegfried hurriedly made an excuse after mistakenly blurting out his thoughts.

He did not forget to praise the emperor. “As expected of a seasoned ruler!”

“Do you really think so? Kekeke!”

“I hope you will continue to impart your wisdom on me, Your Majesty, Emperor Frederic!”

“I like how you’re willing to learn! Alright, I will answer whatever questions you have for me from now on! Kekeke!”

Search bit.ly/3iBfjkV for the original.

Emperor Frederic seemed to be in an extremely good mood upon Siegfried’s bootlicking. This was probably how most seniors felt whenever a junior told them that they admired them.

‘You like it, you piece of shit?’ Siegfried growled inwardly, unbeknownst to the emperor.

“May I take my leave now, Your Majesty?”

“Sure, you must be tired. Rest well, and I look forward to more of your achievements on the battlefield! I was really impressed by the martial prowess you displayed when you plowed through my soldiers.”

“Haha…”

“Take your leave.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Siegfried left the throne room and reunited with his companions.

“How was it, Your Majesty? What kind of person was Emperor Frederic?” Gringore asked.

“A piece of trash,” Siegfried replied without an ounce of hesitation.

***

“Are you sure? Kyu?”

“Is that true?”

“Oh my god…”

Siegfried’s companions were shocked at what they heard about Emperor Frederic.

“So what Your Majesty is saying is… Emperor Frederic purposely left those people behind, knowing that the pope was going to massacre them just to turn the people against the papacy?” Gringore summarized the whole story.

“Yes, exactly,” Siegfried replied with a nod, and then he further explained, “Both of them are the same. One massacred the people, while the other set the stage for the former to do so. Both of them are the trash of all trash.”

“Goodness…” Gringore muttered. He covered his face with his hands and lamented, ”How did the rulers of the Constantine Holy Empire become so corrupted?”

“Holy my ass. I have a feeling I know why their god is the Nameless God. I’d be scared to reveal my name too if my followers act like those bastards,” Siegfried grumbled.

“That makes perfect sense, Your Majesty,” Gringore agreed.

How was the Nameless God going to react after seeing what the pope and the emperor were doing? Without a doubt, the Nameless God would probably have a stroke or strike both of them down with divine punishment after seeing the shameful display they were putting on.

The ironic part about this civil war was the fact that the empire was named Constantine Holy Empire in honor of the Nameless God, but the empire’s emperor and pope were currently fighting each other for power.

Unfortunately, the ones who had dearly paid for this power struggle between the two were the common folks of the empire.

“Damn it! I stabbed a piece of trash in the back and came all the way here just to be on another piece of trash’s side?” Siegfried cursed.

“Y-Your Majesty…”

“Ah, this is driving me nuts. It’s not like I can leave this war now…”

He wanted nothing more than to not get involved in this war, but he could not afford to do so. He already incurred the wrath of the papacy, so he had to make sure that Emperor Frederic became the ruler of the Constantine Holy Empire.

Why?

The papacy’s next target after wielding complete control of the Constantine Holy Empire would be none other than the Proatine Kingdom.

The only way for the Proatine Kingdom to be safe from the wrath of the piece of trash that calls itself the pope was to help another piece of trash that called itself the emperor…

Siegfried was now stuck between a hard place and a rock in a tragic twist of irony.

“I would love to stab this emperor bastard in the back as well, but…”

Gringore suddenly jumped and screamed, “N-No! You cannot do that, Your Majesty! Please compose yourself! You have to help the lesser trash—the emperor—win this civil war! You should not betray people anymore! Please think about your public image, too!”

“Do you think I’m Lu Bu or something? Why would I betray the emperor as well? I just said I want to, that’s all…” Siegfried grumbled in response.

“Huh? Loo Poo…?” Gringore tilted his head in confusion.

There was no way he would know Lu Bu from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, as he was an NPC of this world.

“There’s someone like that. He’s quite strong, but he kept betraying people until he met his demise,” Siegfried explained.

“Oh? Is he a general from Your Majesty’s world?”

“Yes, he was the strongest person alive, but his treachery got him killed in the end.”

“Haha…”

“I love backstabbing people, but I won’t do that this time, so stop worrying. I also know how to think, you know?” Siegfried said before he turned around and left the tent.

“Your Majesty! Where are you going?!”

“I feel stuffy, so I’m going out for a walk. I’ll see you later,” Siegfried replied with a troubled look.

***

Snap!

Michele’s quill pen snapped for the second time this week.

“Huh? Haha… No way…” he muttered.

However, he decided not to think about it too much.

No, he had to convince himself it was not a bad omen.

“No way… There’s no way His Majesty is going to cause another problem, right? He’s not that dumb to stab the pope in the back only to run to the emperor and stab him in the back as well…”

However, why was it that the more he tried to tell himself that there was no way Siegfried was going to do that, the more he was convinced that it was highly possible?

The answer was simple. Michele once heard of Emperor Frederic’s temperament.

‘Emperor Frederic… He looks like a cold ruler on the outside, but he is as evil and corrupt as the pope. If His Majesty works as a mercenary under him, then…’

“AAAAAACK!” Michele screamed without even realizing it. He got up from his chair and rushed over to pick up a doll he had tucked away in the corner of his office.

The doll oddly resembled Siegfried for some reason…

“I…!” Michele grabbed the doll by the neck and cried out before he started choking it.

“It’s my fault! I’m to blame!”

Kwak!

He choked it until the doll’s neck was about to snap.

“I’m the one to be blamed for everything!”

He cried out like a wounded beast before punching the doll.

“I shouldn’t have sent him there! I should’ve stopped him! It’s my fault! I deserve to die!”

Michele’s beatdown of the doll continued, and the servants waiting outside his office immediately knew what was going on.

‘Did His Majesty cause trouble again?!’

‘Is it His Majesty again?’

‘I thought it’s only been a day since he caused a scene…?’

The servants already knew Siegfried was the reason behind Michele’s breakdowns.

***

Meanwhile, Siegfried was aimlessly roaming around Crane City while deep in thought.

‘Let’s calm down for now. It’s my fault for being so weak. I need to become stronger so I don’t have to walk on eggshells around the pope or the emperor…’ 

Siegfried came to the conclusion that he had to obtain the power to become invincible in order not to be in this position ever again. He would only be able to walk freely after acquiring such power.

‘Let’s not cause another problem… I just need to help Frederic win and return to the Proatine Kingdom. Just let him be, no matter how big of trash he is… The pope and the emperor are not the problem. If I cause another issue, it’s Michele… Michele is going to kill me first before those two can do something to me.’

He convinced himself to stay out of trouble not because of the two rulers of the Constantine Holy Empire but out of fear of incurring Michele’s wrath.

Jokes aside, he really had to stay out of trouble from now on.

He had dealt a significant blow to the papal faction, but they were still the overwhelming favorites to win this war. And he had also witnessed firsthand just how scary the combination of the papacy and the Genesis Guild could be in battle.

Their combined powers struck fear into the hearts of their enemies while increasing the morale of their allies, and they weren’t the type of opponent he wanted to fight in an all-out war.

Siegfried had defeated the Genesis Guild numerous times in recent days, but they were still one of the top ten guilds on the continent, and there was a reason why they obtained that title.

‘Ah! Forget about it! I should just check what’s in this thing and get my mind off of things,’ Siegfried grumbled before taking out the item he received as a reward for completing the quest Scene of Madness.

‘I mean… this was a quest reward, so there shouldn’t be a bunch of trash in it, right?’ he thought and opened the dimensional inventory without much expectation.

There were two items in the dimensional inventory.

Universal Grade Mana Stone × 1

Witch’s Talisman × 1

“H-Hiiiik!”

Siegfried was shocked out of his socks after seeing the heirloom passed down generation after generation in the Morteto Family.

A Universal Grade Mana Stone!

The Morteto Family’s heirloom was none other than the mana stone that had equivalent value to twenty S-Grade Mana Stones, which were already extremely rare.

“J-Jackpot…!”

However, the real shocker was the fact that the Universal Grade Mana Stone was one of the materials he needed to complete the weapon that Legendary Blacksmith Herbert had left behind.

Of course, he needed three Universal Grade Mana Stones to complete Herbert’s masterpiece.

“She gave me this? To me? Crazy… I think I should go find her and give her something in return,” Siegfried muttered while sheepishly grinning.

‘Hmm… I can’t simply accept this. I should go look for Miss Luna and compensate her for this. I know! I’ll bring both of them to Proatine and let them live a comfortable life without any worries!’ 

Siegfried came up with a brilliant idea to alleviate his guilt from being given such an expensive item. But first things first, he checked the other item he found in the dimensional inventory—Witch’s Talisman.

However…

“Huh?”

He didn’t really have much expectation for the Witch’s Talisman. After all, he had already obtained a Universal Grade Mana Stone, so the Witch’s Talisman was going to be more of a consolation prize no matter how good it was.

However, he couldn’t be more mistaken.

“H-Heok?!” Siegfried stopped breathing the moment he used his Rune of Insight on the consolation prize and saw its description.

Why?

The description said…