CH 676

He had won.

He had gained much and would continue to gain more.

Yet, even in victory, there were things he had to lose.

It was inevitable.

There was still much he did not know.

What had become of Antirianus after he absorbed the vengeful spirits?

How he had managed to survive remained a mystery.

Ellen had left.

She must have had her reasons for leaving him.

He could no longer dwell on such things.

The end of everything led to a new beginning.

Now, there would be even more tasks to undertake.

He had to truly begin the journey of becoming the ruler of the entire world.

If he crumbled over the disappearance of a single person, he would not be worthy of ruling the world.

He got up from the bed and straightened his clothes.

He was not a superhuman.

But he had to walk the path of a superhuman.

At the very least, he had to imitate what he could. Harriet looked at him as if he were a completely different person.

He was neither shocked nor saddened by Ellen's departure.

There was no time for self-pity.

What had been recovered was recovered.

What had been lost was lost.

He did not cling to it.

"Harriet."

"Yes?"

"Let's go see Charlotte."

From now on, he had to become an entirely different person.

His existence had to be so thoroughly different that even he would eventually forget himself.

He would become the ruler of the continent.

------

Charlotte had been overseeing everything happening in the vicinity of Diane, from consolidating the damage reports at the alliance's command center to treating the injured soldiers.

As a result, the highest-ranking officers of each army were coming and going around the headquarters.

It was strange to think that he now sat at the head of the table in a place where previously he could only enter through subterfuge.

He called Charlotte aside and listened to her report on the current situation of the alliance.

"The scale of the damage is quite significant. And the confusion is still severe. Most of the soldiers don't even know that we've taken control of the alliance's top brass. If they find out, the chaos will only increase. That's why we're enforcing a gag order on the top brass of each army."

The top brass was uncertain whether their actions were right or wrong, and they were unsure about the fate of the empire. They couldn't properly direct their hatred.

It would be absurd to tell them that the alliance had been swallowed up by the Demon King.

Although noise and confusion were inevitable, there was no need to deliberately amplify them.

"We need to decide whether to make a big fuss or keep it quiet."

"In broad strokes, yes."

Would they publicly announce the Demon King's rule or conceal it ambiguously?

Concealing it would bring the fear of repercussions, while revealing it would invite immediate chaos.

"More importantly, we need to think about the return of the alliance's forces. The alliance's troops were gathered from various places and marched from the Imperial Capital. Considering the time and food needed to return safely to the Imperial Capital, this is also an issue. And once they return to the Imperial Capital, it's not the end. Sending those troops back to their respective regions will consume a tremendous amount of time and resources."

True.

A vast amount of resources had been invested to bring humanity's combined forces this far.

The war may have ended, but in reality, it wouldn't be truly over until these troops safely returned home.

They all had to be sent home.

How would they move and how would they be disbanded?

Returning the allied forces to the first return point, the Imperial Capital, would take nearly a year. During that time, we would have to feed the army.

Just thinking about one of these issues was enough to make my head ache, and I was already running out of breath.

"Um... "

As Charlotte and I discussed these daunting problems, Harriet cautiously interjected.

"I think... I might be able to help with that."

"...Huh?"

I remembered that Harriet had invented a new warp gate system.

"But didn't you say that you needed a nexus or something like that?"

We would need to create a warp gate. We couldn't make one that would take us directly from here to the Imperial Capital.

But considering the time it would take to restore all the destroyed gate facilities so far, wouldn't that also take an enormous amount of time in the end?

"No, I can send the entire allied forces not only to the Imperial Capital but anywhere in the world in an instant."

This kid, again.

What kind of trouble had she gotten herself into?

------

During the battle at Diane, I hadn't known what was happening in various places.

I had used all my strength to escape from the Immortals.

So, I had only heard about the strange magical sphere that had appeared in the rear of the battlefield.

It was magic that manifested by drawing mana from nature.

For example, it was magic that drew mana from the atmosphere to activate.

I couldn't understand the specific principles even if I heard them.

However, I knew that Harriet had managed to make my old nonsense a reality.

The important thing was that through this magic, a massive spatial teleportation capable of returning the entire allied forces from this place directly to the Imperial Capital was possible.

With a nervous expression, Harriet fidgeted with her fingers and continued.

"I don't know what to call it... but I've become able to use such magic."

"You really... "

"Ah..."

As if anticipating what was about to happen, Harriet's face turned pale, and she slowly backed away.

"You're my top genius!"

-Wham!

"I knew you'd do something like this!"

I hugged Harriet tightly, and as always, she grimaced.

This magical genius had reduced astronomical military expenses with just one spell.

Charlotte watched me hugging Harriet, who didn't know what to do, with a warm expression.

"Really... what a relief. Just sending this army back was suffocating. So, what do we do now?"

The greatest, most sublime, noble, beautiful, and even cute genius of the universe had blown away all our problems at once.

The rough way? The secretive way?

Neither was needed.

"The allied forces will withdraw. We'll tear it all apart."

All the troops would return to their homelands in an instant.

In the end, whether one became king of the world or sat at the top, what soldiers wanted was to return alive.

Wouldn't they be unable to hate us unconditionally for opening the path to their survival?

------

The allied forces withdrew.

And as I was preoccupied with resolving the postwar situation, I walked through the busy allied forces camp, heading somewhere.

There were things I needed to see with my own eyes.

My destination was the Temple Royal-class garrison.

The moment I entered, I couldn't help but feel the atmosphere change drastically as people recognized me.

The Royal Class members must have already known that I had seized control of the allied forces' command.

However, encountering me in person was quite a different matter.

Amid the frozen atmosphere, I faced the fearful gazes directed at me.

Yet, among them, there were bound to be those who looked at me without fear.

"You're here."

Kono Lint.

He approached me and extended his hand.

Just as he approached me without hesitation, I firmly grasped his hand.

"Yeah."

If it hadn't been for him and Scarlett, the allied forces might have been annihilated by now.

In a sense, Kono Lint and Scarlett had done even more critical work than I had.

There were casualties among the Royal Class members, but none of the people I knew had died.

Adriana, Scarlett, Erich, and Cliffman were all safe.

As were the rest of the people.

It was a miracle, but it was also inevitable.

Although the situation had changed considerably, our forces were much larger and stronger than in the original story.

Thus, the absolute number of casualties was extremely low compared to the original.

"What about the others?"

"Well… They're just… standing around, dumbfounded."

But Kono Lint's expression was not good.

"What about Cayer?"

"…He still hasn't woken up."

"…I see."

While everyone was safe, there was one exception.

I heard that Cayer Voiden had fallen into a coma.

------

As I opened the tent and entered, I saw a familiar face.

"Ah, um…"

"It's been a while."

Redina, who had grown up so much that I could no longer call her a little girl, saw me and jumped up from her seat.

She seemed to want to say something, but couldn't find the words, and her mouth just twitched.

Even if they didn't see me as an enemy, everyone probably felt the same fear of me.

Only a very few people, like Kono Lint, could approach me first.

"I just came to see how things are."

"…"

At my words, Redina lowered her head.

Cayer lay on a makeshift bed in front of the chair where Redina had been sitting.

It was a relief that everyone was safe, but someone had to be hurt.

Cayer was not a fighter himself.

Redina clenched her teeth and slowly explained.

The Immortal had taken over their role, and Redina had promised Cayer that she would use the Ark Crystal only sparingly in the final battle.

"But the Immortal disappeared… I had no choice but to use the Ark Crystal."

But the Immortal suddenly vanished.

So, Cayer, who had been on standby, had to charge the Ark Crystal immediately.

He fought by charging the Ark Crystal, which he had used to its limit, in real-time, and he charged it beyond his own limit.

As a result, even before the battle was over, Cayer had already fallen into a coma.

Harriet couldn't have used her magic everywhere on the battlefield.

With their immense power, and Redina's ability to wield it, many people were saved thanks to the pair.

But as a consequence, Cayer was in a coma, with no indication of when he might regain consciousness.

Redina began to sob.

"You must… You must promise."

"…"

"That you'll create a world where everyone is happy… Promise."

A world where everyone is happy.

What a naïve phrase.

It was a naive thing to say, knowing that even children understood it was impossible.

Redina, who was no longer a child, begged with tears.

There was no world where everyone was happy.

One couldn't promise such a thing.

In front of Redina, who cried with a disheveled face.

"I will... I will do it that way."

I couldn't bring myself to say otherwise.

------

"It's all over."

"Yes."

Adriana's expression seemed more overwhelmed than moved.

It was the moment they had been running towards, with the sole goal of ending the Gate incident.

It was an absolute goal, an absolute good.

That absolute good had been achieved.

Adriana and I, who had vowed to survive together, were able to meet again, intact.

Now there was no more absolute obligation to follow. From now on, it would be a time of choices and decisions. In this process, we might again summon irreversible events through wrong choices and wrong decisions.

There might have been people among us whom we would never see again.

Someone had actually died.

Adriana and I had survived.

"Now, are you going to become the Emperor of the Continent?"

Adriana looked at me with a strange smile.

The Emperor of the Continent.

Yes, I had to become that.

"Perhaps."

"Hmm…"

"…Why?"

At my response, Adriana looked at me with a lukewarm expression and slapped my shoulder.

-Slap!

"Why, why did you hit me?"

"If you use ambiguous words like 'perhaps' when you're trying to become such an important figure, will others, including myself, find it trustworthy? Can't you say it with more conviction?"

Adriana's expression, as she forced her eyes wide open, was quite fierce and also adorable.

So that's it.

Ambiguous words were no longer allowed.

No, on the contrary, it seemed like people in such positions often used ambiguous words.

Of course, there was no need to follow that.

"Then, I will definitely become it."

"That's right, it should be like that."

Finally, Adriana smiled as if she was satisfied.

------

As I walked around the Royal Class garrison, I encountered several familiar faces. Those who knew me only looked at me from a distance with fearful eyes.

It was only because of Cliffman that I could endure until I called Scarlett and Kono Lint.

Miraculously reaching the Master Class, I heard that he played a crucial role in protecting Liana and Harriet.

The talent for combat.

Cliffman didn't seem particularly thrilled about it.

He just seemed grateful that he could protect Liana and Harriet.

"You've worked hard."

"So have you."

Despite the long time that had passed since we last met, the conversation between Cliffman and me was limited to that.

But it had always been like that with him.

There wasn't much conversation.

It always felt like this was enough.

The fact that it was still the same was quite fascinating.

In this way, I met people while walking around the garrison.

And then, I realized something.

"Reinhardt... have you seen Ludwig, by any chance?"

Ludwig was nowhere to be found.

"No... I haven't seen him."

"I see…"

Scarlett lowered her head with a desperate expression.

The rampage of the Immortals meant there was a very high possibility that Christina had died.

And Ludwig had been moving with Christina.

However, I saw Ludwig in the deepest part of the battlefield.

I was sure he was moving in a different direction from the Immortals.

Christina must have been dead.

I had no idea what had happened to Anna and Louis.

After the battle ended, Ludwig might have joined them.

But the possibility of his death was also high.

It seemed right to assume the possibility of death, as he had fought in the most dangerous place.

Could Ludwig have died so meaninglessly?

I couldn't have any certainty about that.

No matter how much time passed afterward, I never heard any stories of finding or sighting Ludwig.