CH 684

"Are you ready?"

"Of course."

At his nonchalant reply, Charlotte looked at Reinhardt with a warm expression.

"When I ask if you're ready, it means something entirely different from your understanding. Are you ready?"

"Didn't I say I am?"

He was still incorrigible.

His outfit had been checked, his demeanor posed no problem.

All he had to do was proceed as planned.

But as always, the problem was something beyond his outfit.

After inspecting the emperor's attire one last time, Charlotte placed her hands on both his hips.

"Do you remember the reprimanding we got because of how you handled our wedding?"

"…Ah, yeah, I remember."

He had wanted to proceed quickly, in his own way, but he had still been scratched at for mishandling their wedding, which was already a contentious event.

Especially when the topic of the wedding came up, Harriet would still be on the brink of causing a scene.

"If you don't want another such incident, do it right."

"I understand…"

"I agree with your usual theory that speeches don't need to be long, but they don't need to be rubbish either. Your speeches, they're undoubtedly rubbish."

"I'll do it well…"

"You always say you will, but never do."

"I'll really do it well this time…"

"I've heard that before, you know?"

Despite the reprimanding, he would still babble nonsense in front of people.

The emperor's habit of incurring great debts with a single word hadn't changed.

"…Then, can't you do it?"

"What?"

"Ah, of course, I should do it! Yeah!"

The emperor quickly shook his head, sensing imminent danger from her gaze alone.

Until the end of the preparations, or more accurately, until the moment it was about to begin, the emperor continued to be berated.

After enduring such hardships,

-Creak-

The door of the waiting room opened, and a knight with red hair entered.

"Your Majesty, it is time."

"Ah, yes."

The emperor's knight, Scarlett, took the lead, and the emperor followed behind.

As if to watch how he would handle it, Charlotte's scrutinizing gaze trailed after him.

------

In the vast square of the Temple, countless people stood with tense expressions.

The first thing the Empire did was reopen the Temple.

Due to the drastic decrease in the human population, it wasn't as grand as before, but a staggering number of new students had enrolled in the Temple.

While it didn't offer as many benefits as before, the tuition was no longer astronomically high.

The Temple was operational.

That alone was enough.

Since the Empire no longer belonged to the Gardias Royal Family, the Temple was no longer called the Gardias Temple.

The emperor did not bother to prefix the Temple with any other adjectives, stating that the Temple should just be called the Temple.

And so,

The elementary division was its own, as were the middle and high school divisions.

Moreover, it wasn't just humans now.

Though they were few, there were definitely demons as well.

Some demons resembled humans closely, while others had somewhat unfamiliar forms.

Any sentient being capable of receiving education and understanding could enroll in the Temple.

It had been a while since demons began to mix into the Imperial Capital, so the spectacle wasn't exclusive to the Temple.

However, naturally, not everyone felt comfortable with this sight.

Despite this,

In the square filled with freshmen of various races, everyone was focused on one spot.

The place where the Emperor would appear.

With the blast of a colossal horn, a tune signaling the Emperor's entrance began to play.

The voice of the royal mage, who was serving as the master of ceremonies, echoed throughout the hall.

Some revered him.

Some feared him.

Some hated him.

"Presently..."

"The representative of the gods."

"The ruler of the Divine Empire."

"The conqueror of the Gardias Empire."

"The founder of the Council of Mage."

"The protector of the Human Autonomous Territory."

"And at the same time, the one who ended the Gate crisis."

"The Archdemon."

"Thus..."

"The ruler of all demons."

"The legitimate ruler of all mankind."

"And also the savior of the world."

"The Apostle of the God of War."

"The Invincible."

"The Immortal."

"The Demon King of Flames."

"Emperor Reinhardt makes his entrance."

Emperor Reinhardt.

That was the name of the emperor.

The Continental Emperor revealed himself before the people.

There were no flashy robes or crowns.

The emperor, dressed in simple attire, stood on the platform, looking down at the excited crowd. Behind him, Scarlett, the Emperor's knight escort, stood at attention.

The speech for the Temple freshmen was an annual event.

Every time he stood on this stage, the Emperor encountered various meaningful glances.

There was hatred.

Admiration.

Awe.

And fear.

This signified that the Emperor had not yet united the continent, let alone humanity.

"Hmm..."

The Emperor's voice echoed across the square.

"Um... I've been doing this every year."

"Probably, um, Gardias Te... no, I shouldn't say Gardias anymore. Yes, just Temple."

"When we reopened the Temple and accepted the first batch of freshmen, I had to make a speech."

"I can't make long speeches."

"So, back then, I said only one thing."

"Devote yourselves to study."

"That was it."

"But then, um... I regretted it a lot..."

As the Emperor looked somewhere, subtly checking the atmosphere, he cleared his throat a few times. Then, he looked at the faces of the people.

Some people were taken aback by the Emperor's tone.

"So, since then, I've been trying to squeeze out a little more. But I guess it doesn't suit me well, it never works."

"Me, um, that... the long prefix that comes before my name... it makes me uncomfortable."

"It's unnecessarily long."

"It feels shameful to brag about myself."

"But then, well, apparently, that's part of being an Emperor."

"You all need to know what I've been doing so far, what kind of being I am, and it's not a lie."

"Ruler of all demons, right."

"Ruler of all mankind, yes, that's true."

"The owner of the Divine Empire, this is also true."

"Since I still possess two divine relics, I am also a representative of the gods."

"So, even though it's a bit embarrassing to recite it like that, it's true, right?"

"Why should I feel ashamed of telling the truth? After I thought about it like that, I stopped feeling ashamed."

"Yes... Those prefixes like 'invincible', 'immortal' that come before my name, they all have a reason."

"It's a long explanation of how great I am."

"You all should know how great the being that welcomes you. That's what it means."

"I'm listing the reasons for my greatness."

"Indeed, there might be children here who wouldn't understand what this means."

"Young ones might not yet comprehend terms like 'Council of Mage' and such, right?"

"So, let me simplify it for the children."

"I am, extremely grand."

"You are currently facing the grandest and most dignified being in the world."

"Hence, you should feel very honored."

At these words, the atmosphere in the hall paused momentarily.

Even if he was the Emperor, that was a bit much.

They understood, of course.

But to say such things himself?

Whether the Emperor was great or not, the fact he spoke such words...

It was quite off-putting.

In that atmosphere, the Emperor looked at the silent crowd and spoke.

"What are you doing, you lot?"

"You should be clapping."

At that command-like statement, everyone started clapping as if forced mechanically.

"Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap!"

Everyone clapped, wondering what this was all about, their expressions increasingly perplexed.

"Have you seen it?"

However, the mischief that had been on the Emperor's face vanished amidst the clapping.

"Greatness is like this."

"Among you, some despise me."

"Some among you probably hate me."

"There might be those among you who would like to stab me in the back."

"But when I say clap, you all have to clap."

"No matter what feelings you harbor towards me."

"You cannot defy me."

"Just like the remnants of mankind who opposed me had to kneel before me, living miserably within the Autonomous Territory I established, surviving on the scraps I give them."

"Even though they still hate me, they have to bow their heads to my feet, like the representatives of the Autonomous Territory begging for my help."

"You cannot defy me."

"Those who have opposed me have either died or became beasts begging for food."

"That is why I am great."

How did hate, resentment, and anger matter?

They clapped when told to clap.

They would kneel when told to kneel.

Domination is complete with just that.

Having loyalty is good, but it's sufficient to have obedience.

The Emperor knew that now.

However, this speech didn't fit this place at all.

Even though it was true.

So, what was he getting at?

This wasn't a speech to be given after conquering mankind, it was merely a temple initiation.

Bragging about his greatness at a temple initiation was bragging in the wrong place.

"However, there is one way to be greater than I, the grand, noble, and absolute Emperor."

"The one who rebuilt the fallen demon realm, conquered mankind, ended the Gate crisis, accomplished the impossible feat of rebuilding civilization."

"There's one thing that even this great Demon King, who achieved these monumental tasks, hasn't done."

Everyone was puzzled when he suddenly mentioned something he hadn't done after bragging about all he had accomplished.

"Graduation."

"I still haven't graduated from the Temple."

Everyone was taken aback by the sudden nonsensical statement.

The Demon King couldn't have attended the Temple in the first place.

All students at the time would say the same since its operation was entirely halted.

But in the end, the fact was the fact.

The Demon King didn't graduate from the Temple.

And with the Temple reopening, there were quite a few among those who had served in the Allied Forces who attended the newly operational Temple and graduated.

Among the classmates of the Demon King and the students from the Temple in those days, there were those who had returned to graduate.

In any case, the fact that the Demon King did not graduate was as true as the modifier that came before his name.

"Soon, you will be able to do what I could not."

"At least, I can live a life that is just one step better than this great Demon King."

"I can say that there's at least one thing I'm better at than the Demon King."

"How grateful is that?"

"I stand before a life where I can confidently say that I graduated from the Temple, something even the Demon King couldn't do."

"I can live a life where I can say that the Demon King is a fool who couldn't even graduate from the Temple!"

"So, study hard."

"Graduate safely."

"End of speech."

Everyone was staring blankly at the fading figure of the Demon King, who was also the emperor of the empire.

There was no applause or cheers for the departing Demon King.

Everyone was taken aback.

Regardless of how they thought about the Demon King, one thought was stuck in everyone's head.

Reinhardt the Great was a very strange individual, a thought engraved in everyone's mind.

------

"I told you not to do that!"

"No, but this time it was longer!"

"Did I tell you not to make it short? I told you not to make it like a dog! Today was the worst, no, not the worst, but the second worst! The second!"

"Is it really that bad? I didn't do well..."

"Aaahhhhh!"

Charlotte's hysterical voice could be heard from the waiting room, as Scarlett stood at the door listening.

It was a familiar scene to Scarlett, who had been with the emperor longer than the empresses.

Of course, since it was not an ordinary day but an event, there were several imperial guards with the emperor.

As the captain of the royal knights and the emperor's personal guard, all of them were Scarlett's subordinates.

One of them asked,

"Captain, what if there was a script?"

Wouldn't it be better to have a script rather than having Charlotte fret like this?

"...If there is a script, he won't read it."

Scarlett's habit of being ‘respectful’ to everyone was still the same.

The Emperor had tried to correct that habit several times, but it never changed.

"More precisely, he can't read it."

"He can't read it?"

Of course, the emperor was not illiterate.

"If there is a script, he will read it like... 'My beloved people...'"

"Ah."

"Surprisingly, he gets very nervous."

He didn't seem nervous at all.

But the fact was that he was so nervous he couldn't read the script properly, and his speech would become nonsensical.

So, Charlotte had been trying to fix that strange chronic problem for five years, but after failing every time, she would scold him after everything was over.

"Why are you like this? Should we just die? Should we die together?"

"Why are you so angry about not doing well?"

"You haven't improved at all! You're not growing!"

"At this age, growth is a disease...!"

"You can't even keep a single word?"

The other imperial guards listened to the emperor's voice from behind the door as well.

No one was surprised since it was a common occurrence.

Scarlett spoke with a faint smile.

"Still, isn't an emperor who can't give a speech better than an emperor who loses?"

At her words, everyone made ambiguous expressions and nodded their heads.

Undefeated.

Invulnerable.

Immortal.

Those titles had been earned since the day he single-handedly suppressed an army advancing for rebellion.

The emperor had never been defeated.

He didn't even need an army.

After the proclamation of the new empire, there had been several wars.

These wars were inevitable, breaking out after all attempts at dialogue and compromise had failed.

The emperor took only Scarlett with him to every battlefield.

No one else was allowed to join.

Scarlett, too, didn't participate in the fighting; she was instructed to wait on the other side of the battlefield.

"Must you really go alone?"

The emperor stood alone against the advancing enemy army.

"I must instill fear in those who don't obey."

"They need to know that I can't be killed."

"If they understand that even I, alone, cannot be killed, they won't be able to raise their flags against me or the empire anymore."

"Then there won't be any more incidents like this in the future."

"Is it presumptuous to be certain that there won't be?"

"At least, the number of such incidents should decrease."

In order to subdue those who refused to accept his rule with terror,

The emperor set out alone.

And the emperor's enemies learned why he was known as the Apostle of the War God.