****(POV)

The bandits were perplexed to learn that I had no Queen. They asked about who I spent my days with. Which concubine or which whore.

That is when my blabbermouth servant raised his hand shyly. He told them that I would sit on my throne reading and that he'd sweep the grounds, so technically I spent my days with him.

They clearly had no interest in a poor servant wearing rags. Both his bum and head survived the encounter, luckily.

Then they asked for me to guide them to the treasury. I asked the servant to guide us there. I didn't even remember the way. We arrived at a small room that contained a few snacks. That was our current treasury.

They then angrily shouted to stop messing around, so the servant brought us to the old treasury. It was gigantic and even the walls themselves spoke of opulence. It was especially noticeable since it was completely empty.

They couldn't believe their eyes. The place had obviously been fully stacked with treasures in the past, but now it looked extremely pitiful. I simply shrugged telling them I didn't really care about any of that. I told them that if they had any other similar request, they should probably ask the servant.

Then they said I was boring and that I should let them rule. I rose up and left while they were laughing in the back. The next day there was a crowning ceremony. I was the only one that attended, I was bored after all.

They couldn't believe it. All the citizens were ignoring them. They wondered what magic had been used. I simply told them that I had been overthrown so many times over the years, people were used to it.

I suggested they add some singing and dancing, perhaps even alcohol. That would probably motivate them to come. Ah, but then again many were probably too busy training to care about such mundane things.

They got angry. They grabbed a bystander violently and started shouting that they'd kill the emperor. The civilian seemed confused at first, he asked which emperor they were talking about. They pointed at me. The civilian then shouted: "You're still alive?! Oh, have a peaceful time in the afterlife."

At that point, I was actually pretty popular with the populace, but they had seen my life being threatened so many times that they were used to it. Was there even a point to making a fuss about it?

Many were even thinking of jokes for the next time it would happen. My favorite probably was: "What, you want to kill the emperor? That's great! I actually know a gravedigger!" Or perhaps it wasn't a joke? Not that it mattered.

The bandits almost turned insane. One simply suggested that they should start plundering the city directly. Still, they somehow had the presence of mind not to do that. They seemed to realize how weird the situation was.

No matter what they did, no matter how much mana they emitted no one batted an eye. No one ever got scared by their show of power. There was obviously cold sweat trickling down their backs as they thought about the implications.

They got scared over nothing really, for they did have the power to cause lots of damage. Still, it was true that if they went overboard and angered everyone they would certainly die. In a very tense atmosphere, they finally took a decision that would change their life and mine.

They decided to organize an event. Instead of saying that it was their coronation ceremony, they sent word that I was the one requesting everyone's presence. They almost went insane when a few hours later the giant central plaza was filled to the brim.

On the ground there were people. On the roofs, there were people. On ladders leading to said roofs were people. On the shoulders of the others ...there were people too! There were more citizens than sand grains on a beach. All were awaiting my speech.

The difference was like Heaven and Earth. The bandits started shouting about how they would be the new rulers from now on. They wanted people to bow to them but were ignored. They went on and on about how strong they were, showcasing their auras…ignored.

The citizens didn't care, they didn't even bother answering. They simply kept looking my way. They had gathered because of me after all. The bandits felt alienated from being ignored. They felt as if the whole world was going crazy.

They started shouting asking the people if they were blind. The old blabbermouth servant told them that they all had eyes, but that so many had done the same thing that they were all numb to it.

That is when one bandit started laughing out loud, a raucous and grating laugh. He boldly declared that he knew about a thing they hadn't seen for sure. That was the spectacle of my head falling off my shoulders. He triumphantly declared that, yet there was no reaction.

The servant politely informed him that people already considered me dead, that I too considered myself dead, that it was already a given finality. He did add flattery to it too. He complimented their courage, killing me was the same as declaring war on the whole continent he said.

The bandit shouted about how risible that claim was. Some spectators agreed. The bandit was smiling having seen through the servant's bluff but then he heard the whispers. People had started arguing.

Some argued that 90% of the continent would avenge my death, others 95%, and some strong believers 99%. When the bandits heard how serious the citizens sounded, they almost had a heart attack.

Who would voluntarily declare war against millions of people, especially simply to kill someone as weak as I? They audible gulped upon imagining the outcome. How regretful would such an end be?

Every bandit unconsciously took a step away from me as if fearing to damage me by mistake. They kept shivering for a few seconds before one of them finally had a genius idea. Well, what he considered one actually.

He figured out that if they couldn't kill me that they could at the very least ridicule me completely. The idea was for me to lose the faith of the people. The only issue is that I had never asked for it.

Most emperors ruled by appearing glorious. They would invent lies about how they were heaven-chosen or something. They'd use power and fear to rule. They would also use bribes, secret techniques, and everything like that.

I had nothing of that. I was that one guy sitting on the throne because no one else wanted to. What would ridiculing me accomplish? Nothing at all.

Still, they did the mistake of trying...