Chapter 374: 374

Chapter 374: 197. The Beginning of the Apocalypse -2 (Part One)

Translated by A Passing Wanderer

Edited by RED

**

I had finally returned home.

Our procession reached the Imperial Capital of Laurensis, and with that, our truly lengthy itinerary had come to an end, too.

“His Majesty the Holy Emperor, hooray!”

“Let the glory of our Theocratic Empire be eternal-!”

While being bathed in the adulation of countless citizens, I shifted my gaze around to take a look at the status of the army stationed in and around the capital.

Paladins and Priests were teeming on top of the city’s outer walls with nary a gap visible among them, while enlisted soldiers were assisting them. I noticed that some soldiers were discreetly mixed in among the cheering citizens as well.

“I hear His Majesty rescued the King of Frants and after taking pity on that kingdom’s citizens, he accepted them under his wings..”

“That’s not all, buddy! He even went and saved his father in the Kingdom of Aihrance, too! And not just him, but even some refugees on top of that!”

“Indeed, our emperor is a merciful ruler.”

I’m merciful, is it?

Too bad, that was far from the truth.

The Theocratic Empire wasn’t so well off that we could simply accept everyone under our so-called wings. Even though we worked very hard to prepare for the past five years or so, we just weren’t prepared enough, nor did we enjoy the luxury of time, either.

It was already taking a lot out of us to feed a hundred and fifty thousand allied forces. It was such a strain that I even thought it’d be nice for the damn Jötnar to hurry up with their marching and arrive here as soon as possible.

If they didn’t, then we might end up dealing with the war against the Jötnar and the undead with a whole bunch of starving soldiers instead, a fine way to fight Ragnarok…

I walked ahead, my group consisting of Charlotte, Alice, Hans, Raphael, and Oscal following right behind me.

Well-built Paladins saluted us, then opened the doorway to the Imperial Audience Chamber.

“Let us be blessed by the Goddess of Life itself, Gaia-! His Majesty the Holy Emperor graces us with his presence–!” the Grand Chamberlain’s voice resounded out in the chamber.

Inside the massive chamber were the lords governing various fiefdoms of the Theocratic Empire, plus the members of high clergy. Among their ranks were my siblings Luan and Hilda. But it weren’t just them; I also spotted Seran and the twins, who had travelled ahead of me to reach the capital, as well as Marcus, who was accompanying the King of Frants. Finally, even White was here.

They had all been waiting for this moment. In order to stop the advent of Ragnarok, they had been doing their best to strengthen themselves.

I sucked in a deep breath, then stared at that throne over yonder. The one that I still hadn’t gotten used to, no matter how many times I looked at it or sat on it.

I willed my legs and walked over rather stiffly. Everyone on the path bowed their heads deeply.

My steps took me past the luxurious crimson carpet, and I settled myself on the throne, then took my time observing my retainers.

The ones accompanying me stopped at the centre of the audience chamber and knelt down, their heads bowed deeply.

The Holy Emperor. As the protector of this continent, the time for me to step up and do my job had finally arrived.

“From this moment on, we commence our plan to guard our continent.”

I now had to command all these people.

That was my role, my duty. It was the fate of the one sitting on this throne, the destiny of the Holy Emperor!

**

The next week or so proved to be a really tough going for me.

It wasn’t as if I could learn everything there was about being a Holy Emperor in the short five years since my coronation. From things like politics to military strategies, to acting gracefully and dignified as befitting a member of the Imperial Family, noble etiquette, etc, etc… I was lacking in all of those things.

All I was capable of doing was facilitating opportunities for people to more efficiently display their abilities by discerning and fostering their talents, as well as through building friendships with various nobles.

That’s all I did, but Charlotte didn’t hold back on her praise of me even then. “Sire, that is already quite an excellent feat.”

When I made a slightly sullen face at that, Raphael, who had never had a good impression of me, decided to add something else. “Although several parts are still lacking, Your Majesty, you have done well, sire.”

Raphael was the type to say something that needed to be said, so I felt a bit more relieved by his words just then.

It was really hard to pretend to be outwardly aloof and lofty, as well as fearless. I’d often fall asleep on my throne from sheer exhaustion after a long day’s work. Whenever that happened, Charlotte would assist me and take me to my quarters. This soon became almost a daily occurrence.

On this particular night, I decided to slip out of my quarters without bothering to summon the chamberlains after feeling the need for some fresh air. It wasn’t my first time doing so.

Honestly, I found that strolling incognito by myself in and around the Imperial Palace to feel the breeze on my face was quite effective at improving my mood. One of the routes that I usually took to help in that regard was stopping by the palace’s library.

It was business as usual; Alice was already present, reading a book and studying as the night deepened. We ended up chatting about this and that for a bit.

When I returned to my quarters, Luan, Hilda, Seran, and the twins were on standby with bottles of booze in their hands. Charlotte was making an apologetic face at me, her expression implying that she was unable to stop them.

Even though I was the Holy Emperor, we all acted and horsed around as if one’s station didn’t really matter in private settings.

Gradually, our daily lives seemed to meld together.

Eventually, though… the news I had been waiting for finally came in.

“Your Majesty!” Harman, his face soaked in cold sweat, addressed me urgently. “The movements of the Jötnar have been detected, sire!”

Sure, we were kept busy until now, but… this was the moment that our peaceful daily lives had come to an abrupt end.

Refugees numbering in the hundreds of thousands had crossed into the Theocratic Empire’s border regions. According to their testimony, the Jötnar had trampled through the Kingdom of Lome’s lands.

The reason their marching had taken longer than expected was to strengthen the vampires’ army even more, apparently.

We were running out of time here.

“We at Aslan have heeded the call of His Majesty the Holy Emperor, and this servant, Tina Aslan, has completed mobilisation of the one thousand members of the Necromancy Corps!”

The Dark Elf who used to be Aslan’s queen, Tina, had arrived in the empire’s capital with her troops. However, having a large number of Necromancers entering the Imperial Capital only worsened the level of fear and anxiety within the hearts of the common citizens.

There was a clear limit to how much I could control the masses.

I was standing on the palace’s balcony and taking a look at the capital’s situation for a while. When that was done, I spoke up what was on my mind. “We need someone qualified as a symbol to lessen their anxiety somehow. Raphael, I’d much appreciate it if you do that favour I asked you about earlier.”

Right now, the Imperial Capital and its citizens needed a hero. Not just anyone, but a symbol of terror for the vampires and at the same time, probably the most trustworthy person of all time to the empire’s denizens.

Kelt Olfolse. We needed him.

Raphael sighed painfully under his breath after he heard me. He bowed his head deeply and replied. “Please, sire. I urge you to reconsider this matter. The previous Holy Emperor wishes to rest, Your Majesty.”

“Nah, I’m quite sure that that’s not the case.”

Raphael raised his head and stared at me in confusion, so I told him what had happened back at the boundary line between life and death.

…That I actually met Kelt in there.

“I thought my grandfather looked rather bored over there. It seems he wants to get involved in a huge fight.”

“Should I say that sounds just like him? Wait, before that… Your Majesty, are you saying that His Majesty was causing a ruckus up in the Heavenly World as well?!”

Raphael’s expression crumpled big time and he began grumbling away. He even added that it was no good without him, as well. Despite all the complaints, though, I could kind of tell that he missed my grandfather.

As such, it was my sacred duty to reunite these two good friends. “He gave me his express permission. He said, I should call on him in times of need.”

“…I understand, sire.”

Raphael guided me to a certain location. As for our travelling companions, Charlotte was my escort while Alice took on the role of my assistant.

Soon, we reached the burial site of the Holy Emperor, which was at the highest point of the Imperial Palace. Rather than buried, it was more like his coffin had been placed in the attic or something.

According to custom, the coffin would be placed at the highest point in the building for seven years so that the dead could stay as long as possible in the Heavenly World.

Our leisurely strolling steps took us to the top floor of the Imperial Palace, which was actually a roofless garden. I could see a sarcophagus built out of stone resting among the colourful array of flowers. Sitting on top of it were bowls of holy water and copies of the sacred scriptures, plus records of all the feats Kelt had accomplished during his life.

“Here we are, sire. If you need anything, please summon me at once, Your Majesty,” Raphael said to me before leaving us alone.

I walked up to the sarcophagus and quietly brushed its surface, then read the records of Kelt’s accomplishments. Charlotte stood next to me and continued to stand watch, while Alice silently tidied up Kelt’s resting place.

He was called a tyrant once upon a time, and a wise ruler at other times. Throughout his life, he waged war against the vampire menace, and he achieved victory every single time.

I couldn’t help but smile while reading his records.

Some time later, I slowly got back up to my feet. It was already late at night. Cool moonlight shining down from the sky was illuminating us.

“He was a dude who fought many battles throughout his entire life, so why does he wish to fight some more, I wonder? Does he really miss that kind of life that much?”

He was a born fighter, it seemed. No, hang on a minute… every single person with the blood of the Imperial Family were like that, weren’t they?

Yup, all of them were polar opposites of me, who wished for nothing more than to quietly live my life in peace.

Alice walked up to me. “Sire, are you… planning to wake him up?”

“Well, he did tell me to call on him, so…”

“But is it even possible to do so?”

She sounded genuinely puzzled. She did have a point, though; the types of souls that could be ‘awakened’ through Necromancy were limited in scope.

They included evil spirits who either were filled with resentment or died because of their corruption; souls of people who were murdered or died from plagues; even those who died from unfortunate accidents, etc, etc…

It was only possible to summon those types of dead spirits who did not get to enjoy a natural death, or the full lifespan that their life had to offer.

In the case of Kelt, he had died of natural causes; reached the end of his lifespan, in other words. So, it should be impossible to summon him as a dead spirit, normally speaking…

“You’re right. It’ll be impossible to bring him back as a dead spirit.”

However, it should be possible if it wasn’t as a dead spirit, per se.

Alice’s head tilted this way and that in confusion at what I said.

I ignored the gesture and continued to brush the sarcophagus’s surface. “We need your help, grandfather. That’s why…” my hand tightly grasped Kelt’s final resting box, and I drove my divinity inside, “…please, lend us your strength, oh protector of this world.”

Divine power gradually spread out. Gentle rays of light reached out seemingly everywhere and brightly illuminated our surroundings.

I watched a formless soul gently rippling about on top of the sarcophagus and grinned deeply.