"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"
Shouts echoed as a group rushed into the palace.
At the front was Great General Budo, the very man Emiya had knocked unconscious with Conqueror's Haki earlier.
He had been the last to fall.
And the first to wake.
The moment he regained consciousness, he gathered the Imperial Guards and charged straight into the palace.
The first thing Budo saw was Emiya sitting calmly on the throne.
Emiya had already used transformation magic.
He now looked exactly like the young emperor.
Seeing that His Majesty was unharmed, Budo finally relaxed.
Then he noticed Hephaestus standing beside Emiya.
And the maids collapsed on the floor, still unconscious.
Budo's heart sank.
He stepped forward and dropped to one knee.
"Your Majesty, are you unharmed?"
"I'm fine," Emiya replied calmly.
Budo remained half-suspicious.
His sharp gaze shifted to Hephaestus.
"May I ask, Your Majesty, who is this woman?"
"You arrived just in time, Budo," Emiya said evenly. "Let me introduce her. She is the reason everyone in the palace fainted."
He paused.
"She is a divine being from the heavens. Goddess Hephaestus."
From the start, Emiya had no intention of hiding her identity.
A goddess was useful.
Extremely useful.
Budo's first reaction was wariness.
Then shock.
"A... goddess?"
For a thousand years since the empire's founding, there had been no gods.
Only frauds who claimed divine status to deceive others.
Even if the emperor said it himself, Budo couldn't believe it immediately.
Instead, suspicion formed.
Perhaps this woman was deceiving His Majesty.
"Your Majesty," Budo said cautiously, "may I ask... is she truly a goddess?"
Emiya turned slightly.
"The general doubts you, Goddess."
Hephaestus clicked her tongue.
She had no interest in acting.
But she was willing to cooperate.
A trace of divine power leaked out.
Instantly-
Everyone except Emiya was crushed to the ground.
Imperial Guards slammed down with heavy thuds.
They couldn't move.
Not a single finger.
Divine grace was like the sea.
Divine power was a prison.
Even Budo, wielding a Teigu, understood in that instant.
Even if she wasn't a god-
She was a monster beyond comprehension.
His organs screamed.
His bones groaned.
Then Emiya spoke calmly.
"That's enough. Retract it."
Hephaestus withdrew her power.
Only then could everyone breathe again.
In just a few dozen seconds, their clothes were soaked through.
As if they had been dragged out of water.
Budo lowered his head, fists clenched.
"Budo thanks Your Majesty and the goddess for your mercy," he said hoarsely. "May I ask why the goddess has descended to Earth?"
Hephaestus looked at Emiya.
Her eyes asked the question for her.
She couldn't exactly say she was here for Teigus.
That would be undignified.
Emiya smiled faintly.
He already had an answer.
"Budo," he said, "the goddess descended because of my ancestor."
"The First Emperor who founded this thousand-year empire."
Budo stiffened.
Emiya continued.
"I've just learned that the First Emperor was originally a god from the heavens. He committed an error and was banished to Earth."
"And here, he founded this empire."
Budo's eyes widened.
"So the First Emperor was a god..."
The empire had endured for a thousand years.
Countless hardships.
Anyone who spoke of the First Emperor did so with reverence.
Even if this were fabricated, Budo wouldn't dare doubt it.
Doubting it meant disrespecting the First Emperor.
And that alone was enough to warrant execution.
"It is incredible," Emiya said evenly. "Hephaestus confirmed it. Now the empire faces a great crisis, so the First Emperor entrusted her to descend and help us overcome it."
Hephaestus finally understood.
This man's mouth was terrifying.
Complete fabrication.
Yet flawless.
Budo immediately bowed deeper.
"Please forgive my earlier disrespect, Goddess. I was ignorant to doubt you."
"The ignorant are not guilty," Hephaestus said flatly.
Budo was visibly moved.
"How merciful..."
Emiya continued.
"Budo."
"I am here."
"Hephaestus and I have discussed matters. To restore the empire, we require Teigus. Unfortunately, after a thousand years, many have been lost."
Budo responded instantly.
"I will mobilize men at once to search for them."
Emiya shook his head.
"No need. Hephaestus is the Goddess of the Forge. Collect all records on Teigu creation and give her the Teigu you possess."
"She will forge new ones."
Budo didn't hesitate.
He removed the Teigu he wore.
Adramelech.
An armor-type Teigu.
Iron spikes enhanced striking power.
Lightning manipulation allowed pressure attacks, remote strikes, and condensed energy blasts.
It could even form a lightning armor that paralyzed on contact.
Offense.
Defense.
Range.
Among the forty-eight Teigus, it was outstanding.
Hephaestus accepted it and began examining it immediately.
"Budo," Emiya said, "restore order in the palace. Don't let anyone exploit the chaos."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Budo withdrew at once with his men.
The unconscious maids wouldn't wake for some time.
An hour later, they finally stirred and rushed to apologize.
Emiya waved it off.
They were blameless.
With Budo's assistance, order returned swiftly.
By noon, the palace was fully restored.
Then Minister Honest arrived.
This obese man entered without announcement.
He approached Emiya while chewing.
"Your Majesty," he said, "I heard a goddess has arrived?"
Emiya looked up.
Honest looked exactly like he did in the manga.
Obese.
Greasy.
A piece of meat in hand.
Eyes darting everywhere.
He wasn't looking at Emiya.
He was searching for Hephaestus.
This man was dangerous.
He had murdered the former emperor and empress.
Then selected a weak, controllable successor.
And had the rest killed.
That required ability.
Emiya also remembered something else.
The Supreme Teigu.
Passed down through the imperial line.
The first.
The strongest.
The origin of all Teigus.
A Teigu said to rival gods.
Usable only by imperial blood.
Honest relied on it.
That was why he ruled through tyranny without fear.
Why he believed he could crush the revolutionary army.
In the end, he miscalculated.
And died dismembered.
Now, he had rushed over for one reason.
A goddess threatened his control.
He needed to test her.
Or confirm her existence.
Emiya didn't expose him.
He nodded and took another bite of meat.
A dangerous beast.
Good texture.
"Yes, Minister," Emiya said. "Goddess Hephaestus is a friend of the First Emperor. She has come to help me eliminate those who have betrayed the empire."
Honest's heart sank.
Because everything he had done-
Was betrayal.
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