In the Night Imperial Palace...
I am the current Emperor, Pumnkin Night.
For the time being, I am analyzing the investigation report on the abnormal rift that my son entered.
There is not much I can learn from it, as all victims except my child have perished inside that rift.
It has been several months since my son fled, and since then my relationship with my wife has grown increasingly distant.
My wife... She clenches her fists and claws at the table until her hands bleed. Sometimes she embraces me when I am feeling low, then whispers in my ear.
She says:
"Everything will be alright. Our child will come home soon, my love."
Then she leaves with a look of determination in her eyes.
I know something is wrong with my wife, but I don't want to lose her...
I lean back in my chair.
I truly love her. I truly love her. I...
I let out a long sigh and cover my eyes with my arm.
"Oh, I am truly a terrible emperor, a terrible husband, and a terrible father."
At that moment, one of my distant cousins who serves as both my personal maid and my intelligence contact arrived, carrying food.
Her name is Sarania Zenfox. She has straight red hair and magenta eyes with faint traces of bright pink within them.
Long ago, after completing a mission to infiltrate an illegal research site in the north, she brought back a girl who was terribly, terribly thin. Sarania carried the girl with a desperate expression on her face, tears streaming continuously down her cheeks.
She laid the girl down on the sofa in this room, then knelt before me.
"I beg you, Your Majesty! My friend... my friend is gravely injured. Please, save her."
If I recall correctly, that is what she said at the time. To be honest, even without her kneeling, I would have helped regardless.
Now she has become quieter than she once was, and has grown more eager in accumulating wealth.
She saves all that money to buy gifts and medicine in hopes that her friend will wake up from her bed sooner and be surprised by everything waiting for her.
For now, her friend is still lying in the hospital and has not woken up even once since that mission ended.
There appears to have been some kind of internal conflict among the mission members, because when I visited the site myself, I found that the other members had been turned into crumbling stone statues.
That was most likely the work of Sarania, who at the time had made a contract with Medusa, though she had been offered one by Athena as well.
I don't know exactly what happened, but looking at her friend's injuries and the overall condition of the scene, it was clearly a one-sided act of violence.
As for the child Sarania brought back, she was trained extensively to serve as a secretary here. Her name is Ametyst. Clumsy as she is, she has nimble hands, solid combat ability, and an honest disposition.
Sarania finished placing the plates of food on the table. She then bowed before me and reported the latest information regarding the rift victims.
"A total of 100 bodies have been recovered, including Zambrud, who served as a subordinate under Orion Jaeger."
I stopped Sarah's report. Yes, I call her Sarah for simplicity.
"Wait! Zambrud?! That Zambrud?!"
Sarah nodded.
"Correct. He was found with bite wounds and drag marks from a medium-sized monster."
I pressed my hand to my face and bowed my head.
"That can't be right. How could my sickly child have... Oh goodness."
Sarah continued her report.
"Nearly 70% of the victims were torn apart to the point where identification was nearly impossible, including Nicolle Kozela, who appears to have been swallowed by the dragon. After that, the monsters that survived disappeared once the crown prince killed the dragon."
I asked her something. "If they couldn't be identified, how did you know it was Nicolle?"
Sarah answered.
"That was simple enough. The dragon swallowed Nicolle along with her clothing, so I only needed to match it." She said with a completely flat face and tone.
I continued my work analyzing the report while eating the snacks Sarah had brought.
I asked her: "Is there anything else to discuss?"
Sarah nodded.
"Orion reported earlier that he encountered the crown prince on one of the roads."
At that moment I felt a surge of something that made me slightly hopeful, but Sarah immediately cut me off.
"I haven't finished speaking, Your Majesty."
I told her to continue.
"Orion appears to have been too emotional at the time and unconsciously loosened his grip. He lost the crown prince again. The crown prince can now create portals, by the way."
"That is all for the report. If you have questions, ask someone else. I'm already tired." Sarah took hold of the door handle, and I stopped her.
"You really have no manners toward your superior." I said.
As she was about to step out, I issued a warning.
"If you keep this up, I will cut your salary."
Sarah went completely still. Her expression began to tighten. She then gripped the door handle so hard it nearly bent out of shape.
"You absolute scoundrel of a boss!"
Behind her, I smiled slyly.
"Come now, sit and keep me company this once. I'll double your salary. How does that sound?"
Sarah finally sat down in front of me, upon hearing the word salary.
"So what else does 'Your Majesty' wish to discuss?"
I set my teacup down on the table.
"I want your opinion on my relationship with my wife."
Her expression tightened further.
"Boss, why are you asking me that... OF ALL PEOPLE, SOMEONE WHO HAS BEEN SINGLE SINCE BIRTH?!!!!!!!!" Sarah slammed her hand on the table.
I lowered my head.
"Because you are a woman, I thought I might better understand my wife through you..."
Sarah then replied.
"Back when you were still that genius hiding in corners, did you understand men other than yourself?"
I went silent.
"No, you didn't."
Sarah slapped her palm flat on the table.
"Same as me. I don't know what goes on in other people's minds. On top of that, people have different personalities and preferences. Rather than asking me, you'd be better off just being honest with your wife, boss."
Sarah tidied up the plates and cups, then left while I sat there in silence.
Click.
The door to the room closed.
I know that. But I don't have the courage to say it.
If my wife finds out that our child has such a fragile body, will she leave me?
She hates the Emperor deeply. If she were to discover that the husband she loves and married is the very Emperor she despises... what would she do?
Balance, if we were to part because of that...
Who would you choose?
I began to sweat, gripping the armrests of my chair with great force.
Serina is just an ordinary person, isn't she? She doesn't even have a family name.
I shouldn't need to worry about her identity.
Serina...
She was once the idol of the school and the student council president, someone who actively fought against the bullying that took place between noble students and commoners.
She was my senior. Honestly, at first I had no interest in her.
Back then I was someone who paid no attention to the world around me and simply kept moving toward my goal, my love for robotics.
I would often hide in the narrow gaps around the school building to tinker with machines, until Naveah pulled me out of there and slowly changed who I was.
That was when I began to fall for Serina.
Serina was also a top model at the time. She was beautiful, strong, and highly intelligent.
Her manner was decisive and graceful, which earned her a great many admirers.
I had to fight through all those admirers just to propose to her.
I proposed again and again and was rejected every time.
Until finally I cut through all my shame and proposed to her on top of the school building, because there was a legend that said if you proposed from the rooftop by shouting down to the courtyard below, the proposal would be accepted.
In the end I tried it, with my friends betting on the outcome behind me. The main instigator was clearly Jaeger.
I shouted:
"I LOVE YOU, SERINA!!! PLEASE ACCEPT MY PROPOSAL!!" While crying from sheer embarrassment.
Fortunately she accepted, though her smile as she did became somewhat unsettling.
When I asked her why she had accepted me, Serina said:
"I liked your cute crying face." I went completely silent from the surprise of it.
That incident caused Cygnus and Jaeger to mock me endlessly. And because of who I used to be, they were genuinely shocked when Balance was born.
My child. She is the small miracle that appeared in this world.
She continued to live even as her body grew frail, burdened by a soul too heavy for it.
She has to use magic continuously just to stay alive. That is why I have always given her my own magic every night. Even though it leaves me weakened, if it keeps her alive...
I don't mind.
So please, Balance. Father is asking you to come home soon...
Back to the matter at hand. Because imperial technology has advanced, the bodies for investigation can be preserved for long-term research.
That is why burial has not been carried out immediately. We need a great deal of research material to ensure that the number of casualties does not rise again in the future.
The data has now apparently reached its maximum stage, so tomorrow should be the day of the victims' burial.
That is tomorrow, which also happens to be the anniversary of my older sibling's passing...
Rain began to fall over the imperial capital, the weather seeming to understand the heavy sorrow in the Emperor's heart.
To Be Continued