Chapter 76

Chapter 76

***

In ancient times, there was a time when people had to gather their strength as one. The invasions of the Salamans, Orcs, and Nords were such times.

Tribes, divided into tens and hundreds, combined their strength to fight, endure, and sometimes accept and overcome crises.

Surviving like that until the end, they accomplished the founding of the Empire.

Among those many tribes, the Nibelung tribe took the central role, and the current Imperial family, Nibelingen, meant 'Descendant of Nibelung'.

The Empire did not have an official capital. Simply, the place where the Emperor stayed played the role of the capital.

The Emperor's City, Nibelungen, was the place where the Nivelinger family lived in the past, a historically significant place.

However, there were many places in the Empire comparable to the Emperor's City, or even older cities.

So the Emperor's City wasn't the biggest, most populated, or most magnificent in the Empire. It was just one among various well-developed cities.

Still, as the place where the King of Kings lived, it played the role of an administrative center to a certain degree, and compared to other cities, public order was stable and goods were abundant.

One characteristic point was that there was no castle wall defending the city. This was because they believed the surrounding direct territories and the territories ruled by the Emperor's relatives would become their castle wall.

Nibelungen was an impressive place with hunting grounds as wide as a decent small or medium territory, a main river winding through the city, wide agricultural land, and neat buildings.

As any ordinary city does, in such an Emperor's City, a pleasure district that was more active at night than during the day existed.

By the way, it was still midday, so it wasn't time to do night business in earnest, but a carriage led by two horses entered the pleasure district.

The carriage ran on the paved road. Passing colorful and big buildings, it stopped in front of a certain shabby brothel.

As the coachman announced they had arrived, the door of the carriage opened and an old man got off.

Compared to his age, his skin was neat, his posture upright, and the light in his eyes alive. The sword hanging at his waist matched him well.

The old man was none other than Court Count Kelbron and the Emperor's Champion, Helauman.

He entered the brothel called 'Maiden's Secret' with familiar steps. Furniture, curtains, and carpets decorated the inside with effort, but they couldn't shake off the cheap feeling.

A few prostitutes seeking customers with cakey makeup and disheveled hair were roaming about, but even seeing Helauman, let alone expressing politeness, they pretended not to see him. Their expressions suggested it wasn't the first or second time they had seen him.

Helauman also treated them as invisible people, just walking thud thud to reach the front of the innermost room.

A person wearing a sword outside the closed door looked back at Helauman with an indifferent expression. He was also one of the Emperor's Champions, a close guard.

"His Majesty is?"

"Inside."

"Not awake yet?"

The guard shrugged his shoulders. Only then did Helauman sigh a small breath. Even for a Sword Master whose cultivation stage was high, it seemed difficult to handle.

He opened the door without knocking. Then the Emperor could be seen sleeping on his stomach like a corpse, naked on the bed. This person was exactly the Empire's 9th Emperor, Claudius. His nickname was 'Energetic', or the Debauchee Emperor.

on the big bed, except for the Emperor, three more women existed. However, all three women were too vulgar and not beautiful enough for an Emperor to embrace.

Because Emperor Claudius didn't choose his women. Someday, he said pretty women with good body shapes get tiresome.

Among the numerous women he embraced, Helauman's great-great-granddaughter existed too. An Emperor appearing to embrace regardless of status, beauty and ugliness, or age.

Emperor Claudius didn't know his daughter Martelia existed in the world either. Having her entered in the family register was entirely the result of an administrative process, because it wasn't a thing he decided either.

Great if you say great. How many illegitimate children he had on earth, no one knew; only God would know.

Helauman kicked the prostitutes with his foot, thud thud, to wake them up. Truly, a Court Count waking up prostitutes directly—it was an absurd situation. The more dumbfounding thing was that they couldn't get up at once either.

Wriggling and tossing and turning for a long time, getting up sluggishly, even seeing Helauman, they rather revealed bad feelings openly.

The prostitutes handled their clothes roughly and exited the room; one person dared to slap the Emperor's buttocks smack. Then Claudius, surprised, his body shaking in the state of sleeping on his stomach, grumbled.

"Hey, this crazy bitch. Still no strength."

Helauman, looking down at such an Emperor calmly, said:

"Your Majesty, it is Court Count Kelbron."

Then Claudius stayed still, then frowning, acted annoyed.

"Ah, damn...... No, why do you surely rush in making a person embarrassed?"

"The sun is in the midheaven."

"Then come at night."

"......The Empress Dowager is looking for you."

Empress Dowager meant the Emperor's mother. As the Emperor was like this, the Empress Dowager was running state affairs.

"Why? Anyhow, Mother will do as she pleases."

The Emperor, covering his lower body with a blanket, leaned on the bed sitting and revealed his complaint. With hair disheveled carelessly, his appearance had no Emperor's dignity at all.

"Keeping your seat and greeting Envoys is also one of the important duties of Your Majesty."

"You mean doing the Scarecrow role?"

"No one dares treat Your Majesty as a Scarecrow."

"Seems not so. Is Mother an exception?"

'That is because you have no ability and cause accidents only'—words came up to Helauman's throat but went down barely.

"An Envoy came from the Adelorn Kingdom. A rebellion reducing Royal Authority occurred, and they requested Your Majesty's protection following the Holy Vassal Contract and Marriage Alliance. No matter how much the Empress Dowager handles things, regarding this case, Your Majesty must take your seat."

"Adelorn? Where was that?"

Only five Kingdoms exist in the Empire, but the Emperor didn't even know where the Adelorn Kingdom existed.

"If you run diligently to the South West changing horses, you can arrive within three days."

"Then it's quite far, isn't it? What relation does it have with us? Why do Vassals exist? Isn't a Vassal existing to rule their own charge area well?"

Helauman couldn't find words to say because of the absurdity.

"Maintaining the stable peace of the Empire is the most important duty of the Emperor, Your Majesty."

"Ah, good, again that sound. Duty, Obligation. Tiresome. Just said no one regards me as a Scarecrow, but that invisible duty treats me like a Scarecrow. Good, understood. Then let's do it like this. You guys, noble Sword Masters, step forward and wipe out the Rebel Army entirely. Then won't it be done?"

"......"

"I as Emperor gave the order. So don't bother me and do it by yourselves."

"......Rebellion is bound to spread like a plague, Your Majesty. No matter how far away, if not suppressed early, impure groups resonating in each place of the Empire can rise. Moreover, recently profane pseudo-believers called the Judgment Cult are expanding their power. If we do not block this properly, Vassals dare to doubt Your Majesty's power. A tower built with effort collapsing takes but one moment. If such a Time arrives, can Your Majesty equip armor, face the rain and wind, and stay in an army campsite?"

"So tell me what to do? Isn't it just that the Court Count hates going, making an excuse?"

"Greet the Envoy and say you will convene the army formally. Say at least that like that."

"Hate it."

"......"

A Sword Master over a hundred years old also had a limit to his patience. He didn't want to mix words anymore.

Helauman had served five Emperors previously. Someone commanded Feudal Lords with powerful charisma conquering unknown lands; someone prepared a stable reign base with a brilliant brain; someone, even if lacking compared to those two, protected the Imperial Family well.

The remaining two Emperors also basically understood the degree of the Emperor's responsibility and tried at least.

By the way, Claudius didn't possess anything able to do anything. No, he knew nothing. No motivation either. No will either.

"......I will withdraw."

Helauman bowed his head and came out from the room smelling of vulgar and unpleasant odors.

Closing the door thud, the guard of the Emperor and fellow Champion existing outside said:

"Elder, you overlook much suffering."

Actually, Helauman had been almost retired in the meantime. However, recently he returned to the Imperial Family at the Empress Dowager's call, and seeing after returning, work beyond his ability was happening.

A Sword Master was not a politician, nor a soldier either. As one Strategy, a Tactical Weapon, he was close to a diplomatic means. Usage like threatening Vassals or soothing them.

But no matter how powerful the weapon, if the person handling that weapon was that shape and that appearance, it was a useless thing.

Moreover, the bigger reason the Emperor's Champions cannot move carelessly was because they were unable to trust each other.

If one pretended to be crazy and inflicted harm on the Emperor, who would block them? Only a fellow Champion. So even if one person empties their seat, the balance of power collapses.

A sort of Dilemma. The Champion was the Emperor's powerful weapon, and a powerful danger.

Actually, because Helauman protected the Imperial Family during long years, it just seemed like no problem.

Grabbing a Sword Master, soothing them well, drawing out loyalty, and handling them properly was the Emperor's share entirely.

"I ask you to look after Your Majesty well."

Helauman patted the shoulder of the Champion who was most reliable at least, pat pat. He nodded his head.

Helauman, exiting the cheap brothel, loaded his body into the carriage again. As the coachman swung the whip, the horses started running.

Inside the somewhat shaking carriage, Helauman locked himself in deep thought. Actually, his loyalty to the Imperial Family wasn't much either.

Pretending to dedicate loyalty outwardly, but strictly only a relationship of interest with the Imperial Family. To Helauman, the most important things were his own self, his family, and the Sword.

Court Count was a title managing the Emperor's direct territory, a hereditary title, but if a problem occurs to the Emperor's personal safety, a problem occurs to himself and his family too.

However now, the sound of the Imperial Family shaking was heard. As the Emperor was like that, the reason could be known even without thinking deeply.

But he wasn't an ambitious person. He didn't have thoughts of doing anything to the Emperor or Imperial Family. Just, only thinking he had to decide a course of action, even little by little, preparing for one in ten thousand.

Helauman's carriage passed the drawbridge and entered the Imperial Palace. And, getting off the carriage again, he headed to his own office. On the office desk, one scroll sealed with a seal was placed.

Tearing the beeswax and unfolding it, it was sent from the Beringen Adventurer Guild. The content stated that Rickart and Ice executed a High Vampire, completing a Special Class request.

"Hmm......"

Helauman's gaze was fixed for a long time at the name Rickart.

Since killing Clan Master Lorenzo, he had been piling up an unusable history as an adventurer. Active in the Guild War, and now killing even a High Vampire. That cunning hideous thing was an existence even he was reluctant to deal with.

Great. Great and great. That natural battle sense and bravery. But so the thought occurred that it was wasteful. Because that child had no Mana.

He first rolled up the scroll again, pulled out one among other scroll documents piled on the bookshelf, and unfolded it. That was a list.

Sword Masters of each Kingdom and Grand Nobles hiding, Special Class adventurers belonging to various Adventurer Guilds existing in the Empire were written down.

Many more than thought. As if they were not revealing their appearance to the world intentionally. Aiming for what?

All these names were the Emperor and Imperial Family's threat, and tool. If handled well, becoming a tool; if handled wrong, a sharp sword cutting my hand.

Suppressing these all with the Emperor's four Champions was actually unreasonable. Saying so, they couldn't increase the Champion number either. Because it was dangerous.

One cannot weigh them on a scale, and matching the balance of power properly was truly difficult work.

By the way, among these many names, Helauman felt Rickart was truly attractive.

Wasteful indeed, but anyway, as he had no Mana, his limits were clear; saying so, his skill or guts didn't fall short, so he looked good to handle. Suitable to use, and not becoming a threat.

"Time to shuffle gradually."

Helauman, falling into deep thought, muttered alone. First, he thought he would have to dispatch two Emperor's Champions to the Adelorn Kingdom.

If they fight well there, good work; even if they die, appointing a Champion newly would be the work to become.

As they won't die as soon as they go, he thought to intend to raise new talent while they were dispatched far away. Naturally, among them, Rickart was Rank 1.

Helauman, thinking of Rickart, seemed to see the clue of a stifling problem resolving.

As one clue resolved, other clues resolved again, and thoughts connected to thoughts. While doing so, he conceived one plan.

Holding a Swordsmanship Tournament exactly. With the tournament as an excuse, removing guys to remove, raising guys to raise, watching guys to watch.

And as the Champion trophy, engagement with his own 5th generation granddaughter Marie seemed enough.

leaving so many illegitimate children, where to use them? Using them in such a place.