第１０４６堀：ある皇帝の願い (Part2)

第１０４６堀：ある皇帝の願い (Part2)

I have carried that hostility, that despair, and above all, the wishes of so many, all the way here.

And now, at this very moment, the end is in sight.

If I strike down this man, peace will finally visit this land.

"Do you have even a shred of hesitation? Is it useless to offer you recognition of your independence now?"

"Indeed. It is too late. We have already brought the Forma Kingdom to its knees, and we are right on your doorstep. To settle for a half-baked end now would only breed resentment within my Zurable, and it would likely continue to erode the future of the Hein Empire. Therefore, I shall thoroughly destroy the Hein Empire and unite this continent under the Great Zurable Empire."

I declare war, clearly and unequivocally.

There is no stopping now.

I swore that I would never let another tragedy be born.

"I have heard that you, Emperor, have been bedridden with illness. But that is no excuse. The governance fell into chaos, and the people were subjected to unreasonable suffering. When that happened, those who should have reached out a hand did nothing. What, then, is the purpose of a ruler?"

Yes, back then, no one—not a single soul—reached out to help us.

"In a village on the verge of death, besieged by bandits and monsters, the lord did not offer salvation. Instead, he punished the survivors as criminals for failing to protect the village and sold them into slavery."

"..."

My mother, my friends—they were simply tied up and dragged away. And I, deemed not even worth the effort of such treatment, was left lying there, waiting for death.

But by some miracle, I was able to open eyes that I thought would close forever.

Along with the curse of "Agelessness."

At the time, I didn't think about what that meant; I simply stood up, alone, to take my family back.

"The little girl, left for dead, defied the odds and headed toward the lord. She intended to demand the return of her family and her companions. But by the time she managed to reach the town, the villagers had already been executed, strung up on crosses."

Thinking back on it now, it was likely just to silence them.

For a lord to admit he couldn't save a single village would only expose his own incompetence.

But to a child who witnessed it, it was something else entirely.

My heart shattered.

"At that moment, the girl swore. With tears of blood, she swore from the very depths of her soul that she would wipe such unreasonableness from this world."

And now, I am here.

Swallowing both the clear and the muddy, I trained relentlessly, gathered companions, and I—we—stood up.

"Is that the reason you, Emperor of Yupia, rose up?"

"Indeed. It is a common enough story. In this world, at least."

Yes, what happened to me is a common occurrence in this world.

Because there is far too much rot.

There is no salvation. Therefore, I had to become the one who saves.

"Though, initially, I had no intention of going this far. I only wanted to defeat the lord; that would have been enough."

"That would not have been possible."

"True. From the perspective of the state, that was merely a rebellion. Consequently, the army moved to suppress us. But I could not simply accept that."

That would have meant our deaths.

I could not simply accept such a thing.

To protect my own life, to keep my many companions from being hurt, to ensure the people who looked up to us did not starve...

Before I knew it, we had become a massive force.

So we fought. We fought relentlessly. So that there would be no more enemies.

But I didn't realize that the more enemies I struck down, the more would spring up in their place.

"And now you call yourself Emperor. You seem to have been blessed with quite a bit of luck."

"Ah, an endless stream of luck, indeed. Since I am standing here, in this place. At this very moment, my wish is finally beginning."

"Beginning, you say?"

Yes, it is beginning.

Once the Hein Empire is struck down, there will be no nations left to oppose us.

How we handle this hub of trade may cause some friction, but I will not allow it to escalate into a major war.

I will not allow oppression of the people.

I will issue a grand decree, investigate to ensure such things do not happen, and enforce control.

With the help of the tools from Yuki and the others in Weed, that is not impossible.

It has already been achieved on the continent across the sea.

There is no reason we cannot do the same.

That is why it is a beginning.

The mere little girl who could only curse the world back then has come this far.

No, finally, my wish is within reach.

"Yes. It is a beginning."

My wish—my desire—is finally beginning.

"That is why, Emperor of Hein. I—we—will strike you down."

"Very well. If you can strike me down, then try."

And thus, the curtain rose on the decisive battle between the Great Zurable Empire and the Hein Empire.

Now, whose wish did this title refer to?

Can you all tell?

As for the snowman... well, that's a secret.

Now then, the final battle is almost here!

Is everyone ready?