Chapter 289
It was just an instinctive revulsion; the fact that he was recognized as the Hero was not a bad thing in itself.
It could be utilized for a myriad of purposes.
‘Especially since the status of a Hero will be useful even against the Holy Emperor.’
Chris crossed his arms.
‘The Holy Emperor is not a person to be trifled with.’
In his previous life, Chris had been acquainted with the Holy Emperor.
Not just acquainted, but they had a rather very deep connection.
‘Though it’s not like I was fond of her.’
Fond of her? Far from it.
They were like bitter rivals.
It was at that moment.
Chris suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
Tinkle.
The sound of a bell rang out.
It was as clear as a water droplet falling on a calm lake. At the same time, it was a sound that seemed to focus the attention of the soul.
‘A sound imbued with Star Power.’
When he turned his gaze, a woman had appeared.
Was she in her early twenties?
She had an appearance as if an angel had descended.
Hair as white as snow, pure white priest robes.
A benevolent smile gracing her lips, gentle blue eyes.
In her hand, she held a staff adorned with a bell.
Chris’s lips twitched at the sight of the familiar woman.
‘It’s been a while. You pretentious hypocrite.’
An unexpected thought.
Just who was this woman for him to think such a thing?
At that moment, Ruina and Evan, who were next to him, hastily showed their respects upon seeing the woman.
Ruina, in particular, made a fuss and raised her voice.
“I greet Your Majesty, the great and noble Holy Emperor!”
That was right.
This woman was the current Holy Emperor, Saintess Istanya.
She was another one of the companions from the hero’s party.
***
The main companions of the hero’s party were the four of them: Evan, Archmage Ranya, Chris, and the Chatterbox of Darkness.
Besides them, several other figures had repeatedly joined and left, and Saintess Istanya was one of them.
‘She was leading the resistance after the Holy Empire fell.’
-I really don’t like you. To think someone could be this unlucky and unpleasant.
A conversation he had with Istanya in his previous life faintly came to mind.
Unbefitting of the name Saintess, she had a rotten personality.
‘Though it seems she’s putting on a good act of being demure now.’
To anyone, she looked like the incarnation of nobility.
Ruina, in particular, seemed to be completely bewitched, her eyes overflowing with respect.
Evan, on the other hand, was a little different; his gaze was subtly disrespectful, as if he were seeing through Istanya’s true personality with his mind’s eye.
‘…You’re so good at seeing through others, so why are you like this with me?’
-The real saint is Christian, after all.
Christian made a reluctant expression as he glanced at Evan, who was sending him a look of respect completely opposite to the one he had given Istanya.
“But why has Your Majesty come all the way here in person?”
Ruina asked cautiously.
They had not yet entered the audience chamber.
They were in the waiting room of the Holy Emperor’s palace, and the Holy Emperor had suddenly come to them.
“Why, I heard that a great Hero has been born, so I came in person.”
Istanya said with a gentle smile.
To anyone who didn’t know her, it was a smile so beautiful and sublime that it would make them lose their senses, but Chris was not fooled.
Chris knew better than anyone in the world that it was all a pretense.
Just then, Ruina gave him a nudge.
Her look was telling him to hurry up and show his respects.
He could see the Starlight Knights who had accompanied her as guards glaring at him.
Chris nodded his head and stepped forward.
“I am a prophet who has received a revelation from a Constellation. Since I have just been recognized as a Hero, you may call me a Hero. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“!!”
The hall began to murmur at his attitude, which was completely devoid of etiquette.
“You bastard, how dare you!! Do you wish to die?!”
Shing!
The Starlight Knights drew their swords.
At that moment, Evan moved.
Fwaat!
In an instant, his sword was aimed at the throat of the Starlight Knight at the front.
“Y-you.”
“You are the ones who should not be rude. This man is the one who will save the world. He is a being more sublime than any other, not someone that the likes of you can treat carelessly.”
“!!”
The Starlight Knights’ mouths snapped shut.
Evan’s aura was so intense and bloodthirsty that it overwhelmed the Starlight Knights in an instant.
“That’s enough. The Constellation would not wish for a fight between brothers. Sheathe your sword.”
Chris, pretending to be noble and playing the part of a prophet, stopped Evan.
Shink!
Evan, having sheathed his sword, pushed the Starlight Knight back.
The Starlight Knights’ faces turned bright red, but overwhelmed by Evan’s swordsmanship, they could not easily step forward.
Chris looked at the Holy Emperor.
“Since you spoke down to me first, I thought we could be casual as fellow servants of a Constellation, but it seems I have offended you. If I was rude, I apologize.”
“!!”
It was his way of saying, ‘You were informal first, so I was informal back. Why are you making a fuss when we’re both servants of a Constellation?’
But Chris continued on confidently.
“It is written in the doctrines that all servants of the Constellations are brothers. That we should serve each other as equals. That is why I acted as I did. But if you wish for me to uphold your secular authority, I will follow that.”
He was mocking the Holy Emperor for reigning as an emperor, a servant of a Constellation who should be serving others.
Istanya’s face hardened.
However, it was a difficult point to criticize.
Because according to the doctrines, Chris was correct.
In fact, the secularization of the Holy Emperor’s palace was a corrupt practice that conscientious priests of the order had been pointing out for a long time.
But who in the world would be mad enough to say such a thing to the supreme Holy Emperor's face?
“…You are an interesting one. If you wish, you may speak informally. As you said, you and I are both just servants of the same Constellation.”
“Alright. I’ll do that.”
“……”
As Chris replied rudely without a shred of hesitation, Istanya’s eyebrow twitched again.
A face that was clearly filled with displeasure for anyone to see.
‘Ugh. If you want to commit suicide, do it alone. Why in the world does he do this every time!’
Ruina, standing at the side, looked as if she was about to cry from anxiety.
Evan, on the other hand, had a face devoid of any wavering or doubt, as if he would trust Christian no matter what incomprehensible thing he did.
Evan’s faith was correct.
Chris was being intentionally rude because he had a purpose.
“…To think an ill-mannered person like you was recognized as a Hero. I find it hard to believe.”
It was to make her drop her mask.
At Istanya’s gaze, which had turned cold, Chris raised the corners of his mouth into a smirk.
‘Bingo. As expected, she’s easy to provoke. In our past life, too, she used to fly into a rage whenever I teased her just a little.’
Was it because they had spent time together as companions in his previous life?
Chris couldn't stop a smile from coming out.
To him, Istanya was less a great Holy Emperor and more a bad-tempered, bitter rival he had bickered and squabbled with.
‘Well, we were similar in that we were both emperors of a lost nation.’
For reference, Istanya was the only one in the hero’s party who knew that Chris had once been the emperor of the Karn Empire.
He had a memory of them getting drunk and taunting each other about being emperors of failed empires.
Of course, that was a matter of a previous life.
Now, he had to coax Istanya, who was glaring at him with a chillingly fierce gaze, to his will.
“You don’t look like a Hero at all. I don’t know what kind of trick you used. And a prophet, you say?”
Istanya raised her staff and pointed it at Chris.
A thick Star Power extended out and pressed in on Chris’s surroundings.
“I cannot feel even a speck of a Constellation’s energy from you. How could a bastard like you have received a revelation from a Constellation?”
“!!”
As expected of the Holy Emperor.
She had seen through Chris’s lie in an instant.
Ruina’s face turned deathly white, and Evan moved to block the way in front of Chris, as if to protect him.
“I’ll ask again. What is your identity?”
A cold tension flowed.
If he couldn't answer properly here, all the Starlight Knights of the Holy Emperor’s palace would aim their swords at him.
It was a situation of extreme danger, but Chris still replied in a composed voice.
“Didn’t I tell you? A prophet and a Hero.”
“Still lying….”
“If I tell you the reason why Your Majesty, the great Holy Emperor, came to see me in person, will that prove I am a prophet? I believe it has something to do with ‘The Mark’.”
“…What?”
The moment she heard the word ‘Mark’, Istanya’s face hardened.
The atmosphere was one of palpable bewilderment.
“…What is this nonsense you’re suddenly spouting?”
Istanya’s voice grew sharp, as if to hide her confusion, but Chris just raised the corners of his mouth into a smirk.
“The Constellation told me what is on the great Holy Emperor’s mind. But, is it alright to speak of it here? If I speak of it in a place with so many listeners, I think it might become inconvenient for Your Majesty, the great Holy Emperor.”
“……”
Istanya bit her lip hard.
She glared fiercely at Christian, then said something unexpected to her Starlight Knights.
“You may all leave.”
“Your Majesty?!”
“It is fine. In any case, no matter how rude these people are, they cannot harm my person within the Holy Emperor’s palace.”
“But…!”
“Are you saying you will not follow my command?”
Only then did the Starlight Knights hesitantly retreat.
When Istanya was left alone, Christian spoke.
“Are there no other watchers?”
Watchers on the Holy Emperor? A surprising statement.
The Holy Emperor furrowed her brow.
“How do you know that I am being watched?”
“Didn’t I tell you? That I received a revelation from a Constellation.”
Of course, it was a lie.
It was something he had heard at a drinking party.
-If it weren’t for those damned bastards, the Holy Empire wouldn’t have fallen so easily. I should have drowned them in a cesspool and killed them long ago.
The image of Istanya, drunk and cursing in a rough voice, came to mind.
-You should have done a better job then. It’s all your fault as the Holy Emperor for mismanaging the country.
-You rotten bastard. What about you, why have you been wasting your time all this while? A Sage of Medicine? A guide? To think you would waste your talent on such trivial things.
Istanya had spat out her usual complaints at Chris.
-If you had become the emperor of the Karn Empire just five years earlier, no, if you had just properly mastered either the sword or magic, the fate of the Alliance would have been different. The world was destroyed all because you, with those insane abilities of yours, neglected your duties.
-What kind of absurd nonsense is that….
He remembered how she had picked a fight with him every time they met.
‘Thanks to that, I also frequently bickered with the Chatterbox of Darkness, who would take my side.’
All he could remember was fighting with her, but perhaps that too was a memory in its own way?
Seeing her like this, he felt a sense of familiarity and a smile came to his face.
“I will help you.”
“……!!”
Istanya’s eyes widened.
“Isn’t that why you came to me in the first place? To ask for my assistance with the rotten bastards eating away at the Holy Empire, and to solve the problem of ‘The Mark,’ which is Your Majesty’s greatest worry.”
Istanya’s face hardened, and Chris twisted the corners of his mouth into a deliberate smirk.
-If only you had used your abilities properly.
He had heard that line tiresomely often, so this time, Chris decided to show Istanya his abilities for certain.
‘I teased Istanya a lot for being the Holy Emperor of a fallen nation, so I should help her at least once.’
Of course, it wouldn't be for free.
“However, there is a condition. You will follow what I say.”
“…And what is that?”
“I have a proposal that will be of help to you. Hear me out.”
Istanya’s face was covered in shock as she listened to Chris’s subsequent story.
It was unbelievable.
He had just made a truly insane proposal.
It was the beginning of the ‘operation’ to destroy the Tri-Alliance.