Chapter 338
“……”
“I also have a hunch that something big is going to happen soon. But at this rate, we'll just have to suck our thumbs.”
Yes.
The coming tribulation will not wait for her.
Because the end of the world was truly just around the corner now.
When the Mystic Demonic House reveals its true colors.
And when the boundary of the Three Realms collapses, and the celestials and demons walk the mortal plane, there was nothing she could do with a 5-Star achievement.
“I, too, am of the Dark Demonic House's bloodline. I don't like you acting all high and mighty by yourself. I want to get stronger and kick your ass, so help me.”
Merian also stepped forward, her eyes flashing.
“I ask of you as well. I want to become stronger and cut down as many enemies as possible.”
Alros also cried out resolutely beside them.
“H-help me, too! I-I want to get stronger!”
“…Alros, you too? Why?”
Alros looked as if he were overcome with emotion.
‘Why else! Because of you, I don't think I'm going to live to a ripe old age, so I'm trying to get stronger to survive!’
The level of danger in the ways Chris was using Alros as a tool was gradually rising.
A short while ago, he had been thrown into the Beast King’s cage as a prisoner.
At that time, having faced a life-threatening crisis, Alros had firmly resolved to become stronger in order to survive.
“Hmm.”
Chris crossed his arms.
“You're making an impossible request. No matter how great I am, I have no way of making you stronger in a short period.”
That was only natural.
The reason Chris had been able to increase the achievements of others in a short period until now was because they were all in a state where, if they just had a ‘catalyst’, they were fully prepared to overcome the wall before them.
However.
“Lies. You can do it.”
“!!”
Jupien said bluntly.
“Or, did you make me your vassal when you can't even do something as simple as this?”
At that provocation, Chris fell silent.
‘Honestly.’
Chris shook his head.
In truth.
There was one way.
One he had deliberately not mentioned.
“You just have to accept my blessing as vassals. However, there is a problem.”
“What is it?”
“One wrong move, and you could suffer from Qi deviation. In the worst-case scenario, you could become a cripple or an imbecile.”
“!!”
That's right.
This was the reason Chris hadn't mentioned it.
The blessing Chris could bestow upon his vassals was the ‘Awakening of Talent’.
To be precise, it was to forcibly activate their dormant potential.
‘Because people can originally only use a fraction of the potential they are born with.’
The problem was that because it was an artificial activation of potential, the side effects were great.
“You have to endure horrific side effects the entire time your potential is being activated. Even if you can somehow endure it, there is no guarantee that you will obtain the achievement you desire.”
“……”
“On the contrary, the forced activation of your potential could cause a confusion in the vessel you have built up until now, and your achievement could regress. In the worst-case scenario, you could fall into Qi deviation or become a cripple.”
Yes.
The probability of failure was much higher.
It was a gamble that could only succeed if accompanied by a miracle of miracles.
However.
“It's no big deal. I'll do it.”
“…You?”
“You're saying I just have to overcome it with mental strength, right? That's what I'm best at.”
Chris fell silent.
Come to think of it, that was true.
Jupien was a horrific training fiend.
To the point that she had achieved this much even without an outstanding innate talent.
As far as Chris knew, there was no one in either the Magus Empire or the Alliance who possessed a more tenacious spirit than Jupien.
“Please make me your vassal as well and bestow your blessing upon me. I will not lose to the Young Mistress.”
Merian, who had not yet become a vassal, also bowed her head.
“Uh… I'll think about it a little more. I'm weak-willed, so honestly, I'm not confident….”
The coward, Alros, backed away with a pale face, but Chris caught him.
“No, I don't know about the others, but you have to do it.”
“W-what?”
“Considering the things you'll have to do in the future, if you don't get stronger, you might actually die.”
“…The things I'll have to do? W-what do you mean by that?”
“You know, don't you? I'll be counting on you in the future, Alros.”
As Chris gave a slight smile, saying he would continue to work him hard, Alros tore at his hair.
‘Aaargh! You evil, devilish bastard!!’
Those who had come to see him were not just these three.
“I, too, wish to become someone worthy of the King Emperor Majesty Grand Duke.”
“How insolent. Did I tell you that title was permitted only to me, or did I not? The one who will stand by our brother’s side is me.”
Kashmir and Teren, who had barged in at the same time, growled at each other.
Marisa of the Venomous Demonic House came and made an incomprehensible declaration of war.
“Be prepared and wait. I will absolutely not fall behind you. I won't just keep watching your back like I have until now.”
“It's fine even if you do, though?”
“Shut up! I will definitely develop a poison that will crush that arrogant nose of yours!”
Chris nodded his head, bewildered.
“Uh… okay. But, how is the development of that medicine to make me stronger against alcohol coming along? That’s the most important thing?”
“That was a failure. Give up. A constitution that can't handle alcohol is a curse from the heavens. It's an incurable disease.”
“……”
Yulian came to visit as well.
She spoke of something different from the others.
“You're leaving the Dark Demonic House?”
“Yes, for a little while. I was thinking of visiting my hometown.”
She meant her hometown from her past life as an elf.
It didn't seem to be just because she was nostalgic.
“By any chance?”
“Yes, that's right. I'm thinking of challenging a Spirit Domain.”
It meant a spot connected to the Spirit Realm.
A place that spiritmancers challenge to contract with stronger spirits.
However, one had to risk their life.
“It’s dangerous.”
“Hehe, are you worried about me? My little brother is so warm-hearted, after all. Pretending to be cold on the outside, but warm on the inside. What do they call a personality like this? I think I saw it in a novel.”
“……”
Yulian gave a slight smile.
“It's alright. We're all the same, struggling for our lives. You're the same, aren't you? I'm your older sister, in name at least, so I can't just leave everything to my little brother.”
Yes.
The reason everyone was stepping forward like this now was for Christian’s sake.
To share even a little of his burden.
“I'll be back. If I happen to find any non-alcoholic liquor in the Spirit Realm that you can drink, I'll try to bring some back.”
“…Please don't tease me.”
Yulian disappeared with a soft laugh, and finally, the day of his departure for the Center arrived.
As he headed for the gate connected to the Center, an unexpected person was there to see him off.
It was Marie.
[Oh my. You look as enchanting and gallant as ever today, Young Master. My lady's heart is throbbing so much at the sight of you that it feels like it will burst.]
“…Marie?”
Chris frowned.
Her words and actions were similar to usual, but for some reason, it felt different.
He couldn't put his finger on it, but for some unknown reason, he felt a sense of emptiness from her.
“Is something wrong?”
[Ohoho. Not at all. I just couldn't resist wanting to see your sexy appearance, so I came out to see you off.]
Chris narrowed his eyes, but Marie just wore the same frivolous smile as always.
“…I’ll be back. I’ll buy you a gift, so you just wait here.”
[The greatest gift to me is you, Young Master. Ah, how lovely it would be if you came back with a ribbon tied on yourself. My face is flushing just from imagining it.]
“…Be quiet. I'll just buy you a suitably cheap exorcism talisman or something.”
Their usual, everyday conversation.
But it was different.
At the last moment, a brief silence flowed between them.
Marie smiled.
Also different from usual.
[Well then, please have a safe trip.]
* * *
Paaaaaaah!
As he passed through the gate, a wide-open vista unfolded before his eyes.
‘This is the Center?’
A vast plain. A clear, flowing river. The mountains of the reindeer, placed as if in a painting.
It was a landscape so beautiful that it naturally drew admiration.
Christian had traveled all over the continent, but this was the first time he had seen a place so beautiful.
‘It's a scene like paradise.’
That was not just a simple metaphor.
He got into the carriage sent from the Center and headed for the Imperial Capital, and the faces of the people he saw along the way were filled with smiles.
It was a sight where worries and anxieties were nowhere to be found.
“Is it not amazing?”
Duke Sant, who had come to meet Chris, opened his mouth.
Duke Sant was a figure from the Center who had previously visited as the Demon Emperor's representative for Christian's inauguration as Grand Duke, and was a high-ranking 8-Star magus, no less.
“This directly-controlled territory of the Center is no different from a paradise. It is all thanks to the grace of His Majesty the Demon Emperor. The subjects of the Center can be said to be the most blessed people on the continent.”
Chris nodded his head.
It didn't seem to be an incorrect statement.
Because no matter where he went on the continent, there were no people who looked so free of worries.
However.
‘Why does it feel so artificial?’
Chris’s gaze settled.
It wasn't that their smiles were fake.
But why?
It was a feeling like looking at a well-decorated sculpture.
That thought deepened the further the carriage crossed through the directly-controlled territory of the Center.
The closer they got to the Imperial Capital, the more beautiful the scenery and the more happiness-filled people he saw, but his sense of unease continued to grow stronger.
To a ghastly degree.
It was an intuition from his soul.
‘Why?’
He couldn't figure out the reason.
“Is there something you are curious about?”
Chris sent a wary gaze toward Duke Sant.
Although his attitude was favorable and kind, Duke Sant was a monitor.
Every action he showed to Duke Sant would enter the Demon Emperor’s ears, so he had to be careful.
Chris chose his words.
“The demonic soldiers are nowhere to be seen.”
This, too, was a strange point.
He had traveled a long distance, but he had not seen any fortresses or gates, let alone any magi.
“The Center does not have a separate standing army.”
“…What do you mean by that?”
“All of the subjects you have seen on your way here are the magi of the Center's army. In times of peace, they live their daily lives, and in times of emergency, they take up their swords.”
“!!”
Chris observed the subjects.
Indeed, when he looked closely, he could feel demonic energy.
The level of each and every one was not high, but it was an extremely subtle and pure energy.
Considering the number of subjects in the Center, it was a terrifying force.
‘But how can all of the subjects learn demonic energy?’
Chris wore an expression as if he couldn't understand.
Simply learning demonic energy did not require a great talent.
But that didn't mean that everyone could do it.
It wasn't for nothing that one was treated well for just reaching 1-Star.
“…For all the subjects to learn demonic energy is truly amazing.”
As he probed, Duke Sant, unexpectedly, nodded his head willingly.
“That's right. Because all of the subjects of the Center are 'chosen' ones.”
“…Did you say chosen?”
“Yes, not just anyone can live in this paradise on earth. They are all chosen ones.”
Chris fell silent.
Words heavy with meaning.
Chris had an intuition that what Duke Sant had just said was a clue to the sense of unease he felt.
Just then, the carriage came to a stop.
Magnificent.
A giant castle surrounded by beautiful, pure-white walls appeared.
It was the center of the Magus Empire, the Imperial Capital.
* * *
The inside of the Imperial Capital was similar to the sights he had seen while riding in the carriage.
It was like another world.
The streets were unrealistically clean and orderly.
He couldn't see any forces in charge of public security, but there was no commotion at all.
It seemed as if not even a petty thief existed, and the faces of the people overflowed with leisure and happiness.
But the sense of unease Chris felt grew as if it would burst.