I have been very busy this past week. It was very obvious during negotiations just how much they are looking down on me. I shut down all of their offers and added a few unreasonable demands on top of it for disrespecting me but also to stall things out. They even tried to forcibly take me somewhere else but Alexia who was on guard duty at that time single handedly took out the troop they sent. She didn’t kill them but I doubt they are going to try a stunt like that again since either Bel or Alexia are guarding me at all times.
I used the time they gave me to teleport out of my room and take out the trash. I modified my cloak to change my appearance into that of a monster from a legend Alexia told me about during our time at the academy. While I don’t really like that legend I’m glad I remembered it. It’s about how a monster with skin as white as snow, ashen hair, glowing red eyes and, coincidentally, uses a scythe, protects the commoners from a danger they wouldn’t be able to handle themselves. The story doesn’t mention if that danger is something like a war or if it could even be illness or similar things but it’s close enough to fit my plans.
Most of the nobles of this country are trash beyond redemption so it was an easy decision but when it came to the crown prince I offered him to take over for his father and change things to be similar to how they are in the Gairyn Kingdom. Sadly he refused saying something about not wanting to give up his authority and power and commoners aren’t worth it. I stopped listening at that point and beheaded him. I’m not sure if I was ever spotted before but since the prince was making quite the commotion I’m sure the guards outside saw me when they entered. Not that it matters since there was only one more person to try to get on my side before it’s the emperor's turn tomorrow.
He also refused, I really had high hopes for him, he seemed to think differently than most and was looking forward to change so I don’t understand why he would put a country and emperor like this first.
I did learn something interesting from his documents though so it wasn’t a complete waste of time. According to those documents the emperor has a daughter but since she has the Vindex Talent she is locked away. I have never heard of someone with a Talent like that so I’m very curious about it and I will give her the same choice, maybe since she got discarded by the empire just like the commoners she will feel the same as they do which is why I am now on my way to where she is being held.
I thought it would be harder to get to her but there is no one anywhere close to where she is being held. I walk up to a heavy looking iron door and when I try to open it it makes creaking noises. I can probably just force it open with my strength but I don’t know how the building would take it. The building looks very run down and I’m pretty sure some of the bricks are already falling apart. It’s honestly appalling just thinking about how the country's princess is held here just because they say her Talent is useless.
I use my scythe to destroy the door and enter the building. The inside looks even more run down than the outside. There is only a mattress in one corner and a table and chair in another corner, otherwise it’s completely empty.
The princess is sitting on the chair, an eerie aura around her. I approach her and I’m a bit surprised that she doesn’t seem to react to me having just destroyed her door.
“I wouldn’t bother with me. I might as well not exist to the emperor.”
“The emperor is destined to die tomorrow. What I’m interested in is what you would do if you took his position.”
She finally turns around and looks at me, she looks very emotionless without a hint of fear. “I would remove the officials currently in office, change the law to be the same as in the Gairyn Kingdom and ask them for aid even if we would have to become a vassal state. I guess the first part isn’t really necessary anymore though since you seem to have taken care of that already.”
I give her a wide smile, “I didn’t expect someone who was locked up for most of their life to know that much about what’s happening outside. But I’m glad my suspicions about your Talent not being as useless as people say turned out to be true”
She looks a bit shocked, “How do you know about my Talent?”
“The last minister I paid a visit had some documents about you though there isn’t really any information about the powers of your Talent but from meeting you I have an idea what it could be.”
She thinks for a moment, “So what are you going to do now? Kill me as well?”
I take off the cloak and offer her my hand, “I would prefer you becoming the empress after tomorrow and start an alliance with the Gairyn Kingdom.”
She looks even more shocked now that I took off the cloak and the illusion disappeared, revealing my true identity. She seems to think for a bit before kneeling down on one knee.
Fuck.
“Your highness, please accept my loyalty.”
Why does this keep happening to me?
“Let’s discuss this at a later point, this isn’t the right place.”
She gets up and takes my hand, “Okay, but I won’t drop this easily.”
I teleport us both back to my room and then walk over to the door. When I open it I see it’s Bel’s turn to guard me so I ask her, “I need to talk to you and Alexia if it’s not too much trouble for her.”
“Of course.”
I return to the room and only a few moments later Bel and Alexia enter.
“What do you need from us, your highness?”
Alexia seems to have noticed the additional person in my room, “You highness, why did you kidnap someone? Or more importantly, HOW?!”
“I did not kidnap her, she came with me mostly voluntarily. But she is part of what I want to talk about.”
Bel rubs her temple, “You better have a good explanation for all of this.”
“Of course I do but let’s start with introductions.” I gesture at the princess, “This is the imperial princess, her highness Lauren Audrina Stovaria.” I then gesture at Bel and Alexia respectively, “And they are my friends and personal knights, Bella Ordno and Alexia Barnes.”
Lauren gives them a courteous bow, “It’s a pleasure meeting you and thank you for your concern.”
They both look at her a bit surprised, “Of course.” They then look at me, “Now then, explain yourself?”
“Okay, so, I went around from place to place in order to get rid of some trash in the empire but I ran into the problem of if all the leaders are gone in the empire there is no ruler and it would be a hassle if I had to fill that position. But all the officials I offered the opportunity to take over under the condition to better the empire refused. I found out about Lauren's existence today so I figured I would offer her the same since she would be the perfect candidate to take over the empire and she accepted. I’m going to need your help for the next step of my plan so I brought her back here in order to discuss things.”
“Okay, so one thing at a time, when you say ‘get rid of some trash’ am I correct to assume you mean all of the officials that have been killed recently?”
“I said what I said. The institution that held me captive and used me for experiments for over 100 years treated me better than that trash treated the literal princess of the empire. I refuse to acknowledge people like that as anything other than trash.”
Bel and Alexia change between looking at me and Lauren with a concerned expression but Lauren is the one asking the next question, “Excuse me, your highness, I hope I don’t offend you by asking this question, but how old are you and what is the institution you speak of?”
“Officially, I’m 18, technically I’m around 120 or so. My birth parents sold me to an organisation the day after finding out my Talent. That organisation did various experiments using me and other children until my mom and a few groups of high ranking adventurers rescued us 6 years ago. Mom decided to adopt me after finding out I was there for about 100 years according to documents.”
Bel adds, “‘Experiments’ is an interesting way to say that they only gave you food that was drugged resulting in excruciating pain and would have resulted in death for pretty much anyone else.”
Lauren looks at me shocked, “I don’t think being locked in a room for a few years is comparable to being poisoned for a century.”
“Maybe I exaggerated a bit but being locked in a room for years isn’t something I can overlook. Anyways, to go back to my plan. Since the emperor is the only one still around with power my plan is to get rid of him tomorrow and replace him with Lauren. When Lauren takes over the throne we can declare an alliance and the Gairyn Kingdom can send support for the people in need. We can have trustworthy commoners take over the now empty positions of officials and implement changes to empower the commoners just like in the Gairyn Kingdom.”
They think about my plan for a moment before Lauren speaks up, “That plan sounds good in theory but how are we supposed to find trustworthy people to take over the position of the officials? We can’t rely on someone's Talent since we already know how that ended. And there is no guarantee that the people will actually accept me as a new ruler.”
Bel and Alexia nod in agreement.
“Your Talent actually solves both of those issues rather easily.”
“How do you know about my Talent anyway? I don’t even know what exactly it’s supposed to be.”
“Right, let me explain. You all know about the magic used to reveal someone’s Talent, right?”
They all nod. “So are you aware that Talents are actually in an ancient language and a part of the magic used to reveal it translates it?”
They look at me shocked and Alexia asks, “How did you find that out?”
“Well, I did some research since not much is known about my Talent. Turns out it’s not really a secret and the temple gives access to that information to anyone. From that I also tried it out without the translation though it took a bit to get it right.”
I use the spell and next to me appear the words ‘Aevitas’ while next to Bel and Alexia there is a ‘Magus’ and next to Lauren is ‘Vindex’. They look at the writing in the air with a hint of fascination.
“So now let me change the spell a bit to add the translation.” I cast the spell again but add the translation component and the words appear again. Next to me appears ‘Eternity’, next to Bell and Alexia appears ‘Magic’ and next to Lauren are the words ‘Champion’. At first they look at the words next to me in fascination before changing to the ones next to Lauren.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
Lauren is the first to speak up, “You know, this doesn’t really change much. Sure I know the name in our language now but I still have no idea what it’s supposed to do.”
“Ah you see, I think the story I borrowed the appearance from is actually mostly true.”
Alexia looks at me in disbelief, “What do you mean? I thought you said that was you?”
“Well yes. But, aside from the appearance, the story is mostly true. Lauren’s Talent proof of that.”
“W-what? How is my Talent related?”
“The temple actually has a very similar story to the one told by the commoners. The main difference is that it’s more general and not bound to a single region and the entity is described as a champion, otherwise the story is pretty much the same. This matches how life of the commoners started going downhill about 25 years ago and Lauren being born only a few years later. I’m pretty sure the eerie aura and the knowledge comes from the suffering commoners. Going from that I’m also pretty sure that you can feel hostility from someone who is interacting with you.”
They all think for a bit and Bel asks, “I can see how that can work but what do you need us for?”
“I need you to spread the information about Laurens existence as well as our cooperation.”
“And how are we supposed to do that within a day? It’s not like we can go around and tell people about it.”
“No, it’s actually a lot easier. When you leave the room start talking about how the entity appeared in my room with the imperial princess saying that she is on our side and promised her support if we help her take over the throne and change things for the better for the commoners and I accepted so we have to prepare for that for tomorrow. We are under surveillance anywhere outside my room so if you talk about this it gets reported to the emperor. It’s going to cause a bit of a commotion which will make it very believable and since a lot of the people employed by the castle are actually commoners it should be very easy to spread.”
“I see. It’s worth a shot.”
With that the discussion finished and Bel and Alexia leave the room again and I turn to Lauren, “It’s a long shot but do you know what your compatible weapon is by any chance?”
“Actually I do. I’m not sure why but something is telling me it’s a Tower Shield and longsword. Shouldn’t it only be a single weapon? Why is it paired and how do I know it?”
“It’s probably a part of your Talent.”
I take a tent from my backpack, it’s an improved version that has a workshop, 2 bedrooms and a kitchen, put it up and enter while gesturing to Lauren to follow me in.
She seems to hesitate a bit before entering, “What the hell!”
“Been awhile since I had that reaction. I made it myself, come over here, I have a few weapons for you to try out.”
I head into the workshop and pull out 3 shields and 5 swords from a cabinet and put them on a table.
“The shields all have about the same durability but from left to right, the first one has a spell on it that reflects damage it blocks at about 3 times the strength, the second one has a spell that creates a barrier, essentially increasing the size of the shield, but attacks from people you consider an ally will pass through, and the last one creates a zone gives people you consider an ally protection as if the shield was blocking the attack. For the swords, also left to right, the first is relatively simple, it contains a paralysing spell that triggers when you it someone, even if the attack is blocked, the next one is a simple spell sword, it increases the power of spells cast while holding the sword, the third one ignores defences, including shields, by phasing through it, the fourth one has 2 modes, the first one is essentially like a regular sword but if you add mana it will heal instead of causing injuries, and the last one leaves wounds that can’t be healed unless the wielder allows it.”
Lauren looks at me flabbergasted, “Where the hell did you get ridiculous weapons like this? Don’t tell me you made them yourself?”
“Of course I made them myself. I’m officially an advanced blacksmith but if you take into account that I can make any weapon into a magic weapon I’m essentially a master blacksmith.”
“And you’re just giving me a weapon most nobles probably wouldn’t be able to afford?”
“I mean, you did pledge loyalty to me so that’s the least I can do and I think it would be more impressive tomorrow if you are properly equipped.”
She thinks for a moment before taking the right shield and the fourth sword. She activates the shield's ability which emits a bright light for a moment and then envelops both me and herself after that she gives the sword a few test swings.
“I think these will do. Thank you very much, your highness .”
“Please just call me Lucina. I want to add one more thing to both so why don’t you head to bed while I work on it, it’s probably going to take until tomorrow. Feel free to take either the bed in the room outside or one of the two bedrooms here.”
“I’m going to stay in the room next to this, please get me if you need me for something.”
With that she left the room and I got to work.
I’m just about to finish the armour I plan to give Lauren when she enters the workshop.
“Good morning. You haven’t been up all night, have you?”
“It’s morning already? I thought I was working pretty fast. But anyways I still have to finish up the armour so why don’t you take the shield and sword and add your mana to it. It might take a bit but you will know when to stop.”
She heads over to pick up the shield and swords and I assume she starts adding mana while I continue working on the armour. The armour was already almost finished, all I still had to add some safety just in case and after I finished that I turned to look how Lauren is doing.
I thought it would take longer but it looks like she finished at the same time as me.
“If you’re done, let’s test it out.” I take her weapons and put them to the side.
“How can I test them if you take them away from me?”
I give her a smile, “Reach out your arms and think about the weapon appearing.” I reach out my hand and my scythe appears in my hand. “Just like this.”
She stares at me surprised before holding out her hands. Both the sword and the shield disappeared from next to me and appeared in her hands at the same time.
“How is it? The mana consumption isn’t too much, is it?”
She looks between the weapons in her hand and where they were just a moment ago before answering, “It’s quite a bit but it should be fine since I don’t really use magic.”
“Good, that armour over there is also for you. I’m going to wait outside and we can leave once you change.”
With that I leave the tent and go back into my room. I open the door and tell Bel, who is on guard duty right now, to start getting ready to head out.
It doesn’t take very long for Lauren to get out of the tent as well, dressed in the armour I gave her.
“While I appreciate you giving me the weapons and this armour, the design is really embarrassing.”
“What do you mean? The design is pretty standard for Paladin armour.”
“Be that as it may, it feels like wings are going to appear on my back at any second.”
“Damn! That would have been a good idea. But there isn’t enough time for any more changes since Bel and Alexia should be ready with their troops so let’s go.”
When we leave the room Bel, Alexia and the rest of the Lux Ales are indeed ready to leave so we head over to the throne room.
Lauren is walking next to me, Bel is walking slightly on the side behind Lauren, Alexia slightly on the side behind me and the rest is following behind them. It looks pretty impressive and I’m slightly curious where they got the banners from. I’m pretty sure I didn’t see them use those on the trip here.
We enter the throne room and there are quite a few troops here, but from the looks of it most of them are commoners.
Lauren takes a step forward, “Father, this is your last chance, abdicate the throne and hand it over to me and this will all be over. Our country will not survive if we continue going forwards like this.”
The emperor laughs in response, “Or what? Your Talent is useless! That’s the whole reason you were locked away! You are a stain on the royal bloodline!”
“My Talent isn’t useless, it’s the manifestation of the pleas from the commoners!”
The moment she says those words I use my magic to create a beam of light coming down on her. There is a small murmur going around the guards and the emperor looks angry, “Guards! Kill them all!”
The guards approach us and Bel and Alexia are about to make a move but I give them the signal to stand by.
The guards stop in front of Lauren and kneel on one knee “All hail the Empress!” They then get back up again and turn around, standing between us and the emperor.
The emperor gets up from his throne, “So be it!”
He starts casting a spell and Lauren teleports her weapons into her hands and moments later a warm light envelops everyone aside from the emperor. A giant fireball comes down centred on Lauren but the moment it comes into contact with the light covering us it disappears into nothingness.
The emperor looks at the scene in shock and Lauren steps forward.
“Guards! Arrest him!”
The guards move forward and put the emperor in chains and take him away. All that’s left now is to spread the news and implement the changes.
I sent one of my guards back to the Gairyn Kingdom to inform them about what happened and request aid for the Empire and Lauren sent a guard to accompany them to spread the news on the way and inform the border guards as well as to testify from their side as well. It will probably take them a while to return but it should be faster than our journey here since they don’t have to stop at inns. Meanwhile new officials are being selected and a public execution of the former emperor is being planned. News is spreading from the capital outwards and the wealth of the former officials got confiscated and is now being used for reparations or the building of facilities anyone can use. All commoners who were forced to work under the former emperor were given the opportunity to leave and while most left enough stayed so it shouldn’t cause any issues. We also announced the alliance officially between the Empire and the Kingdom.