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Prologue II -still, they seek an answer for living
It was a really tall ceiling that couldn’t be described.
And there were huge round pillars that were supporting the ceiling and decorated as much as possible.
That was considered to be the largest building in the Roland Empire, the most glamorous…and to be honest, the building with the most money spent on.
It’s the residence of the king of the Roland Empire…
Right now, everything here belongs to Sion Astal. However, to him, he felt that spending money on such things was already a waste…
According to the old men who surrounded him, the flashy appearance over here was an important way of showing the king’s dignity and honor.
“Flashy appearance of this grandeur stage…how stupid.”
He grumbled as he sat on the throne.
Such grandeur couldn’t save anyone. A flashy appearance couldn’t save the people. He knew this more than anyone. The people couldn’t even get what they want. Could anyone trust their king after seeing him deliberately show off his dignity and grandeur?
It was too laughable.
It’s a sin to be impotent for a person whose standing is above the people.
It’s a sin not to understand the pain of the people.
However, as he stood on this seat, he didn’t see anyone capable.
“Is this…the king’s…”
Sion narrowed his eyes.
He had to change.
He had to change everything.
That’s what he thought. Once he felt that he arrived at the end, he finally realized that the end was the beginning of everything.
A sluggish country.
An incompetent king and nobility, and a country on a long-term decline because of meaningless war.
This country had to change from the bottom up…
That’s what he thought.
However…
His eyes fell onto a stack of paper he was holding in his hands, and he smiled.
It was a report.
The crumpled papers were all fully filled with words that weren’t really easy to read. There was a lot of information in the stack of paper Sion was holding, but that was only a small portion.
If one were to count them all and read through all of these without any distractions, it would likely take a few days…
Sion ordered the report to be taken from the prison yesterday, and then went to analyze it with 5 scholars.
Excluding the parts he read and the parts the few scholars themselves were reading, he had more or less admitted to grasping the basic concept of it.
And the content itself…
Was really amazing.
Someone would actually think about this.
Something really amazing…
Only 2 years were spent, and he managed to investigate such a large amount of information and even make a conclusion.
The one who wrote this report…
Didn’t only intend to change the country, but to change the world.
“I…already felt that managing a country alone was tiring…such an amazing guy.”
Sion gave a wry smile.
And also, the title of this report was,
‘How to create a kingdom of afternoon naps?’
It was really a funny title. The scholars themselves just felt weak when they saw it, but when Sion saw it,
“Haha. That’s just like what that guy would do.”
He laughed heartily.
Someone would actually think of this without hesitation, and Sion had never thought of this before.
That’s what made him delighted.
So called comrades…are supposed to be like this. No, a country itself is supposed to be like this. No matter what ideals we have, what kind of people we are, we shouldn’t be treated differently. We should all be treated equally…
The basic content of the report was as such:
Ever since long ago, there were many people who had enough power to change the world, and were called demon lords or devils, evil people. These demon lords had complete magic circuits and had power that far exceeded human imagination. Even battalions made of powerful mages or soldiers couldn’t fight these real monsters called demon lords. Thus, this world would face a crisis of being destroyed by these so-called demon lords. However, this time, legends of how human warriors, like legends and knights of the light that had greater battle prowess than these demon lords caused them to be destroyed. Now, the problem was, who were these legends? While we set aside all these debates about whether these so-called demon lords or legends really existed…where do all these ‘humans’ with monstrous power come from? If the records of history books were all real, these legends could easily eliminate these powerful monsters of magic who in turn had killed hundreds of powerful mages easily. These legends, who were they? The world is scattered with legends of such legends. Even though these legends are hardly viewed as important today, however…people have found the weapons these legends used, and their locations were recorded. Regrettably, the secret documents that recorded these demon lords’ mysterious power never saw the light of day…even so, even if we can’t find these monsters, if we can find the remains of these powerful legends, can’t we use them as powerful weapons? At the same time, as for whether these demon lords or legends really existed…the ‘Alpha Stigma’ has provided an explanation. Nobody knows whether that’s an evil thing or something of the legend’s ability. However…the power that far exceeded expectations did exist. In that case, should there be other unique powers around? There’s immeasurable value in searching for such powers. A strong power can be used in a certain way and end wars before they start. This report illustrates the locations of these heroes, a detailed explanation of each legend and also a map which shows where the hero relics may be resting.
That’s basically the rough gist of the report.
Some may feel that the content here was completely laughable. Those who never witnessed the true power of the “Alpha Stigma’ may find this report to be a child’s fairytale story.
No, even Sion, who witnessed the power of the ‘Alpha Stigma’ felt that such a report was merely a dream.
However…
Sion looked at the first page of the report which he had seen countless times.
The author of this report here had a lot of thoughts when he wrote this.
Sion felt that this report was interesting after seeing such words.
He felt that it was valuable.
Just when Sion was about to reminisce about those words,
He immediately felt someone’s presence at this moment, and lifted his head.
He smiled and stood up,
“Ah, Ferris, you’re back? It’s been tough on you. How is it? Where is he?”
There was a beauty with long blond hair. Ferris Eris was standing in front of him.
He told her to look for this person who wrote this report. If he was useable, she was to bring him over.
And so…
Like usual, Ferris stared at Sion emotionlessly.
“That face looks rather dumb, and he just looks like he didn’t have enough sleep. I can’t even tell whether he had any fight in him or not.”
“Haha, didn’t I tell you? Then?”
“Un, even in a change in situation, he didn’t show any reaction at all, and lacked tension. I don’t know whether his danger processing ability was too weak or that he was too dull.”
“So?”
Sion smiled and asked.
On seeing such an expression from Sion, Ferris said with a somewhat unhappy tone,
“You’re really very irritating…you knew, didn’t you? He’s strong. I don’t think I will lose to him…but he’s the first one to threaten me other than my brother, and he held back before he attacked.”
“Is that so?”
On hearing that, Sion smiled.
He then looked away from Ferris and turned to face the large and tall man who came trudging in from behind with listless footsteps.
“You’re finally here. Welcome to my palace, Ryner.”
He said to the visitor.
On seeing the scene in front of him…
Ryner was so stunned that he was rooted to the spot.
He was a little suspicious at first.
He realized it from the moment he spoke to that lady with overwhelming ability, but…
Sion was sitting on the throne in front of him.
In other words, though he didn’t know what happened, but…he should be the king, right?
In other words, he wasn’t sentenced to death in the first place…
In other words, everything he did today after wasting so much effort was all wasted…
“Haa…I’m tired. Just let me sleep already. Good night~”
Ryner immediately wanted to run away from reality and lay down.
Isn’t there any value in being shocked that his ex-ally became the king…?
“Oi oi! Don’t sleep here. I’m the king after all.”
“I DON’T CARE ALREADY! I JUST WANT TO SLEEP!”
“Really, are these words of yours even appropriate? If you continue uttering rubbish like that, I won’t tell you about Kiefer.”
“…Doesn’t matter.”
“She’s dead.”
“Ah!?”
Immediately, Ryner leapt up from the ground and glared at Sion.
“You…”
At this moment, Sion gave a mysterious smile.
“Fooled ya. Ahaha! Are you finally awake now?”
At this moment, Ryner swore deep inside that he will kill this guy one day.
Ah, let’s not talk about this for now.
“…Fu, that’s right. You’re this kind of person anyway…spreading all sorts of baseless rumors like how I’m a lady killer and sorts…”
“Don’t be stupid. How can I become king if it’s not for someone like me?”
“This country’s going to be doomed soon with this guy as the king.”
“Hahaha! Maybe. Why don’t you be the king then?”
“Nope. It sounds troublesome. Oh yeah, how is it? What happened to Kiefer? You should know, right? I don’t know anything about her since I was locked up.”
“Un, shall I tell you?”
“Doesn’t matter. I won’t ask if you won’t say it.”
Ryner said. Sion shrugged his shoulders when he said that,
“I see. So I can’t control you like that…”
“Ah? Control? You!”
“Ahaha!”
Sion smiled back as he continued,
“Alright, I’ll tell you then. After leaving you in my care, Kiefer left Roland. She said that she wanted to journey through the countries. Maybe she wanted to see more of this world after going through the incident between Estabul and Roland?”
“Un~”
Ryner didn’t seem interested as he nodded his head. However, Sion merely chuckled as he saw this reaction…
Sion then continued,
“Well, the reason I brought you here today wasn’t to tell you this. Actually, I should say that I summoned you here to ask about this…”
Sion took a pile of papers that was originally placed on the throne. He waved it at Ryner, who seemed to have seen the pile of papers before somewhere.
“This is it. The thing you spent two years to investigate…”
“You took that thing!?”
Ryner couldn’t help but shout out.
However, Sion ignored him.
“I personally feel that this is interesting. Relics of the legendary heroes? Amazing. To think that you could actually think of something like that.”
“I say…don’t just read other people’s reports like that, you.”
“I already read it.”
“Return it to me.”
“No can do. I’m the king, you know? When do I ever need to listen to your orders?”
On hearing Sion say this, Ryner couldn’t help but say to the lady beside him,
“Wa, wa, didn’t you just hear him say that? He took other people’s things like that and even talked like that! This country’s doomed with such a king.”
And so, the lady who didn’t show any expression until the end said,
“It’s not like the king’s bad personality showed now. Birds of a feather, they say.”
“Are you talking about Sion and you?”
“I’m talking about the king and the sex maniac.”
At this moment, Sion joined in the battle.
“What do you mean by that? I thought I’m the most normal one amongst the trio.”
It seemed that the trio never heard of the saying ‘the pot calling the kettle black’…
Sion continued,
“Anyway, I like this report. So, I’m going to make you search for the contents in here personally, Ryner. I want you to journey around the world to gather the things called the relics of the legendary heroes back.”
“Ah!?”
On hearing that, Ryner cried out loudly,
“WHY ME!?”
But Sion ignored Ryner’s shouting as he continued,
“But I’m a little worried about your lackluster attitude, Ryner…so, Ferris, I want you to assist Ryner and escort him.”
Immediately,
“…”
The lady remained silent as she looked at Sion.
“You bastard…what do you want, king?”
One really couldn’t tell that she was treating the king like a king…
Anyway, the two people who were entrusted with the task were unhappy.
Ryner said,
“Sion, don’t just make decisions on your own. I made that report because I had too much time. I did it, but I just want to let my dreams expand for life and treat it as an interest once I age.”
However, Sion remained calm as usual,
“Do I care about that? You’ll be given the death penalty if you don’t listen to my command.”
He said that mercilessly.
Then, the lady, the one called Ferris by Sion said,
“I’m from the Eris family, but I’m not the master. Besides, I’m not formally your subordinate. I have no reason to listen to your order…”
But Sion merely refuted her words easily,
“I knew you would say that, so I let Lucile read this report too and got his permission. Lucile said that this report’s content was rather meaningful. He said that if Ferris made this plan fail…for some reason, Iris will die. So Ferris, if you can’t escort Ryner properly, Iris might die, you know?”
“Un. No problems. I have to protect my own life…”
But Sion immediately interrupted Ferris and chuckled,
“You’re too naïve, Ferris. Things aren’t that simple. According to Sion, if you don’t follow what I say, the Wynnit dango shop may be obliterated immediately.”
Immediately.
Ferris said with a wavering tone that seemed like it wasn’t there before and said,
“You!? You despicable bastards!?”
At this moment, a clear man’s voice rang from somewhere.
‘You’re to leave in two minutes’.
It’s unknown where this voice came from. Ryner looked around and couldn’t see anyone, and could only tell that the voice came from a certain place.
But on hearing that voice,
“Ugh…that guy’s serious…”
Ferris groaned.
After saying that, she suddenly drew her sword out and pointed it at Ryner’s neck.
She then said this,
“That’s how it is. There’s no time. Let’s go, sex maniac.”
“Ah? What do you mean by that? This has nothing to do with me! Sion! Why do you always act on your own all the time…WA…!”
However, Ryner’s words were interrupted by the sword that was poked 1mm deep into his neck.
Ferris oppressed him.
She gave an emotionless face that was really scary and stared at Ryner.
“I said that we have no time. Choose! Chop your head off? Chop your body off or listen to me? Which one?”
Her expression looked like she was serious. Actually, from the moment Ryner met her, she had never shown any emotion on that serious look of hers, so it looked like she was playing serious all the time…
“Ugh.”
Ryner got up as if he was running away, and tried hard to get away from the sword that was near his throat.
“You’ll pay for this, Sion!”
He angrily raged at Sion, who looked like he foresaw what was going to change in the future as he smiled.
“Haha. Looks like you finally thought through this.”
“Who would!? I’ll definitely…”
At this moment, that voice which came from somewhere rang again.
‘1 minute left.’
“I’d say! What’s with this ominous voice!?”
Ryner roared. Ferris said,
“Damn it. There’s no time. The dango’s in danger. I’m going then, king.”
“Un. I’ll leave Ryner to you then, Ferris.”
“Un.”
“I say. Why are you randomly…eh?”
Just when Ryner was about to roar out again, a metal block quickly swung right at his eyes.
It was Ferris’ longsword. She didn’t use the blade itself, but the side of it to smack Ryner in the face.
“UWAH!?”
Ryner was sent flying away, and his consciousness nearly went just like that.
He collapsed onto the floor, and didn’t even have the strength to get up. However…
On seeing this, Ferris said,
“Very good.”
“WHAT’S GOOD ABOUT THIS!?”
“Oh, to think you’re so energetic. How about this move?”
Ferris said and stepped on Ryner’s back hard.
This time, Ryner didn’t even have the strength to move. Ferris looked down at him while he was lying limp on the floor and said,
“Let’s go then, partner.”
“…What? On what basis are we partners anyway…I have no interests in such things you know…ARGH!?”
Ferris gave a fatal blow to Ryner. She grabbed him by the collar and slowly pulled him and moved forward.
Just like that, these two incompatible people began their journey.
Even though Ryner was unconscious, and Ferris was still emotionless…
What will the future behold for them?
Or rather, will Ryner ever wake up?
Nobody knows for now.
After watching both of them leave, Sion returned to his throne.
He smiled and raised Ryner’s report again.
The first page.
How many times had he read it since yesterday?
He muttered to this empty space,
“Lucile, is this where I’m going to?”
And,
“I don’t know.”
A voice rang. A man’s figure suddenly appeared in front of Sion, and Sion didn’t show any surprise at all.
The man said,
“But that’s one of the paths to the future. This isn’t your final destination, which is why I haven’t killed you. A king’s an item, a gear in the country. The gear won’t spoil when it’s new. Fufu, you’re still considered new.”
Sion stared at this person who said such words casually.
This was Sion’s current stand.
This was also one of the things that belonged to him.
He had power, but in contrast, he lost a lot of things.
However, he continued to remain determined to move forward. No matter what he will lose, no matter what sad things he will face.
That’s because this was the path he decided to walk on.
At this moment, Sion’s eyes again fell on Ryner’s report.
A new path was illustrated on it.
“That’s good.”
Sion muttered.
It’s alright if Ryner took that path.
“Even though that path is different from mine…”
The content of the report began with these words,
Men don’t like death.
They don’t like to kill.
They don’t like reluctant tears, and they don’t like to cry for nothing.
What’s the feeling like when someone can’t choose their own life?
How does it feel to have a family member die?
What is the emotional state when someone a person likes dies?
Nobody wants to face these, but why is the world laughing and thirsting greedily for this meaningless sadness?
I’ve never thought of trying to change anything. But if I don’t change it, sadness will be unavoidable, and I don’t want to lose anything…
It may be troublesome to say this, but…
It’s time to move forward. I’ve always been trying my best not to face this problem head on, but if there’s a need, why not look back at my past head on?
And,
To enjoy a world where a person won’t lose anything and anyone.
A wonderful world where that girl and Kiefer won’t cry, Tai, Tony and Fualu won’t die, and Sion wouldn’t be in a dilemma.
Moving forward to a world where everyone is happy and could sleep all day.
Ryner Lute.