Children of the Holy Emperor - Chapter 398



Only Noblemtl

398. Pian (3)

[Hey! Aren’t you going too far, even if you’re doing this to the devil? I thought you were finally going to call me, but why is it right in front of your father’s nose?]

“Oh, sorry, sorry.”

Seongjin could fully understand the Demon King’s confusion at being suddenly summoned before the representative of God and having to tremble.

However, he had his own reasons. Since he could not guess how much magic the Demon King was spreading, he could not summon him from another place in advance and prepare his mind.

In that case, it would have been better to do it in front of my father and get confirmation that he was harmless. Even if other priests stumbled and fell, my father would surely be a strong shield.

‘Well, I never expected this guy to suddenly start talking about grandpa.’

However, in the end, the Demon King’s reckless tactics had a certain effect. After being silent for a while, the Holy Emperor finally sighed deeply and placed a sacred barrier on the demon himself.

Seongjin couldn’t feel it properly, but it was clear that the strength of the magic coming from the guy had probably decreased significantly.

And that’s not all.

– Find out my method. In the meantime, try to hide it well so that others don’t see it.

Since his father said so, Sungjin just had to trust him and wait. It was a huge gain, even if it meant enduring a little bit of shame!

Of course, whether the gain was worth the harm done to some poor soul’s dignity was another matter.

[This is all your fault, Lee Sung-jin! Why did you call me a brat for no reason!]

Sizzling.

Sparks drip from the Demon King’s eyes, leaving marks of burns.

Fortunately, there was no fire or anything like that, because the Demon King was currently resting on the fancy plate that Seongjin had prepared in advance.

He was so saddened by the loss of the salt crystal that he asked for the most ornately crafted plate in the palace to be prepared in its place.

Well, looking at it this way, it kind of looks like a lantern. It has quite a bit of charm, doesn’t it?

“By the way, Demon King. Shouldn’t you start thinking of a proper name now?”

After waiting for the guy to calm down a bit, Seongjin carefully brought up the matter he had been thinking about.

He planned to keep the Demon King by his side as much as possible in the future.

But, even though I had to ask my tired father to do such a difficult thing to hide his true identity, I couldn’t call him the ‘Demon King’ in front of other people.

[huh?]

Of course, the Demon King was bewildered.

[Why do you need that? I have a proper name that is cool and worthy of the Demon King.]

“that…….”

When Seongjin couldn’t answer and trailed off, the demon king’s eyes immediately became sharp.

[Lee Seong-jin. Have you forgotten my real name?]

…hmm.

“That’s not such an important matter, Demon King. There is a reason why I am making this suggestion.”

[Why? What reason?]

So, think about it.

Let’s say I introduce you with a name that is literally ‘demon-like and cool’. Wouldn’t people who are already suspicious of your identity look at you with even more suspicion?

It’s also better to use a pseudonym for security reasons.

There are many books in Delcross that are banned because they contain the truth of another world, like [Apocalypse of the Other World]. Maybe your true name is written somewhere in those books.

Even leaving aside the book addict Sir Valerie, there’s a good chance that someone will find out your identity at some point.

In that case, wouldn’t it be better to use a slightly insignificant pseudonym to let people down their guard?

After explaining it for a while, the Demon King got angry and started spitting out sparks.

[Lee Seong-jin. Are you saying that now?]

“Why? Isn’t it cute? Red… … .”

[don’t do it!]

Eventually, the demon king could no longer control his anger and started to stir things up in the room.

Crackle, crackle.

From the objects he passes by, ominous noises are emitted along with acrid smoke.

[Don’t ever call me that! The moment you say that name, I feel like my existence will be irrevocably fixed!]

hmm.

“Don’t be so negative, Demon King. After all, you had at least a temporary name to call me by, so I guess there’s a trace of you left on the soul stone, even if it’s just a little bit.”

[What? Are you done talking? Kyaaaaak!]

Chijijik!

The crackling sound of the objects he passed by seemed to be getting louder, but Sungjin calmly followed his movements with his eyes.

Now, my body is in perfect condition and my aura is also full. If the Demon King fails to control the flames again and a fire breaks out, I am fully prepared to prevent it this time!

[Lee Seong-jin, you bastard!]

But the demon king, who had been wandering around for a while, suddenly came right in front of Seongjin and grumbled.

[Do you think I don’t know what’s on your mind? I know you’re in a really good mood today, but stop teasing me! Why are you more excited than usual?]

“…I?”

[Yeah, you! Even though you didn’t say anything, you felt really relieved earlier, right?]

“… … ?”

As Sungjin blinked, not knowing what was going on, the demon king sighed and blew out the remaining smoke.

[Since I am preserved in the soul stone anyway, it is not a big deal if you summon me a little late. But why did you rush to meet your father and me, and then say things like I am like your child and all?]

…uh?

[Be honest. You weren’t sure how your father would react to your suddenly magical presence, were you? That’s why you wanted to put me in front of him and see how he reacts.]

“… … .”

[Okay, am I wrong? If you have something to say, say it!]

Seongjin was speechless and stared blankly at the Demon King. However, he soon shook his head firmly as a conviction flashed through his mind.

You wanted to confirm, that can’t be true. My father knew of my existence from ‘a long time ago’. And he gladly called me ‘his’ son, and even said he would always be by my side.

… I don’t remember exactly when it was, but I’m sure of it! So, there’s no way I could doubt a father like that, right?

“what…….”

Still, it’s a separate matter whether I feel better about his reaction.

So, I went to my father and personally put a rabbit sleeping mask on him to give him some rest after a long time. But I couldn’t help but feel like I was giving him a bottle and medicine.

Seongjin stared at the red flashing flame for a moment, then raised the corners of his lips and continued speaking.

“So let’s stop talking nonsense and have a proper discussion about how we should behave in front of others starting tomorrow. Okay? Red… … .”

[Oh, don’t do that!]

* * *

Seonghwang was alone and silent. It was thanks to the power of the rabbit eye patch that Owen had given him.

-You must have had a hard time during the gap, but today, don’t think about anything and just rest well. And don’t worry about the Delcross dimension at all.

His son himself said this, holding out the rabbit patch.

‘If that’s what the kid said, then that’s what should happen.’

It took about a month to squeeze hundreds and thousands of dimensions into the gaps. And it took a week to organize it all.

He had spent so much mental strength that it would have been impossible for anyone else to do it in their entire life, but today, he decided to just listen to his son.

As the noisy mind that was always there began to quiet down, my senses became more sensitive and I began to hear voices from my memories like hallucinations.

-Why don’t you try to preserve cause and effect? ​​Why do you act like such a foolish person, ready to throw everything away without any regrets at any time?

The old man used to yell at him like that all the time.

But he had no idea. The reason why the Holy Emperor can act however he pleases sometimes is not because he has no back, but rather because he has a strong back.

Look at how the government is running smoothly despite his absence for a long time. Aren’t things being prepared to replace him as time goes by?

Finally, Seonghwang, who remembered his son’s confident face, slowly closed his eyes, feeling a little relieved.

Squeak-

After a while, the door to the room where he was resting opened quietly. It was Katrina, who had even disarmed herself, fearing that she might disturb her master’s rest.

“… … .”

She looked at the resting Seonghwang with a surprised expression for a moment. It was an appearance she had never seen before, except when she was still a young knight and served the young prince.

Perhaps because he had spent an unusually long time in the prayer room, the Holy Emperor must have taken care of important matters that Katrana could not even guess at.

‘Please, just forget your worries and rest comfortably for now… … .’

The loyal knight commander, who had prayed in his heart, soon closed the door with a calm smile.

Not long after, a nimble assassin sneaked into his room.

“… … .”

The assassin, who had been hovering around the palace, worrying for no reason while the Holy Emperor was in the prayer room, returned with a slightly relieved expression on his face after confirming that the Holy Emperor was in good health.

Of course, he belatedly remembered his original purpose of assassinating the king and made a dumbfounded expression.

And although no one who visited this place would have noticed, there were small spirit terminals that had been circling around the castle since a while ago.

[… … .]

[… … .]

The little souls, each flashing blue and pink, soon landed on the king’s bed as if they were going to lie down together.

[This is the first time that Seonghwang Dad doesn’t know that we’re here. It feels a little strange.]

[Your Majesty, Dad, you should get some rest too. Honestly, I thought it might be a bit too much this time.]

[Then what about the Delcross dimension in the meantime?]

[Mores is here. Nothing will happen.]

And the two of them remained silent for a moment, staring intently at the face of the saint.

In fact, their father was a man who had no weaknesses at all, so it was the first time he had seen him so calm and defenseless.

After a while, the souls who felt they had seen him enough rose into the sky again.

[Okay. Then today, let’s guard the dimension instead of Seonghwang’s father.]

[Yes. If anything happens, let Mores know right away!]

[… Should I just go and visit Mores now? Red seems a bit different than before.]

[No, let’s stop. If we sneak up on Mores like before, we’ll get caught right away.]

And the two of them looked at each other for a moment, their souls blinking.

[But isn’t it strange? How did Mores, who has no spiritual eyes, create such a substitute spiritual eye?]

[You borrowed Red’s eyes before. Didn’t you completely steal Red’s abilities?]

But how on earth could such a thing be possible? The two soul terminals circled around the Holy Emperor’s bedside, each lost in thought. And after a while, they came to a simple conclusion.

[Well, that’s not strange. Mores is Mores.]

[That’s true. Mores is none other than Mores.]

* * *

The Emperor, who had been having a rare nap, woke up refreshed for the first time in a while. This meant that he was fully prepared to deal with the picky cardinals.

And Cardinal Meyer, who was the first among them to be called, was dumbfounded when he heard such unexpected words from the Holy Emperor.

“The fire fairy… you mean?”

“Yes. I’m planning to publish a fairy tale about the spirits of mythology. So I’ll have to revise some of the heresy trial’s arrest guidelines and release some of the banned books.”

“… … .”

Cardinal Meyer was momentarily speechless at the outrageous demand.

“However, Your Majesty… … .”

“As you know, the story of the first emperor and the fairy of the moon, Olivier, is still very popular. For a while, all the girls born were named Olivier. Perhaps the people will also greatly welcome the story of the new fairy.”

All of these things will eventually have to be formally approved by the Holy Synod, so they will first have to give their word to Cardinal Meyer, their leader.

-This is what I mean, so proceed without any major fuss.

Fortunately, Cardinal Meyer was not as closed-minded as his junior, Benitus. He was not as hasty as Archbishop Wesker, and he knew how to discipline the priests of the Holy Synod.

That is, it means that the person who is best suited to be called Seonghwang is someone who is flexible in his thinking while maintaining moderation.

but-

“Your Majesty. The fairy is… … .”

Cardinal Meyer spoke with a trembling expression.

These were beings that appeared only in old myths that were passed down by word of mouth. It was a foolish belief at the time when the people suffered in ignorance, not knowing the light of the Lord.

The heresy court defined the very existence of these ‘fairies’ as ‘evil’, because everything that was not explicitly stated in the scriptures as ‘God’s people’ was an evil group.

Stories that had been passed down by word of mouth were forbidden to be told, and most of the few works that remained in writing were designated as banned books.

The reason the story of Olivier, the fairy of the moon, remains is because most of the anecdotes are filled with praise for the achievements of the first emperor.

“It may be a bit presumptuous of me, a member of the Meyer family, to ask this question… Your Majesty, please reconsider it one more time.”

Cardinal Meyer’s thinking was firm.

We must not give even the slightest room for ‘evil’ to penetrate. We can never communicate with ‘evil’.

If we lower our guard little by little according to the circumstances, the doctrine will eventually become distorted and vice will turn into virtue.

Suspicion and depravity toward God will be plausibly packaged under the guise of reason and rationality. And before long, the people of the entire continent will fall into deep misery, falling for the devil’s deception.

I’m sure that’s true-

“… Cardinal Meyer,”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“How long will the Lord, who has lost not only his personality but even his name, continue to be the support of his people?”

Ironically, the one who greatly shook the cardinal’s faith was the representative of God, who was thought to be closer to God than anyone else in the world.