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A long, long time ago, there was a king in a certain country.

This greedy and foolish king thought everything in the kingdom belonged to him.

He would seize the wheat that farmers toiled for and take away their beloved livestock to eat, making him a truly wicked king.

Yet, no one dared to rebel against him.

If anyone spoke ill of the king, fearsome soldiers would haul them away.

So, this king, living as if the whole world was his possession, had one thought.

“I hear that the women of the elves and dwarves are beautiful and adorable; I want to take the beauties of elves and dwarves as my wives.”

The king shared this thought with his ministers, but they could only shake their heads in response.

If he took the beautiful wives of elves and dwarves, everyone would surely admire him!

The king insulted the ministers, whom he deemed is foolish and clueless, and set off toward the village of elves and dwarves with his soldiers who followed his commands.

— A fairy tale. The Foolish King.

“Has the messenger still not arrived?”

The man seated on the imperial throne, Lucius Aurelius Commodus, grumbled while looking at the ministers lined up to his left and right.

As the emperor of North Romania and heir of noble blood, no one dared to oppose Commodus’s words; all he heard were praises.

Thus, his ministers could say nothing at all.

Not even a reply came, as the messenger sent to deliver a letter returned with just his head severed.

Even if someone told the emperor the truth, he would not accept it.

He would be enraged instead by the fact that he had offered such a merciful proposal and it was turned down.

Without understanding that his proposal was, by all means, unreasonable.

“Your Majesty, Betelgeuse has long been a city where elves and dwarves compete. How could we, humans, interfere with such a matter?”

“So, I generously extended my hand to them.”

The letter the emperor sent stated that permission was granted for the city of Betelgeuse, where elves and dwarves engage in battles, to come under the kingdom of North Romania.

And it also mentioned sending ten beauties each from the elves and dwarves to serve the emperor as concubines to bear his heirs.

Naturally, it was a nonsensical proposal.

“Are they such foolish ones as to refuse my generous offer?”

Regrettably, Emperor Commodus was not one for common sense.

“Your Majesty, they are not subjects of Romania; they will not heed your commands. Please reconsider.”

“How could they make such foolish choices? What a pity, what a pity indeed.”

Commodus clicked his tongue softly, then picked up a small fruit from the table next to the throne and rolled it around in his mouth.

A small sweet fruit not found in North Romania. The cost of bringing in just one of these would allow a peasant family from North Romania to live for a week.

Yet for the emperor, it was merely a snack for a moment’s sweetness.

“Hmm. Is it not enough just to allow them to dedicate Betelgeuse to me? Truly a greedy lot.”

Commodus held another fruit in his hand and brought it to his mouth.

“I hear there are many beauties among the elves, and the women of the dwarves look like young girls even until death. Having such people as concubines wouldn’t be too bad, so I reached out to them…”

Hearing the emperor’s words, the ministers felt a sense of disbelief wash over them.

Elves and dwarves. Who are they?

Masters of the bow and powerful summon captors of spirits, elves— and dwarves, who are small but sturdy blacksmiths, known for their resilience.

The emperor’s gaze, looking down upon them, was utterly incomprehensible.

“Calm yourself, Your Majesty.”

Approaching the emperor was an old man wearing a hood, concealing his face. This man had taught the emperor various things before he ascended to the throne.

One could say he held a position even higher than the emperor himself.

“There is an order to all things. While it is important to show the might of your majesty to the elves and dwarves, hastily acting would only see them scatter into the woods and mountains. They will be harder to find then.”

“Hmm… What should be done then?”

At the emperor’s inquiry, the old man smiled broadly.

“I hear Betelgeuse is a city blessed by the Goddess of Life. Thanks to that, it is said there is an arena where one can have true combat without losing their life.”

“Ah, that’s an interesting tale.”

“Then, this means… the elves and dwarves of Betelgeuse are connected to the Church of Life, does it not?”

The ministers gasped at the old man’s words.

What is the Church of Life? It is the order that worships and reveres the Goddess of Life, who cares for all living things.

It is only natural that all beings with life should pray to the Goddess of Life.

Yet, the old man was whispering words into the emperor’s ear that seemed to oppose the Church of Life.

“The Church of Life, you say…”

“Indeed. The Church of Life. The most majestic and noble being in this world is Your Majesty, yet why praise the goddess who looks down from the heavens?”

The old man whispered blasphemous words like a serpent into the emperor’s ear.

Seeing this, the ministers felt an urgent desire to flee from this place immediately.

“Moreover, it is said the Church of Life has also reached out to the unruly lot from the south. How can we just let them be?”

“Hmm, that is true. Regardless of anything else, if they are connected to the Southern Insolent Ones, I cannot stand idly by.”

The thoughts of the ministers aligned in unison.

What on earth is this foolish emperor babbling about?

Does he not understand what the Church of Life is and what it does?

There is a limit to stupidity; how could one speak such ludicrous things?

Their role is simply to bless the newly born, assist those injured or ill, and ensure that once life has ended, one may peacefully slumber.

Pilgrims create pathways as they journey, stabilizing public safety along the roads, allowing the flow of logistics within the world, while using the Jo-in messenger to quickly relay news and letters from all around.

Moreover, they handle all mana stones and purify monster materials so they can be utilized, mediating conflicts between the various temples.

Simply put, without the role of the Church of Life, this world would have lived a life thoroughly disconnected from other regions.

The spread of new knowledge and information would be much slower, and more problems would arise due to unbalanced development.

This world, without the aid of the Church of Life, could hardly sustain itself any longer.

“Should we then close all the temples of the Church of Life?”

“That is something that must be done eventually, but not now. For now, let us focus on the elves and dwarves of Betelgeuse.”

It was that old man. Ever since this old man became the teacher of the crown prince, everything began to collapse.

The old man, with a tongue like a viper, would destroy everything; he would plunge the name of North Romania into a pit of humiliation.

That cannot happen.

That must be prevented at all costs.

By any means necessary.

—

The king made his way toward the city where elves and dwarves lived, accompanied by his soldiers.

The journey was perilous indeed; many soldiers gave up and fell back, but the aimlessly stubborn king pressed on.

Upon reaching the destination city, the king told the soldiers he had brought along.

“The elves and dwarves of that city have not heeded my orders, so I will punish them!”

Most of the soldiers who heard that did not understand the king’s words.

Why would the elves and dwarves listen to the king’s commands? They were different races, in a different kingdom.

However, such facts were of no concern to the foolish king.

He merely wanted to punish the elves and dwarves who defied him.

Thus, the king shouted.

“Attack!!!”

At those words, all the soldiers who had followed the king scattered immediately. They seemed to think they could no longer obey the king’s commands.

Unaware of this, the king courageously charged ahead, only to be beaten and left in a pitiful mess by the elves and dwarves.

Truly, it was an appearance befitting a foolish king.

— A fairy tale. The Foolish King.

 

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