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At that moment, the Empire fell into great chaos.

– The Anari Principality demands 80% of the Empire’s magic stones with the Hero at the forefront!!

– Are they threatening us for the Holy Sword of humanity?

“Extra! Extra!!”

Newspapers began spreading throughout the Empire.

The papers packed with events from the past week, and prominently featured on the front page was the ‘Anari Principality’s Strong Demands’ from just yesterday.

The Anari Principality demands 80% of the magic stones gained from Imperial territory.

The situation was incredibly straightforward.

One. A Hero appeared in the Anari Principality.

Two. The Hero was laying waste to the Demon King’s army’s lands, and the Anari Principality had mobilized its magic engineering support.

Three. The Hero left behind a massive amount of magic stones after defeating the Demon King’s army.

It was undoubtedly encouraging that the Hero defeated the Demon King’s army.

It was something a Hero should do—it was ‘only natural.’

Though the Hero wielded the Holy Wind Sword, which piqued curiosity, regardless of whether they were the Wind Hero or any Hero, it is fundamentally a Hero’s duty to quickly deal with a Demon King before they bring any more harm to the people.

Of course, excluding the Emperor of the Empire.

The Emperor was a Hero of the Holy Sword too, but why should the Emperor, who governs the vast Empire, need to step forward first?

The Emperor is the last bulwark, the final shield protecting mankind.

Being busy governing the Empire, it is only natural for the ‘less occupied’ other Heroes to step up.

To the people of the Empire, the Emperor is a being far more revered and noble than the other Heroes.

Although the Emperor suffered a defeat to the Demon King 500 years ago, the Empire demonstrated its resilience and immediately reclaimed the Holy Sword of the Earth after the Great Demon King collapsed and vanished.

Moreover, since the place where the Demon King first appeared is not the Empire’s territory but the Anari Principality, it must be resolved there first.

The Empire was the victim.

The Emperor should only step forward when humanity is at its most perilous, at the very last moment.

And so, everyone spoke about this in the newspapers.

The rationale behind the Emperor not stepping forward.

What are the other Heroes doing?

The defeat of Mercenary King Bearnes was nothing but incitement and fabrication, and those spreading such slander would be dealt with under Imperial law.

What’s said in the newspapers soon became the thoughts of the Empire’s citizens and thus formed public opinion.

The Imperial newspaper, operated and published by the Empire, distributed news across the Empire, including the system, and this morning’s news had the citizens of the Empire seething with anger.

“Goodness, did you hear the news? The Anari Principality says they want all the corpses of the Demons that the Hero has felled!”

“What? Corpses? …Aren’t those the ones with magic stones?”

“Considering demon corpses yield about 10 silver each… Ugh, this is so difficult to calculate! What does the newspaper say?”

“The economic impact is said to be enough to build the old royal palace of the Anari Principality three times over!”

“What?! Crazy people, they want to take all that?! Do they even have a conscience?!”

Then what will happen to the remaining magic stones?

“How can the Anari Principality make such demands? The magic stones belong to our Empire by all rights!”

“The Hero defeating the Demon King’s army is one thing, but we need to have a separate discussion about the byproducts! How could everything they defeated just belong to the Anari Principality!”

What the Hero collects belongs to everyone.

But what belongs to the Empire belongs to the Empire.

The corpses left behind by the Hero are a separate matter.

“While I’m grateful that the Hero came all the way to our Empire to defeat the Demon King’s army, did we ever ask the Hero to do that? They came, defeated the Demon King’s army, and now claim it for themselves!”

“Exactly. The magic stones are for all humanity. Since Count Scouter’s Territory is destroyed, a huge amount of resources will be needed to rebuild it! We can use the remaining magic stones for that!”

“Cleansing the corpses of the monsters is work, you know? It will cost a lot just to clean them up, and yet Anari Principality is taking all the magic stones?! That can’t happen!”

As the newspaper was being published with the phrase ‘The Anari Principality demanded eight-tenths of the corpses of monsters from the Empire,’ public sentiment was already plummeting.

“Look. The real thing that needs attention is not the corpses of the Demons. It’s how they bombarded the Demon King’s army that needs to be examined.”

“Huh? Didn’t the Hero resolve that?”

“No.”

Those knowledgeable about military strategy, who had an interest in war and tactics, couldn’t help but be stunned by the existence of the enormous magical cannon stationed at Dragon Tail—’the border.’

“…A mobile magic cannon? I think they called it the Hero Cannon? Ha, it may be called the Hero Cannon, but putting a tremendous magical bomb in it and firing it turns it into a weapon of mass destruction.”

“They brought it out because they themselves were also suffering at the hands of the Demon King’s army, but to think they were secretly developing such a monstrous weapon! Indeed, the Anari Principality must not be left unchecked!”

A hostile strategic weapon has been placed at the border.

Even worse, it is stationed in a ‘principality’ that was incorporated into the Empire just ten years ago, yet it dares to inflict a severe blow on Imperial territory.

If it weren’t for the Demon King’s army.

If it weren’t for this particular situation surrounding the Demon King’s army.

It wouldn’t be surprising if a war between the principality and the Empire broke out immediately.

Just ten years ago, a nation had capitulated and surrendered its identity as a kingdom, becoming a principality under the Empire; how could they now threaten the Empire?

The reason is…

“That Magic King Endymion is the culprit. We must either bring him to our Empire to study magic engineering or…”

“We must eradicate anyone who hinders the Empire’s path. Yes, absolutely.”

The Empire thoroughly rejects anything that impedes its development.

Everything is for the sake of the Empire.

Even if it brings great harm to the Empire, the Empire will boldly pursue its interests, even if it must cut away its own flesh.

Just as it has for the past 500 years, or even longer.

“How could the Demon King’s army do anything to our Empire! Hahaha! Long live the Empire!!”

The Arpe Empire merely watches in silence.

How will the Anari Principality fight, and how well will the Hero wielding the Holy Wind Sword perform against the Demon King’s army?

For the Empire has a ‘Hero Emperor.’

“Let us watch carefully how the Anari Principality struggles. We shall take this opportunity to examine the weapons they have prepared for their rebellion against the Empire.”

“They must hate the Demon King’s army then, huh? Just before launching their own rebellion, all their weapons are revealed.”

“They would indeed. They should have taken the opportunity to eliminate the Demon King’s army coming from their territory beforehand! Hahaha!”

How the Anari Principality copes—how it struggles.

The people of the Empire leisurely enjoy wine and cheese at their tables in the absolutely safe Realm of Leberced while reading the newspapers to learn about the principality’s situation.

“With a Hero there, the principality will take care of everything! Hahaha!!”

The Empire merely observes.

*

A day after the Sorceress of Crimson Lotus was defeated.

The week-long bombardment of the Hero stopped when the Hero, like a cannonball, did not head to the battlefield.

Is it that the Hero can only move because the Sorceress of Crimson Lotus exists?

Not at all.

Lucius already knew how to fly like a cannonball.

Back then, when heading towards Belselphia, as he drilled a hole beneath the vast snowfield towards Belselphia, Lucius learned from his master how to maintain a spherical barrier.

It’s an extension of that.

At the time, he had been circulating the spherical barrier, using it to carve through the ground, but when stepping into the cannon, he just needed to maintain that spherical state.

Becoming the cannonball himself.

That was all.

Thus, Lucius could become a cannonball at any moment.

Quietly slipping away unnoticed or wheeling the cannon to the royal castle to fire it, he’d arrive at the Demon King’s territory if he deployed the Holy Sword to full capacity.

It just took a bit longer to return, and it was simply because Lucius couldn’t easily leave the royal castle.

“Magic King, really, will my Master be safe if I go out and bombard?”

“…I believe you’ve already asked that question over ten times.”

Today, as usual, Lucius asked the same question to the Magic King and the beast-girl assistant.

“Surrounding the Sorceress of Crimson Lotus, there is a barrier that protects against any intruders. It’s safe from external attacks, and a powerful barrier surrounds the Sorceress herself. I’ve set it to alert me if an unauthorized person enters, and my temporary laboratory is set up nearby.”

“Is that enough? It’s the Demon King we’re talking about. What if the Demon King attacks while I’m away on a surprise raid?”

“I will risk my life to defend it. So do rest easy, Hero Lucius. …What do you think, Pheor?”

Endymion asked the green-haired beast-girl maid, Pheor, who was beside him.

“Will the Sorceress of Crimson Lotus be safe even if Hero Lucius is absent?”

“…Absolutely safe. We will protect her.”

Pheor, the beast maid, handed Lucius a map with a complicated expression.

“Lucius-sama. The Sage may not want you to keep protecting him here. He might wish for you to act where you are needed. Please lend your strength where you are needed.”

“But….”

“Isn’t it possible? While you heroically take action and return, perhaps, um, miraculously, the Sorceress of Crimson Lotus will regain consciousness…?”

“…A miracle?”

“Yes, yes. Surely, she’ll come to her senses soon. So….”

“Understood.”

With a cold face, Lucius tucked the map away.

“If something happens to my Master… I don’t know what I’ll do. Just wait and see.”

“…….”

Endymion glanced momentarily at Pheor, and Pheor—

“……Yes.”

Looked frightened, her tail standing straight up.

 

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