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204th Chapter. The Start of the Festival (1)

The tactical martial arts event commenced with fireworks.

Today was a significant day that marked the grand finale.

It was the fifth day of the tactical martial arts and the most special one, which drew in even larger crowds.

This wasn’t just the usual audience.

The number of high-ranking nobles in attendance had noticeably increased, and on a special day like this, even the most esteemed individuals were seated in the viewing area.

“Welcome, Your Majesty.”

As Kamain Fried Divine entered the high-ranking viewing chamber, everyone who was seated showed their respects.

– Tailly Ryu D’Shiel, Master of the White Magic Tower.

– Grisha Highend, Master of the Yellow Magic Tower.

– Clois Delaware, Head of the Delaware Upper House.

– Baros Volkanos, President of the Swordsmanship Society.

– Terras Endless, Head of the Bloody Vladimir Magic School.

– Trox Viole, Head of the Viole Family.

– Gerard Chain Silver, Head of the Chain Silver Family.

Numerous other high-ranking individuals also respectfully greeted the Emperor.

Even those who held considerable power must act uniformly in the presence of the Emperor.

No matter how much authority they possessed, it was impossible to challenge him.

This was because the Emperor had used the power of purification to bring the declining Divine Empire back to prosperity.

It was thanks to him, often hailed as the greatest Emperor, that the current high-ranking officials could stand where they were.

Out of gratitude for this grace, they refrained from competing with the Emperor for power.

“There is no need to rise. Please take your seats once again.”

After everyone sat back down comfortably, Emperor Kamain also headed towards his designated seat.

In the center of the viewing room was an opulent seat fitting for a throne.

As the Emperor approached, he unexpectedly encountered a couple of familiar faces.

“Oh, it’s been a long time. Saints.”

Right next to the Emperor’s throne were two elegantly distinct yet similar seats.

There sat a beast girl with nine tails and fox ears, and a girl with green hair reminiscent of nature.

Two chosen girls of the sky with power equal to royalty. They were none other than the saints from the Holy Cross Sect.

“We are also happy to see you, Your Majesty.”

“Saint Nebia of Melody. I salute you, Your Majesty.”

Angela and Nebia greeted him in their own unique ways as they stood.

Once the greetings concluded, both promptly took their seats.

The Emperor was just about to sit down when he noticed another conspicuous figure.

“Wait, who is this? Oh, it’s you, Mirona.”

“….”

He spotted a girl with red hair sitting next to the two saints.

She was Mirona Kirien Divine, born of the Emperor’s whim as a child of a concubine.

Even so, it was a face he hadn’t seen in a while, so he decided to engage her as he sat down.

“I’ve heard the news. You’ve already secured the position of Student Council President in your first year.”

“Yes….”

“It’s surprising to see you wield such influence, given your usual indecisiveness. Has something special happened?”

Mirona felt pressure from the Emperor’s words.

Because of her upbringing, always being shunned since birth, each word from the Emperor seemed to tighten around her heart.

“Are you perhaps working so hard to gain my recognition?”

There was a hint of mockery in the Emperor’s tone.

Mirona, aiming for the presidency for that very reason, felt it be a serious accusation.

It was clear from the Emperor’s mocking tone that there had been no recognition from the start.

“Oh, no, I’m not.”

In the end, Mirona shrank under the remarks. The two saints sitting beside her frowned at that moment.

“Let’s leave it at that, Abamama.”

A woman appeared and silenced Emperor Kamain.

Dressed in elaborate jewelry and a dress, she was the First Princess, Meloin Fried Divine.

“Meloin. Where have you been until now?”

“Oh, I just had an urgent matter to attend to.”

Whether that matter was significant or minor was unclear, but the atmosphere calmed as Meloin took her seat next to the Emperor.

“By the way, what did you mean by that earlier, Meloin?”

“Literally what I said. If you embarrass him in front of so many people, it may reflect poorly on you as a Sage Monarch.”

“Haha, surely you haven’t forgotten? Why your arm ended up like that.”

One of Meloin’s arms dangled helplessly.

The cause stemmed from an incident years ago, where Mirona’s mismanaged power led to that unfortunate result.

All blame directed to Mirona for her mistake during a spar, resulting in the frail girl receiving countless glares.

If she hadn’t been of royal blood, she would have faced severe punishment.

“Of course, it was Mirona. But there’s no need to scold her right now.”

“Hm….”

Meloin’s point wasn’t entirely wrong. No one wanted to ruin the festive atmosphere.

However, the Emperor found discomfort in Meloin’s words.

Meloin would never even use the term “scold” regarding someone like Mirona.

She treated her as less than human, always toyed with at her leisure.

Meloin’s mind seemed unusually sharp today.

“One thing… I wish to ask you, Abamama.”

Suddenly, Mirona spoke, surprising the Emperor inwardly.

This was a girl who could hardly articulate whenever he looked her way now speaking confidently.

“I’m curious about how my mother is doing.”

Miriam Kirien Divine.

Originally an ordinary maid working in the palace, she caught the Emperor’s fancy due to her looks.

The Emperor had fathered Mirona with her, unable to bear the thought of parting.

“Miriam, you say? Your mother is likely doing well.”

“‘Likely doing well?’”

“Yes.”

Mirona already knew.

She had heard from Lyman that her mother was confined somewhere by the Emperor.

It was as if the Emperor couldn’t face that truth, turning the conversation away.

And Nebia, utilizing her hearing, grasped the Emperor’s true thoughts.

[Stay strong, Princess. You never know what this man might do.]

[Yes.]

Just as their telepathy unconsciously exchanged, the Emperor felt an unusual energy from Mirona’s gaze.

‘What is this…?’

Had he misjudged? It seemed he sensed a strange killing intent coming from her.

However, she was a timid Mirona.

While it was impossible for her to openly rebel, each glance at Mirona brought fear to the Emperor.

So, he decided to take out his frustrations on her.

It reminded him too much of the girl who had betrayed him three hundred years ago during his reign as the Demon King.

‘Just seeing that familiar face is tormenting enough, and now to think it was born of a concubine…!’

Coincidentally, that traitor was also of his bloodline.

Thinking of that brought an incredible sense of alienation that stirred within his chest.

Thus, the best way to relieve that stress was to unleash it upon Mirona.

“By the way, why can’t I see Karis that rascal?”

Since yesterday, the Crown Prince Karis was nowhere to be found.

Knowing his character, he wouldn’t miss a festival because he found it bothersome.

Unusual, since he wasn’t particularly lazy to think of him.

Chirp, chirp—

“Hmm?”

Suddenly, a bird flew in and perched on Emperor Kamain’s shoulder.

As he tried to shake it off, he noticed a letter tied to its leg.

‘A sudden letter, huh?’

It was a message sent by a beastman unit sneaking around the village.

Since that unit was drawn in by Crown Prince Karis, the Emperor had provided them substantial support.

Soon, they would demolish this Aligieri.

The letter’s contents were simple.

‘Thanks for the supply of food and weapons?’

To summarize, it meant Crown Prince Karis had secretly given them support behind his father’s back.

If they were gaining strength, that would hardly be a disadvantage for him.

Though they appeared to be mere savages on the surface, they had thrived in tropics that were nothing short of hell outside the borders.

In an environment rife with fifth-grade warriors or above six-grade mages, they boasted formidable strength.

It wasn’t for nothing that they caused a ruckus during the festival claiming support behind them.

‘So, Karis has been hanging out with them since yesterday.’

That explained why he hadn’t been seen.

Yet, something felt amiss.

There was no necessity to give them further support.

Had there been any supplies left over to support them in the first place?

“It’s starting already.”

The sound announcing the beginning of the banquet broke the Emperor’s reverie.

The stage for the final tactical martial arts was at Purgatory Mountain.

Instead of entering the arena, participants summoned and scattered across the mountain were visible on the ethereal screen.

– Jenny Chain Silver of Aligieri.

– Luska Mad Eye of Aligieri.

– Rubace Dumbrik of the Bloody Vladimir Magic School.

– Akala Hakuji of the Swordsmanship Society.

Each participant’s expression displayed their determination.

While all observed with keen interest, the Emperor internally laughed at their naivety.

‘In any case, this will be the last festival and funeral for Aligieri. Heh heh heh.’

And under that thought, Mirona gazed at the Emperor subconsciously.

With clear malice radiating from her.

*

Once the tactical martial arts began, no one could enter the arena.

A circular building resembling a coliseum. I walked through the first-floor corridor looking for something.

“Hey you! What are you doing here!”

“This place is off-limits!”

As expected, soldiers were patrolling the first floor according to the rules.

However, I just smiled slyly at them and said.

“Isn’t it also off-limits for you guys?”

“What?”

“No, wait. Should I say ‘corpses’ instead?”

As soon as they heard my words, the soldiers were visibly shocked and revealed their true identities.

Their bodies, disguised as soldiers, glimmered darkly and transformed into masked figures.

With eyes devoid of focus, they were the undead soldiers revived by RE-Union.

“How did you know?”

“Thanks to devouring the Crown Prince Karis and stealing his memories. Besides, I can’t be fooled by your body structure.”

Even if they concealed their true identities, I possessed ‘Mana Vision.’

I could distinctly recognize the difference in temperature and reproductive functions between ordinary humans and corpses.

“Die!”

“It’s too late for that.”

Around them, raven feathers were already swirling.

Like arrows, they rained down upon their entire bodies.

“Gah!”

“Yikes!”

However, there were those who reacted to the feathers, dodging and surviving.

Three of them blocked my path, and just one made a swift run to alert someone.

“Since you’ve been found out, I can’t let you go!”

One of the undead with a sword dashed towards me quickly.

While he was likely a considerable swordsman in his past life, at this moment, he was merely a corpse.

His movements were captured by ‘Mana Vision,’ revealing him weakened compared to his past self.

[Steel Fishing Rod 16Lv]

Predicting the trajectory of the sword, I summoned Leviathan to intercept it.

Not only did I deflect it, but I broke the sword and took off his head in one move.

His head floated in the air, while black lightning danced around Leviathan.

“Attack from a distance!”

The remaining two unleashed elemental magic from various angles.

With a single casting, they fired like rain, but Muto appeared to devour all of it.

“Flowing, absorbed?”

“Damn it!”

Muto, now empowered from the absorbed mana, infiltrated into my fishing rod.

I sent Muto flying with slashes imbued with lightning, and the undead were engulfed in an instant.

No screams escaped.

Meanwhile, one escaping was pursued by Aisha.

[You cannot escape.]

“Eh!”

The undead wielding a spear charged at me with energy focused at its point.

But it couldn’t withstand the surge from Aisha’s wings, causing the spear to shatter.

Simultaneously, the undead’s head flew off.

[Are these the last of them?]

“Probably more might be hiding. Since they disguised themselves as soldiers, the likelihood is high.”

In the main story, Aisha disguised as a guard was to slay a key figure.

Here, these zombies were playing that role.

As much as possible, I had to find them and root them out completely.

“We would have trouble if Grisha of the Yellow Tower dies.”

The one holding the role of Doomsday No.4, overseeing the interspecies exchange.

The execution of the plan hinged on Grisha’s death—his very own suicide.

Bang!—

I kicked open the door to some storage-like place.

And there, I witnessed the sight of soldiers’ corpses piled up.

It seemed these undead had quieted them down to disguise themselves moments ago.

[Master, over there!]

“That’s…!”

Among the soldier corpses mixed in were two other corpses, and as soon as I saw them, I almost cursed out loud.

They were the participants of today’s tactical martial arts, excluding Jenny and Luska.

Surviving as an Academy Scammer.

 

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