Novel Bin Chapter 333 (Self Edited) – One Ending and One Suggestion
Chapter 333 (Self Edited) – One Ending and One Suggestion
The empress was ousted from the Yupiter Empire, and five days had passed.
There was a lot of confusion at the beginning, but it had gradually regained its composure after it became known that something in particular wouldn’t change. Actually, Soma didn’t see with his own eyes whether they were confused or had calmed down. It was more on feelings. Well, as expected, people from other countries couldn’t walk around the city in this situation, so it might be unavoidable.
For whatever reason or circumstances, there was no doubt that the person they had as the empress had disappeared. Considering that there might be anxiety, it wasn’t a mistake to order Soma and Aina to shut themselves off by not giving extra simulation. The two didn’t want to give the empire any more unnecessary confusion, and since they were involved in this case, they had no choice but to silently obey.
By the way, the matter about the empress who was supposed to be ousted didn’t mean that it made the empire collapse. The people were confused as a result of misunderstanding that part, but the empire would continue to live in the future.
There was no one who could succeed the empress, but the blood-related people didn’t really disappear. It was decided that it would be vacant for a while, and everyone would do their best to support the empire.
Of course, it should be said that Lambert was at the forefront of this situation. Although he wasn’t eligible to succeed to the throne, he had the blood of the royal family, and above all, he felt the most responsible in this matter.
He had heard that it might lead to succession to the throne regardless of qualifications, but it would be up to everyone in the empire in the future. At least, it was certain that Soma wasn’t involved.
In addition, there was another reason that Soma and Aina still remain in the empire. Rather, the bigger reason was–…
“Alright, five days have passed, so it’s fine! I’m going to take a stroll in the capital!” (Victoria)
When they were thinking about the past and future, they suddenly heard such a voice. Looking at her, she naturally was a woman with bluish-purple hair, and… almost at the same time, multiple sighs were exhaled.
“I leave it to you, the acting emperor.” (Soma)
“Well, I leave it to you, the acting emperor.” (Aina)
“I don’t want you guys to leave it to me, but… well, that can’t be helped, right? By the way, my foolish sister….” (Lambert)
“Hmm, what is it, Brother? I’m going to get busy because I need to go to town.” (Victoria)
“Forget that plan now. You’re waiting here again today.” (Lambert)
The woman with a frightened expression at the moment was Victoria, but Lambert, who was supposed to act as the acting emperor, mercilessly repeated the word. It was no good.
“Why not, brother!? I have put up for five days!” (Victoria)
“If you appear in about five days, the capital would be in turmoil again. Why do you think you have been ousted and have to hide yourself? Well, most people know about it anyway, but at least, wait a month.” (Lambert)
“A month!? I can’t wait that long! I have to go out now!” (Victoria)
With such an exchange, Soma decided to think about why it was supposed to be like this as well as how to spend the time. Anyhow, their conversation would continue a while, and if they didn’t have anything that much, he couldn’t do much to spend the time. After all, this had been a standard exchange for four days.
As they could see, Victoria was alive and well, but she was dead to the outsiders. This was because it was more convenient in many ways.
By assuming that the empress had done what she had done so far, and by executing her in a way that made her take responsibility, the opposition from other countries would be weakened as much as possible, and the policy change would be easy. And above all–…
“I still don’t know how ‘that’ is aware of this situation and how ‘it’ will move. If you aren’t good at it, you’ll throw people into a worse situation than ever, right? If you don’t like it, you have to listen to what I say.” (Lambert)
“H-hmm, that is…” (Victoria)
“I’m also a bit responsible for that. It’s because I ‘cut’ without asking questions and checking the situation first. At that time, I thought that was the best, and I thought that I needed to resolve the current situation immediately, but… I didn’t expect the situation would turn out this way.” (Soma)
“Well, it can’t be helped, isn’t it? At least, the decision to end that situation early isn’t wrong… apart from that, I have something to say.” (Aina)
“Hmm? What is it?” (Soma)
“It’s decided! If you want to do something like that, you have to say it first, right!? Have you ever wondered how I was at that time!?” (Aina)
What Aina was saying was probably that he slashed Victoria after stopping Lambert and treating Victoria. He certainly didn’t have time to explain, but he suddenly… Well, it couldn’t be helped.
“Still, I couldn’t explain in there.” (Soma)
“I know that, but still…!” (Aina)
“Don’t be unreasonable.” (Soma)
“Well, I understand what she is trying to say. I never thought you could do such a thing. To be honest, I still can’t believe it. There is no way you can cut the contract between me and the Devil.” (Victoria)
“Even so, you didn’t know everything, right?” (Lambert)
“That’s right, but it was obviously not a good feeling even if I just ‘looked’ at it lightly. I thought that if I did that, the situation would at least become better, so it’s good enough.” (Soma)
“Well, as a result, everyone, including Lambert-san, has returned to normal…” (Aina)
Still, Soma was wondering why Aina was still dissatisfied. Therefore, he just shrugged at the girl who was glaring at him. Even if she said that, it was unavoidable.
By the way, it meant that everyone had returned to normal. It wasn’t just Lambert’s actions that day, but everything including before that.
In other words, it was the situation where the military officials hated Victoria, the civil servants were friendly to Victoria and the people were fond of her. Now, when Victoria went to the dining hall, the civil servants didn’t get together, and they never came to greet her.
She had never been out of the castle since then, but it would be the same in the city. Even if Victoria went out, people wouldn’t gather, and on the contrary, it might be possible that the people would frown at her openly.
However, that was normal. Originally, Victoria was hated by civil servants and people. And that was the beginning of this matter.
Victoria’s actions were all for the benefit of the people. However, she was disliked by her people, so Victoria made a wish that people would like her.
She had a way to make it possible. It was the skill inherited only by the emperor, which was the Rules of Bond.
It seemed to have been recognized as a force to abide by a contract, but it was only a secondary element. Since the bond was strong, the contract couldn’t be broken, and as the name implies, it was the power to control the bond between people.
However, the power was strong as it was, and apparently, it had some kind of protection. The power could only be used in contracts, which should have been a side effect.
The Devil, who signed a contract with Victoria, somehow took advantage of that. As the price of making the contract with the Devil, it was decided that she wanted the positive feelings from the people.
Of course, it was Victoria’s skill to actually do it, but if the result was the same, Victoria seemed to be fine with that. Then, the contract was signed, and her power of the Rules activated, but… it didn’t go exactly as she expected, probably because it was a trick of the trade. Although she received the favor from the people as a result, what happened in reality was that the feelings directed toward her were reversed.
Victoria was liked by the people and civil servants while being hated by the military officials.
However, even though she used the power of the Rules, it was a trick of the trade. If the contract with the Devil disappeared, the effect of the Rules disappeared.
So, Soma ‘cut’ the contract, and thus, everything was restored to normal.
Basically, that was the reason why Victoria and Lambert were exchanging normally. She called Lambert, Brother, because she wasn’t already the empress, but… that was the matter of the royal family, and it had nothing to do with Soma.
Anyhow…
“Our emotions were flipped over, but what we thought was the same. I was in favor of joining forces with the Demon King to destroy the world, and the people couldn’t forgive Victoria’s choice to suffer for themselves, rather than for herself. The civil servants seemed to want to choose not to destroy the world, but I didn’t think that the possibility was high. So, it might be because our emotions were flipped over, the result of various twists and turns is that what happened five days ago… but I wonder if the cause is cut off. This is the Demon King’s… No, it’s your power. We still couldn’t believe it.” (Lambert)
It seemed that various emotions were put on the line of sight that was directed together with such words. Perhaps, it was an apology or envy, but Soma shrugged his shoulders without saying anything.
He couldn’t trust someone who he didn’t know well. If that was the case, they might not have made the right decision, but they certainly didn’t make the wrong decision.
“Well, in the end, you ended up cooperating with us, so that should be good enough.” (Soma)
“Yes, that’s right. We didn’t suffer any damage, but… it wasn’t much. Well, it’s not enough to care about.” (Aina)
“Hmm. Given that we got this outcome, it should be fine.” (Victoria)
“It would be helpful if you say so.” (Lambert)
The situation of this place was related to the fact that the policy of the empire was changed a few days ago. In short, the empire had stopped standing on the side of destroying the world. It seemed that they decided to bet on the possibility that the world wouldn’t perish, or rather, they believed Soma could–…
“Dear me, that’s a serious responsibility.” (Soma)
“Whatever it is, you always do things as always, right?” (Aina)
“Well, yeah.” (Soma)
Either way, if he didn’t intend to die, he didn’t intend to destroy the world. Then, there was no difference from what he had been doing before.
“I’m jealous you have the power. If I have it… Nah, isn’t it just a matter of saying that…” (Victoria)
“Well, I think we should talk more constructively now. That’s why we gathered here today.” (Soma)
Speaking of the moment, Soma and others were in a room of the royal castle. This was the room that Lambert used as an office.
Of course, the reason why they gathered in such a place wasn’t for chatting. As it was mentioned earlier, this was the biggest reason why Soma and Aina were staying here.
It was to discuss the Devil who was supposed to be here.
“So, did you understand something?” (Soma)
“Hmm… I would say from the conclusion that I didn’t understand anything. There was nothing tied to the Devil.” (Lambert)
“You couldn’t find a single trace, huh… Hmm, given that I was certainly listening to its voice, I thought it was hiding somewhere. It was also saying such a thing.” (Victoria)
“That reminds me, you could only hear that voice between the throne room and the audience, wasn’t it? Did that mean something?” (Aina)
“Hmm? Well, I wonder about that. I was certainly considering that when I said I could only interact with it there, but…” (Victoria)
“…By the way, it told me to kill Victoria in the throne room and asked me to set the fire.” (Lambert)
“Hoh… is that so? In other words, did it originally plan to take Victoria’s body there?” (Soma)
As for the contract that Victoria made with the Devil, the contract was obviously not a one-way request. As Victoria was trying to win the favor of the people, the Devil demanded something from Victoria.
It was asking for Victoria’s body.
However, it was only after the preparation of the Devil’s side was over and the contract was still a long way off. And when the time comes, the contract should be automatically fulfilled without her doing anything as long as it was tied up by her power of Rules.
“If you think so, should you still think that there was something there. Well, it will already be gone by now.” (Soma)
“That’s right. We’ve already searched over there, and we’ve confirmed that there was nothing. Perhaps, the Devil realized that it was impossible, so it would cover itself with fire and erase the evidence.
“The evidence that erased the evidence… hmm, couldn’t you find such a thing?” (Aina)
“Unfortunately, no. Maybe, it was just something that could be done easily.” (Victoria)
“Well, as far as I’ve heard, it seems that it’s a very cautious Devil. It’s just that, there are things that don’t make sense.” (Soma)
Soma had already heard that Lambert was making moves because he was tricked by the Devil, but it was strangely random. If he thought that the Devil was cautious, it was sloppy, and the impression of the Devil that he heard wasn’t constant.
“Hmm… it seemed strangely wary of Soma. I wonder if it’s related to this situation… Perhaps, it was a change of policy. Or maybe it is another Devil’s policy.” (Victoria)
“Other Devil’s policy?” (Soma)
“Hmm. By the way, we haven’t talked about this yet. I haven’t heard the details, but it seems that the Devils are moving with their own respective policy. The ultimate goal is the same, but the process is different, something like that. For example, the Devil could be approaching me so that it could be destroyed while feeling satisfied.” (Victoria)
“I haven’t heard much about it because it hardly contacted me, but I wondered if the words it whispered to me meant that it could be destroyed in satisfaction.” (Lambert)
“It could be that it was decided which was the best policy, and because of that, it made us fight each other because of that policy, but in the end, it would narrow down on one person.” (Soma)
“…What is that? It’s not like it’s doing something good.” (Aina)
“It would be that intention from the other side. And for that, it’s not wrong.” (Soma)
At least, from the perspective of the world, it was Soma who was wrong. Although they were called Devils, they were definitely working for the world.
Therefore, it was no wonder that they wanted to make the progress better if possible.
“…If you say it that way, it sounds right.” (Aina)
“Well, I don’t think it is necessary to be convinced, you know. In the end, there’s no difference since we are incompatible. More importantly, did the Devil change its policy because of other Devils? After all, I think that there is no change in what I will do.” (Soma)
“The Devil said that there was something that couldn’t be accepted. There’s no clear foundation, because I just wondered if something had happened in that connection.” (Lambert)
“Hmm, is that so? Well, it’s safe to think that something happened, but… there is not much information to make a proper judgment.” (Soma)
“You’re right. However, that may be resolved in the future, you know. Whether that is a good thing or not, that’s another matter.” (Lambert)
“Is there a clue?” (Soma)
“Yes. Still, I’m guessing from its instructions. There are three specific instructions. First is to kill Victoria. Second is the incident needs to be done between the throne and I had to do it while putting the place on fire. And the third one… to move the whole army towards Veritas.” (Lambert)
“…That’s also quite outright. It’s too obvious to doubt that there’s another purpose. It makes sense when there were only soldiers who came to that room. There weren’t many strong people, so I was wondering where most of them were…” (Aina)
“Hmm… I certainly didn’t expect to see the soldiers at all, but… did they return as it were?” (Soma)
“I’m talking about specific people. After all, there were those people who were in the castle. If we really move the whole army, it will stimulate that side easily, but if that’s the case, it would be enough to know by doing some reconnaissance.” (Lambert)
Soma heard that the current Veritas was in a civil war. It was rather normal for the empire, that on its border, to monitor the situation.
However, since the country was in a civil war, they couldn’t afford to do anything else, but…
“I think I was told that it would take ten years to settle down… No, would that be the case?” (Soma)
“It would be limited considering what the Devil cares about, but… the Demon King, who they should be most concerned about, is already here, and the Holy City would never intervene with Veritas. Then…” (Lambert)
“…The remaining vigilant opponents are the Devils that are fighting each other.” (Victoria)
It was a matter if the Devil hadn’t started to move yet, but… it was already happening now.
Well, perhaps the Devil itself didn’t move or just moved a little bit, but it seemed that they couldn’t leave this place anyway. As expected, they couldn’t return to the Holy City from here.
“Hmm… the next possibility before the one here is cleared up, huh? Well, it can’t be helped.” (Soma)
The fact that there was a Devil here to begin with meant that there was a seal of the Evil God nearby, and he felt that it wasn’t too close. However, that was also unavoidable.
“By the way, how long have you been in touch?” (Soma)
“Well… I can’t say anything. If there’s something, it won’t be strange if it comes soon, and if it doesn’t come, it would be weird.” (Victoria)
“Yes, it should be like that, isn’t it?” (Aina)
“As long as its resources are limited, it is impossible to contact us at the same speed, even if it’s not an emergency.” (Victoria)
“Hmm…” (Soma)
It was an understandable story, but just because it was understandable, it didn’t mean that the current situation would change.
When he looked out of the window, the blue sky was spreading as if nothing had happened here. While looking at such a scene, Soma let out a breath while thinking what would happen.
—
TLN: