Thoughts and Emotions Unsimplified

56th Tale

Inside the carriage heading for the Empire.

Crown Prince Siegfried of the Lavor Kingdom could not hide his heavy heart.

“To think I would be revisiting the Empire so soon.”

“Not to be impertinent, but was it truly necessary for Your Highness to come yourself?”

At the question from Yenifer, his personal maid and future wife, Siegfried shook his head.

“It pains me to say it, but our Lavor Kingdom’s intelligence department is utterly hopeless. You’re aware of Clemente Oris’s disgrace at the last World Intelligence Ministers’ Conference, are you not?”

Despite his warnings, Clemente had recklessly provoked the Empire’s Intelligence Minister, only to be utterly crushed and nearly jeopardize Lavor Kingdom’s standing.

Clemente Oris was subsequently demoted and removed from his position as Minister, but the person who replaced him was not exactly a capable individual either.

“Why does His Majesty permit such men to hold positions of power?”

It wasn’t, strictly speaking, that Labor lacked talent.

After all, it was the second largest nation in the world. It couldn’t possibly be devoid of capable people.

It was merely that countless political machinations, tangled webs of blood ties, academic connections, and regional affiliations, kept them from shining.

And the current King was simply turning a blind eye to it all.

“He’s too soft. He just laughs, saying ‘the best outcome is a good outcome,’ so those beneath him don’t know their place and keep running wild.”

But that would only last until he became king, Siegfried thought, grinding his teeth.

Someday, the day he ascended to the throne would come.

And on that day, a bloody purge would be unleashed upon the Kingdom of Labor.

“Anyway, after Oracle, now it’s Oblivion? To create something like a false star… myth is suddenly encroaching upon reality.”

It was truly an unbelievable story, but Minister Barmut had vouched for it. There was no room for doubt.

Besides, there was also the annihilation of the petty kingdom of Clamor.

A petty kingdom though it was, an entire nation had vanished overnight.

The other nations were forced to take it seriously.

“This upcoming world conference was requested of the Empire by the nations of the continent, including our own Labor, after all.”

Unlike before, this conference wasn’t convened by the Empire’s Minister of Intelligence.

He had merely shared information about a massive evil, comparable to Oracle, that threatened the world, without making any other demands.

However, gripped by a sense of crisis, each nation desired more direct information, and thus, they had decided to gather in the Empire for a conference.

“Well, that fellow probably anticipated this development.”

“Indeed. With this, the Empire continues to hold the reins.”

It was the first to investigate the annihilation of the petty kingdom of Clamor, making contact with Oblivion and acquiring information.

And it even shared the information it obtained without asking for anything in return.

Now, to protect their own nations, they had no choice but to bow their heads to the Empire.

Only then could they hope to obtain even the smallest scrap of information.

“I’ve said it before, but I truly envy the Emperor of the Empire. Why don’t I have someone like Minister Barmut at my side?”

Sighing deeply, Siegfried was offered solace by Yeniffer, who poured him a cup of tea.

I became aware of the abnormality within myself when I woke up from a nap inside the carriage returning to the Imperial Capital, after forcibly de-synchronizing from Merlin’s Staff.

Using the Eyes of the Sky as usual, I couldn’t help but feel perplexed.

It was because my thoughts and emotions weren’t being simplified, even while using the Eyes of the Sky.

“Minister. The meeting preparations are complete. Shall we get started, then… Minister?”

“I am aware.”

Barely managing a reply to Celine, I lowered the ice pack from my forehead.

The ice within had already melted into lukewarm water.

And yet, my head remained as hot as if it were about to melt away.

This was problematic.

I felt as though it would be better if someone just took an axe to it; my head throbbed with such pain.

This was a grave matter.

No matter how hard I tried, my thoughts and emotions refused to be simplified.

As a result, my mind was racing, threatening to cook my brain.

If I let my guard down even for a moment, I felt as though I’d be swept away by the flood of information surging within me, driven mad.

Had she noticed something was amiss with me?

Celine, who had approached, placed her hand on my forehead without permission, and spoke with a serious expression.

“You’re burning up… This won’t do. We must postpone the meeting.”

“It’s meaningless. It’ll be the same either way.”

Rising from my seat, I grasped the cane I’d recently purchased and left the Minister’s office.

With Celine hurrying after me, I headed towards the main conference room where dignitaries from various nations and the heads of intelligence agencies were waiting.

The meeting commenced, just as I had intended.

Considering the upcoming battle with Oblivion and what lay beyond, the world’s order must still be led by the Empire.

Especially when the true star is due to appear, the world could very well face destruction not by common enemies like the Oracle or Oblivion, but by internal strife if things go awry.

As I entered the main conference room, the commotion ceased at once.

I ascended the platform, surveyed the room, and then spoke.

“The world is currently ensnared in an unprecedented crisis.”

—

Celine watched the meeting with a worried heart.

Based on the information regarding Oblivion that they were already aware of, the meeting progressed smoothly, but that made her even more anxious.

‘Are you truly alright…? You mustn’t overexert yourself…’

The Minister, answering countless questions with a confident and unwavering demeanor, was as impressive as ever, but at the same time, he looked incredibly fragile.

Celine was consumed with worry that he might collapse mid-sentence, and she could hardly bear it.

‘Why? Why must only the Minister overexert himself? Why? What were those people doing all this time, only to come seeking him out now and torment my Minister?’

Like nestlings chirping, begging for food from their mother bird, they clamored for information.

And in his helplessness, unable to ease the suffering of his beloved.

In the minister’s solitary endurance, tormented nigh unto death, yet refusing help from others.

All manner of emotions tangled, until he could scarcely tell one from another.

Even as the conference dragged on.

“If there are such things as false stars, then surely there are true stars as well. If we were to find one first, wouldn’t we be able to oppose them?”

“Indeed. If we could find one, that is.”

The minister of intelligence from a certain nation, the one who posed the question, promptly fell silent.

He realized that if finding one were so easy, they wouldn’t be in this predicament.

“Minister Barmut, or rather, Grand Duke. If we cannot locate Oblivion, does that not mean a false star could be used at any time, in any place, to obliterate a country?”

Ziegfried’s question struck at the heart of the meeting’s purpose, the core of each nation’s anxieties.

The minister responded, as if he had been waiting for this very question.

“Our Empire has twice experienced the might of a false star created by Oblivion. Based on that experience, we have succeeded in developing a magical device capable of detecting when a false star is about to be deployed.”

It should be added that this was the fruit of the researchers of the Magic Tower’s First Magic Development Department, who forfeited their sleep to dedicate themselves to research.

Having completed the development of the magical device, they are currently convalescing in a hospital.

“We have named this device the Star Seeker.”

“…Could you share it with us?”

“Yes. For a suitable price, of course.”

The “suitable price” the minister spoke of was equivalent to the Empire’s national operating budget for an entire year.

Naturally, expressions of dismay rippled through the room, but the minister continued without a flicker.

“This is a matter of national survival. I believe we are, in fact, offering it at a bargain.”

Upon hearing this, Ziegfried declared his intention to purchase a Star Seeker on the spot.

The ministers of other nations stated they would consult with their home countries, but none argued against the necessity of the Star Seeker.

Even small kingdoms like the vanished Klamore pledged to purchase a Star Seeker, even if it meant paying in installments.

The subsequent decisions made during the conference did not differ significantly from the conclusions reached at the previous world intelligence ministers’ meeting.

“Therefore, we shall declare Oblivion, like Oracle, to be an enemy of all the world, here and now.”

Spare no effort in mutual cooperation to fight this enemy.

That was the sole, absolute rule the Empire presented to the world.

—

‘Am I going to get scolded?’

The meeting concluded, and after the Minister’s departure, Céline returned home briefly before arriving at his residence with a variety of dishes.

Judging by his condition, she was certain he wouldn’t have a proper meal other than the packed lunch she prepared.

‘There’s not much I can do, but I can at least offer him this.’

She’d prepared foods that were as gentle on the stomach as possible, including a warming soup.

Surely the Minister could manage to eat this.

Thinking this, she walked past the guards and knocked on the door.

Immediately, her face twisted in surprise.

It wasn’t the Minister who opened the door.

“…Why are *you* here, Christina?”

“…Well, why is *Céline* here then?”

Christina and Céline glared at each other as if they could kill.