Beyond the Hero’s Death – 35 | Sousaku – 創作

Episode 35: Thus Spoke the Emperor ① ~Off to the Imperial Capital~

Chapter 4: The Imperial Capital Burns

Leaving Irene's town behind, we continued walking until we reached the border of the empire. Today, we'll camp and rest, and tomorrow, once the sun rises, we should be able to reach the Empire's territory.
When the archbishop, who had been put away by the devil, was brought out, he writhed around like a caterpillar. ……With both arms missing and both legs broken, I guess that makes sense.

"Uugghh, you people, look at me! Do you think you can get away with treating me, the archbishop, like this?! I am the Archbishop―――The Archbishough……eeupp."

"Shut up and eat."

Setsu-chan shoved the mushy grain porridge into the archbishop's mouth as he flailed about and yelled. I heated it over direct heat until it bubbled and steamed, so it must be very hot…… I hope he thinks it's better than starving to death.

“Hot, hot, ho~~~~~~~ot! ? At least let it cool down before you put it in my mouth! Gyahhhhhhh! ! "

"Celestial Knight, this guy is noisy."

Setsu-chan looked at me with narrowed eyes, so I asked if she wanted to switch, but she shook her head vigorously and pushed the boiled rice porridge into Archbishop-kun's mouth again.
Setsu-chan tried to help the adults with all sorts of things during the trip. It was probably thanks to Irene's upbringing, but unless someone had told me, I wouldn't have thought she was a calamity.
Even now, when the archbishop, who had been left in another dimension by the Devil, was about to starve to death, she willingly fed him.
Although she has her own views about the archbishop of the church, she is a sensible child who understands when I explain that we were holding onto him as a source of information.
That archbishop seemed to have severely burned his mouth and was half crying, but considering what he did to the people of the village they ravaged, I think this is quite merciful.

"Fuuu fuuu fuuu……fon't fou fhink fhat you afu feing fway foo fharfsh on me, fon't freat fe as fa fhild of fa fonfufine, I'll fhill fou……!"

He muttered something like a mumble, but was he saying that he would kill us and to not treat him like the child of a concubine? ……So, he must come from a fairly well-to-do family. His gaze was fixed on the direction of the empire.

"Archbishop, were you born in the empire? "

When I said that, the archbishop looked at me, hesitated a little, then nodded.

"I waf fofn fin fa fofle――――"

It was difficult to hear him speak with his mouth burned, so I poured some medicine on him, and it seemed to heal the burn in his mouth, allowing him to speak normally.

"Is the burn healed? ……Damn it, I'm not going to thank you.
I am from the empire……I was born into a noble family, just to a concubine. You've probably heard that the empire is thoroughly aristocratic, so as the child of a concubine, I was constantly ridiculed and eventually thrown into the Holy Church when I was still a child. ……I was noticed by His Holiness while doing dirty work among the devout, and finally became a bishop, but then this happened――――Shit."

"Oh, the Pope is dead. Or rather, the Holy Church itself was destroyed."

Come to think of it, this guy was still in storage, so he didn't know about that, so I told him, but he couldn't believe what I said and stared at me with wide eyes. So, when I explained what happened when the Pope's main force was destroyed, after being in a state of shock, he curled up like a child and started crying.

"That's a lie, a lie, that's too much! I've finally made it this far! I thought I could finally get back at those who made fun of me! Wooooooooo! ! "

"What's with you? You weren't so proud of yourself when you were winning with the weapons given to you by the empire."

"Shut up, you loudmouths! How can you understand anything about me? ! No, you wouldn't understand! !
……Born into a prestigious noble family of the empire, yet abandoned as the child of a concubine, my loneliness is something you, a so-called hero, could never understand!
In the empire, birth is everything, and it is impossible to rise in society by living a normal life. Everything is determined by the status of one's family, and that determines whether one will be the exploiter or the exploited! !
The only one who was born into the empire and suffered the same hardships is Roger-dono, a fallen nobleman…… He is the only one who can sympathize with me――― The one who agreed to help me rise to power……! The one who showed me that he understood the importance of obtaining the “power” in the empire……! !
All of you will be punished by Roger-dono! "

What's this? Roger's getting revenge? ……If we wanted to purge Roger, that would be one thing, but Roger has no reason to hold a grudge against us…… Well, maybe he does, but it's probably just a case of him turning his anger on us. Every time Roger did something despicable, I beat him up to stop him……

"Shit, shit, the church is gone too. I really have nothing left! ……How did this happen?"

"There's nothing you can do about it, so don't act like a victim, you big idiot. No matter where you were born or raised, that doesn't give you the right to commit acts of plunder or massacre civilians."

"What are you talking about? I was! I grew up being deprived of everything! What's wrong with taking things from other people? ! "

I feel like laughing at his unbearable brazenness.

"Even though her life was robbed in the same way, the saint…… Irene never thought of robbing anyone else, did she? Instead, she acted so that others would not have to suffer as she had. You should have some idea of the kind of life Irene has led, right? "

When I asked him pointedly, the archbishop remained silent. He seems thoughtful, so perhaps he is just a little better than the Pope……Even so, he's a scumbag who committed mass murder, so he'll have to pay for his crimes somewhere.

"……You will be sent back to the Devil's space. I may have more to discuss with you at a later date. For now, you should think about what to do with yourself and how to settle things in the darkness."

When I said that, the devil grabbed the archbishop by the collar and threw him back into the darkness, while the archbishop cried out in fear.
"Well, it looks like the empire is coming to an end as well, Celestial Knight. Ha ha ha! "

Only the Devil laughed cheerfully. ……This person probably has fun wherever she goes.

"Kingdoms, principalities, empires... Why are human countries so distorted?"

Falty, who had been watching the situation, said in disbelief, but I could only sigh in agreement. Every country, every person…… This world is coming to an end, I thought as I slowly drifted off to sleep.