Beyond the Hero’s Death – 39 | Sousaku – 創作

Episode 39: Thus Spoke the Emperor ⑤ ~“I loved her first”~

Was it the previous Celestial Knight who founded the empire? I've never heard of such a thing.

"Are you surprised? But think about it, heroes are legendary precisely because they have saved the world before. Then it goes without saying that there is a predecessor."

"If you say so, then I guess it must be true. But how does the tragedy of the previous Hero and Celestial Knight lead to Al's death?"

When I urged him to speak, the emperor began to talk slowly.

"……The previous hero had a beautiful childhood friend. The girl was also chosen by the goddess to be a saint, and together with the previous Celestial Knight, Divine Bow, and Archmage, she fought against disaster and emerged victorious. That was fine up to that point. ……Except that the Saint and the Celestial Knight fell in love during their journey."

"……If men and women travel together, isn't it natural for things like that to happen? "

"That is correct, Celestial Knight. As you say, when men and women spend time together, such things happen.
However, the First Emperor was torn between his feelings of love for the Saint and the friendship he had with the hero. Therefore, he consulted the hero, but the hero replied, “The Saint is like a sister to me. I have no romantic feelings for her”. That is why the Celestial Knight accepted the Saint's feelings, and the two were happily united."

That's just a normal relationship, nothing unusual about it. I can't help but wonder why that is such a tragedy.

"Then, after defeating the calamity and returning home, tragedy struck on the day of the wedding between the Celestial Knight and the Saint, which was celebrated by the entire country. The hero went mad and began rampaging, wielding the holy sword against the country and its people."

"Wait, wait, wait, there's no reason for the hero to suddenly go mad. I don't understand what you're saying? ? "

"―――This is what the hero said. 『The Saint betrayed me. The Celestial Knight snatched the Saint away from his best friend. I loved her first』. And so, the hero, crying bitterly and rampaging in hatred, caused even more damage than the calamity itself with his holy sword."

"Ahh? ! That's weird. Didn't you say that the hero only thought of the Saint as a sister and didn't see her as a romantic interest? Why did he start saying that at the wedding? Was he crazy? If he loved her he should've just said it."

I couldn't help but blurt that out, but the emperor quietly nodded at my words.

"Yeah, that's right. The hero never showed his feelings for the Saint, treating her only as a sister. Not only that, but the hero also told the Saint directly that she was not his type.
……That's why his sudden barbaric act was incomprehensible.
The Celestial Knight, Divine Bow, Archmage. And Saint. The hero's companions tried to persuade him to stop, but he was blinded by hatred and would not listen to anyone.
While wailing, 'he took my Saint away from me', shouting that she was a traitor and that her first time should have been his. He fired his holy sword repeatedly, and in the end, it was decided that it was impossible to persuade him, so a battle ensued.
During the battle, the Divine Bow was killed and the Archmage was mortally wounded. At the cost of many lives, the Hero was finally defeated, but the Saint also lost her life protecting the Celestial Knight. By none other than the Hero himself."

……That is a very unpleasant story. If the previous hero had been honest from the beginning and said that he liked the Saint, it wouldn't have turned out that way. It's his own fault. If he gave up on her himself, then he should have accepted that he couldn't have the Saint. That's common sense. If he couldn't control himself and lashed out, he's just a piece of trash. I genuinely find the previous hero disgusting.

"And in that battle, with the holy sword firing as rapidly as breathing, the country that once stood on this land was destroyed, and the Celestial Knight and Archmage who survived the battle married and founded a new country on this land, which became the Empire.
The Archmage also died shortly after giving birth to her child due to wounds sustained in battle, and on her deathbed, she used a technique to pass on the memory of the tragedy to her child. Therefore, when the emperor closes his eyes and thinks about it, he can always recall the memory of that tragedy. The memory of the hero's fierce dying words, “I loved her first”.
……This is why the hero had to be eliminated. Excessive power is a threat to a peaceful world, because there is no telling when or how it might be turned against innocent people.
That is why the empire continued to research a power to replace the hero's holy sword, and finally succeeded."

I see, so the reason for plotting to murder Al was because of that incident in the past. ……I understand the reason, but I don't agree with it. It is absolutely unacceptable.

"I understand that the reason for Al's murder was because of what happened in the past. However, that was something that the hero of the past did, and it has nothing to do with the hero of the present day.
……If I may say so, saying “I loved her first” without ever expressing your feelings to the other person and instead becoming arrogant and resentful are the pathetic words of a loser. But that's a matter of his personal mentality and has nothing to do with Al.
The conflict caused by the previous hero was entirely his own doing, and Al, who lived in the present, was different from the previous hero.
I understand why they would want to get rid of the hero's power, but that was no reason to assassinate Al without even knowing what kind of person he was.
Besides, if you want to develop your own power to replace the heroes and defeat the calamity, there is no guarantee that you, with all your power, will not suffer the tragic fate of the previous hero. What's more, you are already directing that excessive power toward people, through the church. ……So no matter how many excuses you make――――That's just your ego talking."

When I said it firmly, the emperor shook his head sadly.

"I see…… That's a shame. I thought the Celestial Knight of this generation would understand."

If the previous hero was BSS*…… I mean, if he was a loser who insisted that he loved her first and caused a tragedy, then shouldn't the empire have been more careful around Al to prevent such a tragedy from happening again?
In the first place, if Porcas hadn't stolen Al's girlfriend, Al would have lived quietly in that rural town, and the world wouldn't be in this state now, but it's too late to say that now. You guys are too fixated on the goal of “eliminating the hero” and are too bound by actions based on that premise. You guys were possessed by your obsessions."

The emperor raised his eyebrows at my words. Looks like I hit a sore spot, huh? Yes, you are free to consider the hero a threat because of past events, but you were acting with the preconceived conclusion that the hero must be eliminated.
And although the cannons supplied to the church were also terrifyingly powerful, once they were aimed at people, the empire's claim to righteousness was lost.
Even if there have been tragedies in the past, stringing together platitudes is nothing but arrogance.

―――The empire made a mistake.

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*BSS is sort of like a sub-genre of NTR with the only difference being the man not being in a relationship with the woman, just something like friends.