"However I see fit," was it?
I looked down at the kneeling Raymond and gave it some thought.
"Do you respect your father?"
"Huh?...Yes, of course. Deeply."
Though caught off guard by the question, Raymond clearly took pride in his father. His expression turned solemn at once, and he gave a firm nod.
"Then inherit your father's peerage as it was."
"—! Thank you, Sire! Thank you so much!"
"What I want you to do is continue expanding your territory just as you have been."
"Huh?"
Once again, Raymond let out a blank, bewildered "Huh?"
He wore the utterly flustered expression of a man whose head was spinning.
"I mean remain bandits and expand your territory as you are now."
"Pardon my asking, but... why would you order such a thing?"
"Are you aware that your way of doing things is a rarity?"
"...Yes."
I glanced over at the corpse of his subordinate whom Raymond had cut down for his violent misconduct. Noticing my gaze, Raymond gave a small nod.
"Incorporating you into the imperial army would be simple enough. However, doing so would leave your territory a vacuum. Whoever moves in next might operate in the exact opposite manner."
"Yes."
"Rather than risk that, it is better to keep you in place. And if you push aside those with different methods to expand your territory... what then?"
"I see."
A spark of realization flashed across Raymond's face, and he nodded.
It seemed he grasped my aim.
"We act as an imperial army, yet maintain the guise of a bandit group—is that it?"
"Sharp. That is precisely it."
"By your command."
"I will grant a quota of one honorary knight per year. You will decide which of your subordinates receives it."
"Oooh!?"
A stir rippled through the men kneeling behind Raymond.
Every single one of them wore an unmistakable look of delight.
"I will also supply your provisions. I won't tell you to stop entirely, but keep the plundering in moderation."
"Understood!"
"I will give you this as well. Use it whenever you have a direct appeal for me."
I handed him Huwawa's Box, which I had prepared in advance.
After becoming Emperor, I had tinkered with the box's exterior a bit.
Using the imperial crest, I had made it look slightly more lavish.
"Once locked, no one other than me can open it. Handle it with care."
"To bestow such a thing upon me... Thank you very much!"
Overwhelmed with emotion, Raymond pressed his forehead flat against the ground.
To anyone watching, his devotion to me was absolute.
☆
"That was magnificent, Your Majesty," Shirley said with deep admiration once we were alone together on the wagon again.
The matter with Raymond was settled, but since we had traveled this far, we decided to remain incognito a bit longer and look around. After parting ways with both Raymond and Cheryl, we drove the wagon along the highway.
Shirley, having watched the entire exchange, was thoroughly impressed.
"You think so?"
"Yes! Restoring his honor was one thing, but allowing him to inherit the title was truly masterful."
"Hereditary succession is the dearest wish of most nobles, after all."
Nobles (though partly out of stubborn pride) do not fear death.
What they fear is losing their honor and status.
Because of that, any noble who has built up their station by their own hand comes to desire passing it down through their bloodline.
The son of an imperial prince is not normally an imperial prince.
Originally, the Emperor was the only one whose status could be directly inherited.
To inherit one's station hereditarily carried a weight akin to that of an Emperor.
Having once been an imperial prince, I knew that truth all too well.
"I see. So that was why you did it. Truly marvelous, Your Majesty."
"Indeed."
"He was a clever man, and judging by his conduct, he would gladly lay down his life at Your Majesty's command without a second thought. Have Your Majesty's stats increased again?"
As my first knight, Shirley was also among the few who knew the details of my "+".
"Yeah, they went up."
"I knew it! Incredible... Gaining strength as you bring people under your sway—it makes me believe more and more that you were born to be Emperor."
That might be true, or it might not.
I did know, without a shadow of a doubt, that I had the aptitude for it.
☆
After driving the wagon for half a day.
By the time the setting sun bathed the earth in crimson, we reached a sizable settlement.
"It seems quite lively, doesn't it?"
"Yeah. A festival or something, perhaps?"
Viewed from a distance, it was a village rather than a town.
A town would be bustling as a matter of course, but for better or worse, daily life in a village was quiet.
Yet this place was quite clamorous, with villagers rushing all about.
For a village, a commotion like this usually brought a harvest festival or something similar to mind.
"Perhaps we arrived at a good time."
"Indeed."
Nodding, we entered the settlement.
Catching a villager near the entrance, Shirley asked, "Excuse me, is there an inn here? If not, is there anywhere else we might stay the night?"
The person she stopped was a middle-aged woman.
The woman glanced up at us sitting on the wagon.
"Are you merchants? Take my advice and turn back. There's an inn about half a day north of here; go and stay there. If you set out right now, you'll still make it just in time."
"Uh..."
Shirley looked visibly perplexed.
In this kind of village, being told there was nowhere to stay was quite unusual.
"Did something—"
I opened my mouth to speak, but the woman didn't even bother to listen, hurrying off toward the heart of the village.
She seemed to be in a frantic rush, visibly on edge.
"What shall we do, Master?"
Since someone might be listening, Shirley switched back to her alias for me so as not to reveal my true identity.
At the same time, she seemed to have noticed something amiss as well.
Her expression when asking what to do was deadly serious.
"Let's observe the situation for a bit."
"Yes."
Shirley nodded, bracing herself.
As we drove the wagon further in, that gradually came into view in the distance.
In an open area within the village, a crude raised platform had been erected, arranged like an altar.
Lying on that altar was a single young girl, her limbs bound and a gag stuffed in her mouth.
The villagers were gathered around it.
From among the crowd, an elderly man with trembling steps, leaning on a cane, stepped forward.
"Hear me, everyone! Today, at this very hour, we offer Reina to our Kala God!"
The villagers fell dead silent, hanging on the old man's solemn proclamation.
"I have known Reina since she was a child. To me, she is as good as my own daughter. However, Reina was violated by outsiders. We cannot permit such an impure body to remain in our village. Therefore, we offer her to the Kala God, that her very soul may be cleansed!"
Having said that, the old man turned back toward the altar.
"O God, Lord Kala God! Please cleanse our defilement!"
"O Kala God!!"
Following the old man's lead, the villagers cried out in unison.
I understood the gist of it. It made me sick to my stomach.
"Master."
"I'll handle it."
Telling Shirley that, I leaped down from the wagon.
I strode purposefully toward the altar with long, heavy steps. Villagers noticed me along the way and tried to bar my path, but I ignored them and pressed on.
"Halt the ritual."
Raising my voice loud enough for all the villagers to hear, I stood before the altar.
"Who goes there?!"
Still trembling, the village chief glared at me.
"Who I am doesn't matter. I am telling you to stop this ritual immediately."
"An outsider? Do not meddle in our affairs!"
"That's right, that's right!"
"What would an outsider know?!"
"Will you take responsibility if this village is destroyed?!"
The villagers shouted at me in outrage.
"Traveler."
The old man spoke in a quiet, yet brooking-no-argument tone.
"Look at the mountain to your right rear."
"The mountain?"
I turned around and looked at the mountain behind me.
In the glow of the sunset, an unusual shape caught my eye.
"It is gouged out, is it not? That is the mark of Lord Kala God biting clean through it."
I only realized what it was once he pointed it out.
The strange shape of the mountain was apparently the mark left by a colossal creature's bite.
"Because such a monster exists, you offer sacrifices so as not to anger it?"
"Oh... How utterly blasphemous!"
Perhaps because their revered "Kala God" had been dismissed as a monster, the old man staggered as if struck by dizziness.
None of that mattered to me.
"Human sacrifice is prohibited under Article 351 of Imperial Law. Carrying out such—"
Thud!!
Before I could finish speaking, a tremendous boom and a tremor shook the earth.
"It's here!"
"It's Lord Kala God!"
The villagers turned pale all at once.
Following their terrified gazes as I turned back, a massive monster loomed beyond the altar.
It was a species of dragon, possessing two exceptionally long necks.
Its eyes burned with brilliant fury, radiating an intensely imposing presence.
As it drew closer to the altar, its gaze settled directly on the bound girl lying upon it.
"Hmph."
I dashed up the altar steps.
"Stop, fool!"
Shrugging off the old man's desperate shout, I sprinted further up.
"Who can handle this?"
I called out as I ran.
At once, Leviathan responded the strongest.
"All right, then it's you. Leviathan!"
I drew the Magic Sword of Water from within the bracelet.
Reaching the top of the altar in a single breath, I leaped over the trembling girl who had her eyes squeezed tightly shut, lunging straight at the so-called Kala God.
The Kala God opened its massive maw and snapped at me.
"Too slow!"
Twisting my body midair, I dodged the bite—and flashed a strike!
With Leviathan, I severed both necks in a single clean sweep.
Thud... Crash!
The heads fell, and the massive torso collapsed limply to the ground.
"Bahamut."
Just to be sure, I incinerated the corpse with fire.
Whether from death throes or rigor mortis I couldn't tell, but the dragon's body was engulfed in flames, rapidly charring to ash.
Sheathing Leviathan, I returned to the top of the altar.
I helped up the girl, who was still shivering in terror.
"You're safe now."
"...Huh?"
The girl clearly had no idea what had just transpired.
Yet seeing the burning remains of the Kala God, her eyes widened to their absolute limits in disbelief.
Supporting her gently, I led her down from the altar.
The villagers, the old chief included, stood there with their mouths agape.
"I'm taking this girl with me."
☆
That night, inside the girl's house.
Shirley, the girl, and I were the only three present.
Sitting down and sipping the tea that had been served, I listened to the girl's story.
The first half was commonplace enough.
A monster lived near the village and was worshipped as a local deity.
The second half was nauseating.
Because the girl had been violated by outsiders, she was deemed "defiled," and the villagers sought to sacrifice her to their "god" to wash the stain away.
"I see. I understand the situation."
"Thank you so much for saving me... But..."
"You can't stay in the village anymore, can you?"
I knew this kind of story well; the world was full of them.
It was easy to guess what was troubling her.
"Come with me. I can at least give you work."
"Is that... really all right? Even though I'm defiled?"
"None of that matters."
Being violated didn't change her worth in the slightest.
"Thank you so much! I will do anything, I promise to work with all my might!"
"Good."
For now, we would spend the night here and leave the village come morning.
I could reveal my true identity to her in due time.
Shirley spoke up.
"Did your abilities increase, Master?"
"No. But for now, that's fine."
Moistening my lips with the weak, flavorless tea that tasted like third-brew dregs, I continued.
"People are treasures, and they are potential."
"I see."
"As long as one is alive, there is nothing but potential ahead."
"...Truly magnificent!"
Though Shirley looked momentarily blank at the phrase 'nothing but potential,' her eyes quickly shone with admiration.
"Now then, regarding tomorrow—"
Saying that, I reached for my tea out of habit.
Even knowing it had no flavor, I reached for it purely out of routine—and was pleasantly surprised.
Right before my fingers touched it, the teacup was smoothly swapped out.
The tea that had grown lukewarm and was on the verge of turning cold had been deftly replaced with a piping hot cup by the girl.
Taking it into my hand, I looked at her.
"Ah, do you dislike hot tea?"
"...No."
I let out a soft chuckle.
It seemed the girl possessed a real talent for service—the kind of attentive hospitality that put a person thoroughly at ease.
Still smiling, I turned to Shirley.
"See? Already."
"Yes! Truly magnificent, Master!"