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Everyone froze in stunned silence at Rosen's wild idea.
Even Esdeath, who had marched through countless campaigns and witnessed oceans of blood, was left speechless.
[Ice Witch: "Do you even hear yourself right now?"]
[Ice Witch: "Are people from other worlds all brain-damaged, or just you?"]
For once, even she was at a loss.
Him suggesting she become the Empress of the Empire—what was going through his head?
And it wasn't just her. Plenty of group members thought Rosen's brain had gone off the rails.
[Shut-in Angel: "See, this is why I said it would've been way better if Night Raid joined instead. Just dump the whole anime plot in their heads, the chat would've spit out a mission, and then we'd all happily go take down the Empire together. Now that would've been fun."]
[Shut-in Angel: "Soup's ready.jpg"]
Gabriel let out a long sigh.
Great. The group had actually gone and invited the main villain.
There was no way they were going to side with Esdeath to help the Empire oppress the people. Not happening.
[I Don't Want to Eat Monsters: "Um… maybe don't insult the chat group too much…"]
[Shut-in Angel: "Why not? I'll insult it all I want! This thing only ever makes trouble anyway!"]
If it wasn't Night Raid, even just some random civilian joining would've made more sense.
Instead, they were stuck in an endless loop of nonsense.
[Shepherd: "Don't lose hope yet. I'm serious about this—@Ice Witch, have you decided whether you'll agree?"]
[Ice Witch: "I already told you, I will never betray the Empire."]
No matter how rotten the Empire was, that wasn't her concern.
The Empire was the one that gave her the battlefield, the right to slaughter foreign tribes.
She'd signed a pact with Minister Honest long ago: he wouldn't interfere with her freedom, and in return she'd crush the Revolutionary Army and invading tribes.
They stayed out of each other's way.
[Shepherd: "Look closely. I'm not telling you to betray the Empire—I'm just saying the Empire needs a new emperor."]
[Shepherd: "You've said before you don't want anyone interfering with your choices. But right now you've got a little emperor and Honest sitting on your back. The only reason they leave you alone is because they need you to crush rebels and invaders. Have you thought about what happens after? When the rebels, the tribes, and even Night Raid are gone—how long do you think they'll let you live in peace?"]
[Ice Witch: "What are you getting at?"]
In her war tent, Esdeath frowned slightly.
At the end of the day, she was a soldier.
Rosen had once mocked her for being uneducated. Crude as it was, he wasn't wrong.
Books meant little in this world, and besides, only nobles had the luxury to study.
Still, you didn't need an education to understand the meaning behind his words.
[Shepherd: "The most dangerous thing for a ruler is a general whose power overshadows the throne. History is full of heroes who were celebrated after founding an empire, only to be cut down once peace came. Even if you had no thought of rebellion, the emperor would still find excuses to accuse you."]
All it took was one charge, and you were finished.
[Ice Witch: "I have no interest in the throne."]
[Shepherd: "Sure. We know that. But does the emperor know that? Does Honest? Does General Budo? No one in the Empire believes that."]
[Shut-in Angel: "Ah, I get it! This is what they call 'if you want to condemn someone, you'll always find a reason.'"]
[Wicked Woman: "Exactly. If the ones in power want you gone, any excuse will do."]
[Ice Witch: "Honest… even if you gave him a hundred lives, he wouldn't dare move against me."]
Her eyes were ice-cold.
Her strength was her shield. Every time she returned to the capital, Honest instinctively pulled away from her. His fear of her was genuine.
[Shepherd: "On his own, maybe. But what if he sends others? Budo's no weakling. Add in a handful of Teigu users, Minister-blessed fighters, and tens of thousands of imperial guards… do you really think you could take them all at once?"]
At that, the other group members started nodding along.
[Hell's Blizzard: "He's right. Esdeath, you're strong, but not strong enough to fight everyone at once."]
[Old Mage: "Budo's supposed to be one of the two top generals, isn't he? About equal with you."]
[I Don't Want to Eat Monsters: "Y-yeah! And if nothing else, there's always the Emperor's trump card—the Supreme Imperial Arm. Miss Esdeath, I don't think you could handle that monster."]
Esdeath fell silent, running the possibilities through her head.
Tens of thousands of guards? She didn't care. One wave of ice could handle them.
Ordinary Teigu users? Not even worth her time.
But Budo… he was different. Even if she mastered the time-stop ability shown in the anime, it might not work. Najenda's "Susanoo" had proven immune to time-stop, after all.
She could still maybe force a victory in the end.
But if the Supreme Imperial Arm entered the field—that would be her end.
No matter how she played it out in her head, the only winning move was killing the emperor in one strike, before he ever saw it coming. Otherwise, there was no path forward.
[Ice Witch: "And how can you be so sure Honest and the others will turn on me? They all know perfectly well I have no interest in politics."]
[Shepherd: "True, maybe they know that. But your soldiers might not."]
When the war ended, soldiers would go home.
And most of her men were commoners.
Commoners who had families. Families who lived under noble oppression.
If those families whispered into their ears, what then?
[Shepherd: "When the people closest to you beg you to take the throne, when your most loyal soldiers rally behind you—what will you do then?"]
[Shut-in Angel: "Exactly! Imagine this—your men standing before you, saying: 'General Esdeath, it's cold out. Put on a golden robe.' What would you do then?"]
That single line hit her like a blade.
Esdeath, who had never cared for politics, actually faltered.
She feared no battlefield, no foe.
But this? This kind of "threat" was something she couldn't just cut down.
She thought and thought, and still found no answer.
In the end, all she could do was curse Rosen—the man from another world.
"Poisonous bastard."
"..."
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