The Demon King's army began to advance towards the capital of the Empire in earnest.
The general commander was 0th Corps Commander Demon Arut.
What was the expression on the Emperor's face when he heard that a city in the Empire had fallen to the Demon King's army not long after hearing this news?
'You finally became a hero. I can only admire the fact that brothers became heroes side by side.'
'Those who have become official heroes so far have received what they wanted from me one by one. I can't make an exception for you. Is there anything you wish for?'
Funny enough.
'If not, an appropriate title and money...'
'There is a request.'
The Emperor ended up thinking of Cruel Hardt, not Deon Hardt.
The remarks of a foolish person who could not bear to hate and chose to embrace the person who slaughtered his family in front of his eyes vividly replayed in his mind. The Emperor quietly closed his eyes.
'I dare to guess what Your Majesty thinks of me. Since I am the Duke's man, you must be on guard. You can remain vigilant. You don't have to believe me. No, I am clearly a manipulative person, so it would be better for you not to believe me.'
'...This is an unbecomingly long story. What is this about?'
At a private meeting with the Emperor on the day the fourth hero of the Empire was born.
'Just as you did when you listened to the third hero's request, I dare ask you to ignore me covering the eyes of the child I brought in.'
'...'
'It will be a request that is beneficial to His Majesty as well.'
The victim was the perpetrator. He knelt in front of a bystander for the sake of it.
The Emperor, who played the role of a character in a comedy that could not be laughed at, suddenly realized what Cruel Hardt was thinking.
He was trying to blind Deon Hardt so that he could not know the truth. The guilt of killing an innocent family member must be so severe that he would want to take his own life.
Was he trying to present yourself as bait?
Deon Hardt, who hated his family, was obsessed with aiming for Cruel Hardt's head, leaving no time to doubt the truth.
Even though it was clear that the feeling of having his head targeted by the hands of his beloved family was absolutely terrible, Cruel Hardt was trying to protect his younger brother with everything he had.
It was strange. He thought stories of people who sacrificed themselves this much were stories from far away places that only appeared in books.
Maybe that's why the Emperor suspected that he was weak against 'Hardt' and gave him another chance, just like he did to Deon Hardt.
'As you said, it is a request that is beneficial to me. Couldn't you have put it forward as a 'suggestion' and asked for the 'what you want' separately?'
'I don't want anything other than that.'
'... This is terrible.'
He showed mercy at best, but the answer he got was terrible.
'Good night. I accept your request. However, since that alone is not enough to merit the name of a hero, I will give you additional wealth. It would be twice the wealth that other heroes received before.'
'Wealth is not needed.'
'Also, a request that is beneficial to me. I will also help cover Deon Hardt's eyes as long as the gain does not turn into a loss.'
'... Thank you.'
'There is no need to be thankful.'
He calmly bowed.
'Do not say thanks, but accept it confidently. There is not a single thing that I have decided to give you that you will stoop down to receive. I intended to blindside Deon Hardt without you asking, and riches are my reward for not bestowing the title on you. Since you called yourself the Duke's man and told me to be on guard, I can't give you the title easily.'
Now that he thought about it, Cruel Hardt could have asked for 'covering his eyes' instead of asking 'to standing by'. Since he wasn't stupid, he would have known that option.
Nevertheless, if that's the reason he chose to 'stand by' and take the loss...
'... He's reprimanding me.'
The Hardt family disaster occurred due to the Emperor's neglect.
If it's like this, it's a subtle way to do it. Although it was polite and subtle enough that a dull person would not have noticed.
He didn't feel the need to point it out, so he pretended not to notice.
'... In the end, I didn't give you anything. Is there really nothing else you wish for?'
'It is enough. Thank you.'
A faint smile spread over the expressionless face that made it impossible to tell what he was thinking.
Faced with green eyes that contained as faint a warmth as a smile, the Emperor stopped what he was about to say further, sighed, and waved his hand.
'I definitely gave me a chance. Since you were the one who kicked it, let me tell you in advance that there is no use in regretting it later. Go away.'
A lot had happened since then and a lot of time has passed, but the memories were clear.
Perhaps it was because it was a moment when he personally experienced that there were things that even the Emperor could not give, which he only knew in his head up until that point.
But.
'In the end, your efforts failed.'
Deon Hardt found out the truth.
Wouldn't it be fortunate if, instead of taking his own life right away, he decided on a target for revenge and rushed forward? At least, he won't die until he gets his revenge.
He willingly took on the stigma of being a traitor to humanity, stood on the side of the demon world, and pointed his sword at the Empire. The targets of revenge were most likely the Duke and the Emperor.
'It's become a nuisance... but at least Deon Hardt doesn't die right away, so I guess I've done my best to honor you for serving others until the end.'
The moment Deon Hardt came to me and asked me if I knew, the Emperor had no choice but to know.
Cruel Hart was dead. He would have died for Deon Hardt. So, he must have come half-crazy like that.
That was why. It was an unusual whim.
'It was a foolish action for the Emperor.'
He knew it, too. But what can we do with the desire to pay appropriate respect to a person who served others from beginning to end?
Perhaps he wanted to relieve the feeling of defeat that he couldn't give him when he was alive, or perhaps he wanted to apologize in advance in anticipation of what would happen next because he realized who was the culprit who killed Cruel.
'Even so, it's still a whim in the end.'
Some may be surprised that the word capricious does not suit him, but if you know the reality, it is nothing new.
Because the Emperor is a contradictory person in and of himself.
He is a man who cut himself down and crushed himself to fit the position of Emperor that he was not suited for. Because of this, the gap between him as 'Emperor' and him as 'Eduardo Dessert' was significant. Even if one wore a golden crown and a monarch's cape, it did not determine the 'true Emperor'. Likewise, even if he changed his tone of voice and acted appropriately to the Emperor's position, in the end he was 'Eduardo Dessert', so his nature would suddenly overwhelm his reason at critical moments.
It gave birth to contradictions and led to capriciousness.
'The price is too high compared to the whim.'
What should he do if it has already happened? He had no intention of regretting anything, so he had to move to make things right.
Hearing that a city had fallen, he took his sword. If it weren't for the news of the VIP's visit, the order would have been moved by now to the area where the easy battle was taking place.
... If it weren't for the 'news of a distinguished guest's visit'.
"... so."
The Emperor, who was sitting in front of an ornate circular table and fiddling with the back of his left hand, rolled his golden eyes and looked at the two distinguished guests who had come to see him.
The circular table represents equal positioning. The moments when this table is placed where the Emperor sits could be counted on one hand.
"I wonder what the king of the Mountain Kingdom and the King of Leweche are up to here."
It was natural that the people sitting at the round table would be the monarchs of countries.
The Emperor looked at the two kings, who made eye contact as if they were choosing words, and leisurely recalled some information in his head. Shanguk and Leweche were allies.
Since two allies had come to visit him, their purpose was obvious.
'Is this an alliance offer? That's clever.'
He heard that the King of the Mountain Kingdom ascended to the throne with a brilliant mind, but it seems he was quick to grasp the situation.
It would be good for the Empire and Rweche to form an alliance to deal with the demon realm. No, there was no choice but to tie the knot. The Empire had excellent military power and Rweche was a wealthy kingdom with plenty of supplies.
But what about Shanguk?
'The leader's head. That's all there is.'
Even if he remained silent, it was an alliance between Rweche and the Empire that will be formed someday. From Sanguk's point of view, it would be better to take the initiative and show condescension. Coincidentally, they were allies with Rweche.
Even if they stayed still, they would have been connected through their ally, Rweche, but it was natural that the right to speak out and gain a direct connection would be stronger than that. The military power and the material Empire of Rweche.
Now, Shanguk on top of that.
When the Emperor, who had figured out the current situation and made all the calculations, was inwardly admiring the quick judgment of the king of Shanguk, he exchanged glances with the king of Rweche, nodded invisibly and looked at the Emperor.
"As the king of Shanguk and an ally of Rweche, I would like to make a proposal."
"It's expected, but I'll give it a listen just in case."
"... How about forming an alliance?"
He knew it.
Instead of answering right away, the Emperor relaxed his posture as if he wanted to listen first.
As if he didn't think he would get an answer right away, he continued to persuade him without showing any signs of embarrassment.
"This war is a war between the demon world and the human world, not a war between the demon world and the Empire. It may be possible for the Empire to stand at the forefront when dealing with the demon realm, but shouldn't it happen that the Empire deals with the demon realm alone?"
This was natural as a king in charge of a country and as a human being. The king of Shanguk grinned as he described the situation of the Empire. Before the war with the demon realm, the Emperor waged a war of conquest, inciting the vigilance and anger of all kingdoms.
The kings of each country were not easily helping with this scandalous behavior. Meanwhile, a city had fallen into the hands of the Demon King's army, so the current Empire desperately needed support.
'So there's no need to bend this time.'
Usually, in an alliance, the party who proposes first gives in, but this situation was advantageous.
"As many countries as possible must join forces. There is nothing more ideal than all the kingdoms of the human world joining forces, but that is difficult, so the only way is to gather as many countries as possible."
"I guess that's the reason for your recent moves."
King Yeonhwa of Shanguk smiled instead of answering.
The Emperor must have also heard that not long ago, Shanguk and Rweche each swallowed up other small kingdoms in a peaceful manner. In particular, he didn't know what kind of trick was used, but he was sure that in that short period of time, the number of kingdoms that it had as vassals increased to three.
Thanks to this, it was safe to say that the main kingdoms of the human world have been completely liquidated, with only four remaining.
'It's not for nothing that they emphasized the 'war between the demon world and the human world' instead of talking about the synergy between the Empire's military power and Rweche's materials.'
An alliance offer was not something that could be made lightly.
In the process of forming an alliance, or even after forming one, a clever battle of wits took place to gain the upper hand, and as a king responsible for the fortunes of the nation, it was natural for him to make thorough preparations in advance and make a proposal.
The Empire could show off its military power and Rweche's materials. So what about Shanguk?
'If you don't have anything to show off, you have no choice but to create something.'
Military power was average, production of various materials was also average. Nevertheless, the State of Shanguk was at some point referred to as the unofficial Southern Empire. There was only one reason.
Because the monarch's capabilities were outstanding.
The current state of Shanguk had a strange structure in which it was abnormally dependent on a single king.
'Fortunately, it was easy to persuade one kingdom because it had helped the king in a battle for the throne...'
The other kingdom quickly gave in after a moderate amount of fear and coaxing, and another kingdom bowed with a bit of threat.
In this way, he created a card that Sanguk could present.
The Taehon Kingdom also tried to keep it as a vassal state, but Rweche, perhaps feeling uneasy, quickly took it away. Still, this is enough.
'At least it won't be pressed without a hitch.'
As the importance of unity within the human world was also mentioned earlier, the possibility of the Emperor comparing Shanguk and Rweche and trying to gain the upper hand by suppressing Shanguk was also blocked.
At the starting line where they were somewhat equal, he held his head high and spoke.
"Yes. If Sanguk and the Rweche Empire form an alliance, 3/4 of the human kingdoms will unite. Esperanes is a very small kingdom and is inherently a closed kingdom, so assuming it does not join, virtually all kingdoms will unite."
"..."