Became the Emperor in the Hero Game

28 – 27.

However, the flames that burned it tried to spread to neighboring countries,

I was stopped by the pope and turned off with only the daman neatly cut out.

“… Most of the Arhans with special bloodlines are exceptional, but along with their abilities, they inherited their personalities as well.”

Arrogant and selfish, they do not tolerate challenges to themselves.

He lacks the ability to empathize, and does not place any value on anything he is not interested in.

“But Princess Rael was different.”

Sympathizes with the pain of his subjects, feels heartbroken, and is kind and gentle to everyone.

Rael was the first person to use divine power for the first time in Arhan’s long history.

When the demon army finally crossed the border of the empire, Rael was the only one among the high-ranking officials of the empire who worried about the soldiers on the border rather than being angry.

“I thought that if Princess Rael ascended the throne, the trend of Arhan might change.”

Arhan’s trend is to use diplomacy as a justification for war, not for solving problems.

After adding that, the pope confided in me and looked me in the eyes.

It must be a skill that he does not look servile even though he speaks like that as if confessing his sins.

“Well, I just feel presumptuous of the Seongguk who dared to change the trend of Arhan.”

“hahahaha, not only the emperor, but all the previous emperors of Arhan must have had the same reaction. It’s just that Princess Rael is special.”

Definitely. There was also a case where Rael became the emperor in the game ‘Sien Chronicles’, and that happened when the difficulty was set to very easy.

Since it is very easy for Rael to defeat the demon king just by becoming emperor, he must have made a good emperor.

Then what should I do?

Now we can’t use this as an excuse to start a war.

The merit of the saintess in defeating the demon lord is great, and to fight the Holy Kingdom, you have to surround the entire Holy Kingdom with overwhelming troops and then slowly dry it to death.

And it is also a problem that there is no certainty that it will be able to destroy the Holy Kingdom even if it does.

Should I just skip it?

If you want to continue to maintain an uncomfortable relationship with the Holy Kingdom, burying it for now would be a way, but if you want to improve this relationship, you need to end things in some way.

“… I heard that when the duke’s party reached the holy kingdom, they healed them without asking anything.”

“Shouldn’t people be saved?”

Looking at the pope speaking calmly, I finally made up my mind.

“Pope, what is more important to you, your pride and your followers?”

“The believers, of course.”

“Then record the fact that you tried to change the emperor of the empire and failed. It will not be disclosed to the public, but if my descendants ask for it in the future, listen to it and pass it on to future popes.”

I owe a debt to Arhan.

Let’s move on like that.

To my suggestion, the pope attached a proviso.

“As long as it doesn’t go against Kiriya’s wishes, I will.”

“Good. Then Jim will forget what happened the other day.”

Anyway, we must stay together with the Seongguk until the day the empire disappears.

In that case, it would be better to erase the debt and start a new relationship.

“Then, Pope, I will ask you directly. If I said I would put all the kingdoms under my feet, would you join the war?”

“Of course.”

Saying that, the pope stretched out his hand and took off his glove.

“You may not know it, but a thousand years ago, darkness covered the continent. At that time, the Seongguk stepped out to prevent the disaster, and suffered near-annihilation damage in return. Since then, it has become a trend in our castle to not intervene as much as possible in the affairs of the continent.”

Therefore, even when numerous kingdoms were destroyed by the Empire, they remained silent.

“I didn’t understand that since I was a kid. That is why, ever since I became a priest in my youth, I have been constantly told that I must cast off isolationism, and that I must intervene more actively on the continent.”

After saying that, the pope completely took off his gloves and showed me the pattern of light engraved on the back of his hand.

“Stigmata… !”

“Kiriya answered my cry, and that is how this old man came to this position. That’s why, if Your Majesty wants to stain the continent with blood like the Arhans of old, I will never stand by.”

“What if you don’t want to sit around? On the continent outside the castle, what can you guys do?”

Because of Kiriya’s protection, the holy kingdom will never perish.

But that doesn’t mean they are invincible.

If it were outside of this castle country, their strength would be no more than the level of one kingdom.

Even if they couldn’t invade the mainland, it was possible even for the current empire to annihilate troops outside the castle.

To me who said that, the pope answered very calmly.

“This old man is going to assassinate the emperor.”

“Do you think it is possible?”

“No. That would be impossible.”

I wouldn’t know if it was before I left for the North, but it’s virtually impossible for me to be assassinated by someone right now.

I’m sure the Pope doesn’t know that either.

“The assassination will fail, and the old man will probably die on the spot.”

“… !”

“I am not proud of it, but I am a body that has received stigma. If I die by the Empire… “

“Kiriya must be angry.”

Kiriya is a gentle and kind god, but he doesn’t love everyone equally.

As evidenced by the holy power that filled the Holy Land, Kiriya clearly favors the Holy Land, and among the dogs, he will especially favor its representative, the saintess or the pope who received the stigmata.

“Do you think Jim is afraid of Kiriya?”

Are you trying to blackmail me?

To my question, the Pope answered in denial.

“I am saying this because I know that the emperor cares about his servants. Please think of the people of the Empire. If the Holy Nation participates in the war, the war will never benefit the Empire.”

“The Pope. Jim thinks we humans should be united.”

I told the Pope what I had been thinking for a long time.

Look at those beastmen.

Look at those elves.

At least, even the demons gathered under one king.

But aren’t we still such ragtag people?

“If I cooperate to unify all kingdoms in this land, I will accept you as the state religion of the Empire. Along with Arhan, the name of Kiriya will resonate across the continent.”

Let’s hold hands instead.

If you force unconditional surrender with overwhelming power, not much blood will flow.

If the Seongguk takes the lead and insists on the unification of mankind, that in itself will be a justification.

“That’s not Kiriya’s will.”

Tsk.

Then this is not a matter of persuading the pope.

“Then let me ask you one more question. Let’s assume that there is a war between the beasts or elves and humans. Then what will the Seongguk do?”

“I really want to ask. Emperor, why are you so wary of them?”

“I didn’t tell you. That they are united under one king. Just like when the Anti-Demon King Alliance was founded, if their kings want to go to war with mankind, it’s an instant tribal war.”

“As soon as the king decides to go to war, how is that different from the current empire?”

“Humanity is different in that there are people who do not move despite my orders.”

At my answer without hesitation, the Pope let out a deep sigh.

Since each other doesn’t bend their opinions, even if they continue to talk, they will only run parallel lines.

Having judged that, I said to the Pope, thinking that I should finish the conversation soon.

“Pope, can I ask you a favor?”

“You mean a favor?”

“Hmm. Since I came without an attendant, there is no one to convey my words to the Empire. I would like you to lend me one that can communicate with the Empire.”

“If that’s a request. If you tell me, I will tell you.”

“Ah, then I would like to ask you a favor. Tell the Empire to Minister Dia that I will be visiting the Great Forest.”

“… Yes?”

The pope looked at me with a puzzled face as if he had heard it right.

That’s true, to go to the headquarters of the elves after talking about the tribal war a while ago.

“I will remain wary of them, but I have a favor to ask of them now. And even if that’s not the case, Jim needs to see them in person once in a while.”

“If you ask me… Is it because of Elixir?”

“Yes.”

Elixir.

The continent’s best elixir, said to be the essence of the World Tree.

“The only thing I can do to cure the duke is that.”

“Will the elves give it away?”

“Okay. It’s more important that they have what Jim needs.”

“I don’t want to say that. Elves are not very friendly to humans yet.”

Except for a very small number of warriors and others, they are extremely exclusive.

It seems likely that even the emperor of the empire will ignore the request rather than accept it, but can this proud emperor put up with it?

If this emperor loses his temper and fights the elves and he dies…

The pope, who had reached that point, hurriedly tried to stop me.

“Don’t worry. Jim knows what’s important, so I’m not going to provoke them any more than necessary this time.”

“Then why don’t you at least return to the Empire and accompany an escort?”

“You don’t have to.”

I answered the Pope, thinking of a friend I hadn’t seen in a while.

“The fourth duke of the Empire is now in the great grove.”