Chapter 122: Chapter 122. The Empire’s Guardian (3)

Music began to fill the hall again, and voices died back down as the party soon returned to full swing. This time it was an extremely lyrical melody. The piano and cello’s harmony rang out sorrowfully in the party hall.

However, even with everything going around them, Guiltian’s eyes were blisteringly cold. This time, it wasn’t an act.

“Do you understand what you’re asking for right now? You’re asking me to stop the sun from rising.”

Desir hung his head as he responded.

“I’m making this earnest request, knowing full well how disrespectful my actions are.”

“You’re not wrong. Getting rid of the Outsiders at this time may be the best choice for the nation.”

Guiltian expressed his agreement towards Desir’s opinion.

If Hebrion Empire were to join hands with the Western Kingdom Union to drive the Outsiders back, the two nations could successfully put the events of the past behind them and get rid of any lingering anxieties.

In addition, the Emperor of Hebrion could acquire a valuable tool - Desir. He would be able to gain the support of the commoners like he had wished to.

There was no reason to decline.

‘The only problem would be the backlash from the nobles who still hold a grudge against the Western Kingdoms… ’

The conflict between the Western Kingdom Union and Hebrion Empire was deeply engraved in the history of the nations and dated back centuries. This fact has influenced matters to this day.

With the appearance of the Shadow Worlds, the two empires made peace. But as if it were coded into their DNA, the animosity between the two nations hadn’t disappeared.

‘A short term issue for long term gain… ’

There was still lingering tension between the two nations, but in the present day, it had become less noticeable.

It was possible that some nobles still opposed the nations’ cooperation, but it wouldn’t be hard to convince them.

The Empire’s Guardian, Guiltian Zedar F Rogfelas.

Something like that was a matter too easy for him to address.

But if he was still hesitating to accept Desir’s proposal, it meant that there was another hidden reason.

As if he could read Desir’s innermost thoughts through his eyes, Guiltian started speaking. “The reason I’m not accepting your proposal is not because it’s hard to do. It is far too suspicious of an offer to passively agree to. Why is the destruction of the Outsiders so important to you?”

Guiltian was expecting Desir to set additional conditions. And as expected, Desir did. However, it was an unexpected request. Even if he were to fulfill those conditions, there was nothing for Desir to gain. Therefore it was natural to be off-put by his proposal.

Desir replied, unshaken. “It’s to survive.”

“To survive.”

“The Outsiders are a big threat. And I have ruined many of their plans. I’m most likely already regarded as an enemy that must be eliminated.”

“I suppose so. Your presence is like a thorn in their side.”

“All the Outsiders must be taken care of to ensure my own safety. No jewel out there is more important than my safety, so I proposed a condition that is the most beneficial to me.”

Desir had already anticipated that the emperor would be doubtful of his proposal. And as the very person who had ruined the Outsiders’ plans until now, he had prepared a reasonable justification.

Guiltian spoke with narrowed eyes.

“Yet you didn’t limit your target to the Outsiders, but instead you’ve broadened your target to humanity’s common enemy.”

The Emperor keenly pointed out the loopholes in Desir’s argument.

But Desir had seen that coming as well.

“The main goal of my proposal is not the purging of Outsiders, but rather, the reconciliation of the two nations.”

The reconciliation of Hebrion Empire and the Western Kingdom Union.

That was currently Desir’s most ambitious goal.

“To be honest, the Outsiders aren’t an immediate threat. They are quite troublesome, but not to the point of becoming a genuine threat to the nation.”

Guiltian nodded at Desir’s words.

“However, I am always concerned about a threat that may strike us at any moment. To prepare for that day, I believe that all unnecessary conflict should stop and that we should join forces.” He didn’t think that simple tactics would persuade the emperor.

“For example, something like the level of the Shadow Worlds suddenly increasing could happen.”

“Something like that is impossible.” “There is nothing we can be certain of.”

For this reason, Desir had no choice but to reveal some of the truth.

“If the whole of humanity is threatened, it’s everyone’s safety that needs to be ensured. However, my safety is also included in there, so I think it’s a beneficial proposal for me as well.”

Guiltian probed Desir with a suspicious gaze.

“So you’re saying you’ll give up a definite gain for a threat that may or may not exist.”

“As long as there is uncertainty, we must be prepared. If we find ourselves in such a situation, it’ll already be too late. That is why I’m putting forward this proposal. This time, exterminating the threat of the Outsiders will be the start of an alliance between the Western Kingdom Union and Hebrion Empire.”

The threat that the Outsiders posed had been revealed.

Through their past actions, the Outsiders made it clear they were willing to sacrifice many innocents in their quest for revenge and eventual equality.

‘Which is why I’ll make use of you.’

Desir decided to turn the Outsiders into a rallying cry for a better world.

The presence of the Outsiders would be used as a starting point to unite humanity. The threats in plain sight would be used as the foundation of an alliance to prepare for the Shadow Labyrinth.

Guiltian, who was silently listening to Desir’s claims, closed his eyes and thought for a moment before opening them to speak.

“Alright. I accept your condition. However, some parts of your proposal remain ambiguous.

How many troops do you want to send to the Western Kingdom Union? What qualifies as an alliance with the Western Kingdom Union?”

“I’ll leave that up to you.” “Hm?”

‘There is no way he’d determine that a disaster like a Shadow Labyrinth isn’t a threat.’

Back then, even without a proposal like this, all nearby nations joined forces to fight against the Shadow Labyrinth.

Which is why Desir didn’t feel the need to make any additional demands.

After he made his point, Desir kept quiet. Saying anything else could make the Emperor grow suspicious, which would only make more problems for him in the future. Desir knew where he should draw the line.

“You’ve maintained a moderate position.” Guiltian seemed pleased by Desir’s attitude.

“From now on, to stand up to humanity’s common enemy, Hebrion Empire will dispatch troops strong enough to defeat the Outsider threat. And following that, we will also dispatch troops to the Western Kingdom Union who is currently at war with the Outsiders. In exchange, you will pledge allegiance to me from today forth.”

“Thank you, Your Excellency. I will do my best.” “Our conversation today was quite enjoyable.”

Guiltian took something out from his pockets as he rose from his seat. “You’ll be needing this from now on, since you’ll be working for me.”

The medallion was made of gold, with beautiful patterns exquisitely engraved into it.

“It’ll be easier to think of this as an identification card. You’ll be able to freely use the teleportation gates if you show that to the guards.” “… !”

The teleportation gates.

Gates were structures enchanted with teleportation magic. They allowed one to arrive at their destination in mere seconds, no matter how far away the destination was.

However as they were only open for the usage of VIPs and for various military purposes, Desir couldn’t access them. No matter how famous he became, he would never have access to them.

But he had just been given the authority to access them as he pleased. “I hope we can continue this good relationship.”

Guiltian walked away. In an instant, he blended in with the other masked individuals, and soon, he had disappeared.

* * *

Desir returned to the Hebrion Academy. The other members of his party hadn’t returned yet, as the office was still deserted.

After brewing some tea, he took a seat on the sofa and organized his thoughts. Once he got a whiff of the tea’s aroma, his thoughts seemed to straighten out.

‘A lot of things happened today.’

Desir had persuaded the Emperor during their conversation to sympathize with the Western Kingdom Union.

‘For now, Hebrion Empire has agreed to support the Western Kingdom Union, so the Outsiders are more or less dealt with. They probably won’t have the leeway to continue rampaging as they have been so far.’

For the moment, he had taken enough direct action. The Emperor didn’t oppose the idea as much as Desir had expected, so their discussion ended quickly.

‘And I’ve even been given permission to use the teleportation gate.’

The golden medallion he had received from the Emperor felt heavy in his pocket.

Until now, it had taken a long time to travel to the Western Kingdom Union. This meant that visits were hard to arrange.

But now that he was authorized to use the teleportation gate, he could arrive in an instant without wasting any time.

‘I could even go to see how Zod is progressing on his research. I’ve been too busy with my own affairs, to take the time and go visit him…’

But his biggest achievement today by far was that he had come up with an idea to improve his new magic spell.

‘The importance of its arrangement. Moving forward, I’ll have to figure out which arrangement works best for each formula by trying them out one by one.’

It was going to require an immense amount of effort. After all, he could think of at least ten thousand possible combinations off the top of his head.

‘But I have to do it. Currently, it’s the only way to improve the power of my magic.’ As he finished organizing his thoughts, he laid down on the sofa to relax.

Outside the window, he could see snowflakes gracefully falling from the sky. It was a wintery night.

The anniversary of the nation’s founding was almost over.

Desir pulled out a piece of paper that listed all of the events that happened in his past that he had taken the time to record, before they started to fade from his memory.

The paper was filled with notes. Each event was recorded with its relative importance and its rough date. Like last year, this year was filled with incidents of various importance.

Among those events, Desir’s eyes were fixed on one point. 3614, the appearance of higher tiered Shadow Worlds.

Since returning to the past, there wasn’t much time left until the first wave of higher leveled Shadow Worlds appeared.