novelraw Chapter 99
Chapter 99
Ch.99 Your Proposal Is Rejected
The Pope, having just undergone examination by priests and physicians, sat wearily on his throne after the commotion had settled.
The Emperor stood before him and spoke.
“Ahem. I summoned you to discuss the King of the Dead—and you.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Though he’d summoned me for questioning, the Pope had collapsed—forcing me to witness sights no one should ever see.
Even now, slumped limply on his throne, the Pope trembled as he looked at me, his fear so palpable I half-expected him to be hacked into five pieces instead of just two.
Surely… they wouldn’t add execution by fire on top of that, would they?
“First, I’ve heard you’re from another world. How did that come to pass?”
The Emperor pressed me to confess everything plainly.
“It’s true I’m from another world… but—”
I couldn’t fathom how the King of the Dead knew that.
Only a handful of people even knew I was from another world.
Yet Lord Roy had called me an otherworlder the very first time we met.
How was that even possible?
“But what?”
The puzzled Emperor prompted me.
Cautiously, I replied,
“I only revealed that truth recently. That the King of the Dead already knew it… is what troubles me.”
“An otherworlder…”
The Emperor looked deeply thoughtful.
“By ‘other world,’ do you mean another realm entirely?”
I nodded.
“Yes. I’m from a world unlike this one—a world where I played a game set in this very realm.”
The Emperor’s eyes lit with interest.
“A game? What do you mean by that? Do you refer to games like chess or card games?”
“Something similar. But in my world, a ‘game’ is best understood as play within a virtual space.”
Explaining modern gaming here would be nearly impossible.
After exchanging a few more remarks, we returned to the main issue.
“It’s certainly strange that the King of the Dead knows you’re an otherworlder.
Have you perhaps told someone before?”
“I swear I haven’t. I only…”
I glanced at the Hero Party—their gazes were anything but friendly.
“Ahem… I’ve only told the Hero Party and the Sand Elves who accompanied me. Neither group has any connection to the King of the Dead.”
“Hmm… Be that as it may,” the Emperor turned to the Pope,
“Your Holiness, can you explain to me who this ‘King of the Dead’ truly is?
He seems to be someone the Papal See has deliberately concealed until now.”
At the Emperor’s words, the Pope turned his head slightly.
“Cough… cough… It is the Prophecy of the Apocalypse. We hid it until its fulfillment, for which I offer my deepest apologies. But the prophecy was so terrifying—we sought only to prevent unnecessary panic.”
Why did that cough sound so deliberately timed?
Then again, having concealed the prophecy of doom all this time, he must feel quite guilty.
“Is that so?”
The Emperor’s voice turned icy.
“Cough! Cough! Because of that Hans fellow… my health seems to have worsened terribly.”
Wait—why drag me into this?
It was deeply unsettling to see the Pope himself throwing a tantrum like a petulant child.
This wasn’t the same Leo VII I knew—the solemn, benevolent, and compassionate pontiff.
I almost doubted he was the real Pope.
The Emperor rubbed his temples, clearly exasperated, then sighed deeply before speaking.
“Very well. For the sake of your health, I won’t press you further. Go on—tell me about this prophecy.”
At that moment, Cecilia stepped forward.
“Your Majesty, I humbly beg your pardon, but I am also well-versed in this prophecy. Might I speak in place of His Holiness, who is clearly exhausted?”
The Emperor studied her with a curious expression, then nodded.
“Permission granted.”
With the Emperor’s assent, Cecilia carefully addressed the assembly.
“The gods who created the world bestowed a gift upon every living being.”
This was a tale I’d skipped hundreds, even thousands of times while playing the game.
Truthfully, it wasn’t particularly exciting—frankly, it was utterly boring.
After all, it was just in-game lore, not even a story from my own world.
In short: among the gods, there was one sinister deity.
The other gods, finding him too eccentric, excluded him when creating the world.
Offended, this god devised ‘death’ as a prank to spite them—
bestowing it upon all living things.
Enraged, the other gods banished and sealed away the God of Death.
Since then, the God of Death has gathered followers, seeking revenge on the gods and to reduce all existence to nothingness.
One such follower was Roy de More, the King of the Dead, who lost his beloved daughter.
The God of Death promised him:
“If you faithfully serve me, I will reunite you with your daughter and grant you eternal peace in paradise.”
Tricked by that promise, Roy triggered the current crisis.
In essence, the whole story could be summarized in just a few lines…
“And so, when death was given to all life, the great El Himself rose up and vanquished the evil god.”
“The ancient King Roy, deceived by the evil god’s wiles…”
How much longer must I endure this?
Cecilia spoke for over thirty minutes.
Everyone listened with rapt, fascinated eyes—after all, to them, it was like hearing an ancient fairy tale.
Perhaps it really was entertaining.
“When the Church learned of his vile scheme, they sent Holy Knights to subdue and slay Roy—but that was not the end. For the great gods granted us a prophecy.”
As Cecilia finished, closing her eyes and clenching her fists,
the Emperor asked,
“Then… this prophecy of the gods—what does it say?”
“Roy the King shall rise again to bring about the world’s end—and a chosen adversary will stand against him…”
Cecilia fixed her gaze firmly on me.
The Emperor’s jaw dropped, his mouth opening and closing wordlessly, until he finally managed to croak out,
“That… that person is the adversary?!”
His expression was one of disbelief and disappointment.
What? What’s wrong with me?
Scarlet spoke up, her eyes flashing as if she wanted to punch me herself:
“Your Majesty, considering all he has contributed to our cause, such words are unwarranted. True, his romantic entanglements are… complicated.”
Why defend me while glaring like that?
Watching the Emperor fall into deep thought, Scarlet added,
“I, too, remember my nickname—‘The Useless Hero.’ It’s embarrassing to say, but in the end, didn’t I defeat the Demon King? Thus, I believe judgment of him should be reserved for a later time.”
At Scarlet’s words, everyone in the hall subtly turned their heads away, forcing a bitter smile.
After all, every person present had once scorned her—harshly, even.
“I offer my apology on behalf of the Empire for that.”
The Emperor, still skeptical, stared directly at me.
“But how can I believe he is truly the prophesied adversary?”
He clearly didn’t want to accept it.
Emperor… do you really distrust me that much?
Cecilia extended her hand toward me.
“He bears the Divine Artifacts—the revolver ‘Equality’ and Levi’s Dagger—symbols of the destined adversary.”
“What are those?”
“Well…”
At the Emperor’s gaze, I carefully drew out Equality and Levi’s Dagger.
“How dare you! Drawing weapons before His Majesty!”
Knights rushed to shield the Emperor.
But he’d just asked to see them!
Overreacting as usual, the knights parted at my approach.
The Emperor examined the items in my hands.
“One is a dagger, the other a magical staff?”
“Something like that.”
He looked at me.
“May I hold them briefly?”
“Of course.”
With eager curiosity, the Emperor took Equality and examined it closely.
“Hmm? Fascinating. What is this round part here?”
“That’s called a cylinder…”
How do I even explain this?
Normally, I’d call it a magazine—but Equality was a weapon shaped like a gun, and calling it a ‘gun’ felt inaccurate.
After all, what gun in this world has infinite ammo?
“Could you demonstrate how it works?”
The Emperor’s eyes sparkled.
I took Equality from him, spun it deftly like a Western cowboy,
—“Oho… what a strange ritual!”
—“Perhaps he prays before using a divine artifact?”
Ignoring the murmurs, I aimed the barrel at the ceiling and fired.
—Bang! Bang! Bang!
—“What?! What’s happening?!”
—“Such a thunderous noise—like a magic explosion!”
Disregarding the commotion, I recited the in-game description:
“This is a divine artifact that kills anyone with a single shot.
It is named ‘Equality’—because it grants death to all equally.”
—“Ah! Truly divine!”
—“But why entrust such a precious artifact—and humanity’s fate—to a lecher like him?!”
—“Has the god truly gone mad… to place the fate of mankind in such hands?!”
At that moment—
“Ah! Would you all just stop already?! My Master is not some lecherous fool!”
Leah snapped in irritation.
Knowing her fiery temper, everyone fell silent, averting their eyes as if gazing at distant mountains.
“That’s right. The gods love all life. You must not doubt that Father Hans was chosen by divine will.”
With Cecilia now speaking up too, the Emperor cleared his throat.
“Ahem. I have never questioned the gods’ will.
Then tell me—what must we do next?”
He turned to the Pope.
“We must send the King of the Dead back to death. If he awakens the God of Death, it will be the end of the world.”
“I know that well! Do you think I wouldn’t understand after all you’ve said? Where is the King of the Dead now?!”
At the Emperor’s perfectly reasonable question, the Pope turned his head slightly again.
“That is… cough, cough…”
He offered nothing but coughs.
This situation wasn’t bad for me—in fact, it was favorable.
When no one knows what to do, no one can oppose my plan.
“I have an idea.”
All eyes turned to me as I laid out my strategy.
“Hmm…”
The Emperor, the Pope, and the high-ranking officials fell into deep contemplation.
What? Did I say something too shocking to hear?
Their cold, stunned stares fixed on me.
Was it truly that shocking—that the dead would rise and attack the Empire?
“One problem remains. You yourself said divine power is needed to deal with the undead, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Then how do you propose to spread divine power across the entire Empire?”
Only then did I realize what the Emperor was getting at.
“Oh, that…”
“You see, only those imbued with divine grace can purge the undead.
That means either priests with deep faith who can manifest divine power, or consecrated holy relics, or blessed holy water.
Surely you’re not ignorant of this?”
“Well, about that…”
“You might think cheap holy water could suffice, but mass-producing and distributing it nationwide isn’t simple. Even if we’d prepared years before the King of the Dead’s resurrection, the amount of holy water we can consecrate in a single day is limited. And that’s before considering logistics…”
He paused briefly.
“Therefore… your proposal is rejected.”
—“It seems he may be a genius in commerce,
but knows nothing of real warfare.”
—“How could the gods choose such a man as humanity’s hope?”
The audience chamber filled with sighs.
They were right, of course.
Holy water isn’t something you can whip up instantly.
It requires pure water from sacred grounds, boiled, blessed, then mixed with purified and blessed salt— a surprisingly labor-intensive process requiring multiple blessings.
But my method is different.
“As it happens… I’ve already prepared everything. Sufficient—no, more than sufficient—holy water has already been distributed throughout the entire Empire. There’s no need to worry.”
After all, I’d taken care of these trivial matters last year.
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