Chapter 296: The End of the World (1)

I wanted to die. Even though I would come back to life anyway, I still wanted to die. That was the only thought in my head.

A familiar voice rang softly in my ears. “Um, Dale?”

I turned my head away, avoiding it. I didn’t want to talk. Not to anyone.

“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t think Her Majesty would show up,” Iris said.

A wound was carved deep into my heart. In the ashen garden of my mind, rotten branches lay scattered everywhere.

Iris continued, “Dale? Say something.”

Ah! How fragile humans are. How fleeting life is. Clutching at the edge of irreversible time, I let the tears fall endlessly.

“Hey.”

An indescribably soft sensation pressed into my hand, and suddenly, flowers bloomed in the barren landscape of my mind.

“Iris?” I muttered.

“Feeling better now?” she asked. She then let out a small, amused chuckle. “Works like a charm... But seriously, how can you get this down just because something like that got exposed?”

I looked at her. “Something like that?”

There was no way she could understand the overwhelming humiliation I had just gone through.

“Don’t worry, we won’t make you crossdress again. Cheer up,” she said.

“You promise?” I asked.

Iris smiled brightly and traced a holy sign in the air. “Yes. I swear on the name of the Seven Gods.”

If the Saintess of the Seven Star Church was swearing on the Seven Gods themselves, what more could I ask for?

Laneige sadly looked down at the pictures she had taken earlier. “Eh? Then does that mean we can’t take any more photos of Dale crossdressing?”

Iris leaned in and whispered into her ear with a sly smile, “Don’t worry, Sister. For the sake of seeing Dale crossdress, something like the Seven Gods’ names...”

“Ah! I see! Hehe. Got it, Iris.”

No! Don’t break an oath sworn on the Seven Gods over something like that, you dumb Saintess! I said internally.

I just sighed. “Haah!”

“Haha. You must be exhausted, huh? Sorry. Your reactions were so funny, we all got a bit carried away.” Yurina scratched her cheek awkwardly and handed me a can of ice-cold beer.

As the chilled liquid slid down my throat, I finally felt a bit of clarity returning. At the same time, a question surfaced in my mind. “By the way, why was Camellia here?”

“Maybe she came to visit you? There’s a direct gate now, isn’t there?” Yurina replied.

“No, that gate can’t be used without the key held by Headmaster Ryu,” I said.

“Hmm, then did she use the Valhalla City gate?” I wondered.

“That one hasn’t been repaired yet.”

After the recent demon invasion, the Warp Gates in Valhalla City were all destroyed. It meant that she had come all the way here herself. She had probably flown here. But even so, I couldn’t think of any reason she had gone that far just to visit the Hero Academy.

“Why not just ask her directly?” Iris said.

At that moment, the door opened, and Elisha entered together with Camellia. The moment she stepped inside, Elisha’s eyes sparkled as she looked me over, only to click her tongue in disappointment.

“Tsk. I rushed over the moment I heard Dale was crossdressing and striking cute poses. It’s already over?” she muttered.

“I never did anything like that,” I shamelessly replied.

“Oh? Really? That differs slightly from what Her Majesty, ah, ahem, what Camellia told me.” Elisha’s sharp gaze swept the room. What caught her attention was Laneige’s Hero Watch, more specifically, the holographic display hovering above it.

“Hehe. Sister E-Elisha, look at this. I took tons of photos,” Laneige replied.

Elisha went to her. As she looked through the photos, she started laughing, and her shoulders trembled. “Oh ho!Pfft! T-this is quite the valuable collection.”

“Right?”

“May I have a copy?” Elisha asked.

“S-sure! If it’s you, it’s fine.”

At the horrifying sight, I shut my eyes tightly without realizing it.

Camellia approached me and gently stroked my head. Unlike her usual dignified, untouchable demeanor, her expression was soft, filled with kindness and compassion. “Do not worry about it too much. My heart is as vast as the heavens and as deep as the sea. Even if my consort possesses somewhat... unconventional tastes, I can accept it all.”

Why was it that, out of everything I had heard today, that was the most painful?

Camellia puffed up proudly, lifting her chin. “Hehe. Such a moved expression. Clearly, you’re touched by my generosity.”

I closed my eyes again. How was I supposed to clear up this horrible misunderstanding? No answer came.

A deep sigh slipped from my lips. “Haah! Anyway, what brings you here, Camellia?”

“What do you mean? Is it not natural for a wife to come see her husband?” she replied.

“Still, you have a country to run,” I said.

“As for state affairs, the urgent matters have been settled. I have some time to spare for now.”

“So, you flew all the way here from the imperial capital without even using a Warp Gate?” Even with the Blessing of the Seven Stars, it couldn’t have been an easy journey.

“If it means I can see you, even if it were the very edge of the world, I would go,” she said.

“Ah, um. Ahem. T-thanks.”

It was said that love that comes late burns the hottest. The empress, having only recently awakened to her feelings, spoke with such pure sincerity that it made my face heat up.

Camellia chuckled. “Hehe. As your wife, it is only natural. Though to be honest, I came partly for another reason as well.”

“Another reason?”

“I received word from Khalid. He said he had obtained important information about the Prophet of Eternity and asked that we gather at the Hero Academy. The other Masters are likely on their way here as well.”

“Important information?”

Can it be the information that the Prophet of Eternity was the first outsider from another world? No. That information has already been shared among the Masters.

If it was obvious, then it was obvious. The information Khalid had shared with me had already been circulating among the Masters and my party members. There was no real reason to keep it hidden, and to be honest, it wasn’t even particularly useful. Had he found something new in the meantime? If so, another question naturally followed. Why had he contacted Camellia and the other Masters but not me?

I turned on my Hero Watch and checked my message history, but there was nothing from Khalid Han. While he was not obligated to inform me whenever he found something new, the last time, when he first uncovered information about the Prophet of Eternity, he had sought me first. Yet, this time, there hadn’t been a single message.

“Hmm? Why do you look like that?” Camellia asked.

“No, it’s just... When did you receive that message from Khalid Han?” I replied.

“Yesterday evening.”

That would have been shortly after he had already told me what he knew about the Prophet of Eternity. That implied he had discovered new information in less than a day and a half. A strange, unpleasant sense of unease crawled up my spine.

I urgently said, “Camellia. Can you get in touch with Khalid right now?”

“Hmm. Wait a moment.” Camellia activated her Hero Watch and sent him a message. “He’s not responding...”

The man who had summoned the Masters with news of important information had suddenly gone silent.

“Let’s go see Morris,” I suggested. If anyone knew where Khalid Han was, it would be his son.

“Morris uses the C Building dorms like you, right?”

“Probably.”

Normally, the child of a Master would stay in the premium A Building dorms, but Morris had apparently chosen C Building on purpose because he didn’t want attention.

“Let’s go.”

We found his room and knocked. The door opened, revealing Morris.

“Huh? Dale? What are you doing here? H-huh? Y-Your Majesty, Camellia?” His eyes went wide in shock when he saw Camellia standing behind me. “T-the Empress... in my room? Haah!Haah!”

I suddenly remembered that this guy was the administrator of that ridiculous [Community of Those Who Wish to Be Trampled by Her Majesty the Empress].

“Calm down, Morris,” I said.

“A-ah, yeah. S-sorry,” he replied.

“Do you know where your father is right now?” I asked.

“My father?”

“Yeah. I heard he’s still somewhere within the Hero Academy.”

“Oh, yeah. That’s right. At this hour, he’s probably at a bar in Valhalla City,” Morris replied.

“What?”

Wait? He summoned the Empress, then went drinking? It’s something Khalid would do, but still. There are limits.

“Do you know which bar?” I asked.

“Yeah, he’s probably at his usual spot.”

“Where is it?”

“Hmm. It’s kind of tucked away, hard to explain. Want me to take you there?” Morris asked.

“That would help.”

“Give me a second to change.”

We waited outside briefly, and Morris soon reappeared, now dressed. He looked at us. “By the way, do you need something from my father?”

“Well, something like that,” I replied.

“D-did he cause trouble again?”

“That’s what we’re about to find out.”

Morris sighed deeply as he started walking.

* * *

Following Morris, we arrived at a bar. Inside, Khalid sat red-faced, clearly drunk, shouting, “Gwah! Innkeeper! Another bottle of makgeolli here!”

Morris went up to him. “Uh, Father.”

“Hm? Morris? What brings you here?” Khalid asked.

“You have visitors.”

“Visitors?” Khalid turned his head and looked at Camellia and me. “Oh? Well, well. What brings you to a shabby place like this, Your Majesty?”

“That is what I should be asking. You summoned me, yet what are you doing here?” Camellia replied.

Khalid tilted his head in confusion. “Huh? Summoned you? What are you talking about?”

Camellia frowned and activated her Hero Watch. “Did you not send a message saying you had important information?”

“A message? From me?”

“Don’t tell me you sent it while drunk?”

Khalid shook his head, looking perfectly lucid now. “No, no. I may drink, but I’m not that far gone. I have no memory of sending any messages.”

“What?” Camellia’s expression hardened. “Then who in the world—”

Before she could finish, the ground shook violently, as if an earthquake had struck.

It surprised even me. “What the...!”

We rushed outside the bar. Looking in front of her, Camellia murmured. “A tree?”

Before our eyes was a colossal tree, so massive it seemed to cover the sky itself, that had erupted upward from the direction of the academy.