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Chapter: 262

After that, I couldn’t talk to Arthur…

Whenever I tried to approach him, he was always busy, saying we could talk later, or that he had urgent matters outside. It felt like he was making excuses to avoid me.

What’s going on? Didn’t he say he had something to tell me? He said we’d talk once everything was over. Why is he avoiding me?

Could it be a late-onset adolescence? Now that he’s become emperor, is he finally hitting that teenage phase?!

Hmm. Well, probably not. I mean, does it even make sense that he’d start going through adolescence now?

While Arthur was finding excuses to avoid me, I was curious about whether he was handling his duties as emperor properly. The situation within the Romania Empire had returned to normal.

Nobody opposed Arthur’s ascension to the throne, and the matter regarding his uncle—the former emperor’s son, not his father—was settled without causing another uproar.

Under normal circumstances, it wouldn’t have been unusual to execute him, but did my words reach Arthur correctly? At least he got to keep his life.

On the other hand, he was sent to join the Church of Life to serve as a priest for the rest of his days… but isn’t that better than dying?

Plus, thanks to Bibi’s orders, I wasn’t left alone.

I probably wouldn’t be able to escape the Church of Life while alive.

Thus, Romania was starting to normalize under Arthur’s rule.

Except for the famine.

Well, famines can’t be helped. Though the last emperor bore the blame, fueling public sentiment against him, now Arthur was in charge.

Famine… Hmm… Right! If I resolve the famine as a final gift, then Arthur’s rule will be even more solidified!

I think that’s a great idea!

“But what could that guy be so busy with? Ugh.”

At this rate, I won’t even see his face before parting.

I muttered to myself as I slipped out to the garden at the back of the castle.

A few people glanced at me as I passed, but nobody dared to speak.

Honestly, I wouldn’t either. Who would approach someone nearly wrapped in rags, hiding their face?

Still, I could roam freely because I had played a significant role in Arthur’s becoming emperor.

“Um. I feel somewhat guilty for spending time so leisurely.”

“Oh! S… Gaia.”

“Huh?”

As soon as I stepped into the garden, I spotted Bibi chatting with some priests and she called out to me.

Wait, it looked like several priests serving different gods were gathered for some important discussion. Is it okay for Bibi to come over to me suddenly?

“Other priests are watching. Focus on your work, Bibi.”

“Don’t worry! We’ve almost finished, right, everyone?”

Bibi winked, and the priests nodded with curious expressions. Huh… Well, if Bibi says so, I suppose that’s that.

Then again, even if it weren’t so, if Bibi wished it, it would be so. That’s just how it is when you’re the Dragon Priestess.

“Then I’ll see you next time, Dragon Priestess.”

“Next time, don’t come personally. You all have mountains of work to do, so no need to come for minor things, right?”

Minor things…? The priests had serious looks on their faces, didn’t they? Huh…

The priests bowed their heads to Bibi, then to me, before quickly walking away. Why did they bow to me, too?

Hmm. Is it to acknowledge my position like a teacher to Arthur and Bibi? If not, they shouldn’t be bowing to this old sage’s body either.

After all, it isn’t even my real body. I’ve blocked off any escaping magical power, so they shouldn’t have been able to recognize my identity.

“By the way, what brings you here? Didn’t you say you were going to talk to your brother this morning?”

“Um. I was, but… Arthur rushed outside for something urgent, so I couldn’t talk to him. Really, the emperor going out himself… I wonder what could be so urgent…”

“Really?”

“Well, being in a position like an emperor is busy, so I guess I have to understand. It can’t be helped.”

At my words, Bibi suddenly grabbed my shoulder and yelled furiously.

“Forget about that stupid brother being busy! No matter how important this country is! It’s not as important as my teacher! No! I’m going to confront that idiot and make him talk!”

“Bibi?”

“Besides, I want to spend time with my teacher! What on earth is that idiot doing?! Ugh! Stay right here, teacher! I’ll bring my brother back in no time!!”

Having unleashed a storm of words, Bibi wore an expression like a vengeful spirit and grabbed the Tree of Life, Sephiroth, nearby, surveying the area. She was probably trying to find Arthur’s location using her magic.

“Found him! You idiot!!”

She conjured a fierce wind, lifted Sephiroth into the air, sat on it, and shot off like a rocket.

It seemed she was off to fetch her brother.

And yet, I’ve told her countless times to hold back on the flying with magic. But she just doesn’t listen. The strong winds are quite disruptive.

“Such a troublesome kid, really.”

Well then… Hmm.

The rocky piece at my fingertips slowly began to fall away. Ah, has it already reached this time?

Hmm… The remaining time would be today or tomorrow… Actually, it seems more like later today.

This body… I’ve had it for a while!

I lightly surveyed the garden Bibi had left. Huh… Good. I’ll leave this body in the corner of the garden.

While leaving the body, maybe I could sculpt it to look like a statue.

When a person dies, they make a grave, so it wouldn’t be wrong to create a grave for this body.

For Arthur and Bibi, to mean that this teacher will always watch over them. Let’s leave it in this tucked-away corner of the garden.

I slowly moved the immobile sage body towards the secluded spot of the garden.

A place where people rarely tread. Perhaps because the trees grew thickly, sunlight didn’t reach well there.

Hmm. It reminds me of the deep forest where the sage used to be. This could work.

I set a suitable flat rock beneath me and settled in.

Hmm. While I’m at it, should I resolve Romania’s famine? Let’s see…. I’ll draw some of the magical power lingering in the sage’s body and spread it out through this rock into the ground.

The body itself was nearing the end of its lifespan, but the magical power had no expiration, so a fair amount of the magic in this sage’s body spread through the ground.

Well, if that’s insufficient, I can always use more of my power. Gotta take it easy though. Moderation is key.

As I spread my magic through the ground… Hmm. For some reason, the sage’s legs began merging with the rock I was sitting on.

That’s a bit unexpected. Is the body made of rock merging into the stone while the magic flows? Hmm…

Though, I guess it doesn’t really matter.

As I spread my magic across most of Romania’s territory, my lower body became completely fused with the rock.

At this rate, I can’t move. Did I need to adopt a better position?

Just sitting here feels rather dull.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

The newly crowned Lucius Altirius III. Known as Arthur to his sister and teacher, found himself in a great predicament.

“You dumb brother!!!”

Out of nowhere, his sister, Bibi, flew in and slammed a fist right at him.

“Gah!”

A blow so powerful that a normal human might break a bone. But for Arthur, who could enhance his body with magic, it was nothing serious.

“Fool! Idiot! Coward! Chicken! Rat! Is the emperor’s position so important?! Enough to leave the teacher behind!!”

“Bibi, what’s with the sudden… Gah! Ugh!”

As if hammering him wasn’t enough, Bibi swung Sephiroth like a club. The priests from the Church of Life would be horrified seeing this, but thankfully, nobody else was around.

In a remote area of Sirius, in front of a small jewelry store where few people passed.

Thanks to the imperial knight order blocking others from approaching, they were in the clear.

“Dumb! Dumb!! Idiot!! Pig! Dunderhead!!!”

“W-Wait! I get it! Just tell me why!!”

“What do you mean?! You idiot!!! Why aren’t you going to see the teacher right now!!!”

“I-I was just about to! I finally finished the item, so…”

“Item?! Because of this idiot, I’ve had less time to spend with my teacher! This is unfair!! Give me back my time!!!”

As Sephiroth’s branch made a sharp jab at Arthur’s weak spot, he flinched in pain. He wasn’t actually hurting though.

“Why are you acting like this all of a sudden?! Aren’t you supposed to be gathering information from the priests at each temple?!”

“Is that even important?! You idiot!!!!”

Smack!!!

Sephiroth struck Arthur right on the forehead.

“Time is running out with the teacher!!!”

“What?”

“Go to the teacher right now! You idiot! If you don’t want to spend your life regretting it!!!”

“Time is running out with the teacher? What do you mean by that?!”

“I don’t have time to explain! No! It’s faster if I just take you with me!!!”

Saying that, Bibi created magical ropes to lasso her brother, wrapping him up and tying him to the end of Sephiroth.

Then, she took off into the sky, heading back to the castle.

 

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