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The foolish emperor finally lost his mind!

The rumor spread quickly.

He picked fights with the elves and dwarves, clashed with the Church of Life, and was said to be taking the Dragon Priestess as a concubine—this only added to his already notorious deeds and twisted the tale into something even more horrific.

It didn’t take long for whispers to emerge that after shutting down the Church of Life and securing the Dragon Priestess, he aimed to ascend to godhood and extend his reach to the Goddess of Life.

People hearing these tales thought they were nonsense, yet upon considering the foolish emperor, they realized there was a possibility he might just do it.

Thus, the protagonist of these outrageous rumors, Foolish Emperor Commodus, was…

“Alright. If all goes well, we should reach Betelgeuse by the day after tomorrow!”

He was marching toward Betelgeuse with the Imperial Guards.

“But do I really have to lead this? It’s such a pain.”

“You must, Your Majesty. The elf and dwarf scum rejected your proposal, but they’re quite powerful. Without your commanding presence, defeating them won’t be easy.”

In a lavish and grand tent, seemingly ill-suited for a campsite, the emperor grumbled.

Next to him stood an old man, calmly delivering his counsel.

“However, with the strength of the Geunwidae I trained, those pesky elves and dwarves can be dealt with easily.”

“While they may not match Your Majesty and your army, they still possess their own strengths. That’s why they haven’t been absorbed into the Romania Empire and maintain their own factions.”

“Hmm? Their own strength, you say?”

The emperor’s brow twitched slightly at the old man’s words, clearly irritated.

Seemingly accustomed to the emperor’s attitude, the old man skillfully changed the subject.

“Yet no matter how strong they claim to be, they cannot defeat you, the bearer of the Undefeated Flag.”

“Yeah, you’re right?”

With the old man’s flattery lifting his spirits, the emperor beamed wide and waved the flag in his hand, prompting the old man to quickly step back to avoid it.

The exquisite silver flag was adorned with black thread, depicting a long-fanged predator, one of the three symbols of the Emperor of Romania.

“Under this flag that guarantees victory, my enemies shall kneel before me!”

“Indeed. The world will bow to Your Majesty’s might. Starting with the elves and dwarves, then the Church of Life, and even the Southern Insolent Ones will follow you.”

“Haha! If that happens, I’ll make you the teacher of this land! Not just me, but the entire country will follow your teachings!”

The old man wore a faint smile at the emperor’s words.

“Such kind words, but that would be too great a reward for me. My reward was already fulfilled by merely guiding Your Majesty.”

“Modest, aren’t you? Even as you show such humility, how is it that so many slander you? I’d love to chop off the heads of those greedy nobles!”

The emperor growled like a beast. The nobles were always droning on about trivial matters.

“My ancestors did this; my ancestors did that. This would tarnish the names of my ancestors. We should be a role model for the common folk, and so on.”

It was not the first time he wanted to behead these chattering fools, but the emperor gritted his teeth.

“I understand your intentions, but now is not the time for that. If we clear out the Southern Insolent Ones, there will be far too much work for you to deal with… If that happens, you won’t even have time to rest.”

“I’m already overwhelmed with work! I want to enjoy myself more!”

“I know. That’s why we should let them live for a bit longer.”

The emperor nodded at the old man’s reasoning. He despised the nobles who clung to his power, consuming resources, but if their existence lightened his load, he could endure it for now.

Not much time remained for that, though.

“After punishing the elves and dwarves, taking Betelgeuse for myself! Then I’ll tear the Southern Insolent Ones apart and eliminate all the nobles!”

“Yes. As Your Majesty wishes.”

Seeing the emperor so confident, the old man merely retained his faint smile.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Just like an unfooted word travels a thousand miles, rumors about the emperor’s outrageous acts spread rapidly, and naturally, they found their way to Betelgeuse, where elves and dwarves resided.

It was amusing that the rumors spread faster than the emperor’s Imperial Guards marching toward Betelgeuse, but moving an army is never a simple task.

It would take a considerable amount of time to lift that heavy rear end and move, so it was only natural for the rumors to arrive first.

As a result:

“I don’t really want to, but it seems we must join forces.”

“Hmph. We could easily annihilate those weak human armies with our inventions!”

The representatives of the elves and dwarves stationed in Betelgeuse gathered in a grand conference room to discuss countermeasures after hearing the rumors.

“I acknowledge that your inventions have some usefulness, but this is not an issue to approach so simply.”

“Why not? It’s straightforward—kill those coming to kill us!”

“Because he’s the Emperor of North Romania.”

The elf sighed quietly at the dwarf’s simplistic thinking and took out a small piece from a pouch in his robe to chew on.

It was jerky made using traditional elven methods.

“Emperor or not, who cares? I’m not so merciful as to allow those coming to kill me to live!”

“You’re quite the simpleton. How can you create such intricate machines with that foolish mind of yours?”

“Hah! I don’t have the brain to waste on worthless things!”

With that, the dwarf produced a smoking pipe from within his robe.

“Put that away.”

“Tch. Can’t even indulge in a single smoke.”

“Are you trying to provoke me by smoking in front of an elf?”

“Wow, you’re really uptight. Do you scream as your hair burns when I light it up?”

The elf simply glared at the dwarf without responding.

“Tch.”

Seeing the elf’s demeanor, the dwarf clicked his tongue and put the smoking pipe back.

“I let it slide because you idiots won last time, but next time we will win!”

“Hah. To think you would squabble like children at the brink of Betelgeuse falling into human hands. Dwarves seem as narrow-minded as their stature.”

“What?! Are you done talking?! Just because I let things go, you think you can say anything?!”

“Are you challenging me? Do you think I’ve forgotten the wound from my sword during the last battle?”

“You…!”

At that, both the elves and dwarves reached for their weapons.

In a tense standoff, just waiting for a spark to ignite the powder keg…

“Enough.”

The tightly shut door opened, and a small girl’s voice echoed.

“It’s not the time for our two races to fight.”

The young girl’s voice seemed unsuitable for the setting.

However, the invisible power contained within it was enough to calm the hostility of everyone present.

“If we only fight while discussing countermeasures, Betelgeuse will fall into their hands. Is that what you want?”

“N-no, of course not.”

“I’m sorry, Dragon Priestess.”

Hearing the words of the silver-haired girl with horns entering the room, the elves and dwarves, who were on the verge of a brawl, immediately backed down and set their weapons aside.

When none other than the Dragon Priestess shows up, such behaviors would not be taken lightly…

“Now, take your seats. We need to urgently come up with a plan.”

The silver-haired girl, the Saint of the Church of Life known as the Dragon Priestess, commanded the atmosphere of the room and began to speak.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

After working hard for decades in Asherat’s absence, I descended to the surface once more after Asherat returned.

I heard Asherat shout again as I hurried down, but hey, I worked hard while Asherat was away! I deserved to rest a bit, right?!

Besides, I even made a device to categorize prayers! I’ve done my fair share!!! I came down shouting that.

“First and foremost… the emperor is the biggest issue.”

“Well, it’s well-known that he’s a fool, but I didn’t realize he’d be this stupid.”

I found myself caught up in all this mess without understanding why.

Seriously, what is going on? It was fine when the Dragon Priestess subtly entered the Church of Life, but suddenly I got wrapped up in this bizarre situation.

They’re saying the Emperor of North Romania is foolish, and that he harbors unnecessary greed, and he’s going to be known in history as a tyrant.

What the hell is happening? Just give me time to grasp the situation!

And! Church of Life! Why did you send me to Betelgeuse?! You want me to stop a war because it would cause many lives to be sacrificed?! Don’t pass your responsibilities onto me!!!

What?! The elves and dwarves don’t listen well to the words of the Church of Life?! Well, of course, they don’t! They respect me as the Goddess of Life, but they follow their own deities!

So you want me, as the Dragon Priestess representing the Goddess of Life, to mediate? That’s… I mean, I see the point! But, ugh… it’s such a hassle!

That’s how I ended up here.

Seriously… It hasn’t even been long since I came down to the surface, and what is this madness?

At this point, I wonder if my very existence attracts this kind of trouble.