Chapter 61

"I'm here to keep my promise."

"Ahhh...!"

I, happily, responded to Charlotte's faith.

"As of this hour, all revolutions in this country will end."

That was the new promise I brought.

It was not my original purpose, for I was the one who lit the fires of revolution in this country in the first place.

Whoever planned it in the first place, it was my will and actions that directly brought it to the surface.

In the chaos of such a revolution, with the people rising up, the heart of the nation burning, and pointless witch hunts demanding a choice between revolution and death, I was prepared to wait.

What kind of irreversible chaos would engulf the country before a hero would answer the people's call?

And whether that hero would be a character I'd created, or someone new, yet to be revealed.

I was obligated to find out the true nature of the Heroic Faith in this game-like world.

The stars and the will of the goddesses behind it.

Still-its purpose has not changed.

The hero that would emerge was the purpose of The Black Snake, the purpose of Rain Gray, and the purpose of me here and now.

But the process will no longer take the easily recognizable form of a "radical revolution."

It will take a much more brutal, direct, and understandable form, for no other reason than my change of heart.

For I am sickened by the revolutionary justice that they swear is right.

There is no good or evil in being disgusted. It's just nauseating. I didn't have the heart to criticize the justice or duplicity of the revolution now, that was the whole point of remorse.

"You, the Black Snake, why do you–!"

The twelve knights of Charlemagne, now only four, put their hands on their hilts in bewilderment. They were fools who did not know what they were doing.

"...."

I was silent, not answering.

"Take your hands off the hilt, Sir Bridamante."

Charlotte's cold voice stopped them. It was a different tone of command, cold and bitter.

"Your Majesty, these are...!"

"Now, do you intend to disobey the Holy King's orders?"

"!"

The ruler of the Star Country, the Holy Kingdom.

"That man over there and those men are no longer our enemies."

And so she colluded with evil and fell to her knees.

There is only one course of action in the face of an enemy you cannot defeat.

"As queen of this nation, tell me what I must do."

"...The price of blood."

Nothing would change for me.

I still want to bring chaos to this country.

"Traitors who threaten or attempt to shake the authority and structure of the kingdom will pay the price they deserve."

A hellish chaos that cannot be endured without crying out and longing for a hero.

"In the harshest and most horrific form they can muster."

"...of course."

Charlotte's meaning was not far off, at least as far as the content was concerned.

A bloody purge.

Given enough blood to flow, to overflow, to become a river, the form of chaos was just fine with me.

"Aria."

"Yes."

"...Reconvene Jeanne and Alina."

Their roles will be reassigned accordingly.

But no matter what I ordered, Aria's response was always the same.

"─As you wish."

*

"Hoo-hoo, my master has summoned me."

It was a mansion filled with jewels, gold, and all manner of luxury and vanity.

The purpose of the Black Snake is not riches or honor. But to fulfill their purpose, money was an indispensable virtue.

Therefore, riches are abundant to the point of corruption.

On every continent, in every country, it is hidden everywhere, in movable and immovable forms, in works of art, in bills of exchange, in every tangible and intangible form that can have value.

It's not impossible to get your hands on all the riches in the world if they set their minds to it.

It's just that they don't.

A remote mansion on the border of the Holy Kingdom and the Duchy of Germania was one of the many assets of their organization.

And the glitter of gold and jewels that filled it was something she loved.

She would simply, mindlessly, wear expensive things that glowed.

It was a luxury so crass that it was frowned upon.

Even in the darkest, deepest depths of this world, she still loved bright lights.

A brilliance so bright it blinded her.

"Jeanne...."

And so, the immortal swordswoman at her side could only bite her lip in silence.

"Miss Alina, you're giving me that look again."

"...."

Facing the agitated Alina, Jeanne kissed her in a cute way.

It's not a light kiss; their lips meet and share saliva, and her white, slender fingers slither and wriggle like snakes as she explores Alina's body.

The former Holy Maiden gave herself over to luxury and pleasure.

Alina feels Jeanne's white, slender touch and squints at the brilliance of the jeweled bracelet on her wrist as if she can't look straight into the blinding sunlight.

"Let's go, Miss Alina—to do what we must."

But she knew it.

No amount of dazzling jewelry and radiance could hide the black, dark uniforms of the Black Snake they wore.

Jeanne, the Black Saint.

Alina, the Death Blade.

Each with a new name, they have begun to fulfill the will of the one to whom they owe their loyalty.

*

The revolution that began as I hoped it would, ended at the same time as I hoped it would not.

From that day forward, the capital of the Holy Kingdom was dotted with sharp thorns.

Thorns so long and sharp that they could pierce a man, and so strong and durable that two or three such men could be driven through them and pinned down.

It was the order of the Holy King, Charlotte, and the price to be paid for the 'traitors' who had tried to overthrow the country.

Ever since that day, the streets have smelled of rotting corpses. The screams of the traitors, skewered alive instead of dead, pierced my ears.

As I realized, I had grown accustomed to walking through such scenes.

It was Charlotte, the Holy King, who devised and carried out this punishment, called impalement.

And it was I, of all people, who ordered her to carry out this brutal act.

"How horrible."

"...."

Aria muttered softly, her eyes covered with bandages. I didn't say anything, as if she couldn't even open her eyes to see.

The excuse that I didn't want it to come to this was meaningless now.

It was my will to bring chaos to this country-to make a hero emerge in some way.

And yet, the world remained silent.

"Rejoice, people of the Holy Kingdom!"

In a world where heroes are silent, it is only evil that shouts.

"The Holy Maiden has returned with the traitor's head!"

With the shout, the gates of the capital opened and the march of the kingdom's army began.

At the head of the procession was a woman who, despite her earlier abandonment at the hands of the state, was willing to grant 'forgiveness'.

Holy Maiden Jeanne, despite her other name, "The Black Saint," remained a hero of the realm.

She was the flag bearer of the old kingdom, willing to lead the charge against traitors.

Taking the place of the slain Sir Roland, she took the reins of the newly reorganized Twelve Knights of Charlemagne.

By her side, as always, was the Immortal Swordswoman Alina.

Blending in with the horror and fear of the crowd, I watched as they marched through the hordes of traitors, triumphant.

And greeting them was the queen, who, in front of all the kingdom's eyes, was atoning for her sins.

She wore a crown of thorns on her head and stood barefoot and shod in penance.

With sharp thorns piercing her head and blood running down her face like tears, Charlotte, the Holy King, treading on the ground beneath her, white and barefoot, meets the Holy Maiden.

"Welcome, Holy Maiden."

"─Your Majesty."

As they look at each other, there is no longer any resentment or personal feelings between them.

They are only bound by a shared allegiance.

That was the reality of the country that lay in the palm of my hand and moved at my will.

When I realized this, I began to truly crave a hero.

A true hero who would magically appear in this hellish reality and put an end to it.