Chapter 198

When was that again…

Elheurnina once proudly told me something she heard from Abamama, or rather, His Majesty the Emperor, about a key point when giving a speech.

“Did you know? The power of a speaker comes from the posture and focus of those listening!”

“Huh?”

“Then! Have you ever thought about how to get everyone’s attention during a speech?!”

Back then, I was still young and naive.

And pretty mischievous too.

“Well…thinking about it now…if you talk about topics and contents that grab people’s interest, wouldn’t they naturally pay attention? If they’re interested, their gaze will be drawn and they’ll concentrate.”

“…Did you already hear this from Abamama?”

To her suspicious glare, I replied lazily.

“Come on. If I’m even listening to you now…and if this whole process of you selectively sharing stories with me is anything to go by…then isn’t this just a smaller version of what you’re talking about?”

“Smaller…version?”

Isn’t this conversation a bit advanced for kids under ten?

Even as I thought that, I felt somewhat disappointed deep down that my word choices weren’t quite right.

The words in my head…just didn’t flow smoothly.

It was still a time when my understanding of language and rhetoric was severely lacking.

So I was trying my best to mimic the tone and phrasing of those who spoke well.

“Then! Do you know how to make people interested in your story if they’re not already?”

“Mm…”

At Elheurnina’s question, I pretended to think deeply for a moment.

“That’s the difficult part.”

“Right?! Hmph!”

I could have come up with some pathetic answer right then and there.

But since she seemed eager to boast and show off, I decided to play along.

Not that I knew anyway.

If she was so kind to offer such precious knowledge, why would I refuse?

“Then I, this esteemed person, shall enlighten you! Listen well! Since it’s coming from me!”

That confident declaration while placing hands on her hips.

Her appearance and words back then came flooding back.

Carriel! That method is incredibly simple.

It’s simply…

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“I shall die for you.”

When I first said that, the audience’s reaction was quite entertaining.

Since I’ve committed to pushing forward, I’ll continue boldly.

Just shut up and listen to me from now on.

Don’t waste your brainpower.

Embrace your confusion as is.

Focus solely on me.

“Isn’t there someone here who earnestly wishes for my death? Well then, I shall die for you. It’s not that difficult.”

Young Elheurnina once proudly told me about capturing the audience’s attention during a speech.

The first method:

Pour out the most shocking fact right in front of them.

To put it figuratively, it’s like a thunderclap in clear skies, or a stone bridge collapsing as you cross it, plunging you into the water.

Give them that kind of shock, confusion, fear, and bewilderment all at once.

She also advised not to let the calm lake remain undisturbed.

Disturb the tranquility of the lake by creating ripples.

Throw in the biggest rock you can with all your might.

Once you’ve thrown the rock, ensure they can’t help but listen to your words from now on.

Continuously deliver shocks and fears to the listeners.

Make them like fish biting onto bait.

So carefully select your opening words and phrases, throwing them out at the right moments.

Use an attitude that matches this approach.

That’s right. This is none other than the teachings of His Majesty the Emperor.

If you can make them listen to your every word…

Once they bite onto your bait, it’s your world from then on.

Unless you foolishly cut off the flow yourself,

or make some ridiculous mistake.

“This wasn’t exactly a secret anyway. Moreover, I heard this directly from the Sacred Tree, so let’s skip the unnecessary chatter.”

It’s still the same now.

The fae among fae.

The most honorable of the fourteen High Elf council members.

Even the Queen of Elves herself.

Here in the conference hall where a massive crescent-shaped table stands, these fifteen individuals have allowed my mud-covered boots to tread upon their sanctuary, their homeland, their garden.

“Child, it seems there’s some misunderstanding…”

“Silence.”

Lifting a finger to my lips for emphasis, I cut off the scattered gazes returning to me, focusing on my lips and the raised finger.

“To avoid unnecessary noise, let me state upfront: I’ve received nearly all the information from the Sacred Tree. Therefore, any useless talk in front of me is futile.”

“…”

Now that I know everything, spill your true intentions honestly.

This is how you fail.

When you know everything, why ask or question?

You may sway and manipulate according to the mood.

Creating artificial urgency and disruption is certainly possible.

However, they aren’t as dimwitted as humans.

Most are rational over emotional, so much so that by human standards they’d be called inhumanly cold.

Having lived long lives, emotions are faint for them, and pursuing life through reason is entirely natural.

Thus, even if you stir up the crowd, you must skillfully sever or tighten the strings of their rationality to properly manage the situation.

Still, such attempts won’t unsettle or defeat them.

Then, what should we do?

‘Force a mage into a sword duel.’

For that, I wanted to borrow her personality and temperament.

The other reality shown by the World Tree revealed me.

A ruthless and self-centered belief system remained steadfast even in the face of death, composed and resolute…an unparalleled selfishness.

“I didn’t gather you here for idle chatter. I called you to discuss how best to kill me.”

“I don’t understand the meaning behind your words.”

“If you truly intended to kill me, you would have done so already. Yet what is this attitude now?! What exactly did you learn from your warrior father?”

“The Sacred Tree desires the purification of the world.”

No need to dodge.

Go ahead and shout. I’ll speak my piece.

Yet each word I say, you cannot overlook.

“Originally, I should have fulfilled that role. I am the one who burns the World Tree and sets the entire continent ablaze.”

“What nonsense are you spouting?!”

Shout all you want.

“The exact opposite of that role, pursuing peace and stability across the continent, made me feel betrayed, leading them to order my death through you. If you don’t believe me, ask the Sacred Tree directly. I’ve already finished all discussions with it.”

“Insolent! And…most disrespectful! How dare you utter such absurdities―!”

“If I die, the Empire will rise in turmoil and sweep across the continent. You know this well, which is why even your faith can’t immediately deal with me now, correct?”

“Hold on! Stop speaking for a moment―!”

“So you’re searching for a scapegoat to take your sins, aren’t you? But that won’t suffice. The Empire isn’t that foolish.”

“Just listen! First of all―!”

“Why do you think the Empire sent me, Princess Elheurnina, as a hostage to a foreign country instead? To prevent war? When I possess such power, yet fear mere warfare?”

“…”

“I volunteered, but there was a clear reason. Her Majesty the Empress foresaw her daughter’s death through future divination. Not only that, another prophet gave a similar prediction. But the problem lies in what comes next.”

“After the princess dies as foretold…

“If she were to meet her tragic end as predicted, I myself would bury you completely in flames.”

I am not myself right now.

Truly, a tyrant and mass murderer who would engulf the world in flames.

Not myself now, but if the past, present, and future twisted slightly…

There’s definitely another me who would become that.

Projecting, acting, mimicking that future version of myself.

Behold, I am the one who actually set the world ablaze, plunged the continent into despair – an unprecedented villain.

Had I been king, I would have been called a great sovereign, perhaps even a God of War, Military Deity, and truly unmatched Great General.

Ultimately, I met my demise under the assault of my younger brother and his followers.

Still, the fact that I burned the world remains unchanged.

And suppose that person is here now.

This isn’t just hypothetical anymore.

From now on, believe without doubt that all this is real.

“All of this is a clear reality shown to me by the World Tree, the very deity you revere. Such could be the reality. It told me: if you won’t burn the world, then let me use you as firewood.”

Standing confidently with both arms raised.

She would probably make such exaggerated, dignified gestures.

“That role has merely shifted from me to someone else. Now I am the firewood, fully prepared to fulfill that role. If this world is indeed flawed and broken, and if even the Will of the Gods and your revered deity desire the world’s destruction, then I willingly oblige. Without hesitation. After all, I’ve already scorched the world once with my own hands. Can’t I do it again?”

“Who are you?”

The queen asks with a hardened expression.

Who indeed? A splendid question.

“I am me. No one else.”

My knowledge and information were overwhelmingly insufficient.

But how about now?

Abundant.

At this point, fabricating and speculating on information isn’t even an issue.

For example, my being in this position instead of Elheurnina…

It’s entirely my own choice.

That talk about the empress foreseeing the future or another prophet warning of a tragic future? Just empty words.

It might have happened.

But I don’t know.

Still, once I declare my belief in it, it doesn’t matter either way.

Truth isn’t important.

The truth was never relevant from the start.

What matters is the will and opinions I push forward.

After all, the words the World Tree spoke to me weren’t false.

So, to what extent do those who follow the World Tree’s call to kill me actually know and understand before resolving to do so?

They couldn’t possibly be unaware of the reasons and grounds that allowed me to reach the heart of the elven nation, could they?

Or has their conviction truly paralyzed and destroyed their reason?

Irrelevant.

None of it matters.

Especially since the moment I revealed my readiness to throw away my life rather than protect it…

All threats and intimidations became meaningless at that point.

“So let’s discuss together how best to deal with me. What justification will you prepare? How do you plan to kill me? Cleanly? Quietly? Secretly? Or dramatically? Spectacularly? Tying me to remnants of the Demon King’s army or troublesome nations in a clumsy attempt to frame me? If you had such flimsy mindsets, rethink them immediately. Discard any uncertain confidence that the Empire won’t traverse the continent to annihilate you.”

I don’t know for sure.

But spreading various pieces of information makes me less likely to fall into the perilous trap of having to solve a single problem.

Not that pinpointing the method is particularly difficult given the limited options.

…The key is suppressing their reason and forcefully injecting emotional elements.

I neither trust nor overestimate myself.

Excellence is ultimately relative, while the weight of time is paradoxically absolute in certain aspects.

Moreover, they are many while I am but one.

Clashing head-on according to their terms is irrational no matter how you look at it.

“So it’s all an act. In the end, while you claim you must die, aren’t you simply reminding us that you cannot be killed?”

See?

You can force things with one or two opponents, but against a crowd like this…

And they’re not the type to be swayed by mob psychology anyway.

So.

Let’s drop another lure.

Shock, confusion, fear, bewilderment.

“Is that so? Then handle it yourselves.”

Gripping my neck with my right hand.

Sharpening my nails with mana flowing through them, exerting force through every joint of my fingers.

Plunging them into my throat.

Raking downward.

Terrifying, but the pain is fleeting.

Because once dead, you feel nothing.

I know full well that pain could break me.

My voluntary endurance of arduous training and suffering wasn’t for strength, mastery of the sword, or gaining power.

To gain the strength to stand defiantly against the ugliness of pain.

To ensure pain cannot dominate me until my final breath.

For that, I’ve honed my body and repeatedly subjected myself to self-inflicted torment disguised as training.

The goal isn’t to become stronger.

It’s to build the ability to endure pain.

For instance, willpower.

Crack!

“Gurk!”

“You, you?!”

“Wha-what?! Such, such?!”

“How could such a wretched―!”

This isn’t some pointless resistance or tantrum from an innocent, naive, foolish boy.

Because in this moment, I genuinely intended to kill myself.

Infusing mana to sharpen my nails, aiming not just to tear but to cleanly sever my neck, I raked downward.

The sensation of bone catching against my fingertips amidst skin, flesh, muscles, and blood vessels being torn apart is…quite extraordinary.

Consciousness plummets instantly.

But my legs remain firmly planted.

Collapsing here would be disgraceful.

If we consider this entire performance as theater and pretense…

Should I lose consciousness now, the impression and impact on the audience would be…

How thoroughly ruined it would be.

So I endure.

Even if my consciousness fades, my body will proudly display this resolve and spirit to those who remain.

That’s my commitment.

Empty words of determination are light, loose, and uncivilized.

So to show true sincerity…

…Only action and results remain.

‘If there’s any chance I could destroy the world…Yeah. Perhaps dying here would be better.’

But I’m certain.

They will save me.

If they can’t save someone like me…

Then…

The world will truly burn more beautifully and tragically than ever before.

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