Chapter 42

“Your Majesty, I appear before you.”

The day after the airing of episode 50 of “Knight Shin Chronicle,” I was summoned to the palace practically at dawn.

Well, I roughly guessed why the Emperor called me.

It’s definitely because of the ending of yesterday’s “Knight Shin Chronicle” episode.

If I had shown him episode 50 beforehand, he’d have undoubtedly flipped out, so I avoided showing it at all costs using every excuse imaginable.

So naturally, the Emperor must’ve been quite shocked by episode 50.

I could fully understand how the Emperor felt right now.

‘Because I intentionally made that ending just to shock everyone.’

Back in the day, the director of that one work which turned humanity into orange juice reportedly answered a question about why they chose such an ending like this:

Because people holed up in their rooms annoyed them.

Because those overly immersed in his work seemed distasteful.

At best, it was an attempt to enlighten people through his work.

At worst, it was the epitome of hipsterism.

But here’s the kicker—despite that director releasing such an ending, surprisingly few people cursed him personally.

Anime ‘experts’ and ‘critics’ hailed it as either a ‘direct challenge to modern capitalism’ or a ‘searing critique of young people afraid to leave their homes.’

Of course, the viewers who were scratching their bellies in their rooms while watching got bloodied.

Honestly, I don’t really get those evaluations.

What is this, some grand weaving of ascent and descent…? Sounds similar, doesn’t it?

But simultaneously, I realized I could use this.

Meaning, no matter how chaotic an anime ending might be, if there are moments throughout the story that seem profound, then it transforms from chaos into a great piece of art.

So I boldly took inspiration from that.

Because the situation where the work gets criticized but not the director was exactly what I desired.

Besides, I’d already created episode 50 of “Knight Shin Chronicle” and aired it across the entire empire.

What can even the Emperor do about something that’s already done?

He can only tremble and scream, right?

That’s why I was prepared to generously listen if the Emperor wanted to rant about episode 50 today.

After all, considering this would be my last visit to the palace before retiring into glorious NEET life, showing a bit of mercy wasn’t much of a burden.

However…

“…You’ve arrived, Ragnar.”

The Emperor’s vibe didn’t feel normal as he looked at me.

Leaning his head slightly, he said,

“I watched last night’s episode 50 thoroughly. And regarding the completion of ‘Knight Shin Chronicle,’ I offer my congratulations.”

“…Ah, thank you.”

“But don’t misunderstand—I didn’t enjoy the ending of episode 50. In fact… quite the opposite.”

The Emperor narrowed his eyes and asked directly,

“To the point: with the conclusion of episode 50, is everything truly over?”

“…Pardon?”

“Is the ending where only Kai and Eilian survive on Earth, with the rest of humanity wiped out, really the best choice?”

Without hesitation, I nodded.

“Yes, that’s what I believe.”

“…I still don’t like that ending.”

“Art is like that. There’s no such thing as a work that pleases someone entirely from start to finish.”

With an unusually confident tone, I replied, causing the Emperor to squint at me.

“So, you have no intention of changing the ending?”

“Yes.”

“No matter what happens?”

“Of course.”

How can a man stick to two different stories when born with one mouth?

As someone who usually aspires to be manly, I found such behavior utterly unacceptable.

“Hmm… Is that so…”

Then, the Emperor sighed deeply after silently observing me.

“In that case, there’s nothing to be done. Though it’s not my preferred method, I’ll have to handle things more drastically from here.”

“…?”

“I won’t let someone who dared to attempt my assassination go home peacefully.”

“…Assassination?”

Assassination?

Who tried to assassinate whom?

Could… could I have tried to assassinate the Emperor?

Why?

At the mention of this absurd charge, I immediately stood up, ready to flee.

But right then…

Zzzt!

I felt a magical binding hit my body, realizing I was screwed.

When I turned around hesitantly, there stood my teacher, gleefully betraying me by casting magic at my back.

“…Ragnar, sorry. If I cooperate this time, His Majesty promised to double our tower’s budget…”

“…”

Shit.

This is going too far, seriously.

****

State Council Meeting.

A meeting where the most prestigious individuals in the Empire gather to discuss matters related to imperial business.

Currently, the Emperor and nobles were having a very serious conversation.

“Last night, there was an attempt to assassinate me within the palace walls.”

“Hmm, is that so?”

“An attempt to assassinate His Majesty, who stands at the pinnacle of the Empire—what audacity!”

“And he cleverly attempted indirect assassination rather than direct means. For instance, raising my blood pressure through frustration…”

Saying this, the Emperor glanced at me, standing statue-like in the center of the conference room.

“…”

“…”

The nobles also stared at me with icy expressions.

Among them, for reasons unknown, my father was present, making my heart ache.

“So, summarizing His Majesty’s words, the ending of ‘Knight Shin Chronicle’ could potentially have claimed His Majesty’s life, making it a terrifying weapon.”

“Ho, actually, I felt similarly watching the ending last night. Thinking about it, shouldn’t we apply charges of mass murder attempt, not just assassination?”

“Wow, that’s an exceptionally wise thought.”

“Since all of humanity died in the ending of ‘Knight Shin Chronicle,’ let’s skip ‘attempted’ and just charge him with mass murder!”

“And add Holocaust crimes! Let’s throw in whatever other charges we can think of!”

“To be honest, releasing such an ending is far too inhumane. My heart has stopped since Linnea died…”

“…”

It was like being thrown into a cauldron of madness.

I guarantee, not a single sane person exists among these gathered individuals.

To earnestly discuss how to punish a director for an anime ending is insane.

This is truly a world without human rights—a fantasy kingdom, indeed.

Not something you’d imagine happening in 21st-century South Korea, a free democracy.

“Man, these lunatics are real.”

Even the survival instincts I honed during my previous life doing freelance grunt work screamed warnings at me.

Whispering to escape immediately.

“Damn, but how do I escape here?”

My teacher, who sold me out for a few coins, was keeping watch, making escape impossible.

Anyway, who’s to blame?

It’s my fault for not noticing earlier that my trusted mentor was such a traitor.

“Understood, sinner Ragnar Terison, let me ask you this.”

“Did you commit the attempted assassination of the Emperor through episode 50 of ‘Knight Shin Chronicle’? And further, aiding mass slaughter, inciting murder, and committing anti-humanitarian crimes like the extinction of humanity within the anime?”

“…”

When did I, who merely sat quietly creating anime, commit such terrible crimes?

And what does committing crimes inside an anime even mean?

In this moment, I realized I had to play my hidden card.

“…Your Majesty.”

“What? Are you finally willing to change the ending?”

“You know, I plan to release a special artifact soon—a director’s cut collecting episodes 1 to 50 of ‘Knight Shin Chronicle.'”

The Emperor frowned.

“So? Don’t bring up irrelevant topics about the episode 50 ending—”

“And inside that director’s cut…”

I took a deep breath before speaking.

“A new ending, different from the original episode 50, will be included. What you might call the true ending.”

“…What?”

“T-the true ending?”

The Emperor and nobles widened their eyes in disbelief.

“Come on, logically, would I release such an ending in my right mind? To gain momentum, you must first kneel. I deliberately ended episode 50 that way to create a happy true ending!”

Thud.

To add authenticity to my words, I knelt down dramatically.

“Perhaps due to my desire as a creator to craft a better ending, I unintentionally disturbed Your Majesty’s peace. This is all my inadequacy. Please kill me!”

“Ho ho, enough. Stand up. Don’t embarrass me.”

Thus saying, the Emperor personally helped me up.

“You should’ve said so from the start. I mistakenly thought you intentionally made episode 50 that way to assassinate me. Hahaha!”

“Hahaha! Your Majesty’s sense of humor is truly remarkable!”

Laughing at me, the Emperor suddenly stopped and asked,

“You’re not refusing to make the next project I assign you, right? Right?”

“Absolutely not!”

“Good, let’s keep working well together.”

Pat pat.

The Emperor patted my shoulder with a smile.

‘Shit.’

Thus began…

The second reincarnation of the Emperor’s anime slave.

Complete.